Changing Seasons

Is spring here yet? Me and Max trekked over to Sears yesterday because I had seen they had a bunch of jeggings in the juniors department.

Ok, so hear me out on this one - I love wearing dresses and skirts. HOWEVER, I have discovered that unfortunately tights literally cut off my circulation on my left 2nd toe. (I almost went to a podiatrist for this issue until I figured out the cause.) The origin where it cuts off seems to be in my thigh somewhere, but that's beside the point.

The answer was simple - last year I had a pair of jeggings (hush!) that I wore with everything as if they were tights. I found more than the 2 pairs I bought yesterday, but these are the ones that fit. Therefore, I typically wear jeggings as tights with the right dresses/skirts.

 The yellow pair seen here was $10! Sears really surprised me -as a fashion designer, you would think that places like that wouldn't appeal at all to me but I find a bunch of super-cheap things there that no one else seems to want. This yellow is perfect.

And Max found this car-print t-shirt there. It's a French Connection for Sears top that was on sale for $5!!! Finally, a semi-oversized top on me that doesn't look like I'm wearing hand-me downs.

Retro clock behind me is one  we rescued! It had been sitting in the basement for God knows how long and we bought a new clock mechanism from Michael's. We're still working on grinding down the original hands that came on it because clock hands are not standardized but it's the best clock I've seen in a very long time. Super-excited it's functional!

Ok, so I was going to wait a bit for a reveal on my new glasses from local Wicker Park eye boutique Urban Eyecare but I've been wearing them for a week now and I love them. I'll talk more about them in a future blog post.

And last night me and Max moved around the entire living room. It was a task but was made much easier by these furniture coasters you can get. We borrowed a bunch from his mom since she has a business that does room updates.

I have lived in the same place for over 3 years now with little to no furniture moving, ever. I moved in and basically didn't really think about switching stuff. Recently, me and Max were getting little annoyed and lighting issues (despite having 3 lamps in the livingroom!) so we planned a solution.

Here are some BEFORE photos:

 Seriously, no amount of Photoshopping here was going to make this room look any better. It just looks haphazard to me.

 Original living room - excuse the cat toys strewn about!

Old dining room area wasn't terrible, but it was annoying to squeeze past the hutch and the table AND that buffet/chest thing.


Ok, big reveal time! This is AFTER: 

Perhaps inspired a bit by Max's parent's house, we moved the dining room to the front - the former living room. By the way, I re-upholstered those chairs there long ago! It was only $20 total!

We actually kept the reading area up front so you could still chill by the window, not that it's ever sunny in Chicago during the winter anyway! Cat toys are also in the corner. The lamp is the one there that Max actually fixed by entirely re-wiring it. It had been sitting out in our sunroom for years, broken. And I don't know what's wrong with all the lampshades in the house - seriously!

And the new living room! We were not able to line the couch up with the curtains like we wanted to due to needed access to get upstairs to the sewing room and guest room. It doesn't really bother me though.

  I also love that I can control how bright it is in here now, especially if I'm working on something like knitting. There has been a dimmer switch on the ceiling fan light here forever as far as I know.

This photo isn't much, but it's how we made this side of the room much less haphazard. We're not in love with the entertainment center being black instead of brown but this piece was left here. We might put it in the basement eventually. However, I love having the light in the front on the bar there to easily switch on without tripping over a bunch of stuff!

So, I'm off to paint the canvas for the latch hook rug I'll be working on! My canvas has arrived, but my yarn is still on the way.

Car print top - Sears
Yellow jeggings - Sears
Green fuzzy cardigan - T. J. Maxx
Boots - Diana Shoes in Wicker Park
Orange-ish glasses - Urban Eyecare by Traction Productions
Piano necklace - Rudy's Roundup
Belt -thrifted