The Squirrel Days Of Winter

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 / Ally Bean / 39 Comments

I stepped out onto our deck to enjoy the fresh air and clear skies. I wasn’t thinking about much of anything when I sensed that I wasn’t alone.

I looked up into the trees that form our backyard and guess who was up there waving hello? None other than your friend and mine, Fuzzy the Squirrel.

He looked to be in good shape. I’m figuring he’s around at least 5 years old, which is pretty old for a squirrel who lives in the wild, if you can call our backyard the wild.

I did notice that while he was twisting around to tidy up his fur, he was hanging tough on his tree branch, not even bothering to give me a second glance.

He seemed to be content to just sit up there, not barking or doing much of anything. I’ve never seen him so calm and Zen-like.

So I took a few photos of him, watched him as he dozed off to sleep– and couldn’t help but wonder how much longer my blog posts will be featuring Fuzzy the Squirrel. [Read more about him here.]

More Snow, More Gray, More Mellow

February 15, 2016February 15, 2016 / Ally Bean / 30 Comments

SATURDAY THE SKIES WERE bright blue and it was sunny outside, but very cold. We spent the whole day driving every which way around the region, doing errands.

Not being at home, basically.

Then Sunday arrived, even colder than Saturday. We decided to stay inside, doing pretty much nothing worth talking about.

~ • ~

LATE IN THE AFTERNOON it started to snow again, so I grabbed my camera and took some photos of winter scenes in the waning afternoon light.

As shown here, the midwestern winter colors are a natural earthy palette all their own. Very subdued, tending towards gray. Either you like them [I do], or you don’t.

To me, these shades of gray, which I only see for a few weeks during the year, are a reminder to relax and mellow out.

~ • ~

Heebie-Jeebies Alert: Creepy Birds Here

November 12, 2015November 19, 2015 / Ally Bean / 35 Comments

GLANCING OUT INTO THE BACKYARD the other morning I saw these birds walking on the grass, wandering along the edge of the forest behind my house.

TO ME THESE HUGE BIRDS looked like gang members, in black leather jackets, up to no good, on the hunt for something.

HAVING MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED BIRDS BEFORE [and having had approximately 3 gazillion + 27 people tell me I was wrong], I’m going to say that I don’t know what ~~gang these birds belong to~~ kind of birds they are.

INSTEAD I’LL CONTINUE TO REFER to them as Creepy Birds, because they give me the heebie-jeebies and the name, you gotta admit, seems right. *shudder*

Sitting Pretty On New Kitchen Chairs

October 13, 2015January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 29 Comments

~ ~ • ~ ~

Just like on HGTV, here’s a teaser for the BIG REVEAL.

~ ~ • ~ ~

I’M ALL ABOUT MISMATCHED CHAIRS. If things are too matchy-matchy, I get nervous. [What if I stain or break something? Then what? Things won’t match.]

I prefer the positive energy that eclectic style brings to a space. So after years of perfectly coordinating table and chairs in our kitchen, it was time for a change.

Here’s the story.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Is this box from Hannibal Lecter or Pottery Barn?

~ • ~

I BEGAN THIS PROJECT BY SEARCHING for chairs in brick & mortar stores and online. Eventually I decided which new chairs I wanted around our Ethan Allen kitchen table, which we’ve had since we moved here 15 years ago.

UPS plopped this very large box, filled with chair pieces + hardware, on our front stoop and I dragged it inside.

To make the table look better, Zen-Den painted the pedestal a warm neutral shade, SW6141 Softer Tan.

I figured that we’d use 2 dining chairs from Arhaus that we already had, knew to be comfortable, and were no longer being used in the dining room. To these we would add 2 new chairs from Pottery Barn, ordered online.

We received the Pottery Barn chair pieces in a very large box. Then one of us put them together in the foyer on Sunday morning while the other one of us photographed the event. For posterity, ‘ya know?

~ • ~

Looking lonely, a chair back leans against the wall, waiting to join together with other chair pieces to make a seat.

~ ~ • ~ ~

I’M GROOVING ON THESE NEW CHAIRS, brilliantly built by Zen-Den. After sitting on the wobbly, match-y Ethan Allen Windsor chairs that came with this table, these new sturdy chairs are wonderful.

They coordinate with, but don’t match, our former dining room chairs repurposed as kitchen chairs– all of which makes my frugal, design-y heart happy.

No higher praise than that, eh?

~ ~ • ~ ~

The BIG REVEAL shows my eclectic sense of style works for us.

~ ~ • ~ ~

[Hello FTC! I know it’s been so long since we spoke, but I wanted to make sure that you understood that there was no monetary &/or other compensation involved with these kitchen chairs. The foregoing is my opinion about things, shared here– just ‘cuz I can. We good?]