my comfy chair

 for a while now i've been dreaming of a comfy chair in my bedroom. this summer, when i moved into my fabulous new house, i began to sell some things on craigslist and started the comfy-chair fund.

a couple of weeks ago, my dream chair came home with me.

i love my new chair from ikea, it seriously makes me happy.

i paired the chair with:

one of the rugs i bought in afghanistan, 

and my silver adjustable lamp. 

dad, the little red bird you gave me for christmas last year is hanging from the lamp.

all i need is a small side table to set my cup of chamomile-spearmint tea and i'm set.

oh, and the color tabs on the wall...
well i've almost convinced myself not to repaint...

some sneak peeks of the house

My dad is funny. He keeps asking when I am going to share more photos of my house.

He got a new pacemaker yesterday.  Everything went well and he is doing great!

So, here is a sneak peek of the house. It's still a work in progress.

Up the stairs is my prayer rug from Afghanistan.

I love this rug and the red wall.

"I am a great woman."

I love this reminder in French on my way out the door each morning.

I found this at Eastern Market a couple of years ago and fell in love with it.

A view of my dining room into the entryway.

I carried those terracotta angels in my backpack through Italy

and somehow kept them safe. Believe it or not, that was the easy part.

A somewhat dark view of the dining room and into the living room.

See my piano in the corner? It makes me very happy.

home & family

 so, i've loved coming home to a house full of people the past couple of days. my new roomie has lots of friends who just love her and she loves them. they are her family. they have been here helping her set up her move, unpack and set up furniture. it's been so fun to meet them and be immediately accepted into her 'family'. the love is amazing and just what i needed.


 that's not to say that i don't have my own circle of friends who love me and whom i also love, because i really couldn't ask for better friends here in dc. it's just that my circle is expanding and while i'm finding it a bit scary, i'm so excited to be diving in and experiencing it. i can't wait for more!


 tonight, when i got home, i found that roomie's sisters are here visiting. (i had forgotten--oops.) they are lovely, beautiful and so caring. they greeted me with hugs and laughter. they all look similar and love each other so much. when they found out i was going to pick up cupcakes for my sister from georgetown cupcake, they also wanted cupcakes. it was too cute! (yes, i have 2 1/2  dozen cupcakes sitting in my house right now! seriously, if you're thinking of breaking in tonight's the night... but please don't.)


 here's what i've learned: that it's the family that makes a house a home. that fills it up to over flowing with love. that pushes out all negativity. that fills in all the blank spaces with exactly the right pieces. that accepts you just because you're someone important in their loved one's life. that volunteers to help with the smallest jobs. that keeps the lights on for you. finds ways to assist and asks what you need help with.


 you see in the time i've lived on my own here, i had forgotten all this. the time alone was valuable and i enjoyed it, but i'm so ready to be with family. and i think my new family is gonna be lots of fun in my new home. i'm looking forward to learning how to live with family again. 


 p.s. i get to see my true family soon. utah here i come!

hooks

i bought these hooks years ago, because i fell in love with them.

then, i never used them because i didn't live in a place that was right for them.

this house is different...

i hung these hooks in my entry way the other day and i just have to say that i LOVE them.

by the way, the wall color is more pink than orange. the top photo shows the true color.

more to come.

it's starting to feel like home

it's starting to feel like home. tonight i put the head and foot boards on my bed, and i'm in love all over again with my bed.


i hung my first painting in the new house--a section of monet's reflections of clouds on the water-lily pond, which i've had for almost fifteen years now and totally love. i hung it in my bedroom on the wall the sun hits first thing in the morning. it's gonna be beautiful.


i love my new home. and yes, i know you want photos.

conquering the jungle

my friend JP and i worked at the house this morning.

this is what we started with--a jungle.

four hours and eight bags of debris later this is what we have.

it looks like a garden. yay! thanks JP.

there's still more to do but it's off to a good start.

we're going to pull out the weed trees on the right. 

we still have the back to do as well...

a sneak peek

hello new house in which i'm going to live!

 the entry way

 the galley kitchen

 the exposed brick wall

 the dining & living room

the sun room!

just a little sneak peek of where i'm moving to at the end of the month.

wait till you see my bedroom and closet.

inspiration: color

i look for inspiration in a variety of places.

this time it was paint combos from old magazines

and serenity inspiring decor

along with some inspirational organization.

can you tell i want my own house to decorate?

clippings from:

bhg.com

realsimple.com

countryliving.com

o tannenbaum!

I wasn't feeling having a tree this year. Not sure why, just wasn't feelin' it.

Here's my solution...

Evergreen limbs from Safeway $4.99. Perfectly simple.

My mom made this for Grandma O when I was a child.

I remember helping my mom put each little bulb back in place

as she got this ready to give to Grandma O. I love this little tree.

Snowflakes! Gold tinsel and lights. Simple.

I went with simplicity for my Christmas decorations this year.

It's helped me focus more on the True Reason for the season,

and keep things quiet.

a finishing touch

When I saw this...

I fell in love. I wanted it on my wall.

I splurged.

It was on sale and I had a coupon!

I love this on the wall my above the couch.

I think it definitely finishes the space and fills in the blank very nicely.

 

More home decor to come...

making a home - bedroom

last night i came home to this.

and before the contents of this huge box take over my bedroom,

i thought i would finally get around to showing how i pulled my bedroom together.

i like to keep things simple, with clean lines to minimize distractions.

the bedroom is long and narrow and that means

the only place to put a queen size bed is under the windows.

my beautiful wrought iron headboard wouldn't work in this room

(and sits in storage at the moment)

with the radiator on the right forcing me keep my bed about six inches from the wall.

the simple solution:

a cute white, bead-board top, console table from here.

(sorry, it's no longer in stock)

 it also has two drawers, so it will be the perfect vanity someday.

in this narrow room there isn't room for a lamp table,

but this one holds all my necessities: reading lamp and materials, family photos,

and of course, spencer bear and coco my chocolate-lab puppy.

these two always stay close by.

spencer bear has been my buddy for a long time.

my mom sent me coco when i was in afghanistan.

the lamp is from here.

photos of some of my favorite girls, and my guardian angel.

the square tulip cup is from england, perfect for holding ear plugs.

(i love english china.)

my grandmother's hope chest is on the right side of the room just inside the door,

and is the perfect storage place for sheets and blankets.

i polished it up and topped it with a pashmina wrap from afghanistan

and a collection of black and white photos from england from my friend mike.

 

a monet print gives a calming pop of color. i love monet.

the bedroom door sort of hides the storage stack in the corner.

(i haven't found the perfect white storage cupboard yet.)

see that huge monstrosity on the right.

if it wasn't my AC unit, i would totally hate it.

because is pours out cool air i only hate it a little.

but it really does take over the whole room.

(at least it's portable and i can hide it away when i don't need it.)

i love my room, it's calm and light. it has windows.

i have the hand-quilted double irish chain quilt my mother made for me on my bed.

it's like a hug every night from my mom.

and that completes the tour of the bedroom.

(my sister-in-law was bugging me for this one.)

p.s. i love my cordless blinds from here and the microsuede blackout curtains from here.

i hemmed the curtains up for the perfect length and added some brown ribbon for ties.

oh, on the left i have a tall white dresser with silver handles.

i like white furniture for the bedroom.

making a home - one

one of my favorite things in my apartment is

the vinyl chalk board i got from etsy.com.

i can write welcome messages

or put an inspirational reminder up for myself.

i'm really truly a fan of this great vinyl art.

and i really truly love my chalk board.

the chalk board is from:  OffTheWallExpressions

where they have some really fun art for your walls

and some fun chalkboards.

photos by me

outside/inside spring

this is what the world looks like outside today in my neighborhood.

i love spring!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

this is what my bathroom now looks like.

i took advantage of the cold day to stay warm

and do some work around my place.

i now have spring in my apartment.  yay!

i put up some vinyal art on my bathroom wall.

you can window shop here and here.

vinyl wall art is a lot of fun.

it lets you personalize a space without ruining the walls.

and when you're ready for a change,

it peels right off after being heated with a blow dryer.

slowly, but surely i'm making this place my own.

photos by me