What’s Up Clock

As you know, our eating area has gone through some recent changes.  I have not yet pointed out/posted about one fun change.  At least I think it’s fun. 

I was struggling with the iron piece above our patio doors. (I don’t have a photo of this piece with our new lighting.)…

It just didn’t feel right to me.  Do you have pieces like that in your house?  Things that are okay but just don’t feel right.

I just couldn’t figure out what to replace it with.  We don’t want curtains around the patio doors.  Does the area look weird without curtains?  We don’t care.  We had curtains once.  They were horribly annoying.  Less annoying trumps perfect design.  I had seen some photos with words above the door.  I’m over words. I have a few in my house and don’t want to go overboard.

I was watching some random HGTV show and saw a clock above patio doors.  Why didn’t I think of that?  I decided to try it out.  (Excuse the poor lighting.  We won’t see sun again in Iowa until approximately May.)

I like it.  A lot.  It fits the rustic/industrial/grown-up theme that we now have going on.  It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s mine…with honey.

This area has come a long ways…

Anything in your home that just doesn’t feel right?  Any other above the door ideas?  Wait, don’t tell me.  I might change my mind.

***Speaking of changing my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to order the shower curtain.  I received some good feedback about the use of stripes and the narrow room.  I may have another idea in mind.  For today.  Talk to me tomorrow.  It will have changed.***

Linking up to:  Thrifty Decor Chick

Shower Curtain Survey

Do you all remember my guest bathroom?  My sad and neglected guest bathroom.  The "horrid dungeon of a guest suite", as described by my New Year’s Eve guests.  I think they were mocking me.  I think.

I purchased West Elm’s Stripe Shower Curtain awhile back. I thought it was going to be the answer to my shower curtain debacle. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is.  The charcoal on the curtain just doesn’t work well with the wall color.  I will not paint that bathroom again.  It’s easier to find another shower curtain.  Or is it?

I was on the lookout for a replacement shower curtain but I just hadn’t found anything that spoke to me.  That was until I opened up the latest West Elm catalog and saw their Gallery Stripe Shower Curtain…

via

I knew I shouldn’t have opened up that catalog.  I told myself I wouldn’t. I should have dropped it straight into the recycling bin without looking at it’s beautiful glossy pages filled with items that would look perfect in my home.

I’m also on a self-imposed spending ban for the month of January.  I’m not sure why I decided to put this ban on myself.  My former self was getting irritated with my constant need to buy things.  Current Michelle, however, wants to buy this shower curtain and it’s on sale until Monday. Work tested any and all patience I had this week.  And it’s the 20th.  That’s close enough to the 31st.  I gave it a good run.  Right? Right!

What are your thoughts? 

Do you think the gallery stripe curtain will be the answer to my first world shower curtain problem?  Or do you feel that there is another answer out there for me?  (I will keep the original stripe curtain for our Jack and Jill bath.  It’s just too pretty to send back.  Yes, I have a problem.  Thank you for your concern.)

To Blog or Not to Blog

Last week I brought up the idea of starting a Blogging Basics series.  I struggled with writing today’s post because I just didn’t know where to start the series. And then it hit me. 

Why don’t I start at the VERY beginning? I know some of you mentioned wanting to start a blog but you just haven’t made the leap.  Let’s hope you leap away after today’s post!  Post a link in the comments to your brand spanking new blog!

Should I start a blog?  What would I write about?  How do I come up with a name for my blog?

I am going to answer these questions from my perspective.  I would love if those of you who have been blogging awhile would answer them in the comments.  Please and thank you!

Should I start a blog? 

Well of course!  Blogging is such a fun hobby.  It’s a great way to share your creativeness/hobbies/passions/thoughts with the world.  My blog is like a little diary for my house. Blogging is also a great way to meet people who share similar interests. 

I do recommend that you like writing.  (I had forgotten how much I liked to write before I started this ol’ diary on the interweb.  I always loved English in high school…so naturally I chose a career based on biology and math.  Always the smart one.)  You should have a decent understanding of grammar and spelling.  Do you need to worry about an error in your grammar here or there?  Nah.  It’s a blog.  But others should be able to read it without cringing………..like if Nate was to write a blog.  The boy can build things and photograph things like none other but ask him to write you a photography post and you’ll be editing it all night. 

What would I write about?

Anything you want.  It’s your blog.  You make the rules.

In the beginning I was writing about a bunch of different things..the house, books I had read, food, the weather.  I have learned that my best posts are those related to my house and Ike…because I am most passionate about my house and that darn dog. I also think most of you read because of the house…….okay, fine…..because of Ike.  I get it.  How can you not love this fuzzy face?

Don’t touch that messy beard though….he gets grouchy.

How do I come up with a name for my blog?

I struggled with this one. I almost gave up on  blogging before I even started because I couldn’t come up with a decent blog name. 

My original thought was Drugs and Décor…because I am a pharmacist who likes decorating.  And then I began to wonder what kind of readers a blog with drugs in the title would attract.  I quickly went back to the drawing board.  Even though I am a pharmacist, I didn’t plan (and still don’t) plan to blog about my career.  I later decided on Décor and the Dog because I knew Ike would most definitely sneak his way into every house photo.  I was right.

Who’s going to start blogging now?  Get that first post ready.  How’d you come up with your blog name?  I think next week I’ll discuss finding your niche…unless I change my mind.

DSLR for Dummies- Lenses

Today we will continue our DSLR for Dummies series.  I’ll do Blogging 101 tomorrow..if I get my act together.  Today, I will be represented in pink.  Nate will be black.

Ok, lenses.  Teach me everything I need to know…but not in a boring way.

I can’t promise it won’t be boring but here we go…

When researching cameras I focused mostly on what body was going to be best.  I did not do much research on what lenses to purchase because i planned on buying the kit.  The kit contained an 18mm-55mm and 55mm-200mm lenses.

Uh, what’s that mean.  DSLR for the dummy, remember.

The lower the mm, the less zoom.  The higher the mm, the greater the zoom.

I  figured that these lenses would cover most all of the shooting situations I would want to shoot (the 18-55 for the closer shots and the 55-200 when I needed to zoom in). When I made the decision to purchase the Nikon D5000, I waited for the kit to go on sale with the two lenses.

A couple of months after buying the camera we decided to go on vacation to Colorado. After some online research, I decided that I could use a good landscape lens….a Tamron 10mm-24mm would be a good fit for me.  This lens is what is considered an ultra wide-angle lens.  I used is a lot when we went hiking in the mountains as it was able to get a lot more of the breath taking views.



Another advantage of this lens is the ability to photograph a smaller room because of the wide angle.  It does have a trade-off as it does tend to distort the picture, so some caution has to be used when using it.  In the following picture of our mudroom, the room appears to have more room on the right side of the bench than there actually is.



After about 9 months of shooting with the kit lenses, I found myself being irritated with either having the wrong lens on (needed the zoom when I had the short range on, etc), or missing shots because I was in the middle of switching lenses.  Again, after doing a lot of research, I found that the Tamron 18mm-270mm had everything I wanted in an all-in-one zoom lens.  If I were to do it all over again, I would have skipped the kit lenses and purchased this one instead.  The lens does cost a little bit more than the two lenses but the convenience and zoom range (getting the additional 70mm) is well worth it in my opinion.

So, how is all of this changing lenses business different than me changing shower curtains and paint colors every other month?

It’s totally different.

Of course. Right.

I received my latest lens for Christmas, it is the Nikon 50mm f1.8.  This lens (or the Canon equivalent) is a must if you ever plan on wanting pictures with really nice bokah (we will talk about bokah and how to get it in a later post).  This also makes for a really nice portrait lens or a lens that will work good in low light.

Here are some shots with each of the lenses discussed above.  All of the pictures were taken on a tripod at the same spot in the room.…

Tamron Wide Angle 10mm

Tamron Wide Angle 24mm

Tamron All-in-One 18mm

Tamron All-in-One 270mm

Nikon 50mm

I still want to know why it’s a problem for me to switch out decorating type stuff but it’s okay for you to change lenses more often than most people change underwear.

People only change their underwear every 4-5 months.  That’s gross.

Lesson over.  I think I actually learned something.  But when do I get to touch the camera?

I didn’t think about you touching my precious camera when we started this series. Is it too late to stop?

Yes! Mwah ha ha.

Tell us your thoughts on lenses!  Any preferences.  Any questions?  Next week we’ll the camera settings from Auto to Aperture. Oooo, fancy.

Something Is In The Water

Is everyone you know having babies?  Yeah, me too.

That means lots of baby showers.  I loathe showers of all kinds (well, besides daily cleaning myself showers.  Eh, nevermind…I hate those too).  I’m the worst female on the planet.  The games, the “oooing” and the “ahhing”.  Drives me bonkers.

I do love my friends and their soon to be spawn though…so I go.  With a fake smile on my face…and a lovely handmade gift in hand.

This week-end I attended a shower for a friend from pharmacy school.  I whipped her up my go to baby blanket….the day before the shower. If I can make this, you can make this…

Her nursery is brown and pink so I decided to stick with that.  Always the safe one.

I tried to take step by step photos but I got bored/forgot after about step 1.  I promise I’ll do better on the next one.  In the meantime, you can check out a similar blanket pattern here!

I also decided to try out a project I have been meaning to try forever…appliqueing a onesie…

These may or may not have been made to represent the lovely Iowa Hawkeyes.  I can’t tell you for sure because I am sure there is some kind of copyright law.  But it’s an “I”…there is no copyright on the letter “I”….or black and gold.

These are so easy. 

Buy some Heat n’ Bond iron on adhesive.  Follow package directions and iron on Heat n’ Bond to fabric of your choice.  Trace object of your choice onto fabric (“I” in my example).  Cut out object.  Remove paper Heat n’ Bond paper from fabric.  Place object in desired position on onesie.  Iron into place as directed on package.  Stitch around outer edge of object in whatever stitch/size you prefer.  Done-zo.  I told you it was easy.

My stitching isn’t perfect but I think it gives it character.  People at the shower were asking where I bought them.  Yay handmade!

What’s your favorite go to baby shower gift?  What’s the worst baby shower game you have ever played?  I think if we ever decide to have spawn, I will have a couples shower to make Nate suffer too.  I’m a good wife….

Linking up to: SerenityNow

Blue Soul Designs Winner

I am pleased to announce that the person who left comment #5 is the winner of a ring of her choice from Blue Soul Designs!

Who’s lucky #5?  Lyndsay from Mr. and Mrs.!  Lyndsay’s favorite was the Amazonite Wire Wrapped Ring!

Mighty pretty!

Remember that Sarah is offering free shipping to all Décor and the Dog readers (code: FREESHIP)!

Sarah’s sent me this note to share with you all…melts my heart….

Hello readers!  I wanted to thank each and every one of you for entering the Blue Soul Designs giveaway.  To have such an overwhelming response is really amazing, especially since I am a brand new Etsy shop owner!  Michelle has the BEST readers!!!  I love reading all of the sweet comments, ya'll made me so happy!  Thank you for the support and encouragement!  Thank you Michelle for hosting this giveaway~you're the best!

xoxo,

Sarah @ Blue Soul Designs

Keep Sarah’s shop in mind for those future gifts!!  (For yourself…I mean others…)

Do You Collect?

Do you collect things?  I had a stamp collection and a music box collection as a kid.  (I was one of the cool kids.  Can you tell?)  As an adult, I didn’t really have the desire to collect anything.  Until I saw a collection of globes in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  I NEEDED a globe collection.  (Still one of the cool kids.  Can you tell?)

I started looking.  Globes slowly started popping up in thrift stores.  I refused to pay more than $10 for a globe.  Slowly but surely, I have completed my globe collection in our office.

I found my final globe this week-end while thrifting with the lovely Kim.



The globe on the left was the last globe in my quest.  I found the one on the right a couple of months back.  I just hadn’t added added it to it’s home.  Lazy much?

I’m a little sad that the globe hunting adventure is over but I do like how the completed grouping looks…




And for those of you that e-mail wanting to know how I balance working, blogging, and having a tidy home….I don’t.  This is the cleanest our office has been in months.  It is the dumping ground for all things that we don’t feel like putting in their proper homes.  I cleaned it right before snapping these photos.  It previously looked like this…




Feel better?

This room is my next decorating victim.  New curtains, new couch, new wall hangings, styled shelves.  Now if only the vision would come to me! 

At least it’s cleaner now.  And full of globes.  And cleaner.

Do you collect anything?  How do you organize all of those important papers, papers, etc that pile up in the office?  How do you feel about this wall color?  (I’m torn on the whole painting thing.)

Embarrassed Dog

Ike is a little embarrassed…

He’s still decorated for Christmas…

How will anyone take his highly impressive guard dog skills seriously?  Especially those pesky neighbor kids?

Anyone else forget to put away some Christmas items?

Don’t forget to enter the ring giveaway from Blue Soul Designs!

Blue Soul Designs Giveaway

It’s Friday the 13th. Do superstitious days like this bother you?  I always feel like there is an air of creepy in the air.  I think it’s because I watched too much Dateline as a child.  Anywho, I think we should start this Friday the 13th off right……with a fun giveaway!

Have you seen the rings over at Blue Soul Designs?

Sarah (the lovely lady behind the great designs) contacted me about hosting a giveaway.  Yes, please!  How cute are these rings?

Left to right: Cog ring, Lyme Disease Awareness, Amazonite Wire Wrapped, Natural Pearl Wire Wrapped

Sarah is recovering from a mold illness and Lyme disease. She needed an outlet and a way to help offset some medical costs so she opened her Etsy shop.  Sarah’s designs reflect her love of the beach and nature.  Many of her designs use natural stones.  I was shocked at how affordable her rings are.  Kind of seems like highway robbery! 

Sarah is also offering free shipping for all Décor and the Dog readers.  Just enter FREESHIP when you check out!

Would you like a chance to win one of Sarah’s beautiful creations?

• PRIZE: One ring of your choice from Blue Soul Designs
• TO ENTER (required):  Visit Blue Soul Designs and pick your favorite ring.  If you have some extra time you can also tell me about a New Year’s resolution that you made.  Have you kept it or is it already a distant memory?  Your comments keep me entertained at work.  (Oops.)
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: January 15, 2011 at 11:59 PM CST
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• OTHER STUFF: The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on January 16th.  Check back to see if you are the lucky winner!

***I was in no way compensated for this post.  I just think Sarah is a pretty talented lady and I thought you all would think so too !  Do you have an Etsy shop you’d like to promote? E-mail me!***

Also, I would like everyone single one of you to click here and vote for Kelly’s Upholstered Platform Bed. Do it.  Now.  Is the peer pressure getting to you?  Actually I just really like Kelly…and her bed…and I think you should vote for her.  If you want to.  Love, the bossy blogger.

DSLR for Dummies

I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions.  I stink at follow through.

What do you do when you stick with follow through?  You start two blog series in one week.

I REALLY need to learn how to use our DSLR.  Every time I shoot in auto, I can hear the camera laughing at me.  Or is that Nate?  We’ll never be sure.

I know there are a bunch of you out there that are in the same position.  We are going to learn how to use our cameras together in 2012. Deal? Deal.  Every Thursday, Nate will give us a camera lesson.  He isn’t a pro but he has taught himself a lot.  (The photo department at Sam’s wanted a copyright release form when Nate’s mom wanted to print pictures that Nate took of our niece.  True story.)  We encourage you all to chime in with your wisdom as well!  We might even do a little Flickr group for everyone to share what they are learning!

I can’t read the DSLR owner’s manual.  I’ve tried. I fall asleep or I decide I need to clean the bathroom instead.  Or alphabetize the books in the office.  I am going to try to have Nate teach me instead.  This could be a very big test for our marriage.  At least we have 5 1/2 years of commitment to help get us through.

Nate will be represented in blue.  I will be represented in pink.  Oh, the gender stereotypes.

Today we are starting from the beginning and the lesson is boring…but supposedly important.  Wake me up with this is over.  I mean, learning is fun.

What does DSLR even stand for?  DSLR stands for: Digital single-lens reflect

Did you Google that?  No. Maybe.

What kind of teacher are you?  Focus.

What kind of DSLR do we own?  Nikon D5000 body and lenses (we’ll cover lenses later).

via Nikon

Why did you choose Nikon?  I have heard that Canon’s are cooler.  Kind of like the IPhone. Can I get an IPhone?  No, Android is better. Instagram is coming to Android.  You’ll survive until then.  Focus.

The Nikon vs. Canon decision is a big debate.  I choose the Nikon after reading reviews on Steve's Digicams and DP Review.  I could get more features in the Nikon for a few hundred dollars less than the Canon.  This was 2 years ago.  I haven’t looked recently. I also like the Canon brand.  At the time, I could get more for my money with the Nikon.  Both brands are great, just depends on your personal preference.  The Nikon D5000 is a good mid-level consumer grade camera.

When do we get to learn fun stuff?  Next week I’m going to teach you about lenses.

Bleh.  Do you want to learn how to use this thing or not? 

Yes, master. 

Overall, good first lesson?  Weigh in on the Nikon vs. Canon debate!  Who’s thinking auto is just fine?  Would you partake in the Flickr group if I’m not too lazy to set it up?