The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Fly

Gasp! Did I just insinuate something dirty?

Why, yes, yes I did.

Let's start things off with a little story and then we'll get to the goods. May I suggest you grab a drink (iced tea would be most appropriate for this tale) because this post is sure to be a long one.
Back in the halcyon days of college, Matt and I started dating when he was a fourth year and I a lowly second year. Fourth-years, particularly those of the male variety, tend to have a lot of extra time on their hands. And so it was, with this extra time, that Matt could often be found out in the mountains of Albemarle, fishing rods in tow, little black lab trotting alongside him while the trusty ol' red jeep sat on the gravel dirt road, awaiting their sure-to-be-filthy return.

A key indicator that fishing was on the agenda? Matt's ratty old hat, acquired from his favorite fly shop, that had the cheeky message, "The way to a man's heart is through his fly." He sported this thing every day until Hootie Bootie ate it in a fit of boredom while we were at a horse race or something. Look closely below and you'll see I'm not making this stuff up.

Were I a true, proper Southern gal I may have been repulsed. But I've got coarser Yankee blood and love to throw a "that's what she said" out there whenever applicable so the hat's message caused me to roll my eyes with affection.

Fast forward four years and I decide to move back north to Chicago, dragging Matt out of the woods and into the city. Fast forward another four years and I drag Matt out of the city and into our basement, armed with the brilliant idea of gutting the place and reinstalling a perfectly functional but currently fugly bathroom. Take a quick visual inventory of what we were working with, would you?

Some of you know the middle part of the bathroom tale. Like the part where we tore up the floor and were trying to decide how to cram existing bathroom fixtures in a new space half the size of the old.

And some of you also know that I painted the basement twice, my decorating M.O., and in the case of the bathroom it still wasn't right.

Just as I thought I was losing his interest in home renovation I came across a little design element that I knew would win him over. Since this is a bit of a gentleman's bathroom, why not bring a little gentlemanly sport to it? Some posh flyfishing wallpaper from England got Matt back on the basement reno path. The hat's message was applicable again! The way to this man's heart is through his fly. So without further ado, I present our basement loo:

I know wallpaper ain't everyone's cup of tea, or bourbon, but friends, we love this little room. Like, luuuurve it. And as for all our grand plans of reusing the old stuff in order to be budget-smart, this is one case where I'm glad that idea flew the coop. This tiny slice of our city cottage reminds us both of life in the South and once we committed to the fishing wallpaper we ran with it. Let's stand in the middle of the room and take a tour:

You've seen the Ikea Ann sink and now you can see it dressed up with a $19 mirror from Hobby Lobby, whose riveted frame gives a gentle nod to the classic Federalist hostess mirror.

Atop the commode (another word no one uses anymore!) is a small metal basket plucked from TJMaxx for $8 and is the perfect container for spare toilet paper and a petite Ikea-grown succulent. While the plant leaves coordinate perfectly with the shades in the wallpaper I can't say this was a deliberate pairing. I'm not that anal!

But while we're on the topic of being, ahem, particular about house things, I'd like to move the tour to a few of the salvaged bathroom items. The first is our linen closet, which the picture plainly shows as being in use but not organized. Last weekend we had some friends visiting and they were delightfully amused when they opened our upstairs linen closet and found it to be in slight disarray. Apparently, this shattered the perfect image they had of my housekeeping skills. So ladies, this closet shot is for you. My messy towels aren't just limited to the second floor!

Moving upward you'll see the ceiling light and exhaust fan. Nothing special here other than we reused it and spray painted the baffle white to better blend in with the fresh new ceiling. $3 in spray paint goes a long way with something like this.

The new configuration of the bathroom doesn't really allow for towel racks so we've got some handy hooks instead. Both the towels and the towel hook are from Ikea.

I particularly liked this hook as it reminded me of a fishing lure. You might say I found it a-lure-ing. HA!

As we go to make our way back out the door you can get a glimpse of the wood plank-like tiles against the new carpet. All in all I'd say we're pleased with both of these selections.

But before we close the door on this project (and pack up our fishing gear) let's take a closer look at the wallpaper. Remember my earlier comment about the bathroom giving a slight, if inaccurate, nod to the Civil War? All credit for this realization goes to Angler Matt. He took one good look at the scene above the toilet and said, "The gray coats are on the wrong side of the river! They should be on the south bank! And the blue coats on the north!" Blasphemy! Then again, it's not like the Brits were fighting this battle so I guess we can't blame them for getting it wrong on the wallpaper.

With that, if you're still reading and sipping your tea, I close out this bathroom story. Enormous thanks go to my mom, who practically hung the wallpaper all by herself while I just provided additional paste and held the razor blades. She's a talented gal and we're so thankful to her on this Mother's Day weekend. Go grab your fishin' hats and have a great weekend!

Sunday Recap by iPhone

If you've ever wondered what "quiet" looks like, here it is:

One year I got Matt a knife skills class session for a birthday present. It's still paying dividends.

While the hounds and the boy were snoozing, I was sewing. I finished McCall 5556 but need to pick up some buttons today during lunch. Full post to come later tonight!

Made It Monday: Guest Room

Howdy! It was an awesome weekend in this part of the country and hopefully it was just as nice in yours. Matt was off in Vegas doing the bachelor party thing and that left me a single lady for the weekend. Activities included dinner with friends, brunch with friends, two - yes, two! - trips to the dog park, cleaning, sewing, a long run, and even some shopping. Good for the soul, I tell you. Oh, and our bloomin' tulips topped things off nicely!

So now I've got some pics to share of the guest room, which I mentioned previously as the room stripped bare while I spruced up the rest of the joint last weekend, hiding from the workroom project. Per my usual, some befores (the first is the day we closed and the second was taken during the basement reno, when the guest room was a depository for relocated basement junk).

This is the only room in the house that we didn't paint and that remains to be the case. I guess the color is inoffensive enough, and the wood trim abundant enough, that I can't muster up the energy to bathe this room in another color. But that's about all that stayed.

New drapes (a fun jungle-y print from Hancock Fabrics)

Cut paper artwork from a very talented old coworker, which just happens to go perfectly with the George of the Jungle drapes.

The thrift store chair, relocated from the basement but still donning that nasty gold cushion. Eek.

The dining room buffet, now repurposed as a modest dresser with the mirror from the front hall above.

And let's discuss the bed for a sec, because I won't lie, I dig it. This bed has made the rounds with us for the last few years and while perfectly functional, I was growing tired of the brushed nickel bars. Serendipitously, a major sale at the HF gave me a ton of this great asparagus green stripe that's actually an outdoor fabric (read: tres durable). A slipcover could be had for just a few clams and this bed would then have a whole new look.

Before

After

I left the inside panel a tad shorter to accomodate the rail connection.

The top was done in the same way you would make a square bag bottom, and the stripe was the exact width of the rail.

As for the bed's home in the eave, well, there really isn't any better place for it. No joke, furniture placement in the house is a challenge but I'm pleased with this solution. The bedside curtain panels were hung using this set from Ikea; I wanted everything to align with the headboard and for the curtain hanging hardware to be invisible.

An added bonus of this set-up is the additional storage space created behind the bed and curtains. Nothing's back there yet but I doubt that will last!

Some parting notes from the guest room makeover:

• I think this pattern from McCall is swell (if you can look past the mock-up, which is fugly). It's got all you need for creating bedroom/home dec basics and the directions are crazy easy to follow. I've used it for all 5 sets of drapes I've made in the house. I'll probably use it to make some more interesting pillow shams should the mood strike.
• The bed project was also crazy easy. Really, it's a giant bag that you just size to fit your headboard. If you've got a metal frame bed that you've grown tired of, I suggest hitting up the fabric clearance rack. Heck, when you get tired of it, just take the covers off! Cake!
• I was always skeptical of those home decorating shows where the host would shop in the frightened subject's home in order to make over a room. It turns out it works, or at least I'm convinced now that it's a viable option when the change itch strikes.

Charlotte says, "Could you turn that camera off so I can jump on the bed now?"

*Don't forget to vote on the June party dress up at the top!*

WIP Wednesday: Extreme Home Makeover

Minimal pictures today, y'all. That's because this is a work-in-progress posting as opposed to a "Yo Mom, check this out!" kind of deal.

I mentioned earlier that aside from Matt's workroom, other areas of the house were experiencing a revitalization, of sorts. It all started Friday afternoon when I went to put some clothes away and practically tripped on our bedroom rug. Out with it! One thing lead to another and suddenly drapes, rugs, artwork, and furniture were on the move.

Hudgins HATES moving-related activities. Despises. Freaks out at the sight of shifting stuff. There is actual trembling involved with lots of cramming his butt into whatever corner is closest. And those are probably fair emotions since we've dragged him to 8 different homes in his 7 years. To keep him and Lil Monster occupied while I sent dust flying, we swapped out the glass insert of our storm door with the screen. Miraculous! The hounds were entertained by our passing neighbors for the rest of the evening.

This scene is the standard arrangement: Charlotte at the front door keeping watch, Hudgins on the front hall landing, ready to bark at a moment's notice. He undoubtedly feels like the king up there. Matt and I suspect the real reason he stays up a few steps is because he's willing to have Charlotte take the fall for him should an evil intruder actually cross the threshold. Such a knight in black fur, he is.

Anyway, back to the extreme home makeover that was going on behind this scene. I'm prepping the guest room for our April visitors (yippee!) so as soon as the final pieces have been put back in place I'll share the pictures. Until then, the list of moves:

Rugs:
master bedroom --> living room
living room --> dining room
guest bedroom --> storage

Artwork:
living room --> stairway
guest bedroom -->master bedroom
master bedroom --> living room

Furniture:
guest bedroom --> basement
table in storage --> dining room
dining room --> guest room
basement --> guest room

Mirrors and lighting:
front hall --> guest room
guest room --> master bedroom
front hall --> dining room
dining room --> basement

Drapes:
guest room --> living room
old dining room --> master bedroom

If you followed all of that, you probably detected that the guest room was practically stripped bare. New drapes, recovering the thrift-store chair originally in the basement, and a twist on an upholstered headboard are all in the works. I took the plunge and got an entry-level serger a few weeks back and let me just say it has been a star player in this makeover! To those shopping around, I'm quite pleased with this little baby by Janome.

Anyone else doing some spring cleaning/home sprucing with their sewing machines?

First Things First

Birthday burgers, complete with ketchup icing and a "7" in classic mustard, were served up for dinner last night.

Always the Virginia Gentleman, Hudgins politely said "please" by raising his paw as soon as the plate was within eyesight.

Also, please be sure to take note of his prep-tastic new dog collar. Yes, friends, that is orange gingham on blue. Charlotte's got one too, with green on pink. Spring has sprung.

Jacket post to follow...

Interrupting Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Because our dogs are like children to us, I'm holding off on a regular Made It Monday post so that I may properly celebrate March 29th. A finished jacket! post will come tomorrow.


Today is Hudgins' 7th birthday.


Looking at him in the picture below makes me feel old. Matt probably feels the same way. Funny side note - I swear Matt was wearing that exact outfit last night. We tend to call this look "the uniform."

Not much has changed there, I guess. But other things sure have - check out my short hair! Keep the snickering to a minimum, please. This shot was taken the day of Matt's graduation from UVa (Hudgins was my graduation present to him) and the humidity sat at 95% the whole freakin' weekend. My hair and humidity have never been pals.

Over the years we've been sure to include (torment?) Hudgins in all the fun. This was pretty easy in college. I put the short 'do to use one year when I dressed up as Velma from Scooby Doo, Matt was Shaggy, and Hudge was Scooby, natch. We happened to run into a Daphne and Fred so the clan was all represented.

Following his master's lead, Hudgins ended up on the fraternity's beer pong table later in the evening.

We've also ditched him with our respective parents plenty of times (thanks y'all!) but we think of this as "going to camp." Here Hudgins is hanging out with Matt's parents' dogs, Bo and Daisy. He looked like such a little guy then.

Just as Hudgins (aka Hootie Bootie, a moniker given by Matt's sister) settled in to being the calm dog of the house, we decided to shake things up a bit and bring home Charlotte.

They're good buddies most of the time, he wants to give her a good smack some of the time, and she loves him all of the time.

So Happy Birthday to Hootie Bootie. You'll always be our favorite little redneck dog.

Saturday

While it looked like spring in our dining room, courtesy of fresh flowers and sunshine...

... a winter snow storm of sorts was taking place in the basement, courtesy of Lil Monster.

Despite the apparent mayhem we managed to finish up some little remaining projects and I got to take the sewing machine for a drive on the new desk. All was great with the world until I remembered that my camera's memory stick was at the office. Crap! This week's pictures are therefore made possible by cell phone. I figure an upcoming sewing post with iPhone pics is better than no post at all.

How was your weekend? Enjoy the Oscars? I thought the fashion was a bit of a snooze....

100+ days later....

Rinnngggg!

Hello? 2010? This is 1994 calling and I'd like my lifestyle back. You know, the one without wireless internet, decent-quality digital cameras, iPods, e-books, fancy schmancy gyms? Yeah, that one. Right now you seem to be conducting day-to-day life in 2010 with all my gadgets, or lack thereof. How is it?

What we have here is my arsenal for the annual fitness kick-off that hits the US of A this time of year. But instead of the iPod, sexy gym member card on key chain, and iTunes gift card what you see is a WALKMAN KNOCK-OFF (for my BOOKS ON TAPE), a CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY CARD for said FREE books on tape, and a LAMINATED blue piece of paper that serves as my gym membership at the local park fitness center. I may be days away from 28 but I'm telling you, I feel like I could be 12 again. This timewarp of technology has been permeating my life lately and has much to do with explaining my absence on this new-fangled blog thing.

1. There's the fact that the wireless capability on my once-trusty laptop has just completely vaporized like the little wireless radio waves it once harnessed for me. Beyond just the inconvenience factor comes the issue of photo manipulation for blog-worthy media. My laptop has PhotoShop without internet while my husband's laptop has internet without PS. Going back and forth to publish a post was apparently beyond my patience level.

2. Speaking of photos, the USB cable specifically for our camera grew legs and left the house. Too little use or too much abuse I don't know but apparently it has peaced out and I'm left with no digital pics (exception - iPhone, but is that really a good substitute? You be the judge when looking below).

3. Alongside the camera cable went any talent for sewing. Friends, I've had several dates with my sewing machine, even after the horrible garments last posted, and they've all turned out disastrously. WTF? I make a wedding gown and then all goes to hell? God I hope that's not foreshadowing for these nuptials! Anyway, there hasn't been much to write about given my failures. Until now. Behold Lil Monster's (Charlotte-the-puppy-now-13-month-old) dog bed:

As an explanatory aside, Charlotte quickly earned the name Lil Monster after we discovered her penchant for eating/destroying many home goods, namely underwear and carpet. She also has a taste for the stuffing in dog beds. Thus arose the need for a more durable bed after she ripped open the bean-filled monogrammed plaid monstrosity from Orvis. Snow came in October at our house, y'all.

Anyway, I grabbed some $3/yd Sunbrella indoor/outdoor fabric from Joann's, a bag of poly stuffing, and one tough 22" poly zipper. Construction-wise there's not much to say; it's a pillow with a zipper shield to keep puppy teeth away.

Pleased as punch with a sewing project that actually turned out moderately well, I beckoned Lil Monster over to see what she thought. Miss Priss showed no interest at first, but as soon as Hudgins laid down on it she came running (note the blur at the bottom left). We're now 3 weeks in and so far, not a tear in sight. For $12 and 45 minutes of time I'd say this is value at its finest. Shove it, $250 Orvis bed with 7 day delivery!

Here's the thing, though. Despite my success with entry-level sewing, the machine has been temporarily packed away. Also gone is that carpeting you see in the pictures. Couch? Wrapped up. Walls? We removed them. Bathroom in basement? Gone. Heck, we even took out the concrete floor (but only parts of it). Have we gone mad? Perhaps. But the one thing that's for sure is we're newlyweds in a new house and back in the world of DINKS (double income no kids).

So the sewing's on hold but the sledgehammers and Home Depot trips are in full force. Come along for the ride, won't you? This is a serious project! I mean, I've economized on the gym and such in order to funnel money into the endless pit that is home improvement. Don't worry, there will be sewing along the way. Monogrammed towels for the swank new bathroom may be in order...

Finally...Well, Almost

So not only has this week been rough because of that calendar shot below, but it's been rather tumultuous on the personal side too. I'll spare you the details, but there's a pretty stellar condo on the line right now and after 7 rounds of seller/buyer (them/us) price negotiations, a positive (but not free) home inspection, and surprisingly encouraging mortgage talks (in case you haven't heard, credit is now tighter than a pair of Spanx) it might just be these two that kill the deal for us.

Or rather, the simple fact that there are two of them and not just one. Damn the dog haters of the world. And for those of you with both a dog and a house (not a condo), I can only imagine how wonderful it is to not have some stranger deciding how many pets you are entitled to owning.

ARGH. Anyway, amongst all of the craziness I turned to some reliable therapy: sewing. The CAB dress is almost done. I had the same issue as Emily did with the empire waist gathers where both pieces were just too long. Not a big deal though; I just reset the gathers and trimmed them up but you can see that they extended about 1.5 inches past the center seam.

I was all ready to put the zipper in when I realized I had no black ones in my stash. In the meantime I did some strategic tacking on the dress to make sure pieces laid correctly, like the neck ruffle and the front gather on the skirt. Pictures to come.

And lastly, I did some major hand stitching here:

Yes, that's right kids, your eyes do not deceive you. I finally basted all of the organza underlining pieces to the taffeta. The wedding dress is officially underway. If this condo thing continues on at this rollercoaster pace I'll likely have the white frock finished in no time!