I'm starting to create a plan for the guest bedroom, which I'd like to work on this summer, along with my craft room. Here are some inspiration pictures. I have a gray and white duvet cover that I still really like so I'm thinking the yellow and gray look with a shabby chic touch? Perhaps a white  craigslist find, like a dresser or vanity for it... We'll see.

A few pictures I found on www.decorpad.com. I like the top one the most, with the pale blue that goes with it... Anyway, we shall see!

I have been looking at other people's blogs and I'm so impressed by what "normal" (non-professional-designers) pull together. I gotta step up my game! I still want my home to be totally livable, but it's nice to have it feel like a magazine picture, too. So far my rooms have turned out so much like my inspiration boards!



John and I are going up to Bellingham for the night, then headed to Wenatchee for the weekend. As much as I could stay here all weekend and do house stuff, it'll be really nice to get away and relax. I think John needs it, too. Anyway, there's just a few more things we want to get set up before our Housewarming Party next week -- which is SO much fun to plan, pictures will follow.

We are going to get this mirror for the entryway, from Pier 1 ($149, but we've got a coupon):

I found a bunch of cute stuff at Ross today, like vases and some wall art... and a set of Apothecary Jars (John think 2 are enough... but you can never have too many!) but I held off. As my mom says "You can nickel and dime yourself to death buying little things." But, eventually I will put the "finishing touches" on all the rooms....... eventually.... good thing I've got a job next year!

Okay, today was a 1/2 day at work, so I started working on an arrangement for the office - I even hung a few things up!

Here's the inspiration picture from DecorPad:

Below are some poor-quality photos (below the pictures is a detailed decor list and a to-do list)

The wall above has a door to the bathroom and 2 closets, so we didn't need a desk with lots of drawers. My hope is to make the right side of the desk (by where the calendar is hanging) a mail stop so papers don't pile up in the kitchen... This is where John gets to put most of his antiques - most of which are currently displayed on the bookcases. Eventually maybe I'll put up some shelving, but there's really not a whole lot of wall space with the window and 2 walls of doors!

Office:
- Paint: Glidden Olivewood (same as most of downstairs)
- White Microsuede Curtains: $15/each at Fred Meyer
- Silver Curtain Rod: $15? at Walmart (leftover from apartment)
- Simple solid wood desk with architectural legs: $230 at overstock.com ($1 shipping, arrived in 3 days!!)
- Clock from Target
- Bookcases (low and high) $20 and $26 at Target


To Do:
- Hang John's diploma
- Buy artwork
- Paint wooden magazine files for desk
- Something to go in corner to hide modem -- printer table? chair?
- Desk lamp (or floor lamp over desk)
- Office chair

Alright, so I went with my stylish gut and ordered the desk I had been on the fence about. This was my first purchase from overstock.com and I am SO happy with the whole experience. I ordered it on Sunday, with $1 shipping, and received it Wednesday! That's incredible and grounds for supporting the website more... The desk is HEAVY and solid wood, so it'll hopefully stand the test of time. I put it together by myself (well, I messed up the drawer and John fixed it, but that's all!) in about an hour. Pictures will be posted soon. I love the size of it and the simplicity -- it goes really well in the room. Now I just need a chair and accessories and the office will be done!


In other news, boy is installing wire shelving a pain. All but 2 closets were stripped of their shelving when the previous owners moved out and we've finally gotten around to putting some in. Our clothes have been laying out in the bonus room-turned-giant-walk-in-closet and we have yet to unpack all our food since our pantry is bare, too.

I'll save you the details, but my head about exploded the first night we tried to get the shelving cut at Lowe's. We only got 1 cut and returned the next day for the rest. We installed the entry-way shelf and 1 office shelving. I think we've learned enough from it to attempt the pantry and HOPEFULLY the master closet... I'd love to hang my clothes up.

It has been a long tradition for John and I to try the local pizza place anywhere we go. We are pizza monsters! In fact, only a few months into dating we were shameless enough to have a pizza-eating contest in Bellingham. John is 100 pounds bigger than I am but he only beat me by 1/2 a slice!! I'm sure that's not anything most women would be proud of, but I am.

We always get Black Olive Pizzas. I am very picky and don't like many toppings, and (I think) John has grown to love them as well. This has given us a good base to make comparisons between pizzas.

Last night we went to a pizza place in Puyallup since we just moved to the area. As we waited for our food John brought up the idea that we should come up with a pizza scale since we've become somewhat of connoisseurs of this Italian-turned-American favorite. He laughed when I said I should put it on my blog...

Anyway, we came up with categories and a scale. Each of the 4 categories (crust, toppings, taste, and atmosphere/price) would be scored from 1-5 Olives individually and would be averaged out for an Overall Score. This is just a fun little hobby for us since we do it anyway when we go out and I share it just in case there are any pizza-craving readers who live in the area.

I was hoping we could retroactively rate some of our other favorites from Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii, but John feels strongly that he needs to be in the moment to give a fair rating.

Without further ado, here is our first rating:

Trackside Pizza, Puyallup, WA, rated May 19, 2010

Comments: The pizza crust was hand-tossed and therefore thin. It left a burnt flavor in our mouths. While there was a sufficient number of black olives present, the amount of cheese left something to be desired. I would have preferred a higher cheese-to-sauce ratio. The atmosphere was clean, casual, and friendly. It's right by the busy train tracks so it did get loud at times, but that's part of the charm. I don't think either of us would particularly go back, but then again we didn't have leftovers. :)

So we would really like to get as much of the downstairs done as we can before the open house. That includes the office, which needs a new desk. Apparently the metal desk my dad got me from work when I was 8 didn't make the cut when it came to moving, so it's back to square 1.

I really like the simplicity of this desk:

It's from Overstock.com for $236.

I read a review that it has some reddish color in it and it's not solid black, which wouldn't quite go, but I'm considering taking a risk and getting it. We have a tall and a short bookcase that are "cappuccino" colored. They are cheap but will do for now. We also have 2 closets in the office, so I'm not worried about having too many drawers or anything on the desk.

Any other suggestions on where to look for something like this?? I'd like to find one soon, clock is ticking!

I finally grabbed these pics off my mom's camera from when our friends came over to paint the downstairs. It was so amazing how many people turned out. We calculated that in 1 day there was at least 40 hours of painting done. We had about 15 people totally that stopped in for at least a few hours. It was really neat having some of my coworkers come, too.

Well, I haven't posted in a while because I lacked an internet connection. And it's been quite a busy couple of weeks. Every night I try to go to bed early but find lots of projects. Today I will post some pictures showing the HUGE progress we've made so far. We can even park both cars in the garage!

My to-do list for tonight
- Hang living room curtains (had to buy a longer curtain rod..)
- Spray paint lamp for living room
- unpack boxes from office

We got 2 apothecary jars last night for the mantle, and I love them. I even love them empty, but any ideas of what I could fill them with?? Some light and bright.

I'm also trying to find a simple black office desk. I found this one at overstock.com, but the reviews say it's more of a red-brown, which just won't do. Suggestions? $250 is about my max.

More to come. Can't wait to post pictures!