Next event: Spring Flea

Mark your calendars. I'm excited to announce that I will be a part of Spring Flea this year! I will be sharing a table with my friend Joanna of JGalerie. This is a great event, full of unique finds. I'll post more as it gets closer... 

pinterest ideas: brick patio

So, this is what I'm doing during the Super Bowl: posting house stuff on my blog and planning projects for this year.

A few weeks ago, Alex found an article in The Family Handyman about covering an existing concrete slab patio with bricks. We have a slab. And we have tons of bricks left by the previous owner.

These are horrible photos of the backyard from right after we moved in:

We tried the bricks around the patio. It was really annoying to maintain. So now, using Alex's newly acquired handyman skills, my spatial layout skills (I made that up), and Pinterest, I've decided we should cover the patio AND add a pergola. Someday. Cover the patio first, then see where we're at. 

Our patio is obviously small and we may not be able to get away with a lot. But I know I want potted plants, seating (probably the small table and chairs we have), and some lights. I bought a ton of string lights a few years ago at Target and haven't used them. (What a waste!)

Because some of these Pinterest links lead to dead ends, check my "Garden" board on Pinterest. One great link that DOES work is this helpful chart of brick layouts.

I'm confident we can lay the brick and get a nice patio layout before (late) summer. I am not confident that we'll get a pergola figured out. Maybe 2014?

potential bedroom...

Bedroom makeover by lizzard214 on Polyvore

Our bedroom is a mishmash of stuff.  Next weekend we'll be in Pittsburgh, so why not stop by IKEA for a little flair?

We have the art (it's mine) and we have the bedside tables and lamps. But a nice duvet cover, sheet set, and some curtains might be nice. And under $50 for all? Sweet.

Nothing too exciting, but it might be nice to have a theme upstairs.

Yawn.

Books of 2012

This year I finished 71 books: 

My original goal for 2012 was 30 books. I had a busy/stressful year, but found that reading and running helped regulate my arrrggghh levels (technical term). I upped my goal somewhere along the lines to 50... then decided I wanted to read 70 about a week ago (it was so close). 

• 4 audiobooks
• 4 graphic novels
• 4 non fiction
• 59 fiction

Here they are: (Most recent first. Click to enlarge.)
A complete list with title and author can be found at the bottom of this post. 

Classics / "school books"

This was a big one for me this year. I tend to read at least a few classics a year. I consider classics to be books like Tess of the D'Urbervilles (loved.), Howards End, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. I also tried to fill in the "classics I didn't have to read in school" blanks. Those books include Heart of Darkness, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, and even Number the Stars. (I had a few young books in there.) 

Books released in 2012 + current bestsellers

I am normally REALLY bad about reading new books. I think it took me 3 years to read The Time Traveler's Wife, even though my friends loved it.  This year, I took full advantage of the library and got on early wait-lists for The Casual Vacancy (ended up buying), The Twelve, Gone Girl, and even Ke$hs'a book.

Etc:

I love Thomas Hardy. 

I hated so many "second in the trilogy" books this year. So disappointing. 

Yes, I read Fifty Shades of Gray. I liked 1, loved 2, hated 3.

Years Past (in case you made it this far and like data)

Books read*

Pages read

*I joined Goodreads halfway through 2008. 

Complete list of books and authors: 

1. The Passage Justin Cronin
2. The Fault in Our Stars John Green
3. Essential Encounters Therese Kuoh-Moukoury
4. Anthem Ayn Rand
5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling
6. Dead to You Lisa McMann
7. Delirium Lauren Oliver
8. Tracy Anderson's 30-Day Method Tracy Anderson
9. Revoltingly Young: The Journals of Nick Twisp's Younger Brother C.D. Payne
10. Bossypants Tina Fey
11. Howards End, E.M. Forster
12. Annie John Jamaica Kincaid
13. Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro
14. The Good Theif Hanna Tinti
15. Divergent Veronica Roth
16. Spoiled Fug Girls
17. Gone Michael Grant
18. Infinity Rachel Ward
19. The Fame Game Lauren Conrad
20. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead Max Brooks
21. Lord of the Flies William Golding
22. Hatchet Gary Paulsen 
23. Bridge to Teribithia Katherine Paterson
24. Fifty Shades of Gray E.L. James
25. A Lost Lady Willa Cather
26. Thirteen Reasons Why Jay Asher
27. The English Patient Michael Ondaatje
28. Dangerous to Know Tasha Alexander
29. Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle Rachel Dratch
30. Insurgent Veronica Roth
31. The River Gary Pulsen 
32. Fellow Townsmen Thomas Hardy
33. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Heinrich Böll
34. Number the Stars Lois Lowry
35. Midnight in Austenland Shannon Hale
36. The Sugar Queen Sarah Addison Allen
37. The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
38. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler... Italo Calvino
39. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Max Brooks
40. Tess of the D'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy
41. The Inheritance Louisa May Alcott
42. Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2) Lois Lowry
43. Fifty Shades Darker E.L. James
44. Messy Fug Girls
45. The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy
46. A Room with a View E.M. Forster
47. Fifty Shades Freed E.L. James
48. Austenland Shannon Hale 
49. Beasts of No Nation Uzodinma Iweala
50. Beauty Queens Libba Bray
51. On Beauty Zadie Smith
52. The Museum at Purgatory Nick Bantock
53. Brian's Winter Gary Paulsen
54. The Scorpio Races Maggie Stiefvater
55. Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
56. The Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling 
57. Starstruck Lauren Conrad 
58. When it Happens to You Molly Ringwald
59. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel Hope Larson 
60. The Twelve Justin Cronin 
61. My Crazy Beautiful Life Ke$ha
62. The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman
63. Reached Ally Condie
64. The Magicians Lev Grossman 
65. Windflower Nick Bantock 
66. The Death-Ray Daniel Clowes
67. Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book Two Chris Oliveros
68. Pussey! Daniel Clowes
69. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer Joseph Conrad
70. The Pearl John Steinbeck
71. Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck

Did we read any of the same books? As always, if you're on Goodreads, let's be friends.

blue room - almost complete!

Once upon a time I posted a layout for our guest room (aka "the blue room").  After purchasing the bedding, I was able to put things together pretty quickly. Ideally, I'd paint the bed black and ditch (or dye) the curtains... AND get a frame for the art... but it's close.

Here's the layout:

Blue room by lizzard214 on Polyvore

Here's the bed:

Finally, here's a panorama that makes the room look really skinny: 

(Click to enlarge)

* That bag in the corner is where we toss recycling when it's too cold to go into the garage. The two bookcases are in a corner. And, the mirrored door is my closet because our upstairs bedrooms don't have any closets (lame).

When I hang some art, you'll be the first to know!