Small Improvements

It's felt like a really long weekend.  We did go to Ikea on Friday, but I have to say I wouldn't recommend anyone else doing it the way we did -- in a snowstorm, without a car.  We took public transportation to get there, which usually isn't a big deal, but the two or three blocks we had to walk from the bus stop to the store felt more like two or three miles in the freezing temperatures and swirling snow.  Needless to say, the blue and yellow of Ikea's entrance beckoned to me like the gateway to paradise.

We ended up just getting a few things for around the house, & built the shelves ourselves on Saturday (well, Dave did, I just sat on the couch telling him if things looked level from where I was).

Ta-da!  Shelves over my desk/craft area!

I'm still in the process of finding the best places for everything, but it's a great start!  :)  It's such a relief to have the actual space of my desk open to work on.

I have a few pendants hanging on the cork board, & I just got some more frames & maps in the mail, so I'm pretty sure I'll spend Monday working on them.

I got frames for these CTA maps (previously they were just nailed into the wall, not cute).  I think they look pretty nice, now!

This whole area behind the couch is still "under construction".  I thought I would be building more shelves back there, for my books, but I'm not 100% sure yet...

Tonight I have a Yelp Elite event (yay!), and then I'm excited to watch Adele perform on the Grammys... I hope y'all had a fun weekend, and stayed warm!

A Small Change

Dave and I are working on a little living room re-arrangement.  So far, this is what we've got.  For anyone who doesn't know (anyone other than my Momma and my friend Marika, that is), the couch used to be against those two windows, and the TV was on the opposite wall.  It's not a huge change yet, but it feels a little more user-friendly this way.

Tomorrow, we're taking a trip to Ikea (yay!) to hopefully make a few nice updates.

For one, that blank wall behind the couch will hopefully have a bookshelf on it, if not by tomorrow, at least soon (because I can't stand having my books out of order).

There may or may not be potted plants involved.

Oh, and shelves over my desk-craft area!?  I hope so!

What I Want... the Perfect Room

This is the stuff (my) dreams are made of.

Yes, yes, yes, I'll TAKE it!!

What I'm Debating... Dresser (TV stand) Colors

I have a massive dresser in my living room that I'm using as a TV stand -- it's a small apartment, give me a break.  ;)  I'm trying to decide between more or less matching it to the wall color, or going with a bright, sunny yellow (which I also have in the tablecloth, on the opposite side of the room).  Decisions, decisions...

These are some pictures I found in various places, I'm hoping they will serve as inspiration for me.

Should I go with the same green as the wall:

Bright turquoise:

Or, sunny yellow?:

I like them all, and I really don't know what would be the best match for my living room.

What I'm Decorating... Living(/Dining) Room

Obviously, I am far from done in this room, but over the last week I've at least made a little more progress.  Can you see, from the photos, what I'm going for?  Preppy green and pink, fresh and refreshing, clean, cheerful, and fun!

This is the chalkboard dining table, now covered in an Old Navy scarf (until I can find a proper table cloth) to bring more fun color to this area of the room -- apparently the curtains and lamp shade aren't enough for me!

This is the pink sofa, covered in a light pink-purple blanket, with all of my Ikea pillows, and that odd maroon blanket that I hate the look of, but love the feel of.

Well, I really need to get proper drawer pulls for the dresser that serves as a TV stand in the living room...  the drawers are a fun blue-green, and the other color is the same "preppy" green as the walls.  I call this dresser the "cheeseburger in paradise", because it reminds me of Key West and Jimmy Buffet.  The top is still red, because I haven't been motivated to move the TV, VCR, Wii etc. to paint it.

I love my globe ($8 at a thrift store!), and although I would rather have all of my favorite books on display (some of them are still there), I decided instead to display all of the books with white/cream/light blue spines to make it look a little cleaner.  The little framed picture on top of the books will eventually be painted hot pink/lime green, I'm just waiting for a chance to go to IN to buy spray paint.  Yeah, seriously, you can't buy spray paint in Chicago...

My cat Olivia is terrified of that kitty pillow!  This was the Xmas Chair, but today I finally got around to unraveling the four strings of lights I had wrapped around it for the last 3 months.  I hung the phone on the wall, but need to do something with the cord.  The brown door that you can see just a slice of will eventually be painted a very light, creamy yellow.