Spring Cure Continues

Good morning! 

I've been up and at it again, trying to get this place 

in order and figuring out where to hang these prints:

I put this one in the hallway - it's a photograph by 

Grumpy George, a photographer on Skye.  

The view is from the Ardvasar Hotel, 

where I've spent many a Friday night playing

pool and chatting up the local farmers.

I can't decide where to hang this one, 

which I bought years ago and absolutely adore:

Sorry these pics are so unclear; 
they barely do it a bit of justice!

There's another framed print, a retro travel poster of 

Quebec City, sitting against the wall of the bedroom; 

I'll find a home for it as soon as our two Pam Carters 

return from the framer and I decide where they will live.

I'm so excited because yesterday when 

we returned from dinner, a package was 

on our front door step: my curtain had arrived!

This curtain matches the ones hanging in 

our bedroom; however this one is not going 

to dress a window, it's going to dress our headboard!

What do you think?

I'm hoping to get started on the project today

but more likely, I'll start it on Saturday.

I took some more pics this morning; I apologize

for the quality but man, it's raining 

cats and dogs and frogs and bats today and 

it's dark and gloomy - not the best the lighting 

for taking After shots but oh well.

Before

After

Before

After

Ok, so only the first two shelves are organized 

but it's a start.  The bottom two shelves will get their turn

as soon as we buy four more place settings of our dishes.

Kitchen Update:

Choosing how to go about it has 

been a constant back and forth, wavering

between painting the existing cabinets or

buying new lower cabinets and putting up 

open shelving to, well, open up the space.

If our kitchen wasn't such a small, awkward size

and if we weren't sticking to such a tight budget,

I would have everything made custom here.

Instead, I'm spending hours trying to figure 

out how to make one miserable corner functional:

Seriously - the drawer can't open unless the oven 

door is down! And while that space measures

38" wide and 26" deep, all of its storage space hidden

behind that little door is inaccessible - talk about a cruel joke!

That's why whoever designed this kitchen 
wins my Asshole by Design award.

What was he thinking?
Ugh, that corner is such a bitch!
We could leave it as is but wouldn't that 
make us Assholes by ReDesign?
Um, no thank you.

On a brighter note, on Saturday afternoon I received a 

$15 gift certificate from Crate and Barrel, for being 

such a "good customer" of their 58th and Madison Avenue store

(you know, the store I window shopped once a few years ago).

By pure chance, we already had planned on being in 

the city the following day... conveniently on 57th and Sutton Place.

Although $15 is barely enough to sway Matty to go out of his way,

I managed to convince him (after a brunch-load of Bloody Marys 

made from the secret family recipe) to swing by and 

lo and behold, we finally used some of our 

wedding gift cards, in addition to the $15,

and bought these (and a few not pictured):

I love them.  

They make me ridiculously happy and will

look fabulous in our pantry... after we shell out the cash

to have it California Closeted (or bootlegged by a 

similar company), that is. I had such fun yesterday rummaging

around the kitchen in search of dry goods (note to self: buy

 more dry goods so four containers can be put to better 

uses than housing bags of tea we don't drink).

Spring Cure

Hi, remember me?

Well, I've been busy the past week trying to de-clutter and organize the house  so its ready for spring.  Even though I've carted crate loads of stuff down to the basement, it still seems like this place is overrun with stuff, stuff, stuff!  I'm trying hard to make it look the way I want to feel: calm, peaceful, and at home.

Although these changes may look minor, they took a major effort.  Here are some before and afters:

Before

To left of the desk was the filing cabinet; 

housed underneath were all of the desk related wires 

(computer, cable modem, printer, lamp, etc) .

After

I emptied the bookcase, put the books in storage, 

and utilized the bookcase to add structure to the hall closet.

I moved the filing cabinet to the other side of the desk, 

removed the silver pulls and added the material to soften it.

I reorganized the pictures on the wall, too.

After

Now, look closer.  This is what took the most time.

I HATE wires and didn't know how to hide them 

but then it came to me: 

Pretty clever, eh?  Nothing a girl and a sharp knife can't fix!

Oh, and then there was the issue of the printer.  

You can't see its former home in any of these pics 

but it used to rest to the left, to the left...

 of the filing cabinet, on the floor,

 directly next to the window.

It drove me CRAZY.

Since we don't print too terribly often,

I decided to go the same route as the wire storage:

Check it out, yo.  

Our printer now lives in the box under the wires.

I know this isn't as exciting as, let's say, 

pics of the kitchen renovation that we

have yet to begin (don't worry, our planning 

is progressing in leaps and bounds) but

it's a pretty big start for me!

Default Fall

I am ambitious to a fault: recently, a crack widened along those fault lines and I fell in.

It seems that I've overextended myself and that, coupled with two weeks of miserable work and weather, was more than enough to split life wide open and suck me into its abyss but don't worry: I'm slowly climbing out of this hole and hope to make it to terra firma by Saturday morning.

That's when my spring break officially begins and to be honest, I'm more than hoping that a weeks' vacation spent organizing my life and relaxing with Matty and Pinks will rejuvenate me to the point of peaceful, pointed productivity.

Until then, I'm trying my best to keep afloat; don't abandon me yet, the best is yet to come.

Tomorrow, I'll take some pictures of the artwork we had framed recently and perhaps you can help me decide where to hang it.  Saturday, I'll be rising bright and early and getting straight to work on my headboard project (after walking to Dames for a scone, of course) and when that's finished, I'm going to continue de-cluttering the house.  I made a lot of headway last weekend; pics to follow.

Enjoy the rest of your week and check in tomorrow; hopefully, I will, too.

Ikea Monkeywrench

IKEA kitchen - Google Sketchup
Originally uploaded by jennyology

Yesterday, we went to Ikea and fell in love with some kitchens.

We've done this before, only to come home and measure and plan and think and give up: our kitchen is very small and seemingly odd sized because we can't ever get the Ikea kitchens to work, despite the combos we try. Yet we always go back and think this time we can make it work.

And then we can't.

Yesterday was no exception: we went, we saw, we loved, we measured, we planned, we finagled, we tried, we hoped.

We almost made one work, too, but when I priced it out the cost was WAY more than their advertised special and about $5000 more than refinishing our cabinets and DIYing the rest according to the plan I made in the post below.

Oh, and yeah - it was almost working but not. And I really like the plan I made below and I want to follow through with it; Matt agreed.
I am positive it's going to be a knock out when it's done.

And with the money we save, we can do SO many things: buy a new flat screen, a MAC desktop for Matt, install hardwood in the bedroom (and maybe in the carpeted area of the living room).

Really, it's a no brainer for us because Matt's handy, I'm handy, and I have a plan.

Our proposed budget for the DIY project? I am estimating that refinishing the cabs, installing new countertops, a new floor, open shelving (I forgot to mention that the other day; I'm glad I'm on the same wavelength as my friend who suggested it) a backsplash and purchasing all new appliances (fridge, range, dishwasher, above range microwave/fan) will cost $2500.

Let's see how close we come to meeting that budget!

It's Just a Spring Clean for the March/April/May Queen

Ok - so I've decided to enter into the Apartment Therapy 2010 Spring Clean challenge.  I love our place but I'm not happy with how much stuff I have; my goal is to simplify our living space over the next two months by decluttering, redecorating and renovating.

I took some before pictures this morning to show you what our 700 sq. feet looks like at present:

This shot is taken from "upstairs" and is of the main living area

(it's a sunken living room... sunken by one little step down)

We bought this cabinet to house our booze and everything 

else we didn't want sitting around cluttering up our lives. 

But then we got married and Matt's mom
gifted us our lovely wedding dishes;

now I want to display all-white everything,
so the rest of this stuff needs a new home.

This wall is parallel to the black cabinet.  

The quilt was stitched by my great grandmother and

I sat in the hot sun at a farm auction
to bid on the dresser years ago.  

Matty bought the wine rack for me when
we first started shacking up;

it matches the rest of the Crate and Barrel
collection he already owned.

Unfortunately, I think we should put the
dresser and wine rack in storage

and purchase one substantial piece
that serves the purpose of both.

 

You can't really see the filing cabinet to
the left of my grandmother's desk; 

even though I bought it, I hate it.  The little bookcase is
Matty's and it's cute but needs an update.

This area needs de-cluttered in a big way however
I do like the wall collage.  That will probably stay.
The desk chair needs reupholstered; so does the flowered chair 

but since Pinks currently uses its back
as a scratching post, I think I'll hold off on that.

These shelves hold treasures quite dear to me
but I hate the display.

And don't you love the gorgeous plant
I placed on the white stand? Um, yeah...

I love, love, love my Anthro lamp shade but
I really need to replace its missing dangle bead.

Just a close up so you can see the book of Dylan lyrics 

that one of my Bffs bought for me back in 1987,

the duck decoy that my dad hand carved, 

the book of Charleston House needlepoint I covet, 

and the pictures I took of the plates that
commemorate America's first baseball game, 

played right here in Hoboken.

This track lighting MUST GO.  It ain't me, babe.

Anyone have a replacement suggestion? If so, PLEASE post it. 

I'm thinking something in the pendant or chandelier arena.

Ok, and now it's time for the big reveal and time 

for you to meet my white whale, my albatross.

Please don't judge us - it was like this when we moved in, 

sans Keurig and wine bottles (a girl's gotta drink).

This is going to be a big project: new appliances, new flooring, 

new sink, new countertops, new backsplash and a custom.

DIY makeover of the cabinets.  Well, some of the cabinets.

Starting above the fridge, we're removing
all of the cabinets on that wall

and around the corner because
they are a big waste of space.

 The ones above the fridge are pretty much
inaccessible without a step stool;

getting rid of them will allow for
the purchase a taller refrigerator. 

The corner cabinet on the top and that little door 

next to the fridge on the bottom are cavernous: 

the only space that's currently usable 

is the space directly behind the door.  

 The ones above the stove are going, too, which opens up

that area to house a microwave/exhaust fan 

which in turn, opens up more counter space.

These are the only cabinets that will remain.

We're not just sanding them down, we're 

refinishing them to a super chic distressed black 

and replacing the solid panel fronts with glass.

Take a look at those cabinets from a different angle so you can envision what I'm about to describe:

because we're getting rid of the cabs above the stove, it's the perfect opportunity to morph these cabinets

(two doors up and down, plus the two pull drawers) from ordinary stock kitchen cabs into a trompe l'oeil work of art.

I'm going to make this area appear to be a freestanding custom-made hutch (that pic is not exactly what I'm going for, but it gives you an idea). Sound crazy?  Don't worry, it's a cinch. Once the cabinets are revamped, I'm going to paint and distress a piece of bead board to the same effect as the cabinets and employ it as the backsplash in that area alone. 


Then, we'll add a distressed piece of butcher block as a departure from the rest of the countertop surface (FYI: we're presently in a heated debate over what material to use as our countertop: Matty wants solid granite, I want custom concrete. Wanna weigh in?). Finally, to pull the look together, we'll add halved faux rounded "feet", which will rest on the floor beneath the bottom cabinet.

And voila - hopefully when we're finished,
we'll have a look that resembles 

this one, which I borrowed from the 
Goddess of All Things Design, 

my idol Layla from The Lettered Cottage.  
Here's her unbelievable kitchen revamp:

Well, that's if all goes well...

I know, it's a lot to tackle in a few months 

but as my IRL friends know, that's how I roll!

I've never made even a singular attempt 

to do anything on this scale 

(unless you count the time I tried to DIY a kitchen floor 

by drunkenly applying peel-and-stick linoleum kitchen tiles)

therefore ANY suggestions/feedback/inspiration 

you can offer is greatly appreciated!  

I invite you follow my journey here at 

LaPointe of It All, as well as over at 

Life As We Blog It .

Who knows, maybe I'll end up 

with my own HGTV show: 

"On Da DIY Fly with A-L-I" !!

Holla back now, ya'll hear?

A Day in the Life of Me

5:20 am: Wake up to this little girl who is playing with her Miss Mousie at the end of the bed

5:30 am: The alarm goes off. hit snooze. Ten minutes later when it goes off again, turn it off, retreat under the covers and check email/Twitter via iPhone until eyes adjust. 

5:50 am: Fall out of bed and head to bathroom.  Decide whether or not to shower: if outfit was chosen the night before, shower.  If not, perform a thorough scrubbing.

6:10 am: Gather up whatever needs to go to school/scoop litterbox

6:15 am: Play with Pinks for a minute or two, apply some last minute makeup, bitch and moan about working, kiss husband goodbye.

6:20 am: Head out the door to begin the hunt for the car and the hourish commute.

7:05 am: Veer off of Route 18 against better judgment for a quick Starbucks fix.

7:15 am: Unlock my classroom and my BFFs room next door.  Leave a scone on her desk.

7:20 am: Sit down at desk and enjoy Starbucks while blogging and checking email and preparing for the day.

8:10 am: Teach.

2:10 pm: Sit down and breathe for the first time all day. Check email again.

3:00 pm: Tutor SAT.

6:00 pm: Start miserable commute home.

7:00 pm: Arrive Hoboken and begin hunt for parking.

7:20 pm: Home. 

7:21 pm: Pour wine.

7:30 pm: Play with Pinks, turn on DVR recorded list, start watching and start blogging/checking email/etc.

8:30 pm: Think about dinner.

9:00 pm: Create something edible out of nothing.

9:10 pm: Greet Matty upon his return home with a big smooch.

9:20 pm: Sit down and eat dinner at table while watching tv (a step up from the couch). Pour more wine.

9:45 pm: Do dishes.

10:00 pm: More internet work and more tv and more Pinks and more Matty.

11:30 pm: Shut down Internet. Pack Matt's lunch. Get ready for bed. Choose outfit for school, down to accessories.

11:50 pm; Crawl into bed and read for a bit.

12:05 am: One last check of email and Twitter from iPhone.

12:10 am: Lights out.

Artichokes for Ashley

My bloggy friend Ashley over at Appreciating the Details 

recently blogged a hot picture of some asparagus, 

so I thought I would try to one up her with some artichokes... lol.

These shots of my Thanksgiving table are for you, Ash!

And while we're looking at decorative veg, here's a pic I took on the streets of Majorca.  

If you grew your own peppers (it could get costly to buy them just for use as decorations), 

I think these would be awesome strung up as garland to decorate an outdoor summer BBQ:

I need to start a collection of interesting vegetable decorating ideas 

because they could give gardening a whole new meaning this summer!