The New and Improved Bar

We had this sort of decrepit looking bar that had been my grandfather’s years ago.  It was an old armoire that he converted himself – adding shelving and racks for wine glasses, etc.  But after who knows how many years of use, it was time to move on.  The veneer was in bad shape and the main shelf, upon which all of the booze sat, was cracked in half leaving me paranoid that I’d be awakened in the middle of the night by a loud crash when the board finally gave way and sent the booze tumbling down onto my stemware.

I’ve been in the market for a new bar for a while now and have admired a few in Pottery Barn but never got around to pulling the trigger on something that would likely cost two grand.  So after the hubs nixed my Cadet Wardrobe from CB2.com for the guest room I started looking at bars again, finding a lovely one  ON SALE!

The Bridgeton Bar Armoire.  I jumped on it and it was delivered the Monday after Thanksgiving.  I spent the entire evening editing what was in the old bar and organizing everything back into the new bar.  It was glorious.

The upper half holds the glassware and booze and the lower half holds even more glassware AND has a built-in wine rack.  I’ve also put some little knickknack type things, like flasks, into the wine rack because not even I will ever fill that thing.  Basically because wine doesn’t last very long in my household.  The law does that to you.

So there you have it folks!  My new baby.  I should note, we were without a bar for about two weeks after we sent the old one to live out its days in Mandeville.  People instantly walked into the house and said, “WHAT’S MISSING?!”  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not…

If ya can’t beat ’em…join ’em

So thanks in part to a housing market that, even in NOLA, has taken a dive; we are resigned to staying put in our lil’ “condo alternative” shotgun for the foreseeable future.  I’m not exactly thrilled because I yearn for a place where I can have this:

westelm.com

A DINING ROOM!  Le’sigh.  Anyway, dream crashing aside…I’ve resolved that since I can’t have the HOUSE I want, I can at least make the house I DO have HOW I want it.  Now, most boys when faced with this situation would just say, “yes dear” and keep their heads down while the little woman went off on a tear.  My hubs, on the other hand, has opinions – sometimes to my chagrin and consternation.  

Case in point.  We repainted the guest room this lovely and soothing blue that we somehow managed to agree upon.  The furniture in the room is mostly dark(ish) and heavy-looking wood and consists of two bedside tables and the bed, which are fairly “traditional” looking.  Enter this guy:

Cadet Wardrobe from CB2.com

This lovely piece is white, has clean lines, it’s simple and would fit perfectly in the room and provide a place to stash books, linens and the occasional stray knick-knack.  I was vetoed on the purchase because it was “too modern.”  **insert sad face here**

MY opinion is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a little mixing and matching when it comes to home decor and style.  In fact(!), I think it keeps things interesting.  I don’t want someone to walk into my house and instantly remember seeing the living room from the October issue of Pottery Barn.  Mixing and matching is the spice of life; is it not??  

Well, the room will hopefully be completely done (still have a baseboard to paint) this weekend and I’ll post some pics for those who are interested and wish to weigh in on the great debate.  

Later peeps!

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

The bathroom organization project is done; and from start to finish it took maybe an hour.  The hubs had gone to the gym and when I finished my morning coffee I got to work…in my jammies.  The before pictures give you an idea of what I was dealing with.

These before shots are SO embarrassing.  I can’t believe I let it get this bad!

So I wound up throwing out a ton of junk.  You know the stuff – it’s sitting right now in your linen closet or under your sink; collecting dust.  You eye it warily from time to time and consider tossing it but don’t feel up to the task.  Well, believe me boys and girls – it is CATHARTIC to be rid of it.  My husband doesn’t understand the concept because he is a pack rat.  I occasionally fly through the house discarding papers from 1996 and receipts that he swore he would shred and, bless him, he knows just to get the hell out of the way.  He came home from the gym to find me knee-deep in this project (still in my jammies) and promptly took the dog for a walk.  But the results were titillating to my little OCD brain.

Say it with me now….“Hallelujah!”

Organization Catalogs are my Porn

I’m bizarre and a tad crazy because I like things like organizing a closet.  I fully recognize and own “THE CRAZY.”  But there’s just something so completely satisfying about taking a mess and making it into a clean uncluttered space.  To this end, I got an email a few days ago from Crate & Barrel proclaiming a Labor Day sale for their Outlet merch and immediately went to the organization items and drooled for a good half hour.

Enter these thoughts whilst reviewing the wares, “THE BOXES!  I need the boxes to finally clear the clutter in our media console!  UNDER BED STORAGE!!  I need those for sweaters and other out of season clothing!  SHOE ORGANIZERS!  CLOSET STORAGE!”  I’m just giving you a taste because if I provided a transcript you people wouldn’t come back and those of you who know me would immediately delete me from all social media outlets.

Anyway, real estate people call my house “a great condo alternative!”  Which everyone knows is code for, “this place is tiny and if you attempt to live here for more than three years you will kill your significant other.”  We’ve been here going on five years.  Do the math.

Well, the C&B items weren’t going to happen for me as funds are low (as usual) plus, I’d recently purchased these guys from Gilt’s advance sale of the John Derian for Target housewares.

My plan is to use the upcoming holiday weekend to do some much-needed bathroom organization.  I KNOW!  Most people would rather tear their hair out than undertake such a project on a holiday, but I gently remind you of what I wrote in the first paragraph of this post…

One organizer and one bucket will be put to use holding my make-up and various nail care accoutrement in a cabinet between the sink and shower.  The other organizer and bucket will go in the cabinets under the sink.  Look out for the before and after shots and what will surely be a cathartic post.

Happy Labor Day peeps!  Let me know if you have any (standardly fun) activities planned!