Art work made by ME!

I get bored with the inside of my house real fast. Im in it all day everyday and I get sick of staring at the same things all the time. My friends think Im crazy because every time they come over, something has moved and there is something new in its place.
I would love to have a budget where I could change out my furniture and accessories once a year, okay who am I kidding?! More like once a week!

I've been on a bit of a blue kick lately and after I did a little rearranging yesterday to make room for the new door {that hopefully will be finished soon} I decided that the family room needed a pick me up. I guess that meant in the form of some new art work. I use the word "art" loosely here since I'm the master painter behind the work! 

I grabbed some heavy water color paper, painters tape and a bunch of paints and got to it!

Taping the outer edge of the paper keeps the painting clean and tidy and the end result is a much crisper and prettier {in my humble opinion} piece of art work.

Disclaimer: be careful when pulling off the tape...fail

So after a do-over I ended up with two new pieces of art for the wall and I'm quite happy with them.

If you like this idea as much as I do, then check out this blog here. She's the one that inspired me and she has some pretty cute art work of her own!

Barn Door Project

This is the view immediately when you walk in our front door and it makes me crazy! No I'm not referring to the unstaged dining room with the wrinkled slip cover, pennant still hanging up from the weekend or the toys under the table. Im talking about the ovens! Why oh why? I just don't get this design? Apparently, I'm not the only one because the builder has completely changed the design of this room since our home was built and this opening is no longer there! Brilliant! To late for me though. 

Oh well, its the perfect excuse for another DIY! 

Have I told you I die for pocket doors?!? Well, I do and that is what I wish we could have put here. I've tried to convince Brian that tearing out the wall and installing one is a fantastic idea but he's not buying it! 

 Love these and I love the placement of the microwave in this picture...I need to bookmark this photo for the kitchen redo....getting off track...okay back to the doors!

I have always loved the idea of the interior barn door and to be honest I have been trying to come up with a place that I can put one. Im not kidding! I seriously have been staring at this opening for a year and a half hating everything about it and at the same time thinking "Hmmm where could we put a barn door in here?" I can be a little slow sometimes....I did have a baby recently so this new baby mom brain isn't helping! 

I had Brian look at a few photos I found and he is completely on board!! Yay!! Thank goodness because this is not a project I could tackle alone. 

We are still in the process of deciding exactly how we want the door to look and how we are going to  to hang it. We will not be buying a barn door kit since they run anywhere from $200-$400. So we are going to make it ourselves and that is going to take a little more thought. The room already has board and batten so we want to make sure that its all works together. Im still a little torn between the exposed industrial hardware and something like this below where the track is hidden away and the door trim is incorporated in to the board and batten. 

Im super excited about this project and I can't wait to show you our progress in the coming days!  

Stay tuned:)

Cottage Life

Summer ends early around this part of the country and although its a bittersweet feeling for me to send my girls back to school it will also be nice to get back in to a daily routine again. We get all willy nilly around here in the summer time. Staying up late, sleeping in...the usual. Those usual habits are hard to break so I anticipate some rough mornings ahead in the near future. 

But before we really have to let those summer habits go we were able to spend 

this past weekend up in Michigan at our friends cottage. 

 There are always like twenty people staying up there at a time and it is still the most fun and relaxing place you could ever be! They are truly amazing hosts! My girls can't get enough of the cottage and to be honest they cry every time we leave. 

Its hard to leave a place thats busting at the seems with summer fun!

There is always fun to be had with all the boating, swimming, knee boarding, rafting, fishing, trampolining, sack races, fireworks, paper lantern launches, awesome food, tubing and of course the giant sleepovers with tons of kids all cuddled up on the floor watching movies late in to the night!!! The cottage is a kids dream! Its not so bad for the adults either:)

It was beyond nice to get away as a family and be unplugged for awhile. It was the first time in a long time I felt like I could just sit and enjoy watching my kids play without feeling the stress of the next thing waiting for me on my To Do list....at the cottage, there are no To Do lists and what a rare joy that is. Way to much of my time is spent staring at lists of things I think I need to get done and way more time should be spent  staring at these amazing kids of mine! It was all around a great trip and we can't wait to be invited back. What amazing friends we have and what a gift to spend this time with them! We are so grateful!  

Threads

Do you ever see a piece of clothing and you cant get it out of your head?!?

Here are some pieces Im obsessing over right now

Frye Veronica Shortie Boot

Frye Anna Shortie Boot

I am all about the "Shortie" this fall! Seriously I cant get enough of them...dresses, skinny jeans, shorts! So Cute!

I love how you can transition in to the cooler days with this look. 

Another must have for me is this Poncho dress from Madewell....I saw in the store last week and I had to have it! I've since realized Im a little late on this bandwagon of the poncho dress obsession...apparently it was blogged about way back in May but that's okay because Madewell thinks it should still be full price! So I guess Im not that late. I was considering it for a special event we have this weekend...Im still undecided but I know it will be worn a ton either way!

 Thank you kind sales associate for shipping it overnight so I have it in my arms today!

And what about their accessories.....Im in love!

 Not only are they incredibly versatile and chic, they are adjustable!

Okay stay with me but when it comes to finding something fun and trendy, Forever 21 is my little secret! While the quality can't compare to the brands above, if you need something for a night out and you aren't ready to break the bank, this is the place. Im not going to lie..I have gotten the looks from the 18 year olds shopping in there while I try to navigate my stroller around the store with my other two in tow. I don't care! They have some super cute stuff if you don't mind doing a little digging. One of my most favorite finds lately have been these pajamas...super comfy and roomy! They have been washed and dried on high heat at least 10 times so far and not a bit of shrinkage!! And you can't beat the price at $11

and this tank for nighttime...its $13

So here are my clothing crushes right now. Nothing to crazy because my style is all about comfort and just plain feeling pretty in my clothes. I will shop just about anywhere and I don't mind paying more for quality as long as its not super trendy. Im always trying to be a little smarter about how Im spending my money so Im all about doing a little research and having a list of items I want before I start to buy anything. I've made that mistake in the past and Ive ended up with a schizophrenic closet!  A closet full of clothes and not one thing coordinates with another. Not good!  Hey its a learning process like everything else. 

So what are you all are crushing on right now? I would love to know! 

Felt Letter Art

Have you ever seen these before? 

They are embroidery art from Castle. Its this adorable company out of Sydney Australia and I've been groovin on their stuff for awhile now! They have all kinds of ridiculously cute things to fill your home with and wear. I can think of a million places in my house for these cute works of art. So whats the problem, you say? They run anywhere from $200 to $500. Um choke. I mean I am all for artists being paid their true worth and these seem to sell out constantly so kudos to her!! 

But I say if you can't have the original, find a way to recreate it...not copy.....RECREATE! 

And so I did.

Here is my take on this super cool felt letter art. 

Indeed, my lettering could use a little practice and I didn't stitch mine on with an embroidery needle....thank you trusty hot glue gun, you never fail me. Because its not that I'm a lazy gal but nap time really only allows just so much and sometimes I enjoy a little lunch too...dreamer! 

Its a super cute addition to Em's room and as far as the message...

they are words of truth around this house because crazy is how we roll! 

Dreaming of a white kitchen

Lets talk kitchens....white ones to be exact. I mean I could talk about marble counter tops and farm sinks all day long and in to the night. Its my dream to have a gleaming white kitchen with a hood and pot filler over my stove. Beautiful marble counter tops and a herringbone backsplash or even maybe just some glossy white horizontal subway tile?!?! 

Well the day is coming, I mean, okay well, its like some time next year but dagnamit Im closer then I have ever been!!

Brian and I have been talking a lot about what we want and there are some things Im still not sure of?!? I definitely know I want marble but Brian wants butcher block so we are trying to figure out how that is going to work? Do we want the island butcher block with the farm sink in it? I really like that look but Im torn because that is the location of the sink and I know I really like the way a white sink looks with marble framing it. Or do we just move the sink to another part of the kitchen? Brian sweats when I talk of these things. Ripping out the island, moving plumbing around but if we're doing this, I mean we're really doing it! Right?!

Ive never been crazy about the layout of our kitchen...i don't know if I like the flow? Will I like it if the counter tops and backsplash are in? Or will I wish we had refigured the space completely? I keep toying with the idea of swapping out our existing island for a long rectangular shaped one and moving the sink to under the window. Because honestly nothing would make me happier than having the sink under the window...I really believe that is where the kitchen sink belongs in all houses and those that think otherwise...well its a fight you will not win. But then that means we now have floors to think about? I really wonder if I want to take on such a giant project? Will we be happy with the investment? Because I have some time to think about all of this and trust me I have been thinking (obsessing) about it now for years now, I've been diligently scouring the internet for inspiration. Thankfully we live in a Pinterest world and the resources are endless! Here are some of my ideas so far.

Look at this....oh my heaven!! Could you just die for that subway tile!! I love how it goes all the way up the wall to meet the molding...gorgeous! I love the grey grout and how it makes the tile pop off the wall!

 The hood for the range is another thing we are doing because I HATE, did you get that, I HATE the microwave over my stove!! Why is this ever a good idea? To this day I have never met anyone that had their kitchen set up this way and actually liked it! As far as hoods go... I'm dying for this one!

I swear I will love doing dishes when they are all dirty in my new farm sink! I swear:)

 This sink...hello beautiful!

 I have gone back and forth so many times about counter tops. Because boy oh boy do those stone people want to tell you how crazy you are for wanting to put marble in your kitchen! Be prepared my friends if you ever decide marble is for you because you will have to stand your ground. I have made up my mind about this one thing, thankfully! Ive done all the research and Im convinced marble is for me. 

Something just like these... they make make hear skip a beat....swoon 

But for now this is our kitchen and she isn't bad but how she longs for some sparkle in her life

 I know people think Im crazy that I want to tear apart a perfectly good, brand new home. But I do. So I will. And it's going to be fabulous!! 

Brian is sweating.