what i'm lovin'.

Things I'm lovin' today.

Sorry, most of these have been on my laptop for so long I don't know what the source is anymore.  So I apologize, and if you have the source let me know.

back to school.

So having this girl come in was a little crazy.  I haven't seen her since we graduated from high school in '06.  It was nice to see her.  We talked about people we went to school with and what we've been doing. 

So about her hair...  She came in almost all over level 9 blonde on top from highlights.  She's trying to grow her hair out and trying to get it back to her natural, which is dark at a level 3.  She also doesn't want it to be damaged, which lets face it, decolor is damaging.  It sucks the melanin (what gives hair color) out of your cortex, in the process damaging your cuticle (outer layer of hair) over time.  So we did a ratio of one highlight to two lowlights.  I used Blonde Dimensions for the hightlight, and just retouched whatever was in the foil instead of running it through because I wanted her hair to stay on her head.  I used Shades for the lowlights since we were just depositing color and her hair was already damaged.  Then after a conditioning treatment, a trim, and a blow dry, this was the result.  Unfortunately the lighting in my school sucks for pictures, so they never turn out very well...  But it looked really pretty and she was happy.

On to other things.  A few months back Andrew and I were looking to buy bedroom furniture.  I think what we've basically decided to do it get stuff from Ikea.  Just the basics, bedroom stuff, couch, one maybe two chairs, coffee table, two side tables...  Just so that when we do have a house/apartment we have stuff to put in it so it's not empty.  We were thinking about just sucking it up and getting an apartment for the first year or two (he'd be sucking it up, not me).  Ikea is affordable.  I know, I know, there's Goodwill and stuff but I just do not have the patience to scavenge Goodwills across Gwinnett County looking for stuff that matches, or at least coordinates.  Plus, I just don't have the kind of skill to take things that don't really match and make them look good. 

We already have a kitchen table and chairs.  The table is an 1800's Irish pub table, in awesome condition.  The chairs are also old, though I don't know how old, and are from Brazil.  I'll get pictures of those up sometime.

What I was going to do is use the bedroom furniture for a few years, then when we do get a house or something with a second bedroom (and we're making more money) we could put it in the guest room.  And at least if I could get a couch and then look for tables and whatnot at Goodwill.  Everyone I know that got a couch from Goodwill ended up with a couch infested with something.  Not cool.  And I found the cutest couch.  Andrew said it made him think of Super Mario Brothers.

And I see why.  But it's cute!  And I like Mario...

logs.

I love log cabins.  When we get our house I want a log cabin or an older farm house.

I just love the way they look, you know? 

There's just something charming about them.

Yup, charming and woodsy.

I want one!!!

spend the night.

So I'm moved into Andrew's house.  However, most of my stuff is still at my parents.  I keep wearing the same 10 outfits over and over.  I have books I want to read.  Things I need to have.  Most of my personal belongings are 30 minutes away.  And I haven't gotten the motivation to go and get anything.  I just don't want to go to that house, and if I do I want to be by myself.  I'm not really sure why.  I think I'm afraid if I start packing my stuff I'll get emotional and I don't want anyone to see it.  Andrew would be concerned and feel bad,  Daddy would be unhappy thinking I'm unhappy.  And Mom...  She would feel victorious in some way.  She'd take it as an affirmation that I did marry him just to get away from her and now I'm miserable.

Really she's been fine though.  She's been very nice.  Finally she's accepted it, even if her reason is because there is nothing that can be done anymore.  The battle is over, we got married.

And I am really happy!  This is like a spend the night party with your best friend that never ends.  If your best friend is a really hot man. 

He has been real good about letting me do things to try to make me feel like I live here, too.  I was afraid he would feel like I was trying to take over.  He let me put up a white painted mirror and take over the top of the dresser.  He's bought a lingere chest for extra storage and let me direct him on where to move the furniture.  He let me put some of his old stuff he 'decorated' with in boxes.  He even said he would paint the room if I picked out the color (he said no pink, fine with me).

This is my female corner.  It will be expanding soon.  :)

mirrors.

I love.

hair and deco.

So, it's that time again. The time where I get sick of my hair cut. Which is strange, this has by far been my favorite hair cut ever. But, it's also the longest hair I've had since I was about 10. I've had this haircut since September. It's time for something new. And I wasn't really going to do anything drastic, I am trying to grow it long. I'll probably just end up growing out the bangs. I'm tired of having to get them cut every 3 weeks. I can't really complain about the cost of it, seeing as there is none because I work in a shop. It just sucks when it gets to be that time and Barabara's not working. I won't let anyone else cut my hair, so it gets in my eyes and annoys me. Or maybe if I could just get my bangs thinned out, so they're more wispy. I don't know. Any ideas?
I really want an iron bed. And I really want to paint the frame of it Robin's Egg Blue. Yeah. I kind of want to decorate my whole house in a vintage-country-shabby look. So lots of white, and blues, and greens. Light colors. Old furniture. Flowers and decorative items. Lots of little touches. I've already started looking at stuff. Looking at stuff that probably won't be there by next summer when I'll actually need it.

nesting instincts.

Yesterday was my 5 month with Andrew.  This makes me very, very happy.  However, things have really not gotten better with my Mother.  I mean, she tolerates his precence on the nights he comes to pick me up, but he's only there for 10 minutes.  And he's sweet to her.  She likes classic movies, so last night he brought her some classic film noir movies she hasn't seen.  I had this brilliant plan, and now I may have to work on the 12th which foils my brilliant plan of having my parents come to his Lodge fundraiser to meet his parents.  It's for a good cause, and they won't have to stay long.  Hard to say no to, hopefully.

I've started my nesting, which is still kind of strange to me.  Things like looking at furniture, and dishes, getting ideas for decorating, paint colors, and what kind of house (older one!), are all things I've never really thought of.  Especially with another person involved.  I keep thinking, "I want to do this, will Andrew mind that?"  He tells me, "Whatever you want, baby."  (Yes, I do have the best boyfriend ever)  Then of course he'll say he wants to do something and I'm like, "Ah! No! Why don't you do that in the garage or your shop?"

Anyway, been thinking about doing a project like this but never had the motivation/time/materials to do it.  I also didn't know how it would look, so I just let it be.  But I saw in a magazine yesterday that someone had done this and it looked really pretty.  It starts with this...

Pile of random pieces of furniture.  Think about the shape and size you want, and after you get something you're happy with take a picture.  Then after some sanding, priming, and painting, put it all together and you get this...

Yeah, pretty sweet, huh?  I like it, and it gave me motivation to try it.  I just have to start collecting pieces of furniture.  Hello, Goodwill and Treasure Mart!

For the full article on how this was done go to ReadyMade: Instructions for Everyday Life.