Saturday, December 18, 2010

On the main floor...well, we'll just skip Christmas


Imagine
If you will


a beautiful tree
that was hunted
and fought for
and brought down
from the greatest tree farm
on
this
earth.

it is trimmed
all aglow with lights
done up with 
trinkets and doodads
magnificently
in red, white and silver

it is full
it is tall
it is gorgeous
with trimmings just right

then
you go to work
and you come home
and you see this


(!!!!)


and you almost
al.most.
strangle your dog

before you look a little closer



and you realize
that only a really cruel
dog mommy
would decorate a tree
with shiny white
dog bone ornaments

And you peel off
into fits of uncontrollable laughter
because your puppy mutt
is chewing on a print
of this photo


as if to say
"Payback is a bitch"

Although, not really
because she's a sweetie
and she would never use
words like that

So.
We'll just skip Christmas
on the main floor
this year

Score 1 for the Puppy Mutt.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Up the stairs, it is Christmas

Especially
now that there is a Christmas tree
in my bedroom

That is all aglow
in brown and gold
and all sorts
of yummy warmness


Sigh.

As always, all photos (c) b3 home designs


I hope you're having
as good a holiday season
as I am

I love decorating for Christmas.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

On the Inside, it is Christmas

And even on the inside,
it is starting to look like Christmas




As always, all photos (c) b3 home designs


I wish
that I could
snap my fingers
and have
all of this
just magically appear

As it is.
it doesn't.

How is your decorating coming along?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

On the Outside, it is Christmas

Well
At least one of us got motivated
and got it done this year

Christmas Front Porch
Photo (c) b3 home designs

Christmas back deck
Photo (c) b3 home designs

Granted.
We have different decor styles
I was hoping to do something abit more
Pottery Barnish
And in the front, we're working it
But in the back...it's whimsical
which is cute
and because he puts up with my
lady stuff that is likely not at all his style
throughout an unGodly amount of square footage inside
the least I can do is partner up on that backyard scene
I'll have you know
My painting skills are HOT
And Rudolf really does have a nose that glows
red.
About time for a hiatus to head south along the coast.
Most of those photos will end up at Shots Fired
or blog posts at Colored White. 
When I get around to it of course.
You'll see life photos and read the heart wrenching tale
of my puppy mutt who is such a fighter
So happy she is in our lives and going to Cali with us
Go Ashley go!
Super puppy!
Happy Holidays.  Catch ya in the new year likely.

And in the summer,
I'll use this 










Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Decor 101

Okay.
So I might have been a teensy bit panicked
when I looked downstairs
and saw this
right before I ran the other direction

Too big, found on roadside, Freecycle tree
Photo (c) b3 home designs

I'm panicked that
maybe
all the pieces won't be there
and that's why they gave it away

I'm panicked that once i put it up
I will need to decorate it the same day
and that exhausts me

I'm panicked that it is of the late 1900's style
faux tree
where you have to hook on all of the color-coded
(yes, you read that right)
branches into the right slots
and I'm certain I'm not color blind,
but I'm also certain I never get the slots that look
gray and/or light purple
or lime and/or yellow
or pink and/or fuschia

quite right.  And, of course
those branches are always the layers
closest to one another.

So, I took a deep breath,
and I did this instead

Just a little Christmas
Photo (c) b3 home designs

Went downstairs
Busted open a box
saw some ornaments
Placed them on the cake stand
that I almost sprayed gold to go with
my wedding colors
(so glad I didn't)
and stuck all the stars
(yes, also from the wedding decor)
in a little orchid glass vase holder
(which, the puppy mutt promptly chewed up)
and called
it
good

Happy decorating!
Moral of the story:
It all starts somewhere
The tree will happen when it happens

Thursday, December 9, 2010

On Deck | Master Bedroom Walk In

Of course
I would never
EVER
show you
MY side
of the closet

Needless to say
This is the organized side

Master Walk In
photo (c) b3 home designs

I can't wait
until we get the means
to make this closet
my dream closet

What projects do you have on deck?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Beginning to Look a Lot like...

...well
a hot mess.

Whereas last year, we had beautiful first Christmas in our home photos
like this one welcoming you into our home


His first choice wreath, Christmas 2009
Photo (c) b3 home designs
It is now all I can do
to even think about how I'm going to play enough Sudoko
to top these Bingo wrapped presents from last year
Ephemeric Christmas - Bingo!
Photo (c) b3 home designs
This is the only way I get to justify
not throwing away the random
pieces of paper I amass in my life
And yes
I did play Bingo
That one time
with my mom and my aunt
and I just collected their sheets
and had PLENTY to spare
Because they are hard core like that.
What unique paper do you use to wrap gifts with?
Thanks to all for the happy birthday wishes

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Around Pinehurst - December (Empty)

Last year
my side joined us in Seattle
for a very PNW Christmas celebration
complete with Christmas morinng hike
and stockings hung by the chimney with care

Christmas Mantel '09 - Pinehurst Main Floor Fireplace
Photo (c) b3 home designs


Why yes, Timmy.
If you misbehave all year long
throw a hissy fit
act ungrateful
or do none of the above
but have a prangsta
(yes, with an "a" not an "er")
for a spouse

Then you too may end up with nothing
but two lumps of coal in your stocking.

I was going to do it to my nephew
but Lord knows that child has had
more than enough trauma in his life

R's real stocking goods were in the pantry
it was hell and high hopes trying to
keep him out of there
and away from Santa's cookies.

Happy December!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Vintage Finds | Two French Hens - Bingo Cards

I love some bingo
Not like my mom and auntie do
but it reminds me of my granny
and how I got to spend lots of
quality time with her
at the bingo hall

I love the blotters
but I imagine
that if I would have had these
really unique, reusable
very sustainable
bingo cards
from back in the day


Vnacouver, WA antique bingo card

I would still find my way
to the bingo hall today.

Two French Hens
is a great little store
right next door to my
fave thrift store of all times

It is in Burien
right next to the Salvation Army
They also have a nursery
right next door
That I think I may have to visit
this spring.

What are some of your fave antique markets?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thankfully Small Thanksgiving - 2010

Ahhh.
The one day of the year
where we are commanded
to be thankful
for all the stuff we have
and people we love
and just general goodness.

I'm thankful
that we don't
have a houseful of people
at Thanksgiving

All the better for me
to cuss my Cowboys out
all day long
with no one hearing the awful words
that spew from my mouth.

Carry on.




Happy Thanksgiving.
I'm truly thankful
that you take time to stop by
and humor my humor
every now and again.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Growing on me

A while back
I asked ya'll if I should
or should not
paint this mirror black

 Dining Room Mirror Original

Overwhelmingly,
ya'll said heck yeah.
Which meant that really,
I'd just be doing what everyone else
thought was cool
(I mean, really, that's what it means)
And I would be (potentially)
throwing away a perfectly good mirror
if it didn't work out right
A perfectly good mirror that has some really
good
deep
sweet
history for us.
And so I thought to myself
"Self, it really isn't THAT bad is it?"
And you know what,
it is starting to grow on me
Once I got through the
"with gray and charcoal walls, everything must be nickel/satiny/silver"
phase
I really started to like the idea of maybe darker gray walls
and keeping the mirror gold
Especially with the mustard colored curtains in there now
and maybe some gray trim on the curtains
(which needs to happen anyhow because the curtains are too short)
I think it might really grow on me
Thanks for helping me to see the light
I'm going to procrastinate hold off a little longer
and see if it really grows on me

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Usually | My House

So
Most of the folks who follow this here blog
Are people who have actually been to my house

And met my puppymutt Ashley
And seen my house....uhhmmm...

"fully staged"
You know, for guests.
For photos.
For the heck of it.

But when they put two and two together, they're curious how we really live.

Let me show you
Main landing

Given that my chair/nook
are right in front of her fave window
the one she always spends the day at
to the point that neighbors walking their kids
past our house
are often overheard saying
"look, up there...see the puppy?"

First, I would come home to the chair tossed to the side
so that she could get to said window

Then she started exploring my fave world
(you remember the cool knickknacks nook post right)
with her little puppy paws and puppy teeth

And I had to remove all said coolness
to the bathroom

That we never use
Sigh.

How do you live when the camera and the blog
are not on?

Sunday, November 7, 2010

On Deck | Scrap Room in a box

No,
it isn't like we don't have a ton of space
for a real sized scrap room

But the reality is that I do most of my scrapbooking
online

And, the more space I have, the more "stuff"
I acquire

So I'm going to relinquish the biggest guest bedroom
so that it can be a guest bedroom again

I'm going to organize my computer desk in the office
So that that can be an office again

And I'm going to squeeze all my "hobbies"
into a this closet

Scrap Closet before

Using pretty much the furniture already in there
and these shelves that I got off of Freecycle
(aka, for free - well, if you don't count the 97 tears
8 gallons of sweat and full tank of patience)

Freecycle shelves for scrap nook

I estimate that this project will only take me
half of forever
to even get started

There's the small matter that I cannot GET to said closet
because there is a whole bunch of baggage in the way

Physical and emotional
Drama


Thursday, November 4, 2010

Design Around: Creamy White

Now we all know
the home bloggity world
is abuzz around all things
white

But not just white
The right KIND of white

Which, in this place is a challenge. 
I love the warm creamy white
that is my trim color
throughout most of the house

Especially against all the grays
(which, evidently, help the naturescape)
and the polished silver.

But downstairs
in the bloodroom,
I mean the red rooms

I'm trying to design a nautical
and/or beachy small bathroom
around these creamy whites

Beachy dreams, lower floor bathroom

I think I can make it happen.
Even though this room is right around the corner
from this

Lower Floor Mantle

I'm going to make that tomato soup happen
Believe that.


Monday, November 1, 2010

Around Pinehurst - November (Nautically Not)

I think the only thing
that maybe would have been worse
than the red walls we have downstairs
would have been orange walls
at least for 11 months out of the year

Christmas walls all year long - Lower level, Pinehurst


I really wanted to go with
a nautical theme down here
I've resigned myself to the fact
that wooden boats are nautical enough
wooden boats can stand a little red
and if I really want to go seaside
I'm going to have to do what I swore
I would never do again

Paint some walls
President's Weekend 2008
memories that just won't go away
my bones start creaking and aching
just thinking about those three
long
miserable
days

Happy November!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

i collect vol. 6: Sketch ups

My favorite kind of art
aside from the kind I make myself
or the encaustic kind I covet
from Planet Janet

consists of sketches.

Primarily of  places I've been

Goodwill find 2.99

and of course of places I want to go

Sisters Antique Shop find 8.00

I wish I could draw. 
I used to be married to an artist
he couldn't really draw either though

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sought and Found | Driftwood

Did you happen to know that collecting driftwood
on many WA state beaches that you might normally frequent
(ie, those that are maintained by Seattle Parks and Rec)
is illegal?

But that collecting driftwood on WA beaches in general
(outside of Seattle and the many other muni codes you may run into)
is okay?

Well, I'm a law abiding gal
Who mostly hangs out in Seattle
So I didn't think I would press my luck.

Although for the longest, I have wanted to come up with something like this




Gorgeous photos of a WA cabin I almost stayed at
Taken by a great blogger that I follow
but, for the life of me, cannot now peg these photos to

I suggest you visit all 20ish of the blogs listed over there ----->
for more eyecandy like this

And if they are your photos
please (let me know)
and thank you
(for adding another obssession to my list of must haves)


So when I was in Goodwill (over by Southcenter)
the other day
I was on their massive wood and wire basket isle
and my eye spotted this
in the hands of a child

Goodwill $10 Challenge, Bag of sticks


What in all hell would a kid want with a bag of sticks?

Thankfully, her mother had no clue either.
She hollared for that child to put down the bag of sticks

And I may have tripped over someone's cart
whilst making a mad dash to grab it up.

I had already determined that I would spend $10 on this bag of sticks
wrongfully convinced that I wouldn't get out of Seattle
long enough to amass my own collection

Might have.

I am pretty certain that I DID gasp out loud when I saw the price
was 2.99.

And I may have said "Thank you Jesus" out loud, at the cash register
when the sister gal in front of me
turned to me and gave me her 50% off coupon
because they were not letting her use it on whatever she was trying to use it on.

1.50 for all of this

Goodwill $10 challenge, Bag of sticks

I'm feeling all sorts of driftwood art coming on

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Home Decor Fail | Fillable Lamp

Believe it or not
More often than not
I fail

Miserably

At trying to do something or another

I am generally a very lucky girl
Somewhat crafty (whatever that means)
Sometimes artistic
Generally thought of as super smart

But more often than not,
I fail miserably at bringing "the bright idea"
to light.

Case in point

Fillable vase fail
Photo (c) b3 home designs

Not only did I mange to pull the thing apart
and humpty couldn't put it all back together again
I also managed to chip/crack/break off a large chunk
of the bottom lip

Guess rocks were not the best idea for this one eh?

I'll find another and try, try again

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

On Deck | Maser Bedroom Headboard Wall

Not to imply that I am going to build a wall of headboard

But one of the many things I actually love about this place
Is that there is a space for everything
and the blueprint almost dictates just where you would put things
like, our bed
in the nook in our master that says 
"bed goes on this wall"

Master Bedroom Suite
Photo (c) b3 home designs

I love simple like the next gal
But there is something about artwork on the wall
collected over time
that says "lived in"
a bit more than this made up
hotel bed
that never really ever looks like this

Ever

Unless we're staging the place to sell it
That was the HARDEST part about selling our last place
Getting up in time to make the bed

Although, I must say
I always felt so much more grown up
when I came home to a made bed

Interestingly, since the last time I ever made my bed regularly
was when I was 11 years old and living with my tyrant of a military officer stepfather

Ironic.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Found and Used | Bow and Arrow

Remember how I went to the Pac Gal Flea
And I found this stash of goodness

Pacific Gallery Auction House
Annual Flea Market | Seattle | 2010

I blogged about that trip of awesomeness
at b3HD [the original] in this
It was awesome.

But do you see that bow poking out of the stash?
Look closer...

okay, here's a better shot of it


Pacific Gallery Auction House Bow & Arrow get
Annual Flea Market | Seattle | 2010

If you didn't make the jump to read the original post
let me sum it up really quickly for you:

I. almost. cried.
When I saw this set.
I had been on the lookout for an authentic Native headdress
to go in this space
And even though I DO live in the PNW
after having come here from Upstate NY
by way of New Mexico

Somehow, I had managed to never come across one
I was so obsessed
that when I first passed by this very childish
not authentic get up
I was completely blind to it

Then, I was thinking of the basket (that I hung it in front of)
and how maybe I would fill it with something
When out of nowhere, this vision came to me
and I thought to myself
"self...didn't you just see a bow and arrow here somewhere?"

I roamed back over, and when I picked it up
and she told me the price
(you WILL have to make the jump for that story - CLASSIC!)
I think I might have actually shed a tear.

All together, that powder room is coming along nicely

Main Floor powder room

I just need to come to grips with whatever design vision
was in my builder's head
when he put up that mirror.

Or maybe, that was the doing of my neighbor's sister.
Maybe.




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