Dining Room Rambling

The blog has been silent but the power tools have NOT at the Cosy Carolina house!

via Instagram

We replaced the pinch-pleat drapes in our dining area with new wide-slat window blinds. The drapes were good quality but old and had seen better days. In the past, I've gotten my blinds and shades from JCP and been satisfied. However, this time we ordered them from Sweet Blinds on eBay. The price was a teensy bit more than the JCP sale price but the blinds fit our very large windows perfectly since they were custom-made from our measurements. The blinds are inside mounted so much more of the wood paneling on the walls is visible now that the heavy drapes are gone.

via Remodelista

My inspiration for the design of this area is actually a garden shed-turned-office from this former One Room Challenge linking party participant, who also just won Remodelista's Considered Design Award for Best Amateur Designed Office Space! See all of Caitlin's photos here. Isn't the room lovely?! It was one of my favorites in the ORC linkup. The dark gray walls, which look like a chalky black, against the cedar wall, and the vintage rugs layered over concrete totally hooked me. While I have the walls, I've been on the hunt for a perfect rug for this spot for what feels like forever.

My patience for a wool-blend rug with a blue base and red accents that doesn't cost more than the mortgage was finally rewarded with this enchantress. But, bad news strikes again. My husband doesn't like the look of it. Insert super sad face. While I still think this rug is absolutely perfect, it did occur to me that I'm happy we don't always see eye-to-eye on what's beautiful. 

For example, my doppelganger is Claire Forlani, the peevish looking actress who starred with Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black. Whereas in high school at least, I always pretended to be Emily, the younger sister of actress/model Stephanie Seymour. You may remember her as the beautiful but tragic bride in the video for November Rain when she was Axl Rose's real life girlfriend.

I'm not the only one who had an alias when meeting out-of-town boys. Love, Betti is a treasure shop of antiques from many eras in Old Town Lansing, but the owner is not really named Betti. That's just what she told out-of-town boys when she was a teenager. Anyway, I'm hoping to get over to her shop this week, because rumor has it that she will be closing in September. 

And if that's not a douse of cold November Rain, guess who just finally got picked to do an ice bucket challenge?! You betcha!

So... do you have a doppelganger? My brother's has to be Woody Harrelson (have you watched True Detective yet? So creepy, so good! And have you seen Matthew McConaughey?? Totally agree with Bryan Cranston.) Did you have an alias when meeting out of town boys? Have you done the ice bucket challenge? Talk to me, people! :)