Guest Room

What better to do on this beautifully sunny Friday afternoon than post before and after photos of our guest room? This was my project last spring break. I emptied the room, refinished the walls and ceiling, painted the walls and ceiling, and put the room back together with a few decorative touches. I took a bit of a chance on the color (burnt scone), but it turned out to be quite tolerable. In fact, I would have painted more of our house shades of yellow if I had done this room first and discovered my love for it.

This is arguably my favorite room in the house. Not only do I love the color, but I also have a soft spot for the furniture since it's what I bought when I first moved to the west coast. To top it off, I've decorated the room with momentos of my and George's adventures: paintings from Spain, Portugal, and Ecuador; a print from Austria; a ceramic piece from Ecuador; a gnome bell from my grandma; and a little globe from my mom.

We hope that many of you will visit us, stay in our guest room, and feel right at home!

BEFORE












AFTER

Snowy Commute Rant

I know I wrote that post earlier this winter about how Seattle is justified in closing down when it snows, but I have to do a partial retraction after enduring a less than enjoyable commute. A mere 3 inches of snow at barely freezing temperatures can stop large groups of people in their tracks? Really?!

These are the specific annoyances that put this scowl on my face:

• SUVs that block my view of the entire road (I realize this isn't restricted just to snowy days, but it was more apparent than usual today with my unforgiving attitude.)
• Snow left on the top, hood, or trunk of the vehicle...which inevitably blows into and obstructs my view
• Drivers who don't bother to clear their side or rear windows - why would they need to see the rest of the road?
• Drivers who automatically drive 15 mph at the sight of snow, even though the roads are perfectly clear save for a bit of water
• Drivers who put chains on their tires at the sight of a single snow flake - those chains end up in my lane and force me to decide between swerving and ruining a tire or two
  
• Unmetered entrance ramps to the freeway which result in complete gridlock
  
• Professors who cancel class due to weather only after their entire class has traveled to school for the class

Thanks for letting me vent. I'll go be productive now. :-)

Lil' Wedding Inspiration

The details of our wedding are starting to come together. We're going to host a small, intimate, and (hopefully) very fun event. The ceremony will be held at Gasworks, overlooking Lake Union and downtown. [Here is an early photo of George and I at the park.] After that, we'll all have dinner and an evening of lounging in the penthouse at Canlis. Keep your fingers crossed for a gorgeous sunset reflecting beautiful pinks across the Cascades for some excellent mood lighting!

We are attempting to incorporate both natural and modern/sophisticated elements into the design of the wedding. The colors are black and white with hints of fern-inspired greens, particularly lighter greens. Here's a look:

Perspective

Over the last several months, I've noticed more grey hairs appearing than in the past. I don't think I'll be worrying about that anymore; today I was mistaken for a high schooler. Really?!

Craft Room

Over my winter break, we renovated the craft room. George installed recessed lights while I refinished and painted the ceiling and walls, made curtains, and organized my bits and bobs. All-in-all, I think it turned out really well. Things are organized enough that I can easily find things, but it's not so organized that I don't feel free to leave a mess in there when I don't have time to clean up right away. The room is functional enough that George has also used the room for some of his little projects.

Even better, this means that all of our bedrooms are complete. I've posted the before and after shots for the craft room below. Stay tuned for before and afters of the other rooms.

Before













After

The Next Step

We've been committed for...well...a while...and today (at Gasworks Park) we took it to the next level. George proposed. Amanda said yes. We're engaged!