{progress report}

ready to see some photos again? :) i made a wee bit of progress in the living/dining room since i blogged last - the mirror is up over the sofa and looks just as good as i'd hoped and the shelf is up -- the other one will join it tomorrow as my power drill batteries ran out on thursday and i had to charge them and today i couldn't drill the walls to hang the second shelf because it's a holiday and the custom here is that on a holiday you are not allowed to make unnecessary noise. not even vacuuming! but i was sneaky and quickly ran the vacuum before my family visited.

a before photo to remind you...

and now, here it is today a few weeks later...

so here is the mirror over the sofa. the art on the shelf will not stay there as i just threw it up to make the single shelf look less dumb! i had the idea of adding the mirror over the sofa because i imagined that it would reflect the pine trees outside and look like another window and it does -- totally. so now i have a new window! he he! i also installed it a little higher so it wouldn't reflect the television on the opposite wall which is why the shelves are directly below it to fill that space. i have a method to my decorating madness friends! but seriously, mirrors are the oldest design trick in the book but as you can see adding a mirror seriously helped. here is a view of the living/dining room from a different perspective. i stood near my windows to photograph this. i plan to buy a vintage kilim rug for under the table, add two chairs to the other side (to match the other two chairs) and the bench will go back into the hallway... over the table i will hang a round metal 'ball' pendant with tiny holes in it (it's from india) and i will paint the chairs and upholster the seats. over the table i will put one shelf very high up and below it a collection of plates on the wall or something along those lines... on top of the cabinet i want to add one or two ornate birdcages - bird free of course - but wooden ones that i can perhaps make a few faux birds to live inside out of fabric... i have so many ideas my head is exploding. i love my little apartment so so so much. i went to farmers' market on thursday and came home with tons of dahlias for girls night and took some photos of them, all of the photos are on decor8 today but they are soooo pretty (the flowers) that i have to post them again here. flowers make me happy... my family... and delicious marzipan cake. oh and of course my faux window/mirror. see all the green pines? {{{happy}}} and as you can see, my family is here visiting me and my husband -- this photo was taken today. the weather is beautiful again and extra sunny... and we had a nice afternoon and evening together. see how the mirror reflects those lovely pine trees outside? i love pine trees, they do not shed in the fall/winter like the other trees (i say shed, i know, not the correct word but it's something i've said since i was little) so with pine trees you get privacy and a lovely shade of green year round. i feel so lucky to have them there. ...here is a pouf that oma left behind when she passed away last year. i took it because i imagined using it in my apartment but with a new fabric slipcover so stay tuned as i plan to make one on Sunday this weekend. :) so! i just washed all of the china and now i'm in bed writing to you, it's nearly midnight and i have an antiques market to hit in the morning so i need to sign off for now. i will write more again in the next few days. THANK YOU ALL for tuning in, it's giving me a lot of joy to meet you here and share my home with you. xo, Holly