The nook

My sophomore year of college I decided to live with two girls I had never met. Not the greatest idea I ever had, but I was up for an adventure. We shared one room in the coolest dorm ever....here.

Don't you feel like that is straight out of a movie? I loved that dorm.

Anyways, when I get to move in day, one of my new roommates had taken over HALF of the room with a spot she liked to call "the nook".

I am not kidding when I say half of the room was taken up by her nook. This spot contained her desk and a fridge and her bed all covered by a little curtain. Oh and she had conveniently placed her bed next to the room's only window. Me and my other roomie Yolanda (yes, her name was Yolanda ) were relegated to a set of bunk beds in the corner. No fridge. No curtain. No window. It was sad. why didn't WE get a nook?

Needless to say I didn't live with nook worm for too long. And now I have created my own nook. In my own home. And it is nook-tastic. It might be the nookiest of all nooks and it is all mine. And Josh's. But something tells me I won't see my 6"5 man sitting on a window seat with his head propped up on a pillow covered in hot pink flowers.

Anyways, here it is in all it's nook glory. Isn't it lovely?

This was kind of an awkward space in our house to begin with.

You may remember it sporting the doily curtains straight from a 1986 JC Penney catalog.

I always thought it had cool potential. With our nook, it looks dreamy. Like I will sit on that window seat and ponder deep things and read books by Jane Austen. (reality check: it will probably be US weekly).

I added this old desk to the entry way. This was a goodwill treasure from back in the day. Note the crooked drawers. Oy vey.

But crooked drawers and all, it's kind of my favorite spot right now.

The curtains give a very fort-like feel. And I am all about forts. I may need to sew some fabric to the bottom of these babies so the other curtains in our house don't make fun of them for being highwaters and start asking them where the flood is.

I may also need to add some fun artwork. We shall see. Everything is a work in progress around here.

But truth be told, if I waited till everything was perfect this blog would get updated even less!

So, that's the nook and my latest little project.

I heart organization

"A place for everything and everything in it's place"

I think that shall be my motto for 2011. I soo admire people who do not even have one junk spot in their house. Or not one file maked "Misc." Why can't I be one of them?

I am so not organized. But lately I have been in the mood to TOSS like none other.

Scrapbook supplies from the late 90s? See ya.

Wedding decorations I used more than a year ago? Buh bye.

Weird spraypainted candleabra from goodwill? Be gone!!

Seriously - it is sooo freeing not to be bogged down by stuff. I am so guilty of holding on to something because "we might need it later" but I am going to ask myself these questions

* Is it costing me more to store this item than it will be to replace it if I need it?

* do I love this item?

* Do I have duplicates of this item?

My husband is SUCH a minimalist and he challenges me to live with less, which is great for this potential future hoarder. (seriously, have you SEEN that show? It makes me want to clean)

Anyone have any good organization tips that they swear by? This is new to me and I need help!

And as always - pictures to inspire.

One word, well two

Discipline and creativity.

In 2011 discipline and creativity are going to be my goals. I feel like in a perfect world I would have equal parts of both. Fun, creative ideas, and the discipline to see those ideas come t0 life.

It's very easy for me to dream more than I do. I look for inspiration more than I transfer that inspiration into reality.

Creativity takes a certain amount of discipline. It takes movement and drive. And sometimes, I just don't follow through enough.

So while I'd like to develop creatively, I would also like to develop the art of discipline. Learning something, mastering something, not giving up when my ideas comes out lame, or when I don't see the results right away.

Just some thoughts to ring in the new year:)

And here are some things I am loving lately.

This headboard. I mean, seriously. We just bought a bed two weeks ago, but I wonder if I could do something like this anywhere else in my house? Like....above my kitchen cabinets? Hmmm.

House Tweaking

This guest room. Poof balls. Cannot get enough of the poof ball craze. I've made a few of my own and they are fun and easy. Remember making fans out of your church bulletin when you were little? Well, throw in some wire and some scissors and you've got a poof ball. But don't use a church bulletin. Use tissue paper.

Industrious Emily

These vintage wooden spool photo holders. It's the little things people. And the cheap things.

Under the Sycamore

And guess who just found some old spools of thread in her garage? Oh yeah. I did!

Cabinets and consoles and rugs oh my!

Happy New Year!

It has been a busy season here in the Stamm house, and frankly, I have been terrible at documenting all the changes.

We haven't done anything too crazy like knocked down a wall or gotten new counter tops, but we have been getting our DIY on like none other.

In an effort to bring more personality and less Ikea into our home, there's someone I'd like you to meet.

Our new coffee table.

This cute little trunk has some family history in it - I think one of my relatives built it. And it is COOL. I used to keep our toys in it when I was little. But here it sits as our coffee table and it makes me happy.

And do you see my decorating faux pas staring at you in the face? (aside from the off center mirror) Yes people, I put a rug on a rug. Major no no so I have heard. But I love this rug. And I needed some color underneath my trunk to make it pop. I don't care if this is the decorating equivalent to socks with sandals, I am gonna stick with it.

Now just in case you accuse me of hatin on the Swedes - here is my genuinely authentic, sheepskin rug from Ikea.

Josh is still deba-a-a-ting (get it... it's a sheepskin?!) this rug's coolness, but I love the texture and the cozy feel it brings. And in Arizona - you need all the cozy you can get!

And then there is this little garage sale number.


Isn't she adorbs? Yes. I believe I did just assign my new console table a gender. The people I bought this from were too cool, and I love the anthropologie knobs.

I've been wanting a little something for this area of our great room and this thing came ready to go. It is just the style I love...a little shab and a little chic.

And just for fun I'll add in some pics of our holiday decor.

Did you know I got those little Christmas trees at Walgreens for 99 cents? Well, I did. I didn't know Walgreens sold more than Cover Girl and Snuggies...but apparently they sell really cute glittery Christmas trees. Score.

And last but not least I bring you part one of the great kitchen re do.

White Cabinets:)

Some of you may remember we stained our cabinets a year ago. Remember?

But I don't know. I just never loved it.

This. Now this, I love. Feels much cleaner in here. And brighter. And we added a chalkboard back splash which I am seriously loving. I heart chalkboard paint in a big way. We're gonna paint the walls as well and do some other stuff...but this is part one and I am loving it.

I was so excited I bought a magnetic knife storage strip to celebrate. I documented it with a blurry picture. See?

More counterspace and less clutter are two of my favorite things.

So that's where we're at in the home improvement department. We have some more fun projects up our sleeves well, up my sleeves, pretty sure Josh is just along for the ride and the drilling:)

More to come this year!