Home Ideas I'm Lovin'

While we continue to wait for the sellers bank to get their crap together our first home - I've been pinning like crazy. CT's hunny-do list is miles long and I've found lots of fun ideas that I hope to make happen once we get those keys. 

Here's what I'm loving . . . 

Via

1. Striped Accent Walls

I haven't decided if I'm going to go bold and do black or emerald stripes or stay subtle with white/grey stripes. All i know is that I need to make this a reality in my home. Such a simple inexpensive way to bring focus to an area.

via

2. Navy Front Doors

You want to set the tone from the beginning - what to expect on the inside shows with how the outside of your house looks. I love dark doors and pretty porches. We don't have a lot of room for more than a planter with flowers - so I hope to make the entry appealing by having a pretty painted door. 

  

via

3. Tuft Headboards 

I am obsessed with tufts - on chairs, ottomans and especially headboards. We plan to upgrade from a queen sized bed to a king and hopefully I can talk the hubby into helping me make a headboard. It shouldn't be too difficult or costly -  and can really bring drama into the bedroom. 

 via

4. Succulents 

Inside and outside - I want lots of them! They are a minimal maintenance plant with lots of color and texture. It doesn't get much better than that.

via

via

5. Color Throughout 

Whether its emerald in the living room, plum in the bedroom, navy in the bathroom or mint in Kingston's room - we plan to have lots of color throughout our house.

 via

via

6. Pillows
When you see an abundance of pillows on a bed or couch, doesn't it make you just want to jump right in? Pillows make things look cozy and inviting. I have been on the lookout for the perfect pieces - but so far I haven't found anything I love that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. 

via 

7. Sliding Barn Doors 
My plan is to replace our laundry room door (that open into the hallway and blocks traffic from both sides when it's open) with a sliding barn door. My only concern is that I hope it doesn't clash since we are more of a 'modern' family. 

via

8. Stained Concrete

Our soon to be basement has a finished bedroom and bathroom but the family room still needs completed. We plan to stain the concrete and cover most of it with a shag rug. It's cost effective and helps keep things cool during the summer. The only downfall is that during the winter it literally feels like Antarctica.  

My to-do list is a mile long but hopefully I can make most of these things reality! 

Chalkboard Walls . . . Drooling

I've been doing the equivalent to drooling with your mouth, with my eyes in regard to these awesome chalkboard walls. Chalkboard paint is nothing new to anyone, but I stumbled across some really classy/clean chalkboard walls on pinterest the other day and I knew I had to have one in my house someday. 

I love the sharpness of the lettering on this wall. I need to find out how they made it so perfect? A chalk pencil? A stencil? I need to find out their trick! 

Who doesn't love a calendar and even more a calendar in chalk? The colorful frames finish the look. I love them! I've seen the exact same ones at Michaels for less then $3. I even have a few laying around the apartment waiting for me to turn them into something cool. 

I like the size of this chalk board wall. It's not too big and it's not too small. It's my fave that I've stumbled across! I also love how the shelf separates it from the top of the wall, making it look super classy. 

 all via pinterest

I love how they used this chalkboard wall to draw frames for their already hanging artwork. This technique would be super fun in a playroom.

There are so many fun and creative things you can do with chalkboard paint. Painting walls is only the beginning! I just need to figure out how to eventually one day talk the hubby into this! As long as I can make the writing look pretty and be able to clean the chalkboards so they look crisp, I think that'll convince him! And if it doesn't, you know how the saying going "happy wife, happy life" (I'd probably get my way anyways!)

How have you used chalkboard paint?

Crafting: My Dream Red Buffet Table

If you read my post about my dad's auction find, you would know I had been on the look out for the perfect buffet table to re-finish for our dining room.

My dad is really into antiques and auctions, so I had him on the lookout for the perfect buffet table for me. 

He came across this beauty for a whopping $60. 

My inspiration was this amazing peice of furniture. 

 

I'm crazy over the pop of red against the dark wall.

I wish I had the guts to paint a room that color!

I decided to go with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Emperor's Silk. 

 It took three coats to completely cover and give it a good solid color. If I would have antiqued it, I could have stopped at 2 coats. The picture above is only with two coats and you can see how there is some patches of dark still peeping through.

This is the finished product with the updated hardware. I found these knobs at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.

 Score!

I'm loving the transformation!

 This picture doesn't do the red justice. It's really much brighter in person.

I'm just really excited to have another surface to decorate!  

Linking up with Polkadots on Parade  and Artsy Fartsy Mama and  Organized 31 and Craftberry Bush and Young & Crafty and Rain on a Tin Roof.

Mothers Day Weekend

I love the weekends! 

 Lounging. Cleaning. Sleeping in. Naps. Catching up on DVR. Loving on my husband and pupperz.

 Yesterday was most definitely a Friday. It was such a CRAZY busy day at work. I think it mostly was due to our cosmetic clinic director only having 3 more days left with us. I'm already feeling the repercussions of her leaving. I got triple the amount of emails that I normally do. Things are about to get even more crazy. All I can do is take one day at a time and continue to check www.indeed.com in the meantime.   

Last night a group of us girls got together for a going away dinner + drinks and then they all came back to my apartment.

We went to Mikes Wine Dive.

It was the best meal I've had in a really long time. 

I got a fried egg sandwich, a spicy oyster appetizer, and some gourmet deviled eggs. I was going to get the smores for dessert but I was too stuffed by that time.

This is where CT and I will be going for my birthday dinner [in 19 days!] because it was so delicious.

Speaking of my birthday, we also got tickets to the circus! I can't wait. 

 

 

Welp, it's mothers day weekend! 

I hope ya'll did something special for your mom. My mom was able to come up to Wichita yesterday to be a training model for us at the clinic for injectables.

 One of the many perks of my job!! 

 In the last month she has got more then $1500 in free product. I'd say that's quite the mothers day gift. =)

 

 

My mom also brought to town my new buffet table. Now I'm just needing to go find some red chalk paint and get to work. 

There are so many apartment projects on the to do list.

 

1. paint buffet red

2. paint mantel white

3. add tile around bathroom mirror

4. paint bathroom

5. find a better fabric storage for hobby room

6. refinish kitchen table 

 

 

     Still on the agenda for the weekend: Wichita Wild football game, church, our nieces soccer game, and a dance recital. 

 

 

 

 

 

Auction Find

I have been on the look out for the perfect buffet table for my dining room. 

I've been looking on craigs list and in the paper, and I've been having my dad look at auctions and antique malls. 

He stumbled across this beauty at an auction and purchased it for only $60! 

I want to change out the hardware as well as give it a fresh coat of paint. 

I am thinking of painting it either a bright yellow or red! 

 

via 

I've heard great things about Annie Sloan chalk paint. There is no need to sand the piece of furniture and usually only one coat is needed!

  

 I'm also thinking about removing the bottom middle door all together. Maybe get two cute baskets that will be seen. I don't know yet. Ill need to play around with it. 

I LOVE the middle doors on the red buffet though. It looks like it's one of those decorative ceiling tiles painted and added to the wood.

I may try and find something similar! 

Stay tuned!

Weekend Recap + Shabby Spring Bunting

This weekend started a little early on Friday. I picked up a few extra hours throughout the week and had to stay late for an open house one night, so I was pushing over time and decided to leave early Friday.

Saturday was a hang at home all day kind of day. 

It was showering and thunder-storming all day, so it was the perfect opportunity to do a little spring cleaning and spring crafting! 

I mainly organized and cleaned out the hobby room. It's crazy how quickly it can turn into a hot mess! 

I still have an abundance of black feather boas from our wedding that I need to find something to do with. 

I'm thinking probably a Halloween wreath and maybe some garland on the Christmas tree? Any other ideas?

I'm also looking at doing something with these beauties! Besides these colors, I have a ton more grey, brown, and black buttons. I'm thinking about spray painting some metallic silver and incorporating them into our bedroom decor somehow.

After a little organizing, I joined the hubby in the living room with some fabric while he watched the draft. [Go Cowboys!]

 

I cut 4"x 2" blocks of some 'springy' fabric.

 Then I cut them into various shapes and left them with a raw edge which gives it a more shabby look. 

My complete Spring mantle!

I don't know how I feel about the leopard and I'm wishing it had more pink in it, but other than that I'm loving it and I'm impressed with how easy it was. 

We ended the weekend at the zoo with CT's little cousin. It's insane how crazy Kansas weather is: freezing during the week, rainy on Saturday, and 75 and sunny on Sunday! 

We had a really good time! 

It's even better when you can return the child to their parents and then come home and take a nap. Oh the joys of not having kids and borrowing them for the afternoon!

Linking up with Sami.
Linking up with Jamie
Linking up with Jamie.
Linking up with Cheryl.

Crafting: A Taggie Blanket

This weekend I attended a co-workers shower, filled with lots of blue and lots of ducks! 

 Her theme for the babies room is very neutral:greys, white, and a few accent light blues. Her bedding she received was grey and white with chevron sheets. 

Shopping around at boutiques here in town, I kept coming across those cute taggie blankets. I don't really know the purpose of them, other than comfort and a little something to chew on, but I did know they looked simple enough that a beginning sewer like myself could make one! 

Step 1: Get the supplies. The minky is the key to this whole project. It is extremely soft and it's a must for this blanket! 

Step 2: Cut your fabric squares. I made this blanket 12x12 but I have seen them made all the way up to 15x15.

 Step 3: Cut your ribbon. I cut 3 different styles of ribbon 3" in length. I felt as though this length left plenty of ribbon on the outside of the blanket after it was sewn in.

Step 4: Pin the ribbons on the blanket facing inward the same distance apart. Remember, you sew everything inside out so when you turn it right side after you are done sewing, the stitching is nowhere to be seen.

 

Step 5: I did stitch a border on tip with a zig-zag stitch after this picture was taken. It made the blanket look a little more polished and put together.

I'm loving the finished product.

 So simple and so fun. 

I've got a lot of babies in my life these days, so I'm going to whip up a few more just for fun and practice.

What do you know, maybe I found another product for my up and coming etsy shop!

A girl can dream right?

Linking up with Kristen and Courtney.

Weekend Madness

Today and tomorrow are pretty crazy around here for me.  

Between going to CT's little cousins basketball tournament, a co-workers baby shower today, church, and a work meeting tomorrow. I hope I have sometime to accomplish some chores and crafts! 

Last night I had some free time to whip up part of my baby shower gift for today.

I made this taggie blanket in white minky and grey chevron. 

[tutorial at a later date]

I also broke out my colorful springy fabric that Im going to use to make Spring bunting for our mantel.

I need to hurry and get this hung up before we skip right over Spring into Summer! 

I also picked up these beauties at the store yesterday. 

  

I am excited to play around with them and see if I can come up with something cool for next weeks nail files.

Have a good weekend!

Linking up with Sami.