Goals

In case anyone cares, here is what I am working on right now:
Get house painted (color palate to follow)
Get windows replaced (if quote makes sense). I don't think windows are the most efficient update to do to a home, if you are looking to save $ on heating/cooling costs. You are better off just caulking and replacing the seal. However, if you want new windows for looks, that's a different story.
Focus on work.
Work on PTA stuff
Incorporate speed-work into my weekly workouts. Long runs on Saturday need to be 5+ starting this week.
Commit to 3 months of Olly Lifting at Red Black Gym (goal is to snatch 90# by the end of this)

Back at it...

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers. 

I've been trying to catch up after being out of town for over 3 weeks. One of my primary goals is to cook a lot. I strive to cook at least 4 dinners a week. Do something easy like take-out one night, then eat whatever the other two (out or leftovers). So, here is my first meal this week. I eat primarily Paleo so you won't see any grains on my plate but I do usually make a side dish for the boys that contains grains. In this case it was cous-cous.

What I love about stuffed peppers is how easy and versatile they are. You can put just about anything in them: ground turkey, beef, rice, cows-cous...add some veggies, some spices and you're done.

Here is the way I made them this time. I took organic ground beef (1.3 lbs), chopped leftover roasted squash from the night before, chopped onion, few tablespoons of almond meal, salt, pepper, Turkish seasoning from Penzey's, diced dried apricot and mixed all together. Put inside pepper and cook for about 45 minutes on 350. Done! Served with sautéed spinach and garlic and lemon and some cous-cous.

Mi Amore!

I think that might mean "I love" in Italian...but not too sure. Either way, I LOVE my new vintage Italy poster! Since Jason and I got married there, and I have quite a bit of family from there, I love all things Italian...don't most people, really. So, without much further ado...here she is:

The sun was really bright...

I found her at the Antique Mall on Burnet Road. She was not cheap cheap, but with the 40% off the vendor was offering, totally do-able. Since I don't buy expensive art, I figure I can spend the odd $80 of a huge "artlike" thing. The map is obviously really old, although not as old as the subject in the map. The title is the "unification of Italy" and has dates that are in the 1800's. The map is not that old, but I suspect at least from the 50's. It was also made in Chicago...love connections between my vintage items and my life. My beloved yellow vintage dresser was made in Rockford, Ill (back when they still used 3 letters for state abbreviations). Here is another picture of it...too bright this time but maybe gives another look:

CIAO!

Put a Bird on It.

I might have to de-bird my house in fear that it starts to look dated. Think "Shabby Chic" circa 2000, or "sunflowers" circa 1995, or "stars and moons" circa 1994, or blue & brown circa 2005....hoy vey. I love my birds...maybe just less birds will be okay until the design police start doing drop-in's.  Hmm...do owls count as birds? If so, I'm in trouble...

If you have not seen Portlandia, you should. It is funny...funnier because Austin basically is Portland with better weather. Hipster central, which I love, but it is VERY easy to poke fun at. Check out this clip:
Portlandia; Put a Bird on It clip.

Our house.

Well, I just posted a bunch of pictures of projects I worked on this year and I realized that a few of them I have already tired of and changed! The plate wall is now defunct, and the flowers on the deck are now painted over. I'll have to post a new revised version soon. We are in the midst of some house improvements in various stages. So, today I will post a few pictures of my favorite things right now.

This is our new and improved bedroom. We never really decorated it when we moved in, and it was about time. The paint was generic builders beige, so we chose a much more modern cool gray. You can see my favorite Yellow dresser there on my side of the bed. I have since updated a few things on the dresser, and added a pillow, but the basics are still the same. 

This is our dresser with a few of my favorite things on it. I got the vintage globe at this amazing little flea market that is every other Sunday a block from my house, $7-! I see these in every "fancy" vintage store for at least $40. Score! Every weekend when I know it will be there, I get excited.  The mirror I bought when we moved in to our house. It was gold so I added a nice glossy white spray paint and I love it. It used to be above our fireplace and when I moved it the room immediately felt smaller and darker. Those decorating tips you hear about mirrors opening up rooms are true! I ended up  adding a HUGE mirror in the entry and it has added a lot of light in the entire living/dining space. I have a bunch of random pictures stuck on the edges and a cute little bird jewelery holder that my sister got me with necklaces on it.

This is right when you walk in our room.  I wish there was a bit less wall space between the top of the bench and the butterfly wall art, but for now it will have to do. I got the awesome butterfly art at Goodwill for $3- and the bench at a garage sale for $5-.

Here is the bench after I sprayed it a bright blue and added some nice upholstery fabric. This took about 20 min and I love the blue/black/white combo.

I don't know what to do with vintage linens exactly but I couldn't resist these.  There was an estate sale a couple of weeks ago and I had a huge armload full of stuff for $5-.  In this pile there are some 70's pillow shams and 3 vintage tablecloths from probably the 50's. I have started to use these on our new table outside that I had big plans for but gave up on. More on this later. 

Wall of Wonder. Or black wall. This is the wall you see when you walk down our hallway at the end. I decided to do something a bit unconventional with it and paint it black. Then I thought if I am painting it black, why not use chalkboard paint so I'd have more options. Then I got a bit crazy and thought why not chalkboard paint AND magnetic paint?! I have to say that I would probably not do the magnetic paint again. Aside from it being $30-, it was really messy. It is an oil based paint, therefore not easily cleaned up. Plus, you need like 3 coats for anything to stick to it. thankfully I was just doing a small wall. I added some pictures and frames...still a work in progress. 

Dog bed. Literally a big giant dog bed. It used to be part of our  once nice Crate and Barrel couch, but the dogs got the best of it. We saved the chaise part, and now the pups love laying there while I am on the computer looking out into the yard. 

Some leftover fabric I put into cross-stitch spring molds and hung on wall in hallway.

I painted the inside of our door a Robin's egg blue. Taking a while to get used to, but it's fun at least.  You can see the vintage flash cards I put in a frame above the deer head hooks I spray painted white. That is our stick vacuum that I adore in the corner. Not very design friendly, but I love it so I don't care. Yes, I love a vacuum. 

Sorry this is blurry, but this might be my favorite vignette in the house. It's a vintage bookshelf (MCM)  that I got at Room Service. I thought about painting it, but so glad I left it the original stain. I have a lot of painted items in the house and need to balance it with some wood tones. The vintage fan I found at a flea market for $4- amd the globe is actually a promotional item from a bank from I'd guess the 60's. $16- at Uncommon Objects. 

New mantle arrangement. I just can't seem to get it right, but I''m working on it. It either looks too messy or too sparse....stay tuned. 

Vintage farm baskets from aforementioned flea market for $10 for both. Little bird used to be a cheesy 80's number till I sprayed him white. Not much high gloss white won't modernize.

The entry. The vintage typewriter might be my favorite thing right now. $25-! from the now infamous flea market by my house. These suckers are like $150 in stores or etsy. It came in perfect condition, with the little travel case and ribbon and instructions...so cute! Hard to believe this was considered a "travel" typewrited...it weighs like 15 pounds! The mirror above I got at a consignment shop for $50 and there are a few little other thrifted finds on the console (which I hide in the pic, because I need to replace). 

Some recent projects....

In the Beginning...

Welcome to my blog! I might be the first person to have this idea...what? A blog about life? A random person's life...like what they eat, decorate, do, buy, like, go, etc...? Sounds fascinating! Well, I have gotten addicted to enough blogs in my day to know that for some reason, it is. I hope this blog keeps us in touch if you are far away, and perhaps inspires new connections. I have a LOT of hobbies, and I plan on using this as a way to share those with friends, family and followers. I need to get the blog going, so I will be doing some backtracking in the next few days with recent DIY projects and other endeavors. Hope you enjoy!