Home for Christmas

December 12, 2016

imagine her all lit up up at night with the, children picked, colored lights.

Last year we were deep into inspections, offers, and prayer to see if this ole house would be ours after the New Years. We packed and waited knowing she was the one, wanting her to be the one. It made last Holiday season go by in a flurry. This year, as we are still settling into this house, we are enjoying the gifts she has brought us throughout the year. We have hosted small groups, built new neighborly relationships, hosted ample dinners and seen countless children come and go through our many doors. As we decorated for Christmas I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude that we get to call this house our home. I am looking forward to hosting Christmas day where everyone will gorge themselves on food, have good conversation, and possibly nap the day away on the sofa. For now though we will get our fill of Christmas movies, smore making, and cookie decorating all in the name of memory building. I know so many sweet memories were made by the couple that lived here for decades before us raising their children and doing so many of the same activities. We are appreciative to have met a few of the folks that used to come here to play/hang over the years as they have nothing but nice things to say. Thank you Mr and Mrs W for letting us carry on the traditions of this ole house. We are grateful for you.

sources: {living room} New York print by us framed by SimplyFramed | white dipped stool | black lamp | rug {8x10 no longer available} | chair | end table | {dining room} Black eiffel chairs | wood chairs | chalkboard | pendant light | verse art made by a friend | {den} mini trees collected over the years | metal stocking holders | Ellie's new stocking | {outside} door mat | house numbers | metal planter from local shop Sweet Peas - similar

*last years Christmas decor in the rental

Ellie's Tween Bedroom Makeover {in process}

November 30, 2016

I feel like everything is continually in process in this ole fixer upper. Of course as a blogger I love a good reveal shoot, but if I wait on that moment then I may have nothing to share in the months to come. Ha. Ellie's room was somewhat picked up so I decided to grab my camera to share where we are now in the process. In our rental I LOVED her room. When we moved here I was planning on just using what we had, but Ellie had other plans. Her main concern was that her VERY pink room {which she begged for} was not even a color that she liked anymore. Mint is now the favorite. I loosened my leash on wanting to be the one in charge of a room makeover in order for her to try her hand at making her room her very own. We have extremely different tastes to say the least. She LOVES bright colors and I tend to lean towards a good neutral. I'm more minimal and I tend to think she has hoarder like tendencies. Overall she is happy with the direction in which it's going so in turn I'm too.

As you can tell we used quite a few pieces from our old home. The bed was mine as a girl, she requested to use the angel wing lamps which still need shades and the marquee sign was from Home Goods years ago. She added in a few new pieces such as the chair from TJ Maxx, bedding, rug, end tables and her abundance of "stuff". Oh, how all the "stuff" can send a shiver up my spine. I set a somewhat low budget as I know in a year or two she will probably want to change it again into more of a teen room. For now though this room could not be any more Ellie and for that that I am rather proud.

sources: bedding {it's so soft!} | end tables {changed knobs} | end table knobs | dresser from ikea | marquee sign from Home Goods {these are fun or DIY here} | angel wing lamps from Scott's Flea Market | rug | pouf {similar} | lumbar pillow {similar} | roman shades | pendant by tammy Connor purchased from her years ago | door tassels | sheep skin on chair | her favorite book series

Blow It Up with Simply Framed...

October 6, 2016

Can you see the change? It's one I have been waiting for since we moved in. You can see the before here. See it? Yes, our petite New York photo went HUGE. Like really huge. It's now a happy 60x40. It was framed by Simply Framed and I could not be any more thrilled with the way it turned out. the print was done by Artifact Uprising. It added the impact this space needed. To the right is our bank of windows that I LOVE, but it made finding the right proportions for the other walls hard to find.

I have also been working on the ikea shelves for some time now. Originally I wanted get rid of them all together. I felt like they added to the busyness of the room with all the built-ins. I do like the storage they provide for all our blankets and random kid stuff. They still may change one day, but for now I am content with the current set up. I can not even tell you how many times I rearranged the shelves. Again, it was all about trying to find a balance.

Most of the items I owned, but I did add a few more baskets and books to my collection. My goal was to keep it simple, practical and interesting at the same time. Easier said than done apparently as it took me 8 months to reach my goal.

I injected a few dominant black pieces to help ground the space some more. You may sense a common theme throughout our house in the form of black, white, warm wood and leather tones. I find that color palette easy on the eyes and introduces a calming effect to me. Others may find it boring, but to me it really helps balance all the saturated colors from outside that are always prominent due to our home being mostly windows.

As you can tell we haven't hung the Simply Framed piece yet and I am still debating if I will. I kind of like the more casual look it brings. For now I still have the piece layered with other frames, but that may change it I decide to actually hang the frame.

Here is my 5ft Ellie for scale. I love getting to see a vision come to life in this ole fixer upper of ours. This room is finally becoming what I knew it could be. Can you recall where it started? Next up will be new furniture pieces that represents the more lounge like area this room has become. Can't say the wicker chairs lend themselves to movie watching and this room can handle a larger sofa easily. Currently this sectional I am dreaming of although a major sale needs to happen before I could make it a reality. The proportions would fit the room perfectly and give enough room for the whole family to lounge. Anyone have an insight to the longevity of Crate & Barrel furniture?