Anyway, I see that overstock is completely sold out now. Sears has the pattern in a comforter set, but I've been unable to find the duvet cover anywhere. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mystery Fabric
Several readers asked about the fabric in the previous post. It is actually the reverse side of a duvet cover from overstock.com. When I found it, they only had twin size, so I ordered two and Wendy sewed them together to fit my king-size down comforter. My bed is a queen, but I use a king comforter for full coverage.
Anyway, I see that overstock is completely sold out now. Sears has the pattern in a comforter set, but I've been unable to find the duvet cover anywhere. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Anyway, I see that overstock is completely sold out now. Sears has the pattern in a comforter set, but I've been unable to find the duvet cover anywhere. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hard at Work
My sisters are busy mothering me. Love it!
I will have bedroom makeover stuff to show you soon!
Monday, August 9, 2010
House Stalker
Okay, one last post from our vacation, but this isn't about us. Just some gorgeous houses.
In St. Joseph, Michigan I spotted this charmer just about a block from the Lake Michigan. Isn't it adorable? Craig didn't really want to stop the van to let me take a good picture, so these are just drive-bys.
It even has charming shingles!
In a different little town, also close to the lake, was this one. There was too much foliage to get a good shot, but I think you can tell from the wrap-around porch that it's fabulous.
And on the same road, even closer to the lake, was this.
Back in February I posted photos of this house from the real estate listing. It was listed for $2,350,000. I guess it sold. There is public beach access just one house down from this one, and we have been there several times, so I've seen this before, but I didn't realize that when I posted about it.
Here's down on the beach looking back up to the cabana and deck I highlighted.
Last time we were here, the public had pretty much free access to the whole beach. There may have been "private" signs posted; I don't remember. This time the public beach was roped off on both sides to keep you out of the private areas, leaving the public only about 50 yards of beach. Kind of sad, really.
In other news, my sisters are going to be here this week. Last year they helped me with my dropcloth drapes and dropcloth upholstery. I'm working on a "possible projects" list for this visit, but mostly we're just going to have fun.
In St. Joseph, Michigan I spotted this charmer just about a block from the Lake Michigan. Isn't it adorable? Craig didn't really want to stop the van to let me take a good picture, so these are just drive-bys.
It even has charming shingles!
In a different little town, also close to the lake, was this one. There was too much foliage to get a good shot, but I think you can tell from the wrap-around porch that it's fabulous.
And on the same road, even closer to the lake, was this.
Back in February I posted photos of this house from the real estate listing. It was listed for $2,350,000. I guess it sold. There is public beach access just one house down from this one, and we have been there several times, so I've seen this before, but I didn't realize that when I posted about it.
Here's down on the beach looking back up to the cabana and deck I highlighted.
Last time we were here, the public had pretty much free access to the whole beach. There may have been "private" signs posted; I don't remember. This time the public beach was roped off on both sides to keep you out of the private areas, leaving the public only about 50 yards of beach. Kind of sad, really.
In other news, my sisters are going to be here this week. Last year they helped me with my dropcloth drapes and dropcloth upholstery. I'm working on a "possible projects" list for this visit, but mostly we're just going to have fun.
Friday, August 6, 2010
How to Get Great Hotels on the Cheap
For the last several years, I've been using Priceline any time we need a hotel. I use the Name Your Own Price feature, and have always been pleased with the results.
The thing about Name Your Own Price is that you cannot choose the specific hotel. You can choose the area and the hotel star rating, but within that category there are usually several hotels, any one of which might accept your bid. You have to enter your credit card when you enter the bid; if the price is accepted, your card is charged right away and there are no refunds.
Needless to say, you need to be pretty certain you'll be happy with any of the available hotels in the area you are bidding on. I've developed some strategies that have served me well, and I thought you might find them helpful too.
1. On the first page, fill in the city and hit "search". I put in Chicago.
2. On the second page, click on the orange "name your own price" tab. Now you will be able to narrow down the area further, and look at a detail map of each area to make sure you are where you want to be. I chose North Michigan Ave.
3. Now click on the "list view" tab. This will show you the participating hotels in that area. You can further refine it by star rating. Once you have looked at all the listed hotels with your desired star rating, and are satisfied that you would be happy staying at any of them, you can go back to Name Your Own Price.
4. Fill in your dates, the area you desire, and the star rating. You will get at least that rating, possibly higher. Put the price you want to pay per night, then all the rest of your info, including your credit card number. Priceline will come back and tell you if your price was accepted or not.
If it's accepted, it will give you the hotel info. If it was not accepted, you can try again, but you have to change something...add another area, change the star rating, or raise the price by a certain amount, etc. That's more or less how I do it. My main thing is to know what hotels are in the area before I place a bid. Once your reservation is accepted, then you can call the hotel and request a non-smoking room and bed preference.
For this trip, I bid $90 for a downtown hotel. I was beyond thrilled when my price was accepted by The Drake!! It's a historic hotel built in 1920, and many famous people and dignitaries have stayed there. If you go to the website, the least expensive room is $199/nt. It had a comfortable room and a lot of character.
For the beach portion of our trip, we got a Holiday Inn Express for $75/nt, which is about $20 less per night than the listed rate. It was a nice moderate hotel and a hot breakfast bar was included.
In Schaumburg, we got the Marriott for $55/nt. The listed price on the website is $199. This was a very nice hotel, with a well-appointed room and seriously one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in!
As William Shatner says, don't be a namby-pamby. Name your own price and start low. Just do a little research first!
The thing about Name Your Own Price is that you cannot choose the specific hotel. You can choose the area and the hotel star rating, but within that category there are usually several hotels, any one of which might accept your bid. You have to enter your credit card when you enter the bid; if the price is accepted, your card is charged right away and there are no refunds.
Needless to say, you need to be pretty certain you'll be happy with any of the available hotels in the area you are bidding on. I've developed some strategies that have served me well, and I thought you might find them helpful too.
1. On the first page, fill in the city and hit "search". I put in Chicago.
2. On the second page, click on the orange "name your own price" tab. Now you will be able to narrow down the area further, and look at a detail map of each area to make sure you are where you want to be. I chose North Michigan Ave.
3. Now click on the "list view" tab. This will show you the participating hotels in that area. You can further refine it by star rating. Once you have looked at all the listed hotels with your desired star rating, and are satisfied that you would be happy staying at any of them, you can go back to Name Your Own Price.
4. Fill in your dates, the area you desire, and the star rating. You will get at least that rating, possibly higher. Put the price you want to pay per night, then all the rest of your info, including your credit card number. Priceline will come back and tell you if your price was accepted or not.
If it's accepted, it will give you the hotel info. If it was not accepted, you can try again, but you have to change something...add another area, change the star rating, or raise the price by a certain amount, etc. That's more or less how I do it. My main thing is to know what hotels are in the area before I place a bid. Once your reservation is accepted, then you can call the hotel and request a non-smoking room and bed preference.
For this trip, I bid $90 for a downtown hotel. I was beyond thrilled when my price was accepted by The Drake!! It's a historic hotel built in 1920, and many famous people and dignitaries have stayed there. If you go to the website, the least expensive room is $199/nt. It had a comfortable room and a lot of character.
For the beach portion of our trip, we got a Holiday Inn Express for $75/nt, which is about $20 less per night than the listed rate. It was a nice moderate hotel and a hot breakfast bar was included.
In Schaumburg, we got the Marriott for $55/nt. The listed price on the website is $199. This was a very nice hotel, with a well-appointed room and seriously one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in!
As William Shatner says, don't be a namby-pamby. Name your own price and start low. Just do a little research first!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
IKEA 2010
I told you IKEA was a big part of the vacation for me, right? So much so that once was not enough. On our way into the Chicago area the first night, we stopped at the Bolingbrook location, looked around a little, and ate supper. They were running a special deal and kids ate free!
The last night (Sunday) we had a hotel in Schaumburg specifically so we could do our main IKEA trip at the bigger location. We ate supper there again (kids still free); everybody but me had the Swedish meatballs. Dinner for 5 for $10!! Monday morning was the actual buying trip. But first, we ate breakfast. At IKEA! They had scrambled eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, and cottage fries for 99 cents, plus free coffee!
Appetites satiated, we got down to business. Unfortunately, I had limited funds this trip. I shopped online at home and printed out my shopping list to bring with me. Naturally, I deviated from that here and there, but I did pretty well staying within the budget.
My main purchases were for my bedroom makeover. I got a pair of filmy white curtains for $9.99 (Wilma). They are 98" long, so I can hang them pretty much at the ceiling. I think I will make a rod pocket instead of using the tabs.
I also got a white 79" curtain rod for $19.99 (Lummig). It's really quite nice and hefty, about an inch in diameter.
I intended to get two of these cotton velvet 26" (European-size) pillow covers for the bed at $15 each (Sanela). However, the gray wasn't the right gray, and the white was more off-white.
Instead, I got two of the Ofelia Blad pillows, true white, also velvet, but with a down/feather insert, for $14.99 each. I'll have to keep looking elsewhere for my Euro shams.
I got a few other little things, like drinking glasses and candles, but had to leave without the Ektorp sectional that I really want. Maybe next time.
I'll leave you with this 2 second video of a baby that was at at the store. He had shoes with squeakers and you could hear him coming...it was so cute! You might have to watch it twice to catch the squeaky sneakers.
The last night (Sunday) we had a hotel in Schaumburg specifically so we could do our main IKEA trip at the bigger location. We ate supper there again (kids still free); everybody but me had the Swedish meatballs. Dinner for 5 for $10!! Monday morning was the actual buying trip. But first, we ate breakfast. At IKEA! They had scrambled eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, and cottage fries for 99 cents, plus free coffee!
Appetites satiated, we got down to business. Unfortunately, I had limited funds this trip. I shopped online at home and printed out my shopping list to bring with me. Naturally, I deviated from that here and there, but I did pretty well staying within the budget.
My main purchases were for my bedroom makeover. I got a pair of filmy white curtains for $9.99 (Wilma). They are 98" long, so I can hang them pretty much at the ceiling. I think I will make a rod pocket instead of using the tabs.
I intended to get two of these cotton velvet 26" (European-size) pillow covers for the bed at $15 each (Sanela). However, the gray wasn't the right gray, and the white was more off-white.
I got a few other little things, like drinking glasses and candles, but had to leave without the Ektorp sectional that I really want. Maybe next time.
I'll leave you with this 2 second video of a baby that was at at the store. He had shoes with squeakers and you could hear him coming...it was so cute! You might have to watch it twice to catch the squeaky sneakers.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
We're Back!
I hardly know where to begin! We had a wonderful vacation; the weather cooperated, the kids were happy, the hotels were good, and IKEA lived up to the anticipation. What more could you ask for?
The first night we stayed downtown Chicago on the Magnificent Mile and experienced city life. It's always exciting and awe-inspiring when we get there, but it doesn't take too long to realize that it's a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't really want to live that way. The sheer volume of traffic and humanity would get old quick.
That night we went to Navy Pier and rode the 150 foot-high Ferris wheel and the Wave Swinger and watched the fireworks.
The next morning we headed for Michigan and the beach. We got in four days of good beach time with near perfect weather. The kids did a lot of this:
And this:
And this:
And I did a lot of this (reading):
A fun time was had by all! I have more to show you so stay tuned!
The winner of the Sewing Calendar, as chosen by Random Number Generator, is #25, Jocelyn of Happy Cottage Quilter. Congratulations!
The first night we stayed downtown Chicago on the Magnificent Mile and experienced city life. It's always exciting and awe-inspiring when we get there, but it doesn't take too long to realize that it's a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't really want to live that way. The sheer volume of traffic and humanity would get old quick.
That night we went to Navy Pier and rode the 150 foot-high Ferris wheel and the Wave Swinger and watched the fireworks.
On the Ferris wheel.
Chicago skyline at sunset from the top of the Ferris wheel.
The Wave Swinger.
The next morning we headed for Michigan and the beach. We got in four days of good beach time with near perfect weather. The kids did a lot of this:
And this:
And this:
And I did a lot of this (reading):
A fun time was had by all! I have more to show you so stay tuned!
The winner of the Sewing Calendar, as chosen by Random Number Generator, is #25, Jocelyn of Happy Cottage Quilter. Congratulations!
Monday, August 2, 2010
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