April is here
I can’t help but jump on any opportunity for a new beginning, so with the first week of April, I’m starting new, with new goals and new aspirations. March was exciting with our trip to Austin, and our fabulous Mad Men party, but on a more personal level, it was an introspective time for me. Maybe because we had such highs, the other times, the normal times, I felt like I was treading water. So I’m greeting April with more of a plan.
April marks one year since we moved in to our current apartment. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here this long as I’m still in love with our place like it is brand new. We’ve decorated some of the rooms to our liking but there are a few larger projects I’ve been putting off. Mainly the kitchen. Since it is a rental, there isn’t a ton we can do, but the cabinets could use a fresh coat of paint and I’d love to install some shelves for all our appliances.
On the creative front, I want to remind myself to take more photos. To be honest, I don’t consider myself a photographer, it really is just a means of portraying other things, but I do think I need to start pushing myself. I want to be better. Sometimes I just need to take the time to set up a shot (which isn’t always as easy as it sounds when you’re in the middle of making a dish or about to eat it). Mostly though, I just need to get out there and shoot more things, to get past my nervousness of pulling out my camera. Also, I need to trust myself more when editing photos.
This photo is a million years old.
Another always persistent goals is to be more active. I love riding my bike, but I don’t do it nearly as much as I would like to. I know if I make the effort it would benefit me tremendously, physically and mentally.
My biggest goal, and this is more a life goal, is something in three parts. I just need to keep reminding myself of these things always.
1. Put myself out there – I am confident in the things that I do, but I’m not vocal about it. It’s easy to let things pass me by rather than just reaching for opportunities. I know partially this is because I’m really introverted by nature (you may not know this because of the blog but virtual life is a shield for real life). You have to ask for what you want or you’ll never get it. Part of this is that I want to collaborate with more creative people on projects. I do a lot of things on my own, (of course I work with this guy a lot obviously) but I want to branch out. I think working with others is the best way to learn to approach things differently and grow your own creativity.
2. Take risks – This is related to above, but it also means taking creative risks. I’m fairly comfortable with my creative endeavors, and it’s time to challenge myself. April is the time this will happen as I’m going to direct a short film. I’m excited and nervous and have tons to do. It also means trying new things on this blog, even simple things like a little more design in each post.
3. Follow through – I have tons and tons of ideas all the time. Some are big ideas and some are little projects. The sad truth though is that many of them remain only ideas. I’ve been working on at least writing them down so they aren’t forgotten but more importantly, I need to start and complete many of these projects.
I’m excited and hopeful for what is to come. Do you have any goals or plans for this new month or just for life?
bedroom
I said I would begin sharing a little bit more of our home starting today and I decided to start with our bedroom. It’s a fairly simple room and I feel like there is room to grow in terms of decor, but I’m also very happy with it. Our kitchen for instance, will not be seen on the blog for quite some time as over the past few weeks I’ve concluded it must be painted white (it’s light yellow now) which will be quite the undertaking.
Our bedroom unintentionally ended up with a blue, white and grey theme. We picked up the bedside table and dresser (and another matching one in a different room) at a thrift store for a steal, but the blue stripes were covered with a country plaid fabric. Lucky for us, when we got them home and removed the fabric, the stripes underneath were a nearly matching light blue to a quilt we already used. It was all tied together with the blue and white bunting from our rehearsal dinner.
My favorite thing in the room is the star chart which I found after being introduced to a similar moon chart by the ever so stylish Honey Kennedy. Shawn and I were particularly pleased that the time frame captured covered both of our birthdays.
I intended to start a small collection of owl and bird art but once I started framing and hanging the pieces I had, it all seemed pretty cramped. I stuck with my three favorite pieces, two vintage book plates and a print I purchased at the last Renegade.
I let this post bleed out a little into our hallway as I think these two sections are the best. As a side note, it’s really difficult to photograph a 40 foot long hallway let alone the things in it. The painting outside our bedroom door as well as the masks are all made by Shawn and have been used in various films that he’s made. I’m glad that these are out on display in our home rather than hidden away in a closet as they once were.
The pink bike was the first road bike I bought for myself, an adorable, very little Schwinn prelude. At some point I converted it to fixed gear making it light and fun to ride around the neighborhood (although she hasn’t been out in awhile to be honest).
I hope to have a few more pieces of our home to share this week, not to mention some of the delicious things I concocted for the dinner party I held this past weekend. If there is anything you would like to know more about in these apartment posts, please do let me know (although I more than likely cover too much detail for the average person).
painting in timelapse
New Home timelapse from miss alix on Vimeo.
Well my dears, I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend. We did a lot of relaxing and still managed to accomplish quite a bit. We finally took care of a few things around our apartment that have been begging to get sorted (I have shelves in my closet!). We snagged the perfect dresser set from a local thrift store. I knew the Jewish Women’s Council would come through for us, and boy did they ever. We found two dressers and a matching bed side table for just over $100. They need a few paint touch ups but are otherwise in perfect condition and have already made our bedroom way more cozy. I’ll be able to give a little tour on the blog very soon.
Which brings me to the video above, we made a time lapse of the painting process in our living room and dining room. As you can see, we had a lot of help, and it still took us two days. Luckily the video is short and sweet. Have I mentioned how much I love our apartment? It’s just perfect for us and I feel so lucky to live here. Oh, and if you’re reading this in a feed, jump out to watch the video.
When I was younger, at the end of every vacation, I would make a list of all the things I accomplished. I will spare you every detail, but there was so much fun packed in to the last few days. Hiking, bike riding, Tim Burton, Tour de France, knitting, reading, movie watching, BBQing, swimming and of course, kitty snuggling.
I took a break from twitter and the web in general over the weekend and it definitely illuminated some things for me. I realize that I do spend probably more time online than I should and it’s important for me to conserve my mental energy for creative endeavors. While the web can be inspiring, it can also be numbing in some ways. That being said, I do really enjoy chatting with people on twitter and seeing what people are sharing, so I’m not about to quit, I just don’t need to keep up with it 24 hours a day.
And I couldn’t leave without sharing the last piece of our Fourth of July cake, since it’s so darn patriotic. Patriotic and delicious.
moving
This weekend is the big moving weekend. Yikes! We’ve begun the process of bringing things into our new home but there are still a lot of big pieces of furniture (some of which need to be disassembled) that need to make the trek. I foresee lots of heavy lifting.
We somehow volunteered to have Easter brunch at our place, which is pretty funny because we don’t even have a dining room table yet. The search continues! On the other hand we have some spring appropriate decorations for the occasion. Shawn and I have already been brainstorming a menu, so despite the deadline pressure I’m very excited to be cooking up some quiches. Bagels maybe? How about these vegan deviled eggs? Oh and candy, definitely candy.
I feel the need to put a lot of care into the design of our new space, and not bring unwanted items into it, but I’m trying to realize it won’t all happen right away. Slowly but surely. The bookcases I bought in college will probably still be in my kitchen holding appliances. My leopard print chair will still be in our living room but perhaps with a slipcover.* There will still be big ikea presence. Oh well.
We’re also taking the time to really make everything nice, even though it’s a rented apartment. Which means restoring old door knobs and lots of little fixes. I’m happy to do it and am even enjoying the process. I’ll definitely be sharing some of our upgrades and the decorating here in the future.
I have a huge laundry list of stuff to take care of this weekend that includes really boring things like buying a paper towel holder. How come paper towel holders are so ugly? Why do all the inexpensive ones look so phallic? Why do I even need a paper towel holder? When did I become so boring?
The cats will also be making the move this weekend. They’ve been very needy all week as we’ve moved stuff out, so I’ll be glad to finally show them they’re not being left behind.
Other exciting news: We’re getting our wedding photos! Like today according to the famously reliable United States Postal Service. So get ready. I’ll be sharing them over the next few weeks. (Monday even? Maybe!)
Also, I’ve decided on a new blog feature that I’m going to start incorporating in the near future. I’m very excited to share another passion of mine that gets a little left out here on Cute & Delicious oddly enough. Plus some site design changes.
Besides moving, there are lots of exciting things to do this weekend. Can’t wait to get some fancy cupcakes and beer at the vegan drinks cupcake party. We also have tickets to a movie I’m fond of, with a director Q&A which is always a bonus. Hooray! Weekend!
* I love this leopard print chair. It’s terribly comfortable and made for me by my grandfather. I just made the unfortunate choice as a teenager to have it covered in leopard print velvet. Alas. To make things worse, it was originally covered in a modern, dusty pink fabric. Oh if I could only turn back time.
New Home
We start moving in to our new place this weekend. There is a sneak peek at our empty living room. I honestly can’t contain my excitement. There are so many cool things about this apartment that we were missing in our current home. For one, we now have loads of windows. The lighting in our place now has always been a little depressing and not at all suitable for photography. Now we’ll have windows everywhere. (more…)
