Nesting and Resting

Well, I've crossed the 40-week mark, and this baby seems pretty comfortable. Baby clearly didn't want to come on her due date, which is fine by me since I'm hoping to go into labor on Labor Day, which is still another 5 days away :)

This week, I've been trying to practice resting. The last three weeks have been very nesting-oriented, between sorting through the hoarder cave and getting the basics of the nursery together.

measuring the curtains, setting up the changing table, and
hanging blankets behind the glider...which I promptly removed
because the hooks are still not properly secured to the wall.

There's been so much to do, and my energy has been relatively high, so I've really wanted to take advantage of Being Home Without Having Had A Baby Yet. I've gotten together with some friends and tackled a ton of stuff around the house that we'd been putting off all summer while we traveled a bunch. Including moving everything to storage (with the exception of a small pile we've collected over the last couple of days). And starting to post things on Craigslist. And working on this. And building and organizing and purging and prepping.

Our storage unit has no lights,
but it does have lots of our stuff!

And now, I'm on Week 4 of my pre-baby parental leave. And this week, it finally hit me that you're supposed to rest before the baby comes. I started having what I'm pretty sure are Braxton Hicks contractions on Sunday night. They weren't painful, and I haven't had any other signs of labor, but the emotional work of timing them and just going through the "was that one? I think that was one?" for a few hours took more out of me than I thought it would. They continued on Monday and Tuesday, on and off, irregularly, while I continued to knock out a couple of to-do list items at a time. And rest. Occasionally.

But today, I took a nap. For 2.5 hours. Now, I still got some stuff done this morning. Turns out, I had a nice window of about an hour between getting up and sitting on the couch where I felt energized and awake. So I started the laundry and a load of dishes, made breakfast, inflated the labor ball, and (finally) labeled the bins in the bathroom.

So much organization.

And then I ate breakfast, took care of my BlogHer followup emails, started reading a draft of an old college friend's new play, made myself a milkshake, drank the milkshake, and took a nap. For 2.5 hours. 

My brain is pretty fuzzy; when I look around the house, sometimes I feel a little bit like I'm floating. Like the edges are a little blurry, and I'm staring out through a foggy window, just floating around waiting for the next step to start. I'm in a happy little fog, transitioning into the pre-labor world. 

Post-nap happy fuzzies. I think I look more awake than I feel,
but I do feel happy.

My mission for the rest of the week is to rest as much as possible. The other night, when the contractions started, I remember being so grateful that I got to go to bed, and that I wasn't actually going into labor. I was thinking that it was great that I got to go to bed, and didn't have to stay up all night getting ready to push out a baby. Whether that's fear-based or exhaustion-based, I'm going to take that in, and try to listen to my body. 

A friend pointed out last weekend that for all my talk of delegation (and for my ability to do it at work), when it comes to getting the house ready, I'm not so good at just sitting down and project managing. I like doing things around the house. And I want to be involved with getting things done for the baby. I'm a very good rester - I have no problem sitting still and vegging out. But when I'm supposed to be resting, and I know there's stuff to do, it's hard for me to really enjoy it. But I'm trying. In earnest. I promise.

Now who's going to finish the nursery projects...

There has to be a better way

How do you store your reusable grocery bags? I can't believe that this is the best way to do it but for the life of me I can't figure out where or how to store them efficiently in our tiny kitchen.

How/where do you store reusable grocery bags?

This post brought to you by Insignificant Things That Seem Important When You're Very Pregnant. 

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?

We're not hoarders, I swear

Today is the first day of my parental leave. My plan is to spend the next three weeks making our house look less like a hoarder's cave and more like a house where a baby might live. Or hell, a place where human adults might live. I'm trying to do as much as I possibly can while I have a little mobility and a little energy (I had a solid 3 hours of "I CAN DO IT" energy today!), resting my giant, swollen feet in between bouts of productivity.

Currently, we're in "it has to get worse before it gets better" mode, digging through piles of stuff, both old (hello, papers from high school and college!) and new (hello, baby stuff!), and used (hello, hand me downs from everyone we know!). But slowly and surely, we're making dents. Remember what it looked like about a month ago? We were on the road to a clean house! Well, we had a 2nd baby shower. And then I had a work retreat. And then we went on an awesome camping trip. And then I went to BlogHer. And now I'm home and we're done traveling and it looks like this:

Fisheye-style panorama of the living/dining room.

Oh, didn't get a good view of what's on the other side of that pile on the left? Want to see what's on and in front of the couch that you can't even see in the picture because it's so buried in stuff?

It's a bunch of baby stuff! Whee!

Not pictured: the TV room, which is a staging ground for the things we pull off the dining room table to sort. One piece at a time, this will all get taken care of. But now, it's a little wacky around here. And hey, protip: don't look at the photos people link in their #37weekspregnant twitter hashtag. It will only make you feel badly about your lack of Instagram-perfect house and nursery. Where are all the people posting pictures of their not-ready houses, eh?

If you are pregnant and so not ready for your baby to arrive, please do me a solid and leave a comment. Or if you were once pregnant, and weren't quite ready, but things turned out ok anyway, please do me a solid and leave a comment.  

Keeping it Real

Look, friends. This is not a place for posturing. This is not a place where I pretend to Have It All Together.

So, in case you are also feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Stuff in your life, I'd like to share one single picture that demonstrates the current state of our living room.

This is the result of several weeks of traveling on the weekends. Of a summer that has so far been well-lived, full of fun and activity and travel. And also of the exhaustion that comes with a growing belly and traveling and working full time. It's been busy, and it's been fun, and this weekend is the first in a long time that we're actually home to work on what I've dubbed Mission: Reclaim The House.

This is just the entry/living room. The dining room, den, and nursery-to-be look quite the same. There's much work to do. And there are only so many weekends in which to do it. But right now, at the time of this writing, at this particular moment, I'm feeling hopeful and full of the possibility that we will Accomplish Great Housekeeping Things this weekend.

I'll update on Sunday night - hopefully the promise of a new blog post will keep me motivated. If I know I'm hoping to show off a job well done, maybe I'll find some energy reserves to do the job! 

Wish us luck.

Living Room Makeover

This past fall, I did a little redecorating. I always seem to get a little bit homebody-ish when the weather cools down, even though the "doesn't really count as cold" 70-degree October we had wasn't exactly cozy nesting weather.

Ahem. The towering stack of board games in the corner of our living room was stressing me out.

Left photo: towering stack of games. 

Kind of impossible to get one without knocking them all down.

Right photo: much better.

Now I feel like I need something to fill that space, like a 3rd picture or something.

Once I'd moved everything out of the corner, though, it needed a place to live. I purchased two of my favorite IKEA storage shelves, and loaded them up in the corner, perpendicular to each other. The little brown wooden table sits in the corner space between them, holding our wooden Settlers of Catan board and puzzle mat (we are very cool), and probably a fair amount of dust as well. One of these days, I may find a lamp that fits nicely in that corner, but alas, not yet. 

Left photo: before, with rocking chair kind of blocking the whole

corner, and video game controllers  

Right photo: games are neatly organized by type, and a basket

(also from IKEA) corrals the controllers. Swapping our two chairs

also meant more room in the corner.

This new layout also meant that there was finally a spot for the "bubble hockey" game to live, and now we also store the Fisher Price hockey game (this one) on top of that. Both childhood hockey games in one place, where they're easy to take down and use, but otherwise out of the way. 

These photos were taken in October, and things have changed up a bit since then. The stack of games next to the plant is gone, replaced by a hammered "gold" bowl (Nate Berkus, Target) and a small wooden elephant (souvenir from our trip to Thailand - did I mention we went to Thailand?), which makes the space look purposeful and planned. And we have a rug. A RUG!

I'll have to do a Part 2 of this post to showcase the elephant and the rug. They're that awesome.

I'm feeling sort of inspired to purge and organize lately...it feels like springtime in the Bay Area, and that makes me want to Spring Clean All The Things. Last night I bagged up an entire grocery bag full of shoes that I never wear. Some I've held onto for sentimental reasons, and some I just don't know why I even have, but it felt good. I foresee a great many more posts of this nature in the next few months...

Skills and puzzles and work

Back in 2007, I applied for an Administrative Associate job at Google. All incoming Admin applicants had to take a test full of LSAT-style logic questions (in addition to a free-writing portion). At the time, I was confused, and assumed it was just something Google did because they were Google and liked testing people. They were big on metrics and applying math to people, and that was SO not my world and I thought it was ridiculous. But I wanted to work at Google. So I studied, and I prepped, and I took the test. I don't know what my exact results were, but I know I scored high enough to earn a coveted role as an "Eng Admin". That is, I was an Administrative Associate supporting a team of engineers (I had hoped for Google Books). Of course, at a company where Engineer is King, they told me that they "save their best Admins for the Engineers" (a nice ego boost, even though it's a ridiculous thing to say - and do).

Anyway, after only a few months working at Google, I learned the importance of that test. Scheduling meetings for the 7 busy executives I supported was like playing Tetris with calendars -- it was all about matchmaking and prioritization and contingencies. If I move this meeting to this spot, what will be affected? How can I maneuver things to get these 20 people in 4 time zones in one 30 minute meeting? If this guy can't make it, can I suggest changes to his own calendar to make room for my boss?

Similar challenges have come up at Disqus, most often when rearranging seating. As a small startup, we have to be nimble. When products or projects change, so change our teams. And teams work best when they can sit near each other, so sometimes we change the seating arrangement every quarter, if not more frequently! While we try to make things as minimally-disruptive as possible, sometimes what's best for productivity is a total overhaul. And when people work on more than one team, things can get a little complicated, and quickly! Not only do you have to consider how to place one specific team within the space in your office, you also have to consider the necessary proximity of each team to each other (for example, if specific people or entire teams work closely together - here's where the whole "people work on multiple teams" things can complicate your seating chart).

It's a lot of "if this, then that". It's like a puzzle, figuring out which pieces go where...but it's a puzzle where the pieces keep changing and there is no one right fit for each piece. It's a fun challenge, and a little bit of a crazy one, but I love it. There's something so satisfying about moving a bunch of pieces around, over and over, until you find the right combination. Especially satisfying if the people you're doing it for appreciate your time and talents :)


What are some skills you never thought you'd need? What did you realize you're good at, perhaps only after you realized how important it was?

The Purge

No, not the probably-terrifying movie that's in theatres right now. I'm talking about one of July's #YoCP projects: The Shoe Purge. Our shoe situation was pretty out of hand -- my shoes were taking over Will's part of the closet, which meant his spilled out onto the floor. Plus, mine were such a mess that I could never get them to fit on the racks, so I just...didn't. Feast your eyes on this little before and after:

Major thanks to Sonja for being my partner in purge, helping me get rid of 4 grocery bags of shoes (and random clothes) and not judging me for the amount of dust that was under the pile. It feels good to actually be able to see every pair of shoes, and know that I'm not holding on to extraneous crap.

How are your July YoCP projects going? Did you launder/clean your shoes? (I didn't, but they didn't really need it) Do you have any other projects going on? My next project is framing and hanging the art we have collected in piles and rolls in the guest room. And I still have to take care of the last June project: polishing the headlights on the car (I did actually do all the other car-cleaning projects. The glovebox has never looked better).

Congratulations on making it through half the year!

It's a Wrap!

For years, I've sought an ideal wrapping paper storage solution (see here and here, also here). And during Big Closet Month, I finally got my act together to create the gift wrap station of my dreams. Ever since moving to our new place (erm, 2.5 years ago), I knew what I wanted to create. After spying this setup on Pinterest and reading all about the Elfa over the door system, I knew that the back of our Big Closet door would be perfect. It's a huge closet with room for the system once the door's shut, and it's right next to the dining room table, which is where I do most of my wrapping. I was having a hard time justifying the purchase (the Elfa system runs about $100), but thanks to some freelancing work from Extra Space Storage, I splurged guilt-free.

After a terrible Stanley Cup Playoff game for the Penguins (at least I was among friends at Giordano Brothers in San Francisco), I engaged in some retail therapy. My friend Adele, a fellow Container Store lover, and I hit the Co-Sto, and about $100 later, I had all the ingredients for a glorious wrapping paper project.

Nice display, Co-Sto. I'm not using this for
pantry storage though (maybe someday...)

Adele is my Container Store soulmate.
Look at this adorable deviled egg travel
container! I mean, come on!

Go home, Container Store. You're drunk.

There were, of course, a few hiccups. Namely, that the standard wall rack/pole thing comes in a standard door size. And all of the doors in our house are the standard size...except the door on the Big Closet, which is for some reason, about 3/4" shy of standard. I walked around the house, trying to see if there was another door I could use, but no. I was determined to use this door, dammit. So back I went a week later, for a free pole-trimming. Protip, guys: the store in San Francisco has a parking lot underground with a free Container Store drop-off and pick-up zone. Pull in, drop off your shit. Come back later, pick it up. They even come to you, so you don't have to leave your car. And the trimming service is free. Such service.

Anyway, with my resized pole, I was ready for action. Except I couldn't figure out how to get the damn thing installed. The instructions were helpful, but it was a little tricky to install by myself. With two people, one to hold and one to tighten the screw, it would have taken much less time. But hey, I'm a badass. I can do things by myself. Other protip: Don't freak out when it looks like despite cutting the pole to the correct size, it's still not going to fit because the over-the-door hooks could not possibly align with the slots correctly. What happens is that as you tighten the screw, the whole thing kind of cinches up, squeezing itself into place on the door. It's like magic. And don't worry about not being able to close the door, because as it squeezes, it tightens enough that the door will close perfectly and you will wonder why you spent so much time fretting about your door that could not possibly close. Because it closes just fine. Better than fine, actually. And now...

Boom.

This is what it looks like inside the closet. This picture was hard to take. It's hard to take a picture of this door, because from the outside the lighting is kind of crap. And from the inside, the lighting is slightly better but it's pretty crowded. So anyway, this is the best picture I could get. But you can see how awesome the gift wrap storage situation is. It's so lovely. Commence jealousy.

Anyone else have long-awaited projects they've recently completed?

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?

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.

Drawerganization

This weekend was a big one in terms of productivity and home organization. If this isn't your bag, you may want to stop reading now. If you're like me, though, you might be excited to live vicariously through a weekend of drawerganization.

My gal pal Dina came over, having offered to help me organize the craft cabinet. It was in dire need of help, which has become clear to me when planning recent Crafternoons and realizing I can't find thing I know exist. Now that it's time to start planning Holiday Crafternoon (and pull my knitting needles out again), I figured I should take some time to get the lay of the land, supplies-wise.

Before: It was a mess in there
Not pictured: middle drawer, since it's just yarn

After: Two drawers, organized easy peasy!

Special Thanks to the IKEA drawer inserts, without whom this would not have been possible. But bigger thanks to Dina (and Reed, and baby Parker) for their moral support as I got rid of things I've had for 15+ years. Like the plastic office supplies cart (like this, but black) and scrapbook supplies drawers I've had at least since college, possibly longer. There's now room for almost everything from both (which used to live in the guest room) in the craft cabinet, because I also got rid of a grocery bag full of school supplies (spiral notebooks and folders that I clearly do not need). I put the two plastic organizers and the school supplies out on the street, and they were gone within 15 minutes. Magic. I also threw out two grocery bags of trash, and bagged up boxes of old checks to take to the bank for free shredding. A little more progress made on Mission: Get Things Out Of The Guest Room!

Oh, and I also put together my new laundry sorter, finally replacing the one I've had since 2006 (one of those flimsy mesh-and-plastic ones where the poles always detach from the corners). The new one is super sturdy, and I love how I can just pull the bags out to carry them downstairs. The fact that the bag is compact, with handles on top, makes it super easy to carry them down our narrow, winding staircase (when I carry the plastic hamper, I have to hold it over my head to see where I'm going). It has a smaller footprint than the mesh one, but the bags hold the same amount of clothing. So far, I'm in love.

oooh fancy!

See also: I am obsessed with the Target Threshold line. The end.

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.

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.

Camping Gear: Storage and Organization and What to Pack

Exciting news! I've started guest-blogging over at the Extra Space Storage blog. For each (quarterly-ish) post, I'll be posting a teaser here, and you can click through for the full post over on their site.

I'm pleased to present my first post, just in time for summer camping (or a little late, perhaps, but hey, better late than never).  Enjoy!

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Camping Gear Storage and Organization (Bonus: What You Should Pack)
If you’re like me, you’ve amassed quite a collection of gear over the years…and if you’re like me, you might not have a beautiful suburban garage in which to store said gear. In a small apartment, or even in a small home (ah, city life), storage space is often limited, and miscellaneous gear ends up all over the place. Whether you’re finding tucked-away corners for your gear or storing it away from your house (hello, Extra Space!) when not in use, it’s important to keep things organized.

The best thing I ever did was create a Camping Box (ok, well, now we have a Camping Box, a Backpacking Box, and a Miscellaneous Extra Outdoors Supplies Box as well, but still). Inside the camping box is (almost) everything we need for a weekend mountain getaway, and oh man, do I love it.

-Keep reading on their blog for more tips, photos, and an itemized list of everything our box contains. Oh yeah, baby. (CLICK HERE) 

July Weekend Warrioring: First Weekend Recap

On Saturday, I posted a post full of promise and motivation. Full of songs unsung and wine untasted and hopes that were high, and life that was worth living, and ok I'm done with this weird Les Miz thing I'm inexplicably doing right now. I wrote about stuff I was going to do, and then I did stuff this weekend. I did it. Booya.

What stuff?

I moved some guest room furniture around, so that the desks are in their new locations (including some very exciting cord-wrangling, and the addition of a new surge protector...ooh exciting).
I took the printer out of the living room and set it up in the guest room (slash office).
I did 5 loads of laundry.
I shredded so much unnecessary paperwork that the shredder needed a break.
I Craigslisted the dishwasher that never worked, the old printer we don't use anymore, and the file cabinet I no longer need. And they were all picked up.
I drove three bags of donations to Goodwill.
I organized the storage closet (already blogged).
I unpacked the clothes and gifts from our Portland trip.
I purchased way too much cute baby stuff for a friend's baby shower next weekend.
I got a pedicure.
I enjoyed the company of my dear friend Emika, including a super awesome slumber party where we watched Bachelorette, which is in fact, not a good movie.

Oh, and I pickled some things.

It was quite a weekend. There's nothing new that's photo-worthy yet (well, except the pickles), so this post is really more of a "hey look at me I did stuff" than a beautiful blog post full of photos and prose. Next weekend, I tackle the giant stack of boxes that line the wall of the guest room...there's a lot of nonsense going on over there, and it's going to have to get organized before the sofabed arrives!

That's all I suppose. Did you set goals for your weekend? Did you accomplish them? Is any of this interesting, or am I just navelgazing with the knowledge that when I put my goals on the internet, I'm more likely to accomplish them?

Eggs and Greens and a House to Myself

My husband and a friend are off on an overnight backpacking excursion in the Desolation Wilderness, and I have the house to myself. And I'll say, as much as I love my husband, I do treasure these weekends alone. I tend to get a lot done while he's away, and this weekend, I have the added bonus of a visit from a dear friend who's currently studying at the Yale School of Drama (which, while very exciting, is very far away from me!). I don't know what it is about having the place to myself...I'm sure there's some psychological reasoning around wanting to impress my husband with the awesome work I've done, or maybe I just focus better when I have full control over the space. Either way, I look at this weekend as an opportunity to get a lot done, and I'm going to fight the lure of the sofa and the rom com and make an impact on the house, Weekend Warrior style.

Some before shots, for posterity.

Last week, I set a lofty goal for myself: I am going to finish the guest room by the end of the month.

Why now? As of August 1, we'll have lived here for two years. Our office/guest room has never been fully functional, serving more as a storage facility than a usable room, and dang it if I'm going to hit our two-year anniversary in this house with an unusable second bedroom! Also, I have this and next weekend almost entirely void of plans, which is highly rare these days. Once mid-July and August hit, we have work trips and camping trips and weddings and just all sorts of things that will interfere with a weekend of housework. So it's now or never.

Anyway, Will's desk is in there, but he's recently transitioned to a laptop, so while we'll keep the small desk in there for the few times when we want to work at a desk (and the printer will live in there as well), the room will primarily serve as a guest room. My wonderful friend Melissa is a professional designer, and donated a few hours of her time to help me figure out how to use this tiny room (it's 11' 7" x  7' 9", less than 80 sq ft). That was in December. Of 2011. It's just embarrassing at this point.

BUT BUT BUT!

Check out that floor. You can see it!
You definitely couldn't see it a few hours ago.
This room is hard to photograph,
especially with an iPhone.

Yesterday, I ordered the sofabed we picked out, as well as a new shelf (sorry, Melissa, I'm taking a slight detour from our original plans) to replace the file cabinets we don't need. IKEA should be delivering them in about a week.

And this morning, while the guys were sorting through their gear, I organized the storage closet off our dining room, just for kicks.
(<-- photo)

All this is to say that I've started off on the right foot.

And as a little reward for my morning of good work (I started the laundry too - I'm on a roll!), I made some eggs and greens, inspired by Smitten Kitchen's Baked Eggs and Hollandaise (from her cookbook, so I can't link to the original recipe).

I used the greens I mentioned in yesterday's post, and cracked two eggs on top. Baked for just under 20 minutes at 375, and topped with some Cougar Gold and Tabasco. I slightly overcooked the eggs, but it's still quite good. So excuse me, I have to go devour this now. Wish me luck with the whole productivity thing :)

Greens, glorious greens

I'm not winning any awards for my food photography,
but it's damn tasty, and that's all that matters.

Are you getting anything awesome done this weekend? Have any projects in the works?

Spring Cleaning: Pantry Party

The pantry, before and after. Detail shots below.

The pantry has been bothering me for quite a while.

For months, it's fluctuated between "messy but I can deal with it" and "I can't find anything and I'm afraid to reach into the back, both because I don't know what I'll find and because something might fall on me".

But last night, we had a few friends over, one of whom really wanted to help me with the pantry. Honestly, one of the reasons it's taken me so long to do it is that I promised I'd wait for her (reason, excuse, whatever).

Can't disappoint a friend.

Anyway, after some Chinese takeout, we set to work. We took everything (and I mean eve.ry.thing) out, I wiped down the shelves, and we set to organizing. The biggest changes were the additions of the lazy susans and plastic bins, and the reorganization of the risers -- both things that helped immensely.

I'll explain via these detail shots :)

Top two shelves before and after.
Soup and oils/vinegars got the lazy susan treatment, with
the exception of the giant canola oil and the PAM.
Tea is coralled in two plastic baskets on top of a riser
(hot cocoa is below), honey is right nearby, and little-used
crackers are in the back. Canned tomatoes, beans, olives,
pasta sauce jars, and chicken stock are on the shelf with
the oils for easy use -- I think I'll get another riser for that
shelf to make can-stacking easier.

Middle two shelves, before and after.
This was just a mess. Now it's not a mess, thanks to a lazy
susan (for sprinkles and sweet spices like cinnamon and
nutmeg) and some plastic bins and repurposed risers.
Baking supplies have enough room to be stored,
grabbed when needed, and easily put back.
Little-used spices are in a little basket, and the smaller,
loose items are corralled in bins for easy access.
That's what she said.

Bottom shelf, before and after.
This shelf is for the things I use least, like boxed bread
mixes, assorted jams, oatmeal, jello pudding mix, etc.
Also: the big pot that's not nonstick,
and an empty plastic bin.

I'm already loving my new setup -- it was so easy (and dare I say fun?) to spin the lazy susan around tonight when I needed some balsamic, and being able to see everything is definitely helpful. We threw out a good amount of expired stuff too (though honestly not as much as I anticipated), which is always good. Hopefully, having everything at our fingertips will mean less stuff will go bad from now on!

And with the Spring Equinox tomorrow (officially), I feel like I've gotten a little bit of a head start on this whole Spring Cleaning thing. Perhaps I'll make it a real thing this year, since I've been feeling a bit restless as far as cleaning and organizing the house goes...I'll do my best to photograph befores and afters and blog about it. Because nothing says interesting blogging like home organization!

Are you getting in the spirit? Do you find yourself overcome with the urge to organize? Tell me I'm not alone!