Reflections (part 1)

This has been a year of a lot of changes for me.  I'm starting the process for myself of looking at then-and-now scenarios - what my life was like a year ago, and what it's like now.  While there have been a handful of difficult events (or bad changes), most of the changes have been good.  At least they have been productive.

For example, I finally redid my bedroom!  It was an important part of my "process", of dealing with the divorce - finding who I am as an adult-single-person.

Here's the before - 5 shots to try to give you a 360 view of the room:

Some things I want to point out - I haven't had a "real bed" since I graduated from high school.  When we got married, we had a futon on a futon frame (because that's what we could afford) and dressers and bedside tables that were given to us.  We were never able to afford to have a grown-up room.  We replaced the futon mattress in 2002, and some time in 2007 we got rid of the futon frame.  So my mattress and box spring were on the floor for almost 6 years.  This room was depressing, and bland, and didn't reflect my personality at all.

First change: color!

Next change - finding a home for my yarn so I could move my clothes back in the real closet:

(Or moving my clothes back in the real closet so I could make a home for my yarn)

This took math, but I was thrilled to find out that my reach-in closet is actually deep enough that I can walk in.  And house laundry.  And use hanging sweater-shelf things.

Then - a bed!!

This is sort of a sleigh bed - it has an angled headboard so I can lean against it.  And I love the "waves" carved in it.

Some white curtains to cover the closet, new bedding and totally unnecessary pillows!

 I'm not totally done:

I found this great corner chair that goes so nicely with the paint color, and makes me very happy to sit in!  I still need a lamp and a footstool to make this a cozy reading/stitching corner.

Obviously, I still need some artwork, as well.  I did find a clock at Hobby Lobby that has the aqua color I love.  And with the photo session I just had with my girls, I'll have some fresh photos to put up, too.  I really want a large kind of canvas looking piece (or group of pieces) over the bed that will bring in more of the aqua and browns and make it feel more complete.  But as it is right now, this is a restful space.  The girls and I curl up on the bed to have "important" talks.  And even better:

Annie can see out the window without standing on her hind legs

Saturday Update - no pics

Let's face it, I've been on picture overload with the house stuff. The only stitching I've accomplished has been some yellow on the right top motif frame on BoInk.

Thanks for everyone who looked at the paint samples, the unanimous winner is Dark Toast - when I looked at the colors in the room and with the quilt my grandmother made for us, it worked the best as well. Now if I can only remember to keep the floss samples with me when I go shopping so I can make fabric decisions...

I took the girls to the library this afternoon, and picked up a couple of books for me, too - they had the Reader's Digest Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs. It was the only cross stitch pattern book I saw that had Quaker-style patterns (they're starting to capture my interest, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to commit to a full-size chart). Just thumbing through, I also saw some patterns that screamed biscornu - I can't help myself anymore! Hallie's wants to learn cross stitch, so I may copy off some easy patterns for her, and I'll teach her once I find my stitching fabric and floss. I also picked up The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley - I've read The Lady of Avalon, and started The Mists of Avalon (had to take it back before I finished, and I was overwhelmed by the size when I saw it again today). I must say after reading some of this series, I understand the 3 Ladies round robin a bit more. I'm excited to get my Faerie Queen back and finish her.

Have a great weekend - I'm very excited that my husband was able to score some more days off work and will be here for Father's Day. They're days without pay, which sucks, but we really need the time all together, without having to worry about finishing projects. If anyone's looking to add to their prayer list, my husband really needs to find a job in Idaho, so we can stop paying rent in Seattle.

Poll - which color scheme should I use in my master bedroom?

Help! I'm trying to decide on more paint colors. My husband and I agreed on a basic color scheme (brown and blue). I was going to do 3-ish walls (no room is actually a square) in one color, with an accent wall, but he decided he wanted to have the blue on the upper half, with a chair rail and the brown on the lower half. (Hee-hee, this is what I really wanted, but I didn't ask for it because I knew it was more work and he'd say no!) I went to Joann tonight to try to find fabric I liked for a duvet cover and curtains, but they had nothing. So I browsed the embroidery floss and found the colors I've had in my head! I narrowed it down to one blue and 3 browns. I tried to do a poll, but I couldn't figure out how to put images in, so we'll do it the old-fashioned blogger way:

#1 Caravel brown

#2 Dark toast

#3 Mocha syrup

Please leave a comment here with 1, 2 or 3! Thanks for your help!