Oh The Irony...

Kasey tagged me (I'm it!) in a blog game to go back and share your sixth blog post. The irony is that Kasey's sixth post was about loving carnations ... and my sixth post was about killing plants ...

It's still one of my goals to make sure a plant has a long and healthy life. I just haven't been brave enough to tackle it yet.

And since I know that tons of people have been tagged already, I'm not going to risk double tagging someone by accident. I will send a big shout out to all the plants out there though - us bloggers apparently love you!

Wordless Wednesday

I Have Nook! ... Kinda

There have been some changes to one little corner in my room. Remember where I had my newly painted dresser?




While the dresser looked great there, I had bigger plans for this little space.

Viola!

There's lots of Ikea going on over here. I found the Karlstad chair in the As-is section for $150 ($70 off, score!), the lamp (Barometer - where do they get these names?) was $50, and three Ekby shelves (actually can't remember how much I paid for these, not a lot though).

And for my "keepin' it real" photo, check this out.

See that hole? Yeah, that's the anchor I put in the wrong place. Measure twice everyone! I'm going to have to rip that out of the wall and patch it up... eventually.

Until then I can think of how great it will look when I paint the walls, take off the painters tape, put stuff on the shelves, add a throw pillow, the list goes on and on ...

I'm linking up to the DIY Show Off Project Parade,

Mood Board Monday: West Elm Patch NYC Entertaining

I'm participating in Pewter+Sage's Mood Board Monday! Wahoo!

My inspiration piece is West Elm's NYC Patch ceramic dishware.

When I saw them I thought of an indoor/outdoor space that would be perfect for summer entertaining. Imagine a screened in porch or sun room with wall to wall windows.

 
West Elm NYC Entertaining 4.26.2010 on Polyvore.com
 Items in this set:
Alexander Slat Table Bench - Tables - Cost Plus World Market, $140
IKEA PS MASKROS, $90
Green Side Chair. 22.75"Wx19.75"Dx31.75"H (17.75"H seat), $90
Ottomans, Living Room Chairs & Modern Chairs | west elm, $79
PATCH NYC Ceramic Entertaining | west elm, $6.50

I decided to go with a lemon-lime color scheme. The bright yellow curtains and lime green chairs are fresh and fun. And I think the huge pendant light (I've seen it in real life, it is REALLY big) from Ikea would be gorgeous to eat under. The indoor/outdoor rug is great for hiding food stains if you happen to be serving some messy eaters (and it satisfies my need for gray in every.single.space). Finish it off with a rustic table from World Market and a simple lantern centerpiece from Z Gallerie and you've got a great space for entertaining.

Now who wants some lemonade?

Someone Takes Her Sleep Very Seriously

I plan on taking Melanie's lead this weekend. Happy Friday!

(Pod)Casting Call

I've recently discovered Podcasts and have gone a little Podcast crazy.


In case you can't tell I like NPR ... a lot ...

I like to listen to them on my long commute and even listen while I work when I can (it's okay, a lot of people do it where I am). I'm a big nerd, so I like listening to "quirky" feature stories. This American Life recently did a great podcast on a hedge fund called Magnetar, with a broadway twist. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is a weekly news quiz game show that always makes me laugh too.

In case you can't read that and want more insight into my nerdiness, I've subscribed to:

~ The Diane Rehm Show ~ Talk of the Nation ~ 7am News Summary ~

~ Business Story of the Day ~ It's All Politics ~ Most

E-Mailed Stories ~

~ Planet Money ~ Tell Me More ~ Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! ~
~ World Story of the Day ~ This American Life ~ The Kojo Nnamdi Show ~ Radiolab ~

I love funny, interesting stuff that makes you go chuckle to yourself and wonder if anyone thinks you're a crazy person for sitting alone on the metro and laughing for no discernable reason. And of course the news. I have a hard time keeping up with the world around me but think it's really important to do.

Anyone else listen to some good podcasts? Care to share? I'm always game for listening to something new.

 

 

New Savings Goal: DSLR

I've decided I really want of these.

Maybe not that exact one, but a DSLR for sure. I still really like my current camera. It has a bunch of great features and I'm learning a lot on it. I plan on keeping it for quite awhile ... which is good because it will be a loooooooooooooooong time before I actually get my DSLR.

The problem with photography is that it ain't cheap. Not even a little bit. The Hubs is firmly in the "I don't understand why you need another camera when you already have a camera" camp. I completely understand his position. The practical side of me thinks the same thing.

The not-practical side of me is screaming "BUT I WANT ONE SOOOOOO BAD!"

But we've settled on a compromise of sorts. I can have one if and when I save up for it with "my" money. "My" is in quotes because we have a strictly "our" money policy in our house. "My" money will be created when I get side jobs, sell stuff on craiglist (some of our furniture is headed that way), and whatever I earn from Swagbucks, or Ebates.

It's going to take forever. If I'm lucky, it'll happen before my 101 challenge ends. In the meantime I've opened up a sub-account in ING so I can set the money aside and watch that money grow.

This has also made me realize that I'm starting to work towards multiple money goals at any given time. In the past I've gone full steam ahead towards one goal, and refused to look at anything else until I met that goal. One the one hand, I certainly accomplished my goals more quickly, but I also sacrificed a lot that way too. When we were paying off the first car, I put every extra dime towards the debt. None of it went to fun stuff - like decorating, or buying cameras, or taking trips.

I'm not sure how having multiple money goals will work out. Will I get frustrated having to wait longer because I'm spreading things out? Am I short-changing my "real" savings goals by also saving money just to spend it?

I don't know. But I'm going to try it out anyway and see how it goes.

Learning About The Color Of Light

This week's lesson is all about how the light in your surroundings can change the colors cast in your photographs.

This lesson specifically focuses on the color of light when taking photos indoors. The color cast on your photographs depends on what kind of light you have access too: fluorescent or incandescent. Fluorescent bulbs tend to give off a green or purple glow, while incandescent lights tend to give off yellow and orange colors. Even though these colors may not be apparent while you're snapping away, they'll show up full force in your final images.

Luckily for us, our cameras have a lot of great features to help filter out these tricky colors. Many cameras have specific settings for the type of light you might be working in, and even better, allow you to set the white balance manually. My camera has 8 different light settings: Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent High, Flash, and Custom.

For this assignment I went back to one of my favorite subjects: Nemo! Now remember, each of these settings indicates how the camera would automatically adjust the photo in the type of light the setting was made for. If I was actually working in day light the photos wouldn't really be orange, that's just how the camera compensates for the colors typically cast on a sunny day.

Auto:




Day Light:




Cloudy:




Tungsten:




Fluorescent:




Fluorescent High:




Flash:




Custom White Balance:

Obviously setting the white balance creates the most accurate image. Before this course it was something I had never done before, but it was surprisingly easy! I had to consult my camera manual to figure it out (that little thing is so helpful!) but with in just a couple seconds I had a custom balance for my photos. It's nice to see that my Auto setting seems to be pretty smart too though for those situations when I'm moving from one location to another.

Me Procrastinate? Naw ...

One day before the deadline I finally got this in my inbox.

And that's right, we're getting a refund. A nice fat one too because when we bought our house we never changed our W-4 information (I'll get to it eventually, it's one of my goals...). In previous years I've done our taxes as soon as possible so we could get our hands on more cold hard cash, but this year I seriously slacked.

Whatever. We're still getting the money :)

Now the big debate is what do we do with it? We still have our car loan, so some of the money will definitely be going there. We're also getting closer and closer to our goal of having 6 months of expenses in savings. I can see the light! And I always like to use some "found" money just for fun.

We're still talking about it, but nothing will happen until the money actually hits our account, so we still have time to decide. Anyone else get big refunds? What do you do with yours?

Reading: The New Rules of Lifting for Women

It's no secret around here that I need to drop a few (no really, I do. Yes, thank you, I'm pretty, but I still have a big ole booty). The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess can help with that.

Despite the dorky and highly commercial "goddess" reference, this book is very realistic. It's not a gimmick. I don't like gimmicky diet advice and would never recommend it. (I'm not a doctor or expert though so take my advice with a grain of salt.)

This book explains why women should be lifting weights and the exercises we should do while we're at it. It tells you to put down the "Barbie" weights, step away from the treadmill, and get comfortable with dumbbells. The book also provides 6 months worth of workout plans to help you acheive your "goddess" body.

And since the book is oh so helpful with the workout plans, I'm going to try them out. Let's see how I do!

Want to see what I'm reading next? Check me out on Goodreads.

I Don't Want To Be A Tease

You've seen a bit of the curtains already, but I thought it was unfair to not give you a wide view of how they look in the room.

PSA: They look AWESOME!

I used Ikea Stokholm Blad curtains in brown (they also come in blue now too, very pretty!)

And Ikea Matilda sheers...





They have such a great texture.









Let's all just pretend those paint samples don't ruin the effect, m'kay?

Newest Dresser Revealed!

Remember when I pleaded for help with my dresser addiction? I found a mod dresser for $20 at my favorite thrift store, but it needed a serious facelift.

I was going to sand, stain, and poly as usual but then I discovered something I had overlooked - the top was laminate! NOOOOOO! Let this be a lesson, make sure you look at all parts of the piece before you bring it home! I was so pre-occupied with making sure the drawers were functional that I didn't even think to check the top.

Since staining this bad boy suddenly became impossible, I tossed around a few options: (1) I could paint just the top and stain the rest or (2) I could stain the drawer fronts and paint the entire frame or (3) I could paint the entire thing and be done with it. I chose option 2.

And I'm so glad I did!

I went through the usual steps for the drawer fronts. Sanded them down, stained (3 coats!), and then used a good poly topcoat (again, with multiple coats).

For the painted parts, I admit I skimped a bit. Everyone recommends using an oil-base primer and paint to get the most durable finish, but I didn't do that. I already had water based primer at the house and I just didn't feel like dealing with the extra hassle of cleaning up after oil based paints. I also figured that the parts that would handled the most, the drawers, weren't an issue so I risked it with the water-based stuff. Do I recommend that for everyone? Not necessarily, but so far so good for me.

And if you're curious, I just rolled the paint on everywhere I could. For the smaller parts that I couldn't use a roller, I used a small brush. It worked. Oh, and the paint is semi-gloss and I did two coats.

And I think the mod dressers have won the dresser war for rights to the master bedroom. The white dressers are getting the heave-ho (at least they will eventually, whenever I post them on craigslist).

I'm linking up to DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land, Blue Cricket Design Show & Tell,

Learning About ISO & Shutter Speed

This week's photography course covers two topics: ISO and Shutter Speed.

Obviously the first question here is, what the heck is ISO!?!?

ISO (don't ask me what it stands for) is responsible for how sensitive your camera is to surrounding light. This little image on how to choose ISO is my favorite part of this course so far.

It's a cheat sheet! I love those! Don't know what your ISO should be? Look here! The big thing to remember with ISO is that the higher your ISO, the grainier your image will be. A higher ISO will create more "noise" and won't be as sharp, so you can't just leave your camera on a high ISO all the time (so don't be tempted to do that!).

Moving on to Shutter Speed ...

The shutter speed determines how long the opening in your lens is well... open. (Remember, aperture is about how big the opening is, shutter speed is how long it stays open.)

The longer the shutter is open the more light is let in, but it also means that any movement will show up in your photo as well. Movement = Blur! If you're shooting something that likes to move around - like kids, sports, or *ahem* dogs - using a higher shutter speed will allow you to "freeze" them in action.

This week's assignment was to capture how a change in shutter speed can change an image using something everyone has: running water in a kitchen sink.

The first photo shows a lot of motion. You can see the streams of water bouncing onto and off of the spoon.

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/40 sec, Aperture: 8.0

By using a faster shutter speed, to can start to see the water "slow" down.

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/80 sec, Aperture: 8.0

Using an even faster shutter speed, you see even more detail and now even see individual drops of water as they bounce away. You can even see the ripples of water on the bowl underneath.

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/500 sec, Aperture: 8.0

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/500 sec, Aperture: 4.0

And even faster ...

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/1000 sec, Aperture: 4.0

Pretty cool, huh?

When I was done, I decided to try leaving the shutter open for a little longer (I'm still tripod-less so there's a limit to what I can do) and I was able to catch this shot.

ISO: 80, Exposure: 1/4 sec, Aperture: 8.0

Love this stuff! I think it's really interesting to see the difference a little shutter speed can make.

This lesson also drives home a huge take away for me: Photography is all about give and take. Higher ISO lets in more light, but you lose image clarity. A faster shutter speed can freeze fast motions, but you need a lot of light to make it happen.

This lesson also marks another big milestone - I'm shooting in manual!

Reading: The Lovely Bones

My feelings on this book are summed up pretty quickly: Meh.

I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it's all the previews for the movie that I've seen (but I haven't seen the movie itself), but I was really expecting a murder mystery type novel. Something hard hitting. Something where the father would go out and find clues, maybe punch out the bad guy, and in the end everyone would feel a loss but they would be able to move on.

This is not that book.

Instead, the book is more about what happens to the family, how they cope, and how their relationships change, after 14 year old Susie is murdered. They do find out who did it, but I found that entire process flimsy and lackluster. I understand a lot of people may enjoy a book more about relationships than solving a crime, but that's just not my preference. I found the book slow and underwhelming.

Plus, I really didn't care for the ending. Not at all.

Want to see what I'm reading next? Check me out on Goodreads.