perfect imperfection

sew that's what i've been up to; slipcovers.

2011-04-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Remember when I mentioned needing to not only learn how to work my sewing machine but actually open the box?

You don't?

Yeah, me either because it's been so long ago. But, I'm happy (and very proud) to say that I finally did open it and completely surprised I actually figured out how to thread the darn thing.

I've managed to sew some stuff.

Let me assure you, it's far from perfect.

My lines aren't the straightest. (Although they're getting better.)

The large pillow covers may be slightly too small.

My lack of patience and normally short amount of (todddler nap) time to work with, leaves ironing to be ignored. But I'm learning how important that can be.

And I have a slight obsession with ruffles, yet my machine won't ruffle fabric on it's own so frustration sometimes runs high.

But, I think it's fun.

And, I've managed to make these:

(pillow covers and an ottoman slipcover)

Not too bad for my first.time.ever using a sewing machine, right?

I used drop cloth and it is much more practical than the suede covers that were on the pillows. *A toddler boy (runny noses, sticky fingers, leaky cups, etc.) is not a good combination with suede. And it makes the giant leather sofa much lighter and brighter.

Case in point.

The before.

The white sofa, rug, and coffee table have been replaced with a new furniture layout and a comfy ottoman. The inspiration and tutorial I used as a guideine for the ottoman can be seen here at one of my favorite blogs.

We didn't have the ottoman but once I saw that tutorial, I went on the hunt and found one on Craigslist for $50 that was perfect size in front of the huge sofa.

It wasn't very pretty...

But, I fixed that.

There are still changes on the way.

The recliner is finally going to go.

I'm going to attempt to sew a slipcover for the armchair shown in the photos.

The shelves will be taken down and replaced with a big old farmhouse mantel.

*who says you have to have an actual fireplace to have a mantel? not me.

That giant orange-ish buffet will get a big dose of sanding and white paint.

And, eventually I'll love a layout for the living room and be better at accessorizing it.

Eventually.

For now, I'm happy sewing a straight line.

I'm linking up here:

a good thing to remember.

2011-04-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

via

As things that I can't control create a whirlwind all around me lately, I've been focusing on the important things. My family. My happiness. My well-being. And the rest? Well, I'll let that be.

I hope you all find even the simplest reason to smile today.

Seeing as I'm facing a doctors appointment for a health concern that has me convinced I'm dying (no really) and have been losing sleep over it, I'm having a hard time smiling today.

And, let me tell ya, these gray Ohio skies sure aren't helping any.

However, God blessed me with Jack Trenton and he sure knows how to make his mama feel ~~good~~ better, on a day like today.

I'm off to Pilates.

Then the dreaded doctors appointment.

And I'm sure that if my medical concern doesn't kill me,

the anxiety just might.

Don't forget, just smile.

a giveaway you want to know about.

2011-03-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

It's no secret I'm the (self proclaimed) biggest fan of Dear Lillie.

So when I see a new blog post from Jennifer, it kind of makes me giddy with excitement.

Ok, "kind of" is actually kind of a lie.

I get excited.

Like, real excited.

Now, imagine my excitement when she has a giveaway.

It's like Christmas.

So, check it out and enter!

She's picking TWO winners!

*the details are on her blog

Those two pillow silhouette covers on her sofa?

Yeah, I want to win those.

I know you do too...

so go enter!

While you're there, check out her shop and treat yourself to something lovely because she's going to be busy having another one of the world's most gorgeous babies and the shop will be closed until August.

And she's offering 30% off today (be sure to enter the discount code) for the last day the shop is open, 'til August!

*edited to add

I just ordered this and can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear it!

Under the silhouette, it reads this quote from L.H. Montgomery:

"There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland."

How could I pass that up, right?

i have a serious case of "bedhead".

2011-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's not going to be new news that I'm having a hard time making a decision.

Must be the Gemini traits interfering with my master bedroom makeover.

Wait.

You didn't know I was making over my master bedroom?

Well, me either really.

That is, until I casually mentioned to my aunt that I was wanting to sell the furniture in our bedroom and she, without hesitation, said she wanted it!

I'm sure I have pictures of it floating around somewhere that I will dig up for the actual before and after post. But for now, let's just say that a giant matching set of headboard, footboard, dresser with mirror and cedar chest (in oak, I think) didn't do any favors to our kind-of-on-the-small-side master bedroom that gets very little natural sunlight.

So, two weeks after my aunt said she wanted it... it was gone.

And although I already had bedding I love, decided on two nightstands, scored an antique ornate mirror from Craigslist, and moved the armoire from the guest room to hide the fact that we do indeed have a tv in the bedroom...

I cannot decide on a bed!

Do I want metal?

Or upholstered?

Just the headboard?

Or, headboard and footboard?

So, here we go again friends.

I need to know what you think???

To give you an idea of the "feel" I want in the room, here is a list of what we have so far:

Simply Shabby Chic Duvet Set

Simply Shabby Chic Nightstands

An antique ornate mirror similar to this one but it's black. And I may paint it white.

A lamp similar to this one at Dear Lillie.

And I'm thinking of painting the room Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore.

So... the bed choices I'm looking at are:

The Kensington Bed or headboard, from JC Penney.

$329 for a king size with footboard, on sale.

$169 for a king size headboard only, on sale.

Which has a much more budget friendly price than very similar ones for much more at Pottery Barn, seen below.

Mendocino Bed

$1249 king size, on sale.

Claudia Bed

$849 king size, on sale.

I found this image on google and would paint the JC Penney bed/headboard a creamy white similar to the one seen here shown with lovely floral bedding.

Do I order this beauty from Amazon.com

$406.15 with free shipping for king size, in Shatung Silk.

$412.09 with free shipping for king size in White Velvet.

Similar to this bedroom I'm head over heels for.

*Jennifer, if you're reading... I'd love your thoughts and opinion! ;)

(I have a serious blog crush on her people. Check her out, you'll see why!)

So, ladies, which do I go with?

The metal bed or headboard with vintage flair and a PB look from JC Penney and paint it a creamy white?

The comfy upholstered and elegantly tufted headboard from Amazon?

Which do you love most?

And, why?

Both are in the budget so looks and practicality are my biggest selling points.

Also, a little fyi: There are four rooms in the house undergoing a makeover right now.

Hence the lack of blog posts.

It's like a disease I have that I can't just finish a room before moving onto another.

So, watch out for updates in the kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and guest room.

AND

A big reveal of Jack's bathroom/the guest bathroom which was a random project I suddenly tackled but is DONE and just needs photographed.

A little hint, I got the shower curtain seen in this post and LOVE it!

That reminds me... I need to find something fabulous to giveaway!

Especially since I'm 1 away from from 100 followers!

A Spring inspired gift set since this Ohio weather is making me bonkers???

I spent last weekend in sandals.

This weekend, it's supposed to snow.

"Really?", you ask.

Yes. Really.

Alright, enough rambling for me.

You? Time for your opinion.

Ready? Go!

Rated G to R, all in one post!

2011-03-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

The rated G part is this absolutely amazingly perfect nursery that Jennifer at Dear Lillie put together.

Not only is Jennifer gorgeous, talented (she made all of that crib bedding and managed to keep a full size bed in the room for guests!), super sweet and creative, but she's pregnant with her second (destined to be beautiful) daughter and full of energy to keep sharing amazing inspiration with all of us blogger ladies (and gents).

That nursery is utter perfection.

Which is what brings me to the rated R portion of this blog post...

that nursery makes me want to make a baby right.this.moment. so I have need for it to be copied in my house.

And, it just dawned on me... it IS indeed "hump" day.

Ha!

You know you laughed.

;)

In all seriousness, when the day comes that another little one of our own is on his or her way, we will be using this nursery as total inspiration. Color scheme, guest bed, and all!

Now go tell Jennifer what an amazing job she did on that nursery.

Find an idea or two you want to copy in your own home because her house is as gorgeous as she is.

And, check out her Etsy shop.

Happy ~~Wednesday~~ Hump Day, you sexy ladies.

holy flu virus, batman.

2011-02-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

The last thing anyone who lives in Ohio and is on a beach vacation in February hopes for, is the flu. But, hoping didn't do a bit of good because nearly half of our vacation was spent with me having the flu, Travis hoping not to get the flu, and us both praying Jack didn't start to show symptoms of the flu.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one plagued with this virus that has me feeling like I'm on my death bed. My dad got it. My brother got it. And, Jack got it too. :(

After spending Tuesday in bed with Jack all day... coughing, sneezing, aching, sweating, freezing, ~~puking~~ being nauseous, crying, and having severe anxiety about our two flights home on Wednesday, I was certain I've never felt worse in my life. But Wednesday came, and by the grace of God, we made it home. And although I looked forward to a night of good sleep in my own bed, when you have a little one that is sick too, your own needs quickly get pushed aside and that sweet little boy gets to climb into bed with you and proceed to cough in your face all night simply because he's asking to be cuddled. That's love.

I tried catching up some of my blog reading today. At which point I realized just how cloudy my head really is. Fortunately, Travis stayed home today to take care of us. Unfortunately, after all his efforts of nearly overdosing on Airborne (I'm not even sure that's possible, but he's taken alot) he's suddenly not feeling so good either. I'm thankful that Jack and I seem to no longer have as bad of a fever as we have over the past few days, but this cough, headache, body aches, and lack of energy or appetite is getting quite depressing. Not to mention when I do eat, it tastes like "sick". And, I'm not even sure how to describe a "sick" taste to you but all my tastebuds know at this point is cough drops, NyQuil, and Gatorade. "Sick!"

I am hoping, praying, wishing, and crossing every appendage I can that this passes, soon. The only bright side is that this cough seems to be doing serious work on my abs. We're miserable. But we hope you all are doing well and are hanging in there through these gray skies and unruly weather until Spring arrives. Oh, you don't have gray skies and unruly weather? Up yours! *joke*

Any at home remedies any of you can recommend??? I'm almost willing to try anything at this point!

On a lighter note, just as soon as I'm feeling better I think a dinner date is in store so I can rock these babies that I ordered before I left for vacation and were waiting for me when I got home.

They're Carlos Santana Versa found here. Perfect for the inbetween-winter-and-Spring weather for keeping my feet covered but showing off my perfectly polished toesies in bright Spring shade. ;)

Anthro SALE and a giveaway?

2011-02-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

Although the Ocean Blue Shower Curtain wasn't originally on my list in this post,

I think I may just be in.love.

And, you must imagine my surprise when I found it on SALE (online) for $69.95!!!

At almost $50 less than originally priced, it's on the top of my "to do" list to call my local Anthro store tomorrow in hopes of them having it in stock.

If not, how can I not order it?

Right???

What do you all think?

P.S. I'm thinking Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to host my first giveaway.

Don't you?

;)

Jack's Bachelor Pad (reveal).

2011-02-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it happened.

We finally had a little bit of sunshine peaking through the clouds yesterday.

And although I don't have a fancy schmancy camera to make my photos look as good as they probbaly could, I grabbed the one I do have and snapped away.

Because who knows when little miss sunshine will be back for a visit.

If you ~~care to~~ dare to see the "befores", grab some saltines and clear soda (because it could quite possibly make you sick to your stomach) and click here.
Ok go ahead and look. It makes the "after" even better!

Thank you for your patience while I sat here in Ohio waiting for the sun to shine.

Let me introduce you to Jack's big boy bachelor pad.

I love it.

Like, looove love it.

The mix of old and new makes me smile every time I walk in the room.

Everything in the room has a story.

Whether it be how we came across the desk and chair by complete accident when hopes of finding matching wingback chairs failed.

Or how I asked my mother in law over a year ago if she would pass the picture, now hanging above Jack's bed, onto him.

It used to hang in her family room. And I would stare at it every time we'd visit, thinking of how perfect it was for the vision I had for Jack's big boy room. So, when I asked if she would pass it on to me for that use, she explained how she loved the picture because it reminded her of exactly what Travis looked like, walking on the beach as a little boy.

Ironic, because it always reminds me of what Jack looked like on his first trip to the beach.

Makes my heart so happy to have it hanging above his bed.

(Thanks Pat!)

Oh yeah! Annnnnd, can you all even believe what I made his chandelier out of????

THANKS DAD/PAWPAW!!!

*insert impressed blushing grin here*

There are a few things that still need done/tweaked.

-Lightswitches and outlet covers changed out for white ones.

-I need to come up with a phrase for the frame on Jack's nightstand holding a picture of the three of us at the beach.

-Paint the desk chair once its warm enough outside to use the spray gun.

-I'm considering changing the white roman shade out for a bamboo roman shade for some contrast.

-Wondering if I should hang the sailboat sketch that's propped on his dresser.

-And, I have the entire alphabet to cover the wall at the foot of his bed just as soon as I get it all painted.

But, we love it.

And, although it's bittersweet to see my "baby" boy have such a big boy room,

he happens to love it too...

I linked up here and here.

i heart ruffles.

2011-01-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Welp, here we are Sunday evening and still no "after" photos of Jack's big boy room.

What can I do?

It's January. In Ohio.

And I honestly cannot tell you the last time the sky wasn't gray.

To think, I love gray.

Just not when it's the color of the sky.

Not for weeks at a time.

So, what's a girl to do?

When the temperatures are too frigid to paint (even in the garage).

And the skies are so gray?

Well, move on to another room makeover of course!

The newest 'updated on the tightest of budgets and within the general likes of homeowners in our area' room in the house is the guest/Jack's bathroom.

What exactly does all that in italics mean, you ask?

Well, this isn't our forever home. Oh no, far from it.

So when we update, we have to keep in mind not to update so specific to our likes and not over-update it and it not be worth our investment considering the market we're in.

So it's nothing spectacular.

But, it's better. Alot better.

And, it's not done yet but I'm already seriously considering a "splurge item".

Since nothing in the room was a splurge, and the one I'm considering can go with us to our forever home when that day comes.

That's not the bathroom.

I WISH!

And, I'm unsure of where I came across that picture.

But it's beautiful, wouldn't ya say?

The wall color is "Horizon" by Benjamin Moore.

And that's the color I painted Jack's room and the bathroom.

Soooo, I'm torn between which of these to go with:

my all time favorite item from Anthropologie?

If ever there was perfection found in a shower curtain, that's it.

or one of these Urban Outfitters beauties?

Which would you pick?

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

We had family in town, and my sister and neice are here tonight because my neice turns 4 tomorrow and we plan to have a super fun time with the kids...

going out for breakfast...

baking cupcakes...

opening presents for our upcoming beach trip...

and

laughing, hugging, cuddling

the day away.

Hope your week gets off to a great start!

Jack's bedroom makeover (before).

2011-01-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

As you may already know, I've been working on turning Jack's boring, plain, "no longer my style" nursery into a "big boy" room he can love and I can be proud of.

Well, it's complete.

For now.

And just as soon as the sun decides to shine again here in the state of Ohio,

in the month of January,

I will quickly take all the photos I can before the clouds again hide the rays I love so much.

Until then,

I have nothing but the "before" pictures.

The ghastly "before" pictures.

Of his room.

Of furniture for his room.

And, of items in his room.

So, if your eyes (and stomachs) can handle it,

here is his room, furniture, and items in all it's hideous glory.

anyone notice the sneak peak? ;)

$20 antique dresser I found on Craigslist.

$20 desk and chair from a local thrift store.

$10 Craigslist find that I'm glad I measured before we bought Jack's mattress.

Previous owner said it was full sized. It's queen.

what the old light looked like.

via: young house love.

What I used to make the new light.

Thanks to A LOT of help (and patience) from my dad who knew I had a vision and trusted me enough to keep working on this seemingly never-ending project.

Love you Dad!

Are y'all still with me?

Have you frantically hit the "stop following" button after all that mess?

Or is your head hanging over a bucket/toilet from how sick you are to your stomach after seeing those images?

If you're still here, you deserve an award!

But, I promise you, the "after" in my completely biased opinion is soooo cool.

It brought me to tears.

Happy tears.

Sad tears.

Happy to see my "baby" boy so excited about his big boy room and "gigantic to him" bed!

Sad to see I no longer have a baby boy.

But, he's happy so it makes me happy.

And, the weather forecast is showing sunshine for Thursday so hopefully that will be the big reveal day!

If anyone knows of any good par-tays (i.e. parties) I can link up to, and share the room makeover, please do let me know!

Until then, thanks for hanging in there through the good, the bad, and the ugggg-ly with me.

aluminum dining chairs (deal).

2011-01-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that over a year ago I posted about some things I wanted to add to the house. And, quite a few of them we have. I.e. beadboard (which I should share in an updated kitchen post), a chandelier and a couple other lighting changes I should also share, lots more white of course, and a comfy chair I am crazy enough to think I can slipcover. But, the embarrassing part is that over a year ago I said there was a farm table I was working on. And, welp, I'm still working on it. If having the legs and chairs cleaned and primed but waiting to be painted and the top waiting to be sanded and stained can be counted as "working on it". Anyhow, I saw this photo and fell in love with the look.

*an old Country Living photo I found via google.

Imagine those chairs, around this table.

*also found via google.

I'm not yet certain I want the legs blue on the one I have, I may opt for white. But I do want them distressed like mad, and a dark stained top. It's lovely and seems most practical with a wild little 3 year old boy in the house.

I do have three windsor chairs that came with the table but I thought of mixing in a few aluminum chairs to keep things interesting. And today Mary posted these chairs from Sundance Catalog.

Beautiful, right?! I mean, wow. Bad news, for me, is the price tag. $245 each. NO WAY would the hubby agree to paying that for a metal chair he can't recline in. You get the point.

So I had some searching to do, and *drum roll please*...

homedecorators.com

$79 each

on sale from $99 each.

I got the okay to order them because Travis likes them too!

So my question now is, order four to have all matching chairs around the farm table I am determined to finish this Spring just as soon as the frigid temperatures subside and the garage doesn't feel like an icebox. OR, order two and place them on one side together while placing a windsor chair on the opposite side, and one on each end.

*windsor chairs*

Although the ones I have will be painted white.

I'm the.most.indecisive.person.ever so come on ladies, share those opinions!

Please.

And, thank you.

P.S. I have a lamp steal to share tomorrow. AND, maybe, just maybe,

my first ever GIVEAWAY coming soon!!!

antique love, close to home!

2011-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

While browsing Craigslist

(and wathcing football since I'm in a Playoffs Fantasy League... yes, you read that right.)

I came across a dresser at a flea market less than an hour from home.

The dresser was cute, and had a good price so I kept looking and came across "old beauty" that I think I need.

Wouldn't this be great for holding magazines or books?

Lately, I have an owl obsession.

I purchased two ceramic ones from Goodwill I plan to spray a glossy white.

Perfect for the blank space above our front door. Maybe with an "M" in that space in the middle.

I can think of 101 uses for an old chair. Love them, and at just $8 each, I want them all.

After seeing Maria's Master Bedroom I want two of these old doors to use as a headboard!

The old mantels above also remind me of this setup in her living room.

That frame, painted white and holding just about anything (other than the floral painting it holds now)... yummy.

Dresden Junk-shun is only open two hours tomorrow but I bet I could have an SUV size load of goodies picked out in about 2.5 minutes!

pretty little side table.

2011-01-11T14:18:00.000-08:00

Back in the summer I picked up a french looking side table at Goodwill for a great price.

I primed it.

And, it sat. In the garage. Waiting.

Causing me anxiety by being another thing on my "to do" list staring me in the face.

Then Winter came. And we all know what that means. I can't be outside painting, and I don't want to be in the frigid garage painting.

So, on Christmas Day (of all days), while Jack napped and Travis worked out, I painted.

In the basement.

Don't underestimate how good it can feel to paint the old-fashioned way. You know, with a brush and roller. And my little 'two-season' project was complete.

*i realize i may be the last person on the planet to have the amazing and talented Rachel Ashwell's

"Shabby Chic Interiors"

but man oh man, if I'm not, you must buy a copy.

I sat in Barnes and Noble one night on an uncomfortable little step stool and could not pull myself away from the beauty this book holds.

Santa knew how much I loved it. ;)

*edited to add*

The always "i can't believe that" before picture:

Since I got THIS recently, I decided to sell the bookcase that was previously on this wall since I had nowhere else in the house to put it. And although I intended to put that buffet on this wall, I happen to like the simplicity of the little table and chairs there so we may end up using the buffet as our media cabinet as it would balance out our extra large sofa.

We'll see.

I'm indecisive, and seriously considering paying for professional help with our living room.

However, the suggestions you lovelies have are always welcome.

flower power and a PARTY!

2011-01-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

I'm obsessed.

made with love for one of my best girlfriends.

tutorial found HERE.

Once I successfully made that necklace, me and my glue gun were unstoppable.

three headbands and an ear warmer for my niece.

(it's about 1 a.m. so the lighting is, um, not so great.)

Alivia Leigh will be 4 years old this month and we're celebrating with a party at Chuck E. Cheese tomorrow.

Jack has never been but has seen the commercials and excited to celebrate "Ee-yah's Bir-day Pardy" there so although all went well at his 3 year check-up, I'm hoping a bit of the flu bug that seems to be creeping in on him due to the vaccine (which actually was not an injection!) holds off so he can have fun with his birthday girl cousin.

I'll be sure to snap lots of photos amongst all the skee-ball and ticket counting chaos of Alivia sporting her new girly headbands and share some soon.

I better get to bed and calm down my toddler who decided a nap from 3-6 pm then again from 8-10 pm was good enough rest for him, so that I can keep up with the excitement tomorrow.

P.S. I got the buffet!!!

*can't wait until Spring when the weather allows me to fire up the paint sprayer and make that thing even more beautiful.

i won't sleep tonight.

2011-01-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

Hi. My name is Amanda.

And, I lose sleep over furniture.

Yeah, I said it. I lose sleep.

Over... FURNITURE.

I lay in bed some nights, mind racing over ideas I have or pieces I have that I'm dying to take a paint brush (or sprayer, weather permitting) to. I literally cannot sleep, thinking about making over a piece of furniture.

Some nights.

Tonight is one of those nights.

And, as if I wasn't going to lose enough sleep as it is tonight...

Jack's 3 year well-check is tomorrow and I'm always nervous over doctor appointments,

even well-checks...

I, by complete accident, came across this on Craigslist tonight:

Please tell me you all see the potential?!?!

I'm pretty sure I gasped, loudly, when I saw it.

Asking price: $50, wait for it... OBO.

Uh, I'd offer MORE if I knew it would get this thing home to me!

Last summer I bought an Ikea Ektorp sofa, in white of course, from a gal with an adorable townhome she was moving out of since she was moving in with her boyfriend. In her living room, an antique buffet/sideboard almost identical to this one.

I drooled over it.

It was painted BLACK and distressed heavily.

And, I loved it.

She told me her mother found it for $20 at a thrift store and painted and sanded it for her.

Of course she was taking it with her.

I thought, "Man, I would never have that kind if luck."

Tonight, I can't tell you how badly I'm hoping I was wrong.

I want this buffet.

BAD.

So, please, wish me LOTS of luck in it still being available.

I'll be awake all night waiting on that email.

Anyone who has ever wanted something from Craigslist knows this feeling.

Well, multiply it.

Times a zillion.

I mean, look at this:

*all images courtesy of Google

This could quite possibly be my most desired furniture piece. Ever.

*sigh*

let me introduce to you lovely.

2011-01-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Although I always have about 3, 562, 814, 793 amazing ideas in my head and about half that many projects in (slow) progress around here, I rarely post anything amazing since everthing takes me so long to complete.

Thanks to working part time in retail

and

as a full time animal tamer to our 3 year old boy/oh boy is he a wild one.

But a BIG thank you to

Cassie over at reUse reInvent reDesign

and

Steph over at For The Luv Of Sanity

for awarding me with the

Wasn't that sweet of them?

My favorite part is that they shared my blog with their readers and that I get to share some super cool blogs with you lovelies.

Here are the rules. The rules that I'm going to bend a little.

1. thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.

(see above)

2. share seven things about yourself.

(i think THIS is a little more fun)

3. award ten recently discovered bloggers.

(i've not had much blogging time lately so i don't have a list of ten but i am sticking to Cassie's rule of having under 200 followers, and believe it or not, some of these ladies have less followers than me but OODLES more talent, so, CHECK EM' OUT!

Lauren Lane Decor

(who happens to be hosting a giveaway once she reaches 100 followers)

reUse reInvent reDesign

(who gave me the award)

Making It Mine

(who inspires me with her furniture makeovers)

A Life of Blue

(who has a great "past transformations" link)

*and yes, she's just over 200 followers already but i warned of some rule bending so there ya have it.

Trimmed and Taylored
(whose blog is just as cute as sher is)

Digital Confections

(who is responsible for my blog design. *heart*)

Sea To My Heart

(which is an "old" favorite of mine but could be new to some of you.)

Rule #4. is to let the person know you've awarded them, so I'm off to check out some of my faves and tell them how stylish I think they are.

But stay tuned, because I do assure you I've been working on quite a few things around here I'm excited to share.

Most of them have to do with making over Jack's room and include but are not limited to:

-new wall color

-a made over vintage dresser

-a made over desk and chair

-new window treatments

-new bedding (heck, he's getting a new bed altogether!)

and pretty much everything from A to Z.

*that's a hint

;)

Have fun showing some blog love and enjoy the day before the weekend!

a giveaway you'll want to know about.

2011-01-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Momma is hosting an amazing giveaway from barn owl primitives that you all are going to want to head on over, check out, then avoid all temptation to enter so as to increase MY chances.

Just kidding. Just kidding.

Enter!

Up to 9 times.

But, if you win, you MUST invite me over to envy your new sign.

And possibly cram it into my purse before leaving. ;)

My favorites:

(actually all are my favorite, but i don't think i have enough walls in the house to accomodate them all.)

family rules.

Lullabies.

Alphabet of love. (as I call it.)

Alright, I'm headed back over to complete all the entries I can. I MUST.HAVE. one of these signs.

Happy New (and wonderful) Year, lovelies!

Christmas around here, just in time.

2010-12-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

burlap stockings i made this year.

once i learn to sew, i'll "remake" these because i'm kind of in love with them.

Jack's tree that he is quick to mention he decorated all by himself.

(notice a new wall color in the background?)

and because the toddler who typically refuses to have his picture taken was being ornery and couldn't resist the camera this morning, i snapped away.

i canNOT wait to see how big those blue eyes get with each gift Christmas morning.

decorating ideas came from Holly's post last year seen HERE

and

the stockings I noticed in photos HERE

Merry Christmas!

wishing you the happiest of holidays filled with lots of love and laughter!

...and one more thing.

2010-12-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'd rather buy a new paint roller each time I need one than wash out the one that I've used.

The good news is: Jack's room is painted. Done. Finished. Complete!

The even better news is: I loooove the COLOR!!!

It's Horizon by Benjamin Moore (although I had it color matched in Behr paint). It's a light gray with a faint blue hue. Perfect for a little guys beachy bedroom. More on that to come once we get him a big boy bed and I can start having fun decorating! I already know it'll be my favorite room in the house, and the one I'll be most proud of.

On to a "Craigslist steal" / "Intimidating Project" note. I picked up this chair over the weekend for $35. Which is $15 higher than my typical price point of Craigslist finds but well worth it.

What?! You don't like it?! Geesh, rude.

Ok, ok, I don't like it either. At least not with that fabric on it. But, what if... it looked like this?

Stunning, you say?

I know.

So it looks like I better finally open the sewing machine I got for Christmas last year and learn how to use the intimidating little piece of magic to create a lovely slipcover for my not-so-lovely Craigslist find.

Wish me luck. Lots of it.

And, tips are welcome and appreciated.

Not the kind you'd give to someone for bringing you delicious food, serving you an adult beverage, or making your favorite 'cup of joe'.

The kind of tips that would help me learn to sew.

*just making sure we're on the same page people*

;)

the sweetest thing I've ever been told. seriously.

2010-12-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

In his precious toddler voice, as I explain that he's a boy and I'm a girl, Jack looks at me and says,
"You're a perfect girl, mommy."

(be. still. my. heart.)

Words cannot express the love my heart holds for this little boy.

let's be friends. shall we?

2010-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

I hate being this thin.

I don’t have the patience for the one kid I have, and yet I want about three more.

I usually only paint my toenails black, or bubblegum pink.

I don’t always wear a bra.

I can cook, but prefer not to.

It makes me happy to open a fresh can of paint.

I’ve fallen asleep in the bath, more than once.

My grandparents raised me.

I delivered my son so fast, the doctor almost didn’t make it in time.

My name means “worthy of love”.

I’ve been with the man I’m now married to for 11 years. I’m 26. Do the math. ;)

I was afraid of dogs until I got my first one at age 19. RIP Max.

I absolutely loved labor and delivery. No joke, I would experience it every day if I could.

I didn’t get my drivers license until I was 18.

I’ve lived in 5 different cities in 8 years.

If I had three wishes, one of them would be to sleep in every day for the rest of my life.

There are times I wish I could do about nine loads of laundry at once.

My boobs may be fake, but my personality isn’t, so don’t judge me.
(we'll leave this one to the imagination. hehehe.)

I look terrible as a blonde.

The only thing I’ve learned from my mother is to be nothing like her.

My son was born 9 months to the day after my niece was born.

I’d rather repaint a room than clean it.

I fold a fitted sheet, perfectly.

The only time I iron is when stitch witchery is involved.

Sometimes, when I want to soak in a hot bath but Jack is being needy, I put him in the bath with me.

I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. …I take that back. I still want to be a Victoria’s Secret supermodel.

I have very few girlfriends but can count on the ones I do have.

I hate anything in the morning that doesn’t involve sleeping in, sex, or bacon.

I truly believe I have angels in my life.

I like buffalo dip and football, just as much as I like pedicures and ruffled anything.

I hate my laugh.

I have a tattoo on each foot and want more.

I could enjoy ranch dressing on almost everything.

I may be a married, mother, who is closer to 30 than 20 but I still wear cotton candy scented body lotion.

I’m pretty good at singing, and do so, loudly.

I get my “neat freak/everything has to be a certain way” problem, from my dad.

I dream of having a little girl with curly hair, wearing ruffled skirts and cowgirl boots but feel more confident in having another boy.

I cannot go without mascara and lipgloss.

I am addicted to diet coke and Starbucks.

I love being barefoot.

I wish to meet, shop, have coffee, and laugh with all of my lovely blog friends.

*this post inspired by Little Miss Momma*

so what about you, friend?

*be sure to link back to this post and let me know if you choose to share "need to know" details about yourself! :)

gray paint nightmare. help!

2010-12-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

For months now, I've had tons of things ready to go into Jack's "big boy" room. Bedding, accessories, a headboard from Craigslist waiting to be painted, and a pretty good idea of the direction I want to take it. The problem? Well, apparently it's a bigger one than I even anticipated, and that means it's pretty big because I have delayed his room makeover for one reason. Paint. Such a simple word isn't it? Simple until you pick out a swatch, fall in love with it at the home improvement store, race home to get it up on the walls then discover it's all wrong! I didn't do that with Jack's room, but can you tell I've done it before? It's soooo stressful to me. So, I knew this time I'd do it the "safe" way. Tester size samples first, then buy the gallon(s) I'd need. However, I'm trying to find the rigth shade of (the dreaded) GRAY. It's not easy. I thought after seeing a few shades of gray look beautiful in other bloggers homes, I was ready to tackle finding the perfect shade for us. Wrong. I'm not ready. I'm aggravated. Stressed. And eager to paint! Instead, this is what I'm dealing with:

You can't even tell how bad it is in that photo. It's bad. Most of them look purple and obviously any hue of purple is unwelcome in the little guy's room. I can't even recall what color name each of those stripes are anymore but I did try a few I've seen on popular blogs.

Since I didn't use a large enough font and am completely frustrated with anything and everything involved in figuring out a paint color, I'll just list them from top to bottom.

-Gray Pearl by Martha Stewart (too dark???)

-Subtle Touch by Behr (too purple)

-Horizon by Benjamin Moore (a possible option)

-Windham by Pratt & Lambert (love love love it, but it's too dark for his low light bedroom)

All others unlabeled are too purple. The ones that look too dark in his room look just fine in this photo. The shade/color/hue I'm going for is similar to these:

via: Dreamy Whites

*note: that color on the walls? Gray Pearl by Martha Stewart. It looks completely different in Jack's one window bedroom because of the low light. :(

via: Life In The Fun Lane

*note: that wall color is Windham by Pratt & Lambert which again due to the low light in Jack's room is way too dark for us to use. :( :(

So you get the idea. A light, true gray, to show slight contrast against white trim and white furniture. Right now I think I'm leaning toward using "Horizon" by Benjamin Moore since it's light, and NOT PURPLE! If anything it has a blueish hue and I have various shades of blue accessories to use so it would work.

I'm signing off to tape off around the trim and window then I'm going to get ready to head out to buy paint. So anyone who has opinions and recommendations, share quickly! I need all the help I can get and I know here is the best place to find it! :)

*EDITED TO ADD*:

I went with Horizon by Benjamin Moore, thanks to a quick email back from Maria who had used the Martha Stewart color "Grap Pearl" in her home but agreed it could be too dark for a room with only one window, and without knowing I was considering it, mentioned liking Horizon. So, that's what I have two gallons of waiting to be opened. Juast as soon as I get back from Home Depot with a "sureline edger" in hopes of making "cutting in" go ALOT quicker. Once the little guy is in bed (my bed since I'll be painting his room), I'll have paint roller in hand transforming his cream walls to a lovely gray. Wish me luck!

Dear Santa (for the home).

2010-12-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

"Little Miss Momma" Etsy Shop

simplicity at it's finest.

2010-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

As of late I've been trying to simplify everything in my life. So when I saw that Torri was offering her old blog design for *insert magic word here* free, I just knew my blog should have a fresh new look and be simplified along with everything else. Torri is the sister of Holly whom you all already know I am a huge fan of, and she's just as stunning and just as sweet. Lucky parents those ladies have.

After an 11 hour work day yesterday (gotta love retail in December *sarcasm*) I attempted to install the new blog layout and made a complete mess of it. Soooo, as if sharing the design with me wasn't nice enough, Torri offered to install it for me as well. And, with the way things have been going lately, her simple kindness really brightened my day. Do you love it? If so, this design along with many other "freebies" are available through Torri's blog, Digital Confections. Be sure to tell her I sent you.

While my blog was getting a makeover today, so was the Christmas decor around here. However, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to photograph it all since it made quite a mess. Let's just say that 30 feet of fresh garland and a project involving lots of Martha Stewart glitter will have me busy cleaning this evening. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the photos I was able to capture of my stubborn 3 year old the other day for this years Christmas card. The attempt ended with us both in tears. Him, because he couldn't play on his swingset which was, is, and I'm sure will be for months to come, covered in snow. And me, because I dropped my camera (that I just got for my birthday in May) on the driveway. Luckily, the pictures turned out pretty dang cute and his smile cheered me up.

warning.

2010-12-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

While Perfect Imperfection (emphasis on the imperfections) is "under construction" please take the time to view all the beauty one of my favorite new blogs has to offer. Jenni, at House Of White is lovely AND beyond sweet. Not only does she have a gorgeous home, she sent the nicest email trying to help me find the wall color she's used throughout most of her (white) house. Teaser photo below, but you'll have to stop by her blog for pages and pages beautiful images to take tons of inspiration from.

I hope to be back tomorrow with a fresh lovely new blog layout and design (after receiving editing help obviously) and a report on how an effort to make new Christmas stockings out of white burlap is going.

Wish me luck!

'tis the season.

2010-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year again. When houses are warmer when filled with family and friends, the aromas of the season fill the air with delicous scents of pumpkin, and spices, and baked goods, snow is just around the corner, and once Thanksgiving is over the decorating begins! I must admit I'm having a hard time resisting decorating for Christmas until after the Thanksgiving meal has been devoured so in the meantime I'm searching for all the inspiration I can find. The color scheme this year, and probably every year from now on, is: silver, turquoise, white, blues, and hints of gold. Courtesy of Country Living come these images that I fell in love with and will be taking inspiration from.

I can't get over how simple the style of decor is and yet so festive and peaceful at the same time. If you're interested in any of the items in the photos above, click here to view the slideshow and view sources for items such as the lovely headboard, the angel wings, even the exact match for the bedroom wall color (which is just sheer perfection isn't it?!), and more. And don't be shy ladies, I want to hear all about your ideas and plans for your own holiday decor!

P.S. a very special thank you to those of you who have asked how I've been during my two month break from blogging. Life got a little rough, but with lots of love and support I'm getting back on track. :) Xoxo

project mania.

2010-09-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

With summer coming to an end, my family visiting from Florida who won't be back again for another 9 months, and new projects being added to our garage daily, my time for blogging has been emtremely limited. So I thought I'd catch you all up with a few photos of what I've been up to, and save the stunning "afters" for later posts when I can devote the deserving amount of time to them. My days have been spent enjoying what's left of the nice weather with my little man, or turning "ugly" into "lovely".

misc. 'small' projects:

Of course there is alot more work that goes into these things than those few pictures show, and I've added projects since that I've either forgotten to take a "before" of, or haven't even taken the time to photograph them at all yet. But, there is a whole lotta' goodness to show you all very soon.

I hope you lovelies have enjoyed your last day of summer. Hellloooo fall, my favorite of all seasons.

O-H!

2010-09-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

My absolute favorite part of Fall (with the exception of my little Pumpkin's Halloween Birthday) is

Ohio State Buckeye Football!!!

And, tonight is the first game of the season so you can imagine my excitement. Can I get a "hell yeah" from any of you ladies that are football fans?! ;)

GO BUCKS!

living room and, driftwood?

2010-08-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I should probably admit I've been putting off sharing the full view of the living room because I'm still not even close to being in love with it, but I'm slowly on my way. Remember when the living room looked like this:

Just a big, blank space lacking any character at all. Well although it's not anything to "write home about", it's certainly an improvement.

Oh, what is that you see? Driftwood? Inspired by (& copied from) Holly at Life In The Fun Lane. The moment I saw that post of hers I knew I wanted to do the same thing. The problem? We live in, Ohio. Can't say I figured there'd be a ton of places nearby to search for driftwood. But, when my parents visited from Florida earlier in the summer they stayed at a beautiful campground on the Ohio River and thanks to a dad with some muscles and a supportive stepmom, I came home with driftwood to spare.

Is it too much? Honestly. I started to feel like the walls are now looking too "busy". And I'm not one for a "cluttered" space. So the Ikea shelves and my recent made over bookcase looked like this before:

And after removing some "clutter":

Better, right? My only issue has been wondering if the photo shelves are too 'modern' for what I'm going for. Since a slipcovered sectional is not in the budget right now, the plan going forward is to...

remove the white sofa
remove the recliner (for sure!)
repaint the buffet turned media cabinet white to match the coffee table
move the sofa so it faces the tv
put two slipcovered wingback chairs where the leather sofa is now
prime, paint, and distress a side table I recently purchased to sit between the wingbacks
and, finally get pillow covers made for the leather sofa pillows

Other than that I'm still trying to decide on what to do about those photo shelves. Leave them? Remove them and hang the driftwood there? Remove them, leave the driftwood in place and hang a vintage sailboat painting there? (More on that in an upcoming blog post. *wink) Maybe with a few baskets lined up below it filled with pillows and blankets for movie nights/snugglefests/guests to cozy up with? I'd LOVE to replace the ceiling fan with a lovely iron chandelier but Travis isn't having that. He says we "need the air to circulate since this is such a big room". Blah. :) And, the light that hangs above the entry, that can go too.

Before I end this less-than-exciting post about the 'always a work in progress' living room, I wanted to add that I've seen a few posts from fellow bloggers lately about heirlooms or things in their homes that have a special meaning and it inspired me to share a couple of mine. That conch shell you see on the bottom photo ledge? That belonged to my aunt we lost many years ago to breast cancer. Mid-thirties. Healthy. A huge heart. And, a caring soul. Taken so quickly from us. My uncle eventually remarried and understandably passed on some of the posessions he shared with my aunt to other family members. Recently my grandmother passed the conch shell to me. And it shall forever remind me not only of my love for anything ocean related, but of my love for my aunt who will always be missed. And, although the driftwood isn't something passed down to me by family, the memory of that morning near the river with my dad, stepmom, youngest brother, and Jack all walking along collecting the "prettiest" pieces while they affectionately laughed at my adventures will never be forgotten. It really is the little things in life that mean the most...

living room sneak peak.

2010-08-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

I am obsessed with stripes. Fabrics. Walls. Rugs. Doesn't matter; if it's striped, I'm sure to love it. So in thinking about what to do with our sofa pillows and searching for fabrics I've started leaning toward doing striped linen opposed to solid white linen. I mean how could one not want a little dose of this kind of lovlieness...

*all images courtesy of decorpad

Soooo, what do you ladies think?

*this* (the wide striped linen) for the large pillows covering the back of the sofa?

Or simple white linen for the large suede pillows with just a few striped toss pillows added?

By the way, recognize that coffee table? My $20 Craigslist find that used to look like this? And, the rug that all of my closest Ikea stores were sold out of but with a $29.99 price tag, it was worth my parents going an hour out of their way on their visit home from Florida this summer to pick one up for me at the Orlando Ikea. Check them out here.

So, there's a minor sneak peak of the always under construction living room. The dilemma now is, solid or stripes? Help. :)

sandpiper.

2010-08-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

It's not anything new that my thoughts on what to do with our akward living room change frequently. But, I think I've started to accept that our giant leather (less than three years old) sofa must stay. Emphasis on started to accept. So, I've been going over ideas in my head and searching blogs and images online trying to find ideas that will make me not hate the giant dark beast that feels like an eyesore in our living room.

Recently I did come across an image on Rebecca's blog from a visit to her aunt and uncle's house that made me looove the look of their leather furniture with gorgeous gray walls and lots and lots of WHITE!

I am in love with this room. Leather and all. :) That chandelier. The linen romans and drapes. Giant picturesque windows. Dark hardwood floors. The fireplace. Um, that sailboat! I dream of it all. Buuuuut, since I only have the leather furniture and linen drapes, I'm thinking that may be a good enough starting point to go ahead and ~~embrace~~ accept our leather sofa and make it work for us. So, no slipcovered sectional for me just yet and back to the game plan of having white linen pillow covers made for the suede pillows that serve as the back of the couch we already have. I've decided though I want decorative pillows as well and in my search for "striped linen fabric" for those, I came across a darling little fabric store, right.here.in.Columbus.

Sew To Speak fabric store not more than thirty minutes from our home! AND, she has a blog!

Despite not having found any simple linen stripe fabric like I thought I wanted, I did find this:

Not only am I obsessed with stripes, but I have a new found love of yellow. And, how could this NOT remind me of the beach??? Completely unlike my typical simple style, I think I need this fabric for fun summery toss pillows. Looks like a trip to a certain nearby fabulous little fabric store is in order...

2010-07-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Helloooo lovelies. I went on the hunt for a few new blogs to love recently and came across Stephanie's blog Under The Table And Dreaming. I found tons of ideas from her and her talented readers who submit projects of their own regularly. I mean I've seen everything from an armoire turned baby changing station to free printables to recreate the beautiful collage she has hanging in her kitchen.

You can find the complete post including free printables HERE. Along with tons of other crafty ideas on her blog.

I've been having quite a difficult time figuring out what to do with our kitchen walls which recently turned into this disaster.

Nevermind the dishes and misc. items, the real problem here are all the holes in the walls that I've patched. So I'm hoping I can make some new ideas I've seen come to life and share a second reveal of the kitchen with you all soon. There are a few new features you may already notice. ;)

As excited as I was to simply find new ideas on Stephanie's blog I also entered myself into a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to The Pleated Poppy and WON!

The ~~tough~~ fun part is deciding what I want to use that gift certificate toward!

A big THANK YOU to Stephanie and The Pleated Poppy for such a darling surprise!

What would you ladies choose??? And, any ideas for my now bare kitchen walls???

good morning sunshine (award).

2010-07-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

I feel like my blog has been less than up to par lately so you can imagine my surprise this morning when I saw that Jessica from Sea To My Heart gave me the Sunshine Award. Thank you Jessica, that surely was sweet.

This award comes with really fun rules:

1. Thank the blogger that gave you the award.

2. List 7 things about yourself people may not know.

3. Share the award with three other deserving bloggers you've recently discovered (and love).

4. Let the recipients know you gave them an award.

Soooo, I get to share fun facts about myself AND share a few new favorite blogs? Um, yes please.

Random facts about moi:

1. I truly believe I belong by the sea. I'm a different person when I'm near the ocean.

2. I met my husband when I was only 15. Which means we've been together nearly 11 years! Married for nearly 3. That's exhasuting just to think about. ;)

3. I am hands down the most fickle person I know. Gemini.

4. My grandparents raised me.

5. I think I'm addicted to furniture. Seriously.

6. I have very few close friends, and hate that fact.

7. When I was young I was afraid of dogs. Having recently lost my first dog, I learned just how much you truly can love an animal.

Now that I've bored you all to death here are three favorite "new to me" blogs for you to check out! AND, be sure to head on over and see what Jessica has been up to at Sea To My Heart. She's been up to some lovely transforming that I just know you all will love. Example:

A few other lovelies to meet are:

1. Michelle at Three Men and a Lady (whose striped hallway has been seen on blogs everywhere and still amazes me every time.)

2. Anonymous ;) at Shabby Addict (who just revealed the adorable nursery she created for her daughter)

*I'm such a new follower I've not yet even figured out your name. I'm sorry!

3. Jessica at Living Bettter Together (although her blog is not that new to me, she throws parties I can only dream of attending. they're adorable and seem like so much FUN! so you girls should check her out too.)

I'm inspired by each and every blog I follow and although seeing so much talent sometimes makes it hard on this fickle girl to decide which direction she'd like to take her home in, the good stuff you all share sure does help!

Have a sunshining Saturday lovelies!

simple inspiration.

2010-07-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last week sometime Jack and I went out for our occasional Marshall's/TJ Maxx/Home Goods shopping excursion to see what kind of goodies we could find (at discounted prices of course). I was happy to come home with a new pair of jeans that are super long which is a rare find for me, and a couple decorative items for his soon to be transformed bedroom. But the one thing I didn't come home with, I've been thinking about ever since.

The very moment I set eyes on this little linen pillow I was in an instant daydream envisioning it in the sweetest baby girl nursery. I imagined tons and tons of white (no surprise there) with this lovely little pillow resting on a slipcovered white chair where I would sing the sweetest of lullabies as Jack played nearby. Of course the short attention spanned toddler in my cart put a quick stop to that daydream as he got bored with his bowl and spoon he'd been occupied with thus far. But then, today he says this:

Right after that he said he wanted a "sister baby" but the video got cut off. I mean if that isn't inspiration, I don't know what is. Hahaha. Just a daydream at this point ladies, just a daydream. :)

I've found a few new blogs I love recently and I'm looking forward to sharing some of my favorite inspiration from them soon.

Have a lovely weekend!

a zoo of a day.

2010-07-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Since Travis was out of town a few days this week for work, the little guy and I stayed busy to keep our minds off of how lonely it can be without hubby/daddy around to make us crazy. ;)

Tuesday we spent the afternoon having lunch with my sister-in-law and scoping out the house they're buying closer to us! Yesterday we left home early to make the two hour drive south and spend the day at the zoo with my girlfriend, sister, her boyfriend, and my neice. After filling our bellies on our packed lunches we braved the heat, humidity, and threatening gray clouds to catch a glimpse of "wild animals". Little did we know we'd do more than catch a glimpse of a few.

Jack thought it was so cool to feed the giraffe although I doubt he'll realize how exciting that really is until he's older. I was jealous. ;)

My neice Alivia exclaimed the giraffe hurt her already existing thumb "boo boo". Oh, little girls. :)

By mid afternoon the heat, crowd, and lack of nap started taking it's toll. Point in case:

*notice the clenched fists in complete aggravation? I've said it before, "It's a good thing he's so cute!"

All was calm again once we entered the petting zoo!

Jack found the one and only goat not interested in the feeding frenzy and nearly force fed him.

Once the poor goat accepted, it was game over. Alivia even got in on the action and it was two persistent toddlers against one exhausted goat. We all know who won here.

Adorable moment: Jack trying to help a sweet little sheep get more food from the dispenser.

A quick stop by the Polar Bears made us want to take a dip of our own to cool off.

And off to the (indoor) pool we were headed.

*sorry for the poor cell phone photo quality

An amazing day it was with people I love the most, memorable experiences with the kids, and just the reminder I needed that even cloudy days can produce smiles.

*Sidenote: With a good nights sleep behind me I was able to put a real effort and clear headed thought into the blog design today and am quite pleased with how it turned out. Sorry for the mess while it was "under construction". :)

late night nonsense.

2010-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm home with just the little guy, it's late, I can't sleep and I decide to work on my blog layout??? Worst.Decision.Ever.

I have no idea what I've done, how I did it, or how to fix it and I'm quite certain I will lose sleep over it tonight. Don't judge me. I'm a self admitted perfectionist and can't stand something being "off". It looks like a jumbled mess and as I sit here freaking out over something that should be alot less important to me, I realize it's later than I thought and I have a little boy who will be eager to get going to the zoo in the morning so I should be in bed or I'll look like a wild animal myself tomorrow.

Anyone have any clue how to "fix" my late night, foggy headed, efforts?

Until I get this figured out... please excuse my mess while I perform (clueless) maintenance.

fabulous for sure!

2010-07-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love coming across a giveaway that you swoon over? Well ladies, be sure to go say hello to fabulous k today because she has an UH-mazing stella & dot giveaway for a $50 shopping credit. AND, you can enter up to SEVEN times. We all know 7 is supposed to be the luckiest of numbers so best of luck my lovely friends.

My favorite piece (although it's nearly impossible to pick just ONE) is the Clover Key Necklace.

Share your favorites, and of course let me know if you win so I can swoon over your pick! :)

take a seat.

2010-07-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe you all remember the days when I used to post regularly, and, maybe you're new to the blog and are disappointed in how infrequent my posts are. Either way, you must know I don't like it either but life takes over these things sometimes ya know. I'm working on it... ;)

Well, back in the days of regular posts our "sitting area", which is actually just an akward extra section off of the living room, looked like THIS.

That first shot with the toy box and animals... I cannot even believe I ever let it look like that. But, the little baby pretty much ran this house at that time. :) And, although the second shot was muuuuuch better, I just knew that dresser was one that wouldn't stay for long. Although lovely, I envisioned something else. Something along these lines....

Now if you don't mind I'd like to go over the exact changes in this space because the littlest things made the biggest difference.

Notice old white blinds and heavy (ugly) drapes were replaced with flatstick roman shades, new drapery hardware and lovely linen curtains. The refinished dresser was replaced with a storage cabinet I found on Craigslist for $20!!! Gave it a fresh coat of "summer gray" paint and new hardware (sorry I forgot the before picture but lets just say huge brass eagle heads served as hardware, UGH!), adorned it with some of my favorite accessories and voila'. Flanking the cabinet are two chairs I picked up at Goodwill for $6 each. They once looked like this...

I wasn't so much for the chipped yellow paint and Navajo type print fabric. So, more white paint and clearance navy pinstriped fabric and these two beauties seriously make me swoon. Last but certainly not least, that builders light fixture that once barely lit the space has been replaced with a brand new $30 chandelier I found at *wait for it* JC Penney Furniture Outlet.

Other than changing out the photos, adding more books, and making tags for our photo boxes, I'd say this area will look like this permanently. Eventually a table will be added for use as a desk but details on that will come with the updated living room post. ;)

be our guest.

2010-06-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

In my absence of blogging on a regular basis lately, we have had guests quite often here at the house which makes my heart happy. Thankfully, I have (over many many weeks, ok, months) managed to make the guest room a serene, calm, welcoming space. Unlike the dark empty space it once was...

Along with a few coats of fresh creamy white paint, a made-over armoire, new bedding essentials, and a few thrifty accessories, I also found a lovely headboard on Craigslist that had pretty features with a not so pretty color/finish. Nothing a little paint can't fix, right?

See all that potential?

Of course it's not finished, no room ever really is. I'd like to distress the crisp white armoire, and that little side table ($3.99 from goodwill by the way!) needs it stripes to be more turquoise than gray/blue I think. And I'm thinking there should be an old chippy sign above the bed.

But, for the next week I'm off to find a cure from saltwater in the form of the sea. It's been a busy, rough couple of months and we're off to enjoy a much needed family week at the beach in Ocean Isle, NC. But be prepared, because I've already 'googled' mulitple flea markets in the area. :)

I hope you lovelies are enjoying tons of summer festivities and more laughter than your stomach can handle.

my wolfpack.

2010-06-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ok ladies, bare with me on getting to the home side of things. I will post about something home related this week. I'm determined to.

For now I thought I'd share some photos of a trip Travis and I just took to Vegas with our best of friends. We stayed at Mandalay Bay, and our biggest events were the UFC fan expo and weigh in's for UFC 114 as well as dinner and a Cirque Du Soleil show at Bellagio courtesy of some generous friends. I'm hoping all of you have seen "The Hangover" at this point because 1. it is hilarious, and 2. we made quite the number of references to that movie throughout our trip. In fact, we've now dubbed ourselves the new "wolfpack". :)

We refer to the friends we went with as our "favorites", and, that's no joke. Ashley and Austin, we sure do love you guys and had the time of our lives in Vegas with you. Do it all over again next year? ;)

*Travis' birthday night at Ghost Bar at The Palms. Uh-mazing view.

*sunbathing VIP style. (lucky fellas) ;)

*Travis and I on the Bellagio dinner and a show night.

2 sweet smiles + 2 badasses = one fun group

*Getting wild at the UFC 114 weigh-ins.

My wolfpack. :) Don't judge us.

*Travis, Austin & Me crushing "yard dogs". Yard Dogs: ridiculously large daquiris that should require an "I'm not responsible for my actions" sign to be worn after consuming.

*Ran into Dana White (President of the UFC) at 3a.m. in our hotel. Coolest.Guy.Ever.

*This, my friends, is what a dream come true looks like. The lovely little blonde in the photo is my bestest, and the fella to her right? Well, that's Tito Ortiz, aka man of her dreams. The nice and naughty ones. ;)

Can't wait to do it all again! See you lovelies soon with some photos of updates and changes around the house.

heartbreaker.

2010-06-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

I know I should start with an apology to the few of you darlings who are so eager to see the changes I've made around our home. And, just as soon as the sunshine graces our home with her beauty again, I'll go photograph crazy with my new camera (gotta love birthdays and hubbies) and share the plethera of changes we've made around here.

In the meantime, the most recent change has been a bittersweet one.

We went from "Bieber look-a-like":

To "total toddler rock star":

Along with a new haircut came a new attitude:

I mean, I can't even handle this level of cuteness. :)

26 and counting.

2010-05-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Today is my birthday
And all that I want
Is to dig through this big box of pictures
In my kitchen 'til the daylights gone...."

I promise once all of the birthday festivities settle down this weekend (tomorrow is my FIRST EVER party. Seriously), and before we depart for Vegas next week, I'll get around to sharing some of the big changes that have taken place around here. ;)

2010-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-03-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-03-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-03-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-03-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

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.

sunshine and surprises

2010-02-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

A sunshining Saturday is enough to make me smile considering we've not seen the sunshine around these here parts in weeks. It's been nothing but gray skies and lots of white snow. And despite gray and white being two of my absolute favorite colors, I've discovered that's not the case when it comes to the weather. However, the sun is out in full force today gracing us with blue skies and little wind so what is it that we plan to do to enjoy it? Go shopping, of course! Here in Columbus we have an "indoor/outdoor mall" Easton Town Center so we'll get to enjoy the beautiful day without freezing our tushes off.

Thanks to the always lovely and gracious Holly at one of my not-so-secret favorite blogs Life In The Fun Lane I learned that Hollister has ALL of their jeans on sale and despite no longer being a teenager, they were always my favorite jeans so I'm determined to shop there anyway. :) Shopping for jeans is sometimes one of the most depressing tasks I face but with my supportive hubby and little man tagging along I'm braving the mission today. I'll report back on how it goes and if these come home with me...

Another very pleasant surprise lately has been a new and absolutely fabulous blog I came across not too long ago. Maria only starting blogging a month ago and already has over 500, count 'em, 500 followers. One look at her blog Dreamy Whites and you too will be in love, I'm sure of it. She's not only another beautiful gal with a lovely family and a sweet nature about her writing, but she's humble. A real doll this one is. With a gorgeous home, and, lucky for us, she's hosting an adorable little give-away so be sure to take a look and let her know I sent you. :)

Wishing all of you lovelies lots of sunshine and smiles on this Saturday afternoon.

2010-02-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

I've missed all of you lovelies. However, despite not posting much recently I have been keeping up on my favorite blogs and can't tell you how thankful I am for the smiles they bring to my face. You see, the phrase "when it rains, it pours" seems to be true to it's words in my life lately. There was the month of watching a loved one fight a battle with cancer that she tragically and very quickly, lost. That brought family from all over that I've not seen in years. Many, many, years. So dealing with the mixed emotions of grief from our loss along with the love and excitement we felt from seeing (and hugging) one another, made for a difficult time. Spending the weekend surrounded by family and friends I love the most, including my dad who lives in Florida for the winter (and now, this upcoming summer too *insert crying here*) had me on a high despite having only about 5 hours of sleep the entire weekend, but they say "all good things must come to an end", and that weekend did. Way too quickly. It took me a few days to adjust back to real life and the reality that I am two hours from my closest family member and again, over a thousand miles away from my dad. It was my little saving grace, Jack Trenton, who helped comfort me. Then came other stresses, emotions, and fears, enough snow to last me a lifetime, changes at work, and of course more work on the house. I want to get back to blogging more often. I miss it. I miss you sweethearts and your lovely comments/emails.

I'll try to share photos soon of what's been going on around here in the remodeling/redecorating department. But in the meantime, here is the list of what's to come...

-beadboard added to kitchen cabinetry
-crown moulding added to tops of cabinets
-guest bedroom painted and redecorated
-master bedroom update
-(thanks to my sweet gramma) my growing collection of milkglass

I have also been collecting frames to fill our big expansive BLANK living room wall with. Thanks to shopping through the house for frames shoved in closets, ready for a new use, or laying in the garage waiting to be painted, clearance at HomeGoods, and to my dear friend Ashley for generously giving me frames she no longer has a need for, I think we have enough to cover a good portion of that wall. The hold up? I'm fickle. No news flash there, right? Especially considering that above link is to a post in which I explained our plan to install a photo ledge. But, seeing as I don't see my family near as often as I'd like, and how completely in love I am with the memories old photos of my little man bring back, a photo ledge wouldn't accomodate nearly enough frames for my liking. So wall of frames it shall be. I just have to decide what color to paint them. Black? Or, white? Or, gray?

Initially I was leaning toward black because I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with this photo. But, we all know I have a strong desire for all things to be white around here so I can't seem to decide.

I sure hope you all haven't forgotten me and have some input on the color choices for the frames. Until next time, (which is hopefully in the very near future).... Xo

a fabulous (K) giveaway.

2010-01-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Not until I joined blogland was I familiar with Lisa Leonard Designs but man was I instantly obsessed. I'd take any one of her pieces as long as I could have the loves of my life names on it. Her designs are simple yet stunning, perfect combination. Point in case:

A favorite on my blog list is Fabulous K and how could she not be a favorite??? She's hosting a giveaway for a $75 gift certificate to Lisa's site so be sure to stop by and pick out a few favorites of your own.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day today and start the week off right!

frugal fashions (friday).

2010-01-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

I wish I had something fun on right now that I could share with you all but considering most of my week has been spent in yoga pants and slipper boots, I'll stick to sharing my New Year's Eve outfit.

~~Unfortunately~~ Fortunately we were busy having so much good food, drinks, and fun New Year's Eve that we, make that I, didn't break out the camera until well into the evening once my "looking hot" turned "looking like a hot mess". And, even then, it was simply my camera phone to snap a photo of hubby and I to share with family. Travis looked so handsome that I regret not having a quality photo to share. He wore a striped button up. Which brings me to mentioning that after noticing how often he wears them, I'm starting to think he is the reason I love stripes so much, and not the other way around. :)

Anyway, if you like Christian Louboutin shoes then you'll love these:

but at almost $800 I couldn't afford one of these shoes, let alone both. So, I opted for these:

Striking resemblance, huh? And at the price tag of just $10 (no I didn't forget a zero anywhere in there) brand new, not buying them was not an option.

You see I already had a dress, and intended to where flat suede slouchy boots but there was something about having a babysitter for the evening that made me want to wear super high (5inch to be exact) heels for dinner with my hubby. ;)

The dress was on clearance at Macy's and after extra discounts and a coupon it was less than $3 (that's right, less than what a Venti Caramel Macchiato would cost me):

I loved the colors (totally unlike me), the ruffles, and most importantly the way it fit. The price tag? Well that's a given, of course I loved that. I felt sexy to wear a dress and heels since I've become a "jeans, t-shirt and boots" kinda gal more so after having Jack and it made me feel sexier yet that my entire outfit, except the black tights I already owned, cost a mere $13. Have I ever told you all that "13" is a very lucky number in our little family? I'll save that story... ;)

Have a wonderful weekend pretty ladies (and handsome gents, just in case my dad is reading). I hope to be back next week with some changes around the house.

birthdays are always fun.

2010-01-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

Today is a typical January day in the state of Ohio. Cold. Cloudy. Snowing. 2 to 5 inches of snow to be exact. I don't mind it since I don't have to go out in it. It allows me to clean without getting distracted by the idea of running out to snag a goodwill treasure or browse my favorite stores clearnace racks. And it allows for lots of snuggling of course. Thankfully, yesterday was my mother-in-laws birthday and we were able to make the hour and a half drive to celebrate with her, and get back home, without dealing with hazardous road conditions. She thought she was going to be spending the evening home, alone, watching "Becker". Instead, she had a nice dinner with family and was surprised with an all inclusive weekend family getaway. That sure beats a night alone watching "Becker" wouldn't you agree?

Notice how both of the boys are wearing stripes? I can only take credit for dressing one of them of course, but it looks like my love of stripes must be rubbing off on a certain fella I'm quite fond of. ;)

The "genius mom move" I made was to toss a container of Play-Doh (a favorite among his many Christmas gifts) in the diaper bag along with all of Jack's favorite foods/snacks. That way even once his belly was full on all of the yummy stuff, he had something to occupy him while the rest of us finished our meals. Without the typical, "All done mama, go bye-bye", being repeated 1,847 times while we rush through our last few bites of dinner.

Friendly note: Yes you do see a speck of Play-Doh on his lip. No you don't have to worry. It's non-toxic.

My sister-in-law and her husband who will join us on the family weekend get-away.

The Birthday Girl herself, my mother-in-law. (And the delicious cake I indulged in despite my New Year's Resolution to eat better. Birthdays are now an exception.)

When my mother-in-law asked if she was able to keep the vase that her birthday flowers were in, this was my answer: "Of course! I don't get flowers often enough to need as many vases as I have". *hint hint hubby* My sister-in-law seemed to have the same argument in reference to her need of vases. Travis' grandma on the other hand had this to say as she was sitting wrapped in her fiance's arm (that's right, I said 'grandma' and 'fiance', you can't stop love): "I don't have that problem". :) Lucky lady, huh?

Here is the happy couple:

The "disclaimer" on my mother-in-laws vacation get-away information sheet was funny so I thought I'd share it with you all.

"Your gift includes a four day three night all inclusive get-away of your choice to a participating destination. Accommodations provided by and shared with The Markley Family and The Link Family. Date and time subject to agreement. Package terms will not expire. Please expect up to 12 months for delivery. Not responsible for lost or damaged property during travel, forgotten necessities, injury caused by over-excitement, or dehydration due to excessive tear flow. Void where prohibited. All rights reserved. Other restrictions include but are not limited to: packing a bathing suit, leaving work and any other unrelated stresses behind, letting loose, enjoying the company, taking a risk, and most importantly letting us celebrate you!"

Here's to daydreaming about a vacation while in reality a snow storm is happening outside. :)

how about some table with that coffee.

2010-01-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

I like alot of this:

and happen to have (and love) lots of these:

So it only makes sense that I would want a table to rest them on. You all may remember this recent post where I nearly couldn't breathe over a coffee table just like this lovely piece by Holly. I found it on Craigslist for $20, emailed about it from Charlotte while we were on vacation, and got a very disappointing "it's been sold" reply. I was bummed, but when I want something, I do NOT give up. So, the search continued. I knew I loved that table, and with all of the other things our very tight budget is already committed to around here, I also knew that unless it was an absolute steal (and I loooooved it), hubby wouldn't support another purchase just yet. Where does a gal go when she needs to find something inexpensive and fabulous from the comfort of her own home? You all know the answer. Back to Craigslist I went. Having no luck in our city, and no luck in a nearby city my dear friend Ashley was searching for me, I moved on to the city I'm from. I hate that she's two hours away from me, but in this case knowing my sister could help out if I found something there, I searched away. And, there it was:

(Sorry about the poor quality of photos via Craigslist). The EXACT same style (and size), again. The listing was posted on December 17, 2009. Asking price of (again) $20. So, I was sure it was gone. But, being the tragically hopeful gal that I am, I emailed anyway. *I just want to add that it causes me a great deal of anxiety when I email about something on Craigslist that I want so badly because if it's gone, it's gone, and it will be stuck in my head until I find the EXACT thing I'm looking for. Sometimes, being as ~~stubborn~~ determined and hopeful as I am, is a weakness.* After less than 24 hours of severe anxiety, I got the email back. "The table is still available. Everyone asks about it but no one comes to get it. My phone number is 555-555-5555, I'll be home all day if you'd like to take a look". I called immediately, got the address, called my sis (who just happens to have the day off) and, thanks to a lot of luck, $20 bucks, a sis who would do anything for me without asking questions, and her supportive boyfriend who happens to have a truck, a coffee table I've dreamed of for months now, is being picked up as I type. Looks like my "project list" just found a new item to add to the top. Man I love when something just feels meant-to-be.

new year, new look.

2010-01-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

The last year has been an eventful one to say the least. Believe it or not, a year ago Travis and I weren't sure we'd make it another year of being married. It was a very tough time for both of us, still so in love, but facing challenges we were fighting to overcome. And, nearly failing to do so. After alot of communication (which we were lacking), hours of staring at our son knowing we wanted him to grow up with his parents ~~together~~ happy together, and accepting that we had to stop being selfish or stubborn and give the love we have for each other some real effort we knew we just couldn't be apart. You see, as it is for most couples, when our child was born all of our time and effort went to caring for him. Unfortunately, we neglected ourselves and each other and it started taking it's toll. Quickly. For those of you who don't know, we've been together ten years. You can imagine how we've both changed since first meeting: our personalities as we've matured, our stresses, family needs, friends, our likes and dislikes, and days now just don't seem as long or as carefree as they once were. Say, when I was just 15 years old. :) One thing that hasn't changed: our love for each other and my certainty that Travis was the man I was meant to share my life with. So, here we are, facing another new year to strengthen our relationship, make new memories, and to celebrate all the things we love.

We ended the year spending the day in Charlotte with family. Watching our little man play at an indoor play area called "Monkey Joe's", taking a train ride through the city and having lunch with family we don't see often enough. The evening was spent with Travis' father and his lovely wife Suzanne, along with some of their friends having a fine dinner, drinks, and of course that midnight kiss from my handsome hubby. We welcomed the New Year with plans for changes. As you may have noticed, my first change was this little ol' blog I happen to love so much. I appreciate not only the inspiration I recieve and am able to share, but also the friends I've made. I wish you all the very best year ahead.

As for changes to our home, which I am always thrilled to daydream (and blog) about. There's that kitchen of ours we made big changes to but have yet to finish, a nursery that needs to better suit our "baby" who now needs a 'big boy' room, our dark and dreary master that I'd prefer to be airy and romantic, a guest bedroom that we'd like to make our guests feel as welcomed as we do, and our blank living room that is in great need of character. Who knows if all of those projects will be done this year. Especially since just in the short amount of time it took me to type that sentence, I thought of another room, make that two, that need some attention. Our laundry room and Jack's/guest bath. Whew! We've got our work cut out for us but I'm determined to have fun with it and appreciate the beauty in what IS done, as opposed to stressing about what is not.

On the very long list of things to incorporate, here are just a few of my favorites.

A super comfy chair in the living room:

Wall interest in big doses of beadboard:

A completed kitchen as pretty as this one:

A gorgeous chandelier...

To hang over a farmhouse table (I'm working on for the kitchen) with a stunning resemblance to this one:

Tons and tons and tons of white and memories displayed on our walls:

And, God willing, you never know if another angel will bless our lives:

(Jack Trenton; the reason I believe in love at first sight.)

I hope you all are as happy and excited to start a new year as I am. I look forward to the changes it brings for each and every one of us!

Xo-

coffee table love.

2009-12-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

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.