Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A Shitty Problem

The Spouse will not let me get one of these:

No Dog Pooping Sign

I think they are hilarious and practical.  A two-fer, if you will.  I love two-fers.  Alas, The Spouse does not want us to be "those people" in the neighborhood.  My rebuttal is that we are indeed "those people" and the sooner we let our freak flag fly, the better for all.

Anyhoo, our neighbors do not have a fenced backyard.  They walk their dogs on a leash, but the dogs have been known to forget where the boundary is on our side lawn and do their business.  Eventually, it gets picked up, mostly on (their) lawn mowing days.  Still, it's aggravating when I'm trying to get my lady-time gardening accomplished and there is a huge pile of shit in my way (they are big dogs).  I think the sign could be an effective passive-aggressive way to let them know that I am onto them.  At the very least, I think this would work:

Dog Waste Threat Leash Dog Sign

It runs in the family.  My mom got into an argument at an estate sale earlier this year because a woman didn't pick up after her dog. It culminated in my mother yelling, "BITCH!!" across the lawn after the woman refused to clean up after her dog.  This would be a great story about our family legacy of fighting injustice, except that 7 year old Batman was standing right next to her at the time, wondering if Mimi was going to come to blows with a stranger.  I kindly explained to Mom that my intolerance for assholes has only been curbed by my not wanting to frighten my kids and could she try to remember that for next time?

A campaign has started in the UK (United Kingdom, not University of Kentucky) to encourage owners to pick up after their pooches.  The poster (below) is disgusting and pointed and I think it's excellent.  Hope it works.

Monday, June 24, 2013

RIP

Driving home last week, my jaw literally dropped when I heard the news that James Gandofini passed away.  I was sure it was an internet hoax.  Sadly, it was not.

I know he wasn't responsible for Tony Soprano's lines (there are writers, after all), but he delivered them wonderfully.  Today, I leave you with one of my favorites:

"You know my feelings: Every day is a gift.  It's just, does it have to be a pair of socks?"

Word.

RIP

James Gandolfini, The Sopranos

Friday, June 21, 2013

Oops...

Image: Video still of Paula Deen (Courtesy of 'Today')

Paula Dean is really red in the face over her unfortunate choice of words.

Bad pun, sorry.  Couldn't resist.

And she just lost her job...

Meanwhile, at the Paula Dean Academy, in Ohio, afro puffs and braids are banned:

Image: Copy of the Horizon Science Academy letter detailing changes to the dress code (Courtesy of Blackgirllonghair.com)

http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/the-family-room-blog-post?post=d04c8e5a-0910-4343-8d5f-d8c6cce0a24e

I'm not making this up, people!  If someone banned my ponytail, I would be outraged.  How is this possibly ok?

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Family Room

At the home inspection:



Before:



Primer:



Terrible "after" shot:



I have since put the room back together.  The wall to the left is still covered with ripped wallpaper and the wall to the right needs to be painted to match the new paint.  It's not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot brighter than it was a week ago!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Oh Hell NO!



The Spouse thinks that we have enough junk in our house at the moment and I need to focus on downsizing vs. acquiring.

Say what?

Not everything that is in our house will stay in our house.  Some things are in the wrong rooms.  Some things need a coat of paint or an adjustment to be just perfect.  Some things are treasures that I cannot/will not get rid of.  Some things are crap that I need to get rid of.

I have an eye for stuff but not an eye for design.  I can see the possibilities, I just can't pull the room together.   I realized my design deficiency in college, when other girls had awesome dorm rooms decorated with Guess ads and Monet posters.  I had the same things, but not the same eye for pulling them together.  Where others created cozy spots, I created chaos.

It will be years until Wayne Manor is "done".  It needs some serious repairs until we can begin to address some of the more cosmetic things.  Until then, we're going to have a house filled with more junk than we can handle.

Friday, June 14, 2013

The one that got away...

I am going to kick myself for not buying this.



I walked away.  Damn!

Addiction

I'm addicted.  I really truly am.  Not in a "oh, isn't this cute" way, but in a real honest-to-goodness "I need an intervention and 12 step program" way.

I am addicted to estate sales.  In a major way.

I grew up being drug to thrift shops, antique stores, yard sales, and stopping to look at random junk on the side of the road.  My house is filled with stuff that my Granddad, Nana, mom, or some shirt tail cousin found and decided was a treasure.  Now that I am grown, I take the Dynamic Duo along with me on my treasure hunting.  They hate being there, but they hate being left behind even more.  After all, they never know what their ADD-prone mother is going to find.

The Spouse is not amused by this turn of events.  He's not surprised, but he's not happy about it either.  Not the part that I take the kids along with me - nope, he's fine with that.  He's not thrilled about the crap I bring home.

I did not start Pinning my finds until I was well within the throes of this disease, but here are some of my more recent finds:

Drop leaf table with drawer:


It cleaned up nicely and has none of the dust or scratches that you see here:


This tufted ottoman:



Robin has already succeeded in loosening one of the buttons.  I really love it, but am not in love with it in my living room.  (All of these photos are the "scouting" photos I copied.  I don't have any pictures of them in my house.)

Spode Blue Room Collection Plates:



These were not needed, but I thought they would look really cool hanging in the kitchen, dining room, or butler's pantry.  Of course, they are not yet hung and still sitting in a box.

K.P. Mobler bookcase:



This was really an amazing find, and a steal of a deal.  However, in transport, one of the screws went missing.  It may or may not be in my living sofa somewhere.  It's huge and doesn't quite fit into my house.  But it's a famous maker, great lines, and since a screw is missing, it's not exactly in mint condition.  I should probably sell it, but am still deciding...

In another post, I will post some things that were really cool but I passed on due to being out of my budget or not at all right for my house.  In the meantime, please stage an intervention.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer or Jessica?  You decide.

There's really no point to this post.  Carry on.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Vs

Maternity fashion done right:



When your feet are this swollen, wear flip flops - or at least a larger size.  This looks painful!



Haters gonna hate...

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Most days, I'm pretty happy with my decision not to attend law school.

Today is one of those days.