Big Blog News: Change of Address

After blogging at this url for almost three years, I've decided to make a big change and move on over to a new address. That's right. I'll be giving up my home at www.illpullout.blogspot.com and moving in at www.marriedinchicago.blogspot.com. While I'm feeling a bit sentimental leaving my first internet home (sniff sniff), I'm really excited to settle in to the new spot. It feels good to start 2011 off in a new home.

Married in Chicago

Just like moving in real life, moving all of my content over to the new url was much more difficult then I anticipated. Packing up 437 posts takes time! Thankfully, Neill is a computer wiz! If we did everything correctly, you shouldn't even notice the change in location. I've brought over all of my old content and so the new blog is pretty darn similar to this one. I did make a few small changes to the layout, which should make it even easier to navigate. Go check them out!

While I am saying goodbye to this url, I hope I'm not saying goodbye to all of you. Update your bookmarks and come say hi over at Married in Chicago.

catch you on the flip side!
-a

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! I'll be spending the next week with my in-laws in the Wild and Wonderful state of West Virginia. I'm so looking forward to relaxing around the fire place, munching on all of the delicious snacks the house is stocked with, and playing the stack of boardgames just waiting for us on the dining room table.

the christmas tree

If you have some downtime this weekend, check out this collection of all thing inspiring in 2010 and take a minute to add your own!

Loads of love,
a

Using Curtains for Closet Doors

Sorry to leave you hanging with our bedroom revamp. Remember this board? Things are coming along well! I want to share pictures once everything is in place, but I've been waiting for our lamps to arrive (they were backordered). This has given us more time than expected to work on our bedroom. It is already feeling so much better and these last few tweaks are going to make it perfect!

Let me show you some of the layout of our bedroom, closet, and bathroom. I'll wait here while you click on the picture to see the bigger version.

look at my fancy drawing!

As you can see, we have a nice big closet (score), but the layout is a bit awkward. Our closet is basically the opposite of tucked away! This means there is absolutely no hiding from an unruly closet. And unfortunately, when our closet is messy it makes the whole room feel untidy. It goes without saying that this drives me absolutely crazy. How can I get any sleep when there is a messy closet in eye sight?

 sadly, not too far from reality!

 I've tried to keep our closet organized and neat, but I'm just incapable of maintaining any sense of order in there for more than a few days. After struggling against my closet demons for years, I'm finally ready to admit defeat. (I say my demons because I've taken over the entire closet basically, so I can't even blame Neill for this one!)

So, we've decided to use drapes to keep the closet/bathroom area hidden from view. But, this can't just be any old curtain. I want it to look luxe and chic - not cheap. Cue inspiration photos.

Lonny

Loft and Cottage

from apartment therapy

apartment therapy

young house love

i heart organizing

decor pad

Alkemie

All of these pictures make the curtains look chic and purposeful. By analyzing what they have in common, I hope to achieve the same result.


Drapery Style: All have a grommet, ring top, or rod pocket. This looks much more modern than a tie top, tab top, or anything with too much pleating. Personally, I love the modern look of grommet top drapes or ring top drapes.  

Length: The longer the better! The curtain rods are set as high as possible and the curtains end right above the floor or gently pool. Since we'll be using our drapes for a doorway (that has no molding), I'll position the curtain rod at ceiling height and plan for them to just reach the floor.

Fabric: Not only do most of these images feature fun prints or bold colors, but I think the nicest ones also seem to use a weightier fabric for the drapes. Cotton drapes may look flimsy on the wide doorway I will be covering, but I bet a silk duponi or even velvet would look stunning.

Number of panels: The pictures are kind of split on this - some feature just one panel and others have two. Either way you go, I think the trick is to order extra width in the fabric so that there is a fullness to the drapes. I've heard you should order curtains two times the width of your window size to add volume.

Here are some of the options I am considering right now.

west elm

west elm

pottery barn

pottery barn

pottery barn

I'm crushing hard on this last one - the color is perfect. If someone from Pottery Barn is reading this, could you please send me one of these in a 108' length? kthnx. That would be the sort of Christmas miracle I could really get into.

What do you think about using drapes instead of doors? Do you have any good tips for making it look stylish?

Reverb 10 - Avoidance

What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) (Author: Jake Nickell)

What a great question! Unfortunately, there are quite a few things I wanted to do this year that I just never went for. A big boo to that. I wanted to:
-take spanish lessons (too busy)
-go back to europe with neill (too broke, too busy, too unsure)
-get my drivers license (too scared)
-paint our condo (too busy and too unsure - its hard to pick paint colors!)
-run in a 5k (too scared and too unsure)

I'm sure there are more too. If I can do even one or two of these things in 2011, I'll be really proud of myself!

*edit: just realized the question asked what I should have done - not what I wanted to do. The only thing that falls in the should category is getting my license. Too bad in 2011 I'd much rather travel through Europe than worry about driving.

Reverb 10 - Healing

What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011? (Author: Leoni Allan)

I didn't start off 2010 with an ailment, a break, or a wound and I don't feel like I'm ending this year feeling particularly restored or cleansed. Truth be told, I'm having a difficult time seeing the relevance of this question to my life. I lived each day, doing the the things I had to do and trying to fit in the things I wanted to do. Perhaps I should have focused more on "healing" - but, quite frankly,  I didn't feel broken to begin with.
 
For 2011, I don't feel as though I have an area in myself or my life that is desperately calling out for a healing. Here is a quick run through:

Psychological: In general, I believe that everyone probably has some psychological dents or dings that can be smoothed out. But, most people who are able to successfully manage their day to day life do not need to be "healed." I'm content with my dings - they give me personality :)

Physical: I've already mentioned that there are things I want to do to improve my physical health, but  I'm thankful that I am in good health and don't need to pray for healing.

Relational: Everything is pretty hunkey-dory here. I've got good people in my life and my relationships tend to be pretty conflict free. I can be pretty slow to warm up to people, so perhaps in 2011 that is an area that I can work to improve on.

Spiritual: Feeling good, feeling great. I just wrote a series of posts related to this here, here, and here.

Am I missing any big area?

On a side note, I'm just over about half-way done with Reverb 10 and I've got to say I'm a little disappointed with  all of these hippy dippy new agey questions. I like the idea of reviewing the past year, but I was hoping Reverb 10 would focus more on creating actual plans and goals for next year.  Am I the only one getting terribly sick of them?