What Ana Does

Something crazy just happened that I have to tell you about! The best shipping mistake.  I've been in love with this City Maps wallpaper from Rifle Paper Co since it came out a few years ago. I didn't have a spot in our old house for it, so I've just kept my eye on it.  It's pricey, at $65 per roll, so I knew I needed a small spot that just needed a punch of great design.  Well, I found a spot.  In our kitchen's dining area, we have this wall that's between the walk-in pantry and sliding doors, that lead out to the patio and pool. Originally, I put the home computer and "command center" there, but it was getting in the way of the natural traffic flow out the door, so I moved it to the other side. That left this wall available for pool items -- towels, a bin of shoes, sunscreen, hats, etc. Making it way more functional for our needs.  The small wall hook decor was purchased in Paris and worked there, but it's not going to be sufficient for the heav

Closets are are in and I'm IN LOVE!  I've been stalking the ELFA closet systems from The Container Store for years. And when we decided to convert the room attached to our bedroom to a closet, formerly used as an office, I knew I wanted to custom build an ELFA closet for us.  Here's what I was told: They're super-easy to build. And they are customizable even after installation; you're not stuck with a certain layout. So if I get a job at an office where I need to be dressed up, I can reconfigure my closet to include more hanging space. Or a pants hanger. Other closet systems were cheaper, but you were committed to that layout.  I got the room measurements during the inspection, went on the website and did all the work to create two walls of closets. And we did one for Alice's closet, since a) she didn't want her closet doors and b) her existing closet system was a disaster.  And, lucky us, we got 25% off all three closet systems ... during their annual sale

I am not against a red wall or even an accent wall. Far from it. And I'm sure the previous owners of this house were really excited about the red wall. So great for them.  But for me, not so much. The brassy red tone with the brown/tan walls just felt like a lot of visual noise to me. So, it had to go ... first!  When you have a very dark wall, it needs to be primed first. So after work last week, I put a layer of primer on it. And even that made me feel a lot less chaotic.    And primed ...  I'm so excited to start with our color. I really wanted a gray-green tone in this dining room -- I don't know why, it just felt like the right direction. With the white lower half continued around the whole room.   Here's the first coat on that wall. The colors are Behr's Village Green and the white is Behr's Whisper White .   The color is absolutely amazing. I love it!  No matter how many rooms I paint I will never ever get over the impact a new color on the wall has in

During Amazon Prime Day last month I splurged and got the house a little robot vacuum . Something I never thought I'd ever buy but it was around 40% off ... and you know how much I love a deal.  Originally, I intended it to be in the basement, so it could tidy up down there without intervention. But after a few days, I brought it to our main floor and have been using it there, ever since.  And I love it.  I have it on a timer, so at 9:30 each morning, it vacuums all the hardwood floors on the main level; that includes the kitchen, dining room and living room. It senses stairs, so won't drop into my family room or pantry. It just roams and sweeps.  Best of all, it is keeping up with Bruce's shedding. It's summer and he's shedding like crazy. I love that each day, we pick up a little more of it. I'll still have to do some power vacuuming elsewhere, but I see less and less hair/dust balls in corners of room. And that is a good thing.  Not to mention the crumbs in t