How I Cope With Stress

I've got lots of stuff on the table.  Shop to be updated.  Stake Primary Training this Saturday (and we're down a Councilor).  I was asked to do an online mag article - due this weekend.  So what did I do yesterday?

Yup, I rearranged the bookshelves by color!  Totally silly and unnecessary but sooo pretty.  I've seen this and been very disdainful.  My beloved books were arranged like a library - fiction alpha by author, non fiction by subject.  Never would I do something so frivolous as arrange by color.  I then watched HGTV Home by Novogratz last Saturday. 

via Apartment Therapy

I was overcome by color shaded book case lust.  Every day I looked at the bookcases I would think, "that would be pretty".  My book shelves take up about 25 feet of wall and are hard not to see so I was thinking this a bunch. Tuesday night BLHubby was working late and I started to sort and rearrange. I didn't finish until Wed morn.  As to finding stuff, Apartment Therapy's Grace Bonny has a post that changed my ideas.  After all I don't have an enormous building sized library.  I usually rearrange, purge and clean up my bookcases a couple of times a year (sad to say that's usually all that I dust, also) so if it doesn't work, I can redo it.  Right now it makes me happy!  Now back to real work.

Vacation Souvenirs

What do you bring back from vacations?  Are you immune to souvenir buying?  When Best Loved Hubbs and I went to Switzerland and Italy a few years ago the kids commented that we only brought home edibles. It was true.  I bought hot coco mix that we loved when we were in the alps.  We even tried to find a way to duplicate the way they heated the milk with the foamer on the espresso machines that seemed to be in every restaurant.  I also bought Parmesan cheese - in Parma, Italy!  It changed my cheese buying life.  No more dusty stuff in a green container that smells slightly like vomit for us.  The BL MIL and one of the BL Girls and Husband like to find a fridge magnet for each place they visit.  I've  heard of folks who collect sand from each place they visit.  All fun. 

I usually don't look for a specific type of memento and I hate the t-shirt and junk stores that are so common in popular tourist areas.  When we went to Yellowstone Park  I found the perfect item to carry home.  I even got to  meet the artist.


Under the Boardwalk, by James Reed, Artist in Residence, Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park

BL Baby Boy brought the art display in the Old Faithful Lodge to my attention. He liked a print showing some buck deer in velvet titled "Bachelor Pad". I fell in love with this print showing a unique view of Old Faithful geyser.  The artist was a firefighter with the Casper, WY fire department for 25 years and on retirement devoted himself to full time art.  He became an Artist in Residence at Old Faithful Inn in 2003 and has lived and worked there in that capacity every summer since.  Fun gig, huh!  Since I have the ability to do framing I was happy to buy an unframed print.  It traveled home in my suitcase perfectly.  It was not a numbered edition, though Mr. Reed told me he would never do open editions again but it was signed and he then personalized it to me.  I don't know if that is good or not, but it was fun.  Now to find a frame.

The Before: Were I Reveal All, Confess and Start to Repent

I never do before and after shots because I usually just dive in and get to the "after".  That, and because I'm usually ashamed of the before.  Sure, it's easy to show the before when you can blame the old owner, but by now I have to confess that some of the "before" shots I have were things that once I thought to be a good idea.  So I'm being brave and bringing all my vast readership along as I redo the studio.  Sharing may make me become more accountable to get it done.  Here's the BEFORE:

I know, I should have warned you.  The one great principle I've learned from science class and life is that entropy is a true principle.  All the universe wants to become more random and disorganized - starting with my studio.  Before Christmas I see how migrated down stairs to work and then some naughty pixies came and wrecked havoc with the room.  I need to reclaim it. And beautify it, also.  I need to move my work in there.

Things I need for the room -

Clean Out:
You, thankfully can't see the horrific details, but I have too many frames and general craft supplies.  I'm going to purge, purge, purge.  It will be a supper colonic  for the room.  Not very visible is the credenza under the window.  I have it full of fabric and frames (I have a frame problem).  I got this for free in my property management days when a tenant moved out of an office and left it.  It's in great shape - was custom made for the tenant and has an ugly laminate top.  I'm going to paint it with my Annie Sloan Chalk paint in graphite (even the top) and do some kind of cool design and it's going into the BL Baby Boy's room to be used as a dresser.  I'm also getting rid of the drafting table BLHubby gave me.  It's too small and unstable.  I've been using the antique table in the center for a work table and have been toying with turning it into a coffee table for down stairs, get back to you on that.  Bed stays, this is used as a guest room

Flooring:
We have been replacing all the house flooring and this is the 2nd to the last bit of the dark green that was all though the whole house.  It was pretty good carpet but I won't be sad to see it go.  BLHubby and I have laid all the rest in the house so this is the first project - after cleaning out everything!

Bed:
Ana White has a terrific day bed plan with a pull out bed underneath that I think I can do.  When I try to get BL Hubby to make Ana's plans he comes up with his own.  I love BLHubbs the bestest but I like Ana's plans and I can make these myself.  I want to paint it white.

Refresh Storage and Files:
Love the flat file.  Would like another to stack on it.  Would like to pretty it up.  I have some painted metal book shelves on top of it now - Need to keep these.  Need some kind of pretty, more organized way to store stuff on the shelves.

Work Surface:
Need some sort of work surface - wide and easy to clean paint off of.

Stay tuned - and judge me kindly.

Money Is No Object Monday

I love to search the interwebs for the loveliest children's items I can find. Often, these are so high priced that you have to be Will and Kate's future child or Boynce's baby to ever enjoy them.  I don't usually pine for the super lux, so why the love for high end kids stuff? I've decided not to worry about that but love away and share my lust here on Mondays.  Feast your eyes and soul on this exquisite Pirate Ship Bed.

Why do we love pirates?  We don't really want our kids to grow up to be pirates - at least not the east Africa, south sea types.  But we love, love pretending to be pirates. Maybe it's the Peter Pan connection.

This sweet piece of wood working could easily justify it's $12,400 price tag. He'll ship it for free.

It's made of pine and has full extension drawers underneath for toys. You don't have to put your clothes in the under bed area cause you have -

a full chest of drawers at the end.  Also, a crows nest (or a ship lookout area, thingy - I love pirates but I'm not nautical). This is made by Asa Conant in Rydal, Georga.  His Etsy Shop, shows he's pretty handy with tools.  It needs a better colored room and bedding.  While I'm dreaming, lets fill the barn loft with 3 of them.  What a perfect place for cousins.  They could stay there forever.