The Mudroom. Ish.

February 7, 2019 By Linda 3 Comments

I never play the lottery.

Okay, I’ll amend that. I don’t play daily. Or weekly. Or monthly. I only play when it hits crazy super high jackpots.

You could say I’m a fair weather lottery fan. 😉

And as I play the lottery (usually online with a mix of hand-picked numbers and auto selected numbers) I immediately start house hunting.

Is that wrong?

Am I the only one?

And … most importantly … am I jinxing myself by “counting my winnings” before numbers are even drawn?

Because as I’m picking those lottery numbers, I’m toggling back and forth with Zillow and Trulia and realtor.com

My focus (these days) of those Zillow and Trulia and realtor.com house searches are on downtown Chicago (shhhhh, don’t tell my husband). Fabulous million dollar condos with must-have amazing views. Must-have spectacular kitchens and bathrooms. Must-have floor to ceiling windows so I can lie in bed at night and look out at Chicago’s amazing, twinkling skyline …

And … a little further down on that must-have list … a mudroom.

Oh how I dream of a mudroom. With hooks and cubbies and a place for everything …

Now, in our current house we have a mudroom. Ish.

Before we adding on a family room on the back of our house, this was the back door area. When we moved in, there were a few hooks on one wall and we had an egg crate to capture our shoes and boots.

During my crazed board and batten obsession, I gave this mudroom-ish area it’s own treatment. And, in doing so, was able to add even more hooks for the kids coats.

A few months back I gave this area a little spruce. Some gray paint on the walls (Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray). And the sconces got a coat of Rustoleum chalk paint in Charcoal.

Oh, and a few fabric wrapped cork tiles help to keep us organized. Ish. 😉

Oh my God, I just had a revelation!

Perhaps my furnace dying on the coldest day of the year (twice now) karma is because I keep dissing my house? I mean, hopping on Zillow as I purchase lottery tickets is a serious house diss. And I do frequently talk about how I’ll be selling her as a tear down …

Perhaps this is the ultimate punishment … or, more likely, revenge? Forcing us to keep investing $$$ in her that we’ll never recoup!

I think my head just exploded! 🙂

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Home Office in Gray and White

February 5, 2019 By Linda 9 Comments

Home Office in Gray and White – Gray White Home Office.

Welcome to my home office.

Where the magic happens. 😉

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “really Linda?” Really? Because that looks an awful lot like your living room.”

To which I respond, “Yes, yes, my eagle-eyed friends. You are correct. This is, in fact, a corner of my living room.”

Now there’s a logical reason I’m claiming this corner of the living room as my office space. You do remember how my home is spatially challenged, right? Which means there is no magical spare room in which I can make the magic happen. So my living room has to pull double duty …

This is where you’ll find me most days for most of the day. Tucked behind this laptop table, all dressed up in my yoga pants and over-sized hoodie with my hair pulled back in a pony tail and reading glasses firmly affixed to my face.

And this is where I edit pictures and write blog posts and answer your questions.

You know, all that magic making stuff. 🙂

The best part of this laptop table is this open cubby. Now I can keep this home office corner of my living room organized and clutter free by tucking away all my pens and notepads and notebooks filled with “to do’s” and future project and post ideas.

But my office isn’t just relegated to that one corner by the window. I’ve extended my reach over here …

This side table is not just a side table. It pulls double duty by housing all my blog and household files …

Clever, right?

I’m all about the hidden storage ideas. And the pulling of double-duty furniture and spaces.

So while I return to the magic making, I thought I’d share all of my home office shopping resources …

Home Office Shopping Resources:

Greige & White Striped Armchair from Wayfair

Jute Rug from Wayfair

Laptop Computer Table/Desk from World Market

Filing Drawer Side Table from Better Homes & Gardens Collection at Walmart

Drum Table from a long, long time ago from a distant relative (and here’s a link to how I painted the base & and here’s a link to how I stripped and whitewashed the top)

Painted & Distressed Mason Jars from My Etsy Shop

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Gray White Bathroom Makeover

January 8, 2019 By Linda 2 Comments

Gray White Bathroom Makeover – Sherwin Williams Repose Gray Paint.

As I was editing these photos, I got to thinking …

actually, I got to thinking while in t,he shower (my favorite thinking space) between photos edits. Which is probably too much information. Or TMI as the cool kids say.

Now, ironically, TMI is exactly what I was thinking about while I was thinking about this blog post in the shower.

So TMI brings me full circle to my thinking.

You still following me here?

Good. Can you explain it to me then? 😉

You see, I started wondering if this whole blog thing is weird for my family.

I mean, beyond seeing … and reading … the ramblings of the inner workings of their mother’s brain (for the kids).

Even beyond the whole putting up pictures of the living room or dining room or kitchen.

The TMI question that popped into my head while taking my TMI shower is: When exactly do we home bloggers hit the TMI wall?

Could this be it. The bathroom? Am I at the wall?

Is it weird that pictures of our family’s bathroom somehow makes it on to the blog?

And …. by extension … Pinterest.

And …. by extension … Instragram.

And …. by extension … Facebook.

And … by extension … Google images?

Is this the equivalent of taking their hypothetical purses and dumping the contents onto the counter for everyone to rummage through?

Is my family wondering, what’s next mom?

What TMI will you be sharing next week with your readers? Interiors of messy closets? Close ups of the contents of underwear drawers?

Well, I want to assure them this is the TMI wall.

Pinky swear. 🙂

P.S. The bathroom wall color is Repose Gray from Sherwin-Williams

P.P.S. Here’s a link to the bathroom “before” (complete with cringy photos! I’ve certainly come a long way!)

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Christmas in the Kitchen 2018

January 2, 2019 By Linda 2 Comments

Merry Christmas …

from the kitchen …

a week (and a day) late.

I know, I know. But I’m not holding my head in shame. Nope. I’m taking full ownership.

Besides, I already took pictures of the kitchen pre-Christmas day. And downloaded said pictures. And, among hundreds and hundreds, picked my favorites. And edited said favorites. And then culled through those favorites to pick my favorite of the favorites. And added them to this post. And then looked at them again and didn’t like how they looked. So I edited them some more. And I culled it down (again) to my favorite of the favorites of the favorites …

and if that sounds exhausting, it can be. But after all that work, how could I not share my Christmas kitchen? A week (and a day) late.

My original post idea for Christmas day (a week and a day ago) was to share my favorite part of the kitchen at Christmastime. And you might be surprised to find out my favorite, especially when there are so many things to choose from.

There are the delicious smells of cookies baking and roasts roasting. Which are definitely delicious. But that’s not my favorite favorite.

And then there are the cute mini wreaths on the cabinets that make me smile each time I enter the kitchen …

but that’s not my favorite favorite.

What I love the most about the Christmas kitchen is the sound of the dishwasher running on Christmas day.

Yep, that’s my favorite favorite.

It evokes memories of my childhood. It seemed like (to little me) that my mother hosted all the big holidays. Which kept the kitchen very, very busy.

And there are so many great memories of the smells of the turkey … or crown roast at Christmas … cooking in the oven. Then there was the peeling of potatoes. Not exactly a favorite memory, but it was something my dad and would do together.

But at the end of the day, with full bellies and the table cleared … and the last giant pot or roasting pan scrubbed, dried and put away … we would turn off the bright overhead lights and turn on the dishwasher.

And that soft sound of the water rushing and thrashing about to clean our Sunday best dishes was so ….

so …

comforting. And satisfying.

The perfect end to the perfect day!

Oh, and Happy New Year too! I don’t have a New Year kitchen or story to share. It looks pretty much the same today. Though, a little less merry …

and a little more messy! 😉

Christmas Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold

December 20, 2018 By Linda 6 Comments

Christmas Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold – Gray and White Holiday Table Setting Idea.

It’s official. I’m an old lady.

How do I know this, you ask?

I mean, besides what I see looking back at me in the mirror. Oh, and my actual age.

I know I’m old because advertisers aren’t just targeting me … they’re actually reaching me.

All. Day. Long.

The find me on the Hallmark Channel. And Lifetime. As I tune in to the never ending and delightfully cheesily predictable holiday movies. Reaching out to me about Medicare Part D and products to help when I fall and can’t get up.

They find me on AM talk radio in the car. Though, sometimes they are confused and think I’m an old man with a certain dysfunction (wink, wink).

And not-to-sound-paranoid-with-a-paranoid-sounding-observation: I sometimes wonder if they’re listening in on my phone and/or watching me on my laptop (I really do need to figure out how to turn off that camera). You know watching and listening as I watch Hallmark Channel movies and listen to AM talk radio. Because advertisers are always following me across the internet with pop ads for … you guessed it ... old people stuff.

And what does this all have to do with my holiday table setting … or the holidays at all?

Because at this time of year, advertisers have one more way to remind me that I’m getting old: while listening to Christmas music on the radio. There’s one station here in Chicago that goes full-on 100% Christmas music in November straight through Christmas day. And when I’m not tuned in to AM talk radio (geez, I really am an old lady, aren’t I?!?) I’m tuned into Christmas music.

And the ads?

You guessed it. Old people things and services.

Tis the season to be old and addled, fa la la la laaaaa, la la la la!

So to defy what the advertisers are insisting (I will fight my outer old lady to the bitter end!), I decided to go with an “Everything Old is New Again” holiday table setting …

Let’s start with the (faux) crystal candle holders and tapers. Old me would call them old fashioned, old lady table decor. But new/old me? New/old me calls them eclectic. Quirky. A fun mix of old with the new, sparkly white Scandinavian inspired trees.

And the gold flatware (which is actually gold toned stainless I found at Target)? Old me would see them as ostentatious. Flashy. Tacky. But new/old me? New/old me sees them as glam, rich and classy …

I’m liking how this whole new/old me thing works. 😉

Finally, the vintage-look-French-striped napkins (found mine at World Market). Old me would’ve called them rags. Relegated to wiping up messes. But new/old me? New/old me calls them linens. Crisp and fresh and deserving of a pressing before use.

Yes, I did iron them.

In keeping with the everything old is new again theme, I think I’ll apply it to myself. So when I look in the mirror instead of old me seeing wrinkles, new/old me will see lines of wisdom. And laughter. And smiles.

P.S. My apologies if this blog post is filled with ads for old people stuff and services. I mean, I did mention old people stuff in the copy and Google knows and documents everything. That’s not paranoia. That’s just fact.

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Christmas Home Tour: Dining Room

December 13, 2018 By Linda 4 Comments

Christmas Home Tour – Dining Room Christmas Decor – Gray, White, Red Christmas Ideas.

The dining room.

The least used but most seen room in the house.

It’s smack dab in the middle of everything. You can’t got to the kitchen without passing through the dining room. You can’t go to the family room without passing through the dining room. You can’t go to the powder room without passing through the dining room.. You can’t do laundry in the basement (that’s my husband) or paint mason jars in the basement work space (that’s me) without passing through the dining room …

… and you can’t sit in the living room and not see the dining room.

You get it, right? Visible. From. All. Angles.

And yet while highly visible, not used much. Well, not used much for it’s intended purpose.

Dining.

It is used, however, as the place where everything collects.

And when I say everything I mean my things.

I’m the guilty one here. I’m the one who lets junk mail and half-finished crafts and painted mason jars pile up here. I’m the one who stashes bubble wrap and packing peanuts behind the table.

And since the dining room is the most seen room in the house, all my ‘stuff’ is visible for all to see!

Sigh.

I find over time I become completely blind to the mountain of stuff. I pass through on my way to the kitchen or powder room or basement and it just doesn’t register …

until it does.

Then it haunts me. Taunts me. Mocks me.

And when I’m fully haunted-taunted-mocked, I finally break down …

and break down the mountain. One half-finished (or failed) craft project and one piece of junk mail at a time.

There is one time of the year when I try really, really hard to keep the dining room table (mostly) clear.

The holidays.

But I’m not always successful.

Because … well … I mean the holidays do involve a fair share of crafting and junk mail.

Yes, that’s me making excuses!

And as I sit in the living room looking into the dining room my little eye spies a box of Duck Tape. A few Christmas cards. An empty mason jar box filled with gray and white ribbon. A cookie canister. And embroidery hoops (from a failed craft project).

So, yeah, the mountain is growing …

🙂

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Christmas Home Tour: Living Room

December 11, 2018 By Linda 20 Comments

Christmas Decorations in Gray, White & Red – Christmas Home Tour – Living Room.

This post is dedicated you.

All of you.

All of you lovely, lovely people!

Thank you … thank you … thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Your responses to my where have I been blog post last week overwhelmed me. All your support and encouragement lifted my spirits …

and gave me back my joy!

Did I say thank you?

You all reminded me about the very best part of blogging.

You!

Your comments. Your words of encouragement. Your words of understanding.

Seriously, it filled my heart! I felt like that moment in The Grinch where his heart just grows and grows and grows. With the reading of each and every comment you left my hear just grew and grew and grew!

Thank you!

I’m not sure how I lost sight of all of you in my blogging journey, but somewhere along the line blogging turned from a passion to a burden. Honestly, I was having a teen girl moment.

You know the one, right?

Where I was standing on the sidelines watching all the other girls get asked to prom and invited to all the best parties. Standing on the sidelines as all the other girls (or so it seemed) made it onto the cheer squad and dance team. And there I was. Standing on the sidelines.

Brooding.

I know, I know. Not an attractive look.

But then it dawned on me. Not everyone is going to get asked to prom. Or go to parties. Or make the cheer team. Or dance team

And who says it’s all that. Right?

And who says that’s the only — or the right — path in life?

Sometimes it’s best just to do your own thing.

Be your own person.

Own it (as Lisa Rinna says on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).

Sometimes you just need to follow your own path.

And once I stopped looking at what the popular girls were doing, I felt freed up to just be me.

Okay, true confession time. I still do take a peek at the popular girls from time to time. But only in a see-what-I-can-learn/pick-up-from-them way. Not in a I’m-so-jealous-I-wasn’t-asked-to-the-party way.

So thank you!

Thank you for supporting me … and encouraging me … to do my own thing!

And thank you for being here when I finally realized my path is a pretty darn good one! 🙂

And it only took me seven years! Sigh.

And I’ll end with the holiday dog picture.

Yes, yes, I realize all the cool girls have a well-behaved holiday dog picture on their holiday home tour posts. But here’s the catch: Ernie hates the camera. He runs from it with his head hung low and tail tucked between his legs. But for once Ernie didn’t run away when I pointed the camera in his direction. Perhaps he was really tired. Or perhaps he was really enjoying the Christmas tree.

Or perhaps he really wanted to give me a popular girl blog moment! Ha! 🙂

Christmas Tree in Gray, White, Red

December 6, 2018 By Linda 19 Comments

Christmas Tree in Gray, White, Red – Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas.

As I was fighting with this Christmas tree over the weekend, I got to thinking …

You see, I bought this tree as a pre-lit one. Which is all great and good and convenient for like 4 or 5 or 6 years or so. Until …

until (insert drum roll here) …

until a strand of pre-lit lights stops working.

And that’s when the struggle begins. Because identifying the exact strand to replace is near impossible.

Two years ago when a single section of the tree went dark, I ad libbed (or is it ad hoc’d) it and just threw a new strand over the old.

Problem solved.

Then last year, there were a few more black out spots. So I ad libbed (ad hoc’d?) it again. The result, though? The tree was a bit overwhelmed with wires. And I knew this temporary light solution wouldn’t fly next year.

Welcome to next year!

So the unraveling began. As in removing the pre-lit strands of light. Eek.

And let me tell you, when they string these pre-lit trees they really, really string them. Seriously. It took me hours to get the old off. Not to mention all the fake tree scratches on my hands and wrists.

I won’t TMI you with a picture of my bloodied limbs, so you’ll have to take my word. 😉

And as I was struggling to unstrand the strands, I started thinking: how are these pre-lit trees strung? Is it automated? And if so, how? And if so, bravo to the engineer who came up with that automation line!

But if not … are they individually hand strung? And if so, well my combined cheers & condolences to the person whose job it is to string them. I’m hoping they wear some heaving duty gloves!

And now my pre-lit tree has one tiny little pre-lit section left. It’s the smallest piece of the puzzle that fits on the tippy top of the tree. I’m not sure why that one strand of lights continues to shine brightly. But if decides to follow the rest of the tree and dark next year …

I’m ready.

Though, next year I’ll wear protective gloves. 🙂

P.S. Clearly Ernie is enjoying this year’s Christmas tree!

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The Saddest Day of The Year

December 27, 2017 By Linda 25 Comments

You know what the saddest day of the year is?

The day the Christmas tree comes down.

Or, in my case, trees plural. As in three.

And, yes, I know I’m still clinging to Christmas. And, yes, I know I need to move on …

but it’s so hard to do when all I see for the next three months is a vast, cold, windy, overcast winter.

With nary a twinkle light in sight. 😉

And this Christmas was an especially merry one. As I’ve shared before.

Oh, and the make this Christmas even more magical was the snow. On Christmas Eve day! Blanketing the city in white …

and making Christmas morning just that much more magical.

This is Christmas tree #3.

This the last tree to go up. Waited for someone to return from college.

This was the last tree to get decorated. I added the red balls and ribbon … and waited on college student and high school junior to add the assorted decorations. This happened the eve before Christmas eve.

This tree has no rhyme or reason. No theme. No color story. Just a mishmash of ornaments accumulated over the years. Some I bought early on before kids. Some the kids buy during their annual pilgrimage to the Kristkindlemarket with their aunt. Some given as stocking stuffers from Santa over the years.

And I’m not even counting all the ornaments that did not make their way onto the tree.

We all clearly have our favorites.

Molly has a strong kinship with this lady. And always reserves a branch so she will hang front and center.

Sam likes non-traditional ornaments. Non-traditional colors. Non-traditional Christmas themed …

like what is that?

He even loaded one side of the tree with his favorites so he that he can see them as he sits on his usual perch on the couch.

This one is my favorite.

I’m not yet ready for the saddest day of the year. So I’m holding out until 2018.

Because who wants to ring in the New Year without twinkle lights? 🙂

Happy Christmas & Merry Holidays

December 25, 2017 By Linda 2 Comments

Merry merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate Christmas!

And happy happy holidays to those of you who don’t!

Celebrate Christmas, that is.

Or perhaps we should mix things up with a Happy Christmas and a Merry Holiday cheer this year? 🙂

Either way, I hope you are having a lovely holiday season filled with friends and family and love and joy.

And I write this as I await my now-grown-young-adult children to awake.

I love that they still want presents to open under the tree.

I love that they still want a coordinated time to wake and come down to open said presents.

I love that they still get excited about the prospect of Christmas morning.

I love that they still want to hold onto the magic of the day.

Ten o’clock AM Central Time is official present opening time here at casa Braden …

so I better run off and get things ready.

So, again, Happy Christmas! Or Merry Christmas! And Merry Holidays! Or Happy Holidays!

Just pick the one that sums you up best. 🙂

But no matter how you say it, I hope you all have a wonderful-love-filled-day!

Duck Tape Candle Holiday Centerpiece

December 19, 2017 By Linda 2 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Duck Brand® for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Duck Tape Candle Holiday Table Centerpiece – Silver & Gold Christmas Table.

I’m feeling extra merry this holiday season.

Super duper with an extra side of duper merry merry.

And it’s not forced merriment (which I’ve been guilty of in the past). Or self-induced merriment brought on with a huge diet of Christmas movies and music. Nope. This year it’s my heart-is-full-of-merriment merry.

I’ve been trying to put my finger on why this year is so extra merry for me?

Honestly, 2017 wasn’t exactly a merry year. (And, honestly, it’s not my unmerry story to tell). All I can say is the year started off troubled. Six months in things were headed for a very dark place. It wasn’t until the fall that things started to turn around.

So maybe it’s the fall turnaround that’s contributed to my extra merry this year?

Or maybe I’m extra merry because I didn’t put together a holiday home tour this year (spoiler alert: there won’t be one). And, as such, I didn’t participate in a blog hop holiday home tour this year.

Which took a huge-looming-pressure-filled deadline off my head …

and allowed me to decorate the house at my leisure.

Which I did. And which I truly enjoyed. With an extra side of merry.

To be honest, I skipped the whole holiday home tour because this year’s decorations look very much like last year. With a few exceptions. Like the dining room table …

dressed up in silver and gold.

The extra merry in me this year was hankering (and yes, I used the word hankering) for some glam. Some glitz. Some sparkle. And some bling.

Remember, you can take the girl out of Jersey but you can’t take the Jersey out of the girl. 🙂

So when a box filled with Duck Mirror® and Duck Texture® was delivered to my front door, I knew exactly what to do …

… to create a glitzy-glammy-sparkly-glimmery-blingy silver and gold Duck Tape Candle Holiday Centerpiece.

How To Make Duck Tape Candle Holiday Centerpiece

Start with Duck Tape Mirror and Duck Tape Texture. They come in fun and festive (and glam) colors of silver and gold and iridescent hues of blues and pinks too. Duck Tape Mirror is shiny and bright. And Duck Tape Texture added some much-needed bling to my holiday table.

Just roll it onto the candle ..

… like so …

… and so.

The best part? The Duck tape is sticky but not too sticky, so you can just unroll and adjust as needed.

For the tapers, I alternated Duck Tape Texture in gold bling …

with Duck Tape Mirror in silver that come in smaller rolls.

And just like that, I added some glam to my holiday table. And it only took a few minutes of my time!

Which makes me even merrier than before! 🙂

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For even more ideas on how to use Duck Mirror® and Duck Texture® in your holiday celebrations, Follow The Duck Brand on Instagram

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Let It Snow. Let It Snow. Let It Snow!

December 12, 2017 By Linda 2 Comments

Christmas Outdoor Decorations with Garland and Red Bows.

It snowed.

It snowed!

Okay, it wasn’t some windfall inches upon inches of snow.

But it snowed!

Now, you may be wondering, “Why, Linda? Why are you so excited about snow? You live in Chicago, after all.”

To which I would respond, “Why, yes. Yes, I do live in Chicago. But you might be surprised to find out that snow on Christmas is pretty rare around here.”

In fact, I can’t remember the last Christmas we had that it snowed. Or even had a dusting of snow on the ground.

Let’s just say Christmas 2016 was a big disappointment. Snow wise.

And it wasn’t even that cold …

I did a little “Googling” and discovered the most frequent amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas is zero.

Yes, you read that right. Zero.

That happens 60% of the time.

We have 27% chance of trace amounts of snow. And another 27% of less than an inch.

The highest amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas occurred in 1950 when 5.1 inches fell.

That was 67 years ago!

And we only have a 2% chance of that happening again.

Sounds like the same kind of odds given to The Cubs winning the World Series. 🙂

So perhaps now you can understand why I get so excited when Chicago gets a little snowfall before Christmas.

Oh, and I’m hoping for that 2% Christmas day chance of snowfall in 2017. 🙂

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How To Make Duck Tape Candle Holiday Centerpiece

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