I Love Shopping...

I do.  I love shopping, I just can't help myself.  But lately, I've been so good at just "window" shopping.  I haven't been going crazy spending money; I'm giving myself a budget of $100 per week for spending (that includes gas and groceries) so if I want to buy a big purchase I need to save money for a little while in order to purchase it.  I'm putting a certain amount of money away per month in order to reach a goal that I have in my mind for what I want in savings for our future.  Wow, I'm getting so old!  And so far, I have to say that I've reached that goal for January and February; I'm pretty proud of that.

Now that we have our desk complete

(although the office itself is definitely not, so don't mind the horrible pictures), I'm looking to find a new desk chair.  I thought that the hubby might be attached to the chair he had but then he let me know that it was a hand-me-down so if I wanted to change it, I could.  Yea, shopping!

Unfortunately, these are two of the chairs I was looking at from Ballard Designs.  Initially anyway.  But then I looked at the prices and realized that it's just unrealistic for a desk chair.  I mean seriously people, $500-$700 for a desk chair? I mean, yea they're cute but I'm pretty sure that they're also not worth it, unless you're an executive sitting your behind on that chair all day (what am I talking about?  I'm sure CEO's have chairs worth thousands of dollars! But still, it's expensive for us working stiffs!).

So, Mom and I made trip over to HomeGoods today in order to find a chair that works for the room.  I don't want to go too dark because the room is dark but I didn't want to go light either.  Unfortunately, the one chair I did like had a leg on it that was glued together; I refuse to pay $200 for a chair with a broken leg (even if it's fixed!).  I took some pictures of some ideas for the office, but I'm still not settled.

Let me know what you think... the desk chair doesn't need to have wheels (we'd actually prefer without wheels because of the rug), I just want a comfy chair for us to settle into when we're doing our Rosetta Stone...

I think the one is too feminine and big and the other matches the curtains too much

Too bland?

And these were the lights I was looking at... cute little lamp or traditional desk lamp?

Or should I keep looking? The longer I put it off, the more money I save.  A win win in my book.  But I do want to see the finished product sooner than later.

No Need for the Radio...

I love days with my mom.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I would finally buy the new desk for the office that I've been telling my hubby I was going to get him (for at least 4 months now).  Right now he's using my Grama's old desk, but unfortunately it's a little too small to hold all of the stuff that needs to be held by a modern day person.  I love the desk and I'll continue to use it in the spare bedroom, but he really needed something bigger to hold his computer.

I found this computer on Home Decorators.

I love this store but it was only recently that I found out that they actually have locations that you can go to!  All this time I thought it was only an online outlet... so I had to check it out.  Unfortunately, our "local" store is an hour and twenty minutes away, but I had to go for it...  

My other buys from the online store turned out to be a lot smaller than I hoped for; sometimes you just fall in love with a look online and you forget to look at the measurements.  This has been my problem when I order things online without seeing them.

So, I asked my mom if she'd take the trip down with me (secretly, I knew she'd say yes, she just loves me) but traveling down to the store, we were hit by a tad bit of traffic—OK, lots of traffic!  It amazes me that people can't understand the concept of merging or how to get off on a their exit without slowing down to a measly 10 mph... it never fails that I get stuck behind the person who loves to tap their breaks too.  Fortunately, I brought my mom with me for the ride, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have been screaming at the Garmin and screaming at every idiot driver next to me and in front of me.  Moms have a  great calming affect.  I've got her hooked on HGTV too, so I think she actually loved the idea of going to a home decorating store... now we both just can't get enough.

I love the fact that when my mom's in the car, I never need the radio on.  I can talk to her about everything and I always know that she's going to take everything I say to her to heart and she never judges me on my thoughts or my feelings... Isn't that exactly why mom's become our best friends?  A mom is just meant to be your bouncing board and your confidant for life.  And since we were stuck in traffic we were able to talk for a good while about everything and nothing.  Sigh.

So we finally get to the store, after constantly watching the GPS arrival time climb and climb and taking a few wrong turns.  We walked into the store (almost slipped in on the ice) like kids at a candy store.  It was glorious; mostly because I had to pee.  Then I was able to take in the furniture.  It was even more glorious.

We started looking around and I fell in love with an oversized chair that I won't be able to have.  

Sigh.  The one bad thing about having another half is having to consult with him about purchases!  Just kidding hubby—I swear!  But I do love this chair; it's one of those that you can curl up in the fetal position in—how fantastic for reading!

After looking around and enjoying the entire store, I started realizing that the piece I came for wasn't there!  Two hours of bumper to bumper traffic and I walked out of a fantastic store with nothing!  But I did order the piece for shipping to the store; that saves me $70 in shipping!  Thankfully, I found a desk with the exact same dimensions so I know how big the desk is, at least this time around I won't be shocked by a piece of furniture being too small; the size is just perfect.  I can't wait to see it in the office.  Hopefully it looks fantastic.  Either way, I had a great time talking with my mom; I love having her by my side.  Mom's really are the best gift that God ever gave us—that and the time he gives us to actually know our moms as a person and not as just "mom."  We might have hated every minute of the traffic jam of life we dealt with today, but I'm pretty sure we enjoyed every minute of it.  In a few weeks we'll get to enjoy decorating together too.  Thanks Mom!

Kitchen. Done...

I cannot even explain to you about how happy I am to finally post this:

Our Kitchen, is finished!

Ever since we bought our house in July of 2008, we noticed something about the kitchen that we hated: the sink.  It was a double, stainless steel sink that was all bent around the edges; it looked crappy.

We decided that we weren't always going to be able to handle its crappiness and we would have to change it.  That time finally came around the last week of August of this year; we bought a sink from Lowes and decided to have it installed by them.  After they came to measure and said everything was a go, we set up the date.  The date came and the installer magically came to the conclusion that it wouldn't work.  Our last sink was rigged into a hole that was cut too large into our crappy laminate countertop.

  

Great.  So our little weekend project turned into what I like to refer to as 

The Weekend Project from Hell!

So our choices came down to these:

1) We buy new cabinets for under the sink

2) We buy new countertops

WHAT!?

Either way, our little weekend project that we thought was going to cost us a few hundred dollars, turned into a project that would cost us a thousand or more.

We decided that we would no longer work with Lowes and would go through my Uncle's business, Neversink Lumber.

The hubby and I never planned on living in this home forever, so we didn't think that the Corian or granite options were good ones for us.  For our tiny kitchen it would cost us over $3000 for either option; it just wouldn't be worth the investment.

Thankfully, I saw a great high end laminate version at my cousin's house and thought that it would be the perfect solution.  I'm pretty sure that I'll take a $700 option versus a $3000 one any day.

After months of this garbage, the laminate people called Wednesday at one in the afternoon to let us know that they would come the next day, Thursday, to install the countertop.  Problem is, we'd have to have our old sink and countertop uninstalled before they came.  

Ridiculous!  Talk about great timing!

Thankfully, my brother-in-law, who was sick as a dog, came on Wednesday to take the old out; my mom came over to help.  I wasn't sure they could handle it without the help of my massive muscles, so I escaped from work for 30 minutes in order to help.

I'm not going to lie: when the new countertop was installed, I was disappointed.

It didn't look like what I ordered.  But then again, I guess when you look at a little tiny square, there's pretty much no way to see how it would look when it's on a large scale.

Now that it's installed with the sink and new faucet, I think it looks fabulous!

Does that make me crazy?

I'm pretty sure that I'm happy with the choices we made.  Unfortunately, I had to paint the edges where the old countertop was; I'm still not a big fan of painting.

But, I love it.

Unfortunately, we still haven't paid for it.

I'm just so thankful that our kitchen is finally done.

My Family Time...

I know I've mentioned it time and time again, but I love family time.  I was so excited to have my brother come and visit a few weeks back.  We made a plan to make it into Manhattan to see a show with my mom and his buddy, but I have to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see Avenue Q .  But that's exactly what we were heading down to see.  To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed it.  It was edgy and completely not politically correct and I loved every minute of it.

We also walked around through Macy's and through midtown.  I've never been a big fan of midtown, but we still had a great time.  The crazy part is, Macy's was already decorated for Christmas, even before Halloween hit.  Retailers are going overboard with the holidays!  I love Christmas just as much as the next person, but October?  

Have to say, it was still pretty to look at.

Selfishly, I also needed some help hanging some pictures and he has always had a knack for that sort of thing; he enjoys it, so it's not like I just used him for it.  The hubby and I have lived in our house since July 2008 and we really haven't been on top of hanging pictures or getting things on the walls.  We've been doing it slowly, but our stairway has always been left bare.  Until now...  

Our New Linen Cabinet

I love the way that it came out; everything is mismatched and I love the style of it.  I just can't believe that we finally have photos up on the walls!  It feels great and makes the space feel more homey.  Two and a half years later, things are finally falling into place when it comes to decorating.  And I'm definitely loving the fact that we have our own photos on the walls.  I love Kodak.com for all our printing!  They can make a canvas picture out of your own photos!  I love it.  I love our little home.  Thanks to my brother for helping make it feel more like home.  We both couldn't believe that we were decorating my home; how weird is that?  When did we get this old?!  Man, how time just keeps flying by...

Decorating for Halloween...

I want to be one of those people that decorates for every little holiday, but I just can't seem to do it. I go to stores like TJ Maxx, Homegoods, and even A.C. Moore, and I see all these wonderful little decorations that are filled with my favorite fall colors, but I just can't seem to open my wallet to pay for it. I see cute wreaths with fall leaves and sunflowers and I grab it and put it in my bag, but then I look at the price tag: $19. Why can I pay $200 for a piece of furniture, but when it comes to a $19 wreath, I can't seem to do it? So I put it back on the shelf and keep saying, "maybe when it goes on sale." Then at least I'd have it for next year, right?

Maybe it's because it's just me, the pup, and the hubby in our house. Maybe it's because in two years, there have been absolutely no tricker treaters that come to our door. But who would I be decorating for?

I always love decorating for Christmas, but it's Christmas! We actually have people stop by and even if we didn't, it's Christmas! I have a really hard time taking down my Willow Tree Manger, so it's usually up until February...

So tell me, does it change if you become a mother? Is that when you want to decorate for every holiday?

I see these decor bloggers decorate to the nines for every holiday and I think, I should do that when (insert holiday) comes around. But I never do.

So until I become motivated to decorate for the holidays, this is how far I got this year...

Now isn't that the cutest six cent pumpkin you've ever seen?

Something New for the Bedroom?...

Now, I'm not looking to change things with the hubby in the bedroom, I'm looking for a change for the seasons. The bedroom needs a new look! I was one of those kids who constantly changed her bedroom around and was never happy with the results, so then I'd get my family to help me change it around again. I always liked the change. It felt like my space and I could do whatever I wanted with it. It was great.

Now that I'm an adult, I have a house that I can constantly change around. I love it! But when I was a kid I didn't spend any money, I just moved things around. Now that I have a cash flow at my fingertips, it's hard to not want to go spend money and change things up when I get bored with a look. I'm trying really hard to not constantly spend money, but just have a few different things for the seasons. I said I'm trying, but I really don't know how successful I'll be at it.

Case in point, our bedroom. Right now it has a lovely light duvet on. It's almost October, I need a change. But the change we have is a brown comforter that has a subtle damask pattern on it.

It's very nice, but I'm already bored with it because our room is so dark to begin with. So these

are my options. I will either buy this beautiful patchwork quilt from Potterybarn

or this blue one

images courtesy of Potterbarn.com

I think either way I'll keep the brown on too. It's just a matter of taste. I've always wanted to make a patchwork quilt, but that never happened. Maybe one day, but definitely not one to fit our king size bed! I just don't want the room to feel overwhelmed.

Which one would you choose? I need a change! Or if you have a better money saving option, I'm always game for that too, I'm sure my hubby and my pocketbook would thank you!

100th Post...

I'm actually pretty excited that this is my 100th post! Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and I stop writing, at other points, I want to write post after post, so I'm a little surprised I've arrived at one hundred... Yeah me!

My New Curtains from Pottery Barn and New Lamp Shade from Lowes

As I'm laying here in our living room in our beautiful home, watching our little rugrat try to play with my hubby, I can't help but think of how blessed I am. People are constantly asking me, "how is married life treating ya?" and I can't help but smile because our life together is pretty damn great. It's not perfect, but it's definitely our perfect. We have a great house, a great puppy, and a great family. We're lucky enough to have jobs that allow us to live in the manner we're accustomed to, even if at times we want to tear our hair out of our heads because of how crazy they can be. We're lucky enough to go on week long vacations, weekends, staycations, and be able to spend time together whenever we get the chance.

We were going to head to the fair today, but opted for a day on the couch watching the Yankee game and then headed to Lowes...

I'm pretty sure my hubby regrets letting me go to Lowes with him. I was getting cabin fever watching Nick Swisher, I mean the Yankee game, and I couldn't help myself once I walked into the store. New outlet covers, new flush ceiling lamps, a new lamp shade, a bunch of little things, and new door handles. For every door in the house.

Now That is A Lot of Doorhandles

Out with the Standard Contractors' Gold Handles, in with the New "Antique" Ones

We had lightbulbs, cleaning supplies, deck cleaner, cabinet door pulls... Yup, I was the annoying person in the only open line with a cart full of stuff. The one everyone hates until a new line opens up.

I look around our house and it feels like home. It's not huge, it's not small. It's like the perfect middle ground. I'm finally happy with the way the house is coming together when it comes to my decorating too. I'm just really looking forward to our new sectional and "man chair" that will be delivered in about a week from Macys. Our first go around for living room furniture didn't hold up as well as we would have liked it to, and, after living in our house for a good stretch of time, we realized that the sectional we have is a little too big for our space. So we downsized, but went with a better version. After a hectic two hour drive (I forgot the GPS), my mom and my hubby and I spent a whole afternoon at the Macy's Furniture store finding the perfect couch. The "man chair" is a compromise since I have my chaise lounge at the end of the sectional, I like the look enough of the leather recliner, but I'm scared that the hubby will end up sitting in his man space instead of cuddling with me on our new couch. He's promised that the man chair won't be sat in unless I'm not home. Now, that's love. Our "old" sectional will be put into our finished basement, that will hopefully turn into a real room once my brother comes and picks up our old dining room table that has found a home down there. Then, I'll finally be done. Right? Or is a home one of those constant things... Whew, I'm exhausted!

But then again, since I'm almost finished, my best bud has purchased her first home! And she needs some decorating help and I'm definitely up for the challenge! Even though it means leaving my hubby at home, since she had the nerve to buy a house in FLORIDA! Mmmhmmm. But I love her anyway and I'm always willing to go buy home goods! I can't wait!

The new furniture arrives a day after we come home from Niagara Falls so I'll have lots of photos to post. But this one is to my hubby for understanding me and letting me make our house, our home, with no questions asked. And so you have it in writing, the next time you want to buy something expensive hubby, I'll never question you again. Especially if it happens to be a professional camera.

Good Things...

You know that old adage, "nothing in life is for free" ?- Well, it may be true, but every once in awhile you get a really good deal. Sometimes, good things in life really do come for free, even if there are some stipulations.

A couple of weeks ago I was really randomly checking out craigslist just to see what was new with the site. Now, when I was in NYC, I checked out craigslist frequently. For jobs, for stuff. Sometimes, just to pass the time because it was the "in" thing to do at the time. After moving back upstate I really haven't looked at the site for years. But for some reason I just decided to check it out. Lucky me, the first time I ever really used the site, actually paid off for me. I went under the category of "free" just to see what came up and there it was, a 1907 Gordon & Son piano. I really couldn't believe it. In the picture the piano looked like it was in pretty good shape and the family was giving it away for free, just so they could "reclaim the space." I couldn't believe it. It had to be too good to be true right? Well, I emailed the poster and to my surprise I was quickly given a response back, that yes the piano was still available and it was, indeed, free. The only stipulation was that the piano had to be moved by professional movers because the owners didn't want their hardwood floors ruined. So, I called movers and found that it could be done for $250. After checking out the piano with my hubby and seeing that the piano was in really good shape, we decided to go for it.

Now, you may be thinking, "you play piano?" — well, not exactly. I know the keys and I know how to get around on some notes, but I do not play per say. However, I'd love to learn a bit more and the hubby and I have both decided that music is very important to our future child. Yup, child. Now you may be thinking, "whoa, you're pregnant?" Nope, we're not pregnant, but one day we would like to be. Possibly. Either way, it's always been a dream of mine to own a piano. And even if we have to restore it eventually, it will be way worth the price tag of zero dollars. Well, $250 if you really want to count the movers. But it's been well worth the journey. Now I find myself looking at craigslist a little more often, just incase there are more free deals out there. I still can't believe that I have this great piano in our basement. I love to go down and play around. It would be great to hear a little one on there one day. Maybe they could actually play play, not play like I play— like a rooster pecking for food...

Another Look...

So I've made some progress on my Should Do List.

• I made some phone calls.
• I put away the laundry and tried to get the closets into some kind of order.
• I shoveled my car out and shoveled around the hubby's spot and I cleaned off the front porch.
• I cleaned the bathrooms (although the upstairs one is waiting for the renovation to be done until I do a complete cleaning).
• Updated our scrapbook of love (great name right? haha)

Now all I need to do is take that jetted bubble bath and catch up on my reading. Although there is this little nook at the corner of my side of the couch that needs to be organized. It drives the hubby nuts, but it's mostly my magazines and mail. Hopefully catching up on my reading will solve the problem...

So my brother has informed me that my dining room needs a little bit of a change. Not a drastic one, but one that he thinks will make an impact. He thinks I should change my pantry cabinet to the other wall or kiddy corner it. Which look do you think is best?

Here's a view of it against the window wall

Here's What it Looks Like From the Side

Here's What it Looks Like Kiddy Cornered

And Again From the Side

And Here's An Up-close View of Our Pretty Chairs

Let me know. I'm all eyes.

Decorating and Those Short Shorts...

I love decorating our home. I can't help myself when there are sales at places like Homegoods and TJ Maxx. When I was younger I used to shop for clothes. Tons of clothes. Clothes that I look back on and wonder, "what the hell was I thinking?"- I was the queen of graphic tees and everything Abercrombie & Fitch. When I started to lose a lot of weight in high school I wore short shorts. I still look back and wonder how I was let out of the house in those short shorts. I put on those barely theres a few months ago once I accomplished my weight loss goal and found out that I fit in those size six A&F shorts from when I was 17. Oh yea, I fit in those yellow shorts and felt like a million dollars. I met my ultimate goal. To always be able to fit into these shorts, is my way of measuring my health and success. But wow, are they short!

Hubby says they look great. But then again, I believe he thinks I would look great in a pair of oversized sweatpants and his old t-shirts. Actually, he tells me that he loves me in those exact things because that's my normal garb for sleeping. He is pretty amazing.

Back to decorating. I've been looking for an entryway table for months now and I haven't found anything that has really caught my eye. The things I have found are in the price range of $400. A price I'm not really willing to spend for a table that will most likely just collect our keys. So I've held off the need to just buy something already. I'm glad I did. Yesterday I headed into TJ Maxx and found that they've expanded there home decor section. Although I still like to randomly buy clothes (albeit a lot cheaper than the clothes I wore in my teens), I was thrilled to see more stuff for the home. I found a table I loved, but it was with a brown finish. I thought to myself, "only if this was in black, I would totally buy it!" Then I turned around and found that it was indeed in black! ChaChing!!!! For $79 I purchased this amazing little table.

And after struggling to fit it into my trunk and then successfully in the passenger seat of my little two-door Civic, I finally was able to bring this treasure home. Into the kitchen entryway it went. With my brand-new tea set placed on top and my mother's pitcher and flower bud vase, I am happy to say that I have the look I was going for. Our house is finally starting to look like a real honest to goodness home. I finally have the little nooks and crannies coming together so each little corner of our house is feeling like us. With a collection of things from my mom and my grandmother, plus little finds that I've been able to obtain, it finally feels like ME; the combination of all things woman from our family.

My mom also gave me this vase that matches the pitcher, bud vase, and bowl (that's in the center of our dining room table).

For Christmas, she had the flower shop that we used for our wedding (and every other occasion) put silk flowers into it that are an exact replica of my wedding day bouquet. This is one of the best presents ever. And the red candy jar next to it is a gift from my brother. When I was a kid my grandmother had a dish exactly like this. For a wedding present he found one at an antique shop. It was a perfect gift. I love these things. They remind me of being in my old home when I was a kid. They remind me of family. This is another one of those nooks that I can't stop staring at. Reminded how thankful I am for all the things God has blessed us with, I'm off to church. I love our home.