shop at Bluehouse!

For you Baltimore readers who know I'm always plugging the RH warehouse, here's another place you've got to shop: Bluehouse. It's where the chairs are coming from, and they provide the best customer service I've experienced in a long time (not to mention some of the coolest merchandise!). I let them know that we could really use the chairs by next weekend since we're having a party and they gave me several options of ways to get around the standard 45 day delivery time for the chairs. I opted to buy two they have in storage in their warehouse, and to buy the two floor models, which they usually don't sell (and at 10% off to boot!). They also offered to loan the two floor models to me for the fiesta weekend if I wanted to order fresh ones from the supplier. How great is that?!

They have one location now in Harbor East, at 1407 Fleet Street, and are opening a second soon in the Kenilworth Mall in Towson. Also check them out online at www.bluehouselife.com.

have a seat and hang your hat

I finally took the plunge and made my decision for the DR chairs! I was really, really leaning toward the Eames, but since I knew Kyle was a little hesitant, I asked the store if I could borrow one for a few hours to see how it would look at home. The staff at Bluehouse, in Baltimore's Harbor East neighborhood, was so helpful and friendly, and generously loaned one to me for three days! He liked the chair a lot, so we're going with those! Here are a few shots.

I love the crisp white (compared to the off-white slip covers on the folding chairs....look behind the table in the above photo), and how the curves of the table and the chair complement each other to blend the two contrasting styles. The steel base looks great with all the stainless in the kicthen too! I'm hoping to have the other three delivered in the next week - I think they've got a few stored away in a warehouse.

Upstairs, work continues on the closets in our bedroom. Kyle finished an oh-so-exciting day of OSHA training early yesterday afternoon, so had a lot of time to devote to finishing the trim in the bedroom. He painted the window frames, leaving me the detail stuff, and installed and painted the baseboard. He also installed this great light in my closet!

I didn't even have to use the dishwashing scrubby brush to install the teeny halogen bulbs, as Ikea included a little suction cup with the light. Which, of course, ended up stuck to my forehead. Sorry, no pics of that. Tonight and tomorrow we'll keep working on putting together the shelving system, which looks like it's going to be a perfect fit! This is how it looks now......stay tuned for the fully assembled version on Monday!

For those of you who call me on a regular basis...my phone is currently out of comission. I left my charger at Tera's, and since I was up for a free upgrade anyway, I just ordered a new phone thinking the delivery time would be quicker than having Tera mail the old charger. :-) I'll be checking my voice mails from my work phone and Kyle's so just leave a message if you need to chat!

clean house!

I got back from a great weekend in Atlanta with my sister on Sunday night to find a whole bunch of awesome work Kyle had accomplished while I was busy antiquing, getting my nails did (mani/pedi Atlanta style!), eating out, and doing the last 20+ mile run before the taper starts to San Francisco. Kyle framed the windows in our bedroom, which is painted now, by the way- I just haven't gotten any pictures up yet! He and his cousin also built a sweet piece of furniture to hold our new tv - we finally joined modernity and got a flat screen. Pictures of that to come later - I'm going to paint it and try to do sort of an antique finish, so I'll be sure to document that process for ya'll.

The trip to Tera's awesome apartment also inspired me to get moving on decorating! Her place is the perfect eclectic mix of styles in a huge 1 BR apartment with really high ceilings and great details - molding, windows, etc. So, last night Kyle and I went on a cleaning spree and got a few more boxes out of the way and put their contents where they belong.

We're going to put the second coat of paint on the bedroom this week, assemble and install the closet shelving, and we should be ready to get settled into our new room next week! Pictures to come soon.

P.S. Thanks to all for your input on my chair dilemma. I am a little closer to a decision...

chair despair

I am very indecisive, a trait which usually bothers Kyle a lot more than it bothers me. But lately, it's really been getting to me, about one topic specifically...chairs for the dining table. I just can't decide what I want, and we have lots of entertaining to do this fall, so I really need to get some soon! So, I need your help.

Here is what we're starting with:

The table I scored at the RH warehouse for $199.

I just picked up four of these chair covers for the old Ikea folding chairs in the above photo. When I finally choose new chairs, these will be used to dress things up when we need extra seating for company.

We don't plan to be in this house forever, so on one hand I'm thinking I should get some cheaper chairs that are pretty casual and cheap that could become kitchen table chairs if/when we have a house with separate kitchen and dining room eating areas. Maybe something like the one below, and I could get a fabric that coordinates with the room to re-cover the seat.

These are only $60 at Ikea, and appear to be very close in color to the table.

I have kind of had my heart set on some classic Eames Eiffel chairs for a while- something that would be a bit of an investment now, but that could transition to really any room of a future house and will never go out of style. However, Kyle isn't a big fan - he thinks they are too "Jetsons" for our place. Sure, most of our decor is on the traditional side right now, but we hardly have anything yet! This is the time to start bringing in some eclectic styles, if I'm going to do it! I keep showing him pictures like the one below to prove that different styles mixed together looks really cool.

Or, I could go for something with kind of a cafe style like this:
Or add an extra pop of color, and complement the jute rug we're waiting for with the green or blue version of these: It's all too much - I just can't decide! What do you think? Any other suggestions? Let me know...I'll check the comments when I'm back from meeting with my therapist!

Ikea mania

I have gotten to be a pretty lazy blogger lately...between the busy season at work, the fall semester beginning, and fundraising and training for races, I just haven't had much extra time! I did have time, though, to go to the neighborhood Ikea last weekend to organize me a closet. By the way, there is a very high concentration of Ikeas in the mid-atlantic; there are two within 40 miles of our residence, and a third another 30 or so miles away. The closest is only 10 minutes away!

I was there for about two hours, figuring out, with the help of the lovely sales associate Evelyn, exactly which pieces I'd need to assemble something like this:

Then I went on down to the self-service area and loaded every one of those 50+ heavy metal pieces into my cart. Then from the cart to the check-out belt thingy. Then back into the cart. Then into the car. Then Kyle brought them in. We haven't attempted assembly yet, but we've already found one error. I'm sure we'll find others, so it's a good thing we only have to go 10 minutes to make the switcheroo.

I also picked up this light for the wall in the closet:

And of course some little halogen bulbs to go in the light:

And, when little Miss Evelyn noticed these items in my cart, she made a great suggestion. She told me how difficult it is to screw the tiny bulbs into the just-so fitted fixture, but hark! For only 99 cents, I could purchase a dishwashing brush with a suction cup on the end- the perfect tool to wrangle the bulb into its place. Wow, is that knowing your product or what?! Way to go, Ev!

And my tip for you: use your debit card at Ikea. You will receive a 3% rebate good for your next purchase. And of course, don't forget the meatballs and vanilla soft serve.

closet laborers

Labor Day weekend is supposed to be a time for rest from the daily grind, right? Not if you're training for two marathons and renovating a house!

We kicked off our weekend with a Saturday of framing and antiquing. Kyle framed the new closets in our master bedroom-to-be, while I scoured the row of antique shops on York Road for decorating ideas. I found this great mirror for above the fireplace, but need to get them to come down a little on the price before buying it. And Kyle got this far on the closets.

Sunday started off with a 20 mile race for me at the North Central Railroad Trail. It was a tough, boring race, but I came in third in my age group!! I was psyched. And somehow managed to stay awake all afternoon playing with five little girls between the ages of 4 months and 4 years.

We slept in on Monday, then spent the rest of the day hanging drywall on the closets. We're thinking of starting the first ever husband & wife drywall business. Here are the results, along with a black fingernail (Kyle) and a few blisters (me) to show for them!
This weekend showed us that we're on pace for two things: to have the bedroom complete by the end of September and to be ready for holiday company, and just maybe...to qualify for Boston!