Manic Monday, (or) Diane Designs the Divine Drapes

 I took my final vacation day of 2012 today, just in time to get our long-awaited new drapes.  You know how these things go - take a picture of the "before" look, realize those windows should probably be washed, run around doing that (inside & out), bake some Christmas cookies while you're at it, blah blah blah.  I was never so glad to see the guys show up to intall the drapes so I could finally sit around and watch.  Here we go - this is the living room in the front of the house - before:

 Here is the after shot.  Notice the artwork has been moved around, too.

 Here is the TV room, pre-drapes (sorry, the light was bad):

And after.  Diane helped me move the furniture around so it all looks right:

Here is the kitchen window, "nekkid" as they say in TX:

And here is the nice roman shade, perfect!

Breakfast nook, before:

Here are the valances:

Here's a detail shot, check out the origami effect.  Whoever sewed these paid a lot of attention to matching the fabric patterns between the panels.

Finally, here is the master bedroom, before & after:

Our thanks & Merry Christmas to our friend & fabulous designer, Diane.  I'm sure she will take referrals, we're pretty good customers.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Wanted: New Editor for the local 5pm news

 Please.

Meanwhile, we put up some Christmas lights last weekend.

Not much news

We're still waiting for our new drapes, they should be ready before Christmas. Guess what we're getting for Christmas? Drapes! Meanwhile, your blogmistress took a short trip to the Big Apple in October to visit nephew Scott. We did some sightseeing, eating & catching up. My hotel was just off 5th Avenue. Here's a nice shot of St. Patrick's Cathedral, they don't make them like this anymore:
I also did a little window shopping at Cartier, but I found this necklace too gaudy for everyday wear:

Ever watch Say Yes To The Dress? That show about shopping for wedding gowns? Here I am at Kleinfeld, striking a pose!

Here is handsome Scott with the NYC skyline as a backdrop. We're on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The weather in Texas has finally cooled off, thank God for THAT. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Rain!

It rained here this weekend! If you look at the picture below, those vertical streaks are raindrops. We got 3" of cooling, fabulous rain. WOW what a sensation. The headline of the paper today was about the rain. THAT's what big news it was. Also in the pic below, above the fence, see that brown tree? It's not turning colors for fall - it's dead. There are dead trees everywhere.
Thanks for all your good thoughts. Our drought isn't over, but this was sure a welcome relief.

Fifth Ward Jam

Well, kids, I have a case of twitchy foot so I might as well do a late-night blog post. Last weekend, I checked out this cool bungalow that has been transformed by two local artists and named "Fifth Ward Jam." The fifth ward is a somewhat gritty neighborhood, but it just got a lot cooler with this addition.They have built in a little stage on the front for jam sessions, get it?
Side view:

Another side view. That door leads to the kitchen, which you can barely walk into.

Gotta give credit to the creators of this little marvel, here it is:

Houston followers: It's on Lyons street. You can find it.

Time for "window treatments"

Who thought of that term & doesn't it sound pretentious? Nevertheless, after one year in our new home, we're ready for window treatments. We are both accountants, what do we know about this stuff? Luckily, our fabulous designer, Diane, came up with some great choices. This is the fabric for the kitchen window, it will become a shade. Looks better than the fence, doesn't it?

Over by the breakfast table, there are 3 windows. They'll have this fabric and trim. It's going to be some sort of valance/shade that doesn't pull down - just for looks: The fabric on the left, below, will be drapes under our decorative half-circle window. This is all one big room, so everything has to play together nicely.
We were talking to Diane about waiting so long to get window treatments. Well, they're pricey! Some things just have to wait. We're mature enough to wait. What's the last thing you waited to get?

Garden critters

It's the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. I couldn't stand to watch all the TV coverage when it happened. I just tried to carry on as normally as I could. I have been catching up this weekend.
Meanwhile, critters in the yard don't care what day it is. Here's a lizard on the fence:

Bumblebee on the pentas:
That blur in the middle of this photo is a hummingbird, see it?
We're flying the flag this weekend - put yours out!