Hallway is fresh and clean, too

OK, back to some normalcy. At the same time that my brother and I painted the bathroom, we also painted the hallway. I somehow failed to post pictures. Never fear, here is the transformation in all its glory.

Before. The picture on the left is just the hallway. The picture on the right shows the color juxtaposition between the bathroom and hallway. Happy Easter, y'all.

After. Neutral never looked so good.

ZOMG, London!

ZOMG! It's official; I'm going to LONDON! Never in my life have I made such a quick decision. My sister Becky answered the call for travel companion. Tickets are purchased. Hotel is booked. I am beyond excited...actually, in the spectrum of emotions, I'm halfway between excited and uh-what-did-I-just-do?!.

Becky and me just after we arrived at my aunt's house in Taiwan (May 2008). These two tired travellers are at it again. woot!

London, anyone?

My brother has been bugging me (daily!) that I need to take a vacation. And I've just found myself in an interesting predicament at work where I need to burn some of my Personal Time Off or else I will lose it. So, now with tickets to London costing just $491.72 on United, I think it is as good a time as any to go. Anyone want to go with me, say, in the next couple weeks? Come on, you know you wanna!

Who's in? We can make goofy faces (or throw up gang signs) in front of Big Ben if you'd like. Photo from flickr.

Ceiling stain

Something is seriously up with my kitchen ceiling. One spot on the ceiling (kinda above the stove) has needed a patch job since I moved in. Some of the skim coating had fallen away - most likely caused by moisture from cooking. To be sure the culprit wasn't a leaky roof, I sent Brian up into the attic to play around in the insulation and double check.

We finally got around to patching the ceiling on Saturday, using mesh tape and drywall compound. Now, not even 24 hours later, there's a funky stain seeping through the fresh patch job. Why?! It's like a seedy motel room, but on my ceiling.

In mid-patch. I'd forgotten to take before photos. So, you're looking at some wet drywall compound smeared all over the place and a portion of the original stain.

Close-up. Dried drywall compound and crazy stain seepage. WHY?! What happens when I paint over it? grr.

A Banner Day

This is an emergency post to say, today's Google banner might be the best EVER! Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar? Yes, please!

Spring has sprung on the Interwebs!

Dryer balls

The question: Do dryer balls really work?
The answer: I have no clue.

I received a pack of dryer balls as a gift several months ago and have been using them with every load of laundry. They claim to do all sorts of things like make clothes softer, reduce lint and wrinkles, and speed drying time. Now, I like to believe that all those things are happening, but I really can't say for sure. And yet, I continue to use them faithfully.

BAM. Dryer balls.

Oh, brother

I'm often asked how it's going living with my brother.

It goes a little something like this: I say something to annoy Brian. He says something back. Banter. Banter. Banter. A toothpick flag that says "DUMB" appears in my freshly baked and sliced banana bread.

Fun House Feast

Last weekend, I pulled off my first successful meal for more than two people and I'm still basking in the after glow. Back in January, Brian thought it would be a good idea to invite our entire family to my house for a meal; thus, the Fun House Feast (FHF) was born. I spent the better part of February fretting over the menu and finally, the week of the feast, settled on this (in random order):

• Spinach and brie chicken
• Mashed potatoes and chicken gravy
• Stuffed mushrooms
• Good bread
• Grapes
• Baby carrots
• Cheese and crackers
• Blonde brownies
• Strawberry cheesecake trifle
• Peanut M&Ms

I forgot to take pictures of the food (and everything else really), so here's a blurry picture of me nom-nom-noming on a baby at the FHF.

Do you doodle?

It's the doodle's day of reckoning! I just read an article from Time about a study that found doodling helps people pay attention. It requires just enough cognitive processes that it keeps people from daydreaming.

This is most excellent news for me, because I doodle a lot! And now, I've got science on my side to back up my hard and fast doodling ways.

I found these doodles on a sheet of scrap paper on my desk. I believe I originally started writing on this particular piece of paper to note how to treat wood rot. It evolved from there.

Bedroom curtains

My bedroom hasn't received its turquoise paint treatment yet, but it has received some new window treatments. Just like in my living room, it was out with blinds and in with the linen (the curtains I had bought so triumphantly from Overstock).

The right adjective to describe just how the room feels now with the new curtains is escaping me at the moment, so I offer these: restful, soft, pretty.

Before.

After. Restful, soft, pretty. There has to be one adjective that sums up all those things. What is it?