Author Archives: CT

Changing it up, one piece at a time

Weekends have been good over here at Living Analog — things keep moving around and I keep checking items of my January to do list to get me closer to my big project goals — living room, bedroom and kitchen. 

This weekend I hit the kitchen.  By just rearranging a few pieces we already had, it made a big impact and set in action a chain of events that will (hopefully) lead to getting the kitchen to a happy place.

The wood buffet used to be in the dining room.  I was sick of all the clutter (and mess) of the open shelves in the kitchen and decided it was time to do something about it. 

Now a lot of special use items like the ice tea maker, griddle and food processor can sit down in the big drawer of the buffet.  The top drawers are deep enough for our ramekins and other cooking utensils.  The wood contrasts nicely off the white tile and adds an element of warmth to the kitchen.  It’s not a huge change but it’s enough to make a difference and get me started with the kitchen.

There are still many, many things to be done before this space is looking ship-shape.  We are putting down warm grey ceramic tile, and I need to do something about the wall color.  There will be window treatments and cafe curtains on the door.  The knife rack is going to be relocated to make space for some artwork and a pot rack is going next to the glass block window.  I’m on the hunt for a smaller microwave — that sucker is ginormous and takes up more room than I’d like.  I also need to sand and paint the door, especially where Shenanigan keeps kicking it.  Maybe we’ll get him a bell instead — that seems a bit more genteel. 

 The big blue bucket you could see in the “before” pic is currently at our “spray booth” (aka the back yard) getting a coat of teal.  It will come back in and sit under the buffet to hold some bigger items live vinegar and vegetable oil and rice.  These pictures are making me realize I need to get in there and corral that cord as well — I hate cords!!!  I’m also not loving the wood bread box on the wood buffet so that might get shifted around too . . . things are always shifting and moving around here (to the point where JT usually has to ask where I’ve put something . . . .sorry hubby).

I’m so excited to finally start implementing all the changes I’ve been dreaming up for the last little while now.  Unfortunately moving things around also tears up the rest of the house as things are temporarily relocated and accessories readjusted.  Case in point — the dining room where the buffet used to sit:

Right now it’s a holding zone for all the things that will go in the future-shelving-unit-with-glass-doors that I’m on the prowl for.  I’ve got a few leads too . . . but until then, it’s life with the repercussions of redecorating.  I currently have these bad boys up on Craigslist here and here.  Craigslist doesn’t seem to be turning things over for me or JT (with guitars) as quickly as it was before.  Has anyone else run into this?  At any rate, a little rearranging does a body (and our kitchen) good.

Missing Pieces

I’m going on an upholstery hunt this weekend for  the new daybeds.  And then (small drumroll) I think I am going to try to sew these cushion covers myself.  Yikes.

As I scour St. Louis for that perfect fabric (you know a bright white one that repels all stains and dog hair.  That exists, right?) I found an inspiration image to use as a starting point.

We already have the same starting canvas – blue front door, hardwood floors, light walls.  Since the daybed also has wood frames, I like the look of this sofa — white cushions  layered with blankets, pillows and SHEEPSKINS! for our living room.  This is Liz’s living room and it was featured here on Apartment Therapy.  Pretty sweet.  I’m digging the rug as well and wondering what Sophie would do to a shag. . . .

But while I’m out and about hunting fabric, I also have my eye out for a few other things.  I showed you guys my shameful kitchen pictures the other day and now I am in the process of rearranging everything.  The metal tall shelf and microwave cart are going bye-bye (or should I say hello craigslist) and I want to move our nice buffet into the kitchen to class it up a bit and give some hidden storage rather than have everything out on shelves like we do now.

So that frees up the wall opposite the dining table and I’m on the prowl for some closed shelving.  Dog hair is our constant companion and I want to put our wine glasses and barware behind glass to keep it cleaner and more usable.  (Right now it needs a good rinse before any wine glasses get used.)

So, if anyone happens to find something like this . . .

Or this . . .

Image from West Elm, http://www.westelm.com

That would be great.  We’re also in the market for a new coffee table.  I’m thinking round to shake things up a little.  I saw the perfect one on an early episode of “Secrets From a Stylist” on HGTV.  Does everyone else watch that show?  I highly recommend it — she uses so much vintage and thrift finds in her rooms.

I’m not 100% sure what episode this was from, but you can watch them online too . . . This table is pretty close to perfect – round with glass so it feels more open.

I was considering this affordable-ish ($300) marble job from cb2 until Brookyn Limestone spilled that it is a little on the short side.  (Design Within Reach has a similar one for three times the price as well . . .)

Obviously the perfect coffee table would be a tulip (as I have obsessed over here and here . . . )

I don’t think one of these lovers is coming my way anytime soon.  Sigh.

I do have one trick up my sleeve – another Ikea trip is on the horizon.  Yes I need therapy.  Yes St. Louis needs an Ikea.  The Strind might be my Swedish coffee table savior.

It’s round, simple and clean and has a bottom shelf for extra magazine and book storage.  Also, for a Benjamin Franklin, it’s not too expensive and should my tulip come along, I could easily bear parting with the Strind to the gods of craigslist.

So that’s Furniture Friday.  Does anyone else obsess about furniture this much?  Maybe we should start a support group.  And meet every Saturday at the nearest antique mall . . .  JT’s guitar eBay auction ends tomorrow so maybe I might have a little extra furniture cash . . . Have a great weekend everyone!

Time Spent at Value Village = Good Weekend

Hi everyone.  Have a good weekend?  

Ours started out with a bang.  One of the dogs (Sophie most likely) defiled the music room rug.  Thanks to it being Flor carpet tiles, I was able to pull up the stinky ones and hose them off in the backyard (it was unseasonably warm this weekend.  It felt like spring.  I started spring cleaning and actually hit the linen closet and some drawers pretty hard.)

I’ll let you guys know if the stink removal treatment is effective.  As it is, we started keeping the music room door closed when we’re not around to “supervise”.  I’m starting to wonder/doubt/question my idea of using Flor in the living room (and bedroom).  Those dogs look so angelic but they can be sneaky.  Well, Sophie mostly.  Shenanigan doesn’t care what anyone thinks, he just does what he wants.  It’s a dog’s life.

I digress.  I have actually been on the hunt for some picture frames for the Christmas gift artwork that I keep hinting about.  So I did what any girl would do and dragged my husband to our local Value Village (Goodwill-esque thrift store).  I never come home empty-handed from Value Village, it’s statistically/mathematically impossible.  Case in point.

Less than $10 later and only one item resembling a picture frame. 

I was most excited about the chalkboard so I got to work on it Sunday night while JT cooked up a fabulous Rick Bayless recipe for dinner.  First I sanded all the tape gook and things off the wood frame.  Next I removed the hanging hardware off the back and applied my own “hardware” – 3M command picture hanging strips. 

Yep, $1.81.

Then, I mounted it in the kitchen where we can use it to jot down grocery list items or the menu for the evening (if we’re feeling fancy).  Still no chalk though, so the picture looks a little bare.

Pardon the pictures, I was taking them late Sunday night without any natural light.  No amount of Photoshop can overcome that obstacle.  I realized I haven’t shown a lot of views of our kitchen.  I’ve been hiding it.  Now you’ll see why.  In the next few months I hope to replace the dingy, dying peel and stick floor tile from the 60s with a warm grey (recycled content) ceramic 12×12 tile.    In the next few months I hope to replace the stove entirely (it’s beyond gross).  In the next few months, I am going to do a total overhaul of the furniture, add window treatments, paint the upper and lower cabinets, add cabinet hardware, build shelving . . . the list goes on and on.

But I digress.  Here’s another before and after highlighting the Value Village rag rug.  I’m not 100% sold on it because right now it’s not holding a true rectangle shape.  It might end up out on the back porch.  For $2.99, thankfully, I’m not too concerned.

(See Sophie and Shenanigan’s new water bowl present peeking out from under the island cart?  I still love it.  Shenanigan was scared of it at first and started out only licking around the edges instead of actually drinking water but he eventually figured it out.) 

Since I’m going all out with these kitchen glimpses, I might as well show the other two (scary) views of the kitchen as well.  Keep in mind : WORK IN PROGRESS.

Yep, needs a lot of work.  We’re going to fix you all up kitchen, don’t worry. 

So, that’s it.  One tiny South City black and white tile kitchen.  It’ll be looking a lot better in a few months.  I already like it a little better thanks to our Value Village chalkboard.

The weekend finished out with Mexican Hot Chocolate (recipe by Rick Bayless, made by JT) and No-Bake Fig bars (recipe idea from Oh She Glows, switched over from dates).  Our center island cart came from the Gypsy Caravan (a big flea market held to raise money for the St. Louis Symphony ever year — I think I paid $20 to get in.  Antiques and classical music?  I’m in.)  It used to be in a medical and/or dental type office in probably the 1920s to 1940s.  It is a heavy-duty metal with a baked on enamel coat.  I like it a lot.  The grungy floor tile and oven you can see beyond it, not so much.

And here we are, back at Monday.  Have a great one.

New Year’s Goal (semi) accomplished

Yay!  Husband did his first post.  I love the band picture.  Hopefully there are many more to come.  Now, back to the weekend.

Monograms and sheepskins

For those of you who have been reading this for a while, you know about my (slight) obsession with the letter “T” and also with sheepskins.  They are addictions I’m not sure I want to cure. 

Imagine my surprise when my family and friends picked up on these idiosyncratic obsessions of mine.  Maybe that puts them in the category of enablers.  At any rate, it makes me one lucky lady.

For Christmas this year we did a name swap/draw on my side of the family.  It turns out my mother drew my name. (Hi Mom.)  Great gift #1 was a large “T” for my growing collection on the mantel.  I wanted to customize it a bit more so it paid a visit to my backyard spray booth (which is a cardboard box top.  Fancy.)

That little black handle is the best $3 I ever spent.  I got it at Home Depot and it clips onto the top of a can of spray paint so you can grip with your whole hand and get a nice easy layer of spray paint. 

Et voila . . . . . it is now the new theme color of teal/sapphire blue and proudly displayed on my restyled mantel.

It looks so happy against the new white wall.  On the ottoman you’ll also see the big  red book of “Design*Sponge at Home”, another great gift from my mom.

See anything else new on the ottoman?  Remember a few posts back when I was agonizing over the Anthropologie $800 fleece flounce throw?

JT was a good husband and got me the Z Gallerie alternate and at about $50, it is so much more affordable.  I didn’t have to promise to wear it as a coat every day and sleep under it every night.  I can’t put it on the bed or the sofa because Sophie and Shenanigan will do inappropriate things to it.  So for now it is adorning the ottoman where I can rest my feet on it at night and revel in its sheepy softness (and it’s actually faux so no real sheep were harmed.  Win and win.)  And it’s teal/sapphire. 

Shenanigan will still do circus dog tricks sometimes and stand on the ottoman so I put a tray on top of my new throw to protect it a little better.  I used to have a long rectangular dark brown tray on the ottoman which popped nicely off the white vinyl.  I had to switch it around a little and mixed in a white round tray instead to give some contrast off that teal fur goodness.  The tray also is an old friend who visited the backyard spray booth — it used to be red.  I’m telling you, I’m crazy with the spray paint. 

And back to the monograms we go – did you think we were done with “T”s?  My mom has a friend in Kansas City (Hi Barb!) who is a whiz with a sewing machine.  She has one of those uber-fancy digital ones that I dream of owning someday after I learn to master the Kenmore basic model I have now.  Mom sent Barb some plain napkins and Barb sent these beauties back . . .

(PS – I took approximately 29 pictures of these place settings to find one picture that I liked.  JT saw the table set and asked if we were having a dinner party he was unaware of.  Just staging things for the blog hon. That’s normal, right?)  They’re very subtle which I like, kind of tone on tone.  Barb made us a set of white monogram “T” napkins for use at our wedding (7 years ago!) and I still have them but white is a bit unforgiving for daily use so I’m happy to have a set of the tan color as well. 

So that wraps up the story of monograms and sheepskins.  I am enjoying them all thoroughly.  My other great gifts will be the subject of an upcoming post — it involves artwork and I’m trying to get them all framed and hung before I post but I may just give in and share before I can get it done.  We’ll see.  Have a great weekend everyone!

First (and second) thing checked off my list

One of my big goals for 2012 was to restyle the living room.  (I’m going with restyle because I HATE the word tweak.  HATE.)  To make my big goals more accomplishable (that’s a word right? update – spell checker said no.), I made a list of small steps that will get me to my big goal.  Items #1 and #2 were paint living room accent wall and clean out fireplace.  Check and Check.  Although after I cleaned the fireplace we had a celebratory fire so that one will have to be redone.  Oh well.

Here’s a quick before of a corner of the accent wall (color=Ecru from Sherwin Williams).  While it’s an awesome color in the can, on the wall it was a little too blah and dirty looking for my liking.  Plus, my previous color palette had more of a green/brown/tan thing going on and now I’m switching over to more blue/black/white/gray/natural kind of thing.

Then I tore the house apart, taped the bejesus out of the living room and banished all my decorative items to the music room.

The color now is Sherwin Williams Shoji White which is a few shades lighter than the Amazing Gray that is the rest of the walls.  I love Amazing Gray.  It is a color chameleon and adapts to whatever color you put in with it. 

I’m loving my new camera and its wide-angle lens.

I kept the fireplace mantel simple when I loaded things back into the room.  I also pulled my big log holder/old lobster pot out of the mud room to have our firewood close at hand for the upcoming months.  Another thing on my list has to do with getting rid of the standard issue black plastic pot on the ZZ plant.  It definitely kills this picture for me a little.  But it’s a work in progress (like everything in our house.)

We really needed some light in the corner next to our new Eames rocker for reading and general illumination.  I had browsed around Home Goods on the prowl for something thanks to a gift card from my father-in-law and his wife but to no avail.  So I borrowed a trick from my sister-in-law and used a $7 utility light that hooks onto the easel we already had.  Instant lamp.

Some more items on my list involve fixing that god-awful stain around the fireplace from removing the brass-n-glass surround that was there when we moved in and also fixing some boo-boos we did to the wood floor thanks to Christmas tree stands and dog water bowls.  Water+metal+wood floor = not good.  But I’m loving how much lighter/brighter/happier the living room feels as we head into the bone-chilling months ahead.  Cheers!

PS – My bestest helper, Shenanigan, snoozed on the sofa the whole time I was taking 200 pictures.  Thanks buddy.

Resolve This!

A new year means New Years Resolutions, at least for me.  Even though I don’t always get there, it’s always something to strive for.  I’m hoping by posting these up for all the interwebs to see, it will hold me more accountable.  Fingers crossed.

Twelve for 2012

Blog Related:
1.  Write an average (minimum) of 2 posts per week.  One caveat though — I only want to post (what I think) is interesting and relevant stuff.  So if there isn’t anything interesting to blog about, no blog post.

2.  Grow the blog.  I’d like to get Living Analog recognized on a larger scale and maybe get a project featured on Apartment Therapy or Design*Sponge.  This goes back to #1.  If it’s not interesting, the big dogs aren’t going to be interested.

3.  Fine tune the blog to make it user-friendly and rocking.  (Any suggestions on what this means to anyone who reads this is greatly and humbly appreciated.)

4.  Tempt JT into doing guest blogs once a month.  If anyone has good suggestions on how to induce one’s husband to blog, I’m all ears.

Project Related:
5.  The Kitchen.  ‘Nuff said.

6.  The Bedroom.  Ditto #5.

6.  The basement closet — this project has been waiting in the wings for about a year.  It’s now or never.

7.  Living Room – besides the new daybed/sofas I blogged about earlier, there are some other furniture and miscellaneous fine tunings I’d like to accomplish in there.

Life/Self Related:
8.  Read one book a month.  I love to read but I will stay up for three days straight and not pay attention to anything else around me when I start a new book.  So as a result, I tend to re-read old classics so I can get to bed at a normal time.  I am currently on my 4th or so perusal of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” and have read “Pride and Prejudice” at least 15 times.  “Persuasion” is my favorite Austen novel which I have probably only read 4 or 5 times.  So.  New books.  January will be “Like Water for Chocolate”.

9.  Guitar chords.  I’m hoping that 2012 will bring me the JT-made Explorer I’ve been waiting so patiently for.  In order to be at all deserving I need to practice.  A lot.  I’m shooting for once a week.

10.  Dinner Parties.  JT and I are homebodys and we don’t get out much.  A lot of my close friends live out-of-state sadly enough (for me).  I’d like to try to host at least three dinner parties and two brunches this year (St. Louisans do not value brunch like they should, it’s the most awesomest meal ever).  I’m hoping once the kitchen is “done”, I’ll be more apt to invite people around.

11.  Participate in a outside-of-work money-making opportunity like the Rock and Roll Craft Show or a Flea Market to whittle down all the furniture/crafts I have stashed in the basement and maybe pave the way for the future “Thompson Guitar and Thrift” store that husband and I will run someday.

12.  Attempt to upholster a piece of furniture.  Attempt.

I’ve tried to break my big project goals down into little baby steps.  I printed out my January “to-dos” and posted them on the fridge to keep me going.  Thanks to the time off this holiday weekend, I’ve already crossed off two things, which I’ll post about later.

(JT got the whiskey print from my mom via the Rock and Roll Craft Show this year.  I got the bluebird note card from my “twin”, the artist Susan Springer Anderson.  There’s more information about that in an up and coming post.)

Here’s the thing though.  All these resolutions and goals and projects are great and fun and all.  But I refuse to put a house project before my family and friends.  Life is too short to stay home and write blog posts or practice the guitar when there are people around me to spend time with and life to be lived.  And planning a whole year in advance is sort of laughable — if there’s one thing I’ve learned thus far is that things never go according to plan.  All you can do is go with the flow and hope for the best.  I do wish you all the best in 2012 though and would love to hear anyone else’s resolutions.  Cheers!

It’s 2012!

I decided to have one last adventure in (hand) sewing to finish off 2011 and ring in 2012 with a bang.  JT was taking me out for an anniversary/New Year’s Eve dinner and I had the perfect dress but it was a little blah.  Inspired by the Ban.do corsage, I thought I would try to see what I could whip together.

(Image above from Ban.do’s website — you should check it out.  I especially love the sequined heart pins.)

I rummaged through my basement “craft” room (aka where I put odds and ends I don’t want to get rid of because I might make something with them someday) and came up with some black tulle and Haworth mesh chair back fabric from our work runway fashion show.  (A little more on that here.) While catching up on Season 2 episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” I began cutting, folding and stitching the tulle.

I cut out a backer from the Haworth fabric and stitched it onto a pin I already had (and I can simply clip the stitches off and wear the star pin by itself again someday.

I used the leftover cut tulle and stitched and hot glued the mess onto a hair clip for an extra accessory.  The hot glue didn’t really hold so I ended up stitching it up as JT waited patiently in his nice clothes to go out.  In the end my tulle corsage resembled one of those shower scrub poufs a little more than I would have liked.  I think it would have worked better with organza.  Oh well, what’s a girl to do.

We went to Brasserie by Niche in the Central West End.  The food was so good and Fraanch (as JT likes to say).  I asked our waitress to snap a photo to which she was very obliging and all we ended up with was a very “How I Met Your Mother” photo in a dark bar kind of picture.

So I photographed my outfit again this morning for your viewing pleasure.  If only my waist were that small in real life!

JT put up another of his guitar hooks on this little piece of empty wall which is pretty perfect actually.  However he found out the adjacent vent throws hot air right to that spot and de-tunes his guitar so I found some other uses for the guitar hook. . . .

For now the hook will stay because it’s an ideal spot to photograph JT’s guitars.  The one above is another that he made and is about to post for sale.  It’s gorgeous although I’ve never been a huge fan of the SG body style — those two points look like devil’s horns to me.  The best use of the hook has been this large clock we got as a one year anniversary gift to each other (because that’s the traditional one year gift along with paper I think.  I didn’t even bother to check and see what the seven year gift is.  Yikes.)

I have so many more posts coming your way.  Resolutions and little projects I am working on around the house.  I also need to post some of my awesome Christmas gifts — here’s a hint — there are monograms, faux fur and artwork.  Oh my!

End of one year, beginning of a new awesome one!

2011 has gone by so fast.  I’m working on a theory of time increasing like the speed of a rolling stone as it goes down a hill — the older you get, the faster time passes by.  I’m not about to win any math or science prizes for this one but it seems true to me.

2011 was a good, quiet and rather uneventful year for us Ts.  I started the new blog in May and it inspired me to get a lot of projects started AND finished.  (Finishing is always the hard part for me.  Starting is a piece of cake.  That’s probably why our basement is filled with unfinished projects).  JT is a lot better about finishing projects out and this year he built his first guitar and is now onto his third and fourth, simultaneously.  Here in the next few weeks he’s going to guest post here at Living Analog.  Yay!

I’m excited for 2012 because I have so many more projects to tackle and thanks to you guys reading, a lot more incentive and motivation to get them done and posted.  There’s going to be a lot of work happening in the kitchen and bedroom along with these crazy furniture swaps I stirred up in the living room. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that New Year’s Eve 2011 is also Mr. T’s and my seventh wedding anniversary. 

(This is a horrible picture because I am just trying to keep the damn hat on my head long enough for the picture but you get the point – NYE 2004 going into 2005 was a big party for us. JT looks dashing as ever.)    For anyone considering getting married on New Year’s Eve I highly recommend it.  Everyone is ready to dance and have a good time and it’s such a nice time to have your family and friends gathered around you.  A new, fresh year of hopes and dreams is before you and you get to start it with your husband!  It was amazing. 

So what’s the big plan for 2012?  Well I’m working on some resolutions but I want them to be well-considered and also attainable so I’ll have to postpone a few days until I’m sure I’ve really thought this over.  I wish everyone a safe and celebratory New Year’s Eve and all the best in 2012!

Christmas Recap

Some of you may have seen the movie Four Christmases.  Here at the T residence, we have Three Christmases. 

Christmas #1 was Christmas Eve at JT’s brother’s house.   Sophie and Shenanigan’s cousins “the corgis” live there. (aka Danny and Starck)

 Brother-in-law and sister-in-law just acquired a vintage Malm fireplace.  I’ve been coveting one for  awhile (old post on former blog here) and this one looks just perfect in its new home.  The “problem” (I say sarcastically) with our house is that we already have a fireplace so bringing in a second fireplace just doesn’t make sense.  Maybe our future house will have one of these bad boys ’cause they sure are gorgeous.

Brother-in-law and sister-in-law are also big fans of mid-century modern.  Here’s JT sitting in his present before he realized it was his present . . .

It was a nice, low-key Christmas Eve.

Christmas #2 began bright and early Christmas morning at my mom’s condo.

This picture (above) was taken after the devastation.   She has a nice two-story living space and hung some cool star fixtures from the loft above, scored on our one-day-Ikea-adventure a few months ago.

You can see my sister modeling her crochet chain link necklace along with her Cardinals World Series champion um, apron?  The stars are hanging up behind her.

My mom is always changing out her tablescape so this holiday she had styled a festive silver tabletop for our omelet brunch.

Sophie and Shenanigan traveled with us on Christmas morning, so I entertained them with a reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas to keep them on their best behavior.  They were NOT attentive listeners, but did stay still long enough for one photo.

Christmas #3 was at JT’s dad’s house.  They live at the top of a bluff overlooking the Meramec River and have some amazing views.  I really liked their outdoor decorations on some antique fences they picked up at a barn sale.

I loved the “Happy Holidays” garland.

My father-in-law also has a great high-ceilinged living space and the tree filled the space nicely.  The lights on the fireplace and outdoors on the fences twinkled which added to the ambiance. 

Once I get better with this camera thing, I need to go around and take some good photos of the family’s living spaces.  Each house has its own distinct style which I love.  So that’s the Christmas recap.  Did anyone else have three Christmases or even four?  Who’s making New Year’s Resolutions?  I am!