capture2011 :: no. 105 :: 5.28.11 :: the next generation

this is gwen. she belongs to bert and beki and is an absolute bundle of adorableness! i should have taken a better picture of her outfit. and that truly red hair. cutie!

capture2011 :: no. 104 :: 5.27.11:: puzzling

we're up at the cabin for the weekend!

capture2011 :: no. 103 :: 5.26.11 :: yard work

 no really. i worked in the yard today.

capture2011 :: no. 102 :: 5.25.11 :: in full bloom

i like these guys—growing next to the house with no help from me.

capture2011 :: no. 101 :: 5.22.11 :: the heavens declare the glory of God

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. [psalm 19:1]

capture2011 :: no. 100 :: 5.21.11 :: shredfest

we're working toward a better system of paper management! i tend to let it pile up—pretty sure i shredded a bank statement from 2008. and who invented junk mail? i don't want 50 credit cards!

capture2011 :: no. 99 :: 5.19.11 :: smells of summer

i loved grilled foods! when we re-sided our home last summer, we had our contractor put in a gas line right to our back patio—no need to worry about running out of gas for the grill. my dad is a purist and really likes coal grilling, but i'm too impatient and i like the convenience of gas.

capture2011 :: no. 98 :: 5.19.11 :: lunch date

yesterday i had this pretty lady over for lunch. man, does she love bubbles! and picking dandelions. what fun.

capture2011 :: no. 97 :: 5.18.11 :: new duds

ben looks sharp in his new suit.

capture2011 :: no. 96 :: 5.17.11 :: po-ta-toes

stubby little spuds of the fingerling variety.

diy fabric-wrapped cornice boxes

decorating intentionally is a slow process for me. i don't usually like to put something up or add it to a room unless i love it. there have been times when we have needed a piece furniture asap and just bought something, but going slowly usually yields my favorite results. if i can make something myself (which takes time), i can save money, use what i already have, keep an eye on quality, and get something custom-made (like this, this, or this). another example: the two windows in our master bedroom.

when we finished renovating and moved into the master bedroom late last summer, we had to do something quickly to cover the windows—especially because we are on the first floor.

yes, we had towels over the windows for a while. i got an estimate from budget blinds and was shocked at how expensive roman shades would be. i ordered some bamboo blinds from jc penney and canceled the order at the last minute. eventually, we settled on this combination of blackout shades (ben likes to sleep in a really dark room) and cheap white curtains from target, but i was never really happy with how the windows looked and i didn't know how to fix them without spending a lot of money.

don't they look sad? the curtains shrunk a lot when i washed them. i let out the hem, but they still weren't long enough. i tried using curtain rings but i just wasn't thrilled, and the bar didn't come with finials. the whole situation really, really bothered me. for months.

after brainstorming/researching for a long time, i decided i wanted cornice boxes with a little trim for color. here's the window now.

the first order of business was to fix the actual curtains. there were two problems: the blackout shades didn't really close in the middle (light seeping in) and the white curtains were too short. first, to add length to the bottom of the curtains, i made a false hem and sewed it on. (i had an extra pair of the same curtains that i used to make the hems.) i also sewed on some inexpensive ribbon in my favorite color. here's the back.

then i sewed velcro onto the blackout liners so that we can get them fully shut at night. much better!

the cornice boxes were kind of a fly by the seat of my pants situation. my father-in-law let me raid his barn for some plywood, so i actually didn't have to pay for the wood (it is paneling, which really helped with making the cuts).

i used the circular saw to cut the pieces.

then i assembled the boxes. i used some 1x2s to help attach the pieces and give the box some heft (the paneling was only 1/4" thick or so and it was a little warped from leaning against a wall). 

then i just wrapped it in batting (about four bucks with a joann's coupon) and some extra white curtains of the same variety that i already had.

i attached the ribbon with fabric glue.

and i attached the cornice boxes to the wall with some 3" l brackets i already had (score!). i gave the curtains a good steaming and here we are! this is the other window in the room. for about 25 bucks for ribbon and batting, i am so, so happy with the new window treatments. they look much more polished, but still simple.

the room is coming together slowly but surely. we don't have bedside lamps. there is no art on the walls. and the other side of the room has a fan, a tall lamp, and a table with an alarm clock. but we'll save some money and keep adding things one at a time. onward and upward!

capture2011 :: no. 95 :: 5.14.11 :: love language

i turned 27 yesterday.

this humble photo represents something that means the world to me. i'm pretty sure one of my love languages is gift wrapping. and they say that people who show love in a certain way like to be shown love in that way, too.

ben does not wrap presents, but he wrapped my gift. he used an entire roll and it still didn't cover the box but who cares?

i feel loved.

capture2011 :: no. 94 :: 5.11.11 :: evening walk 2

blogger seemed to be having technical difficulties the past few days. here's another one from my emo stroll.

capture2011 :: no. 93 :: 5.11.11 :: evening walk

last night, i took a walk around our neighborhood with my camera strap around my neck and my eyes wide open. there was a sparkling, golden feel to the evening that made my heart very full of thanks for the beauty given to us by our good God.

capture2011 :: no. 92 :: 5.10.11 :: some call them weeds

but dandelions are pretty in their own way—a spot of yellow in a sea of creeping charlie!

capture2011 :: no. 91 :: 5.9.11 :: wall o' buttons

colors! shapes! sizes!

[phone picture!]

capture2011 :: no. 90 :: 5.6.11 :: happy birthday, matt

we had a family dinner last night (famous dave's! mmm!) to celebrate matt's birthday. i got to see my nephew caleb twice this week. he has such a fun personality and is growing so quickly!

capture2011 :: no. 89 :: 5.6.11 :: our contribution

our city has an annual curbside cleanup day. everyone puts big, bulky trash items out on their curbs and the city will pick them up. last year, our toilet was rejected. this year, we broke up a big, strangely proportioned storage cabinet from our basement and hauled the pieces to the curb. ben said that he feels like we aren't "getting our money's worth" because some people put out TONS of trash. ;)

throughout the week people troll the streets with pickups and trailers looking to score some hidden treasure. i joined in this year and found some ceramic and plastic planters, and i grabbed two chairs from my neighbor (chairs in need of some serious tlc). project!

capture2011 :: no. 88 :: 5.5.11 :: fresh guacamole

i'd like to pretend the guacamole was in honor of cinco de mayo, but it was pure, delicious coincidence.

capture2011 :: no. 87 :: 5.5.11 :: momentum

finishing the half bath motivated me to get going on this roman shade for our master bath. i've had all the fabric and materials for a long, long time. once i set my mind to the task, it only took a few hours—as opposed to the month+ it took me to make this one!

lots of light aqua, gray, and white going on in this house.

before and after: the half bath

hello, friends!

well, the completion of the art for the half bath means that it is time for a full-on before and after post. here it is!

this tiny space is hard to photograph! the bathroom is literally three feet wide—pretty close to the smallest code will allow.

this room wasn't always a bathroom. no no. it used to be a dining room connected to the kitchen. it also had a big french door to the nasty screen porch that we demolished.

those are HEARTS carved into that bench. oh yes.

our home has an attached garage. score! BUT . . . at the time of purchase, there was no door from the garage to the house. seriously. so we converted this dining room into a mudroom and cut a door to the garage. we added a closet and an attached half bath. confused? these will help:

when we bought the house:

the house as of last winter (ignore the entire left side of this—no longer current!):

see that door to the garage? and see that tiny half bath? yes! let's sprint through the "during" photos. on your mark!

 framing. note the pocket door! very handy for small spaces.

 drywall installed by ben + friends!

 custom art from my favorite artist, beth!

 

we learned to tile. 'twas messy and fun!

and here we are now:

[maybe it is just me who notices this in the top picture—no, we did not install a curved ceiling! the mirror is a bit wavy.]

not much "decorating" going on here, because it is just so small. but it is exactly what we need and we are really glad we added it! we considered putting the washer and dryer in the mudroom but opted for the bathroom instead. this is proving to be a very good decision.

and to those of you who have used this tiny half bath, great news! ben oiled the squeaky pocket door, so now your use of the bathroom will no longer be announced to the entire neighborhood.