My Soundtrack

So I recently had a very interesting conversation with a friend of a friend in the music industry. He was talking about how music effects every part of our lives. There are songs you will remember for the rest of your life. Not because they hit top 40's and you heard them enough times to hate them, but because of some life experience you had at the very moment the song played, or a song that really explained how you felt at some point in your life, your parent's favorite song, a first date song, your chosen wedding march, high school graduation song, the song you thought should have been your high school graduation song, a song someone sang to you, a song someone used to describe you, the song that let you know your not the only one.

And maybe not everybody sees it that way, but I agreed. We called it the soundtrack to your life.

Then I remembered being asked at some point in elementary to pick a song that described my life. As I look back, what an odd thing to be asked at such a young age. But mine was Journey " Who's Crying Now". Now I am not sure I really want to share why I chose that and maybe a few more of the following songs, but those who are close to me probably know exactly what I am saying.

So here is my soundtrack:

Journey "Who's Crying Now" 1981 

Billy Idol "Mony Mony" 1987 

my first concert, I was 6

Def Leppard "Pour Some Sugar on Me" 1987 

I can't think of one song that reminds me more of my mom
(and much later in life my friend John)

Beatles "Eleanor Rigby" 1966

for my dad, introducing me to vinyl records, he had the coolest collection

Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" 1985

 I remember watching this movie at a slumber party
and trying desperately to fit in with the cool girls

New Kids on the Block "You've Got It (Right Stuff)" 1988 

2nd Concert, we wore boxers on our heads to get backstage, we did not get backstage

Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby" 1989 

for Melissa, I remember us dancing to this at dance camp
 and probably many times in our rooms, lol

Skee Lo "I Wish" 1995 

for Nick and my basketball days, when I tried to fit in with the boys,
Nick would always let me be on his team, even though I sucked

Smashing Pumpkins "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" 1995 

for Jessica, Patrick and Luca, and when I only dated boys in garage bands

Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 1991

my flannel wearing days

Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 1995

my first really bad break up

Jewel "You Were Meant for Me" 1998

more break up music

Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" 1979

for Angela, for helping me cope with said break up,
man, life was dramatic at 16

Hole "Celebrity Skin" 1998

for Sarah and I driving around in my convertible in our bikinis
and screaming this song at the top of our lungs

Green Day "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" 1997

my graduation song

Prince "1999" 1982

most would have said this was supposed to be our grad song, I agree

Papa Roach "Broken Home" 2000

for my brother, when we truly bonded, when he was no longer a little boy
and I was no longer too old to hang out with him

Kelly Clarkson "Miss Independent" 2003

awe! my single early 20's, I was not near as independent as I thought, 

but if you asked most of my friends this song was written for me

50 Cent "In Da Club" 2003

Usher "Yeah" 2004

the last two for Kristi and our dancing days, those that I remember, lol
Jack Johnson "Bubble Toes" 2001

for one of my best friends

Ray Lamontagne "Hold you in my Arms" 2004

Orianthi "According to You"
Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are" 2010
Bruno Mars "Grenade" 2010

Christina Perri "Jar of Hearts" 2010

Mary J. Blige "Take Me As I  Am" 2006
Jordin Sparks "I am Woman" 2011

Ok maybe I got a little carried away... and to be honest I am sure as soon as I post this I will think damn I forgot.......
I could go on and on
but that was fun!


 

Mornings... I hate them!

Doesn't help that I wake up a mess!

Hair standing up on my head, glasses, ugh I hate my glasses, I am hot and cold all at the same time, blankets twisted, sheets missing and pillows all over the place,(don't I sound like a lovely mate) and usually I initially have no idea what day it is, or what I am supposed to be getting ready for! 

Disaster

Some people are just not meant for mornings.

The average, healthy, well-adjusted adult gets up at seven-thirty in the morning feeling just plain terrible. 

 ~Jean Kerr, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, 1957

This morning I did wake up at about 7:30, on my day off! Ugh! Why do I have to have this stupid internal clock bothering me on my day off? I was so not ready to start my day, but despite my attempts I was not going back to sleep, and I did feel terrible. Kiddo was still asleep (lucky), for which I was thinking thank god. I was so not ready for "Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM!" So I am laying here thinking, why can't I sleep, what should I do. I was really wishing I could sneak out and go to the workout room, but she is still too young for me to get away with that. Oh it would have been nice though. I have missed my workout everyday this week for some reason or another and I am feeling it. Last week I got to go 4 times and was feeling great, but this week has just been a drain on me. Then I was thinking I have a headache, yay!, already. I am really hungry.. did I eat dinner last night..oops! I see a few new catalogs. I grab them to flip through... for design ideas really, because I won't be buying myself anything for one long while. Okay bored, shopping with no money is no fun.

So I decide to catch up on my emails, work on my website a bit, and well blog. Here I am 2 1/2 hours later still sitting in bed with my computer (my companion). Oh computer what would I do without you.

And I still have not eaten.... kitchen here I come!

Bits and Pieces of My Home... still a work in progress!

I haven't blogged in a while. Going against my many steps to a better life, so here goes:

I haven't been all that happy with my new apartment. It's really small. I have really let it get me down. I miss my pets. They don't fit. This place is small... very small. I share it with an "oh so messy" five year old. It's very small. I have too much stuff. My stuff doesn't fit. It's very small. I still have boxes... five months later. I just have no idea where else to stash the stuff. I have already space bagged all I can. There is no storage in this place. UGH! It's very small!!!!

But I have finally settled with the fact that I am going to be here a while, so I better figure out how to make the most of it! So here is an inside look at My (and Kiddo's) Home. So I live in the tiniest of apartments (did I mention it's very small) and had to get rid of so much just to fit in this space.  tiny, tiny, tiny   Here are the things that mean the most to me! These keepers all have a little story, reminding me of some other time in my life.

 I have collected a few spiritual icons, which is maybe weird since I am really not all that spiritual. I try to learn about their meanings and pick the ones that mean something for me. I think I found that one in a gross repo'd trailer (storage) at one of the many trailer lots I used to decorate for. I am pretty sure it was laying on the floor, under a bunch of other rejected decor. I dusted it off and put it in my suitcase. Finders Keepers. There is actually a woven grass fan back there... given to Kiddo at a birthday party, where my ultra creative friend decorated one for each kid. It was summer. It was hot! What a neat idea. That black and white frame... same friend and I have matching ones :)

 So I collect elephants... can you tell? I couldn't even tell you which one was my first. But I have fallen in love with the various styles and designs. I also couldn't tell you much about the animal, besides I won't be adopting one anytime soon, they stink... oh yeah and not sure I could fit it in my very, very small apartment. Someone once told me, or somewhere I read, that if you face the elephant's trunks to the front door, it brings good luck or peace in your home. Geez, I should look that up again. So I try my best to stick with that rule, but design first. If it doesn't look good, it gets turned whichever way I want it. It's probably bad Feng Shui, but not something I really studied or cared much about. Maybe I should try. I could use some good vibes in this place.

 Ha, ha if you look close you will see those are pics of me at about four, 

dressed for my dance recital. I was cute, trust me! 

 The marigold art was my grandmother's, I was told was one of her favorites. I love the vintage look. The orange floral print... a paint ad, I cut it from a design magazine. The flowers are made from paint swatches. It takes me back to my days at Home Depot, mixing paint, I loved it and I just thought "fits a designer's home, and I need something to put in this frame"! Oh and my favorite color is orange, so I am sure that had something to do with it.

 This was Christmas 2010. Mine and Kiddo's first Christmas, just us.

 In the back there... a painting I actually did myself... and finished! Go me!

 More elephants!! And boxes... I have a thing for boxes, too.

 My favorite frame... in it a pic of me, my mom, and grandmother, when I moved into my first house. It wasn't the prettiest house in the Austin but it was cheap and HUGE! 

Awe, when rooms were huge :(

 Momma and me... at Little Bro's wedding. Man we look good! :P

It was a beautiful day and I am very proud of my Little Bro. He is very lucky he got the woman he did! Hope he can keep her.

 My grandparents. True Love! They knew how to make it work. They lived in a time when you just made it work. What happened to our society. In my generation, most of us are already divorced and all our parents were divorced, at least once. I wish my grandmother would have shared her secret with me. Unfortunately, I lost my grandmother (my best friend) a few years ago, but she is everywhere in my apartment. She had so much to teach me and I miss our long talks, while I sat in traffic. Now I call Mom, if she doesn't answer, then Little Bro, then Sis-in-Law, then, well then I just give up.

 Design books, of course!!! And these are just the ones I kept or have added recently. I am sure I will end up with a new collection soon enough.

 Kiddo's art :) Isn't she talented?!

 The only part of my kitchen I will share. 

Hey but there are no dishes in my sink! That's a miracle in this home.

 I love this batik stamp, I have a few more. I have found them at random garage sales, resale shops, etc. That tiny crown... One day this woman came in the store I work at and told me all about these dolls (saints) that, I think Catholics??, used to make dresses for, and then they put on these tiny crowns, which were usually made from real gold or silver and jeweled... this is a replica of course, not something I would typically buy, but I liked the story and that I had a bit of history behind it. Too bad I don't remember it so well. I guess another think I should look into.

 One of my stellar lamps that my boss gave to me because she thought they were ugly and would never sell. The art I got when I was decorating a model home in San Antonio... extra art,I am telling you, there was not a wall I could make it work on, freebie!

 I little for the Kiddo, brought from her old room at our big house.

 I totally did the bathroom for the Kiddo. I had to make it fun. The only way I could get her to bathe and brush her teeth. Still a little of a battle.

 Barbies... air drying, I just think it looks so funny! And everybody who goes in my bathroom comments on them.

The End! That's all I have completed for now, maybe more to come soon.

Why am I always so tired?

"Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out."
-Anton Chekhov

A new inspiration...

Have you ever seen something selling well, that you thought, I could make that. Well today I had one of those moments. I have been playing around with different graphics programs since I was about 8. I fell in love with Photoshop the moment I had a chance. Now I am a pretty big fan of Gimp, because it's free! So here is what I made today:

I hope you like it. I am very excited about it and there will be more to come!

Where, OH where does the day go...

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
Mark Twain 

Fun day at the store...

A couple of days a week, I work part-time at a local furniture boutique. I love getting to help people with their design projects, little or big. But I have to say, it's a lot more fun when you get the big ones.

Well the other day was one of those exciting days. A woman came in about, I don't know, 4-5 months pregnant, and was ready to start decorating her nursery. Now this is especially fun, and she's having twins, double fun! I love nurseries and kid's rooms. They allow you to be a little extra imaginative.

When she came in she already had a pretty good vision of what she wanted, she really just needed help finding the pieces and putting them together.

She had already purchased the cribs, and what fabulous cribs they are.

Bratt Decor

And she had in mind she needed a bookcase. She had seen a piece in the store, that she really liked but something was holding her back. It just wasn't quite right.

This and the following available at Back Home with a Twist

So that's where I got to really dive in. We did some digging through a few catalogs and found that there was another piece in the collection that was just right. YEAH!

It's so great. It carries on the metal features from the bed, but adds a mod industrial touch. This piece can grow with the twins, or she can move it into any other room. It's versatile, practical, and oh so cool!

So after the excitement of that find, we were on a roll. She needed a chest to double as changing table and an accent table next to her rocker.

She mentioned she had considered some antique pieces. We discussed how sometimes antiques have drawers that are hard to open, doors that maybe don't quite align anymore. They can be fabulous investments, and create quite a showcase, but maybe not for a nursery. With this information, I also knew an import piece was not the way to go. There can be lovely pieces in their collections, but they also don't have the modern mechanisms that make drawers slide easier, make them safer and just make life easier.

At this point I knew exactly what to show her. I knew of a furniture line that makes things that look very similar to the reclaimed wood and hand painted imports, we love so much, but with the modern mechanisms and sometimes a few extra bells and whistles; lighting, outlets, etc. They offer a variety of unique accent pieces and I knew she was sure to find somethings she would love. So after just a few minutes of looking, she fell in love immediately with a chest. There was no question it was the perfect piece. And conveniently enough right there on the same page was a adorable two-drawer side table, perfect! So here is what she picked.

I think it's going to be great!The pieces are all so random but in each there is some common element that when they are all together, they will create a room like none other. She could have picked everything straight from the Restoration Hardware catalog, or Pottery Barn and ended up with a room the mass population has copied. But this room will be special, something she created herself for her special little ones. And I know she will be so proud of her work.

 I suggested a warmer color on the walls to offset the cooler tones of the grays. And I think she's off to a great start. I can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.