Friday, March 17, 2017

FMM - It's Curtains For Us

New curtains, that is!  Thanks to delaying our long run from Saturday to Sunday last weekend, we had the energy to install our new curtain rod and hang the blackout curtains in our bedroom.  Of course, it didn't go without some minor issues, such as my realizing that the curtains I bought at Ikea were 98 inches long, and I didn't have that much wall space to work with.  I briefly considered hemming them with my sewing machine, but chances of me getting both panels hemmed the exact same length were iffy, so I went to plan B, which was to look for another set of curtains.  Target had a lot to choose from in the 84 inch length, plus I had a 30% off coupon; the bonus is that we both like the color of the new curtains better, so it all worked out in the end:
Turns out, it's pretty hard to take a picture of closed blackout curtains without having to turn on every light in the room - they really do what the name implies!
 
I can't get over how nicely the color ties the room together with the bedding and the chair in the corner.
Close up so you can see the color and texture - these are the Tara Eclipse curtains in Teal.

While Jeff was installing the curtain rod, I was pulling all of the furniture away from the walls and doing a much-needed deep vacuuming.  I dusted, and ended up not putting back the little LED clock on my nightstand - mostly because I don't use it for an alarm - but I wondered if not having that bright red light in my face at night, combined with the blackout curtains, would make for a better night's sleep.  Jury is still out on that as it's only been a few days, but I think it's helping.  It definitely is a much darker room at night now.

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We had a treat last Sunday while we were at Blue Baker, in the form of getting to see one of the bakers make bagels!  This guy is so friendly - he always waves at us when we come in and has the biggest smile on his face.  He's very good at what he does - quick and efficient - and it's fascinating to watch what he makes.  I don't know that we've really been around to see the bagels being made, but what first caught our eye was that he was making round balls out of the dough.  Then he took some, flattened them out a bit, and sprinkled cinnamon sugar in the middle before making it into a ball again - and then he rolled the top into more cinnamon sugar - OOH!  That's how the cinnamon bagels are made - they have the best chunky topping on them that goes really well with cream cheese:
Cinnamon bagels in the making. 

Then he started with whole wheat - first he made the dough balls and let them sit for a bit, then he pulled them apart to form the traditional bagel shape:
He lifted the tray to show us and oops, they started to slide off!  Good thing he caught them in time.

Even though I was not hungry, it was all I could do to not buy a bagel now that I'd just gotten to see how they were made.  It was really fun to see this process; we keep saying that one of these days we need to take a bakery tour, as everything they make is so delicious!

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There's a reason why I don't like gardening, and it's bugs, critters, and the like.  Jeff does all of our outdoor planting - I can handle the indoor succulents, but I just don't like surprises when I work with the plants.  Case in point:  the other day when I went out to water, I reached for my sprayer nozzle and this lizard jumped out and scared me:
No SIR - you need to get off of my watering station!

While I was taking a picture of the scary lizard, I noticed a hole in the ground, which means that something is living there, ack:
Jeff said it's most likely a frog hole...but what if it's NOT?? 
Paco was being a big brave dog, checking it out.  Luckily whoever is living there didn't come out when that nose poked its way inside the hole!

So now we better get some rain on a regular basis because thanks to that lizard and the hole in the ground right by the patio, I can't water my plants.  OK, I'm kidding - I'll water them - but not without a thorough look-see before I reach for anything...you can't be too careful when it comes to these wild creatures, right?

Have a great weekend!

11 comments:

  1. That color scheme in your bedroom is just gorgeous. I've slept with blackout curtains for years and actually find it hard to sleep without them when we travel. You're going to love them, especially when you want to sleep in, they really do help.

    I want a bagel.

    I do not want lizards or other creatures popping out of the ground.

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    1. I have to add that Paco sleeps like the dead in our bedroom while the curtains are closed...I'm beginning to think we all need blackout curtains in our lives, LOL.

      P.S. That damn lizard got me again yesterday.

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  2. It is amazing how well the colors coordinate in your room. Very restful! As much as I like it very dark when I sleep, I don't even have a curtain on my bedroom window. But the only time light shines in is when there is a full moon.

    The critters. I don't like worms or slugs or any of those things. I don't even like typing the words out. Fortunately, we don't have too many of those things around here. Unfortunately, since we've had a lot of rain, there are more of them than usual... Lizards I love. But I wouldn't like being surprised by one.

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    1. Maybe if we had natural light like the moon and stars it would be different, but our neighbors have several floodlights in their backyard that go on during the night - and in all honesty, they are probably triggered half the time by our dumb cats - but suddenly having a light shining through the window shade will wake you up...the new curtains are doing the trick in preventing the lights from bothering us, which is really nice.

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  3. I love the curtains. Very cool pattern!!!

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    1. Thanks! For me not being a real curtain person, I like them quite a bit, too.

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  4. LOVE those curtains. The colour and texture are lovely! I'll do your outdoor gardening, I LOVE critters etc. As my Dad used to say "they're all part of life's rich pageant". LOL! Have a great weekend Shelley!

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  5. Ha! You should've just posted a pic to show how effective the curtains are! We used to have blackout shades from Tarjayjay and they worked great! :)

    I think watching stuff like that being made is fascinating too.

    Aww, but that lizard is cute!

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  6. Scary lizard? My boys used to love them--we only saw them in Florida.

    We have blackout shades in our bedroom but the light still seeps in around the sides..

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  7. I love that lizard! We don't really get them here. Just salamanders. We have the honeycomb light blocking shades and they are so helpful for sleeping, when I sleep anyway LOL!

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