The Admiral's Education

Kitchen Plans

Omg! I totally forgot! The kitchen planner lady sent us plans to check out. They're ok.... but not particularly brilliant.

Option 1:

 Option 2:

The only difference in the two is the wall between the kitchen and dining. I have to say, that measly cut-out in option 2 is lame sauce. I'm not convinced that it will add much connection between the kitchen and dining, the fridge is still miles away from the rest of the appliances, and people are still going to wander through the middle of my kitchen when I'm trying to cook.

Besides adding counter and storage space (yay, pantry!), I really like where she placed the dishwasher. I'd like open shelves above it for our dishes (a la this, this, and this) so that loading, unloading, and setting the table are a breeze.

I think it would be good to sit down with kitchen planning lady and talk with her about what she was thinking - has she exhausted all our options and these are the best ones? Or is she just cranking work out and these are the most obvious options? Because they seem kind of obvious.... But maybe obvious is best? I'm no kitchen planner.

I'm not sure what we will do next, but it is nice that we aren't in a huge hurry to figure it out. We will take our time and find the option that works best for us and best for the space.

Accessorizing: Dining Room Light

Since we are going to ikea at the end of the month, I'm contemplating these two light fixtures for over our dining table. I like the the sleek black, but I prefer how the woven one will diffuse the light more. Choices, choices.

Boja Pendant: 

 Brasa Pendant: 

Weekend: Christmas Party

Christmas party at our house, what, what?!

We played a lot of ping pong (stupid John stupid won)

...and Eric taught us how to tie some knots. Getting pretty crazy up in hurrr.

The Admiral's Football-Watching Pose

Happy Friday

Go, have some fun.

Hard Cider Labels

Eric and his buddies brewed some hard cider, and I made a few labels for our personal stash.

They have yet to name this tasty treat.

Accessorizing: The Return of the Rug Return

I got another rug for the den on Monday. And we took it back Tuesday.

It's kind of a riff on the Moroccan one I dream of, and the smaller size was nice, too. Plus, it was really, really soft; even Eric liked laying on it. But we decided to hold off until we are at ikea at the end of the month. Hopefully they will still have the one we want then.

Weekend: Making Merry

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas around here! I love this time of year!!

The Admiral on the Lookout

Last Day of No-Shave November

There is no denying that guys are obsessed with their facial hair. Eric and his college roommates had a diagram in their apartment labeling every beard, goatee, and moustache known to man. Even now, he and his buddies get excited about "no-shave November," and if it weren't for the strict guidelines at work regarding facial hair, I'm sure Eric would have a handlebar moustache or muttonchops or some such thing going full force right now.

Apparently, guys never grow out of their facial hair fanaticism, as evidenced by the 2012 European Beard and Moustache Championships. Look at them grow!

These are just a few of the photos; these are from The Telegraph and can be seen in their entirety here.

Clarification

I may have gotten a little carried away with one of my past posts - calling myself a cat lady and some such nonsense - and I feel the need to clarify.

When I say I am a cat lady, I mean that I like my cat. Not your cat, not the neighbor cat, not strange cat tchotchkes. My cat.

Your cat often has eye boogers and looks unhealthy.

My cat is sleek and glossy.

Your cat is annoying and needy.

My cat could sleep on my lap all day and I would sit there, frozen, until my legs fell asleep and the boredom nearly drove me mad, so as to not disturb him.

Much how women prefer their child to anyone else's. Your kid's slobber is gross, but my kid's slobber, especially when it kisses me with its mouth wide open, is adorable.

See the difference?

I do not like cat figurines, cat pictures, cat posters or folders (you know the ones I'm talking about). I like my actual real, furry, purring cat, The Admiral (aka Lord Burlington aka Pounce de Leon aka Hashtag Cat aka Buddy), and galacticat. And that one tape dispenser that just so happens to be in the shape of a cat.

That is all.

Design Inspiration: My Scandinavian Home Blog

My new favorite blog is now officially: My Scadinavian Home. I've never actually read any of the posts, so it could be utter crap, but the photos of the homes it highlights are fabulous.

Totally inspiring. Go. Gaze in wonderment.

Weekend: Christmas Tree Hunting

We got a Christmas tree this weekend! The weather was pretty perfect and I had a lot of fun traipsing through the snow.

We are going to decorate it tonight....and celebrate Eric's birthday! He's the big 2-9 today!!!!

The Admiral Loves Autumn

The Admiral - Camouflaged for Fall

Work, Work, Work!

The holidays get really crazy in the ad world. Or so I hear. Some of that work has trickled down to me, and while I appreciate having something to do, I also miss the days of watching "New Girl" while drinking hot chocolate with my feet up on my desk (ok, I don't actually do all of those things at once).

On top of the normal ad schedule, I have created two billboards, several banners, window art, and a number of website ads in the last month which means.....that I am sooooo glad it's Friday. You have no idea. I find all this scurrying about to be stressful and can't wait for the day when everything goes back to normal. Momma needs to watch her stories.

Everything I make is really limited by whatever the vendor wants (which is usually a request to "make the logo bigger"), and even though I'm basically a glorified receptionist/production monkey, it's kind of fun to see things I make around town.

Like this window mesh.

And this billboard which has been a nightmare. Literally. I woke up in a cold sweat last night because I dreamed that when they printed the artwork, it was all one big blur. Which could actually happen. We had a really hard time getting a large enough image from the clothing/perfume company. Fingers crossed it all turns out.

I am taking the entire next week off, and am sooooo looking forward to it.

Sitting in my Shopping Cart...

This installation of "sitting in my shopping cart" brought to you by the word "cat"

In case you haven't noticed, I am fast becoming a cat lady, people! While others brag about their children and jobs, I tell (what I think to be) hilarious tales of my cat clinging to tree branches, playing chicken with oncoming traffic, and silently ridding the neighborhood of vermin one song-bird at a time. I even have a voice specifically reserved for speaking to The Admiral. It is high-pitched and hugely obnoxious.

Here are a few goods that no modern-day cat lady can live without:

Galactic Cat!

Available at BurgerandFriends on Etsy

Or for days when Cat Lady is feelin' sassy:

Available at BurgerandFriends on Etsy.

The purr-fect place for a cat nap (sorry, couldn't resist):

Available at Xenotees on Etsy. 

I've mentioned this before, but it's still adorable and still in my shopping cart:

Available at Sosie.

Technically this is a catbear (whatever the crap that is), but whatevs. It's adorbs. 

Available at Miriam Brugmann's Etsy shop.

And finally, because Cat Ladies have cats and cats have needs too: the most amazing scratching post EVER

Available at Purr-fect Design.

Kitchen Meeting!

I forgot to mention yesterday that we are meeting with a kitchen planning lady this afternoon!! I'm slightly nervous that she'll take one look at our house and tell us that we can't afford her; fingers crossed that she stays long enough to give us at least one layout.

In honor of our upcoming meeting, here are a few of my favorite kitchens:

Surprisingly, I like the black with the white

I think I mostly like the light in this room, but I also like the clean white with the rusticity of the wood. 

Have always loved this green. I love muted colors.

Love all this - white, the sink, the open wood shelves, all of it!

same kitchen

same kitchen

same kitchen

Surprisingly, again, the black. Love the apron front sink. 

Wood & white

There's that green again!

 I've always wanted a marble tile backsplash...

...but I'm pretty sure spending money on a marble countertop is a bit insane and I can't imagine marble subway tiles with butcher block or laminate counters.

Wish us luck tonight!