KittyWrangler's Profile

You might be able to find more comfortable seating by using one or several ottomans with storage. Some are made to double as coffee tables-- the flat leather ones that you put a tray on top of-- so you could put that to use somehow.

I do like the hope chest or cedar chest idea, but why not just leave it as a chest? You can find some beautiful vintage or antique chests that will fit a shit-ton of stuff inside.

Alternately, see what you can do with one or more night stands. They have storage but wouldn't block the window like you desk. You could also re-purpose a low entertainment center. VCR and tape-deck cubbies are great for shoe storage.

Or you could put a gigantic hamper in there and leave it at that. Try to get one with a white or reflective lid.

If you need that area for desk space you could use a storage ottoman for your chair and either mount a flip-down desk top to the wall (the one adjoining the closet) or find a very shallow wall-mounted secretary desk (i.e. a box or dresser where the cover flips out and down to become a desk top).

And I echo the mirror to bring light into the room. You could also use a bright white (or black & white) runner rug that extends from the nook into the room to bounce more light and psychologically extend the nook into the room.

And whatever you put in the nook needs to be as white and/or as shiny as possible to reflect light out. Same with everything along that wall that extends into the room (the one that isn't the closet wall) and whatever is opposite the nook. De-clutter that entire area, mirror it, paint it white, the works.

Blue-grey-- light or dark-- would be nice, as would a more subdued turquoise than the one you currently have, such as milky pale turquoise or dark mellow aqua.

pralines (candied pecans)! Or any candied nuts.

I went to a ridiculously fancy restaruant that served coffee & donuts for dessert (yes, really). Make the coffee on-site, the donuts (or minis or donut holes) will travel well.

If you go the cookie route, you can wow them by pairing them with some fancy tea. Which travels very well.

Japanese mochi (sweet rice-dough covered ice cream lumps) would be good if you can freeze en route.

You could serve sliced sweet bread with jam for dessert, particularly if you put the jam in little fancy jars or otherwise fancy it up. Pumpkin bread, date bread, etc.

If you have access to any European groceries you might find small marzipan, chocolate or fruit desserts that are pre-packaged.

Or chocolates. Go to a chocolate store, they can load truffles and things right into trays for you.

Or serve a dessert wine or fancy liquer.

Also, what about wedding cake for dessert? If you're having a cake.

TVP (textured vegetable protein or "soy crumbles") are dried protien that you can get in the bulk section of Whole Foods, etc. Add it to sauces and it has the chewiness of ground beef.

Sunflower seeds (again, in bulk). You can boil them with soups to soften them or grind them into flour in a coffee grinder or food processor.

Sometimes other nuts and seeds are cheaper at an Asian and/or Indian grocery store.

Canned tuna, salmon. Make salmon cakes using egg, celery, sunflower seed flour.

Cottage cheese, yogurt. "raita" is an Indian yogurt sauce that you could use as a base to add veggies to.

Peanuts. You can boil them with salt for a snack (South Carolina style) or use them in stir-fries and Thai style dishes.

chia seeds. They are literally filler. You can get them for a reasonable price in bulk on Amazon. Put them in smoothies, stuff you bake, anything where they can absorb water, and they puff up with watery gel (not as gross as it sounds).

I second SherryBin about the moss garden. If it wants to grow, that is a really good sign! Here are some moss garden pics:
http://www.re-visions.photoportals.com/echoes/pages/moss%20garden.htm
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/traditional-shade-garden-ideas3.htm
https://www.etsy.com/listing/31768994/tofukuji-moss-garden-kyoto-japan

I also hope you're not opting for the gravel method, because that will be a major pain-in-the-butt to weed in a verdant place like Seattle. It makes sense in the desert, though.

I, on the other hand, am trying to get *anything* to grow on the ground (that won't kill my cats, that is), since my entire yard is on a magnolia rootbed. It's just bare sandy dirt.

I used to live in Seattle and they do, indeed, eschew the umbrella. Whatever, umbrellas are AWESOME! It's the cheapest way to feel like royalty-- when it drizzles everywhere else, you have a special shelter. When I lived in that city, I just did my own thing and used a freakin' umbrella.

What-- I don't... where is that lady's bottom half?

Ooh! And if you go the linnen / white tablecloth route you could put a lamp underneath the table (with a low-heat CFL bulb) that would illuminate the pretty silhouette of the table and turn the whole thing into a sort of glowy mood lighting.

Ha! The tongs pictured are the exact tongs I use to pluck cat turds from the litter box.

When I finally bought some for cooking I had to get some that looked utterly, completely different for the sake of my mental health.

(transplanting a cactus, that cracked me up!)

Ok, I know this thread has been deceased for a good while now but this question popped into my head the other day and I have a new suggestion:

Put it under the glass tabletop of a side table or coffee table. You know the kind of coffee table where you can lift the glass and display things underneath? Or the kind of side table where you can sandwich a tablecloth between the table top and glass top? It would be super pretty if paired with a larger coordinating tablecloth.