Archive for February, 2009
Hot Box
Inquiring minds wanna know what John and I exchanged for V-day so we’re here to spill the beans- er conversation hearts. I found this great vintage metal card catalog at a local thrift shop for $5 (well, originally $6 but I’m an infamous haggler) and instantly fell in love with the gray-green color and the steel drawer pulls. John’s the resident chef in our house, so I knew using it to add function and style to the kitchen would please him to no end. And the fact that he once worked at a library (and his mom has for decades) ensured that he’d love the card catalog reference.
I knew the moody sea green tone would look fab in our greeny-blue-gray kitch, so I immediately brainstormed a few ideas on the way to the checkout. I could rewrite all of John’s favorite recipes on cards and catalog them in the drawers (organized by ingredients or meal). Or we could use it as a bread box (the drawers perfectly fit a loaf each) and even as a utensil caddy for our plethora of spoons and spatulas.
But when I got it up on the counter at home another use instantly became clear- why not use one of the drawers for spice storage? I placed all of our spices into the drawer and voila: a spice drawer was born. And thanks to the addition of a few labels on top of each container, it’s easy to locate any spice from above when you pull out the drawer. Because the drawers are both pretty deep, I actually could fit all our spices into one drawer, which freed up the second drawer for spoon and spatula storage. Sweet.
And sure enough, John was tickled pink about his V-day gift. He loves the extra storage space and of course the awesome vintage-industrial vibe that it adds to the room. And one of his favorite things about the V-day box is an old-school label which reveals that it hails from New York- which happens to be super meaningful since it’s where we met and fell in love.
So what did you guys get and give? Do tell. And stay tuned for John’s gift to me later in the day…
Looking for more spice storage ideas? Check out this great suggestion from Door Sixteen. Amazing!
Take A Picture, It’ll Last Longer
Happy Valentine’s Day!
We hope you all have special, fun, quirky or otherwise lovey-dovey plans for the weekend to show your other half how much they mean to you. Sherry and I are just about ready to exchange gifts over breakfast (stay tuned for those details on Monday) and then we’re off to enjoy our special occasion tradition: hitting up a photobooth at a local restaurant to mark the day (and enjoy some dessert while we’re at it).
Even before we incorporated a photobooth into our wedding, we’ve been going to the New York Deli here in Richmond on anniversaries, birthdays, and any other momentous occasion to capture the moment in four black and white frames. We inevitably walk away with a mix of goofy expressions, sweet poses and (my personal favorite) the stunned “caught off guard” stare. We’ve got the photostrips displayed in random spots all over the house, including this little cup on the floating frames behind our dining table (and also in a white leatherbound book, which is a favorite among our guests since it also includes over 100 photstrips from our wedding).
After our trip to the photobooth I’ve promised to take Sherry to see Confessions of a Shopaholic and then we’re off to a group Valentine’s party this evening. What do you guys have planned? Any special traditions to share? Whatever your day has in store for you, here’s hoping that cupid’s extra good to you!
And no that’s not another ceramic animal in the picture above, it’s a puffin candle picked up on our Alaskan honeymoon. But Sherry has her eye on a certain ceramic mammal so stay tuned…
Reader Redesign: The Dramatic Attic
When Jessica sent us her amazing attic makeover pics we couldn’t believe how she took her third floor from unfinished to fab. u. lous. Here’s her letter:
I’ve been a reader for some time and I love your before and after posts. I recently renovated my entire 1910 house in order to allow us the modern amenities, yet keep its character. Our proudest accomplishment is the attic. Before we moved in, it was a completely unfinished space. And a waste of valuable space at that! Now, it’s our hangout room where we spend most of our time watching TV or reading. I thought I would share the pics with you all and see if you enjoy the before and after as much as I do. -Jessica
Enjoy it? We live for it. You guys did such a fantastic job and we’re so glad you sent the pics our way. If only our attic was more than 4 feet tall, we’d be calling the contractor tomorrow…
Pop Quiz: I’m The Country One Now
You guys may have already caught wind of the Sproost quiz over at Odi et Amo or Bower Power, but who are we not to jump on a quiz bandwagon? The Sproost quiz is another thirty second questionnaire that promises to pinpoint your personal home design style (kinda like last week’s Ikea quiz) based on your rankings of differently designed rooms. It uses a simple “Love It” to “Hate It” scale and calculates your top home design styles based on your picks. Here are my results:
Last week Sherry was the one who registered high on the country (or as she argues, cottage) scale. But as you can see, this week I’m taking that cake with my three country/cottage-influenced styles. I was very skeptical of my analysis until I read the description of my top ranking Rustic Revival style: ”You…love a mix of modern and country. The clean lines of the modern softened by rustic/vintage elements is the perfect mix in your mind.” I can live with that diagnosis. It’s pretty accurate, actually. But what about Sherry’s…
Her highest ranked style was still in the country slash cottage zone, but it was offset by a much beachier Nantucket Style and a more contemporary Vintage Modern. Like me, Sherry thinks her top-ranking description is pretty spot on, the Nantucket one is fairly close (minus the part about light wood and wicker) and the Vintage Modern has some hints of accuracy in there (loves flea markets and clean lines).
In comparing notes, Sherry and I realized that we each got different photos to choose from during the quiz. So we each took it a second time, got totally different rooms to choose from, and ended up with very different results. Nantucket Style and Arts & Crafts crept into my diagnosis and Sherry suddenly had only two top styles – Rustic Revival and Cottage Chic. Interesting…
Click here to take the Sproost quiz for yourself. It’s definitely worth going through it more than once if you have the time. If nothing else you’ll get an extra dose of eye candy and find a few more inspiration rooms that you can copy to your desktop before clicking through to the next image. And as always, we’d love to hear what shows up in your results, if you think they’re accurate and if they change each time you play. Happy clicking everyone…
From Africa With Love Freebie Winner!
All of your travel souvenir stories on our latest giveaway sure gave us a serious case of vacation fever. Plus, you guys reminded us how much fun it is to bring home something special to remember your trip by, no matter how big or small it is. Speaking of which, one of you is about to take home something very special from very far, far away: this White Pane South African Rustic Frame courtesy of Yellow Threads online gift boutique.
And that one lucky winner, as selected by random.org is… Jill H. Congrats!
We can’t wait to hear what you’ll be framing (a travel photo, perhaps?) and what room you’ll be putting it in. Make sure it’s in a high visibility spot so you get plenty of chances to share its unique background story. I mean, how cool is it that these frames are hand-crafted from discarded wood collected by Cape Town’s homeless? And don’t forget, Yellow Threads offers other styles if you or someone else is looking to add to their collection:
Thanks again to Yellow Threads for the one-of-a-kind prize with an international twist. Which reminds me, stay tuned for next week’s freebie that all of you international readers will have a shot at…
