Blocked!

I'm having major project/decorating block. I know I have a lot of things on my to-do list. (Two months into the year and I still haven't crossed a single thing off!). I'm just feeling very unmotivated about it all.

I also have a list of 'fun' projects I have been meaning to get started on like learning to sew, trying my hand at silver clay, hosting a dinner party, etc.. But again, feeling very bleh about it all lately.

Maybe its the dreary dredges of winter or the constant bad economic news or just that I'm generally run down. No matter what the reason, I don't have much of interest to show you lately.

So maybe you can help. What should I do? What projects are keeping you fired up?

And since I have a strong dislike for posts without photos, I share with you the hilarious demotivation posters from http://www.despair.com/. Enjoy!

New Look!

I thought this old place needed a new look but I had no idea how to implement it technically. Thankfully Bryn with the help of her father had the know how. I sent off the basic design to them and they did the techno magic to get it working. Hooray!

I know lighter color schemes are more popular but I think photos look so much more bright against a darker backdrop. And how could I abandon the lovely shade of gray? You know I had to throw in a little damask or it just wouldn't be me :)

I know I need to clean up the sidebars and work on organizing my flickr photos but what do you think of the new look?

Tidying up...

Wondering what I spent this gray Sunday afternoon doing? Organizing my craft closet. It was such a mess. I threw a huge garbage bag of stuff away and I loaded a bunch of other things that were floating around the house in here as well.



It doesn't really look like much of a change now that I see this before/after shot. But I swear, it so much better. It makes me feel an inner sense of calm when I open the doors. Ahhhh....

Lookie here:


When I mentioned my stack of Martha Stewart magazines in the box room I know a lot of you suggested I rip them apart for the good pages. I just couldn't do it! I can't really explain why I can do it to other magazines but not these. Oh well...at least they are all in one place now.



I've been saving Mason jars for a while now. I didn't quite know what I was going to do with them but figured they had some storage potential. They were just perfect for storing my collection of glitter. Ah, sparklies.


In case you're like me and have a collection of Mason Jars laying around waiting for a destined use, I suggest you checking out this mason jar mosiac that Mary of Suffix Abuse put together.

Love it.

Public Service Announcement: Get a Snuggie

Let me start off by saying that I'm not getting any sort of compensation from the Snuggie manufactering industry. I'm just totally in love with the Valentine's Day gift from my husband.


Yes, I laughed at the commercial too. Its a pretty ridiculous idea. A blanket with sleeves? Come on people! I'm way too cool and sophisticated to want one of those. Right?




That was until I spent the last few months insisting its freezing in this house while my husband walks around in his underwear sweating. Ok, maybe I have a tempature problem. But that doesn't help me stop my teeth from chattering.

Being the romantic that he is, a maroon snuggie was waiting for me when we returned from Japan. Now I am the proud owner of one (along with completely useless complimentary booklight) and it has rocked my world.

Sure, I look like I'm about to commit some sort of animal sacrifice in a twisted cult for reality tv watching. I don't care!

Note to my neighbors: Try to avoid looking in my (still uncovered) windows during evening prime time hours. You are bound to be terrified by what looks like the female Dumbledore flipping through channels.

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu Japan

The points go to Sharnel for correctly guessing Japan. Tokyo to be specific. (How'd you know?)

We took what just might be the shortest ever trip to Japan last week. We left Thursdy and were back Monday evening. I still feel like garbage thanks to a bug I picked up somewhere along the way (I always seem to get sick on the way back from a trip - compromised immunity maybe? exposure to foreign bacteria?).

We had a fabulous trip. Aside from the incredibly beautiful weather, we were lucky enough to know someone local who was willing to cart our noJapanesespeakingNewYork asses around town. We hit the jackpot!!

Without further ado, a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

Our hotel room had this cool glittery starbust sculpture in the entryway. You all know how much I love glitter right? This seems like something that could be DIY'd pretty easily but I'm not quite sure how. Wouldn't this make a fabulous centerpiece?


Also in the hotel room, the was a branchy mural over the bed. Cute. But what made it even better was the three dimension bird on there. Love this idea for a nursery or studio.

One of my favorite things about Japan is their awesome toilets. This photo says it all.


One strange thing is that there was this weird sleepy looking mustached guy on one of the tv channels ALL.THE.TIME. I have no idea why. It was sort of like a train wreck - gruesome but I could not look away.


Despite glittery sculptures and fun in the loo, we did actually leave our hotel room. Further proof of the great weather we had, we saw Mt Fuji in all its glory. I understand that is somewhat rare as its usually partially hidden by clouds.


At one of the rest stops up there, I learned I should not stand forward or backward facing on the bowl. Good to know.


On that same day trip we saw some other beautiful sights that I have no descriptions for. They were just pretty.



Back in Tokyo, we visited several shrines. We were even fortunate enough to stumble upon a wedding procession.

Pretty sure this is my favorite tree evah!

Our friend was sweet enough to take me to some great stores where I got some fun items I'll show you in another post. And of course we ate and drank our fill.



On our last day we got up early and went over to the Tsujki fish market. Great fun to watch. Lets just say we weren't the only ones there.


All too soon it was time to put our fun on ice and head back home.


We had such a great time, I'm sure we'll be back.

Like my photos? You can buy select prints starting at just $6! Click here to browse.

We're back...

We had a fabulous (but way too short) trip. Our internal clocks have gone haywire and we feel like this.

Any guesses where we went? (and no guesses from the people who already know!)

I'll be posting some photos later.

A few more answers before a mini-break...

I'm going to be off the blogging grid for the next few days. I'll be back early next week with some photos of what I'm up to.

Thanks so much to Katie who said my face resembles a Marissa Miller or Kimberly Williams. And Freckles who says I look like an old school Hollywood starlet. And also to those people who said other nice things about me. I assure you I look like hot garbage most days but its good to know I made the right photo choices :)

But before I go, I'm going to answer the last few questions that came my way.

mxq asked: i LOVE your picture posted of brooklyn. did design it? if you ordered it, can you say from where?

I wish I had designed it because these are clearly a gold mine - but no, its not mine at all. You can find it as well as other cities versions at Ork.

cubbear asks: So are you a self taught designer? How did you get started on your business?

Yes, I'm self taught although I tend to think most are. Even the ones that go to design school were likely designers well before their first class started. My business started very organically. I did some favors for friends and then friends of friends. At the time when I started there just wasn't that many options for people who wanted affordable custom designs. It got to the point when I though 'maybe total strangers would pay for this?' and they did! I don't have as much time as I would like to devote to it so I keep a very limited client list and turn away a few too many clients when I'm overbooked. But thats okay, it keeps it fun for me.

Emma asks: Are you finding the white cabinets hard to maintain? Do they show dirt easily?

They are not "hard" to maintain but yes, the do show dirt a little more easily. Its really no problem because if something splatters than a) I would like to know it so I can clean it and b) it just takes the wipe of a wet paper towel to clean up. The cabinets are painted with some sort of finish that makes it very easy to clean.

Joyce asks: Also, are grandma and grandpa Limestone living in the garden floor?

Yes, Mr. Limestones parents live on the garden floor apartment. Everything being on one level was the whole point of having them move in with us. Their apartment looks nothing like our space does. Suffice to say Italian senior citizens don't keep up with the trends. So we made their apartment into something they would appreciate rather than what we preferred. All that said, there won't be any tours of their place on this blog. Thats their private space.

A few people have asked me for a floorplan.

Obviously I have loads of proper architectural drawings but they are huge and way too complicated to read easily on this blog. So instead I took the floorplan that the real estate used and just made the proper edits for what we changed. The things in the handwritten font are what we changed about the layout. Hope that helps you get a better sense of what I'm talking about most of the time.

Your questions answered...

Okay, I think I've bored you all to tears now but I'll finish up the trifecta of personal posts by answering the specific questions posted in the comments. Those that emailed me should all have responses by now.

Debra of Lifescapes asked: I love your kitchen- just think it's the best use of space. Is it not a joy to work in? I have wondered how your blackboard paint worked on your pantry door? I would love to try it- but want to know it's merits first.

Thanks so much Debra. We really enjoy working in our kitchen. Our last kitchen was very ineffcient in terms of layout so I definitely love having everything in easy reach. I'm also so glad I insisted on not doing a tiered island as our architect suggested. It just gives the whole space a much more clean and open feel. As for the negatives, the storage space at the top is quite difficult to reach so I still haven't gotten around to putting much up there. And the galley style is a little cramped when we are both working on something together like one cooking on the stove and the other emptying the dishwasher but thats the way it goes when space is tight.

I have to come clean and admit that I have yet to use the chalkboard feature. I really SHOULD use it to write down what I need to get at the store, etc but I haven't gotten into that good habit just yet. I do use the magnetic nature to stick up announcements and invites which I find is a nice way to see them often without cluttering up the place. It was a very simple project so it was definitely worth it for me even if it's just for the smile that it puts on my face when I see it.

Debbiejune of Okie Needling asks: I do love Brooklyn. My daughter moved there from Oklahoma, to work in Manhattan. She got married and they live in Park Slope. I often wonder if I have walked past it on a visit there.

photo from New York Times article on my neighborhood

Well, I don't live in Park Slope so you probably haven't walked by. I live in Windsor Terrace which is a more residential side of Prospect Park. The brownstones & limestones you see on your visits aren't that different although they often have one more floor than my house.

Tamstyles of Get it Girlstyle wonders: I have never been to Brooklyn, but based on what I have heard in songs, read, and see, there are different sides. No?


Yes, that is definitely true. Brooklyn is varied. We have more population than most US cities even without adding the other boroughs into the mix. So there are distinct neighborhoods each with their own look and feel. All that said, most movies seem to exaggerate some of the characteristics where it becomes comical to anyone who lives here. Anyone who comes to Brooklyn for the first time generally says things like "Wow, I expected something totally different!" which just goes to show you how wrong the portrayals tend to be.


Katie of Bower Power asks: What celebrity do people say you look like?

I don't think anyone has ever said I looked like a celebrity. I guess this is weird since most people seem to have at least one answer to this question. Since you have all now seen what my mug looks like - what do you think?

JeepChick asks: I love your white dishes, can I ask where you got them? Also a question on your soapstone counter top, how do you like it so far and where did you get it do you have a number to research the product? love love love your kitchen faucet. Do you happen to have the manufacturer or name of faucet?

My dishes are from Kmart's Martha Stewart Everyday line. Take that fancy china people! We got them years ago while getting ready to host our first Christmas. They were cheap and have been extremely useful.

I love the soapstone. Its not for everyone but I did my research and its been exactly what I hoped for. Even Mr. Limestone has warmed up to it after being very against it at first. Our stone came from M Teixieira.

Our kitchen faucet is made by Rohl. I don't remember the model number but they only make a few bridge faucets so it should be easy to find.

Rayelaw wrote: Oh oh oh! I would love a walk-through via a video (youtube?) of each room.

Sorry, can't help you there because I don't own a video camera. I wish I had borrowed one before we started the reno just to have it to compare but we never got around to it.

Jeremy&Kathleen asked: Did you do a big move-in post?

Hmm...I don't think I ever did because we didn't do one big move in. We moved over a few weeks time slowly until one night we just decided to start sleeping here. If I recall, that happened last Feb sometime but I don't remember the exact day.

Jen wanted to know more about my graphic design business: Where can we see more of this? I love the invites and stuff you do, as seen in flickr. Do you have an etsy shop, by chance?

I haven't really mentioned this bit before because I don't want this blog to become a way to pimp out my business. I realize that is not smart from a business side but I guess I feel a little weird tooting my own horn when money is involed. That said, since you asked my website is here. I don't have an etsy shop up yet because I generally do all custom things but Im considering it. Not sure if its the right way to go for my business model or not.

Linda of Lime in the Coconut asks: When standing on your front stoop...what is your view of your neighborhood?

I don't really have a view of the neighborhood from my stoop. Just a view of the houses across the street. This photo I took out of my box room window gives you a good sense of my "view".

Joyce asks: I'm wondering, if you and Mr. are to have kids, which room is it going to be the nursery?

We don't have any immediate plans so its not something we have decided. I suppose we'd use the box room as a baby nursery since its right off our bedroom door. And then when baby limestone got a bit older, we'd move her into the guestroom or my office.

Linda of Restyled Home wonders: What type of camera do you have? Also, is Photo Shop hard to master? I have never used it before, but may consider spending the dough to get it, as the Rebel and the required lens is mucho dollars...

Most of the photos you see are taken with my Nikon D50 but I also use my husbands point & shoot when I don't want to lug the big one around. Whether photoshop would be hard to master would depend on your desire to learn. Its not that difficult if you don't mind fiddling around with it for a while. I'd say that if you don't know what you are going to use it for, its probably not a good investment for you. That said, photoshop is NOT a replacement for a camera and lens. For one thing, editing all of your photos on the computer is extremely time consuming. But more importantly, photoshop can't add details that aren't in the photo to begin with. If you take a bad photo with any camera, photoshop might be able to make it better but it can't really make it good. I'd definitely suggest getting aquainted with your camera and learning how to use it before bothering to learn photoshop or buy a new camera. It will be time well spent. On the same topic, you do not need an expensive camera. Most cameras are perfectly fine and do essentially the same thing. The camera is not what makes a photo good or bad.

Sheesh - another super long post. Sorry about that, I certainly can ramble on and on. Hope that answers all of your questions. Any else you want to know, just give a shout.

Photography MrsLimestone style

Thanks to Michael aka Captain Obvious for the following questions:

"Where did you learn your photography skills? Do I photoshop them? Can I convince you to do photography and photoshop lessons via your blog ala Pioneer Woman?"

First off, I had no idea who Pioneer Woman was until this mention. What a cool site! How have I not seen this one before?? Thanks.

Second, my photography skills are just meh. I'm just tricky enough to post mostly my better photos. Trust me, I have a lot of clunkers. But I'm happy to share my tips with you if you would like to give them a try.

I'll put your fears to rest now that I won't be giving any technical photo mumbo jumbo. I've read a lot of photography books and they all seem to explain the bits and bobins that go into great photos but I dont remember 99% of it. And while I'm sure if I ever could remember these things, my photos would drastically improve, I seem to have a mental block about it. If you are into all of that, I highly recommend reading Understanding Exposure as it quite useful.

Ok, on to the tips. Do you have your pencils sharpened? Note pads ready? Sitting on the edge of your seat??

If my sarcasm isn't already obvious, I'm joking. None of my tips are earth shattering or even something you haven't heard before. But these are the things I think about when camera in hand. Hope you find them helpful.

1. Look with a critical eye
You are standing in front of something that you want to capture. Now take a look at it. A really critical look. Is this REALLY a good photo? Sure there might be the most beautiful thing in front of you but is there also a dirty vagrant, a hot dog cart and another ugly building in the shot? Imagine the printed photo of what you see in front of you. Is that really the best way to portray your subject? (For illustration purposes, I'm going to use some poor saps photo I found on the internet. No disrespect dude...I hope you never see this)

This isn't a terrible photo per se but it could be so much better. All you have to do to make it better is to see what is ruining the shot and take it out of your photo. So you may not be able to make the vagrant step aside or the hot dog business to close up shop but you can can make them disappear in other ways like shooting the building closer up.

2. Think of the light!
Without going into the specifics (that I really don't understand), the difference between good and bad photos is most often the differences in light. You want enough light so that the image is clear but not so much that its all blown out. Keep in mind a camera needs more light to make something look clear than your eye does. So that fruit bowl in your kitchen may look totally fine to your eye but comes out like complete crap in your photo. Generally speaking, you always need more light when you are shooting inside. So open the shades all the way, bring your subject to a sunny window, turn on all the lights. Do whatever you need to do to get some light up in here. Which brings me to my next tip...

3. Flush the Flash
This may seem counter intuitive after I just told you to add light. But you want to have natural light falling on your subject...not a harsh bright light washing out all the details in your photos. PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy - just permanently shut down your flash. There really is never a good time to use it unless you are documenting a crime scene or some other need where pretty photos aren't really a priority. If you like the look of my photos, you can just forget about ever using it because I don't. Really, never. Well, maybe by accident but that's it!

4. Use your camera's settings
I don't care what kind of camera you have. Chances are, you have more than one setting or doo-hicky knob to turn. Try it out. What could you lose? Those settings are there for a reason. A proper photographer would tell you to shut all those pre-settings off and play with the manual settings. Sure, I've done that. Its not all its cracked up to be. I'm sure the manual settings are the way to go if you really know what you are doing. But if you are like me and only have a few seconds to capture something that is happening, you don't have the time to remember all the science. So I use my pre-settings all the time (after I turn off the flash, of course). I also play around with the manual settings occasionally too but only when the pressure is off.

5. Take lots of photos
Again, this probably seems counter intuitive to #1. I just told you to really pay attention and not to take a bunch of photos that aren't worth their digital card space. Well, that still hold true. What I'm saying is once you have done steps 1-4 above, then take 2 or 3 or 10 of the photo you want to capture. Take it with different settings and in different angles. Take one standing up and one laying on the ground. One close up and one far away. If you have the time, snap away. After a while, all of these photos of the same thing will teach you a few things. One it will teach you what sort of photos you prefer so you'll naturally progress in your skills. It will also teach you a little bit about how to get the best shots in various circumstances and you'll use that info again later.

That's pretty much it. Nothing too exciting as you can tell. Sorry, I didn't have much in the way of illustrative shots. Pretty ironic to have a photography post with fewer photos than a post about a nightstand but hey, I'm not a very good teacher.

As for photoshop. Yes, I do use it to tweak certain things when I don't do the best job with the camera. I find the best photos don't need photoshopping. Or if they do, they need something really minor like a tiny crop or level adjustment. I don't really have any lessons or tips for that. Generally if I have to use photoshop, its probably not a great photo to begin with.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, just ask.

About us.

Thanks again for all of your questions in the Whadya Wanna Know post. I'm pretty sure this will be the most.boring.post.ever but here goes it.

Who are you? What do you do? (and other such questions)

Overall, we're a pretty dull couple. Of course, we both like to think we have sparkling personalities and razor sharp wit (and humble too!) but aside from that, we don't live a very interstesting life. That's why I don't mention much outside of our home adventures. We go to our respective jobs, spend a few hours together before sleeping 1/3 of our life away, get up and do it all over again.

But since you asked, I feel obliged to share. Me? My 9 to 5 is in financial services. A decidedly left brain sort of pursuit that helps pay the bills but doesn't fulfill my creative desires. In order to challenge the other side of my noggin, I run a small graphic design business in my 'free time'. The Mr. is a civil servant very dedicated to his job and industry. He also happens to be a great cook (the world's best baked ziti!) and excellent at spatial reasoning.

As you can probably tell, I like to dabble in all things creative like home decor, photography, entertaining, crafts, etc. I've even started to pick up some skills in the cooking and baking category much to the appreciation of the Mr. I'm not the best in any of these categories but I really enjoy the challenges. The next skill on my agenda is sewing. I just need to find the time to take a beginners class. I spend WAY too much time watching television - reality game shows like Top Chef and Project Runway are a particular weakness.

The Mr. and I were married 6+ years after dating for 7. So yea, we've been together a long time. We have no children but we do have one cat.

Unfortunately for us, we are not rich or famous. We saved our money to buy and renovate this home after spending nearly a decade in a 800 square foot home. (Which, by the way, I never felt was too small or that difficult to live with a single bathroom. This is the very first time either of us have lived in a home with more than one toilet!) I don't own a single pair of designer jeans or shoes or sunglasses. We have one 5 year old car. We don't go to nightclubs or the opera. We rarely even go out for drinks as we are very much old farts before our time.

Obviously, we spent a lot of money renovating. And even though 99% of my home purchases are from Target, Ikea or Junk stores, the costs still add up. So a good deal of our discretionary money goes to what you see on this blog. Other than that, we both love to travel. I have a penchant for luxury hotels while Mr. Limestone has a obsession with frequent flyer miles. Those factors coupled with limited vacation time and funds add up to a few (sometimes short but) semi-swank vacations a year.

I tend to be the one behind the camera so I don't have that many photos of myself to begin with. Of those few, I don't like most of them. And I'm not about to show a bunch of photos displaying my mouth open or excess chins. If I were rich and famous, I'd like to have a photographer follow me around every once in a while to take some fabulous and flattering action shots of me. Until then, this is my favorite photo of myself. It was taken on my 30th birthday in Paris. I'm wearing my favorite dress ($65!!) and highest heels I own.


Design Inspirations?

I like read to all sorts of home decor related magazines and books. Particularly fond of Martha Stewart and all her crafty elves for their inspiration and good taste. I don't have one style icon, really. I tend to take a lot in and then pick and choose what suits me best. I try my best to keep a style tickler file when it comes to home projects. If you're curious, you can take a peak at my home inspiration and good idea flickr sets.

The magazines I subscribe to religiously are Martha Stewart, Domino (now defunct). I loved Blueprint and still miss it. I just recently subscribed to ReadyMade, House Beautiful and Better Homes & Gardens so the jury is still out. I used to subscribe to Real Simple but found it was the same ol stuff recycled over and over. Boo on them.

As a general rule, I have an idea of the finished product in my head before I start a project. That goes for renovating or doing a design project or planning a party. The trouble is I often can't explain what I have in my mind very well which is why I tend to have to do things myself. (That and I'm a bit of a control freak.) Sometimes the end result is different from what I imagined - sometimes better, sometimes worse.

I think that is pretty much it for the more generic questions. I'll answer the more specific ones in my next post. Until then, I hope I haven't bored you too much and feel free to ask anything else you're wondering about.

Whadya wanna know?

I swear, most people in Brooklyn don't speak this way. And since we're on the topic, please ignore anything you have ever learned about Brooklyn from a movie. 99 times out of a 100 its dead wrong. Thanks for your consideration.

Robert Stadler’s question mark installation in Paris thanks to Dom Dada

But on to the main topic of this post: Do you have any questions for me?

I've noticed that I've been a little bit self involved on this blog. Its all me, me, me! Sure, this medium isn't ideal for balanced discussion that doesn't mean I have to be completely oblivious to what YOUR NEEDS, does it?

So here is a call out for questions. Is there something you want to see? Are you renovating and have a query I might be able to help with? Throwing a at home party you want help with? Struggling with decor related choices and wouldn't mind an extra set of eyes? Is there something you think I should buy or do or see? Undecided between Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs? Feel free to drop me a line at bklimestoner@aol.com

I've already gotten some great questions (and tangential conversations) over the past two years but those have all been for my eyes only. I'm officially opening the flood gates. Bring it on!

Presto, chang-o!

I give you the before:

and the after


I lurve it! So thankful to Jennifer for her tips, especially the suggestion of coating it with a sealer. I thought the sealer was just a pratical step to protect from damage but its a lot more than that.

The acrylic coat gives it a much more polished and finished appearance. It makes my many mistakes (drips, brush strokes, etc.) look intentional and shiny. Woo-hoo.


The only bummer is that it only fits my side of the bed which happens to be the side you can't see unless you are really looking for it. So its a bit wasted. I don't want to move the bed over anymore either so this will be its permanent home.

What do you think would be a good compliment on the other side?