Number 75

So, I bought the bed and in the process graduated from a double(full) to a queen. Also graduating from a coil to a memory foam. Of course a new bed requires new bedding, bed frame, etc....which adds to the cost but the hope is this new bed will help my back which has been giving me lots of problems this winter.

The story of the bed is that we were browsing at the Home & Garden Show on Friday night and stumbled upon Sleep Country. Of course they had their very comfortable mattresses there to try out.  This mattress is so comfortable that I had to have it. This mattress did cost more than I had budgeted but I have 60 days to see if it will work. It also will last 20 years versus the normal 10 years. Yes, I am totally justifying and they threw in 2 soy memory foam pillows.

Here's a few snapshots of the bed progress...I had it delivered today. That required an emergency trip to IKEA last night to find a bed frame (thanks to MALM for being a basic bed and fitting into my Yaris with just the help of some twine) I wish I had pictures of the drive home...quite funny. Side note: My Yaris fits a lot of things...last week I fit a Lazy Boy chair into it!

I digress...here are some pictures of the new bed:

 

On a final note, I found this wine that was made for me...the middle sister. Just wanted to share this find....I totally bought the wine for the name.

ta-da

Ok, so not so impressive but at least it is a start. And I filled one spot on my picture hanging dilemma. Only 25+ pictures to hang...maybe by spring.

The frame picture was my Christmas present from my ultra-talented sister Wendy...perfect color match to my magic house.

Also, not sure if you have seen Martha Stewart Living March issue...all about gardening and is giving me many ideas about my garden this year...I can't wait for spring this year. Here are a few pictures of the possibilities in the spring...oh, May please hurry up and arrive!

My Koi pond - I hope the fish survived the winter

I hope to extend my patio to make the backyard more livable.

But this is the current state of my garden..snowy and cold.

picture perfect

Do you ever become paralyzed with picture hanging? I have been in my house for almost four months and I feel unable to hang my pictures up. So instead, I have leaned them, crated them and piled them with the hopes that I will find inspiration and time to hang them.

Tonight, I am staring at blank walls and not sure what pictures need to be hung. So instead, I googled the experts:
Apartment Therapy #1
Martha Stewart
Real Simple
Apartment Therapy #2

As inspired as I am by the experts, I think my problem lies in the area of procrastination and fear of error. Here are my canvases:

By my front door

In the dining room

A wall in the sunroom

A blank wall in the kitchen

The wall going into the basement

 Then there are the piles of pictures....

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with a seemingly simple decor decision? I am going to try bite size pieces and commit to hanging pictures by the front door before next post. You can hold me accountable. At that rate, I will have all my pictures hung by next Christmas!

Post-vacation catch-up

My vacation down in Mexico was a great break from the wintery cold. We stayed in a quaint village called Ajijic situated on the shores of Lake Chapala. It definitely was not resort life but it was beautiful and the Mexican use of color is inspiring. So many design/decor magazines are monochromatic so the brightness of color was beautiful. My photography is not great and I just shot these on my little Olympus pocket camera...but just a snapshot of the vibrance.

 Street Scenes

 

Vibrant pink flowers growing everywhere

 

Ajijic town plaza

Icon outside the house we stayed at...most homes and streets had saints assigned to them.

Next week, I will get back to the updates on maintaining my house. Two days after returning from vacation, I heard that a house two doors down from me had been broken into during the day. A little unnerving but ultimately, I realize it is just stuff and can be replaced if that happens to me. There is nothing I can do about it so I am not going to worry.