Photographic Proof Nevada Is Pretty

It's true, it's true! And one of the perks of working every other week in the middle of nowhere is that I get to see quite a bit of it. Big pictures, though, so I won't put in eight billion. Just maybe five billion.


My favorite kind of paintbrush.


Home sweet home for seven nights.


Desert skies do the craziest stuff.


Yes we burned this. The lupine thanks us.


The lone white lupine. That sounds like it should be a code for something. Like, "The white lupine blooms at midnight" And then they give you the key to the secret safety deposit box.


God I love paintbrush.


This was taken out the window of the truck (somebody else was driving). Desert skies are craaazy.

I'm not taking my camera this week but if we go somewhere awesome I'll take it again on the next trip. Right now I have to go finish packing. Have a good week, everyone!

Reality Check (Still J'Adore Polyvore)

I just thought I would put this out there for anybody who thinks I really dress like those Polyvores I love to make.

In My Dreams by ajftuba featuring J Crew

While I love to pretend I prance around in adorable shoes and interesting outfits full of fun color and pattern and expensive jewelry, I just thought I would toss out a little idea of what I actually have been wearing lately:

Real World by ajftuba featuring Patagonia

Yes those are Carhartts. I didn't put the long johns in but those have been there too. And a beanie instead of the super hip sun hat for those extra-crappy snowy days. I will post some pics from the new job though, it is seriously gorgeous out there in the desert.

Inspiration? Or Just Dreaming...

So I made a little inspiration collection here. I LOVE my blue walls but apparently I want more texture and things like seagrass, paper and linen.


I just love the harmony of the neutrals and wood tones in this one. And the interest brought in with the art and lampshades (and the orange footstool!)


This one is pretty darn neutral (and a hair too country for me) but I like the cozy look of the bedding and the interesting lighting (again).


Curtains! I love the blue with those curtains and that lovely wood. I never know what to do with my curtains when my windows are so short. They might be a nice place to bring in some pattern, though. But what do you do when your dresser is under the window? Shove the curtains behind it? Or pull it way out from the wall so they can still hang?

Decor Dreaming by ajftuba on Polyvore.com

All Beds shopping in Crate and Barrel Beds
$699 - crateandbarrel.com

oh happy day! « amanda d. murphy :: writer
$19 - westelm.com

Six-Drawer Dresser.
$699 - crateandbarrel.com

Mid-Century Rocker Chair
$288 - urbanoutfitters.com

Four-Drawer Chest.
$499 - crateandbarrel.com

Arabica Sheet Set - Anthropologie.com
$170 - anthropologie.com

Kiosk Table Lamp
$266 - dwr.com

Pillow.
$50 - crateandbarrel.com

tusk vases shopping in CB2 new decorate
$40 - cb2.com

Yes it's pretty neutral, but remember those blue walls! I am thinking I could go with a cool taupe for the duvet cover and get some of this effect. I am also wondering how well my dresser would take a refinishing... I need to figure out how to aim for cool blues and browns instead of having a fight on my hands with cool blues vs. warm browns. Any thoughts/advice out there?

I am thinking the best way to start this is by properly addressing bedding and lighting options. Dressers will have to suffer the eternal Craigslist hunt, unless something amazing pops up... hmm, maybe I should go check!

On Posts That Don't Post (Or, Here's Last Week's Meme!)

Having triumphed over a bunch of projects and begun looking forward to my next batch, I want to know:

What current projects are on your summer slate?

What are you avoiding/looking forward to doing?

What will you be hugely relieved to have taken care of?

What do you wish you could do but are unable to (due to time or budget constraints)?

I'm a little flexible on time scale here, especially if you just finished something cool and need encouragement to post pictures. Fantasizing is also encouraged.

What current projects are on your summer slate? For me the big ones were the front yard and the table (see previous post). Other than that I have a couple of rooms to finish painting/repaint and some bargain hunting for garden furniture. I'd also like to find a good dresser and refinish it if necessary. I'd LOVE to rework my whole bedroom but I don't really have the budget for that.

What are you avoiding/looking forward to doing? Hanging the new bamboo blind in the kitchen. I have been stalling on this one for a LONG time but it needs to get done, it is taking up useful storage space now. And it will look really nice. So I am looking forward to the looking nice bit, just no the climbing around over the sink with a screwdriver bit.

What will you be hugely relieved to have taken care of? In the future, that damn blind. Past, the damn drip in the front yard. Future, I still need to bury all the drip lines in the yard. Also, possibly drip the backyard since the front looks like it's going to be very happy getting watered regularly.

What do you wish you could do but are unable to (due to time or budget constraints)? The aforementioned bedroom - the bed isn't really changeable and Matt's shrine to 80's media isn't changing unless some components finally kick the bucket. The best I think I can do is some better bedding (and hopefully a nice mod dresser if I can find one, now that I am secure in my refinishing skills). A duvet cover is one of the first goals, as the only place that seems to have any in this Super Queen size that I need for my summer-weight duvet is The Company Store. So it's just between plain and organic or cutely patterned and not organic. In my heart of hearts I want it all to be lots of Johns - Robshaw and Adler, to be precise. But in my budget of budgets they are not even in the running.
Nobody seems to have a decent print so I am probably just going to try and find a decent sort of a faded blue-gray that won't fight with the paint job since the wall color is what I'm really fond of here. Well, the wall color and the mirror. Everything else I have tried to rearrange and now I am just hoping Craigslist can help me do a little upgrading instead.

So what are your summer projects? I know you've got them... repainting the bathroom? Hanging more British-themed art on your walls? Finishing the big closet reorganization? Dyeing your hair purple? Learning Mandarin? Rereading all the Harry Potter books? What are your diabolical plans? Or what do you wish they were...

Weekend Update (Where's Jane Curtin When I Need Her?)

The combination of a week off and complete internet failure means a LOT of stuff gets done. First, let me explain. My new work schedule is eight ten-hour days in a row followed by six days off in a row. Plus Memorial Day. Makes for some quality getting-shit-done time.

1. Inherited some silver from my in-laws when they moved. Silver polish is a very satisfying thing, let me tell you.





Anybody have any ideas what to do with a nice candy dish? Sadly, I can't put candy in it. I will eat it ALL.

2. Planted and set the drip up in the ENTIRE front yard. Now our trees and little patch of lawn will survive me being gone. And maybe even look somewhat respectable!

Yes I still have to bury all that drip line. But those are plants! And they are going to liiive! And why am I suddenly sounding like Gene Wilder?

There is almost no lawn and I really would like it to be happy. Same with the silly junipers. Now that they are getting proper water hopefully they will all perk up. Especially that one to the right of the door, I'm worried about him. Everything else just needs time to grow in and fill out. And a little more weeding, we had a really wet spring so the weeds are particularly lush. Of course.

3. FINALLY finished that table I brought home after Christmas to refinish. No pictures of it in situ yet, we have to move the stereo. But that's on this afternoon's To Do list.

And SCB, I will try to get a meme up before I leave so you have something to distract you from all this peace and quiet in this little corner of the blogosphere. Helllloooooo...hellooo...hello...

Gaah!

Apologies for my lack of posting, I had a great post planned about my first crazy week of work at the new job but as soon as I got home our internet died. So I am writing this from my work computer at my previous job (don't tell!) and I will have a real update hopefully tomorrow or Friday after our new modem comes in the mail. Knock on wood!

More Excitement!

I may be out of touch for a bit here now, I start my new job tomorrow! Our team is doing a bunch of vegetation surveying/sampling in eastern Nevada so the system is basically eight days on, six days off. We drive way the hell out there and camp out for eight days, work eight ten-hour days (hell, when the light wakes you up at six, you might as well be working by seven, no lingering in a cozy bed out there) and then come home for six days off in a row.

That means six days of quality time off for projects when I am home! The backyard is in a respectable state right now and I have a bit of money to devote to it so I am going to tackle the front yard... you may remember we killed the lawn and stuck in a tree and a couple of shrubs. Now we are going to put in the rest of the shrubs and perennials that are in my plan and rebuild the watering system so they can all get watered on a timer. And it will look much nicer than a weedy expanse of decomposed granite. I like decomposed granite, don't get me wrong, but there is a LOT of it. Consider, the space I am working with is approximately 20' by 47' and currently has two ambitious but small shade trees and a slightly wimpy flagstone path, as well as about eight perennials I transplanted from the backyard. There will be more.

The current plant list includes:
Russian sage
barberry
low-growing juniper
coreopsis
red yarrow
red hot poker
catmint
and some daylilies if I get lazy at the end. There are already some of these things out there so I am amplifying on the existing theme. And even with all this added in it will still take a fraction of the water that the lawn did.

Sunset doesn't have a ton of representative photos for what I am trying to do but they do have some nice "replace your lawn with ___" articles. This is from one of them, it is vaguely like what I am going for, just a nice combo of evergreen shrubs and hearty perennials to bring in the bees and butterflies.


Here is another fun one. I can't follow all their plant choices but I am definitely going to include some fun stuff like echinacea and penstemon eventually once I figure out where things will all be. I just want to get a basic framework in so I can lay the drip, then I will probably add more perennials in the fall once I see how things are doing. I don't spend time in the front yard like I do in the back (no real porch or hangout area), so I want it to be minimal maintenance once it is all in. Then I can spend more time working on my backyard!

The only thing I think I need to spend more time on is finding some more evergreens - the barberry, which has fantastic deep burgundy leaves, drops them in the fall, exposing its bright red berries, but once the birds spot them there goes my visual interest. Most everything else gets cut back to a clump in the fall. So based on my current list it's just juniper. But that's not uncommon around here. I need to do some scoping out of the local yards to see what else looks good in the evergreen dept.

And it may be epically nerdy, but I may be taking my Nevada Gardening Guide with me into the field this week.