House Tour - Front Room

It's been almost a year since we moved into this cute little house (cool story about why we live here), and I still haven't posted any pictures. I keep thinking I will once I'm "done" decorating but I'm never done. There is always something I want to change or add or move around. 

So...here it is. Always a work in progress. The front room:

-The view from the kitchen. Love that floor -

 - An antique that made it's way across the sea with immigrants. I painted it aqua and I'm just in love with it. It's my favorite piece of furniture-

-My art and photography books, and monster posters that we'll frame eventually-

 -Engagement picture, Disney Family Fun magazine article Mae and I were in, family history photos, a lamp that needs some kind of shade.-

 -The kitchen has a small room built off of it that is supposed to be a dining area. It is so awkwardly shaped that our table didn't fit in there, so we chow here and I made the nook my art studio-

 -A photograph I took of my daughter and a drawing I did of my husband, daughter and I.

I need to draw a new one with Sawyer-

 -My sock monkey made for me by my sister and a rad "Lord of the Rings" video disc. Remember those?-

 -The time out chair-

-My grandmothers hutch and a chair I painted in high school. It's an old Wendys chair. -

 -He's not excited that you're about to put your ass on his face.-

 -On top is a Madame Alexander doll my mom passed down to Mae, a chess set from China, my Mickey Mouse ears, and my bridal picture.-

 -I love everything in my hutch. My house has to be filled with things that has a history and sentimental value. I'm a sucker for anything with a story-

 -Vintage cameras, postcards from family, and a Geisha fan. I love Geishas!-

 -Vintage Mark Twain books, reading picture cards, and vintage Yahtzee and Scrabble-

 -My mom and I while she was going through one of her many rounds of chemo-

-Vintage Disney books and Tom Sawyer. An interesting fact about this book: A few years after I had Mae, I just knew that our next kid would be a boy. I also knew that I wanted to name him Ender or Sawyer. I came across this book in a shop and had to buy it. A few years later I got pregnant, it was a boy, and we named him Sawyer. I love having a book with my husbands and my sons name on it.-

-Random knick knacks and an owl candle. It makes the hutch smell so good-

-Crafts that Tom and Mae made at free art museum day-

 -Vintage Mickey Mouse doll, and of course, one of the greatest gifts I've ever received "Little Ballerina"-

-Whale salt shaker. You know how I feel about whales...-

 -Acquire! A tradition in my husband family. Okay, obsession, actually-

 -This is a door. It opens and closes.-

 -A couple of our Disneyland posters. We get one every time we go-

Well, there you have it, folks! This is by far my favorite room in the whole house. 

*back to house tour*

art studio tour

This Saturday I will officially be my own boss. 

9 am-3 pm, Saturdays and Sundays in the art studio.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

We've lived her for about 2 months, and today I finally got my studio put together. 

There are definitely some improvements to be made, but I can do that over time.

I'm thinking wall to wall bulletin boards, some chalkboard paint, a neat-o light fixture, finish painting that darn desk....a never ending list of projects! That's how I like it baby, that's how I like it!

 I've been in need/want of a new art desk foooor-evvvv-errrr (please say that like Squints from "Sandlot"), but haven't had funds to get one. 

The Universe whispered in my ear one fine day to take a journey to Goodwill, and I found this. For $12. Oh, joyous day! Thrifting NEVER disappoints. 

(Is it abnormal that I get a bigger high from thrift shopping than I do going shoe shopping?)

100 year old floors. Just the thought of how many other feet have walked on these floors is so amazing to me. 

Maybe it was once anothers art studio? A nursery? A study? 

Ah, how I wish I knew!

I'm ready to start creating. BRING IT ON!

on the move

I'm taking a quick, and much needed break from purging. No, not that kind. The get-rid-of-junk-we-never-use-that-is-just-filling-every-corner-of-the-house kind. In a short while we will be making a move to the historic district into a 1915 Bungalow right next to...wait for it....the house my grandmother grew up in. I know, right? I am so beyond excited, I can't even begin to describe my emotions.

(the house my grandma grew up in.)

It's a long story, but to sum it up (kind of) the lady that saved my grandmothers house from being destroyed just bought the house next door, and we are the lucky future tenants of this charming little house. I can't wait. It has been a dream of mine to live in an old house. I have no idea how to say that so it doesn't sound weird. But you know, a historic house, one with original wood flooring and a claw footed tub and a retro blue refrigerator. These are just a few of the charming qualities of this house we will soon call home. Not to mention, Janice, is an incredible woman. Apart from saving my grandmothers house, she was killed by a meth addict 2 years ago. Yes, killed. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and luckily revived. She was sitting at a stop light on her scooter, when a guy high on meth and drunk came screaming around the corner in his truck, running her over. It has completely changed her life, and she is an incredible inspiration.
There is so much more to the story, how she saved my grandmothers house from being destroyed, how she has befriended many of my dads relatives, the day my parents and I went to visit and just look at the outside of the house, but she welcomed us in with open arms and gave us a tour. My dad, (whose mother grew up there), couldn't stop smiling.

As we were swimming in her pool the other day, I kept thinking, "I bet grandma is here with us right now". How cool is it that I get to live right next door to the house my grandma grew up in?
I can't wait to move in. Our "master" bedroom is so small it will really only fit our The house is much smaller and I can't wait to simplify and get rid of things we really don't need. Not to mention that aqua refrigerator.....and that claw footed tub. I see a lot of bubble baths in my future. Marilyn Monroe style.