Monday, February 05, 2007

Put it on the list!


Upstairs in what eventually will be our walk-in closet off the master bedroom is a piece of furniture I am excited to make new again. This was my great-grandma's vanity. It doesn't look so bad once you clean off a few layers of dust and dirt. It could also use a new paint job. Any suggestions? I am picturing creme or off white.

In order to get this picture, here are all of the items that needed to be taken out of the drawers or cabinet. Some I might just keep for nostalgic value - none of them appear to have expiration dates....

Here are another set of handles that we found in the basement and it took a while to figure out what they were for (they almost were put in the sell pile - oh no!). I think they also sell these at Anthropologie here - so perhaps I may end up changing out for another color.


Granted it is not at the top of the list, because crazy me I think it will be easier to paint outside when it is not 30 below (with the wind chill). But it is nice to have some small manageable projects to tackle in a short period of time when you know you are embarking on a renovation that may/will suck time, energy and money out of you for months if not years to come!

Friday, February 02, 2007

Addendum to previous post

My sister informed me that I left out the ending of my story.....

Yes I was dropped off first.

How's that for keeping my posts short, Mr. Bighead?

Why I love our house/Why I am neurotic...

Inspite of knowing there is a great deal of work to be done (especially inside), our house is actually in pretty good shape from the outside. Like my 13 lb. pup - I'll admit it - I like compliments - which sounds kind of vain.

So how does this relate to our house? Well the thing is that although our neighborhood is changing and younger families are replacing many of the "old-timers" like my grandparents - it is somewhat unusual to 1) be able to afford a decent home in our neighborhood 2) want a home that will require a great deal of rennovation and 3) be under 30. For the unexpectedness and many other reasons, I love getting compliments on our house

I sometimes take a shared ride limo from the airport when I travel for work. If I get dropped off first, I often get the "really, you live here?". I sometimes think because I look so young people assume that I must still live with my parents.

Last night was truly unique because when I got picked up at ORD I realized that sitting next to me in the car was a guy who I had gone to college with and had a huge crush on him. Amy - if you are reading this - remember "dry cleaning" boy?

I was all bundled up in my hat, scarf, gloves. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to identify me from our brief friendship more than 7 yrs ago. So I sat the entire car ride pretending to sleep, struggling to remember how I had met him and hoping he would not start a conversation with me. Neurotic, right?

It gets worse. My head than turns to thoughts of hoping I get dropped off first. Even though I am sure he has no idea who I am, I get a great pleasure out of thinking that a "wow - she lives here" thought might cross his mind. Completely neurotic, right? Who spends 45 mins hoping someone will compliment your house if only in there head.

So in summary that's one of the reason I love my house and why I am neurotic.