AT Stye Cure Day 4: HA!

Apartment Thereapy Style Cure Day 4: Set up a One-Room Outbox

Ok, so I took my Before Pics and was so disturbed by the closet full of junk I decided to start cleaning it last night.

Hopefully, setting up a one-room outbox means making an outbox out of one entire room, because that's kind of what I've got going on here.

I took everything out of the closet with the idea of giving it a good wipe down. And then I realized that I hadn't seen this crap since the LAST time I took everything out of this closet. I decided I wanted an empty closet more than I wanted old coats and shoes that pinch and broken lamps and ugly frames. I gave the plastic shelving a bath (for real, in the bathtub) and took out the sticky dusty wire shelving.
I took a look at the empty closet and noticed that the walls were beat up. And actually breaking. Yep. One entire corner was all plate techtonic style where the drywall has shifted and caused a mountain range. Fantastic.

So this means the house is settling. Fine, I knew that. Or maybe it means the foundation is broken. Semi-fine, since I live in a condo and if that is the case, I don't have to pay for the repair. But NOT FINE because I cannot unsee that corner. And now I want to paint the inside of the closet. But first I have to fix the San Andreas Fault.

I googled things like 'fix my stupid drywall in the closet' and 'help my closet is Pangea all breaking apart' and 'drywall fault lines' and then finally 'please help me fix my drywall'. I just wanted to dust. Ugh. (Lesson: cleaning is time consuming and dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.)

I'm not a big fan of research that lasts more than fifteen minutes or one phone call to my dad, but I did learn: something something drywall tape something something mesh tape or paper tape and joint compound mud something something patch something caulk. I know, how about I scrape all the mountains off and caulk it and paint it. Maybe?

I grabbed a utility razor and began my mountain-top removal campaign. But once I started, it seemed to peel off with a super straight edge. Oh, this must be the drywall tape. I'm gonna have to replace it. And drive somewhere. And change out of my pajamas. Lame.

Well, I checked the tape stash (yes I have a 'tape stash') and I have something mesh-y. Maybe this is drywall tape? I don't think it's any other kind of tape. I remember one time my dad fixed some drywall in the old place so maybe needed to buy drywall tape. That settles it: this is definately drywall tape. Probably.

I don't have joint compound but I have vinyl spackle. And caulk. And regular spackle. Let's make this work. I REALLY don't want to go to Home Depot. (It's closer than Lowe's. I hate driving. This is not an endoresement. It might be the opposite.)

After five more minutes of googling things like 'can i use vinyl spackling instead of drywall mud pretty please', I found two pages that gave me just enough confidence to jump in. Ironically, they were both in Home Depot's forum pages (didn't even know those existed...HELPFUL). So thanks, HD, for helping me avoid a trip down your aisles.

Today I'm changing Set Up an Outbox to Fix the Closet. I hope AT doesn't mind.

**Oh, wait, I did take all the closet crap out to the van for a Goodwill run so that counts, right?

AT Style Cure Day 3: GET A ROOM!

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 3: Choose Your Room, Sit for 10 Minutes & Take Pictures

When I saw the title of today's assinment, I was like PEICE OF CAKE this is so easy because obviously the bedroom needs the most love. But then I read the part about how this is supposed to be just a quick style update and not an entire renovation. So my bedroom is out, actually, since that whole thing needs to go. However, the guest room/Sophie's Room is perfectly functional if a bit mismatched and boring. And dusty. Which I noticed after sitting in the room breathing the air for ten minutes.

So, ok, changing course a bit, I've decided on making over the guest room. It will need a crib soon anyway, since I recently became an auntie (!!!) and my sweet little neice lives in the area and I expect lots of fun sleepovers in the future.

Baby Vera, six hours old:

Also, I recently picked up a dresser from Craigslist that needs to be repainted. And Sophie and I played Fun With Decoupage this summer all over an old while Ikea Lack Table, which might work in the room. It definately needs a deep cleaning, better lighting, and organization.

So behold, the Before Pictures:

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just posted those Inside the Closet Shots on the internet. Where all the robots can see! I'm going to go clean that closet right this minute.

AT Style Cure Day 2: WINDOW SHOPPING!

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 2: Go on a Style Treasure Hunt

I would LOVE to have been able to do this. But instead I took my two teenagers to two different airports on two different days this weekend. And as it turns out, the shops at the airports are lacking in style. Unless I want to decorate with half price James Patterson paperbacks because then I know just the place.

So, I pinned and pinned while sitting at the airport all weekend.

Style Cure Board

And I may have cheated and bought a rug from Joss & Main. Because those things have deadlines, dude.

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Begins!

I'm very excited about Apartment Therapy's Style Cure. As I mention, my bedroom is stupid and ugly and needs some love. I have tried to get down with AT Cures in the past but always get derailed. We'll see if I can get through this one....with a beautiful new bedroom at the end of the rainbow month.

Day 1: Style Cure Interview

Yay, a quiz! I love Style Quizzes. I'm spending the evening doing laundry and helping the teenagers pack to go back to Florida this weekend. Booo. Sad. So we all took the quiz. The teenagers were good sports about it, but (perhaps to do back-to-school mentality) were rather annoyed that there was no way to SCORE this particular quiz.

I kind of want a score also. So I'm giving myself an A.

Frighteningly, I learned that the husband likes things cozy while I like them uncluttered. This explains so much -- like why he gets so mad that my favorite game is Get Crap OUT of the House. And why I get so mad when he plays his favorite game, Piles.

He's already lobbying me to keep the weird Ikea clothes butler, naked lady silhouette. I'll think about it. (No.)

I like that the quiz asked what part of my house I currently like and feel is 'finished'. I chose the jimmy (shortened from Jimmy Buffet because buffet). I like that it is a unique piece of furniture that is also functional, as it holds our cloth napkins, tablecloths, small appliances, vases, and the prettiest 'junk drawers' I've ever had. I think it is the first new (to us) piece we purchased after moving. I also like the handmade ceramic tray, scored from a craft show in Olde Towne Alexandria(e) long ago, due to it's random fluid shape. I like that it is often a mostly clear surface, though it generally serves as a purse holder when we have company. I like the mirror with the capiz frame, the smallish Ikea lamp that helps brighten the dining area (just inches away). And I like the pops of color in the simple cross-stitch above. Behold.

New Toy

Sometime last year my computer went on strike. It didn't break entirely, just went on a fun worker slow-down, moving reeeeaaaallllyyy slooooow so that I hated it but couldn't technically call it broken. I'm talking like forty-five minutes to boot up, and then random freezing while trying to navigate anything.  And with no good reason,  as I had just bought it a new battery and everything. I didn't take away it's overtime, raise its health care costs, nothing. I could think of about a million things to do instead of waiting forty-five minutes for the computer to boot up, so I just did them, and didn't blog much. But that all can change because I have a new toy!!

It's so pretty and I love it. Though figuring out a Mac after years of Windows is proving tricky. It just took me twenty minutes to figure out how to get that picture off my phone, into iPhoto, then onto the desktop so I could upload it as a jpg. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, I don't really know either. But if you DO and you know of a way to upload pics directly from iPhoto please please PLEASE tell me. Seriously. Please.

Also, the summer is ending and the teenagers are leaving. So I will soon find myself with lots more free time for projects and blogging. And I just signed up for Apartment Therapy's Style Cure. What a great way to get back on track! I've ignored our master bedroom for too long.

10 Things I Hate About You, Master Bedroom

1.   The furniture is awesome but too big.
2.   The bed is too high.
3.   There is no place for all of our shoes (and my husband has more than me, I think).
4.   The ceiling fan is ugly (but necessary).
5.   The curtains are immodest and wake me up too early on weekends.
6.   There is no art on the walls.
7.   There is no art because I hate the furniture and wall color so why bother?
8.   There should be a chair in the space (the bed is too high for sitting) but there isn't room now.
9.   The mirror on the back of the door that came with the house has an ugly cheap looking frame.
10. The carpet. Ugh. But I'm married to the president of the Carpet is Awesome club so....

Yeah. Can't wait to get this thing going.

Lack Hack

My Favorite Teenage Girl was up north last weekend for her birthday.  (Usually I head down south since there are two Favorite Teenagers and only one Mom.)

She's crafty like Mom so we spent an afternoon getting down with an Ikea Lack side table (nightstand  in her room) and some Modge Podge.  She called the shots while I watched and cut out things on command.  Behold: the evolution of a teenage mind.

  

Most Important Home Improvement Tool: My Phone

Facetime is awesome. Here's proof. I bought two of these ceiling lights for the downstairs, one in the basement hallway and one above the stair landing.

I decided to be a badass and install these myself. Except for constant wishing for extra hands to sprout from my body, the first one was installed with no issues. I may have used my head to balance the light while one hand held screws and one held a screwdriver but it worked out with minimal profanity.

Things got ugly on the stair landing.

WHERE WAS THE METAL BOX THINGY THAT I SCREW THE NEW FIXTURE INTO? WHERE WAS THE GROUNDING WIRE? AM I GOING TO DIE?

Thankfully, Dad has an iPhone. Dad to the rescue. He calmed me down and talked me through it. I ended up screwing the new fixture into the beam, after he promised me I wouldn't electrocute myself and set the house on fire and it all worked out.