Quaking Grass Green

We went to give blood yesterday, and for the first time ever, my iron was too low to donate. I was SO very bummed. To make me feel better I went over to Caribou and got a chai....all better. I made an appointment for next Saturday and absolutely have to eat better this week. Broccoli, spinach and all that high iron good stuff!

Remember how I was so set on the mossy Sassafrass Green for the living room? Well I had all my color swatches with me in the car on the way to get the paint, and just kept looking at them. I entered the store still undecided. I looked at the greens separately and with all of the accent colors that went with them....and guess what....I didn't end up getting Sassafrass! I ended up with Quaking Grass instead. The accent colors are all so awesome...brown, blue, yellow....I can have so much fun with it.

I got the first coat done!! Chee hoo!! The pictures aren't great, but you'll get the idea. It's such a HUGE change! Here is the hallway when it was the khaki color....

And here it is in Quaking Grass Green!!

I might do the second coat today if my hands will let me. Man, I forgot how much work painting is. About three quarters of the way through I was ready to throw in the towel for the day....but I didn't and I'm glad. Just one coat to go, then trim and it will be time to decorate!

I am off to the grocery store and then I'll decide if it's going to be a painting day or an etsy day. Have a great Sunday everyone!

Roller Coaster....

Wow! I feel like I'm on a roller coaster and they won't let me off!

First...I am busy at work making those 6 Halloween costumes, plus keeping up with my regular work. I made good progress today on the Hand Sanitizers. Story and photos here. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow so I can show you.

Second...I am busy at home listing, and listing, and listing in etsy, all of the things I made during the spring and summer that are sitting here and never made it into MyOtherShop. I am having trouble getting good pictures of the tote bags and that is always so frustrating. I'll try again when I get some good light. I've probably listed over 50 new things in the past few days. It's good because I have even sold a few of them too. Remember....you can't sell what you don't have listed!

Third...we plan to start painting this weekend. Irv has to patch a recurring crack in the ceiling and then we will be ready to go. I think I am going to go with the Sassafrass Green. It's a bit on the mossy side and I like that. Then I can accent with brown, yellow and of course a touch of blue.

Fourth...we are looking for another dog. (See yesterday's post) We aren't in any hurry. We're just perusing Petfinder.com and seeing if any little face pops up that says, "Here I am!" Actually, they all say that, but we are looking for a particular mix, size, sex and age...so it might take us a while. Still, I think about it daily...not with worry, just thinking.

One nice thing is that I don't get too worked up, even when I have a lot on my plate. I'm working to stay centered and only focus on whatever it is I am working on at that moment, and not get distracted by what's waiting in the wings. That usually works well for me.

The only thing with a true deadline is the costumes and they will get done....somehow.

So, how does your fall look? Anything fun and exciting going on or anything that causes you to burst into tears when you think about it? Feel free to share!

Looking for Suggestions....

When I redo a room, I usually get it painted and never have the money to really decorate it. Well, things they are a changing! Some how, some way, I am going to paint and decorate this little house of mine....one room at a time. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! First up is the living room and hallway...after that the bathroom...and then my bedroom.

Today, let's talk living room since it's first on the list. I have a tiny little living room in a tiny little house. Back in 1972 when we bought our house, the first thing we did was to paint the living room bright blue and laid beautiful blue and green shag carpet and hung blue and green open weave drapes. It was.........lovely and very "in" by the way! I use to rake that rug daily! :)

I tend to paint things based on the mood I am in at the time. The last time I painted the living room, I was obviously in a dull and boring mood. I painted it a light khaki color. I love color, but with the room being so small I have to go light.

Here is what I have right now. I have one couch that isn't in bad shape, but needs to be covered. I'm really not a flower person.

I have an ugly plaid love seat that really needs to go. It had a cover on it, but the cover finally fell apart.

After years of having cats with claws, I learned the hard way not to buy new furniture....ever. I don't have cats any longer, but now I have a 12 and 1/2 year old toy fox terrier that once in a while seems to forget that she is supposed to pee outside and not on the furniture. Needless to say, there won't be any new furniture here until Sparky isn't.

We have this HUGE t.v. cabinet that looked the perfect size on the showroom floor at IKEA. It takes up half of my living room!

We are down to ONE goldfish in his little 10 gallon tank. His tank is on top of our little fake fireplace. With my luck he will set a Guinness Book of World Records for the oldest gold fish in history!

I have built in shelves on one wall.


I have a little hallway with very naked walls. The color in the second picture is accurate. Not sure why the first one looks pink.

I have thought long and hard about what I want to do and here are my thoughts. Now I am no Martha Stuart when it comes to decorating, but I have had my nose in magazines for many, many months and I think I have a solid plan.

First of all, I need to paint. I can't have a dark color because the room is so small. I LOVE green so I am thinking a light mossy green or a light fern green and stay with the white trim.

Get a khaki colored cover for the floral couch, get rid of the love seat and replace it with two small chairs.

Get new blinds. I wish they made mini ones in wood that didn't cost a fortune. I need blinds, but hate the plastic ones.

Make valances, or curtains or drapes or buy them if I find something I like. They need be light and airy for the little room.

Get rid of the big t.v. cabinet and get a small t.v. stand with a couple of shelves in a light wood color. Michael and Bernadette have all black accents and I love it, but I'm thinking it might not work in my little room. What do you think? Whatever I get, I might be able to find at a resale shop or a garage sale. I plan to start looking.

Paint this little chest white (or black). It's actually an old toy box...and use it as a coffee table. No room for a big table.

Get a small table for between the two chairs and add a cute lamp.

Get a floor lamp for next to the bigger couch. We need some light.

Take this awesome picture that Matt made us for Christmas last year, hang it in the hallway and surround it with tons of family photos. If you look carefully, you will see the names Kathy, Irv, Tresa, Michael, Matt, Chris and Bern vertically somewhere in the picture. I LOVE this thing!

Mat and frame some big green leaves (like ferns) and hang them on the big open wall in the living room. Maybe 3 in a row....big frames. I saw it in a magazine and it was amazing!

Get something fun to hang over the couch. Not sure what though.

Get rid of the ugly hanging plant...so yukky. Get a nice tall skinny floor plant for somewhere and then lots of small green plants to put on shelves and tables.

Take the black and white photos out of this sad frame and frame them individually and put them all over the built in shelves instead of the "assortment" that is on the shelves now.

So, what do you think? I think this is a start. I'm sure once I get started I will change my mind about some things, but I like the idea of it right now. I am open to any and all suggestions before I get this project under way....so let's hear what you got!

Chee Hoo!