Her name is squirt. And she’s my monster on Petville, an application on facebook. I know…I know…LAME. But my mom kept inviting me so I finally joined. So, I’m kind of hooked now. Again…I know…I know….LAME. BUT I get to decorate her little house and I’m obsessed with the little house I’ve created for her!

I love the robin egg blue walls and the bright red couch. I’ve wanted a red couch as long as I can remember. I also love the bright blue door.

I love the pink stove! AND!!!! Do you see it!??! I know it’s small, but there’s a pink Kitchen Aid mixer on the shelf! MY DREAM! Also I love the table, chocolate curtains, and crystal chandelier!

What a lovely bedroom squirt has! I love the bed and the light fixture, the fireplace, and the blue couch that squirt wouldn’t get out of the way so I could take a picture of it. I think my next couch really needs to be a bright color. I’m so drawn to colorful couches!

And finally her little bathroom! I love the mosaic tiles on the floor, the pink dresser, and the black chandelier!

Yeah…soooooo….ummmm….I’ll retreat back into my corner now that I’ve outed myself as a complete geek.

YOURS,

Harmony

There have been some changes around here. I updated the blog to the new Wordpress Version and it deleted all of the custom design HTML that I had before. So to keep things simple I’ve been trying out various Wordpress themes since then. This one is called BlueSky. Do you like it? I kind of love it. I just wish I could figure out how to get Harmony’s Nook into the cloudy header. I’ll probably stick to this one for a while and I’ll bug my roommate to fix the header. HE’s the computer genius…not me.

The other changes are pretty minor. I’ve added a search window, I’m in the process of adding links to the blogs that I visit everyday. I’ve also added some pictures from my old apartment to the sidebar and finally…I’ve added a “What I’m reading now” area. I always think it’s fascinating to know what people are reading!

P.S. That gecko has nothing to do with anything. I googled “under construction cartoon” and this came up. It’s a bit nonsensical, but I love him and want to call him George.

*

*

*

*

I had a little party for the cast members of my last show and thought that maybe you’d like to see some of the pictures of the new place in use. And it is IN USE. I’ve had more people over to this apartment in the last 3 months than my last two apartments combined. I love having people over.

Some of my best friends.

*

I cooked all day and am happy to say that there was barely any food left. The soups were a hit! I made roasted butternut squash soup and french onion soup.

*

It’s so nice that there is room to have people comfortably in my apartment now!

*

My beautiful blue velvet chairs are finally in use by two wonderful friends!

*

I seriously LOVE my apartment.

*

The Roomie and I, happy to have people over!

I hope you all are well! If so, send some of it my way, huh? I would seriously pay someone to borrow a healthy nose at this point. Cheers!

Harmony

I’ve felt guilty about not updating this blog, but I can’t force it. Well things on this front have calmed down a little and in the meantime my home design bug has returned! I have some new ideas and some new energy to carry it out.

Here are some ideas I have for some CHEAP upcoming projects:

I have an old white farm table that I use for my computer desk. The top of it isn’t in the best shape. I love this idea of covering the top with wallpaper and using a sheet of plexiglass over it to protect it.

I love how casual this art installation is. Anyone that has read this blog for a while knows that I hate hanging art in frames. Okay…truth is…I don’t hate it. I just SUCK at hanging art. Anything that makes it easier for me I love. I really like these binder clips. My roommate will hate it. He likes things hung properly in frames.

I’ve been obsessed with this wallpaper panel thing for some time. I think it’s such a great focal point. I want to hang a panel behind my bed. It will be a bright teal and add such a great jolt of color to my predominantly neutral bedroom.

I know that the painted furniture fad is a bit overdone, but I LOVE this piece. It makes me want to go to salvation army or brown elephant and redo an old dresser. I love the yellow, but I’m also thinking perhaps a robin’s egg blue color, and I just happen to have the paint already!

That’s it for now. I am inspired again which is great. I will post pictures of my apartment soon. I promise. I REALLY DO PROMISE!

Love Harmony

p.s. These photos were in my inspiration folder and I’m not sure where I got them. As soon as I figure it out I will list the proper sources.

Today was a really hard day. Eric’s cat died. The same cat that I have bitched about time and time again. I even bitched about him on this blog. The same cat that for a period of time I wished he would get rid of it. The one I called Manjster. His name was Manji. Get it? Anyway, he’s gone now and today I was heartbroken.  I miss him and I feel so awful for Eric. Manji was his baby. And truth be told I had grown pretty fond of the little guy. He was really happy in the new apartment. He had a great weekend full of turkey and head scratches and people adoring him. He was very happy here. So I’m glad that he died happy. He was our little snow leopard and he will be sorely missed.

Second of all, I’ve been a little low. Not depressed…but slightly low nevertheless. I blame it on the lack of SUN! There is no sun. It can be cold. That’s fine. BUT GIVE ME SOME DARN SUN.

Speaking of sun, I have wanted to take natural light pictures of the rooms I have completed (more on this later) and it has proven impossible due to the aforementioned LACK OF SUN.

Okay fourth. This is fourth, right?

Sigh.

Okay….here goes…rip the band-aid off Harmony.

1….

2….

3….

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip….

OUCH! Yeah….so….ummmm….that’s my closet right now. I know. I know. I’m so ashamed. And I know the picture is sideways. I thought that was appropriate.

Second Band-aid coming up:

1…

2…

3…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip…

OUUUUUCH! (These band-aids hurt!) This is my room. The room that I dreamed about for years, that I waxed poetic about, that I yearned for……ummmm…this is it. I cover my head in shame.

So, how did this happen? I ran out of steam. I worked my tail feathers off getting the rest of the apartment ready for the housewarming party that we had. My room became the catchall for anything we didn’t know what to do with. I could have been deceitful and shown you pictures of the parts of the apartment that are finished and lovely instead of the one spot that isn’t finished, but alas, I’ve always been a bit of a masochist. And I have to be brutally honest with you guys or how could I possibly offer advice on other topics?

It happens. We fall behind. We lose steam. We get discouraged. We take things for granted. It’s not the end of the world. Just don’t let it go on too long. Don’t let it become habit. My family is coming up in a week so I KNOW I will take care of my room. It’s the last obstacle really.

You know what? There’s a fifth reason I haven’t posted pictures. I have been enjoying my apartment.. Instead of worrying if I have styled everything satisfactorily enough to put on this blog, I have been making bread and stews, having people over, taking baths in my own private bathroom, reading books in my MESSY ASS bedroom, and enjoying the fruition of a dream come true.

I WILL post pictures. I promise. Just please be patient with me. Let me live a little first. Enjoy it first. Then I’ll share. I’m selfish. Right now I want it all to myself. In the meantime here is a picture of me making bloody mary’s at my housewarming/ birthday party. My face says it all. I’m happy here.

For today though HERE is a link to my new column for Love LuLu Mae’s blog.

I’m their new “home design expert,” although you all know by now that I’m no expert.

Please check out the column and I PROMISE for an apartment update soon!

This is how I feel. Have you ever seen this movie? It’s one of my favorites from back when Tom Hanks was known for his comedies and not his Oscar-winning dramas. It’s called the Money Pit. Basically these two well-meaning individuals enter into a house deal for what looks like their dream home. Soon after closing, however, everything starts to fall apart. The stairs collapse, the kitchen blows up, Tom sinks into a hole in the middle of one of the floors, etc. It’s hilarious. And every time the carpenter/plumber/electrician comes to assess the damage, when asked how long it will take to fix said damage the carpenter/plumber/electrician chirps, “two weeks!”

Now of course it doesn’t take two weeks to fix their house. It takes…hmmmm…if I remember correctly, I think it takes about a year. Do you see the parallel yet? Do you know where I’m going with this?

Welcome to my kitchen! Please take a….ummmm wait a minute. Can I offer you a….hmmmmm that’s not going to work either.

Have you guessed yet?

Alright I’ll relieve the suspense. Our move date has been changed AGAIN. It is now September 1st. For those of you following this saga, we’ve been trying to move since June 1st. Luckily we have an amazingly generous current landlord who has been letting us pay month-to-month without much hassle. He even offered to let us stay if we want, since even HE thinks all of this is ridiculous. While we appreciate his kind offer, ummm no, we’re not staying. But thanks anyway!

These pictures were taken by me yesterday. Can you see the apartment in there? Can you see the cute apartment that will eventually be there? There are lovely cherry floors under that tarp. Do you see the exposed brick? Nice, huh? Recessed lighting. This is the main living area. That bright room ahead is my bedroom. The darker room is going to be Eric’s office. If you went into the right corridor you’d see our main bathroom and the WASHER/DRYER. Behind us is Eric’s bedroom, the kitchen, and breakfast nook. sigh. I’m trying so hard to be patient. It’s completely against my nature. Thank God for Eric, I wouldn’t have made it this far without him.

I know I’m being dramatic, especially comparing our situation to the Money Pit. You’ll have to excuse me, I’m an actress and a Libra. I’m dramatic. It’s in my nature. It’s just…hearing one more month, one more month, two more weeks, two more weeks, is stripping my soul. I can’t take this moving limbo anymore. I’m okay with September 1st. I’ve accepted it. Well….I’ve accepted it after a mini-breakdown, but I’ve STILL accepted it!

So in the meantime, I’m just trying to think about the big picture. It will get done eventually. I will have a new apartment soon.

*

All of these feelings of uncertainty will be a thing of the past and I will laugh about it and make fun of my present emotional state.

*

Even the house in Money Pit got finished eventually, and guess what? It turned out beautifully.

So I think after my show tonight, I’m going to sit back and watch Money Pit and LAUGH.. I need to laugh. I may cry too, but MOSTLY laugh!

Hanging on by a thread (but a happy thread),

Harmony

*All photos are from Desire to Inspire. It’s a GORGEOUS website and one of my daily reads. Please check them out. Also I’ll do a post soon on my favorite home design blogs that I visit everyday. Cheers!