Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Counting Down the Days...

Yup... I'm still counting down the days till our kitchen is done.
I'm here to tell you that the end is in sight folks.  The last of the finished parts have been dropped off at the sprayers (yay!) so in 1-2 weeks they should be ready to be installed... hopefully :)  Then we've got some tiling to do!


Just thought I'd let you know that we haven't abandoned the kitchen project... it's still a work in progress... but the end is in sight.  I hope :)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Just had to share...

Cutest kids room... designed for a girl... but could be a little boyish too... :)



And that's all I've got to say right now... well... back to enjoying my mid afternoon coffee in a quiet house... nap time rules :)

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Tufting

More progress has been made on the headboard... my sisters and I were busy in the garage last night and got some of the tufting done on the headboard.  Let me tell you... tufting is definitely a group effort... and can be a little dangerous.  Scissors, staples, needles-- it's serious business.  We tufted and tufted and then we ran out of tufting twine.  We'll pick up more today and get this headboard finished.  Can't wait!


And so, to pay homage to a fun filled night of tufting... I'm going to leave you with some pretty pictures of rooms that all contain a little tufting.  Is anyone else out there a fan?





Southern Living Idea House via Cottage and Vine


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Big Girl Rooms

Tis the season of birthdays around here.  On Saturday Caleb turns 5 (yikes!!) and in August Emerson turns 2.  Turning 2 means it's time to move on outta your crib.  So far she hasn't really attempted to climb out yet... but this afternoon I heard her yelling from the dining room "HELP!  MOM!  HELP!"  And I discovered this...


And because I'm such a great mom I laughed, grabbed my camera to snap a picture, and THEN helped her down off the table.

Somebody around here sure likes to dance on table tops... but can't seem to figure out how to get off the table.  The days of climbing are upon us... which means it's time for a big girl bed sometime soon.

So!  You know me... I'll probably want to switch up her room a little bit too.  Lately I've been drawn to kids rooms that have some hits of bold pattern... on the floor, on the bed... so fun.  Here are some of my recent favorites...










Finishing up the kitchen is definitely going to be priority around here... but once that's off my radar, Eme's room is next.  In the meantime, I think a trip to Anthro is definitely in order :)  Anyone wanna come with?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Backsplash Inspiration

Do you watch Sarah 101?  I do... of course.  And I must say that the Fresh Country Kitchen that aired a few weeks ago was definitely my favorite episode.  How awesome is this kitchen?



My favorite part of the kitchen is that backsplash-- subway tiles laid in a herringbone pattern.  Amazing.  As much as I would love to do this backsplash in my own kitchen, I'm not even going to show it to Doug... because he'd either say "absolutely no way" OR agree to do it and then we'd spend the next 6 months trying to get it perfect!


Anyhow... nice work Sarah!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Open Shelves Thursday

Lack of blogging... means that life's been busy.
Feel's like we've been running around all over town the past few days... and really, we have.

Over the past few days we've been going to BBQ's, having wiener roasts, taking the kids fishing (in the rain) at the trout hatchery, shopping at Metrotown way past the kids bedtime with NO stroller (so not a good idea) going to White Rock for a preschool field trip, T ball... the list goes on and on.

Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them.

Anyways.  After all the work Doug did in the kitchen while I was out of town with the kids we've taken a bit of a break from working in the kitchen.  I have the faucet ordered now and need to order the rest of my hardware today and then everything will start arriving.  On Doug's to do list is to build all the drawer boxes, have the kitchen measured for countertops (he's handling that since he gets a good deal), build all the doors and finished parts, have it all sprayed, and then install everything :)  I'm thinking this kitchen is going to be "in progress" for quite a while!  But, if you can find the time to do it yourself, you can save a lot of $$.  So worth it.

In the meantime, I've been living with open shelves in the kitchen.  And really, I mean EVERY shelf is open.  As you can imagine... this little lady is loving it.


But as frustrating as it is to have the contents of my kitchen scattered all over the house (and in the backyard-- I recently discovered that Caleb had been commandeering my kitchen stuff for the sandbox-- nice) I really really have been loving having upper open shelves.  So, Doug and I decided to add a few more into the design!  Instead of having closed upper cabinetry where the big window used to be, we're going to have three rows of open shelves.  This is the perfect spot for all my white dishes and glassware.  Can you see it?


So, to honor the current state of my kitchen and the new plan to add more open shelves into the design, I've decided to declare today "Open Shelves Thursday".  Since my open shelves are currently not so attractive, how about we look at a few kitchens that have beautiful open storage?






This kitchen has ikea cabinetry-- amazing, right?


And that concludes Open Shelves Thursday.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Random Friday

In no particular order, let me share some not so meaningful things with you...

I went shopping this week.  I had an off day.  When I go shopping I'm usually worried about my kids being trouble-- I should start worrying about myself a little more often.  I broke a candle holder at Chapters.  I lost my phone-- not once-- but TWICE.  The first time I realized I'd lost it before I left the store.  The second time around I didn't notice until I was in a totally different store-- thankfully someone found it and had turned it to the store employees.  Meanwhile Eme was a perfect little angel.  On a positive note-- I took the candle holder that I broke to the front to pay for it-- the lady told me not to worry about it, said it happened all the time, and gave me an unbroken one instead.  Made me feel a teeny bit better.

And then I went to Old Navy and bought a new pair of shorts-- they cost me... get this... NINETY SEVEN CENTS.  Honestly.  I was so excited about my great deal.  But then I got home and started to worry.  Should I be concerned that that nobody else wanted to buy them?  Were the shorts so uncool that they had to drop the price to ninety seven cents to finally get someone to buy them?  Should I be concerned that they are pleated in the front?  Bah.  Who cares.  I'm totally going to wear them.

They kind of look like these shorts-- but in a light denim.  If they look good on her, they've got to look good on me... right?


Moving on.

My kitchen renovation is happening in slow motion.  Seriously SLOW.  At the rate we're moving I calculate that it will be complete in approximately 2 years.

Meanwhile, my Lark & Lily business partner has renovated her kitchen-- top to bottom-- in approximately 2 weeks.  That girl... she runs a tight ship... I seriously can't believe she's pulled it off... and it's going to look spectacular...

However, I did order some of my hardware for my new kitchen and it arrived the other day!  So exciting.  I decided to bite the bullet and order my ultimate favorite bin pulls from Restoration Hardware in polished nickel.  They were on final sale.  They are gorgeous.  I love em.



And, I am happy to report that the roman shades that I made for my two kitchen windows have been removed.  That's a little progress for you.  They are not included in the new kitchen design... so... that means that there are 2 green fixed roman shades that are available for the taking.  If you have a windows that is 31 1/2" wide or 33 1/2" wide (there are two) and you desire a green lattice print shade-- it's yours.  Seriously... if anyone wants them... come get them before I take them to MCC.


Another random thing... has anyone out there tried Turkish bath towels?  I've heard they're wonderful.  And just look at them... so gorgeous.  And, they are huge-- if they're as soft as they say, you could use it as a pretty throw blanket or take it to the park for a picnic (although I probably wouldn't let me kids eat on it).  I am kind of tempted to buy one... have you ever used one?  Are they awesome?


Another random thing-- I REALLY want to eat this.  No, actually... I REALLY wish I was back in Italy dining al fresco eating this.  Seriously.  About 10 times this week either Doug or I have talked about how much we wish we could go back.  It doesn't help that I keep getting these emails in Italian from Trenitalia-- it's like they taunting me-- come back... come back...


Maybe making this Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream would be sufficient.  Nope.  Probably not... but it's worth a try... right?  Maybe if I eat it al fresco on my deck I can pretend I'm sitting along a canal in Venice...

More random...  how about something pretty?

I am so loving this bathroom... can't believe I'm already thinking about a bathroom reno when our kitchen one is about 5% completed.  But, I love those sinks, the vanity, the lights... the striped carpet!  Although, I would hate to have to try and clean up all those dust bunnies underneath the vanity... annoying.


Hmmm... how about this gorgeous bedroom?  It's it perfect?  I could go for a nap right about now...


Ummm... is this not the cutest little bed ever?  I'm thinking that I could see this in Eme's big girl room one day soon.  Except, I wouldn't pay $500+ dollars for it.  I've gotta find me one of these on craigslist and buy me some spray paint!


Another random tidbit-- I'm growing out my bangs in the anticipation of summer (exciting stuff-- I know).  Heat and humidity makes my wavy hair look a little scary-- so I'm planning to embrace the curls.  Kinda like Kate...


Truth be told-- I've actually changed my mind about the "growing out the bangs" thing about 6 times already in the past few weeks.  Like I said before-- exciting stuff.  Aren't you so glad you're still reading?

Okay, one last random thing for today.  I finally booked myself some plane tickets.  In three weeks I'll be flying SOLO with my TWO kids to see my family a few provinces over.  Usually-- flying with the kids is not a big deal-- but Eme is SO squirmy these days... I'm dreading it.  But, I figure-- all I've gotta do is get them there.. then Nana and Papa can take over...

If you've continued to read to the end... congratulations.  Have a great weekend... you deserve it.

Monday, May 07, 2012

Where to put that light...

My new sconces went up on either side of my front door over the weekend.  I love em.  They look perfect-- for $24.99 each from Lowe's, you really can't go wrong.  And apparently you could put them up just about anywhere in your house...

Like in the bathroom...



In the kitchen...


In a kids room...


I love fun and interesting lighting that's reasonably priced!  Where would you put the light?

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Distraction

The signs of sickness are apparent in this house.  If you were hanging out around here you'd see the signs-- signs like the fact that I'm now on day four of wearing Doug's shirts... that Caleb's ASKS to have naps and ASKS to go to bed early... that Emerson napped for 5 hours straight during the day and then went to bed at 6:30 (20 hours of sleep in a day ain't bad if you ask me)... and the state of my hair and the state of my house is a little bit shocking... in the BAD way.  We're quite the sorry bunch.  Yesterday when Eme curled up on the couch, pointed at her throat, and moaned "owie... owie..." over and over with these big sad eyes my heart just about broke.  Oh sweetheart.

If I was going to share about life around our house today I'd be sharing about puke cleanup, coughing, excessive amounts of snot, and the fact that our meals have consisted of smoothies and toast lately.  Honestly, who really wants to hear about the daily details of a house over run with sickness?  I sure don't.  So instead let's think about happy things.  Time for a little distraction.

How about a good before and after?  Actually, make that after-- and then the before.  I like it better that way.  This sounds like fun distraction if you ask me...

Okay... first up...

Check out the after's... love this!  So airy, and open, and inviting.  It's a fairly neutral room-- but there are a lot of unexpected elements that keep it interesting...


And the other side of the room...


And now the before.  It's amazing what a little paint and some great decorating skills can do!


You want to see more?  How about the dining room after-- L-O-V-E this.


And before...


And now the after of the kitchen...  I might look that happy if my house looked like that... and if it wasn't inhabited by sick people.  I'll bet you that house doesn't have the lingering smell of barf.


And the before... really, this was probably a pretty affordable transformation-- they didn't really change the layout or tear down walls... nicely done.


Bedroom after...


And the bedroom before-- I was tempted to leave this picture small-- ugliest headboard award-- right there.  Anybody above the age of 3 should not have an Elmo-ish headboard.  So wrong.


Bathroom after... (love that tile-- although I'm certain Doug would say "absolutely not" if I ever suggested it in my own home... tons of tiny tile =  SO MUCH WORK)


And the bathroom before.  Ugliest sink award.


See... I told you that a good "after-- and then a before" is great distraction.
I think I feel better already...