Office Move

I just said farewell to my desk at work. It's been a good desk.  I've enjoyed my neighbors Denis and Glenn. I've enjoyed the wonderful sunlight. The quiet location. The plentiful space. The easy walk up three flights in the morning. 

The office is getting a furniture upgrade - long overdue. We're all being shuffled around and will be moved up to the fifth floor over the holidays. I just checked in on my new spot. I'm wondering what it will be like on Monday when I come in. Nothing like a deadline. 

By the way - tons if free office furniture. Anyone need a filing cabinet?  Let me know and I can hook you up. 

Commute Change

Another change greeted me this morning on my commute in. A brand new bus!  This is a welcome change from some of the buses I take which have "slipping breaking". Basically the bus would be coming to a stop and then stutter forward. Very disconcerting. 

And this one seems to be "healthier". Not sure if it's a hybrid but it shuts off when at a stop and rides differently than a conventional vehicle.  Exciting times!

Christmas Craziness

This year I was in the mood to decorate the house a bit more than usual. Could be the Christmas board I've been pining to all year on Pinterest. I didn't get everything done but did add a few more things. In the living room I was trying to decorate the bookcase with the extra boughs from the tree. We grew up with the mantle decorated at Christmas. This is the time of year I wish I had a fireplace - for the mantle. 

And in the sunroom I hung boughs at each window. I started to do bows but the cats thought they were fun so am waiting until next year to include the bows. 

Speaking of cats, I just saw the extent of damage to my bag. I had some cookies zipped up in it friday night and I think Webster was ruthless trying to get to them. Crazy!  The handles are almost gone anyways but i was going to get a little more life out of the bag. 

Luckily I'm not too annoyed as I've been looking for a new bag anyways. Plus they are so cute.  I have been a bit more annoyed this year though around the festivities. I'm trying not to let it turn into a chore. But this year  it's gotten more annoying with everyone wanting the wish lists spelled out. On one list I had put a general description of something I wanted (along with several other choices) and linked an example from LL Bean. I get both emails and texts telling me it's sold out. Frankly I don't have the time this time of year to hunt down alternatives, especially since I'm not the one retired. I'm literally one step short of just buying the gift, wrapping it and handing it over to the person so they can turn around and give it to me. What's the point?  And then on top of that I get to look forward to the family festivities in VT where half the people don't want to be celebrating Christmas there. It's probably the fact that this will be the last Christmas in VT (the plan is to sell the place in the spring) that I've lost my patience with the usual holiday antics. Being a sentimental traditionalist that I am. And on top of that I had the best laid plans for gifts and thought I was ahead only to find myself scrambling in the eleventh hour. I ordered something online about three weeks ago and after enquiring about it find out the order was lost in the shuffle and some of the items are sold out and the others are coming after Christmas. Ugh. End of rant. 

Last night I was trying to get the last of my shopping done. Unfortunately a bunch of stores closed early on Sunday. While waiting in line at Macy's, I saw this 'sale'. Apparently they really want to off load the 10" but not the other sizes. So I'm not the only one feeling the craziness of Christmas. 

Shortest Commute

Just finishing up work at our Atlanta office. I walk down to the lobby and realize I have the shortest commute. I just run across the street and  I'm "home". 

You can see the Hyatt sign through the lobby doors. I'm in the tower portion which is kind of cool. 

You get off the elevator and instead of hallways there's little nooks with doors on all sides. The room is smaller but a cooler design. From my window you can see where I took the picture between the ground skylights. 

I was checking out the adjacent "mall" and got a little lost. But all good. 

Delta

This morning I was having déjà vu as I entered terminal A at the airport. And then I realized I've gone through the same set of doors on thursday (going to Ny), Friday (coming back from NY), Sunday (picking up nick from his trip to Rio via Atlanta) and now Monday morning as I fly down to Atlanta. 

While waiting for Nick's arrival the luggage started arriving. I went over to see if I could spot nicks luggage. Didn't see his but saw this piece of luggage that went through an extra TSA check. 

You gotta wonder what they did to warrant wrapping the bag up like this!  Another reason to skip checking bags.   

Christmas Tree

 The Sunday after thanksgiving I joined my friends to go cut down a Christmas tree. It's a bit of a tradition. I think this is the third time we've gone together and I was reminiscing that the first time we went to a tree farm that had gone to seed (you cut down your tree and then cut the top half off to get your tree but priceswere good   for the metro area) my god son, Cam, was just starting to walk and Maggie was still being carried. And now they're helping me pick out which tree to cut and carry it back to the car. 

Other years I've also cut trees down in VT. There's a place north of dads which charges $20, any size. That was the timeI got the biggest tree to date. It ended up having to sit in the middle of the room due to the breadth of the branches. I was thinking this year I might get two smaller trees and Maggie and I were scoping things out. Then I learned they were all priced $55 so went for one of the bigger/regular size trees.  It was a nice old couple running it on their land so that helped knowing it funded their retirement. 

This year, I trimmed the back so I could tuck the tree into a corner. Plus it was a little bald in the back and I wanted some boughs for decorating. I was wondering how this year would be with the "kittens". They were good Sunday and Monday and Tuesday. I did only put non-fragile ornaments up and the cats soon discovered the new water supply. It was Friday that I came home to this. 

When the tree fell it took a floor lamp down and busted the shade. Frustrating since I got the lamp at a designer store that was moving so it was super discounted. I wouldn't be surprised if the shade was $100. But otherwise no other damage. I mopped up the water and put the tree back up. And hoped for the best.  And then Tuesday, just as I was about to leave for work down it goes again!  And I had just put water in. I think it might be the stand since it didn't seem like the cats were doing anything outrageous. 

I kind of tied it to the window curtain rod but think I should run to the hardware store and get an anchor to put in the wall. Something for this weekend! 

Heywood Wakefield

I'm still planning on posting about the family thanksgiving and getting my Christmas tree. But realize it won't be until this weekend. 

In the meantime I just got an email from Retro Craft. They are two quasi-retired sisters that buy mid-century pieces from estate sales, Craig's list, etc and give the a little TLC and sometimes paint or reupholstering. 4 years ago, to celebrate my new job (the current one) I bought one of my favorite pieces - a mid-century bureau. I fell in love with the organizational function.  It had all these sliding shelves to lay out your sweaters so they are easier to access. 

I signed up for their newsletter and sometime find a piece I like but often it is too expensive. I feel like their prices went up as they got more established. 

Anyways, reading my email today I see they have a coffee table that is just like mine.  I stumbled upon a trove of blond mid-century pieces one summer at moms in Ohio. The antique store didn't even have them out on the main floor since that style didn't sell in Ohio. And this is the origin story of how I have so many tables. I loved the wishbone legs of a Heywood Wakefield table, the multi-ply of another and the compact form of the drop leaf. In the end I got all three tables, the 14 chairs that went with them and this coffee table. 

I've been coming to terms that although I still love the pieces they don't necessarily fit my current space needs (constraints) and design style. And that I should start thinking about what to let go of and not hold onto future scenarios (when I have a bigger place and a home for all the pieces). So this is promising to see, even taking into condition the wear and tear of my piece. Especially since I've since learned how to better negotiate what to pay. I think I got a reasonable deal but probably could have gotten a slightly better bargain after watching one of my favorite shows - Market Warriors on PBS.