a little patch here and there

There have been a few projects that have been done under the "making it livable" category. In other words, the necessary overhaul is out of our budget...but a little fixy-fix was totally doable.

First, the upstairs bathroom:

The ORANGE (and moldy) upstairs bathroom.


Note the super sweet '80s massager shower head.
It would later crack and pop off while I showered,
shooting a laser-like water jet in my face.


Extreme dust.



After the cherry red paint/bleach cleaning makeover:










Next, 1950's industrial tiles in the front entrance:





After: some vinyl flooring:





Lastly, the pea-green computer room:

I didn't get any "before" pics, since this was done in a whirlwind upon Josh's moving in.
This should give you a general idea, though:



After:


Recognize the brown? It's cool because the rooms are on seperate
floors, and one is "public" and one is "private". Right?

Projects Afoot

There have been some projects that have come and gone without so much as a mention (considering I haven't posted since January....).

The Living Room Re-paint (Winter '08)

Spent what felt like an eternity in hell scraping away the most hideous wallpaper ever manufactured. I believe the pattern is "Scum Pond".



Here are some pics taken post-removal, pre-painting:




See the horrible patch above the window? That's where a lovely
stained or leaded glass window was foolishly removed some
time in the past 100 years.


Note that this photo was taken on 12.29.08. We were hosting
a New Years Eve party in two days.




After much stress and hard work, here are the results:


Don't judge our furniture. We're poor.





Of course the carpet is temporary until we have the cash for a real hardwood (bamboo?) floor. Some day. Maybe like 2020...

love me some animals.

I think I should take the time to bore you introduce you to my pets. They are the coolest animals in the world, and everyone should know how awesome they are.

Hoss.
I really don't mean to pick favorites. It's not fair.
But, this dog just gives me no other option. I just love him.
A few years back, I decided that I NEEDED a boxer.
As cosmic forces aligned, Hoss's owners decided they no longer wanted him. He was too much to handle. They posted him on Petfinder, which was then searched by the director of Buckeye Boxer Rescue, who then forwarded the information to me. Little did I know, I was about to bring home the Greatest Dog that Ever Lived (disclaimer - some may consider him to be the Worst Dog that Ever Lived, but this is my blog and only my opinions matter here).


He loves to give kisses, and you have no choice but to take it.


James.
James was brought to me as a tiny kitten by my friend Sara.
She found him along the road, alone and hungry. Knowing I'm a sucker for anything fuzzy and pathetic, she called me. At first I was afraid Hoss would eat him, so I carried him in my arms everywhere...which has since created a monster. James WILL NOT take no for an answer when he wants to be held! He has literally lept into my arms from quite a distance away. He has also taken a role of a cat ambassador of sorts, turning cat-leery folks into cat lovers (or perhaps just James lovers).


"You will hold me now, yes?"

Tootles.
Tootles wandered on to my coworker's doorstep some time in the fall. Her children (and her boxer puppy) fell in love with her, but alas, my coworker is severely allergic to cats. Knowing that I'm a sucker for anything fuzzy and pathetic, she emailed me some pics. Two days later, I was on my way to McKees Rocks with the cat carrier. After a pregnancy scare and a few vet visits later, she has become the real queen bee around here. She spends nearly all of her time sleeping on a velvet pillow on top of my armoir. She's got some real street cred though, and uses it to bully James and Hoss (much to my amusement).


"I'll slap that camera right out yo' hands!"


There you have it. I also have to include pics and honorable mentions for my room mate's and my boyfriend's dogs. They are like my step-animals, or something. Robert Goulet- the disgruntled boston terrier owned by Katie, and Sampson- the sweetest baby pit bull owned by Josh:


"Honk -shuu, honk-SHU..." One eye pops open. "I hate you."
Photo by Katie Phillipi.



BFF4EVR! LOLZ!

harsh realities of homeownership.

Shoveling snow.
Especially when you're slightly hungover from last night's birthday festivities...
and there is a flight of steep stairs in front of your house...
and you've neglected them all week, causing them to become encased in ice and layers of packed snow...
and it's snowing flakes the size of cornflakes as you are shoveling.


































Sure is pretty though.

Welcome...to me!

So I decided to start a blog. I spend a bit of my time (by "a bit", I mean more than I'd like to admit) reading blogs. Since they are mostly design related, I like to consider it "research" and "inspiration". It is, really.

Anyway, I intend to use this space to post and write about projects I have going on, both art and home. I'm hoping that having a log of these things will inspire me to do more.