Regina Spektor

New Spectacles Alert!

Anthropologie.

Check out my cat.

iHave an iSurprise!

iGot this in the mail the other day... Any guesses on what it could be?

I'm assuming you're pretty clever. iF my iHint's weren't enough, the big white box on the desk where my computer should be probably pushed it over the edge. We got a new computer!

(Please excuse the mess of cords under the desk, Calvin put them there.)

Yep. We got our tax return and invested in Mac. By buying a nice big computer. And when I say big, I mean huge. You're talking to a girl whose been working on laptops since 2005. This gargantuan Mac reminds me of the drive in. As in, the screen is so big, I could read it from inside my car.

For the first few days, I was still working on my Acer, while transitioning all my work documents to my Mac. But now, I am a big girl and using only my Mac. Well except for this very second, I'm on the laptop so that I can blog from the couch. I needed a break from the office.

I love it. They say once you go Mac...

On a somewhat unrelated side note, I have become a very busy little birdy. Spring is upon us, and not only does that mean that I have lots of cleaning to do, but that also means the weather is nice, the birds are chirping, and I have become oh so very busy. That's all I am going to say on that, but I am going to apologize in advance for any sort of abandonment you may or may not experience in the next few weeks. Hopefully you will never notice a thing, but I can already tell you, you may. It's a very good busy for me though. So let's just be happy, okay?

On a completely unrelated side note, you will hopefully be getting a "How To" post about removing ink from carpet this week. If not, you have a post offering my pen eating dog up to the highest bidder to look forward to. Either way, I think you win!

Are you a Mac or a PC?

Map This.

You may not have realized he was gone, or that I was unsure of when his return would be, but J got home last night, just as planned {originally}.

I don't like to blog about trips away from home, weather one of us or both of us until after it happens. Never know who reads this thing. Even if we do live on an Air Force base.

You see, this weekend, he flew to Texas. Then New Mexico. Then back to Texas. Then back to Oklahoma. And before he left, they told him to be prepared to be gone until Thursday. Right before he left. Like 1 hour before he left. So needless to say, there was some moving and shaking happening in the Recor house this weekend.

{One wife left to her own devices - one loving husband = home changes.}

And the good news is, one of these changes actually pushed the office a little closer to the finish line. Not too close. More like closer to the halfway point. More like closer to the halfway to the halfway point. But the point is we're moving people! {not literally}

We now have touched on the office before. Once or Twice. Maybe I mentioned this awesome loveseat?

Haha, so funny. This is a long project. But Rome wasn't built in a day! And this office will be the new Rome. It will be powerful. Beautiful. Inspiring. Home of great minds. It might even be a superpower one day. Someday. When it's finished. Baby steps.

Let me just say now, if maps drive you crazy, if you find yourself lost while staring at one, if you literally get lost in one while trying to fold it back up, if the very thought of your GPS {gasp} breaking gives you the hives, turn off your computer. Just do it now. I don't want to be responsible for this.

Still here? Okay good. Hopefully that means you will understand my love affair with maps. I like them, I love them, I can't get enough of them. I don't own a GPS. I believe my phone will act as one, but I have not attempted. We are the people who buy the maps at the convenience store. There is always someone. It's us. I believe we have three maps in our glove compartment right now. Yep. Three.

They are just so beautiful! The lines. The colors. The shapes. The North. The South...okay I'm done. Now remember, I am sharing this office with a boy. A pilot boy. And when I told him I was setting out to make this office "Aviator Chic" he thought I was crazy. But I found a way.

Aeronautical maps. Who knew they were this pretty?? {I did.} So these puppies have found a home. Above those bookshelves {who, by the way, are just dying for a makeover... in fact, they don't know this right now, but I have two pallets leaning against my house right now just waiting to meet up with those ladies}. Am I crazy? Maybe. Am I sentimental? Definitely - the orange map is of Colorado, and the green is Michigan. Next we'll have to add an Oklahoma to the mix.

I like love them. They are perfect for what I am wanting in this room. How are you feeling about them? I apologize for the glare. That huge, obnoxious glare. We have lots of windows. Which means lots of natural light-yay! But it also means lots of glare. {And please don't mention how cluttered my bookshelves are. We're all overly embarrassed about that.}

Also, if you could just keep my friend Amy and her husband Aaron in your thoughts and prayers. They have had quite the day.

Love my Seat.

Well, after a balmy 75 degree day Saturday, it's only right that we are snowed in today. It's crazy how different the snow storms are around the country. I've lived in Michigan, where the snow keeps coming down, and turns to a slushy, brown mess the next day. I've lived in Colorado, where the snow all comes at once and stays pristine and white for weeks. And now I've lived in Oklahoma, where we get a few inches of snow that later blow around like crazy, producing blizzard like effects, as well as patches of visible road and grass feet from drifts of snow 2 feet deep.

But I am another year older. {More on that tomorrow} I have gotten some awesome presents this year. Some things that I really, really wanted. So thank you SO much for all my fun new gadgets and toys. And loveseats.

Yep, you heard that right. I was putting away dishes yesterday morning when I heard a knock on the door.

"Here's your couch!" said the UPS man.

My what?!

Yep. The loveseat of this post of yore. One of my loyal, wonderful blog readers agreed with me {in thinking this couch was a fabulous and chic seating option for my husband} and sent it to me for my birthday! Thank you, THANK you!!!! :-)

So are you dying to see it in it's rightful place??? After a little sweat and tears putting it together {not really... well probably a little sweat. But as soon as the man of the house let his little wife help, it went together no problem... funny how that happens} it is ready to be sat on. And Calvin has tested that out.

Seems like his jaunt on Desire to Inspire has gone to his head a bit.

Love it. Do you? I think it is perfect for that space. Now husbands and wives can both sit in the office. At the same time. Not on the ground. :-)

PS. A special thanks goes out to Sandy who keeps an eye on the blog and gives fabulous gifts.

Stay tuned this week for a birthday recap. And perhaps you spotted another post just ASKING to be written in one of these pictures?? Yeah, stay tuned for that too. 

They Called it Puppy Love.

It's like the tortoise and the hare over here. The tortoise being the office redo, and the hare being my life. Things are zooming right along in the House of Recor for all of us...

{Jon is flying his first cross country in a week and a half... using the coast to get him to Florida safely -as well as some instrument only flying- so he has been preparing like a madman for that. Can't wing it on a flight to a place you've never flown to before (pun intended). 

I am moving right along with work. I can't believe I'm coming up to the end of my first month at Style Me Pretty. Still loving it. Still keeping me very busy. And get this. I just started training for the OKC marathon/half marathon. As if I didn't have enough going on. 

Duke has taken to cuddling by my feet by day, and chasing shadows by night. He also "made friends" with a few ducks. Calvin has switched food and is now on a starvation strike. I don't think it will last long, judging by his enormous gut.But I'm monitoring the situation.}

Enough about the hare. Let's get to the tortoise, for all you shell loving fans out there. The office is slowly but surely moving along to a better place. I shared with you a big mess of ideas already... but I've been working on a "theme" or more like a "feel" for the room {as I don't really love themed rooms}. Since it is an office where both airplane studying and matrimonial eyecandy are both going to be happening on a daily basis, I decided to blend it into an office that is chic, pretty, as modern as I dare go in my house, and function all the while making sure airplanes don't lose their place.

In the prettiest way possible.

So we are going for Aeronautical Chic, in case you skipped over that mumbo jumbo right up there. It will be very tricky to stay away from campy, tacky, or piloty while still incorporating a bit of the sky into the room, but it can and will be done. I sort of have a plan. At least I know what my "artwork" will be {but more on that later}.

Anyway, I know this was a long post of verbiage, but here is your reward for making it this far. Kissing pictures. Yes, I am a girl with lips for my kids. And when I say kids, I mean animals. But you knew that. I try to move my mouth away before they kiss back though, in case you just were sick to your stomach. Anyway, here is a kiss shared with Calvin last week...

And here is one for the dog lovers out there, taken this weekend...

{No I am not always gross with a headband in my sweaty mess of a ponytail. Both photos were taken after returning from the gym. Also, they were taken from my computer. Not my new camera. Sorry.}

Notice anything?? Yes! I moved a few things around. But for now, this is all you get. A little sneak peak. Just for you. :-) Anything you want to see in the office redo? Share! Especially if you think it fits in with the Aeronautical Chic thing we've got going on.

The Office: The Vision

First, there was a mass organization. Then came the boy decor. Finally, we needed to style me pretty.

So I did research. I looked through my favorite magazines and catalogs. I looked through my "Inspired Bookmarks" on Mozilla. I searched the web. I listened to you. And I've made headway on the office.

And when I say headway, I mean it. Because as of yet, it is all still in my head. Yes, I have moved my desk. And yes, I put a mirror on it. But I should mention the aforementioned desk is now shoved into the same corner as the book shelf. This means all the furniture (and honestly, all the stuff) is in one half of the room. With the exception of my "Keep Calm and Carry On" print.

As you can see, I do not exaggerate (at least not right now). If anything, negative progress has happened in the office. But not in my noodle. Nope, I've got it all in there. It'll take some time to collect all the pieces of the puzzle, but soon enough, it will get there. Wondering what I've got? Here is my inspiration.

 Yes, pallets. If you spend as much time as I do on the design blog world, you'll know these are a hot commodity. And I'm using them to give my old bookshelves a face lift. 

Get excited now.

Source

 We need seating in there (aside from the one desk chair) and I know just where to put it.

The spot that J always crouches when he comes to visit me at work.

And this great loveseat from Target might be just the ticket.

Source

 I'm loving flannel lately. The texture, the warmth, the colors.

I'm probably going to try to bring in some flannel in pillows. We'll see.

Source

 I love chalkboards. I know they are trendy. So I will spend little money, and DIY one myself.

But it will be so nice to be able to jot down notes on something other than my Airmen and Family Readiness Center pad of paper.

Source

The curtains. Oh the curtains. Stripes. White. Love, love, love.
DIY, I suppose!
Source

And the pièce de résistance.

No not a belt. But I am using this as my inspiration for the top secret, most exciting project of the room.

And I need your help.

Source

I am looking for old leather (or good pleather) belts. Lots of them. I'm scouring thrift stores and closets (most owners know I'm there). But I still need more. I need lots and lots of leather belts. So please, please, please if you have even one old leather belt you no longer use, I need it. I'll even pay for the shipping. And I will also let you in on the secret project. So look through your closets and let me know.

Like I've said before. It will take a while. It will be slow. It will be one day at a time, but eventually, my office will be pretty. It will be organized. It will look like a girl works there (and a boy). Anything changing around your house?

Another Office Redo

I started my new job today, and although it was just a day of training, I am beyond excited to be working for Style Me Pretty! To sum up my first day of work, I sat in my office, on my phone, eating grapes, and trained with two other new girls. And it was a lot more exciting than that sounds, believe me.

While I was sitting in my office for 6 hours today, I realized (again) that this office is b o r i n g. Not just boring, plain. Not just plain, ugly. Not just ugly, hurts my eyes to look at anything in here. I love this room because of the amazing light we get from the north and west facing windows, but that is about all it has going for it. It is a box. A box with a closet. A box with a closet that a boy has been using as his office for the last five months. The only feel/theme/personality this room has is "Undergraduate Pilot Training." Seriously, I have a model of an air plane sitting under the lamp my lovely pilot hubs has had since before I knew him (the lamp, not the plane. We got that a few moths ago from the toy section at Walmart.)

Yes. I know. Horrendous. Tremendously horrendous. Not pretty. So my next step is to redecorate. As we all know, I'm cheap as a little robin, so it will probably be a while before I have enough time to collect everything I want to complete this room. But little by little, it will become the office I will love to work in everyday. It will become pretty and it will look like it belongs to a girl.

Now, I have to make my first decision, and I want your opinion. We all know the rest of my house is Pottery Barn (the look, not the price). It's neutrals, it's a little coastal, it's a little traditional with a teeny, tiny modern twist to it. The question therein lies: Do I do my office with the same feel? Lots of neutrals? Navy blues? Or do I go completely out of the box and style it real pretty and feminine? Or maybe somewhere in between (lets not forget that the man of the house will still be using this room in the evenings for study time)?

Some things to consider. The desk, computer, printer, and probably bookshelves all have to stay. I'm going for low budget here, and that means changing out the decor, hanging curtains, finding the perfect rug, not replacing all the furniture. So think about it. And let me know what you come up with.

Help! An Office Organization.

I am normal. I do have messes. I do struggle sometimes getting projects done.

Cleaning/organizing the office is not fun. This picture makes it look much easier and vastly less work than it is. Thank you Jim Dale for getting me through this.