Furniture, Fabric, and Falling for Pinterest...

I am getting really excited about Fall and inspiration has been popping up all over blogland.  In getting in the spirit, I recently changed around the furniture placement in our living room and added some new pieces to better suit our family.  Before the living room layout looked like this when you walked in the front door - mantle to the left of pic, kitchen to the right...

It's a great layout - couch facing the fireplace with tv mounted above, chairs flanking the couch to create a conversation area, etc.  Problem was, the flow from the living area to the kitchen was cut off and we never sat in the chairs.  When we had company no one would use the living area because the couch served as a barrier.  Here is the old layout again looking from the living room into our kitchen...

So, while I didn't mind this layout, I thought we could better utilize the space with some rearranging, much to my husband's dismay.  Here is the new layout when you walk into our foyer...

Here is a picture taken from the kitchen into the living area...

 The flow between the kitchen and living room is so much better and our living room feels so much bigger!  Moving the furniture also allowed me to bring in a $22 thrift store table that I painted white and paired with some extra chairs I had in the attic.  We eat occasional meals here and my son eats his breakfast and lunch here everyday.  It may be my new favorite spot in the house! *blurry pic - sorry*

I plan to cover the seats of these chairs with a shower curtain I found at TJ Maxx.  It was $15 and the perfect blend of colors for Fall.  I plan on making a couple of throw pillows for the couch and put away the graphic green pillows until next summer...

I can throw in some red, orange, green, or blue pillows.  Love that this fabric had all of my colors! I have been looking high and low for months now!  I get excited about the little things around here - let me tell you.

And last, but not least, I have a new obsession.  Pinterest.  It has fueled my inspiration for Fall ideas, craft projects, fashion, new recipes, EVERYTHING!  I find myself up late at night pinning away and wondering when I am going to find the time to do all these new projects.  So, on that note, time to step away from the computer and start covering some chairs.  I hope to get a post up once I have decorated for Fall.  Next week I am on a mission to "desummerize" my house!


Sara

Summer Changes & Laundry Room Organization

Ok, so obviously blogging has not been tops on my list for the past few months, since I haven't posted since March! Sometimes this blog is a huge reminder of how fast time flies.  Anyway, I decided to take some shots around the house of some little changes that I have made for the summer.

Nothing spectacular - just adding in some ferns and some touches of summer - starfish, shells, lanterns, etc.  I also bought a big lumbar pillow from Target for $30 and took away the mountain of pillows off the couch.  I just get tired of moving multiple pillows to another chair each time we need to sit down.  In the end, practicality and simplicity wins.

In other news, I have talked my husband into making this today...

Here is the link - http://ana-white.com/2010/11/laundry-basket-dresser

I can't wait to get it set up in our laundry room that has no storage.  I think it will make putting the laundry away much easier!

Sara

Spring Mantel

Just let me tell you.  It is really difficult to decorate a mantel that has a huge television hanging directly above it.  Not our brightest design idea, for sure, but it's up there so what's a girl to do?  Well, this girl stresses constantly about decorating her mantel without interfering with the TV screen and also not drawing too much attention to the TV at the same time.  Make sense?  Anyhow, here is my mantel decorated for Spring...

I placed some orchid stems in the shell and printed out a bee graphic from The Graphics Fairy's website, placed some rattan balls among my milk glass vases/candleholders and called it a day. Free and done in a jiffy.

Eventually, I would love to have our television  on top of the cabinets to the left of the fireplace, but for now it's not moving, according to my husband.

I am getting excited about planning/planting our raised bed gardens and decorating our porch and deck as soon as it warms up outside.  Hurry up, warmer weather!

Linking up to Centsational Girl's Fair Weather Forum!

Sara

Anthropologie Necklace Knock-off

Yesterday morning, while perusing the entries at My Backyard Eden's Make It Yours Day, I came across a tutorial for the cutest necklace on Yellow Blackbird.  Aubree is super talented and shared a wonderful step-by-step tutorial for an Anthro necklace that I LOVE.  You can go here to check out her tutorial and her fun blog.  Thanks for the inspiration, Aubree!  I love my necklace and now I am going to buy more ribbon, jewels, and chains to make these for friends and family.  Mine is a little different from Anthropologie's version, but their necklace retails for $278 and mine for just $6!  Can't beat that!

Anthropologie's Accordion Necklace...beautiful, but REALLY expensive and way over my budget at $278...

My version...still beautiful (to me) and way under budget at $6...

I still need to fix one of the unfinished ends and I didn't add jewels to this one since it was practice.

Here is what it looks like on...

To say I love it is an understatement! I am ecstatic about the way it turned out - and it was only my first one! It took about an hour from start to finish, but I had to get the lacing technique down pat.  I think I could knock the next one out in 30 minutes.  So easy and so chic!

Thanks again, Aubree, from Yellow Blackbird, for the tutorial and inspiration!

Sara

Yummy Appetizer Recipe

To switch things up a little, I would like to share an appetizer recipe that is a standby in my kitchen.  I don't have any prep pictures or final product pics, only the recipe.  Next time I make this I will take pics and post the process.  It is so simple and super yummy!

You can microwave this for about 3 minutes, but I prefer to bake it at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  I think the consistency is better.  No, it's not healthy, but is any good appetizer ever really healthy? :)  Serve with tortilla or pita chips and you have a quick and delicious appetizer ready to go!  Enjoy!

Sara

Organizing the Kitchen Office Area

When we were designing our kitchen, I knew that I wanted a small corner to be dedicated to an office space/mail hub.  I am so glad we have this in our kitchen and it is an area of our home that is always getting tweaked and organized. 

After living here for almost a year, I finally decided to organize the cabinets so I could easily find anything I needed.  One side was organized for office supplies and the other for small tools, meds, and basically junk drawer material that needed a home.  I hit up the dollar store and found cute little blue and green containers - 4 for $1.00! You can't beat that!  I love the dollar store for organizational containers, and they have so many fun cute colors and shapes!  Perfect for an organizing freak like myself.  No before picture, because I am so impatient and just jump right into a task.  So, here is the after! 

This is the office side - extra envelopes, pens, markers, pencils, sticky notes, etc.  are all stored in the left-side cabinet.  I didn't get a picture, but I also have greeting cards and blank stationary in the top cabinet. 

I printed out sticker labels and used a cute font from this website - Fonts for Peas .  Amanda is super talented and so sweet to share all of these cool fonts.  You can download them in a zip file - there are so many to choose from!  She also has great tips for customizing your blog.  I love her site!

Here is the right side of the cabinet.  Nothing super exciting, just neater and organized...

Thanks for stopping by!  I am going to be posting a couple of my favorite yummy appetizer recipes tomorrow!

Sara

Changes Coming to Our Blog...

In an effort to make our blog more interesting, and have more to blog about, my mom and I have decided to broaden the topics we blog about and add in the occasional recipe, cleaning/organizational tips, posts on fashion, books, and more of our favorite things.  While we love "playing house" and blogging about our decorating on a dime, it feels as though sticking to one topic is limiting us in the blog world.   And let's be honest, being a mom of a 2 year old and running a household, decorating my house is not always on the top of my to-do list! I have a family to feed and a house to keep clean!   In the next few days, the blog will change to reflect the different styles my mom and I have and you will start reading about other topics than just "house stuff".  This mother/daughter duo loves to decorate, cook, clean, read, and find new outfits on the cheap!  So, stick around (all two of you) and keep reading because this blog is getting a makeover!   

Sara

Touches of Spring...Playing House...

We have had a few warmer days lately and with that I have had a renewed energy to "play house".  I have been hitting up the thrift stores more lately and changing up some things in the house here and there.  Yesterday, I went to TJ Maxx and spent the good part of the afternoon perusing the store.  They had a lot of spring items and some cute pictures (for cheap!).  Here are some of my finds...

This picture was $14.99, which I thought was a steal for the beautiful frame and mat alone! The bluish green color goes perfect with my color scheme in my kitchen. 

This print was only $12.99 and the mat is burlap (hard to tell in the picture).  Can't wait to find a spot for it!

Found this straw pot a few weeks ago for $12.99.  I had a heavy metal container here before and I liked the airy and lighter texture of the straw basket.  The front has a silver tag on it that reads 'Fleurs". 

And two more great TJ Maxx finds - some yummy smelling handsoap for the kitchen sink and this candle that smells like Spring.  Little touches like this just make me happy.  Yes, it's the little things...

I have also had the urge to put fresh flowers and plants everywhere.  You can't beat a bunch of flowers in a pretty container for $4.00.  These flowers last forever and my mom gave me the pitcher that I spray painted a glossy white.  It instantly adds happiness to my kitchen...

A small pot of ivy was put in a basket I already had, along with a thrift store milk glass lamp and a platter from my everyday china.  Can't believe my husband hasn't commented on the fact that there is now another lamp in our kitchen.  I'm a lamp queen...

I have a small bookcase in my kitchen that I am always playing around with.  I changed it up this time with a cloche that my mother in law gave me, a silver shell platter, and one of my birds.  I found the silverware graphic from The Graphics Fairy and just tucked it inside the cloche. 

So Spring is just around the corner and these are some of the changes going on around here.  I can't resist opening the french doors and letting the fresh breeze blow through the house...

And on a completely "non-house" related note, these cute shoes were calling my name at TJ Maxx yesterday and I had to have them...

No, they have nothing to do with Spring - it just felt right...

Sara

Newly Painted Sideboard

I FINALLY finished the sideboard on Friday night and was able to get some pretty good pictures yesterday afternoon and this morning so you can see the transformation!  Before, it was painted red, which was nice but too dark for the dining room and a little too formal for my taste.

Here is a before picture of the dining room...

Red sideboard and red on the curtains with dark lamps.  After repainting the furniture and putting the living room curtains in this room, and two new lamps from TJ Maxx, here is the after...

 

The rug isn't staying.  I am hoping to find a cheap sisal rug to replace it and use this outside on our deck for the spring and summer.  Here are some more after shots...

I love the bright white in here! It really helps to lighten up the room and is a great contrast to the dark table and chairs.  If you read my previous post about painting the sideboard, I had decided to paint it blue.  Well, after 4 coats of blue paint (2 different shades) I lived with it for a couple of days and decided to just prime it and paint it white.  That way I can use it in different rooms if I decide to, and I am not stuck with a specific color scheme in the dining room. 

Now I am going to start tackling my laundry room by adding shelves and painting the room a buttery yellow.  Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

Linking up!

Sara