We have a floater

It's morning and I'm tired, so yes, that's the best I could do I this entry's title.

After much floating shelf debate, I ended up going with the shelves at Lowes. I wanted a thick shelf for 2 reasons – I wanted the shelf to stand out and I wanted to put heavy things on it without worrying about them crashing to the ground. And for $80 plus tax, I think my goal has been accomplished.

Before:
After:
My shelf accessories aren't finalized yet, but that's what I had around the house – so that's how it will be for now.

In other living room news – the rug should be arriving within the next several days. I am so excited. This room is finally coming together, and I am loving it.

Going green

Well, more like expanding my green-status in the family room. In the past month, I have bought 3 green picture frames.

Four years ago when I first deemed green to be my family room color of choice, it was rather impossible finding green picture frames. So now when I find especially awesome ones, I cannot pass them up.


I got the frame in back at Target on sale for $2.38. The front two frames I got today at HomeGoods for $14 total.

!!!!!!!!!

The rug has been ordered. :)

Operation white update

I thought I was making amazing progress in the door and trim department – but that was until I made a list of what I’ve done and what I have left. My goal was to get all trim and doors done by the end of March, but after looking at my list, I’m not quite sure how realistic that is.

Trim:
Entryway (done)
Living room
Dining room
Family room (in progress)
Hallway (done)
Office
Third bedroom
Master
Master bath
Half bath
Lower-level hallway

Doors:
10/36 sides done

January's Books

Reading in the winter is my favorite thing. There’s nothing better than cuddling under a blanket or being in a bubble bath with a good book. On the flip side, there’s also nothing better than doing some trim or door painting while listening to an intriguing audio book.

I was nervous my reading would go downhill with the new house and its endless projects, and while it did some – I’m hopeful I can still hit my goal of 100 books read and 50 book listened to for 2010. I’m just having to walk a finer line with balancing my time. This means I’m watching less TV than I was last year. I have said goodbye to TV shows I’ve watched for multiple seasons, and was surprised how easy it was to let go of them.

I decided to switch things up this year on the blog. Since this blog is truly about my house projects and not about my insane reading habits, I will only be doing one “what I read” post at the end of each month.

Books read in January: 11
Books listened to in January: 5

Books
1. “Kissing Coffins” by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #2)
2. “Vampireville” by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #3)
3. “Dance With a Vampire” by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #4)
4. “The Coffin Club” by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #5)
5. “Royal Blood” by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #6)
6. “Holly’s Inbox” by Holly Denham
7. “The Sudoku Murder” by Shelley Freydont
8. “Twenties Girl” by Sophie Kinsella
9. “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach
10. “Evermore” by Alyson Noel (Immortals #1)
11. “Blue Moon” by Alyson Noel (Immortals #2)

Audiobooks
1. “Lock and Key” by Sarah Dessen
2. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer
3. “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield
4. “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer
5. “Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner


Favorite book of the month:
“Holly’s Inbox” by Holly Denham
This book cracked me up. Not often do books make literally “lol,” but this one succeeded several times. I also just loved the e-mail format of this book – it makes this book really casual and creates extra humor.

Runner Ups:
- “Twenties Girl” by Sophie Kinsella
-“Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach
- “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield (I don’t care if it’s cheating posting this as a favorite again – it’s an amazing book)
- “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer

Biggest Disappointment:
“Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner

Living Room Art

I am so excited about this post! I have artwork for above the living room sofa...well, sort of.

When I saw the big, empty wall above my sofa, I knew exactly what I wanted there. One of my family's friends is an amazing artist. While he does incredible landscape art in watercolors, what's always caught my eye is his abstract art.

These are my two favorite pieces of his (sorry, I wasn't expecting to be taking pictures, so these are all from my phone):


As a housewarming present, I asked him if he could do something similar but in my living room colors. I was over at his house today, and got to see how the painting is coming along – and I am in love.


I am so excited!

Living room revisit

The living room is close to being done, but there are still some empty walls. So after much debate, I have decided black floating shelves going down one wall is a must.

Here's my Photoshopped vision: