Life Lately...

Hi there! Remember me? I know. It has been so very long. I am terrible. Life lately has been, well, busy. Without going into everything - here is a taste of what's been happening.

I have been on a painting frenzy. Nothing exciting/worth sharing. I am just touching up everything in my place. Inside of pantry - check. Front of cabinets - check. Boring stuff, but man, it feels so fresh and clean again. I like. Lots.

Found some rusty numbers to put on the front of the shed while "junking" in Montrose. They haven't gone up yet - soon though.

PS. Other news about the shed...Dwell is interested in doing a story. Crazy, right?

Despite a snowstorm this last weekend, Matthew is in a springtime state of mind.

A little DIY. A bit confusing, but we got it done. And, I haven't worn my bracelet once. Oh well.

Anthropologie moved to a new location in Boston.
While in town visiting my sister last month, we stopped by.
Amazing. All of it.

Have you seen this blog? Matthew and I are obsessed.
So, I did my own version for him on the shed fridge.
Man, I love this chalkboard fridge.

One more week. Trying to soak it up.

Follow me on Instagram if want more - sonchia

To do...

THIS is on the to do list. I just have to find myself some polymer clay. Not an easy feat in Telluride.
I am on the hunt...

The Shed. The Story.

Hi folks. Well, finally.
Here is the shed story.
This story was written by MCB for Shelter Magazine, a local home magazine. They came and took photos months ago and it was on the stands around town starting in December. Now, they have finally posted the story online for everyone to enjoy...yay!

Again...

I have said this before, but this quote speaks to me. I love Telluride and I love winter in Telluride. I just can't deny that I love summer in Telluride even more...simply magical. So, this quote always reminds me that summer is just a state of mind.

Happy New Year!
All the best for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.

[from: design is mine, isn't it lovely?]

Ick...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Mine was full of friends and food (too much food!). It was lovely, relaxing, quiet. But, I have been sick - so sick - entering week two here.

So, posts may be infrequent until the new year.
Love to you all.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2012!

Christmas. The Tree.

This weekend we finally got our Christmas Tree. Every year, a group of us goes out to a beautiful ranch outside of Telluride to cut down our own trees. It is a very classic western type of thing: sleigh rides, cowboys, hot coco warming over a fire, and Santa - of course.

A couple of photos of our tree this year...

Since Ben (my roommate) was out of town last year for this event, he got to pick out and chop down the tree by himself.

Then this happened.

All was saved though. The biggest (and possibly my most favorite) tree in the condo to date.

Merry Christmas!

Shed Series: Random Bits/What Makes a House a Home

So as I mentioned in the last shed post, we are done touring the rooms of the shed. I wanted to end the shed series though with some other images...and have decided to name this post: Random Bits/What Makes a House a Home. Because any house is more than just the rooms inside, it is the people and the memories that make it "home."

MCB - the man, the myth, the shed owner. Do you notice all the red walls behind him? I cannot express how happy I am that they have disappeared. MCB was a busy worker-bee in this picture and throughout everything (mostly) kept that cute smile on his face.

The flooring. Oh boy. There was lots of flooring. Even Anabelle here is amazed by all of the flooring. Thank goodness for MCB's folks - both sets of parents were amazing throughout the entire shed renovation. Thank you Chris, Becky, VW, and Molly!

MCB painting doors on a lovely sunny day.

At one point there was no sink or stove in the shed. Thank goodness for instant coffee (even if it is Starbucks) and a Jet Boil. We would not have survived without these things.

Thankfully the fridge remained plugged in during the renovation. We had cold beers. We drank them. What remained in the fridge throughout the renovation? One sad Bud.

A much needed coffee upgrade arrived once the stove got installed. Yay!

Building furniture, painting, cleaning, and more can be exhausting. Here I am at the end of my rope one night. At least the couch was finished for me to curl up on.

Finally, pretty things have a home. MCB's favorite coffee cups are unpacked.

Our first breakfast in the shed. Things are coming together.

MCB - self portrait. The man has a home he can live in now. A shower and a new robe does a man good - he is happy - thumbs up to the shed.

Our first dinner in the shed. MCB cooked salmon caught in Alaska by his Uncle. It was, as you can imagine, delicious.

Anabelle enjoys the sunshine in her new home. The light in the shed is amazing.

Beside coffee, a few of these may have helped get us through the harder times.

A few of MCB's favorites: coffee, his favorite coffee cup, new counters, and the amazing sunshine in the shed. What a great way to start the day.

The IKEA shelves have proven their worth in many ways. The latest discovery? They do a great job of drying skins after an early season ski touring session.

The infamous grolla. Yum.

MCB partakes. And makes a wish (part of the custom).

The shed gets photographed for a magazine spread. Not sure if they make it available digitally. If so, I will be sure to share the story/layout with everyone here.

Cheers to a happy home!

Yep, the shed is pretty wonderful. Nothing like a cold beer on a cold night to celebrate a job well done. Come by soon to share a beer - promise there is more than a lonely Bud in the fridge now.

See you soon.

Shed Series: Bedroom

So, here we are - at the end of the shed series. The shed is small and there are only so many rooms to cover. And the bedroom, that is the last room to visit. First, get ready to get your mind blown by the awesomeness of the bedroom, cause it is pretty darn amazing. Sadly though, this is our last room...but keep checking back to this here blog for updates. A house is not a static thing and lots will change - and I will be sure to share all that happens around the shed.

With all this said - how about we take a look at the bedroom.

Before. Sigh. This image is - again - the only "before" image we have. As you can see there is one window. Since the bedroom (and entire downstairs for that matter) sits below the ground, this is a window well that only lets in a little light. To note: this image was taken at night, it is not this dark all of the time.

Here you can see the former owner's bed - propped up on cinder blocks to provide storage under the bed. The furniture placement is pretty awkward here. This room is small - like seriously small - so to stuff it with so much furniture made it feel even smaller.

A "during" shot. The carpet was ripped out and this is before the walls were painted. Again, before the epic IKEA adventure, some space planning took place.

Following the epic IKEA adventure, a l-o-t of furniture building took place. The biggest project of them all was the construction of the bed. I believe it took about 3 hours total to put this monster together.

And, here I am after the bed was finally finished. Yippee!

So, now that we have gutted the room, installed new floors, painted, and built all of the furniture...let's get a tour of the completed room. Come on in...

Here is the bed. And that is basically it. Honestly. This room is small - minute actually. So all that fits is the bed...which is fine since all you do in a bedroom is sleep anyway.

Everything in here is from IKEA. The headboard was a genius discovery by MCB. Since there is really not enough room for proper nightstands, this headboard has these adjustable shelves that sit off the ground. The photo above the bed is from MCB's friend (and talented photographer) Nick Wolcott. The lamps are ones I had in storage that I had in my apartment in Savannah. These lamps clamp to the headboard - freeing up much needed space on the shelves for other items.

Here is the only closet in the entire shed. The room is too small for a door, so I bought a curtain and a tension rod from Target as a solution to cover up the closet. This closet holds all of MCB's clothes and the large water heater.

So, here is the bed. It is so cozy and comfortable. But...there is a secret hiding in this bed.

And, voila! The mattress sits on special hinges that allow it to lift up and stay up. The room is too small for any type of storage that slides out from the sides or the ends or anything like that. So, this IKEA box spring is genius as it lifts up for easy access.

Here is MCB's side of the bed. He has a random collection of things on his nightstand shelves. Questions about anything? Ask in the comments section.

And, here is my side of the bed. I have my own little collection of things on my shelves too. And, below the shelves...a basket. This is what I am allotted. I have a basket for my clothes since there is very little storage. Occasionally I transfer clothes between my house and the shed, but really, it has been amazing to discover how very little I need and the various combinations of outfits I can create with only a few items.

So, this is the bedroom.

Hope you have enjoyed touring around the shed. Like I said, make sure to check in often as I will be sure to post shed updates, but also to share other projects happening around my house, friend's houses, Telluride, and more.

Thanks for visiting! Plan a trip to Telluride to visit in person soon or swing by the shed if you are in town for that cocktail I mentioned.

Shed Series: Bathroom

Time to enter the bathroom at the shed. I know, not terribly exciting, but hopefully a little bit inspiring. A lot of work was done in here. So, if you need to go, now you now.

Oh how I wish we had more "before" images to share. What you can see...a gross wood/laminate vanity, wood towel/tp bars, the linoleum tile floor, the shower door, and a hint of the door that opens to the washer/dryer closet. What you cannot see...the gross wood/laminate medicine cabinet, a weird wire rack shelf thing (I have no idea how to even describe it), and another horribly painted red wall (off frame on the right side of image). Sure it worked, but it was t-i-r-e-d.

So enter gutting the bathroom. Mostly. The shower stayed. So did the toilet. Everything else ended up in the dumpster - thankfully.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but every light fixture in the house got replaced. There were gross iron type sconces in the upstairs and downstairs were these weird caged things (can you sort of see it here?). MCB ended up getting some new fixtures at IKEA - for both upstairs and downstairs. They are pretty basic, affordable, efficient, and non-offensive. The best part, MCB learned (on his own) how to install every single light. It is nice when you feel like you can do things on your own instead of paying someone...you know?

So, here is the "after." The floors are updated and feel so nice. The vanity, sink, faucet, medicine cabinet, and wall storage thing are all new and simple. It feels so much bigger and brighter in the shed bathroom.

The walls and trim got painted. So did the door to the washer/dryer closet. All that is in here is a stacked washer/dryer - so nice to have this in the shed.

All new hooks and holders from IKEA as well. Above the toilet is the storage cube thing - which is nice additional room for extra towels and other supplies. In the frame are a bunch of Red Cross pins and such that MCB found and put together in a shadow box - he is crafty that one.

And, here is the sink. It is super tiny, but totally functional.

The sink is really deep. It came with hooks on the side to hang towels off of, a soap dish, and this tray thing. When we unpacked it all and put the tray on the sink I remember thinking - "I will never use this." Guess what, I use it all of the time. It holds a myriad of things...rings when I wash my hands, my hairbrush when I blow dry my hair, makeup, lotions, etc. Pretty smart thinking IKEA.

And, remember this? This bag is from Best Made Company (the one who makes all of the axes we saw on the stair post). This gets used as a hamper in the bathroom. And reminds us...yes, everything here really is wonderful.

The last room - the bedroom - is coming up next. And then the shed series will be done. Sad.