Living Room: North Wall

So, I'm very excited to say that we're sooo close to having the living room done. All we have left to do is make/hang up some art. So I'm going to share the room in four parts, not to drag it out any longer, but just in case the two picture-less walls get finished in the next few days.

We'll start out with a before shot, and by before, I mean, way before. This is what the living room looked like when Nathan moved in. Nothing in this picture is in the room today. It's all been moved around, and you'll see the new furniture in the coming days. So, BEFORE:

And here is the after, though I'm only showing you one wall--the one with the picture on it in the before.

It was hard to get the full wall shot on this one (I needed a wide-angle lens or something) but I wanted to showcase the purple with the bookcases. I wanted our living room to be kind of like a library/dining room combo, because we have a full finished basement for our TV. So these bookshelves (which the previous owners actually left behind--score!) are probably my favorite thing. Aside from the fact they are black and always look dusty, that is. And so, really, they are the focus of this post, because I think what's actually on the shelves tells a story about us.

So, here's what we have:
The very top shelves have hurricanes from the wedding and some antique champagne glasses from my aunt, friend Leah, and Nathan's mom. I kind of love them all a lot.

Top shelf, left. The wooden box thing you see is actually a card catalog drawer from the wedding. It has our guest book cards, cards we've gotten in the mail from Christmas, birthdays, and other misc. notes, and our mail. There's a vase of flowers from the wedding that were in the hurricanes, and I need to find our wedding cake topper to go on the other side.

Second shelf, left. This is my vast collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have almost every book in all of the series, but I'm missing some Charlottes, Carolines, and Marthas. The blue set is a vintage set I got from Nathan, and I have a replica of the china shepardess we bought in South Dakota.

Third shelf, left. COOKBOOKS. I am starting think I like reading cookbooks more than actually cooking.

Fourth shelf, left. Shelby's stuff all fits in those two buckets, and there are also some dog books there, including a dog cookbook.

Bottom shelf, left. This currently has library books, though I think I'm going to move some games up from downstairs to have on hand, at least the ones we play often.

Top shelf, right. Here, we have two more sets of champagne glasses from our wedding and engagement, a wedding photo, Willow Tree wedding gift, and a wedding gift from my aunt, a miniature library.

Second shelf, right. Photo albums, some of which are currently empty, but that will be fixed when Nathan gets his 100 free prints from Shutterfly in the mail.

Third shelf, right. These are all of the books we've gotten each other for Valentine's Day, and also a cool purple bowl we got as a wedding gift that just fits right in.

Fourth shelf, right. A set of Harry Potter books and other kids' books that might be useful should we ever entertain young visitors. I also like having some childhood favorites out for me.

Bottom shelf, right. This is Nathan's Husker and sports memorabilia--books, media guides, baseball cards, etc., etc.

There's your look at our living room, part one. Be back tomorrow with part two.

Trading Spaces, Whitney-Style

Does anyone remember the TLC show "Trading Spaces"? I was obsessed with this show in high school. For those unfamiliar with the concept, two neighbors swapped houses, were given a designer and a carpenter (such as Ty Pennington before he got all Extreme Makeover Home Edition) and had two days to redo a room in the other person's home. Most of the time, the rooms were wild and crazy and themed and people either really loved them or really hated them.

I did my own episode of "Trading Spaces" this week, and I even caught myself doing the corny "Ooooh!! when I opened the paint color and stirred it. And I never understood why the people were so tired and complainy by day two though. Until now. Painting and redoing a room is hard work, especially if you make a week of it. And honestly, it took me way longer than I thought to even get the room just painted.

But, it's done! The walls required two coats of primer and one and a half coats of paint. The other half was re-edging, which I have discovered is my least favorite part of painting. I also went ahead and painted the trim and the windows, so we wouldn't have to move all of the furniture out again. I mean, this is what the living room currently looks like:

Nope, we don't want to do that again. Luckily most of our furniture is mobile, thanks to being lightweight and those little sticky cloth pads that we put on the feet. The bookshelves were the only thing I needed Nathan's help with. And taking the curtains down, of course.

But back to the paint. I'm going to do some before and after photos when the room is put back together, but for now, I want to show you the colors we chose. Originally, as in way back in the day when Nathan moved in, we planned to keep the blue metallic wall and only repaint the weird coppery brown color walls something lighter. And then I fell in love with some curtains. I went online to Pottery Barn to get you a link, but they are no longer available, so you'll have to just check them out when I do the after photos. Basically, they have red and orange and purple and blue flowers on them, and I knew they were the perfect way to bring some purple (my favorite color) into the house.

I kind of love Martha Stewart, so of course, her paint was my first stop. And I found the perfect color there, Purple Agate. The best part of Martha's paints is that they have coordinating colors crossed referenced all over the place, and one of the grayey-beige colors we had picked out already turned out to be a match: Sharkey Gray. Nathan was not quite sold on the gray idea, so we also chose a lighter white recommended with the Purple Agate, Pink Sea Salt. And then, we tested them.

We know that we should look at them in different light, etc., etc., but really, all we did was see if we liked them. And as it turns out, the gray looked more brown than gray, and the pink was much too light. So, those are the colors we decided on, and to hold you over until I put the room back together, here's a preview of how it turned out. This is where the two walls meet. And now I'm off to finish up! I want my house back to normal, and I think Nathan and Shelby want this week's episode of Trading Spaces to be over, too.

Spring Has Sprung

I've noticed that spring is finally starting to show up in my everyday life, and it's about time. The grass in our backyard is turning greener, and yesterday's weather was a flashback to Miami (or close to it, anyway). The tree in our front yard is blooming, and I'm hoping the recently replanted lilac will, too. Nathan started cleaning up the backyard yesterday, and soon it won't be long before the garden is in.

The only one who seems less than enthused about the weather is Shelby. Sure, she likes that she gets more walks that last longer, but she gets hot very easily. She is also having a hard time understanding what it means to be out in the backyard to play. Yesterday, she stayed outside while Nathan worked and did some digging, so maybe that helped.

But the best part of spring's arrival is that I was finally able to paint the living room this weekend. I've wanted to paint since last year, but we were going to wait to paint until we redid the floors. Turns out, I didn't want to wait that long, and all winter the walls were taunting me. I have to just say one thing here: When we looked at this house, we were blown away by how nice it looked. The previous owners did a wonderful job making it pretty. But once we moved our stuff in and bought some new furniture to better meet our needs, I just didn't think it worked as well. Most rooms we kept the same or only adjusted slightly--the bathroom, the two guest bedrooms, the basement--but the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen just weren't us.

So I am pulling a "trading spaces" this week and trying to finish the room, because I just can't wait to see how it all turns out. Yesterday, I painted three walls. Today, I'll be repainting the trim. On the agenda tomorrow is priming the little hallway and painting the accent wall in the living room. Wednesday will be more trim and painting the hallway, and on all days, I'll be doing some projects and putting things back to the way they were. And blogging about it, of course, so be sure to come back to see me and check up on my progress.

Book Review: Nook Books

I actually downloaded six books to my nook from the library, but didn't get through all of them. The two I didn't get two are Reading Jackie and Ten Days In The Hills, but I'm going to definitely try and read them before my three weeks are up!

Here are the four I did read and my thoughts on them.

Salting Roses: This was definitely a quick, fun read--it was about a girl who discovers that she is the sole heir of an estate worth millions, and I can't go into much more detail because I don't want to ruin it. I liked the main character because she wasn't a stereotypical lead character, and I thought the plot was entertaining, but I wasn't totally in love with it. However, if you're looking for something light, it isn't bad.

Wench: This was a historical fiction, set during the Civil War, about a resort where white men summer with their black female slave mistresses. I thought it was definitely an interesting premise, and I think the descriptions were very realistic and made you feel like you were there, but I didn't like it as much as other books I've read set during the same time period. (Note: If you are looking for something of this time period that is very well-written, in a very dark way, check out Valerie Martin's Property. This is a book that I got at the literary seminar I went to and heard her speak about, and I really recommend it.)

That Old Cape Magic: This was a book I downloaded that I wasn't sure about. I thought the plot sounded interesting, but I had read Empire Falls and didn't love it, so I was skeptical. But I actually really enjoyed the book because it felt like real life. It discussed relationships in a non-fluffy way. Griffin is a husband, a son, a father, a person, and the books takes you through how he is all of these things and how each of the other relationships affects the other. It also looks at how different places, for instance, the cape, becomes a part of these relationships.

Alice I Have Been: The whole time we were in the Bahamas, I kept thinking of Wide Sargasso Sea, which I read my senior year, and I'm not quite sure why, because I hadn't really thought of it since. Maybe it was the setting that I was in that was reminding me of it.

I had wanted to read Alice I Have Been for a while, and I thought it would be similar--a book imagining what a literary character's life was like. I was definitely wrong, and I'm so glad. The book is a fictionalized, yet heavily researched, account of the woman that inspired Alice in Wonderland. When I first started the book, I expected it to be light and happy. It was the total opposite, to the effect that I thought I had to be imagining some of the dark things that were hinted at but never said. And honestly, I think my surprise to find these made the book very good. It was also well-written, and I think the characters were three dimensional and really stood on their own. There was also this fantastic passage that I bookmarked to share with you.

Finally, Mr. Dodgson told me that he had started to write it down. He said that he had been thinking about it all the time, fortunately, so he hadn't forgotten any of the particulars. He said that writing it down was quite different . . . when you write things down, he explained, they sometimes take you places you hadn't planned . . .

If it were true in stories, it was also true in life.

I thought this gave some insight into the book, the characters, and the overall process of writing. How writing things makes them different, how maybe you're imagining things in your life that may not actually be happening, and how you can't actually be aware of how your choices affect the rest of your life, in a way you hadn't planned.

And so, I think my ereading was quite successful, because even though I didn't love everything I read, I was able to explore some books I may not have chosen otherwise.

Vacation eReading

I've always been obsessive about packing for a vacation. I've gotten better lately--generally I pack only a couple of days before rather than a week before--but it still involves a lot of checklists. (I am having a flashback to the episode of Friends where Monica and the gang go to London. Anyone remember the check! check!?)

While I have a generic checklist saved on my computer that I adjust according to where I'm going and the weather of said location (I know, I know), I always have the most trouble figuring out my books--which ones, how many I'll need. This requires more thought, because I'd hate to lug too many books through numerous airports or get stuck without having enough books to read.

Enter the nook. When eReaders first became popular, I thought that they would be the perfect solution to the above problem. I could download as many as I wanted onto the lightweight device and carry it in my purse, rather than lugging three paperbacks or changing books out of my suitcase.

I have to admit, I haven't used my nook very much since getting it for Christmas. Mostly, it's just easier for me to pick up books at the library and read them without worrying about battery life or maneuvering the touchscreen just right to turn the page. So I had to get the nook ready for the Bahamas, too.

My first step was getting a case for it. I thought about making one quick, but because I have yet to conquer the sewing machine and also wanted something a little more durable, I bought one. Before I even had a nook, I coveted this cover, but it wasn't available in the nook color size. So I settled on this one. It has a durable front and back, yet isn't heavy to carry around, and I like that the way the elastic works. It's quick and easy to open and close it.

And then came the fun part: the books. Rather than picking out multiple paperbacks and having Nathan hide them from me before we left so I wouldn't read them beforehand like my mom used to do for me, I pulled out the nook and started browsing B&N's selection. I had a gift card leftover from my birthday to use on ebooks, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy anything (because I'm cheap . . .). I downloaded some free books that I've been meaning to read--Jane Eyre and Great Expectations--but I also wanted some traditional beach reads.

So, rather than buying anything, I went over to my local library's Web site. Ours is one of the many that have started offering a catalog of ebooks, and I'd browsed it before and found a lot of titles that piqued my interest. And the software seemed easy enough to work.

Well, it was easy, as long as you can read and follow directions. That is not my strong suit, however, so I ended up spending an hour trying to manipulate the software to work on my own, and five minutes getting it to work after reading the directions. Lesson learned.

And so, the nook and I were reading to go. And I have to say, after reading on it so much last week, I'm definitely hooked. I loved being able to carry so many books at a time in my purse, and I even took it up to the martini bar with me while Nathan played in the poker tournament. The battery life was great--I charged it every chance I got at the airport, but it didn't even come close to running out. The only con I can see with traveling with it is that you have to turn it off during takeoff and landing, and it takes longer to get to 10,000 feet than you notice otherwise. So, bring a pen and be prepared to do the sudoku or crossword in the on-flight magazine.

Now, you might be wondering which books I downloaded onto my nook. Check back tomorrow for my full review(s).

Bahama Sunshine

Before I tell you about our vacation, I have to give you a little back story about how we ended up on our cruise.

Both of us wanted to go to Europe for our honeymoon, but didn't want to put a lot of energy into planning a European vacation while also planning a wedding. We also only had a week or so, and wanted to see as much as possible. So we decided to take a cruise, which was best for that particular situation. Looking back, it was definitely right for us. We didn't have to make hotel or car reservations and went to five places in seven days. I don't think we got to fully experience Europe, in terms of the food and the adventuring, but it was a good start and gave us enough of a taste to want to go back.

We played BINGO on our nights on the boat, but didn't win anything except a T-shirt. But we played enough that we had some raffle tickets for a free cruise. So we went to the drawing. They pulled out the first ticket, and it wasn't ours. But the person who had the ticket wasn't there, so they drew again. They read off the numbers slowly, and by the time they got to the second to last number, we had nine of the next 10 possible numbers. And so, as it turns out, we won the free cruise!

So, that's how we ended up taking a second cruise for our spring break vacation last week. It was initally for a seven-day Carribean, but we traded it in for a four-day Bahamas cruise and upgraded to a balcony stateroom on the back of the boat. And let me tell you, that's the way to travel!

We loooved the balcony. Our first night, we waved good-bye to Miami and drank champagne on it before dinner, and during the week, we snuck breakfast out of the buffet and ate there instead. We ordered room service and ate outside, waiting for the sunset, and opened the door for some fresh air.

Our room with a view

Our first day, we were in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, and we went snorkeling. I had been snorkeling before, but Nathan hadn't. We headed out to the reef on a boat, and jumped in. The reef wasn't very big, but there were a LOT of fish. We saw my favorite, parrotfish, and Nathan's new favorite, black angel fish with a blue strip, and a fish that blended into the sand. What I was most surprised about was how close the fish got to you. They just swam right up around you, and I think I was more freaked out by them than they were of us!

Our second day, we were in Nassau, and we got off the boat and went through the little shops in the morning, then headed back to the boat to hang out by the pool when it wasn't as busy. I became quite the expert on choosing the best deck/beach chair location, based on proximity to the pool, optimal sun and shade time, and lacking other people. We read and swam, which we repeated the next day at Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian's private beach island. We swam in the ocean, read on the beach, and Nathan went jet skiing.

I love this photo because it shows the 'different colors of water.'

At night, we would watch the sunset, drink martinis, and eat dinners that neither one of us had to cook. One night, Nathan played in the poker tournament (and won, I must add. He's the lucky one of the two of us), and we also learned how to salsa.

Sunsets over the ocean are my favorite kind.

And now we're back to real life, and I have some books to return to the library and reviews to write. But our time in the sun was glorious, indeed.

Living A Beach Boys Song

When we got back from Europe, I was talking to my friend Lisa about how freeing it is to not be able to use your phone or the Internet. It was honestly the most relaxed I'd been in a long time. She told me that it would be essentially the same thing if I just tried to give up both for a weekend. But I know that I couldn't do it. Even when I try to just leave my phone at home on an errand, or turn my computer off for a weekend, I feel like something is missing.

This past week, I told you all I was unplugged. And I was, because I had to be: My phone didn't work in the Bahamas. And let me tell you, the Bahamas are relaxing, but to have a vacation from my phone was just amazing. Even though I missed being able to talk to friends and family members I'm constantly in contact with, it was nice to truly be able to get away from everything for a little while.

And of course, the 80-degree sunny weather was a little taste of heaven for me after a long, cold winter. We laid by the pool, went snorkeling, and went to the beach. There was delicious food, 2-for-1 martinis, and champagne. And lots and lots of time to read.

So, come back and visit me this week now that I'm back, and you'll find out all about our trip and get some (lots!) of book recommendations.