tackle the basement before spring

The summer of our kitchen redo was also the summer of terrible flooding in Iowa.  In a show of solidarity, our basement went ahead and flooded with the rest of the city.

It was so bad because I'd moved all the good stuff from the kitchen/dining room down to the bar area, so we lost a ton of stuff.  We basically had to gut the whole thing (it was so close to being a paneling showroom down there) and now it's just a storage space for leftover building materials, the fridge no one wanted, some chairs I need to recover, and our stark, bare-bulb laundry area.  It needs serious help.

I've been saving a great idea that ran in Country Home awhile back.  My friend, Meredith, designed a laundry room warm up in her own not-so-cozy basement.  She created a large country table for folding, painted the floors with that cool paint chip kit, painted the walls, put up some nice shelving and added a "curtain" to warm things up.  It now looks fab.

I'm also super sweet on Young House Love's amazing basement transformation.  I can tell you all about it, but I'd just be repeating everything Sherry already told us about it, so let's just hop over there and see what she and John did. 

Because I have several rooms in my basement (it sounds so much bigger than it is, I swear), I think I'm going to use both Sherry and Meredith's ideas.  As for the bar area, after these projects, I think I'll just fill it with booze.

Swedish Design on Sale at Huset

 

Huset's having a sale - most notably on Allrum's Tile Stickers - they quickly brighten up your kitchen at a bargain price $15/set of 8.

    

1. Almedahls Herb Garden Oven Mitt 2. Almedahls Herb Garden Pot Holder 3. Stig Lindberg (1916-1982) Re-issue Gustavsberg Red and Blue Aster Fika Plates(LOVE) 4. Sagaform Retro Dishware 5. Sagaform Season Pie Dish

Huset's a great shop for all things Scandanavian - clothes. kid's, home decor, tabletop.  A day after Christmas, and I'm already shopping for Spring.  Having a house full of people jumpstarts decorating desires - I'm suddenly in project mode - and I've found quite a few accessories that could easily call my house home.

Last-Minute Easy Peasy Cookie Recipe

These Icebox Shortbread Cookies couldn't be any easier - so easy you can bake them tomorrow before your cocktail guest show up for after-family drinks. 

Seriously.  I made mine in no time (they have to chill in fridge for awhile - maybe while you shower/doll up) and then dipped them in chocolate (1 cup choc chips melted in metal bowl over small pot of boiling water. Once melted, stir in tablesppon of veg oil or Crisco.)

Merry Christmas!  Every one.

Printable Last-Minute Calendar Gift

Mibo's Printable Calendar is a wonderful gift to give and get.  I gave these last year and they were a big hit.  Each day has a little space for writing in "to-dos" and "don't forgets" which make this a super handy, as well as beautiful, calendar.  After the month's passed, the calendar part can be cut off and the rest becomes art for framing!

They also have a free year-long calendar and some other printables you might like.

(Above you can see some hanging ideas, but the one I liked best showed the calendar bound by an antique wooden slacks hanger.)

Free Gift Tag Round-up

Christmas is a time for giving and gift tags - no doubt!  I should so totally wrap as I buy, but I do not.  I spend five hours on the floor in front of MTV with a bottle of something I shouldn't be drinking and somewhere around 1am, I realize I can't stand up, mybutt is numb and my eyes have switched places.

In the spirit of intention vs. reality, I give to you a few Free Gift Tag finds!  Cheers!

Holiday Mail Stripes from the generous Eat, Drink, Chic - thank you! (also has a treat bag and jumbo gift tag - click on header to find them)

Printable Gift Wrap and Tags designed by Kellie Medivitz from the generous Creature Comforts (always a fav! get Rosemary Eckford's holiday cards there, too - great for last-minute!)

Orange You Lucky generously offers these From: Me To: You holiday tag beauties - thanks a ton - so cute!

Whoops!  Missed these Deer little printable gift tags designed by Kristina from, once again, the ever-generous Creature Comforts. (In fact, if you click the "18 Days Series" tag at the post bottom, you can get your hands on all kinds of free cool holiday prizes.)

Pastel-y delight printable tags from the generous Paper Crave - thank you, too!

How About Orange has a treasure box of printables - all free (thank you!).  No tags, per se, but all kinds of super cute, quick gifty designs to make bookmarks, cup sleeves, boxes, ornaments, and other last-minute gifts.

All The New Things For The New Year

Am right now, as we speak testing Firefox 3.5.6 Beta and so far, amazing spped and performance.  If it crashes even less, all the better.  Love how seemless travel seems using it, so I'm pretty happy.

Just when you thought Decoylab couldn't get any cooler (their cuckoo clock = instant icon), they've slipped down the slippery slope of laser cut decor.  Right now, they're offering the simply sublime Laser Cut Bamboo Desktop Clock and Calendar; the understated Fawn Pin; Forest, Squirrel, Owl and Tree clocks; a mod Elephant clock; and, for the nursery set, a perfectly earnest Stuffed Bear-shaped clock.  They're still the go-to shop for clean modern paper clocks, and now, they'll be the go-to shop for wood time, too.

I love Frankie Magazine.  With the loss of so many cool American rags, it's easy to feel alone in my eye candy addiction. A quick jump to Aussie land and I'm once again breathing normally.  Lovely screen wallpapers (of which I've gushed about in the past, I know, I know), hip fashion, art, craft, pop culture, decor and music - it's a virtual candy store!  Subscribe for about $129/year or dream about subscribing and just buy the books and calendars. 

Which is why I'm posting about them - they have a super cool calendar for sale - $29.95 and you're the instant owner of pretty pictures from this year`s handpicked artists incl. Louise Robinson, Shira Sela, Sarah Mcneil, Ashley G and Drew, Lilly Piri, Anke Weckmann, Emily Martin, Ghostpatrol, Mel Stringer, Paola Zakimi, Catherine Campbell and Marjorie Liucci.  Rush, you! - the 2010 Frankie calendar is sure to sell out quickly.      

Lonny Magazine - Amazing Home Decor (esp. for bedrooms!)

 

By now it's all over the web, but just in case....Michelle Adams (of MSL, book, and Domino fame) and NYC photographer, Patrick Cline have just launched Lonny magazine. A sort of Domino/Lucky-esque collection of themed accessories and crisp vignettes, Lonny offers something Domino never could - indie cred.  Being an online mag means lower costs and thus offers them the ability to spend money where it's most appreciated - on the pages - 195 to be exact.  Less overhead also means they're able to offer ads to businesses you'd never find out about on the pages of a print shelter mag and, bonus!, being online means they're able to offer immediate, on-page credit (links) to photographed accessories.

It's a great little mag - the garden story seems a little late, if you want to find something to dislike, but that's all part of launching on your own and it just makes Lonny all the more credible.  The premier issue features a little piece on Grace Bonney, cool kitchens, to-die-for bedrooms, a bit of fashion, and a whole ton of cute stuff you'll want (195 pages!).  Check it out and be sure to leave them a feedback note somewhere (they're on Facebook, but I can't find them on Twitter).

PS. Be on the lookout for several print mags to follow suite.  It's cheap and easy to publish online, (ideas, layout, writing, and photo - that's where the real BS&T lies) and Michelle's team's innovations prove there's a mountain of reader value in publishing this way.

Which leads me back to my previous post (me! me! me!).  Last year, I had the idea to publish my own online zine.  I ran the numbers, researched homes, mentioned it here, tried some different publishing options) and even talked to a couple of friends about helping.  That's as far it went.  Even though I knew it was an great idea, I back-burnered it for more immediate demands - I pursued a job (with a magazine), made two trips out east, watched TV, hustled freelance, etc.  Know that the 18-yr-old me would've done?

Remember most immediate doesn't always mean most important.

RYE RYE can change your life

Just watched a pretty cool short doc (super short) video about the singer, Rye Rye.  She's full of energy - it's just popping out of her all the time so she can't stand still - and it's inspiring.  She's not preaching, but she's telling you that you're old and cynical and that really, in reality, all things are possible.  She's enthusiastic and full of dreams and she's working it - working on it - all the time.  And that's what it is.  It's belief, maybe self-delusional belief, but belief and it's desire and it's a little bit of tunnel vision, but it's also drive.

I get up in the morning and I have a lot of pre-sets that have to get done and then I have a lot of things I'd like to get done and then I have a lot of things I'd rather be doing - those small steps on the road to fulfilling my dream (my current dream).  I know I have to do the things for which I'm responsible, but they were always there; work = chores, family obligations = family obligations.  I may have more to do around the house, but I don't have any school projects or studying on my plate.  So what's different? What's standing betwen me and my dream?  The only thing that's changed is my belief and the level of my desire and my drive.

I think it's time to stop back-burnering my dreams.  Time isn't waiting for me to make up my mind, to take action.  I need to tattoo my dream on my hand so it's always in front of me.  I need to put my dreams further ahead in the heirarchy of have-tos.  I need to believe I can do it, I need to know it's okay to want to do it, and I need to make getting it done a priority.

Just a little self-indulgent food for thought. And a video.