“Useful” Was The Word Of The Weekend

March 8, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 42 Comments

:: I USED TO write about the various home redecorating projects we had going on around the house. Chez Bean was almost a character in and of itself in this blog.

But over the years, as every ding dang one of those projects dragged on, I stopped writing about them because who wants to read the ramblings of a whiner talking about first world problems?

:: HOWEVER, I’M THINKING that because this particular project seems to be going well, I’ll tell you, my gentle readers and fellow interior design aficionados, that we’re painting the walls in one of the guest bedrooms.

This is the bedroom in which we have a couple of upholstered chairs & a small little desktop computer area & a TV & some books shelves. Years ago Zen-Den the Literal began to refer to this space as the Un-Bedroom, and the name stuck.

:: SO WHAT COLOR are we painting the Un-Bedroom ~~this time~~?

The walls are now in the process of becoming Sherwin-Williams 7050 Useful Gray, which is a color I chose after reading about it here on THE COLLECTED Interior.

It’s a neutral, calm, warm gray color that Zen-Den, the person actually painting the walls, has announced is the best. color. ever.

I like it because it’s a color that both He Who Paints The Walls and She Who Makes Important Decorating Decisions can agree on.

Making it, I believe, most useful. 😉

If We Were Having Coffee On This February Morning…

February 27, 2016August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 49 Comments

THE SETTING:

We’d be sitting in my kitchen at the table, staying warm, glancing outside at the bleak leafless trees that make you wonder if you’ll survive this time of year with your sanity intact.

We’d be drinking basic brewed coffee, with cream, and eating donuts because carbs are where it’s at when the world is this dull and gray.

We’d be listening to the local university rock radio station because on Saturdays they play hits from the 60s & 70s & 80s– and it’s fun, once in a while, to groove on tunes from the past.

THE CONVERSATION:

√ We’d be sharing… our latest reading obsessions, which in my case would be 3 different books that I seem to read depending on which room I’m in. My father did this and I realize I’m doing it now, too. So, when I’m in the tv room I’m reading The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin. In the living room I’m reading 1215, The Year of the Magna Carta by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham. And in our bedroom I’m halfway through The Key by James N. Frey. You’d assure me that this book-reading behavior isn’t as weird as it sounds.

√ We’d be discussing… how I find Cheryl Tiegs’s out-of-touch criticism of Ashley Graham’s size and look to be sad and spiteful. I’d mention that I never thought CT had much on the ball, so I suppose she hasn’t noticed that the ideal body image of models has evolved and diversified since her days as a model. I’d realize that I was being snarky, but conclude that sometimes it’s the only response to stupid.

√ We’d be laughing… about how this week, after months of effort, I got to Level 445 in Candy Crush Soda Saga, and how I believe I just might make it to the end of this game, which is Level 565. You’d roll your eyes at me because whatever, but I’d still be proud of this achievement considering I’ve never come this close to finishing one of these silly games before.

√ We’d be talking… about how when Zen-Den went to buy paint for one of our bedrooms, he made me the happiest girl on the block when he bought me a brand-new slick and wonderful Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Fan Deck that has in it, according to the SW sales clerk, 200 new shades of paint. My little amateur interior designer heart is racing with the possibilities.

THE CONCLUSION:

We’d have to part after an hour or so of chit-chat because we each had obligations in the afternoon to get ready for.

We’d hug and promise to get together sometime in the Spring, which for both of us is busy, then realize that maybe it’d be Summer before we do this again.

And we’d thank each other for listening to & laughing about our small victories and wacky ways. Like friends do everywhere. Often over a mug of coffee.

• • •

Idea for this post came from Diana at Part-Time Monster.

• • •

Doing Nothing. Taking Names.

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 / Ally Bean / 38 Comments

It’s difficult to keep a personal blog when there’s not much happening. ‘Ya know?

I can tell you things like I’m feeling well & walking more. Zen-Den is content with his life at the moment. We are happy, thinking about attempting to plan to go on vacation sometime, somewhere.

Projects around the house continue. Culling out what we don’t need anymore & giving it away. Painting one bedroom a new color. Waiting for the carpenter to be available to put crown molding in some rooms.

Weather is nicer, warmer, sunnier. Talked with landscaper about removing some overgrown shrubs, taking down a pathetic tree, adding some decorative grasses. Ordered more fancy stone for the path under the deck.

But you see, that’s all I have to share today on these hallowed blog pages. Not much happening at Chez Bean.

So I’ll leave it up to you, my gentle readers. Should you care to talk about the stuff in the photo above, OR have a question for me, OR want to tell me something about yourselves, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.

Heaven knows, I don’t have much to say today, so I’m hoping you do!

Breakfast In The Afternoon On The Way To Being Charitable

February 2, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 26 Comments

While I’ve no doubt my readers know what a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin looks like, I present this image for future Historians who 200 years hence will need a visual to understand this post. Historians, you may thank me in the footnotes of your doctoral theses.

I had my first afternoon Egg McMuffin last week.

It was late Thursday afternoon, and Z-D & I were on our way to Habitat for Humanity to drop off our old, but still usable, outdoor light fixtures that have been in my way in the garage for months.

[We replaced them last autumn with new black ones that use LED bulbs, with clear beveled glass– and the value of our home doubled. Really. The improvement is amazing.]

I was feeling peckish as we drove along, and in a moment of inspiration I directed Zen-Den to stop at the next McDonald’s so that I could feast on the one item I like at McDonald’s.

[Also I wanted a cup of black coffee. They have good coffee, which I needed to wash down my formerly unavailable after 10:30 a.m. sandwich delight.]

Hello again future Historians. This logo, which we saw all over the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, was easy to recognize as we followed the signs on the streets through a working part of town. Once at the store a friendly employee helped us unload our donations to the store.

So he did.

And I got an Egg McMuffin, which might have been the best one I’ve ever eaten. A bit of an exaggeration, but it was good.

Especially at the “wrong” time of day.

Eaten in rush hour traffic while someone else chauffeured me around the city on our way to doing good.

Talk about your win-win situation. 😉