Post-Holiday DIY project!

So there I was in front of my google search engine. Thinking to myself that I wanted to buy a magnetic chalkboard. When low and behold what comes up in the listing? The always inspiring Design*Sponge of course! Why would I buy one when I have a tutorial on how to make a unique one myself? pfft. What a no brainer.

You ever have one of those "why the heck didn't I think of that" moments? This was definitely one of them. This brilliant DIY project was sent in to Design*Sponge by a reader a little less than a year ago (don't you just love looking through the archives of your favorite blogs?). But the idea isn't old at all, and I plan to try my hand at it.

So here goes my first DIY project of the 2011! I already have a gorgeous vintage mirror that would be great for this but it is too pretty to paint. So now I have a great excuse to make a trip to the junk store.

Let's hope I don't kill myself trying to cut the sheet metal. Maybe I'll just pay someone handy to do that part for me.

You guys find/do any good DIY projects lately?

-Angela

Season Spirit.

Has it really been over two weeks since I updated? This month has really flown by.

Well since this is the day before my 12 day weekend, I wanted to share some holiday festivities and some recent picture snapping.

After receiving my Grandmother's ornament collection from my Grandfather last year, I was all too eager to break out my tree and decorations again this year. So I dug out the charming boxes from the back of my closet, put on the cheesy christmas music, warmed up eggnog and got to decorating. I even baked some apples for the occasion. Not to mention I got to put up a new special ornament from my favorite non-christmas-celebrating person. (his first experience ever making a Christmas ornament). <3

The further I get away from my many years I worked in retail through college, the more I am becoming ok with kind of loving this time of year. I still hate the consumer over-spending side of the holiday. But I can't help but secretly love the warm drinks, fuzzy socks, time with family, oh and the food...cant forget the food. And I suppose I don't really celebrate the holiday in a traditional way but more in a cultural way.

Last year Oklahoma City got hit by the worst ice/snow storm so I didn't get to spend any time with my family because the roads were so bad. After being trapped in my car for several hours, I ended up spending the holiday with friends and friend-of-friends and making the best of it with Wii and wine. It was actually a great time, but I have to say I really missed having that time to goof off with my nieces and nephews and watch holiday movies with them. It's just not the same exchanging gifts in the summer that you didn't have the opportunity to give them at Christmas.

Well here is to hoping for drivable weather and good times with family and friends. I hope you all have a lovely holiday.

-Angela

Tree Tapestry.

I love this new tapestry added onto the Urban Outfitters site yesterday. 

As you may or may not know. I have a thing for tree silhouettes and textures. 

I think this might go really well in my bedroom behind my bed or on my bed. 

What do you guys think of tapestries? Do you have any in your place?

-Angela

Self Portrait.

Sometimes you don't even need to be in the picture to take a self portrait. 

Been reallllyyy busy the past couple days. But wanted to drop in and read a few posts from my fellow bloggers. Hope you guys are having a lovely week. 

-Angela

Snowed In.

When I saw snow outside this morning, I decided to make something for breakfast to warm me up.

...and of course I had to capture a slice of beauty while the eggs were cooking.

Work was cancelled after all and I had all the time in the world.

Because there is nothing else to do but stay inside, edit photos, and have coffee with a fellow snowed in friend.

Just another extreme ice/snowstorm in Oklahoma. The weather here is always changing. Wednesday was in the mid 60s and beautiful.

I always have to have a little reminder of brighter times in my house though.

Call it anti-depressive living.

What do you do when snowed in? I think me and my friend are about to go romping outside in the snow finally. Maybe I'll get a few pictures of that too.

-Angela

Testing out the 1.4 50mm Lens

While I have been waiting for my new 1.4 50mm lens to come in the mail from B&H, 

my very kind friend Joel is letting me borrow his. 

I have been loving experimenting with it. Sunday was a lazy day of editing

 photos and snapping a few pictures from the comfort of my fluffy bed. 

This lens captures light sooo well! And the depth of field is to die for. 

Only thing that has been difficult getting used to is the focal length. 

I have to stand back a lot farther from objects than normal with this lens. 

But it is so worth it. 

Have you guys gotten any new toys that help you explore your creativity lately?

-Angela

Housewarming. Handmade Herbal Bath Blend.

Another housewarming gift I received this weekend.

Handmade Herbal Bath Blend. I loveee the adorable handmade label. But thennnn... Check out that ingredients list! First Ingredient...Cayenne! I am going to try it out tonight and see how it goes.

Looks like it could warm up more than just my house! :0

-Angela

Sunday Thrifting Finds.

Man this weekend was a blast. Went to an awesome Christmas party last night and Chenoa and I had a lil sleepover. Woke up this morning and made some breakfast, listened to some tunes, and then we decided we wanted to go thrifting.

Best find of the day. A little Mid Century Table. Got it at Community Thrift for $15. Love.

Died when I found this print. I have a few other very similar prints. And if you know me you know I love "tree stuff" • Beautiful cream and gold vintage bag. with long shoulder strap.

Vanity tray. Been searching for one for a while and couldnt find one I really liked until today. • Pretty dish I found that I thought would be perfect for holding all my spare change laying around my house.

More "tree stuff". ;) Silver candle with tree bark texture. A great find for me. • Cute throw I found that perfectly matched my stuff. Bluegreen and Taupy color.

This was a hilarious find because I had been getting crap from my friends this weekend for my love of cheap Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Sorry frins but I think it tastes better than Starbucks charred roast. Anyway this was a perfect find to end a weekend. Love the cute 1970s style mug.

The little box was the new find. Bought it because it perfectly matched two other tins I had. I think it's going to hold recipes or tea. The taller one is currently being used for coffee filters. • Pressed flower decoration. If you havent noticed, I love having little elements of nature around my place.

Last but not least. This wasnt a thrifting find, but a housewarming gift from my friend Chenoa. A bottle of Fat Bastard Merlot with a cute little Kimono style holder. Loveeee it. :)

-Angela

Reading Corner turned Christmas Corner.

Remember that reading corner I showed you in the previous post? It has now been the home of my new xmas tree here for a while now. 

I got the LAST white xmas tree at a Kohl's Black Friday sale marked down to $15 bucks. :) (originally priced $50) 

A few people have brought that to my attention that this photo makes my tree look HUGE. So I need to point out that this tree is only 4 feet. It's my lil babytree. 

The thing that makes this tree so special to me is that my grandfather, who is now in his mid-eighties, allowed me to inherit my grandmother's beautiful christmas ornaments this year. So based on when my grandparents were married, had children, and when my grandmother would have bought these; I am guessing these ornaments are from the 50s or 60s. Plus the look of them would tell me no different. 

I've always hated Christmas for as long as I can remember working retail (since I was about 16 until just about a year and a half ago). Now that I actually have time off from work to enjoy family, giving gifts to the kiddos, and not having to fight off rude customers blaming me for ruining their christmas (because they waited until christmas eve to shop).... now Christmas is slowly starting to grow on me. 

-Angela

For Shame! An update about the new place. Finally.

Ok so I found a cute tapestry for Kathleen over at jeremyandkathleen and she told me she was going to link me in her next entry in order to shame me into updating. And ok ok I surrender. The shame has worked. I must update. ;)

Ok so some of you may have already seen this if you are friends with me on my flickr page. But for those 5 readers who arent.. I shall share the UNedited UNartdirected UNfinished pictures of my new place. 

I have actually done quite a bit since these pics were taken and plan on taking some "after" photos once I am all done... or well.. finished enough to be ok with taking more pictures. (because if i waited till i was ALL DONE...it might not ever happen).

So here is the living room. I got rid of those ugly pillows that came with my sofa and the couch looks much better without them. Also got that picture hung and another tree picture above the tv. Dvd player is all hooked up and rearranged. All thats left is to look for some new pillows and a throw to go on the sofa. Probably will take inspiration from a color in that painting most likely. ;) After rearranging this room a zillion times. This just seemed to be the best arrangement for the living room. It is kind of an awkward space. 

View from the sofa. Got some new pics hung on both sides of that mirror. Still can't get the pesky mirror to hang. Tree pic is moved above the tv.  

  

Office clutter is all cleaned up now so I have a clear desk with my orange chair there. And that is an OUTBOX in that tupperware container. A huge one. That self portrait needs to be hung too. In the pic on the right, that little stand there is going to be painted teal and used to hold purses and shoes. Coathooks will be going on that wall. And ive now got a little bowl on that table for mail and keys. Landing strip is almoosstt there. 

Love this little reading corner.  And my dining room now has a giant paper lantern above the table. The bookshelves and the tinyness of my dining area makes my place pretty cozy. 

I love my new kitchen. Its small but it gets the job done so well. If you saw my old one, you would know what a vast improvement this one is. And its so great to have a dishwasher again. You take for granted the little things. And yes. That door leads to a backyard. 

 

It's the little things like wine, fresh flowers, and a welcome mat that make a place feel like home. Private fenced in backyard helps too. I've never had that before and I think its gonna be really nice in the summer. 

 

Of course two of those boxes are still yet to be unpacked.. but wait.. ignore the boxes and look past to the pretty scarf collection...divert divert! :) To the right is my bathroom. The white curtain hides the stackable washer and dryer. I hate seeing washer and dryer sets. I must hide them. Those curtains have been used at my last 3 or 4 places for that very use. 

And THIS is where all the action happens! (or lack thereof..ha) I definitely want to paint or put something on that wall behind my bed but i havent decided what yet. We will see. Would love to put some curtains up to so long as they dont interfere with the natural light. 

Here is my rescued dresser. When I found it, it was completely scratched up and water damaged. Thats when I decided to paint it teal. I still have a whole gallon of that paint left so that is what the little shoe holder I mentioned earlier in the post is going to be painted. Anyone need some teal paint? The other pic is my closet and argyle obsession. The rest of my place has pretty big walk in closets but that closet happens to be kind of awkward. Still working on the most organized arrangement for everything in there. Decorative boxes/bins holding stuff? Shoe racks? All stuff to think about...

Of course there were pics of the unpacked clutter. If you MUST see the rest of my place you can click any of the photos to go to my flickr cause sorry but im not posting the embarrassing clutter piles that have yet to be unpacked.

But it seems there are always new things to be doing to a place. It is never finished. It is constantly an evolution of changing taste and needs. Then those little visions you have itching at the back of your brain just dying to manifest themselves. We will see how It comes along in the following weeks. 

And despite my blogger lazyness. I will even try to update this thing once in a while. 

-Angela