NYE in the KCM....O

Yeah, that didn't quite work the way that I hoped, oh well.  :)

It's New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, and I have seen so many friends and loved ones post recaps on Facebook that I thought perhaps I would take a stab at it myself.  After all, 2012 was kind of a big deal for N and I - and as usual we have not done our Christmas cards.  I swear, we intend to complete them every year.  This year we even went as far as starting to design a card (N really wants a photo card and won't even considering using any of the cards that I have in storage) only to realize that we really didn't have any good pictures of the two of us together!  Ruh roh.

Anyway, what to say about 2012?  It was a year of accomplishing goals, that is for sure!  I finally graduated law school after four grueling years, and N managed not to kill me.  It was a wonderful feeling, if a bit anticlimactic.  I went on my first "girls" vacation as an adult to celebrate my thirtieth birthday, and no one went to jail!!  N and I slugged our way through the bar, and again, no one died.  I even passed!

N was offered a new opportunity to expand his horizons at work, which was a major accomplishment and (I personally believe) a sign of how valued he is there.  Finally.  :)  And me?  Well, I started my first "real law" job.  I'd say real job, but let's be honest, I've had a string of "real" jobs that brought me to this point, so let's just hold on here.  I proved myself to be the diva of flexibility and packed my life to transition to Kansas City, without N, and so far we're thriving in our unconventional arrangement.  After all, we hit the five year marriage mark in September, the thirteen year together anniversary in October, and no one is trading up for a new model yet.

We've celebrated many new additions as our friends have expanded their families, and I could not be happier to be an honorary auntie all over again.  Even though it means that I spent significant portions of the year drinking alone, as sitting next to a pregnant lady while you chug wine just makes you look like you have a problem.  I have watched my nephews blossom into charming little boys, watched my sister overcome amazing odds through sheer grit, and realized just how awesome so many of our friends are.  It's a damn accomplished group, that is for sure.

Not all of 2012 has been perfect.  I miss my husband, cats, family, and friends.  We've suffered personal loss, and grieved with others near and far.  But I'm hoping that what we pull out of that loss is the continued reminder that we need to grab and cherish what we have.  Which means we definitely will have pictures worth sharing in 2013.  Next year, I want to be able to show you what happened, so that eighty years from now when I am no longer here our friends and family will also be able to remember.

So raise your glass.  Have a blessed 2013.  May your challenges be few and your blessings great.  May you fail - because it means that you tried.  Hug your loved ones, and remind them why they are loved.  I will see you on the flip side!.

The Bedroom Closet

The apartment is old, like from an era when people really did not have closets.  The largest closet, and the one where I keep my clothing, is in the dining room.  I actually think that it was built in when the apartment was switched from radiant heat to forced air.  There is a "closet" next to it that houses the furnace, and the closet continues behind the wall.

The wall in the bedroom is TINY.  I mean frighteningly small: less than twenty-four inches wide at the back, thirty-six inches wide at the front, and only twenty inches deep.  The previous tenant used it to store some of her craft materials.  I decided to use it to store my shoes and purses.  In the condo, even though we have sufficient closet space, I never had an effective storage area for my shoes.  This time, I wanted something that would encourage me to keep them organized.

After looking at what seemed like hundreds of shoe racks on Amazon, I ordered this shelf.

All of the traditional shoe racks seemed to have huge design flaws (like crashing to the floor) or were too small.  This was the correct width, and looked like it would be a good height.  But when I first set it up, it seemed too small.  It didn't go high enough in the closet, and I wondered if I needed more shelves.  I had enough space for my shoes (once I put my summer sandals into storage) but there was not enough space to put my purses and other accessories.  But then I had an epiphany, and this was the result.

I realized that I could hang my purses off of the rod, and bought a box to keep small hand held purses and my umbrella.  The top shelf (which you can't see here) has my suitcases, my nice purses that need to be stored flat in their bags, and some random totes.  My scarves are also on the rod.  It's a great accessory closet, even if it would make an AWFUL real closet!

:)

Living Room "In Progress"

More pictures, aren't you excited!  This is how the apartment looks right now.  Well, almost right now.  It is definitely a good feeling to be getting to the point where I feel that I can live in and enjoy my home, and where I would not be embarrassed if someone were to come by to visit!

The living room was one of the reasons that I rented this apartment.  Nick and I really loved the French doors and the exposed brick.  Now, however, it looks less like the second hand shop that we first saw, and more like me.  The furniture is a mixture of family pieces, craigslist finds, and hand me downs.  I am liking the vibe in the space, although there are a few things that I would like to change at some point.

This is the leather chair that I purchased on craigslist.  The pillow, lamp, and stool are from Ikea, although the stool has since moved on.  I think that I'm just going to skip a table because the space is a little tight.  I also have since placed some additional art on the wall with the arch.  Going forward, I would really like to replace the lamp with an arched reading lamp, which would add an interesting architectural element and also take up less visual space on the wall.

These bookshelves came from Nick's grandparents.  The rug is one of my favorite pieces.  It was a splurge purchase from CB2 for the condo that moved to Kansas City with me to hide from the cats.  The coffee table came from Nick's aunt.  I was not initially certain that it would be something that I wanted to keep long term in the apartment, but when it arrived it just worked.  

The couch is the original pullout from our condo.  The pillow on the left was the one that I recovered with the green patterned fabric, but I have not had a chance to take new pictures yet (I mean really, my house hasn't been clean enough!.  The poster above the couch may move on shortly.  I like it (it's an old nineties Aaron Chang print) but it doesn't seem to fit and I think I need something with some color.

I had to hang the curtains from the ceiling because of the crazy plaster walls.  I finally got a television that has taken its place of honor on the media stand.  The speakers are from Nick's uncle, and although they may seem old, they have a fantastic sound and I love the look.

Projects Remaining:

• Art on the arch wall Tweak art on the arch wall (I'm considering embroidering it!) .
• Replace art above the sofa
• Build a table for behind the sofa
• Recover the pillow for the sofa 
• New lamp for behind the chair
• Buy pouf ottoman
• Paper the back of the book

I think that over all it's going really well, but I'm still excited to see how it may start to develop in the future!

Sewing a Pillow Cover

A few weeks back, as things continued to get closer to being "done" in the living room, I decided to tackle the pillow cover that I have been meaning to put together for the other pillow on the couch.   I first bought this fabric to make pillow covers for the condo, but never ended up making the pillow covers.  So I brought the fabric with me, which was good because I have an old bedroom pillow that is the right size but wrong color for the couch.

The basic pillow pattern is one piece for the front, measuring the size of the pillow plus one inch added to the height and the width (assuming half inch seams).  The back is two pieces, the width of which is that of the pillow plus an inch.  Each back piece should also be half of the height plus three or four inches (assuming one inch for the seams, 3/4 of an inch to finish the seam, and fabric for overlap).

The first step is to finish the overlap seams.  Iron a double quarter inch seam along the width of each piece, and finish it on your sewing machine.  Then, lay the two back sides on top of the front (right sides facing in) and pin the edges.

Sew the outer edges of the form, moving around the outside.  You can reinforce the start and end sections, but I just started and then moved around to the end.  I do then do a few reverses, but I'm not sure that they are necessary.  Trim the corners.

Once the pillow cover is finished, turn it inside out, and stuff it!

Voila!  New pillow for the couch.  On to the next project.  I can't tell if I'm excited to finish these projects, or if I will ultimately be depressed when there is nothing left to do!  I'm leaning towards excited, especially now that I have a television to waste my time.

:)