decorating madness.

we are slowly getting more settled into our house. matt's painted a few key rooms, replaced lights, put up curtains and bought a rug (that i love) for the living room, and some other random things. it still feel like there's a ton to be done. decorating a house is harder than i thought. it's a lot of pressure. it feels so much more permanent. i'm trying to find fun and unique ways to decorate too. my big debate right now is what to put over the fireplace on/over the mantle. a picture or two? i kinda really love this photo i found on etsy, but i'm not sure if it's big enough.


or since i love it, i thought about doing something with london.
i thought about doing a vinyl wall art. you can find some cute ones on etsy too. maybe something like this off to the side.


and the other thing...what do you put on each side of a fireplace. a chair? a bookcase? i am at a loss. let me know if you have any insight...ideas...words of wisdom...

on a sidenote...matt and i are tied, along with dad, in the prater family march madness tourney. i was in the lead for games and games, and after a few tough losses, we are all tied up. hopefully, i can makes some good picks and get the W this weekend.

shamrock shakin'

this is the chicago river. it is dyed green every year for st. patty's day. ha. i love the midwest.

a few facts you may not have known about st. patrick's day:
-it is a feast day that celebrates st. patrick, one of the patron saints of ireland.
-is a holy day of obligation for roman catholics in ireland.
-st. patrick's blue, not green, was the color long-associated with st. patrick.
-some protestants have begun wearing orange on st. patrick's day as a mark of defiance. woah there.
-st. patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity to the pre-christian irish.
-it was only in the mid-1990s that the irish government began a campaign to use st. patrick's day to showcase ireland and its culture.
-since the 1990s, irish taoisigh (head of ireland's government) have sometimes attended special functions either on st. patrick's day or a day or two earlier, in the white house, where they present a shamrock to the president of the united states.
-st. patrick's day parades in ireland date from the early 18th century.
-in 1780, general george washington allowed his troops a holiday on march 17 “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence."
-traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green on st. patrick's day are pinched.

i will pinch myself cause i forgot to wear green.
ow.

mythbuster

i just read in the april issue of martha stewart living that biting into a lemon could cure hiccups. "the tartness is said to interrupt the nerve impulses that cause diaphragm spasms." i was give the opportunity, by God, late last night to test this theory. and i must report that it did not work for me. but, instead, ice cream cured my hiccups. i think i prefer that method anyways.

ld

heidi girl sent me this website by laurel denise. (heidi works with laurel's best friend) she is a jewelery designer and does a few other things. i am now obsessed with her jewelery and her blog. i love her style, how she calls her husband 'cute husband', her finds and ideas. check it out. i am already trying to decide what i want matt to buy me :)

arts and...

i really want to do this for my new office. i already have two magnetic boards i can use, which are about the same size as those in the photo. but, i'm not sure where i can find "decorative paper" that is 1.large enough and 2. cute. any ideas??

p.s. i was trying to change my blog background and messed up the html, so i think it will forever be white now.