The Times they are A-Changin'

So I've decided to do a complete makeover, including a new name, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I've created an Etsy ID with the same name. I don't have anything listed there yet, but wanted to go ahead and get my ducks in a row. Second, I wanted something a little more personalized, and finally, I like to talk about my cats. You may have noticed them creeping into some (most?) of my posts anyway so with the new name I don't need to worry that I'm talking about them too much and I even have a few cat-centric posts in mind besides the one I did on creating a litterbox area for them. So there you have it - I'm now One Girl, Two Cats.

And since we're on the topic of my cats, let me formally introduce them. Chloe is my almost-eight year old gray girl kitty. She was born in a feral colony outside my old apartment building. I went on to find homes for her mom's next litter and had everyone in the colony neutered using the Trap-Neuter-Release principles recommended by feral cat advocates like Alley Cat Allies and Alley Cat Rescue. She has very soft fur and is a little high maintenance and probably smarter than I am. I taught her a few tricks like "sit," "sit up," "high fives," "lay down," and "turn in a circle." She's trained me to give her a treat when she flops on the floor and when I see her "in the position" I say "roll over" (she does) but she has to initiate this one with the floor flop.

Quincy is my three-ish year old boy kitty. He was a stray found by someone I used to work with. I adopted him when he was 10-12 mths old and his 2-year adoption anniversary is coming up on July 1. Do you see how his tail curls? It is like that almost all the time. It is a recessive gene and I think makes him extra cute. He can straighten it when he wants, but its natural state is curled up onto his back. It's funny to watch him get excited over a bird and flap it back and forth without uncurling it first. He loves to play games, chase stuff (toys, Chloe), pounce on stuff (Chloe, me), and watch birds and squirrels out of the window. He doesn't know any tricks. They're both indoor-only cats except for an occasional supervised foray onto the balcony.

New Year's Update

I don't typically "do" New Year's Resolutions, but this year I made a pledge of sorts to get rid of 365 things - one for every day of the year, and since we're half way through the year I thought it was a good time for an update (and a more organized list than my scribbled scraps of paper). Since I am an eBay seller, taking something from my personal space and adding it to my inventory "counts" as getting rid of even though it may technically still be hanging around here. So far I've cleaned through my skirts, pants, and shorts plus random things here and there. So without further adieu, here is my list.

TOSS
1. Rusted metal loaf pan

DONATE
2. Metal loaf pan
3. Pyrex 2 qt. pan
4. Pyrex 2 qt. pan
5. Pyrex 3 qt. pan
(I had a set of these and a set was left behind in my new oven so that is how I ended up with so many - I don't have any kind of weird collecting fetish - for pyrex cake pans anyway).
6. Hardback book
7-11. Magazines
12-14. Random clothing items
15. Ziplock bag full of cards, gift wrap sheets, calendars
16-17. Random clothing items
18-24. Plastic hangers
25. 6 mini-loaf pan pan
26. Beaded jacket
27-28. Christmas ornaments
29. Roller blades
30. Roller blade pads
31. Tan & white loafers
32-33. Old tax software
34. Sony Walkman
35. Small decorative trinket box
36-43. Books & magazines
44. Basket
45. Bag of shred for gift baskets
46. 50-pack cellophane treat bags
47. White blouse
48-51. - Heart shaped trinket boxes
52-58. - Random clothing items

LISTED/TO BE LISTED ON EBAY
59. J. Crew Marine Blue Beach Dress - SOLD
60. Carole Little Black Linen Tiered Dress - SOLD
61. Banana Republic Teal Silk/Cotton Dress - SOLD
62. Bebe Slim Black Pants - Listed HERE
63. Lilly Pulitzer Blue Skirt with Pink/Green Flowers
64. Lilly Pulitzer "Firecracker" Skirt - SOLD
65. Lilly Pulitzer "Zoo Patch" Lenore Skirt - SOLD
66. J. Crew White Lawn Cotton Peasant Skirt
67. Brown Giraffe Slip Skirt - SOLD
68. Gap Tan Cord Skirt - SOLD
69. Nine West Blue/Gray Wool Skirt - SOLD
70. Autograph Black Cotton Eyelet Skirt - SOLD
71. NY&Co Denim Skooter Skirt - SOLD
72. Ann Taylor Lime Linen Eyelet Dress - SOLD
73. Nicole Miller White Stretch Lace Tiered Dress - Listed HERE
74. Theory Light Wash Jeans - SOLD
75. Theory Med. Wash Jeans - SOLD
76. Talbots Gray Flannel Pants - SOLD
77. Eddie Bauer Red Capris - LISTED HERE
78. Old Navy Coral Capris - SOLD
79. H&M Pinstripe Pants - LISTED HERE
80. J. Crew Madras Capris - SOLD
81. Gap Cord. Jeans - SOLD
82. J. Crew Cord. Jeans - LISTED HERE
83 - 86. 4 Pairs Old Navy Shorts (Brown - SOLD, Khaki - SOLD, Blue, Pink)
87. Lands End White Shorts - SOLD
88. Ann Taylor Coral Shorts - SOLD
89. Gap White Shorts - LISTED HERE
90. Limited Brown Bermuda Shorts - SOLD
91. Tara Jones White Bermuda Shorts - LISTED HERE
92. Red Cross Over Top - Listed HERE
93. Carribean Joe Tropical Top - SOLD
94. Coldwater Creek Tropical Top - SOLD

Mixing It Up with Pattern

I don't know if trained designers and decorators have "rules" for mixing together different prints and patterns to get a cohesive look, but I have a few principles I like to follow so I don't end up with something that looks like an outfit Ugly Betty chose in the dark:

1. Work Within a Color Palette: This is probably a no-brainer, but I try to pick patterns that share at least a few colors or are complimentary colors (blue and green) or opposite colors (aqua and tangerine).

Designers actually make it easier to follow this rule because they frequently design entire collections of fabrics that are meant to coordinate, both in colorway and pattern. I picked up three fabrics for my patio project by Dwell Studio for Robert Allen called Zoo Stripe Grey, Zoo Scene Blue, and Zoo Flora Lime. The "Zoo" in the name was a clue that they were all designed to mix and match and the colors are obviously complimentary, although not too matchy-match (the Flora doesn't have the blue and gray tones in it, the Stripe doesn't have the brown). The key when working with these pre-matched collections is to not go overboard and try to throw in ALL of the choices (unless you're doing a quilt or a pennant banner or something and looking for a crazy mix) and to follow some of the other principles with regards to scale, contrast, and type of pattern. I loved both Zoo Scene (those elephants!) and Zoo Flora, but wasn't sure about putting them together - the scales were too similar and I didn't think the Flora had enough color overlap with the Scene. The Stripe, I think, compliments both and makes it work.

2. Play with Scale: I think patterns mix better if they are not all competing for attention with one another so if I'm doing two florals, I pick one that is bold and big and one that is much smaller in scale. Also keep in mind you're not necessarly going to use the two fabrics in the same proportions. If you're doing a pillow in the bold floral below, you might want to use the smaller print for the back of the pillow or for the piping or a ruffle for example so that it accents the bolder pattern rather than competes with it.

3. Go for Contrasts: If one of my patterns has a lot of color, I'll pick another with a little of the same colors and a lot of white like the examples below. Because these two are so similar in scale, I'd probably toss in a stripe for good measure or maybe just break it up with a solid. In this case I'd most likely use the two patterns in the same proportions: mix and match pillows for example, since both are too bold to take on an accent role. The fact that both patterns are a similar damask type print helps them harmonize but the opposite colorway is what really keeps them singing.

4. Don't be afraid to Mix it Up: For me the easiest things to match are completely different patterns - florals with stripes or checks, geometrics with figurals. Let your bold pattern take the staring roll and use the more moderate pattern as an accent.

For example, for the Christmas tree skirt and stockings I made eons ago, I paired a print I think was called Christmas Toile (and sorry, I have no idea who made it) which is a big, busy, figural print showing little vignettes of the manger scene, wisemen, etc., with a much plainer, simpler small-scale check. The colors match, the patterns don't compete for attention and it all blends together harmoniously. I also threw in some solids to mix it up, because I'm ecclectic that way.

As you can see, I'll often use more than one of these principles at a time - mixing small and large, floral and geometric, and all in the same tones. Really just go with your gut and what looks pleasing to your eye - you are, after all, the one who has to live with it. And if you end up with two things that just don't seem to work together, you may be able to salvage it by tying in a third choice: two bold florals might stop competing if you pull in a stripe or colors that seem too disparate might benefit from a print that combines their palettes.

Smurfy Gets a Friend

Good friends are hard to find. Square picture frames larger than 12" are even harder to find. You may remember when I first spray painted my ugly brown thrift store candlestick Smurfalicious blue I wasn't sure if I was really on board with the color or not. My master bathroom color scheme was an extension of the bedroom - aqua blues, sand, dark brown wood - and as a windowless space, it was kind of blah. I thought the brigher blue candlestick might help perk things up in there, but the only thing it sort of matched was a blue glass bottle on top of the cabinet. So when I came across this pretty turquoise blue, brown, white, and kelly green silk scarf on a recent thrift store outing I thought it might just do the trick. It was approximately 21" square - yeah, just try to find a picture frame that big without going the custom framing (i.e. mucho expensivo) route. Determined to make it work, I settled on a 12" square with a chunky, dark brown frame. Why the heck are picture frames so darn expensive anyway? Did you know half of them aren't even wood anymore? So $20 for a plastic frame, which Michaels had on sale for 40% off and then I had a coupon for another 25% off, so it came in at just under $10 - fine for one frame, but ouch still a lot if you're planning a gallery wall.

Now obviously my 21" square scarf was not going to fit into a 12" picture frame, and I didn't want to cut it, so, using the backing as a guide, I folded the edges under and ironed them flat. Ta dah! Perfect fit.

The old bathroom art was two photographs I had taken in Charleston, SC back in the days before digital photography. I scanned them and printed them on my ink jet printer, and while I still love them, the ink was beginning to fade and I was getting tired of the frames. I'm considering a photo gallery in the hallway, so they may be reprinted and repurposed there at some point. Because I was replacing two pieces of art with one, I did have to move the hook to hang somewhere in between where the old pieces were originally positioned.

I also wanted to try to work in the green sunflower mirrors I'd used on my Easter table. You may remember they were anti-freeze green and very, VERY plastic, so I spray painted them with Krylon oiled bronze spay paint which was only $2 at Walmart. I have no idea why it was so cheap, all the other colors were more. Because of the smooth, plastic surface I primed with Zinsser B.I.N. Primer, which I'll also be using when I get to a pair of caned chairs with a lacquered finish that are high up on my list for a makeover - it was $8, yikes. If I didn't need it for the chairs I wouldn't have spent that on these cheap-o little mirrors.

Once I had the frames painted and the mirrors back in I played around with the placement a little and finally settled on one underneath the scrarf and slightly off center and one centered above. I arranged Smurfy, a green glass jar, and a metal tin on the back of the tank (why can't they make this perfectly level?) and with the scarf to tie everything together I am much happier with the candlestick's makeover now and I like the brighter colors in the bathroom so much I'm thinking of dying my towels a brighter blue too.

So there you have it, a little spray paint, a little ingenuity, and probably around $20 netted a much bigger and brigther impact for this small space.

I'm linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick's "Home May'd Spray Paint Party." Jump on over and check out everyone's great projects.