Life Lately

Hey there, I didn't mean to disappear on you like that. Life around here has been a bit chaotic to say the least.

With the adventures in broken plumbing, more broken plumbing, craft showing (which was awesome, btw), cramming the normal five weeks of Christmas shopping, making, and activities into three weeks (we celebrate early with Dan's side of the family), plus, you know, life with kids, things are out of control in this house.

I feel like I'm falling off the back of the tread mill. I'm sure some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I am considering taking the rest of the year off and coming back in January fresh and ready to start 2014. I may drop by if I'm feeling cool, calm and collected, but let's be real, that's probably not going to happen.

If you are still looking for DIY gifts to make, there are plenty of ideas around here.

Check these round ups from last year:
7 Last-minute DIY Christmas gifts
6 Quick gifts to make for kids

or my project archives:
Wall Art  |  Crafts  |  Sewing  |  Kids

Want to be notified when I return? Subscribe via e-mail, RSS, or bloglovin'.

Have a great holiday! See you in 2014!

Quick note to Google Reader subscribers

If you're a Google Reader subscriber, you're probably well aware that it's going away at the end of the month. I love Google Reader was in denial about switching to something else. I kept thinking maybe Google would change their mind and keep it around, but now that June is half over that looks like a no-go.

Over the weekend, I registered with Feedly. It was completely painless and took about thirty seconds to bring everything over from Google Reader. And luckily the interface looks very similar, so no learning curve or minutes wasted trying to figure it out. It even transferred all my "starred" posts. Awesome.

Another popular choice seems to be bloglovin', but that one didn't grab me the way Feedly did. FYI, bloglovin' also has an import feature to bring over all your subscriptions from Google Reader.

Or subscribe via e-mail
As always, you can have my posts delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. Posts only, no spam!

After you subscribe, an e-mail will be sent to you with a link to confirm your subscription. Please check your junk/spam folder! 

You must confirm your subscription or you won't receive my posts via e-mail! 
(All those unconfirmed subscriptions totally kill me, so don't leave me hanging!)

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Whatever you choose, remember to take me with you!

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Reader Survey: I need your feedback + FREE printables!

I need to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of? What bores you? What excites you?

I know modern life is inundated with surveys, but if you can spare a few minutes, I'd be so grateful.

How grateful?

In exchange for your honest opinions, I am giving away not one, not two, but three FREE printables! After you complete the survey, you'll be directed to a page where you can download any or all of them.

Be general. Be specific. I will take whatever advice you want to give me, and I thank you for it. And please, do not worry that you will offend me. I'm the one asking for your constructive criticism here. Your responses will be completely anonymous if you want them to be.

Thank you!

-----The survey is now closed.-----

My 500th post: 25 facts about me

Wanna hear something crazy? This is my 500th post! I actually didn't even notice it was coming up until I reached about 490.

I wanted to do something a little different to commemorate the big 5-0-0. I try to be personable here, but I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best at opening up and sharing my life's story. I thought this would be a good opportunity to let you know a bit more about who I am.

Pssst: If you're just here for the projects, you won't hurt my feelings if you skip this post. That is, as long as you come back tomorrow!

25 facts about me
because 500 would just be silly

1. I come from a DIY family. My parents have renovated two houses and built two more. My dad can pretty much build or fix anything. I get my "I can do that" attitude from them.


2. I have one brother. He's a music professor and a professional trumpet player! No matter where I am, whenever I hear a trumpet, it's like I'm hearing his voice.


3. I don't have any sisters or any girl first cousins on either side of my family. This didn't bother me growing up, but it kind of does now.


4. I grew up in a small town in Illinois (a village, actually) with a population of around 2700 (at the time -- it has since grown a bit). There were only 15 kids in my graduating eighth grade class.


5. My husband has no recollection of the first time we met (which was years before we started dating). He will be teased about this forever.

6. I love animals. I grew up with dogs, but now I have an 11-year-old cat. Someday, I hope to have a dog again, but we don't have the necessary time to devote right now.


7. I read more blogs than books, but the books I do read are almost exclusively non-fiction.


8. I went into university as an accounting major, but didn't take a single accounting class before I changed my major to psychology. Four psychology classes and I changed my major again to communication/journalism. I completed my painting minor as planned all along, and thanks to a bunch of college credits I earned in high school, I still graduated in 3.5 years. Still, part of me wishes I had gone to art school.


9. During college, I was an editor of a student-run independent bi-weekly newspaper for two years. This was where I met my now brother- and sister-in law (and through them, my husband). So if I actually had gone to another school to pursue a different degree, my life would be much different for sure.


10. My last job before child was at a corporate law firm where I assisted attorneys with their presentations for trial. Sometimes it was high-stress and other times it was super mundane; there really was no in-between. There were large parts of the job I definitely did not like. Looking back, I can't believe I stuck with it for 5.5 years.


11. My husband and I watch a lot of movies. Or maybe I should say, films. (My husband writes a film blog and has written DVD reviews for 10+ years.) So far in 2012, I've seen something like 55 films. My total for 2011 was right around 100 (a mere fraction of what my husband manages to watch). My favorite directors are Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I also have a soft spot for documentaries.

12. I have seen more than 115 concerts in 10 different states. My show going has certainly slowed down in the past few years post-Elise, but we still manage to get out to a few a year. My favorite concert experiences are Radiohead at a small club gig in 1997, a completely transcendant Tom Waits show in 2008, every time I've seen Sigur Rós and all the times I was up front for The Flaming Lips. All mind blowing! We saw The Polyphonic Spree last month, and they were amazing as always.


13. I worked at a record store for two summers and over breaks during my college years. I thought it was pretty cool at the time because I picked up super cheap used CDs, but in retrospect, it was kind of a junky record store.


14. Though young Erin swore that she would never lose touch with music when she had a kid, the inevitable happened and my priorities shifted (including putting my creative endeavors ahead of reading Pitchfork). Still, my husband does a stand-up job of keeping us in the loop musically. (Well, as much as thirty-something parents can be.)


15. I knew this house was our house the first time we saw it. (I guess it didn't hurt that we had seen a lot of bad houses during our search, so when we actually saw one that hadn't been seriously jacked up, it made an impact.)


16. I am such a homebody. Even more so since having my daughter. I could stay home for days and days, and it wouldn't bother me one bit.

17. But I have traveled some (to maybe about 18 states and to London, Paris and Mexico). Not a world traveler by any means. I get motion sickness pretty bad, so the actual "travel" part of traveling is often kind of miserable for me. Puking on a plane = not so fun.


18. I have a hard time making small talk. I struggle with finding the right words. If I've ever left you feeling weird after an awkward conversation, I apologize!


19. I am a pack rat. I try to keep it under control, but there's no denying it. It's less about nostalgia for me and more about saving things that have potential to be turned into something else. Good thing we have a basement!

20. I collect fortune cookie fortunes. From this photo, you would think we eat Chinese all the time, but we don't. This is years and years worth of fortunes from anyone who would give them to me after the meal. Someday, I'm going to make something cool with them.


21. I love treasure hunting! Whether that means rummaging through the clearance racks or literally digging in the dirt in my backyard. I don't know where this attribute comes from, but my brother has it too.


22. Things I love: Diet Dr. Pepper, Donut Drive-In, The Daily Show, alliteration.


23. Things I don't care for: sports, air "fresheners," seafood, crowds, slow walkers.


24. I enjoy baking much more than cooking, but I can't say I have a passion for either.


25. If it weren't so completely unhealthy, I would eat ice cream for every meal for the rest of my life.

Gimme a break

I'm taking a vacation from posting (blogcation?) for the next two weeks. I'll be posting lightly during the break, and will be back to posting regularly June 4.

I plan to relax a bit (say what?) and also work on a some projects, including a couple of larger ones.

Such as this:

And hopefully this:

Wish me luck!

Featured at Houzz + Curbly

A couple of my really old projects were featured recently. Check them out!

My paint chip mosaic wall art was featured on Houzz!

And my nuts and bolts drawer pulls were featured on Curbly.

My second blogiversary (hooray!) + Time management tips

Today is my two year blogging anniversary!

Thank YOU so much for coming back day after day
and reading what I have to say.

I don't get a lot of comments or questions on this blog, but one question I get consistently is, quote-unquote:

How do you do it ALL?

Short answer: I don't.

Of course, everything I show you on this blog is my own work unless I note that it was someone else's.

But there are a lot of things I DON'T do right now. I don't work outside the house. I don't volunteer. I don't take care of an infant. I don't cook elaborate meals. I don't keep a spotless home.

Still, like everyone, I have limited free time. Over the past few years, I've become much more efficient and have developed a loose system to make the most of it. And I thought I'd use this occasion to share some of my time-management tips.

1. I keep a giant list of everything I plan to do, big or small, today, in the next two weeks, the next year. Some priorities, some not. This clears my brain.


2. I have multiple projects going at one time. If you start a project and don't work on anything else until it's finished, you're wasting a lot of time. I work on Project B while the paint on Project A is drying. It's simple coordination.
   
   At any given time, I have four to six or more projects underway (and more in the early planning stages). I try to have some variety in my current load, keeping in mind what can be done indoors/outdoors, at night/during the day, while my daughter's playing/sleeping. If I have enough things going, there's always something available to work on. No matter when the free time appears, I can dive right in.
   
   If I get stuck on something, I think about it while working on something else.


3. I don't wait around for a sizable chunk of uninterrupted time to work on a project. I carve out 5-15 minute intervals where I can to give something a coat of paint or take a few photos.


4. I try to have all the supplies in the house before I start on a project. This doesn't always happen, but I try. There's nothing that halts a project faster than missing something or running out of paint.


5. I stay motivated. This blog is what keeps me motivated. As much as I love creating things, there are times when I don't feel like doing anything. Of course, everyone has those. But sometimes, I kick myself off the couch and go down in the basement to my work areas. Even if I'm stumped for ideas, I start cleaning things up, putting things away. Sometimes ideas come and sometimes they don't. If they do, awesome. If they don't, I have a cleaner space to work in next time.


6. I cut out the procrastination. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but really, there's no point to procrastination. This is going to sound really dorky, but last year my husband and I had a mantra: No Messin' Around. Of course, we would laugh every time we said it, but it actually worked! We stopped procrastinating in many areas of our lives. If something needed to get done, we took care of it. (We didn't wait two weeks and then take care of it.) We got motivated and accomplished so much. It worked so well that I decided to re-dedicate the mantra for this year. NMA 2012, baby!

Despite all these efforts, I have to add this blog pretty much wouldn't exist without the support of my husband. He routinely spends time with our daughter so that I can work, especially when I have a huge project to do (painting, refinishing, etc.). Yay for supportive husbands!

How do you make time for yourself and the things you want to accomplish? I feel like it's one of those things that requires ongoing fine-tuning and I'm always looking for extra minutes (who isn't?)!

How can I improve Lansdowne Life?

I'm interrupting your Saturday to ask for your opinions! I've put together a brief survey to gather your ideas about this little blog. I'll be using the results to help tailor my content and hopefully give you more of what you like and less of what you don't.

Any and all feedback is welcome, even constructive criticism. I can take it. So let's hear it!

It's should only take you a few minutes and it's completely anonymous (if you want it to be). Thanks!

>> Take the Reader Survey

Find a project visually: New pages added

Happy April Fool's Day!

No project today (no joke), but I just wanted to let you know I've added some pages with my projects organized visually. Now it's really easy to browse through categories like DIY Projects, Budget Wall Art, Kid Stuff and Party Ideas to find what you're looking for.

I might be adding a couple more categories in the near future, so hold tight.

Elise's playroom featured on Ohdeedoh!

Elise's playroom was featured on Ohdeedoh today! So exciting!

Totally makes up for the Elise + diet coke + laptop incident of yesterday. (Don't worry, the laptop survived.)

Happy blogiversary to me (and you)!

One year ago today, I started this blog and it has motivated me to accomplish more than I thought would be possible in a year's time. I have always loved making things, but have never worked at the same pace as I do now. Creativity is a funny thing; the more you create, the more ideas you get.

I sometimes wonder what the ultimate purpose of this blog is and the answer varies depending on the day. But what remains the same is that I love making things and showing them to other people, so that's what I'll keep on doing.

For most of January, I'll be running through all of my handmade Christmas gifts. And on January 1, I started my Photo A Day project where I'll be taking a photo everyday for the entire year of 2011. Look for a post on that soon.

There are so many projects I want to tackle in the coming year. I will be finishing the playroom soon, and in the spring, I plan on starting to clean up our mess of a front porch and our long-neglected backyard. There are also a thousand tiny ideas in my head for smaller-than-a-breadbox projects. I hope you will all keep reading as I figure it all out.

If you don't know already, you can subscribe to my blog via Google Reader (or another reader). Or you can get posts delivered via e-mail.

p.s. You can now find my blog at lansdownelife.com! Don't worry, any old bookmarks will still work.

p.p.s. Lansdowne Life is also on Facebook now!

No new posts this week

Just a quick note, I won't have any posts this week. I have a number of non-bloggy things (including a non-napping toddler) that have been taking up all of my normal project time.

I promised myself that I couldn't start working on creating our playroom until I sell a bunch of stuff on eBay. (I need that kind of motivation. Selling things on eBay is annoying.)

I've got a number of projects on the brain, so I'll be back next week with new posts!

My 100th(ish) post! Check out my new site design

Five months ago, I started this blog to motivate myself to get projects done. It was a spark of an idea and then two days later, I was posting. I wasn't sure if I would stick with it or if anyone besides my family and friends would read it, so I didn't bother to do a "real" design.

On the occasion of my 100th post (well, the 100th post with content), I thought it would be appropriate to actually put some effort into it. So if you read in Google Reader or another RSS reader, click through and drop by to see the new design!

I will also be changing my posting frequency and will have to take it down to three or four times a week. I'm sorry for anyone who looks forward to my daily postings (all two of you!), but I'm looking to restore some balance to my life as right now it's a little blog/project heavy!

VA-CA-TION

This week will be a bit light on posts because we're going on vacation! Well, it's just a little three day road trip, but since I haven't been anywhere in almost two years, I think it totally counts.

I have a couple of posts scheduled to run while I'm gone, but I'll be back to posting everyday next week.

Quick note: be back Monday

Hello! Just a quick note, my new laptop is here and it is wonderful. But I'm still getting things set up and files transferred. I will resume posting on Monday!

Break from posting - hopefully short!

04/12/2010 Update: new laptop is on its way. If all goes well, I will resume posting by the end of the week!

----

Our laptop has decided to call it quits, so I'll be taking a small break from posting. Hopefully we'll get this resolved soon and I'll have a batch of new projects to post!