Dream Project: Hidden Door Bookcase

This post is all about a home reno project that L and I have been dreaming about ever since we bought our condo.

Check out our nice new bookcase!

Custom-made by A Cut Above Joinery*. A huge shout-out to John, who did a fantastic job! He really cared about making this the best bookcase in the world, and he was deeply into the "cool factor" of it. 

*linking 'cause I love supporting local craftsmen!

Cool because...it's a secret door!

L peeking out  from the library room behind it

Go here to A Cut Above's Facebook link to see a video of John being very excited and testing the door's motion. You have to see it open! 

Okay, now here's how it looks now.

We decorated it with some of our graphic novels and gothic horror novels, as well as drinking accoutrements, and other nerdy-cool things. We made sure that an extra-strong hinge rated for a very high weight load (600+ lbs) was used, both to support the weight of the bookcase itself (which is made from solid cherry wood), and whatever we store in/on it.

Here's what the end of our dining room looks like (um, we don't dine - we don't have a dining room table!), facing away from our living room, and looking into the library through the open bookcase.

I drew that picture of the girl when I was in high school. 

One third of the bookcase is rigid and immobile, and the other two-thirds pivot on the central hinge. There's a lip that you have to step over to go into the library.

Why did we do this? Not to build a panic room, or a safe room, but because our neighbour's bedroom is right up against the back of our library wall. We know that our loud music/movies bugs him sometimes, and aside from this just being the Coolest Thing Ever, we wanted to have a stronger baffle for the noise. This did the job beautifully!

What did it look like before? Well, I don't take many pictures in the dining room area because it doesn't have great light, but these ones are from when L and I painted the place pale yellow and had the new flooring put down in the summer of 2009.

The library entrance was just a gap in in the walls. It's nice to have the extra room, but really, we store our books there. 

Another look into the library, mid-reno.

We ended up putting up a curtain rod, and buying a set of really thick velvet curtains across the gap. They were not much for soundproofing. 

This is a picture of me a couple of years ago, where you can see the blue velvet curtain pulled aside behind me, looking into the library.

Vizzini really liked to attack the curtains, so they were getting a little hole-y.

We searched a long time for a carpenter who wanted to take on this project. I will warn you if you ever consider something like this: it was not cheap. 

It took three days this past week to install the bookcase, which was built off-site and tested before being installed in our home. Poor John; not only were our walls off-plumb, but our ceilings are slanted. He did an amazing job at hiding that!

Vizzini was a cowardly kitty and hid the entire time.

"I claim these mats."

There was quite a lot of sawing; our whole place is covered in a layer of dust. L and I have been cleaning and rearranging since Friday.

A closer look at some of the details. The lower portions were made as functional cupboards for storage.

John made the doorknobs by hand.

The top of it:

Those rosettes were also done by hand.

Each of the three sets of shelving in each third is adjustable, to whatever height needed.

Before the top was finished; you can see the rosette on the right shelf.

The door is held shut by magnets along the left side. A gentle but firm push is all that's needed to open it, and the door makes no noise. Smooth all the way!

We stored away our DVD collection in the bottom cupboards.

We're still rather attached to some of our movies, but we don't use them often, so better to be stored away.

I love the eclectic mix of goodies on the shelving.

Left column:

• Martini glasses, shaker, pitcher and some vintage erotica and pin-up books.
• Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" graphic novels and a gargoyle cat bookend figure (one of a pair).
• Dragon candleholder and one of L's dioramas that he painted/made (featuring a vampire carriage).
• Gothic horror, Lovecraft, Poe - an assortment of graphic novels and books.

Centre column:

• My 1910 volume of Shakespeare with L's acting trophy from high school, along with a collection of dystopian fiction.
• My leather and brass gauntlet, plus some Dumas and "Morte d'Arthur".
• A lizard climbing out of a book figure; our newly-painted-miniature display case.
• A mix of vintage glassware.

Right column:

• "The Invisibles" graphic novel series, my Victoria Junior Stamp Club trophy, my Golum limited edition figure, and an Edward Gorey-illustrated copy of  "The War of the Worlds."
• D&D drinking mugs; the "Preacher" series of graphic novels.
• Two dragon figure dioramas (the big one painted by L, the little green one painted by me), on top of a first edition of "The Silmarillion." 
• "The Walking Dead" graphic novel series, and the other cat gargoyle bookend.

Door open, looking into the library.

We have 5 bookcases in the library, stocked with all of our novels, philosophy and poetry books.

Another bookcase and my limited edition Smaug gargoyle (locally-made, same artist as the Golum figure above).

You can see the slight gap for the door to swing open. We leave it open during the day for Vizzini but close it at night when we're home. 

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our awesome new home addition! 

Wardrobely Oxygenated; An Ultimate Weekend; and Stained Glass Boots

First up: Totally Exciting News! I've been featured and interviewed on Wardrobe Oxygen* as one of Alison's "True Fashionista" series. 

I'm truly honoured to be included, thank you, Alison! Check out the post here. Welcome, new readers, and thank you for your kind comments!

*linking 'cause I love - I don't get anything but a little notoriety from this.

Now, I mustn't let this fleeting fame go to my head (hee) so let's settle down and get back to the business of clothes. This is what I wore to work on Friday.

I'm test-driving this new-to-me denim skirt that I thrifted here last weekend for $13.50. It's by Talbot's and I am so happy that it doesn't have any slits. No accidental hoo-hah flashing, no worry about bending over and exposing  god-knows-what. Why is this never an issue with regular pencil skirts, but when it comes to denim skirts, it's all like "let's put in a massive slit"?

Anyway, tell me what you think of this skirt. I wore it again today (pictures below), so you can get a good look-see at it.

But the big star of this outfit is COLOUR. Woo, pink legs and orange-yellow shoes! I loved the brightness of these colours together.

The blouse and the shoes were both featured in the April 2012 capsule (recap here); I wore the shoes 5 times and the blouse once. I wanted to give the blouse another shot because I like all the colours (and I wanted to see it on me as a blonde).

Back shot of the skirt.

 Not too bad - I don't mind the lack of pockets (just flaps).

Although it was rainy, I wore my orange leather jacket and red leather purse.

Bring on the colour! I had a lot "Oh wow!" compliments on this outfit. I definitely brought my own sunshine to a cloudy day.

The stuff:

These are the only Tsubos I've owned that have worked for me (I've had two other pairs that I've passed along). The chain belt is from the 60s - it used to belong to my mom. It had big chain links and tassels that I removed in the mid-80s (regret!).

A close-up of the rings.

Um, a blurry close-up

The purple stone one was my dad's. I got it when he died in 1997. The other one is a $5.00 cheapy ring that's never gotten tarnished.

Blouse (Jones New York), skirt (Talbot's, thrifted), shoes (Tsubo), belt (vintage 60s, Mom's), ring (Francis Jewelers, vintage 50s, Dad's), ring (purchased in the late 90s).

I had to rush home from work on Friday to get my glam on for our friend Alison's surprise birthday party. I went all out!

BAM!

My penchant for adding rocker accessories to ladylike dresses continues. Also: crazy hair (which I love doing).

This wonderful dark green satin dress has been in my closet since February 2010 - it's by Club Monaco and was $40 on consignment. It looked like a big boring sack on the hanger, but it's so cool on. I love the deliberately uneven shoulders and the looseness of the top of it; the bottom is cut just like a snug pencil skirt.

I first wore it here in Feb 2010 for our friend Ronnie's 40th birthday party, and then again in November 2010 to see "The Wizard of Oz" at the theatre with my nieces (crazy Auntie Sheila always dresses up!).

For accessories, I stuck with silver: my "teeth" necklace, silver bird skull earrings and a silver cuff.

Hee, look what I found in the background of the above picture:

Vizzini is trying to get into my purse! He knows how to open zippers. Little devil!

The back:

Showing my ink

I know - *gasp* - the boots are so freakin' awesome. I cabbed out to a restaurant to meet L and friends for dinner, then we got a ride to the surprise party house. I did the diva thing and clutched arms for support on the rainy sidewalks.

I bought the boots here in March 2013 at the Fluevog store in Gastown (hi, Wes!) in Vancouver, and this is their inaugural wearing. I loved towering 6" above everyone! I was a little concerned about my feet being in major pain after wearing them, but aside from a little soreness on the balls of my feet, they were perfectly fine the next day. For such a high heel, they are surprisingly wearable. They are still on half price at the Fluevog website right now (linking for info purposes only), but I recommend them only for those souls (soles?) who have a good dose of Lady Gaga in them!

The outerwear:

We have a true Spring season here on the wet West Coast, and that means that I can put my winter coats away and wear my mid-weight leather jackets and fancy ones like this amazing Desigual coat.

Tra la! I love how it looked with the boots. I bought this coat for a chokingly high amount of money (over $400) to celebrate getting my current job in March 2011 (first worn here).

I featured the coat in my February 2012 capsule wardrobe (recap here).

I am a robot

I wore purple leather gloves to top it off. I need to wear this coat again soon.

I was so outrageously visible in this outfit - and it felt great! - that this is my link-up to "Visible Monday" at Patti's Not Yet Dead Style. Get yourself over there!

Coat (Desigual), dress (Club Monaco, consignment), boots (LA Malibu, Fluevog), necklace (The Bay), earrings (local, Vancouver), cuff (thrifted), gloves (Danier Leather).

We didn't stay too late at the party, because I'm a responsible team player (*snort*) when it comes to Ultimate. Being hungover and running around for two hours in the sun and/or rain and/or wind isn't fun.

I did my usual "quick change" outfit both before and after the game.

Minimal make-up, wet hair, full skirt and comfy shoes.

Both the blue sweater and the snowflake skirt were worn in the October 2012 capsule (recap here). I wore the sweater thrice and the skirt 4 times.

I also have a black cami and a vintage half-slip on.

I last wore these shoes last Monday (here) with my olive suede skirt. They are excellent on my feet after wearing tight cleats for two hours.

Leather coats are the perfect weight for this time of year - they cut the wind and are warm without being too smotheringly hot.

Jacket (Danier Leather), sweater (Smart Set, thrifted), skirt (J.J.F., consignment), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), earrings (local).

I took my camera to the field so you could see where we play. This is Victoria High School. It's the oldest high school west of Winnipeg and north of San Francisco, opened in 1876; this version was built in 1914 (source).

My parents went to school here.

We dump our stuff at the "Girls Entrance". On Saturday, it was rainy, so we put all of our gear up at the top of the steps to keep it dry.

L on the right

I change from my nice clothes into my Ulty stuff there. Everyone gets a gander at my sports bra, but otherwise I'm able to transition quickly.

See? I don't wear fancy clothes ALL the time!

This is my usual work-out gear: board shorts (nice and long), a tee, cleats and my Panthers ball cap. Our practice discs are near me, as are our orange traffic cones for marking out our field. That's our playing area behind me.

It was sunny/cloudy for the whole game - lots of wind, which makes play challenging.

Our friend Chris on the left and me on the right, getting some "catch" in for warm-up before we start playing. We had 10 people show up, so it was a good game. We utilize the full field, with end zones marked out.

Action shot!

I'm catching there, I think. Anyway, proof that I am not always 100% fashionable!

I change back into that same nice outfit and put on a bit more make-up before we go for lunch.

Last night was Winesday at my house! Woo hoo! My gals and I hung out and ate so much yummy food and drank many bottles of wine. We also did a big clothes swap, and I gave away a bunch of clothes. I love seeing things go to good homes!

I slept in a bit this morning, then got ready to head to town with L for lunch and grocery shopping.

More sunshine! I was stopped by a lady in the grocery store who told me, "Those are the most amazing shoes I've ever seen!" They are my Fluevog Prepare Hi Steady "Disco Dutch" shoes, last worn here with my rockin' Etro blazer.

I kept my orange leather blazer on for the entire outing as it was a little chilly.

Second wear of the denim skirt (seen on Friday, scroll up). This time I wore my rocker belt - I do like that this skirt fits at my natural waist, as opposed to sitting on my hips.

This yellow t-shirt was worn 4 times in the April 2012 capsule (recap here).

I am determinedly doing bare legs, even though it's cold out!

I love yellow for spring!

What colour are you grooving on right now?

Blazer (Danier Leather, consignment), t-shirt (INC, thrifted), skirt (Talbot's, thrifted), belt (consignment), shoes (Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevogs).

July 18th - Outfit #20 - Shoes, Shoes and More Shoes

Well, it's been a day. I made the best of it in yellow! and orange! and stained glass shoes!

This is my yellow dress and my "stained glass" 80s shoes (last worn here with these same shoes) with my orange sweater (last seen here, 2nd outfit) over top of it.

There are awards floating around in the fashion blogosphere and I've been gifted with several of them over the years. I don't pass them on - not because I don't value them - but I follow and read a lot of blogs, and there are simply too many that I love to narrow it down. I also do my own favourite blog awards ("It's a Major Award!") once a year, which you can view under "Awards" in the "Stuff About Me" tab.

Anyway, the lovely Lisa of Dangerous Curves has bestowed the honour of an award upon me. I encourage you to check her out - she loves old school glamour! As always, play along if you feel like it, but because this is my blog and I like to talk about me, here are 7 things about me.

1. I'm right handed.
2. We're having chicken curry for dinner (over brown rice). I like it spicy hot!
3. My current favourite band is Okkerville River.
4. I like watching people.
5. Apparently, I snore. I deny it.
6. I have no patience for shoes that hurt my feet.
7. I have a brown thumb. All plants I buy die.

Anyway, back to fashion!

Wee! I like how the yellow belt makes this dress look like a skirt - it fooled most people. These shoes are actually quite challenging to style, so I went simple with everything else.

The stuff:

To help tie in the white in the shoes, I wore this multi-strand pearl necklace and bigass pearl studs.

See that mark inside the shoe above? LOOK AWAY AND SCROLL DOWN PAST THE NEXT PICTURE IF YOU ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT.








Okay, you ready? These 80s vintage shoes are disintegrating! The insides of them have gone all mushy and sticky. It's completely disgusting.

Be happy I didn't take a picture of the gunk on my feet!

IT'S SAFE NOW...YOU MAY RESUME READING.

So...much as I love how cool these shoes are, they are going into the donation bag. Aside from the incredibly awful feeling of shoes liquefying around my feet (the toes...*shudder*), the leather is also extremely rigid and is rubbing my feet raw. I am hereby enacting the 2nd instance of my "loosey goosey" rule (full rules here):

Damaged, stained or otherwise ruined clothes may be substituted for a like item (i.e. a stained shirt can be traded for another shirt). 

I'll be swapping these for a pair of much-needed flatter shoes:

The Predictions shoes (as you can see by my wordage) are not the greatest shoes, but who doesn't love a nice dark red almost-flat shoe?

Well, the universe must have known that my vintage shoes would fail on me today, so it (in the form of the mailman) delivered me these beauties today from Fluevog!

They are the Impulse Presence by Fluevog (I link because I love, not for profit, freebies or discounts). These are on sale on the Fluevog website right now. I bought a 9.5 - I usually wear a 9.5 or a Euro 40. They are tight in the toes (I have narrow feet) and come up quite high at the back of the heel - they're very flat, but have nice padding inside. They will break in quickly, I think.

 As I've mentioned before, one major thing that this capsule challenge is teaching me is the value of good quality walkable shoes, whether those are flats, platforms or a kitten heel.

I had intended to use the cheapy red shoes above in a future capsule, but once July's is over, I'll be sending them to the pass-it-along pile and these lovely leather flats will take their place. All will be right with the world.

Admire the diamond shape on the heel!

I am very sad to say, however, that poor Megan, my East-coast twin was not so lucky in her purchase today. Sending you good vibes that your package is recovered soon!

Dress (Calvin Klein), sweater (Liz Claiborne, consignment), belt (Le Chateau), necklace (Plum), earrings (Aldo Accessories), shoes (vintage 80s, Elite, thrifted).

Flowers and Denim on a Weekday (Oh, and A Butt Shot)

Today, there were glimpses of sun, and not just on my lapel:

I do like to make my own sunshine. And as you can see from the glare on my picture, it's actually light outside! Will wonders never cease?

This jacket is new-to-me: it's another Smoking Lily item (I adore their clothing - here's a post with links to my Smoking Lily items). It was $26.95 in a consignment store and you can bet I snatched it up! It's a stretchy denim with aqua denim piping all around the edges, and aqua on the cuff linings:

The skirt is my mystery skirt - I thrifted it in Seattle a few years ago. It doesn't have a label, just a little tag with a leaf on it. I love the heathery green tweed of it and the embroidered flowers on the bottom.

I'm wearing a red top underneath to tie in with the red in the flowers. My second day with no neutrals! Colours are the new neutral!

Detail of the jacket:

Hand silk-screened detail on the inside back.

The stuff:

I would love to show when I last wore these, but it's nearly impossible to search on a brand called "Me Too". Actually, I think I remember when I wore them last...yup, here. Hmmm...I need to wear that skirt again.

A close-up of the bits:

That is a most excellent flower. The earrings were a gift from my dear friend Sherylyn.

Note: no kick-backs from Smoking Lily - I link because I love.

Jacket (Smoking Lily, consignment), top (Planet), skirt (mystery, thrifted), shoes (Me Too), flower (Roberta's Hats), earrings (Shi Studio, gift from Sherylyn).

Oh, and yes, that is my butt over on Wendy Brandes' blog, doing an imitation of a Loverboy album cover. I was browsing online late the other night and well...the rest is history:

I guess you could say I got lucky!