Book Club: #27

Becky — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:04:58 +0000

I thought “Happens Every Day” was really, really good. It was a fast read (it took me 3 days worth of bus rides to complete), it was funny, it was heartbreaking, but most of all it seemed very real. No made up mumbo jumbo on this one. Despite the fact that the main character Isabel Gillies (who is also the author) grew up in an apartment overlooking Central Park and had a summer house in Maine, she was still very easy to relate to.

In a nutshell, Isabel is an actress-turned-writer who’s dbag of a husband left her and her two small children for someone who was also married. Back story: he also left his first wife for someone else. I’m sensing a pattern. The outcome: it was all for the best.

Side note: I just discovered that she has also written “A Year and Six Seconds“. I think I might just have to give that one a whirl too.

Dresser makeover

Becky — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:22:32 +0000

A few months ago Steve and I bought a dresser from Ikea. That makes the third piece of brand spanking new furniture that we’ve picked out and bought ourselves. I love hand-me-downs and second-hand items, but it is such a treat to know you need a dresser and to go to the store to actually buy a dresser. Well imagine my frustration when we realized that the holes screwed in one of the front pieces had been put in backwards by the Ikea people, which meant that the only choice was for the unstained side to face out. It was infuriating for me to look at…I’m actually getting heated just thinking about the unbalancedness of our brand new dresser. We discussed taking it back, but that would mean disassembling it or borrowing a truck, which neither of us had the gumption for. So in the end we decided that I would just have to deal with this little flaw in our new dresser.

Needless to say, it could not be ignored. It was bright and annoying and glaring at me. Then I had a genius thought that if I painted all of the front pieces the same different color, maybe I could live with that.

Nope. That definitely didn’t work.
Long story short, I took the time to prime and paint the dresser last weekend.

It took two cans of spray primer to cover the dresser.

I chose a warm grey paint color and absolutely love how it turned out. Of course now I want to take all my thrifted furniture items into the back yard and make them look brand new too. But what I’ve learned in the 2 weeks since I’ve been a home owner is that patience is an absolute necessity.

It took almost 5 cans of spray paint.

Hardwood floors

Becky — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:42:55 +0000

Project number one that we knew we wanted done before we moved in was to get the hardwood floors refinished. The front two bedrooms had hardwood floors that were really beat up, and the living room had decent looking green carpet with hardwood floors under it. Holy moly. The difference between the green carpet and the dark brown (exact color is “antique”) hardwood floors we have now is incredible. It was worth every penny.

The living room before.

After Steve and I pulled the carpet up.

Please note the Taco Bell bag on the ground. I've eaten more Taco Bell in the last two weeks than I ever have in my life. (It's located in between our house and our old apartment.) Also note-worthy is that this modern-looking crowbar was amazing at getting the tack strips up.

This was a fun spot we discovered after the carpet was up. I thought for sure we'd always have to have a rug over it to hide it. BUT, drum roll please...

This is that same spot after one coat of stain. Crazy, right? Our floor guy did such a great job.

After 2 coats of stain.

And after three coats of stain.

Moving Day

Becky — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Steve and I are in the midst of unpacking in our first home. It was built in Seattle in 1910 and is just perfect for us – it’s in fantastic condition for being over 100 years old, but has an unfinished basement and the ugliest back bedroom you will ever see. (Picture: dark brown carpet and dark brown faux wood paneling on the walls.) This means we’ll get to put the endless hours we’ve spent watching Holmes on Homes to good use and complete a project or two in the near future.

The previous owners lived here for 44 years (!) and I am so grateful for how well they took care of this house. Here’s a photo of what it looked like almost exactly 71 years ago. (Check out the fancy car in the bottom right of the photo.)

Seattle!

Becky — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:08:28 +0000

I love Seattle. Have I mentioned that before? Because I really do. I moved here for college (Go Huskies!), lived here for 7 years and found that I was getting not only bored with the city, but being here was actually making me angry. The rain! The traffic! I knew that I needed to get away for a bit in order to fully appreciate it again, so that’s what I did. After exploring NYC non-stop for a year, I couldn’t wait to get back to Seattle. I’ve been back for over a year and a half now (time flies, eh?), and am loving every second of it. I don’t even dread the commute across Lake Washington to get to work every day*.

The view of Seattle from my office.

...and zoomed in a bit.

*That’s not entirely true. I would love to be able to walk to work, but the views of Mt. Rainier (and the fact that I like my job) make the commute worth it.

Ballard

Becky — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:43:16 +0000

What I should probably let you know is that I’ll be moving away from my favorite Seattle neighborhood soon*. . And because I miss it already and still actually live here, I’ll probably be posting about it a lot in the future.

First on the list is King’s Hardware (which I mentioned about a year ago in a post). It’s where you go when you want to play a few games of Skee Ball and then want a covered outdoor area to sit down at. It gets crazy crowded here, so I would suggest going early if you want to get a seat outside…or inside for that matter. You can always go in the afternoon, put your name on the list next door at Rudy’s Barbershop and get your hair cut while your friend watches your beer.

Also noteworthy is the amount of writing in the women’s bathroom. The one that sticks out in my mind right now is something along the lines of, “I want brunch”. Followed by another kind person who wrote, “Then go to Hattie’s Hat“. King’s Hardware, where you bond on the crapper.

*Details to follow. Not “address-type” details, but other “you can’t stalk me with the information I’ve told you” details. Stay tuned!

Jet City Improv

Becky — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:31:56 +0000

If you’ve never been to an improv comedy show, I would suggest going immediately. It’s such a funny form of entertainment that looks really, really difficult to do. I mean can you make up a Dr. Seuss-like rhyme about a furry chinchilla on the spot? I didn’t think so.
Steve and I went last Friday to Jet City Improv in Seattle. Fun fact: tickets were half off for the 10:30 show and will be again this Friday.

Fun fact #2: Jet City Improv will celebrate their 20th anniversary in May. That’s a really long time to be consistently funny.

Life, man.

Becky — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:39:02 +0000

Curious about what I was doing 3 years ago? I was designing, patterning and sewing my first collection that I got to show at Seattle Fashion Week, Thaw Fashion show, Fashion first and to display in Seattle Magazine. Looking back on that time in my life I’m blown away at what I was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. I didn’t ever let my fears interfere with what I needed or wanted to get done. I think I just taught myself a life lesson. That I obviously already knew, but apparently forgot.
I’m not done yet, but shortly you’ll be able to see all of that info over here on the blog. Click here to see what I was up to in April 2009.

Yippe Ki Yay

Becky — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:59:27 +0000

Here’s the third order I’ve received for this pink cowgirl print. Purdy darn cute if you ask me.

I heart cats

Becky — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:09:18 +0000

Here is a set of 6 burp cloths for the cat lover in all of us.

Fun fact: I’m actually pretty seriously allergic to cats, but I have this grand notion that I will one day own 2 cats and a dog. A girl can dream.