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!

New stool from West Elm arrived today!

Here's Lexi checking the clearance under the desk. That can't be comfortable!

At a crossroads in life...

It seems that a blogger I follow has sent readers my way and I'm considering it a direct challenge to get some new posts up ASAP. Now might be a good time to explain my changing status. I've worked part-time and been a stay-at-home-NOT-mom on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a little over three years. Work has gotten harder and harder for me and today the wheels were set in motion for my retirement. Yes, retirement. At the ripe old age of 37. Before my mom, dad, stepfather, etc. I've made several broad, sweeping statements to my husband that really have little to do with the situation but they're how I'm creeping up to it and trying to think about it in my own mind. Tonight I declared that I won't wear stretchy pants (my term for yoga pants, sweats or, on a really bad day, pajamas) every day. I've also spent a lot of time thinking about the temperature in our condo and the fact that we don't have air conditioning. We live in San Francisco. It's not really about the stretchy pants or the lack of A/C in our place. I'm trying to understand a difficult situation, unmedicated, and the understanding comes slowly in fits and spurts. Sometimes it doesn't come at all. It's another increment and a loss that probably happened some time ago (seen one of my cover letters lately? how about a spreadsheet?) but I'm mourning it now and it's bringing up everything I've lost. I miss marathon shopping sessions with my mom. I miss driving 90 mph in my TT up and down 280. Oddly enough, I miss working overtime all weekend and then blowing the money on a new purse or boots.

I like where I am now and who I am now but it's really hard letting go of what used to be.

Where've you been?

I have to admit that I've gotten sucked into Facebook and pretty much left my blog to silently mold over by itself.

To make it up to my loyal reader (you know who you are), I'm posting this video of Stella and Lexi wrestling. I've been holding onto this one hoping it will turn into one of those videos people send to all their work friends who like funny animal videos and one day someone will send it to me not realizing I started it all. Well, Stella and Lexi started it all, I suppose. And yes, that is poop on the floor.

Enjoy!

Stella looks so grown up in this picture!

And I thought I'd timed it just right with the housecleaners on Thursday and Karen & Dewain coming on Saturday...

Stella's first trip to the garden center

Stella took her first trip to Sloat Garden Center on Saturday. She rode in the cart and everyone asked about her.

Outfits for all moods & occasions

Do I think so because I'm her mom or is Stella actually the cutest puppy in the world?

All shots are done! Yesterday was Stella's first day as a free woman!

First crop in the Earthbox: lettuce

The green planter contains all the extra plants I over-bought because I didn't read the directions first. We're going to see if they grow for a while and then eat them. In the meantime, it's a test between the Earthbox and my method of stuffing in as much as I can.

This is so disturbing.

It makes me want to throw something away.

Oakland woman found under junk pile.

Play time!

Stella in the garden

Nap time!

Advice on selecting fluffy pets

As you probably know, we have two fluffy pets. Lexi, our indoor cat who won't even step over a puddle during her rare trips outside is self-cleaning and BROWN. Stella, our fluffy dog who loves to go outside and dances in puddles, requires baths and blow-drying. She's WHITE. This is not the ideal situation. Anyone considering a fluffy pet, think about this.

Good move!

Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Reversing Bush policy, President Barack Obama on Monday cleared the way for a significant increase in federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research and promised no scientific data will be 'distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda.'

Obama signed the executive order on the divisive stem cell issue and a memo addressing what he called scientific integrity before an East Room audience packed with scientists. He laced his remarks with several jabs at the way science was handled by former President George W. Bush.

'Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it is also about protecting free and open inquiry,' Obama said. 'It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.'

A new ride for Stella

Stella's pink and black carrier is really cool and well designed but it's sized for adult Stella, not the 3.8 lb. puppy I'm taking everywhere whose feet can't touch the ground.