Up until recently, I have been using one of our four dining room table chairs as the desk chair in my office. It has a wicker/rattan seat and after several hours of sitting in front of a computer, becomes very uncomfortable. Plus, moving it back and forth between the dining room and my office was becoming annoying. SO, I started scouting craigslist a couple weeks ago and (not surprisingly) and vintage chair turned up almost immediately. Voila, new chair for only $10! OR…not quite. Here is the before:

Yep, kinda old and yucky. But, I’ve seen this done before (albeit, not in person) and I knew I could make it work!

Insert to the story: I have been decorating my office/guest bedroom avidly for the past several weeks as it is the place where I spend the most time during the day. Also, I was driven by my sisters’ visit last weekend to make sure that I had two beds suitable for guests! That worked out fine and I even managed to have two out of the four pillows I am making for the beds finished. In efforts to save money (and because I liked the color) I have been using a fairly new shower curtain that we own for fabric! So far, I’ve used it to cover the cushion of my chair and make two pillows.

Here is the AFTER for the chair!

As you can see, the “shower curtain” fabric coordinates nicely with the bed comforters ($30 each at TJ Maxx!) and in the background are the two pillows that I have sewn so far. So, for basically 12 bucks (spray paint was $2) I have a new chair!

Easter weekend was busy, but good. I had my two younger sisters visiting on break from their college classes, and it was a welcome interruption to the monotony of my everyday life. I picked them up on Friday in Michigan, and drove them back last night. It was whirlwind, but we still managed to fit in several fun acitivites including a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo (tour guide: Patrick), lunch a la Indian Buffet, comedy a la Bill Cosby and a few surprises in between. Easter Sunday brought a rather noisy church service (Still a good service, but it’s hard to concentrate when there are literally 75 toddlers unwrapping the candy that they have managed to finagle from within the plastic eggs they found in the easter egg hunt before the service–and their parents won’t shut them up. Whoever had that idea should be shot–the easter egg hunt AND the parents with lack of discipline skills). Then, back home for lunch where we ended up seating 7 (!) for the meal as shown below.

Lamb! I love it and I haven’t had it in a while….why not for Easter? It worked out well (and my glass of wine in the background!)

A full plate: Lemon Rosemary Lamb with Rosemary Potatoes, Asparagus (steamed with lemon and kosher salt), Broccoli & Red Pepper Salad (a hit!), and dinner rolls. Dessert was either lemon ice-box pie or spice cake with cream cheese icing. I forgot to take pictures of these before they were demolished! We also enjoyed a bottle of my new favorite red, Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our lovely guests.

Me and my husband. (He really is a happy person, he just can’t/won’t smile for pictures.)

The ever-so-hesitant signs of spring and the calm tree-lined streets of my new neighborhood have given me a newfound hope for the city of Chicago. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not sold on the North or even on big cities–I don’t think that will ever happen, but you must learn to be flexible and content with your situation as it comes to you. And I’m just beginning to feel that I can actually handle it…for a little while. They say that a Chicago summertime is what makes you wait out the rest of the year here, and I’m beginning to see why. A little taste of springtime here and there (like this weekend when it was in the 60s!) may be enough to keep you going for months on end. And nothing beats the sound of birds singing in the trees as the sun rises on a Sunday morning, pouring light into the bay windows of your living room. 🙂

It also helps that we have *finally* found a church that has the potential to be our home while living in Chicago. It is no Chalcedon Presbyterian (God has not yet blessed the city limits with such a place), but the theology is sound and the litrugy is something Patrick and I both can relate to (good, traditional hymns for me, anecdotal sermon style for him and a little call-and-response reading for both). It is Lutheran, which is different for me, but not a far cry from the Calvinistic theology with which I was raised and I can’t say that I mind the formal style of worship. The church also supports a school and has a strong community of fellowship groups (Bible Study here I come!) which is exactly what I have been looking for to finally meet a solid group of friends in this city. So….good things come to those who persevere and I am very thankful. (So you’re wondering what the church is? St. James Lutheran: www.stjames-lutheran.org)

All in all, things are looking up. 🙂 Below is a photo of the front of our building (I just pulled it from Googlemaps, so it’s a little blurry), with our door and windows outlined–our apartment includes the first floor as well as the garden unit on the front side:

I will post a better photo soon!

There are several projects underway in decorating the new apartment and a few already completed, but here are the first two “post-worthy”: our new couch/chaise purchased especially for our living and the draperies I concocted using items I already owned.

First, the couch…

This was a bargain because we bought it during the floor model sale at our local furniture store “Affortable Portables”. (Please excuse the mess in the background)

And now, the drapes…

A close-up (sorry it’s sideways!)…

The brown “swag” curtains I purchased when I moved to Chicago 6 months ago for decorating what was then a bachelor pad (they were something like $12 for both at TJ Maxx); curtain rods from Bed, Bath and Beyond–very easy to install; and the damask flocked floral drape was a fabric sample that I was given while interning at Veranda magazine. I’m glad I saved it! The only thing that slightly bothers me is that the swag is pocket style (hangs on the rod by sliding through an open hem), while the longer drape is on rings because I was to lazy (ahem…too *excited* to get them up) to hem it. So, do you think I should make the damask drape a pocket too or just leave the rings?

More project photos coming soon. 🙂

So the big move day is set for this Friday (March 13) and I am getting pretty excited! Today will be spent cleaning and painting the walls so we won’t have to worry about that after all our stuff gets in. I’m posting some *before* photos to show how the place looks sans my “domestic touch” (ha!). I’ll probably post some *after* pictures….in several weeks, when all the decorating is done. 🙂

Lovely living room (bay windows AND a fireplace! The wall behind me is our wet bar)

The master bedroom (sorry it’s sideways)–we are so excited to have a fan!

Second bedroom and my home office (This is on the lower level–we have two floors!)

The Den (garden level of the apartment) and a second fireplace!

Dining area of the den (with a cut-through to the kitchen)

Kitchen with a *dishwasher* (so exciting) and beyond the cut-through is the dining room. I don’t know where that magnet on the fridge came from…

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you guessing as far as paint colors (although, if you know me you can probably guess at least one!).

I have just returned from a 5-day trip to Mexico (Cancun) and Chicago is finally starting to feel like home. It is so nice to have a place to come back to that is familiar. That being said, just a few things about Mexico…

– They say the water is sketchy. We were at a 5-star resort, so I didn’t think it would be a problem. Now I’m realizing that just about any foreign country has different foods and water supplies and you never know how it’s going to affect your body. So…just be prepared.

– Mexico is a strange and beautiful place. There is an overwhelming military/government presence that is offset by the almost nonchalant attitude of the natives. They are a people immersed in pride for their history and local culture but a little stuck when it comes to contemporary culture. The landscape can only be described as “strips”–large, modern buildings (Sam’s Club?!) are contrasted by nearby dusty shacks and adobo-like tequilerias all along the same length of highway. Everything seems very spread out and very flat, hot and dry.

-Amidst all these contrasting economic levels lies the neighborhood of Playacar, the wealthy “American” resort area (you don’t find many Mexicans vacationing here…but I can’t help but notice it must provide a lot of good jobs). The resort where we stayed had to have been one of the best–they are all lined up along the beach and you can walk along the beachfronts of each different resort where cabanas and lounge chairs are strewn for vacationers from the US to Germany (apparently the Europeans don’t realize that nude beaches are restricted to certain areas!)

-“All-inclusive” = amazing. What a treat to have someone else foot the bill for every meal, drink or room-service you desire! It was as good as a second honeymoon!

-If you ever go to Mexico, choose a resort in Playacar and don’t leave the area. Don’t take a cab unless it is called by the hotel staff and don’t wander around aimlessly. It’s a fun place to be, but beneath the easy-breezy exterior there can be a lot of dangerous things. To end on a happy note….thank goodness it’s 60 degrees today in Chicago! 🙂