I am pleased to announce that a giant bag filled with sweet treats in colorful wrappers has left the building ~ I made Jay escort it out this morning at 6:40am as he left for the bus stop. I don’t want to see another piece of chocolate, caramel or nougat for awhile.
Sorry Pinterest, you’re on a time out until I start preparing holiday goodies in about a month.
I am in the process of revamping a few areas around the house…we’ve been here three years and it’s time for a little change. My collage wall will be home to this 8X10 beauty which I am sending to Walgreens as we speak:
You can have one too, just go here. Thanks, Julie!
As I’ve mentioned a million times before, the walls in our home are white, whITE, WHITE ~ this ray of sunshine and rainbow goodness will be hugged by a red frame and stand out nicely.
I think those words are so true and I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of that daily.
Red boots and a red handbag make a statement when paired with a simple top and old, comfy jeans ~ {and don’t forget a red leash for the [Fido] in your life!}…
Time to get out the plastic crate from the garage. The one with the orange and black stuff in it!
It’s under the Spring/Easter one, so I have yet to go out there and move a few things around and dig it out.
I did, however, make another paint chip bunting for the month of October.
{do you ever choose paint, lipstick or nail polish for the name of the color? I do…one of the oranges on these cards was [sunset strip] so I picked that one over another one with not so [hollywood] names}
These are the easiest things to make. I’m addicted.
Just hung the blue and green one from my mom’s birthday brunch in the laundry room and it makes the chore a little more enjoyable.
So, run to Home Depot this weekend and pick up some paint chips and make one. Or have your husband pick some up for you…men seem to go to HD a lot.
They add an instant festive touch to any room. I hung ours above the couch in our great room and it’s the first thing you see when you come in the front door.
Now to venture out into the garage and get the rest of the ghosts, goblins and witches!
Many home builders these days are opting for the great room rather than a formal dining room, living room and family room. I am not a fan of the great room…I much prefer separated spaces. Perhaps it’s because our great room is always one GREAT BIG mess and it’s the first thing you see when you walk into our house! There is no entry way that leads to a formal living room and then off to the right we have a little formal dining room before you continue down the hall to the kitchen and family room.
It’s BAM!…welcome to our cluttered, Lego infested, shoe explosion, cushions-crooked-on-the-couch, homework on the kitchen table {not-so-great} room.
Yes, we are blessed to have a roof over our heads and our house is plenty big for our family and we have more than we need, but I have not seemed to be able to develop and execute a consistent, daily agenda where I can keep it looking presentable even 50% of the time. I get it decluttered and organized and it’s back to it’s chaotic state in no time.
It is something that I am constantly struggling with. I had all good intentions of having it straightened up and photographed for this here post today, but I am vain and wasn’t able to pull it together in time.
For me, the perfect family room has color, furniture collected from over the years that just happens to all complement eachother, lots of concealed storage for toys/games/junk/etc., kid’s artwork, vintage treasures, handcrafted goodies, fun pillows, throws, magazines to thumb through and candles.
One day soon I will get my act together and share our family/great room.
I’m inspired by all these gorgeous rooms on Pinterest so I have no excuse not to go get ours looking just as cohesive and put-together!
Today I’m going to be wandering a bit…a little of this and a little of that.
We have a large-ish landing at the top of the stairs where the kids watch DVDs on a 13″ TV and read books. I want to make it a little more {nookie} and have pillows on the floor…maybe a basket of rolled up blankets to cuddle in during the cooler months.
I went to my new BFF, Pinterest, and took a little nook look…
I love the idea of a reading nook where you can sit and read trashy mags and sip your morning coffee. Anyone read Bethenny Frankel’s {A Place of Yes}? Been meaning to pick it up.
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I’m on a gift wrapping kick. I am kind of over the whole gift bag thing. Yes, I know it’s easy and a good way to recycle but I love the idea of a good old fashioned wrapped gift.
Last time I was at {99¢ Only} I picked up a roll of brown packing paper. Going to use it LOTS for Christmas this year and wanted some early inspiration, but you can do ANYTHING with it. How cute is the balloon bow?
I seriously had to {exit} Pinterest. Everything just kept getting cuter and cuter.
Just enter {reading nooks} and {gift wrapping} and you’ll see what I mean.
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I am working on a little giveaway and hope to have it posted by Friday. Since the last several giveaways were Havaianas, I thought I’d do a little homemade goodie. I hope that you’ll check back and enter to win! 😉
Let me just say that in the process of making this little goodie, I burnt my fingertips to a crisp. My glue gun is in the naughty corner right now. Not user error at all……..
To make matters worse, what I thought was glue was actually a blister and I pulled it off….um, ouch!
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Is anybody else anxious for Fall? I am finding myself searching for autumnal and Halloween inspiration already. Which is good because if I wait too long, I am more likely not going to be able to carry it out. If I get the ideas early, I can get a head start on all this {F}alloween cuteness.
Note to self: DO NOT LOOK UP FALL OR HALLOWEEN DECOR ON PINTEREST!
{at least not today}
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Today is Day 9 with Jill…last night I did it at 10:08pm. I was NOT going to bed without doing my dumbbell rows and butt kicks.
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Kinda wish I was going to BlogHer this weekend in San Diego….if you’re going, have a blast in my hometown!
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I think this Hump Day afternoon calls for a nice iced coffee…you should have one too!
This morning I had about 45 minutes to kill before picking up the chickadees at summer camp. I decided to run into Goodwill and survey the furniture.
I reeeeeally want to start refinishing furniture, but the truth is I’m scared.
I like crafty stuff that is quick and painless and done the same day. I think this {fear} of unfinished projects stems from when Jay laid slate tile in our entryway in San Diego. He did a BEAUTIFUL job, but it took a couple months for the project to be completed. To his credit, we were both working part time, planning our wedding, etc.
But, in general, I’d like to hire someone to come lay the tile, grout, seal and be done. I don’t like the place to be torn up for too long. I am working on this….
Anywhoo, back to Goodwill. Today was 50% off blue tag day. I spotted a couple nice chairs with $19.99 {blue!} price tags.
They had great bones and the fabric could easily be replaced. I am picturing red or orange with a fun updated fabric…
But we don’t {need} two chairs. I tried to tell myself they’d be great to pull out at parties for more seating.
The truth is we already have at least 2 other pieces that I can practice on……wah!
But if you’re into refinishing furniture and these chairs look like a steal to you at $10 a piece, please let me know soon! I am {this} close to packing the kids in the car and driving across town to pick them up.
I just need to keep telling myself that there will always be old furniture available.
Right?
Right.
In the meantime I need to get over my fear of buying a sander. We have talked about going to Lowe’s or Home Depot several times to pick one up and have never made it.
Part of me is scared that I will LOVE upcycling old furniture and our garage will turn into a garage sale/Goodwill graveyard.
Either way, I need to get my hands on a Black & Decker and find out!
I think I {may} be on the verge of quite possibly becoming addicted to spray paint{ing}.
It is the quickest, easiest, cheapest way to transform almost anything.
It all started when I spray painted the glass candle holders to make some little candy/snack dishes for Elliott’s upcoming party as seen again here…
I love them and they have perked up our mantel for Spring. I had visions of jelly beans in the little one and daffodils in the big one and haven’t gotten around to picking up either.
{btw, the color is krylon [pumpkin orange]}
Then, this past weekend we went to Lowe’s and I picked up another can of instant happiness and got busy yesterday morning…
{color is valspar [exotic sea]}
Keeping with the nature, outdoorsy theme of Elliott’s party, I have been collecting pine cones and branches on my Tuesday/Thursday morning hikes. Elliott even spotted a couple nice sturdy, long twigs down in San Diego last week.
I think they will add an organic, yet chic {and not to mention inexpensive} look to the outdoor festivities.
The aqua twigs will be fun on the mantel through summer, too. They also take on sort of a beachy feel.
Twigs and branches like these would be gorgeous during the holidays in silver or gold…oh man, I am already thinking about Christmas!
If you need some spunk or pop of color in your casa or backyard, grab a can of spray paint, shake, press with your index finger and watch the transformation take place.
And oh how I love the sound of the ball clanking around inside the can when you shake it!
Holden’s masterpiece from Art Night is serving as the anchor…I made a quick paper bunting out of some polka dot card stock with this template. I just punched a couple holes in the top of each flag, strung twine through, then secured them in back with a small piece of tape.
I picked up some crystal candle holders at Dollar Tree and spray painted them orange. The idea came from here, but I decided to keep them a little more simple and streamlined with just a glass vase and small candle holder instead of the jars. First, spray paint with your color preference and then use some E6000 to marry the two. My kind of craft…wham, bam, you’re done.
When I originally saw this idea, I wanted to make them for Elliott’s party, but thought they would be fun in the meantime on the mantel to hold jelly beans and possibly some Cadbury mini eggs for Easter. They are so easy to make and can be tailored to any holiday or season…these will also make an appearance at Halloween!
It still needs something, but I’m not sure what…some good ‘ol jelly beans or chocolate eggs for a start and then maybe some daffodils in the vase…we’ll see!
Cannot believe next week is Spring Break! Where has this school year gone?
I wanted to get a decorative curtain rod and use clips that I have to hang their cuteness, but I am trying to reduce the amount of holes in the walls. I strung a piece of twine halfway up the stairs on the landing and used some glittery clothespins to secure their masterpieces. I hid the small nails behind the window coverings.
{Looking down from the top of the stairs}
{Looking up from the first flight of stairs}
This morning I added a couple more things ~ I definitely like the addition of more stuff, but the jury is still out on the whole thing. It certainly livens up the boring, drab white-ish walls, though!
I’m thinking that a few larger holes to hold a more substantial rod into the wall are worth these precious pieces of art….your thoughts?
