front steps finished...

My front steps are done and I am thrilled with how they came out! I'm no longer embarrassed by how the front of my house looks and I'm no longer worried someone will hurt themselves. I hired a man named Donald Murray II who owns a business called Rockwalls & Creative Stonework in Hopkinton NY. His number is (315)842-6556 and I would highly recommend him. He did a wonderful job for a very fair price and in a brief amount of time. I especially love what he did with the railing anchors. Before they were just concrete squares but now the match the rest of the porch! I had him take a look at the rest of the porch for any other structural issues/general wear and also some issues with some of my railings and give me another estimate. I will probably be having him come back this spring!

more front steps...

Here are some more in-progress shots of my front steps re-build. The project is done now and they came out beautiful! I'll be posting the finished product pictures tomorrow!

there is always something to fix part 2...

The reconstruction of my front steps began yesterday and I'm very excited to be getting this taken care of. The steps have slowly been deteriorating over the past several years, with crumbling mortar and more than a few pieces of sandstone that were deteriorating themselves! My Dad and I did a bunch of patching work 2 years ago, and that fixed the problems for a while, but the past year's weather has been rough on them and I was afraid they were getting dangerous.

I had someone come and do an estimate, and I was very pleased with the estimate he came up with and the examples I had seen of his stonework. He started yesterday by tearing the steps apart and removing some problem mortar from the first landing. I can't wait until I get home and see the progress he has made today.

The pictures above are a little dark but that is because I got home from work late.

there is always something to fix...

I had someone come today to look at my front steps and give me an estimate on fixing them. They are in a sorry state with loose mortar and some separating stones. I'm afraid they soon might become a hazard so I was planning on getting them fixed in the spring but the repair man said me might be able to fix them before this winter which would be nice.

The above picture is what they look like right now- scary! It will be nice to have them looking better and being safer!

Speaking of fixing things, I have embarked upon a new fitness routine thanks to a friend of mine and it is going pretty well so far. More on that soon.

finished...

I've completed my first painting since 1995 and I'm very happy with how it came out. For a long time I wasn't sure it would end up looking like what I had seen in my head, which is probably why it took me long to finish it (over a year). The idea evolved somewhat over time, but I'm pleased with the path the evolution took. I will be entering this in the Remington Museum's fall show.

Now on to starting a new one, I have several ideas in mind. My goal is to not wait another 14 years!

ideas...

My cat Thurston passed away two months ago this past Saturday it it pretty much put a pretty big damper on my summer. He became pretty ill at the end of June with Chronic-Active Renal Insufficiency. He rallied after a few days but most of most of my focus was diverted to making sure he felt well and trying different low protein food options that he would eat. He only liked the sauce in the spaghettios and wasn't crazy about mac and cheese. At the end of July he suddenly stopped eating and went downhill very quickly. On Sunday July 26 we had to make an emergency trip to the vet and I decided it was best for Thurston to let him go.

I kind of lost the ambition I had built up for any kind of summer renovating project at that point. It took Chloe (my dog) and I all of August and most of September to adjust to a house with Thurston and it's still a little bit lonely sometimes without him, especially on these chilly fall days.

Recently, when talking with a friend of mine, I got inspired thinking about a small renovating project for my downstairs office. I really don't use it as an office much anymore since I got a laptop, but I still have a desk in there with my round-based iMac, paper-work storage in the form of a nice antique mini-armoire and a bookshelf. There is also a coat closet with a vinyl accordion door and some nice built in shelves. The whole room is wood paneled. Anyway, I'll have to post some pictures.

Suffice to say, I'm thinking of a possible mini-makeover. Some paint on the wood paneling, new curtain rods and curtains, a new desk, more wall shelves and a new bookcase. I have a lot of collectibles. So, I'm thinking this week I'll post some pictures and maybe people can give me some ideas. What do you think Anna?

On a final note, I'm almost done with a painting I have been working on for a long time. It's been 14 years since I've done a new painting, and I'm very excited to be painting again. I honestly don't know why I've waited so long to start painting again, but I'm glad I've started.

what to do, what to do...

Has it really been two months since I last posted? I'm very bad, but things have been a little crazy. After this week, I will finally have an extended period of free time. I'm trying to decide what I want to do for a summer project.

Here are my options:

- Re-do Thurston's room upstairs, which involves ripping down paneling, patching plaster walls, taking down a drop ceiling, re-doing the closet and painting.

- Re-do my stairwell and downstairs hallway, which involves ripping down paneling, seeing what's underneath, sanding and painting the stairs, putting in a new hall light and new flooring, redoing some of the stairs woodwork and taking down the wrought iron railing and painting it.

- Re-finish my living room floor, replacing the door and window trim and baseboards, painting and buying new furniture.

There are probably a dozen other things to do as well, such as replace my front door, put in a new storm door on my side porch, and fix my badly deteriorating front steps.

Any ideas anyone?

squirrel

This fat and sassy squirrel was foraging around in my rose garden last weekend, so I snapped some pictures of him through my window. I love squirrels, they seem so crafty!

However, like many other people worldwide, I'm not sure I'm a big fan of squirrel nudity. Perhaps I should buy him some of these. Only together can we combat squirrel nudity!

spring cleaning, of the outdoor variety

Hello everyone!! Spring has sprung and I'm back to blogging! I hope everyone had a pleasant and productive winter. Mine was crazy crazy crazy, but I emerged relatively unscathed.

I'm in the middle of my Spring break, and I've been spending a lot of time working outside. I never had a chance to get my leaves up in the Fall, as my back was bothering me and then we got early snow. So now, I'm paying the piper.

I've managed to rake out most of the perimeter of my property, trimmed all my rose bushes and got the rose garden all raked out. I'm waiting for the guy who helps me with my lawn to now come and take away all the leaves. The West side of the garage needs some TLC, and I'm trying to figure out my plan of attack there. More to come soon!

By the way, the last picture is what I look like after a few hours of yard-work!

new bedroom rug- thanks IKEA!

So, it has been forever since I have posted, but nothing has really been going on with my house. All of my time as of late has been spent on work, namely my day job teaching high school art and my night time job teaching prospective art teachers how to be art teachers. I'm really enjoying all of it, but I have been insanely busy. I was lucky enough to get away to NYC this past week for a few days with some friends and I had a wonderful time- it was just what I needed. I hadn't been away anywhere for almost 2 years! I was able to go the Metropolitan Museum of Art, eat lots of great food, and thankfully got to have lunch with the fabulous Anna from Door Sixteen!

Yesterday I went to IKEA with my friend Anne to help her look at some kitchen stuff. I found the above rug and thought it would go very well in my bedroom. I really like the way it looks and how it makes the room a little cozier. Plus it was only $45 Canadian!

ps: I still haven't hidden my cords! Forgive me!

my hands are frozen

The above picture of my mom feeding the gulls in Panama City Beach, Florida was taken by my father. They are spending the winter there for the first time in their 43 years of marriage and I'm happy for them.

Even though I'm FROZEN here! It's -6 here!!!

So, my parents are soaking up the sun, and I miss them, but I've been insanely busy.

I'm going to be teaching a class at a local university starting this coming Monday and I'm super excited/nervous! I will be teaching prospective art teachers how to teach art. I think I'm going to really enjoy this and I'm sure I'll learn a lot in the process.

So, I haven't accomplished much on the home front, but I'm hoping to get back into after my new class starts. I still have decorating to do!

holiday aftermath

I love this picture of me because this is how I look every morning when I get up, regardless of the day. This is me at my parents house Christmas morning. I actually had a wonderful time with my family! I hope everyone else had a wonderful and restful holiday! I still have a week off, and thankfully my back is feeling much much better! I was hoping to get some skiing in, but we have had a stretch of several days with the temperature ranging from the low 50's to the low 60's so all the snow is gone for the time being. I'm sure we will get more soon though, after all this is Upstate New York.

I'm still working on finishing touches for my bedroom, I got sidetracked because of my back injury. I'm hoping to finally get that dresser upstairs before I go back to work. I also need to figure out what I want for artwork and for a rug on the floor. All in good time.

Throughout the winter I will be posting more but not always about house related things, as I don't have a lot of time to undertake very many big projects during the winter. I do want to keep in touch with all the great people who come here and I am enjoying hearing what you have to say. I will be talking more about the things that influence my style and some other home related things.

Believe me, I always have plenty to say!

the holidays are upon us

Hello everyone. Sorry for the absence of posts as of late, things have been nutty. Report card time has just passed, I re-injured my back (I had a bad fall two winters ago) and have been laid up a lot of the time.

Despite all this I am excited for the holidays! I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and with friends I haven't seen in a while. I'm also hoping to get out and do some cross-country skiing over my vacation once I get my back rested up.

I took some pictures a while ago of my finished upstairs hallway with the intent of posting them here but then basically got insanely busy and forgot. Thankfully Anna reminded me of them a few days ago! I'm so pleased with the space now, it's amazing what a dew inches here and there can do to increase the feeling of space!

new bed throw

I found this bed throw at T.J. Maxx for only $10! It really adds a pop of color in the room and is so warm and cozy for taking naps! Chloe and Thurston love it too!

(Yes, I know I haven't hidden my cords yet, I can't find the cord clips I need anywhere around here!)

it's curtains for you!

My curtain rings came and they make such a difference to me! They really do make them look so much better (Thank you for the suggestion Anna!).

I finally found a rod for the bedroom closet that I liked. I looked everywhere for a rod that could mount in the opening but I couldn't find anything except for crappy tension rods and my experience with them in the past has not been good. I think once the curtain is shortened it will look excellent and I love how it ties in with the light shade and the shears.

Edit- I'm going to buy more rings for the closet curtain, I don't think there are enough right now.

mirror mirror on the wall...

Does a decent full length mirror for under $50 exist? If so could someone point it out? My nice new bedroom rug is beginning to look more and more like a dream...

no go on the dresser

My friend Edd and I tried, but the dresser could not make it around the 90 degree turn in my stairs. It's about 2 inches too wide. So, I'll be contacting someone tomorrow to see if they can take it apart and put it back together upstairs for me. Hopefully this will be an option, if not, then I will have to buy one and bye bye awesome rug.

the dresser

This is the dresser that I keep mentioning that has had to live in my yet unseen by all of you downstairs bedroom because it wouldn't fit up the stairs. This has made clothing storage very inconvenient for me. I'm going to make an attempt again tomorrow to get it up there since I have removed the carpet and padding from the stairs since my last attempt to try to get it up there. I hope it works because I really like it and it complements my bed well. Plus I need it so I can have clothes in my newly remodeled bedroom! Wish me luck!

Pulling things together...

(Click to see it bigger!)

I guess this is where I'm supposed to step in and start talking about decor stuff, right??

Adam, I did a little mock-up of some things you can do to make this corner of your room feel more finished.

1. Blue would be a nice color for a brightly-colored throw. This is the RITVA from IKEA, and it's only $10.

2. Please excuse the generic flower photo, but I wanted to show you the scale I think you need in that corner. Also, don't hang anything too high!! In general, artwork should be hung 57-60" on center (i.e., a line drawn at 57 inches up the wall would bisect the artwork horizontally). Trust me.

3. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HIDE YOUR CORDS! The ones at your bedside can be run down the back leg of the table and bundled under the bottom shelf so you don't see anything at all. For the clock on the windowsill, try wrapping the cord with white ribbon and using white cable clips to control its placement. (Yes, I am psychotic.)

4. Move the clock on the windowsill over to the side, next to the plant. (Again, I am psychotic.) Then it won't look like you're trying to make the clock a focal point. With lots of small items, it's good to display them in clusters rather than spread out singly. Benita has a good post on displaying groups here.

5. I know you're not sure yet if you can have a rug, but I think it would add a lot to the space. This one is on sale at CB2 for $200.

6. I'm still voting for no curtain! Your window is so gorgeous without any dressing.

7. You need some cute pets. Might I suggest Thurston and Chloe? :) :)

p.s. I edited your last few posts so the images aren't getting cut off...

my window is no longer naked

I got my new Waverly Home Damask shears and my Thomas O'Brien Acorn drapery rod up tonight. I was nervous about drilling into my new walls but everything went ok. I think they frame the windows very nicely. Now I need to decide on artwork!