Did I tell you?

We have flying cockroaches here.  Its THE grossest thing...

A Couple Additions

It has been a busy week.  We got our replacement rug from overstock.  Unfortunately it was STILL the wrong rug so UPS picked it up and we are trying again.  Hopefully the saying "third time is a charm" has some street cred and they will deliver a traditional style blue wool rug to my door tomorrow.

In addition to the continuing rug saga, I took a walk to downtown Noblesville last Sunday while J was at work.  I ate lunch at a bakery that just opened and wandered through the various antique stores in the historic town center.  Most of the items were either over priced (I am knowledgeable of these things thanks to my persistent ogling of craigslist) or crappy.  I did happen upon a gorgeous antique dresser with mirror at the Logan Street Antique Mall - and it was on SALE! 

I have been looking for one forever.  Okay, not forever, but for at least the last four months or since this post.  Well, after being thwarted several times by other quick buyers or our low bank account, I was finally in the position to purchase this great dresser.  There was a catch, as there always seems to be.  It was on HOLD.  Someone had spotted it before me.  After speaking with the woman who runs the antique mall I found that I could be listed second on the hold.  If no one picked it up by Tuesday, I could purchase it myself.

Luck went my way and I am now the proud owner of an antique dresser!  It has two small drawers and two large drawers, a swiveling or tilting mirror, and casters for feet (though we found that they are more for show than for actual rolling). 

J and I put it near the back door as a place to dump our things as we come into the house and it also serves as a great place to hide other items like the tape roller for the cat hair, umbrellas for our spring weather, and a leash for our future dog (always planning ahead).  :) Though it blocks part of the lovely octagon window, the mirror (which needs to be cleaned a bit) actually reflects lots of light and makes the little nook appear much larger than it really is.  I am so happy with the purchase!

I also finally took photos of our new window treatments for the back door.  On our way home from Chicago we stopped by Ikea and purchased a few things for the house.  One steal of a deal was the "last chance" tv console that you can see in the prior post about our fantastic new rug.  Another purchase was a very modern sliding window panel system.  I am sure there is some Scandinavian name for it, but we just called it the sliding window panel thingy.  Ikea sold panels of fabric in various levels of opaqueness, pattern, and color.  These panels could be cut to any length and would clip into the sliding system.  Instead of pulling your curtains aside, you could simply slide the entire panel over.  In addition, the panels could be layered (up to three in the system we purchased) to make the window seem more artistic or personalized.

Anyways, we got the whole system home only to realize the slider portion we bought was too short for the doubt doors in the back (only one actually opens).  Thwarted again...or at least it seemed that way at the moment.  After hemming and hawing over the whole thing, I decided that we would just buy some cafe curtain rods, sew a pocket in the panels, and be done with it - after all, those dog chewed, plastic, faux wood, blinds could not stay in the house a moment longer!

We did find out that our back doors were metal and would allow us to put up magnetic curtain rods.  Not only did that save a tremendous amount of time and effort since we didnt have to drill new holes in the door, but we can move them or take them down as necessary, all without screwdriver.  Its pretty nifty.  In order to get the panels to hang straight as intended, I made another pocket at the bottom and J cut a dowel rod to the width of the panel.  Perfection!  The fabric we chose lets just the right amount of light in, keeps our neighbors from getting too friendly, and we can still see the backyard through them.  We are pretty pleased with these new additions.

There is our "new" patio set and the left side of our totally awesome BBQ!

One Boon of a Rug

I must admit, I have been on a bit of a rug kick ever since my mom was in town.  The rugs we shopped for together really had a profound effect on our house and made it feel more like our home.  They added warmth and comfort to the floors and really helped to define each space.

Anyways, since then I have been searching for a rug that would be suitable for our master bedroom.  We had finally found our perfect duvet cover from Dwell Studio.  It was ever so slightly mod and with grey walls (soon) and solid navy curtains, the rug needed accents of both colors and a touch of tradition to round out the mod vibe. 

I found what I hope will be the perfect rug on overstock.com.  Its wool, 8x11, blue, ivory, and grey, and only $171! 

I say that I HOPE this is the perfect rug for the room because the rug that arrived last Wednesday was not that rug.  It came shrouded in opaque plastic and wrapped with the back of the rug facing outwards but it sure didnt look like my rug.  Instead there was a taupe monstrosity that must have weighed at least 150 pounds and whose wool strands must have been the thickness of my finger.  It was quite literally a different rug - no blue or grey to be seen.

The label on the rug said Surya Aros Grey (though it really isnt grey at all which may have been why it ended up on overstock in the first place).  Anyways, the Surya website says that the 8x11 aros grey rug is $1600!!!  Holy mother of rugs batman!  It was the mother load, the score of the decade, the...new rug for the living room.  :)

I wasnt sure J would like it since its very modern looking so I managed to wrestle the dead body rug to the living room so I could roll it out just a bit.  Once I rolled it out, the whole rug came to life.  The strange fingers of pile that were visible along the edge gave way to an ocean of plush wool cylinders laying every which direction.  I was in love. I was in love before I even set foot on it.  Oh, but when I did step foot on it, I was head over heels.  Its like walking on a cloud...and for the mere price of $171!!!

 I just cant get over it.  Thankfully, J gave the go ahead (he also conducted the vacuum test with success) and we moved the furniture around to make room for our newest family member.  It pretty much fills the living room but the color is just a tad lighter than the brown 5x8 rug we had in there before so it doesnt make the room seem too heavy.  The light glints off the pile in various ways depending on the direction of the strand and gives the otherwise solid colored rug a bit interest.  Best of all, I think it meshes well with the collection of other items in the room.  The ethnic rug on the wall, the damask patterned curtains, and the rust colored couch all play well with our steal of a rug!

You can also see the new TV stand we scored at Ikea for $30!

 The blue rug is still on its way (for another $171) but who can argue with such a boon!