Is this the chair for our garden?

After looking forever, I'm crossing my fingers that this chair will work for our garden. It looks cute in the picture and it's $59 at World Market so the price is right.

Lexi thinks Stella is crazy

Stella is trying on her new raincoat and Lexi is checking it out for the first time. Stella stayed frozen in the same spot for at least 10 minutes. Even when I fed treats to Lexi 8 feet away, she wouldn't move! Eventually she got used to the coat and the rustling noises when she walked.

This is Stella's best look

Hopefully it will only take a couple of months for her fur to grow back out to this length.

Stella's new look

BEFORE



AFTER



ONE WEEK LATER

Not sure about this one but it could be cute

And another!

DIY

OK, this is a little ridiculous!

There are even patterns to make your own dog costumes!

Another cow option

Here's another cow costume. Who knew they were out there?

Stella wants to be a cow for Halloween

I found this costume at Petsmart.com but I'm going to keep looking around. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town for the Havaween meet-up. Yes, there is a Havanese meet-up group and yes, they're having a costume party on 10/25.

It's really raining!

I'm shopping today for rain gear for Stella. Along the way, I found a USC t-shirt that Joseph would probably love.

I'm not sure how to take Stella for a walk in the rain. Do you just play inside with your dog on rainy days? Go for it in the park and dry her off when we get home? She just had a bath on Sunday!

Decorating the great room at The Sea Ranch house

How would painted wooden chairs look with a table similar to this one? One chair is a bit fussy and traditional and the other a bit kitchen-y but I think the look is still something to think about.





Both chairs are from Pottery Barn but don't hold that against them.

The Big Reveal

My reveal is not quite as dramatic as on HGTV, but I'm pleased with the result. Feedback from Jeri Dansky and her readers was helpful and I saw my space through fresh eyes via the comments of others and by viewing photos of the space. Open shelving looks like open shelving and everything is on display. Since I'm committed to the shelves and like the look when the space is neat and tidy, I decided to make peace with my laundry room through a combination of clean up and attitude adjustment.

Although I had dreamed of matching white containers lined up on the shelves with lots of empty space around them and a clean catalog look, I learned that I like my striped bins and didn't want to part with them. They work, they're paid for and I think they're cute. Therefore, my "after" is really just a clean up and a hybrid of the comments I received. I accepted that the shelves are open and unless I buy all new matching containers and get rid of my striped bins or screen off the area, it's going to be an eclectic look.

My little, handled bins from the old cabinet did not work on the new shelves so I swapped them out for four white bins that do work and cleaned things up. While working on the shelves, I realized that the shelves needed to be adjusted so that they could accommodate a roll of paper towels. Your utility area isn't really working if you can't store extra paper towels there.

I cleaned up the mess on the floor under the shelves and moved the blue striped crunch can to a high shelf. It's holding reusable grocery bags and another crunch can so it's nice and light and easy to pull down when I need those things. The reusable grocery bags used to hang in my pantry. Since I don't use them very often, this is a better home for them. Also, I think the blue striped crunch can looks nice with the striped bins and even helps the large blue plastic tote relate to the space better. The large blue plastic tote still looks out of scale and out of place but it bothers me a lot less now. In the future, I'll go through its contents again more carefully, purge and consolidate those items in smaller, white containers. Right now, I'm using my time, energy and money in other ways and I'm happy those things have a home and that the large blue tote doesn't scream out at me like it did before.

I went through the extra paper bags stored in the paper bag holder on the left side and recycled some and neatened up the remaining bags. Now that the bags are lined up and not bulging out of the holder, I don't notice them unless I'm reaching for a bag or putting one away.

The room works much better now and looks neat and organized to me.

Now, it's time to tackle the other side of the room!

If I can go through the contents of the white plastic drawers this week and get rid of those things or find new homes for them, I'm going to look for a small table at the Alameda flea market on Sunday.

Getting help for the laundry room

I upgraded to a front-loading washer and dryer a few months ago and replaced a cabinet with doors with open shelving in the process. The end result looks pretty sloppy to me. I never finished the job and was stumped so I asked an organizer/blogger for assistance.

Here's a link to the post on Jeri Dansky's blog:

Jeri's Organizing & Decluttering News: Reader Question: Laundry Room Re-do

Jeri had great questions for me that pointed me in the right direction and lots of her organizer friends provided feedback, too. I'm still working on the space this week but it's coming together. Stay tuned!