Salvaged Shelf

As many of you know, I call my hubby "my crow" because, just like a crow, he is always bringing me home bits and bobs to feather our nest. It started with him bringing me "floor score" of jewelry from his job as a security guard at a local club. I would incorporate the bits and pieces into my creations. Then it grew to bringing me home mannequins, doll parts, old windows, old doors, and other assorted finds.

Since moving into our new 750 square foot apartment we have had to make many decisions about what would stay and what would go. Believe it or not but the discussion about which mannequins would stay was probably the most heated. He wanted to keep as many as possible and I wanted to get rid of most of them! We ended up each choosing one we liked and let the rest go.

There are days when I am really happy with all the goodies he brings home and other days when I can't figure out what to do with ANY of it! Recently though I was very grateful for his habit for holding on to things. Our sofa is on a wall that has a wall heater attached near the floor. I was finding that the sofa was getting really hot and the heat wasn't circulating well. I wanted to put a shelf or a  table behind our sofa to help the heat move but didn't want to buy anything. Well, turns out that one of the old doors that my crow had outside of our old house had fallen apart in the elements. And my hubby being who he is salvaged bits and pieces of it before chucking the rest. Voila! Instant shelving!

He attached the door part using L brackets. It is the exact length of the sofa (serendipity or what?) and both looks and works great. It adds a cool architectural feature to the space and I am pretty sure that it isn't something you'd see in lots of places. I like that it is quirky and unique. Kind of like my crow!

One Little Word 2012

Each year Ali Edwards chooses a word - or really  I should say that a word chooses her - to embrace for the year. I tried this last year and, while I chose my word, I didn't do a good job at all in following each month and doing the thinking and growing that the word was intended to create within me. Never one to give up, I am trying again. With a new word. Just one word. What is my word you ask?

Cultivate - to develop land for growing,

to nurture, to take care of 

I don't know how this word will intertwine in my life but it is the word that I want to focus on this year. I want to cultivate my relationships, my home, my job, my life. I want to take care of what is already good and strong and take the time to develop and nurture those areas that need growth.

What is your one little word?