MASTER BEDROOM UPDATE: POST ONE

I think we all know I've been slowly tackling the curtains in all of our main floor.  So far our living room, dining room, and mud room all have new drapes and over Christmas our bedroom drapes arrived.  As always, I bought the fabric and had them made by someone more talented than me.  The blinds that came with the house were hideous in the master bedroom and I'm so glad they're gone!  I bought black out lining for the first time for these curtains and it was a good purchase.  It makes the room so much darker at night (there's a street lamp outside our window), and in the day (when I'm sleeping after a 24 hour call shift)!  It is supposed to cut out 90% of the light (I think).

The blinds we've had up for two years.

The after.  Much improved!

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS 2012

The three of us had our own family Christmas this morning at home and Leroy was quite excited.  We used Christmas as an opportunity to replace all of the toys he has destroyed over the last two years, (in particular, the Kong we bought when he was a baby and the nylabone from last year).  Here are a few before and after photos that are kind of funny.  Thank goodness he only chews his toys!  Seriously, did you ever see a dog destroy a Kong like that??



Before and after.

It's definitely a doggie choking hazard.

 

I have watched: Fred Claus, Four Christmases, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, and Frosty.  I've devoured a box of Toblerone.  We're heading upriver to visit family this afternoon.  (Does it sound like we have some Christmas spirit?)  I plan on getting through more of the "Game of Thrones" series in the next week.  I'm almost done book two now!  Merry Christmas - more blogging to come over my break, I'm sure.

TURNDOWN SERVICE

This is my super quick study break of the evening.  I needed a little refresher because I am very consistently failing all the practice tests I've been taking!

We had friends over for board games and nachos last weekend (after the Santa Claus parade) and I started thinking about how I make the bed in a "fancy" way when guests are over.  Friends can very clearly see our bedroom if they're visiting because it is right beside the main floor bathroom.  When people are over I try to tidy up the bedroom because of this and that means making the bed!  I can't lie...many days the sheets are untouched after I wake up at the crack of dawn.

To me the perfect bed has different textures, colours, and patterns of linen.  Personally, I don't have the expendable cash to have as many pillows/sheets as I would like, but I make due with what I have!  (It took 4 years of marriage for me to finally buy a duvet cover.)

I like the contrast between our cream coloured sheets and the white/navy duvet.  Both are neutrals but the different palette adds some interest.  The white coverlet is knit which adds some texture and the duvet cover has a strip of rippled fabric.  If  I had patterned pillowcases, I would add them to our pillows for an added pattern but because I don't, I put on the pillow shams that match the duvet.  You can't see it, but we also have a grey bedskirt I "splurged" on when I bought the duvet cover.  When I'm making the "fancy" bed, I fold the duvet in half at the bottom of the bed to draw attention to the sheets and coverlet.  I know it's probably a little bit crazy and overboard (which is why I don't do this every day) but it makes me feel like my house is more put together when company arrives!

MAKING A HOUSE A HOME

Do you ever have days when you're just tired of the way your house looks?  For example, we haven't changed our kitchen at all since we moved in and the cupboards have old, chipping, painted doors.  That is so far from the to do list it's not even funny, but still there are days when I feel annoyed by the rooms we haven't worked on.  The bedrooms have old dirty carpet that isn't pretty to look at or fun to vacuum.

A friend of mine recently moved into a new apartment and is in the process of making it homey and cozy (and it looks so great)!  She inspired me to put up some more artwork and make the few little changes I can that are inexpensive, easy, and not time consuming.  After visiting her new place, I printed off a photo I took last summer on vacation in Prague and hung it in our bathroom.  There was already a hook there from the previous owners and I just hadn't taken advantage of it.  Even something as small as a new photo on the wall can give you a new outlook on your home.  (I keep running into the bathroom just to look at it.)

This is the photo I took at the John Lennon wall in Prague.

There it is on the bathroom wall!  Making things look cozy and lived in.

NEW MUSIC

Hi everyone!

I have been a horrible absentee blogger the last couple of months.  I started clerkship in September (AKA year three of medical school and the true beginning of clinical experience), and it has been very fun and exciting but also incredibly busy and tiring.  Shocking, I know.  I am hoping to get back to blogging but my life has been very un-artistic recently.  We have been eating frozen meals for the last month (although either my mom or myself cooked them), so I don't even have any new recipes to share.

What I do have to show you are some new musical selections.  My friend K introduced me to a few new things when she came to visit this summer.  Here they are!  (And for the record, the Miley Cyrus didn't come from K...just in case she's embarassed to be associated with Smiley.  It's a Bob Dylan cover and I think it's fantastic.)

 

Bryan and Katie Torwalt - Holy Spirit

Brooke Fraser - Something in the Water

Miley Cyrus - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go