Bag a Day Challenge

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or find to be beautiful.~William Morris

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Sarah. Check out her blog here. We both agreed that we have too much clutter in our lives and we want to do something about it, ridding ourselves of non-essentials. We decided to go for it together. We are going through our entire homes! Our goal is to clear out a bag a day.

Guidelines
It goes in the bag if:

1. you don't use it
2. you don't love it.
3. you won't need it at some point.

So far I have several different bags going.
1. Trash
2. Recycle
3.Giveaway
4.Donate


I know it seems like a lot of work. We are going at it for two weeks! I bet we can all come up with 14 bags, easily. Do you want to join us? If you do you let me know in the comments, with a link to your post, and I will include it here!

My plan is to be systematic. I am going room by room and leaving no stone unturned, no throw pillow unconsidered.

Day 1


I began in our bedroom. I went through all of my clothing and cleared out things that don't quite fit right, that I don't really like, any clothes that leave me feeling meh. Why would I want to wear things that don't make me feel good?!? I easily filled a bag. Total time: 20 minutes as I tried on several articles of clothing that hadn't been worn in ages.

Still Life

It is a quiet morning here in Wyoming. The sun is shining. The grass is greening. The air smells fresh after yesterday's rain. The house is mostly quiet, two girls playing with calm intensity. Animals laid out in patches of sunlight. Tea at the ready. All is well.

Another Look into Our Home

When we first moved in our living room went through some changes. Read this post. Since then it has gone through several transformations as we have figured out how we live in this space. I just thought I would share how  it looks today.





Does your house change a lot or does it stay basically the same?

Kitchen Before and After or Painting the Cabinets Part II

 We we moved into our house in April 2011 it was in great condition. The previous owner left us a house in excellent repair. The only changes we have had to make are purely to our personal taste. Over the months I have given you a few glimpses as we have worked our way through the house, but I have never really given you a good look at the kitchen. Mostly because I just wasn't a fan of the cabinets. I kept waiting for a magical window of opportunity to paint and it did not come. So, as I mentioned in this post, I just did it anyway. Well, I finally finished painting the cabinets. When I started to look through the kitchen we had on sale day I was shocked to see just how much it has changed. Yes, there are still things I want to do (new fridge, range hood, counter tops, back-splash, dishwasher, etc.) I am really starting to like this space. Join me on a little before and after tour!









Since move in day we have: removed the border, painted the walls, replaced faucet, replaced stove, painted cabinets, replaced cabinet hardware, new light fixture, replaced outlet and light switch covers, and probably some more stuff I have forgotten. So, now here is a look into our kitchen as it is today.

















So there you have it! Join me tomorrow for another look into our house as we have been painting this week.

Technology of the Ancients

We tend to decorate with somewhat unusual  items. Sure, we have the usual framed pictures and vases, but we also have things like typewriters, phones and cameras that are set out for decorative use (see exhibits A,B,C).


Exhibit A
Here we have a vintage doughnut phone, it's mid-century and collectible. We no longer have a land line so this beauty just sits out. Occasionally Cordelia will make imaginary phone calls to Sadie, but it's purpose at this point is purely decorative.


Exhibit B
This fine specimen is a vintage typewriter, it get occasional use, but mostly is used for decoration.


Exhibit C
This is one of many vintage cameras we collect. Original use, taking pictures. Current use, cool looking dust collector.

Well, we recently had company over and they spotted our ipod (purchased in 2005) "Whoa!" They exclaimed, " I haven't seen one of those in years! Is it decoration or do you actually use it?"


Exhibit D
Apparently this 5 year old bit-o-technology that we currently use fits in with a bunch of 50year old technology. Hmmm I guess we are having trouble keeping up. What about you? Do you ride the wave of technology or are you still rocking a Walkman in a non-ironic manner?

to read more about the phone click here

Technology of the Ancients

We tend to decorate with somewhat unusual  items. Sure, we have the usual framed pictures and vases, but we also have things like typewriters, phones and cameras that are set out for decorative use (see exhibits A,B,C).


Exhibit A
Here we have a vintage doughnut phone, it's mid-century and collectible. We no longer have a land line so this beauty just sits out. Occasionally Cordelia will make imaginary phone calls to Sadie, but it's purpose at this point is purely decorative.


Exhibit B
This fine specimen is a vintage typewriter, it get occasional use, but mostly is used for decoration.


Exhibit C
This is one of many vintage cameras we collect. Original use, taking pictures. Current use, cool looking dust collector.

Well, we recently had company over and they spotted our ipod (purchased in 2005) "Whoa!" They exclaimed, " I haven't seen one of those in years! Is it decoration or do you actually use it?"


Exhibit D
Apparently this 5 year old bit-o-technology that we currently use fits in with a bunch of 50year old technology. Hmmm I guess we are having trouble keeping up. What about you? Do you ride the wave of technology or are you still rocking a Walkman in a non-ironic manner?

Close to Home

We have been spending a lot of time at home over the past week. I suppose that is to be expected when one finds themselves in the newborn bubble. So my whole world has really become rather narrowed, but in a good way I think. We have made a couple of quick trips and we take walks in the evening, but most of our time is spent in the house or yard, just hanging out.


Bedhead looking out the window


Sleeping baby


Flowers from my husband


Bumblebee keeping watch over her kingdom


Our overflowing book basket. We have been reading a lot of books. Good way to spend time with Cordelia while nursing.

Soon enough we will be back out in reality and that will be good too, but for now we are keeping close to home.

Around the House: Projects and Acquisitions

I can't say if it is due to my new found freedom now that I am done teaching until fall or if it is pregnancy/nesting related, but I have been a whirling dervish of craftiness. Most of my craftiness has been related to the home and improving our space so I suspect that it is probably more nesting related than anything. Perhaps it is because I realize that from July-October I am going to be spending a lot of time at home and I don't want to sit around and think about all of the stuff I need to do and won't be able to. Who knows?

Then, in addition to the home projects, we have had a few amazing finds as well so our house has made a few jumps that we are excited about.

So here is a little show and tell from my recent projects and acquisitions. I promise that I will keep this limited to just a few selections as my craft projects are too many to cover in one go. I will try and share some tutorials over the coming days and weeks.

Do you remember this post? Near the end of the post I asked for some help in choosing a paint scheme for my hutch. I decided to tackle the project in increments, so I started by painting just the interior. I chose a baby blue that we had left over from painting the basement bathroom. I am all about using what you have, plus I like to have colors and themes repeat throughout the house...a little continuity and good flow in my opinion.



We removed the glass panels, opened the windows and I started painting the hutch. Once I was done I was mighty pleased with the result. Eric really likes it as is and I think I should paint the rest of the hutch white. What do you think?

While I had the paint out I looked around the room, searching for something else to paint. I painted a frame (not shown) and then I spotted our ugly door stop. The door stop is one of those rods that you put in a sliding glass door as an additional lock or something. Anyway ours was super ugly and boring.



I painted it white first. Then, when that was dry, I taped it off randomly and painted over it in blue.



The results aren't going to change my world or anything, but it just made my home a bit more of my own. Plus I am a firm believer that it is those little touches that truly make a space.

Speaking of little touches. We were given these wonderful mid-century salt and pepper shakers. Cute huh?!



Another mid-century gift, given to me by Victoria while we were in NM is this great planter. I added some succulents and really find is quite charming. Goes right with our style!



Finally, the big finish....a few years ago we found these chairs in Denver. We grabbed them and since that point have been looking for a matching table. We certainly could have purchased a new table, but we knew that eventually one would find us. So we just had to bide our time. Well, that day finally arrived. We purchased this table and 4 more chairs at an estate sale for almost nothing---actually the cost was just a donation to the humane society so it was a double victory. WOOO!



So, there you have it a little update on recent projects and acquisitions.

The Great Procrastinator

Every couple of weeks Eric and I take a little time to get ourselves motivated in whatever direction we need. This past week Eric and I had one of those good conversations and I was all pumped up to get things done. You see I have several areas that just need some attention. Of course there are the areas of my life that always take priority---family and art. I can go along procrastinating about the less desirable tasks for only so long before I just need to get it done. Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done in a timely manner?

Anyway, Eric and I got all pumped up this weekend and I was ready to whip myself into shape. I envisioned the end result to be a life of order and perfect harmony---which is totally my style (in my imagination). Then there was a spring cold and my birthday and work and other little excuses kept piling up and my enthusiasm was waning by yesterday. However, I awoke this morning to a beautiful sunny day and my motivation has returned. So I am going to ride this wave and get some things accomplished.

I have been keeping up with the daily tasks and chores that have just become as natural to me as breathing so I can really tackle the chores that need my full attention.




I have some things that I am excited to do...planting and working in the yard. Weeding should probably happen too and with that comes a sense of guilt as I pull weeds out of the ground (you can read about my weed guilt here).


I get to spend the day with this girl. I have no doubt we will go for a walk and spend much of our day outside.


I also have the less desirable tasks. I need to catch up on filing. What is it about the simple act of filing that goes against every fiber of my being? I really just want to start a big bonfire inside our filing cabinet and/or aggressively hit the file cabinet with a large hammer and tear the papers apart with my teeth. Oh, was that too extreme, sorry.


I also need to address this bag full of clothes that need mending, a button here, a quick seam repair there. All fast fixes that just need doing.


Finally, I need your help. I have been trying to settle on a color for this hutch for about a year now. I have been up and down the color spectrum. Have you got any ideas for me?

House Tour: Master Bedroom

Welcome back. If you have missed any of the previous house tour posts you can check out the last one here which has links to previous posts...

BEFORE
So when we first moved into our house the master bedroom needed some major cosmetic work.

The blue paint, while vibrant, wasn't really to our taste. The hardwood floors were already exposed (unlike several other rooms) but they needed some TLC.

There were some cracks in the plaster (not structural issues thank goodness) which were patched up by the previous homeowner for us which was so sweet!

AFTER
We chose a rich brown paint for the walls, which looks really sharp against the white trim and the white closet. The floors were spruced up a bit and then we brought in our stuff.

We like to keep our room clean and clutter free. No TV, no computer, no knick knack attacks.So we just put up a few items, like some of our camera collection.

We continued our rather unconventional decorating habit of mixing extreme prints, but it just suits us so well.

We decorated the walls with our Japanese print collection. The prints have such clean lines that they don't really compete with the pattern of the bedspread.

We love how the room is really bright, but it doesn't actually get much direct sunlight.

The darker paint keeps the room feeling calm, warm, and sophisticated.

So there you have it for the master bedroom. We still have more to come (kitchen, basement, bathrooms, etc.) Keep watching and I will post more house tour photos as we finish projects and move forward with our new (to us) home!