Thonet Stool

I have had this Thonet stool for close to, well for a long time.   The finish wasn't really in the best  condition and a few years ago I decided to stain it.  Dark brown.   I sanded it, applied the stain and it came out looking like this.

A little mottled, yes?  It is photogenic though and looks a lot better in this picture than it actually is. Probably the good bones. 

Now it is time to take up the project again.  This time around I plan to paint it and most importantly finish the job (notice the bottom ring).   The big question now is color.  I have been thinking black, off white, yellow, red and have even considered hot pink (an idea I got from Anna's post).  At the moment yellow is a strong contender, but the field is still wide open.  I am thinking I should use spray paint rather than whip out the old brush.  Any experience?

Strawberry update

Several weeks ago I posted about the strawberries that I received as a gift from Marie.  I am absolutely thrilled about how well they are doing and wanted to share some pictures of their progress.

Here they are making nice green leaves.

 

And here they are making nice runners.

Here they are making flowers....

And here they are making fruit.  YES!  I just know that these will be the best strawberries ever.  They are from Brooklyn.

One Lovely Blog or Ten Things About Me

Roboti (a really cool blog by the way) received an One Lovely Blog award and passed it on to everyone.  I hereby accept  :) and give you 10 11 (see list for explanation) things about me:

1. I am constantly surprised by the fact that more and more people are younger than me.
2. I love popcorn movies (ie. Independence Day, the Bourne movies, Bad Boys, The Italian Job).
3. But I also love chick flicks (ie. Shakespeare in Love, Love Actually, the Holiday).
4. I often find myself in a room and have forgotten why I went there (think it might tie into #1 on my list).
5. Not very many people that I know, know that I blog.
6. I think that asparagus are related to tulips.
7. I think that because once I took a drink from a glass of water standing in the kitchen only to remember that I had tulips standing in it that morning.  Definitely an asparagus taste.
8. One of the things that I miss about the pre-Sam times is being able to have cereal for dinner.
9. A mixed tape by me could include rap, pop, rock, Motown and country.
10. I can get more done in 30 minutes than in three hours.
11. I grew up bilingual with a lot of people that were also bilingual,  so I have a habit of starting sentences in one language and finishing in another or inserting words in whatever language I remember them first.  I actually started writing this post in German.  Really funny because Tesca did the opposite when commenting on my post from yesterday.                                                     

Now you know a little bit more about me and I hope you join in the fun because I am giving everyone reading this an One Lovely Blog/Person Award.  So go on and write a post or comment below with some tidbits about you.

More of Less

So last week wasn't a very productive blog week for me.  I did do a lot of blog reading and I also spent more time at Pinterest than I care to reveal, but posting not so much.  Are you pinning yet? When I first read about it I knew that it would be dangerous, so I resisted.  A while back Tesca did a post about it and I have been hooked ever since.  It is a huge time suck and very dangerous territory, but lots of fun.   If you want to join let me know and I can send you an invite.  Don't say I didn't warn you though. :)

So now back to business.  It is Tuesday, the day for "More of Less" and we are back in the kitchen.  This drawer clearly needs help.

 

It is really suppose to be a baking drawer, but over the last two years other items have found there way in.  The popsicle molds are moving on out (glad that they caught my eye though because, duh, it is Summer now) and the Christmas cookie cutters don't really need to take up valuable real estate in the kitchen either.

They have been moved into the cookie tins and stored in the basement pantry (a site of future More of Less posts).  By the way, the heart laying next to the tin is one of my favorite cookie cutters.  The little notch on the side is to hang the finished cookie on the side of a coffee cup or glass of milk.

The drawer looks so much better now and I was even able to add a few items:  handheld mixer, mixing bowl, a Pyrex baking dish and a quiche dish.
Check or rather ☑.

Sam's Room

In today's post Benita @ Chez Larsson asked everyone to share a picture or post of the EXPEDIT shelving units in their home.  You can find ours in Sam's room.

Considering that our home plays a substantial role in this blog I haven't really shared that many pictures of it.  Mainly because I find it really hard to shoot interiors (and gardens).  It took about 20 shots to get this one (thank goodness for the digital age). The angles always seem weird and it is just plain frustrating.    I am hoping to improve and start sharing some more.

Go on over to Benita's to share your pictures and while you are at it link to them in the comments here too.

Stripe Mania!

Last week Holly invited everyone to a virtual Stripe Mania party (in short take picture of yourself in stripes, post & tweet it) and I immediately thought to myself "I want in."  A bit unusual because I can't stand having my picture taken.  Case in point, the profile picture that I have been using is over 3 years old.  Perfect opportunity for a change I would say.

Come on, join the party! 

(Mini) More of Less

Hold on this is going to be an exciting post. ;) I am still working on organizing the storage shed and this week I did something small, but effective. When we started our garden we needed different types of shovels.   Instead of borrowing the ones we only needed for a few projects, we my husband went out and bought these.

 

We really only need one now, but I can't convince my husband to get rid of the extra ones.  You know how it goes - can't part with your stuff, then you need to find new ways of storing it so that it looks like you have less.

Mission accomplished.

Be calm

This has nothing to do with our home, house, garden, life or family, but when I saw this video featuring the Amangiri Resort & Spa in Utah I immediately wanted to share it with you.  The architecture  of the spa is amazing and (I think) shown brilliantly here.

amangiri from steelblue on Vimeo.

The integration of the structure into the surrounding landscape, the colors, the lines... Well, me like.  Hope you enjoy!

More of Less

This is more of a case of moving my stuff around and buying something awesome to put it in, but I don't care because I love my new ÃTRAN.

I love that it is red and looks like the letter "C" (letter & number fanatic here).   My name is Monica with a "c" and since I grew up in Germany it was always something that I had to emphasize (it is generally spelled with a "k" here).

 

After taking the temporary cabinet out of our bathroom I needed a place to store the cough syrup, Tylenol etc.  I wanted to store them someplace else since a bathroom is not the ideal place for medicine storage because of the heat and moisture.  Since we don't need constant access I decided to put the new cabinet in the basement stairway.   This freed up some space in a kitchen drawer as well and I love the way the cabinet looks here.  Can you tell I like it?  The ÃTRAN would be great as a landing strip/catch all by a front door too.

P.S.
This post was made possible with the help of my husband and his drill.  Thanks Honey!