Category Archives: House to Home

We all need more thyme…

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With my dirty house and uncompleted projects, not to mention my frazzled mind,  I thought it appropriate to share some time management tips I’ve found while lurking around the web. Maybe it will encourage me to actually implement them in my own life. Hopefully, then all the painting and cleaning and organizing will finally get done!

{Table and Home}

1. Keep a list. Yeah, this would be a good tip, only if I could keep track of my list. But funnily enough, those helpful little lists always end up being found at the bottom of my purse a month after the fact.Maybe I should clean out my purse more often. Or stop making lists and then sticking them in my purse!

{Margarets.com}

2. Evaluate how you spend your time. O.K., this is a big one for me. And I must make a confession here, I am a TV junkie! The first thing I do when coming in from work is turn the TV on. Of course after petting the dog, and getting a plate full of yumminess that the sweetie has concocted. If I were to omit the TV portion of my evening, that would free up a good 3 or 4 hours of time that could be spent making my casa the casa I know it could be. (Yes, I am militant about giving my house a pep talk.)

{BestBuy.com}

3. Plan your week. This could be helpful, at one point in my life I remember that Monday’s were always grocery shopping and laundry days. Now a days, Monday’s are come home plop on the couch and watch Monday night sitcoms.  No laundry gets done, which my overstuffed hamper can attest to, and our pantry is filled with food that the sweetie has deemed acceptable. Honestly, I haven’t found Ramen noodles acceptable healthy fair since I was a 21 year old college student. The ingredients for his yummy meals are usually purchased that evening. So, we never have food on hand to prepare a quick and healthy dinner. If I do not set aside an evening to do laundry then I at least need to re institute my Monday night trip to the grocery store.

There you have it, three good solid tips to a more timely life! That sounded like it should be in an obituary. Maybe, 3 time saving tips to allow you to get your house clean and still watch Monday night sitcoms!

It’s the most gourdoues time of year!

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I couldn’t help myself, I’ve just got gourds on the brain. Especially after visiting the dollar store last night! They had the prettiest ceramic pumpkins! I may have gone a little overboard with the pumpkin hoarding harvesting.

Amongst my ceramic pumpkins I also purchased some “faux” gourds. They won’t rot like the real thing, so if they survive a season in casa de April, I can use them next year!

So here’s what I did with them once I got them all prettied up and unwrapped.

All of the pumpkins and squash like items, came from the dollar store. Everything else I already owned. The table runner is actually a small round table cloth that I folded to fit like a table runner. The place mats I purchased, at the dollar store (!), back in February. I raised some of the pumpkins by placing them atop upside down drinking glasses, and a pillar candle holder I got for Christmas last year. And the dinnerware of course, I have owned since my first college apartment. Speaking of which it might be time to buy some more “grown up” dinnerware. A girl can only use her mom’s 80’s goose plates for so long!

Here’s some more views of my pretty harvest table:

Doesn’t it make you want to GOURDge on a yummy harvest inspired supper with pumpkin pie for dessert?!

Here’s the low down of how much this little project cost in case you were wanting to take up the dollar store fall decorating challenge yourself:

Pumpkins: $15 from the dollar store

Table Runner: FREE-bought last year at Wal-Mart after Christmas

Placemats: FREE-purchased last year at the same dollar store said pumpkins were harvested

Tableware: FREE-thanks Mom!

There’s linky parties happening!! Visit Hooked on Houses and The Nester for some more fall decorating eye candy!! And link up if you have a blog!!

Much Ado about nothing…

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Much like the title of this post indicates, there really isn’t much to say today. But I did feel the need to post about fall. Decorating for fall to be exact. For a while now I’ve had fall decorating on my mind, and I’ve been trying to decide if I should change out my old fall wreath for a new one. Or do away with a wreath completely. But I do know that I MUST have something outdoors to celebrate fall, aside from the trees that are allowing there leaves to FALL! Sorry, I just couldn’t resist the obvious.

Since I tend to lean toward the Halloween side of fall, I’ve found some more sweet and yet spooky decor ideas! All found on the Good Housekeeping website. Please click on the pictures for all the ghoulish details from the nice folks of Good Housekeeping.

How sweet are these punkins? Yes, I said punkins! I love how they made a tree out of them!

I’m just batty for these bats! (heh heh)

I don’t have a mantel, but if I did you know I’d be doing something like this. Actually, if I had a mantel I’d be changing it up constantly. Hmm…can you have a mantel without a fireplace?? I sense a post idea coming on!!

I haven’t done Jack-O-Lanterns since Jr. High, it’s something about the squishiness of the inards that gets me. But I do enjoy looking at them. I think the skeleton is my fave of this pack.

Well, I’m off to find me some punkins, bats, and scarecrows! OH MY!!

Loving Home

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There’s a big trend I’ve observed while perusing through my favorite design blogs, neutral colors. It almost leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But then again, my paint choices seem to be akin to Mimi’s make-up and clothing choices.  You remember Mimi from the Drew Cary Show right? If you don’t definitely check it out, it’s a hilarious show that I’ve wasted many a afternoon watching re-runs of during college.

If you remember correctly, my living room looks like this, when it’s clean and I’ve sent sweetie and Annie dog off on an afternoon adventure.

Very yellow and very red, isn’t it delicious?!? I love color, and have such a hard time accepting this trend into neutral. Maybe it’s not a trend, and just an element of design that’s been around since before I became interested in design. Are we that afraid of color nowadays? Or maybe it’s just that we are all too lazy to re-paint our rooms once we tire of the Barbie Pink. ( I like bright colors, but not that bright!)  As I learn more about design through reading my shelter mags and design blogs, it got me to thinking, which in and of itself is a very dangerous past time that I try to avoid like a dirty dish that needs washing.

But like I was saying, it got me to thinking, why are we afraid of color? Yes, I’ve seen a colorful throw pillow here and there, or maybe a pop of color in a nice lamp or a rug. But what about real color? A bright colorful wall, or a bold piece of furniture, a red couch perhaps?

{Image Courtesy of Being Brazen}

Instead these days, especially in some of my favorite blogs, I’m seeing rooms that look more like this:

{Image Courtesy of Apartment Therapy}

White, cold, sharp but not in a good way. In the sort of way that you could poke your eye out. But not shoot your eye out like the ill fated Ralphy on A Christmas Story. Yeah, I had to squish in a movie reference, even if it didn’t fit.

But again, I digress, it has been said that a good neutral wall color can work as a “canvas” for riskier design choices. But why not make your color the risky design choice? And why should color be risky at all when it’s such an easy fix. A can of paint won’t run you more than $30, if you purchase the good stuff.

I’m not saying that I’ve never fallen victim of a trend that would later be called outdated and ugly. I was a child of the 80’s, I wore my fair share of side pony tails and leg warmers. But what I am saying is that, shouldn’t we have things in our home that make us happy? And shouldn’t we be proud of those things that make us happy? Most importantly, shouldn’t we love our homes? It’s the place that witnesses our most important and profound moments in life, and most often those times that aren’t so important or profound.

Trend or no trend, neutral or colorful, a home is a place where you feel the most comfortable. A place where you can express yourself, either through design, or another outlet, it’s the place where you can be yourself. And there should be no shame in that, and no excuses made for the state of our homes. We all get busy with life and sometimes the floor doesn’t get vacuumed as often as we would like. (Yes, I’m preaching to myself here too!) Our homes should be an outward expression of who we are or how we feel, and there should be no excuses made for that. We should all love our homes, and fill them with whatever it is that makes us happy. Whether it be that old blue 80’s couch that you just can’t bring yourself to part with, or a sleek new contemporary sofa.

Bright Chairs

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With the onset of bronchitis, that’s lasted a month and still going strong (!), I really haven’t gotten a lot of my projects done, or started for that matter! But I have been able to surf the web for some pretty design trends. Currently, I’m really liking bright furniture.  Especially in rooms with a dark wall color, or more of a subdued tone. The cheerful tone of these furniture pieces is like a bright lipstick when you don’t have time to paint the rest of your face, they add that extra somethin’. Like these photos that I found on Opal Never Shouts.

Or these lovlies that I found on Target.com

Brightly colored furniture I love, but alas, I also have an affection for brightly colored walls as well, it might be too much include both. I can’t have my guests walking in and instantly have a headache with all the color.

Naked Door No More!

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Well, it FINALLY happened folks! This blogger finally got off her blogging bootie and COMPLETED a project! * Enter Rocky theme song here*

Yep, that’s right, I finally completed a home improvement project! Are you ready to hear about what it was?? I know your itching to find out! Drum roll please….I painted my front door red!!

It’s not a big project, but darn it, it’s something, and it’s done! Often times, I will post during shots, the occasional before shot, but never have I posted a completely completed AFTER!!  Yup, this is the very first After photo to appear on The Yellow Casa. So, here she is:

I used Behr Cherry Tart, it took two coats on both sides. Yep, I painted the inside red too. It was slightly nerve racking, deciding whether to paint both sides red, but ultimately I’m glad I took the plunge.

Sorry about the dark photo, the lighting in my living room isn’t quite the same with the door is closed.  And I was just too exited to wait for the hardware to be put back in place, I had to take a photo! I’ll make another this evening with the hardware in place. That way you’ll get to see a final product from the inside!

As mentioned above, I used Behr’s Cherry Tart. It was a close race between Cherry Tart and Bijor(?) Red.

The winner is on the left and the not so lucky contestant is on the right. As you can see, the latter had more orange in it. Both colors are pretty, but the red tone works better with the “tone” of our casa. As always, I forgot to take a before picture, but from the picture above you can see that my door was naked wood. It didn’t have any type of finishing, so hopefully my Cherry Tart paint will help her have some modesty!!

And just for giggles, here is our security door:

I’ve considered removing this door for better curb appeal, but it does keep the bad people out, and it brings in a lot of light. Since my red door makes me so happy, maybe I will paint this door red too.

Or I could stop while I’m ahead and paint the town red instead! Ha, don’t you love rhymes!

Signed,

April (the red door loving feign)

What do flowers pray for?

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This evening I noticed my sunflowers have come to a point where their heads are too heavy for their little stems to hold them up, so they droop. But to me, they look like they are enjoying a prayerful moment with heads bowed. It got me to wondering what flowers pray for. Do they pray for the same things that we pray for? Do they pray for help in those dark times? Do they praise God in those bright and happy times? Or do they pray for more flower appropriate things like rain and less bugs? Do they hope for the day that they will be plucked and used in a beautiful arrangement? Much like we hope that God will pluck us and use us in one of His arrangements.  Or  do they find hope and peace like we  find in the Lord, when our heads seem too heavy for our stems to hold us up.

This reminds me of a verse that was a favorite of my fathers it’s got nothing to do with flowers specifically, but I find it appropriate for times when it seems that we cannot hold our heavy sunflower heads up by ourselves:

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

So, just like these little sunflowers wait upon the Lord and show complete and utter dependence on God, we should do the same when life seems to make our heads too heavy for our little stems to hold us up.

An organized closet is a happy closet…

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Every evening when I’m planning my outfit for the next day, (because during the work week I must plan ahead, goodness knows I don’t have the time to do it in the morning), frustration ensues with the mangled mess of clothing I have piled in my bedroom. And goodness, finding a pair of shoes to wear is even worse! I find one shoe, but not it’s mate. I know I buy them in pairs, but how do they get separated once I bring them home?

So this weekend, my goal is to clean and organize my closet. It may end up being harder than I expect, so I might end up doing something less frustrating, like finally getting to that bathroom ceiling. But to inspire myself, I’ve found some helpful hints from the good folks of Better Homes and Gardens.

In the closet above, they utilized wicker baskets to store out of season clothing, canvas bins to stash work-out gear or other smelly or otherwise yucky clothing, think painting clothes. And it looks like they’ve installed stackable storage cubbies, to put all the smaller “foldable” wear. They also suggest that small divided containers be used to store jewelry and all those other accessories that a girl just can’t live without. This would so solve my dilemma when it comes to finding a matching pair of earrings. Like shoes, my earrings tend to go their separate ways once coming home.

Here is a similar adjustable closet organizer from Target:

For $300 buck-a-roos you too could have a nice organized closet. And if you’re on a tighter budget, here’s a cheaper option, at a less worrisome price of $79 , again from Target:

Well, I’m off to start organizing and plan my trip to Target!!

Annie the Destroyer

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This past weekend, as I walked through my dog ravaged backyard I remembered a time when my yard was compliment worthy. Really, when we were having window guys stop by for estimates they’d look out the back window and proclaim the beauty of our backyard. But that’s all changed since Annie dog came in the picture.

Yup, she looks cute and cuddly in the picture above, but believe me, there’s a master of destruction lurking behind those sweet puppy dog eyes.

Take the one above for instance, that’s our four legged house guest we had a few weeks ago. Can you see how nice Annie got along with her?  Actually, they got along quite well, this is an action shot of them wrestling. Annie just happened to have her mouth open and aimed at the little dogs head. But the point of this post, was to talk about my yard. And the yearning I have for it to return to it’s former glory.

The picture above doesn’t quite portray it’s former glory, but believe me, it’s better than what I’ve got today.

This pretty pink bush no longer lives. It was a casuality of Annie, much like many other plants in my yard. In fact, no shrub or flower was spared.

But enough mourning over spilled milk and eaten plants. I’m moving on, and I’ve been looking into alternatives to make my yard pretty again. First of all, a temporary dog run might need to be instituted until Annie dog has calmed down enough to realize we don’t want her eating our plants. It’s too bad we can’t train her to pull our weeds as well as she pulls  branches off of my Spanish Broom.

Here are some dog run options I’ve found:

A homemade dog run, I like this option, because we can make it as large as we want. And add shelter to it and maybe plant a little bit of grass in there for her.

Here are a couple of store bought options, these seem a little small for our dog. The first one is the most expensive of the two, but it comes with a nice cover, which is definitely needed. The second, would need a cover added to it, and I fear that Annie dog would jump right over it.

petsmart.com

petsmart.com

It’s something that will need some thought. It’s sort of like deciding whether you want to spank your child or not. OK, maybe not exactly like spanking your child, but I do feel like this would be a punishment. Which is something I certainly don’t want it to be. Maybe Annie will only have supervised time out in the yard.  Well, off to take my destroyer of all things green on her second walk of the day!

Open Air Room?

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So with it being summer and all, the sweetie and I have been spending a lot of time outside. Mainly hanging out in our sunroom. Did I mention I have a sunroom? I really need to make more pictures of the casa. Right now the sun room is a bit on the dusty side as it is basically a porch with windows. This weekend I promise I will clean it up and make pictures for you.

In it’s present state, my sun room is a bland and dusty space. I’ve been trying to come up with ways to make it feel more like a living space and less like a walk through space. So, I visited good ol’ reliable Better Homes and Gardens for some ideas. I discovered something called “porch rooms”. I’m in the love with this idea, they also have some pretty pictures of “open air rooms”, these are basically patios, but still I love the terminology. Can you picture it, lemonade in hand, inviting guests to the open air room. That would get you some curious looks I’m sure. But on to the pictures.

I really like the porch above, I’ve tried this in my sunroom. It’s worked out fairly well, now if only I could keep the dog hair and dust out.

This one is really nice too, I’ve thought about converting my sunroom into a sleeping space. Especially when my casa is full of family.

I love all the rocking chairs in this one.

This one looked so cozy, I could see myself curling up in that backyard with a good book.

The fireplace on this one caught my eye. Can’t you imagine sipping lemonade on that patio in the summer, and sitting near the fire in the early spring and late fall?

I had to include this one, because I just liked the patio. I would love to re-do my old cement slab patio with something like this. I’ve thought about scored concrete. Hmm….the possibilities.

There are so many pictures I would have loved to share, but alas, there certainly is not enough time to share them. I hope you enjoyed the stroll through my current favorite “open air rooms” and “porch rooms”.

Please note that all images are courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens.