Nesting

When I was about 8, I remember sitting around the Christmas tree opening gifts and watching my older sister (who was in college at the time) open a package of bathroom towels: a gift from my parents. She seemed genuinely pleased with the gift, and I was perplexed. I'd noticed she only received household items that year, so I asked her if she wished she'd gotten a few more toys instead. She explained to me that as you get older, you prefer the more practical items... like towels.

I decided that day: that would never happen to me. I would love toys my entire life.

Well, fast forward 25 years and things have changed. Somewhat. I do enjoy getting towels and linens (who wants to spend hundreds of dollars on stupid towels and stuff no one will ever see?) but there is the odd household item that remains more of a 'toy' than anything else. I think it's technology that does this... I grew up with basic devices like Atari and Nintendo, so when I can play with touch screens and beeping noises, it makes my heart flutter.

This weekend, we splurged on a new toy. Call it an early Christmas gift to ourselves. Yes, it has a practical household use (a very necessary one, in our climate) but its bells and whistles more than make up for that. Yes, we bought a Nest thermostat.

Before you get all "why would you spend money on something like that?" on me, I will tell you that our previous thermostat was a piece of garbage. It let the furnace run for hours on end, making us swelter in the mornings and freeze in between. It was programmable, but only when it wanted to be. It was like a menopausal woman who wanted everyone else to feel what she was going through.

No more! The Nest is wonderful. It's hooked up to our wireless and we can access it from our iPhones - anytime, anywhere. It's up to date on what the weather is like outside, so it can heat (or cool) accordingly. Not to mention it also knows the age of our house, which makes a difference in heating and cooling needs. How fabulous is that?! Oh, and did I mention that it can sense whether we're home or not and save energy that way, too? Yes, it's our little Comfort Robot. No more coming home on a Sunday afternoon to 16 degrees during a snowstorm.

Yeah, you could say I'm excited about my thermostat. :)

Winter Wonders 2012

Looking for something a little unique and special to give to someone this Christmas? This is the perfect place to go... no entrance fee, and there are snacks and activities for the kidlets too! Come out and see some amazing stuff made by local artisans! Check out the Flock & Gather blog to see a bio of each vendor that will be there... including yours truly. Ahem.

It's been awhile.

I owe you some reno update photos. We've come a long way since we began gutting the upstairs kitchen...

We have some good friends who like to swing sledgehammers. Goodbye walls!

 

The load-bearing wood slats on the exterior wall in the kitchen.

Looking into the kitchen from the living room.

  Starting to frame in the peninsula. The electrical is (finally) finished.

Framing in the rest of the counter, which we decided was best since there's a little jog in the wall there anyway due to the stairwell below.

And this was accomplished today. Now that the cabinets are covered and the countertop base is in, it feels much more finished! But don't be deceived... I still have LOTS more drywalling and painting to do (plus a backsplash, to come at a later date), and Wade still has to create a countertop and gable, install trim and toekicks, finish the upper cabinet above the fridge... well, let's just say we have a way to go yet.

A million dollars

If my life were perfect, I would be living out my dreams on a daily basis. Things I would do if I had unlimited time and money:

• raise chickens
• bake things for neighbors
• make most of my own clothes (and maybe even try to design a few myself)
• paint, while trying new processes like screen printing fabric and wallpaper, as well as large scale photography
• garden
• practice yoga in my zen yoga space
• try my hand at making home decor items and small furniture pieces
• live for 1-2 months in a different part of the world every year (could include doing arts residencies once in awhile)

I'm sure there are more dreams and goals I either have forgotten or don't feel I can share just yet. These aren't lofty, like living in Hollywood in Corey Hart's mansion, but somehow they still seem out of reach. Baby steps.... Baby steps.

On stealing and artistic pursuits

I recently came across something that's kind of revolutionized the way I see creative endeavors. The information itself is nothing new, but sometimes I need to be smacked in the face with information before it hits home. It's called How To Steal Like An Artist, and it's actually a book (which I may or may not read).

The idea behind it is 10 simple things the author wishes to have been told while he was still in college. The original list can be seen on his website, but here is the list as I've related it to my own artistic pursuits:

1. Steal like an artist.
2. Don't wait until you know who you are to get started. (wow, that's definitely what the procrastinator in me needed to hear! And even when I do accomplish something...

"There’s this very real thing that runs rampant in educated people. It’s called imposter syndrome. The clinical definition is a “psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments.” It means that you feel like a phony, like you’re just winging it, that you really don’t have any idea what you’re doing."
-Austin Kleon

Hello.
Okay, moving on... )

3. Make the art you want to see.
4. Use your hands. (again... something I don't do nearly as much as I should, in this age of computers.)
5. Side projects and hobbies are important.
6. Do good work and share it with people.
7. Geography is no longer our master.
8. Be nice. The world is a small town.
9. Be boring. It's the only way to get work done.
10. Creativity is subtraction.

Do any of these points resonate with you?

Completed work on the kitchen

There aren't many things I am able to post about renovation-wise yet, because most things are still a work-in-progress, and I really don't like documenting things that look messy. (In other words, the kitchen in the basement is almost finished, but since we're currently living in the space and it's WAY too small for us, it looks like a pig stye.) So those things will come later. But here is something we HAVE finished:

Kitchen ceiling after the cabinets were ripped out. I actually kinda like the 60's turqoise underneath. :)

Another view of the old kitchen ceiling with ugly pendant lights.

Repaired, painted white ceiling with track lighting from ReStore.

New pendant in the kitchen, a Kijiji purchase.

You can almost see the entire main floor in the reflection of this lamp. I tell ya, the white ceilings combined with the new light fixtures make a huge difference.

A good message.

Mexico, part 2

A cenote, which we swam in... those are roots from a tree hanging from an opening above.




'Real' Mexico. At least, as real as I prefer to get, as a tourist. :)

Mexico, part 1

The 'unreal' part of Mexico... paradise, resort style.