#WCW – The Makerista

I’ma let you finish, but first I want to share something with you that’s been on my mind since I saw it earlier this week. Can we take a moment for the dining room of blogger Gwen Hefner, aka, The Makerista. I was made aware of it earlier this week and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I mean srsly you guys … 

Black walls, bright accents, that mural, the romantic lighting, panelled walls, the deep reds, geometric table mats, sleek chairs coupled with an antique table, gold accents and a perfect juxtaposition of old and new design all melded into one. Let’s not forget, it’s decorated for Halloween. 

I now know what I want to be when I grow up; Gwen’s dining room. Yes. A dining room. 

All images are via Gwen’s A Spooky Supper Setting blog post on The Makerista. Although, truth be told, I’d friggin’ love to claim them as my own. In a hot second. I’d have no shame in that whatsoever, but you know, internet rules. 

#DirtyThirty

I don’t usually share when it’s my birthday online, but seeing as today is a bit different as I’m now IN MY THIRTIES, I figured now would be the best time to buy some obnoxious balloons and write about it.

I’m not worried about turning 30. I’m actually quite looking forward to it. Most of my 20’s were spent worrying about what other people thought and doing what other people expected of me. In the past year I’ve notice my priorities change and I’ve started doing things I want to do and what’s the best for me [politely, of course]. It’s probably what most people consider a normal level of self esteem, but I for one am looking forward to feeling a bit more confident in my decisions. Dare I say, attempting to adult. 

For the day that it is, I thought it might be fun to share 30 random things you may not know about me. Fun, or it’s boring. Terribly, terribly boring. You be the judge …

– When I was 15 I had my nose broken at my brothers baseball game, needed surgery and had to wear a cast on my face for a month [you can hear more about it here].

– There’s only one thing that terrifies me; ET.

– I was on the grooms side of my friends wedding in high school.

– In high school I gave myself a smilie piercing, but had to take it out for said friends wedding and then it healed over. Welp.

– I was a dental hygienist assistant and a dental assistant in my teens. I know how to extract a tooth with the least amount of bleeding.

– 98% of my friends throughout the years in high school were guys. I think I have them to thank for my potty mouth, nothings-off-topic sense of humour and the inability to understand makeup, fashion or traditionally girly things to this day.

– I graduated high school on the Ontario Honour Roll. Meaning, my overall average was above 80%.

– I was the biggest Lord of the Rings nerd in my teens. I made costumes, wore them in public and wrote in Elvish.

– When I moved to Ireland at 18 I had no friends so I passed the time by teaching myself Russian, playing The Sims and walking to the library.

– The first conversation I had with Robert when we first met was I taught him how to say hello in Russian [“zdra-stvu-ee-tyay”].

– We met at a cinema where we both worked [in the Blanchardstown Centre]. He was 18 and I was 20.

– Seven years later, we honeymooned in St. Petersburg, Russia.

– While talking to my grand-aunt at our wedding I found out my grandmother always wanted to go to Russia. It makes sense as my dad [and subsequently I] have Russian names.

– I have a crippling fear of heights. Even standing on a chair terrifies me.

– People always think I’m a vegetarian. I guess I just look like one?

– I’ve been approached to work on television a handful of times in the past year, but have politely declined. I just can’t. Yet. We’ll see. I’m getting ballsier.

– I can wiggle my ears.

– I’m becoming more introverted as I get older and realise it’s perfectly okay to stay at home. As Anna Dorfman perfectly puts it, “I don’t have social anxiety on the Internet.

– I used to have two microdermal implants in my chest. I nearly fainted getting them, would get them caught on everything and they got infected many times [sorry], but I loved them. Unfortunately, my skin eventually rejected them.

– I’ve never been able to spell ‘definately’. I just can’t.

– I have an ultraviolet tattoo the length of my left forearm that can only be seen under a black light.

– I’m not afraid of insects or ‘creepy crawlies’. I’ve caught wasps with my hands to rescue distressed men, and once [when I was getting said black light tattoo] rescued a snake that got out of its cage in the tattoo studio. A grown man covered in tattoos basically standing on his chair in fear.

– Hypodermic needles make me faint. Every. Time.

– To date the only sectors I haven’t worked in is the military and agriculture. I’ve worked in everything else. The health sector, child care, education, security, laboratories, food preparation, hospitality, animal services, publishing, construction etc. I could go on but this post is already quite long [that’s what she said].

– My hair is naturally blonde. I dye it every 5 weeks otherwise I look like a skunk.

– I’ve always been fascinated with darker things. I was never a princess or anything pretty for Halloween; I was always something that involved a black wig. Now I have one permanently attached to my head.

– I’ve had pneumonia three times and swine flu once.

– I have a lot of anxieties about things I can do nothing about. At the moment I think a lot about over population and over consumption. It’s where my mind goes when it’s idle.

– I can move my eyes independently of each other.

– If I wasn’t involved with interior design, I’d probably be working in astrophysics or the likes. The only thing stopping me is going to university full time.

And there you have it! 30 completely pointless points about me. I don’t know about you if you’re also 30, but I don’t feel anywhere close to it. Maybe just a slightly more responsible 18 year old, but definately not 30. I can barely adult.

I’m going to finish this now as I have cake to attend to and a messy afternoon planned with family. See you on the other side! xx

Five year blogiversary

Exactly 5 years ago today, whilst sitting on that very chair and on this very laptop, I decided to create a thing called a blog. I was excited and nervous and never expected anything ever to come of it.

I created my website [then called ‘Hydrangea Girl’] as a place to share design stuff I fancied while studying for my BA in Interior Design, right as the sweltering recession hit [most excellent timing]. I started my blog as I knew I’d never be able to get a job in an Interior Design firm. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d end up working on such incredible projects and meet such awesome people thanks to that one August afternoon sitting in my pyjamas on the couch. Yeesh. Feelings.

So as much as this is going to sound pretentious and like I’m accepting an Emmy or something, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you if you creep my projects, comment occasionally, pin the occasional project or simply check in every once in a while, thank you. And I don’t just mean it today because it’s my blogiversary, but I really do mean it. As Anna Dorfman puts it, I don’t have social anxiety on the internet. Thank you for supporting my silly ideas, none of which would have happened if it wasn’t for this.

If you wanna see what my site looked like over the years, you can check it out here, and you can also check out my super awkward first blog post here. It’s awkward.