Traveling

Posted on June 27, 2012 by | 6 comments

I had an opportunity last week I’m not sure I might ever have again, y’all.  I was whisked away from St. Louis to Chicago via a private jet for a one-day (work-related) whirlwind.  A private jet taking off from a private hangar is pretty sweet.  I can see why those jet-setters do it.  

Since I was up there for a lot of work (non) fun, I kept those pictures in the work folder.  However, I did take a quick picture of the glorious view from one of the 10th floor furniture showrooms I was visiting in the Merchandise Mart.

Image

It was perfect weather and we had a long lunch at Fulton’s.  Not sure if that is a tourist trap or not. Not sure if I care.  But, if you ever have the opportunity to fly on a private jet (8 seater!), do it.  It will be worth your jet-setting while.

In other traveling related news, JT and I also took a recent mini-vacation down to Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi.  Memphis is a fairly quick 5 hour drive from St. Louis, down Highway 55.  The we traveled another hour and a half past down to Clarksdale, home of the crossroads (junction of old Highway 61 and Highway 49).  It is now also home to a Church’s Chicken, a furniture store and Al’s Barbeque.  

Image

The neatest part about Clarksdale was not necessarily the crossroads, but the place we stayed for the night, The Shack Up Inn.  It is like adult summer camp and a junker’s paradise combined into one.  Situated on the old Hopson Plantation, the owner’s have relocated various old cotton sharecroppers shacks into a compound of sorts.  The heart of the compound is the old cotton gin where they have live music on the weekends.

Image

It’s also where you go to get your beer — at Shack Up, B&B stands for bed and beer.

Image

It was pretty amazing.  I took too many pictures.  I’ll try to speed it up here . . . We stayed in Electric Blue.  

Image

We saved a big sliver of paint that was hanging out on the porch floor and lo and behold, when we got home it was almost a match to the blue we painted the front door.  Maybe Living Analog should be renamed Electric Blue?  Maybe not.  But we had an awesome time there, would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone and can’t wait to go back.

Image

After our glorious and restful time at Shack Up had ended, we headed back up Highway 61 towards Memphis.  But not without a pit stop at Tunica first . . . .

Image

Luckily we walked out of Tunica with our hats (and actually a little ahead, if you count $10 as a little ahead).   Back in Memphis we did all the things a music tourist would do: Sun Studios (2nd visit, had to pry JT out), Stax Records, Gibson Guitar Factory tour (had to really pry JT out, he was about to work for free) and the Rock n’ Soul Museum.  We have already been to Graceland and didn’t want to shell out the $$$ for another Elvis visit so we skipped that this trip.

Image

(I noticed when I went through these pictures later that the only ones I got of Stax have unflattering views of the man changing out the marquee.  Sorry dude.)

We also walked across the skybridge to Mud Island, saw some live music and lots of motorcycles on Beale Street and happened onto the Peabody ducks (we stayed at the Holiday Inn across from the Peabody and had “ducked” in to the shops around the lobby to bide some time during a quick rainstorm.) All in all an amazing and much to short vacation . . . now that we’re back at the grind we need to schedule another so we have something to look forward to.  I’m campaigning hard for New York in the fall . . . 

 

6 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Bathroom, Phase I (slow progress)

Posted on June 21, 2012 by | 2 comments

Its been slow going around the Living Analog household lately.  We’ve been enjoying the long hours of sunshine and spending a little more time outdoors and a little less time around all the technology.  There may have been some guitar buying going on as well . . . in fact a lot of guitar buying has gone on, but that is a separate post.  For now, we are here to discuss the bathroom.  Yes, the bathroom.  We are a house of only one bathroom, so changes in here are hard to come by — you can’t tear the room up and leave it sit while decisions are made or parts are ordered.  However, we did accidentally tear it up just a little bit . . .

I wanted to see what was behind the world’s largest medicine cabinet — did the previous owner continue the bead board?  Was there a crazy paint color or some huge hole to deal with?

There was no bead board . . . . on a whole wall of bead board.  I don’t want to complain too much about the former home owner(s) because I’m sure they had all the best intentions.  But sometimes, I tear at my hair, gnash my teeth and scream “What were they thinking!!!” when things like this appear.

A solution has been decided on — we’re going to do a full height mirror over the sink (top of backsplash to the ceiling with a few inches of finger space to get it hung and help when the sink gets demoed out later).  The mirror should also cover whatever lurks in wait for us under that god-awful light fixture.  The new light fixture . . .


will sit right on the mirror, giving it maybe a little bit of a hotel vibe.  We shall see.  In a series of fortuitous events, I was able to snag this fixture from eBay for $152 + free shipping versus the $260 price tag I was seeing for our local lighting source.

It arrived the other day and I love it.  Now we are just getting some quotes on custom mirrors and soon there will be a Bathroom, Phase I Complete stamp over these images.

But not so fast.  Remember my paint color dilemma?

Well I picked a color — Rainstorm (Sherwin Williams) and started painting, after carefully patching and sanding.  Well the former owners have me a little bit worn out again because these walls have just had horrible things happen to them and every inch of every patch/repair/old adhesive or whatever they put on these walls is showing through.  I’ve called a little bit of a cease and desist on the painting thing til I can get it figured out so right now it just looks like a smeary blue mess/Smurf murder scene #2:

Don’t mind the horrible beige plastic shower surround — that will come down in Bathroom Phase III (there’s actually a window hidden under that beige disaster).  I also had another head shaking moment when I took the cover plate off the vent and saw that the interior of the vent is some sort of duct tape mess.  . . . I’m not even sure I want to tackle that one.  Which means that someday in the future a new homeowner may open the same vent and wonder what the H. E. Double Hockey Sticks I was thinking!

2 Comments

Posted in Bathroom

To Sell or Not to Sell . . .

Posted on June 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment

I know what a first world problem, right?

Such is the drama that is my life (and for that I am oh so thankful, let me tell you.)

So — to sell or not to sell?  Living Analog’s living room (and music room) is beginning to look like  a game of MCM musical chairs.  Something has to be done.  But the Hans Wenger knock-offs I just got at the auction are staying.  The Eames rocker that was gifted to JT is DEFINITELY staying.  The white vinyl Kroehler that JT found for $30 at Goodwill and used all through college is definitely staying.  The MCM chair gifted from my grandma is definitely staying . . .  Do we sense a pattern here? 

This guy is the only one I’m not über attached to but I’m not sure if I’m ready to quit him yet.

I don’t really have a spot for him now, but maybe in the next house?

I think I’m just stringing myself along — the next house won’t be anytime soon and in the meantime there are at least three more chairs and two ottomans in the basement that I think I want to keep after I fix them up so . . . I think it may be time to sell.  I’m gonna miss you, little white fiberglass Eames knock-off desk chair.  You never really had a fighting chance in the Living Analog living room.  And once you’re gone, I’ll probably have some serious regrets about selling you.  Oh well, a chair hoarder’s gotta do what a chair hoarder’s gotta do — thin the herd to make room for some new chairs!

Leave a comment

Posted in Around the house, Furniture

Green Shag, what a sale (delayed reaction . . .)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Green Shag Market, an antique mall (the best kind!) just put on a parking lot sale two Saturdays ago now.  We may or may not have made our Memphis vacation a little shorter to accommodate said sale.  Whatever, I have a vintage buying addiction and I’m not afraid to admit it.

So, sale.  I didn’t take a lot/hardly any pictures AT the sale because I feel uber-awkward with a camera around people I don’t know. . . so, here’s what I got:

 Mister Modtomic, who is much braver with his camera than I am, covered the booths pretty well — check out his post here.  If you look close, you may even see me in there (Where’s Waldo style) with my new red “vacation hair color”.  Because that’s what people do on vacation, they dye their hair.

What’s more important (to me) is the “haul” from the sale.  We’re pretty full up here at the Living Analog abode on furniture so I tried to avoid it . . . and still ended up with one larger item.

The bar cart was only $15 and I couldn’t resist it.  It needs a little cleaning — the lady I bought it from said when she found it, it had contact paper from the 70s covering up all the black and white retro star goodness.  But I think I’m going to put it in my back porch and use it as a potting bench of sorts so it doesn’t have to be too clean.

JT snagged up the cool 13 colonies/13 stars American Flag reproduction.  I’m thinking we might tack it to a frame and use it for some artwork.  I found a large silk scarf for only $5 and then had to plan an outfit around it so I could wear it to work . . I love me some vintage (or any) scarves, and on a quick trip to Iowa last weekend, my grandma hooked me up with some more.

Hmm, what else did I buy . . . it’s been so long I almost forgot! 

I got a cute little (toothy looking) footed planter/collect all bowl from the Rocket Century booth.  The pretty bracelet things inside are actually a $2 set of fun napkin rings which look pretty good for a garden party on our new backyard dining table.  I semi-reluctantly bought the candle holders because I don’t really need candle holders . . . .but I couldn’t resist.  I’m thinking I need to find some funkier color of candles to use these two.  Turns out they’re from Ikea, go figure.  The pretty coasters are actually tin squares (that we will use as coasters) from Secondhand Hannah (one of my favorite STL bloggers).  I wasn’t sure at first because the tags only said “Secondhand” and there was a man working at the table but it was later confirmed by my brother and sister in-law.  I wish I had known at the time so I could say hi!

I also got this from Secondhand Hannah’s stall:

Cover Your Lover.  Classic and great and BLUE!  It will probably get stashed away until winter but for $7 I couldn’t resist.  (Are we noticing a pattern here?  I need to build up some resistance skills!)

And here is what happened when I started this photo shoot. . . first one dog comes nosing in, then two . . .

But I can’t resist their cute little faces . . .

. . . even if Shenanigan is giving me the stink-eye.  So that’s it from Green Shag.  Next weekend is a sale at Rocket Century . . . lock away your wallet, husband.

Leave a comment

Posted in Around the house, Thrifting

Backyard zen, here I come

Posted on June 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Hey everybody!  We’ve been traveling down south – Clarksdale, Mississippi then Tunica then MEMPHIS on a musical mecca of sorts but we’re back to reality now.   Along with traveling, we also used our vacation time to do some work on and about the house.  So even though we’re back to a 40 hour work week, I’m dreaming of some backyard zen.

Remember a while ago when I posted this dream/inspiration image (that I still can’t find the source for, damn you internet)?  Here it is to refresh your memory.

Heavenly.

I started out with this spot when we tilled up the backyard:

And now it’s looking something like this:

The table is haphazardly placed and may not stay there ($10 Craigslist score, I’m thinking it will also meet the spray paint fate that gets everything else here), but there’s some (admittedly slow) progress there.  Let’s rewind.  I started out with 4 of the orange work buckets from Home Depot.  I think they were about 3 bucks a pop.  Next I attacked them with my trusty blue spray paint. (Yes I may have a (blue) spray paint addiction.)

I added in some bricks in the bottom and cemented in poles with eye hooks screwed into the top.  This will be a future canopy holder so I measured out two rods at seven foot and two rods at 6 foot so the canopy will slope a little and not hold water.

Since the raised bed area has been our garden in previous years but is being converted to the zen spot, we didn’t want to lose all our food growing capabilities.  The canopy post buckets became the garden instead.   Before I filled the magical little blue buckets with dirt and plants, I drilled four holes around the bucket right above the concrete line so water can drain out.  (And yes, I’m actually getting pretty proficient with the drill.  That is one power tool even a lefty can use!)

Instant (small) garden.  We have tomatoes in one, hot and mild peppers in another, zucchini in a third and the fourth has beans and some salad mix.  Which should, fingers crossed, yield enough vegetables for two vegetable-eating adults.

So . . . now I only have a few more (hundred) little things to do before the zen spot is complete — mulch over the raised bed, get a canopy/canvas, maybe stain the poles and then install some twinkle lights and get a crap-load of citronella to keep us safe from the swarm of bugs that has descended on STL this summer.

More updates to come, Memphis and the Green Shag Market sale!  Of course I couldn’t miss it!  But since the house is full to the gills, I actually refrained from buying furniture (mostly) and instead picked up many other miscellaneous things.  You know I love to tease!

Leave a comment

Posted in D.I.Y., Yard Work

Transmute is the new tweak

Posted on May 24, 2012 by | 5 comments

You guys, I was getting really sick of the word “tweak.”  We use it at work ALL THE TIME because as designers, nothing is ever quite right and we’re always searching for those little adjustments (tweaks) to get a project further along.  I’ve been using that word a lot here on the blog as well to describe all the little adjustments I am continually and perpetually making to our home. 

So, more little adjustments . . . remember way back in January when I started this sisal crochet wonder?  Probably not because that was above 4 months ago.

At  any rate, I finished up the sisal crochet to make a little pot snuggie for the ZZ plant, George.  Or Zappa.  We call him different things.

Before George/Zappa was just hanging out in a standard issue green pot  and once we brought Hans and Wenger, the new chairs, home, he now has a floor light (can uplight from cb2) behind him to light the easel from below since we took off the clip light that used to be above. 

And now he has a fancy new coat.  I “dipped” the bottom in black paint to help it stand off the wood floor.  The sisal made it a little hard to get the color in there evenly but overall I am happy with how it turned out.  The whole skein of sisal was $13 at Home Depot and I didn’t even use half of it . . .  so maybe more (dipped) pots are in my future?  Maybe I’ll finish another in 5 months . . .

In other plant adjustments, the plant we originally put in the Bullet Planter was sad.

So sad that I didn’t even take a picture of it before I took it out.  (Not to fear, I put him in a little blue ceramic pot and I’m going to take him to work for some healing time.  Is that the dog equivalent of going to live on the farm?)  But picture it with about four and a half leaves thanks to Sophie Machete Tail.

Yep, that one.

But she also does an angelic face, so it’s hard to be so mad at her.  And also the reason she is usually wielding her machete tail is because we’re home and she’s so happy to see us . . . so she’s forgiven.

But we had to replant the Bullet with something that could survive the Sophie. A succulent garden planter at Home Depot caught my eye because it had a nice variety and was a good scale to survive the tail.

And, because all the plants seem to have names, I named them Larry, Curly (the little “curly” guy in front), Moe and Shemp.

Any more tweaks?  I mean adjustments?  Don’t worry, if there are, I’ll be back with all the details.  Have a great rest of the week, everyone.  We’re almost to a long weekend.  There’s a lot of plans and a little renovation going on . . .

5 Comments

Posted in Around the house, D.I.Y., Design Diversions, Dogs, Hand Crafted

Tweaking, redux.

Posted on May 23, 2012 by | 2 comments

My meddling in the kitchen was not done with yesterday’s post, it instead continued over to the fridge.  Oh lovely fridge, we inherited you with this house and you work.  You cool our food and freeze our ice so I have no reason to kick you to the curb just yet.  But you’re kind of boring, no offense.

None taken, I’m sure.  So to spice up Miss Fridge, I took a sheet of butcher paper and trimmed it a few inches smaller than the big bare side of the fridge.   I thought about getting all crazy and doing something with chalkboard paint but this seemed like a less permanent solution . .  .and I could always move on to the chalkboard if I ever got bored with the butcher paper.

So *ta da* – fridge tweaked:

(Pardon the extra-large case of beer, it was JT’s birthday and we celebrated with chicken, waffles and the Mick Jagger finale of Saturday Night Live.  The Bud Light blue does seem to match the kitchen though . . .)

I sprung for some heavy-duty magnets on Amazon and mixed in some others I had purchased at Ikea.

Some baker’s twine holds a pen in place and with the butcher paper you can just scribble your heart’s desire on there – phone messages, obscenities, you name it.  Right now we just have a few useful phone numbers.  Double stick tape holds up a few classic fortune cookie fortunes for posterity.   I also outlined the knives so they always have a place to go back to.  . . .

The other knives just have one magnet but I got nervous and used two on the big guy.  We’ve had them up for two weeks and it’s been a great solution since we demoed out the larger Ikea knife rack in favor of some artwork over the microwave.  

That reminds me,  I’m not sure if I ever really showed you guys the artwork over the microwave . . . I just printed out some song lyrics that seemed kitchen appropriate and added them to my Ikea frame (which was white upon purchase but became black thanks to my spray paint addiction.)

Can you spot Tiny Elvis in our kitchen?  I think we may have Elvis in every room in our house . . . . so, kitchen finally tweaked?  Not yet.  I’ve still got to get to the back door which Shenanigan firmly kicks every morning to demand to be let out FASTER and then I also want to tackle some storage in the base cabinets and pantry . . . but that’s for later.  More tweaking to come, just not in the kitchen.  Cheers – CT

2 Comments

Posted in Around the house, D.I.Y., Kitchen, Music related

Kitchen Tweaking

Posted on May 22, 2012 by | 4 comments

Hi everyone!  (Yes, all five of you, my loyal readers!)  I’ve been a busy little bee and have a bunch of little projects to share . . . so we’ll get right to it. 

The kitchen.  It used to look like this at one point.

And then it looked like this:

Much better, but still not done.  There was some pesky things bothering me — the open space above the storage rail for one.  For two, how the base cabinets were still just a little too light grey.  And for three, the red toaster that I kept hiding away whenever I took pictures because it was a hanger-on from a red kitchen in our first apartment.

So base cabinet painting began, toaster-ordering happened (I’m an avid Amazoner) and I searched around for something to hang above our storage rail.  Because of the Mother’s Day Brunch-a-palooza, I was in more of a hurry to find artwork then I usually would be. So I decided to just create some rather than waiting for that just perfect thing to jump out and hit me on the head  . . . . 

I dipped into my trusty mat board stash downstairs and cut two pieces to the same size.  I pulled out the wall paint color and mixed up a few others and voila, artwork.  It’s extra amateur, but it will help fill the space as a placeholder.

I also dipped into my trusty “T” collection and found two waiting for a good home.  One was a cheap silver painted color and the other was a brassy thing that had arrived from Urban Outfitters all scratched.  To the backyard spray booth they went and both came back a nice white.   I did my trusty templating to find a good placement . . .

And kitchen tweaking!

There’s more projects to come . . . there was also a flea market at Kenrick Plaza/Antique Mall last weekend.

Great weather, full parking lot and . . . I didn’t really bring anything home. 

I almost brought home this little dog, Paige, from Open Door Animal Sanctuary for my mom.  She’s a five-year-old schnauzer-maltese rescue and was very calm and sweet.   I resisted a pair of vintage wood slat bar stool things that I kind of am regretting not purchasing now.  Oh well.  Onward and upward.  More projects soon!

4 Comments

Posted in Around the house, Hand Crafted, Kitchen

Next?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by | 1 comment

Now that the kitchen’s mainly finished, I’ve been kind of bobbling around the house with a “what’s next” puzzled expression.  I think the best, most rational course of action would be to finish up all the loose odds and ends projects I have started but yet to finish (like the kitchen door, sewing some pillows for my mother, finishing the crochet plant pot among others . . . )

But something keeps calling me to the bathroom.  The last room in our house that the public sees that I have yet to do over.  Oh how I wish I had some before pictures from move-in day.  The bead board was painted a pee colored yellow and above that was a lovely yellow floral wallpaper.  I did paint the bead board white and the wall above it Sherwin Williams Amazing Grey . . . and then nothing.  Same nasty light fixture.  Same clunky wooden shelf.

Oh yeah and I changed out the knobs on the vanity.   Funny what a picture can remind you of.  The shower curtain was a Goodwill score.  $3 I think.  I was planning on making pillow covers out of it at one time but just went ahead and used it for its original purpose instead.  Go figure.

Prepare yourself for the aforementioned hideous light fixture:

(Not only are you hideous Mr. Light Fixture, you are also impossible to photograph).

So one day, this:

What’s that Elvis, you like the one on the bottom left the best?  So you want to hang out and coif your hair on Sherwin Williams Rainstorm?  Who am I to deny you Elvis. 

So, it’s not the same blue as the music room and kitchen, it’s a little moodier and seductively handsome, kind of like The King himself.  But you know me and my notoriously slow progress on projects . . . we’ll see this again in November?  Sounds good.

1 Comment

Posted in Around the house, Design Diversions

Mother’s Day – another day to bring brunch back!

Posted on May 14, 2012 by | 2 comments

For my 2012 resolutions, I had given myself a goal of “bringing brunch back”.  Now that our kitchen is mostly/kind of/all the way done, it seemed like a great time to host a Mother’s Day Brunch. 

Both JT and I’s mothers and siblings gathered together yesterday for la Fete de la Mere.  There was food and relaxation for all.  We had a coffee crunch right before the guests were to arrive (e.g. it was missing and we needed coffee STAT)  so I didn’t snap any pictures before nor did I want to trouble our guests and break up the flow of the little gathering so I didn’t snap any “durings” either.  But I do have a few “afters” to share:

What’s Mother’s Day without a banner?

Or “MOMOMOMOMOM” napkin rings (I just printed them out on our home printer, cut them down and used some double stick tape.  The green napkins I snagged at Ikea.  See the new stove in the background (#3)– it’s amazing and we love it).

And no brunch is complete without chocolate covered bacon . . . (so I’ve heard, I don’t actually eat bacon . . . )

I had some canvas left over from a deconstructed slip cover so I zig-zag stitched some blue and black lines on it to make a tablecloth at the last minute (if I would have had more time and some white thread, I probably would have serged the edges but for now it has a little more rustic look. . . .

So that was the most of it.  Food and family makes for a nice weekend.  Plus we didn’t have to leave our house!  I hope everyone had a great weekend as well.  Cheers – CT

2 Comments

Posted in Around the house, Family, Hand Crafted