There's nothing like animal videos on the internet to boost one's mood (unless you hate animals, in which case, I can't help you). This video of a dog sliding down a snow-covered hill is priceless enough without the sound, but the delighted laughter of the dog's owner and his daughter is contagious. It totally made my morning.
Speaking of dogs, my roomie and I had a furry visitor last week. I found an old golden retriever wandering the streets of my neighborhood when I was on my way to work, so I took him home until I could find his owners. We called him "Buddy" since he was such a sweet and friendly boy. After three days, we were able to find his family - my neighbors - through a Craigslist posting, and they were joyously reunited.
My couch may never be the same, and the cat was stress-puking the whole time, but it was fun to have a horse-sized dog in my dainty little house for a few days.
As I mentioned last week, my friend C and I have been talking about taking a little trip to Solvang for a super long time now, and finally did it.
In case you aren't familiar, Solvang is a town in Santa Barbara County/Santa Ynez Valley that was founded by Danish settlers in the early 20th century. It's pretty cute if you like wooden shoes and windmills and flowers and charming things. If you don't, you're probably dead inside. Just kidding.
I will say this much - there isn't a lot to do in Solvang besides check out cute little shops and eat pastries. I wouldn't recommend going for more than a couple of days, but I found that two evenings and one solid day of roaming around was sufficient for adventuring, buying silly souvenirs, eating, walking, and taking photos.
We picked the perfect time to go. The weather was gorgeous, but since it was a weekday, there weren't tons and tons of tourists to compete with.
I've been busy, y'all. The last month has been a whirlwind. There was Easter to prepare for, seeds to plant, trees to cut down, and a little getaway to go on.
My friend C and I have been talking about going on a trip to Solvang for a few years now. After rescheduling a couple of times, we finally made it happen.
The plan was, leave Easter afternoon, stay in San Simeon overnight, go to Hearst Castle, then head down to Solvang for a couple of days. We mostly stuck to this plan, except that we left a few hours later than planned, decided to detour through Monterey for dinner, and accidentally wound up taking Highway 1 to San Simeon (thanks, GPS). This meant that I was driving THISCLOSE to the edge of an ocean cliff for about three or so hours until 1 a.m. Lots of prayer and loud music.
We arrived safely, thank God, and although the hotel staff was rather surly at 1 a.m. (who isn't, though?), our budget hotel room was really nice. The next day dawned a pearly gray, and after a free waffle breakfast at the hotel, we hit Hearst Castle.
Click through for photos and all the Shan-ified narration.
It's not too late to have New Year's Resolutions, right? I actually meant to post about this awhile ago, but you know how these things go for me. My resolutions, or goals, range from the typical to the pathetic to the overly ambitious. Anyway, here they are, in no particular order: Keep my room clean: I'm the worst at putting away laundry, shoes, etc. I have been back from Oklahoma for six weeks, and I still haven't unpacked. I have a pile of Christmas presents holding up the wall. I do, however, keep my bed quasi-made. And the rest of the house is clean.
Shoes OUTSIDE my shoe closet = lazy
Finish the Laundry Room and Office: The office is THISCLOSE to done, but its closeness to done-ness is taunting me. I need to put up shelves, finish organizing, and get a new light fixture. The laundry room is a half-painted monstrosity that has more projects than I care to list. I have a plan for it, but it requires hiring someone to knock cabinets off the wall, because I am unable to do it myself. After that, I think I can get it in shape. Work in the Backyard: Maybe it will rain sometime this year, so I don't have to feel guilty about watering the grass and planting things. Ah, life in California. Either way, I need to continue cutting down trees (with an ax - watch out, world!) and pruning stuff and hacking away at things before the weather gets too hot and spider season starts.
Give me 30 minutes and an ax, and I'll show you some yard work.
Exercise 3-4 times a week: I already go to CrossFit 2-3 times a week, but it really should be a solid 3, with at least one day of spinning thrown in there for good measure.
Eat Paleo on weekdays: The Paleo "diet" template = Eating grass-fed meats and eggs, seeds, nuts, and a lot of vegetables, and cutting out grains and sugars. That can't hurt my weight loss goals. And then I do what I want on the weekends (within reason). This means no more lunches of sour gummy worms and dried peas.
Learn to light a fire in the fireplace: Once all the spare the air days and emergency drought/high fire danger period are over, I'd love to use the fireplace that I spent nearly $400 to fix this winter, and the wood cut from the tree in the front yard that I spent more than $400 to cut down. Too bad I don't know how to light a fire. Go a full year without killing any plants: Come on, this HAS to be doable! I just invested in a really cool snake plant (also known as "mother-in-law's tongue"), which is reputed to be practically indestructible.
Medusa
Cook 90% of my meals: I eat out too often, because I don't plan ahead. I'm a decent cook, though, and I really do love a home-cooked meal. And sweet mercy, eating out is expensive, which brings me to...
Stick to a budget, pay off debt, save money: I have some very specific goals to pay things off, Lord-willing.
Spend one Perfect Day with myself: A few years ago, I had the opportunity to take a weekday off of work. I drove up to Yountville, had a sandwich and coffee at Bouchon Bakery, read Jane Eyre outdoors under flowering trees on a cool and pearly gray day, and then went to the movies. It was a beautiful day. Why don't I do that more often?
The Schrutes would call this "perfektenschlag"*
Write in my blog twice a week, at minimum: This, however, requires me to have something to write about, so...any suggestions?
You know who's really good at taking care of plants?
NOT ME!
Take a look at the majority of the plants I recently purchased.
Yes, that's right, I have my very own plant graveyard.
I have one in the backyard, too.
I'm a monster.
I love houseplants so much, but what I didn't think about is that they need light. Yeah, that whole photosynthesis thing. My house - with the exception of the kitchen and the bedrooms - does not get a lot of natural light, so it's a death trap for most plants. Further, I can't seem to find the balance between watering too much and not watering enough.
Since I hate silk plants, my only options are plants that are indestructible, like my faithful Japanese peace lily and the Victorian parlor palm. Despite my best efforts to kill them - the lily gets moved around a lot, and the palm has been knocked down to the floor more times than I can count, thanks to falling Christmas decorations - they've managed to stay alive.
Peace lily
Victorian parlor palm (and gnome, of course)
The spider plant has also managed to thrive in its spot on the landing strip near the front door, so I know it's possible to keep some plants alive.
Spider plant
So I have done some research and discovered that succulents and plants that require low light are the best options for me. I'm hoping to purchase some very soon.
Has anyone else had luck with any particular plants in a similar environment?
2013 was a year of significant changes and challenges, but it also had its joys and its firsts. These things combined, it was a year of considerable growth for me. To celebrate the end of this year, here are some highlights of some of the adventures I've posted about (and a few I haven't)!
I got Invisalign - an exercise in humility (but the end is near!)
I sang in a performance of Handel's "Messiah" for the first time in many years - which was a time of sweet, classical worship, and the highlight of my Christmas season
There were also a lot of performances here and there, some weddings, L's engagement (just a few days ago!), some travel, a lot of reflection and rest, a LOT of busy periods at work. Phew!
Thanks for following my adventures in 2013, my friends and readers! 2014 promises to be an exciting year, and I'm looking forward to a fresh start.
I didn't do Christmas cards this year. Heck, I never do Christmas cards, which is awful, because I'm always the blessed recipient of loving holiday greetings from a number of friends. I always mean to do them, but I forget until the last minute. One of these days.
So if I had done Christmas cards this year, this is what they would have looked like. I'm totally kidding.
My dad and I went to the range when I visited him in OKC for some father/daughter time. When he took these photos of me and my target, I joked that they would go on my Christmas card. I mean, nothing says "Merry Christmas" like me exercising my Second Amendment right to bear arms, am I right?
(I'm still kidding...a little)
Option #1:
I wasn't firing a .44 Magnum, but the modified Dirty Harry quote seemed to fit anyway. Option #2:
I added the hat. My hatred of Santa as the center of Christmas is no secret, so this seemed appropriate, and by that, I mean "completely inappropriate."
Please enjoy my failed Christmas card ideas and have a wonderful Christmas with friends and family! Thanks for reading!
In case you were wondering, you didn't hear from me at all last week because I was visiting the fam in OKC for a few days. It had snowed in the days before my arrival, so it was nice to leave the dull, leftover brown of autumn in Northern California to spend a few days in a winter wonderland.
On my first day there, my stepmom and I had the opportunity to go on the Mesta Park Holiday Home Tour. Mesta Park is a historical neighborhood in OKC, and the tour featured eight homes. In some of them, you had free reign to explore the house, talk to the owners or docents about the history of the home and the renovations and updates that had been done, and then hate yourself for not having a Craftsman house decorated to the nines for Christmas. Oh yeah, and one of the houses had cider and hot chocolate.
Unfortunately, I felt weird about taking photos of the interiors of people's homes without permission, so I don't have many to share on this post. However, one house was so magnificent, I told my conscience to shut the heck up, and I snapped a few hurried (and therefore blurry) photos.
This house was straight out of a design blog/magazine/Pinterest board. The worst part? The homeowner did everything herself, with no professional decorating services. I kind of want to be her best friend, but that's a little Stalky Stalkerston, so I won't pursue that.
Here are some of the run-by, blurry photos I took*, and the thoughts I thought. Oh, butler pantry, how I wish you were mine. I hate my kitchen. And that I don't have a butler pantry. Or an espresso machine.
Upstairs attic bathroom, you are so fabulous and amazing with your Orla Kiely wallpaper and schoolhouse sink and subway tile that I want to punch you in your face out of jealousy. I hate my bathroom.
Adorable baby's nursery with your quaint branch mobile with handmade flowers suspended invisibly from the ceiling in front of adorable wallpaper and ruffled curtains, I wish I had a reason to covet you. I will die alone.
There were more photos, but they turned out way worse than these.
Then, I got home from vacation, and checked my Bloglovin' feed, only to see a roster of posts of people's insanely gorgeous and elaborate Christmas decorations. I felt immediately inadequate.
Why isn't my living room perfectly lighted like that? Why didn't I get a live garland for my fireplace that day like I wanted to? Why didn't I jump on the "faux chalkboard prints of Christmas messages" bandwagon? Why don't I have Christmas throw pillows/covers? Why does my house still need so much work?
Et cetera, et cetera.
It's amazing how reading blogs like Oh Happy Day and Little Green Notebook and I Heart Organizing and A Storied Style (to name a few of my favorites) can make a person feel like a worthless waste of humanity. These bloggers are talented, have resources, and really, this is what they DO. It's hard not to compare myself to these uber-talented gals, but it's also hard not to feel inspired! Seeing photos of gorgeous interiors and seasonal decorations makes me sweat glitter and want to go into a frenzy of making things pretty. But ain't nobody got time for that. I really need to let up on myself and just enjoy the Christmas season, for goodness' sake.
On a lighter note, here are some other photos I snapped on the tour:
Yard of the Month = award I will never receive.
Walking down the street, it felt like being in a movie.
This was the "refreshments house." They literally rolled out the red carpet, and served cookies and hot drinks in the foyer. Not surprisingly, a senator lives here. Also, that's my stepmom in the picture. She's great.
I hope you enjoyed this look into my neurotic mind mini-tour of Mesta Park! Stay tuned for my next post on Christmas decorations.
*Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I should credit the homeowner/s on my blog or protect her/their privacy, so I'm erring on the side of privacy - but if she/they should stumble across this blog and get mad at me, I will gladly credit her/them!
So, remember when I decorated my house for autumn, because I decided that's the kind of person I wanted to be? And remember I mentioned that I was planning to convert some of those decorations into Christmas decorations later? Well I did it.
Because I am awesome and efficient and I am not afraid to be a minimalist.
Or I'm just lazy.
Okay, yeah, probably just lazy.
Here's what I did:
1. Christmas ornaments in a jar
Remember my jar o'gourds? I switched out the gourds for ornaments. It required zero work, unless you count ripping open a package of ornaments as work, which I should, so I seem less lazy.
Except that I forgot to tie a ribbon around the jar this time, so I guess that does make me lazy, since I probably won't ever get around to putting one on, but I might surprise myself.
2. Garland and ribbon on the fireplace
I used the same beaded garland, switched out the brown ribbon for something purple (but not radiant orchid) and gold, and added some brown and gold glittery ornaments and some lights. It's a little bit of a Monet - looks pretty from far away, but up close, it's a total mess (quick - what movie is that from?). But it creates a soft glow over the fireplace, so I accept this quality.
3. Branches in a jug
It's still what it sounds like; I just added ornaments for some flair. No need for a "before" picture here. Just envision the jug of branches without ornaments. I like the way the ornaments are reflected in the mirror.
I also converted the wreath on the front door, but I don't think I like it as it is, so I may tweak it a bit and show you later.
In Part II, I am going to share a few of my other decorations, with the caveat that these are meant for people who have no time and no skills. These are not bloggy-showroom-shut-up-that's-not-really-someone's-house kind of decorations, the ones that make you question your value to humanity. So if you're like me, and the idea of spending hundreds of man hours covering every inch of your house with decorations for a season that doesn't last very long makes you wish you had never been born, stay tuned.
If parties at your house look like the photo above, chances are you stumbled upon this blog by accident, and that you are fancy and awesome and probably wear velvet to the post office and have a chauffeur.
I do not fit that description in the slightest (although I once wore an evening gown to the grocery store after a performance because I was out of coffee...I got lots of sideways glances). In fact, if this blog is anything, it's a consistent record of my unsuccessful attempts to do stuff in an awesome way...like actually having a series of posts on anything. This is the third and last post in my "Holiday Guests" series, by the way. Were you dying of anticipation?
Anyway, over the years, I've thrown (or co-thrown) a lot of parties, everything from birthday parties to informal gatherings to dinners to baby showers to bachelorette parties. In those years, I learned a lot about what works and what doesn't, in terms of hosting a successful gathering.
If I had a full staff of servants, like the Crawleys, things would be much easier; for example I'd have Carson to direct people to the proper rooms, and a team of footmen to serve brandy after dinner. And also, we'd all be wearing fur and gloves and life would be so much more elegant.
Anyway, here are my suggestions for those without Downton Abbey's house staff. While these may be intuitive to some of you, they're all strategies I had to learn the hard way, so I'd like to share them.
I am happy to report that my laryngitis resolved itself in time for my singing gig this past weekend, which was pretty much a Christmas miracle. Take a listen to this excerpt, if you feel so inclined.
But I think we need to take a break from talking about the holidays to talk about something really important: Pantone's Color of the Year for 2014 and how it affects us all. Or mainly, me.
Radiant Orchid is the new "it" color, Pantone announced today. While it's no Tangerine Tango, the rosy purple is a vast improvement over last year's Emerald green pick, which, if you remember, I hated.
Apartment Therapy put together a slide show of interiors with Radiant Orchid (examples below). I think a whole room painted this color would send me straight to a mental institution, but in small doses, it could be nice.
The funny thing is, I was considering a pinky-plum for the hallway and just snagged a few similarly-colored paint chips at Lowe's last night. Perhaps Pantone's pick will make it into my house in 2014, because, so help me God, I have GOT to paint that hallway. I have all the doorways taped off with painter's tape to give the appearance that I'm about to paint, but it's been that way the entire time I've lived in my home (more than 1.5 years), so I've really just been lying to the world.
Also, the Christmas decor in the living room is brown, gold, and purple (more on that later), so I feel like Pantone is reading my mind. Or I'm reading Pantone's mind. Not that Pantone has a singular mind, since I'm sure a lot of people work there, so there would be lots of minds for me to read. Unless it's like a hive mind scenario, in which case, it would explain their ugly sci-fi green pick for last year.
Anyway, I was surprised I didn't see more emerald green all over the place last year (thank God), so it remains to be seen how much Radiant Orchid-inspired home decor and fashion will dominate the market.
Okay, we can resume talking about the holidays now. Thank you for taking a little break with me!
So my big plans for a series on holiday guests got derailed by work - which is super annoying - so I need to put it off until next week. Sorry about that.
Meanwhile, I thought I'd let you know that my new plants arrived and they are not quite what I expected.
First of all, they arrived in a box. Like, shoved into a box with packing peanuts. Lots of them.
Second of all, I'm not quite sure what I expected, but the fiddle leaf figs are tiny. I have to keep telling myself that 1. they'll grow and 2. I couldn't find them anywhere else so I should just be happy.
And third of all, there was no baby tears plant to be found in that box. I need to call and knock some heads together.
Have you ever gotten plants in a box by mail? It's the weirdest thing.
Anyhow, the plants - with the exception of the banana plant, which looks like it's half eaten - are lovely, and I've been finding homes for them here and there. I'm sure they'll be making appearances in various future posts.
This is unfortunate, since the women in my family have green thumbs and successfully cultivate beautiful gardens, and I'm super envious of their prowess in the garden.
But one look in my backyard, specifically at my languishing tomato plants, is evidence enough that caring for plants or growing anything green is not in my wheelhouse.
So naturally, I decided that I want to be a person who has houseplants. Yes, I, Shannon, who has committed involuntary plant-slaughter against every beautiful orchid that was given to me as a housewarming gift, am going to have a house full of plants. I'm growing up, I think.
To my credit, I have managed not to kill the Japanese peace lily that the execs at the company I work for sent me when I had surgery early last year. I suspect those plants are indestructible, though. They pretty much tell you when they need water - they wilt - and then they perk up within like an hour of getting water. Easiest plant ever.
But I digress.
I have been just absolutely pining away for a fiddle leaf fig, which is the current "it" plant in home decor. Far be it from me to ever jump on a bandwagon, but the truth is, there is a giant fiddle leaf fig plant outside the elevator on my floor at work, and it makes me smile every day. It's exotic, but softly shaped; odd, but beautiful.
The little plant shown above apparently grows up into this big fella eventually (this is the one at work).
The problem is, you just can't find one anywhere in this vortex of plebeianism I live in (i.e. Solano County). Since I'm not about to drive all over tarnation (or the Bay Area) to find a fiddle leaf fig, or steal the 6-footer at my office building, I turned to the internet. God bless the folks at Google; they directed me to Hirt's online nursery (an Amazon affiliate) that ships plants to your door.
Are you kidding me right now? You can order plants online, and they come to your house. It was so magical, I felt like I was at Hogwart's at Christmas.
So anyway, I ordered two fiddle leaf fig plants. But since I don't know when to say "enough," I also ordered a banana plant, a spider plant, something called "baby tears," a jade plant, and a Victorian parlor palm.
Do I know where I'm going to put them all? Heck no. But I have some ideas.
Fiddle leaf fig on each of the coral tables flanking the TV console...?
Spider plant in the dining room...?
Baby tears in an urn outside the front door...?
Jade plant on the nightstand...?
Victorian parlor palm next to the piano...?
We shall see, when the plants arrive, what rooms they shall be placed in. I'll let you know! Hirt's has already shipped my order (within like two hours!), so let's hope it arrives soon, so I don't have to pine for the fiddle leaf fig for too much longer.
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