Career Moves

I love love love how I feel when a e-décor client comes back to me and says "I LOVE EVERYTHING!! It's pretty Jendayi, you did really good!" Ugh. My heart just swells, especially because I spent A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of time and energy on the client's e-design who gave me those rave reviews. I am beyond pleased with this hobby for hire service of mine. If I got rave reviews like this all the time, I might be able to do a little something something with this! This is one of the things that I feel I am 100% good at. 

Check out the latest piece of work that my client so lovingly adored here.

 

jendayiashacreative

I re-designed my professional blog yesterday. I did it off a total whim too. I was supposed to be working on a client's storyboard but got majorly side tracked. All wasn't lost though because I really think I made a major improvement to the site. It's prettier (at least I think so), it's easier to navigate (moved all the major tabs to the top), and it's better organized (no more personal stuff over there, keeping it strictly business). If I do any updates on my house or spill on what's on the to-do list for clients or feel the urge to write a monologue about how my day sucks, I will do so over here. Zuri She Wrote is the place for all that nonsense.

I also found a logo, header, brand identity for myself that I like. The j.a.creative = j.a.design + j.a.photography notion that you see below is sticking with me. I've been using the font in the header for a while on the e-design storyboards I've sent to clients. I actually found it online about a year back and fell in love. The white and gray feel is very much me too. I like the clean feel of it all. HOPEFULLY I won't change my mind anytime soon about all of this because I worked on this thing for about 12 hours. Yep. 12 hours.

I haven't decided though what this all means. Am I going to do push this blog out to the world? Will I advertise my services now?  Do I want more customers? Should I instagram the blog? I know I have the link on my profile page there, but should I do more? Will anyone besides my family and friends and the few readers I have here know about the re-design? (I sure wish I knew how many people read my blog. I have the feeling it's more than I think because of some feedback I've gotten on some occasions.) What's my next move? I know how Alisa feels about this (lol), but I don't know if I'm there yet. You know what my major fear is though? Having two jobs. I'm lazy and a perfectionist at the same time. I don't want to go home from an 8 hour job to have to start up on a design project that I can't finish and put all my energy into. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Crap. I have a report to run. I gotta go. See... This is what I'm talking about. This creative stuff takes time and I can't do both. Well I probably can, but I don't want to. Unless something gives... Gotta go!

Just in Case

The thought has been heavy on my mind.

What if I were able to sustain myself on photography and interior design? What if it would be a dream come true to work for myself? What if that ends up being what's best for my family?

Or will doing photography and interior design full time take away from the enjoyment that I get from it now? I could probably hang tough with interior design. Photography might not be where it's it. I realize I only like photographing people I know. Lol. While on my family reunion, I loved taking photos for my family. No one asked me to, but I knew that they would appreciate the results. And they did. I felt like I made a major contribution to the family that way.

Just in case though, I think I might take my hobbies a bit more seriously. Just in case...

Bedroom Transformation

Work is slowing down so guess what? I'm back. =) *Waving*

While I was away, the projects kept going so here's a look into what we've been doing with our biggest project right now.

I wish I had a before picture of the room... Actually, here's something. Ignore me in the pic but notice the color of our walls. Bland huh? The whole house was painted this one color when we purchased it. Slowly but surely we've been transforming each room.

So far, all we've done is paint and put up the bed. We had a chair in there, but I took it downstairs, so we're completely bare in here. Because the room is so manly and subdued right now, I feel the need to spruce it up a bit with some pillows and a rug. I also need a slipper chair or a club chair of some sorts where hubby can sit down and put lotion on. (Him plopping down on the bed when I'm sleeping is not working.) Here's my vision as far as textiles go. Coral, blue and gray. That's my combination. We're keeping the bedspread a plain ole white for contrast sake.

 

I'm also looking into other rugs that aren't so mathchy matchy like the above. What do you think about this combo? I absolutely LOVE that rug, but unfortunately it doesn't come in the size I need. I'm going to have to hunt for a look-a-like. 

I have to keep in mind that are carpet is beige. *thumbs down* If the floors were hardwood, this would be so much easier. Matching gray to beige can be a bit tricky.

Anyway, that's where I am right now. All the pillows are ordered. It's just the rug and the chair I need to focus on. After that, I need some art and then I can call this room complete. =)

Design Grind

I'm back on my design grind. Check me out here.

Britt's Storyboard

One of my friend's daughters asked me to send her some ideas for a black + white bedroom. Even though I've put ideas together for people before, this is my first formal storyboard. I love the format of the storyboard and am very happy with my design. She didn't pay me (insert frownie face here) being that I made an allowance for her. I felt bad charging her because 1. she didn't know I'm doing this as a business and 2. she's fresh out of high school. One day though, someone will pay me!

As far as business is concerned, I found my font for "j.a.designs". Now all I need is a logo and business cards. I'm getting there folks!

jendayi.asha.creative * List of Services *

Sometimes my passions turn into business! While I do not advertise my services as a full fledged business, I have been asked by many associates/friends/acquaintances for a price list. Soo... Without further ado, here are my list of services with pricing.

j.a.photography - natural light photography

~portrait session - $80
covers graduations, families, head shots, engagements/couples, singles, editorials photos

• consultation prior to the shoot
• photo session for 1 to 4 people
• custom post processing of 15 - 20 of the best shots (selected by the photographer)
• private e-gallery for ordering of prints

~events - $200 *Please note that I do not offer evening event photography. Outdoor bridal showers or indoor (with lots of natural light) brunches are examples of workable events.*

For samples of my work, visit j.a.photography on Facebook.

j.a.design - interior decorating consultant

~mini storyboard - $60
service + product combo that details the small finishes or little pieces you need help with; this service is for you if you're almost there but need that extra eye; allows you to take off running on completing your space.

~full storyboard - $125
service + product combo that details every element of your space's decor from the paint color to the furniture to the accessories; allows you to take off running on completing your space.

Storyboards include

• a pre-design consultation
• a first run storyboard and review with client
• a second run storyboard
• additional runs of the storyboard are $25 a piece

~styling - $75/hour
append this service to a storyboard service for a full A to Z interior design consultation; once pieces are delivered, i can assist in styling the space to your liking until there is a finished product.

• limited to the DC metropolitan area

Remodel: Man Cave Bathroom v2

How's it look?! I'll update this post with final pics soon.

Remodel: Man Cave Bathroom

Seeing as our field service group is now meeting at our house every Saturday, we HAD to take care of this cracked toilet. I am not about to have an elderly lady topple over on account of my toilet. So if the toilet comes out, so does the entire bathroom. After my design and hubby's industriousness over the past 3 days, we're almost done!

Here's the cracked toilet that started the whole project.

 

And here's the before of the bathroom. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

After demolition, it looked even more ugly, but promising!

Here's hubby messing with the plumbing after mounting the flouting sink and painting the walls a "Dallas Cowboy" blue. It's the man cave so I can say nothing about it. Sigh.

And finally, here's the new tile, hubby applied. He's doing a killer job!

We still have grouting and sealing, putting up the baseboards, putting in the toilet and all the finishing touches to go.

I'll post a final pic when it's done!

Interior Design: Girl's Room

LOVE this child's room. How different is this?!!!

source: decorpad.com

Man Cave Update

We updated the man cave this weekend. I know it's not my go-to room being that it's the "man cave" but boy was I glad to see something happen to that room. You see, I want guests to be comfortable when they come to my house. And since MJ likes to invite guys over to hang, I was really feeling like the man cave needed to be filled out a bit more.

So here's what we did. We went to Ikea looking for this one George Jetson looking chair, but decided against it when we sat in it and felt the coldness and hardness of the thing. After 40 minutes of deliberation, hubby decided on a less expensive alternative in a black leather finish. Half of the time we took was to figure out how to match the chairs with the bright blue sofa that hubby already has in the man cave. To add the inexpensive flair that the room needs, I mentioned needing pillows so we mosied on over to the pillow section which had nothing. On our 3rd or 4th time going back through the same sections at Ikea, hubby looked at the model of his sofa that he has at home and says, "things would be so much easier if the slipcover was this color". Excited by the idea of being relieved from having to decorate an entire room around electric blue, I encouraged him to buy the more subtle but cool grey slipcover. So with the location and bin numbers for the new slipcover in hand, we went BACK to the chairs to reconsider our chair choices. With the slipcover being $250, he decided to downsize from the leather to the cotton chair. So 2 hours after walking into Ikea, we left out with a new look and feel to the man cave sofa and two new chairs to fill out the room.

The next thing we should probably do is paint. I really want this room to start taking shape so paint would be the natural step. Paint makes everything feel different. Hubby wants to go with a greyish silver so we should be able to scope some paint choices out in the next two weeks or so. After that comes the sawhorse table. That thing is going to be cool. Hubby said he wants to build it from scratch so I'm interested to see how it turns out. It should be fun though. I'm thinking we should paint the table that electric blue that was on the sofa. Talk about a PoP of cOloR! And then if we can find a really vintage stool... a workman's stool of sorts...that would be nice. Later on, we can add some storage components, throw some art on the wall, include some accessories and wa-la. Finito!

I wish I could post pictures but my blog has reached it's photo-uploading-capacity. I may need to create a new blog huh?

I'm excited about hubby's man cave. When it's finished and more homey, I'll be able to chill with him down there more often. Not too often, but more often. =)

To Do List

Can you believe I can't upload anymore pictures on blogger?! What kind of crap is that! They say I've used up all my space.

I would have posted 2 or 3 posts since my last one but without the ability to post pictures, I've been stalling. I have so many house photos to share! We've done a lot. I'm going to try and delete some photos out of my Picasa account so I can have more room. But knowing me that'll take a while. So here's what we've done and where we need to go next.

Short Term
  Cut the lawn of weeds
  Thatch and aerate the lawn
  Lay weed and seed fertilizer
  Pull up weeds and cut down the two trees on either side of the house
  Make a flower box in front of the house
  Lay grass seed or sod
  Create stone path
  Plant shrubs/bushes on either side of the front stairs 
  Finish painting the kitchen cabinets
  Apply kitchen hardware
  Paint upstairs guest room
  Paint stairwell spokes in decorator's white
  Spray paint downstairs guest room side tables
  Purchase bathroom accessories for the guest bathroom upstairs

Long Term
  Paint both rooms downstairs (man cave - silver, guest bedroom - teal)
  Purchase guest room lamps
  Get a glass top made for my trunk/coffee table in the living room
  Change out the stairwell light for a chandelier of sorts
  Change out the mudroom boob light
  Purchase a dining table set, preferably in small pieces (I don't want it to completely match)

Little Things
  Purchase door stops
  Purchase black door knobs to get rid of the gold crappy ones that are ALL OVER the house
  Get new light plates

March Sucks/Rules!

My last post was a bit cryptic so I'm going to put a little context to it.

Here's how crazy our month has been. At the beginning of the month, MJ got a really nasty sinus infection and had stomach issues. He lost a LOT of weight. After that, we had a week of normalcy, which was short lived because MJ had a surprise issue that landed us in the emergency room at Howard University. Remind me to NEVER go there again. The place was so old fashioned and dirty looking! I thought it would have been more modern and impressive, but nope. I was fooled. Then shortly after, I got an infection which had me stressed the heck out. Then MJ had another flair up, which forced us to visit a specialist all the way in Annapolis. (You know it takes a lot longer to get to Annapolis from DC than it did from our old spot. Geez that was a long ride.)  Then on a hot day, we opened up the vent over our bed and forgot to close it before we went to sleep. So you know what that meant for us the next day - sore throats that felt like death. THEN the allergies kicked in. Have you seen all the green on the cars lately! It's crazy!Last night, I don't think my husband slept more than 3 hours. I almost kicked him out of the room due to all the hacking and spitting and coughing he was doing throughout the night.On top of everything, we've had to keep business pretty much as normal. For example, we ran down to the Hampton area for a wedding. We housed guests for a weekend. In Feb, we signed up for special activity in the ministry in which we dedicate 30+ hours in the field. And we've been remodeling our kitchen which we NEED to complete so I can start cooking again. Sidenote: Eating out every day is NOT ok. I think it's part of the reason why our health has been so poor. To supplement the poor eating habits though, we invested in some vitamins (which I took on an empty stomach this past weekend... UGH. Death again.)

Ironically, this month has brought us extremely close. My mom keeps telling us that we need to slow down on the house remodeling and designing, but I actually think it helps us. Otherwise, we'd be laying in the bed miserable, wallowing in our demise. Sprucing up our home, which I'm in love with, is keeping us sane.

Speaking of... Look! MJ put the hardware on the freshly painted doors this morning after he dropped me off at the metro. Aren't they beautiful!? I am too excited.

I love this house beautification process. It's coming together right before our eyes. I think I actually might be a bit sad when it's all done. There's a TON of work to be done though, so I think I have a while for that to happen.

Anyway, all in all, it's been a sucky but terrific month so far. One more week of March to go!

One of Those Days + Spray Paint

I sooo don't want to be here today. I struggled so hard to make it in to work and now I have 7 and a half hours to go before I can leave. Ugh! It's just one of those days. I need a break. I need a vacation. I have no stamina right now. Mental vacations are real people.

MJ got his bonus check. I'm excited but I'm not. I'm happy we have money, but it's daunting trying to figure out what best to spend it on. We have so many projects and plans that I fear making a wrong decision with the extra funds. Mo' money mo' problems right?

I've done a couple more things around the house. We're working on our cabinets now. I have a feeling it's going to take a while before the face lift is complete, but I'm going to push it along the best I can. I repainted some mirrors that are now hung in my living room. That went well. As you can see from the pics below, the mirror was originally a gold color which does not blend with my color palette.

 

So we got a can of spray paint that MJ had from his airplane hobby stuff and began spraying away...after we taped up the mirror with newspaper of course. I actually have no idea what color this is because I didn't care. As long as it was a grayish color, I was good.

 

 After that was done, I found another can of spray paint that was slightly more metallic and silvery than what I just spray painted on, so I had the bright idea to subtly mist over the darker gray to lay down a thin layer of silver. That way the darker gray can still peak through, creating an interesting look. 

 

Well apparently my spray can didn't know the meaning of subtle. (Or I just failed to stand back far enough to allow a misting of silver.) It turned out more silvery than I wanted, but I still like it.

After letting it dry overnight, we hung them in the afternoon of the next day. They were still a bit tacky, but the paint was definitely dry. I'll be sure to take a pic with them on the walls soon so you can see the finished product. I actually like spray painting things! More spray paint projects to come!!!!

Housewarming Time

Hello World.

I'm planning my housewarming. While laying awake last night I figured I might as well determine that I'm having one. So I put the date on the calendar and starting making registries. Even though we came from another household, we still need a lot of stuff. Not having a yard or room enough to entertain, we didn't need stuff. Now we do. More importantly, I'm looking forward to inviting people over. It's about time we get some family and friends love in there.

Out of Order

That's how we both feel. Totally out of order. We have no schedule. Chores have not been realigned for the new house. Our field service schedule is...well...nonexistent. Closets are not organized. My pillowcases are in one closet downstairs while the top sheets are in one place and the bottom sheets are in another. The room full of mess continues to be the room full of mess. The other room is full of dust as a result from some sanding work that had to be done. There is absolutely no order.

Not to mention that with our main floor void of life, our bedroom has become the new hot spot, which promotes laziness and a whole lot of tv watching. We have plates, cups, bowls and suitcases up there right now. I can't wait until we only use the bedroom for it's purpose. We're like bears in hibernation.

It's clear that the moving-into-our-first-house adjustment period is not over. And that's okay. I realize that a stage of life is a stage of life. What we have to do though, is not be lazy. Spring is almost here and it's time to get crack-a-lackin. We worked very hard once we got into the house and burnt out quickly. But now that we've had time to hibernate, we need to get back to it.

A light bulb just went off. With our new floors being just about paid off, I've been thinking about what I want to do with the extra money we're going to have. Finish the house! I mean of course, that should be an obvious answer but we didn't think it was necessary to consistently decorate and organize, but considering how we're feeling...SO OUT OF ORDER... I think there's more to it than just spending money and decorating. It's more so about happiness and sanity. It's been said that a room can transform your mood. It's also been said that an organized home is a happy home and I believe both statements more than ever right now. We need a place to put our filing cabinet, mails, bills, paperwork... We need to get the pictures and art off the floor...We need to keep the Ikea bags in the trunk for when we go grocery shopping so we don't have to run back in the house all scatter brained when we're already in the car. That I need a specific place to store my purses. We need to put the DVDs downstairs with the entertainment center. We need to get hubby's hobby goods and tools stored in one central location. Everything has a place and until we create those places, we're going to continue to feel out of order.

There is a caution to mention however. I do not, and I repeat... I do NOT want to get burnt out again. So here's my thought. We both get paid 2x a month, so why not only focus on the max of 2 projects per month? Of course, big projects like the kitchen will be the ONLY project we partake of for a FEW months, but I think we can manage 2 or just 1 small project a month.

Managing a household takes a lot more than I thought. I can't just come home and lay in the bed every evening from 6pm to 10pm, at least not until our house is in order. We need a routinue. We need to realign our chores. We need to determine how often we work on the house so that we can maintain our spiritual focus as well.

I'm excited though. The excitement was gone for a while. But I'm ready to make this spring a transforming one. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but I know we can do it.

Interior Design: Accessories

It's not advisable to have your accessories lined up before you get your furniture, but since I have no patience, that's exactly what I have done. Oh well! Most of this stuff comes from my last home so I'm going to give myself a pass. I'm looking forward to sprinkling these little trinkets and bobbles around the living room and into the kitchen space. There are so many nooks and crannies that I've planned in my head. I can't wait until I get my sofa and start putting the room together!

Here's a brief look at some of the stuff I have. 

I've ALWAYS wanted glass doorknobs, so when I saw these babies on Joss & Main, I HAD to buy them. I don't know where they're going yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something good.

I love the colors that potpourri provide. These have absolutely no smell to them at this point, but I can't bear to throw them away. I LOVE the colors.

Greenery has become very important to me. Having plants in a house gives it life! Another breathing, living thing in the corner or on the top of a side table makes a huge splash. I love greenery.

I don't know what I'm going to do with this trumpet shaped vase. I had tall, wooden branches coming out of it in my last place. I think I might do the same thing, but place it in the guest bedroom. It doesn't quite go with my living and kitchen area plans.

Once I saw these pictures on Joss and Main, I couldn't help myself. "All You Need Is Love". Isn't that so true? Whenever I see it, I think of one of the songs from one of my favorite movies "Moulin Rouge". That movie means more to me than anyone knows. I have very fond memories connected to that movie. "Keep Calm And Carry On". The splash of yellow with the green and yellow potpourri...Perfecto! I'm sure I'll have to repeat that mantra many times over in my future life. *giggle* Anyway, I can't wait to hang these suckers.

 

Next are pillows. My mom wants me to get them made so they can be original. I've taken a look at a few fabric swatches, so the next step is to find the pillows and send the materials off to my family's long time friend and seamstress. But do I have the patience to wait for them? We'll see.

It's been 3 weeks since I ordered my sofa. 3 - 6 more weeks to go until it's delivered. Ugh!

Happy Tuesday!

I've been busy creating my home inspiration board on pinterest. I love this site. Any and every picture that you see and drool over when you're surfing the web for cars, wedding stuff, photography ideas, home decor, etc., you can electronically pin it to a web-based board. Never do you again have to dig into your memory banks to remember where you saw that _______ that you loved so much. It's a genius site!

 

The feeling that I get from my "For The Home" inspiration board WILL BE spread through the emptiness you see below. When? I'm not quite sure yet. But it's primed and ready for some design!!! The bones of the main floor are looking pretty good though if I must say so myself.

 

I did go on ahead and order my sofa last week. Yay! I have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for delivery though. Boo. It cost me an arm and a leg (double boo), but I'm thinking this is one of the only huge purchases I need for this room. I hope the sofa gets here before my parents come on the 2/26. Don't you just love it?! Mine is the grey version though. I cannot WAIT until it comes.

I'm thinking about getting the 8' x 10' version of the rug on the floor below to complete the space for a while. After that, I need to take a break and focus my little bit of funds on other things. You feel me?

Oh! Last but not least, here's a snapshot of my jewelry storage solution that hubby and I came up with. It consists of an expandable dish rack and 3 shelves from Ikea. The only thing I'm worried about is what I'm going to do when I expand my earring collection like I've been wanting to. I guess more shelves... I love this setup though. It's really working for me.

Enjoy the week!

OMG - Joss & Main

OMG. I'm hyperventilating. You know those savings sites like Living Social, Rue La La and Ideeli? Well I found one for home stuff! Joss & Main!!!! I see so many things on here I want to buy right NOW! Please God, keep me from reaching for my credit card! House savings here I come!!!!!!

I need to do an update post on the house. The floors are finally in and we've been fixing and adding things. I'll post soon.

Lighting

I'm looking for lighting.

We went to Ikea today and realized that we were very ill-prepared for the trip. 'How much space do we have from the ceiling to the top of the powder room door?' 'Is the light in the stairway over the center landing or the top landing?' 'How big is the room because this chandelier might get swallowed up?' Unable to answer most of these questions, we went on to other things. You would think you would know your house but the specifics are endless.

Here's the light fixture in the hallway between the powder room and the entrance to the basement. Of course, it has to go. Did I say that I HATE old gold crap. Ugh!

Do you see my new crown molding?! Looks good huh!

I saw this beauty while hunting for drum pendants and was immediately attracted. It would go perfectly with the colors of the walls.

image

I'm too tired to look right now but here are the other spaces where I need new lights. One in the kitchen/dining area and one in the stairway. I'm thinking chandeliers in both places. A quaint one in the dining area and a big one in the stairway. 

 We did manage to get this cool pendant light from Ikea. I saw this in an inspiration photo last week so we were fully prepared for this one. I love this light.

I can't wait until we start the kitchen project. These cabinets need a facelift! One step at a time Jen.