June 9, 2010 by Cedar
Since we moved to our new apartment I have been kind of lagging in the decor area. Not that I didn’t have my walls decorated, but before this week I had just thrown some of my own paintings onto the nails that were in the walls when we moved in. I think I was waiting until I got some more furniture, and got all the rooms arranged accordingly (no, we still don’t have a sofa!) to decide where I wanted everything to hang, and how I wanted it to look.
After a recent thrift store trip (I have been thrifting like crazy the past few weeks!) I picked up a few pieces to put together a small grouping of art pieces. My favorite newly thrifted piece is the Siamese cat print by Fritz Hug, though I am also really obsessed with the two headed chick print in the first picture by Emily Martin of The Black Apple (which I bought a few months back, but just finally got it into a frame). My wall (as well as my home!) is a constant work in progress, as I am always picking up odd little pieces from estate sales and the thrift store, and I change my mind so quickly about how things ought to look. I am incredibly happy however that our walls are starting to feel a bit more home-like.
In my spare time lately I have been reading a ton. Every time I have gone to the thrift store as of late, I have been making an extra point to look at ALL the books. I am not joking when I say that I can easily spend 30 minutes or more going through the titles, flipping through pages, or reading the inside flaps of all the books–well except for the bottom row which is reserved for trashy romance novels–not really my cup of tea. I just started reading I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, which I am thoroughly enjoying so far. Other books now beside my bed waiting to be read include The Egg and I (I have been wanting to read this one for years!), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and Revolutionary Road (as you saw in another post!). These have just been added to the increasingly large pile of ‘to read’ books. Looks like it is going to be a very mellow Summer!
Tags: Home
Categories: Home •
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April 29, 2010 by Cedar
My internet has been wonky for the past three days. It has been coming and going whenever it pleases, not bothering to think about my wants or needs and leaving me very frustrated! I wanted to get this post up yesterday, but due to my flaky internet access and a stupid glitch that caused all that I wrote to get deleted, I was unable to post. So here I am, rewriting it, and keeping my fingers crossed that it makes it online this time!
I have been spending a lot of time this past month working on making our apartment feel more cozy. I have been hunting out all kinds of pictures, art, and unique frames at estate sales and thrift stores to fill our walls. Our new apartment has a lot more wall space than the past places we have lived, meaning a lot of blank walls.
One of the things I have been wanting to get is a hook or hooks for our kitchen wall. I wanted something practical so that I can hang my aprons and oven mitts, but I also wanted it to be cute, decorative, and fit in with my decor style. After looking for quite a while in the homemade section of Etsy, I decided to browse the vintage section. I found this pretty quickly, and knew it would be perfect, in another color.
Usually a few times a month I work part time for my mom’s best friend, who paints houses. I have learned a lot from her, but whenever I have a painting project that I am not sure how to go about doing it, I call her up. After this came in the mail I called Ricia, the lady I work for, and asked her what would be the best way to paint iron. She suggested a lacquer or Shelaq sprayed on, then painted with any kind of paint. I knew it would be a few days before I could get to the craft store so I put the project aside. The next day Ricia called and told me she had been thinking about it, and that I could use hairspray in the place of lacquer. She suggested doing four or five coats, and then going ahead and painting.
I got to work on hairspraying and painting my birdies that afternoon. Now they are a lovely butter color, much more suitable for my kitchen. The hairspray really helped the paint stick to the iron. After we screwed it into the wall I painted the screws. I first sprayed a cheap paintbrush with hairspray and painted a few coats on, then went ahead and painted them, just like the birds.
These pictures turned out a bit on the dark side due to the overcast weather we have been having the past two days. Our kitchen walls are actually a mint green color.
Tags: Crafts, Home
Categories: Home •
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February 18, 2010 by Cedar
We are finally settled into our new apartment. Though I still have quite a bit of moving/unpacking to do, both Russ and I have quickly turned our new apartment into our home–even without everything in its place yet! We spent the entire past weekend moving, and while Russ has been working through the week I have continued moving. We both feel quite exhausted but happy, it really is so nice to have (most) our things surrounding us again.
We do have the luxury of not having to move everything in right away (my dad has lots of storage in his home), so now that I have all the essential things (clothes, kitchen supplies, bathroom things), I plan on doing the rest of the moving at a bit slower pace. Unfortunately through the flood and move we had to get rid of our couch–which just means I can find an amazing new one. Until then though we are sitting on our single chair and kitchen chairs in the living room.
This morning I started moving more of my closet over. This is probably only about ten percent of my hanging clothes, but it sure feels nice to start filling the closet up!
Another thing I am super excited about is access to an oven! When we moved into the apartment out back of my aunt’s house she promised to get it fixed within the month that we moved in, and guess what–it never happened! I have been spending lots of time in our new kitchen, doing a ton of baking. Today I was really craving a piece of lemon meringue pie, so here it is! I followed this recipe.
Thank you again everyone for your support, I plan on returning to regular posting now that we are mostly moved in. I hope all is well with you.
xoxo,
Cedar
Tags: Home, Pie, Updates
Categories: Home •
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January 11, 2010 by Cedar
I follow several amazing mid century home blogs. My favorite, which I know I have mentioned before, Retro Renovation, is filled with amazing photos, illustrations, and ideas that make me anxious to own my own home, so I can start on my own retro renovations.
Until then though I will get my kicks admiring other people’s vintage homes. Yes, I must admit, I don’t only go to estate sales for great bargains on neat things, but also to see inside other people’s homes–and lives!
Luckily for me my grandmother has one of the most incredible mid century homes I have ever been in. Her and my grandfather built this house in the mid 1950’s and not a lot has changed. It is overlooking Sunset Cliffs, one of the nicest and most expensive areas in town.
I snapped these photos a few weeks ago when I was over there. I took more photos but the lighting was bad in most of the other rooms. Next time I go to visit I will be sure to get some more pictures.
Tags: Decor, Home
Categories: Home •
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