Myurbanelife

The deck repairs..

2011-04-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

Hostas

2011-04-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

Some color...

2011-04-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

Columbine

getting their hedge on :-)

2011-04-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

Boxwoods....

Curbside color...

2011-04-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Blue Junipers

It's all about curb appeal

2011-04-11T09:37:00.000-05:00

It's all about curb appeal,

here you can see the before during and after on this weekend project

8 months and 3 days later....

2011-04-11T09:29:00.001-05:00

yes.. still alive and have plenty to blog...

Babe..

2010-08-08T07:24:00.002-05:00

in addition to Babe being one of my all time favorite movies, and I LOVE baby pigs.. here's a babe for the Lake House.. Bowser wasn't quite sure about him since he's bigger than Bowser is..

other Trophies

2010-08-08T07:22:00.002-05:00

Ken has a nice collection of Trophy Cups at the loft in Chicago, we just had to add some to the lake House decor.

some new additions...

2010-08-08T07:21:00.000-05:00

some new additions to the Lake House...for the record, not a fan of deer hunting. I am however a fan of Trophy Mounts.. and until now all of our Trophy Mounts have been faux.. But this guy was just so beautiful and he was so lonely hanging in that musty antique store. I figured, he's already mounted.. he might as well have a beautiful, warm home to keep watch over.

First there was a sign..

2010-08-08T07:16:00.000-05:00

So Ken and I have a dream about retiring to a Hobby Farm. I say screw it, why wait for retirement age.. I vote 5 year goal! We have a sign.. just need the farm..

Hey there...

2010-08-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been gone for so long.. 1st off I went back to work.. ugh. so thats where I'll lay all the blame on my neglect.

My love of all things Blue... Happy 4th of July...

2010-07-01T15:57:00.000-05:00

as in Blue Dog...

summer lovin

2010-07-01T15:54:00.000-05:00

The boys love to lay on the deck and seem to follow whatever bit of sunshine they can get...

visitors to our estate...

2010-07-01T15:51:00.001-05:00

a baby rabbit was playing in the yard while a wacky squirrel devoured most of the food in the bird feeder....

The rain gutter adventure

2010-07-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

ken and I installed new raingutters on the Lakehouse recently and considering we were working with a ladder that was about 5 feet too short.. I think we did pretty well.

This is the real grill..

2010-06-03T10:42:00.000-05:00

we broke the grill in the night before by grilling steaks, but this lunch just turned out so beautiful I had to show it off. The Steak kabobs the next night were near perfection ...

Memorial day visitors...

2010-06-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

we're finding more and more critters that like to visit at the lakehouse...

the Screen room...

2010-06-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

we redecorated the screen room at the Lakehouse this weekend. We were looking for a tent feeling and chose a striped canvas fabric from Ikea. Tenting the fabric to cover the ceiling. We added halogen lights along the ceiling since there are no light fixtures out there. Check out the before and after photo's.

Outdoor living at the lakehouse....

2010-05-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

Notice all the conveniences of home..

2010-05-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

actually the appliances are nicer than what we have in the loft. LOVE LOVE LOVE the waiter / ice in the door on the refridgerator. We even have a garbage disposal.. we haven't had a garbage disposal since we left Los Angeles in 2007....

one of my favorite things about the Lakehouse...

2010-05-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

yes... I'm thrilled to have a full size washer and Dryer! The cabinet above the W&D was originally mounted in the strangest spot on a kitchen wall.. I bashed my head on it the day we closed on the Lakehouse so it had to be moved! works perfectly above the W&D.

Our room...

2010-05-09T21:22:00.001-05:00

These bed frames are so high that Jake has decided he loves his bed under ours...

The Guest room...

2010-05-09T21:21:00.001-05:00

It all started on Friday morning..

2010-05-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

with a trip to Bolingbrook to pick up the U-Haul truck.. 1st stop Ikea. We breezed through Ikea with the precision of skilled shoppers. Loaded our findings onto 2 carts, yes, 2 carts I was pushing one overflowing while Ken pushed the furniture cart. Checked out and surprisingly came in under budget. We loaded the U-Haul and headed home to pick up our goodies that were packed and waiting. 3 hours later driving through pouring rain we arrived at the Lakehouse, me driving the U-Haul truck and Ken driving tha Saturn with the dogs in the back seat. It stopped raining for about 30 minutes and thats all it took to unload the truck.

We stayed up and put together beds, and living room furniture, unpacked dishes and glassware then crashed. New bed, strange surroundings, pouring rain and wind, but we were so tired it didn't matter. Slept like babies.

Woke up to a very cold and windy Saturday. Drove into Angola and bought a Washer and Dryer while we had the truck to haul it back home. Spent the rest of saturday putting together furniture, decorating and cleaning. here's a couple of photo's... One is the Living room and the other the Dining room... What do you think?

30, count them 30...

2010-05-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

Bags of leaves. Thats what we cleaned up around the Lake House yesterday. We also steamcleaned the carpets and took down some strangely placed cabinetry (the bump on my forehead proves it). The deck looks amazing now that it's clean. This really was the most physical work we've done in ages and we're paying for it today. I feel like an alcohol-less hangover. Poor Ken, is so sore from raking leaves. Today has been a lounge on the sofa day although we did accept a delivery of the Beds for the Lake House this morning. They went into the basement until Friday when we'll take furniture out there.

how should we use them?

2010-04-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

as side tables or as a coffee table??

The view ...

2010-04-27T16:08:00.001-05:00

this is what we see from the living room.. can't wait for sunsets over the lake.

Crazy...

2010-04-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

Crazy to think that at 48 years of age I am finally a homeowner.. correction WE are homeowners. Ken and I purchased a Mobile Home on Silver Lake in Angola Indiana. I personally think it was an unbelievable bargain, but after purchasing the home, getting all the utilities hooked up and furnishing it to our satusfaction I think we'll have a sizeable investment. The good news is that we paid about half of what it was actually appraised at so hopefully the value will continue to rise. Angola, Indiana is a 3 hour drive from Chicago, straight shot on the 90 east, the best part is.. if you don't want to take the toll road, US 20 runs right through Amish country, the frams are beautiful, and it's amazing to see the horse and buggies running along side the highway. We have started buying furniture in pieces, we'll rent a uhaul next weekend and start taking things down. This coming Saturday is going to be yard and deck clean up day as well as carpet cleaning day. The home has been vacant for a year so there is a bit of stale odor... I'll keep you aprised as things evolve...

in a sewing frenzy...

2010-04-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

I whipped up a bolster cover for the lakehouse... we still haven't closed on it but that hasn't stopped us from getting things ready for it...

Ottomans for the lakehouse

2010-04-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

went to target on saturday and found these two really great ottomans. Awesome price, on sale for $12.99 each, unfort they are green herringbone twill. Def not a match for the lakehouse, so I whipped out the Brother and made 2 slipcovers in the remaining pillow fabric. Behold the blue denim ottomans for the lakehouse....

Feeling inspired

2010-04-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

I was feeling so inspired by the purchase of the Lakehouse that I went to Joanns and bought $64.00 worth of fabric and then hit Salvation army this morning for pillow inserts (way cheaper than buying new and recycling too) and whipped up 12 toss pillows for the lakehouse.

Lake house update...

2010-04-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

so we got it! we close next week. here's a few more pics, I'll post some of the inside once we have the keys. Keep in mind it's been empty since may 2009 and needs some TLC on the yard..

The Lake House... update

2010-04-14T07:11:00.002-05:00

we went, we saw, we loved, we offered, and now we're waiting.....

maybe this one??

2010-03-29T07:47:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to get an appointment to see this one... Silver Lake Indiana...

Did someone say Lakehouse?

2010-03-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

my latest project is to find us a summer / lakehouse getaway. I currently have 2 contenders. one located on Big Long Lake in Wolcottsville Indiana and one on Duck Lake in Gobles Michigan. I'm continuing my search....

spring???

2010-03-04T11:50:00.000-06:00

the Japanese Maples are leafing out, well one of three is, Hopefully the other two didn't die on me this winter.. and my Miniature Narcissus are still trying to get to that blooming stage.. so much for having Narcissus at Christmas :-)

Sweet EBAY.. oh how I love thee....

2010-03-04T11:38:00.001-06:00

back in the early 90's when I was a Store Manager for Pottery Barn, they carried a product called Hotel Silver Flatware. Basically it was vintage flatware that was recycled by PB, re-silvered and sold by the piece, I believe around $5 per piece and the result was an eclectic mix of mix and match flatware, very shabby chic.. I loved the flatware but at the time I really wasn't shabby or chic so I passed on the opportunity to purchase it and yes passed on the 40% discount. Later when I realized I really was a bit shabby chic I went looking for this flatware only to discover that PB had discontinued it. PB now carries a similar item called Madison Flatware, selling for $95 per 5 piece place setting, but the catch is, while each piece of the 5 place setting is a different pattern, all of the place settings are the same 5 patterns. Well that and the $95 price tag. So I went searching.. and found exactly what I was looking for on EBAY. I found an auction lot of 150 pieces of vintage silver flatware, I won this auction for $75.02 + shipping so I got 150 pieces of flatware for less that 1 place setting of Madison. My box arrived today and I could not be happier... in this box of mis matched silver flatware was enough pieces to put together over 15 place settings (with a few serving pieces and left overs too) with each place setting being entirely unique and different from the others. I can't wait to dip this stuff in some silver polish and put it to use...

bulk

2010-03-03T11:11:00.000-06:00

seems everyone is in on the catering idea, boxes of bulk dinnerware, flatware, barware. You can get them just about anywhere from C&B, Pottery Barn, and Target. But Target recently clearanced theirs so I stocked up... 18 wineglasses for $9 and 12 Porcelain Dinnerplates for $10. Can't beat that....

call me fickle

2010-03-03T11:08:00.000-06:00

new house to add to the list... so far we have Bloomington Indiana, Saugatuck Michigan, and now McHenry Illinois. 3 bedroom home on 5 acres with horse barn for $450,000. The most expensive so far but the closest to a big city, Chicago.

So long February....

2010-02-28T19:26:00.000-06:00

and sayonara too.... so still working on that dream.. although it's changed a bit as of tonight... Since my last post we have won $46 playing the lottery, and we were watching a cheesy show on TLC tonight about lottery winners. Most of them had played for years and never won more that $2 or $3 before they hit the biggie.. so considering we've won $46 in about 3 weeks I think we might be on the fasttrack.. :-)

here's a pic of dreamhouse #2. 4 bedroom on 3.5 acres in Saugatuck Michigan, the cutest midwest lakeside getaway you could imagine. Ken wants to go Saugatuck way, open a B&B and he wants to open a candy store in downtown Saugatuck.. well the candy store sounds fun, not sure I want to make beds for strangers and I want horses so this place could be the answer..I'll keep you posted on our progress......

Arrrrrrgh!

2010-02-22T10:20:00.000-06:00

and I don't mean in a piratey way... It's been 19 days since I've logged on.. February has not been all that pleasant of a month and I'm finding myself OBSESSED with a current dream... Having not worked now for approx 7 months, I am feeling a bit guilty at how hard Ken works and I think thats part of whats fueling this dream. I want US to retire. Financially not feasible at this time so it stands as a dream. It doesn't help that I have found our PERFECT retirement home. It fills all the necessary criteria, Style of home : check, land: (15 acres) check, location: check (in the country, close to town, Bloomington Indiana,population 30,000, 50 miles from Big City, Indianapolis), and dammit I love it, Ken does too at least what we are able to see of it in pictures.. Our style of Urban Lodge fits this home perfectly, it has room for horses, today I'm focusing on Clydesdale rescue, yesterday it was Thoroughbred rescue, tomorrow it may be shetland ponies.. but it's my dream... The property has an old barn in addition to the house, covered swimming pool, and horse barn and I'm thinking it would be a perfect guest house? so everyone cross your fingers.. It's going to take a lotto win at this point.. but hey! someone has to win...

It really is all about the accessories...

2010-02-03T21:34:00.001-06:00

Air Plants

2010-01-29T12:44:00.000-06:00

After years of seeing these strange creatures in expensive floral shops I decided to check them out using my best friend: Ebay. There are many vendors on Ebay selling Air Plants, and not knowing who any of them are I chose to go the least expensive route. 6 airplants for $9.99 + shipping and hit CB2 for clear glass votive holders that hang on the wall ($1.95ea.). Crate and Barrel here in Chicago sells air plants for $9.99 each on up, and Jason Home and Garden sells Air Plants starting at $12.99 each. So far so good.. Air Plants are virtually indestructible, they require no soil and only a weekly soaking in water for survival. The ways you can display an Air Plant are limitless.....

Design Wednesday

2010-01-27T12:38:00.000-06:00

This may be the new gadget to have.. the IPAD

1/2 inch thin, 1.5 lbs, high quality, great angle vie

ws, 1HGzA4chip, 16GB memory, 32 or 64 gig storage, same multitouch screen as Iphone with a 10 hour battery... Looks like the price will run $699-$1000

Tasty Tuesday... chocolate covered peanut butter balls...

2010-01-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

YUMMO.....

1 cup creamy peanutbutter

2 cup confectioners sugar

4 tbsp melted unsalted butter

1 package semi sweet chocolate chips

combine peanutbutter, sugar and butter in a bowl, I use my hands to get everything very well incorporated. Using a small ice cream scoop I make small peanutbutter balls. Place these on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Melt your chocolate chips. Dunk each peanutbutter ball into the chocolate and place back on parchment covered baking sheet. Refrigerate chocolate covered peanutbutter balls for approx 30 minutes to set the chocolate and enjoy!

Design Wednesday

2010-01-20T08:23:00.000-06:00

Going forward I will dedicate Wednesdays to items I find that I think have great style or design..

During a holidays visit to the store Anthropologie , I ran across these terrific candles and candlesticks. The candles came in three styles, a dog, a rabbit and a horse. The candle and stick combo retailed for $30.00 each. By waiting until the week after christmas I was able to get them for $9.99 each. The hazard of waiting tho was the rabbit was no longer available.

The Adidas addiction

2010-01-19T11:37:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid I'm addicted to Adidas Tennis shoes.. not just any Adidas tennis ahoes but the Stan Smith classic style Adidas tennis shoe that J Crew has labeled a mens fashion must have... so In November of 2009 I blogged that I had purchased my first pair.. the white / green classic of course.. well now 2 months later I'm afraid I'll need to start looking to replace them as wearing them in the weather has made them.. well... not pretty anymore. I have added to this Adidas collection recently with the Navy Blue Patent leather, and what I'm calling my Golden Globe shoes, the Gold classic. Left to acquire? well of course the all white, the white/blue, the white/red and the black patent...I'll update as they make their way into my closet.

Pussy Willow Tree..

2010-01-19T11:28:00.000-06:00

Maybe this will garner some of the spring I'm looking for... This is a Pussy Willow Tree.. I think it will be absolutely lovely when it's fully bloomed.. next project will be to see how I can plant it and keep it alive as it grows.. Maybe the 10 acre Horse Farm I've spotted for sale will be the perfect place for a Pussy Willow tree? Must win the lottery first as it is the only way that will happen.. But I can dream.. and I've been doing alot of that lately...

greetings..

2010-01-19T11:25:00.000-06:00

well my last blog entry was January 1st, I'm sorry I've been away so long but haven't been feeling especially creative. I may have a touch of cabin fever, I'm really looking forward to spring so Ken and I can get out an explore Chicago and the surrounding areas so much more. Stay tuned.. I feel the creative juices starting to flow again......

The torture device...

2010-01-01T09:45:00.000-06:00

so the box was so heavy it took both of us to lift it onto the cart. It was an ordeal getting it into and out of the car. Then came the trek up to the 3rd floor... we opened the box and the fun began...

the crazy Cuckoo clock...

2010-01-01T09:43:00.001-06:00

Ken got me this crazy cuckoo clock for christmas... I saw it in a really cute shop in Lincoln Park and knew it would go great in our loft.. the strange thing is ... it cuckoo's on the hour but you never know how many times it will cuckoo... thirteen times??? now thats cuckoo..

Happy New Year...

2010-01-01T09:28:00.000-06:00

let 2010 begin. I have to say 2009 wasn't such a bad year for us. We welcomed our first grandchild, Coy Christopher Lyght in March. Ken landed a terrific promotion at the Tribune. We moved to Chicago in July. I started my often uneasy, temporary "retirement". I spent a great week with Mom in California after her very successful back surgery. We bought a car after 2 years of not having one, and I drove solo from California to Chicago. We have a beautiful home, happy and healthy pets. I have revived friendships with ghosts from the past through facebook and I love catching up with everyone. I enjoy my many catch-up's with my favorite sibling. We're close enough now we get to see and enjoy the kids, Coy and Ken's family. The holidays are over, the cold is setting in... Let's see where 2010 takes us... Happy New year everyone!

The new media center

2009-12-21T21:22:00.000-06:00

Ken and I decided to expand our media center by going up. I spent the day monday trying to arrange the accessories on the shelves so they didn't make me crazy... here's what I ended up with.

Christmas with the kids...

2009-12-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful day on Saturday. Christmas with the kids, Meg and Nick hosted us at their apartment and Meg prepared a fantastic brunch. The food was delish, and the company was fantastic. Here's a couple of the gifts I received.. a set a stemless wine glasses from Chris and Melissa. They have little Chalk Boards on each glass so you can write someone's name, or even write the name of the wine someone is drinking. Meg and Nick got me some very handy Martha Stewart kitchen gadgets.. a garlic chopper and a food chopper.. how handy is that? Thank you very much!

The INSANITY!

2009-12-16T09:04:00.000-06:00

yes.. it's a bit insane.. but the reality is... it's the same as what we do every year... In past years we would do this same amout of shopping then pay to ship it all..then we shifted to gift cards.. much cheaper to send.. then we shifted to cash.. but where's the thrill of unwrapping a gift? so... here is where we are at this year.. with only a bit more shopping to do.. Ken for me, me for Ken.. we're heading to Indianapolis this Saturday for xmas with the kids.. then will travel to Platteville for xmas with Ken's family on xmas day. It's beginning to look alot like christmas......

North Pole News

2009-12-15T10:11:00.001-06:00

G-pa Ken created a very cute North Pole Newsletter for Coy.....

a little sweets...

2009-12-05T19:33:00.000-06:00

besides the homemade brownies and fudge I put together a platter of sweets.. from Trader Joes, filled chocolates, Meringues and granola chews.

Roast Beef Crostini

2009-12-05T19:32:00.000-06:00

Sliced baguette, arugula, sliced medium rare roast beef, a dollop of horseradish sauce, topped with a 1/2 cherry tomato..

Shrimp shots

2009-12-05T19:29:00.000-06:00

I used shot glasses, added 2 cooked, cleaned, tail on shrimp in each class, topped them with cocktail sauce and a lemon slice and you have individual Shrimp Shots... they were delish

Holiday party

2009-12-05T19:26:00.000-06:00

last night we had a group of ken's co-workers over for a small gathering.. I had a ball getting everything prepared and pulling out all the party accessories.. the food was great.. the company was fantastic and yes.. I had a slight hangover this morning from the Prosecco..

Coy

2009-12-05T19:24:00.001-06:00

Could this little man be any cuter????

The Christmas tree 2009

2009-12-05T19:21:00.000-06:00

here's our tree that sits in the den.. the pics show it's transformation ...

Holiday decorations

2009-12-05T19:18:00.000-06:00

We went with 3 christmas trees this year.. the two smaller trees in the living room are Barbie specific.. they are only decorated in our Barbie ornament collection...

sheesh! It's been along time....

2009-12-05T19:15:00.001-06:00

so lets start with the great finds that I found while in Saugatuck Michigan... Great new holiday platter, stocking hangers and cute christmas decorations...

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

2009-11-17T13:09:00.001-06:00

The Honeybaked Ham dinner has been reserved, will pick up the day before Thanksgiving and the new dinnerware arrived today.Usually Ken and I prepare the meal ourselves but we are actually taking dinner up to his Mom's in Wisconsin on Thanksgiving day and then having a second dinner when the kids arrive at our house over the weekend. Aside from making some desserts we are ready to go....

Help! Shark!

2009-11-12T17:40:00.000-06:00

With our entire apartment being wood floors with the exception of tile in the bathroom I really hated mopping. But with 2 adults, 2 dogs and a cat it needed to be done frequently.Good bye swiffer, no more wet pads.. I shopped around and had been looking to get either the Bissell or the new Shark steam hard surface cleaners, but they run $120.00 ish. So I went to Big Lots! and found a 1st generation Shark steam cleaner for $55.00. I love it. Steam clean the whole apartment and toss the microfibre pad in the laundry and poof ready to go again.

Revised Gift wrap closet

2009-11-12T17:38:00.000-06:00

I changed the way the wrap was hung. I used 2 lenghts of hanging Lamp chain and ran the curtain rods holding the wrap paper through the link in the chains. I used plastic stoppers on the ends to keep them from falling out of the chain. Look for yourself.. Much better I think.

The Den, redone

2009-11-12T17:34:00.000-06:00

attached are the pics of our redone den. we added the fireplace and shifted things around a bit.

new shoes

2009-11-12T09:13:00.000-06:00

I have found myself leaning seriously into the JCrew world as of late. I do believe it's because of Mickey Drexlers influence on the company's style trends. I worked under Mickey at the GAP in the late 1980's and found him to be very inspirational. I love that JCrew does a separate Men's catalog and has separate Men's stores as well, but I do hate that they always put their men's departments on the second floor when it's a combo store.. I guess that's why shopping is my Cardio. Listed as a must have for fall 2009 is the Stan Smith sneaker by Adidas. Paired with the skinny jeans, and a v neck sweater = awesome. So in my ever creative way and never liking to pay full price I found the Stan Smith sneaker by Adidas on Ebay for get it! $29.99 vs. $60.00 at JCrew. Don't get me wrong.. I love JCrew but don't necessarily like their prices. Behold the must have sneaker....

I just love all things Blue Dog

2009-11-11T12:24:00.001-06:00

He reminds me of Korki, my childhood dog. Now mind you Korki wasn't blue.

Gift Wrap center

2009-11-11T10:59:00.000-06:00

Gift wrap closet is ready to go.. Bring on the gifts, cuz we're ready to wrap.... Lots of paper, ribbon, extra ribbon, bows and gift tags in the black crate. Tissue paper and boxes easily accessible, and extra gift bags and raffia in the plastic tote below.

Xmas gift idea

2009-11-11T09:07:00.000-06:00

How cute is this? and who wouldn't want to get a s'mores kit for christmas?Easy to find pieces too... clear plastis boxes available at Container store, everything else your local market.

dilema resolved...

2009-11-09T07:37:00.000-06:00

so the weekend is over and what a beautiful one it was. 70 degrees both days made for a lovely Indian summer weekend here in Chicago.I searched far and wide for the perfect Christmas Dinner Plates and had decided I really would just go with the Christmas Tree pattern from the previous post but I just wasn't sold on the ornate border. I decided to look on Ebay and behold the dinner plates set of 8 that I won for a mere $10.49. I can't wait till they arrive.

hmmmm.. big decision

2009-11-06T10:34:00.000-06:00

so this is the biggest decision facing me this week.. which holiday dinnerware do I choose ? I'm leaning towards the xmas tree pattern.

My friend Regena...

2009-10-08T08:51:00.000-05:00

The wacky girl I was roommates with during my early 20's until she went off and got married on me.. :-) Regena and I have been friends since probably 1982, We shared many homes and laughs together in Fresno and San Francisco. Regena came for a visit while I was at Mom's last month and while we hadn't seen each other in probably 10-12 years it was like no time had passed at all.. Here's a photo of us (with my Mom) in 1984 and the photo of us in 2009... we're both bigger, I'm balder, she's grayer but life has been good to us both.. It was great to see you Regena!

PS she's still wacky

The grill

2009-10-08T08:46:00.000-05:00

I am a huge fan of grilling and although we don't have an outdoor space I found this amazing indoor smokeless grill on Amazon.com by Sanyo. Behold the yummies....

Fall

2009-10-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

A touch of fall for the loft.

it's beginning to look alot like fall...

2009-10-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

so I crafted a few decorative accessories to slip us into the mood...

the Car

2009-10-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Ken and I had been comtemplating a car after we decided to make the move to Chicago. We have a parking space included in the rent so why not take advantage of it? I started looking at used cars right after we arrived and was really disgusted with what I was finding. Pretty much all the used cars in my price range are consumed with the midwest car cancer : RUST. Ugh.. I refuse to pay $5000 for a car that I can put my foot through the floorboards. So while in California I started looking at used cars and was amazed and what I was finding. While I initially wanted an SUV to accomodate the Chicago winters, I decided to go economical and chose a Saturn. I found a 2002 Saturn SL1 in near new condition, bought it and drove it home (39 highway MPG) . 3 of the longest days of my life driving through the most boring, bible thumping territiry in the US. But here she is.. I think I'll call her Levi as she is pretty much the same color as my favorite pair of Levi's.

sorry I've been away so long...

2009-10-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

Lots has happened since I last logged on.. Mom had some surgery on her back in mid September so I flew to Northern California to stay with her after she left the hospital. It's nice to say that I really was not needed as she was pretty much up and around the next day. It was very nice spending 7 days with her though. Thats the most time I've spent with her in my adult life. Update as of 10/5/2009: Mom is doing great!

Fashion Week

2009-09-16T10:55:00.000-05:00

Well Fashion week is wrapping up in NYC and it's strange to not be there. I loved seeing the models running free on the steets.. some in herds others straggling alone. Here a couple of my favorite looks for Spring 2010. I'll always love Ralph Lauren but I'm afraid that I am completely in awe with Michael Bastian this season. http://men.style.com/fashion/collections/S2010MEN/complete/thumb/MBMEN

Mid September

2009-09-16T10:54:00.001-05:00

It's been a quiet few weeks..The apartment is done. I have done a few craft projects for Halloween but I'll post those later. Heading to Ca. later this week so maybe I'll have some updates from there.

The whole pie...

2009-09-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

I've been posting for weeks now the loft in various stages of dress. So here's the loft completely dressed and ready for a day on the town.

a day in the sun...

2009-09-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

The weather has been fantastic here in Chicago this week. High 70's. I would be happy if this was the weather all the time. By the looks of it the kids think this weather is just perfect too...

Wabi-Sabi

2009-08-28T13:02:00.000-05:00

Wabi-Sabi : The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". Thats me! I've finally found the word or phrase if you will that describes me perfectly. Thats why I love the original levi 501's after they have holes in them, thats why I paid $275.00 for the Ralph Lauren Khakis with the intentional paint splatters on them. Thats why I love our leather furniture more and more each day that it gets worn and beaten looking. ahhhhhhhhh! I feel like I've the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders.. Happy weekend!

Handsome boy

2009-08-26T08:18:00.001-05:00

He's just so darned handsome.

The den.... raw

2009-08-25T10:16:00.001-05:00

The Den

2009-08-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

The Guest room in the beginning....

2009-08-25T10:10:00.001-05:00

The Guest room and shoe closet

2009-08-25T10:08:00.001-05:00

The chandelier...

2009-08-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

we bought a new chandelier / light fixture this weekend thinking it would great in the middle of the loft living room.. but now we're having second thoughts and may swag it over to above the dining table.. your thoughts?

Master Bedroom closet

2009-08-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

Neat and organized.. just the way I like it

Master Bedroom in the beginning...

2009-08-25T10:02:00.001-05:00

Master Bedroom

2009-08-25T09:58:00.000-05:00

Here's the finished product.

The Living room... before

2009-08-24T10:25:00.000-05:00

This is our living room in it's before stage...

The living room... After

2009-08-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Coy Christopher Lyght

2009-08-24T10:18:00.001-05:00

Our beautiful grandson is 5 months old today.

The Kitchen...

2009-08-13T08:44:00.001-05:00

The Kitchen .. Before.. notice the hideous tile work behind the sink.. yes it is black and white ceramic tile with vegetable tiles dispersed throughout.. YUCK! we took self adhesive floor tiles that look like granite and hot glued them over the ugly tile... behold a better looking kitchen.

The Kitchen, continued...

2009-08-13T08:14:00.000-05:00

The Kitchen... is basically just an L shaped counter. Fridge, sink, dishwasher and then around the bend is the Stove. We dropped our butcher block in to give us prep space and behold our new dining table with leather chairs. We went with a table that expands to seat at least 6 and use our extra chairs in the office for desk seating.