The wall.

Oh man, this title makes me think of Game of Thrones….and you know how much I like me some GoT! OK, back to what this post is really about……

In our old condo, I had started a bit of a wall collage over our couch. I loved that you could just bring in all sorts of random items, mix ’em all together and have this cool, almost scrapbook type thing on your wall. When we moved into our new home, I knew that I’d def want to do something similar somewhere in the house. Our living room is a funny shape so I didn’t think it’d be appropriate there and I’ve seen many cool ideas on Pinterest for an entry area, but that didn’t feel right either. I finally landed on our hallway/laundry area, which is located smack in the middle of the house. I know, I know….it’s a bit of a weird place to just have your washer and dryer hanging out, but I’ve got plans people, plans.

Wall paper removed, revealing some funky walls.

But until those plans are executed, I thought this wall would be a perfect place for my collage. Like in our other rooms, these walls are wallpapered (yay.) so I began by removing it. Unfortunately, the walls underneath the first section I removed were extremely beat up and rough. No amount of sanding and puttying seemed to do the trick. Bummer. I decided that the rest of the wallpaper was tacked on pretty good so gave all of the walls and wainscoting a few coats of primer in hopes that that would do the trick. I’m toying with the idea of somehow texturizing the messed up wall to help camouflage it, but for now, it is what it is.

I painted the wainscoting with my white semi gloss that I’ve already used all over the house. That darn dark wood ended up taking 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of paint! And lucky me, that wainscoting carries into our kitchen too :-/ I used American White by Ben Moore from the entry and living room for the walls and painting went pretty quick. This paint color showed up super white in the hallway and less grey like it did in the other spaces. I think I’d like to go a bit darker down the road, but this is a good start.

Primed and ready for paint!

Now it was time for the fun part….I gathered up all of my various knick knacks and photos and laid them out on our kitchen floor. I arranged, re-arranged, switched out some photos, arranged some more and I still just wasn’t satisfied. I then realized it was the frame color that was throwing me off more than anything. I didn’t like how there wasn’t enough contrast between the wall color and the white frames. Gawd.

I made an executive decision and snagged my fav framed piece in the house, a Queens of the Stoneage concert poster framed in black and hung it on the wall. Oh myyyyy. So much better! Unfortunately, black frames aren’t in abundance in our house so I had to make a quick trip to the craft store to pick up a few more. For now, I think this will work, but I do plan on adding more fun (and colorful) items to the mix. That or repaint those walls :-/

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Happy Halloween!

Just a few #TBT Halloween costumes for your spooktacular enjoyment – we do this holiday right proper ’round here šŸ™‚
 
Me and smelly rockin our Halloween gear!

Marie Antoinette and Kid Rock 1.

A geisha and a tea party groupie.

A bag-o-jelly beans and Abe Lincoln.

Hard to tell, I know. Disney era Miley Cyrus and Kid Rock 2.

The wolfpack.
 
 
 
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A nod to Nespresso.

I wish I could say this was a sponsored link, like many of my blogger gals have….sigh. One of these days…..



Our most recent pod order – 1 of each!

So yes, this is NOT a sponsored link. I just freaking LOVE our Nespresso machine and wanted to tell you all about it! Technically, it’s the fiance’s, he got it for his 30th birthday, but Washington is a 50/50 state people, so next November it’ll be half of it is mine – muah!

Peeps are all about the Keurig, but if you are a real coffee drinker, then this machine is it. We don’t even have the fancy one either, though we were also gifted with the milk frother, which totally rules. It’s great for cappuccinos on the weekends – you just push a button and 90 seconds later you’ve got foamy goodness. Coconut milk works best so far, I haven’t gotten almond milk to froth very well.

The coffee machine is very easy to use. You just make sure it has enough water, turn it on and push a button – it’s really a no-brainer. We’ve got our flavored syrups, chocolate sauce and special sugars to add a bit of excitement, but I’ve gotten to the point of just having a double short with a bit of coconut oil and a splash of cream. I think I’m officially addicted.

There’s even an app to re-order the pods. A few clicks and the next day they’re in the mailbox. I think they run about .60-.70 cents per pod, which beats the $3 Americanos I was paying for. Gawd, since when did Americanos get that expensive?!….I digress. I saw the basic machine, which is what we have, at Costco last weekend for $69 bucks – such a deal.

What is your coffee routine? Are you a make-it-at-home daily drinker or is there a fav barista you like to visit?

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She's crafty.

Just a quick update as to the state of my stellar office/craft room. She went from this:

 
To this:
 

So far, so good! It’s amazing what a little paint and some refinished floors will do! I’m currently trying to figure out the best way to organize my crafting supplies. Who knew a gal could obtain 50+ rolls of ribbon in her lifetime :-/

 

The closet in this room is actually pretty deep so I think adding some additional shelving down the road might make sense. I’m also on the hunt for large, dark brown shelves for one of the walls but have recently struck out. A proper desk and chair are also on the list. Sigh. OK, so maybe this room needs more work than I had thought…..
  • Remove wallpaper
  • Paint walls
  • Refinish floors
  • Install large wall shelves
  • Install closet organization system
  • Add new chair and desk
  • Hang art
Are you lucky, like me, to have your own personal office/craft space? What are your keys to organizational success (besides a few trips to The Container Store!)?
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Kubota Gardens

Luckily, there were many professional photographers around to take our picture!

We visited the Kubota Garden over the weekend to take in the fall foliage and have a lil date time with my #1 guy. I had read about this garden a little while back and figured that it would be pretty spectacular around this time of year and man, was I right! I also read that cars get broken into ALL OF THE TIME in the parking lot. For safety’s sake, we took the truck. I’m happy to report it did not get burglarized šŸ™‚

The garden is actually a city park so there’s no admission fee AND dogs are allowed, which is always a bonus. Although it might not be as well maintained as the Seattle Japanese Garden in the Arboretum, I thought this park was in good condition with lots of trails and walkways to explore. It also has tons of photo opps – I can’t tell you how many people had those fancy cameras and tri-pods in hand! Be sure to check out Kubota the next time you want to get a urban fall fix!
Love the yellow contrasting with the black!
Stella taking in the sights.
Pretty bridge.
 
So many colors and textures!
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