A Favor...

I'm going to need a big favor from you all come Sunday night. I will need your texts, calls, e-mails, comments, and tweets to cheer me up when my precious Mom has to go back up north. I am having somuchfun with her this week I'm afraid I'm going to hit a major depression when I have to put her on a plane Sunday. But of course, Dad's going to need her back up there for the start of football season, so I can't be too selfish.

Last night after I got off work we hit the Bayshore for a walk by the water. It's nice having a workout buddy so that A. I'll go even while I have company and B. for someone to talk to and distract myself from the blistering heat. After Bayshore we ate frozen yogurt (for dinner) and finally decided to get to work.

Mom had spent all day while I was working (it's event season - the show must go on) buying the supplies for all our house projects (see previous entry). We got to work immediately after our return from walk/yogurt - planning to tackle only a project or two before bed. We ended up fixing the garage door (really just the opener was broken, but we had to buy a new one and reprogram it). She fixed the exhaust fan in my guest bathroom. Together we changed out the blinds in the dining room (the biggest, most complicated blinds in the house). We FINALLY took down the ugly hanging blind-wanna-bes over my huge sliding doors to my balcony and hung a rod for the curtains (which we also picked out and purchased yesterday). Oh and we changed out the shower head in the master bath.

A productive night if I do say so myself.

When I have to drive myself to work and it doesn't involve being treated to a daily cafe mocha with soy milk from Starbucks, I will be sad. The last 2 mornings have been much more pleasant as I'm chauffeured to work with my mocha in hand.

We still have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to finish our projects, take walks, drink starbucks, and eat frozen yogurt. So I'll be happy as a lark until then. But come Sunday night ladies and gents, I will need your full support. :]

Love,
B

Projects at the Batch Pad.

Being a homeowner is a lot of work. Good thing my Mom is 10 times handier than I and willing to slave away in my condo with me this week to tackle the top few of my ‘must do’ list. She is an incredibly talented woman, I could never do half of what she can! Well, who knows – I’ve learned more in the past 8 months of homeownership than I ever thought possible and do-it-yourself has finally joined my vocabulary!

So this week we are going to attempt to tackle all of the baseboards/trim in my condo. That’s right all three stories. Heaven help us! Mom picked up the supplies this morning while I was at work and we’re going to get started tonight. They desperately need it and as Nance says, it’ll change the whole look of the place! So that was high up on the priority list and were going to get after it this week.

Feel free to wear black this week as the mourn the death of my cheap and mostly destroyed blinds which will be replaced this week by new, non-cheapy blinds! Yay! The former owners of my pad apparently had a bird they frequently forgot to feed who felt the need to eat away at the blinds. So, I’ve been itching to ditch those and as of today, can!

My small group girls will be happy to know there will finally be a rug coming to casa de Becca! No sitting on the hardwoods in the living room for group or football watching when I run out of seats. Thanks to the home depot you can sit on my plush new rug in the weeks to come. : ]

Also on the upcoming home improvement lists:
- My garage and front door are getting a fresh coat of paint
- My master bedroom shower head is getting changed out – woot woot.
- Ceiling fan WITH a light is going up in the guest bedroom
- Ugly handy blind things over the balcony doors are getting replaced – by what, we aren’t quite sure (stay tuned)

My little dream home is really coming along. I’ll try’n post pictures along the way.

Love,
B

Vibes.

Feng shui, a Chinese practice of using decor in your home to promote harmony amongst your household has never held much weight with me. I'm a social worker. Therefore I think harmony goes much deeper than the color of my walls or the layout of my living room. I do however, love a good vibe.

Being at home is essentially going to make you feel something. In my book, you might as well pick what you want that feeling to be. As I was designing the decor of my condo in my head, I was trying to decide how each scenario would make me feel when I was at home. My peace comes from the Lord, but I won't deny that high thread count sheets make climbing into bed that much more relaxing, or that candles don't put my mind at ease as I'm slipping into a bubble bath or going through my routine at night.

Each of my three floors makes me feel something different. My bottom level which houses my garage and my laundry makes me feel efficient (and sometimes a bit disoriented). That's the only place in my house where a bit of chaos is allowed. I think that is healthy. Everyone needs that one place that you don't have to be perfect. I have a giant piece of carpet (let behind by my guys) in front of my washer and dryer so that when I do laundry I can sink my toes in (and be barefoot in the garage).

My middle floor makes me feel glamorous. This may sound a bit silly...but it's true. With high ceilings, black furniture, red & zebra accents, granite counter tops, and huge doors leading to the balcony - I feel like a queen on this floor. This is where I spend the majority of my time. Typically with the balcony open, under a white throw, on the velvet couch (reference former entries for pictures of this). I'm finding that I've become more comfortable in the kitchen now that I have one to myself, and Sunday afternoons are usually spent in the dining room playing cards with friends. This floor my favorite for vibes and because it houses my company.

For a look at glamorous...check the photos on this blog. This house is insane. But I would definitely say glamorous. I'm not sure I'd ever be able to rest in that house though.

If your read many magazines or keep up with any design blogs (I've recommended a few recently) then you're seen that some people like to take glamour into every room. Here's an example of a bathroom posted on the Material Girls blog...

Now that is on intensely decorated bathroom. In my mind, if it takes your eyes several minutes to find the toilet, your bathroom is over the top! But for the sake of a picture, this is kind of fabulously cute.

I use my guest bathroom for my more than once a week bubble baths that usually involve candlelight and a good book or some music. I can't imagine feeling very serene in a fuchsia bathroom with a mound of pillows! I keep my bathrooms fairly streamlined. My guest bath is black and white with orange accents. My master bath is black and white and has yet to acquire an accent color (still torn).

I recently joined the white sheets bandwagon. I read a design book that said they're more conducive to rest. I'm not sure about that...but high thread count white sheets make me feel like I'm taking a nap in a spa. And you all know how much I love a good spa day. My zebra bedspread is quite a bit less 'rest producing' but I've never been one to have trouble sleeping. Most essential to my sleeping is that my room is a little bit chilly and I have a fan to run throughout the nights. Check and check.

My third floor houses 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This floor makes me feel at home. When I climb up the stairs I shed all the weight of my day, however good or bad it was. It's my escape. I always feel comfortable and at home when I hit the top of the second flight of stairs. I love that. There's still a little priss to my master bedroom though. From the huge closet full of high heels, designer bags, and over 50 dresses to the candleabras on either end of my dresser, to the chinese lanterns, magenta wall, and vase of 'diamond flowers'. It's actually surprisingly prissy for me...but I love it.

Ok before I sign out I have to show you a few heavily decorated bedrooms from the same blog (material girls) that I find fascinating...

Love,
B