new chairs

not sure if i ever posted about the chairs i found on ebay for my bedroom, but i finally finished upholstering them.

i had been looking for some bamboo, mid-century lounge-y type chairs for a long time. every thing i liked was either too expensive or not comfortable, or both. these are perfect.

i love the bamboo, but also how they bring that modern vibe into the room with the shape. their scale is perfect, too, as our bedroom does not have a lot of extra space.

i created the fabric on spoonflower using a paisley graphic i found on the web.

i really like the way they turned out!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I usually take my time decorating for the holidays, doing a little bit each day. This year, my friend Angie was in charge of the annual Christmas dinner for the ladies at church, and asked if we could use my house. I said of course, and then panicked when I found out that it was scheduled for exactly a week after Thanksgiving.

So, with the help of Eric and my sister and her family, we busted out the garland and lights and ornaments and got it done!

My entry way, with my very favorite Goodwill purchase, the peacock front and center. He inspired my dining room ceiling and niche paint over. And I love these battery operated candles from Costco! They turn themselves off after 5 hours!

I used burlap liberally. It's cheap and chic and doesn't need hemming.

My living room. This room is very hard to take pictures of during the daytime, because of all the sunlight (not complaining!) It's my favorite room in the house.

I am frequently accused of having too many decorative pillows, but I don't think there is such a thing.

My favorite new Christmas vignette. I bought the moravian star online, then Eric rewired it with this cool pendant adapter I got from Lowes, then I spray painted it to match. It was a tight squeeze getting all the wisemen, shepherds and beasts in the picture, but we managed.

Another wreath in the dining room and some plug in candles.

And my mercury glass ornaments in glass bowls on the dining room table.

The hand I got in St. John decked out with some holiday ribbon and since I needed something to go in the other cloche...

I took two of my little bird ornaments off the tree (they were very hard to see) and hot glued their little clips to the base. I think they're adorable.

A few more mercury glass ornaments and some tiny old books I found on ebay in a basket on the coffee table.

My mantel. Burlap stockings, two turtle doves (actually, quail from Eric's grandma) and capiz shell garland.

The tree. It's hard to get a good picture of a Christmas tree. I have a love/hate relationship with mini-lights.

I have a few more little things here and there, but keep forgetting to take pictures. Although it was stressful getting it all done in a short amount of time, it is so nice to be able to focus on other things and really enjoy the holiday season! I think I'll set myself an early deadline from now on!

Erin's room

Ahh, if only it was this clean everyday.....

Annie's room

While my girl's were away at YW camp this summer, I finished up a few projects and fixed up their rooms. Here's Annie's.

The pinboard that I made way back when.

I think she needs a full length mirror on that bit of wall.

This wall art is another easy project that I've been meaning to show. Maybe later.

Dresser from IKEA.

And remember our super easy paint idea?

Cute tissue paper lantern. We just cut out circles of tissue paper and glued them onto an IKEA light fixture.

I love this room! I hope she does, too!

Disaster strikes . . .

I took some pictures of my very clean house a few months ago when I thought we might be moving. I am using these pictures now as a reference so you can see what my office once looked like.

The perfect craft room solution - shallow drawers and cute cabinets on top, with cute IKEA fabric in the windows to hide the messy shelves. It only took me over a year to find these.

My "office" made out of a closet. Originally I was planning to "paper" the inside of this closet with the IKEA fabric featured above.

My desk/worktable. I love it pushed up against the window so that I can see outside while I'm working.

This is what my office looks like now. I went to put away a few things left out from my week's projects, and I found that a gallon jug of distilled water (for ironing) had sprung a leak and soaked everything on that shelf and below. (This is not the first time distilled water has leaked in my house - last year I found a jug that had seeped on a shelf in my pantry, only that one wasn't discovered for months.)

Books, magazines, etc. from the shelf above.

Around here, you have to dry stuff out really well, or it will grow mold. The water seeped into the bottom shelf where it had puddled. I hope I can dry it out so it doesn't warp.

I save my fave magazine articles with pictures of pretty houses. These were not put away the last time I looked through them, or they would have been in the other cabinet and been fine. They are spread out all over the room drying separately so they don't stick together.

I'm trying to salvage the fabric that was inside on the back of the cabinet. I didn't see it when I was at IKEA today, which makes me think they don't sell it anymore, and I really like it.

This isn't really what I wanted to do with my evening, I was going to finish up some projects for the girls' rooms (pictures coming soon!) and clean the house before my sweetie gets home. Oh well, I'm just glad I found it today instead of in a few weeks.

everybody makes mistakes

and i make lots. especially when making paint choices.

how 'bout this one?

what the h*** were you thinking, you crazy woman? hello, it's the worst orange i've ever seen. it looks like a school bus. or a hunting vest. or a school bus full of hunters. in a construction zone.

egads.

but, the nice thing about making mistakes, is there's this thing called repentance.

1. sorrow for sin - i think i felt sorry the moment i opened the can. and continued to feel sorry while cutting in, painting 3 coats, and then each time i walked in there.

2. confession - i confessed to my husband (who was nice and just asked me if i really liked it), to my kids (who thought it was very bright) and to everyone who came to my house and saw my boys' room. and now i'm confessing to you. i made a really, really, big mistake.

3. abandonment of sin - i will never, ever, ever, ever, ever paint a room this particular shade of school bus orange again.

4. restitution - done! i did it! i have repaired the damage that my actions caused!

5. righteous living - i went beyond just making it right! i made it awesome! i not only fixed the ugly orange walls, i also fixed the ugly orange-y bunk beds, and the ugly mismatched bedding! it's not perfect, but SO much better!

i feel like a new person!

Dining room

I've had a busy month or so. Late winter can be really depressing here in Ohio, so every year I make a list and try to keep myself busy until spring comes. A few weeks ago I changed a few things in my dining room.

before

after

I really love how light and fresh the room feels now! I love the contrast between the white walls and the dark furniture.

Bathroom remodel

I finished redecorating the downstairs bath, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I need to remember to take REAL before pictures next time, instead of in the middle of the mess, but I think you get the idea.

I had the hardest time deciding what to do with this space, and it was always a little embarrassing that it was so bland and boring, but I absolutely LOVE it now! (I'll even come downstairs to use it, even though I have 3 bathrooms upstairs!)

before

after

The shower curtain fabric is from IKEA, I used 6 yards, but not really. I cut the center section out of 3 of the yards (I didn't want it too billowy and crowding the toilet) and used that for my kitchen cupboards. The edge pieces left over were sewn to the outside of the other 3 yards. I mounted the rod almost to the ceiling, I hate it that most shower curtains are way too short, like J's jeans. The artwork on the closest wall is a piece of cut stone from Indonesia that Eric brought back from a business trip.

I built the shelves. Well, sort of. Eric had started building me a bookcase for my office when I found the perfect thing somewhere else, (much to his relief) and these were made from the leftover pieces from that project. He had already faced the MDF with mitered birch, I just had to cut them down to size and add a small piece on one end, prime and paint, and then mount to the wall. They turned out great, but it was really hard to get them level from front to back, floating shelves tend to want to sag forward a little, but as long as I don't place eggs or pens on them, it shouldn't be a problem. The glass bottles are from IKEA as well (LOVE that place!) and the little horse is from China (another business trip find).

I moved the mirror downstairs from the master bath, the one that was there previously didn't fit inside the molding, but I think it looks better this way anyway. It's not perfect, but it works for now while I keep my eyes open for something better. The lacquered box is for holding girly items (no cupboards) and if I had remembered I had it I would have made the shelves deeper so it fit on them, but oh well, I think it looks nice on the tank. The towels are also from the master bath, they look better here too. All I need now is a basket for magazines and extra TP and it's perfect.

One thing I love about winter...

I'm not a winter girl. I was born in Minnesota, but have never liked the snow. As a kid, I liked it for about one day, and then was ready for spring. As I've gotten older, it's only gotten worse. I grit my teeth and bundle up if everyone else insists that I come sledding, to be a good sport, but I'm really in agony the whole time. I prefer to stay at home and make hot chocolate for them all.

It didn't help, living in California and Arizona for a combined total of 8 of the 15 years that we've been married. It thinned my blood, and moving to Utah was a hard adjustment. And then we came to Ohio, which Eric claimed was "almost the South" (being across the river from Kentucky).

But there is one thing that I absolutely love about winter. We'll get a big snowfall, and then the next day, vivid sunlight which reflects off of the glittery snow and makes the whole world so bright. These are usually the days when the kids are home for a snow day, and the temperature is in the teens, but inside my house, it is glorious.

My living room faces south, and all that magical sunlight floods in and reflects off the white walls and makes me HAPPY!

I love to just sit and fold laundry, in a clean, bright, quiet house, and bask in all the light.

Business trip project

When Eric has to leave for several days on business, I take the opportunity to work on a big project around the house. It keeps me busy, I can make all the decisions, and then it's a nice surprise for him when he gets home.

My downstairs bath was driving me crazy. Very boring, and I just couldn't decide what to do with it. I painted it a light khaki, but mistakenly used flat paint, so I had to repaint anyway. I left the ceiling the same color, repainted the walls the same color as the trim (a very light cream) and them added some molding detail and crown molding.

before

After

After

I'm still on the prowl for a new shower curtain, mirror and shelves. I love the way it's turned out so far, though!