Guestroom face-lift

This week my main post-work project at home was finishing the spare room face-lift.  I had an overwhelming urge to fix that room up a bit.  I hadn't seen the room in basically two months, while cousins Kaleigh and Kourtney were here, so when I went in after they left I felt like the room needed more cheer. I feel badly that it was so drab while they were here :o(. 

Initially, I wanted to do large color blocks on the wall but when I realized the project would involve measuring, chalk lines, painters tape, and strategy - I gave up.  Instead I opted to go with colorful vinyl polka dot decals.  They were cheap, easy to apply, and will be easy to remove when/if we move.  And no paint necessary!! I really love bright bold colors and mixing patterns and I wanted this room to be my palette.

We got a fun quilt for the couch/bed when we first moved in and Mandy made a cute felt garland to match.  You can get one yourself here.  It's called "Rosy Row of Roses." Super sweet.

Lots of color, lots of pattern, lots of cheer.  Mandy and my mom insisted the room would look juvenile with the polka dots.  Perhaps, but Dan and I like how bold it is and since it is the guest room/future baby room we're okay with that.  Also the decals are so easy to remove so it's not a big deal to change things up later on.   When I get up in the morning and I walk by that room I love how fun it is with the light pouring in and the pops of color on the wall.  It screams BYOR. 

I ordered some deep purple blackout curtain panels from Amazon.  They arrived in less than 24 hours.  Thank you Prime! That room gets a crazy amount of sunlight in the morning and there is a lovely florescent flood light outside the window at night.  Even with window blinds the light gets in.  I have no clue how Kaleigh and Kourtney were able to sleep past six AM with that amount of light pouring in.  But now there are curtains for our future guests.  I opted to tie the curtains and then they can be pulled down when necessary.  The radiators in our apartment are all directly under the windows so I'm a little worried about blocking that all the time. 

Sorry this photo isn't great but you can see how bright the light outside is

Finally, real art.  Dan and I were gifted a large painting by an artist who creates unique works in memory of the victims of 9/11.  The artist gave it to us when my boss mentioned I was getting married.   I had the painting rolled-up and stashed for a good six months and then poorly attached to the wall with command strips when the cousins were here.  Last weekend we went to a local frame shop to get it properly framed.  It is hung on the wall opposite the dots.

While at the frame store we found this awesome graphic print of Brooklyn with all the neighborhoods listed and the color was just too perfect so we scooped it up and Dan hung it.

We didn't buy any new furniture or anything dramatic.  It is the room where most of the stuff from my old apartment has a home but it's now a bright and welcoming place to host overnight guests and doubles as craft storage and Dan's ministry book collection.

Hotel Johnson is now accepting reservations.  

The Greenbone Philosophy

I can't believe in the year and a half that we've had this blog I've never mentioned The Greenbone Philosophy.  It's something everyone in life should adopt the idea of because self-imposed restriction is the worst and having something to look forward to is a huge motivation in life, at least for me.

Well, The Greenbone Philosophy started in my family after we got our dog, Addie.  My parent's got her from friends in Montana in 2002.  She is a Blue Heeler mix and has the sweetest stub of a tail that you every did see.  She is an old girl now but when she was a puppy and we had to bathe her, she always looked so pathetic and sad.  She hates baths.  But baths are necessary and we can all relate to the reality in life that you have to do things you don't like, it's a given.

So as a reward for her enduring the torture of taking a bath we would give her a greenbone.  You know, those bone/toothbrush shaped dog treats called Greenies. 

Addie girl loves greenbones and that treat would perk her right back up after getting done with the bath.

Somehow over the years we started referring to any treat rewarded after doing something hard as Greenbones.  It applies to both good and bad situations.  Finally finish that hard assignment?  Get a greenbone.  Have a difficult conversation with a coworker?  You deserve a greenbone.  Ace that test?  Greenbone.  It can serve as a celebration or as something to provide emotional consolation. 

On hard days I live for the greenbone.  It gives you the freedom to indulge and look at every situation in life as something worth completing.  This weekend after scrubbing the bathroom for two hours I got myself a small bouquet of tulips for my efforts.  Dan preached on Sunday so I made him a surprise pumpkin pie for his hard work and a job well done.   Greenbones all around!!

Now, go get yourself one.  You deserve it!  As my momma would say, you're worthy. 

Weekending it

Happy Monday!  I am determined to at least start this week on a positive note and so far so good.  Spring weather has returned and Dan and I are looking forward to a four-day week with a mini trip to Philly planned for Friday.  Woohoo.

This weekend was kind of all over the place.  On Saturday I had a big to-do list to conquer and it started with laundry.  We are fortunate to have a few machines in our building which saves us a lot of back and forth time but you have to be really strategic about when you try to do it since there are only three machines for a six floor building and over 100 units.  Dan found the sweet time is before nine o'clock on Saturday.

While Dan started the laundry I tried to make monkey bread again.  Last week when I made it for the Children's Ministry brunch it turned out well but I felt like I should have cooked the butter and brown sugar longer in order to fully dissolve it.  This weekend I cooked it much longer and it worked against me.  The brown sugar didn't dissolve AND instead it started to harden.  It didn't turn out well at all.  We still ate it but I was disappointed and confused and we had to throw half of it away.  Now I am beginning to think the recipe I followed might be off.  It says 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar.  In the picture her stick of butter looks much larger than a standard stick.  A standard stick is 1/2 cup of butter.  Two sticks would be 1 cup.  That makes more sense right?  Someone help me out here. 

After breakfast Dan worked on his sermon for Sunday and then went to the local elementary school to help with the mural project that the Crossroads Outreach team is helping with.

While he was there I spent two solid hours like Cinderella scrubbing the walls and floor in the bathroom trying my darnedest to get the grout to shine.  It wasn't a total waste of time but the effort definitely didn't produce the desired results.  Can someone please explain to me why I care about the appearance of this stupid bathroom so much?? I was on my hands and knees scrubbing with a toothbrush!  Who does that??  But one thing I did discover is how to easily clean your tub.  Fill your tub with hot water and put 5-6 scoops of Oxy clean in and swish that around.  Let it sit for an hour and then rub down the tub with a sponge and drain.  It really made the tub shine which made me happy. 

We spent the afternoon up on 86th street running errands and going spring clothes shopping.

Dan preached on Sunday and he did such a great job.  He had to prepare something last minute when the scheduled speaker cancelled and he did fantastic.  AND he worked really hard to get all the classrooms covered in the Children's Ministry (much more difficult than it sounds) so that I could actually attend the adult service.  It was awesome.  I got hear the sermon live and I really like that, it's been awhile. 

I took this picture at the beginning during his illustration.

Sunday afternoon I meal planned and went grocery shopping.  I really really did it!  I shall report later if it was a success.

Enjoy your day!!

Peeks from the Week

Well, another week rolls by uneventfully.  Things around these parts are pretty quiet and unexciting.

For example, all the local news (and the Today show - because it's local here) have been talking about for the past two days is the coyote sitings all over the Upper West Side.  You would think people were talking about a polar bear running around apartment complexes - everyone is up in arms.  COYOTES! Even the police are chasing them.  I don't get it.  Of course there are coyotes.  I mean we are the ones that invaded their habitat.  Also, there are foxes all over my parent's neighborhood in Denver.  They live in the storm sewers, no one cares. 

Now, can we talk about how weird of a name coyote is?  It is not spelled like it sounds. I hate words like that.  If I had to spell it I would prefer kaiotee.  There, that's better. 

Anyways, about our week.  We haven't been grocery shopping in two weeks.  This means we have been eating some random meals and I am failing at being a dutiful homemaker and wife.  I'm the worst at meal planning.  I try and then get lazy or things come up and we get off schedule.  Or the store doesn't have a crucial ingredient and I give up entirely.  But I have been gathering tips and ideas for how to do better, stay motivated, and be the perfect 1950s housewife.  I'll get it together.  I promise.

So remember last week's peek when I posted my list of apartment improvement projects? Well, I'm knocking them down.

I redid the caulking around the bathroom window and this weekend I plan to scrub the walls and floor.  Fun stuff.

We also starting applying the vinyl polka dots to the spare room wall.  Mandy is being a total hater about this design idea but so far we like it.  It feels whimsical and fun.

Our coral touches for the bedroom arrived and they make me really happy.  Just enough for a feminine touch but not too much to make Dan cringe from pink overkill. 

I have a BIG to-do list for the weekend which is good because we have reverted back to winter here.  Heavy coats and biting wind.  It's super depressing.  

Hope you enjoyed this peek. Happy Friday!

Show and Tell Tuesday: What's your name?

Today's Show and Tell Tuesday theme with Andrea is What's in a Name, or rather what does your name mean.  I know a lot of people linking-up will be talking about their kids names and why they chose them.  Well, Dan and I do not have any kids yet but if we are ever to be blessed with a little girl we have already picked and agreed on her name.  It's a secret for now.

Since we have no kids and no pets (except the stuffed buddies) I thought it might be fun to share about the significance of our names.

My name is Stephanie Elspeth.  The name has zero significance.  My parents picked Stephanie because they liked it and Elspeth was the name of my mom's favorite character in a British mini-series while she was pregnant.  Sentimental right?  I was always so mad as a kid because both my older sister and my twin sister are named after relatives and I felt slighted that I didn't have a family name.  I'm over it now and I do like the middle name Elspeth because it is unusual.  Also, fun fact, I was named Amanda for the first few hours of my life.  Apparently my parents picked the first twin "baby A" to be named Amanda so that was my name but then my Dad decided that "the little one" (meaning baby B and the smaller one at birth) looked more like a Mandy so they switched the names.

Also, I have a lot of nicknames.  When I was in elementary school I went exclusively by Steph but since middle school everyone mostly calls me Stephanie.  My sisters still call me Stepy.  My mom has called me Stephalefagus, Punky Brewster, and most commonly, Bug.  Mandy also calls me Sister long legs, Square face, and Dog Breath.  Dan calls me Sweetie and my dear friend Amber calls me Poopy-leg.  I have others but I'll leave it there. 

Dan's name is Daniel Joseph.   His mom chose the name because she wanted something strong in case he ever became President.  She also liked Biblical names.   She almost went with Joseph Daniel but I'm glad she chose Daniel Joseph, it just flows nicely.  Everyone in his family calls him Daniel but everyone here in New York calls him Dan.  While the cousins were here I got used to hearing him called Daniel so I started calling him Daniel Tiger but I mostly call him Buddy.  I really do not like the formal connotation of using "husband" or "wife."  It creeps me out to be called wife and it feels soooo formal compared to the comfy relationship that Dan and I have.  Of course I know he is my husband and I am his wife but we don't refer to each other by that title.   

So that's it.  The meaning, or lack of meaning, of our names.  Embrace it!

Also, if you're curious about why I chose to change my last name in marriage, check-out that post here. 

Weekending it

Sorry this post is so late in the day.  I have been at an work related symposium all day and finally got a little break.  It is a gloomy day in the city but here is a little peek of the view at the event.

This weekend was a glorious and rejuvenating burst of spring weather which has already left our area but filled our hearts with joy and our pasty skin with sunshine.

On Friday night, Dan took some of the teenage boys to a basketball tournament at the Barclay's Center.   They had fun and I was glad I didn't have to attend. 

Saturday morning Dan and I got up early to make brunch.  Every six months or so Dan tries to get all the Children's Ministry volunteers together to talk about what is going well and what needs we have.  I made brunch for everyone since they were giving up two hours of their Saturday morning.  I made ham hash brown quiche, a vegetarian version with salsa instead of ham, monkey bread, and my  banana bread.  Everything was well received.

We also got water bottles for everyone and put a little bit of candy and some flavored water drink mix inside as a little thank you.  It was National Volunteer appreciation week last week so the meeting corresponded well.  We really couldn't do Children's Ministry without our volunteers and we are so grateful for the sacrifices they make to help serve in the church.  

After the meeting we jetted over to say a final farewell to the Curtis family as they packed up and officially left Bay Ridge.  We were glad to get to say goodbye one last time. 

Dan and I tried a dumpling place in the neighborhood for a late lunch.  Yum.

We got spring haircuts and then just hung out the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Sunday was a Community Meal day instead of normal church service.  We all gathered in the high school cafeteria and Dan gave a little devotion before we had lunch together.  

Sunday afternoon we relaxed and watched "Noah" on Netflix.  Really good if you can get past the Biblical inaccuracies and just watch it for the sake of entertainment.  Despite it not being true to the Bible story it still had a good message about the nature of sin and free will and ultimately, God's love.  We recommend.  We ended the night with a game of Five Crowns.  

Stop back tomorrow for Show and Tell Tuesday!

Peeks from the Week

Happy Friday!!  Isn't it weird when the week goes by quickly but any given day feels like it drags on forever?  That's what this week felt like for me...what? it's Friday, already?  Awesome!

Well, not much happened this week except Dan and I discovered we both have mad pancake flipping skillz.

NOT.  To be fair, these were cornbread pancakes so they are naturally crumbly, we accidentally left the melted shortening ingredient in the microwave (we discovered it a full 24 hours later), and I don't think the griddle was hot enough.  Oh well, we still gobbled them down. 

At work on Tuesday I got to go to an art opening on the 67th floor of 4 World Trade Center.  Crazy gorgeous views.  Sorry the windows were so clean you can see my reflection. 

See that bridge way far out there?  That's the Varrazano Bridge connecting Bay Ridge, where we live, and Staten Island. 

Statue of Liberty on the right.

9/11 Memorial.  This is the only vantage point where you can see the bottoms of the pools.  The odd shaped building between the pools is the museum. 

1 World Trade Center or Tower 1.  The rest of the world calls it the Freedom Tower but no one in NYC calls it that. 

Looking towards Midtown and the Empire State Building. 

The East River with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. 

I forgot to mention on Sunday Dan let me get some tulips.  Look how pretty they are in the fabulous vase on that tablecloth!

Also, that vase.  So, my cousin cleared-out the remaining items on our registry...7 months later.  It was a complete surprise to see things arrive at our door that we completely forgot that we requested.  It was like Christmas in April.  The vase pictured above was one of the items. 

This week I have been struggling to satisfy an itch inside my brain to do some apartment improvement projects.  Here is my list:

Bathroom
- Scrub the walls and floor in the bathroom - the entire room is tiled
- Redo caulk around the window and other random spaces
- Somehow figure out how to dust behind the heat pipe
This room causes me a lot of annoyance anxiety starting with the crappy ceiling job.

Spare Room
- Add fun vinyl polka dots to the big wall
- Fix the water damage on the window sill
- Frame the painting and hang it properly?
- Organize craft supplies

Bedroom
- Add coral decor touches (ordered)
- Investigate affordable rugs
- Convince Mandy to make me a coral and blue felt garland for the headboard (requested)
- Hang the full-length mirror (done)
- Gorilla glue the Masonite bottoms of the dresser drawers (done)  

Kitchen
- Finish sewing coordinates

So many projects.  So little time.  Too much TV I'd rather be watching.  

Hope you enjoyed these peeks.  Have a fabulous weekend. 

Ode to 2C

Now that Dan and I have been living in our little newlywed apartment for nearly eight months now (wow) I wanted to take a little time to document my old apartment.  There is a special place in my heart for my first home here in Brooklyn and the place that accompanied me for five years as I launched my adult life in a new city, through graduate school, and my first career job.

I've been meaning to post a little memory rewind of 2C and yesterday I got a butt-dial from my old landlord.  He left a two-minute long message of pocket noise and Middle Eastern music in the background.  I took that as a cue to post. 

When my Dad and I came to NYC in the summer of 2009 to scout apartments, 2C was the first one we saw.  We came straight to Bay Ridge from the airport.  I really liked the place and wanted to sign a lease immediately but we decided it would be better to see a couple of other options. 

We saw a place in Jersey City and then attempted to look at an apartment in Prospect Heights but felt very uncomfortable in the neighborhood so we didn't even look.  We called the landlord for 2C back and said we wanted the place.  He said there was another person interested and whoever had the better credit score would get it.  Yay me!!!

A few weeks later my Mom and I returned to NYC, me with a one-way ticket and just a few suitcases.

For celebratory sake, pretend the "N.Y.C" song from Annie is playing.  Listen to it here. 

"Three bucks, two bags, one me"

That's my favorite line.

My Mom and I made a trip to IKEA and I carefully spent the money I had saved all summer working two full-time jobs.  Yes, two full-time jobs.  I barely slept and I was a real joy to be around as my Mom can attest. 

The place was very sparse to start.  Tiny but perfect for me and a blank slate for me to begin a new life. 

The place really filled-out over the course of five years.  Every time Mandy came to visit she would help me add decor and accents to give it more life.

I decorated for Christmas

I hosted the teenager girls in the Youth Group for fun gatherings.

I had many, many youth group planning meetings with Dan in 2C.  I also hosted tons of friends and family with an air mattress that took up the entire rest of the living space. 

My very favorite part of 2C was the window that looked out to Owls Head Park.  I sat on the radiator/window sill many times and watched the people in the park and spied on conversations taking place below my window. 

I weathered two hurricanes in 2C.  Made friends and said goodbye to other friends in that space.  

When Dan and I started dating we spent tons of quality time in that space.  Watching movies, making meals, getting to know each other better, etc.  

Dan proposed to me in 2C and it breaks my heart just a little to think I will likely never return to that space where that special memory was made. 

We don't live far from 2C now and every week when I go to dance class I pass by my old block and reminisce and crave the beautiful park view and sunshine pouring through the west facing windows.  

I like 2H and the home it is to Dan and me and the many memories we have made there already.  I hope my heart continues to grow fonder of 2H and we live there for awhile and maybe start our family there.  But I will always miss 2C and hold it in my heart forever.