Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Blog Love: Fashion Blogs

There aren't too many fashion-y blogs that I read on a regular basis, but there are two that I definitely look forward to on a regular basis.

Feather. Feather is awesome! Here's the author's own description: "If you’ve ever checked the forecast and wished the weatherman would just tell you what to wear, Feather is your place. Each night, to prepare you for the work week, Feather breaks down the next day’s forecast into style inspiration that actually makes sense." Lots of cute outfits, but at way-out-of-my-league prices. Save only the ones that you can re-create either in your own closet or at Target.

Frugal Fashionista. Whereas Feather is for my dream budget, Frugal Fashionista creates daily outfits (based on what the celebrities are wearing), but using cheap-o stores like Delia's, Target, and Forever 21. Also alerts you to upcoming sales.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Blog Love: House Blogs

My favorite all-time blogs are those that focus on houses and home decorating. It all started with Apartment Therapy, a fantastic blog (and book!) that highlights decor and organizing mainly for the small house/apartment crowd, with a definite modern feeling. My friend Sarah from grad school writes for AT - look for her in AT: Chicago under sarahc (she has, in my opinion, the best posts).

From there, I got hooked on various other blogs suggested by AT, and blogs suggested by those blogs, and so on. The list keeps growing, but here is my list of favorite house blogs:

Winner!
This Young House. The adventures of John and Sherry as they redo their ranch into something fabulous. This is my number one favorite blog to grab inspiration and ideas. Down-to-earth, green-friendly, and with DIY fever, This Young House has a huge following and, in my mind, simply rocks.

Runners-up:
Making It Lovely. Nicole's transformation of her Oak Park bungalow makes me drool, and dream of the day when my hard-earned money can go towards my house rather than my student loans.

The Hyper Homemaker. Katie is amazing, simply amazing. Her cleaning routine makes me long for more time at home so my house could be just as clean (note: it's no where near as clean).

There are many more, but these three are the ones that inspire me the most, as I attempt to set up our own little newlywed nest. Stay tuned for more blog love!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Blog Love

A main reason that I am so bad about posting on my own blog is that I'm too busy reading other people's blogs! So, in the spirit of sharing some love, I will devote the next few days to sharing some of my favorite blogs.

But today, I must give credit to the number one reason why I spend so much time reading other blogs - Google Reader. It has become an obsession. For those of you who aren't familiar, Google Reader allows you to "subscribe" to blogs, and you receive updates daily whenever a new blog post is made. So, throughout the day, I can constantly see what is happening in my happy blog world.

Of course, the downside is that I often stay within Google Reader rather than go to the original blog post, which means I miss out on all the cool graphics and designs out there. But it is awfully convenient (and concealing for when I'm at work!).

Friday, April 10, 2009

Library Pics

A while ago, we decided to take over one of the bedrooms as a our "book room" or "library." Yes, we own a lot of books. Marry an English grad student with a Poli Sci grad student and you get a whole of lots books (and two people who refuse to give up any books!). Anyways, we decided to embark on a rather large project: paint the larger bedroom walls and trim, and move all our books into the room, along with purchasing more bookcases and bookcase extensions from IKEA.
We don't have a lot of images of the complete before, but you can see the awful Pepto-pink color on the walls in these "during" pictures.


After several weekends of hard labor and few trips to IKEA, here's the result:


This room also houses our mini-guest bed (foam couch/mattress cheap from IKEA) and our exercise bike. I know it's cheaper and more convenient to have exercise equipment at home, but honestly, does anyone have a good place to put these (besides a basement)? It remains a major eyesore, in my mind, but, I digress.



Around the same time, we invested in a new laptop, which we both love. Tony's old desktop was full of nasty viruses and took up a lot of space; and my old laptop had been through several years of school, constant trips to libraries, airports, and houses, AND had been through a burglery (in which we got the laptop back). Seriously, it was time to give the old girl a retirement and get a new, faster, and sleeker laptop. We condensed from two computers to one, which hasn't been an issue (yet), and it's saves a ton of space.
Another eyesore in the room as the side closet. The sliding door to the closet is stuck in the doorframe, and no one has been able to get that darn door unstuck. So, anyone in the room stares straight into our storage, which, although organized, still unslightly.


Solution? A simple curtain, again from IKEA, hung the doorway that matches the window curtains. Simply disguises the boxes, and keep things looking nice and neat.

So there you have it! The library is complete, and we can proudly display our lovely book collection (without digging through piles on the floor). In the future, I would love to add things like a great wing chair in bright colors like this one, and a floor lamp for reading. But until then, our books are safe and sound. (Astrid Chair, Anthropologie)

Missing in action

Well, I started this blog, and then I abandoned it for a while. My tag line is "One couple's attempt at marriage, careers, and the 'burbs," and let me tell you, the careers and 'burbs part has been kicking our butts. Both of our jobs (librarian at a two-year start-up college for me, adjunct teaching all over the place for Tony) have been taking up most of our time, and, between commuting and working, blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

But it was never far from my mind, and I want to make an effort to keep this little project of mine going. So, in other words, I will do my best to keep posting.

We've been completing a lot of house projects around these parts, so stay tuned for updates and pictures!