When we're not home improving...

This last week was hardly spent on any updating, decorating or anything house related, really. The closest we got to home improvement is we were supposed to have our shower door installed on Saturday, but the installer discovered that there was a missing piece and had to re-order. Oh well.

I've been feeling a little under the weather for the past week or so, so we laid low, caught up on Weeds and other DVR programs, and just enjoyed our house, some company, and each other. Yesterday we got out a bit and went to Lake Pyramid with a couple of my co-workers. It was great and Mark got to go waterskiing, which he looooves.
But really the biggest most awesomest news is, we're going to be an auntie/uncle!!!! Tali and Cliff are pregnant!!! Can you tell I'm excited?
I told Tali that the ultrasound (can you believe the baby is less than 2cm big?) looks like Stewie from the family guy. I'm sure Wildbaby will be much nicer though... I can't wait to spoil him/her. This will definitely mean more trips to Austin!

Fly by the seat of my pants

Lately Mark and I have been talking about how we need a chair of sorts in our bedroom. It can't be very big, as we're tight on space. The thought is we will slide the dresser a little to the right and place a small chair in the corner to the left of it.

I'm thinking a golden yellow velvet will add a nice punch of color and look good with the green theme we've already got going. I love the look of the antique french circle back chairs like the one below (in a different finish and fabric though), but Mark thinks they're a little too feminine.
In the Domino book, we found a rectangular back upholstered chair that had nailhead detail on the edges that we both love. It looks similar to these.

To find the chair we want with the right fabric would most likely send us to a custom furniture maker and put us out way more money than I'm willing to spend. So this will most likely be taken on as a DIY project.

I can already hear Mark saying, "do you know how to reupholster?!" That's a negative. No clue. But how hard could it be? It's definitely not a complex piece, especially with the rectangular back. Anyone have any good tips or tricks?

As soon as things mellow out a little, I will begin my thrift shop search for and old chair frame.

(photos courtesy of The French Chair)

I get by with a little help from my friends...

A plumber is coming by this evening to look at our sink. Thanks so much to Micah (our realtor and a good friend) for taking care of our warranty and calling this in for us. Hopefully our kitchen plumbing will be good as new tonight!

A friend of mine posted this video on facebook today and I was just floored at this guy's talent. If you haven't seen this performance yet, all I gotta say is he puts Susan Boyle to shame.

Sprucing...

Pardon my absence the last few days... We've been busy with non-house fun stuff. We went up to Santa Barbara on Thurs to see Depeche Mode which was AWESOME. Yesterday I got to hang out with Cliff and Esteban on the set of Project Rant. The actresses they filmed were fantastic, friendly and a pleasure to work with.

After that, Mark, Debbie, Joe and I went to the John Lovitz Comedy Club at Citywalk, where we enjoyed the hilllarious comedy of Kevin Shea. Who thought something like gingivitis could be so funny?

We have done a little sprucing of the place though. I was given two awesome plants for my birthday yesterday. I pray that I can keep them alive, as they are pretty and add so much to our living/dining rooms. This one is from Mom and Dad and sits atop our wine fridge.
This one is from Mark.

I also picked up a nice table runner and two accent candle holders for the kitchen table. What do you think? We'll eventually paint, get curtains for that window and add some color with art.

Mean Rachel got me the Domino book which I've wanted for ages. I plan on picking up some great tips and tricks.

In other news, our kitchen sink is on the fritz. It doesn't drain and gross water comes up the disposal side if you run water into the other sink. Draino doesn't help... Hopefully it will be covered under our home warranty -we'll find out next week. It's always something, right?

Our Sanctuary

Our bedroom falls into the "done for now" category. Mark assembled our dark brown leather headboard last night and I think it really works in the space. It's hard to tell because of the lighting, but the curtains and the accent pillows are the same shade of green. **I really need to work on my photography skills (eh hem, Tali :) ).

Across from the bed is the dresser that Mark assembled. That's a painting I did in our old garage a while back. It will eventually be hung above the dresser -we just haven't gotten around to it yet.

That's really all there is to our bedroom. It's not very big, but still lovely if you ask me. To the right of the dresser is the door into our bathroom and on the wall opposite the windows is a closet that spans the wall. We haven't painted the closet doors or cabinets yet, so I figured I'd spare you all. We'll eventually spruce it up with some more accessories and perhaps some art over our nightstands, but alas, it will have to wait.

Our Living Room

We decided to relocate the sectional to a corner to help open up the room. It's the perfect fix.
Mark's famous armoire made it in one piece!

Now Mark is jonesing for a recliner. What is it with guys and recliners? We've found one that we both like, so now it's just a matter of saving our pennies. What do you think?

The room is definitely lacking that certain ummmfff. I think it's just a matter of hanging some pictures and getting an area rug. Any suggestions?

Moving day - Part (day) 2

Our move is complete! We spent yesterday morning getting the last of our furniture from the condo and cleaning up. Mark recruited quite a team for the day's tasks. We had a total of eight guys there to help, so we were done pretty quick.
Once we were finished and enjoyed our pizza and beer, we went food shopping and stocked our fridge for the first time. -Not quite upright celery sticks or a cake on a pedestal, but tons of fruits for my blending pleasure, veggies, condiments, meat, cheese, and the standard assortment of frozen food from Trader Joe's.

I am so happy with our new blender! This morning, I made banana, nectarine, and mango smoothies.

In other news, Mark and I are loving our shower! The rain shower head from the ceiling is awesome and such a great way to wake up in the morning. I only needed two snoozes today! We hit a slight bump with our plan of making it so that we can switch from the handheld shower to the ceiling. Our water pressure is insane, which makes the water come out of both shower heads when you try to switch to the handheld, so today, David is installing a valve that closes the opening to the overhead one when we want only the handheld. Sounds complicated, but it's really a quick and easy fix.

I'll try to do a walkthrough video some time this week...