success!!

hi guys,

as promised, just letting you know that after my post about being a Black Thumb Gardener, ALL MY PLANTS ARE STILL ALIVE! and actually, they're doing quite well :)

perhaps it IS possible to rehab a black thumb...

More on Monday!

cheers,
SB

Next Post: Your Choice!

Hi guys,

So I've been blogging for a few months now, and I must say its been a learning experience and tons of fun. I'm starting to figure things out, and am getting pretty good feedback so far.

But this morning I got to thinking --- what are you guys interested in hearing about or learning right now???

I can tell you that at the moment I'm obsessed with the power of a couple good coats of paint in a stunning color, creating defined but comfortable spaces in my home, and finding affordable ways to really make it "mine."

But what do you want to know? How to install a new outlet or light switch? Which colors are the latest and greatest? How to re-grout a shower? Or maybe where to go to get whatever it is you're looking for to spruce up your home? Perhaps a few tricks & tips on merging "his" stuff with "her" stuff? Or just more photos???

Tell me, and I shall deliver :) E-mail: havedogwilltravel@gmail.com

In the meantime, I'll keep blogging away.....

Shanti

Two (Fairly) Quick Ways to Update, Style & Change the Feel of a Room

Good morning Painters and Paintettes!

The Seattle rain, a welcome change from the scorching heat we had last week, has given us the opportunity (solicited or not) to focus on the interior fixes that have been on "Winter To-Do List" such as painting and lighting.

And as you may have read in one of my recent posts, the master bathroom was in DIRE need of some TLC, particularly in the paint department. So far, we've got one coat of primer (TOTALLY necesarry) on and the ceiling painted -- and I have to say it already looks a thousand times better and WAY bigger. Its former Mountain Dew color (ceiling included) made it feel rigid and cheap; with just a few hours of work, it already feels brighter and cleaner.

Here are some pix of our progress so far:



















Hopefully we can finish the primer coat and get the walls painted by the end of the week. I would LOVE to move in and actually use this bathroom by the weekend!! Stay tuned for final styling pix :)

Total cost so far:
$100 for materials + 3 Hours (prep, painting, and clean up)
No more Mountain Dew color: PRICELESS

The second thing we've been having fun with lately is lighting. Our house came with a few good lighting set-ups, but mostly they were the cheap, dim ones that never give out enough light and always burn through bulbs more quickly.

Here are the three we recently installed:

The top light is in our office/travel room, the one in the middle is the bedroom light we finally decided on (we went for about a month with no light.....!). The last is one of my favorites -- ignore the wall color and the need to patch the ceiling, that will come soon -- it is the inspiration for my future walk-in closet renovation.

In short, if you're looking to spend minimal cash and time updating, styling, or refreshing a room start with a couple coats of paint or a new light fixture -- it can change the whole feel of your space.

Enjoy!
Shanti

My Kind of Treat Tray

.....I also wanted to share a cute idea I snapped while we shopped around P-town's Nob Hill:

And my friend (a fellow dog-lover) made a good point: this is a great way to get people to feed your pooch dog-friendly treats rather from their plates.

:)

Shanti

Coming Up Roses

Hello Housies!

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Vacouver/Portland (thanks Kim!!), including a trip to the Rose Garden. These pictures, which I had to take on my phone, don't do them justice -- but I wanted to share a few of my favorites. And following my "Black Thumb Gardner" post, I may just have to plant a few of these sweet-smelling bushes myself.....

And of course there was some shopping done this weekend :), including a few fun things for the house. Following my Backyard Dreaming post, I found some great, affordable lanterns to hang in the plum tree, and will share pictures as soon as I have time to unpack.

Ciao for now!

Shanti

Merry Christmas to Me, perhaps?

Dear Santa Claus,

Please take my old skis and make me one of these:
Or if you think I've been EXTRA good this year, please also send me a ski chalet with one or two of these in the living room:

Thank you and Merry (early) Christmas,

Shanti

A Few Great Finds!

Hey there mortgage mavens!

If you're like me and paying a mortgage (or saving for one) makes you more of a deal-seeker than ever before, you'll appreciate a couple of my most recent finds.

Here is the MINI COUCH I recently scored at a yard sale for $20. We really needed a small, sturdy, basic loveseat to fit into this space in our office, and this one is perfect. It's only a few years old and actually came from a real estate agent's office, so it's barely used and in pretty perfect condition. PLUS the cost went to the local Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)!!! And Jack seems to really like it:

A few days earlier, I was browsing through Cost Plus Imports, which I've found is a goldmine for affordable, stylish glassware and kitchen items. I'm also coveting the majority of their Moroccan-style tables and chairs....but that's a seperate post and to-do list item.... What I did buy was this bamboo wind chime for $6 (sorry, the photo isn't the greatest).

When Ian (my husband) and I were in Maui for a friend's wedding, just weeks before we ourselves got hitched in 2007, we went on a phenomenal hike through a bamboo forest. My camera batteries had run out just as we hit the trail that afternoon, but I will never forget the calming, ruthmic sound of the bamboo knocking together as we wound our way up the mountain. This chime makes a similar sound when the breeze comes throug our bedroom window at night, and I love waking up to it.

In general, most of the things in our house that I love are like this -- either hand-me-downs, family relics, yard sale finds, or super cheap scores that remind me of a great moment in my life. And that's how I want my home to feel -- ecclectic, warm, comfy, and full of reminders of the great moments I've been lucky enough to experience in my life so far. :) :) :)

That's it for now, but as I mentioned in the last post I'm headed to Vancouver & Portland this weekend, so I'll let you know if I come home with any great finds from Nob Hill or beyond.....

Shanti

Black Thumb Gardener Tries Rehab

Good morning!

I am off to Vancouver, Washington to visit one of my best friends for the weekend (yay!), but wanted to share a few pictures and house updates now that I've got a new/borrowed camera to use (still haven't located the one we misplaced in North Dakota.....)

About a week ago I noticed a dire lack of greenery inside the house -- and while flowers are beautiful and make me smile, potted plants last a lot longer and are typically cheaper. However, I suffer from Black Thumb Syndrome...and will admit that I struggle to keep anything with a root ball and leaves alive. So, I trotted around to a couple of local shops -- Ravenna Gardens and, of course, Home Depot -- to see what I could get for a good price that would stay green all year and perhaps not freak out if I missed a week of watering. This newfound confidence in my interior gardening skills has perhaps been bolstered by my recent success with a gorgeous orchid that a friend got me as a housewarming gift. Its flowers have since bloomed and fallen off (which, by the way, is normal and not my fault!), but the base is as green and healthy as ever. Take a look for yourself:

If I continue to "water evenly and place in indirect, filtered sunlight," it should bloom again. So far so good!

The next plant I purchased was an easy choice; I've always loved succulents, and because they need direct, bright sunlight, they are perfect for setting near my kitchen sink as our south-facing backyard gets all-day light. And, I will admit, they are simply a cute plant! And in the adorable little double pot a friend gave me several birthdays ago, I think they are irresistable:

I also got a small plant for the living room -- no clue what kind it is, but I loved the green and cream leaves and the sturdy texture (this one lives in the living room):

And lastly, I think everyone should have at least one herb in their kitchen for cooking with. It makes a world of difference if you add a little fresh rosemary to chicken or dice up fresh chives over a baked potato. For me, basil was my first choice as it's my favorite :) and I can add it to pasta sauce, pasta/orzo salad, caprese salad, etc. YUM!!

So how am I keeping these plants alive and thriving? Well, a very helpful lady at Ravenna Gardens in Kirkland gave me some simple advice:

1. Make sure each plant's soil is consistantly and lightly damp to the touch. If it's been particularly hot out, check more often.

2. Mix an all-purpose plant fertilizer in the water about once a month.

3. Make sure each plant is placed in an area that gets the amount of sunlight reccomended (i.e. not just where it looks best in the house...oops!).

Easy, right? While I'm sure this advice is fairly generic and might not work for some of the more finicky plants out there, it seems to be working brilliantly for my small collection.

Also, I've kept each of those little plastic tags that come tucked into the plastic containers of new plants, and taped them inside a kitchen cupboard. That way, I can refer to them when needed or if one of the plants looks a tad bedraggled, I can check the tag and then see if perhaps it needs to be moved, fertilized, etc.

I'll keep you posted on my progress in Black Thumb Gardner Rehab!
Shanti

Become a FAN, you know you want to!!

Calling all LLRT fans, supporters and Facebook users!

Please come join lefty loosey righty tighty on Facebook! I am currently working to update the site and link it to the blog -- but in the meantime, it would be great if you could become a Fan!!

How to become a Fan 101:

1. Go here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/lefty-loosey-righty-tighty/111139809315?ref=mf

2. Click "Become a Fan"

3. Bam, you're done!!! And you've made Shanti happy. Nice work!!

Thanks everyone, and viva social networking!
Shanti

Backyard Dreaming.....

Hey there summer lovers,

Now that the weather has cooled to more Seattle-like temps, I am really enjoying the warm evenings and weekends outside rather than looking for the nearest dog-friendly AC'd hangout. Last weekend we had some friends over for an easy-breezy barbecue, and it got me thinking -- while it's not on the docket for this summer, what am I going to do with our backyard NEXT summer???

On one hand, it's an entirely new area for me to style and shape and create and have fun with...on the other hand, there's a budget and an extreme lack of actual green grass to consider.

For now, our little oasis in the city will have to winter as-is; which, considering my interior house to-do list is still pretty long, is actually OK with me. However, this hasn't stopped me from dreaming of what I eventually want to do....................

Here's our backyard currently:

And here are some of the beautiful, comfy backyard ideas I'd like to use next summer:

Can't you just picture sipping a summer Mojito here?
(photo from http://cocokelley.blogspot.com/)

This makes me want to get comfy, catch up on my stack of magazines and then take a little nap in the afternoon summer shade.......

(Photo from http://cocokelley.blogspot.com/)

I would love to hang about five of the smaller lanterns in our plum tree for late-evening barbecues, hammock lounging, and sky gazing.

(photo and lanterns from potterybarn.com)

Or mayby I should hang them on these cool stakes at each corner of our deck.....

(photo, laterns and stakes from potterybarn.com)

I love the fullness of hydrangeas and am really drawn to this soft blue/purple color; would love to line one side of our house with these.

(photo from Google Images)

S'mores anyone?

(photo and fire pit from http://www.firepitsinc.com)

Anyone else have fun photos of backyard spaces they've created? I'd love to see them! E-mail me at shahler@hotmail.com.

Cheers,

Shanti

Q&A

Hiya homeowners/seekers,

I hope you had a FABULOUS weekend! I got in plenty of house puttering-around time, and unpacked our LAST BOXES!! WOO HOO! Such a great feeling. However, we lost our camera last weekend so no pics to share/document the progress yet...but give me a couple days and I'll hunt a new/borrowed one down!

In the meantime, I promised I would share my answers to the questions that were sent to me since I started this blog. Below is a full list of the Q&A, enjoy!

Q: Cute house! Where is it?
A: Kirkland! Makes our commutes easier without paying Seattle real estate prices.

Q: You mentioned something about cheap cleaning products -- what do you use?
A: I love love love the simple mixture of bleach & water -- just look on the back of the bottle to make sure you get the right ratio. You can add a few drops of essential oil to the mix if you don't like the smell. And it's super affordable. Also, Dr. Bronner's soap, which you can find at any health food store includeing Trader Joes, is a great alternative and can be used for almost any clean-up job; plus it too is affordable AND its organic/biodegradable.

Q: How many houses did you look at before you bought one?
A: Oh gosh.... in person, actual walk-throughs? Probably about 30. Including drive-bys where we would assess a house's potential just from the outside without dragging our agent along, probably about 60. But if you include searching redfin.com (great for offering tons of pix inside and out) and windermere.com, that number would probably jump to a couple hudred.

Q: How long did it take you to find your house?
A: We were looking for about a year, however there were a few month-long stints during that time where we were unable to due to life stuff that came up. We did make some offers earlier in the game, but they either fell through becuase someone outbid us or got their first, or we took a second look and decided to pull the plug.

Q: You mentioned that you bought the house in pre-forclosure. Did you look for that kind of sale, and if so, how did you find it?
A: We had heard a lot about buying houses in pre- and forclosure, primarily because there were so many people with homes in that situation. We didn't look specifically for this deal, but we were certainly open to it given you can get a great deal and sometimes even score instant equity. But, I will warn you: buying a house like this is not for the faint of heart. It took us 4 months to close and there were a ton of roadblocks along the way. I'm still amazed our real estate agent and mortgage broker stuck with us.....(Thanks Arron & Ransom!!)

Q: How was it paying your first mortgage? :)
A: Ha, this is a GREAT question! To be honest...kind of anticlimactic, but in a VERY GOOD WAY! My husband and I have been building our savings by paying a "practice mortgage" every month while we househunted; this way, we learned what we REALLY could afford and how our lives would look with that much money going out (versus our pretty cheap Seattle apartment rent). If you can do this, I HIGHLY reccomend it -- I think it saved me from not only passing out when the first mortgage bill came but also from buying more house than I could afford. (Note: As some of you know, we sucked it up and moved into my family's basement apartment for a year in order to save up. If this isn't an option, just count your rent into your "practice mortgage" payments and stash the extra in savings. This way, you pay your rent, but also pad your savings).

Q: Did the colors of the house's interior scare you?
A: I had learned from touring many a home that paint can be changed, while many other former-owner "mistakes" cannot. For instance, you might find a house that has all the latest designer colors that you love, but if you hate the layout of the home or the neighborhood it's in, you're better off moving to the next house on your list.

Thanks, guys, for all the great Q's -- KEEP 'EM COMING! You can post them on this blog or e-mail me at shahler@hotmail.com.

Your Fellow Craigslist "Furniture" Section Addict,
Shanti