Recently I have been redecorating our very snug family room and dining room (if you can even call it that). When we moved into our place almost five years ago, we just used my existing furniture in the space since we didn’t really have the funds to buy all new stuff. My over sized sofa, chair, and ottoman didn’t look horrible, but it wasn’t exactly the ideal situation for the space. We also used the middle armoire unit of my entertainment center. The armoire which hold the tv and other audio equipment looks fine alone, but it did have two beautiful curved bookcases on either side. The room can barely hold the armoire let alone those two bookcases!
So now I’m trying to work on the windows in the room. The drapes seen in the picture above just aren’t working anymore. Little one year old LOVES to hide behind them, and pull on them…HARD!!! I’m worried that one day the whole thing will come crashing down. So what I’d like to do is to leave the bamboo roller shades on the three windows over the sofa, add the same shades to the windows with the existing drapes and get rid of the drapes completely. Then over the three windows above the sofa I’d like a long upholstered cornice to be placed over the tops of the roller shades, so that it will draw your eye up and make the room seem larger. I’d use the stripe fabric from the slipcovers on the dining chairs. Here’s the fabric on the chairs:
And here is the cornice I would like over the three windows above the sofa and also the window where the drapes are currently next to the armoire:
The dilemma is that the length of the windows above the sofa is soo long…120 1/4 inches to be exact! I’ve priced out cornices online at different sites and it’s going to appoximately $700 just for that one cornice. YIKES! Not what I wanted to spend at all. So I was thinking…why not do it myself?! I just don’t know how to do the fabric on a cornice that long. So today I think I’m going to try and figure the whole thing out and actually buy the materials to make the thing tomorrow. Wish me luck!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the other half and I went to see Yaz and the Psychedelic Furs at the OC Fair last Thursday. Since Reed and I are not exactly spring chickens anymore, we tend to feel quite old at most of the concerts we go to these days. However, it’s always great to attend an 80′s genre show because we feel like some of the youngest ones in there, which is a nice change!
I’ve seen the Psychedelic Furs play probably about 8 times or so. And sadly everytime I see them, the singer gets worse and worse. His poor voice is just not what it use to be. He can barely hit most of the notes and his voice overall is so much more raspy than it use to be. I know his voice just has that quality, but I’m sure years of smoking may have helped contribute to it’s demise.
But then there’s Yaz…. WOW! WOW! WOW! Freaking amazing! I was really young when the band was in it’s hayday (probably early elementary school), so I never attended concerts back then. I’m pretty sure however, that if I had gone to a show in the 80′s, that this show would have been exactly like then! The stage setup, the lights…it was oh so New Wave. Just brilliant! If you aren’t familiar with Yaz here is what Wikipedia says about them:
Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) are an English synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of top ten hits in the British charts in the early 1980s. It was formed in late 1981 by former Depeche Mode songwriter Vince Clarke (synthesizer) and English singer Alison Moyet (vocals), and was signed to Mute Records in the United Kingdom.
Yazoo’s debut single “Only You” backed with “Situation,” was released on March 15, 1982 and rose to number two in the UK charts. Yazoo released successful studio albums, Upstairs at Eric’s in 1982 and the more successful You and Me Both in 1983. Shortly after, Moyet and Clarke decided to break up. Moyet pursued a solo career while Clarke founded Erasure, another synth pop group. Yazoo reunited in 2008 with a tour in Europe and the United States and the release of a four-disc box set. Though short-lived, Yazoo continues to influence and inspire many of today’s bands, including LCD Soundsystem, Shiny Toy Guns and Blaqk Audio.
So immediately my husband and I felt like total idiots. All these years both of us thought the singer was a man. Nope, very wrong indeed…the singer was Alison Moyet. Even as she started singing the first song, we both kept looking at each other saying, “But seriously, it sounds like a guy.” But as the concert progressed Alison started sounding more feminine to our ears. She was wonderful throughout the entire show. Her voice is just perfect! They played all the hits and some lesser known ones. And of course we danced our butts off!!! Actually the whole audience did. Everyone was moving and having a good time! That’s what makes a show for me. I love seeing everyone getting into the music and just letting go. Worth the price of admission and the hourly babysitter rate for sure.
We had a blast, ate a disgusting amount of junk food, and paid for it dearly come Friday morning. We were completely exhausted and our indigestion lasted until late Friday evening. Good times!
Tried out a yummy new recipe last night from one of my Cooking Light cookbooks. I just went to Costco the other day and bought a bunch of salmon. I usually do my bbq recipe which I know my husband loves (I’ll give that recipe out next week), but I was aching to try something different.
Our neighbor John who is an organic gardener, gave us a few fresh cucumbers so I thought I would try to utilize those. Found this great recipe for Salmon with Cucumber Salad and Dill Sauce…so good!!! I didn’t have fresh dill on hand so I just cut down the amount of dill a bit and used dry instead. You cut down the amount of herbs in the recipe when you use dry because the flavor is more intense. I’m sure it would be a bit yummier with fresh, but I wasn’t about to pack up the baby to run to the store for one thing.
We had some fresh La Brea Bakery bread to go with it and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir (we prefer red even with fish). The dish was pretty light and could have used a carb…maybe a nice wild rice, but we gave ourselves two pretty big portions of fish. So it was filling for us. Oh and FAST…this recipe was a breeze to make and oh so quick! Definitely a do-again.
6 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
Preparation
4 servings
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 347(49% from fat); FAT 18.7g (sat 3.7g,mono 6.6g,poly 6.7g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 102mg; CALCIUM 68mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.2g; SODIUM 283mg; PROTEIN 35.4g; FIBER 0.9g
Yaz
Psychedelic Furs
Oh so excited! Tonight the hubby and I have a sitter for the little one and we are headed to the OC Fair in Costa Mesa to see Yaz and the Psychedelic Furs. WHOO HOO! Not only am I totally in need of a night out with the boy and a little break from the baby, but I am an 80′s music freak of sorts. I was a little young when both of these bands were in their hayday (elementary school), but as I got into junior high I was all about the New Wave stuff.
I find it funny that right now the music scene is so reminisant of the early to mid 80′s sound. My husband actually just sent me an email this morning about a band he ran across and thought I would like. I actually heard this group on Perez Hilton a while ago and until now had totally forgotten that I loved them and wanted to go download some music for my Ipod. In any case check them out at http://www.thisisalphabeat.com/ . Alphabeat is quirky, danceable and just so fun!
Surfing in Maui Feb. 2008
