Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you lovelies. Gone are the days of morning 'til night green beer consumption and welcomed are days spent in the sunshine with my little 'good luck charmer'. ;)

It's a wonder that with those gorgeous eyes and charming little grin I ever manage any discipline at all. But I'm happy to say, although I have a very stubborn strong-willed little man on my hands, he is such a loveable boy. I hope you all have smiles as big as these today.

I also want to wish my beautiful "baby" sister a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are the cutest leprechaun, like, ever darling.

-XO

help? please.

Anyone who reads this blog, regularly or occasionally, knows me well enough to know I'm fickle. And it's so bad, fickle is now becoming an understatement. It's bad. Anyway, enough about my faults for now, I'm here to beg for your help. We have this armoire that we used to use for our tv but now sits empty in our spare bedroom. We can use it for a tv again, or add a shelf and use it for clothing/blankets/etc. I've listed it on Craigslist, at least twice, and always have people interested but chicken out when it comes time to commit to selling it. I know, I know, how rude of me, right? I just can't help it. I picture it, painted a very pale gray-ish white to give it a casual beachy feel, especially with the knotty pine "worm holes" showing through. Problem is, I'd have to leave the rusty looking hinges and pulls since I have no idea where to buy hinges that would work the way these do. I.e. external and allow the doors to open flush to the sides. HUGE perk for me for this piece of furniture. Not sure if I love the idea because it would make it look like an older piece that has been corroded by salty sea air, or if I don't like the idea at all. What do you all think??? I seriously cannot make up my mind so I'm counting on you all to help me out. Please. Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top.

*nevermind the two-tone sage walls. this photo was taken BEFORE the guest room project started, which is still a work in progress. *see below photo

*nevermind the unfinished paint job on the walls. SEVERELY unhappy with the primer I used. sidebar: the bottom shelves are not covered by a thick layer of dust contrary to what my camera shows. trust me, I ran my hand over them after seeing the photo and being appalled. it's a combination of the knotty pine being a "dry" looking wood, and shadows.

I'm counting on you ladies... :)

new favorites. giveaways. and, a baby?

I just came across two blogs that I'm excited to add to my ever growing list of "favorites" and both of them are having fabulous giveaways. Anne from Fiona and Twig is giving away a hatbox full of vintage flea market goodies. Yes, that's right... vintage. flea market. goodies. What're you waiting on... go enter ladies! Oh, wait wait wait... there's another!!! Kasey from Lola B's is giving away an absolutely stunning handmade shade (or three chandie shades, the winner's choice) along with a few things from Anthropologie. That's right, a few things from Anthro! Ok, so now, GO GO GO enter. But not before checking out the most precious newborn baby boy that one of my very best friend's welcomed into the world today....

Welcome to the world sweet baby boy.

Camden Nicholas

March 11, 2010 at 9:28 a.m.

8lb. 6oz. 21in. long

(makes me miss my "baby" boy being an actual baby)

That's right, the kid has personality already! ;)

I hope to be back tomorrow (or very soon) to share with you all the Craigslist finds I've gotten lucky with lately. And I mean "gotten lucky with" in the most innocent way.... ;)

a vision. finally.

After months of being unsure about the direction we wanted to take our big expansive living room, everything randomly came together in my head today. Maybe it was the fact that the sun was finally shining that brought on some serious decorating clarity for me. It struck almost all at once and when it did I immediately started typing a list of ideas. Feeling confident in my thoughts, I emailed my ideas to Travis (often referred to as "hubby") and asked "do you love?". His response, yet short and simple, was clear and exactly what I have forever longed to hear when it comes to decor ideas I have, "Actually, I do. I see the vision." He sees the vision?!?! Alas, prayers are indeed answered. :)

Keeping in mind my love of all things white and the sea/beach, and his love of a "warm feeling" in a home and me (of course) here are my ideas...

Seeing as I've already begged asked if he would consider replacing our giant leather sofa with a slipcovered white sectional, with no luck on getting him to agree I have decided that to make it more appealing to my likes I would replace the suede pillow covers with zippered tan and white cabana stripe covers that can be removed and machine washed the next time our little man has a cold, and runs from us when trying to wipe his nose only to dive face first into suede pillows that are almost impossible to clean. You see, pretty aaaannnnndddd practical it shall be.

See lovely cabana stripe pillows in the "master bedroom" photo on a blog I just found and LOVE, Grace Happens.

As for the big expansive wall that has been talked about so many times and stressed over for months. Or years maybe? I have firmly decided to use two long shelves seen here to display an assortment of white, black, and silver/gray frames holding black and white photos, accessories, etc. The inspiration for this final decision came from a woman I couldn't say enough good things about. She's unique and beautiful, a wonderful mother with a great sense of humor about having five children, and just as sweet as the rest of you lovelies. And, today is her birthday so take a moment to go over and wish her a good day! Christina from Full House and this post finalized my decision for our big expansive wall. You have no idea what a relief it is for me to be sure about what I want for this space.

Under the two shelves I've decided my ultimate love would be two slipcovered wingback or small scale armchairs. White, of course, with pleated bottom hems. Similar to these:

which belong to the beautiful Holly of Life In The Fun Lane

or a couple of these beauties from Pottery Barn:

OR, white linen rumpled slipcovers. That's still being decided on. ;)

As for the window that is in an akward area of our living room, we'll raise the curtain rod, add dark matchstick blinds, and use white linen curtains seen here (at a great price, I must say).

The dresser seen here will be replaced with a sofa table OR dropleaf table OR desk along with a vintage chair to accommodate my laptop and growing collection of old books. Above it will hang a large horizontal mirror to reflect some of the light from the window to the other side of the room, OR if I'm very very very lucky and come across some on a beach trip we have planned this summer, driftwood will hang above it. Similar to the photo from Life In The Fun Lane seen above.

And since the room is very open to the staircase the windows there will lose the ugly white blinds and beaded valances and get a big dose of beachy with the same matchstick blinds we'll use on the other window.

*the walls are creamy, not yellow like they seem in the picture*

Don't forget about this lucky Craigslist find that will be painted white and be planted right in front of the sofa.

Throw in some candles, maybe an indoor plant or two (if I can keep them alive *eek*) and assorted accessories around the room and we may actually have a family room with some "style" to it. Our style. Casual. Crisp. Coastal. Comfortable. And, most importantly something we both love.

Lord knows, as well as all of you, that things around here, projects to be exact, take quite some time. But just as soon as the weather, Craigslist searches, time, and budget allow, I will happily share updates and photos of our changes.

I've been starting to doubt Spring even exists anymore. We were covered with 30+ inches of snow in the month if February and now that March is here I'm more than ready for it to melt away. I think the lack of sunshine has me appreciating all things yellow lately. I may even grab a bundle of yellow flowers for myself while I'm out today just to add something sunny to the house. In the meantime, I'd like to share some images with you all where yellow, whether it be used as a big statement or a little one, sure does brighten the room and, in my case, the mood. :)

 

 

photos via country living

*the last three images were floating around in my huge file of lovely images I've saved from various places so if you know their source please do share. ;)

Have a bright and sunshiny day lovelies.