Our kitchen is looking pretty stark these days. Too stark for my liking. I left the cabinet door off of one cupboard to add a little prettiness, but I think the next step would be filling the empty wall space above the stove. Right now I’m just figuring out what I’d like to put there. My head is telling me to make it functional, but my heart is saying pretty, pretty, pretty! I think these images show that I can definitely make both work.

images: 1 Stephanie Levy | 2 Rachel Denbow | 3 Cassia | 4 Urban Casita | 5 Hilda Grahnat

Well, the shop is starting to take over our home. What can I say? I need a real brick and mortar storefront! It’s something I’ve been thinking about delving into this year. I have even started thinking about my business plan and maybe applying for a small business grant from the city of Canton, Ohio, where I live and love.

I used to have a room (that is meant to be the apartment’s living room) where I kept all of the shop goods, but the problem was, Phil was turning the big dining room table in our great room into a desk, and let’s face it, his work is less pretty than mine. So we decided to relegate his office space to the dining room. I think he likes it.

So, here I am. With clothes, hats, and clothes all over my home. Sometimes I don’t mind, and I actually find it inspiring. At least it motivates me to do more shop updates!

Another motivation? Hangers! It sounds so silly, but I only have so much room for clothing storage, and I only have so many hangers. After a couple of really great thrifting trips, I end up with piles of clothes, and it’s hard for me to stay organized. Hanging up clothes really helps me stay on top of the situation. So, whenever I make a sale, I get really excited about having extra hangers! Oh, it’s the little things in life, I suppose.

While I was getting orders ready to ship today, I was enjoying some vintage ’40s tunes. I really love the Andrew’s Sisters, and I’ve mentioned before, it’s a weird (and futile) ambition of mine to be the fourth Andrews Sister. That would be the day. Sigh.

A couple of rather unofficial New Year’s resolutions for myself were to read more and play the guitar more. I did really well in January, but February has been a busier work month for me, so I must confess, I’ve been  a bit of a slacker. My guitar is sitting in our living room, as a reminder for me to play it. And I’m not quite sure it’s working. Maybe if I put it on the wall? ;)

As for books, so far I’ve only read East of Eden this year. Any good recommendations? I like a good mix of character development and intriguing plot lines in a fiction book.

images: 1 Stadshem via Interior Photos | 2 HHarpie | 3 uydurukcu | 4 Abby Tries Again