Monthly Archives: April 2010

Going Paperless – the end of the world?

Posted in Things that make me go hmm? by

*** Warning: This post may contain some irrational thoughts, pointless humor, partial truths, prejudiced drivel, half-witted rhetoric, disjointed communications and an occasional unfounded wild accusation. ***

Unfortunately, all of the above is what I had to hear this past week.  Our employer is forcing everyone to sign up for direct deposit and is no longer printing out our paystubs in order to cut their budget and save some money.  We are now required to log on at home and  print a paystub, if we so desire, or to see what was deposited into our account.  I have used direct deposit for over ten years and find it extremely convenient.  If you think about it, all direct deposit is, is a direct wire to your account.  Western Union and other such companies, have done it for years.  Its a basic transfer of funds from one place to another.  But, you should have heard the nonsense that was flying around last week regarding being forced to use direct deposit.  Most of the employees are all in a lather about not getting a paper check.  They want their paper check in their hand because they do not trust the banks to give them “all of their money”.  [rolling my eyes]

There was a lot of talk about our society becoming paperless and that the end of the world is near.  Now, to make sure you know that I am not discounting the fact that they end of the world may or may not be near.  I do believe in Revelations and I do believe that we will experience an “end of the world” as we know it.  However, I do not think it will come through the vehicle of direct deposit.  🙂  In fact, when I am the unfortunate receptor of such gossip and urban legends, my mind wonders and I think of scenarios like this:  (text my own)

Lol….or can you imagine the conversations employers had with their employees when they stopped paying in cash and started issuing paychecks?  I bet those employees had the same ideology as my co-workers.  I fully support any business who tries to cut waste by going paperless.  People got along just fine in past centuries without paper.  It seems that most of the paper printed now is wasted anyway.

Oh well, that is my random thought and ramble for the day.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Andrea

Joseph’s Paint in Alexandria on the map

Posted in Historic Property Spotlight, paint by

I walked in to Joseph’s Paint on Bolton during the Spring break last month and I was informed by the employees that the owner was commended at a Benjamin Moore conference in Houstona due to a blog post/paint review I wrote about a month ago.  He was hailed for his excellent customer service and used as an example.  The employees went and got the owner so I could meet him. Very glad they got the credit they deserve.  They truly have the best customer service in town and also the best quality paints.  Thanks guys!

Andrea

Joseph Wallpaper & Paint was started in 1932, serving the community for 77 years.  As an independently owned store you’ll experience a level of service you thought no longer existed while supporting your local community. We’re proud to deliver the kind of specialized attention and help that you simply won’t find in larger chain stores. Our store professionals are comprised of trained specialists whose knowledgeable experience and helpful advice will ensure the success of every project you have.

Along with a wide range of Benjamin Moore® coatings, we offer flooring, fabrics, wood blinds and wallapaper supplies.  At Joseph Wallpaper & Paint, we simplify your shopping for home projects to one convenient stop – our store!

Funding my paint habit

Posted in Dining Room by

Well, it has come down to this.  I have been wanting to ‘spruce up’ the dining room and decorate according to my very eclectic taste, but have not had the money to buy the paint or other items on my wish list.  My husband told me I needed to find a way to fund my paint habit.  Hahahaha…. Well, that motivated me!  So, today at 6 am, I got up and had a huge, HUGE garage sale.  Did I tell you it was huge!  I cleaned out the shed, got rid of old furniture, I parted with some of my dish collections, cannister collections and tin trays.  I cleaned out the attic and sold all art and home decor that I was not currently using.  I had not looked at this stuff in over three years…time to get rid of it!  I feel so much more organized and can breath easier without all the clutter. 

I advertised for two days and made sure I took out an ad with the LOOK sign at the top so everyone in Alexandria would come by and see what I had for sale.  I was not disappointed.  For five hours I answered the same questions over and over; and even though I had everything CLEARLY marked, people would still ask me: “How much you want for this?”  However, this is not a complaint.  I netted a sunburn and enough money to buy the paint, a large area rug and had $40 left over that I spent at the grocery store.  Can’t beat that!  So, coming soon: pictures of my new dining room!

Happy Saturday!

Andrea

What Color Post 2

Posted in Dining Room, paint by

Well, since I have no takers on my last post about what color to paint the dining room, I forged ahead, brave soul that I am and picked out a dark gray/charcoal from Benjamin Moore called Anchor Gray.  I painted it on my ‘try out’ board and leaned it up against the wall.  Tomorrow, in the sunlight, I will take pics and post.  I have decided to go with that dark gray charcoal color, paint the wainscoting an ivory and accent with turquoise and red.  Here are my inspiration pics:

[black+and+turqoise+dining+room+white+chandelier+decorpad.jpg]

I was thinking about buying a large canvas and covering it in pretty wallpaper for art.  Something like the material on this headboard:

or this:

Can’t wait!  I will probably put this project into action sometime this weekend or next.

Happy Tuesday everyone,

Andrea

Easter Sunday 2010

Posted in dog, Faith, Fun, Kids by

For I remember

it is Easter morn,

And life and love and peace

are all new born. 

~Alice Freeman Palmer

What color, what color, what color?

Posted in Dining Room, paint by

Bonjour Beige, Eggshell

 

Well Spring is here, which sends me into a cleaning and project frenzy, so I am looking around at all the things I want to ‘spruce up” a bit in my house.  You know those parts of your house that you were/are not happy with.  For me, that’s a long list! Ha!  But, when we moved into the house almost three years ago, there were a couple rooms that were painted hideous colors that I just could not live with.  I picked a very boring, nondescript color, and rolled it on the walls.  I was hoping that either it would match whatever I planned for the other rooms, or that I could live with it until I could pull the room together.  So, this year, I want to change the dining room.  This is it currently.  and here is the window.  First of all, I HATE the rug.  It is there because we want to protect the floor and it is the only one we have.  I took down all of the vases on the picture rail and just left the dishes.  I am thinking about taking down the dishes and putting up ironstone, or all cream and white dishes.  I want to paint the walls a dark granite, gray, navy, or green blue color.  I think the dishes would contrast nicely.  Kinda like this:

white dishes on gray

white on dark background

Here are pictures of the curtains.  They a red and slate damask with a slate hem.

For more pictures of the bay window and curtains, click here.

So, imagine my walls painted a dark color, white dishes on the plate rail (I have many, many, many of those!), the wainscoting repaired and newly painted, a nice new almost room size rug like this:

I also need some dining chairs.  Currently I am using a modge podge of chairs I inherited, along with 5-6 metal folding chairs.  Real classy, huh?  I was thinking about something like this for a dining chair:

This would contrast with the ivory wainscoting.  Or, if I wanted the chairs to blend in and not stand out, I could get ivory chairs like this:

My table is very similar to the one pictured above.  I have some vases from Ikea I purchased two weeks ago.  I will post a pic of them here, but be warned that we were having a birthday party with the plastic table cloth and whole nine yards, so look past “Bolt” and view the vases.

So….with all of the above changes in mind, what color should I paint?  I want it to be dramatic and sophisticated at the same time.  I like the streamline of modern elements, but I like the warmth of earthy elements too.  Here are a few color chips that caught my eye:

Whatever color I choose, it has to go with the living room which is connected to it.  Here is a pic of the living room:

You can see the dining room on the left.  This picture is OLD…lol. I have since streamlined my decorations on the fireplace.

So, what are your thoughts?  Leave me a comment and give me all of your decorator advice.  

Andrea

***Update:

I had some paint in the shed that was close to the color I wanted, but when I painted it on a board and propped it up on my plate rail, I found it to be too blue and too light.  I think I am going to go with the color chip that is all the way on the left.  It is Behr Hidden Path 720F-5.  I also like the one all the way to the right it is Valspar’s Signature Graphite. The middle one is Martha Stewart (Lowes) River Rock. Thoughts?