Wine Cork Art!

Hi, my name is Amanda and I have a drinking problem.  OK, I like to think of it more as a "solution" to life's miseries... and of course all the celebrations like, "Hooray, it's Wednesday!" or "A Panda Express is opening in a more convenient location for us!".  We've amassed quite a collection of corks (which wasn't as massive as I was expecting, so maybe I'm not too much of a lush...) over the years and have been using my Mom's method of "store them away until one day I find the inspiration/motivation to do something with the darn things".  Back at Overlook, we threw them in a glass jar which was easy and looked OK, but hadn't really found a place for them at the Grafton (although, some do end up in a little cut crystal dish we hide in the weird square in our kitchen cabinets... or just roaming wildly in the same weird square... seriously, what did they possibly think we'd put in there??).

Ick.  It looks worse in photos.  I especially love the exposed, unfinished cabinet bottom... bleh.

Anyways, the other day, I was looking around on Pinterest (as I mentioned in my last post) for ideas on what to do with my corks.  I saw cork initials, which looked cute, but I'm not big on initial/monogram things.  Of course, trivets or making things that look like trivets and sticking them on a wall.  Loose corks in a jar (done that).  Finally, I thought, I'll incorporate the randomness of corks in a jar/vase/whatever with framed corks and throw a bunch in a shadow box.  Luckily for me, Michael's had their frames on sale for 40% off (when are they not on sale?  who do they think they are?  Kohl's?) and I found an additional 25% your entire purchase coupon on their website.  So, I picked up the cheapest shadow box I could find and a pretty sheet of scrapbook paper to use as a mat/accent for a grand total of $8.16 (not counting the numerous bottles of wine it took to harvest the corks)... I got this guy:

Which we then hung in the basement to bring our "art" grand total down there up to a whopping... two pieces.  I have dreams of that entire wall being covered in wine-themed things, but at the rate I'm moving at now, I might have five pieces up before we move out.  Oh well.  It's a bit of progress.  I don't know if I'm 100% happy with it, but if I decide to display the corks differently, all I have to do is pop open the back and dump them all out.  For now, it works.

Just ignore everything on the top of the buffet... including our decanter/cable holder and giant sponge...

Mom Den: Part 1

Up to this point, almost all of our cleaning/decorating/unpacking efforts have been allocated to our first floor, a tiny bit to the basement, and even less to our second floor.  I'm pretty sure entire weeks have gone by where I don't even venture upstairs.  As he works up there, John has made a little bit of progress in his home office, and we have (sparsely) set up the guest bedroom.  It's really quite a shame because it's pretty charming up there, with the slanted walls and nice views of the yard... if you can ignore the lower ceiling heights and avoid meeting your doom in an avalanche of boxes. 

As one of my unofficial New Year's Resolutions, I have vowed to get back into knitting and finally learn how to use my sewing machine.  To aid in this effort and make use of a room we otherwise don't really need at this point (it's been marked as the future home of Baby Bedtelyon - who does not exist and will not exist in the near future, just to clarify), I have so graciously been given the room and it has been christened the "Mom Den".  I may not have any human children to call me "mom", but petsons most definitely count... right?

Too long ignored, we finally bought a piece of furniture specifically for my den.  Please welcome our newest IKEA piece, the 16-cubbied EXPEDIT! 

Ooooh!  Ahhhh!

Surprisingly easy to assemble (even though the boxes were crazy heavy, thankfully I have my He-Man to lug them up the stairs), we had it together in no time and put into place.  As you can see, I'm still working on filling the cubbies and making it look pretty, but progress is progress.  So far, it's serving perfectly as storage for my knitting supplies, skeins of yarn, and my pretty little sewing box my parents gave me for Christmas... and a photo of my favorite son.  Don't act surprised... we know parents always have favorites.

To the left of the room, I have a work table (previously used in John's office at Overlook, but now is too large for his room), which I think will provide the perfect work surface for projects galore.  I can almost see all the window coverings, pillow cases, and cushion covers I'll be making now... I think I'll need some additional task lighting, but hey, this is just Part 1.

For now, I just use cat slave labor.  Those tiny paws just move so quickly.

I'm kicking around the idea of painting the room some shade of pink to really girl it up, but in the interest of not having to paint again in a few years should John get his heir, maybe I should pick something a little more neutral.  It's been 17 years since I had a pink room, though, and I must say, I kinda feel like partying like it's 1994...

And for now, I share the room with Dexter (who could ask for a better roommate?  don't do it, it would be too greedy) and a load of boxes, but we're working our way through those, as well.  Knowing myself and my laziness, I'm sure by the time I get the room set up, Baby Bedtelyon will come and snatch it all away, but for now, I have my own little room in my own little house.  Now, if I can just convince John to let me install a wine fridge up there, I'll be all set...

Does 50 bottles say "connoisseur" or "I have a problem"?...

Learning to Love: Turning a Foe into a Friend

I'm the kind of person who can hold onto a grudge for way too long, be completely hung up on one small flaw, and generally carry around a half empty glass.  Luckily for me, I married a man who dances on rainbows and beams enough light to stun my retinas and distract me from the things that would otherwise drive me crazy.  Like my own personal Buddha, he provides me with annoying inspirational thoughts like, "In forgiving others, you forgive yourself" or help yourself... or something basically telling me to get over it and move on.

For a few years now, I've been waging an internal war on one of my most dreaded enemies: the Baker's Rack.  We picked it up at IKEA way back in the day to provide some extra storage in our kitchen/dining area and it has just been one of those things I've never loved, never been able to find a way to actually make it useful or attractive, and can't help but dream of just launching it out a window.  Structurally, I think it just completely lacks any sort of style.  Aesthetically, the only thing really going for it are its clean lines.  Functionally, all it's able to provide is a surface upon which some item could sit (assuming it doesn't need any support) and hope to not fall victim to roaming Catzillas (as did a souvenir Bluemont Vineyard wine glass meet its end, may it rest in pieces).

The offender, who has been discontinued.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who hates the thing.

Baker's Rack followed us to Grafton, its cumbersome metal frame and heavy glass shelves once again sneaking into our home and taking residence in our dining room.  Not being able to find a perfect place for it to loom, it now sits up against the stairs, partially obstructing the view between the living room and kitchen.  Somehow, it knows we need it, though, as our greatly reduced cabinet space has left my collection of small kitchen appliances homeless and wandering, the pet treats scattered, and some other random things just lying about... randomly?

Maybe it was the week long break we had over the holidays that renewed my spirit.  Maybe my heart grew three sizes.  Whatever it was, last weekend, I finally found the strength to look past the horror of the Baker's Rack and try to work with it instead of against it.

First step: pet treats.  As the proud parents of three loved (and well-fed) petsons, treats are plentiful at our house and previously took residence in a clunky basket that was too big for the shelf and further obstructed the view.  My solution?  Unload all the treats into a bunch of cute glass jars, allowing easier access to the treats (you know pets can't get their treats fast enough) and the transparency keeps things open.  I added a nice black and white photo of Elliot John gave me for Valentine's Day a couple years back to bring in an artsy touch (he's so glamorous), and finished it all off with a golden prosperity fish John's mom gave us for Christmas for a bit of flare.  Who knew pet treats could look so nice?

Second step: gettin' spicy!  After cleaning up and moving some things that definitely didn't belong, I was left with one pathetic little mortar and pestle.  John's mom also gave us a small stainless steel spice/salt tray for Christmas, so I thought that would be a perfect companion.  I created some homemade "art" by cutting out the logo on a bag from The Spice and Tea Exchange, a great new boutique shop in Old Town, and reusing an old frame from our now-defunct gnome art.  Inspired by the red in the logo, I used a bright red box to give height to the tray and pulled out some reddish spices to bring in even more color.

Next step: baking appliances.  Although my stand mixer and food processor don't get as much use as I'd like them to, they still need a home and one that's relatively accessible since they both weigh about 1,000 pounds.  Plus, they look so nice, who would want to hide them?  Two appliances looked too bare, so I quickly flipped through a Stonewall Kitchen catalog and found the perfect addition... an image of some yummy looking whoopie pies accompanied by the inspirational message "Peace, Love & Baking".  What more could a person want out of life?  One more frame was reused and I got another piece of free art!

The next two shelves still need some TLC, but I'm proud of my progress and happy to report the Baker's Rack is no longer in danger of being pitched out the window.  Sure, I'd still get rid of it in a heartbeat, but for now, we need the storage and it will do.  I think it's a good step toward organization, decorating, and improved mental health.  Win!

It's Official!

At about 3:30 yesterday afternoon, our odyssey through the treacherous waters of home buying came to an anti-climactic end with the sound of recapping pens.  Fireworks would have been more appropriate and awesome, but I guess we can't get everything we want.  After going through and preparing offers on four other houses, signing another stack of papers was a breeze, our hands still nicely cushioned with calluses of signatures past. 



After the ceremonial handing over of the keys, we thought it only appropriate to share in the occasion with our little Dexter.  We swung by Overlook to pick him up, and I must admit, I felt a little traitorous entering our beloved condo, knowing that we now had a new home.  Those feelings were quickly dashed away upon watching Dexter scamper throughout his new home, his little toenails clicking across the hardwood floors like a troupe of tiny tap dancers. 



Dexter looking like he owns the place.

John and I were able to convince Marriah to join us back at the house for a sparkling wine toast (a surprisingly delicious choice from Mumm Napa, a winery we've actually visited out in California) to celebrate and thank her for her hard work.  She and Mike surprised us with a basket of housewarming goodies, including quite a few wine related gifts (I guess they could tell we're oenophiles) and a much needed reed diffuser to help dispel the weird, closed up house odor.  I know I speak for the both of us when I say we really got lucky in finding such a great team of Realtors.  They were both incredibly patient with our never-ending barrage of questions, always knowledgeable and quick with a response, never pushy, and we always felt like we were getting advice from friends instead of people just trying to make a buck off of us.  With our Type A personalities and my constant anxiety and mood swings, working with Mike and Marriah made buying our first home almost too easy.



From the heart of Napa Valley...

On top of all that, we were delighted to hear our lender had made some overestimates with our good faith estimate of closing costs and because of this, we are actually getting a check back for about $700. With our purse strings now basically welded shut, we're happy to hear we'll be able to eat for the rest of the year. It feels great to walk away from closing with a check in our hands and feeling like the little guys won for once. I'm sure that money will be gone in no time, considering the number of things we need for the house, but it'll certainly help ease the sting of swiping the credit card for a while.

Woo hoo!!

After our sparkling wine buzz had died off, John and I channeled our excitement into taking over our first load of fragile items and starting the grueling process of cleaning up the new place.  Compared to many of the neglected properties we toured, our house isn't actually in too bad of shape and mostly just required a good wipe down to clear away the construction dust.  John took up the most important task of all - spraying down the perimeter of the house with Home Defense.  While I respect their place in the ecosystem, no bug is welcome in my home and will surely be vanquished via pulverization or at the paws of our Attack Panthers.  We cleaned until we both feared passing out from a combination of exhaustion and the bouquet of chemicals wafting throughout the house.

All in all, it was a great start to what is sure to be an exciting journey.  We definitely expect to meet some lows along the way, but we've been incredibly lucky so far, so we'll just ride out that wave for now.  In the meantime, we'll keep on rubbing Buddha's tummy and hope for the best.