Laundry Room

I don't have a "Laundry Room" per se. I have a wall of the basement that houses the washer and dryer, the washtubs, and the pump for the cistern. We inherited a washer and dryer with the house. The washer was probably from the late 70's/early 80's, but the dryer was original to the house. Yup, our dryer was almost 60 years old! Holy crap. I didn't even realize that until I just did the math. It was a condensation dryer, which basically means it got the clothes so hot that the water evaporated out of them and pooled in a tray underneath, which them had to be emptied. Not good for our clothes, and not good for me. Or our energy bill.

While the general attractiveness of the basement has not changed, my new washer and dryer pretty it up a bit.

Mmmm... lovely. I had a massive mountain of clothing to do and within two days of getting these bad boys, I was done!! Now I feel like I have already posted about this but I cannot find it.  So, I guess you will just have to see my lovelies again... They were waaaayy too expensive, but they get the laundry done quickly, they look fab, and they do anything I could ever need them to do. (Besides fold my clothes and put them away.)

And speaking of putting clothes away - I finally got our dresser together last week and look what is now displayed on top of it.

He kept it under the bed at our old house, cause we had carpet. Now we have hardwood floors and he is afraid it will scratch the floor. What about my lovely new dresser? The floor can be buffed out. My cheap IKEA goodness probably can't. I already took a few small chunks out of the front corner of the end-of-the-bed bench thingie when the top for the dresser fell and I didn't catch it in time. Grr. Back to the shotgun though, doesn't it look lovely there? Classy, right? Wouldn't you like a paranoid old man of your very own?

I also started on a project this weekend, but it's not finished yet. Here's a sneak peek.

Grrr...

The computer system at work "updated itself" and I have no access to any "social networking or personal site(s)", which is the main reason I have been M.I.A. these last few weeks. And I've been lazy. But that's nothing new.
Dozer is doing 100% better and doesn't seem to have any lasting effects from his dousing with an "unknown chemical". So that's terrific news. I've decided not to file the claim with Petco, though. It just doesn't seem worth it for a $53 vet charge. It's not like $53 is anything to them, it won't help change their policies or the way they train their staff, so there seems to be little point to the whole operation.
If anyone cares to know, I decided on the brushed nickle for the switchplates, went to Lowe's to buy the rest, and then got tempted (in spite of Kelly's warning) by some lovely white plates. Exactly like the brushed nickle, only white. I haven't tried them yet, but they look pretty scrumptious. I will probably still go with the silver though, cause the white won't look good in the master bedroom and I want them all to match.

Light Switch Covers

Help! The light switch covers in our house are gross, fade-y, yellowed yuckiness. They need to be replaced like yesterday. In the old house I replaced all the covers with lovely chocolatey carved wooden ones which matched the trim, even though we rented.

It made a HUGE difference. I just figured I would keep the old ones and then put them back on when we moved. So that's what I did. But here's the problem. Our wood in this house is not lovely, nor is it remotely chocolatey. It's sort of an orangey blah. Mr.'s mom calls it Honey Oak. I call it Impossible to Match. So my investment plate covers are out the window. Bah.

That decided I need a new plan. Most of the fixtures in the house are brushed or chromed silver/nickle. So I went to Lowe's and they have three options. All of which are going to cost me more than the fabric for my curtains(which I picked, by the way). Grrr. So help me out here:

I think the chrome is just going to be too shiny and a magnet for fingerprints. And let's face it, I am not the most motivated housekeeper in the world, so thinking I'll shine the light switch covers is a freaking joke.

 I very much like this one. Sophisticated and not too grandma or flashy. But I am afraid it won't fit in the spot next to the door, as seen in the next photo.

This one is the closest to the ones in the bathrooms, except they are shiny. I had to shove a bit to get this one to lay flat and screw in nicely. (Insert dirty joke here.) But these don't speak to me and, frankly, they're a little boring. But I'm nervous about fitting the middle one in this space. And maybe boring is best, it is just a light switch plate, after all.

Any thoughts? Did/do your switch plates bother you or am I a little nutty? 

Dozer

So, I was reading NewlyWoodwards and Kim mentioned that a lot of people only blog the good stuff. And she's totally right. People wait until their entire project is done for the big reveal. While those before and after photos are always exciting and fun, they don't always represent real life. Or at least not real life for us. I still haven't finished painting the dining room (it's been a month), I still haven't finished putting together the furniture I purchased at Ikea (also a month).
Reasons? (And some excuses). I posted a while back about all the trouble we were having with our new dog, Dozer. After we got the new crate from his previous owners, it all got better. Well, Wednesday the electrician had to get into our house to install the wiring for our new lift tank for the sewer system. Mr. decided it would be a good idea to schedule a "spa day" for the dogs at Petco, so his mom wouldn't have to deal with them barking all morning. I get a call at 1:15, luckily I take lunch late, stating that Dozer had "attacked" another dog and I had to pick him up immediately. I go straight there, 10 minutes tops, and they tell me I can't have my dog, they called Animal Control. ANIMAL CONTROL! I worked at a kennel for nearly a year, dogs get in fights all the time, we never once felt it necessary to call Animal Control. So, Animal Cntrol shows up, takes my info, they go to give me Doze (I already had Gidge), and the officer goes "What is wrong with his eyes? Is he blind? Did he look like that when you dropped him off?" Um, no. Apparently the sprayed an "unknown chemical" in his eyes to get him to leave the other dog alone. This is what he looks like now.

The vet says he may have permanent damage. My mom's neighbor works at the Humane Society of Missouri and says we should take legal action, because there is never an excuse for them to treat a dog that way. Petco's claims department called me and asked if we want reimbursement for his medical bills. It's all very scary and grown-up.
So while some things are moving right along, others are stunted because I hesitate to leave him alone for extended periods.

What do you think we should do? Demand compensation for his medical bills or just let it go and hope he gets better?

Z Gallerie

This is seriously one of THE coolest things I have ever seen.

But where in the world would you put it?

Before and After

Mister's Great-Aunts chair. (and my baby monkey all cozy... awww...)

Before:

Mr.'s ex-wife's mother recovered the chair sometime in the late 80's, I think. Why would you put such a dull, blah color on such a dynamic frame? Besides the yucky color, there was a large hole about where Gidget's head is from him never using the cushion, some of the springs had sprung, and one of the wooden bracers on the bottom was broken. It was time.

After:

See the seat in the left of the first picture? Mr. likes to be as low to the ground as possible, so he always took the seat off. Drove me nuts! So we had our upholstery lady, Vivian, make the seat pad as slim as she could and still be aesthetically pleasing. It looks a little weird and flat in the photo, but it must be the angle. I was amazed at how it turned out for the price she charged us. I let him pick the fabric, since it is his chair, and I think he did a pretty good job. It is actually a patterned cut-velvet with a mod circles-in-squares design. It clashed a bit with our old walls, but oh well. It will look nice with the paint in the new house!

Fabric Question.

Can I wash Dry Clean Only 100% cotton fabric? Like if I want to make my cafe curtains out of this:



But it says:

• 100% Cotton
• Dry Clean, Do Not Wash

Can I wash it? On delicate? In cold water?