Monday, November 30, 2009

Happy Monday! We are finally getting our white Christmas as it is snowing today! To celebrate we are going Christmas tree hunting tonight. Last year we had a 10 foot tree, but we are going to try and track down a 12 footer so wish us luck in our hunt~

And for those who wanted to see some of my new Anthro clothes here are Wren and I hanging out this afternoon, me modelling the
squeezebox hoodie and Wren rocking some Juicy baby. Very warm and cozy, and the price is pretty awesome too!


Hopefully we will be back tomorrow with some pictures of a tree!

Ta ta for now~

Saturday, November 28, 2009

It is officially starting to feel a little like the Holidays here! We have mainly been getting rain, but of course it freezes at night so it has been very icy. No real snow yet... but today we made a trek in our wagon to the grocery store and Wren's red cheekies and nose really brought a little holiday spirit home.

There are a couple new additions to the master bedroom, although there is still a lot of details to finish up. But I'd thought I would give you a sneak peak!

Yesterday my sister and I stumbled across an incredible sale going on at Urban Outfitters, an extra 50% off sale home decor! This pillow was the perfect color and shape, and was only $10! I also got an adorable duvet quilt that is made of various blue men's dress shirts for Wren's future big girl bed, marked down from $260 to $20! If you are near a store definitely make a trip.


The other addition has been the transformation of this dresser:

We went with a cool white/grey, but when I distressed it I discovered that it was once painted turquoise when it started to show through the edges. I absolutley love the much blogged about Brockhampton handles from Anthropologie and as soon as this dresser was finished I thought they would be perfect! Kinda pricey, but I lucked out when the two top handles rang up at $7.95 instead of $22.
Of course I had to leave with a few new outfits as well, which is why it is WAYYY too dangerous for me to buy most of my hardware there...

Now I just have to put it in place and move a couple other things around (somehow that sounds much easier than I know it will be...)
Have a great weekend!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Our little bird is still a baby, but she is sure starting to feel more and more like a big girl. One thing our baby LOVES is books! She will sit and read books for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, and is starting to build quite a collection. The toys are also starting to accumulate, although not an insane amount. Just enough to require some storage, so I have been on the lookout for a book case and toy chest to start transitioning Wren's nursery into a little girl's room.

About a year ago I saw this cabinet at my favorite antique store,
Chickie's. The price tag read $1100, which I thought was quite reasonable for a hand painted, unique, antique cabinet. A few months later the tag read "SALE:$750". Then back in October Rebecca and I hit the antique mall and low and behold there is was again!! This time it was $450. Tempting though it was I just couldn't think of a spot for it. Last week my sister and I made a quick stop at the mall on the hunt for a special christmas gift when I spy it's new tag and the jaw dropping price of $140!!! Even though it is not a bookshelf, nor a toy chest we will make it work.

The bottom drawer currently houses all her toys and the upper cabinet will be fitted with shelves for her books.



Remember my broken mirror? I thought it would tie together the gold details on the armoire with the rest of the room if it hung over her chair. We put one of the dove cutouts I made inside to add a little color.



Does anyone know how to get better colors in their pictures when they have direct natural light? I have been trying everything to solve that one with no luck yet...

The blankie on the chair was actually made by my great grandma for me when I was a baby, isn't it amazing how it looks like it was made for her room?

Happy shopping on this Holiday Friday, we hope you scored some rock bottom deals too!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Sorry Guys! I know things have been pretty boring around here this last week. I have some fun and exciting changes to the blog that will soon be unveiled as well as a few holiday projects I know you will love. I already know what you're thinking "yeah, yeah! We'll believe it when we see it!". Well, I guess the proof will be in the pudding, huh?

Speaking of food, I know many of you will be enjoying a yummy home-cooked feast tomorrow (No, I'm not jealous at all...). We had already celebrated our Thanksgiving back in October so no cranberry sauce and turkey over here. But I will be thinking of you and hoping you are travelling safe and enjoying some quality family time! So eat, drink and be merry, and if you have any pumpkin pie laying around afterwards feel free to air mail it up here!

Friday, November 20, 2009

It is days like yesterday and today I am very thankful to have hundreds of blog friends. Your ideas, comments and suggestions got my creative juices flowing, perhaps even bubbling over! I immediately set out into the garage to choose a couple mismatched dressers that will be used as nightstands (TONS of you suggested it, so it must be right). I, too, have been baffled as to window coverings and creating weight on the opposite side of the room.
Here is a before shot of a dresser I am working on right now for one side:

And Sean was tickled pink to hear so many of you echo his instincts to leave the headboard up, which is currently the plan. Although Mary's recent post over at Vintage Home & Garden featuring an old door as a headboard really has me floored.
Can't wait to share what I come up with!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I want to send out a HUGE, enormous, heartfelt thank you to Heather and the wonderful team over at the West Point Urban Barn!!! Can you believe that they have been directing their own customers to me??? Neither can I! I just hope they are reading this and see how thankful I am (HI EVERYONE!!).

And if they don't happen to be reading, don't worry! I am definitely going to be making a trip over there to do some X-mas shopping (and some for me too, shhhh don't tell Santa!).

Here is my current Urban Barn wish list:
Barnacle Vase






Hopefully the wait wasn't too long, but I am delighted to say that I finally got my gray wall! I mixed a couple shades of gray and black to get this deep, rich charcoal.


Like most things, once one thing changes my brain starts working on new ideas and won't let me rest until I feel it is just right. My first instinct was saying that either the wall is too dark or the headboard is too white. The contrast is nice, but it just doesn't seem to have enough charm since there are not really any old pieces in here to give it a little character. So once again, I need opinions!!!

First option:
Leave the current headboard.



Second option:
I found this antique painting quite a while back, but actually bought it for the frame! It is old, chippy, and even has a small tear so it has been laying in the basement for some time now. I kind of like the mixture of the green/yellow/orange tones against the gray.











Option three:
I have a HUGE frame that I painted white but have nowhere to put it. It is HUGE, and in this picture it is just resting on the painting, but would have about 1-2 inches of space around the painting. This maybe pulls it all together a little better and adds that little bit of elegance, but you can still see the raw edges of the painting.


What do you think? I am definitely leaving the color for the winter, and if it all doesn't come together by the spring I may lighten it up a shade or two. But I am kind of hoping that I pull it off because it is definitely unexpected and really spectacular in person~

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

What are we doing today? I can't wait to share, but to give you a little hint I will say that it involves a certain wall in our master bedroom...

Toodles!

Monday, November 16, 2009

The night Wren wore her bear suit...
We know exactly where our wild thing is every morning: in the kitchen nook.


She watches the dogs play outside from the windows. She moves their food around (and has actually taste tested a kibble before).



She tests the water temperature to ensure it is up to standard.



These windows are impossible to keep clean. Between two dog snouts and two baby hands there is no hope.





I have to highly recommend this fleece bear suit to all the moms! It is from Old Navy and is perfect for these cool fall nights instead of constantly rearranging baby blankies all through the night.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Yesterday Wren and I headed back to Michael's to get some more ribbons to finish a few more garlands for around the house this holiday season when we saw this awesome rainbow of glitter!!! Isn't it pretty?
I have always been a fan of a glittery-christmas (I know some are over it, but I don't think you can ever have too much glitter during the holidays). Maybe we will do some cards or something that lets us use every color!


Thank you again for all your amazing powder room suggestions!!! Thanks to a few suggestions to add sconces on either side of the mirror I brought these home from HomeSense last week. Of course when I got them in the room I discovered the right one wouldn't have enough room between the wall and the current mirror since the back plate is fairly substantial. But I loved them too much and just had to find a new spot for them while the hunt for ones that fit continues so I thought they would add a little touch of shiny elegance to the family room fireplace.

I just changed the chalk board this weekend, slowly getting ready for the holidays. As they get closer I will be adding fresh greenery and a garland to the mantle, a well as our stockings. So in the meantime it is admittedly a little bare. But change is good~

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I am hoping that we will not be cursed with 7 years bad luck, but my beloved new oval mirror has done me the favor of eliminating itself from being an option in the powder room when it decided to shatter last night. It was very freaky and we still cannot figure out how it happened, but it looks like it just really wanted to be a chalk board...

On a super-duper-crazy-fun note I cannot wait to share some crafts that we made today! Rebecca and her absolutely adorable and funny sister, Jessica, Wren and I all had a good time at Michael's and back at the house doing Christmas crafts and sifting through old Martha Stewart Living magazines for new ideas. Yes, it is early, but who has time as it actually gets closer?

Hope your day was (un)lucky as mine~

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Today just felt like a vacation kind of day. We went to the desert, a tropical island, even back in time! All thanks to the Muttart Conservatory, a local horticulture center where you can enjoy plants from all over the world, with out the jet lag. It has probably been months since we had a day like today, one where neither of us did any work at all!
We had a lovely time at the gardens, enjoyed dinner at our favorite diner, dessert at Carol's Candy Shoppe, and hit babies'r us to get Wren a new car seat. And now we are snuggled up, ready to watch a movie. Definitely what we would consider a relaxing day~


It is hilarious that we were there to see plants, because all Wren was interested in were the rocks! It was crazy how excited she was about all those rocks.





Careful Wren! That plant has "Oweeees!".

Small rocks

BIG ROCKS

We hope your day rocked too!

Monday, November 9, 2009

All that glitters is not gold, but it sure looks like it, right? I discovered these treasures at Goodwill last week thinking they were too cute to leave, even if they are plastic replicas. At the very worst I could always pop out the mirrors and do a chalk board or something. I am hoping at least one will look good in our powder room, but that is where you come in!


Here is our existing mirror. Boring, right?


This is probably the hardest picture I have ever taken! And talk about a freaky looking arm, I had no idea I even had a weird elbow dimple...
But my two concerns are:
1. All our hardware is chrome, will a gold mirror look crazy?
2. Is it too small?


So here are the options, PLEASE share your thoughts!
1. Leave existing mirror
2. Paint existing mirror frame
3. Use oval mirror
4. Paint oval mirror some other color and use it
5. Use curvy mirror
6. Paint curvy mirror and use it
7. None of the above, look for a new mirror altogether.
Hope you have a gold and glittery kind of day~

Sunday, November 8, 2009

For months now I have kind of felt that our powder room mirror just wasn't 'cool'. It is a rectangular mirror with a cream-colored frame. Totally me, right? Nope! It just blends into the wall too much and since it is a small room I need to make every item count. I recently purchased two gilded mirrors, one oval shaped and one kind of a funky curvy oval. I haven't decided which one to put in there, or if either need a coat of paint so I will be holding a poll this week on the matter. But in the meantime here are some beautiful antique mirrors in bathrooms.

I think one of our upstairs bathrooms need this wall! I have amassed a collection of bevelled mirrors that have yet to be hung anywhere and this is awefully breathtaking!
(image from Martha Stewart)

The idea of two mirrors is very intriguing, and this may just work in our bathroom because the vanity is up against two walls... but I do think you need two identical ones so scratch that thought.

(country living)
Not a bathroom, but just had to include this beauty.

So cool! I think this must have come off a sideboard.


(absolutely beautiful things)
Have a relaxing Sunday night!
 
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