The Admiral Huddles for Warmth (i.e. Look, Ma! No Hands!)

Happy Friday

I love this video -


From her clothes and her hair to the apple picking and countryside rambling, I can envision Eric and I doing something like this some day. Except I would hope he could come with me to the country. And he is much manlier than that hipster hairstylist this chick lives with (thank goodness).

Accessorizing: Artwork via Little Paper Planes

The search continues for artwork to fill our walls. Today, I came across the site Little Paper Planes. It is full of really great prints in an array of sizes that seem to be reasonably priced. Here are a few of my favorites:

David Linneweh

Julia Rothman

Alyssa Nasner

Caitlin Foster

Louis Reith

My only complaint about this site is that you can't see these pieces any larger than little teeny-tiny product images. I need to see texture, yo!

Would I actually hang any of these on my walls? Mmmm...not sure. Probably the house images if they weren't printed on stupid wood grain. Maybe the Julia Rothman prints on a giant, bare kitchen wall or in a kid's room. But for now, the search continues.

Weekend Wrap-up: I GOT TO SEE MY HUSBAND!!

Eric got a half-day off on Friday! Well, a half night. We went to the rodeo and out to dinner and it was fabulous to see his face! Sigh, I really want him to be finished and for our lives to be back to normal.

Ok, so, also..... I know I promised I wouldn't share pictures of the cat any day but Sunday, but he is flipping adorable. And the worst/best raking partner ever.

Sigh, I love the fall.

The Admiral Takes Offense

No. Way. Walmart?

Walmart. Carries. Bertoia. Chairs. Well, not the originals, but their own version.

Crazytown. They have both the diamond AND the side chair available.

I know I already own one zillion chairs, but I'll be getting rid of most of those and these suckers are iconic. Dear Walmart, I would like one diamond chair for my bedroom, and four of the side chairs for my patio. Thank you, and goodnight.

Weekend of In-Laws & Infections (and no, they're not the same thing)

The mother and brothers-in-law made it into town Friday night, and, after staying up far too late and drinking far too much wine, I finally succumbed to the cold I'd been warding off for nearly a month. So whilst the in-laws headed to a wedding reception (which, having been moved without their knowledge, had them traipsing all over the eastern part of the state) I laid around the house with a box of tissues and  art supplies. I wanted to try to do a simple screen print, but after laying out my design, I discovered my screen was far too small and ended up just making a paper cut. That way, I still have a design to hang and, when I finally have a screen large enough, I will have the paper cut with which to burn my image onto my screen. Perfecto.

The Admiral is Everywhere

My First Upholstery Project EVER

A couple of months ago, Hanna asked me if I'd like to help her reupholster a little children's chair. I'm fairly certain I just asked a lot of questions and got in the way, but I learned so much. Working with Hanna helped me to realize that I can totally upholster stuff. As far as I can tell, you just jam a lot of staples where people can't see them and use the fabric you're upholstering with to cover 'em up. Piece of cake!

Following are a few snapshots from our efforts.

Our lovely chair model:

The chair in question:

Taking it apart:

Hanna getting crazy! :)

Covering it back up:

We nearly finished that evening, but then decided we were tired and that the arms could wait for another time. It was so much fun. It's crazy what this little project did to bolster my upholstery confidence. :)

Sitting in my Shopping Cart

There are several home items that I have been eyeing for a while now. I periodically go check on them, put them in my online shopping cart, and then close my browser window and will myself to "save! not spend!"

I had a really close call this morning. I was literally at the page where you fill in your credit card info (in order to buy a Makelike poster I've been coveting), and then I realized that the site I was about to order from also carried Ferm Living's shower curtain and that if I was going to buy the poster, I should seriously consider buying the shower curtain at the same time in order to save on shipping. Then I realized that spending $30 for a poster is much more practical than $120 for a shower curtain and I closed my browser window and virtually walked away. Welcome to my brain. But I still really like this poster. It's sweet.

close-up

Another trinket I've been watching for a while: a cat tape dispenser. You did not hear incorrectly.

It's just so darn cute!

Washi tape is also on my list of must-haves:

At $5-10, this is a bit more practical.

Also, should I buy a cactus? I've been wanting one for a while but they only ever have teeny ones here in Billings, and finally Home Depot got some bigger ones in and they're really cool....but I researched them and their sap is poisonous and I'm not sure I want that around my cat though I don't think he'd eat them or anything.....I'm just not sure.

I couldn't even decide which one I'd get. Big spiky or little feathery? Both? None?

A Successful Weekend

I love having a house and weekends in which to putter around it. It's so relaxing and fun. Even doing laundry is enjoyable when you get to do it in your own home. Besides doing laundry this weekend, I rearranged my little terrarium thing (again), watched both seasons of Downton Abby (have you seen this show?! so amazing and addicting!!), and finished my chairs (finally!)!!!

But I think I'm going to have to get rid of them because.....

I got a new dining set.

Eight chairs, a table (with the slide out leaves I wanted!), and a hutch.

They're teak, they're Danish, and I love them all so, so much!

Eric hates the hutch. For some reason he's afraid that I'll fill it with Precious Moments figurines or Dale Earnhardt Junior commemorative plates. I have to admit that I wasn't too fond of the hutch at first either, but it's slowly growing on me. One good thing is that it is two pieces, and if we ever wanted, we could pull off the top and have a lovely credenza to put in the den with a little tv on it. Perfecto.

Eric also hates the chairs. He didn't tell me until we got home and, knowing that now, I'm really surprised he even let me buy this stuff. He mentioned that he would rather use the chairs I just refinished, but these Danish ones are, quite frankly, much more comfortable and much better quality. Solid wood. All the same kind of wood. Not bits and bobs of walnut veneer and oak like the others.

We'll talk about it.

I think it's mostly the fabric that he dislikes (which I totally agree with), so I think if I change that, it will help him like them more...

I have some linen lying around that I could use. It's pretty much grey, but I think it has enough cream-colored fibers in it that it won't clash with the warm tones of the teak. Though it's possible that I just made that part up.

On the left is the fabric color now (it totally looks purple in our house!!!!), and on the right is the linen I have that I could use. Up close it has a lot more beige in it, I must say.

If I recover them now, should I refinish then while I have them pulled apart? They're not in bad shape, just normal dings and dents from 20+ years of use and wear.

Enough thinking about what to do to these things. I just want to enjoy them for now!!!

The Admiral's Bath

Dining Room Rug(s)

I have had rugs on the brain of late. Mostly because my house is filling with furniture and I really don't want to buy any more projects, er pieces of furniture. Plus, I want to protect our lovely hardwood.

I'm still working on finding the perfect rug for, well, practically every room, but I think I may have found a couple of options for the dining room.

I've been looking for something with a low pile (the dining room gets a lot of traffic and I don't want it to be instantly worn and dirty looking), something that has some black and a little grey (so that my dining and living chairs can be better friends), and something that is 8'x10'. Oh, and something cheap. Because that's what I am. I thought my search was over when I spotted Ikea's Alvine Rand, and then I realized it's only 5'7"x7'10". Boo. It would have been absolutely perfect.

Currently in second place, Ikea's Stockholm Rand. It's a bit more graphic (and expensive) than I want, but it is the perfect size.

 Although West Elm's Olin rug is the same size and $100 cheaper.....AND, they ship.

Decisions, decisions. Notice the Instagram influence creeping in already?