Words Cannot Describe . . .

. . . How completely happy I am.  Keith proposed on Friday night and I’ve been in a state of euphoria ever since.   We’re getting married – woo hoo!  To be totally honest, I couldn’t care less what the apartment looks like right now.  I just want to plan the wedding and get hitched!!

Taryn, You are So Lucky

I’ve been taking a little break from the blog this week.  The potential decorating projects swarming around in my head finally got to me, I think.  Total mental exhaustion.  But then Taryn sent me pics of her newly-acquired vintage dishware, and I just had to share. 

So. Cool.  She’s got a whole set – dishes, cups, saucers, everything.  Color me jealous.  I just hope I get to eat some food off of them sometime soon!  Taryn . . .

Coordinating Fabrics – or – Losing One’s Mind

We’ve been spending a lot of time on the sun porch lately (aka The Room Full of Recyclables, a Broken Vacuum Cleaner and Dead Plants from Last Summer).  It sounds about as lovely as it is.  It has tons of potential though, and I am preparing for a full attack.  I’ve got three large pillows I made years ago that I love and they are my starting point – they’re awesome.  Check out the leftover swatches (which by the way, I actually saved – from like 2001.  I found them last night and was rather proud of myself, I have to admit).

I now need complimentary fabrics for the following items:

1. A new cover for the futon mattress.  These pillows live on the futon, so I need something that will act as a backdrop, but I really want a pattern, no solids.

2. Curtains for the windows.  These will usually stay open, but there are times when either guests or we will sleep on the porch in the summer, and we’ll need some privacy.

3. A curtain to block off the stairwell.  We live on the top floor of our building, so no one will be walking by, but it’s nice to close off the area anyway.  I will probably use the same fabric for the window curtains as well.

4. Seat covers for two bentwood chairs.  The seats were originally caned, and I’d love to replace that someday.  In the meantime, I just need to cover the ugly black vinyl on there now.

And this is what I’m looking at so far . . .

For the futon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the curtains:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the chairs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well this post has helped me considerably!  A couple of potentials were deleted after I inserted them and realized how terrible they were with the others.  This will probably all change, but I feel like I’m at least headed in a direction – a very colorful, quirky direction anyway . . .

A Spring Centerpiece

Keith and I threw an impromptu dinner party on Saturday night for some friends - it was totally haphazard and really a lot of fun, and I am determined to do that sort of thing more often.   Must be more impulsive.  So anyway, I pulled out a vintage tablecloth and my Jadeite dishes (which we rarely use); the table was extended its maximum length and surrounded by practically every mismatched chair in the house, and suddenly I really loved the dining room.  I was so excited to fill it with people.  I topped it all off by throwing together this centerpiece, which is still living on the table – I love it!

The metal planter is actually a vintage gelatin mold, and I had just potted a few new plants into it earlier in the day.  The bouquet was a gift from Keith – he’s so sweet.  And the doilies were a gift from his mother.  I have no idea what any of the plants are, but I sure like ‘em!  Super easy and so darn cute.

I Love You, Mr. Ceramic Fish Ashtray

I was restless this weekend.  There are so many things I want to do in the apartment – decorate the sun porch, fix up Keith’s office, get more artwork for the dining room (the list goes on and on) – but I’m so overwhelmed by it all that I get a little paralyzed.  Friday was gorgeous so I told myself it was okay to leave my projects and just go walk around the neighborhood.  It was on that little walk when I spotted this gorgeous thing:

I’ve been mildly obsessed with large vintage ashtrays lately (in fact, I just bought one on eBay last week) and it was pretty impossible for me to leave this one behind.  It’s navy and gold – two colors I’m trying to bring into the dining room more – and it’s huge, and it’s got two crazy fish doing an odd balancing act.  It was pretty much meant to be.  Not only is it awesome, but it’s the perfect place for me to throw my keys and sunglasses when I walk in the door.   True love, my friends.  True love.

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Posted by Veronica Sheaffer

I’m Featured in the Kitchen Cure!

Woo hoo!  My cookbook storage idea was just featured in Apartment Therapy’s Kitchen Cure.  Check it out here.  Makes me feel a little better about not doing anymore work around the house today.  It’s too nice outside – I think instead I’ll go out and buy something!

I Want to Live Here

I kind of want to sell everything I own and move into this place:

I just saw this Jonathan Adler interior on Desire to Inspire and I am officially pea green with envy.  If I lived here I would make all of my friends come over for Mai Tais and some sort of flaming appetizer every night of the week.  And I’d wear caftans – so many caftans . . .

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Posted by Veronica Sheaffer

Spring Cleaning: Phase 1

The Kitchen Cure on Apartment Therapy has motivated me to reevaluate the way we store our kitchen wares and try to make our space more functional.  We have a nice, big pantry that is currently filled with everything from dry goods to cleaning products to tools, paint and camping equipment.  It is seriously filled to the brim.  But I just made it slightly less filled by moving our cookbooks from a pantry shelf out into the room.

Our microwave used to sit on two wooden crates turned upside down.  I just moved one of the boxes to the top of the stack and turned it on its side.  Lucky me, all of the cookbooks fit perfectly inside.  The books are now far easier for us to locate and use, and they bring a rainbow of color to this little section of the room.  15 minutes well spent, I’ll say!

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Posted by Veronica Sheaffer

Decisions, Decisions . . .

I was lazily flipping through the latest CB2 catalogue over my breakfast smoothie this morning when I spotted these tables and started to freak out a little.

Left: Hive Side Table ($44.95)
Middle: Link Side Table ($149.00)
Right: Pisces Side Table ($79.95)

Each one is now a serious contender for the kitchen.  I love all three of them, but I’m just not sure what will work best in that space.  Each one is the right height, but if I go with the table on the left or right, I’ll need a pair.  I would only need one if I went with the Link table in the middle.  The other thing to consider is color – I would have to paint the Hive or Pisces tables.  I have no idea which color I would choose, but they wouldn’t do as they are now.  It would be cheaper for me to buy two Hive tables instead of one Link table.  I think maybe the Pisces table is a bit better as an outdoor table (its intended use).  Would the Link table be too wide?  Would any of these even look good in that room??  Am I just tired of looking at tables and buying the first thing that I can afford?  Why is this so hard – what is happening to me??

Argh.

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Posted by Veronica Sheaffer

Apartment Tour: The Living Room

Keith and I are doing a cleansing diet this week, which means no dairy, gluten, sugars, alcohol and basically no meat.  We’re trying to hit a junk food reset button, because things have been getting a little out of hand lately (Cheetos, you broke my heart with those All Natural Cheese Puffs, you really did.  So hard to resist.)  Anyway, last night we were making a big ol’ vegetable puree which took forever, and in the meantime I snapped a few pictures of the living room.  And so here they are – on with the tour!

That sofa was the first major piece of furniture I bought for myself when I was moving into my last apartment (and it was still only $200 on Craigslist).  I desperately wanted a ’50s sectional, but never thought I’d actually get one.  I bought this from the original owner whose house looked like a time capsule – so cool.