The show Hoarders is fascinating to me.  People crying over garbage being thrown away.  Someone living in a home where a cat skeleton (or several of them) goes unnoticed for years.  It’s just interesting.  I think a part of me finds it interesting because I see a little of myself in it.  Just a teeny tiny bit.  I like stuff.  I like my stuff.  I see potential in almost everything and I have a tough time getting rid of things.  I know you wouldn’t believe it with the amount of furniture and cool antiques that leave my home each week, but it is tough.  I always have to fight the desire to keep everything I like or might want later or might need or might regret selling or giving away.  This brings me to my current project…cleaning out my office.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might be

Before I get into my counters, I must share that progress was finally made in my half bathroom.  Remember?  The one that was a disaster and True Value came to the rescue?  They’ve done their part, but it seems like life and my work keep stalling things on our end.  It seems like there are always more pressing things to work on than a half bath in a house with two other toilets.  Last night, those two functioning toilets fell to just one.  The pipe that drains all of the plumbing from the upstairs was clogged and it was beyond our ability to repair, so we needed to bring out a plumber.  I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get something done and suggested we have him install our toilet in the half bath while he was there.  (It was complicated because of the new height added by the

Anytime I come home from a shopping trip, I have to see if I can work any of my new goodies into my home.  See, I look for a few different things when I shop…things to sell, things for photo shoots and things that are just for me.  Sometimes a piece can fit in all of those categories or maybe only one.  Sometimes I know I just love it and I’m not sure how I’m going to use it.  So, I play with it in my home to rule out keeping it. My living room accessories have remained the same for a few months (yawn, I know), so that’s where I started playing.  The picture above is how it looks today and below is how it looked before. I took down the birdcage and hung some small mirrors on the window trim.  A stack of books sits on a wood

Somehow I don’t think this is going to become a crazy popular game show anytime soon. Imagine with me… a “Price is Right” girl in a spandex jumper leading out a jersey cow, chewing her cud (the cow, not the girl), parading in front of the contestants and audience.  The host points to a girl behind a powder blue podium, crying and jumping up and down out of excitement.  “Alright contestant number three…”  And the audience takes over and yells in unison, “NAME…..THAT…..COW!!”  The girl looks back at her friends and family.  They’re wearing matching magenta t-shirts with her name and picture ironed on the front.  They’re screaming out names, waving their arms and jumping.  Her mom is mopping away tears of pride and taking pictures.  The girl closes her eyes and nervously leans to the microphone.  “Ummmm…..Brittany?”  The audience groans.  Her family hangs their heads.  Her mother cries.  The host gives a sympathetic