Possible Furniture Placement???

The ottoman is a place holder for a large wicker trunk

Ignore the panel that's hanging by one clip... a certain 9.5 month old thought she needed to hang onto it...

Online Design Consultation!!

I'm hoping she'll help me pull everything together and accessorize some trouble spots of the living room... mainly the fireplace and the wall above the couch.  I'm also wondering if there's a better furniture placement that's still conducive to tv watching... Lord knows LC has to be able to watch College Football in the fall.  (and yes, it has to be capitalized as it is an EVENT).

 

Coffee Table Redo

I've been on the hunt for a new coffee table to replace the upholstered ottoman LC built a few years ago. I really wanted a round one, but when I saw this for $30, I couldn't pass it up. It's HUGE! 3 ft by 4 ft!!

(owner's picture)

When we moved, Pottery Barn sent a coupon for PB and a coupon for 2 free pint samples (any color) at Benjamin Moore. I had the paint guy mix up Wedgewood Gray for one of them. I sanded the table, rolled on a few coats and poly'd the top. LOVE it!!


Yes, I know I need a rug... desperately... but I can't find anything I'm totally in love with that isn't a bazillion dollars!

Transformation

*Sorry for the poor photo quality. Photos were taken with my phone.

This is the original light fixture in our formal dining room. There's nothing wrong with it, just not quite my style.

I picked up this brass beauty for $14.95 at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. 10 lights, great curves, horrendous brass! But never fear... a little spray paint goes a long way. (I'm really proud of my ingenious use of the plant hook, so I could have 380 degrees of painting!)

I pulled off all the loose pieces, and Miss Priss helped me organize them!


Ready for paint!

And here she is after 2 cans of black satin spray paint. I didn't prime or sand... just knocked the dust off with a paper towel. I knew I was going to buy a cord cover, so I didn't bother painting the chain. I used spray paint made for metal, so it was $4.97 a can at Walmart. In hindsight, I would've just used the generic $.97 can.

LC finally hung the fixture this evening.

I bought the shades at Garden Ridge for crazy cheap and the cord cover at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon. I LOVE how it's completely transformed the room and accentuates the toile curtains I sewed!



Cost breakdown:
fixture - $15
paint - $10
shades - $21
cord cover - $9
Total - $55


I'm going back to Restore to save another ugly brass fixture that will replace the breakfast nook light!

Our new home!

We've only been living with my parents for 2 weeks, but we are so excited we found a house! We're resending the offer on the short sale and close on this home in a month! This house has everything I was wanting (except a media/game room): 1 story, hardwoods, granite, large living room, large yard (almost half an acre), oversized master shower, cul-de-sac, 3 car garage and "extra" touches!

built in desk by the girls' and guest rooms

kitchen (with double ovens!) and breakfast nook

living room

looking out the back door

side view (we negotiated to keep the swing set... Miss Priss will be thrilled!)

Let the shopping begin! I need rugs desperately, so if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Crazy Blessed - Month in Review

Whew! What a month it's been! I don't even know where to start....

The blessed part... our house sold after 5 1/2 months on the market. The crazy part... we had 3, yes 3, competing offers. We received the first offer the day before T was born (Sunday), the second offer on Monday and the third offer on Monday night. We were using the dry erase board in my hospital room to compare all the offers and decide which one to accept. We close on October 26!!

We were released from the hospital on Thursday, and we started looking at homes on Saturday. Pretty pleased with myself since I'm recovering from a C-section! We looked at what felt like a billion homes and put in an offer on a short sale (pre-foreclosure). There's nothing short about a short sale, so we might be moving into an apartment for a month or 2. We're just waiting to hear if the bank accepted our offer and praying that they make a decision soon. We could potentially move in at the end of October if they would hurry it up!

The new house (yes, it is in desperate need of some landscaping!)


Miss T is growing, growing, growing!

1 week old - 6 pounds 11 ounces

2 weeks old - 6 pounds 13 ounces

3 weeks old

1 month old! 7 pounds 15 ounces

Sisters in matching dresses!

And we celebrated P's 2nd birthday! (recap post coming soon)

Feedback

from the showing last night....

My Clients enjoyed your home & wanted to know if you currently have any Offers working on this property ??? Please Advise & Thankyou for the opportunity to show your property. Tae

WTH does that mean? I have a call in to our realtor, but I realize it's past 8 and I doubt she'll call me back tonight. I DON'T want to get my hopes up, but that has to be good, right?

It's Official!!

The house is now on MLS! Bring on the buyers! Here are a few pictures the realtor took on Sunday.... the house is completely de-personalized, but I know it's a necessary evil... I think people will be able to see their "stuff" in our home.

Lifesavers!

Our realtor is coming tomorrow to photograph the house, take measurements, and have us officially sign the papers to list our home.

LC and I still had a ton of stuff to do, so my dear, sweet, lifesaving parents offered to take P to their house for the afternoon. I seriously have the best parents in the world! We're so blessed to have them close and WILLING to take P!

In less than 3 hours, the yard has been scalped (LC found a crew in our neighborhood to do it today!), the carpets have been cleaned, toys have been organized, laundry has been started and our shower has been recaulked.

Aside from a few accessorizing issues I'm having, we're ready for photos!! Elaine, Mr Fix-It, and the kiddos are stopping by tomorrow before pictures to see what solutions they can offer. If you live in our area and want to stop by to offer your opinion, please do so! I don't want to spend any money, so I'm shopping our house and trying different things in different places. The problem is I don't like what I'm coming up with... I think I'm too close to the issue!

Merry Christmas to Me,

but I don't think these should count as my Christmas present (our washer and dryer set is 5 years old and the washer doesn't like to spin all the water out so you end up doing at least 3 dryer cycles). Yes, they were expensive, but it's not like we can function without a washer and dryer. Kinda like getting a blender for your birthday... only a super duper, teched out blender... times 100.
washer

dryer

I am excited that they're being delivered on Friday... just don't tell Lane.

Just Let It Go!

Y'all all know how I'm trying to be more patient with all aspects of my life ... I'm sure every momma has lost their patience and then has the guilt associated with not exuding extreme patience all the time. Aren't we suppose to be saints or something ;)

I keep telling myself to just let.it.go... and I'm slowly getting better with it. It's so much easier to give the advise to all my mommy friends, but it's hard pill to swallow.

Tonight, my living room looked like this (I made the mistake of trying to organize P's new toy box with her in the room with me, and yes, that is a nekky baby you see).

Instead of losing it and getting frustrated with the mess, the fact that Lane wasn't coming home until late, and a clingy baby girl, all I could think about was "this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." I need to start looking at the chaos and the whining baby who only wants me to hold her as a blessing, not a burden. God gave me this day and this life to rejoice in. So, in the midst of this huge mess/incomplete project, I sat on the floor with Payton in my lap and her Little Drummer Boy book, and we sang our hearts out (she's especially good at the pa-rum pum pum pum part).

New Hue=New House

I've come a long way on the mistreatments since this post in just a few weeks! We (Lane) decided we should take the house off the market and I figured as long as we were staying, I'd change a few things to make me happy!

Here's the family room... You can't tell in the picture, but the rod is all the way up to the ceiling and the panels graze the floor. The material on the bottom third of the panels is what we're using to upholster the ottoman. We already had the rod, just moved it up a bit; some ring clips, hot glue, fabric and trim, and voila! Once the ottoman is finished, I'll post pics of the entire room.

This beauty is in the breakfast nook. Since the windows in both rooms are basically one big wall, I wanted them to compliment each other but still show separation between the two rooms. I decided to use the same fabric and trim, but change the technique. Pleats are tacked to the wall with upholstery tacks. I love that it still has some "looseness" to the bottom like the topper in the family room.

The downstairs bathroom was an easy fix! I changed the shower curtain and hung the little nest tassel over the towels. It's amazing how a simple switch completely transforms a room.

PS - I'm available for hire for a nominal fee ;)

Update: Window Mistreatments

Fusible webbing ironed on the salvage edge

"hemmed" edge

I didn't take pictures as I was folding the Roman shade.



Using upholstery tacks, I tacked the top where the wall meets the ceiling to make the windows seem extra long, and then hot glued cream fringe to finish off the raw edge.

Material - 3 yds @ $5/yd =$15
Trim - 1 1/2 yds @ $2.5/yd =$3.75

Total cost is less than $20 for 3 windows!!