Fun at the DMV and Crate and Barrel Outlet goodies

I went to the Naperville DMV on Wednesday to change my name on my license, so that I can move on with life and transfer my 401k funds from my old job. That was a half hour of government fun. I look like a boy in my picture because my hair was pulled back and I didn't have any girly stuff on. I liked my old picture better, but just getting that task out of the way is more than worth it. Changing your name is a total pain in the butt, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I still have stuff needing changing: credit cards, my auto insurance, etc. And my new last name is a mouthful, so it's always fun to get people to spell and pronounce it correctly.

As a consolation prize, I stopped by Crate and Barrel Outlet and picked up a few cute things:



Bird Bath Stand (I'm using it as a feeder.)



Woven Birdhouse



Silicon Grips (similar to this but better)



Bird Teapot



Marin Ramekin (I'm using it as a catch-all dish on my desk.)



Appetizer Platter

It made my trip through the roped DMV lines worth it.

Target storage ottoman vs. Crate and Barrel ottoman

I finally found a leather(ette) storage ottoman for Pete's music room. I had seen this one at Target for $79, but hesitated, thinking I'd find something cheaper.



Anyhow, I ended up getting this Crate & Barrel ottoman at the C & B Outlet for a steal. It was originally $149 and marked down to $59, listed as "worn" on the sale tag, but I can't find any wear. But, I don't think it's quite what Pete had in mind.

So when I saw the Target ottoman on sale for $59, I snatched one up.



And look, it's got storage for Pete's music books!



The C & B ottoman can go in our living room for extra seating, for which we are always lacking. And we live in a shoebox, so small and portable is good.



I would love to buy an actual nice, leather ottoman, but a) they're too much money for us to spend right now, and b) it would be mauled and nicked and stained from all our animals and visitors. A friend of mine once said he spends extra money on quality things, so that they last a long time and don't look crappy. But I have trouble spending money on nice furniture because it all gets so beat up in this house. If it's something I can literally lock away, like my china and vintage tea cup collection, then fine, I'll spend some extra cash. But I don't want to have a house of museum-quality furniture that I'm still paying for long after it's beat to death.

A patterned solution

We live in an old kit home which has been renovated, Frankenstein-style, for many years now. The original structure has been altered quite a bit, sometimes in a good way, and sometimes not. One of the not-so-good ways is a weird structure that was built onto one side of the house to create an entry way and an extra little room. The concept is great, but it was built very strangely. The floors slope, the walls are slanted, and the little extra room has an incredibly stupid and not square window (I'll have to show you pix some other time).

Anyhow, this little spare room also has a weird pass-through type window that leads to the kitchen. I'm not sure what the original function of this was, since it's too small to pass much more than a plate or bowl through, and it's in a weird spot (the rear part of the kitchen counter). The goofy window in the extra room is very, very drafty, so all that cold and wind comes through the little pass through and into the nice warm kitchen.



My solution was to get a cheap place mat (this one is from Crate & Barrel outlet) and duct tape it to the other side of the wall, in the extra room. We use the extra room for storage, so no one will ever see the duct tape, and the other side is nice and pretty and lets light in. And I can switch place mats whenever the current one gets dirty or I want to change things up. And the little nook that was created is a perfect place to store my iPod player.



I know, it's strange, but it's all about making things pretty, no matter how run down or weird your house is.