more art!

That's right, we now have three -- count them, three! -- things hanging on the walls.

This was the "guest book" at our wedding:

And Chachi picked up this piece when we were in Prague in March 2006:

guestoom makeover

Makeover might be a little misleading, it was more like a rearrange. We have a very important visitor coming in the next few days, so we wanted to spruce it up.

Before:

After:

We still need a rug and some art on the walls, but we're getting there.

privacy!

We finally put up shades in the bedrooms! So, now all of the overnight guests we've had will be willing to come back :)




And speaking of updates in the guestroom...

linen closet makeover

I spent part of the weekend inside the linen closet, spiffing it up with leftover Kensington Blue. Looks pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself.

Still need to paint the trim and the door, but we'll save that for the hallway makeover project.

are you sitting down?

Because we finally have something hung on the walls. One thing. But it's a start.

we have curtains

and they match the rug!

It's a little embarrassing to admit how long it took to get these up, so we'll just skip the details.

kitchen renovation - making progress

Well, sort of. We've finally decided on a layout, and we think this one will work.

The fridge will move a smidge to the right, the dishwasher will sit next to it, and then the sink. The (new) stove will also stay where it is, with a small cabinet on either side. From the doorway to the fridge will be one big L, with upper cabinets as well. We'll have a peninsula, too, with a few bar stools.

We've ordered the dishwasher and the range, and also a light fixture for over the dining table, plus matching pendants for the peninsula. This is the light fixture, and the pendants we chose are just single versions of the chandelier.

fun with magnets

Ages ago, I was inspired to put our spices in matching tins and organize them alphabetically (how else?) on some sort of magnetic surface. Before we moved, I got everything into the tins, but hadn't found the right spot to arrange them.

I've grown tired of digging through a big box for spices every time I'm cooking, so I finally broke out the glue gun and got to work. We still have quite a few spices in the box, but these should do it for now.

Of all the things I miss about our condo kitchen, the magnetic knife rack is one of bigger things. Since we moved in here, our poor knives have been jumbled up in a drawer with spatulas, wooden spoons, the pizza cutter, an ice cream scoop, and various other tools.

Ikea Hacker posted a hack using two magnetic knife racks from the Big Blue Box. We picked up a pair of the Gruntals a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to assembling them.

oh, christmas ficus

I was tempted to just Craiglist the ficus, but we gave it a good trim instead, and it looks great! We're determined to remember to rotate it occasionally, so it doesn't grow so lopsided.

We've added lights for Christmas, and we'll put ornaments on it once I pick up some hooks. I don't think this will always serve as our Christmas, but it makes sense this year.

the big kids table

The old pub table I picked up on Craigslist back in 2001 has served us well, but it was time to get a grown-up table.

We found this set a few weeks ago and had it delivered on Friday. The cushion fabric is kinda blah, so I'll get some cute new fabric at some point and recover them.

We're looking forward to serving Christmas dinner next week, without making our guests eat with their plates in their laps. We feel so grown-up!