Hay, Chair.

source

This would either be a wonderful spot to hang out in the sun and read a book... or terribly itchy. Either way, I want one! Maybe I can convince my dad to make one out in his yard, as I don't see it happening for me at my apartment in LA.

Mismatched Chairs

Last week (or so) I blogged about the table I refinished (read all the exciting details here) and I mentioned that I wanted to accompany it with a round of mismatched chairs. With the help of my sister-in-law, (and  google image search) I found loads of inspiration... LOADS!

Here are some of my favorites:

Love them all! (if you're paying really close attention to this blog, you'll notice that I have used two of these photos in previous posts...  :)

And I love the idea of having totally different chairs painted or upholstered to have a common color or fabric, like these:

Of course my favorite, and if I'm going to be totally honest, the reason why I love the whole mismatched chair look to begin with, is this one:

Any suggestions or opinions? Which look is best?

Things to Look Forward to in April

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part 1 is released on DVD
Mama's birthday
Finishing The Fellowship of the Rings and starting Two Towers
"Spring Break" (which is kind of a farce this year)
My man Charlie turns 1!
Emmylou Harris in concert!
Baby shower for rescued owl chicks at a birds of prey sanctuary
Reconnecting with a friend I haven't seen in ages!
Complete my origin story
Las Vegas with two adorable fellas
Martin Sexton in concert
Maybe (maybe) Maybe going up North to visit all of my girls!
Guest blogging for two blogs of awesomeness
Learning new chords, especially minor chords
Finishing the road scarf- c'mon!
Hat shopping with Matty
Starting Dragon Age

Writing... with creativity

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

~Ray Bradbury

painting by gerard ter borch

I have to admit something... 

A secret that I have carried around with me for years. 

Here goes:

I have always thought of myself as a writer.

There I said it. What's the big deal, you ask? Well, I don't really write.

So... thinking of myself as a writer is really -- what's the word? -- lame.

But, in an attempt to not be so lame, and to make myself actually be the person I think I am, I've decided to write a story.  It has been years since I have even tried to write creatively. It is a very different beast from that which I have written over the last 10 years: academic papers, legal research, a handful of news and magazine articles, and an overly sentimental essay remembering a deceased family member. 

Not. One. Story. 

Until now! 

(Do you like my dramatic use of spacing and punctuation?! I am getting so creative already!)

I spent some time last summer traveling alone through England and Scotland. And, like all good tourists, I brought along a journal. I was totally prepared to soil the first few pages of the book with some trivial observation or account of something I did that day and then leave the rest blank, and then finally neglect the whole thing on my shelf at home (where so many travel journals have gone to die). But I didn't. I actually wrote! And I came up with the beginnings of a story that I have since been sorting out in my head.

But now I have the chance to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys...not nearly as cool a phrase) and WRITE.  Not just think about writing. Not just talk about writing. But really write!

I've done 11 pages (11 whole pages!) and it makes me feel a little high. And when I'm not feeling horribly stuck, I'm having a ball. I think it makes me happy. Who'd a thought that something I was into in high school would still be cool?

So, I'll keep you posted. I'm hoping there will be 11 more pages to boast about soon. (and then 11 after that, and.... well, you get the idea.)

Things to Look Forward to in Februrary

In no particular order...

1. Leaning how to knit the seed stitch

2. The new Justified season starts on FX

3. Finishing a 25 page synopsis of my story

4. My friend Becca's b-day & my friend Lilly's b-day

5. Building the Burrow movie? And blog post?

6. Campus Virtual tour

7. Spending Valentine's Day in Malibu with my favorite guy

8. Getting Healthier

9. The Witches of Oz

10. Possibly seeing a friend I haven't seen since October

11. Queen Mary Scottish Festival

12. Sleeping on new sheets (with my sweet kitty boys, of course)

13. Finishing and gifting my Mom's scarf

14. Happy Hour with Sue

15. Reading the Incredible Lightness of Being for class

16. Visiting San Diego (maybe)

17. Matt's February song

18. Donating another batch of stuff to the Goodwill and decluttering our space

Future Scarf

This is so lovely. And it looks so complicated, but I think I can actually do this one.  As soon as I finish a few of the projects that I have in the works, I will attempt this one. Maybe it will be for me- I haven't made anything for me yet :)

http://www.purlbee.com/checkerboard-lace-scarf/

Future Sweater

Oooh! Add this to my "I want to make this one day" list!

http://twistcollective.com/collection/index.php/component/content/article/60-winter-2008-patterns/143-stormsvale-by-robin-melanson

New Job for an Old Ladder

I am in love with this repurposed ladder-turned-closet! What a stylish and quirky to store your clothes and shoes! It looks so nice and fresh in this person's home.  As far as I can tell, they used linen or canvas as shelves between the ladder rungs and then added a dowel or two for hanging clothes off the sides.  To top it off, they decorated it was a papier mache zebra head and a parasol! 

I am thinking these guys don't have cats... don't know if it would work out in my house with my little monsters climbing it all the time.

Link to where I found this- along with other idea on how to repurpose an old ladder:

http://styleblog.cottagelife.com/2010/11/02/reusing-an-old-ladder/

Hand-warmers

I'd love to knit gloves, but who can figure out how to fit the fingers! Then I ran across the patter to make these hand-warmers and they have made it to my "to-make-once-I-know-how-to" list.  This pattern uses 4 double pointed needles, which it way above my skill level, but one of the ladies I knit with knows how to make them using regular needles- she claims they are really easy.  Hopefully  I'll learn in time to make a few pairs to give away as Christmas gifts! 

http://www.purlbee.com/ribbed-hand-warmers/

A Sweater for Weggie

This is Weggie:

Sometimes Weggie wears sweaters:

This is the sweater that Weggie wants me to make for him- modeled by a kitty that is not Weggie. Weggie likes this turtleneck, but not in pink... I think he'd like a nice cobalt blue with silver and lavender accents! That will bring out his eyes and his colored tips nicely!

So once I am skilled enough, Mr. Weginald P. Quackenbush will have a brand-spankin'-new sweater to wear on those chilly bay area nights! Maybe then he'll finally love his Auntie!!