Starting to Decorate - Finally!

So I have a confession to make - I'm a little bit obsessive when it comes to order (this is probably no surprise to those that know me well). We have been in the house for about six months now, and I just had Robbie hang up the first pictures on a wall last week. I guess it had something to do with the fact that I didn't want a bunch of holes in my walls if they weren't going to stay there for awhile, but this can also lead to (a LOT) of indecision about where to hang things.

Another aspect to the lack of permanent decorations is that we're still planning to completely move the living room furniture into the family room after it's done, so we're really not sure where everything's going to end up. I should probably just acknowledge the fact that pretty much anything can be fixed with putty and paint, but that would be too easy...  ;)

So I was finally going to jump into it for Christmas decorations and put some stuff on the walls, but I then decided that this year I'd just utilize the nails in the doors and hang stuff there until I really decided what to do with everything.

In light of all that, you'll now understand why I need your help on this very big, important decision  ;)  - Which way should I hang these pictures?!

Technically, they can be hung either way - there is no "right" or "wrong" way as far as the pattern goes. But I'm not quite sure which way looks better with the rest of the kitchen & bar area. For example, if they are hung horizontally (above), will they clash or come too close to the bar light fixtures (also red)?

But if they are hung vertically, does it seem unbalanced on the wall, being so much on the right and not anything on the left?

So you see my dilemma :) - now please help! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think is the best way, if it doesn't matter, or if you think I'm crazy! Thanks!

Ireland - Part 2!

I thought I'd give you a little more about our trip to Ireland over the holidays before taking up the home improvement adventures again! One day a few of us were able to go explore the city closest to us - Londonderry, or Derry, as some refer to it! (More on this later)

Londonderry is known as "The Walled City" because the original city wall still stands.

However, as you can see above, today the city extends quite beyond the walls themselves, such that the walls really only surround the city center.

 You can walk all the way around the city center on the walls themselves...

 ...and see a lot of the history of the city that was...

  ...and some of the history that still is...

The reason the city is either called "Londonderry" or "Derry" is due to the religious or political affections of the people - "Loyalists" are true to the crown (UK) and even paint their curbs to show their loyalty. They refer to the city as Londonderry, as it was originally named.

 From a religious perspective, the Protestants are also generally associated with the Loyalists.

 On the other side of the city are those who generally want Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join with the Republic of Ireland. Generally, they are of the Catholic faith, and do not want the city to be associated with London, hence the name "Derry".

Looking from the city walls on the southern side of the city, you can see several murals painted on the side of apartment buildings. These murals recount times of political unrest during the "Troubles".

 

Looking towards the city from a bridge crossing the river Foyle. The bridge is a double-decker, so there are two ways people/traffic could get into and out of the city.

And yes, they still care about their money, whether it's dollars or pounds! We found this and stopped in to see what you might find in a "Pound World"! (Think Dollar Tree)

Well, if there is one thing the Irish love to eat it is their sweets (of course along with their tea)! We brought back some European goodies, most of which involve chocolate, and a few that involve potatoes! (Meat-flavored potato crisps!) What an experience!

Break is Over - Back to Reality (Kind of!)

So Robbie and I did something different for Christmas this year - we spent the majority of the day on a plane - to Ireland! Most of Robbie's extended family is in Ireland, and I had not met many of them, so during the week between Christmas and New Years one of his cousins gave us a good excuse to come visit - an Irish wedding!

So we, Robbie's mom, sister, brother-in-law, and new niece all made the long trek over the "pond" (as Robbie calls it) to the "homeland". Seven days and 7,000 miles later, we were back in the US and catching up on the multiple time zone changes. But along the way we managed to get some pretty good photos of the journey!

 On top of Greinan Fort, which dates back to the time of Christ.

Windy, but we could see for miles in every direction!

 Overlooking the Northern coast of Ireland, where the cliffs drop right into the water!

Above, a view of the Dunluce castle ruins in the distance.

Below, hanging out right below the castle ruins.

 Fences are there to discourage the honest, right? Well, we can all guess who's idea it was to hop the fence and make our way to the coastline! (Below)

One of the most well-known places in Ireland is filed with thousands of these volcanic rock formations, which might look like stones placed into a road using a man-made pattern, but are actually naturally occurring...

 Some rise and fall like pyramids or hills of steps...

 ...while others are fairly level, but go up and down the coast for a good ways.

This is the Giant's Causeway, named such because there is a similar formation in Scotland, across the water (and I guess actually goes under the water as well), and the myth is that two giants were throwing rocks at each other from across the sea.

These were some of the natural beauties of the northern coast of Ireland...next time I'll show you a little bit of the city life!