make my house a home

I am trying to consolidate my many goals and realised this summed up what I was trying to achieve through a fair proportion of them. I live in a terrace house in a small corner of a big city. My husband, the cat and I share two bedrooms, one bathroom a living room, a dining room, kitchen, hallway, cupboard under the stairs and a ‘manageable’ (i.e. small) garden. We like our neighbours.

Having recently been married I am now feeling the urge to nest. I would like my house to not just be the place I sleep in but I want it to be the centre from which my other experiences extend. I want it to be the place I feel most comfortable, I want it to be healthy and to work for us. I want it to be a place of love, energy, laughter, friendship, family and warmth.

Things on the to do list include:
- keeping it clean, tidy and uncluttered.
- working on projects to make the space more personal – ie. hanging pictures, I have started making a quilt, introducing more colour.
- Replacing worn out bits and pieces, we recently had a new roof and front door to help keep us warm and dry. We could do with replacing some carpets and sorting out the streaky paint in the living room.
- finding some more cushions for the sofa and having the sofa cover cleaned.
There are others – but those would probably have the biggest impact.

Today I’m taking my inspiration from the the very end of the film Bugsy Malone, “You give a little love and all comes back to you, Da da da da da da da”

In a minute I am going to put the computer down and make some cupcakes – show my kitchen some love.

Recently moved into an apartment with my 13 year old son and have since acquired an energetic pound puppy we named Dexter. Due to one thing and another, we pretty much did just enough to make things live-able, but have not taken the time to make things homey. This is my New Year’s Resolution, and I find myself strangely out of both ideas and the energy to carry them out.

I seem to live like a refugee, as if I could leave at any moment. Or as if I need to make sure I will not leave at any moment. I don’t understand it yet.

But can I do it???

Recovered the seat this weekend. Hopefully I’ll have time this fall to get another chair done. I may have changed my mind about using the same fabric for all 4, I’ll make a decision once I know what colors the other chairs will be!

My parents came on Sunday and Dad and I installed my storm/screen door! How wonderful to get ventilation without bugs!! It took MUCH longer than I thought it would, and I’m glad I didn’t attempt it on my own like I originally planned.

We also hung an old bamboo shade on the street-side of the porch. The neighbors across the street – though very friendly – tend to invite themselves over every time I’m on the porch relaxing. Now I can roll down the shade when I just want to zone out and enjoy the evening breezes. Although it doesn’t cut out the noise from the street like I had hoped it might, it does make it easier to ignore!

One day to laze around…
One day to do the boring errands…
And one day for BIG FUN PROJECTS!!

I finally started on my chairs! Spent the whole day sanding (kinda hard to see in the picture, the chair is about half-sanded here), and was able to paint it by early evening. I had NO idea it would take so long!! I still want to do each chair a different color, and I like the idea of covering the seats with the same fabric to tie them together. Haven’t found the right one yet though!

I finished painting the living room. The color is warmer and goes with my new couch. I also got rid of the ugly blinds and will get a slipcover for my chair. It’s going to be a much more welcoming room for me and guests.

FINALLY, my housewarming party is this Wednesday!! I kept on having reasons/excuses to put it off, but I’ll never be 100% ready unless I force myself!

Also, garden is aaaaaall planted! Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, spinach!

My parents will be here Thursday morning for our flight to St Louis, so hopefully there will be time to hang the hutch. I found a great rug at Pottery Barn Kids, now I’m trying to decide if the 3×5 size will work instead of the 5×8 (for less than half the cost).

My garden is taking shape! Of course, that shape includes a LOT of roots to be dug out, but I spent several hours at it over the long weekend, and I think I’ve decided it’s enough for this year. Now to get things in the ground, and I’ll be a happy Lou!

My container herb garden on the porch has a bright green crop of wheat grass, yay!

FINALLY hired the crazy guy across the street who happens to run a lawn care service. It looks GREAT to have the grass and overgrowth cleared out of the garden, and the hay field cut down!! It’s just a strip between the sidewalk and the road, but it was looking pretty bad.