Am…musings

“It’s been way too long” … I find myself saying this to my friends about catching up (in person rather than via Facebook) more often than I’d hope. I feel sort of the same way now about you.

Around the last time I posted, I started an extracurricular project for work. I love to decorate and when talk of updating our office breakroom came up, I gladly volunteered.

Five teams needed a place to share notes and information. I found this great idea for a cheap, yet cool magnet board and after a little finagling, they came together great.

We also needed a little color in the drab, window-less room. Our company colors are royal blue, purple, mustard, lime and burnt orange … the perfect inspiration. I’d seen this Martha Stewart project for custom-colored chalkboards years ago and thought they would not only solve the color challenge, but also be useful. They were way beyond my basic construction skills, but luckily my friend D. (yes, that D.) is handy and as much of a perfectionist as I am, and agreed to tackle the job.

The title of this post could mean that I’m so talented, Martha better watch out, lest I take over her domestic diva spot. But really … it means, she better watch out for me because if I happen to run into her in a dark alley I’m going to unleash the most brutal sucker punch I can muster!!!

Even though I’d planned ten chalkboards and I know projects can take longer than expected, I think D. and I figured it’d take a week or two tops. That was more than a month ago … a long month of late evenings after work and weekends.

First, buried in the directions was a line about the boards needing primer … tack on time to run back to Home Depot and to apply it. Second, Martha totally down played the need to thoroughly … within an inch of your life … mix the paint with the grout. Third, it’s best to use a special sponge roller, which I found at Home Depot after two failed painting attempts, for the flattest finish. Just considering those three missing directions … it took several days (including drying time) just to get the first chalkboard right.

Then … the boards really need two coats of paint even though big dumb Martha only said one. For one, no matter how much you mix (I finally chucked the stir stick Martha said to use and resorted to paint mixer attachment for a drill, which D. luckily had) there will be small clumps of grout that need to be sanded and recovered. And for two, because the paint seemed to want to separate a bit from the primer and the color looked much better with the second coat.

All in all, I think the room is going to look amazing (I will share pics — D. and I finished up earlier this week and they’ll be hung up later next week). And I likely would have proceeded even if I knew what all was involved, but I just wish Martha would have shared more thorough directions.

And oh yeah, it’s good to see you again after all this time!

My bah humbug-iness hadn’t really subsided while I put up my beautiful holiday decorations in the bedroom about an hour ago. I think it’s just too early, but like I said yesterday, I know I’ll be happier in the long run for doing this today.

But then … I opened another box and found the cutest of all cute decorations.

When Clarice kisses Rudolph on the check his nose flashes and sound from the movie plays … “I’m cute! I’m cute! She said I’m cute!” It just makes my heart smile.

Thanks to my cousin in Dallas for having hers out at Thanksgiving last year, and for the kismet that lead me to find one a few days after Christmas at the Hallmark in the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal after several failed trips to other Hallmarks.

I’ve been bah humbugging the Christmas creep for the past few weeks. Two radio stations in the ‘Lou have … exasperatingly … been playing holiday music non-stop since the day after Halloween. The Salvation Army was already ringing the bell at my local grocery store last weekend. And I can even remember how long I’ve been spying Christmas stuff in department and big box stores … it certainly feels like it started in July, and I sigh every time I spot it.

So … I have to admit I’m a bit of a hypocrite. I just brought some Christmas things upstairs and plan to start decorating tomorrow.

Honestly, I haven’t gotten my fill of my pretty fall things, but I’m going to be out of town for the better part of the next two weekends. From past experience, if I don’t get a jump on holiday prep over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I tend to feel like I’ll never get all the shopping, card making, cookie baking, wrapping and decorating done by Christmas.

I adore the days between Thanksgiving and January 2 … spending time with friends and family, appreciating the true meaning of Christmas, celebrating a fresh new year. Getting things done this weekend will allow me to enjoy it, rather than fret about cramming everything in. But I will be considerate … saving the tree, which goes in the front window, and the outside decs until later so I don’t force my personal Christmas creep on others. And I definitely will not bust out the holiday music until post-Thanksgiving … unless I happen to run across my Elvis Christmas CD while unpacking. It’s been my favorite since I was a kid and I may not be able to resist … hypocrite or not!

Shorter days and cooler temps placed fall just a hair ahead of winter on my list of seasons I despised as a kid. My tune definitely changed after five years of living in Orlando and another in L.A. Orlando burnt me out with its non-stop greenness and “freakin’ Africa hot”-ness (in the words of my friend Keith). L.A. simply bored me when it came to climate … a monotony of the same temps and clear skies day after day after day (Oh, how I missed thunderstorms when I lived there!).

These days fall is a pretty close second to spring in terms of seasons I adore. And as I mentioned in my fall garden post, I love to decorate for it. My approach on Kit Drive is a mix of real and fake and store bought and homemade … or in the case of this year … homegrown. Also, at this point, my fall decs are mixed with my Halloween baubles. All in all, it makes me smile.

The gorgeous peach “pumpkin” (it’s actually a gourd) is real. I found it at Stuckmeyer’s on 141 for $2.49.

Decorating a chandelier is super easy and a really nice touch. I also do it for Valentine’s Day, spring/Easter and Christmas.

Some of these baby pumkins are from my garden. The great spider-web bowl is from Target.

I love this spider because its body is covered with soft, fuzzy, black feathers. I also have a bat like it.

I made this wreath after falling in love with a similar one that was $60 at the store. The white pumpkins and Indian corn are from Stuckmeyer’s. The orange pumpkins are from my garden.

As happy as it’s making me, I’m so relieved I did it. No … it’s nothing earth shattering or life (or body) altering. I just decorated for Christmas.

I traveled for Thanksgiving and am heading to Pennsylvania on Christmas day to stay a few days with my uncle’s wife’s sister’s cousin’s dog (ok, really, it’s just my uncle’s wife’s sister, but the rest sounded fun). As I was planning the trips, I was a little Grinchy. In all my years living out of town, I’d only traveled on Thanksgiving once (instead we did a friends’ Turkey Day in Florida, which was always fun) and I remembered it being tough to get everything done in time for Christmas. And heck, I wasn’t even going to be here on the day so why bother with the tree and other decs.

However, as a girl who lists decorating as a hobby, and one who really loves all her pretty Christmas things, I just couldn’t stand it. So I started a little early, feeling silly as I played holiday tunes and decked the halls the weekend before Thanksgiving. I did it all except the tree, which I had time to do Sunday because we drove back a day early from Texas (the intent was to do laundry, but that can always wait!).

And it just makes me smile.

For five years, my bedroom has been a gorgeous shade of cool light blue. I was familiar with feng shui and knew that blue wasn’t a good bedroom color when I chose the shade. But I ignored the tips in favor of aesthetics … much like wearing the awesome 3 ½-inch, red patent, peep-toe pumps even when I know I have lots of walking, standing or dancing to do.

The shui was always in the back of my mind and recently, I decided the blue was definitely putting a chill on my love life and had to go.

Feng shui recommended bedroom colors are skin tones … pinks and peaches. I found a lovely pinkish peach.

I love that it’s called “romance.” Ironically, when I went downstairs to grab the paint supplies, I found the old can of bedroom paint named “Icelandic” … chilly indeed.