by Karen on March 8, 2012
I’ve been wanting to share our new and improved living room since our furniture arrived last week, but I haven’t been able to get a good shot in natural light that accurately represents the paint color. The light from that dang window is just too bright. I would also benefit from a camera class, but [...]
by Karen on February 27, 2012
Our original plan was to start painting in mid-March, but that was when our furniture was scheduled for a late March delivery. Last week, I received a surprise phone call from Pottery Barn — our furniture was coming early! I really wanted the living room painted before the furniture arrived, but Tony had a stack [...]
by Karen on February 20, 2012
Let me preface this by saying I’ve never painted anything in my life. Unless you count finger paints. But honestly, I don’t think I used those much either. I always preferred crayons, and so did my mom (for obvious reasons). Since scribbling colored wax on the walls and calling it good isn’t an option for [...]
by Karen on January 11, 2012
I always planned to be a stay-at-home mom for the early years of my childrens’ lives. Back when I worked 9 to 5, I remember looking forward to all the downtime I thought I’d have once we had kids. After all, if I was able to manage all of our household tasks in the evenings [...]
by Karen on January 9, 2012
I’m a sucker for New Year’s resolutions. It’s not necessarily that I think there’s something magic about the first of the year, and I’ll suddenly be able to start over again. It’s just that the start of a new year is a logical time to think about these things, and the time when I’m most [...]
by Karen on January 1, 2012
My standard resolution for, oh, 10 years or so has been “eat healthier and lose weight.” So far I’ve only stuck with that resolution for 1 out of 10 years. Pfft. I suck. I’m not giving up on that resolution. Lord knows I have more weight than ever to lose this year. But starting last [...]
by Karen on October 25, 2011
It seems like I’m always battling clutter of some kind. Papers stacked up on the table and desks; boxes of stuff I’ve been meaning to sell or donate for months; junk mail; random things that don’t have a place, so they just sit out in the open driving me nuts. When my environment is cluttered, [...]
by Karen on July 20, 2011
Several people suggested that I hunt for the furniture I want at thrift stores. The thing is, I have been searching for furniture at thrift stores for years. I just don’t seem to have any luck. Thrift shopping is one of those frugal activities that fascinates me, and I would love to do it, but [...]
by Karen on July 18, 2011
When we started house hunting, one of the main things on our list of “must haves” was that the house needed to be move-in ready. We weren’t looking for a fixer-upper. We’re not handy enough for that sort of thing, and we knew we’d ultimately underestimate the cost of renovations and get in over our [...]