From Guest Room to Nursery in Just 4 Easy Steps

I’ll start out by saying that we definitely don’t live in a Tiny House, or even what most would consider a “small space”. Our current apartment is roughly 1,200 square feet -- twice the size of my first apartment post-college! And yet, after living here for nearly five years, we find ourselves somehow running out of room. Maybe it's because we're secret hoarders. Since we're going through this process of getting rid of things and repurposing our house, I thought I'd share a little bit about our process.

While we are extremely lucky to have a second bedroom, we had been using as a sort of guest room/office/storage facility since we moved in. And, you know, we’re in need of a nursery. So all that stuff is coming out. I’m definitely in nesting mode, and we’ve been working hard to get the house ready for this kid to move in (hopefully not before her due date - stay in there, little girl!).

Guest room in action - a fold out loveseat

is clutch for a small space!

Not so great for a baby though...

How have we tackled this project so far? Just a few easy steps!

Step 1: Realize how much stuff you have. Panic.

For us, this was compounded by the fact that our landlord has reduced the amount of basement storage we’re able to use (totally within their rights, just not great timing for us - ah, renting!). We’d been storing off-season decorations, childhood memorabilia, oversized camping gear, and other basement-y paraphernalia down there, to alleviate some of our storage needs in the house. Once we moved the basement stuff up into the house, things started getting really tight.

Our very own storage unit, inside our house!

But where will baby go?

Step 2: Disagree with your spouse about the quantity of stuff you have.

In hindsight, this was an important step for us, because it meant we’ve actually had to stock of what we have, rather than just dumping it all in a storage unit without really knowing what we’re storing. It also means we’re thinking a little bit more about what we’re doing so we don’t get the wrong size unit. Even if you don’t disagree on your plan of action, taking the time to make a plan means your path to storage will be more efficient.

Step 3: Sort (and Purge) Your Stuff.

Because we disagree on the amount of stuff we want to store long-term, we’ve been doing some serious sorting (and purging - hooray!). If you have some space in your house, you can temporarily create a pile in a corner, or better yet, in the middle of a room where you’ll see it all the time and be forced to deal with it. For us, right now, all available space is either Baby Stuff or Stuff To Be Sorted. Sorted Stuff is either purged, moved temporarily off-site (thanks, friends letting us use a corner of their garage!), or in a pile in the only available floor space we have left. Oops.  When you’re thinking about putting things in storage, take the time to sort before you store!

The bulk of the stuff that we removed from the nursery.

It’s a lot of stuff. We feel like hoarders. It’s embarrassing.

And this isn’t even all of it.

Step 4: Take Stock

Once we were (mostly) done sorting and purging, we took stock of what we have and decided what size storage unit we actually need - my plan was to avoid moving into a storage unit that’s too big or too small and having to move it all around twice. We’re about ⅔ of the way done here (rough and unscientific estimation), and we've begun moving things into storage. Separate post on this coming soon...

Have you undertaken any home changes that required you to change the way you think about storage...and stuff?

YoCP > YoTP

Well, friends the YoCP is over (well, technically it was over when Jolie ended it early mid-way through the year, but I had kept going on it...mostly). Looking back over the year, I'm impressed with how many things I got done.

There was the shoe purge, and the wrapping paper impressiveness, and of course, the big closet. My car was cleaned (and ahem, could probably use a touch up) and the BBQ was scoured. I even threw in a bonus porch project just for kicks.

But I didn't finish everything. There are still two cards left unturned, plus a few of those silly celebration cards. I mean, yes, I had a drink and admired my work in December, but there's something that doesn't quite feel right about turning over those last few "you did it" cards until I've actually done it, ya know?

I've started assessing and paring down the kitchen and dining things (erm, last week, when I also purged the pantry). We did some of the guest room boxes. But there's still work to do. And thus, I begin thinking about what this year will hold, homemaker-wise.

There's no YoCP: Redux happening, but I still like the idea of putting my projects up on the board. It really helped me to visualize all the things I want to do and only worry about them when it was the assigned time. I like structure, and I like schedules. It's my blessing/curse.


I've been feeling overwhelmed lately - something that tends to happen towards the end of the year, with the holidays and wrapping up the year at work, somehow there never seems to be enough time. This is normal, I know. But I'm also prone to overcommitment and a need to fill every moment...and we just have a lot of stuff. No more. Time for change, New Year!

2015 is the Year of The Purge. It's time to make more room in my life. Less stuff, less commitments, less crazy. More space, more time, more sane.

I'll be making a fresh board for the year, perhaps even this weekend, but all of my projects are going to focus on getting rid of things, making more space. Not to fill with new things, but just to breathe a little easier, to see clearer. To practice letting things go. The practice of letting go of physical objects will (hopefully) seep into my psyche, making it easier to say no to plans in favor of a quiet night at home, or to feel less guilty saying no to pet projects. A girl can hope.

Did you tackle any big projects last year? What's on your list for this year? Have any resolutions/goals/intentions/plans?

YoCP: Frame and Hang Art

Technically, this was a July YoCP project. Technically, I'm still working my way through some of August, September, and October. Technically, it is actually November. But technically, as of July, YoCP is on hiatus (according to an email from our fearless leader, Jolie Kerr), so I don't feel quite so badly about being behind.

But YoCP was a promise I made to myself, if not a commitment to the greater Clean Person Community. And I created these projects with a purpose, and I do plan on completing them. Even if it takes me all year. Which it might, because there are only 6 weeks left in the year. Holy shit, did I just say that? Is that true? Jesus.

Ok. Back on track, here. One of my projects was "Frame Art. Hang Art." We have quite a bit of artwork, both personal mementos and arty posters, and since we're likely not moving any time soon, I figured we might as well take them from "big pile in the guest room" to "things that actually hang on the walls". Turns out, it wasn't as simple as I thought it would be. Many of the pieces were oddly-sized, requiring custom mats and very specific frames. Framing delays meant it took longer to assess the stash, and busy schedules meant delays in actual hanging. But as of a few weeks ago, all of our art is framed and hung (ok, there's one poster that I framed that's due to be hung in the guest room, but I haven't quite figured out where I want it to go, so it's leaning up against the wall, but I'm just not going to count that one, ok?).

In the bedroom, I finally have the art wall I'd been envisioning pretty much since we moved in. There's a little room for more artwork if we have it, but overall, I really like it. It's a collection of pictures from trips we've taken, or of special or meaningful things to us (like the "Going to the mountains is going home" John Muir quote print I found totally randomly, and then just happened to find the perfect frame for when I wasn't looking). It's really lovely to wake up and go to bed looking at things that make us happy.

Have you completed any projects lately? Are you still YoCP'ing? What's the most complicated framing job you've ever done?

Front of House

Although it wasn't on my YoCP list, I've been meaning to tackle the front porch for a while. Over the last few years, it had gathered dust, grime, and assorted detritus, and with festive gourd season upon us, I figured now was as good a time as any to clean. Holiday decorating is one of my favorite for cleaning, after all. I meant to post this before Halloween, so just travel back in time with me a bit, when porches needed to be cleaned off to support jack-o-lanterns and ghosts.

 You see, the railing of our porch was once white. It was relatively white when we moved in three years ago. But the grime had gotten a little out of control.

I'm a bit embarrassed to share this picture, but I think it's important to share just how bad it was. Not only so you can see the progress (I promise, it gets better!), but hopefully to ease any shame you have at the state of your front porches.

It's ok.

We are none of us perfect.

We clean.

We move on.

It may be worth noting that the splotchiness is a result of several lanterns that usually reside on this railing - the grime gathered under them a bit, but mostly around them. Not sure about the clean white patch in the middle. It's a mystery.



I started this cleaning project with one goal: get rid of that black grime so that it looks pretty. I figured I'd tackle it with a little Dr. Bronner's and water, and all would be well. NOT SO, MY FRIENDS. NOT SO.

I scrubbed with Dr. Bronner's and a scrub brush, and a sponge, and all my (limited) upper body strength, to no avail. I busted out the 409. And the Comet. I scrubbed and I rinsed for about two hours.

Still, I was left with something that looked like this. Not a huge improvement - irritating, even, given the amount of time and effort I'd put into this should've-been-easy project.

And then I bought some Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. The heavy-duty kind, made for outdoor furniture.



They were not as strong as the advertisements made them out to be, or maybe my grime was just that bad. I worked my way through about seven erasers, which split and tore and turned irreversibly black as I convinced myself that this. would. work. Because it had to. I'd sunk too much time into this already, and dammit, I wanted to decorate for Halloween!

However, after about an hour of scrubbing and cursing, I was left with something that almost resembled cleanliness. It's more gray than white, really, and there are slivers of black grime that I just couldn't get out, embedded into the grooves of the wood. But overall, it's progress. And it was enough to make me consider the project a success.

I mean, look at those before-and-afters, eh? I later learned (upon bleaching a spot where a potentially-rabid-maybe squirrel had destroyed one of our pumpkins) that (oh yeah, duh) bleach is a *really* easy way to whiten things. Probably could've saved a lot of time by starting with bleach. Ah well.

I felt good enough to put the lanterns back out, and add some gourds (and a flying ghost) to the mix.

I later removed those hanging lanterns (which have been so destroyed by wind and rain that they were just a ragged mess), replacing them with a small metal hanging lantern (thanks, IKEA). I took the extra metal table and moved it to the yard, next to the BBQ, for extra "counter" space.

It's still a little dirty out there - it could use a good scrub, and would probably benefit from regular sweeping, but at the end of the day, it's a porch. A porch on a house we rent.

We do our best to keep it in good shape, but it will never be magazine-perfect, because we do not live in a magazine.

It's ok. We are none of us perfect.
We clean. We move on.

YoCP: The Big Closet

It's May, and Jolie and the Dust Bunnies are on to purging winter clothes. My #YoCP May focus was on The Big Closet. See, we have this closet. It's big. Like, approximately 42 square feet. I don't mean to brag, but dang, it's a closet. And it has so much potential. But it had gotten a little bit out of control. There was too much being stored, and stored inefficiently, making it hard to find anything - including floorspace to walk on. But friends, oh friends. I have prevailed. I spent about 15 hours over the course of the weekend taking everything out and putting it all back in again. And getting rid of a giant black trash bag full of clothing and whatnot. And now...photos.

I think we have a coat-hoarding problem.

And enough hats to outfit a baseball team.

And enough jerseys to run a hockey league.

There was a lot of stuff in that closet, man.

The hockey gear corner (before). Holy mess. 

The hockey gear corner (after). Neat & Tidy.
I'm particularly impressed with my hockey
stick holder - a repurposed toilet paper holder.

Better view of the hockey stick holder, plus
the ironing situation and giant post-it boards.

The other wall - organized sporting gear,
scarf holder, and clutches. Also contains
the "future gifts" box (and our ski gear
duffel sits on top of it, not pictured).

View of the wall behind the coat rack - we
have a lot of bags. They hang on the wall.
Camping gear and my childhood dollhouse
now fit snugly in the corner under the stairs.
The plastic cart on the left is hardware/tools
and the right is all hats. Yep. Hats.

The closest I could get to a shot of the whole
closet. Sleeping bags and hiking backpacks
hang from a hook on the left there.
Out of the shot on the left side is the stuff
pictured above (hockey, camping, etc).

So yeah. This was A Project. And it's pretty much done. Last step is the wrapping paper...but that'll get its own blog post because because. I'm impressed with myself, and I really enjoyed taking a whole weekend to tackle something in the house. I needed to fix the scarf holder (one of the Command hooks holding it up just plain fell off the wall -- the hook was strong enough but the years-old paint wasn't!) and what would have seemed like an insurmountable task was super speedy. Because the hammer and nails were so easy to get to, the repair only took about 2 minutes. 

You may my excitement over such little things (Will certainly does), but having things organized and easily accessible makes me feel good. It's more efficient, and it looks nicer too. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Have you tackled any home projects lately? Anything in your house that's just driving you nuts?

YoCP April: bathroom and BBQ

It's the end of May, so what better time to write my April #YoCP post? I don't have any photos, so this will be a quickie.

April was "bathroom and BBQ" month - technically, it was "Create Your Dream Bathroom" month, but I knew we'd have to get the BBQ ready for summer so I threw it in the mix as well. So what was on the agenda to create my dream bathroom?

• fix loose tiles on the bathroom floor (a task I'd set out to do nearly two years ago)
• clean/purge the linen closet (time for that annual "what's expired? how many of these towels do we really need?" cleaning and re-organizing)

I fixed those loose tiles - turns out it's way easy! All it took was a little 2-in-1 grout/adhesive, and about 48 hours (about 10 minutes of hands-on) and the loose tiles that have been bugging me for years were fixed. The color's a little off in that section of the floor, since it's brand new, but after just a few weeks it's dirtying up to match the rest of the floor nicely :)  And sure, I could scrub and bleach the rest of the floor, but honestly the tile in the bathroom is so old I don't think I would make a dent on the 50+ year old grout, and well, we don't own it. So. Eh.

I haven't done the linen closet yet, but my mom's coming to visit in a few weeks, and she was bummed to have missed the big closet (where do you think I get my organization obsession?) so we'll knock that one out when she's here. And now of course I've noticed that the grout in the shower could use a good scrubbing, so that's gotta get done too, despite not being on the original list (oh god, no! self-imposed restrictions!). My dream bathroom certainly doesn't come with moldy grout.

The BBQ ended up taking several hours to clean - the morning of my birthday, we opened it up for the first time since last summer, and it was...well...a bit moldy. We took the whole thing apart and washed all the pieces, which was a much more involved process than I'd anticipated. This year, I think we'll be better about cleaning as we go. Somehow, we damaged the ignition button (it still lights with a match), but we grilled up a storm for my birthday.

So. That was April. Onward to May! Ahem.

Housewife Weekend

If you've been following along, I'm participating in Jolie Kerr's Year of the Clean Person (more on that here). I've been keeping up with my projects, but lately, I've been so busy that I haven't had time (or more accurately, the desire) to sit down and blog about them. Or anything else for that matter.

But no matter.

I had set this past weekend aside for The Big Closet, a project I was really looking forward to accomplishing. We have this giant (no really, it's about 42 sq feet) closet that's mostly used for the storage of gear and winter coats. Over time, it becomes disorganized and cluttered, and as a coworker recently pointed out, "it has a lot of potential." While it has not yet reached its full potential, this weekend's work was a great start.I made room for no plans if they did not contribute to Mission: Big Closet, and it was honestly so lovely that I don't know why I don't do this more often. (oh right: because I am also a social person and desire the company of humans) I wondered what my life would be like if I didn't work; if my only job was to take care of our home and myself and my family.

Putting my feet up on a mid-closet break

I sometimes struggle to balance the desire to be a Strong Professional Woman with my love of homemaking...can I be both housewife and breadwinner (I mean, I wrote about this 5 years ago, so this is nothing new)? I don't know that it's possible within the laws of physics, but I certainly try. I want to stay home all day and keep house, bake bread, do laundry at my leisure. I want to take midday walks down to the butcher and read a good book in the sun. I want to take that 10am weekday "ABC: Abs, Back, Core" workout class. I want to drop my kids off at school and be home in the afternoons when they're done so I can take them to their various lessons or help them with their homework. But I also want to develop my career, have difficult and engaging conversations with other adults, and do my part to make my company and the industry a better place. I want my hypothetical kids to see that their mom is a strong, driven career woman and know that they can aspire to be anything. I want my world to be more than my home.

It's hard to do it all. And because most of the time, my balance skews in favor of work, sometimes it's nice to reject the laptop and focus on the nesting, however forced it may feel at first.

This weekend (in no particular order) I:

• did three loads of laundry
• repurposed miscellaneous leftovers into a whole new (delicious!) meal
• made banana peanut butter chocolate chip "ice cream"
• organized the camping gear
• overhauled the hockey gear storage
• found new storage for our outdoor toys (jai alai, frisbees, wiffle ball, etc)
• moved the gift storage out of the bedroom (after several months)
• collected a big black trash bag full of clothes to give away
• watched Bye Bye Birdie and Gidget (I have a soft spot for adorable mid-century movies)
• organized the hardware cabinet
• reworked the sprinklers in the vegetable garden
• moved my childhood dollhouse into the Big Closet (it's in a big box that had been moving around the house because of lack of room in the closet)
• put away a bunch of dishes
• prepped a pillow for testing (review coming soon on the blog)
• took a trip to IKEA for supplies and ogling the IKEA things

And that doesn't even take into account the magazine-sorting, table-clearing, trash-taking-out, and dishwashing that Will contributed to the weekend. The house is looking so much better, and I'm feeling a greater peace of mind. I think I might just do it again this weekend.

Separate post on the YoCP stuff to come (because, hello, I owe y'all a post about April still and I took a LOT of pictures of the closet this weekend). 

YoCP February: Bookshelves Reclaimed!

And so we continue. The Year of the Clean Person marches on. It's February! And last month, you got a preview of what was to come. It was not pretty. There were almost tears. But I'm happy to report that February has come and gone in productive style, and I have a super series of photos to share.

First, let's check in with the before, courtesy of that preview post:

Note the poorly white-balanced photos due to an
abundance of natural light. Daytime photography!

And ok, I'll just show you the TL;DR...the after:

Note the poorly white-balanced photos due to a
lack of natural light. Nighttime photography!

Notice a difference? I do. I'm not 150% satisfied yet; I think there are a few tiny tweaks I'll want to do (like that horizontal gray book - The New Yorker Book of War Pieces, of course - that's unevenly balanced, for example), but that's being majorly nit-picky and I'm pretty satisfied.

For those who care about the ins and outs of this whole Bookshelf Reclamation 2014 Situation, I'll now explain the process in a lengthy photo essay. Feel free to jump down to the comments if you're not interested in the nitty gritty. Or watching the light change in our apartment, as this project took all day long.

YoCP: Bye Bye, January, Hello Love

My Year of the Clean Person is off to a great start. Not only did I make my January list and blog about it, I worked in a couple of bonus projects, and I calendared the SHIT out of my year! Check it out, guys. 

I know, I'm a little insane. But it's so pretty! It's so easy to see what's planned for when...and I'm hoping it'll be easy for us to pick things to do each month. Just grab a card and get to work!

And bonus: once you're done, you get to flip the card over to reveal a congratulatory note. Some of them are even themed to the project (ie: "clean out fridge > tasty!" or "hang bedroom mirror > lookin' good!"), because like I said, I am a crazy person. 

Onward to February...and here's a sneak peek of the "before" pictures. February's a busy month, and we've definitely got our work cut out for us.

You can see the "bins by the couch" on the left there, and
just the piles and piles of books that can't fit on the shelves.
Oh boy.

Bonus Projects

I just posted my YoCP January Project...a massive list, calendaring all of my home-related projects for the year. Oof. It's gonna be an exciting year!

I kicked things off today with a few teensy tiny projects, just to feel like I'd done a little something visible in the house. I was inspired by Jolie posting her list and the bonus projects she's already done. So yeah - two little things done!

First up, hanging a mirror on the door of the
guest room closet. I've had the mirror for years
(it used to be the only full-length mirror in the
house), but never figured out where to put it.
A couple of velcro Command strips later,
BOOM. MIRROR. 

I also hung this cute little clock that my
mother-in-law got me for Christmas.
It's plastic, and made for a kitchen, but I
thought it worked better in the bathroom.
I even already had a nail in the right place
on the wall (it looks higher than it is in this
picture). Super easy, and we didn't have a
clock in the bathroom before!
Also, hanging the clock meant cleaning off
the top of the craft cabinet, since it was in a
pile on top of the cabinet :)
Bonus Goal!

So, those are the two bonus achievements of the weekend. I need to grab myself some colored index cards so I can make my fancy hang-it-on-the-wall calendar...kind of like a cleaning advent calendar for the whole year, really. 

Have a great week, clean friends.

YOCP January List

So a few weeks ago I mentioned that I'm participating in the Year of the Clean Person. Well, the year has begun, and here we go! I'll be documenting progress here, with the hashtag #YoCP. Follow along, and let me know if you're doing it too.

January: Make Your List! 
I've been thinking about this since I read it, and I've started keeping a list on my phone. It looks like this.

Yes, I'm using the "notes"
app that comes on the iPhone

The trouble with using the iPhone notetaking thing is that it's not very easy to organize. And it's not easy to share. And it's not easy or satisfying to check things off when you're done. Ok, that's three troubles. But it's easy to use when I think of things as I fall asleep, which is usually when I think of things. I could use some sort of project management tool, sure, but I think I'd rather just make my list and keep track here. More fun for you! I also have a cork board that I use for house projects that I'll update so Will and I can keep track together. Another post on that (before the end of the month!) when it's done.

But first, I'm dividing my list into Evening Projects and Weekend Projects, to better keep track of what can be accomplished when.

Next, I'm assigning projects to months, sticking to Jolie's YoCP Calendar wherever possible.

February: Reclaim Your Bookshelf and Bins by Couch
Yes, please. Definitely on the February agenda! I assume this is a one-weekend project, so I'm going to add organizing/purging the bins by the couch as well, since that's something I can do in the evenings.

March: Let's All Make Our Beds Misc. Bedroom Cleaning
Thanks to #LAMOB last year, I'm pretty good at making my bed every day. Or at least, my half of the bed (Will is usually still asleep when I leave). So instead of LAMOB, I'm subbing in Misc. Bedroom Cleaning. This includes cleaning/organizing the tops of our dressers, fixing the lamp by the side of my bed, and hanging the full-length mirror (which I'd really like to do before March, but hey we'll see).

April: Create Your Dream Bathroom and Clean the BBQ
This will include fixing the tiles on the floor (something I volunteered to do; our landlord reimbursed us for the supplies, and I've still never done it) and cleaning/purging/organizing the medicine cabinet and linen closet/drawers. Maybe even getting new bathmats or something as a reward. I'm also going to add Clean the BBQ to the April list, because it needs to get done in time for Spring and Sumer BBQs (if it hasn't happened already by April, that is).

May: Winter Clothes Purge and The Big Closet
My version of the Winter Clothes Purge is mainly going to include purging old ski gear and coats, which are all in The Big Closet anyway. I'm saving The Big Closet for May, because it's usually a slower month for us as far as social activity goes, in between ski season and camping season. Plus, Spring Cleaning and all that. Depending on how April goes, I might try to get a head start on this one. And since June is just Car Wash month, I'm giving myself the leeway to spill over into June if necessary. The Big Closet is a bit intimidating.

June: Car Wash
Yeah, I could probably stand to give my car a sweet car wash, re-clean the headlights, check on the emergency supplies, clean out the glove box, clean out the door storage things, etc. 

July: Shoe Purge and Frame/hang artwork
Time to purge the shoes, mine and Will's, but mostly mine. I'd really like to get to this before July, but hey, if it happens it happens. If not, July it is. I'm also adding framing/hanging artwork to the list, because we have a lot of artwork we need to hang up. First it needs to be framed. Would be cool to get to this before August, but it's not likely to happen, so I'm scheduling it in. And I don't have 

August: Clean Out Your Desk and Guest Room Boxes
The small desk space we have could use a clean (namely the secretary desk that stores stationary), and I'm going to use this month to also deal with the boxes of wires, papers, and other miscellany that are hanging out in the guest room.

September: Summer Clothes Purge and Entryway/hooks
Yup. Purge those summer clothes, yo. I'm also going to add hang hooks and organize the entryway in time for winter coats to come back into regular use.

October: Kitchen Organization
I'm tentatively leaving this one on here, and including the hutch/dining room area, though right now I don't have a real plan. Hopefully getting rid of things, reorganizing the party supplies, maybe paring down some little-used items.

November: Clean Out Your Fridge & Pantry
This will probably be a good idea by November. Probably a good idea already, but hey, I'll wait until the pre-holiday season.

December: The Holidays Are Busy Enough, Take a Break And Admire The Work You Did This Year!
You got it, Jolie!


Oof. I think that's everything. Here we go. Anyone with me?

Re-frigerator

When we moved into this apartment two years ago, we figured it was only a matter of time before the fridge crapped out on is. It looked like it was from the 1980s, what with the beige exterior and brown plastic drawers. But it worked. Until a few months ago, when we started seeing random puddles on the floor in front of the fridge. I'm pretty sure it was just water, but you don't really something leaking from your fridge. I assume.

Luckily, we have a great landlord who didn't hesitate to buy us a new fridge as soon as we told him what was up. Now, it's not some super fancy appliance or anything, and it's probably not what I'd choose if I just got to go shopping, but it's new and (I presume) leak-free. And because I'm a lifestyle blogger, it's basically my duty to document and post before and afters, right?

Front of Fridge: before and after

Inside of Fridge: before and after

The new fridge has fewer shelves, and no meat-and-cheese drawer, and only one butter-area-in-the-door-thing, but everything fit, with a little (not much) room to spare -- the two fridges are similar in capacity, just with different layouts. I think I'm going to explore some options for more efficient storage in there, but for now, it all fits. And it was free. And it's done. Phew!

And I treated myself to 3 of these and a small cup of dried fruit and unsalted nuts as a snack. It's a "cheat meal" day (tonight is unlimited wine and deep dish pizza date night), but I barely consider the dark chocolate banana bites a cheat, since it's a tiny amount of dark chocolate...hardly any sugar at all (though if it wasn't a cheat day, I probably wouldn't have eaten them).

We had a lot of beer and wine in the fridge.

Any home improvement type things going on in your house? What recommendations do you have for inside-the-fridge organization?

A Few Days In

I'm trying to start this year off on the right foot after my annual goal-setting post, which means jumping right on top of some of the aforementioned goals...no time like the present to pretend my preference isn't for procrastination! 2014 is a year of ACTION, baby!

Yesterday, Will and I (finally) got glasses (no really, we've been talking about it for 10+ months...talk about procrastination), and walked the ~2 miles to/from the optometry center instead of driving. This is the type of "building more activity into my life" I'm talking about. Choosing places to go that are walkable, rather than places where we need the car. Opting not to drive, because we live in a place where there's lots to walk to. Not only does it feel awesome to take advantage of all that's hyperlocal, it's easy built-in exercise as well.

The eating-less-gluten thing is going well: I'm pretty much thinking of it as "no carbs/sugar except two meals a week". My cause doesn't really need to be gluten-specific, and it's much easier to avoid carbs in general than only glutenous ones. It's going alright so far, though it does make things like chocolate cravings and eating out challenging...but knowing there are cheat days built in makes it more tolerable. 

And I played the piano for about 20 minutes last night, too. I've been having lots of fun with my Sara B songbooks (thanks, sis), though it might be time to get the piano tuned pretty soon...

On the cleaning front, the house feels almost overwhelmingly full right now -- while we've mostly unpacked from our holiday travels, we seem to have an unending supply of...things. Bags of unopened mail, magazines to sort through, and of course, a few tubs of holiday decorations to take down and pack away! I'm motivated, I'm ready, and I'll be participating in Jolie Kerr's Year of the Clean Person (#YoCP), which I find much more realistically approachable than Apartment Therapy's exhaustive but intimidating January Cure.

I'm especially excited about February...our bookcases are a hot mess. I'll be sure to take before and after shots, don't you worry. But for now, it's January. January is "Make Your List" month. So it's time to start making a list. Per Jolie's suggestion, I'm going to go around the house making a list of things I'd like to do, and then post it here. Because making it public puts the pressure on.

Stay tuned.

The Annual New Years Post

Looking back on last year's intentions, I didn't make much progress. Yikes.

2013 Recap:

Exercise more, by finding a routine I enjoy -- it was great for the first 4 months. 30 Day Bootcamp was fun, and I kind of felt myself getting stronger, even though I didn't lose weight or flab. But then it turned out that boot camp is not good for my knee, and I spent May through December on and off different physical therapy regimens (mostly because I am terrible at PT upkeep).  I was doing yoga once a week and ballet once a week as well until around July, when my knee just got too bad to really do much of anything except whine. 

Feel healthier and stronger; take care of myself -- well, I totally failed on the "actually do my PT exercises" front, and I didn't lose weight. I did get my eyes checked, though I failed to get new reading glasses (this month! I swear!). 

Eat more hearty salads -- Sure, I ate salads. But as the weather got colder, the amount of fresh, raw, hearty veggies I ate quickly diminished.  

Spend more time in the present -- I tried this on and off, and it's a constant struggle to step away from the gadgets and focus on the present. 

Get organized about our finances -- we're lucky enough to not have had to do this in 2013 because of financial struggles. But it's time to start preparing for the future, like adults. 

Make a plan for finishing areas of the house -- Hell yeah, something I've actually done! The guest room is functional, and we had a siiick veggie garden this year. 

So this year, it's more of the same. Organized into categories.

Health:

Let's see what it's like to eat less gluten.5 days a week, I am going to cut out processed grains and sugars from my diet. That means 2 days a week, I get to have cookies and bread and pasta and ice cream and beer...but only once/one meal per day. Why? Everyone's on this anti-gluten kick right now, and while I'm not much one for fad diets, and I love bread (and sugar) too much to forgo it altogether, I've heard that the benefits (dropping weight, healthier digestive system) are pretty high. You may say, "Don't worry! Once you stop eating it, eventually you stop craving it! I never even want bread anymore!"And to that I say that a life without a crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside sourdough baguette is not a life in which I am interested, sir! 

So 2 days/2 meals a week it is. Until Mardi Gras. If all goes well for the next two months, I'll pick it up for another two. And another. We'll see. 

Get the knee healthy.An unhealthy knee totally puts a damper on fun life plans, like hiking and skating and dancing and you know, going up and down stairs. There's a lot of PT work to do, and I need to do it. I need to do it. I need to do it. Dammit. 

Build more activity into my life.I want to try the Zaaz. I want to do more Kinect. I want to take walks. I want to be more active in general. I really do, despite the (laziness) evidence to the contrary.

Home:

Make Big Closet Better.The closet off our dining room is large and wonderful, and is a giant pile of mess. I want it not to be. Part of this is creating a gift wrap station, and a place for luggage/bags, and better-organized camping gear, and less messy hockey gear...much to do. 

Finish purging the guest room.It's still full of boxes, though they are more organized and tidied now. I'd like it to actually be nice-looking, and not just a pile of boxes tucked onto a bookshelf.  

Hang art.In the bedroom, more in the guest room, in the hallway. We have a lot of art that needs to be framed and hung, so why are we waiting. 

Finances.We've been discussing lately how we should start saving for a house. Or for kids. Or for travel. But after nearly two years of marriage, we still haven't sat down to talk about money. We're lucky that we haven't had to, that we've been able to live within our means pretty easily, without much thought. Trust me, I know what a blessing that is. But now that we're starting to think about The Future, we should probably get a better understanding of the various bank accounts we each have open, where our savings is, where it should be, etc. and make some actual decisions about how and where to save.

Happiness:

Make more music.Last week, my dear friend Amelia (one of my first college friends) stayed with us, and last night, we were joined for dinner by our other dear college friend Matti. We sat at the piano and messed around and it was such serious fun that I can't believe I don't do it more often. 

Will and I are both somewhat musically-inclined, and we have a piano...as Amelia said, "What an old-fashioned, wonderful way to spend an evening." It's old school entertainment, no devices needed, and it was incredibly fun. I'm going to try to improve my piano chops, get back to that ukulele I was trying to learn this summer, and just make more music. 

Leave work at 5:30pm.This means getting in earlier (oh no! Getting to work by 9:30am! The horror!), but I really want to stop leaving the office between 6:30-7pm, especially when I do get in around 9:15 or 9:30.  

Invest in our relationship by spending time alone together.We are very good at keeping busy, doing things with friends, and even maintaining our separate hobbies and interests. But over Christmas, we spent an afternoon out shopping for gifts, just the two of us, and it was so much fun to just hang out alone together...wandering around downtown Olympia, driving around town looking for gifts, stopping for a snack. Simple things. But we don't do that when we're home, really. In the interest of efficiency, we'll run errands separately. In the interest of being social, we'll fill our calendar with fun plans with friends. But we don't invest much time in just spending time alone together, and I was surprised at how surprised I was to have that moment of "oh yeah, it's fun to do stuff together, just us." That shouldn't be a surprise!

I have a seriously packed 2014 ahead of me, with a trip to New Orleans, friends visiting from abroad, a ton going on at Disqus, a side business to launch, an organization to help run, and a wedding (not mine) to plan. None of my resolutions/goals/intentions relate to any of that stuff. But it's important for me to set personal goals as well, to take care of myself and my home life as much as I take care of others and my work life (lives).

Who knows if I'll actually accomplish all I've set out to do? The important part (for me, anyway) is taking a little time to reflect and set some intentions. And now's as good a time as any to do that.

What are your goals for 2014? Did you do all you set out to do in 2013?

A Change of Plans

I'm a planner. I like to have my lists categorized, my calendar scheduled, and my life in order. So even though I knew this month would be insanely jam-packed, and the next two weeks especially nuts, I wasn't too worried...because I had a plan.

As it turns out, below the surface anxiety had been bubbling, and when I sat down with my calendar to schedule "stay home and clean up" evenings in anticipation of a party we're hosting on the 31st, I just about exploded. Something about the limited free evenings, the crushing amount of stuff in our living room and dirty dishes in the sink, and a ball I dropped at work, and I just couldn't handle it. Even getting towels out of the dryer seemed like an insurmountable task.

A brief panic attack and calming reassurance from a patient husband later, and I was feeling a little more prepared for the next two weeks. And then, we found out the backpacking trip scheduled for this weekend was canceled. I was pretty disappointed (though Will will challenge me on that); I was looking forward to 48 hours of unplugged nature goodness, and I am trying to improve my backpacking skillz. But there was a part of me that I can't deny was relieved to have a weekend at home, without plans.

This weekend, I sorted and gardened and organized and laundered, and even squeezed in some time with friends, and a pedicure too! We still have a ways to go before the house is party-ready, but I notice major improvements. Plus, we had time to plan meals and shop for ingredients for next week's camping trip, so bonus for us. While it's true that it's not hard for me to look on the sunny side of a situation, I think the feeling was more relief than pure optimism. Much as I don't like to admit it, this was a weekend I needed. A change of plans is sometimes a good thing.

Whole wheat rotini in a butter, white wine, &
garlic sauce. With vegetables from our garden
& parmesan cheese crisps.
Tasted better than it looks in this picture.
Best enjoyed with friends.

Weekend Roundup

In addition to the sweet guest room and hallway action, this weekend was a fun little whirlwind of a visit. I thought I'd post a little photo wrap up of Sunday, because it was productive like crazy.

Hiking at the Redwood Regional Forest, which turns out
to be a 10-15 minute drive from our house.
How have we lived here so long without knowing this?

My mom taught me a new way to cut a
watermelon into cubes.
I accidentally bought a yellow watermelon.
But this is a much better way to cut it than my
method (cut like you're going to eat slices,
and then trim away the rind awkwardly).

We picked all of this from our garden
(plus a cucumber and 4 tomatoes).
Does anyone know what kind of beans those
stripey ones are? We thought we were growing
green beans. 

I reduced 4c of chicken stock down to a
seriously condensed, thick base.
And that's our cucumber in the background.

Oh, and my dad brought me this drum.
This is the bass drum from the set he bought
when he was 13 (his first with his own money).
(my dad was a professional drummer)
He showed me this "champagne glitter" drum
when I was a kid, and I decided it would be
mine someday. He brought it up this weekend,
and it'sjust as gorgeous as I remembered.
We're going to get a piece of glass and use it
as a coffee table in the entry-living-room we
have yet to finish.
So rad.

Photo roundup over :)

Guest Room!

Last time we checked in on the guest room, the bed had arrived. At the beginning of July, I set a goal to finish the it within the month. On July 20, we had our first guest. Last week, our friends Laura and JD spent the night before leaving on their final roadtrip before moving out of the country. Two guests in one month! I guess in some sense, that means the guest room is finished. But no, of course, it wasn't finished. Our guests are patient people who didn't mind guest-ing amongst boxes and piles of picture frames. And bless them for it.

And this weekend, my parents came to town. My parents are also patient people who don't mind a little mess. Or rather, they do, but they love us enough to not only stay here regardless, but also to dive into a little home improvement project on their vacation. The guest room still has a ways to go, but it's much more functional now, and I have to say it's looking pretty good.

An inviting space, no?
The view from the doorway.

Standing next to bed, right side; this is the "desk" area.
Also known as "We went to college, and we love the Pens".

Next to bed, left side; the junk pile
(mostly organized on a shelf)
But look! Artwork!

My dad is a baller when it comes to hanging pictures. He has a good sense of what looks good where and is super fast at hanging. I had ideas, but he often had better ones. And we even hung stuff in the hallway, which had completely fallen off my radar as a place where one can hang one's artwork. Duh.

Our hallway has art!
Will posed for the camera. Totally.
I know, the lighting is awful.

The art on the wall really makes the guest room feels homey, and the art on the hallway walls get me excited for the possibilities. Little by little, we've been adding things to the walls of the house -- I think that's one of the things that really makes a place feel settled (aside from, erm, actually unpacking all of your boxes). We've been here two years now, and we have much left to do, but it's starting to feel much more like *us* and not just like a place we're renting. 

Did you get any big projects done this weekend? Do you have art on your walls? Does your partner photobomb your pictures? Let's chat.

Free Paint? Count me in!

I have a little painting project I've been meaning to take care of for almost two years. It's embarrassing. 

When we moved in, I hired a TaskRabbit to assemble some IKEA furniture, including a lovely Hemnes 3-drawer TV stand. He did a great job...almost. He screwed two of the vertical "walls" in backwards, which means the "backside" (unpainted, with serial numbers or whatever on them) has been facing the front ever since. 'Cause you know I'm not taking that thing apart and reassembling it. Hell to the no. IKEA furniture was not built for disassembly and reassembly.

Cabinet knobs, before and after.
Yes, these were taken on my iPhone.
Don't judge the photo quality (or the mess).

Anyway, a few months ago, I finally got around to replacing the boring knobs with pretty glass ones, and I've been meaning to paint the boards to match, but haven't gotten around to buying the paint. Looks like I have a good excuse now, since ACE Hardware is giving away free quarts of paint this Saturday (August 3) and next (August 10).

I'm going to grab an extra knob (shhh I accidentally bought 6 instead of 3), get my color-match (ish - don't want to be too matchy matchy) on, grab some sandpaper, and get myself a freshly painted TV stand.

Maybe even this weekend. We'll see. Oh, the thrills!

Full press release below the jump.