Questions, Awards, and 7 Random Things

Questions

I like that color yellow. What shade / paint is it?

(From Becky)

After three tries with three different shades of yellow, we ended up using a colour called Sweet Buttercup. It's made by Home Depot. We used flat paint since our walls are slightly textured and cracked everywhere. It's a really pretty buttery shade for most of the day but when there is artificial light (at night) it looks a bit brighter than it really is.

Is this (the sunroom) your favourite room now?

(From Mary Ann)

To be quite honest, I am loving how the curtains make the room feel more cozy. However, there are so many things I'd like to tweak in the room before I can say that I absolutely love it. My wish list for the room includes: a cozy rug, new cushions, a white coffee table, some pretty accessories for the built-in shelving, and another picture for one of the small, empty walls. Once that's all done, it could become my favourite. :)

Doesn't it feel SO MUCH BETTER getting dressed (with a clean closet) every day?

(From Carol Ann)

It does feel so much better. Being able to actually see my clothes and pull out the ones I feel like wearing is so much better than grabbing the shirt at the top of the laundry basket. 

Sadly, my closet looks like yours did. Do you feel better about yourself?

(From Lora)

Oh yes, yes I do. I love knowing that I'm not alone in my disorganization...... :)

How and where do you organize your shoes?

(From Emilie)

Well, I'm not really a shoe person so I don't have a gazillion or anything. I've got about 5-6 pairs of ballet flats that I wear to work, 4-5 pairs of cute runners that I wear most other times, 5-6 pairs of heels that I wear to weddings n' things (I wear them grudgingly). I also have a pair of rubber boots and about 8 pairs of flip flops for summer time. I don't own a single pair of boots. When I walk the dog in the winter I wear Alex's big uglers and clomp down the street in them. We keep about 10 pairs of shoes (Alex's and mine) on a small 2-level shoerack in our side entrance which we use the most often. All the rest of our shoes are kept in our front entry closet. We have a 5-level shoerack for the bigger shoes and a basket on the shelf for my flip flops when I'm not wearing them. Oh yeah, and I have another tiny little closet-hangy thingy in the front entry closet for the heels.

Great job on the makeover but where did you get those baskets at the bottom of your closet? I loooove them!

(From Comeca)

Where did you get the wire baskets?

(From Rondell)

The brown, wire baskets are from Homesense and were purchased last year sometime. My mom saw them and thought they might look nice on top of our dining room cabinet. They ended up fitting perfectly at the bottom of the closet to stash clothes that I pull out often. They are really cute though, so I might use them elsewhere eventually.

Have you ever used spray paint to paint furniture? At least for the first few coats?

(From Shawnee)

Not yet! My spraypainting attempts so far have been pretty sucky (paint drips) but I will definitely give it a try when the weather warms up. I would love to skip those first few coats of paint because I am lazy. Thank you for the tips!!!

Blog Awards

The following ladies were kind and thoughtful enough to pass along blog awards to me. (I like it. I like it alot.) I have no idea how or why they even picked me since there are millions of fabulous blogs out there.

I want to give a great big thank you to:

Rondell from Something Nice and Pretty

Cindy from Custom Comforts

Shelley from Calypso In The Country

Kim from Restoration House

Jules from Bles-Id

Ms. Cupcake from Cupcakes and Ruby Slippers

Holly from Hallelujahs by Holly

Sarah from Pewter and Sage

Now here's where I'm supposed to share seven interesting things about myself. I don't really have anything that interesting to share so I'll mix it up a little and tell you seven totally random, uninteresting things instead.  

Random Thing #1

I like to take walks around the neighbourhood at sundown when people haven't closed their curtains or blinds yet so I can "spy" in their houses and see if they have them decorated nicely or not. Then I judge. Just kidding! I just give their homes mini-cottage-makeovers in my mind.

Random Thing #2

I get bored easily and take up various hobbies to keep myself entertained. In the last few years I've taken a hip-hop dance class, had tennis lessons, went to a rowing workshop, trained for a 10k race, and joined a women's soccer team. Apparently I'm too uncoordinated (and my bones n' things are too wobbly)(that's what two different physio guys said, I swear!)(don't laugh at me) to make any of those activities life-long hobbies. Next on my list is a photography course at our local college. Hopefully in the spring.

Random Thing #3

For some reason I like boys names that are also common last names. Like Wilson, or Smith.

Random Thing #4

I've loved white painted furniture since as far as I can remember. For me, it's not a phase or a trend. It's just how the world should be!

Random Thing #5

I love to travel but I get waaaaay homesick. I love my house. So far I've been to: Mexico, Jamaica, Florida, England, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and France. Next up on the list is THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (already booked, baby) and of course Ethiopia. We're still waiting on that slow-moving referral.

Random Thing #6

We started our Ethiopian adoption two years ago. A week or so after we paid our ginormous fees, our adoption agency declared bankruptcy. The board found out that the director was taking all of the families' money and using it to take vacations, landscape her home, and buy expensive vehicles instead of paying staff and feeding hungry children (which is what our fees are supposed to be for). The fraud investigation is still going on. The whole debacle added an extra year and a half to our adoption wait. Booooo.

Random Thing #7

I was super-duper tall and scrawny when I was in elementary school. A few uber-mean girls teased me relentlessly and even made up and sang an awful song about me (sob). Apparently when you grow up, being tall and skinny ain't so bad. Who's laughing now!?!? Muhahaha. 

And here is a random picture just for fun. I love my sneakers. These ones are on my birthday list.

:)