Archive for January, 2009
Real Simple Art
Just had to share the latest little addition to our desk. While browsing Real Simple magazine, I was struck by one of their “inspirational quotes”- so struck that I actually tore it out. Then I found an old frame leftover from John’s college years in our “decor store” (a kitchen cabinet where we store lots of vases, frames, candles, and other home accents for easy rotation whenever the mood strikes- it’s like shopping at home) and popped the magazine cut-out inside:
Isn’t that a sweet little quote? I love the peaceful image and the simple sentiment so much. And now it’ll serve as a daily reminder that life is good. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and (most importantly) each other. It’s always nice to remember that we don’t need an abundance of stuff to make us happy. You know what they say: mo money, mo problems. And best of all this little smile-inducing work of desk art was absolutely free. Further proof that money doesn’t buy happiness.
UPDATE: Don’t have any issues of Real Simple hanging around? You can download their free Daily Thought Wallpapers for your computer’s desktop here. They’ve even got one for this “Happiness” quote that we love, but a heads up that the photo’s different for some reason. Enjoy!
Dear Kitchen,
Even though it’s been a full 12 months since you were finally completed, we appreciate you just as much as we did back on day 1 (yes, even after those 4 challenging months of eating fast food every night). So a few words of thanks…
Thank you for being our home’s centerpiece. You’re beautiful (but we’re your parents, so of course we’d say that). You set the bar high for our house, and gave us the motivation to make sure the other rooms were up to par.
Thank you for introducing flow into our home. You can try to gloat about having the widest doorways in the house, but that’s not about you – it’s about you making it easier for us to breeze through you, letting us hear each other from across the house and (my favorite) allowing me to watch TV from the stove. Speaking of which…
Thank you for enduring my attempts at cooking. For the most part, you help make those attempts more successful (bless you bonus prep space and storage for extra pans). And when they’re not, your dishwasher makes cleaning up my disastrous culinary messes a lot less embarrassing.
Thank you for turning us into bloggers. We figured you were worth sharing with the universe, and lucky for us, the universe cared enough to listen. Young House Love owes you one.
And, most of all, thank you for being done. Designing you and watching you come together was fun, exciting and educational- but it was really, really exhausting.
As we hear about my sister and her husband’s current kitchen remodel or read about other bloggers going through theirs, we’re excited for them… but can’t say we’d die to be in their shoes. But we’d happily join them in admiring their new, beautiful kitchens once they’re done (and eat any leftovers they care to share).
So dear kitchen, thank you. Here’s to a delicious year #2.
Love, John & Sherry
Reader Redesign: From Granny To Glammy
When we feasted our eyes on Rhoda’s guest room overhaul, we could only describe the transformation as dramatic. Here’s her letter:
I really enjoy reading your blog & congrats on the success and press you’ve gotten this past year! I know you have asked for redesigns before from your readers, so I thought I’d share a recent project with you. This is my newly redone guestroom, which I titled From Granny to Beachy Glam. In its before state, I just used some old linens that I had to make the room comfortable as a guestroom for a couple of years. Then, I found a great black/white damask comforter set (at a yard sale) and that got the ball rolling on the whole room redo. Thanks a bunch, and enjoy! – Rhoda
Here’s the before:
And the super swanky after:
What a change, eh? And to think that Rhoda found a few things at yard sales along with hitting up discount stores like TJ Maxx (her entire budget came in under $500!). We also love that she repurposed things to work with her new design (she painted the bronze mirror in her before pic, and also slipcovered the chair in the corner). Gotta love a makeover that’s industrious and cost effective. Thanks so much for sending your before and afters our way, Rhoda! We do love a dash of zebra in the afternoon…
