Fall and Redecorating...

Is there any better friend than one who will spend 3 days redecorating / remodeling my room, helping me make it the coolest bedroom I've ever had, and definitely the best place to live in my whole apartment complex?  Thus follows the story of Lindsey, her bedroom, and Brian.

First there was Lindsey.  

I moved to this apartment in April, I painted in April.  I LOVED my paint.  I had big plans of organization...and then as usual, life got busy.  Travel, work, every cool things to do in D.C. I could get myself too...you know the story.

So there was Lindsey's bedroom.

I wish I had taken a before picture, but let me paint it for you.  One steal utility storage shelf full of mismatched projects, two well used bookshelves stuffed to their brim, intermixed with antique furniture and storage tupperware, again with projects.   I loved my bed, dresser, nightstand, two chests, rocking chair and armoire, but none of it was positioned to be aesthetically or functionally pleasing.  And life was still busy.

Enter Brain.

Lindsey:  "Mom and I came up with a plan for my room.  Here's the general idea..."
Brian:  "Okay, we can do that.  Let me take some measurements..."
Brian:  "Here are three options that you can alter or use..."
Lindsey:  "Oh my this is going to be amazing...to the IKEA!!"

If you didn't know, Brian's a master planner.  You can give him an idea, and he'll figure out all the angles, options, concerns, fallbacks, yes's and no's when asking about options and measurements, and then gives you the final decision power- because it's still your project - because he's awesome.

So off to IKEA, when we got everything on the cart...well remember how I have a sedan?  I'll let the pictures do the talking...

It was a close one, but smarts and luck triumph again.  Yes, that would be a 3 6 foot boxes from the front of my passenger seat into the back seat.  Brian graciously sat in the back behind the driver's seat. Home we went, and 5 hours later, poof - it's all built!!

And by poof, I mean, Lindsey cleared the work space, held things where she was told to hold, and basically let the master of IKEA builders work.  It was awesome.  So if that isn't enough, I leave my master planner alone for a few hours to grocery shop, and I come back- and it looks like this!!  Hello!

I thought I was in for hours of sorting and organizing to get to this point, but no, master planner comes to the rescue again.

I LOVE it!  I never want to leave my room, I want to play my beautiful guitar (Jimmy) all the time, I want to stare at the light behind the friends sign as it changes colors (yeah, that's right, it changes 7 different colors.  It has fade, blink, and single color options), and read a great book in my rocking chair.
The hanging lamp, the guitar hanging, the light behind, all my master planner's ideas.

I'll send better pictures of the whole room once I've hung pictures, etc.  But for now, can we all revel in the fact that the whole piece looks amazing, and that it was done in 3 days with no fights, no crying, only laughing, teasing freaked out faces, and lots of hammering.

I wish you could all see it in person.  Better and more pictures to come...the goal is done by Thanksgiving...

Jake and more baseball!!

I'm SO proud of Jake! He has worked very hard to be very good at baseball and I wish I could see him play.

Local Little Leaguer earns first place in Aquafina Pitch, Hit & Run at Safeco Field

Go to the following to see:
http://www.nwnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1669:local-little-leaguer-earns-first-place-in-aquafina-pitch-hit-a-run-at-safeco-field&catid=49:valley-view&Itemid=94

A Baseball Kind of Summer

What is baseball?

Encyclopedia Bretanica says it's a game played with a bat, a ball, and gloves between two teams of nine players each on a field with four white bases laid out in a diamond (i.e., a square oriented so that its diagonal line is vertical). Teams alternate positions as batters (offense) and fielders (defense), exchanging places when three members of the batting team are “put out.” As batters, players try to hit the ball out of the reach of the fielding team and make a complete circuit around the bases for a “run.” The team that scores the most runs in nine innings (times at bat) wins the game.



I say baseball is a warm summer evening after work, sitting in slacks and a red Nationals t-shirt, waiting to hear my favorite batter's song as he walks up to the plate, staining my fingers chili pepper red with adicting chili smoothering a half smoke hotdog w/ onions and cheese.












I say baseball is sitting with a good friend talking about who's pitching and why we love Pudge (Ivan Rodriguez), the crack of a bat and the cheer of the crowd when it's a home run, watching the presidents with their oversized heads run to make the finish line, and cheering Teddy on even though he never wins.

2 of the 4 ;) I'll get the 4th, don't you worry! Teddy (my fav., and George)




I say baseball is watching fireworks over the water, doing the actions to 'Take me out to the ball game', and being skwished on the metro after the game between a dad and his little boy decked out in Nationals Gear, a guy with his arms around his girlfriend, and the plastic partition near the door. Seeing history in the making when Strasburg pitched his first major league game, feeling the excitement of the crowd when he finished with 14 strikeouts!!




Being with those I love and watching something exciting and hometown comforting, that is what baseball means to me.    



I credit part of my family for my first experiences in baseball. So I also say baseball is sitting in the evening sun, down the street from the house, on the camp chair Rob brought for me because he knows I'd forget, watching Nick and Josh through the chainlink behind homeplate- running, batting, catching and throwing- all to their hardest and best no matter what the score, the smell of sunscreen Becky made me put on because she knows I'd forget. Chating with Gayle and being teased by Gary in between inings. Being so proud of the character Nick and Josh show when they compete. And the view of the setting sun over the mountains.



I guess I've expanded an old interest ;)        

My lung capactiy and the smell of rain.

Moving here let's be honest- I wasn't in amazing shape but I was doing okay right? I did have one thing going for me- a high altitutuds lung capacity. Growing up at 5,000 feet makes your lungs work hard for the air they need!

I decided when I moved to a low altitude that I would make a conscious effort to breath deeply often in a effort to prevent my potential oxygen deprivation when I go back to Utah to visit family and friends. Does this have any scientific validity? I have no idea. 

What it has done today though, seems beneficial enough. As I walked to the metro and then from the metro to my apartment I began to breath as deeply as my lungs would allow.  What was the result? The wonderful smell of the air, grass and cement all being given a spring wash by the rain. 

So breath deeply. Breath deeply to keep your lungs healthy, breath deeply to appreciate the world we have been given. 

13 clothing items for $89!!

What do you think when you hear thrift store? I use to think...

D.I.
Out-dated clothing
The sketchier part of town

Now that I've gone to "The Recycled Clothing Store" in Alexandria, Virginia and this is what I think when I now hear thrift store...



Ann Taylor Loft
Banana Republic
Coldwater Creek



That's right! All this stuff for $89. I think they get it from the stores when the stores have just one of something so they can't really sell it, and it's mostly the season before, but really, I'm so excited. I love love the long jackets. I have to build up my work wardrobe so I'll be visiting every couple months.