This is Clever!

I was browsing some of my Décor “sources” websites this morning and found this cabinet/desk/table. This is not only a space saver, but it looks like an attractive piece of furniture, as well.

I can see it used in a small studio apartment, office or craft/sewing room. It would even work in a standard or large size dining room as additional serving space. Then there are the times (Holidays, reunions, etc.) you have more guests than your dining table can accommodate.

Yep! I like this one!



Please visit the mfr's website for more views.
http://www.themanhattanclam.com/

Tossin' Another Bag!

Or, at least I’m revising the contents of one…

I am definitely a pack rat! I save things.

But what it really come down to, is clutter! No other word for it. I need to refine the spaces around me. The unnecessary “stuff” robs me, and probably my family, of serenity & calm. I am going to concentrate on unloading this extra baggage!

Yesterday, we started in the office. I say “we” because I had the help of my wonder woman friend, Patti! More on this amazing woman later…

The office is the place in my home where I spend the majority of my waking hours. Since I work my full time job from home, and run my Tupperware & Refined Room businesses from there, it really needs to be organized! I also share it with my husband who has his own necessary parephanelia…you get the idea! Piles and piles and piles!

This room is the one room in my home that has never had any attention. When we moved in, we threw the desks and a couple of bookcases into the room and that was it. The walls have remained builder’s white, which is certainly not my style. The oak desks and bookcases are out of date and NOT the beautiful, rich, dark wood I would prefer. But if Refining is making the most of what you have, to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions, then I am going to make them work!

First job was to clear everything out of the room, ugh! (Of course now, the living & dining rooms are stacked with it all.) Then onto a fresh coat of paint! I chose a warm color “Tamarind” – SW 7538. It is one of the newer “Concepts in Color” shades. It reminds me of a slightly warmer version of SW Latte. It really makes the old oak furniture look like it might have been “on purpose”. I actually like the way the furniture looks now!

This is the wall color.

Next, we cut the bottoms off the 8’ tall bookcases so that we could sit them on the desks like a hutch. I think it looks wonderful and has created so much more floor & wall space! Ed is a train & tractor enthusiast, so I can bring some of his art & collectibles into the room.

Here is a my desk with the "new" hutch.

That was Saturday. Today we tackle the really tough job of moving all the cr*p back into the office. Well, not all of it! A bunch of it is getting tossed! Won’t be fun, but it is so necessary! And it will feel really good to be free of all that junk!

LATER...

It is done, at least for today! We finished what work we could the office, including organizing my fabric samples and decor catalogs! We took the two bottoms that we cut off the bookcases and stacked them to make a bookcase in the closet. Still need to order new blinds and some fabric for a valance. But I must say, I am really pleased with the results. I am also exhausted! It isn't easy to let go of some things, even when you know it's the best thing to do!

The closet with the "reused" bookcase bottoms.

Modern Medical Miracles

My husband had his hip replacement surgery on Thursday, Oct. 4th.

He came home from the hospital on Saturday, approximately 36 hours later! Amazing what they can do with a bone saw & a few titanium do-hickeys! He was able to walk from the car, up the steps into the house all on his own with the aid of a walker.

He is having very little pain and had his first physical therapy session (at home) on Sunday. The PT said he is doing extremely well, and that he is about a week ahead of what she usually sees! His second PT appt. today went just as well. He is a trooper!

I am walking the fine line between loving wife & Nurse Ratchet…he won't drink water like he should and refuses to sleep in bed, preferring the recliner! Even after the PT told him that lying completely flat, IN BED, will help with his healing. So, aside from running to and fro, fetching and gathering, I am doing almost as well as he is! Except maybe the fact that I am waking up every couple of hours to go check on him during the night.

Oh, & then there are the daily injections of an anti-clotting drug I have to administer…yikes! My LVN experience was years ago, and I haven't given an injection since then! I was so peeved when he told me that the nurse at the hospital had offered to give me a refresher, which he declined, that I jabbed him a good one! He said, "WOW, I didn't even feel that!". I guess it's like riding a bike!

Yes, things in the our household are mostly good. I wish I could say that my diet was going splendidly. It's not...I have had little time to grocery shop and not much motivation to cook. I have managed to keep it low carb, but it hasn't been a very healthy "Stella Style" menu. I do think Ed is finally getting some appetite back, so that should help.

I'm thinking salmon for dinner, Ed will probably want grilled cheese. LOL!