Weekend in Pictures



Belated birthday dinner for the hubs at Cafe Levain.


Stop everything you're doing (yes, I even give you permission to stop reading my amazing, well-written, oh-so-interesting post) and go.


Getting to the bottom of it.

Uniform plastic bottles not only look better than the usual shampoo and soap containers, but they also fit more neatly in storage devices, such as the hanging wire basket.
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I love getting to the bottom of things. Of products and containers that is. Not drama or problems – if that’s what you were thinking (though, let's be honest, I sometimes like that too). Recently my co-workers were talking about how they have 5+ years worth of random shampoo, conditioner and lotion bottles that they’ve finally decided they need to use up.

That people had half used products of any number was shocking to me. I’m the type that will intentionally use more shampoo than I need in order to get to the bottom of the bottle faster (admittedly, this is not a good strategy). The thing is, I LOVE using up every last drop of a product and the feeling that comes with throwing that container in the trash (or recycling bin – I’m working on getting better at this, but that’s another post). I typically only purchase what Mike and I need, one “product” ahead at a time - and I tend to be pretty strict with Mike (and myself) that we “use what we have” first.

New Headboard!


Just wanted to share a sneak peek of a new DIY upholstered headboard I've been working on! It's finally finished, now all I have to do is convince Mike into putting it up on the wall - for some reason decorating the house isn't near as fun or exciting for him as it is for me. 

Something must be wrong with him - football is so boring.

Anyway, right now it's leaning up against the wall behind our bed - with the right arm-flail or scissor kick while sleeping it could come crashing down on our heads - but I don't even care; it's worth the risk. 

The Return of DIY

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Anyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessed with DIY projects. I've mentioned before that I believe there is a tutorial on blog-land for almost everything and I love trying my hand at new projects I find. 

Mike and I have a rule that if I want to replace a piece of furniture, I have to be able to sell the old piece and the profits determine my budget for the next item. I can't go over  budget - but, as he always reminds me - I can go under. 

2011 New Year Resolutions Review

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I know it’s a little in the game to be reviewing last year’s resolutions, but it seems like it’s the trendy thing for people to do every January, and since I’ve just jumped back into blog-land why not start out with it?

Without further adieu:

1)      Let Oakland Avenue "dissolve or evolve into whatever it should be.” Boy did I let it dissolve! I took a much needed seven month break (okay, so maybe a full seven months wasn’t technically needed) but I’m now ready to get back to the keyboard. I think I’ll keep this goal for next year, as I never want to feel that I have to blog -- it loses its luster pretty fast with that attitude.

2)      Learn to take better photos. Uhhh, didn’t happen. If anything got better it was my ability and speed to delete blurry and dark photos.

Back in the Saddle!

I'm back! After a quick seven month hiatus , I'm back to blogging - and man have I missed it. Lately I can't stop my brain from thinking about all the things I want to blog about. So to get a little relief, I'm starting it back up. A little encouragement from my friends hasn't hurt either - many of them asked why I quit and while there are probably a lot of reasons it's pretty much summed up in the fact that I just plain got burnt out. 


But never fear! I've got a full blog-tank and shall be posting again!


And what good would a blog post be without a random pretty picture?


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