I haven't finished reading any books since I've been shopping, wrapping and trying not to cough on anything anyone else will end up touching (my husband included). Do you know how hard it is to cook with a cold when you don't want the other person to get sick? Let's just say, we've eaten food prepared outside of this home more often than usual this past week.
And my heart is broken for those affected in Connecticut. While David and I don't have any children, someday we do intend to have a family of our own and I can't even imagine... It's been a very sobering week and yesterday I found out that a close family friend has a daughter and infant grandchild that lives in Newtown. It's sad to think she was lucky because the child was too young to be attending school at this juncture in time. The whole situation is a bit overwhelming and I feel that we, as a country, are in for an interesting few months while decisions are made on how to prevent mass shootings such as this.
But, I don't want this post to completely drag everyone's emotions down in the gutter...it is, after all, only 5 days until Christmas! To steer us more towards the topic of this post, here's one thing I did this past week.
When I was organizing laundry, I decided to try something that I've been toying with for weeks now. I'll preface this by explaining that, when I run out of hangers while doing laundry, I will cull my closet and donate the discarded items to a local charity. David does not do this...he refuses. There are, seriously, shirts he has on his side of the closet (that we've now moved twice) that I have NEVER seen him wear.
A while back, either on The Chew or What Not to Wear (I can't remember which), Clinton Kelly said one way to thin out your closet was to turn all your hangers around during a season change, when you're moving your wardrobe around anyway. Then, continue hanging them like normal as you wear and launder them. He said this is a simply way to know what items are worn within a year's time. If you haven't worn something within that year's allotted time, then Kelly says to get rid of it.
Now, obviously, with our more dressy outfits, I will not abide by this rule. It's not very often David wears his suit and it's not very often that I get to wear my dressy dresses either. So, those items are exempt...but, everything else? Up for the chopping block! Cross your fingers this works and David lets me cull his side of the closet at this time next year!
Secondly, I wanted to share with you how Christmas has come a little early around here. Do you remember this chair that I got out of my great-great aunt's house?
Between the color, some spots on the fabric, a sagging cushion, etc. we knew this chair needed a little TLC. But, I didn't know what to do. And I have no idea how to reupholster anything. My mom has reupholstered dining room chairs before, but nothing on this scale. And tufting? Fagetaboutit... They're gorgeous, but neither one of us would even know where to start.
Well, I had initially decided that this was a project I was going to have to research and tackle myself. After getting an estimate, we decided it was just cost prohibitive because of the tufting. Let me just say that, now when I see a tufted chair/couch/ottoman or other piece of furniture, I have a whole new respect for the price! For example, have you seen the couch on the sitcom Don't Trust the B in Apt 23? Hello, want!!!
But, I digress a bit...I'd been throwing around some ideas I'd seen on Pinterest, but then a telemarketer representing a local upholsterer called my mom and he was trying to drum up some Christmas business with a nice sale. After explaining what the chair looked like, meeting with him and so on...to make a long story short, lookie what I picked up yesterday afternoon!
I absolutely loved this chair when I first saw it in my aunt's house, but now I know it really was true love all along. Not only is this chair a family heirloom (I know it's at least 15 years older than me) but it serves as a beautiful statement piece in our living room.
The chair will eventually go where our Christmas tree is currently, but David says it looks pretty good next to my book collection...he says someone with a pipe needs to be sitting in it to match the ambiance. The idea makes me laugh and I know this chair will be in our house for years to come. I am so glad that not only did we get it reupholstered, but that we also got a deal on it!
I hope everyone is having a fantastic week thus far...see you tomorrow for Friday Funday because I definitely will not be one hiding out in a bunker waiting for the world to end!
The chair is great! I sure wish you were feeling better though.
ReplyDelete