Winter Workings: Phase 1

I have been pretty quiet over on Oxford Handmade the last few weeks- you know Christmas, parties, whatnot.  But honestly, most of the silence is because Marco and I have been working on a little side project we like to call  Living Room Makeover 2013.

(Technically, it started in 2012, but just go with it ok?)

This is where our living room was sitting at the beginning of December:

Charming right?  That MDF bookcase on its side acting like a sideboard.  The 31 decorative pieces on the mantle.  The 6 mini tables in the living room.  That second picture is actually a during picture, but it shows some good before-ness too.  Continue to just go with it.

Well like I mentioned here, we had some winter plans that we needed to get started, so when Marco's office closed for the holidays, get started we did.  Suddenly our fireplace wall looked like this:

Blank except for the Instagram photos and the Trevi fountain canvas.  That's also why that picture of the couch is so cluttered, most of the stuff just got moved across the room.  Then suddenly through the power of the internets, the room started to look like this:

Turns out that phase one of Living Room Makeover 2013 involved 60 feet of bookshelves plus 12 feet of table height surface space.  We added trim, filled in the holes, painted, painted again with a different white, and we when we finally sat down on the couch four days later, we were looking at this:

I waited a whole 72 hours before putting our books and collections on the shelves to make sure they cured nicely, but I gotta tell you, it was a little painful waiting that long.  Having these shelves makes the room feel so much more balanced.  That weird corner, to the left of the diningroom opening (you can see it in the picture right above), is suddenly useful.  Plus the trim along the bottom of the shelves makes them look like they've been there forever.

And the best part?  This bookshelf project really started the ball rolling with other living room projects. But you'll have to check back to see those.  In fact, I should probably be working on them now...

What I Read: June 2012

People think that working behind the desk at a library would be a piece of cake- and they often tell me so.  Those 3 minutes I get between crazy pants patrons complaining about things I can't control when suddenly someone comes up and casually mentions that a child has pooped on the carpet?  The patron who curses at children during story time or burps in my face?  The 25 boxes of materials that come in each day that need to be scanned, sorted and called before anyone can take a lunch break or else we'll drown in books? That last minute rush to get an item that "I need to read in the next 30 minutes!  What do you mean you don't have in in stock!?" Or the patron who I repeatedly confess my personal hatred of who keeps coming back, each week, and gets in my face to tell me that I, personally, am pathetic, like this whole damn place?

Those people don't make it easy.  But the books- oh the books- they help.

Here was my list for June 2012

1.  Gypsy Boy:  My life in the secret world of Romany Gypsies by Mikey Walsh.  (288 pages)  Whoa.  This book was intense.  I was fascinated and moved and angry and so so so glad that Walsh wrote this book.  Wonderful read, but I would not consider it a "light, summer read."  

2.  The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric.  (425 pages)  A historical ficition meets science fiction novel in the juvenile section!  Sign me up!  Smart, funny, and with an index!!  A strong female character who doesn't sit around waiting for something to happen or someone to save her- a first novel for this author but a strong one.

3.  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (320 pages).  I picked this up for my cousin who stayed with me one night but I ended up reading it myself.  I loved the movie (flashback anyone?) and the book deserves to be a classic.

4.  Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (208 pages).  An award winner and a classic.  I picked this up with Harriet the Spy.

5.  The Maze Runner

6.  The Scorch Trials 

7.  The Death Cure- all by James Dashner (1120 pages total).  This trilogy is a tough one to stay on our shelves so I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about.  Was not my thing really- made the Hunger Games look like a chess tournament, but I did finish all three books in three days... so I couldn't have disliked it too much...

8.  The Discovery of Witches by Debrah Harkness (592 pages).  This was my second time reading this book but it still counts.  The sequel comes out on July 10th- I'm taking the day off to read it because I ordered it months ago and it gets delivered on that day... so I needed a refresher on the story.

9.  Bloom by Kelle Hampton (288 pages).  A wonderful memoir about loving your children and learning to enjoy the small things.  Kelle has a wonderful blog that I've read for a while now and her book was equally as charming.

10.  Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (336 pages).  I cried I laughed so hard and I cried I felt so strongly for her.  I loved this book so much I went out and bought a signed copy at Square Books.  

11.  The Moneyless Man: A year of freeconomic living by Mark Doyle (199 pages).  Exactly what it sounds like.  Eye opening and well told- this memior was well told and had an index.  This girl loves an index.

12.  Becoming Sisterwives:  The Story of an Unconventional Marriage by the Brown Family (288 pages).  Eh.  There are pologymist families I like better.  I've never seen the show, but I did not love this family on a personal level and so everything they said I had a hard time with.  Just like my opinion man.

And that's it.  Just 12 books this month and 4064 pages.  Looking back now that I've typed out my list, I'm not as impressed with myself as I was when I started this post.  But I will feel much better when all of this stuff gets turned back in on Monday.  

And that's all.  I know, I know