Pages

Friday, October 21, 2011

Living Room


Our first disagreement was about the location of the t.v. for the living room. The conversation went something like this.

Adam- " I like it the way P&B had it, with the t.v. in the corner."

Al- " Of course you did, you never had to sit at an angle, to the side right up close to it to watch a show. It sucks and I'm not doing it in my own home."

Adam- " So where do you want it?"

Al- " In the middle of the window, that way it can be a media wall and we can divide the living space and the kitchen with the sofa and console. Everyone will have good seating to watch the t.v."

Adam- " That's how it is at the apt, we're in the desert to enjoy the outdoors and company."

Of course at this time I let out a big sigh. Do I keep fighting my fight or just give in for now? By the time we stepped foot back into the house, I changed my mind. I like that it's one big room for the living and kitchen area. I want to keep it open. P&B floor plan will work just fine, this time the t.v. will be 4 feet off the corner the love seat to the left and coffee table in front of it, two chairs and a side table will be facing the sofa. That way the t.v. isn't the focus, the seating faces one another and conversations can be easily made. The t.v. will be visible from the dining area and kitchen.

That leaves a 3' space in the one corner and a 6' x 4', in the other. Adam has been pressuring me on what I'll be putting in those spaces. I like the idea of stacked vintage suitcases for storage for the smaller corner and maybe a record player stand in the 6' x 4' corner. My poor records and player are just gathering dust in the garage. Maybe a bar cart? 

On my shopping excursion to Target yesterday I can across a t.v. stand that I liked. I should have just picked it up, but thought better of it and wanted to discuss it with Adam. He's o.k. with it, I think it helped that the first one I liked was $60.00 more then this one. 


Room Essentials® TV Stand with Sliding Door in Espresso- $69.99


It hits the right tone for the house. I want an easy, unfussy line with a mid-century influence. It's a fit for our '58 home. 

Next was our two chairs. I really wanted these.

Mitchell Armless Chair in Green Floral - $99.99 each

For a hundred a piece it was a hard sell at home. We went back to our argument of price versus necessity. He wants folding camping chairs that we can take out to the porch for extra seating. I told him I didn't want dirty chairs coming in and out of the house, plastic patio ones are not acceptable either. We were at a stand still. Thank goodness camping chairs and patio furniture are out of season to purchase at the stores. The compromise are these butterfly chairs.

 

Gray Butterfly Chair - $29.99

We are still in need of patio seating. I might have to swing by an IKEA for folding ones. We'll see. All furniture pieces shown can be purchased at Target.

 



Down the Rabbit Hole


Finally back! Yay! Where have I been? I started working part-time has a data entry clerk. It's only a couple days a week which works just fine for me. It's close by and the people I work with are awesome, nice, and helpful. I think that I've mentioned before that I wanted to take photos of my work attire. Since it seems those are the only days that I dress up. 

With a new routine, things need adjustment. Actually my whole life needed to be rearranged. Down to fixing meals on workdays. Seems so mundane, but that's life. Not being home during the day hours two days a week has really put me behind in house work. How is that possible with only my Bf, two cats, and myself? I don't know, but it does. 

I have some good news. The Bf and I bought a house. We have been looking for some time now on being home owners. Before the economy sank we were looking in Riverside county for a house. We figured we could find a 3 to 4 bedroom home with a nice backyard to live in. We would have to deal with a commute, but for the Bf he commutes at least an hour one way everyday for work. I on the other hand would have commuted until I found something closer to home. 

Personally I wasn't thrilled in living in that area. I just had my gut tell me that it wasn't right for me. If I were to ever live there I needed a pool. That was one of the requirements to get me jumping into the bandwagon of living in horse country. Luckily, for me (hindsight is 20/20), we weren't that active in purchasing the home we were interested it. I'm thinking the Bf had some doubts too.

This past summer a property near the Bf's parents place in the high desert became available. The house was on a 5 acre property with a home built in the 80's with later additions. The house looked like a barn, it didn't help that it was painted red. For the area, it had a paved driveway, a koi pond, and trees that lined the fence area. Sounds like things we take for granted here in the city, but trust me those are bonuses out there. The house was big at 4 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, and den. It had a lot of potential, to make it our own. I was a little hesitate being it was so big and needed a lot of work. The location and how big the property was sealed the deal for us. Now it was up to the agent to make it happen. Of course you want to pay a fair price, so we made our bid at 20,000 less then asking with no mortgage. Not really what the banks want to hear. They found someone else to pay the full price. Was it heartbreaking? It was a relief for me, the only downside it had was the close proximity to his parents, that when we weren't there they can keep an eye on it. 

About a year ago his parent's friends were looking for a summer home out there. Something small since they all ready had property in the lower desert. They just wanted to get away from the 100+ heat during the summer months. They found a cute 60's cabin with later additions not too far from the Bf's parents house. The first time I laid eyes on it, the green monster peeked through. I was a little bummed that we didn't jump on the house. Sure it was a lot smaller, but bigger in charm. It's an open kitchen and living room, a bed room and a bath that sits on almost 3 acres. For sure, at the time I found the home that I was gauging everything else on from here on out.

I didn't air out my envy, when it came down to it I'm glad that someone nice can enjoy and appreciate it like I would. To be honest with you, I held out and secretly wished it to be mine. Sounds like contradiction? Never said that I was simple or easy to understand. 

The family friends were bummed that we didn't get the red house, since we would be neighbors if we did. They knew we were still looking for property out there and thought of us when they wanted to sell the cabin. (I have a smile on my face right now) They realized that they were spending all their time up there and decided to make it permanent. To do that, they needed more land. The day Adam told me the place can be ours, I was so elated. He thought he had to talk me into it, ha ha. 

So that's the story. Are we moving out there permanently? No, the commute would not benefit us mentally or financially. Since the house is paid in full, we are able to keep our apartment at the beach and the jobs we have. How is it possible to have it paid in full will be another post at a later date. For now, it's our getaway, our fall back, and our retirement home. 

It is in livable condition, we are just doing a few things here and there. The problem we are running into is how much money will we being putting in it. Not much now, because it isn't permanent, or do we spend the money on nice things for later? It has cause a few minor disagreements, from drapes to furniture. Most of my free time and money will now be taken up with the house. I will share my purchases with you, home or otherwise, ideas on decorating, and probably before and after pictures.

So now my Wonderland is now a reality. I get to have the best of both of my worlds, the city and desert. 
 
 


Friday, October 07, 2011

Pick of the Day: Serendipitous


I really need to be saving the green to furnish my new place. I just couldn't pass up this shrug. I'm so happy that I've bypassed a  million, gazillion ones I've seen on the web and at the mall. I've been obsessing over this cross-stitch print before, I think it was in the Spring. I first saw it as a wall decal on someone's blog, I just can't remember at the moment. That with the combination of wanting to own a black base floral print item for awhile now, this is serendipitous.






I've also been in love with the runway looks for S/S 2012. The high waisted black shorts seem to be the one item that was a must have for me. These are great with the clean fronts and the high nipped in waist.


Items can be found at Forever21.com

Inspiration Board: Uncomplicated


 
I love my neutrals, I'm beige (ha ha). The best way for me to incorporate color into my life is by one color at a time. The whole blocking trend threw me for a loop and so took me out of my comfort zone. Besides it's easier to get dress in the morning when you know you'll just be wearing 2 colors all day. This berry color blouse is gorgeous and I think I've all ready posted the emerald version in my last inspiration board.
 
Living in So Cal. I'm all for wearing shorts in the fall. A pair of tights is a must, unless you don't mind the goosebumps on you legs all day, that's such a great look when your legs are turning blue and you have old ladies shaking their heads at you. I can say that with experience behind me. To balance out the shorts and kitty heels, I would wear a sweater to cover up my arms.  I like the classic look of this cardigan, something you can hold on to for a few seasons and be able to wear with your fave jeans, and midi skirts. 

I'm a large tote kind of gal. Anything I carry has to be large enough for anything and everything. If you are a mom or just take care of little ones, you know you need a large carry all. I always made fun of the moms that look like bag ladies with 3+ totes. I just love the "what's in my bag" and they only have 5 items in there. I wish that I can cut down like that. I'm in the large percentage of the population that carries the 12 pounds of stuff around. This one looks ideal, in the structure and sturdiness plus the extra pockets are always a bonus.
 
Lately my choice in costume jewelry has been leaning towards brass, nature inspired, and rings with large stones on them. I think these pieces are modern with a nod to vintage. I've recently picked up a brass locket that I've been wearing none stop. I'll share soon (cross my heart). 
 
Thanks for reading and leaving comments. I love and appreciate every one of them.
xo- Albee

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Joshua Tree Gem Show


First weekend in October Joshua Tree, Ca. holds a little gem show. It's more like vendors that sell semi-precious stone jewelry, beads, geodes, and raw minerals. There's food, karaoke, and gold mining booths for the kids and adults that are kids at heart. It has been quite a few years since I've been down to the show. The first time Adam and I went to support his parents with a tractor parade that coincided with the gem show. I just love how rural Ca. can be if you don't mind driving a few hours away from the city.

This year, it was just a spare of the moment thing. Adam and I are in the process of purchasing some property up there and we were in town to get paperwork notarized. The couple we are buying from are friends of the family and suggested going to the show after business was taken care of. You don't have to twist my arm to check out a gem show.

Last time I went I had bought a little owl figurine that is cut out to show an owl within, I think it's made out of soap stone. When you go to place like that, you just never know what you'll stumble across. Of course, the ladies had gotten stuck at the first booth checking out the jewelry. They had cute necklaces and bracelets. I had my eye on these pretty quartz pendants.



I'm the type of girl that likes to look first. I won't jump on the very first thing I see. I know that a lot of sellers hate that, I just want the more bang for my buck. Adam's mom tried talking me into a bracelet, even offered to buy me one. I just couldn't accept that, I might find something else that I want more. 

As we were walking through, there was just so much to see. Luckily I remembered my camera on this outing.






Remember when Anthropology had agate stone coasters? I so wanted those, I shouldn't have passed up buying a few now-but I did. I just wasn't in a spending mood. Do you know what I really want? Geode bookends. I think that it's a wonderful way to bring nature indoors. 
Needless to say, I had a great time walking around and checking out all that the vendors had to offer. I walked away with out purchasing anything. I know, rare for me. Adam bought small drill bits, and a file (so manly, I know), and his mom bought a blue lapis bracelet. 

Now that we'll have our very own place to stay I think we'll be spending even more time out there. I can't wait to see more of the neighboring towns, checking out all the nooks and crannies, and discovering hidden treasures.




 




Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...