Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Hunting, waiting, and surprises!

Who doesn’t  love a good bargain?

We’ve been looking for a headboard for a guest bedroom in our house for quite some time.

Since it wasn’t a real necessity, we only allowed ourselves a small budget.

We’ve checked out the local want ads.

Walked through Ikea.

Checked the want ads again.

Waited.

We actually found one we really liked-but someone beat us to it.

(Somebody got a steal for $40!)

A week ago my husband surprised me with a little creation he just  put together in the garage.

He ended up spending around $70, and some manual labor time, but he surpassed my goal by a long shot.

Here it is before he painted it.

image

I married a real craftsman!

Actually, he has so many amazing projects to his credit.

Lucky me!

It is now in place, just waiting for a couple of pillow cases to be stitched up. 

(Now, if I could get him to learn to sew!)

I’m hoping to get things finished up this weekend.

JoAnn

P.S.  Do you love making something over, or do you save up for something really nice?

Saturday, March 1, 2014

A fun cultural date…

I was invited to attend a Latino Festival last night, to watch one of my cute students dance on the program.

My husband and I decided to make a date out of the evening, and headed downtown with eager expectations.

Don’t you just love that end-of-the-work-week-do-something-fun feeling?

It was a cloudy, but beautiful evening.

image

We jumped on the freeway and headed North.

image

 

Recent moisture had left the foothills covered with a light dusting of snow, and the late afternoon sun seemed to showcase its beauty.

image

 

We headed for the Salt Palace Convention Center, and were lucky enough to find a parking spot right across the street.

This little alley looked fun to explore another time.

image

Did you know that the convention center covers two city blocks?

We had to do a bit of walking before we got to the right part of the building, but at least it was warm inside.

Doesn’t she look beautiful in her traditional white dress?

(Sorry, I had to blur her face for her privacy.)

image

The program was lively and colorful, with dancing and singing.

image

image

I fell in love with this outfit, too. 

image

It was such an enjoyable evening.

We finished up the night at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Su Casa.

I felt honored to be invited to share in a program showcasing her talent, and to learn more of her family’s culture!

Hope you get to do something relaxing and rejuvenating this weekend, too.

JoAnn

P.S. Happy Birthday, Katie!

 

image

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Art, hand-me-downs, and changing my mind

My last post was about trying to create a watercolor from a snap shot using an i-pad app.    Rosella from the blog Rhubarb and Roses kindly shared the names of two apps that she knew about. 

She suggested one called Waterlogue and another called Mobile Monet.  I hope to try them both. 

(I really appreciate her tip.  Thanks!)

Even though this is a fun project, nothing compares to REAL art (even if it is a poster or a copy version) of the master painters.  While we have amazing technology to change, edit, enlarge, and reproduce art, they had the insight and extraordinary talent to actually create it.

One of my favorite styles of art is French Impressionism, and I’ve mentioned before how much I like the art of Claude Monet (1840-1926).

While we were in the process of redoing our bedroom, we chose a Monet to hang on our wall.  We ordered a copy of “The Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil”  on line.  We paid a little bit more to have a framed canvas, but the price was still very reasonable and the shipping was free.

(Buying nice frames, non-glare glass, and mats can add up, so it was a good deal.)

We also lucked out that it was on a two day sale.

It finally came and I really do like it.

image

It seems to go well above the little gray chair.

(This shot is for you, Holly!)

image

The red dresser was one of those hand-me-down pieces that we acquired when we got married.  It was passed to us from Ken’s sister’s husband’s parents.  Over the years it has changed color a few times (it was originally blond wood, which we didn’t like), but it is a solid piece of furniture.  We did change out the knobs on the drawers.

Yes, the red color is bright.

Maybe it’s next paint color life will be a more muted shade.

As we were hanging the Monet, we noticed that EVERY SINGLE THING hanging on our walls was black and rectangular in shape.

Everything. 

(Even the mirror above the dresser.)

We painted the mirror red, and found an oval mirror we already had to change out for one of the black rectangles.

Before:

image

After:

image

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the little mirror even matches the finish on the lamps, so it was a win-win change.

If you want to see the original post of the bedroom redo, go here.

While our decorating style (or lack of) may not follow the rules, our humble home is our castle.

We’ve spent many years working on it, one project at a time.  I look at the decorating shows and marvel that the home buyers can change out everything they don’t like all at once!

We are so grateful to have a warm, cozy place to live.

Do you change your mind as you decorate, too?

JoAnn

I took an online decorating style quiz that I found on

21 Rosemary Lane.

My style is 33% traditional, 33% cabin, and 34% Nantucket.  Sounds like a strange combination to me!

 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

I Want That App! Or….Fluffy, but not very deep!

When you think of the word “fluffy” what comes to mind?

Light feathery pancakes?

Goose down filled pillows?

Big, soft clouds on a crisp summer day?

Well, the fluffy I’m talking about isn’t that fluffy.

This post is pretty much a fluffy-Thursday-need-a-new-blog-post-but-don’t-have-anything-interesting-to-say-post.  After reading it, I’m pretty sure no one will accuse me of deep pondering or insight as to the mysteries of life. 

I’m even borrowing ideas from others, since I can’t find any original thoughts of my own today.

Yes, I need a weekend!

I’ve been noticing a lot of fun pictures on blogs lately, that have been turned into water colors, using an app that you can download on your ipad. 

I haven’t purchased it yet, but I sure do want to.

I have been trying to get a similar effect using our computer photo program.

It isn’t quite the same.

I still had fun playing around with it, however.

I forgot to notice the name of the filter on the first two pictures I altered.  I think they were one of the watercolor ones.

 

image

 

image

This filter is called Eggshell Crackle.  I kind of like this one.

image

This one is called Metal Chrome. 

It makes the playhouse look a little like an old abandoned shack!

Kind of creepy.

image

Photocopy- not too much detail shows up.

image

Pencil Sketch is kind of interesting.

image

My vote goes to Eggshell Crackle!  I just might have to have a large copy made!

image

 

Speaking of large copies- our Monet is here and is hanging on the wall in our bedroom.

We really like it a lot!

Hopefully, this weekend I can get some pictures to share.

Have a great evening!

JoAnn

P.S.  Here’s an unrelated thought:

“If you stumble, make it part of the dance.”

-Author unknown

 

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Long week at school…

This week was a l-o-n-g one at school :

Parent teacher conferences

Data reports

New students

Meetings

Valentine’s Day

(We’ll celebrate it tomorrow- but I’m already anticipating it!)

This video made me laugh.

(I like my job, but some days it requires a LOT of patience!)

 

JoAnn

P.S.  Is it just me, or are all teachers feeling overwhelmed?

 

Project1

Sunday, February 9, 2014

A Day at the Museum

Yesterday, we wanted to play.

Our family was trying to think of something fun to do for an outing.  The weather didn’t encourage an outdoor activity (it was raining), and the age of our grandchildren didn’t make movie- going sound relaxing at all. 

We decided  buy Salt Lake Connect Passes.  We’ve done the one day passes before, but thought we’d try the yearly pass this time.

The pass is good for twelve months and includes admission to the following places:

Clark Planetarium

Discovery Gateway (Children’s Museum)

Leonardo at The Library

Lion House Restaurant ($9.99 value meal)

Natural History Museum

Red Butte Garden

Snow Bird Ski and Summer resort (tram ride)

Thanksgiving Point (gardens and museum)

This is the Place Heritage Park

Tracy Aviary

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Utah Olympic Park (zip line, Alpine slide, or tour)

Utah’s Hogle Zoo

The tickets are $75 for adults, $64 for seniors, and $63 for kids.

It was a little investment up front, but will be a good deal for the rest of the year.

Adventure #1:

We started off at the Natural History Museum. 

They had a new “Chocolate” exhibit that opened yesterday, too.

The sweet aroma of chocolate was heavenly!

We spent about three hours discovering Native American displays, dinosaur replicas,  wildlife, earth forms, and other Utah historic things.

Everybody had fun!

 

P2081918

A little hands-on project of grinding down the cacao beans was tried.

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

If you live in Utah and want some fun activities to do, check out the link above for more information.

We can’t wait for our next adventure!

JoAnn

P.S.  When I see Liz’s pictures, I’ll probably have to post more.  She takes better photos than I do!

P.P.S.  Liz did a blog and she does have some good pictures that I missed, so if you want to see more photos….go here.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Winter Olympics - Utah style…

The Sochi Winter Olympics started today.

Pretty exciting!

It was so fun to watch and be a part of the Olympics when they were held here in Utah in 2002, especially getting to mingle with crowds of people from all over the world. 
We didn’t attend any of the actual events, but we walked from one end of the city to the other, (multiple times) enjoying the street entertainment, the little shops, the food booths, and the blending of languages and cultures as thousands of people mingled together.
The streets downtown were closed to traffic and the city took on a magical atmosphere.  Murals decorated the tall buildings, everything was lit up with banners and lights, and stages were set up everywhere.  It was amazing.

Unfortunately, we weren’t invited to the Sochi Olympics.

(Translation:  We couldn’t afford to go there.)

In the spirit of the Olympics, my husband decided to have a little fun with our photo program today. 

Looks like Brooklyn is going for the gold.

What do you think?

image

Looks like she was pleased with her slide!

image

Let’s hope the Sochi games are a success!

JoAnn

P.S.  I couldn’t fine the link to the ski jump picture.  I’ll try and find it.  Sorry.