me again...

productive? maybe not. I was monkeying around in the living room and thought I'd show you what I'm up to and how things are shaping up.

First, I want to let you know that the very first picture I took to show you the new look was a little misleading. It was taken from the foyer, looking into the room. It made it appear that it was one long room...it is just a room that's open to the foyer but defined by some columns.

Anyway, this is more like how it really looks.

Isn't this the cutest little house? It reminds me of Snoopy's house and how I used to draw that same picture of Snoopy reclining on top of it over and over. I think that was 1980. I like that memory.
See this chandelier lamp?
For years now I've been obsessing about making one. I'm not 100% happy with how this turned out...I'm thinking I might paint the chandelier and the bridge lamp part the same color to make it more cohesive. I first saw the idea in a Nell Hill decorating book and knew instantly that I wanted one. I searched high and low and never found one that either I liked or could afford. My friend Irene donated the bridge lamp part and I bought the little chandelier from Walmart for about $30. The prisms are all plastic...maybe someday I can dress it up with real ones. For now though it'll have to do.

I bought these chairs YEARS ago when nobody knew a thing about ebay. Hundreds of these chairs were being sold in pairs from some dealer who bought the lot from the Ritz Carlton. I think they were $60 for the pair, including shipping.

I'm thinking of tipping my hat to the wood stain and painting them a happy, surprising color. Perhaps periwinkle. I'm still thinking of that periwinkle/red combo that the rooms at the Metro were sporting. So fun.

And these bare windows? Hello, neighbor.

We are planning to cover them with plantation shutters. Rich was all onboard until he saw the price. I have some work to do there. The poor dear's eyes turned into dollar signs just like on the cartoons.

Also inspired by the decor at the Metro Hotel, I decided I absolutely needed to dress the windows in floor to ceiling drapes. When I couldn't find my dream, red curtains, in the length and shade I needed, within my price range, I decided that I liked the idea of keeping it all light and bright and opted for Ikea's grommeted drapes in ivory. The quality is surprisingly good for the price...and you can hem the length to precisely what you need using the hem tape they conveniently include. We installed their curtain wire to hold them up. The whole contraption fell on us 4 times but I do think it's up there for good now. We must never, ever let Rich catch us playing hide and seek behind them though. But really, is there a better hiding spot in the world?

Can you tell how giddy I am today? Due in part to an overdose of caffeine this morning supplemented by motivation to get stuff done, but mostly because I'm feeling so very excited about my beautiful life and the sweeties that are about to fill every square inch of it. Can you feel the excitement? Sometimes it's happy excitement....sometimes it's panic. Yesterday panic. Today sheer excitement.

Let me get my hiney in gear and tick some of these things off my list, for crying out loud. I'll check in again after the weekend to show you pics from the hoedown.