YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…
#BIRDLOVER
Houston Photography
WELCOME TO MY HOME REVAMP: VOLUME 5
I am finally sharing the Master Bedroom portion of the remodel for the blog! I think I killed myself to get remodeled and moved within record time, so that now I just sort of drag around and have smaller goals set for myself. Goals such as revamping our tennis business web presence (especially since the main site was hacked, disabled and all the years of links were broken which caused Google to drop our page ranking which means it’s harder to find.) Too much detail, I am sure, but that is the business which pays our mortgage so it is important, but I just do not get where people have time to hang out every week in their spare time and do nothing but eat and drink and scour Facebook profiles of their frenemies. I have my empire to tend to. And by empire I mean my meager little existence in the universe.
Our kitchen cabinets just got lined because my husband took the day to get that done. I thought for sure that was a task I would be assigned so I was thrilled he did it alone while I was tending to that little side gig I call my full time job.
We are working together on a mini beauty product project, so a lot of time has gone to that for months now. More will come on that later! It’s very exciting.
As for the master bedroom portion of the remodel, I love the distressed wood laminate we used. The care is very easy and it is scratch resistant being that it’s a commercial grade.
For the walls, I really wanted a professional vibe so the easiest way to achieve that is to use a universal color theme throughout a smaller sized home. Because of this mindset – whether right or wrong, the same Behr paint in Graphic Charcoal was used.
I really spent very little money in this room…probably about $500 in total, on a new white Ralph Lauren comforter (that you can’t see because I have about 6 layers of sheet or blanket for that really fluffy look.) I also bought curtains, new lamp shades, sheets and that’s about it! The sheets are a satin silver animal print shown below! Love!
The photo above of the french door is from the outside leading into the bedroom. At first I thought it was completely unneeded to have these french doors added by the previous owner, but it’s really nice and convenient!
Most people end up focusing on their bedroom last instead of first. I feel like the bedroom is super important. It’s the place that you recharge your batteries. I feel it should be romantic. My husband was very happy with the finished product. I still have 3 rooms that do not make me super happy at this point but eventually I will execute my plans for them! I look at it as a hobby at this point and not an obsession! I will get to it when I can! The media room is the next in line for some fine tuning!
As far as the “before” shot of the room…it is below and was taken from the listing when the home was for sale. I loved the blue accent wall but it wasn’t going to work with the rest of the house. Our room is dark and cozy for TV and reading before bed. There is plenty of light through the windows during the day but the charcoal adds to the glam effect during the evening! You can check out some of the other remodel posts and pictures here for the dining room, kitchen, living room and guest bathroom!
#undefined
I love doing makeup sessions. I really love taking photos for people. I have not ranted and vented much lately. I guess because I’ve been happy. Well, happy, busy and educating myself on world events. (OMG…do you realize everything going in in the universe right now?!?) Ugh, stressful!
I don’t want to quit my website, photography, makeup work or anything else I do that is fun…but I am spending a lot of time learning and studying in other areas. I find it amazing that there are very successful people in my world, that make a lot more money than I do and are seemingly more refined and accomplished, yet do not know or care anything about world affairs, government issues, do not have any idea who George Soros is and why they should care,what Brexit is and why it happened, what’s up with Putin or how the mainstream media candy coats reality at best, hides reality at worst and why we should care. I find that a majority of people are just zombies who do not want to be bothered with reality because it’s scary and inconvenient. If you don’t believe me, just ask someone who they are voting for and why…and most can’t articulate a real and meaningful answer with any depth or true knowledge of the facts they spew. Zombies I tell you!
Because of this, I am thinking of adding a news tab to the blog so that I can share things that I feel are interesting and important. If you don’t care, then don’t click on the news link! There are just so many interesting things going on that I’d like to share.
Back to the blog at hand…it’s titled #undefined. There’s a lot of reasons for this. This post stemmed from a long overdue photo shoot that TJ wanted. She also wanted a fun and glammy makeup lesson. I decided to do both, and combine the results for a mini blog. The dress is one she purchased from Johnny Was Houston, which is also the company that I currently work for…so we were hitting a lot of issues here. We are not really trying here to fit her into a defined fashion category or look here. Personality flavors any fashion and sometimes takes it around the corner and down the street from where the original concept was born. So with this session, we just let her own person shine through. Never mind that she had on a boho dress. You should wear a dress, it shouldn’t wear you.
I’d had kind of a weird and crappy week last week. Basically, a person tried to define me based on appearance alone. I realized that she wasn’t really judging my appearance, she was judging my appearance – and therefore my entire person, based on hers as being the guideline. This doesn’t work like that. My life is different than most women my age. I’m fun, burden free, artistic, love nail polish and hair products but the most important things about me are not visible. I am smart. I don’t need to appear smart. It’s not a concern of mine. I am deep, caring, I have integrity, am multifaceted and these things are not definable by appearance alone. I can carry on a semi intelligent conversation with anyone from anywhere in the world. That’s not any less true because I may do it in a fabulous shoe.
That being said, if I were seeking employment at the front desk of a brain surgeon’s office, I would surely take more of a simple approach in how I present myself to the universe. Friends and I have this conversation all the time. All. The. Time. Everyone wants to make more money, yet they dress and present themselves on the daily as if they make $19,000 per year and then want to wonder why better opportunities do not come. So I understand bending and blending with the masses, I just don’t have to.
I got that from my mom. My friend’s mom’s would be rude and ask, “Why is your mom always dressed up?” or “Why is she always fixed up?”… as if there was something wrong with it. They were trying to define her based on their own appearance and lack of daily effort. She didn’t work, she was fancy because she knew my dad liked it and she enjoyed fashion, the end.
Which brings us back to TJ…the woman in the photos. She is not a boho girl in the typical sense. She works out, and drinks healthy smoothies. She is independent. Single. Trying to grow a career and build her life. She’s not exactly black or white. She is an extremely nice person who tries to help people to a fault, always putting herself last. I’ve never met anyone who even almost resembles her. She is a bit of a cat lady though…there are three. Of course you would never know any of that if you never took the time to know her. Whoever she is going to end up becoming is not defined as of yet. Unspecified boundaries. Undefined possibilities.
-SDS
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….
Blanca and Johnny
SIX SHOTS: MARCH 2016
1. BEAUTY ROOM
Click the photo above to check out my new Beauty Room! I had a chandelier put in the room, and I absolutely love this room now! Actually, we all do. It’s a cozy gathering place which was not what I’d intended. I’m still working on organizing some drawers and still getting rid of things, but it’s a great place to run my empire! (By empire, I actually mean my life.)
2. PAULIE’S
I rarely take a proper lunch break when I’m at work. On this one rare day, I stopped in for a cappacino and cookie break at Paulie’s in Houston. It was the most amazing coffee in Houston. Ever. Just saying. The adult food looks amazing as well, however the last four times I’ve been in, I’ve only been buying cookies as gifts or for events at work.
3. EASTER EGGS
I was so thrilled to find a bird’s nest in my back yard. The thrill was ruined just two days later, when my dogs had to chase off a cat that was in the middle of stealing one of the eggs from the nest. Nature can be so cruel. I carefully picked up the damaged egg, patched it and attempted to incubate it for a week before I was sure it was ruined and lifeless. I had incubated tons of eggs in the past, but nothing so small and fragile as Dove eggs. Doves are known as sloppy nest makers and honestly it was in a terrible location. Obviously the top of a fence is where any smart cat would sit to torture the dogs below. But the beauty and joy I felt when I first discovered the nest leaves me hopeful that other birds in the area will be more successful in the future here. I would love to be able to photograph brand new life!
4. BIRD HOME AVENUE
Every thing isn’t about makeup and fashion to me…I love gardening and anything to do with nature as well. It’s a bit old lady I suppose, but I adore bird houses and pick up a few every year to tuck here and there throughout the yard in hopes that it draws more birds my way! Nothing is better than hearing chirps in the morning!
5. GALVESTON DAY TRIP
While Galveston Beach is not exactly The Bahamas, it’s still a beach. It’s nice to go sit and hear the waves crash in, feel the wind blow and of course…take the dogs. I do this at least once a year. It was great because it wasn’t too hot yet. At one point, I suddenly look down, and see that Jazzy has scribbled her name in the sand! Amazing girl! Blanca and Bella were not crazy about having other people on the beach, as you can see in their resting bitch face shot. They were also not thrilled with the concept of sand in their toes, so mainly they sat in the lawn chair and observed the passers by.
6. EASTER
Easter
This article is about the Christian and cultural festival. For other uses, seeEaster,[nb 1] also called Pascha[nb 2] or Resurrection Sunday,[nb 3] is a festival and holiday celebrating theresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.[5][6] It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
The week before Easter is called Holy Week, and it contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper,[7][8] as well as Good Friday, commemorating thecrucifixion and death of Jesus.[9] In western Christianity, Eastertide, the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. In Orthodoxy, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the fortieth day, the Feast of the Ascension.
Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorianor Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the sun; rather, its date is determined on a lunisolar calendarsimilar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March,[10] but calculations vary in East and West.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for “Easter” and “Passover” are identical or very similar.[11] Easter customs vary across theChristian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,[12] and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb.[13][14][15] The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection,[16][17]traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide.[18] Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.[19][20][21] There are also various traditional Easter foodsthat vary regionally.
-SDS
You May Have Missed….
BEAUTY ROOM / OFFICE / WORLD HEADQUARTERS
I am finally finished with my beauty room/office/world headquarters as I jokingly call it. This room used to be a spare bedroom as shown here….. however, no one ever came to stay. Like, ever. Not only that, I desperately needed to move my computer desk to a quieter, less accessible area in my house. It used to be here…..
My husband talks a lot. When he isn’t talking, he’s making noise. Or turning on the tv. Or breathing. It disturbs my inner peace. Basically we decided that since he had his own home office, I needed one as well.
Unfortunately, everyone loves this cozy room now so I always have company!
The room is my place to do makeup, write, pay bills, organize my life, keep my camera equipment, hoard my makeup collection and it’s still a work in progress but it’s a really good start. I still do occasional freelance makeup so I felt I needed a place for people to come. This is why there are two iron bar stools on each side of the makeup dresser/counter. Yes, these chairs were also locked away in storage for years. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to finally get that storage emptied out!
I went chandelier crazy this month because it all started with the chandelier in my beauty room. It was a requirement. Then it seemed crazy to not also install some in the dining area and kitchen. I’ll share those revamps later. I’ve been super busy because this home revamp thing started in November and as of last night, the last chandelier was installed! I’m done!
I just wanted to share my own little escape pod with you because it has all of my favorite things in it! The furlicious office chair by PBTeen is something I’d wanted for 6 months before finally allowing myself to have it. The other furry white pillows and throws came from Z Gallerie. The dresser is something that’s been in storage for 5 years. The antique make up vanity I had purchased about 2 years ago. Everything else I had already owned. The oil paintings were some that my mom had purchased 40 years ago, telling me that “These are your inheritance.” Gee thanks, I’d thought at the time. However now it’s great to have things she picked out surround me in my private space.
Actually, all of the crystal and white vases were also things she had once bought. It was a struggle before to incorporate these things of hers into my decor, but with this room, I was determined to make it work.
We sold the previous bedroom furniture for $800. Then I gave myself a budget of $1200 for the chandelier and other items such as the rug and chair. For $1200, this is my beauty room makeover!
-SDS
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….
