Whenever I see a picture of a nursery, I usually notice one very clear thing:  it looks nothing like the rest of the person's house.

I'm not a mom, so maybe I don't have a say in this yet.  But I'm at the stage in my life where a friend is having a baby about once every five minutes (okay, that's an exaggeration, but three in one week is not).  So, as an aunt to many, and in honor of yet another recent birth, I just have to say that I like that there is a design trend for nurseries that actually look like another room in the house instead of screaming HEY OVER HERE, THIS IS THE NURSERY.  Lesson learned:  baby rooms don't have to be inspiring for just the baby!

Source: katie74k.tumblr.com via hannah on Pinterest

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I find it nearly impossible to stay focused on a single task in the house.  So when I can't take the mess anymore, I let go by finding a finishing touch of some kind - usually a pillow, rug, or a piece of art.  Lately, I seem to be on a light fixture streak.

It all started with an unexpected discovery at a brief trip to TJ Maxx.  Still feeling zero buyer's remorse.  These suckers are staying.


My usual perusing through Pinterest later the same week turned up this photo:
And instantly, it was like a jolt of caffeine:  that white shade would be perfect for the pantry area in the kitchen.  An Ikea MÅNLJUS fixture was the next best (and least expensive) thing.
And since two in a row isn't enough, the stars aligned one more time to let me discover the perfect pick for the hallway.  It's rare to find light fixtures this size that don't look like gumballs.  Or worse yet, boobs.    And not even nice ones.  Pale shades with dark bronze nipples.  Zombie boobs.  Which makes me wonder, what was the model for these?  Rollos?
The only drawback?  I needed at least three.  Lowes had only one at my store.  But luckily their stores keep stock up to date online, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I was forced to use the online search tool.


Because when I did, I learned that the store just six miles away sells them for $5 cheaper (plus another 5% on top for using my Lowe's credit card).  For less than $20 apiece, these beauties are worth the trip.

Discover any great buys lately?  I'd love to hear 'em!

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...try 800 million more times, and you'll probably get it right.

I have been trying in vain to cover the legs for the chair in the study-o for several weeks.  Every time I think I've painted the last coat, it only gets streaky once it's dry.  I've tried this four times now, and I'll be damned if I'm going to paint a fifth coat and still see streaks (I was sure to use a primer that has proven itself time and time again, so I blame the paint rather than blame the primer or method).


But, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise.  Frustrated, I wanted to prove to myself that a fifth coat, however annoying, was necessary to get the look I wanted.  Now that the walls are painted and I have the fabric, why not compare everything together in one photograph to show myself it's going to be worth every time-consuming coat?


Hmm.  Or, not.  Everything looks pretty bland.  For funsies, I tried out a caulk cap for color inspiration.


Now that's more like it!  Off to the garage to take care of this bland color combination (and the streaky paint job) in one coat (and using a new product too, which is also fun to try!).

Where have you gotten color inspiration lately?

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I'm not much of a runner.  I'm not much of a swimmer.  I'm not much of an athlete in general, I suppose.  But as of this weekend, I'm a warrior.  After years of hearing about Warrior Dash, I finally did it.  I stopped giving myself excuses and participated in one of the most challenging races around.


I ran up muddy hills.  I trudged over buoys across a lake.  I crawled under barbed wire, pulled my way up a rope wall, scrambled through a scrap yard of old cars, and hurdled over barricades.  And as the post title tells you, I leapt through friggin' fire!  (Maybe the most impressive thing is that I drove up to the middle of nowhere and did this with a strong stench of petting zoo in the air.)


For years, I have watched several of my (guy) friends run Warrior Dash, and always gave myself an excuse not to try it.  It honestly looked like fun (they have awards for best costume, so the people watching factor is off the charts).  It also looked like you had to be tough as nails (or batshit crazy, or both) to do it.  But over this last year, I've been throwing myself into things I've grown tired of avoiding (grad school, for instance).  It was time I took that to physical challenges I've always wanted to do, too.


Every time I started wheezing up a steep, muddy incline (I have asthma, so this happened a few times during the race), I found myself swearing aloud to push just a little further (the mantra, if you want to call it that, was "F*ck you, b*tch.  You're doing this.")  It wasn't really something I said to me, but more to the excuses I give myself.  I wanted to prove (to me) that I could do it.

My sister and I signed up for it together, and we had a blast.  We witnessed a blind participant compete (hell, after seeing this, it was kind of impossible not to finish).


In the end, I was bloody, bruised, and exhausted.  I even discovered muscles that apparently only pop out when they are covered in mud.


The above photo is probably the one and only time I'll ever look anything like a bodybuilder.  I consider that a good thing.

But without a doubt, I am doing it again next year.  These are just a few photos we took the day of the race (the others are not yet available from the photog company, and based on the Dirty Girl Mud Run I ran earlier this month, are ridiculously expensive to purchase, so I may not have more to show).  And at the end?  A can of beer to replenish what I'd lost during the race (sweet of 'em to cater to me like that, don't you think?).


I'm not going to lie, the race was tough.  But I'm so glad I did it.  I actually DID IT!

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