Before

One week from today we move into start painting our new condo!

We’re traditionally bad about taking “before” pictures. It definitely saddens me that I can’t share the radical transformation in our first house. We took the kitchen from pink and white sponge paint stripes (yes, you read that right) in the breakfast nook to an earthy red. The angel mural (that just happened) in the third bedroom was covered by a punchy orange. And I still have nightmares about the angel border that I stripped from the top of the basement wall.

So when Hubster turned in our lease, he snapped some before pictures because come next Friday we will already have a good portion of the first coat of paint on the wall by now (I hope).

You walk into the main living space, which has gorgeous high ceilings, huge windows and a not so nice wall color that we talked about here. The room basically has four quadrants, three of which are pretty obvious (from left living room, kitchen and eating area). The fourth (where Hubster is standing) is still undefined, but may get a cool industrial shelving treatment.

The hall bathroom has some extra built in storage, which is great.

The extra bedroom is one of the biggest we saw and is actually open at the top, which adds to the airy feel. It should accommodate a desk and workout area. We’ll make sure it’s easily converted to a bedroom for overnight guests.

Our bedroom has more windows and a decent gray… but we’re going to deepen a bit with some new paint.

The master bathroom will get a shade lighter gray to tie into the bedroom. Besides that is has great bones.

So that’s the quick tour. What you can’t see is the private patio space, two gated parking spots, extra storage closet down the hall… and did I mention it’s in an old parochial school. The halls and stairwell still have the feel of a school. Love it! Plus we’re big proponents of breathing new life into old buildings rather than tearing them down.

Stay tuned and I’ll give you the details as we transform the space into our perfect modern, industrial, retro haven.

My computer needs a home

As of Tuesday, we officially signed the lease on our new condo! Now that it’s all said and done I am beyond excited. I can’t wait to get in there, paint and call it home.

Having a space locked down has started the inevitable search for things that we need. High on the list is a desk. At our old house, we had a joint office and awesome, huge, metal topped desk that Hubster built when we couldn’t find one that fit the bill. It’s since been repurposed (as we always intended) to a catch-all/shipping table in the back of the studio. Hubster’s computer has a new home on a shiny white desk, and mine has been living in the dungeon basement with us. Its home: a weathered table that usually goes on my parent’s deck.

Craigslist scouring has turned up very little as most desks are huge, ugly and very blah. But thanks to my blog reading obsession hobby, I think I’ve found some inspiration in Manhattan Nest’s “A Desk with a View” post!

Take a moment. Drink it in. It always goes down smooth.

That is a sexy desk! I love the vintage/repurposed/shiny whiteness of it!

Even better, Hubster says we can build something similar for me. I love that man!

Has anyone else re-created a project after seeing it on a blog? Or are there any blogs you love to watch for inspiration?

Running is killing my feet!

Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve been maintaining my exercise routine!  I’m not going to lie, I had one week that I only worked out 2 days, but in my defense there was a lot going on in my work and personal life.  At least I still fit in 2 days, right?  Typically, I’ve been doing 5-6 days a week.  I’m still doing those Jillian Michaels DVDs and have been running a few days a week.  The combination has been working well for shedding pounds, but it’s been hard on my feet!  (Picture quality is actually making my feet look better than what they really are…)

Now, I’ve always been a runner, but in the past, I just didn’t care too much about what my feet looked like.  As long as I had nail polish on my toe nails, I thought I was good to go.  Oh, and I should clarify, I painted my own toe nails.  I’ve always taken pride in the fact that I’m pretty low maintenance.

Well, last fall, my husband made a big mistake.  He talked me into treating myself to a pedicure.  Ever since then, my feet just haven’t looked or felt the same when I simply paint my own toe nails.  Sure, polish helps, but they’re still so rough, especially around my heels and big and pinky toes.  I know, yuck, right? 

That being said, does anyone have any good tips on self pedicures?  How long do they usually take?  I don’t always feel like making the time to run to the salon.  It turns into taking up an entire evening!  Although, I think I would like to go to a salon at least a couple of times from April – September.  For those in my area, any places you recommend?  Thanks!

Not quite “move in ready”

We ALMOST have a place of our own. It feels weird to even write those words because it happened kind of fast! We actually started looking for a place a few weeks ago, reasoning that we needed to have a good feel for what is available so we knew THE place when we saw it.

Well THE place happened to already be on the market. And it was just too good to pass up. For fear of jinxing anything I’ll withhold details and more info on our search until the ink is dry on the lease.

What I can tell you is that I’m excited… but I’ll be more excited when it’s painted. Yep, in order to have our perfect oasis in the city we have to paint. Boo! We were really hoping to avoid this step, but we can’t because the main living space is this color:

Yep! It is poopy orangish, modern like a decade ago, will clash with all of our furniture, brown. Blech! (PS – Sorry about the pink border. I don’t know how to turn it off!)

Hubster and I actually had the “If the landlord doesn’t agree to let us paint, will we still move in?” conversation. The answer was, “No.” It may seem a bit shallow, but we’re visual people and this color does nothing except incite my gag reflex. Plus, we want to paint it white, so the landlord agreed.

Actually, we want to paint is super, reflect the light from the huge windows, live in a cloud, white. This super white box will be the perfect background for the modern, industrial vintage loft we’ve been craving… more to come soon!

Fat Thursday

While most red blooded Americans are thinking “baseball” today, Hubster and I have our own holiday milestone on the calendar: Fat Thursday.

In case the clearly somewhat witty name isn’t obvious, we’re enjoying one last day of alcohol before we go stone cold sober for a month. At the risk of sounding like alcoholics, we seriously enjoy wine (mostly red, but we appreciate white) and cocktails (rum, vodka, gin for Hubster… we’re not too picky.)

So why give it up? Andrew Knowlton’s column in the January issue of Bon Appetit magazine focused on his annual commitment to give up alcohol and meat during January. He uses it as a way to reset his palette, which made me think “great idea.” Hubster liked the idea in theory, but we both agreed that our lives were WAY too crazy to even think about giving up adult beverages during January. (Living with family is not the most relaxing thing ever. Plus both of our birthdays are in January so that was a no go.) February didn’t look any better. We had already set the opening of our studio for mid February and from where we were standing, we’d still have the house in Blue Springs (and be living with family.) So we wrote is off as a “good but not feasible” idea for this year.

Little did we know that we’d accept an offer on our house on February 19^th and enter the second half of March with a lot of weight lifted off our shoulders.

So a few weeks ago, I brought the idea back up. Sure, we’d still be living with family, but everything would be turning around. Plus April is really our last shot to give this a go before we’re into wedding season… which necessitates wine. Hubster agreed… though we’ve both had moments of “should we really do this?”

But we’re both committed. This will help reset our palettes and our tolerances. Plus we’ll be able to focus on eating a bit better (bye bye post-drink snacks) and working out (because what else do we have to do?) Overall it will mean more balance and that’s worth missing a few drinks… right?

Which brings us to today, the eve of embarking on Sober April, otherwise known as Fat Thursday. Our plans include a happy hour with Landlocked Bride and maybe one final bottle of red wine at home. Wish us luck. We’ll probably need it…

P.S. Sorry for the lack of image in this post. I’m at work and sans alcohol. Perhaps I’ll update it with a shot from tonight’s revelery.

Which cleaners/waxes should I use?!

 

Well, I’m a little behind in writing about the frustration I encountered a couple of weekends ago.  I was very excited that it was warm enough to wash our boat that weekend, but as I looked up and down the dock, everyone was using a different type of cleaner.  I always go with the trusty Turtle Wax:

The first wash of the season is always the most strenuous.  I must say, this cleaner is so good at cutting through the dirt and grime!  I’m a big fan and recommend it to anyone.  Although, it makes me want to ask the question, has anyone ever used this in the past, but since found a better cleaner?

Now, where my real confusion and frustration lies is with specialized cleaners and waxes.  I could really use some advice here.  Which cleaner works best for spider droppings, without dulling the fiberglass?  I’m very cautious when using stronger cleaners because the last thing I want to do is strip the shine off of our fiberglass!

Which brings me to my next question….which wax works the best?  Our fiberglass is in decent condition.  It’s definitely not oxidized, but it’s also a 1998 boat so I’m not about to claim it’s super shiny.  I’m looking for a product that we could use each spring and fall to wax our bow and flybridge.  I’ve seen people use metal polish, dry washes, rubbing compounds….ahhh!  Please leave me comments on what you know has worked great for your boat.  There are so many products and advertisements out there, but I don’t know which one to trust!  It’s so easy to spend so much money on these items!  Thanks! 

How much Trader Joe’s can the interwebs handle?

 

When I told Hubster about our blog, his first question was one I was dreading, “What’s it about.” Of course, I had an answer ready… but the “Well, it’s about our lives… two contemporary women and what we do … like cooking and boating…” sounded hollow even to my ears. Even the manual for setting up a blog through WordPress suggested honing in on a topic before entering the blogosphere.

Instead, I decided to be up front with you that we really didn’t know what this blog was “about” or where it would go. As I’ve been writing and thinking about what to share with you, I keep coming back to Trader Joe’s. It’s silly, I know, but I love that place! (See this post for evidence.)

I even forked over the $6 for the Unofficial Guide to Trader Joe’s and eagerly awaited its arrival. Sadly, it was a bit underwhelming. Sure, there are some interesting products in there that I’m eager to try but overall it felt flat. It probably didn’t help that some of the best items I’ve had weren’t on the Top 50 List. (Have you tried the Ultimate Vanilla Wafers?? O M G! My family devoured an entire tub in about 2 days. They’re dangerously good.)

So I thought, “I could do this … and do it better.” I’m thinking 365 Days of Trader Joe’s. I already eat enough of their products to review a product a day. Plus a blog would give me more reason to try new items!

But does the world really need ANOTHER blog about Trader Joe’s food? Probably not… (Just google Trader Joe’s blog for proof.)

So I’ll just keep writing about whatever strikes my fancy and see if another stable topic emerges.

P.S. If I start overwhelming my half of the blog with Trader Joe’s product reviews. A little “hey, remember you were going to start a separate blog with this info, that was a great idea!” will suffice.

How we got from there to here

Posts like this one from Little Green Notebook make me want to move!

I love, love the last picture where the first aid supplies are organized in colored dishes. Genius! (And for the record I’m not a huge Martha Stewart follower. Who really has time for paper mache-ing Christmas decorations or the like? I don’t! But this idea is so, so simple and it appeals to my Type A personality.)

My first instinct was “I want to go home, right now, and organize.” Then I remembered I don’t really have a home, which is something I should explain.

I can’t pinpoint that start of our longing to move to St. Louis, but the desire to move out of our suburban home in Blue Springs definitely started well over three years ago. The housing marketing was “great” when we got married and so we followed conventional wisdom and purchased a home. Unfortunately we just didn’t know enough about what we wanted in life and quickly realized that chain restaurants and yard work were not on the list. After a failed attempt to sell our house in 2009, we buckled down and redid our basement into a great meeting space and home office for Hubster to continue to grow the business.

Then we waited… and waited … and waited.

Along the way the economy tanked, we started shooting more weddings in St. Louis and I became pretty unhappy in my 9-to-5. I was ready to grow and there was just nowhere to go (ooh I rhymed!). So when the job search went into high gear I applied to a lot of openings in St. Louis. After several months, and lots of cross-state driving, I actually got TWO job offers on the same day! Shortly thereafter I packed my car and moved into my parent’s basement. The new job has been great, but the time living apart from Hubster is definitely “the dark ages”. Boo to that! Thankfully he joined a few months ago. So now we’re both living in the house with my parents… and our Great Dane… and thanks to the sale of our house (YAY!!!!) all of our stuff.

Fortunately having our Blue Springs house out of our lives has lifted a weight off our shoulders. And we are already looking for apartments for townhouses to rent in the city. (The next trip will look like the map below because we’re not actually in the city limits yet.)

Posts like the one on Little Green Notebook (and my own posts like this) just make me realize I’m SO, SO, SOOOO ready to get a space that’s all our own. I’m ready to nest… and worried for Hubster’s sake, because I’m not sure exactly how that will manifest. It’s been a full 6 months since I moved out of anything resembling our own space. So he can’t really blame me right?

Is anyone else having these nesting urges? Maybe spring is making you a little stir crazy?

Clean desk = Messy cabinets!

 

Okay, I must say, I do a great job shielding my cluttered, disorganized cabinets and drawers from most of my co-workers.  My desk always appears as if I have things going on, meaning note pads and documents lying around, but for the most part it is pretty clean.  It’s behind the scene that is another story!  Point in case, this picture of my main cabinet:

When I look at this every morning, I find it amazing that I’m able to keep an efficient and productive work life!  You probably can’t tell, but every stack of paper in that cabinet is placed at a unique angle so that it sticks out from the stack below it.  Who am I kidding!?!?  This is no way to live every day at work.  I have got to get better at organizing this mess.  It’s only a matter of time before the wrong person sees this embarrassing pile of documents!

Why is it that I’m so prepared in meetings, always hit deadlines, yet can’t seem to take the 5 extra seconds to “file” my documents in a clean, organized manner?  Am I the only one that struggles with this?  I find that hard to believe.  I wonder if there is a class out there on how to keep documents well organized and easily retrievable.  Wow, it seems crazy that I would even consider taking a class like that!  Talk about turning such a simple concept into such a problem. 

Does anyone out there have any good processes or systems they use to continually file their work and documents?  Obviously, I need to take the time to do a onetime clean up and organization project, but I need some guidance on how to prevent this mess from piling up again!

Help!

Life ADHD

As mentioned in my initial post, this blog is all about exploration. There are no set goals (besides posting regularly) because we’re both willing to let it ride and see where it takes us. That seems to be an overarching theme to my life at the moment.

I’m a little worried that I’m developing life ADHD. I just don’t know what I want to do! Here’s a breakdown of recent thoughts

• 45 days ago – Polish photography skills and work up to first shooter status. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly know my way around a camera. But Hubster is definitely the lead when it comes to all things photography. I want to keep growing in this area so I can take on my own shoots, especially boudoir, family and senior portraits.
• 30 days ago – Open an Etsy store! See more details here.
• 15 days ago – Start this blog and see where it goes.
• 14 days ago – Start a travel blog.
• 30 minutes ago – After gazing at Design and Designers 2011 calendar  and then eyeing some gorgeous and fun invites on 100 Layer Cake (by Oh Joy! and Wedding Paper Divas), I thought, “I should learn letterpress.”

• 5 minutes ago – Upon remembering my plan to start a travel blog, I did some quick research on Google to test my name for it.

ADHD much?

Ok, so maybe it’s not ADHD. I think I’m a dabbler. It’s not that I always chase the newest idea to cross my path. I’ve always had a deep seated love for visual arts and I can definitely see that current running throughout my notions listed above. What I’m worried about is the fact that I don’t have enough time or passion to pursue them all… and how do I choose? Do I break it down to which could turn into a business? Is that really the end goal?

I just don’t know what I want to do with my life…

If I took a week off of reality (hello PTO), I honestly think I’d try all of things listed above… and maybe a few others… and maybe that’s exactly what I need to do.

Is anyone else going through this turbulent exercise of defining your life? I can’t be the only one who stares at my cubicle walls and thinks “this can’t go on forever.”