Everything looks better with an American flag.
(All pictures taken in Thousand Island Park, New York)
Posted in Uncategorized
Hi — thank you for your encouragement yesterday with the One Room Challenge. It’s time to motivate my husband to start painting!
Here are a few random things that I am liking lately. Remember these posts from back in the day?
One Kings Lane has so many beautiful and accessible pieces of great art these days, including Michelle Armas, Brittany Bass and Jennifer Latimer, some of my favorite artists. Check out this sale: In Fine Form.
This is my go-to summer t-shirt this season. They are so soft, wash well and are the perfect length. I used to buy Target and Old Navy tees, but found that they shrunk immediately, got stretched out after a couple hours of wear, and were so thin that they were see-through. I have upgraded this year. They come in a ton of colors and they are now on sale for $19.99! If you order online, they run true-to-size (Ms fit me great).
{J. Crew Vintage Cap-Sleeve Tee}
Have you tried Blue Apron? Each week they deliver the ingredients for three full meals to your door. I have been loving it, especially the pre-measured portions and the minimal weekly meal planning. Of the 9 meals that have been delivered so far, this one was the best!
{Blue Apron Beef Ramen Noodle Soup with Choy Sum and Enoki Mushrooms}
This bathroom designed by Sherry and John Petersik of Young House Love is seriously perfect. I love that nothing is “to the trade” and all so accessible to everyone. I seriously COVET those shower tiles.
{Photo source and full post HERE}
Have you read this book? I loved it. I am trying to whip this stressed-out voice in my head into shape and not let the small stuff constantly derail me.
And, finally, here is my new fave Tar-jay find for under $20. He is prominently on display in our family room. In person, mine is a little more distressed and imperfect. Kind of like me. 🙂
{Nate Berkus Tortoise Shell Box, Target}
Happy Friday! Have a fabulous weekend. xxoo
Howdy friends. Thanks to the encouragement of my hard core fans on Facebook, I am jumping into the One Room Challenge Linking Party, Spring Edition. I love that Linda from Calling It Home organizes this event. It is a great way to get a room updated and hold you accountable over six short weeks. I am a week late to the party, but I think I can catch up!
Ok, so last Fall I updated our master bedroom through the One Room Challenge and although I had a few more things to do at the end, I was crazy happy with the way the room shaped up in six short weeks.
This time around, I am choosing to overhaul my toddler’s room. She is a wild and carefree two year old. When she was born, I loved doing her nursery in our old house — it was one of my favorite rooms in the house:
{Above photos by Beth Furgurson from Cathy Green Interiors blog}
In our new house, we haven’t focused on her room. It’s comfortable and functional, but baby girl deserves a polished room! 🙂 Here are the before iPhone pictures (toys picked up, but nothing styled for these pictures, this is what it looks like everyday):
Wall #1:
Wall #2
Walls #3 & 4
We inherited the wall color from the previous owners and we have liked it, but I would like something more serene for a toddler’s room. Every bit of her room has been pieced together with items that we already had. The rug used to be in our living room when we lived in Savannah (8 years ago!).
I am going to elaborate more on my plan for the room next week, but here is my paint inspiration picture:
I would like to keep my budget to a minimum (as usual). First up, Matt will be painting and I will be stenciling the walls. Then, I would like to rearrange the furniture in the room and purchase at least a rug and window panels.
So what do you think? Can I do it? Eeeeek. Stay tuned!
Posted in Bedroom, Children, One Room Challenge
Tagged Kid's Room, Nursery, One Room Challenge
I know that everyone is de-Christmas-fying, but I finally read my November/December issue of Veranda and fell in love with this amazing spread on Dan Belman and Randy Korando’s farmhouse/barn in Madison, Georgia. And it technically is not Epiphany yet, so this post is still legit!
Wouldn’t you love to have Christmas Eve dinner here with your pet pony?
Where to start? The gorgeous tree? The tartan throw blankets in case it’s drafty? The antler candleholders? The buttery leather chairs? The homemade chandelier with fresh greenery? The swags over the stalls?
Check out the beautiful plaid and burlap wrapping….
And the greenery, pine cones and magnolia leaf wreaths on the outside of the barn….
And this lovely little tack room with amaryllis and paperwhites….
Here is a shot of the exterior — truly perfect!
{All images from Veranda}
P.S. I read a cute chick lit book by Mary Kay Andrews (one of my favorite authors) set in Madison, Georgia called Hissy Fit where the main character restores an antebellum mansion (and falls in love, of course). It’s a really fun read!
Go outside, take a deep breath, exhale, smile, repeat…..
{SOURCE}
I MADE IT! Today is the big reveal and I couldn’t be happier. I have been working on updating my bedroom over the last six weeks. We moved into the house 11 months ago and it’s been neglected since move-in day. I wanted a serene, neutral, clean space. I set a budget of $850, and came in over budget by $178 and spent just over $1,000 (including tax and shipping, and mostly spent on the rug and window panels). I am going to be back with posts on my budget, sources, DIYs, proudest ideas and ideas for the future, but for now, enjoy the BIG REVEAL!
Here is a shot of the before:
AND NOW THE AFTER….
A close-up of the DIY art:
So, what do you think? I am so happy with the results and so glad that I jumped into the One Room Challenge. A huge THANK YOU to Linda at Calling it Home for organizing. Be sure to pop over there and see what the other contestants did with their rooms in six weeks. I have seen a few sneak peeks on Instagram and the transformations look AMAZING.
Thank you for coming along on the journey and stay tuned — I will be back with sources, budget breakdowns and a post-mortem of my favorite finds and plans for the future.
{In case you missed any of my One Room Challenge posts: Week One,Inspiration Photos, Week Two, Week Three, DIY Art, and Week Four (I skipped Week Five — Halloween did me in!).}
Posted in Bedroom, One Room Challenge, Paint
Tagged Bedroom, Benjamin Moore Fanfare, Master Bedroom, One Room Challenge, ORC
Welcome to week 4 of the One Room Challenge! Only TWO WEEKS left to go. This post is later this morning because the vanity came last night and my very patient husband was up late assembling it. Here she is this morning with a little mocked-up mirror that I had in the closet (sorry for the shadows):
I am really happy with the quality (for $130), the color, the size and the scale. I am so happy with the big drawer for storage too. I can’t wait to style her up!
Here is the sad news — the awesome bench from Home Goods is too wide for the vanity. But, I moved it on the wall next to my end table last night and I didn’t hate it there. I am going to play around with it because I really don’t want to return her!
So, this week, was full of painting. The ceiling got two coats of paint and is DONE! Two of the four walls have two coats and tonight we are going to finish the other two walls. Here are some shots that give you an idea of the true color of the walls:
I am totally obsessed with this color (Benjamin Moore Fanfare). I am thinking about using the remainder of the paint for our laundry room.
The little sheepskin rug for the other side of the bed came in yesterday, so I am waiting on the seagrass rug which apparently has shipped, but I have no tracking information (don’t you hate that?). I have a plan for my DIY art and want to surprise you all next week. This week, I am going to focus on the windows and pick up the white panels and the matchstick shades. Also, I need to find a suitable stool now for the vanity. All with two weeks and $188.82 to stay on budget — eeeeeek! 🙂
Can I do it?? Stay tuned!
P.S. Check out my previous posts on the One Room Challenge: Week One, Inspiration Photos, Week Two, Week Three, DIY Art.
P.P.S. Also check out the other participants’ progress this week in the One Room Challenge here!
Posted in Bedroom, DIY, One Room Challenge, Paint, Tables
Tagged Bedroom, Benjamin Moore Fanfare, Master Bedroom, One Room Challenge, ORC
Because I set a pretty strict budget for the One Room Challenge, I am going to try and DIY some art for the walls as placeholders until I can afford find the perfect “forever” art for the walls. I definitely need an impactful, oversized statement piece for over the bed.
My super creative and thrifty friend Alyson, who is also participating in the One Room Challenge, posted last week about framed botanical wrapping paper (so genius). And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
It got me remembering some beautiful blog posts about framed marbled paper….
Kristen F. Davis Designs via Little Green Notebook
There are some tutorials on how to make marbled paper, but there are some really affordable and gorgeous “pre-made” options out there:
I think these would be beautiful put into simple oversized frames, with or without a mat.
Here are some other easy and affordable ideas I am considering attempting:
via Flickr
the amazing Jamie Meares of i suwannee
What do you think? What is your favorite? Can I pull this off??
Posted in Art, Bargains, Bedroom, DIY, One Room Challenge
Tagged Art, DIY, DIY Art, Marbled Paper, One Room Challenge
Welcome back! It’s week three of the One Room Challenge, and I have some serious progress to report. Woo hoo!
As you can see below, we got the first coat of paint on the walls (my husband cut in and I rolled). We also decided to take down the old Casablanca ceiling fan because 1990 called and wanted its crap back. And to be honest, if the ORC stopped here, I consider it a success! As far as paint goes, we still have another coat on the walls and two on the ceiling to finish. I am absolutely loving the color (Benjamin Moore Fanfare). It feels exactly like you are in the middle of a whispy cloud. I can’t wait to use this color again somewhere else.
Here’s a shot of the ceiling for you. My favorite part of painting a ceiling is seeing the color the paint takes on at a different angle, even though you are using the same paint color. I am liking the moody gray that magically appeared.
Also done this week, I purchased a cool bench from Homegoods to accompany the vanity. If you are following me on Instagram (user name: ada_marie) you already saw this beauty:
You can see the tag still on it because when I got it home, I measured her and realized that she’s about as wide as the vanity, so I am going to leave my options open and wait until the vanity comes to see how things look together. I am thinking that I may have to return her (sob!!), even though I love the color of the fabric, the texture of the wood and the nailhead trim!
Also, I removed the desktop computer sitting on the floor. Keeping it real for you — it’s been sitting under this window for 11 months. Baby steps, people. This is what happens when you move with a crazy 10 month old. Eeeeek. Matt shortened the cable TV wire, added a power strip and tacked all of the wires to the back of the chest of drawers.
More progress: I ordered the rug ($334.10, 15% off), the additional sheepskin throw rug ($33.20, 25% off), and the desk-turned-vanity ($136.88). With the bench purchase ($157), I have spent $661.18. I didn’t factor in taxes and shipping in my budget, but I would like to stick close to my original $850 budget anyway. I have $188.82 left to spend on two panels and two bamboo shades for the windows, and maybe some DIY art supplies. I am going to have to get creative with styling what I already have (mirrors, pillows, accessories, etc.).
So, this week I hope to finish the paint on the walls and ceilings, start receiving some of my ordered items and adjusting course if necessary, and hunting for window panels and shades.
I have loved this challenge! What do you think so far???
{If you would like to check out some of the other linking participants, click here. Also, check out my other ORC posts: Week 1, Inspiration Photos, Week 2}
spark! 
