Here's to a more productive 2012...

I didn't get too much accomplished around the new house in 2011. I had big plans, but lacked the drive and energy to get anything major done. I'm not going to make any "resolutions", because I suck at follow through. I am the least competitive person you will ever meet and that extends to personal competition or challenges. I will say that I need to look a few pounds, move more, eat better, and follow-through on projects. I believe these are basically the same things I said last year, but there were a lot of changes in my life in 2011. Hopefully now that my personal life, home life, and work life are seemingly stabilized, I can focus more on myself and the beauty of the small things around me.

I did start the year off on high note, though. Back in June, I talked about a little trip to World Market where I bought napkins to turn into kitchen curtains. I needed eight to cover both windows in the kitchen, but only bought four, in case I changed my mind. Then they immediately discontinued that particular pattern (Tree of Life) and neither store in St. Louis, nor the website had four more napkins. They did however have a 60" x 90" tablecloth, which I snapped up, with the thought I could use the napkins I already owned to make pillow covers for the living room. It all then sat in my "project box" for, ooohhhh, six months. I even bought teal pom-pom trim from Joann's to make the curtains more "curtainey" and to tie the colors in with the dining room more. For some reason, projects involving precise measurements and cutting fabric are very intimidating for me.

Anywho, I finally turned the napkins into pillow covers today.

It was a super-easy, super quick project. I didn't use a tutorial; I simply cut one of the napkins in half, slightly overlapped the pre-sewn edges with the cut sides to the outside, placed the pretty side of the cut pieces against the pretty side of the non-cut napkin, pinned, then sewed up the edges.

Ta-Da.

Only problem?

They overlap completely, but only about an inch and after a teensy bit they start to pull open. I need to get a couple of buttons that coordinate and learn how to use the button-holer on my sewing machine. Maybe I'll get that taken care of by next January... lol

I'm linking up my pillow project over at Loribeth's blog Small Moments. Come check out the other "Shared Moments" posted.

Have you made pillows out of napkins? Do you prefer to use a zipper when you make pillows? Have you gotten any projects out of the way this year, yet? What resolutions do you have this year?

January's Goals

 At the beginning of the month I set some January goals.

January Goals:

Hang the gallery wall.  Nope. In fact this is what the television wall looks like right now. 

We hooked up the surround sound system upstairs so we could have the PS2 and the Wii hooked up at the same time and now the optical cable isn't flexible enough to remount the t.v. flush to the wall. Um.... Boo.

Hang art in the bedroom. It's been sitting on the dresser for 4 months now...  Yay!

Do Jenny's "111 things in 1/11" challenge.  Another Yay! I managed to clear out 147 items!

Make a new coffee table/ottoman for the living room. Um, no. Not even close.

Make the leopard pillows I talked about last month. Nope.

 Eh, I didn't do so great.

 Oh and it only took me three weeks to kill our new plant friend.

 It doesn't look as bad in these pics as in real life, but it's totally and completely dead and I have no idea how. I followed the directions exactly. Meh.

On the positive side, our Paperwhites bloomed.

And boy, are they lovely.

BUT, they smell like ass. Seriously. The Mr. says they smell like manure, but manure smells like cookies compared to these. I would rather my entire house smelled like a farm in the heat of summer than these flowers...  Ugh. They are disgusting. Repugnant. Blech.

How are your 2011 goals coming along so far?

Week #4: 111 Things in 1/11

It's the 4th (and final) week of 111 Things in 1/11, hosted by Jenny at Words on Wendhurst! I missed last week, cause I'm lazy... So let's see if I reached the goal of 111 items, as of Week #2, I had 69 items.

2 lampshades
1 drawstring bag that held lime green jersey sheets, which we no longer have
1 printer cord for a printer we also no longer have
1 pair of headphones
1 empty shoebox for shoes I no longer own (I'm sensing a pattern here)
36 red, white, and blue jelly bracelets
6 silver toned bangles
3 plastic bangles
1 blue faux-snakeskin bangles with rhinestones
1 red Lucite bangle
1 stainless Guess watch
2 belt buckles, again for belts we no longer have
2 sets of lace drapes and tiebacks I removed from our rented house and forgot to put back up (why did these even get packed?)
1 lace valance with geese and hearts (also removed from the windows at our rented house)
1 tourist-ey picture frame from Cozumel
2 crappy clear plastic hangers
1 pair of shorts from AE that I will never again fit into
1 crappy kitchen mandolin (my parents got me a new one for my birthday)
1 VHS copy of What Dreams May Come (Have you seen it? If not, you totally should, it's amazing.)
1 winter beenie with skulls on it
1 bottle Aldo synthetic leather protectant
1 pair of gray dress pants from The Limited
3 wine bottles I was saving for Halloween and didn't utilize
4 random Christmas cards from years past
2 awesome rubber dragon/gargoyle toys (unfortunately the rubber dry rotted and is sticking to everything and the stuffing is exploding from them or I would keep them cause they rock)
1 unused composition book that has water damage


147 Items!

Yay! I didn't think I'd make it since I skipped last week, but that just meant I had to break down and get rid of more crap this week...

What have you been editing out of your life?

Week #2: 111 Things in 1/11

I went through a few more boxes in the attic that never got unpacked when we moved and unearthed quite a bit of crap.

1 pair plaid pajama pants
1 J. Crew shirt (with a hole *sniff*)
1 freebie Jaegermeister shirt
1 pack razor refills that don't fit the Mr's razor
1 plaid sweatshirt
2 fishnet tights
1 fishnet shirt
1 pack polka dot chalk
1 white satin purse with marabou trim
1 vintage poncho-shirt found in the attic of our old house
1 roll marble patterned contact paper
1 bottle Fresh Clover scented room spray
1 sunglass bag
1 mini Maglight
2 patent belts
1 empty ring box
1 ugly bronze purse
1 large unused journal
1 pkg. SMELLY Purple Haze incense
1 rusted paint can opener
1 college issued Debit card
1 purple Q20 game
1 blue white-out tape-thingie
4 key chains
1 butane lighter
1 True Turquoise paint tester
1 pair Limited pin-stripe pants
1 bag balloons
1 Goldie pin
1 pair ruffled (unworn) underpants
1 self-tie belt from a shirt I no longer wear (or own)
3 pairs old underpants (ew)
1 empty travel laundry spray
1 Glade plug-in
1 pair safety glasses


42 items this week!! Much smaller items, but all completely useless.

69 items so far! Check out everybody else's crap at Words on Wendhurst and join in the purging fun!

Bye Bye Black Thumb

I told you guys one of my goals for the new year is to "Keep some plants alive". I figure I should give you a little background and some pics to base progress on, right?

We did not have a single plant inside our old house. In two-and-a-half years. Hell, the only plants we had outside were shrubs and the Hostas that were so hardy even I couldn't kill them. Not that I tried. I did nothing to anything on the exterior of the house. We were renting and I figured there was no point. The house sat back off the road and the only neighbors had their backs to us, so I figured why waste my money... I did trim some of the bushes, but that was it.

When we looked at this house it was May and everything was verdant and beautiful and I figured how hard could it be to keep up with? When the paperwork finally came through and we closed in June, a lot of the plants were gone. Apparently the kids had come and taken whatever they wanted. Classy. So I was left with a few bushes and enough ferns that I felt like we were living in Land of the Lost. I finally dug up all the ferns, planted some Hostas, Creeping Jenny, and Mums, and mulched in late August, or maybe it was September, of this year.

So I have no idea how the exterior of the house is going to look come Spring, beyond knowing I'll probably have to re-mulch. I do plan on trying my damndest to keep the outside plants thriving as well. But I'm really more focused on indoor plants.

I had a fun tree-like plant with a braided trunk and leaves that look like marijuana. ("Marijuana is bad, m'kay?") I loved it and it was super cute.

But it died.

I also still have a fun little Elephant Palm Tree.

But it's looking a little worse for wear.

It had mites! I sprayed it down with soapy water and I think it's slowly coming back to life... Slowly. Maybe. 

My mom gave me this cute little rubber plant. It lived outside all summer long and into the fall. Then there was a freak snow in October and it died too.

 

I brought it inside hoping it would be okay, but alas... 

I have managed to keep this ugly cactus alive. I water it once a week, just a little, and ignore it the rest of the time. Too bad it's not very pleasing to the eye...

So here's my first attempt in the new year at keeping a non-cactus alive. He lives on top of my bookcase in the office/craft room, where he will hopefully get the "medium light" the tag says is required. I bought him on Friday, January 7th, we'll check in on him in February...

I also planted some clearance Paperwhites in the Beast's Feast Bowl my mom got me for Christmas. And I just realized these shots are all fuzzy. Hopefully she'll get me the tripod I requested for my birthday!

We shall see if I can keep our new friends alive. Stay tuned...

Goals... maybe

Okay, so I talked last year about how I am terrible at resolutions, but my main thing for last year was to force myself to "follow-thru". Well, let me just say this: If you stink at meeting goals or even setting them, don't make a ridiculously broad "resolution". Although, looking back at that post, I did make a dent in the specific things I needed to follow-thru with. Let's take a look, shall we:

I need to finish the curtains for our kitchen.  Done.
Make the balloon shades for the dining room. Done.
Put together another bookshelf for the bedroom. Done, but I never blogged about it.

Put together the Expedit for my "office/craft room". Done, but I don't have a pic because that room is ridiculously cluttered and icky.
Lose 20 pounds. Not so much.
Exercise more. Nope.
Paint the bedroom. Done.
Paint the "office/craft room". Nope.
Finally get all the prints and photos framed that I have been buying at art shows for the last 10 years. Partially done, but I haven't hung ANYTHING yet. Well, except the three in the DR.
STOP BUYING MORE CRAP until I finish all this stuff. Um. Yeah right.

So here are my goals for 2011. 

I want to break it down two ways, maybe it will get me motivated if I tackle some smaller, yet high impact, projects first. 

January Goals:

Hang the gallery wall. 

Hang art in the bedroom. It's been sitting on the dresser for 4 months now...

Do Jenny's "111 things in 1/11" challenge.

Make a new coffee table/ottoman for the living room.

Make the leopard pillows I talked about last month.

Broader 2011 Goals:

Paint the basement.

Paint the bathroom in the basement. 

Paint the "office/craft room".

Organize the "office/craft room".

Have the kitchen cabinets painted. 

Keep some plants alive. 

Find a rug for the living room.

Take and show you more pictures of my finished projects (and actually remember to blog about them). 

I'm sure there's lots more, but I can't think of it right now. Let's see how I do February 1st and I'll go from there!

Finally...

I have finished the cafe curtains for my kitchen.

 I just realized that you cannot see ANY details in the pattern. It's dark as I'm writing this, but let me try to get a detail shot....
Ok, here...

 

And wouldn't you know, now that I am done with them, I am bored with them. I have been very inspired by all the linen and burlap fabrics that have been circulating around lately and now I want to do them again in burlap.

(The Old Painted Cottage)

(Making It Lovely)

BTW: Making It Lovely is my inspiration for my living room. I love the way she combines mid-century, modern, and antiques. I even swiped her wall color! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
However, considering it took me 5 months to finish the first set, I think I will have to live with them for at least a few months. I think if I told Mister I wanted to start on a new set he might kill me. hehe.

Resolution Update

A sub-resolution I forgot to mention under the main resolution of FOLLOW THRU:

Hook up the wireless dohickey my mother bought us for Christmas last year

I am happy to say that is accomplished! Yay! We only have ONE phone jack in our whole house and considering the previous owners concreted in the entire ceiling in the basement, running more would be problematic. To say the least. That one jack is in the dining room, behind my bakers cabinet. We have been sitting at the bakers cabinet to use the internet since July... Well, no more. I am currently sitting in my newly pink living room, in a comfy chair. HOORAH!!

Resolution

I don't usually "do" resolutions because I have a difficult time sticking with anything for more than a day or so. I have ADHD and I don't take any meds anymore and I am not going to use it as an excuse to be lazy and scatterbrained anymore. So I have one all-encompassing resolution:

FOLLOW THRU.

On anything, everything, whatever...

I need to finish the curtains for our kitchen.
Make the balloon shades for the dining room.
Put together another bookshelf for the bedroom.
Put together the Expedit for my "office/craft room".
Lose 20 pounds.
Exercise more.
Paint the bedroom.
Paint the "office/craft room".
Finally get all the prints and photos framed that I have been buying at art shows for the last 10 years.
STOP BUYING MORE CRAP until I finish all this stuff.

All of these things fit under the FOLLOW THRU header, because they are all things that should already be done and are not because I am a lazy bastard. So, we'll see how it goes.

On the plus side, I do have the dining room and the living room painted.