No matter how many projects are in the wings, no matter how insurmountable certain tasks may feel, there is one thing that stays constant -- the reason why we bought our house -- the view. Golly, I love that view.
 I have been obsessed by updating the lighting in our house, much to my Charles' frustration. (He'd rather we focused on the outside right now.) Since we have the awesome 70s cabin in the woods, lighting is pretty scarce. Luckily, there are some nice choices, for affordable prices, that spring up on Fab.com, though they can take awhile to arrive. The top light hangs in our living room area. It's white on the outside and red underneath. I love its branchy, artsy qualities. The other light with its modern minimalism is hanging above our dining room table. It's the perfect amount of substantial-without-causing-the-eye-to-stop. That's the ideal quality for our small house with its living room/dining room of shared, vaulted ceiling space. Next on the list of lights to replace are the sconces in our "great room" and the bathroom light. The sconces are from Amazon, and the bathroom light is also from Fab. They have yet to be installed, as they need to be hardwired, so those will wait for another post. With all of the glorious sunshine we've experienced the last few days, we haven't needed the lights as much, but it's still really wonderful to update our space in every way possible.  It's finally spring in Nevada County, so I've been climbing ladders and dusting out-of-the-way corners, doing rotation in the pantry, and finding cleaning options on Pinterest. I've really been appreciating the tips and tricks I find on that addictive site. One of the tips I used during my spring cleaning sweep was to refresh the mattress. Make it Do had a terrific how-to on cleaning a mattress. Basically, you dust that giant dust collector with baking soda and essential oil. I used half a box of soda and a liberal sprinkling of peppermint oil. I use the peppermint for other cleaning as well because it has antimicrobial properties. After dusting the entire mattress with the soda/oil combination, I let it sit for a couple of hours. Then I vacuumed with the wand and brush attachment and was amazed at how heavy the canister became. There were a lot of dust mites and moisture that came out of our six-year-old bed. Then the room, heck -- the house, smelled so fresh, and nice, clean aromas of mint wafted up from the bed when we settled in for some intense sleeping. It was outstanding. *I will be working on our bedroom this year, and yes, one of my goals is to make a new headboard so we're not sporting the inexpensive IKEA bed look anymore.  I didn't end up painting a landscape, that's for dang sure. World, meet "Provenance," the piece I created for the 4 x 6 Exchange. I really tried to paint the landscape I had planned on, but my art brain just isn't in an even slightly realistic place right now. The attempt got painted over, and this went out in the mail Saturday. I can't wait to get my piece in the exchange. I'll share it when I do. | Book Syrup
A blog about our house, writing, art, or whatever else tickles my fancy. ArchivesMay 2013 CategoriesAll |
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