Da da da dum! Pink Palace/man cave/office/sewing room/respite

The nook for the pullout couch

If I was a major corporation launching a new product, or a movie premier date, I'd be an utter failure. I "finished" my office make-over about a year ago. But it wasn't really finished, and now I realize it'll never be really finished. I tinker. I move stuff around. I get big ideas, and then look at the price, and spend months trying to figure out a cheaper way to do it. 

The "before" pictures of the garage and crawl space

I still haven't solved the problem of the hideous fluorescent lighting situation. I was going to have Roberto put in a skylight, but it was going to be like $600-700, which seemed dumb. There is a light I love at H.D. Buttercup, but it's $450, which seems cuckoo, because you know some guy pulled it out of a defunct machine shop in Poughkeepsie. There was another one that I saw at Anthropologie, but it was $900, and I thought I'd make it myself somehow, but then realized that those blown glass balls are a minimum of $20 a piece, and it looks like it has about 50 of them, so... Finally I saw this one on Design Sponge yesterday, and since I have a bunch of paper lanterns left over from our wedding, I could do it in a snap, and it would basically cost me nothing. We'll see. For now it's a little dark out here, but I like it. It's my pink mood lighting! 

 $900 Anthropologie light

$438 H.D. Buttercup light

So without further ado... This is where I sew, glue gun, hide out, nap, watch disaster movies, and write this blog. I'll start at the ugly beginning. The garage was where he piled all the stuff we didn't have room for in the house. It wasn't sealed, and had bugs, and the floor was always covered in leaves that had blown in. We paid Roberto to put concrete floors in the crawl space under the house, and make plywood walls to create a storage room under there. Now that's the sturdiest part of the house in case of earthquakes. 


With all the stuff out of the garage, we still had to seal up the garage door, and drywall (Thank you Nipper and BG), paint the floors, paint the walls  add some electrical outlets, and move the office furniture down from what is now Jack's room. Moving the pull-out couch is yet another story in our family's history that proves that our handyman is much, much, smarter than we are. 

 I'd love to move the water heater outside, and put a little water closet in this corner, but you know, I'll probably just end up making a macrame decoupaged chamber pot instead

I wanted to have Roberto make the floors that pretty polished concrete like we had in the loft, but he didn't fill me with confidence that he had any idea what I was talking about, just nodding, and saying sure, and something about paint, and I figured I'd just end up putting rugs down anyway, so I painted it white. It's sort of a disaster and shows every speck of dust and dirt. But I did cover it with rugs, 3 of them, because it's COLD! Except for when it's hot, and then it's like an oven. We put a window air conditioner in, because it's also our guest room (the couch folds out), and I am not a monster. 


I painted it two different shades of pink, and left the trim white. Brenda (Jack's nanny) had the brilliant idea of painting the couch nook a darker pink. She should seriously have her own design on a dime show, en espanol... 

So what else? I put the two pottery barn desks back to back to give myself a large workspace for measuring fabric, and letting Jack's fingerpaints dry, while I'm clickety clacking on the computer (exactly what we're doing on this rainy Sunday). 


I had this big wooden board with a frame that we got when our friend Kelly moved out of her apartment. It was in her garage, and she didn't know what it was for, and told me to take it. I didn't know what I'd use it for, but 3 years later, I decided to make it a magnetic board for hanging things in the office. I used that magnetic paint, and covered it with some fabric I got at the Rosebowl Flea Market years and years ago. 

The curtains that hide the washing machine, and the water heater are panels from The Silk Trading company. A few years ago the couple who own it went through a nasty divorce. I wandered in there looking for scraps, and there was a table in the back piled high with single panels for $10 a piece. Some of them still had tags on them. They had ranged from $180 to $350 a panel. I RULE! I bought 12 panels, and still have tons of silk and linen in my fabric closet. 

Also have a use for each and every Liberty of London for Target box that I got last year!

Oh yeah, my fabric closet! When we got Elfa system in our bedroom, we had to figure out what to do with the big Ikea Armoires we'd been using. I gave 3 of them away, and saved the biggest one for the office. Now I have (almost) all my fabric in one place, where I can see it. I also have all my *craft* ( I hate that word) supplies organized behind closed doors. 


For the first time in my life, I don't have a box, or a bag, or a pile of papers, and random detritus piled up in a corner taunting me. I cleaned out my drawers, filed away the good stuff, threw away the bad stuff. I parted ways with tiny scraps of paper that I had moved from Michigan to San Francisco, to Hollywood, to West Hollywood, to Downtown, and finally to here. Like 10,000 pounds of it. 

These are pictures of cute French children's mannequins, I shot in Paris years ago.

I love it out here, and I wish a pink palace garage conversion for all my peeps. I don't know how I lived without it. I'm a very lucky girl. 

These are a few of my favorite things

I've had a headache for two days straight which is probably related to the massive amount of sludge that is coming out of my nose. I'm pretending it's not happening. I do not have a cold. To help pretend I'm not sick I thought I'd share a few things that are making me happy this week. 

First things first. The weather. While the rest of the country suffers through winter, we are enjoying 78 and sunny. And not just any kind of sunny. That crystal blue dreamy sunny that makes you happy to be alive kind of sunny. Sunday morning Jack and I got up early and drove to the beach, where we played in a monster, went for a stroll, watched helicopters zoom up and down the coast, tried to figure out how to build a sand castle with no buckets (thus the giant nipply breast made of sand in the foreground) and had an all around great valentines morning.

Next up: Cherry Pop! Sadie and I found this new color nail polish by Essie at Larchmont Beauty. It's just a tiny hint of blush on your nails. I'm kind of over my usual finger polish color which is "Sugar Daddy". As much as I like asking for it by name, I've decided it's boring, and makes me look like a mom. Ssshhh. 

How unbelievably cute is this little tray?! It's from IKEA, and it was $6. I know! I hate going to places like Ikea and Target with Nipper because he makes me feel so rushed, and is always asking stupid questions like "What do we need that for?". Ugh! I went to both places with him yesterday and it was like torture. 

I did manage to squeeze one more cute thing out of that visit. I found this perfect strawberry milkshake colored tumbler that I'm going to use for my morning latte. I think she and Francis are in love... Oh, and it was $2. 

Doesn't this look like Wes Anderson designed it?

I'm signed up for all these online sample sale websites. Hautelook, and DailyCandy, and TheMiniSocial. But my favorite one because it has an iphone app is Gilt Groupe. It's also my favorite because sometimes they have $18,000 Valentino gowns, and $7000 pearl necklaces that SELL OUT. It fills me with wonder that there are women out there who would buy something that expensive sight unseen from a "no returns" website. Who are these people? Why are they on this site? Do they brag to their friends the same way I do about my $2 ikea cup? "Oh yeah, well I saved $12,000 on a this season Alexander McQueen". Or do they hide it and pretend like they bought it at the showroom. Do they ever think or talk about money? The world may never know. Long story short, I bought this pretty tin of MarieBelle iced aztec hot chocolate for $12. It's usually $20. Maybe I'll lie to myself and pretend I paid full price for it. What a bargain. When I'm done with the cocoa, I'll use the tin to hold something pretty in my new office. 

I know it's kind of cheating, but I bought these for myself on February 13th at Trader Joe's. They smell SO good, and it feels like spring around here. The place was mobbed and I was trying to do our grocery shopping. Nipper and I don't really do anything for Valentines day. I don't think either one of us thinks of it as a real holiday. So this guy was behind me in line with some flowers that I wanted to tell him were NOT the ones his wife was hoping for, said he wished his wife would get her own flowers on Valentines day. I thought "after she sees those, she's going to wish the same." For the record, Nipper Knapp knows what kind of flowers I like, and has NEVER brought me a mixed bouquet with babies breath or other forbidden fillers. 

yes those ARE naked Barbie feet sticking out of my sewing box. 

This is making me VERY happy. At our sewing class a few weeks ago, Betty suggested these scissors. I had an old pair of sewing scissors, but I had used them to cut everything from paper to, wait for it, my lilac bush. So I figured it was time to invest in a pair that would be dedicated to only fabric. They are made by Gingher and they are dreamy, and have already made sewing so much easier! Before when I would cut the fabric out for a pattern it would be all jagged and messy. Now it's like I know what I'm doing. I also got this handy thread holder. Which brings me to the last thing that is making me happy this week. It's a combo dealie.

Some of my favorite fabrics finally all in one place where I can see them all

Candy jars from our wedding filled with all my buttons

The beginning stages of my first project in the pink man cave! Check out the vintage Heather Ross "Pool Party" fabric I unearthed when I got all my fabric together in one place! Treasure! In tiny letters in some of the pools it says "SHARK!". 

The pink man cave/my office is almost finished. I'm not posting pics yet, because I'm waiting for the rug to come from overstock.com (did you know they ship ANYTHING FOR $2.95?), the skylight to go in, my box of papers to be put away, oh and for Roberto to remove the second story WINDOW, and pull the 300lb sleeper sofa, (that we promised we'd sell with the house) through it, lower it down from the roof and bring it in here. No big deal. But it's done enough for me work on things, and I'm LOVING it. Finally, I have a place to put everything. All of my fabric is in one place. All of my thread, and yarn, and beads, and buttons, and embroidery floss, and patterns, and glue sticks. I kind of feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

ok, one teeny tiny sneaky peaky.... This is one part of the very unfinished room. Don't worry, that water heater is getting hidden behind something very very pretty...

Also the front loading washer that I always wanted before we owned a house is in here. I find it soothing to start a load of laundry before I start sewing, just to watch it wash, and listen to it suds. I call it the sin eater. What's that sound? Oh it's fine, you just heard my bra burning, war protesting, supreme court ruling mother, vomit, and then shake me like a baby. Love you!

Jack's new bed with curtains that I sewed with my own two hands, on the window behind

I MADE THOSE!!!!!!

I was actually able to make the curtains for Jack's new room (our old office) in ONE day. This is progress. As you know, it usually takes me 3-6 months to do anything. Oh, and Nipper put Jack's bed, that's been in a box in the garage for two months together. He's been sleeping in it for two nights just like a big boy. I thought the transition from crib to bed was going to be this big momentous thing. He just crawled right in and crashed. Even waited until his monkey alarm "Boo" woke up at 7, to shout for us. I'm not sure he understands that he can walk right out of his room yet. I'm sure that day is coming.

So there it is. My nose is still running, and I ran into the rain barrel pulling into the driveway this afternoon, and knocked the spigot off, sending a weeks worth of bath water gushing down the drive. Not my finest moment. Did I mention I need to make a 7 layer Minnie Mouse cake by Saturday? 

Merde Bucket and my pink man cave fiasco

The outside fabric I got at the Rosebowl flea market years ago

finally some place to put my caca clips!

The lining fabric is one of the napkins from Nipper's cousin's wedding last summer

Ok, so you guys know that I hate to brag. But I just made this! Just now tonight! Just sat down and did it! I used the instructions from The Stitchin Chicken. So simple to follow. I made it small with some scraps I had. I didn't make a pattern and didn't make handles because I was desperate to sew something. 


Things have gone off the rails with the pink man cave and I needed something to keep me from tearing every hair out of my head one by one. Last night, Nipper Knapp, our neighbor, and our handy man were on our roof in the dark trying to figure out how to lower a giant cabinet that had to be taken out via the window because the stairwell in our house is too narrow. The cabinet got down only slightly worse for wear, and my marriage is still intact so all in all a successful operation. But the other furniture was not so lucky. 

sure it looks dreamy in the CATALOG

When we got married, almost SIX years ago, we registered for the Bedford collection office furniture from Pottery Barn. We got the whole set, and were so excited to have big people grown up furniture. But it reminds me of this model I worked with once, who was hands down the worst human being I've ever encountered. SOOOOOO pretty, but a giant pain in the ass. One of the file cabinets arrived broken, so the drawers didn't work. Pottery Barn was very nice and sent out a brand new one right away, and even left the old broken one, which Nipper rigged up so that it sort of worked. The finish on the tops of the desks is impossible to clean and looked like hell almost immediately. But they were wedding gifts, and something we never could have afforded to buy ourselves, and I love them, because of that. 


Cut to last night after the roof fiasco, and Nipper text messages me from the garage that one of the drawers just completely fell apart. Sigh... So close, and yet... 


When I went out there to look not only were the cabinets all taken apart with tiny ball bearings all over the floor, but the floor was RUINED. I know I've been terrible and haven't posted any pictures of the room yet. But I had an idea of doing the big unveil, design sponge style. Of course at this rate, we'll all be getting fit for dentures by the time it's finished. I decided to paint the floor white because I'm a masochist. I thought, "I'll put rugs down" and "I won't let anyone wear shoes in there" and "how hard could it be to clean?" Uhm... Maybe I should have started with the first two thoughts DURING the moving in process. It's all chipped, and there are big shoe marks, and It's just all soiled and depressing. 


Tomorrow, I buy a rug, call Pottery Barn to see what they can do about the drawer, and maybe sew 100 tiny little boxes...