Ikea 24/7

So in a random tangent of links today I ran into this funny site. I was searching for different railing ideas for the den at Apartment Therapy and I came across a post about Mark Malkoff [comedian and writer] going to live at Ikea for a week. This is the same guy who attempted to make a purchase from 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in one day. So for this week he will be living, eating and sleeping there and we have the chance to watch his footage. Just a bit of entertainment for the week, enjoy.

Incentive

So I may be going out on a limb to say that 08 will be the year for house projects but that is my hope. We seemed to wane on our enthusiasm for projects last year. Not that we did not want to be working on them but there were just so many other things on the list as well. It is always hard to motivate myself to just start in on painting or pulling wallpaper once Miss A has gone to bed. Not that any of this has changed but at least right now we have some incentive to get at least the den finished sometime soon.



For Christmas we received a wonderful lamp which will be the finishing touch in that room. We knew asking for it that we would not be able to install it until everything else was finished. I guess it was the right thing to do because all we want to do is get the room finished. It was hard enough opening the box knowing that we could just quickly look at it and then return it to its holding place. But that glance was enough incentive to get us moving on things again. Friday night we painted one of the walls gray, we still need to do the second coat of paint and then finish painting the rest of the room white. Then this weekend we found ourselves at a great store looking at flooring ideas. You see when we moved in the whole room was brown. Brown real wood paneling, brown shag rug, and a yellow glass covered light that casts the worst mood in that room. So out with the brown and in with the light. Everyone things we are crazy for making the room white and we vary well may be but at least it is a big step away from brown. We had thought we were going to put in a floating floor but now we are milling over the idea of carpeting again. Who knows all I know is that the decisions need to be made or we may never get to put that Christmas present to good use. I will say that even in its half finished state the room already looks much better then the images we took when contemplating buying the place. Just look at that den and the rest of the house for that matter. I guess looking at those images is a nice reminder of what we have accomplished so far.

to the new year

family portrait
Originally uploaded by devinemom

It is amazing how the prospect of a new year effects me these days. In years past I don't think I really gave the coming year much thought but it seems as if that has now changed. In the weeks leading up to the new year I found myself becoming introspective about goals and desires for the coming months and I was pleased with what I came up with. The goals are broad but I like that. I feel that this year needs to start off slow. I need to be intentional and not take on more than I feel comfortable with. Last year was amazing but in looking back on it I realize that it came in like a lion and and went out like a lamb. I enjoyed the momentum that I had at the start of the year but I am looking forward to having a more balanced approach to things.

In the coming year I hope to focus on these four things.
family
self
health
home
I am eager to see how this plays out. The idea of starting fresh with new goals is exciting and I look forward to an amazing year.

Best wishes to all of you in 2008.