When the cat is away the mouse will...craft?

I have this old ribbon memo board that was in desperate need of a makeover. Here's a before:


I tore off the back lining, the front fabric and the ribbon then replaced them with some that go a little bit better with our decor.


I repainted the buttons to match the ribbon.


Here it is in action.



**for Sheila**

Here's a pic of the back of the memo board. You can see that the sides and the two middle pieces are thicker than the rest. The little pieces of brown tape are covering where the staples are coming through the back. (Here's a little secret...the buttons are hot glued on. I stapled where the ribbons cross, then glued the buttons over the staple.)


This is a pic of how thin the main board is.

Sleep on it

Here is the spot in our cute apartment where we retire in the evening. Nothing fancy, yet. I plan on painting a little so I'll post before and after shots when I do.

Here is the shot looking out from our closet

Just another shot. The windows still need curtains. I have found them online I just need to wait until we get some dough and then I'll buy them.

Here's the view looking in from he hall. The bathroom is on the right.

Where is your powder room?

In the event that you needed to use the lavatory in our house you would have the option of two. This one: (generally intended for use by guests)

With a wicked cool sink.


Or this one: (our Master Bath)

Yep, that is a separate shower...and yes it is marble. (I feel like a Rockefeller) Want to hear something cool, yet oddly creepy? Our toilets shut their lids BY THEMSELVES. All you do is start it and the lid gently closes on its own. Seriously.

Here's a shot looking out of our bathroom into a little slice of our bedroom...which we have chosen to make into a quasi-office.

I'm hungry

This folks, is where the magic happens. This is my new kitchen. Super tall cabinets (to go with our super tall ceilings), stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and hardwood floors. (although i gotta tell ya, standing all day on hardwood with no shoes or socks on HURTS your feet)

Another shot.


This is our friends and family wall. Think you should be up there and you're not? Send me a picture. (4x6 please)
Oh, and did I mention our microwave is smart? It cooks your food, then tells you it is ready...which is a good thing, because I have occasionally forgotten something in the microwave only to discover it days later. Thank you smart microwave.

The Great Outdoors

Each of the condos in the building has their own private deck up on the roof of the building. Right now it is a bit too cold, but we have set up the hammock and put the grill up there...and this weekend is supposed to be 75 degrees so hopefully we'll get to use it! Here is our little section. It is nice because we are next to the wall for the stairwell, which gives a little relief from the wind (if it happens to be blowing the right way!) Once the trees all leaf out it will be pretty up there. I'll have to post some more pics. Sara and I want to do a container garden, once it warms up we'll get started on that.


Here is the view from the deck. You can see the city skyline in the distance....at least for now. Once the trees are all bloomed (is that right? Do trees bloom? or leaf? spread? hmmm..) it will make it a bit more difficult to see.


There are LadyBugs EVERYWHERE! We get them in the house and it works out ok because they provide free entertainment to my furry kids. I can always tell when one has gotten in because they kitties are running around all crazy trying to get it.

Besta likes the deck...don't let this sour puss face deceive you.


Here is our condo's newest tennant. Mr. Bat. He showed up the day after we did and has been in that same position ever since. Not sure if he flies away at night and comes back or if he is dead. I'm not going to poke him to find out.

Viva chicago! (part 3) a.k.a. The Long of it

We got back on the road Saturday am and made pretty good time through the remainder of Iowa and Illinois. We stopped for lunch and heard some people talking behind us about the storm blowing in. After all we had been through we HAD to make it to the hotel before it got there...I could take another setback. So we get in the car and are a couple hours away from the base, I call to make the reservation at the Navy Lodge (I hadn't made it before because I wanted to make sure we were actually going to make it...I didn't want to pay for night that we didn't use...turns out that was a good idea cause we were pulling into town two days later than I had anticipated.) I had called to check with this particular Navy Lodge on their pet policy about a month before we left. I told them about our traveling circus and they said it would not be a problem. Well...it turned out to be a problem. They said they would allow only two pets per room. The 'helpful' customer service lady said we were more than welcome to book two rooms. Ya, that would just be GREAT. We were running SUPER low on funds already, lets just book a SECOND room for the dog. grrr. I start bawling in the truck. I have been glued to that seat for four days. Eating too much fast food, with a side of too much stress. I broke. Luckily Nathan was there and he called his sponsor John and had him find another pet friendly place for us to stay. (We stayed at La Quinta...and if any of you are ever traveling with pets I HIGHLY reccomend them. No extra fees...clean rooms...free breakfast...free wifi) We get checked in and unload our circus, then unhook the car off the dolly and return it. As we finish doing that, it starts snowing. We grab a quick bite at Chili's and head back to the room.

The next day we get up to over a foot of snow. grrr. I try and contact realtors (because you find apartments through realtors out here...for real) but it is Sunday and none are around. We drive around and look at a few places from the outside, just to get a feel for the area. The next morning we try the realtors again....and we get a list of referal housing from the base housing office. We call a bunch, see a lot and decide that some people's definition of LIVABLE is definitely not the same as mine. There was one house where the bedrooms were about 7x7...and there were only two of them. Keep in mind we are moving from a five bedroom house...two 7x7 bedrooms just isn't going to cut it! Oh, and to add to it the landlord of this house wanted to be able to use the spare room in the basement as an office. It had no outdoor entrance, nothing separating it from the rest of the house. He just wanted to be able to come and go as he wanted. No bueno.

By Tuesday night I was getting frustrated. I had long since run out of clean clothes...I was tired of eating out and I thought we might never find a place to live. That's when John (Nathan's sponsor) called us to tell us about a condo open in their building. We drove right down to look at it. It was great. Cherry hardwood floors, 42" cabinets in the kitchen, jetted bathtub, fireplace, private rooftop deck. We told them we would think about it and call them in the a.m. We talked the whole way back to the hotel about the pros and cons of living so far from the base. We decided it was worth it. We called the next morning, said we'd be down to sign the lease in a few hours. The next 6 or so hours were HORRIBLE...they involved LOTS of tears, much anxiety, unhelpful Navy Relief, a very generous mother and grandmother and one understanding landlord.

We finally got everything signed (that night...see picture...what a pretty city!) , and the next morning met with the property management people at the condo to get the keys. John and his wife Sara lent us an air mattress and some pillows so we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.

On Tuesday all our stuff was delivered. Man, we have a LOT of stuff. It is a bit tricky...because we moved from such a big house with so much room into a small-ish condo with two bedrooms. But it is good. We're going through and keeping what we really need and the rest will be given to Good Will or put in storage. These pics are taken from our little balcony, looking down into the alley behind the building. The two white moving trucks were both FILLED. Yep, we're officially hoarders.




I refuse to post pictures until it is decent, and it is slowly coming. To help calm your thirst for pictures here is a teaser: (this was obviously taken before our massive amount of boxes arrived)

This is the living room. That is a fireplace in the corner (sadly, we have already used it..isn't it APRIL??!?). I know the pic sucks, but it will have to do for now. Be patient with me, I have 296 boxes to unpack. (That was our actual count...I told you...hoarders...)

Oh ok, stop whining, here's this one too. This is the back of our building. (beggers can't be choosers). That's the garage where each condo has one spot (thank heavens...I HATE shoveling snow off cars!...sorry Nathan the truck is too big and has to be outside) The third floor up is our place. You can see the dog house on the balcony. The two windows are our bedroom, as is the first one on the left side. The second little window is the master bath.

More to come...I promise!