Edward Cullen's bedroom

I love the style of the Cullen's mansion from the Twilight series - ceiling to floor windows - light and airy rooms - simple lines....*sigh* I'm listening to Clare de Lune as I write this blog in bed and it makes me want to paint all the walls shades of white and grey and go on a white furniture rampage at Ikea.

(a little voice whispers, but soft, what mess through 4 dogs break.....)

I saw a Feng Shui specialist on TV who said despite thoughts to the contrary, animals bring feng shui into a household. It's hard to imagine how four clunky dogs can do such a thing when it's actually about simplicity and cleanliness....but also about energy...and these particular owners get kind, sweet energy from their pups. We try to maintain sacred rooms the dogs may not enter - the study, the bedroom, the master bathroom....but as I type a lab just sat up and stretched in bed next to me and a German Shepherd has her head next to my feet. Clearly white furniture won't suffice.

But why don't I get to my point....?

If I can't have the entire Cullen mansion I will take a piece from Edwards bedroom - his bookcase.

Simple...clean...curious.

Booklovers understand. There's something emotional about books, particularly favorites. The nostalgia they inspire whether they are fresh and well taken care of or a more 'experienced' tattered favorite.

I love the personality of this bookcase, it's minimalistic without being cold, it's size suggests....these are the favorites - display with meaning.

I have a wall picked in the bedroom that I haven't known what to do with but I think I do now. My mind is racing trying to figure out how to construct this myself, searches on the internet haven't yielded too many options just yet, at least none that aren't more than a little overpriced. Plus the wall is maybe too large for the exact bookcase in Edward's room....I'm considering numerous Ikea shelves scattered across a wall that will probably be a similar spin on it.
This should work perfectly, I've never been the type to put out a lot of knick knacks or prints, I like the art in my house to have meaning...and I like to underdo it. And I love my books.

Poor T....another project to be added onto the ones we're already behind on. I'm just not happy if I'm not gutting a house.

Breaking Dawn

I was harped on by months to finish The Twilight series and here we are at the end. Twilight has been an experience of its’ own, probably accounting for the almost cult like devotion from the fans and the journey it led us all on…..everyone knows someone who reminds them of the Voulturi or Jacobs’s sweet, protective nature. The thing I hate about once in a lifetime books is they rarely satisfy, instead you find yourself turning to the last page shocked that it’s over and wishing there was just one more chapter or one more book….

That said – I’m more stoked than ever about the next two movies and can’t wait to find myself at the movie theatre, resisting the urge to fall asleep at a sensible hour. I hope Stephanie Meyer continues with the story of Renesme but it’s doubtful.

I’ve been meaning to start including my favorite quotes for my book journal and here it is from Breaking Dawn:

"Is there no hope, then?" Carlisle whispered. There was no fear in his voice.
Just determination and acceptance.

"There is absolutely hope," I murmured
back. It could be true, I told myself. "I only know my own fate."

Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole.

I just love this book and the characters. Big hugs to my fellow Twilighters!

Everything you Need

On my desk at work.

Avoiding playing magic tricks in Excel. Obviously.

Word Art

Spring in Austin is about the prettiest time of the year - before the raging heat forces everyone (and their dogs) inside - and before we skip autumn altogether and move onto some of the silliest winters most have ever seen. Right now it's all about basil shoots (just forced their way up yesterday, pics to follow) and weather that beckons me through the office windows.

We're working on more projects - painting chairs, picking the 'right' shade of grey for the dining room, cleaning up after a Lab that is shedding in anticipation of the upcoming dog park visits....it's a good time, hard to even post all the pictures.

But here are a few word arts I love and might print out for the study.

Who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn who believes in pink?

Sounds about like my mom.

Makes me want to enroll in a photography class and really learn the art of black and whites.

A sucker for pictures of trees.

Oh, the traveler's heart.

Obsessed with the 'Keep Calm' quotes these days, I thought of painting this in my closet above a shelf but it's so time consuming. Just read up on the history of these today, they were created by the British government for their citizens in WWII but abandoned. Rediscovered in 2000 they have been popping up everywhere.

I love this little bird - this one is a winner and completely frame worthy.

Dinner is served.

Mmmmmmm - mom's little cheesestick concoction left in the oven.

Still, better than sunglasses.

Closet Makeover

The unveiling is here!!!!!!!!

What started has TJ’s idea to install shoe racks for my birthday evolved into something bigger (and therefore much more time consuming) – the conversation over the past month went something like this:

Let’s install shoe racks…of course if we’re going to do that they are going to be pretty permanent so if you don’t like the flooring it’s time to get rid of it now. …..oooh I’ve been wanting to install tile……if we’re going to do the tile I should paint before we rip the carpet out….now the trim looks aged….we should do this the right way and paint it as well. Okay, now the trim, shelves, and walls are painted – let’s install the tile.

Before the tile was installed I came home from work on a Friday to find the chandelier of my dreams installed in the closet. *shriek* And then came the tile itself, we took a trip to Lowe’s and found the most adorable white tile that wasn’t too shiny or too flat….then we started walking around the store and decided for some deco tiles, I warned TJ they would be more complicated to cut but don’t you know he was a natural with the tile saw?
Okay okay, no more….feast your eyes. I wish I had more 'before' shots but you'll get the general idea.

And now....







Here are some shots of how the tile was done, first we dropped in one of the main tiles and worked around it - the deco tiles were so tedious to cut and place properly but I'm so happy with them. I was worried about the added cost a little but in the end I only got three at around $5.00 apiece.





And then the final product after the mortar.



And then came the shelves themselves. A lot of cutting, a lot of painting, a lot of going back to the home improvement stores for things we'd forgotten or run out of. In my experience these projects never run according to plan.





I wish I had more pictures of the wood as it was being installed and before it was even painted - I must not have loaded them to my account and they are being held hostage on my laptop at home. Oh well.

Do you love it? I like all the little details, the satin covers on the bars, the little belt hooks TJ mounted for me. It was the best birthday gift I could have gotten, not just an important part of my house getting a makeover but the difference a year makes. When life hands you lemons you refuse to settle and chunk 'em.

Snow Day

I love these pictures. I think I finally managed to get photos so sweet even TJ likes them. I’ll post more later, these were some of the candidates I was editing last night to frame around the house.

TJ with pups at the pond, this is my favorite.





My Riley’s bear like claws.



Best friends.

I love pictures of trees in the winter, TJ took this one for me, if you look carefully you can see three dogs.

TJ looking very Justin Timberlake-esque. Poor Hopper is being blocked by Riley, she’s such a camera hog.

I'm finally figuring out how to use this blog, I need to get my photos uploaded to another server - I have a LOT of them.

Eclipse

I finished reading this about a month ago but haven't had time to post it - things have been crazy busy at work - I wonder if I'll ever dig myself out of the calculations.

Still going strong with Team Edward, but poor Bella, Jacob is such a good friend. *guilt trip*

I hope to post pictures of the closet soon, as with any project I've worked on I start out energized and towards the end lose momentum. The bedroom and bathroom are a virtual sea of shoes and clothes and I'm ready to get the house back in order - to any girl the closet is key to a zen like attitude.

Birthday Flowers

From the sweetest redhead I know. :)

The things you see at Café Java…..

Maegan’s New Home

I am pulling all kind of pictures off my phone during lunch break and you can tell how bad I am at keeping up with this sort of thing…..

….because Maegan’s house is already built.

They need to be posted anyway because it’s still fun to go back and see the progress that happened so slowly on a daily basis we forgot what we started with. I believe this was our second trip out to their lot, the first time Maegan drove us out there it seemed like there wasn’t a sign yet. The next time we went out there was a foundation and the next – a house! Building or buying a house can be so stressful but in the end you get to see pictures of yourself standing next to a ‘sold’ sign and it gives you a sense of validation. Funny thing about Maegan, when she walked us through the model home and told us the color she selected was Sherwin Williams ‘latte’ I almost shrieked because that’s what I picked for my house too! TJ hates it but we both feel okay with that. =)

In any case it’s endearing because as I mentioned in the IKEA post, we pick out virtually almost the same things whether or not we’re around each other. It’s fun once in awhile to be silly and excited over small details like a duvet or paint colors.

I ramble on and on, but I present the beginning of Maegan’s new house. More to follow!

Fun at IKEA

Well we really have to hand it to TJ.

Maegan and I shrieked and poured over EVERY detail in the Houston Ikea looking for things for her house. I think he exaggerated a little when he said that I would point something out, then Maegan would drag me into another room and point the next thing out, and then we’d drag TJ into the last room to point out the same thing we’d pointed out several rooms back. I suppose going through that store can be like moving two steps forward and one step back but we had a lot of things to look at. Like critical things.

What can really be said for it? I am a hopelessly interested in all things household related – redecorating, flooring, refurbishing furniture, etc. I can go to stores like that a million times and never get tired of imagining the possibilities – certainly it doesn’t help to go with someone equally interested and excited about everything they have. By the time we left the store Maegan and I had pledged to get the same bed, make the same bookshelf headboard, hang the same chandeliers, curtain panels, mirrors....you get the idea.
But come on, it’s going to be so super cute! And now when we stay at Maegan’s it will be just like home. Perks!

Oops, I almost posted this blog without explaining the picture but maybe there isn’t a logical explanation. When you go to Ikea and you’re pumped up, you naturally grab everyone in your caravan and take a picture in the model shower. It could have been worse, we had enough dignity not to pile onto the toilet at the same time.

I’m also including a picture of the bookcase Maegan bought in black brown for her dining room – it matches the furniture she has in there already! We were so excited, after getting Arby’s we ran home and made TJ put it together while we got onto http://www.ikea.com/. My sister has the same bookcase in pine – it’s so versatile and with clean, intricate lines - I love that store. =)

Schnitzel

Oh yes, it’s that time of year: the annual Shanahan Schnitzel extravaganza. I think mom made about 1,000 pork schnitzels (and a few chicken for the misfit) and spent hours preparing all of them. Her process has changed slightly, I don’t think she actually tenderized them time opting to buy thinner slices of meat, but she actually has a tenderizer now! This is an upgrade to when I was in elementary school in Germany. I remember the days of no central heat, one channel on television, a challenging academic curriculum, tagging along downtown with Ste-UH-nee, and mom tendering our schnitzels with a beer bottle.

It boggles the mind but I guess if anyone can pull that off without glass shards in your food it’s mom.

Fun to watch TJ eat his first schnitzel, I’ve never been as big of a fan as Steph but mom's are actually very good and I love anything that reminds me of Germany – but he loved it. TJ was pouring brown gravy and squeezing lemons over them like a pro.

Mom’s Projects Update

This is what my mom has done to the jacket so far – the pieces are cut out and just waiting to have her magic worked on them. I need to learn how to sew, I can’t even fully understand patterns and I envy mom’s ability to look at a pattern, figure out how to piece it, alter it if necessary, and transform scraps of tissue paper and cloth into something usable.

I’m including a fuzzy picture of the lint that was shed on mom’s new carpet JUST from taking the pieces out of the bag – she’s putting down a tarp before she starts sewing to protect the rug.

As TJ said, this is revenge for her treating me so badly when I was little.

Argh! Thank ye, Nana!

Maddie says thank you for the Christmas Blanket Nana! Now she can plunder and loot in fuzzy, stylish comfort.

A little something my mom made for her granddog, Maddie the Pirate. Why? Because nothing says Maddie like a skull and crossbones.

(A funny thing about dogs, only certain people understand there aren't bad ones.)