Plan for Health

I do this every once in a while when my weight goes past my "Warning!" zone. My "Warning!" zone is a number I set for myself--that if I ever reach it, it's a warning to buckle down, work-out/eat less until it is safely below again. I used to work out every day and weigh myself daily so it was very easy to keep myself on track. I even weighed myself each day on my home scale and measured my waist with professional seamstress tape. Over the years, I moved, got married, schedules changed and I stopped doing all those things I used to do to care for my body. My body settled into a number that is comfortable but I'm on a mission to get my 23 year old figure back!

First things first: portion control. That is the most effective way for me to lose weight. Even if I ate 1/3 of what the hubby eats, that is still more than what is necessary for me. I used to eat just until the hunger feeling goes away. That was the right about for me to sustain my weight loss. It is harder to do when eating out or eating with someone who eats more/longer but I need to do that again.

Second: cut out all sweets. Oh, that's going to hurt! I love sweets but I know that is another thing that needs to go.

That is pretty much it. Portion control + no sweets. Sounds simple but obviously it is harder than it looks.

I worked out today--2nd time in 3 days. It feels good! I'm slowly on my way :)

Peacock-boo

In my quest to find more information about upholstery and reupholstery in the (sad) event that we do not keep the lovely raspberry fabric on our chairs, I came across The Whole 9 Yards. I've passed by this building several times but I have never ventured in. This store will most likely charge more than Fabric Depot (yay for 30% off coupons!) but I think this store will have more unusual prints. Just look at this beautiful Vienna print!



It is rather expensive at $27.99/yard. To cover an accent chair, I will probably need 5 yards of fabric so it will cost $140 just for the material. This doesn't include the cost of labor either. I found this lovely peacock chair on their website using a mix of the Vienna and other fabrics & trims. I admit, this chair is not for the faint of heart! It teeters on a precarious ledge between full-blown awesomeness and scary tackiness. Truly, it tips the scale. It's the type of piece that will incite immediate and irrevocable love or aversion. It cannot be helped! That is particularly why I like it. This chair cost $550 for the upholstery job & fabric, I would presume.



It is too bad that custom upholstery is so expensive! But it truly is an art form, a true trade of a craftsman. Considering the hours one probably spends on this, I can understand the cost but it will be a while (if ever) we actually end up going this route. Still, I think I will stop by and take a look around for further inspiration.

The Whole 9 Yards
1820 E. Burnside
Portland, OR 97214

Unexpected

I read in House Beautiful that when you come across something that looks "unexpected", it usually means that it doesn't work. Hubby brought home a beautiful pair of chairs in the loveliest raspberry color with platinum nailhead trim. He knew that I would like them even though he thinks they are too vibrant for our home. We both agree that the design, look, and style of the chairs are perfect. The only problem is that the raspberry may overwhelm our more neutral palette of creams, champagne, sea greens, and pale blues. Though we have more pale green and less blue, is similar to what we have right now:



I am considering the addition of more pinks. Husband prefers to keep the living room peaceful and soothing. I like that too, but I think some color would really liven up the space. Right now, despite our blue accents, it seems almost too monotonous. Splashes of raspberry, fuchsia, and pink works really well with our color scheme as seen the following pictures.









However, the vast majority of the pictures use pink and raspberry as accents. Would it be overboard to have two raspberry accent chairs? Imagine that shade of raspberry upholstery on the white chair.



If I added in some gently patterned pillows to our ivory couches and tossed a smaller patterned pillow on a chair, would it work? Or would the bright raspberry chairs still be "unexpected"?

(Unless otherwise specified, source for all pictures)

Toast to Toxic-Free Living

I've always been rather health conscious but it wasn't until after I went to college that I became more aware of the environment around me. I rarely eat junk food/fast food or drink soda or juices and that has helped some, but that is only part of it. I also started using more organic products such as shampoos and skin care but usually return to mainstream brands because they do work better. It's been years since but now many mainstream brands are much better at using lower toxic ingredients. It is still sad because while the products are less toxic, the vast majority of them still have carcinogenic compounds that can cause everything from cancer to reproductive abnormalities. I've been using Cosmetic Database for several years now to check on the danger levels of my most commonly used products. It has made me change my ways. For instance, my beloved Nars blush registered a toxicity level NINE. This is something that I use daily and I love it, but after this runs out, I will switch to a healthier brand, like Tarte. I should probably dump it right now but I'm nearly out anyway.

Another thing I have done to improve the environment around me is to add toxin-filtering houseplants to our home. NASA conducted an air quality test with various plants and found that major improvements can be found just by keeping a plant or two in each room! Since we got married, we have purchased new furniture, carpeting, and have done multiple home improvement projects that sadly added loads of toxins into our air. For instance, most furniture has formaldehyde in it while new carpeting is loaded with Benzene. Even though we purchased a more expensive fabric that isn't sprayed, it is still full of chemicals. Our newly painted rooms don't really help with the air quality either.

Over the weekend, we went to the mecca of gardening centers, "Al's Gardening Center" in Sherwood and stocked up on several plants. The sales person there was very knowledgeable and we were careful to buy hardy plants that propagate well. Although I initially wanted a boston fern, she advised against it because it sheds considerably. We have since spent a considerable sum adding plants into our home...the heftiest being a 6 ft tall ficus tree. My favorite purchase so far is the "snake plant" aka "mother-in-law's tongue" because it is so hardy and propagates easily. From one $10 plant, I can reproduce it multiple times. Other plants I am propagating include: spider plants, golden pathos, and aloe vera. Hopefully, from the investments I made, I can fill our home with plants.


Below are some of the NASA recommended houseplants.

1 Areca palm
2 Lady palm
3 Bamboo palm
4 Rubber plant F
5 Dracaena “Janet Craig”
6 English ivy
7 Dwarf date palm
8 Ficus Alii
9 Boston fern
10 Peace lily
Source

Home Project: Apothecary Jar Terrariums!

With the sun out and spring just around the corner, I am longing for fresh greenery and flowers. I have a few beautiful apothecary jars leftover from my wedding. They were actually my sister's, who first used it in her wedding, but since she lives too far away to transport them back safely, she let me keep them along with the rest of her post-wedding stash. (Having a sister is a wonderful thing in so many ways.) She collected them over the course of a year. One of the jars sadly broke after her wedding so now I only have four. I don't think they will hold up for another transport so I am keeping them, which is actually quite nice. They are truly beautiful and unique and it gives me great joy to repurpose these jars.

Every time I see them, I just smile. I've used them as decor around my house--during the holidays, I filled them with monochromatic fruit such as apples and tangerines for a bright, cheerful look. It would look beautiful with pine cones or even monochromatic ornaments too. Still, it seemed a little boring and didn't really maximize the potential of the jars. Until I came across this:



Beautiful, isn't it! I looked around some more and found DIY instructions for creating my own set of apothecary jar terrariums on Apartment Therapy.

Of course a real terrarium won't be as neat as the first jar. It's going to be a little damp, a little humid, and a bit grainer with dirt. Like this:



It looks like each jar is filled with moss, pebbles, and a little dirt. With just the tiniest bit of moisture and plenty of sunlight, plans thrive in this closed environment. Isn't it beautiful? I have one terrarium in my bathroom already. Now if I can only convince the Husband to take down his Star Wars shrine in the library and replace it with these jars instead.

Fashion 101: Dressing like an Ivy League Sorority Girl

Yesterday night, while idly perusing my guilty pleasure site (celebrity gossip), I came across this hilarious, jaw-dropping, envy-inducing article. Basically, it was a six page fashion doctrine filled with a harsh commentary touting the evils of plastic and satin cocktail dresses for those weighing over 130lbs.

Poor grammar and Blair wannabe behavior aside, this girl is pretty on point with her fashion advice. Some of her mantras are plain common sense and rules that I used to follow when I was young and single living in Southern California. It has been many years hence since I've accessorized on a daily basis and I can't recall when I last spritzed on perfume. I suppose I should have been affronted by her attitude but instead, I thank her for reminding me that I need to take care of my appearance.

Inspired by these young early-twenty girlies, this morning, I spent a little extra time to make myself presentable.

* I wore a thin long sleeved stretch t-shirt underneath shorter cardigan. (Tops: check!)
* My jeans are of the straight variety (I don't pull off the skinny jean look well).
* Accessories include my diamond solitaire ring (I get !!! for that because she likes rings), a Tiffany pendant necklace, and pearl stud earrings.
*Make-up included sheer tinted moisturizer, subtle champagne and pink eyeshadow, blush, and sheer rosy lipstick. Light & fresh. Whaddyaknow...I do feel lighter & fresher.
*Shoes- though not Tory Burch, I'm sure my black leather Cole Haan slippers will suffice just fine in her book.
*Hygiene- Always clean hair anyway, but I blew it out and spritzed on perfume.

There! Now I should look like a Cornell Sorority Girl! Yay! The goal of my life has been accomplished!!

Actually, all joking aside, I DO actually feel better about myself today. I look like myself--the way I used to when I cared about things such as my appearance. If this article taught me anything (accessorizing aside), it is that I once took good care of myself and that should start doing it again. I spend so much effort decorating the house that I have forgotten to take care of myself. I didn't think I was old enough to have a dated style, but I do. It's a mid-2000 style rut. Times have changed and I need to catch the train back on to the present! Does this mean that I'm going to go out and purchase skinny jeans and ankle boots? Probably not. But I will look out for some longer flowy shirts ( the girl is so right about longer shirts) and some costume jewelry.

Hallway at work!

Remember my previous post about discreet shoe storage? Well, after some measuring, debating, hemming & hawwing, we decided to bite the bullet and go with the IKEA Hemnes shoe cabinets! This picture was our inspiration for a pretty yet practical way to store shoes.



Our entry way is not defined and the front door opens up directly into the dining room. If we had a little a nook or cranny that separated the room better, we would not have gone to such extremes. A simple bar shoe rack would suffice. Since we didn't have that extra bit of house, we had to simulate a hallway to distinguish the dining room. Was it a lot to blow $200 (not including the mirror and little decoratives) just to store some shoes? Totally. Originally, we were concerned that the white manufactured composite so well- favored by IKEA would look cheap or garish but it actually blends in with our moulding and trim well enough to pass for a built in at first glance.



The runner in front of the cabinets provided a place for people to walk onto to remove shoes without getting the carpet dirty. I did like the bright cheerful colors of the bright floral IKEA rug but it was too large for the area. In the end, we got this brown striped runner for it's form (stripes to form a hallway for the eyes to follow down into the living room) and function (machine-washable and a color that hides stains well).
Each "cubby" (as the husband quaintly described them to our guests) stores at least 2 pairs of men's shoes and more for daintier shoes. The cabinet itself took ages to put together, even for a lego champion such as my hubby. There was an insane amount of tiny pieces that put this contraption together but he did it perfectly. Of course, I cannot leave well enough alone and persuaded the husband that we needed to line the bins to make it easier to clean. I had an ulterior motive of course. No plain contact paper for me! Enter Target! We got this lovely green paisley and a white with blue and brown polka-dots print and alternated between both to line the cubbies.



We had about 25 people at our housewarming and it was such a blessed sight to see all but a few pairs of rain boots on the landing. We still have a ways to go before the entry way feels "complete" but it is so nice to sit back and give each new addition it's rightful period of admiration.