coffee table love.

You all know by now I am a huge fan of any and every thing the lovely and talented Holly from Life In The Fun Lane comes up with. I mean, so much so that I should probably stop mentioning it so often because she'll start to think I'm a weirdo stalker.

(Note to Holly in case you're reading this: I'm not a weirdo stalker. Ok, maybe a little weird in my own way. And I do 'stalk' your blog. But, I'm harmless.) :)

So it's no shock to anyone that when I first came across her blog and soon after saw a coffee table she painted, I set out to search for one of my own. Hubby and I have been looking for a coffee table that we just love for quite some time now. Too bad we don't live in Canada or I would've bought this baby immediately.

Take a look at this beauty! and you'll see the appeal. It's simple and timeless and I, along with Holly, just love the little worm holes and chunky legs.

You can't begin to imagine my excitement when, while searching Craigslist ads from back home even while away on vacation, I found this:

EXACT same table. Perfect dimensions. And, the price? Wait for it.... $20. I almost couldn't breathe for a moment. I simply spun the laptop around to show hubby and he knew. I want it. Badly. That baby, in white, in our living room. *sigh* Love.

I have been dreaming of this exact table for almost 6 months now and I've already emailed about it twice saying I want it! I may not sleep tonight, impatiently anticipating a response from the seller. Please keeps your fingers (and toes) crossed that it is still available, and that the seller will hang onto it until I return home to Ohio on Saturday and can pick it up.

*maintaining hope*....

creamy, not crunchy.

My plan for today was to head to the mall with the boys to check out what after Christmas sales I could take advantage of. However, as it sometimes does when a two-year old (or a child of any age, for that matter) is involved, plans changed. Our little guy went to bed fairly early last night so Travis and I were able to enjoy the hot tub here at his dad's house but that meant we had an early riser this morning. The sun not even being completely up yet at 6:30 a.m. didn't make any difference to our little boy who was beyond excited to start his day. So, he sipped milk while I sipped a strong cup of coffee, then it was clean up time so that grandma comes home to a clean house today after work, and once daddy was up and breakfast started, that's when plans took an abrupt turn. For the worst.

As I prepared myself to enjoy one of my hubby's awesome omelets, Jack found the peanut butter and decided he wanted a bowl of it. No problem. He's a picky eater but loves peanut butter so any 'good' fats and protein he wants, he gets. He started into his bowl of peanut butter as I started into my delicious omelet. One bite into it was enough to cause screaming and gagging. Problem? The peanut butter was 'crunchy' peanut butter. Something he's unfamiliar with. He enjoys peanut butter, and nuts, but apparently not together. So, after trying everything I chould think of to help him clean out his mouth (drink some juice, brush his teeth, eat something more enjoyable) I finally just scooped the remains of peanut butter out of his mouth with a wash cloth and finally got him calmed down in just enough time to catch a favorite cartoon and let him fall asleep for his nap. Whew! Never, will we ever offer crunchy peanut butter to him again. Ever.

The bright side of our change of plans is that hubby hit the gym and I'm able to share some fabulous rooms with you all. I find myself being drawn to all things striped right now. Clothes, walls, furniture. You name it. So, here are a few photos of stripes I love. Whether it be a room full of striped walls or a simple striped accessory, I love 'em...

If we had wood stairs, this would be a 'for sure' project:

We are in search of a unique and very budget friendly idea for the floor in our guest/Jack's bathroom so I will be looking into the option of painting stripes on the plywood floor...

I absolutely love both of these sofas... love.love.

Not sure I'm this brave, but how adorable is this bathroom?...

Three things I love the most: white. turquoise. and stripes. All wrapped up into one room...

And who could forget this absolutely adorable dresser Holly painted?!?! It sold, which is no surprise but that doesn't mean it left my mind. I seriously may attempt this with a piece of my own, I am that obsessed with it...

If you didn't already love stripes, I bet you do now. :)

snowball fight.

Hello lovelies. How was everyones Christmas? I sure hope Santa was good to each and every one of you. Thanks to my "Santa" I am now blogging from this:

while keeping my toes toasty in these:

I am in love with both, and more so, with the man called "Santa", a.k.a my handsome hubby.

The excitement of the children had me behind the camcorder on Christmas morning so as soon as my sister emails me the photos she snapped of their smiling faces, I'll share some.

Despite being up all night Christmas Eve due to what we think was a nightmare our little guy had, and staying up late Christmas night playing hubby's new "toy" from his Santa, Wii, we managed to make it through the 7 hour drive to Charlotte, NC the day after Christmas to spend the week with my father-in-law and his festive and fun wife. Yesterday us gals spent the day browsing little boutiques in a nearby outdoor shopping mall since the sun was shining brightly and a heavy coat wasn't needed like it would be if we were back home. Today the fellas went golfing and us gals, along with my munchkin, hit some everyday hot spots for shopping. I.e. Michaels Craft Store where I snagged a little tree for Jack's room next year for $2.47 complete with burlap cover on the bottom. T.J.Maxx where I was thrilled to find a white shag rug for our sink area in the kitchen and a "knock-off" Wendy Addison "Wish" ornament. Love. And lastly, Target for clearance ornaments in shades of turquoise, silver and white along with a simply shabby chic stocking holder that I am praying I find two more of. It is stunning. I'll try to share photos of my frugal finds tomorrow. I've GOT to get new batteries in my camera.

This evening I joined Suzanne at her regular "Zumba" class and attempted to dance off some of the holiday treats I've been devouring. Although it made me feel uncoordinated trying to keep up with the hip-hop hip-swinging the instructor was oh so good at, I had fun and got my heart pumping. Looks like I'll have to attempt another workout tomorrow because after dinner tonight we had "snowballs". A new favorite dessert of mine I've never had before. You roll vanilla ice cream into a ball, after lightly toasting shredded coconut in the broiler. Spoon hot fudge onto a saucer, briefly warm, roll ice cream ball in toasted coconut and place on top of hot fudge. Then, simply enjoy. Guiltlessly indulge. The problem developed when my father in law decided he was too full from dinner to enjoy his dessert, and hubby and I were left to have a "snowball fight". Arguing who should get to enjoy the extra serving. I regretfully let hubby win... but only because I'd like to keep my waistline the same and secretly I like when hubby is a litttle thicker around the middle during winter. Keeps me warm at night. :)

I'm off to the hot tub with Travis to let my muscles relax after my attempt at being a Britney Spears back-up dancer earlier this evening. Tomorrow we shall venture out to the mall in hopes of spending my Pottery Barn gift card I received, as well as see what "can't live without" items Anthropologie has to offer.

Be sure to let me know if any of you try a "snowball". I recommend them.

santa, we're ready.

Well, I suppose we're not officially ready until the cookies and milk have been placed near the tree and the kids are tucked snugly in bed. But, we do have stockings ready to be filled with goodies! And my lovely sister, niece, and ma will be here tomorrow to help us bake and decorate sugar cookies, make chocolate dipped (and sprinkle) pretzels because they're fun for the little ones to nibble on, and of course there will be the famous chocolate chip cookies, brownies, apple pie, and a new treat my sister and I have decided to attempt... peppermint bark ice cream cake! She's bringing the recipe or else I'd share it with you all. I promise to do lots of taste testing and report back, along with the recipe as long as it turns out as delicious as it sounds.

I sure am excited to see what hubby Santa will have for me under the tree but in complete honesty, my favorite part of the holiday is family. Seeing the kids faces light up as they come down the stairs and see the presents under the tree, watching them sit and tinker with their new toys. I love sharing new photos with my ma and my mother-in-law. Grandmas love photos of their kids and grandkids. And I always love seeing them proudly displayed in their homes. It's my favorite part just to have everyone here, in one place, kids running wild, windows fogging from the heat in the house, watching the snow fall outside. Filling our bellies with one of my favorite foods... stromboli! I know it's non-traditional but it's quick, easy, and delicious and allows us to enjoy the day having fun as oppsed to cooking. Not to mention all the sweets we will have to devour. I'm so excited part of the crazy bunch will be arriving tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight. :)

As for our stockings, we don't have a fireplace (the one thing we MUST have in our next home) so they are adorning thr dresser I painted and next year hopefully they'll hang from a photo ledge we intend to install.

I am proud. They were handmade, by me, with love. For my boys....

 

 

 

The cream cable-knit stocking is mine. The "M" was an easy substitute since they were sold out of the "A" because most of my family calls me "Mandy" anyway, and I'm a "Mama" , so it works. :) If I would have found two more stockings like it, I would have bought them immediately. I love it. But, I only found one. So, I thought, I'll make some for my boys!

I used lightweight drop cloth and cream colored twine. Simply used the cardboard insert that came in my stocking to trace on the drop cloth. Cut out the two pieces, and stitched them together with twine. Now, I should mention that twine isn't exactly for sewing so it gave my poor little hand a workout to stitch it through drop cloth, but it was so worth it. You'll notice Jack's stocking faces the wrong way. It was late, I was tired, and my hand hurt so I wasn't completely paying attention to what I was doing. I may fix it by just making him another one, and then again, I may just leave it the way it is since things around here are "perfectly imperfect" and that fits right in.

The "2" represents his age right now and will serve as a friendly reminder to me as to what year it is in photos. hehehe. But I have a "J" for next year. They're just little wooden letters I picked up for .75 each and I gave a very light coat of spray paint to, then distressed. Actually, when I started spray painting them last night it seemed the paint was very thin. Turns out, it's because you're supposed to use it in at least 50 degree weather and it was freezing in our garage. Not freezing as in, "I'm cold and need some hot cocoa" freezing. Freezing as in, "it's literally below 32 degrees out here and I can see my breath. I probably shouldn't be doing this right now" freezing. But it turns out, the very thin coat it applied was perfect seeing as I wanted the wood to show through.

They don't all match, and they have their flaws. But I made them. By hand. With love. So to me, they're perfect for us.

May your homes be filled with warmth, love, and all things merry and bright. For those of you who will be apart from your loved ones this Christmas, remember, we all share the same stars and the same moon and love is something that can be felt across the earth so smile and know that someone out there is smiling back.

From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases.

three days to spare.

Well friends, I've finally uploaded some not-such-great-quality Christmas decor photos. I think a new camera is going on my birthday wish list, for.sure. I'm not head-over-heels for our decor this year, but I have seen so many photos from all of you lovely bloggers that I have fabulous ideas for next year! I know, I can't possibly be planning for next year already right? Oh, I am. :) Maybe Santa will have a 'special delivery' for us next year. ;)

Let's get right to it. Our tree, well, it's fake one this year. A battle I fought long and hard about with the hubby, and I finally lost gave in. It's a 9 foot beast that took me next to forever to "fluff", with very little help from the mister that wanted a fake one to begin with of course! (Aaarrrgghhhh) And it's adorned with mostly silver and red, with touches of turquoise and a few random sweet ornaments we've been given over the years. I like the way it matches the Christmas presents wrapped underneath...

Don't worry, I'll tuck those presents away before my niece shows up on Thursday since she has a better understanding of Santa and will expect it to be bare until Christmas morning of course!

A few of my favorite ornaments are from the year Jack was born.

This is of Pooh and Piglet overlooking a "Moses basket" with a new baby tucked snugly inside. It reads: "How delightful," said Pooh. "to be oh so brand new".

And this one of a baby bottle on ice in a champagne bucket. (Sorry it's blurry)

I'm very disappointed that we could not find a tree topper this year that we loved, so we don't have one. Maybe I'll stick a bow up there today but we wanted a glittered star. Or should I say, I wanted a glittered star. You see, Jack (the little guy) is obsessed with stars! I think it came from a little cartoon skit he liked which was all about the seaside and had starfish in it because he calls stars, "star-bish", which, as you can probably figure out, means starfish. Any star, any where, he spots it. He even calls the snowflake ornaments on our tree "star-bish" with such excitement. Had I thought about it sooner, our tree would simply be filled with silver ornaments and white starfish... there I go with ideas for next year already. I only hope we can keep this obsession of his going strong for another year because my gosh, it's cute!

The staircase has garland tied with red ribbons draped from it:

And since I draw so much inspiration from the lovely and talented Holly and her own holiday decor I just had to put this together:

I already had the jars and a few tapers. But after finding the glittered "Noel" and tall tapers for 60% off, I just had to grab them. Hubby likes the simplicity of it. I like that hubby likes it. Makes us both happy. :)

And as for my favorite of all things "Christmas" in our home right now:

I grabbed a grapevine wreath for about $3 and the white berry garland for $2 and am in complete love with our simple wreaths. Originally I only had one on our back door but having fallen so deeply in love with it, I removed our very busy wreath we had on the front door and replaced it with a matching white grapevine one. I might even leave these wreaths up through the winter season, not just until the holidays are over. Is that un-cool? Lol.

Next year, absolutely no red in the house. None. It's fine for this year, seeing as Christmas is 3 days away, but I'm over it. Looks lovely everywhere else I see it, but it doesn't feel quite "right" for us.

As for that adorable little elf perched up on the wreath. It was a gift from Jack's grandpa and "Bubba" as he calls her. My father-in-law sent it to Jack in the mail and although Travis nor I had ever even heard of it, it's one of the most fun things about the season this year. The idea behind it is, the elf returns every night from the North Pole to a new spot in our house to keep an eye on the child(ren) to report their behavior back to Santa. The child(ren) are encouraged to talk to the elf, send messages through the elf to Santa, but not to touch the elf, as he is not a toy. Although at just 2 years of age Jack hardly gets the full concept of it, it's absolutely precious to me to watch my hubby contemplate a new spot for the elf every night so that when Jack wakes up in the morning he can search for him. And, he does. It's so cute to see my little guy wake up and set out to find something that makes his face light up when he finds it. It's like Christmas morning every morning already!

I have tons to do still in preparation for Friday but I hope to finish a small project I've been working on so I can share it with you all tomorrow! I mean, you want to know that there are stocking in this home, right? ;)

See you tomorrow then!

luck be a lady.

I am in total shock and awe over a few things today. Fortunately, it's a good shock. I was thrilled enough to find a new cool blog I love taking a peek at: high-heeled foot in the door. But, imagine my excitement as I discovered she was in the middle of a week of "favorite things" give-aways and this was the give-away I stumbled upon! I mean, seriously, how could one lucky gal even decide between all those fabulous options if she won???

Well, out of all of the lovely ladies that entered, I, yes I, was the one to be faced with the challenge of deciding. I won! I cannot believe the graciousness of you lovely bloggers. From kind comments and/or emails that brighten my day to fabulous give-aways.... thank you doesn't quite do my feelings justice. I'm starting to feel like maybe, just maybe, good deeds do bring around good karma. :)

Miraculously, I have made a decision on which one I would like. Since I loved them all, I figured I would choose the one that would get the most use and compliment my ever-so-simple 'jeans and a t-shirt' style beautifully. So, here she is in all her linen handmade glory:

I can't wait to see it in person. I just know I'll fall more in love with it. (If that's even possible.)

A big thank you again to high-heeled foot in the door for such a pretty (early Christmas) gift!

And, if you love all things pretty, linen, and handmade also, be sure to head on over to emersonmade.com  and find yourself a little piece of fabulous-ness.

My little elf and I are spending the afternoon wrapping the presents Santa dropped off for daddy *wink wink*, taking presents to the post office to be sent to the boys and girls who made our "nice" list this year :), finishing up some holiday decor (that I really hope to share with you all before the holiday has come and gone), taking photos of such decor, and dropping off hubby's "work car" to the mechanic (ugh!).

I hope all of you are kicking off an already exciting week with as much fun as we are!

makeover? yes. please.

If there are two things that could use a makeover even more than I could, it's my blog and our home. Our living room to be exact. Would you like a little 'sprucing up' done to your blog or a room in your home? Well then, friends, you are in luck!

Be sure to enter for a chance to win an e-decorating package from High-Heeled Foot In The Door! I mean seriously... is that not the ultimate gift to yourself or what? Taking the guess work out of what you want your room to look like? For this fickle Gemini, it would be the answer to my constant dilemmas.

And, if your blog could use a creative touch, Fabulous K Creative is giving away a blog makeover. I took one look at Holly's new design and was immediately off to look in to how I too could have such a fabulous looking blog. Imagine my excitement when I found that exact opportunity was being given away to one lucky follower.

What a gift-that-keeps-on-giving either of these would be! Wish me luck... and then get outta here and go enter for your chance to win! ;)

Christmas came early!

I woke up this morning with the intention of taking my little elf out for more Christmas shopping for our "big guy" but instead now plan to clean up the house, catch up on laundry, and cover a shift at work tonight. Needless to say, the day I was ever so excited about quickly became one I was less-than-thrilled to face. I did do plan on squeezing in some present wrapping, and managing to take some photos of our holiday decor. But, the most pleasant surprise, (as it often does), came to me when I logged on to take a quick look at my favorite blogs and noticed The Kelton's Cozy Cottage had chosen a winner for their latest giveaway.

And, the winner is... Moi!

Considering I'd probably lose my head if I didn't have an ever-so-necessary neck to keep it in place at the end of long days of motherhood, being a lovely and supportive wife, tackling household projects (which could consist of a simple ten loads of laundry or taping, priming, and painting just about anything), rushing to and from work, and managing to 'be there' for whatever friend or family member may need me, a glass of  wine is my 'self-prescribed dose of sanity'. Soooooo, as you can imagine this lovely little gift will surely get plenty of use!

Aren't they just gorgeous?!?!?!

Thanks again to The Kelton's!!! Be sure to take a look at their blog and follow them through their "adventures in their 1949 fixer-upper".

these are a few of my favorite things.

1.) finding a fabulous 'new-to-me' blog through another blog I loooooove!
2.) coming across a fabulous give-a-way on the new blog I am happy to have found!
3.) entering to win this little piece of loveliness...

4.) (a little off the subject but equally as wonderful to me) the changes made to my sweet ole' blog ;)

and....

5.) sharing the opportunity to win something fabulous from here, with all of you lovely readers!

ANYONE can enter so be sure to head on over to high-heeled foot in the door by Saturday Dec. 19th at midnight EST and enter to win something special for yourself (or someone you love enough to share such fabulous-ness with) this holiday season.

If you love something fabulous and FREE (and who in the world doesn't?!?!?) check out another uh-mazing give-a-way over at one of my favorite blogs! What a season of giving these ladies are making it out to be!

I'm off to play elf and wrap presents with my boys while cookies bake and fill the house with the sweetest aroma of the season. Be back tomorrow, finally, to share some of our holiday decor.

well, that's changed.

Things around our home are constantly changing. Mostly, it's my mind, but that usually means so does our decor, or more accurately, my ideas for our decor. But in this instance, I'm referring to how our lives have changed.

Before October 31, 2007 a Saturday night consisted of dinner out and a movie or dinner and drinks with friends. Or maybe shopping, and take-out then a late-night snugglefest curled up on the sofa watching the latest new release. Or maybe, it was spent away from home at a hotel for the weekend to relax in their hot tub, or with family playing cards and drinking wine. But here we are, two years plus after that oh-so-special date and our Saturday nights go a little more like this....

 

Pizza delivery, a couple diet cokes, candlelight, and of course...

 

a third party. :) Do we still take an occasional Saturday night to ourselves to have "us" time and a dinner where someone waits on us and makes seventy-three and a half trips back and forth until we are happy with what we are eating or drinking? We. Sure. Do. Do we miss having every Saturday night to just the two of us? Not. A. Chance.

We spent Saturday night together at the dinner table with what I must say was quite a delicious dinner and despite getting up a few times to get our picky-eater something more appealing to his eyes and his little belly, we stopped for a moment and made a point to really appreciate where our lives are now. Married, happy, healthy, and with a precious little boy who sees us as his whole world. Well ok, maybe the occasional new toy is his whole world but more so, us. :)

Things change, and, in this case, change is good.

I'd love to stay and type but that precious little boy I just referred to is now up from his nap and immediately noticed I turned the Christmas tree off while he was snoozing. "Tree on mama", he says.

Hope to be back soon with photos of our holiday decorating, that is, if we ever find a tree topper we love. Anyone know where to find a star tree topper that isn't made of gumball machine plastic and blinky lights? No offense to anyone who loves those. ;)

feeling inspired.

Thanks to the lovely (and always inspiring) Holly over at life in the fun lane I saw this post the other day and immediately fell in love with the knobs and pulls she used on a dresser for her master bedroom. Considering I've been stressing for months over ideas on how to turn Jack's very neutral nursery into more of a little boy's room that will suit his style personality better, I immediately wondered what that hardware could look like on his dresser, in his room. A quick call to Anthropologie to see if they had them in stock.... exactly 6 pulls left, just what I need (plus two knobs) and, we. are. on. our. way.

Me, and my adorable companion....

...are off to shop for his room.

be. still. my. heart.

i give thanks every day.

...but every year on Thanksgiving we all seem to make a special effort to stop and give thought to the things we are most thankful for. Often it's the every day things that we seem to cherish more than anything. It can be said that most of us find ourselves thankful for the same things: family, friends, a roof over our head, food on our table, warm clothes on our back, and having memories to hold on to of loved ones we've lost, just to name a few.
I'm thankful for those things and feel eternally blessed. But, for me, there's so much more to it...

-living with two heartbeats for 9 months.
-my first kiss as a Mrs.
-the moment we welcomed Jack Trenton to our lives.
-hearing that first cry.
-a saturday morning breakfast with my boys.
-kind deeds, particularly from strangers.
-having a heart to heart talk with my best friend; my baby sister.
-the moment I realized he was proposing.
-marrying the man that refused to give up on me, even when I'd nearly given up on myself.
-watching my 'baby' learn something new and seeing the pride on his face.
-the first time Jack laughed.
-my first tattoo.
-Travis' surprise 30th birthday party.
-celebrating Jack.
-looking at my son and envisioning my husband as a little boy.
-childhood memories of an afternoon fishing with my grandpa, using anything but worms as bait.
-the moment I met my husband, and knew right then, I was going to be his wife. (true story)
-the sunday morning I got "two pink lines".

These moments are what I live for. The memories that will be as clear when I'm a little old lady as they are now, at the age of twenty-five and at only the beginning of what I believe will be the best years of my life, as I live out my dream... being a wife, and, a mother.

These are my perfect moments. These are what I am most thankful for.

What do you find yourself feeling most thankful for this year?

opinions. everyone has one, right?

Now is a time I find myself wishing I was lucky enough to have a whole slew of followers because I need opinions people! I'm so gracious for the seven that I do have and I would love your thoughts, on a few things actually.

1st.) Please take a look at the previous post and let me know what you think about the bar area. Close it in with lighted shelves for cookbooks and ironstone? Or leave it as a small 'bar/eating' area?

2nd.) We have a HUGE empty wall in our living room and want to install a photo ledge similar to this one over at The Lettered Cottage. Our dilemma is, should we install one? Or two? It, or they, would be the entire length of the wall but sans the beadboard. Unless of course within the next few hours I can convince Travis to go ahead with the beadboard because I'm all for it!

Here is the big expansive wall. (17 ft. ceilings and just over 10 ft. wide)

 

Nevermind that big (unromantic) recliner in the corner. I want to replace it with an upholstered chair or an arm chair and a reading lamp.Other than our huge furniture and our buffet-turned-entertainment center (thanks to craigslist and some RL 'roadster white' paint) our living room is a big blank canvas we're working on adding some coziness to.

We sure are looking forward to hearing your thoughts/ideas/opinions!

cotton fluff and so much more.

I've been putting off posting photos of our kitchen just yet because we still had a short list of things to finish. However, considering we added two more fairly big projects to that list just this morning, I figured I better just share the kitchen now in it's current state and look forward to a big finale later.

There are things you'll notice that still need done:

-replace the missing baseboards
-change out the existing light switches and plates/plugs for white ones
-touch up walls and cabinets
-spray kitchen/back door knob and garage door knob black

(*a surprise for later* that big oak table will be replaced with a farmhouse table with mis-matched chairs and you won't believe the story it has behind it! But that also needs sanded, primed, stained/painted)

and, as of this morning we added:

-install beadboard to the ends of cabinets and underneath bar area
-install moulding along tops of cabinets for a finished look

So, as always, we have a loooooong way to go. But, on the flip bright side of things we've already come a looooong way.

Remember this?

Builder's oak. Faux wood trim. Mustard walls.

And to be completely honest, this was even after a few updates we'd already made. The walls used to be brick red, with those oak cabinets, and a very golden laminate floor. The kitchen felt like a dungeon.

 

But now, after we:

ripped up flooring, laid new tile, painted all doors and trim white, changed out our light fixture 'globes', removed the ugly mini-blinds, painted the window casings white, installed curtain rods and the neutral striped curtains (I'm already considering raising the curtain rods to the ceiling and changing the curtains to the super long white 'Lenda' curtains from Ikea), had the kitchen painted with Behr's "wheat bread", and went through the very long, tedious and frustrating process of learning not to spray primer through our sprayer in order to get Behr's pretty shade of "cotton fluff" on the cabinets, it looks like this...

(be sure to click on the photos for a full view)

 

I am so proud of those frames! I got two packs of 2 for just $7 each. Added mats, and a photo of each of us with our birthday cakes this year, along with an internet image of a rusty old "3" in the one hanging by itself to represent our little family of three and I love love love it. Makes me smile every  morning. ...and I'm not usually a smile-in-the-morning kind of gal. ;)

 

 

Travis made the comment it was starting to look modern so I made sure to add plenty of  not-so-modern touches since that is not the look I was going for. Hope you noticed... the raw edged burlap table runner, the lovely little (and growing fast) collection of white dishes and ironstone, the mason jar candle holders, and the pretty little frames with images I've found on the internet or typed myself because after all, everything seems a little more appealing when it's FREE. ;)

Now here is where I need the help of anyone who took the time to read this post! Please please please, tell us what you think about building in that little "bar" area with bookshelves after we install the beadboard? I'd fill it with cookbooks, ironstone, maybe a few masons in a wire basket.

I know the wall above there looks so lost, but we hope once we have beadboard on the side of the cabinet and moulding along the top that it will look more 'finished'. I'm also considering a collection of plates there or art deco letters spelling out 'BAKERY'.

Let us know what you think? :)