To Do List…2010 and Beyond

We are those people.  We have a thing I’ll call The annual list reconciliation.  Come January, in every house we’ve ever had, we pull out our To Do list and start marking off items accomplished throughout the year…it is sooooo satisfying.  The logical and higher functioning part of my brain edited the list on the computer one year, and it was SUCH a let down…no ceremony to it.  We gotta do it old school..print it out and mark off with a big fat pen.  We add new items throughout the year, but we never remove until January.  Yes, I warned you that we were dorks a looong time ago.  In keeping with that, I’ll have a new To Do List category this year so I can insanely point out all the flaws and problems that need attention.  So how’s the reconciled list looking for 2010 and beyond?  Here’s about an eighth of it:

Get wood steps built to front door

Remove lattice, re-frame deck and screen storage area under front door

Get outdoor lighting connected

Order fill dirt, topsoil, compost and gravel

Build back deck extension

Pantry area build out:  This is why there has never been a full on kitchen reveal, just small bits because this side of the room is unfinished.  I thought we’d have knocked it out by now, but we’ve been thwarted.  The last couple of trips planned to drive to IKEA fell through, so we have to pick up the cabs…AND remove the wall between the fridge and the pantry.  This is one of our most shameful and frustrating mistakes.  When demo-ing the kitchen, CC thought this was a load bearing wall and that it had to stay…turns out it isn’t, and to take it out means our hardwoods will have to be feathered in.  We considered just leaving it, but we think aesthetically, it will really bug us…not to mention the wasted space if we leave the wall there.

You can understand why we’ve been dragging our feet a little on this.  Living in a kitchen with sheetrock dust is still a very fresh memory for both of us and we’ve not been prioritizing it…but now..it’s time.  We need to get this room truly finished once and for all.

Clean out/organize basement (this never leaves the list, as soon as it’s done, we have a whirlwind project that trashes it again.)

Paint trim in Kids’ rooms (still never got to that)

Stain thresholds in LR/Kitchen (new doors were installed AFTER the floors were done)

Reupholster Plycraft chair/ottoman (this has been on the list for 6-7 years)

Dimmer on kitchen sputnik

Hang Capiz chandelier/get wiring run in MB ceiling….the list goes on for pages….more later…..

Neck Saver

Most people would not equate a desk as such…but, given my oh, so, uber-amateur ways…I’ve been blogging from my lap 90% of the time.  About 4 months ago…my neck started to really bother me…shocker!  So, I’ve been on the lookout for a desk to double as a bedside table.  My Kittinger bedside tables were great in my 1912 house…not so much here.  I was looking for a pair of desks, but unless I wanted to go IKEA, I couldn’t find anything that I liked in my budget.  Vintage?  Fahgettahboutit…nada.  Yesterday, my problem was solved!

You see, I’ve also been on the hunt for a groovy bookcase, and finally found one at my mall yesterday.  It needs work (really!?) but I think it’s an easy fix.  Today, I’m heading to a shop that re-canes chairs and hope I can match the cane on the shelf and re-wrap the damaged areas.  In the meantime, I’ll hide the part at the bottom with some file boxes.

I hear ya….What does this have to do with your desk and your neck?  Stay with me….The bookcase replaces a console I had there previously…which is now my desk.  You see I actually have a desk/office area in the kitchen, but it’s become apparent it’s the family desk/landing strip/catch-all.  I can’t work there since the family clutters up the surface daily.  I needed a place that was all mine and cozy.  Until now…that was my favorite chair on the other side of the bedroom.  Great for lounging, not so much for extended computer time.

Now I need to find some great artwork to hang above the desk…restyle the bookshelf 10 times, ya know…the usual stuff.  The egg is on the move again to make way for the desk…in the living room for now…

It Stays

With all the lazy holiday lounging, one thing became clear.  Furry Burke stays with me.  As I’m gathering and tagging more things to replenish the booth, I just can’t part with it.  The perfect place to prop up the feet whilst swaying in the egg.  Sorry Nashvegas peeps, I’ll find something else groovy for you soon.

Oh, and some unrelated good news, I FINALLY got a tripod, so no more bad light bulls***t…I can jack that baby up to 11 (or 30 second exposure) now.  I know, so pathetic it’s taken me so long…but we can only go up from here.  Maybe now I can actually get a decent shot of the dining room.

(above photo taken pre-tripod)

Fawn Love Friday

…..and Happy New Year!  Nothing like a little fawn love to start off 2010.  I swoon over these photos by the late, great Bob Willoughby of Audrey Hepburn with her fawn Pippin, or Ip.  Then husband, Mel Ferrer, gave her the fawn from their Green Mansions set following her 2nd miscarriage.

All photos by Bob Willoughby… his Flickr feed is here…via one of my fave blogs…The Jealous Curator.

Vote Time

Shameless support for my man….Time to vote if you are registered with Instructables.  The Crafty Counterpart ‘s ornaments are in the competition for some magic wand thingy remote that is supposedly so nerdy, it’s cool. Click on the link for each ornament to vote.  Thanks!

Airplane from cigar tube Instructable found here.

Helicopter Instructable found here.