Portrait wall improvement

Justin and I have been living in our home for nearly two years now. That seems unbelievable. We still have the light fixtures that I promised would be "the first things to go".

When we first moved in, we filled up the most massive green wall in our living room with every portrait we owned, stood back and enjoyed it. Some were framed, some pinned, they were irregularly hung but we had more pressing projects to tackle (like eliminating all the tan paint).

We are very slow decorators and home improvers so we left the portrait wall in it's original state. I am so glad that I finally added shelves and neon orange hardware because it makes the whole room look more orderly! The living room is going through a major change and I'm optimistic that it will be pretty neat. I am inheriting a family piano and have just cleared space for that and we agreed to get rid of our television and set up a projector! My big fantasy right now is to use the piano and projector to have a silent movie party with live accompaniment. I have a flapper dress that needs to be seen.

Cinema Cafe update

I'm happy to hear that so many people are interested in what I've been up to with the cafe renovation. I also appreciate all the thoughtful tips I was given for how to tackle the redesign.

So far I've won and lost a few battles but I believe I'm definitely on the road to making a friendly atmosphere. I did lots of painting tonight and I like the color but I'm second guessing it a little bit. My first choice was a warm white to make up for the fact that the cafe has no natural lighting. My boss is adamantly against "cold white walls" so we chose a springy lemongrass green that brightens and compliments the dark sage green hallway outside. The space is a mess now but it's really transforming and looks so much bigger and cleaner. My only reservation with the color is that it is a bit more yellow than I expected and is pretty punchy. I plan on incorporating natural wood furniture and a sisal rug to hopefully tone it down and make the place feel warmer.

Also, we are keeping the chalkboard but making it half as big. We were concerned about the kiddies generating lots of chalk dust while other customers sipped their tea. To replace the lost chalkboard space, I'm adding a felt storyboard in the kids corner and my project is cutting out lots of movie monsters and heroes from felt for them to play with. The small ones get a picnic table too which is unbearably quaint. I adore tiny things made for tiny people.

I have also been doing a ton of junk exorcising in the cafe but I managed to undo all that yesterday when I made the pilgrimage to Ikea and bought rugs, lamps and tons of little things.

I was thrilled when I found an artist on Etsy to display in the cafe. Her shop name is Elloh and she creates paintings based off lots of my favorite movies. I'm pretty happy to have the opportunity to showcase Etsy talent in the Cinema Cafe.

I'm trying to remain positive and energetic because I truly am thankful to have a job where I can use my skills and am given responsibility on big decisions but I feel a little bit shaken. I was so opposed to the original aesthetic that I thought the public would really embrace the change and that the revamp could be a big part of turning the place into a success, but as people walked past I heard lots of , "Why are they changing such a cute place?" and "Aww... I liked the way it was before.". It's a very strange phenomenon because I'd bet that most of those people who were so fond of the cafe had never even stepped inside. I sure hadn't served them before. It's very disconcerting nonetheless.

I am determined to rock their nay-saying faces off. They'd better at least like my granola trail-mix buffet snack bar-stravaganza idea ( really need to think up a catchier title for that!).

Ps: The color I'm painting in the photo is the primer. I know it looks unattractive so I didn't want to worry anyone.

My hero...

I spent the weekend with Kayla (my new mini sister-in-law) and she made this awesome guitar hero picture. Justin couldn't be prouder to be influencing his little sister to be a Nintendo enthusiast and I'm excited that she is really into drawing and craft projects.

We also did some interior design and she helped me stick a flock of birds to the formerly boring bedroom wall. I got the decals from One Up Designs and I think they look boss. Our bedroom is the most hated room in our apartment. We hate the size, wall color, brick wall-facing window and hospital light fixture. We're not happy about the bunny turd box in the corner either. So, I've been really trying hard to make it special in hopes that I will be encouraged to be tidy and stop leaving my clothing strewn about. The wall decals, new duvet, curtain and small rug so far have made a big difference. Our room was previously all different shades of dirty tan but the bold orange color and patterns are livening up what we previously called "the cave".