My office, let me show you it

I'm quite enjoying the view from my office window. It's a cloudy, gray day, but there's so much green right outside that it's hard to notice. The window is above my desk, and from where I sit I can see the roof of our shed, some power lines and patches of white-gray sky heavily obscured by ever-thickening leafy branches. It's not a view I've gotten to enjoy often, and I'm looking forward to getting used to it.

But here! I don't have to tell you about it--I can show you with my new laptop's handy-dandy built-in web cam!

In the foreground you can see a pair of wee baby evergreen trees I rescued the other day when I was weeding my flower bed. I don't have the greenest thumb, so I hope "rescued" doesn't turn out to be an ironic term. I'm hoping they'll eventually grow big enough to transplant along the busy arterial street edge of our front yard, to provide some privacy and, hopefully, make it harder for passers-by to chuck trash in our yard all the time.

And as long as I'm playing with the web cam, here's a bonus pic of yours truly, all disheveled and too pale in the light of day:

Behind me are my inspiration board and my knitting supplies, including the wall-hanging CD holder I converted to a knitting tool holder (except for the Dancing Lessons 2.0: War! CDs I never managed to unload and can't bring myself to toss. Anybody want a free Buffy fanfic inspired mixed CD?).

Which is all to say that I'm happy as a clam in wet sand to begin my first full workday in my own office. And now I should probably stop basking in the joy of my own space and actually, y'know, get to work.

Our House

Someone on Twitter asked me, "Do you feel like your house is really yours and represents your life? Or is it mostly other people's?" This is an excellent question. The short answer is, it's getting there. Gradually.

The long answer is this. I still can't believe this is my house. We've been here over six months now, and I still have moments, at least once a day, where I look around and think, "Whoa, I'm in a freaking house! And it belongs to me!" But besides the shock of realizing daily that I'm grown up enough to own something as grown-up as a house, there's this weird disconnect. Parts of it feel more like home than others. My office/craft room should feel like home, because it's the one room in the house that is totally mine, that I did not have to make any compromises on decorating, where I don't have to be afraid to hang something pink, and it's filled with all of the adorable things I love and that make me happy. But it doesn't, really, because I'm rarely ever in there, because that's not where the computer is. The computer is in my Husband's spartan and totally utilitarian office, and despite the fact that I'm usually in here at least six hours every day, it doesn't feel like mine at all.

The kitchen is also mainly Husband's domain. We haven't done much--anything, really, other than draping some tea towels over the oven handle and hanging a couple of pictures--by way of decorating in there. He won't let me organize it the way I want to, and it tends toward a constant state of controlled (or so he claims) chaos, and I'm just not very comfortable in there. This is why I don't do any of the baking that I always said I'd do when we got a real kitchen. I'm usually only in there long enough to get what I need. It doesn't feel like home.

The living room and dining area is a weird place, to me. It's filled with the cheap furniture we both had when we were 25, and that doesn't really feel right to either of us, because we're no longer 25, but it's also filled with family photos and memorabilia from our wedding and honeymoon, and that helps it feel homey. We hang out there a lot, but I'm not as at home in there as I am in my bedroom.

The bedroom is the most comfortable room, and not just because that's where we keep the bed. It (along with the adjoining bathroom) is the one room we've bought some new stuff for and put some forethought into decorating. The furniture is still a mishmash of old, cheap stuff from our carefree single days, but everything else--the bedding, curtains, wall decor, books and knick knacks on the book shelves--it all feels like us, now, like quirky marrieds in their thirties live there, and it's cozy and soothing, and it's where I spend most of my time when I'm not working. I like hanging out in there better than in the living room, to knit or read or watch TV or nap or whatever. All the pets pile on the bed with me, and usually Husband ends up in there, too--our bedroom is our family room, apparently. I'm pretty happy with that.

I long for the day when we have the money to decorate. Really decorate, with new furniture and rugs and wall hangings and new paint and all that stuff, to make the rest of the house feel like ours, like the place we put some thought into, where it looks a certain way because that's how we chose it to look, and not like old, disposable furniture scattered around against neutral paint that the previous owner put up to make the house more sellable. Like we're just passing through, and don't want to disturb the walls more than necessary. Like an apartment. A plain, boxy apartment-complex apartment. I can't wait to drag Husband along to shop for furniture, to pick out a couch that we both love and is comfortable and big enough to seat company, and not just us. To pick out things that we love at 35 and will probably still be just fine with at 45. That day will come. I don't know if it will come while we're in this house, but that's okay. Bit by bit, room by room, this house is slowly becoming us.

Saying goodbye to Summer--I'm SO OVER IT

*Sponsored Post*

With summer winding down (what? Labor Day? You mean it's September already? When did that happen?!), now is a good time to take advantage of summer clearance sales and stockpile goodies for next year. I pray to God that Husband and I will have moved into our own place by next summer, so it really is tempting to stock up on stuff like Wind Chimes with which to christen the big back porch that our new home is sure to have. Man, I can see it now. Lazy summer nights on the porch, watching the fireflies and sipping a cold one while Husband stokes the grill, the tinkling chimes lulling me into peaceful relaxation... that's the life, folks.

Of course, by now I've about had my fill of summer and am SO VERY READY for the most wonderful time of the year: October! Yay! 'Tis the season for Halloween Decorations! Man, I love fall. It really can't get here soon enough for me.

Magic carpets not included.

Sponsored post alert!

I just found an awesome guitar-themed area rug that will be perfect for my husband's theoretical future practice room/recording studio. Yes, once again I'm virtual-window shopping for stuff for my theoretical future house. As my theoretical future house naturally comes with hardwood floors, I'm going to be in need of a few area rugs, and Designer Floor's area rug catalogue has plenty of cool, funky and traditional options. I think I'm particularly fond of this Chinese "Peace, Love & Prosperity" rug" from their contemporary collection. I'm not sure what color schemes my new home will have, but once I do, I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding a tasteful rug here to compliment my decor. Since these are machine-loomed rugs as opposed to made by hand, they're also durable and affordable as well as beautiful.

Decorating in a Minute

Ad alert!

I'm probably a year away from being able to buy any new furniture to go with my theoretical future house, but that doesn't stop me from being fairly obsessive about shopping online for it any more than not having a complete moving fund yet keeps me from constantly checking the rental listings on Craigslist. So I'm pretty excited to find such Stylish furniture at FurnitureMinute.com. I'm kind of in love already with this Bombai sofa set, and considering this sofa bed in place of the futon I had planned for our all-purpose spare room. The sofa set would go great with this coffee table. I like the sleek, simple, clean design of it, and after about 10 years with the Pier 1 wooden chest that's been serving as my coffee table, I'm so ready for a change.

I'm also digging this bedroom set. I like the cherry wood, and I think the black leather padding on the headboard would appeal to my husband. It looks like a pretty good gender-neutral compromise, definitely worth bookmarking for future consideration.

Did I mention that they offer site-wide free shipping? I'm usually hesitant about buying such large items online because of the potential for astronomical shipping costs, but on this site it's not even a consideration. Fabulous.

Window treatments really can do wonders for a room.

The following is a paid promotion.

None of my windows currently have window treatments. For the first few years I lived there, I simply propped large framed posters in my windows for a (admittedly limited) measure of privacy. Once I tried making curtains, but back then Niblet was far from the chest crushing spud she is now and was still a rambunctious, wirey, hyperactive kitten, and those curtains didn't last long. When Matt moved in, he wanted more privacy than the posters provided, so we tacked up bedsheets over the windows. Practical, sure, but not the most attractive look ever.

So you can imagine how I dream about things like window blinds. When we move, wherever we end up, I can assure you that there will be window treatments, be they curtains or roller shades for windows. What really strikes my fancy is faux plantation shutters, but those will probably have to wait until we're actual homeowners instead of just renters. But people, I want pretty windows. I don't think that's too much to ask.