Desk

A big personal goal I've made for myself lately is to be able to fit a desk in my room. Normally I think of a desk as being a place to use the computer and I don't remember actually sitting down at one, ever, in my life. Besides during my dorm days, and only because that room was TEENY TINY. There was no other available surface.

Ah back in the day...

Lately I've been getting more crafty though and that is hard to do without a good workspace. And now that all of my roommates are home from winter break I can't take over the dining room table for days while paint drys on various projects... So I've decided I need a proper workspace.

Earlier this week we had four days off of school and my roommates and I pulled my mattress out in to the living room and had a sleepover all week. It was a fun change to fall asleep to old movies every night with my ladies, but another plus was having my bed a little lighter so I could move it around easier. I haven't been happy with my room setup since I moved in (over six months ago...) but thought that I just had awkward furniture and couldn't do any better. On Wednesday I switched everything around and I like it so much better! I still haven't finished getting my room situated just how I want it, but I have a better idea now. AND a perfect place to put my desk!

I've been looking all over craigslist trying to find an old charming desk I could revamp on the cheap, but no luck. But I've gotten inspired to build my own!
The three main things I need out of this desk:
1. To be small and not have a ton of mass - my room is pretty small and it will be sitting in front of a big window
2. To house my sewing machine and other crafting accessories
3. To have a large work surface

Ideas I'm looking at:
Knock-off-Wood's Sewing Table for Small Spaces - I would paint it white and figure out how to make the top storage shelf more efficient. I love that I could roll the whole cart into another room and how it collapses. I'm worried about the bulk of it though...

Sewing Table from Marina Bautier - I think this is the cutest table!! I'm just kind of worried about attempting to build it myself without any plans. Also I'd have to make the bottom rolling cart big enough to fit the sewing machine

A few websites I've been enjoying:
Apartment Therapy
Re-Nest
Oh Dee Doh
The Kitchn

Atlanta

Today is our 4th day of having school canceled due to the snow. Yesterday we ventured out and saw Rabbit Hole - which was really great. My boyfriend, Aaron Eckhart, deserves an Oscar for that, for sure.

I just sent an email to some of my favorite printmakers in Atlanta, Kilroy and Maw, seeing if they hire assistants or interns.

Two of my favorite Atlanta inspired prints by them (I own the top one)

The minute they create a vodka version of this one - it's mine:

I also dedicated a chunk of yesterday to moving around all of the furniture in my room and it feels brand new! I've been hunting online at desks but haven't settled on one just yet... I'm going to get back to cleaning/organizing my room now. Thank god for snow days.

Martha

For Christmas my incredible roommate, Katherine, got me an amazing gift:

It's Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts and it's AMAZING! Just flipping through it is inspiring. I love Martha. And she (of course with the help of tons of staff) has really put together such an amazing set of crafts and easy to follow how-tos. There are so many different things I want to do out of here and out of fear of putting them off I'm setting up another goal list for myself. Twelve Martha crafts in twelve months. Doing 12 crafts a year doesn't seem like that hard of a goal, but I think it'll just help me make crafting a priority.

Here's the crafts I want to tackle so far - they may change though:
1. Block Printing
2. Botanical Pressing - Cards, Coasters, Fabrics
3. Candle Making
4. Clay Buttons
5. Glass Etching
6. Fabric Flowers
7. Nature Crafts!
8. Paper Cutting/Punching
9. Bottle Cap Magnets
10. Silk Screen
11. Tin Punching
12. Sun Prints

Also the examples in the book are usually different (and better) than the one's I found online. I can't wait to get started!

Let it Snow!

Today was supposed to be the first day back of spring semester. But the weather had other ideas...

Last night

A few hours later

This morning

 

Our house

Ginger LOVES the snow!

In Atlanta we got about 5 inches! Huge deal for us. My roommates Morgan, Katherine, and Ammie, along with Claire, Josh, Taylor, and Brandon, all walked down to Grant Park and went sledding! Of course, we live in Georgia where the opportunity to sled is scarce - so nobody owns sleds. We brought two laundry baskets, a rubber made lid, and a seat cushion covered in a trash bag... None of these things really worked but some friendly people at the park gave us two toilet seat's to sled on. As redneck as it was - these things worked beautifully. We had a ton of fun, but it was nice to come home and just enjoy being snowed in. School is closed tomorrow too - I couldn't be happier...

Morgan, Ammie, Me, Claire, Katherine

I read the blog The Feminist Housewife, which is written by a girl about my age, and she lives nearby, in Athens. I fell in love with her blog just from the title alone but I've really enjoyed her posts over the last few months. One thing I really like that she's done is create a list of 21 things she wants to accomplish before she turns 21. I'm going to copy her idea and create my own list. Since my 23rd birthday is less then 4 months away (wow!) I'm going to make mine a 24 before 24 list - with a little head start.

1. Learn how to use a sewing machine.
2. Make curtains.
3. Go to a flea market.
4. Prepare a vegan meal with a vegan dessert.
5. Get rid of all of the clothes that I don't wear.
6. Find the perfect mirror for my room.
7. Plant a garden.
8. Volunteer.
9. Create a photo book.
10. Host or co-host a Mad Men themed party.
11. Make a blanket.
12. Create an Etsy account.
13. Make space in my room for a desk.
14. Travel to a new city.
15. Learn how to make candles.
16. Successfully organize everything in my room.
17. Save up enough money to move to a different city.
18. Build a piece of furniture.
19. Graduate from college.
20. Go camping.
21. Take a workshop.
22. Go running at least three times a week for a month.
23. Take a yoga class.
24. Sell something that I've made.