Would I Really Go To All That Trouble? Maybe

Living in campus housing the last four years, I have used a futon as my couch. Granted, it is a nicer style futon with a solid wood frame and a super deluxe mattress. However, it is still a futon. While it is nice and sturdy and there is nothing wrong with it...do I really want it in my new fancy home? Not really. Alan and I have decided to turn the dining room into the t.v. room, and the living room will be our entertainment room. We love having people over and listening to music and hanging out, so the living room will be where that happens. No television for distractions. So do I want the ol' futon in there? Not really.

My mom has offered us her couch, which is only a couple years old. It's beautiful, soft, and oh so comfy. Totally not my style, though. So do I want to go to the trouble of reupholstering an entire couch? I'm okay with small chairs and pillows and the like...but a whole couch? I wasn't really feeling up to the challenge until I found these pieces. It would take me forever to find enough different pieces of rocking fabric to put together like these, but I may just take the challenge. I. Am. Obsessed.

Peace, Love, and So Much Happiness

Tonight Alan and I celebrate our first anniversary. The last year has gone by so quickly, and it has easily been the happiest year of my life. This last year has encompassed so much with doing amazing internships, graduating college, seeing friends get married, and lots of other big events. I am so happy that I got to have him with me. Most of you know that I had to try a long time to get Alan to ask me out. A very. long. time. But I am now able to say that maybe the wait was worth it. He was my best friend, and then I got to have him as my boyfriend. Score.

We tested our relationship early on, with going on a trip to New Mexico the first month we were dating. Normally my buttons get pushed fairly easy when traveling. However, he is by far the BEST person to road trip with. We had a smashing time and now we look forward to the day we get to move to New Mexico and call it home someday. We have done more traveling together since then and they are my favorite times away from home. We have such an amazing time finding odd shops, old churches and zendos, horses on the side of the road, amazing Japanese fusion restaurants, and old town museums. All spectacular vacations.

I had to get used to Alan taking pictures like this.
This is his photo face. Seriously.
Taken in a petting zoo in New Mexico.

How about this photo face? He really does like me, I promise.
Taken at a friend's picnic wedding.
I'm not making this up, guys.
That's more like it.
Taken at the same picnic wedding.
Taken on more travels to Arkansas where we ran around the mountains and through old cemeteries. What a fun trip!

Last summer at a friend's birthday.
At my college graduation last month. And yes, that is a sweet blue wig I have on.

We are quite the pair, let me tell you. We go together like peas 'n carrots. Or peace 'n carrots. I love you Alan, to the moon and back!

Inspiration Board

I am constantly saving photos online of design details that I like in other people's homes so I can remember them later on, and maybe some day soon I will actually put together an Inspiration Board. I like having things set out and organized, so I think I really need to do this to stay focused and not go over board. Here are just a few photos that I have collected with bits in them that I would like to see in our home.

I am fairly good with wiring, and I think with some serious patience and some power tools, I could make this light fixture from antique golf ball baskets, lighting kits and wood.

Again, patience and lighting kits.

Once upon a time my parents owned and ran a newspaper. It was in the 70's, so this style type was used, where they hand pulled every single letter used to print one sheet of the newspaper. We have thousands of these letters in all different sizes and fonts. I need something good to do with them. I just haven't figured it out yet.


Being a practicing Buddhist, Alan tends to like Asian inspired design. Although I am not such a fan of backyard trinkets and what-nots, I really like this. I feel he would like one as well.

This lighting fixture is literally just a pendant lamp that has an old lamp shade frame with stuff on it. I have stuff. I have several old lamp shade bones. This would be the easiest lighting fixture out of all the ones I like.



I am such a sucker for Saris. They are such beautiful pieces of fabric, and are so colorful. I am always surprised how the pricing differs on them. There's a shop in town that sells them varying anywhere from $20 to $2,000 a Sari. Since I would just be decorating with them, my budget doesn't exactly allow me to purchase the really expensive ones, but I love them all.

I had previously planned on a checked kitchen floor...
but I found this striped flooring the other night. Oh, I love.


Just for kicks.

Last night Alan and I had a friend over for dinner. Mary had mentioned wanting to learn more about vegan foods, how to cook a few things, and wanted to learn more about what vitamins and other supplements would be good for her. She brought some wine and after we told her about foods and vitamins, she taught us about wine. We didn't know any of what she told us, so it was an educational exchange that was so much fun! Mary told us that White Zinfindel is like the soda or Kool-aid of the wine world. Its got hardly any wine and is more sweetners and extra junk to give it taste. So, now I know.

I showed her some of my tried-and-true vegan recipes: Mac & Cheez, Spinach Alfredo Pizza, and Avocado/Banana/Date pudding. I tried to take photos as I cooked, so I will be posting them with the recipes soon. Alan and I have been so busy with working on the house that we haven't had much time to cook or eat dinner for the last couple of weeks. It was nice getting back in the kitchen and eating good food, as opposed to our pb&j's that we've been enjoying at the house while covered in paint.

I've been meaning to try out some new recipes for a change of cooking scenery, and I think I've found just the recipe to try out. It looks so incredibly good, I must try to make these Fresh Spring Rolls. Living in the Asian District, there are several Asian grocery stores within walking distance that have all the ingredients listed. If you ever get the chance, stop into the Super Cao Nguyen or China Town Market. Both are a lot of fun to look through, and if you're lucky, Alan would happily go with you to tell you about all the exotic foods and what to do with them. I love going there with him. We always ending up buying the craziest foods, and sharing tons of laughs.

Things That You Don't Talk About at the Dinner Table

Tonight we installed the new toilet. It was fantastic. Maybe not the actual installation part of the toilet was so fantastic (but Alan did an amazing job, though!), but the toilet itself is amazing. On a vacation adventure in Spain a couple summers ago, I was introduced to one of the coolest toilets ever. About 95% of the toilets in Spain (that I used) were all the same kind. They have two flush options. On the top of the toilet there is one button on the left for Number Ones, and a second button to the right for Number Twos. Obviously the Number Two option flushes more water, but the whole toilet is still very water efficient and it is just oh, so pretty. I am getting more and more done on the bathroom everyday. It should be done in about a week! Then on to the next project: helping Alan with the kitchen!

These aren't pictures of our exact toilet, but just so you

can understand how it looks and is set up:

Makin a List, Checkin It Twice!

Both Alan and I have been diligently working on the house, pretty much every single night after work. The kitchen is almost all cleared out now, and even missing a wall! After a leak in the roof a while back, the kitchen is needing a new ceiling. We originally planned on replacing the appliances, putting up a new ceiling, and replacing the flooring. That has quickly morphed into:

1. Replacing the appliances
2. Installing a new ceiling
3. Replacing new flooring
4. Tearing down all the walls to: Insulate the exterior walls and replace the textured walls with flat, smooth walls
5. Tiling and backsplash-ing
6. Repainting cabinetry
7. Adding extra lighting
8. Putting in new cabinetry, sink and faucet
9. Running water lines to the fridge so the Water-in-the-Door feature on our refrigerator will actually work, ha!
   

- and even -

10. Maybe putting bamboo flooring...on the ceiling. Haven't decided on that one yet, just something crazy that I threw out there.

All the rooms have a checklist. The kitchen's is by far the longest. It will take the most time, and the most money. However, as previously posted, Alan and I love to spend time in the kitchen. It will be our most loved room.

I have recently scored us some new things for the house that include but are not limited to: some rockin' storage containers for the kitchen (no really, these are awesome!), accessories, and a new rug for the living room! I got an awesome deal on a rug at Target and now it is anxiously awaiting the day for the floors to be refinished so it can be down and displaying its gorgeousness. As soon as the picture upload function is back up and working, I will post some pictures of my loot.

The First Step Is Admitting You Have A Problem

Hello, my name is Caitlin and I'm addicted to Target. It's true. After making myself stay away from my oft' frequented store, I stopped in the other day. I needed one thing. I came out with too much. Way too much. It was quite the receipt, let me tell you! However, I have received quite a fair sum of money as graduation gifts, and I try to make sure that I buy something in particular when people give cash as a present. I like being able to think back that "Eve got me a beautiful Liberty of London canister set as a present for graduating college," rather than "Eve gave me cash and I got some groceries that were gone in three days." I don't know why, but I have gotten way too excited about these canisters. I cannot wait to have them in my new, beautiful kitchen!

I have been looking for some attractive flour, coffee, and sugar tins to no avail. I found these on serious clearance, and just knew these were the ones I needed.

Kilzing Me Softly

Having a house that has remained the same for the last 30 some years, it is calling me to paint. I previously posted about paint colors, but now am now seriously trying to figure out what will go where. As we have been working, we've slowly done a few things here and a few things there. Every room has seen work of some kind. The bad thing about doing little bits in each room is not being able to see immediate results. I have decided to finish the bathroom first. It is small. It is doable. This shouldn't take me too long. I have scrubbed the tile and flooring until my heart almost burst, I have sanded the built in towel closet, and have cleaned the walls for painting. The other day I began to paint the built ins and the walls with good ol' Kilz primer. I love this stuff. Its the perfect stuff for sealing, odor and stain blocking, and priming of course. Getting clean, white walls up first has already made the bathroom feel clean and a little bit larger. Score. However, today, two full days after priming the bathroom walls and built ins, I have just found some residual paint on me. Two full days and two or three showers later, I still had it on me! It either says something for how good the paint is, or it says something bad about my hygiene skills. I'm hoping I've got both good paint and good hygiene.

Seriously love this stuff.

Stalking Stockings

I am a fan of dressing up. I especially love the style of the 40's through the 60's. Having a grandmother who never got rid of anything, I have a seriously astounding hat and purse collection. Mix a 40's style hat with a pencil skirt and some heels and you have quite a stunning outfit. Somehow, this outfit (which I mix and match quite often) always seems better with stockings. I love the look of panty hose and tights, but sometimes they lack the umph the outfit calls for. Tattoo Sock and More on etsy.com has some amazing options. Check these suckers out!

The scroll work tights are a favorite,

but not as great as the Peacock feathers! In. Love.

DIY Lighting

Being a craft-minded person, anytime I see something unusual, I am constantly saying "I could make that!" or "I could make that and it would look amazing in my kitchen!" both phrases which are finally coming into play with the remodel o' fun. I am one of those people who likes to make things. I am also one of those people who likes light! Lots and lots and lots of light! In my tiny one room efficiency I am currently in, I have five lamps, four overhead sources of light, and one night light. I do not like stumbling around in the dark, and do not like getting dressed in the dark, only to find later that I have two different shades of blue on that don't match at all. I love natural and synthetic light. I will take it in any form. So, in having a kitchen where I could possibly make some lighting for above the kitchen table, I am now deciding if I would like to try to do so. Here are some options that I'm currently mulling over.

Here is the lighting that started the DIY Lighting frenzy.
Its made using a large, perfectly round balloon, craft glue, and yarn or twine.
I love how organic this is.

Here's another version of the same, smaller with holes cut out in the bottom.

These chandeliers are put together using junk. I got plenty of junk in a trunk.

I am a huge sucker for origami cranes.
I figure this could be put together with those, some
pliable twigs and LOTS of patience.


These chandeliers are obviously WAY too big for my kitchen, but oh so beautiful.
It would be the hardest to make, and most time consuming
...but guess what they're made out of???
EYEGLASS LENSES!
Did you know Alan and I both work in an optical shop? Making eyeglasses?
You'd be amazed how quickly we could accumulate say, a thousand old lenses to upcycle.


Isn't it awesome?!?
Some lady's old bifocals hanging in my kitchen.
I can imagine it now!

I'm a Grown Up Now!

My lovely boyfriend has all the patience in the world. Thank goodness he has all of it, because I don't have much. At least he has enough for both of us. He is also a very wise spender, which I am not always. Alan has had a bucket of spare change in his possession for about, um... 8 years! For the last 8 years he has taken the change out of his pocket at the end of the day and tossed it into this bucket. I am constantly sneaking quarters out of my piggy bank, because I have no patience to wait and cash it all in. This week, I took the overflowing bucket to the bank and cashed it in. Can you guess how much 8 years of spare change adds up to??? $684.65!! I could not believe it! So what to do with all that moolah? Funnel it into our house, of course!

This evening Alan and I went to Home Depot to price toilets and sinks for the bathroom. We also checked out a few ranges that we liked. We settled on two gas ranges that were around $1,300.00. Frankly not a bad price for a gas range and large oven. We decided that since the range was such a large purchase, we would wait until after we had the kitchen flooring in, and the oven would be our last purchase of the kitchen remodel. After settling on a toilet and picking a sink and pedestal, we decided to wander down the road to Lowe's to double check on pricing and see if there was anything better we might like. We didn't find any sinks, pedestals, or toilets that we liked, BUT we found an amazing range that was comparable to the ones that we had priced at Home Depot for about $600 less. Here's a link to what our new range looks like, its not the best link, but work with me here, huh? We bought it on the spot. I am a grown up now. It is ridiculous.

And did I mention I graduated from under-grad today? Cum Laude? No big deal or anything. Again, I am now an adult. Ha! Just an amazing day surrounded by those that never forget to mention how proud they are of me, and make me feel way too loved. I am one of the luckiest gals ever. Seriously.

And not that anyone ever checks up on this, but I am currently listening to (and fairly obsessed with): 40 Day Dream by Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros.

Color Me Bad

Do you know that I own two Sherwin Williams color wheels? Each wheel contains every color that they currently sell, which is in the thousands. I own two of them. TWO! Why? I have no idea. Why not! I have forever been slightly obsessed with having color in my home. I have had a yellow bedroom, an apple green bedroom, a red kitchen, a lime bathroom, and on and on. I am currently living in an apartment where we cannot paint. And frankly, I didn't want to. Painting is tedious business. And I would hate to paint it a beautiful color, only to repaint it Chalk White before I leave. So now that I have a house with all white walls, what have I been doing? Daydreaming colors galore. I probably look at those color wheels at least once a day. I need to stop. I am afraid that I will get in the house and just go color crazy and then end up with a 64 box of crayons on the walls. So what to do when you want a grown-up house, with grown up colors? I'm busy figuring that out. In the mean time, here are some photos of color inspiration that make me almost pee my pants when I think how beautiful they'd look in our home.

I love mustard yellows.
The trick is finding one that won't be "Harvest Gold" circa
the 60's and 70's once it is on the walls.

I know this is a bathroom, however this sweet potato/coral color is the main contender for the kitchen. I have chosen a great color similar to this, just a little bit lighter and toned down a bit more, from Glidden's color wheel that I think may work beautifully.

This is the exact color scheme that I will be using in the bedroom. I love the single wall being this beautiful, deep blue. The creamy tan walls help keep it from being too overwhelming, making it just a stunning accent wall.

Although I don't have any walls in mind for this color, I simply love it.

Things I Wish For

I absolutely love living in the Oklahoma City Metro area. There is always something to see, do, explore and experience. However, there are a few things that I wish we had better access to. One of which, is a flower market. There's a great little florist down the way from my work place, but she only sells the typical floral-shop type flowers. I am a wild flower type of girl, though. That girl stopped on the side of the highway picking wild flowers from the shoulder? That was probably me. The girl stealing wild roses from the side of bank on 23rd Street? That was probably me as well. My favorite of all favorite flowers are Ranunculus. These flowers make me swoon. Do flowers make anyone else swoon besides me? I am obsessed with how amazing they are. I. Love. I. Love.

Pearls and Painted Hair

As I grunged my way through sanding, shop vac-ing, and re-painting the bathroom’s built in cabinetry this evening, I realized what a mess I have become. This last week I have consistently been covered in dirt, grime, and now…paint. I expect that I will be quite the hot mess for the next few months as we make our way through the house. Anyway, as saw dust and grimy goodness flew into my hair tonight, I thought about jewelry. Why? I don’t know. Every girl likes jewelry! One of my favorite jewelry designers on etsy.com, Linkel Designs, has some beautiful pieces I would love to be wearing as I continue to paint my way around the home are these, and these, and these, and these.

The prices can't be beat for such pretty pieces. Think I may just need some pearls on as I hammer away at old shelving and other demolition jobs. My grandmother would be so proud that she taught her feminist granddaughter some class. Well, at least she tried...