guest posting

Good morning!

I'm guest posting over at Work Clothes, I Suppose while Bri is getting married/honeymooning/on safari, with a fun, print-mixed get up. Be sure to check it out.

Later, gators,

Annie

sweater #25

If you thought I was joking about loving my dogs and wearing them on my shirt, you were wrong. Very wrong. And if smiling bulldogs don't put a smile on your face on a Monday morning, then do tell - what will?

tee: J. Crew Factory

cardigan: Eddie Bauer

jeans: local consignment shop

Converse One Star: Target

sweater #23 + sweater #24 + Olaf

new kicks from Target. they're cute, they were on sale, but they're a titch small and they cut up my heels. not sure if they'll be make the cut to stay in my closet...

This gray sweater makes 23. Gray, buffalo plaid, skinnies, and fun reptile print sneaks.

sweater: thrifted (J. Crew)

scarf: WalMart

skinnies: c/o Aéropostale

shoes: Target

And now, on Super Bowl Sunday, the cutest pup.

his face.
so perfect. and handsome.

such a lover. so many kisses. and nubbin tail wags.

A cream-ish lace tee under a white cardigan + an oatmeal scarf. Skinnies and my boots. And my handsome Olaf.

He's such a great pup - so happy, and jovial, and attention loving, and active. As much as Turbo loves to sleep, Olaf likes to play. And as much as Turbo likes to lay in front of the fire, Olaf does, too. They're too cute for words.

shirt: from a friend

sweater: Hollister via Plato's Closet

scarf: knitted by me

jeans: c/o Aéropostale

boots: Nordstrom

bag: TJ Maxx

the sweater saga, part 7 + sweater #22

previously, the sweater saga...

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6

I'm not at all an expert, and I'm not saying you have to , or should do, the same. But I find myself leaning more and more towards less. I've accumulated a lot of stuff in my 20-some years, and have some sorting and tossing to do, as I always will. But my goal is to never be a "manager of stuff" - keeping things just because I MIGHT someday, in 30 years, need it. For one thing. One time.

But, instead, keeping around and actually using the things I use and wear and enjoy every day, as opposed to things that the maintenance of stresses me out - you know, a 90% piece of furniture, instead of a 10% piece. Or appliance. Or feature of my home.

And this argyle sweater is the perfect layer on top of my bulldog tee. I just love my little sweeties so much, I wear them on my shirt. They're so stinking cute, you guys. Olaf runs circles around me when I get home and can't wait for me to play tug of war with him. And a little update: we adopted him with several infections - ears, eyes, and skin (fungal & bacterial). He's got quite the pharmacy, but it seems to be helping!! Hoping we can get his skin issues sorted out soon, so he's not quite to itchy.

shirt: J. Crew Factory

sweater: from a friend (J. Crew)

pants: J. Crew Factory

flats: Target

house pretty - guest room

I'd like to share a few home improvement projects here on my blog. Don't worry - this won't become a big DIY blog, or decorating blog, but we've made a few changes to our house since moving in over a year ago, and this seems like a good place to share.

I don't have all the technical terms for everything we did and used, but I've done my best to gather all the information and keep it simple. If you've got more questions, please leave a comment or send me an email: sweetbananie@gmail.com

This was our guest room a few months after we moved in. Nothing fancy.

guest room before

In Colorado, pine beetles invade the pine trees in a forest, and eventually, the trees die and can become fuel for a forest fire. Bad news. However, the inside of the pine trees get this pretty blue color from the beetles, and some entrepreneurial folks have started to chop down beetle kill pine and sell it. Which is pretty smart - each piece of lumber is different, kinda pretty, and very "Colorado."

One of my mom's friends was fixing up a condo that they own, and they had found some beetle kill pine at The Home Depot and used it to cover a wall. It looked pretty cool and rustic, and we thought we'd give it a shot. My mom's friend used the boards horizontally to cover the entire wall - we decided to instead go with vertical and only as tall as a chair rail. The boards are six inch tongue-and-groove boards, so they fit together easily.

air compressor (Sears)

One of the first things we did was purchase an air compressor (I think the Mr. thinks of projects to do that require new power tools to get the job done...funny how that happens).

Then, we measured and purchased the boards from The Home Depot. The side we faced-out has a groove in the center of the board, but the other side does not. We chose the side with the groove to add texture. In the meantime, we pulled off the existing trim and cleared a lot out of the room so we would have space to work.

during

during

during

The Mr. used the air compressor, nail gun, and finishing nails to hang the boards on the walls.

Then, we ran into a snag.

Trim.

Beetle kill pine doesn't come in trim. And most of the other trim options we looked at didn't really "go" with the look of the room. And, since these boards are technically flooring, they're much thicker than standard trim, so any trim we did find wasn't deep enough to "cap off" the boards on the wall.

Following me?

We searched and searched. And finally, about six weeks later, found some rough cut beetle kill pine at a local lumber yard.

local lumber place for the trim

trim - rough cut beetle kill pine

more rough & unfinished than the boards

the trim after the first couple routers, unsanded

the trim after a rough first sanding

the final trim

after

after

after

And then there was lots of sanding and puttying for the chair rail to really be finished.

We love love love how this turned out. Originally, we thought about doing this to every bedroom in our house, but the trim proved to be such a problem (the Mr. had to free hand the trim with the routing table), that we decided against it. Instead, we think it's a nice touch on one room - a very "Colorado" touch. And if you can't tell, we love Colorado.

Our biggest expenses for this project were the lumber, the air compressor, and the routing table. BUT, we've since used the air compressor and routing table several times on different projects, so those were investments we'll continue to use. I didn't know way back when that I'd be posting this, so I don't have a cost breakdown - whoops. 

And here's a list of the tools we used for this project:

air compressor

nail gun + finishing nails

sanding block

routing table

circular saw

palm sander

putty knife + putty

So, that was our first project in our house. And we're slowly adding more to our reportoire...

the sweater saga, part 6 + sweater #21

previously, the sweater saga...

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5

Picking up where I left off yesterday...

I'm finding it refreshing to have a few dresses that look great, no matter what, and are basic enough to be styled in an infinite number of ways, as opposed to 20+ dresses that are each "ho-hum" and don't do much for me. Or a closet full of pieces that are "meh," instead of a smaller collection (perhaps a capsule wardrobe?) of knock-out pieces that get worn every day.

I've become a lot more open and willing to wear my "special" and favorite pieces more often. There’s no point in having a great fitting skirt, if it only gets worn once or twice a year for special occasions.

Instead, shouldn't I make an effort to look nice and presentable and my best every day? Or at least most days of the week, instead of once or twice a quarter? I've gotten rid of lots of cheap jewelry (not all, but lots), and enjoy wearing my diamond studs from my parents day after day (they really go with e'er'thang).

At times, it's hard for me to choke down the cost of something nice - like my Frye boots, but, they'll last forever and I love them. They go with everything, and I find myself dressing them up, down, and casually. The only time I don't wear them is when the snow or precipitation stands a good chance of ruining them. 

still to be continued....

button up: from a friend (American Eagle)

sweatshirt: Old Navy

statement necklace: WalMart

skirt: J. Crew Factory

booties: Old Navy

the sweater saga, part 5 + sweater #20

previously, the sweater saga...

part 1 / part 2

part 3 / part 4

So, I have all of these things and stuff and luxuries that are very nice to have, BUT, moving forward, I'm trying to not contribute to them. Instead, I'm trying to focus on making the most of what I already have, without adding more. I don't like having 18 hair products to choose from, or several types of shampoo. This winter, I've been wearing the same 3 pairs of shoes over and over + my snow boots, when it's gross. I rotate the same few coats, and I lean towards my favorite scarves over and over.

Having some options (less, but still some) seems to make me a happier person. Currently, I've got several books on my nightstand I'm working through - and I’m trying to power through them so I can have only one book I'm in the middle of. And reading for speed to get through an enjoyable book isn't great.

It's the dilemma of too much/too many/too many choices, eating away at my being able to really enjoy one book at a time. Or one bottle of lovely perfume. 

still to be continued...

dress: J. Crew Factory

button up shirt: c/o Aéropostale

patterned tights: WalMart

boots: The Frye Company via Nordstrom