FrankiesGirl's Profile

Lovely desk!

There's a product called DampRid that comes in little tubs and even on hangers that you could try. I've seen it in HomeDepot and Lowes and I'm sure it's probably in other big box stores. It works by drawing the moisture out of the air and is use for places like bathrooms and basements, so if you hung one around behind the desk or even stuck a small container in one of the cubbies, it should help reduce the moisture content around it.

The best thing would be to keep the climate in the house low humidity, but in Texas, that is a losing battle even if you kept your A/C running 24/7 (I'm in SE TX, so I know what its like!)

I have a pillow-back sofa now (camel back shape, with one long pillow and two large squares on either side). I will NEVER get one again. Between my husband squishing the middle pillow down to use as an armrest while stretching out on it, and my cats discovering the same pillow works great as a cat bed, the middle pillow is beyond fluffing or punching (seriously - I take that pillow off and beat it to death, and yet the stuffing reverts back to the smushed shape within minutes). It is a heavy stuffing, so I imagine that is one of the issues - feather or light foam wouldn't do this, but the batting/heavy fills will deform over time and defy attempts to re-shape.

If you don't have cats or people that like deforming pillows for comfort, then they would work fine, but the couch back WILL eventually hit the no-return zone and remain in the squashed shape no matter what your efforts... so might want to consider an alternative if this is a possibility.

Haven't seen the show, so not sure how cool of a party they had...

I've thrown some pretty fun Halloween parties the last several years, and there's a site I'm a member of that has all sorts of cool ideas, themes, recipes, games and invite ideas, etc.. that all of the members share. Am I allowed to post that here? It's HalloweenForum.com and I'm the same name over there. (sorry if that's against the rules) but if you're in the least into Halloween, you'll find tons of decorating, party and costume ideas there.

My fave themed party was my Surreal Estate theme. I was a zombie surreal estate agent (Myra Mains - say it out loud), the invites were flyers for my Haunted Open House that included a skeleton keychain and key - one of the keys unlocked a hall closet and got a fun door prize (and a little scare when they found what happened to the previous owner. I even made a real estate sign to put out in the yard with the name "Rigor Mortgage" (many ideas borrowed from the great Cali haunt/acting troupe called the Fright Gallery) :D

I've done themes with games that involve non-mandatory participation and decorated the heck out of my house. A couple of years ago, I had a funeral theme with the guests invited to the reading of the will, and beneficiaries decided by random name draw and included a comical last will and testament, with the main beneficiary having to open a (homemade) coffin to claim their prize. Other themes include a Spiderific Party (spider icon scavenger hunt) and Night in a Haunted House.

If it was me and the same color scheme, I'd paint the walls either a very almost not quite yellow (think butter color) or a soft granny smith apple green.

Then I'd get pops of TEAL and LIME and/or a red/orange. A jewel toned teal and purple with lime is also REALLY pretty and would still work with the soft blue on your couch.

I wouldn't paint the bookcase. I like dark wood, tho. I think it would be more interesting to get the books arranged a little neater and display some little knick-knack items that pick up on the colors in the room.

The pictures above the couch... Having three different frames that aren't similar sizing just looks awkward and unbalanced. Either get a whole lot more frames with some pics/art that you love and are COLORFUL and arrange in a grouping - you need some smaller, maybe some round, bigger.... but keep the frames dark/black so it works together.

OR get one larger image, framed out in dark/black thick frame (or no frame if a big canvas or fabric hanging) and move those 3 you've got there now somewhere else. I'd suggest that you get matching frames for all three (it looks like 2 frames are similar, and one different with different matting sizing) and get them rematted to be the same sizing and then group them together.

It seems like there is quite a bit of little stuff throughout the apartment. I'd suggest corralling the bits and pieces that cause visual clutter (not sure how that murphy bed works if you've got shelving built into it - do you have to clean it off every night or is that the side that doesn't fold down?) I'd get a storage end table in place of the plain metal one you've got next to the floor lamp and put some of those books and bits into that (stuff you don't need out ALL the time anyway).

I came home last night to find that I also got the IKEA catalog on my front porch! They are REALLY getting innovative in their photo staging - I'm loving it! I work right down the street from them, so I have to resist the urge to go there every week.

I don't get IKEA haters... it's easy and stylish and most of the large stuff (if put together correctly) lasts YEARS.

Is anyone else secretly addicted to their little green marzipan chocolate rolls (Punschrullar)? I have to buy two packs a visit now since the husband discovered that he loves them too... he has to hide his from me. ;)

My husband and I married on Halloween, and are yard haunters with a full graveyard every year appearing in our front yard.

Our house, at first glance, doesn't look creepy or goth, but we have several items that are Halloween-related in our everyday decor ALWAYS on display. Some small concrete gargoyles line the top of a bookshelf, the large hammered-metal jack o'lantern near the tv console, and my black cat iron doorstop... and yes, we have some resin skulls in a bead glass display... because having some quirky and fun reminders of our favorite time of year makes both of us happy - and having items that mean something to us is just good design as well (no sterile or boring junk just because it "looks good" in our house!)

I've heard that the orange/red mulch is actually dyed to be that color, and the chemicals used leach into the soil and surrounding areas and can be harmful to pets and kids over the years... haven't done the research, but if that's a concern for anyone, you might look into it if you like a chemical-free landscape.

Me personally, I hate red colored mulch. If I use any, it's the brown/black stuff that is shredded and it's only used when I'm planting new stuff to sort of help keep the weeds down while the plant is getting established.

Doesn't sound that great to me.

I also feel bad about cut flowers, never seen and don't want to see "The Notebook," I don't like blankets or a hot house, and I'm kind of skeeved out at the idea of sharing "boutique eye cream, unisex cologne, lip exfoliator" with anyone else.

But I like cheese. So there's that. :)

I seriously don't know how you weren't screaming bloody murder at all of the screw-ups. Absolutely don't let them get away with getting you to just accept the positive reveal. They're avoiding you so you'll just give up and take it that way.

I had a nightmare contractor last year install my floors... Strangely, he waited until the job was 95% complete to start acting like a jerk. I had ONE transition that was splintered that was pointed out on the final walk through and he said he'd send someone the next day. No one showed, and he would not answer the phone or return my calls or emails. I finally gave up after a month of constant attempts and gave him lower marks in a review. He called about 3-4 months later claiming that he'd thought we'd already been taken care of (um, no. He was the only contact and supervisor!). I updated the review, gave him the benefit of a doubt about being overworked, and praised the rest of the work done and upped my score... and then he started harassing me for not giving him a perfect rating since he did (eventually) make things right. Seriously, he started pulling things out of the air about how he did this and that for us that he hadn't, and then started saying he would not honor the 5 year warranty if I didn't raise his score. He blew us off for 3 months - and deliberately lied about things!

Had to do a smack-down on him that if he sent me one more email, I'd ZERO that mother, call up a lawyer to file harassment charges and make sure to go to every single review site out there and post his emails he'd sent to me and make sure everyone knew that he was trying to blackmail me into giving a better review. I told him it wasn't me that was hurting his business - poor customer service is HIS fault and I was more than nice in my review about how he was so busy and we must have fallen through the cracks but the overall job was beautiful... I was actually too nice considering. JERK.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack, but uuuuugggh, I hate bad contractors! :(

I have a 5 x 6 bathroom... and it's badly arranged so you have to come into the room completely and close the door to get into the shower. It BLOWS to try to clean it too. We're saving up for a total gut reno and installing a pocket door and maybe taking out the standard tub and making a walk in shower with continuous tile halfway up the wall to make a wainscotting effect, and maybe a wall mounted sink basin... can't wait.