Peacock Room Remodel

I have had this idea rolling around in my head for a while.  But then my ceiling in my family room started to leak.  Which required it being ripped into.  Which meant we would have to paint it.  (you know that book...if you give a mouse a cookie?...it feels like that).  So we had to repair and then it would have to be painted, and as long as I'm painting we might as well do something new right?  (and by "we" I mean more like my handyman...because let's face it, I didn't really paint this time around).  And if I'm going to do new paint that is going to require a whole new look somehow, which meant moving art work around my house, repurposing some things, and new pillows or re-covering old pillows.  And in the end, I'm pretty happy with it!


Before:

(and what you don't see in this photo is how dingy the paint had gotten - it really did need to get re-done, especially the cream which I think I avoided doing when I did the green, I think the cream paint was going on 10 years old)

And AFTER:

Yes, it's a bold paint project, and not to everyone's taste.  I get that.  But I really like it.  It's definitely fun and I like the red and blues together.

But remember that whole "if you give a mouse a cookie" thing?  Now I need new tile around the fireplace and on the floor leading out the doors and also - the room adjacent to this one absolutely has to be redone as well now too!

It's never ending.

White on white on white...

I'm re-doing a room in my house.  It's so insane that I'm doing it I can hardly believe that I am.  And by that I mean that it's a totally normal thing to redo a room but life is insane and therefore, re-doing a room can only also be insane by virtue of the fact that it's my life.  And I'm not just talking about doing it (like I sometimes do, for years, before I actually DO anything, but like there are drop cloths all over the floor of my room as we type and read here kids).

For a minute I even thought about going all white.  Like totally beachy.  But the thing is, I can't really afford to change out my couch.  I mean that's thing 1.  And thing 2 is...well, I think I like color too much to commit to all white.  I admire the heck out of a well done white room.  But I just don't know if I can live the pristine sort of way that white would seem to require of me.

The thing is I noticed I've been saving images of white rooms like crazy when I have time to look for ideas.  Not to psychoanalyze everything (but you know, what else do I do?  all I pretty much do all day is psychoanalyze) but I wonder maybe if your life is chaotic if you're more drawn to white?  Maybe.

I have no idea how many people read this blog to catch up on my life these days and how many stumble their way here from the internet looking for something specific.  But for those of you who actually do read this to find out anything about my little life - hi, sorry I've been away so much, life is pretty good actually.  In a crazy kind of way.  Not the way you might think or imagine life would be if you thought it was pretty good.  But nevertheless, pretty good anyway.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that sometimes I want to be a person who has a life that is all white and perfect in this certain serene kind of way - but then I remember I'm me and I start throwing color around again.

I'll keep you all updated when the room gets done.  In the meantime, here are some pretty cool white rooms.

that is all...

Dustin Hoffman on TOOTSIE and his character Dorothy Michaels

I thought this was excellent.  I really don't need to say anything about it - just watch.

The Vacation I need...Carmel by the Sea & Big Sur

I need a vacation.

People say that, I know.  But I really do.

I haven't had a vacation or a break in...well, I don't even really know.  I'm not counting the 48 hour trip to Las Vegas - which was fun, but not really a vacation.  It wasn't even the whole weekend.

So this blog post will have to do.

Two of the places I think are the most beautiful in the whole world are Carmel By The Sea, and Big Sur.

I fell in love with Big Sur when I was a little girl watching "The Sandpiper" with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.  Something about it just seemed so fantastic to me.

A trip up the coast of California is always breathtaking and gorgeous to me but it's more than that.  For me, just the surf and the sand, the salt, the air and the color of the water has some sort of restorative property that really makes me happy.

I realized tonight with no breaks in school and working full time and starting an internship that is 20 hours per week on top of my 40 hours per week at work for 9 months before I graduate - well, there are no vacations in my immediate future.  At least not of any kind of length that I would like.

But this photos can make me a little happy for now

(If you've never made a trip to the California Coast, or central California - I highly recommend that you do!)

The Novagratz

How much do you love the work these guys do?

Architecture for your Dreams

I'm never moving.

I mean I'm pretty sure I'm never moving.  Only two things would possibly get me to move:

1.  I become so impoverished I cannot afford to live in the house where I currently live - I have to sell it and move into some crazy small apartment that is super cheap.  (I doubt this will happen, but I suppose it's crazy not to be realistic about the fact that it could happen).

2.  I become so incredibly wealthy that my bank account is just sitting there wondering aloud why I don't buy one of the very cool houses in paradise valley that I've always loved. (I doubt this will happen, but I suppose it's crazy not to be realistic about the fact that it could happen).

Given those exceptions, I likely will stay put forever.  I'm totally happy with that.

Nevertheless, I think it's important to have dreams.  Dreamy architecture in particular is good for the imaginings of a healthy fantasy life, and these homes would seem to be incredibly happy spaces to exist within:

Whimsical Decor

The unexpected is always fun.

I love going into someone's home for the first time and finding out they have a little pizzazz.  A little spunkiness inside their demure exterior.

A little punk in their princess and preppy.  A little crazy in their sane.  And a lot of kid in their grown-up.