Headboard Was Not To Be

I returned the headboard.  Thank you for voting in the poll, the results were very close.  And though my heart said "keep it," my head said "return it," and that's what won out.  I was worried about getting it up the stairs and having to drag it to my next place, which my practical friends reminded me of.  If only this headboard wasn't so massive.  If only.

Anyhoo, my next fanciful idea is to make this Polish chandelier featured in Oh Happy Day.  Lots of cutting of tissue paper, and probably lots of patience required.  Patience is not my strong suit with crafts (example here).  We'll see how it goes.  Hopefully my Pajaki chandelier will somewhat resemble these!

Christmas Day 2011

So how were the holidays? Old news, I know.

Rain the dog says hello. This is my attempt at being William Wegman. Weimaraners always look horribly depressed in photos.

Cheer up, Rain, it's Christmas. Look at all those gifts!

Even though our Christmas gift exchange involves much trading of Internet links beforehand which lessens the surprise, it's still so much fun. Here's some of the highlights, so you can feel like you are an honorary member of the Chapin family.

Danny gets both an old-school Bullets sweatshirt and t-shirt, making him a "double hoopster." Rare indeed.

Have you ever seen a man happier to be getting socks as a gift? Unlikely. My dad is the sweetest.

He got my mom a new dustbuster, as requested, but he picked out the wrong one, despite much coaching and many Post It notes. My mom was incredulous. "I knew it was the wrong one when I bought it, but I wanted you to have something to open," Dad said.

"I just wanted to see your look of disappointment as you passively aggressively crumple the wrapping paper," Danny said.

I got her a William Wegman calendar, per usual, so maybe that eased the pain.

Here's my new Christmas sweater and Fuji Instax MINI camera that prints out photos instantly. More about the camera later. It is so much fun.

My brother unwraps some coffee that my parents "liberated" from the Ritz Carlton on their Hawaii vacation earlier in the month.

My mom loves to get us practical, survivalist presents for Christmas. I received a pocket knife and a flashlight that stays plugged into the wall at all times for surprise natural disasters. It's quite a clever idea, actually.

Danny opened his flashlight first, and for awhile, I thought mom only cared about his survival.

We are prepared for all Mother Nature can throw at us now.

Guess what else my parents got me. A re-up for my People Magazine subscription. AWWWW! They know me so well.

That about wraps up Christmas 2011. But Rain, look! You got something too!

Huh? (said in a Scooby Doo voice)

Tunes Tuesday, "Little Lie," Lindi Ortega

Let's go a little country this week for the first Tunes Tuesday of 2012. According to NPR, Lindi Ortega is "Canada's answer to Dolly Parton."  That's not a question that I expected Canada to answer.

December Hiking at Strickler Knob

Before Christmas, Joe organized a little hiking expedition to the Shenandoah, near Luray Caverns.

We hiked a nine-mile roundtrip trail to Strickler Knob, which boasted some pretty amazing views.  I didn't capture any here, because I was too scared to get to close to the edge.  I don't like heights at all.

It was a beautiful trail, with a couple river crossings.  I did OK, except that I have a knack for managing to trip when the ground is perfectly level.  It must be exciting to walk behind me on the trail, as I'm turning my ankle and recovering every 10 minutes.

The last mile was all uphill, just an absolute slog.  I really thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  I started feeling faint and then I tried to breathe and I could only take short little breaths.  That's the closest I've ever been to a panic attack.  I can see why people check themselves into the ER for panic attacks. I eventually made it back to the car, after much struggle.  We said we earned our hamburger dinners at Burger Brothers after that.

Joe surveys the scene.

Here's the rock scramble at the end of the trail.

Alex M., Channing and Alex C. climbed up on that perch.  They are crazy!  I was so worried they would fall.

Look at pro-rock climber Alex M. jumping between those rocks.  Don't try this at home, kids.

New Headboard: To Be or Not To Be?

Ever since I moved into my new place, I've had my eye on this Scroll Headboard from West Elm. I've never had a headboard before. In my last bedroom, I put the bed in front of two bookshelves and books occasionally fell on my head. 

But no more, if I had the Scroll Headboard. It looks suitably imposing/princess-y, which apparently is a look I'm going for.

While Christmas shopping at Tysons, I saw that the headboard happened to be on sale for 25% off, which is the best deal I'd ever seen in my year of careful monitoring. So when I was supposed to be shopping for others, I dropped $300 on myself. Plus they had it in stock, so I wouldn't have to pay to get it delivered. Even more savings. They said it would fit in a minivan, no problem.

I made my dad drive me in the minivan to Tysons during the thick of Christmas shopping, which is a kamikaze mission.  Of course I bought this thing during one of the most painful times to go to the mall. 

And unfortunately for both of us, it turned out the headboard wouldn't fit in the minivan. The stock guy wouldn't even try. It is gigantic.  Much more so than I accounted for in my initial impulsive shopping.  Which made me wonder, will it even fit up the stairs in my apartment?

My boxframe for the full bed fit up the stairs, but it was a struggle.  If the box frame fit up the stairs, then a 5.5 ft x 4.5 ft headboard will be able to as well?  My fear is that I will manage to drag it home and then it will get stuck on the stairs.

So my options are as follows. I can:

a.) Convince my dad to take the seats out of the minivan, which will involve much grumbling and be painful for all involved.

b.) Pay $120 to get it shipped, but that is almost half of the price of the whole thing.  But it would be less of a hassle.

c.) Rent a UHaul, which would be a huge hassle.

d.) Return the dang thing and wash your hands of all of it.  Maybe it wasn't meant to be.  And plus I will be dragging it around forever.

Right now it is sitting in a stockroom, awaiting my next move.  I'd like to outsource this decision.  I really want it, but is it worth all the hassle?  What do you think I should do?

Tunes Tuesday, "Piledriver Waltz," Alex Turner

Some people might grow out of angsty teen movies, but I'm not in that camp.  If you're like me and love a good "quirky sensitive outsider teen against the world" flick, put Submarine on your Netflix queue.  An easy description of Submarine is the British Rushmore, but that's unfair.  It's artfully done, with some beautiful scenes that will stick with you.  And the main character is deeply likable, even when he's doing unlikeable things, like conducting "routine searches" of his parents' bedroom, or contemplating killing his girlfriend's dog to prepare her for the possible death of a parent.  He means well, even in the most disastrously misguided of his decisions.  

And I knew I had to love the film when I realized the soundtrack is by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.  He could forget the whole rock thing and just write these sorts of ballads, and that would make me happy.  I love the way he turns a phrase - "If you're going to try and walk on water, make sure you wear your comfortable shoes."