Help on the way!

I'm excited. I'm a little nervous. I'm a lot impatient!

Last week I ordered Punch! Home & Landscape Design Studio for the Mac (for a much reduced price!), and it shipped yesterday. Can not wait to get my hands on this software. It got mixed reviews, but the negatives seem to be written by people who wanted a quick and easy software that didn't require learning how to use it. This software got positive reviews from just as many people... mainly from peeps that were willing to spend some time learning the software. It also sounds like if you have any CAD experience it's a whole lot easier, and you are up and running immediately.

We have been considering purchasing design software for a while. Now that we're in our new house - and our list of projects grows daily - we decided to pull the trigger. Though, we LOVE our house... there's not much that we want to keep the same :). This will be put to good use... between wanting to redesign an entire wall in our living room around the fireplace, remodeling our kitchen, and finishing our 1200 sq ft basement (among other things on our long long list).  I tend to be gun shy with making decisions and purchases for our house, mainly because I worry that it will not look right... this should solve that problem!

I will let you know how it goes. I will be posting ideas, and before/after pictures! Though I will be using the software to play with ideas, we'll be executing them as our budget allows...

Entry Way Decor - Help!

I need your help. Now that we're pretty much unpacked and settled, it's time to decorate and plunge into some home improvement projects! Right now the house looks a little... sterile. We hung a few pictures in the dining room, but we still need to decide on where to hang our other pictures. That will help, but there are a few areas that need something more, and I'm struggling to figure out what to do. The two main areas I'm talking about is our entry way, and the the built-in TV cave in our living room. I'll post about the cave another day... today, I'm hoping you can help me with ideas on how to spruce up this area.

I want to decorate above the door - the wall space and the window transom. Oh, and also that niche between the dining room and foyer.

Nice model, aye? Koda decided to be in the picture all on her own. I'm not sure if she wanted to model, or was just trying to get my attention to ask to go outside for the umpteenth time today. I'm guessing the later.

My only criteria is:

1. No artificial plants (real probably wouldn't work either because I doubt I'll drag out a ladder to water them on the transom).
2. No plastic or MDF

Any help is appreciated!

Basket Case

Last week I discovered the HomeGoods store... which could be dangerous. It's owned by TJ Maxx and is a discount store for house goods. I spent 2.5 hours in that store and felt rushed because I had to leave at a certain time so I could meet friends for dinner. I loaded up a cart and bought I don't know how many items for under $150. Unfortunately I'm taking about half of it back because I wasn't prepared... I got the wrong size rugs, the wrong color towels, etc.. Never fear, I will correct this when I make the returns.

Can you guess what my favorite find was? No, not wall art... or a rug for our powder room I want to completely re-do.

My favorite purchase was a basket. Yes, a basket. It's been in my possession for a week and I'm STILL excited... it makes me smile every time I look at it. Who'd a thunk I could get so excited over a basket that I'd want to blog about it? Well, maybe it's because it's a great improvement over the basket it's replacing that held all of Koda's toys.

Check out the basket it replaced and notice the broken handle and overflow of toys.

Mmkay... so we can't bare to throw away any of her toys. These are all the toys she's ever owned, except the few ones she absolutely destroyed when we made the mistake of getting her soft toys as a puppy. Honestly, I don't think she has that many for being 4 years old. She's more of a lover than a player.

Here's the new basket! Just ignore that sneaky pesky pine needle that has somehow avoided being vacuumed since Christmas.

I heart the paw stamped metal plate. It's paw-fect! I know, what cheese... I couldn't resist.

Oh, and did I mention the price? It cost $7.99 - not bad!

Save Constellation

This week, the Obama administration published the 2011 budget which cancels NASA's Constellation program. Constellation is/was the human spaceflight program intended to replace the Space Shuttle when it retires this October. So what will replace this canceled program? Nothing. No more goals for human space flight! As a girl that grew up wanting to be an astronaut, I really have a hard time wrapping my head around this...

I am writing my congress representatives... if you want the U.S. to remain a leader in space please write to yours! You can find their contact information here.

Merry Everything!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. May you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

In case you've been hiding under a rock and haven't seen/heard this yet... this song from Straight No Chaser is a goody!

Bah, Humbug!

It's a gorgeous day outside. I should be taking the pupdog for a walk along the creek... but it's just not going to happen today. I am cleaning like a maniac and hopefully baking up a storm later this afternoon in preparation for my in-laws arriving tomorrow. Sorry Koda, but you will be getting a bath today, YAY! Hmmm, she doesn't seem to be as excited as I am...

Koda says, "Bah! Humbug!"

Drunk Monkeys

I'm not sure if this is sad or funny! I found the article "Humans Brought Monkeys to St. Kitts and Inadvertently Turned Them Into Alcoholics" on treehugger and had to share. I'd never heard of, or seen drunk monkeys... until now.

Leaving Your Mark

While moving in and getting settled into our new home, I have been finding these little green beads, or well balls (there isn't a hole through them for stringing) all around the house - inside and out. Pictured to the left are the ones I found in the room we plan to use as a guest room. They were scattered through out the room, closet, and bathroom. Since moving in I'd guess I have picked up, vacuumed up, or raked up at least 50 or more! They have been found in every nook and cranny you can imagine. Lets see... behind the refrigerator, in the basement, in every room and closet, on the staircases, on the back deck, in the flower gardens, and in the landscaping rocks. I wish now that I had not thrown them out, but kept them to see how many I could collect. Though really, it's been much easier to just vacuum them than crawl around on the floor and pick them up.

I have a theory about these little tiny green balls... OK, with the odd yellow or blue ball thrown in here or there. The family that lived here before us had 5 kids, or was it 7... I can't remember but I know the mom was one of 8 because we met her mother. Anyways, my theory is that one or more of the kids was sad to be moving out of this house, and decided to leave something of theirs behind. To leave their mark on this house that was their home for however long... and to annoy the people moving into their house. I have a feeling I will be finding these little guys for years to come (I can almost hear a child snickering). It's a little late in the game, but I have decided to start a collection.

Anyone have any idea what these teeny tiny balls are for?