decisions, decisions

we've made a couple more decisions regarding the kitchen facelift. we've decided that this porcelain tile will be our backsplash. after wednesday's frustration (and let me add that my frustration was fueled by a not-so-customer-oriented tile rep at our granite shop who really made me feel like our small residential project was beneath her) steve and i headed out to another tile shop. we sorted thru display after display of tile and settled upon this charcoal grey porcelain lined tile. it meets our original goals.... simple, modern, grey. and because the tiles are so large there will be few grout lines and tight grout lines. and best yet.... this tile and installation costs less than one quarter of the price of the subway tile and install we were considering.

image via here

thanks to those of you who came to my aid and gave opinions on the backsplash. millie, your suggestion left me with beautiful visions of a phillip jeffries grey grasscloth gracing the backsplash. but if i were to ever wallpaper in our house, it would have to be while steve is out of town. he would only then live with it because he wouldn't want to take it down.

we ordered this today. this will be the pendant light over the sink.

image via here

and a roman shade in this material for the sink window is also on order.

from here

and even though i'm excited about the granite and backsplash, i'm most excited about the new sink area. farmhouse sink, gooseneck faucet, pendant light and roman shade. ahhhh. wonder if i'll cook more.

frustrated

image via here

i could just scream. like her. steve and i are giving the kitchen a much needed facelift. our plans were going smoothly. granite, check. faucet, check. sink, check, check, and check. cause it's a beauty. actually sink and faucet will have an appearance similar to below.

then we get to the backsplash. my dream is glass subway tile. laid like this. not blue, but you get the idea.
i could live in this kitchen. i don't mean just cook in this kitchen, i mean LIVE in this kitchen. just because of the subway tile.

our dilemma. our new, yet-to-be installed granite is busy. geriba beach, it's called. here's a poor example i found online but you get the idea. we will not be doing the 4 inch rise along the back.
it's has oranges and greys and taupe and lots of movement. we love it and want it to be the focal point. well, actually, it will automatically be the focal point because of its pattern. my original thought.... keep the backsplash simple. our backsplash space is 17 inches between countertop and cabinets and behind the stove. our layout around the stove is similar to this below, via here. our cabinets are maple.
this is the glass tile we're considering. it's available in several styles, one being a 3x6 subway and one being this 6x24 mosaic. it's a charcoal grey color. (my cabinets are maple, therefore a cool color is needed). and this is perfect in that it coordinates with the granite and the stainless steel appliances.

here's my question to you.... would a grey subway tile with white grout be too busy with the already busy granite? should we do 3x6 subway with grey grout? or should we do a simple 6 inch high border using the above mosaic piece and then paint the remaining 11 inches (a coordinating grey) to the underside of the cabinets? and of course, behind the stove will be either subway or mosaic.

please help.

simple and pretty

image from here via decor8

i spotted this image over on decor8 recently. and it's stuck with me. our weekend reminded me of this bathroom. blue skies. and sunny. so not typical of a seattle february.... but i'll gladly take it!

for the love of turquoise

do y'all remember this episode from the oprah show? cutie nate berkus makes over the main living areas of colette's home in alabama.
i loved this makeover. the above photo has stuck in my mind for years. i love the chest. the color. the high gloss. and turquoise IS the 2010 pantone color of the year.


this is the chest in my foyer now. it's red. i've come to dislike red. i'm thinking of painting it that turquoise this weekend. and doing a gallery wall of my photos of the local defunct train in black frames above it. what do you think?
my only hesitation is the wall color behind the chest. it's a yellow-camel. maybe if i made steve a really, really good dinner and let him watch what HE wants to watch on tv, he'll wallpaper the 2-story wall behind the chest in grasscloth. but first i'd have to get him to like wallpaper. he hates it. hmmm... i think i'll have to work with the paint color as is. i'll let ya know how it goes!

out with the old

here's a glimpse of the start of our kitchen reno that's taking place over the next month. we've picked the granite and picked the glass subway tile backsplash. we ordered the faucet tuesday. it showed up today. speedy, speedy. we like that. on the left is our old faucet*. yuck. 2 years of that. i've had enough. steve's holding the new kohler puppy that arrived today. yes, it's massive. it had to be... to go with the massive shaw farmhouse sink that's in the garage. my dreams have come true. it's big enough to wash pixel in it. and we will.

*yes, it's filthy. i'm embarrassed by how much. but i've kinda stopped cleaning the kitchen since soon it's gonna be redone. well, that... and there's the olympics to watch and there's sunshine in february in seattle and i'm busy filling shop orders and......

feeling lucky?

kirsten of 6th street design school blog asked me recently if i'd like to do a giveaway on her blog. it kinda scared me at first.... what if no one comments?!? what if no one wants my chevron calling cards? kirsten assured me that her last giveaway went well and this one would also. so here it is.... the giveaway. you can sign up over there to win (50) of my chartreuse chevron calling cards. and thanks to all the commenters for their comments so far! they give me a warm fuzzy. pam

i love a surprise

i've written about my friend janna before. she makes beautiful jewelry and sells it in her etsy shop. i recently saw this piece in her shop. gorgeous.
janna's also my go-to gal for advice. she responds to every email i send. she listens to me rant about the injustices of the world... of my small world that is. she gives me advice. she's a good friend. so when she ordered some cards from me recently, i also enclosed these puppies. i lifted that beautiful photo of that beautiful necklace and designed some calling cards for her.
i love a surprise!

happy weekend

image via here

wishing you lots of and hugs and kisses this weekend.

good reads

this kept me busy last night.

this'll keep me busy tonight.
love both their covers with deep purple/fuschia, midnight blue, golds, pinks.

images via here and here.

font crush

images via here

getting organized

lauren at pure style home is my new hero. at the start of the year, she announced that she was doing an organizational project almost weekly for the entire year. she invited all of us to come along. i did. so far i've organized my touch up paints (her first project). now little glass mason jars of paint are hiding under each sink with brushes for when i need a quick touch up. no more heading to the garage and sorting thru 47 cans of paint. yippee.

she then invited us to organize our coat closets. having organized our coat closet last winter, i merely swapped out my plastic hangers for wooden hangers (her suggestion) to complete that project. huge difference. everything hangs so much nicer on wooden hangers.

then we moved on to minor projects, like fixing things that needed fixing. i bought a new harp for steve's bedside lamp. the cat had knocked it over and broke it. i'm ashamed to say that it sat that way for months without a lampshade. no more.

always being a teacher's pet, i moved ahead of the group. 2 weeks ago i organized my junk drawer. here's my before. i cringed every time i opened it.
these glasses were in the drawer. they're still in the drawer. they just have their own place now. we like to keep these handy for when we're in need of a serious laugh.
i took everything out and organized it. lots of stuff made its way to other places.
see that superball?? it stayed. it's good for this.
i had bought these earlier that week at the container store.and.... the new junk drawer. isn't she pretty. this entire project took me all of one hour!
i sometimes open it.... just to stare. i know, i'm a geek.

lauren organized her drawer this past week. check it out. it's gorgeous. i love her drawer liner. thanks lauren for helping us all get organized! love the series. pam

this weekend...

image via here

there's an introductory hot yoga class at a nearby studio. i want steve and i to go. i'd like to try it. see if i can yoga. see if i can withstand the 105 degree room. it'll be challenging. i'm that person that likes to feel the air move, feel a slight breeze, to "prove" that there's air around me and i'm not going to suffocate. remember the movie the abyss? they were constantly underwater, swimming thru tight spaces, barely getting to their next air pocket to breathe. terrifying. my fingers hurt from gripping the seat for 2 hours.

can i be in a stuffy, hot room for 1.5 hours? i'll try. cause from what i hear it's healthy, it's challenging, it's good for you. it has nothing to do with the fact that i want to see steve trying to get into the above position. nothing.

found photos and a lot of rambling

i found these photos the other night. forgot i had them. they make me laugh, so i thought i'd share. this is the prairie dog puppy we adopted 2 years ago. pixel. but you all know pixel... i've shown enough photos of her on here.

here she is again in her favorite position. if we say "flat" she will go to this position. it's quite funny.and with her halloween costume. yes, mommy and daddy went all out for that elaborate costume. she looks like she's in a bank robbery. speaking of .... did i ever tell you about the time i was in a bank filling out paperwork and it was robbed. i hadn't a clue. and i consider myself a perceptive person. my back was to the tellers the whole time and he was quick and quiet. thank goodness. because i'd make a horrible hostage. "i'm thirsty." "i have to pee." kinda of like that episode of murphy brown when she was kidnapped and they eventually let her free because she annoyed them to death.
but i digress. back to photos. here's pixel and her first dog bed. and while we're at this photo, let's look at that fireplace. i hate it. what can i do to change it? anyone, anyone? i was thinking of replacing that boring tile with slate. i think we're removing the carpet from this room and laying hardwood, so this would be a good time to replace the tile surround. and does anyone know if the horizontal grates above and below the glass can be replaced? again, i hate it. help.

date night

one of my favorite things. luv luv roll. spicy tuna, tuna, and avocado. yum.

another one of my favorites.

our test

every marriage has its tests and trials and tribulations. from the very minor "if only he'd pick up his socks" or "if only she'd squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom" to the very major like, um, well... i think we all have an idea of what some of the majors can be. let's not depress ourselves by talking about them. let's move on. i was reading this

and saw this. yum. beans and cornbread. (and look at the jadeite bowl!) i started to crave beans. yes, beans. a huge pot of pinto beans like my mother cooks. perfect for a rainy seattle saturday. i had never made a pot of beans for steve. i cooked the beans saturday afternoon. i baked the cornbread. we ate the beans and cornbread saturday night while we watched the australian open women's final.

sunday arrives. sunday was a long day. because of this.

this became our test. some people can handle bowlfuls of beans. steve some can't. it tested my limits as a wife. i'll never cook beans for my intestinally-challenged husband steve again. enough said.

new week, new month

i'm glad it's a new month. glad january is over. it was grey and rainy and cold. i entered january exhausted and disorganized from my busy, busy holiday season at the shop. i felt sluggish from my poor diet and no exercise. february looks to be more promising. i'm rested, more organized, cooking more and eating better, and i returned to the gym. i like february. there's the superbowl, which means a gathering of friends... this time at the neighbor's. i could care less about the game (still not sure who's even playing) but enjoy the time spent catching up with friends. and there's our wedding anniversary. still not sure what we're doing for the day, but it'll be fun.

notice i didn't mention valentine's day. i'm kinda anti-valentine's day. anti may be too strong a word. i just think you should show a little bit of love and appreciation for one another every day, not just on one special day. like these two.

my mother-in-law sent me these photos. this cat living in harrisburg, oregon, has a special friend that visits every morning. very sweet.