REALITY check

As much as I like to live in la la land, it is time I share with you the actual present state of our house. It will be painful and horrifying, but it is time to reveal the truth.

The view from the front door.

The living room.

The gutted and very sad bathroom.

The kitchen. At least I think it is under there somewhere...

Yes, that is my antique pink couch upside down on top of our other couch. Don't ask. When I ask my dad to help, I just have to close my eyes, grit my teeth, let go of my control, and say "thank you" with a smile.

The view into the guest room/craft room and the hard-working husband.

So how did our house turn into a pile of craziness, you wonder? Well, the story goes that we were going to start our remodel with just opening up the living room (check!) so all of the living room furniture and decor was moved into the guest room and kitchen. But then we decided "hey- why not do the bathroom at the same time", so all of our bathroom pretties were also moved into the kitchen and we moved out of the dust-filled house and into my parents' guest room (where we currently reside). The living room was finished and painted (see the blue walls?) and my dad gutted the bathroom. Somewhere in there, hubs decided to do the guest room (which is almost done... *fingers crossed*), so everything that was in the guest room moved back into the living room. It's been a whole bunch of ridiculous shuffling. 

What I learned:

No matter how short you think the remodel is going to be, box up the items from that room and store and cover the furniture in a safe place.

What we did wrong:

Shuffling without packing ANYTHING. Our belongings are now a scramble throughout the house and if you asked me to find something, I would not even know where to start looking (thank you, husband and father and father-in-law and bros-in-law for your moving muscles). Pretty much everything is covered in dust because men don't always think of covering things. And the outlook for putting the house back together is bleak. Everything will need to be completely reorganized and dusted. Organizing= something I love. Dusting= something I loathe.

The remodel status: 

The living room is done including lighting and painting. The bathroom has turned into more of a problem than expected and is at a standstill. The guest room is sheet-rocked and the built-in cabinet was finished today. The walk-in closet, the kitchen, and the master bedroom haven't been touched. We may move back in once the front of the house is finished and close the back of the house off from the front while it is worked on. We shall see. I am no longer making any promises that have anything to do with the state of our little crooked house.

PICKLES pouf pattern

I don't even know how to knit, but I just might have to learn so I can make this:

Pickles pouf pattern via Apartment Therapy

Yikes. This would be quite the first knitting project to take on. Now to find myself a patient teacher...

pastel PIANO

Katie Fine via Desire to Inspire

A light blue piano. Who would have ever thought to paint their piano light blue? Not me. I inherited a piano from my grandma that is an orangey wood and I am definitely planning to paint it. I'm thinking of either going white or gray because they are more neutral than, say, a light blue piano and I have the tendency to change my tastes too often to commit to a brighter color. But I'll tell you the truth... I am loving this color... and this room.

sunny SATURDAY

Well the weekend is looking bright and sunshiny. Mine started off on the right foot when hubby and I went on a date last night to East West Cafe for some amazing Mediterranean food and then followed it up with a drive around Sonoma County backroads (where he took this beautiful photo) and ended the evening with some hot drinks at A'Roma Roasters. I had a cup of cinnamon orange honeybush tea and it was pretty much like a party in my mouth.

What else is on the agenda? Some crafting, some hubby working on our crooked lil' house, and some who-knows-what. I like when my weekend has a little who-knows-what.

I hope your weekend is full of fun and freedom! See you on Monday! xoxo

FRIDAY'S five cravings

-Anthropologie-

1.) a maxi dress for every day of the year :

I just bought one from Forever 21 and am in love. It is ridiculously comfortable and makes me feel instantly glamorous. I could live in maxi dresses for the rest of my life and be deliriously happy... well, until they are completely out of style. You know how it is.

-bredlo-

2.) an Airstream Trailer :

I recently got bit by the traveling bug and love the idea of driving a home away from home around with you wherever you go (within the continental United States, obviously). And I won't pretend that I haven't already starting dreaming about decorating one.

-Chez Larsson-

3.) lockers for home storage :

Hubby's comments when I shared my desires, "Not someone's stinky old locker!" I will disinfect and beautify it, of course. I can't help myself; I am constantly searching Craigslist's free section for them. No luck as of yet.

-WriteNow-

4.) the 5 Year Diary :

I have been terrible at keeping a journal ever since I left high school. I've done maybe 10 entries in the last 8 years. I think the idea of having only 5 lines to sum up your day is amazing. It's not nearly as intimidating.

-Celeste Photography-

5.) a picnic at the beach... or anywhere :

Wednesday it was my plan for hubby and I to go to the beach for a picnic. We checked the forecast... and decided that a picnic on the back of my parent's property would be just as lovely. Hubby cooked up some amazing shrimp scampi, asparagus, corn on the cob, and brown rice. We packed our plates and headed outdoors only to have me dart back inside. It was freeeezing! But looking at the weekend forecast, I think the weather is in my favor. C'mon sunshine!

So friends, what delights are you craving right now?

you can't be SERIOUS

I love when I find a new blog and get to spend time catching up on all of the goodness wrapped inside of it. This morning I was making my way through Flickr when I saw that one of my contacts, poppy smiles, has a beautiful blog named You Can't Be Serious. She is so ridiculously creative with everything she does. Whether it's from street art with her kids to a mini movie made from one of her engagement sessions to her amazing photography to the clay animation she helped her daughter put together- it is all art and it is all lovely. And I am completely serious.


Is it just me or does everyone from Australia seem way cooler than us Americans? No offense, America.

aaron & lauren's WEDDING

Who: My college roommate and her betrothed

Where: Portefleur Estate in La Habra Heights

The Story: On Thursday I decided I wasn't feeling well enough to make the trip to SoCal. Friday I changed my mind and decided I would tough it out. Friday evening I decided it wasn't wise to go. And Friday evening at 10 o'clock I decided once and for all that I didn't want to miss my college roommate's wedding. Saturday morning we took off at 6:30am to arrive in SoCal at noon for a quick costume change at hubby's uncle and aunt's and then we drove straight to the wedding in La Habra Heights. It was beautiful. Lauren was beautiful. I had a great time. Indecision turned into the right decision.

Highlights: professionals doing silhouettes of the guests for the guest book and to take home, a classical guitarist, the speakers blowing out during dancing and the guests singing new songs and continuing to dance- then a guest pulling out a guitar to fill in until the speakers were up again, being reunited with two dear college friends for the first time in three years!

A small taste of the improv singing:

the gangs are deciding my DOOR COLOR

Happy Monday! I will be posting a little bit about the wedding I went to this weekend later. Right now I want to share a revelation with you. For a long time I have been thinking about wanting a bright front door, but have been unable to decide on a color. I love red doors, but with the local gang activity, I don't think it's the wisest choice (you may think I am kidding, but being that our personal garbage can has been tagged, I know the silly gangs think they are welcome to our property). That also means blue is out because I think that's another gang color around here. I was thinking fuschia, but I know it's a color I would get sick of looking at... then I thought maybe Kelly Green. I was still considering that when I saw this photo on Four Walls and a Roof:

YELLOW! I love yellow and never seem to tire of it... yellow could be a definite possibility. I am seeing great potential there. And with the mix of white and gray (also color favorites), I can see myself living in that photograph... Loving it. Okay. I just had to share. : )

here comes the WEEKEND!

via Samantha Lamb

My plans are as follows:

a.) going to see UP with hubby this afternoon-- very excited about this... bringing a hanky

b.) watching my sister's college singing ensemble tonight

c.) saying goodbye to my little sister as she travels back to her SoCal home-- sadness to follow

d.) driving to SoCal tomorrow for my college roommate's wedding... gotta love I-5

e.) driving back to NorCal early Sunday morning

f.) sleep-- hopefully there will also be sleep in between some of the aforementioned activities

What are your plans?

the SELBY

I just discovered The Selby through Teegan Photography's blog. Todd Selby has entered artist's lives and photographed them for all to see. I love how nothing is perfectly staged and how he captures what their spaces actually look like. Here are some of my favorites...

Philip Smiley & Abigail Smiley Smith's garden:

Matthew Eikelberger's everything:

Jennifer Earle and Mike Gabel's bathroom:

Bill Gentle and Fanny Bostrom's breakfast nook:

Sebastien Guadard's bathroom:

Adam Wallacavage's kitchen:

Cindy Greene's... well, everything:

I could go on and on, so I will stop now. Each home and workspace is so unique and interesting. I love when a home perfectly reflects the owner. So much to take in!

Note: All of the houses that I chose are clean of any nude art, but some of the others contain images you may not want to see, so beware.

LIROLA envy

Oh yes. My closet needs some of this.

If I'm not mistaken, yours does too.