FIND OF THE WEEK!

I have been planning to do a gallery wall in my bedroom for some time now, but couldn’t find frames in my price range.  I know many of you may have suggested going to the Goodwill (trust me I did), but for around $3 a frame and none matched like I wanted them to, I figured I’d spend more to get the look I want.

 

(first two images via Kristen Buckingham)

 

 (the above image was found via Centsational Girl and is from Veranda Magazine)

 Last night I decided to go and price some frames at Micheals hoping to find some at around $7.99 (or less). But, to my surprise, I found some for a whole lot less!!! 

Want to guess my price for all of them?!

 

Can I get a WOOT WOOT!!!

Did I mention that they are 8x10 matted to 5x7 and 11x13 matted to 8x10?  And pay no mind to the blonde color, a little spray paint will fix that!

Have you found anything at some great deals lately? Let me hear about it!

Have a great weekend guys

P.S

I’ve been blogging through window live writer, and it is the BOMB! Seriously, if you have not tried it yet, do so ASAP

WHAT MAKES A ROOM GREAT?

Hi guys! The other day I was flipping through some of my “home” magazines (house beautiful, elle decor, traditional home, etc), and as I was looking at the “great” spaces that have made there way into them, I asked myself; What makes these rooms great?

 

Is it the calmness you feel when you enter the space? (Amanda Nisbet)

 

Is it the bold color choices, or its unique sense of style? (Jennifer Flanders)

Is it all of the “stuff” that is in the space? Layers upon layers… (Kelly Wearstler)

Or is it the designer themselves, where no matter what they do with a space, you love it;-) (Janell Beals)

(suzanne Kasler)

 

So tell me, in your opinion, what makes a room great?!

GUEST BLOGGING AND A WEEKEND RECAP

Hi everyone! This post is full of a lot of stuf so bare with me:-) First off, I'm Guest Blogging on Chic Modern Vintage so please go over and tell Tonia Hello!

I hope that you had a great weekend especially all of the mothers out there! I had a great weekend. I didn't finish every project I had planned, but I was able to enjoy my view while a prepared a scrumptious dinner (if I must say so myself!).

While downstairs priming the body of my dresser on Saturday,



I got to thinking about my living room


And how I want it to look similar to this

I remember when I first saw this picture. I was at Dayka's house while she was doing my hair for my Birthday (Thanks again girl!). And between looking up at some shows on HGTV, I was flipping through the June/2008 issue of House Beautiful (that image was the cover). Anywho back to the point, I like the pops of color in the room. And have been trying to figure out a way to incorporate a bold color for my living room.

While I was letting the primer dry on the dresser, I was trying to decide if I really wanted to paint the dresser Heirloom White, or give it a pop of color. Then I thought about my other dresser and how I wanted to change the color of it. I can already hear you guys saying WHAT! What do you mean change the color of that dresser?! Don't worry... This little beauty is taking its place!


I think it will be the perfect start to adding color! Maybe some of this fabric for pillows

OR what about this ikat frabic for window treatment?!


I don't know... What are your thoughts?

By the way, thanks for all of the great comments on the independance post!

GUEST BLOGGING AND EXTREMELY BUSY

Good morning everyone! Today I'm guest blogging over at

Isabella and Max Rooms

So please head over and check me out and let me know what you think!

Also, this week has been a busy one for me. From trying to recover from the accident, to finishing a few projects that I've started on recently

This chair that I'm refinishing and upholstering

That mirror over in the corner that you guys spotted!


And this dresser that I can't wait to reveal to you!

Next week, I should have tons of things to show you.

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

I HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES

The duvet arrived Monday and I was so excited only to be let down after putting it on the bed. Remember when I showed you the bed with a coverlet I purchased?



I couldn't wait until the duvet arrived because I KNEW it was going to be the one and I could just put the finishing touches on the room. Well, as you can tell from the pictures below



It's not the one. Nope, not even close:(

I've already started my search for a new duvet and I'll show you the contenders. I'm going to start on a gallery wall that I have planned for the space in the meantime. Oh and I've started on the upholstery part of the chair that's going into the room. I have an interesting post for that on 'how not to upholster a chair'!

Are you guys just as disappointed as I am?!

INDEPENDENT WOMAN....THAT'S ME!

Hi guys! Do you mind if I take a moment to talk about a conversation I had with someone the other day? If you do, I promise to post pictures of my duvet that arrived the other day a Little bit later! But, for now I would like to get your opinions on this matter.

I was talking the other day to someone and my independence came up. Basically that person said that all they want for me someday is for me to have my independence back. This statement really struck a nerve with me only because I never thought I lost my independence to begin with! Their statement was based upon the fact that I'm a stay at home mom and because financially, my husband is the only one bringing in the "dough". When I made the decision to stay home, it was because I wanted to watch my son grow up. I wanted to be the one he came to for comfort. I didn't think twice about what I was giving up because in my opinion I had two options: go to work 5 days a week and only be able to give my son dinner and a bath before I had to put him down for bed and start the next day over, or be there with him. That was easy. I could always have a career, but I would never get that time back that I was losing with my son.

Being a stay at home mom has challenged me in ways that no type of job or schooling has. Actually, I think it has strengthened me in a way that nothing else could. I like to think of my choice to be a stay at home mom was leaving one job for another. The difference being one job I'd never get a pink slip from. One job that no matter how bad the economy is, I'll never be laid off or not needed as much (although sometimes I wish!). It takes a strong woman or man to stay home with children and maintain a household. Its funny that other women would look down upon or think less of another woman for making a decision like the one I did. Especially if its something that they've tried before and simply couldn't handle it.

Do I feel like I'm missing out on anything? Sometimes. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of adult conversation mostly! I miss being able to have lunch with other women 5 days a week and talk about fashion.
Do I miss making my "own" money? Yes. But, if I had to work now, I would be covering childcare, gas, food, etc... We are in a place now when it comes to money that makes us think more about our spending. Do I get to go and buy that new pair of Donald Pliner boots that I once could? No, but I don't miss that too much either because my last pair is sitting in my Goodwill pile as I type!

Another concern f theirs is the "what if" factor. What if he (my husband) leaves me? Then I won't have anything to fall back on.No job, little money, and three kids. But, what if I get fired from a job? I won't have anything to fall back on either. The difference between the two is that there is a judge that would most likely grant me some type of support from him until I found a job. Whereas, if I was fired or let go from a job, I could or could not get help. And another thing about this is I don't sit around wondering weather or not my husband is going to leave me (who does that?). The same way I wouldn't go to work everyday wondering if I'm going to get laid off. Yes, things happen, but you can only deal with them when they happen.

What I'm getting at here is this: Those of you that plan or do stay home with your children, don't let what other people say discourage you. There are a lot of people that speak out of term or out of ignorance because either it didn't work for them, couldn't work for them, or it simply wasn't for them. And that's OK. But, if I would have had this conversation years ago, I would have been miserable. I would have felt like I was dependent and needy and worthless. I did actually, without anyone saying it. I think once you make a decision that is best for you and your family, anyone outside of your four walls don't matter. And what they say is irrelevant. What I like to say when I'm given advice or input that was not asked for is "I'm sorry you feel like that" and keep it moving!


Have any of you experienced anything similar? Do you have a story to share with me? Or you simply want to get something off your chest? Let me hear it!

I'll post pictures of my duvet as soon as I put the boys down for their nap;-)

A PLAYROOM THAT WORKS FOR ALL OF US

Those of you that have been reading this blog for a while may remember the playroom that I put together for the boys


You also may remember me not being too thrilled with the color blue I chose!

Well, lately I've been thinking about redoing the playroom and making it work for the kids and the adults. I saw this image on a blog a while back then I saw it again on a few other blogs so I googled playrooms to try to find the source because I would love to see more of the space, but I had no luck....



I love the color palette. Green, brown, beige, pops of red... My first search was for the fabric because that stripe roman shade and pillows really make the room.

Here is what I came up with:



The first fabric is my absolute favorite! Oh I love it! Then you have the stripe fabric that is amazingly similar to my inspiration image

This room is going to require some big ticket items so its going to take a while for me to put together. I'll keep you posted on all of the progress that is made!

So what about you, are you working on any projects?!

Fabric was found on Fabric.com