Number Cruncher

Yes, that's me. I spend my weekdays doing accounting work for a private company and my nights and weekends crunching numbers for our household. It's not a chore to me, it's what I like to do.

I've contemplated putting together a post on the time value of money. What is that? It's what the pros use to calculate any loan you might have - mortgage, car loan, etc. It's the amortization schedule of payments - principal and interest - they show you. And it is an incredibly helpful tool to know how to use. I'd be lying if I said it was super complex. If you have any interest in a post like this please let me know. I would be thrilled to throw a little number knowledge at ya! Nerd alert.

Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. And I have one more sidenote before I get to the meat of this post. I happened to catch this opinion post on CNN and just had to share it. My favorite quote from it being,

"Competence, meanwhile belongs to the women, particularly in the usually macho world of global finance. Over in Europe, Merkel was re-elected on the basis of her deft handling of the eurozone crisis, and in the United States, monetary policy was entrusted to [Janet] Yellen. Making the victory extra sweet for women, she was chosen instead of Lawrence Summers, who will forever be remembered for saying women aren't that good at math."

Oh yes. We aren't very good at math at all. Let me ask you a question, Beyonce. Who runs the world? Girls.

So, back to regularly scheduled post. While getting rooms painted and furnished is really important, sometimes it's the little projects that make our new house feel more like a home. Pictures definitely do this. I've mentioned these Etsy pictures before. It all started with the artichoke, I had to have it in my house.

I knew I wanted to hang all four pictures in a row, evenly spaced apart. What does that require? Math! This was not a gallery wall I could wing, unlike the bedroom one I put together the weekend before. This was in a high traffic area and needed to be perfect.

I started by measuring the length of the bar unit the frames would be hung above (which was actually 71.5 inches), as well as the distance to the crown molding. Then, I measured the frames, which were 13x16. Four 13" frames would take up 52 inches. My original calculation above gave 5 inches between the frames but I decided that was too much and went with 4 inches instead. The outside frames were hung 3.75 inches in from the edges of the Besta (IKEA) unit and voila, 4 level, evenly spread out frames. (Don't be fooled, there are a few extra nail holes behind a couple of the frames...)

Next up in crunching numbers over here, finding the best deal. We were down to two rooms that still needed rugs, the dining room and living room. Columbus Day sales meant it was time to rip the bandaid off and finish a few home purchases. I've done my best to browse rug sales almost weekly, hoping I'd find something I love for pennies. If you've researched rugs, you know that they don't come cheap. But knowing what's a good price to pay is definitely valuable knowledge.

I started my living room rug selection not quite sure what direction I wanted to go in. Masculine, with a den feeling? Or light and airy? Well, then I came across this rug, asked Jay what he thought, to which he replied yes (shocked is an understatement), and my decision was made. Especially since we have a white haired pup. Light for the win!

I decided it was worth checking one of my favorite sites for this same rug. I've definitely seen it before and wanted to make sure I paid the best price.

Well Joss & Main had it, but the closest size was more than the Overstock price. That's settled.

And here she is! Not the greatest photo, but it was dark out and the living room needs the most work. And now I have lots of incentive to get things together - thinking cream walls and maybe a navy contrast wall. Maybe? That would be very bold for me but I love the idea of it.

An 8x10 wool rug for less than $300? Now that is a steal!

Where do you check for online home decor deals?

Any site that wants to give me a great price and free shipping is right up my alley. I've spent a fair amount of time on the following sites while attempting to decorate our new home: Overstock, Joss & Main, One Kings Lane, Target, Etsy, Home Depot


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