Hello and Welcome [Sign]!

I've been on a very mini roll as of late in decorating and doing stuff to our house. I feel like everything I really want to do costs so much money that these little spurts of energy are making a little bit of happy difference in my world.  

Last week I showed you our Day of the Dead decorations and now this week I'm back with a very small project that made for a big impact! 

I bought this 'Hello' sign off of Groopdealz and had it lying around the house for awhile. I wasn't certain how I wanted to gussy it up until I saw my best bud, Freckles Chick, use some faux flowers for a little project for her daughter. 

It probably comes as no surprise that I sprayed it gold and then made a little trip to Michael's to grab some flowers. I wanted something pretty and neutral so I grabbed what you see in the pic below. 

I used a simple glue gun to adhere the pieces on the wreath and then hung it up on a wreath hanger on our front door. I really love how the wreath stands out against the charcoal door and it's just what it needed!

And, for any of you that may be wondering, the Instagram heart wall has stayed up since day one with plain painter's tape. I was skeptical too, but it's worked like a charm!

Thanks for checking in! 

xo

Day of the Dead Decorations + Pumpkin Patch Adventures

Hey, guys! Long time, no see. I have no excuse other than I've done nothing blog worthy and/or I've been too lazy to document what we have been up to! 

I did get around to decorating [I use that term loosely] for Halloween/Day of the Dead so I thought I'd share our mantel with our pumpkins and skull banner.  

The pumpkins are all faux [sounds fancier than fake-ha!] and I've had them for a year plus. I carved the sugar skull from a template I found on Etsy and that thing gets pinned like a bajillion times a day. I hope that Etsy seller is making a serious profit! The medium sized one I puffy painted a greek key design on and then spray painted it, and the heart shaped one I purchased at Goodwill.  

The banner was a free printable found here and I just cut it out and hot glued it on.  

Theron makes the best little model, if I bribe him!

I bought some mums for outside and still need to get some real pumpkins...if I make it before Halloween I'll be surprised. Theron's so obsessed with all things pumpkins but when I offer to buy him one he's not interested. Typical toddler!

We did get to hit up a pumpkin patch last weekend and Theron was in love. His happiness made me that much happier and I could've stayed all day if not for the fear of a napless toddler--know what I mean? 

And then the funniest one--Theron refused to take a pic with Dave and me but then did a classic photobomb. This kid is too much!

I'm sad that fall is nearing its way into winter and I'm not so sure I'm ready! This week is Theron's Halloween party at Little Gym and I'm hoping his costume is a hit!

xoxo

Master Bedroom Changes

::Still hitting home runs with my blog post titles. Haha.:: 

In our first home our bedroom went through so many changes--I say that like the rest of the house was decorated once and done.  Cue the laughter; that's funny, right?!? A decor obsessed gal's home is never finished!

When we moved in to this home I really had no plans for our bedroom. It's so much bigger than any other bedroom I've ever had so that's a new challenge for me. We placed all of our old bedroom furniture in here plus Theron's glider and it stayed like that for months.

And while I really like that vibe and look you see in the picture, I was just kinda over it. I wanted to feel refreshed and inspired and it just wasn't evoking those emotions. Maybe I overanalyze how I should feel about my bedroom. You guys do it, too, right? Or am I totally alone?

I shared with you guys that I recently scored some sweet new floral pillows, and they totally changed the game.

They are not as calming as the last color palette but that's ok. They're so "me" and well David, he could sleep in a polka dot and striped neon room. The guy couldn't care less as long as there's a bed - I sure got lucky! ;-)

So here's our very in-progress shot as it looks today:

I got rid of the Ikat throw at the end of the bed but had to have a similar replacement for it.  I love that a quilt stays cool to the touch so that was a non-issue for me. I picked up a mustard yellow one at Target and I have plans to tone it down with this throw. It's kinda pricey for a blanket so I haven't bit the bullet yet.

I also added the circle mirrors that were in the hallway of our last home onto our nightstands. I'm not convinced I love them there but it's ok for now. I also need some new lamps because I moved the original lamps into the living room.

I want to move the pin tuck duvet into the guest bedroom and get this one from West Elm as seen in Orlando Soria's bedroom via Emily Henderson's blog. 

The striped rug is from Theron's old playroom and I really just moved it in there to see how I felt layering a rug on carpet.

Just out of view, to the left of the bed, is now a desk area and I'm on the lookout for a new [to me] chair and I'll have to snap some pics so you can see how that area's shaping up, too.  And, while a fan is a must have in our bedroom, I'm really jonesing for a pretty chandelier.  Do those vintage looking fans put off a nice amount of air? Anyone have one?

So basically, anything is fair game in this room and like always, you guys are along for the ride.

Happy St. Patty's day, too!

xoxo

Entryway Updates

The entryway has stumped me for awhile.  Of course, I have liked it substantially more than the yellow explosion that was once here.  See exhibit A:

For the past couple months I settled on using a $20 dresser as a placeholder but I knew it wasn't permanent.

The height of the old mid century modern piece was much too low.   I never took any pictures of the space like this but imagine the typical MCM dresser and that was about it! I knew I wanted a change but my only problem was I couldn't find anything I loved.  Sure, some things on craigslist would've worked but nothing caught my eye.  Unusual, I know.

Then I saw this piece on West Elm and I immediately loved it.

It's weird, but it's been an extremely long time since I've bought a new piece of furniture that wasn't thrifted or bought off of craigslist. I waited for it to go on major sale and pulled the trigger. 

The styling of this piece is rough but it'll do for now.  I'm most excited about the "painting" I did.  It was another total copycat DIY from what I'm sure is a pricier piece! I've had this image pinned for so long and was certain I wanted to recreate it for this exact spot.  I am pleased it turned out exactly as I envisioned.  

All I did was use a roll of paper that we already had at home and added the black circles and splatters with acrylic paint.  I framed it using a poster frame that I sprayed gold. The whole project took less than an hour and makes a big impact!

The rest of the space is filled with most things we already had.  However, the small mirror was a garage sale find earlier this season and the tree was a Pier 1 find.  I've had the capiz shell light forever, or so it seems, and I repurposed an old trashcan [that I found in the trash!] as an umbrella stand years ago. 

Things won't stay like this forever, but I'm really liking the way it's finally coming along. 

xoxo

DIY: 'Be Merry & Bright!' Canvas

I tried to wait til the Friday after Thanksgiving.

But, I failed.

When we moved this summer I threw away my beloved white Christmas tree because it was falling apart.  Part of the branches had broken, the middle section's lights went out, and the part of the tree that faced the window had yellowed from the sun.  Oh well.  What're you gonna do?

So, naturally, we had to get a new tree this year.  I figured we might as well put it up rather than haul it downstairs.  I made a deal with David to hold off on the ornaments until next Friday.  But I love the glow of a Christmas tree.  Best thing ever.

All that to say that I also DIYed a canvas print for above the mantel.

As soon as I saw this Rifle Paper Co. card I knew I wanted to try my hand at making a larger version for our home.

I bought a 24" x 24" canvas from JoAnn Fabrics for cheap and picked up some acrylic paints there as well.

I measured off 6 inch sections and then mixed my colors for all of the sections.   My lines aren't perfectly straight but I'm not too concerned about it.  This was a nap time project and perfection is overrated! Haha.

The next part took the longest time because I decided to freehand the letters.  I lightly drew the letters on with pencil and then filled them in with a custom gold paint.  To get this specific color I used a gold acrylic paint toned down with a white pearl paint and then added some glitter acrylic paint to it, too. 

I also decided to add the gold to the sides of the canvas because I think it looks more finished like that. 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with this DIY project.  It only took a couple of hours and around $25. I'll take it!

Now I'm really ready to keep decking the halls!

xoxo

Living Room Updates & DIY Art

Hey guys! I don't think I've ever shared any in-progress pics of the living room on the blog.  If you recall, the entire living room, dining area, and kitchen are all open to one another now since we knocked down the wall.  We've still got a lot to do, like hang art and get new lighting along with order new drapery but at least the living space is pretty complete.

To refresh your memory, here's what we started with:

Directly to the right of the living space was this:

One of the very first things we did was tear down that wall, paint over that yellow, and replace the carpeting and tile with hardwood floors. 

The photos below were taken after the primer had been painted.  While I'm a major fan of brass being back, those light fixtures are on their way out soon.  Since the wall is no longer up the location of them don't make sense so we are waiting til we can hire an electrician to insert a new box for a light, almost in the middle of these two, and close off the other ones. 

We chose a 5" handscraped hardwood and so far I am loving them.  It is so true though, what people say, they absolutely show more dirt and dust than I ever imagined.  I've become best friends with my swiffer, vacuum, and newly purchased Bona cleaning system.

All of that takes us to where we are now.  Still trying to figure out how to decorate a house with more space, more windows, and taller ceilings! I don't have it figured out just yet, but it's coming along.

The green chair and TV stand were recent craigslist scores [since our buyers asked demanded we leave our old TV stand] and the drapery is from Halfpricedrapes.com.  I spray painted the curtain rods gold and reused Theron's rug from his room in the first house for this room.

I wish I would have taken better pics of the coffee table because that's a recent Joss and Main find! I was on the hunt for a round tufted ottoman and couldn't find a thing in my price range. Randomly I spotted this round option [that had the right dimensions] with nailhead detailing and made it mine for around $200.  I wasn't expecting it to be vinyl [it may have mentioned it in its description, but I could have missed it] so I was kinda bummed when it got here but now I love it.  You probably know why, too! With sticky toddler fingerprints it definitely cleans up very nicely.

The painting above the fireplace was an original done by yours truly. Haha.  I'll have to post the details behind that experience.  I had not a clue as to what I was doing.  But I honestly loved how it turned out!

The mantel styling was done in about a minute--no joke--with the stuff that I had on the sofa table.  I don't hate it but it wasn't really that thoughtful.  I do LOVE that gold bird cage/whater-you-want-to-call-it beaut.  She was a Goodwill find at the beginning of the school year and I'm so happy I didn't pass it up!

As the room evolves I will be sure to bring you guys along.  Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

Project Playroom: The After

Theron's playroom is complete! After starting nearly three months ago we have a completed room! It was pretty easy to put together once I decided on the fabric for the benches and for the no-sew roman shades.  I like color--you guys know that--so it should come as no surprise to any of you that this room has a lot of it!

We started with a room that looked like this [pre-Theron Drake]:

Which quickly turned into this:

And now finished, looks like this:

The benches, as you may recall, were inspired by Jen's phenomenal IKEA hack seen here, and custom built by my superstar Father-in law.  The robot pillow is from Land of Nod, the tribal pillows are from IKEA, the 'Never Let Me Go' pillow was from Brickyard Buffalo deal, and the Greek Key pillow I've had for years.  

The Instagram poster size prints were purchased on Prinstagram and framed in poster sized frames from Michael's that I spray-painted gold.  The floor lamp next to the window was from CB2. 

The "art" on the gallery wall was either made by me on PowerPoint [via multiple inspirations I ran across while on Pinterest], Hallmark greeting cards-turned-prints, an Old Navy  'Land of the Free' & Hallmark chevron shopping bag, a free online printable, or an abstract painting print via Etsy.   I saved money by reusing old frames I had stored away and didn't have to buy a single new one!

The sweet little table was mine when I was a kid that I recently spray-painted with chalkboard paint and the chair was a thrift store find from when I was pregnant. 

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed a tour of Theron's playspace!

xoxo