{Ella Claire}

Planting Our Garden!

2013-05-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got out and planted the garden! Ella and I had been sick for the past week and a half since we built the garden box {here}, and I was chomping at the bit to get it done.

It may not look like much, but I am SO excited for all of my plants! Actually, I am so excited for the yummy fresh food that will come from these beautiful plants.

We planted zuchinni, yellow squash, cucumbers {I still need to add the trellis for these}, summer squash,

green, red, and orange bell peppers, spicy peppers,

onions, carrots, lettuce, basil, cilantro, and spinach.

I also planted 7 different types of tomatoes. Yes, I recognize that is a little excessive for a family of 3 1/2... but, I couldn't help myself. I LOVE tomatoes and I wanted to try out a couple of the heirloom varieties. I still need to put their cages on them.

Aren't these little onion starts so pretty? Ella had so much fun playing with them and "helping" me to plant. As a matter of fact she helped me to cover them with dirt... and then proceeded to uncover all of them while I was planting the cucumbers. I am going to giggle if I have onions popping up all over the place!

And here it is.... proof that I haven't killed the new sod! Ella and I are loving running around barefoot in the new grass.

I am going to be planting beans and sunflowers somewhere else in the yard. I sure love getting my hands dirty while being outside with my little lovely.

What are you planting this spring?

A Very Special and Exciting Announcement

2013-05-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

Ella has a really exciting announcement for you today.

She is very excited about it too.

Can you see it?

We are beyond thrilled. And we feel more blessed than words can describe.

Ella has been practicing with her babies.

She will be the best big sister.

At the 3 month checkup, I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than that little heartbeat in there moving so vigorously. I felt the same way about our Ella. I am so happy that we get to experience this again.

My little baby bump is showing... and really, really high.

Our little bundle is due in November.

We are feeling so thankful for each other, for our sweet Ella, and our new little one.

I told you it would make you smile ;)

xoxo

Announcement Coming Tomorrow!

2013-05-15T16:27:00.002-07:00

I know I told you all that I had a big, fun announcement today, but due to technical difficulties I won't be spilling the beans until tomorrow morning!

This announcement is a very personal one... and it will make you smile so big your cheeks will hurt.

See you in the morning :)

xoxox

My Spring Chalkboard Art!

2013-05-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Today I am sharing my Spring chalkboard art and free printable template over on Jennifer Rizzo's blog. I hope you will head on over and check it out! I just love her style and she is also such a truly kind and sweet person. I am so honored to be contributing once a month on her blog.

I have also published an article over on SheKnows with a tutorial similar to the one I shared {here} and a free template for this fun quote:

Chalkboards galore!

I have a very exciting announcement to share tomorrow. So, I hope you will come back.

Trust me, it will make you smile ear to ear.

How to Build the Easiest Garden Box!

2013-05-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, after the little one was in bed, my hunky hubby and I whipped out this big new garden box. It was actually pretty simple to build, especially with both of us working on it.

I had a couple of smaller garden boxes on the other side of the yard that we ripped out when we regraded and sodded our yard {here}. I had built them out of plain old 2x6 pine boards 5 years ago and they held up great, so we decided to just use pine again. If you are wanting to build one that will last a super long time you will want to build it out of more weather resistant or treated wood.

We hit up Lowes and grabbed the following supplies:

(2) 2x10x12

(2) 2x10x8

(1) 2x4x6

3" Heavy duty outdoor wood screws

and we had these on hand:

2" screws (leftover from the fence we just tore down)

We cut the 2x4 into four 10" pieces. Then we screwed one onto each end of our shorter sides (the 2x10x8s) using the leftover wood screws from the fence we just tore down. We predrilled small holes so we could sink the screws slightly into the wood. If you don't want to do this step, use the 3" screws on the whole thing.

Then I held the shorter side, making sure it was nice and straight, while my strong hubby screwed in the longer side with the 3" wood screws. We made sure to screw a couple into each of the two boards to make them extra stable. The finished box measures 8ft by 12ft and it is 10" deep.

When we put the sod down last week, we left a spot open for the box so we just placed it directly in that spot on the dirt. We put 2 yards of a premium topsoil/compost mix in the box. As you can see, we need to still fix a little part of the sod, but for the most part we are done... Oh wait, I need to PLANT a garden!!

Quick, easy, and inexpensive!

I really am so excited to get my plants in the ground. I think it is mostly because my little Ella will love to go out and pick her food. She loves to play in the dirt already and is always grabbing my hand with her little hand and leading me out here so she can!

I just know that her grandma is smiling down on her. My mother in law loved her gardens too.

And look what else is making its debut in our yard right now... my very favorite plant we have. My big lilacs are just starting to bloom and their fragrance is absolutely intoxicating.

I will have to get a few more pictures when their buds are completely open.

Do you enjoy gardening?

Yard Progress~ Woo Hoo!!

2013-05-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited that our backyard is coming right along. I have to warn you that some of the backyard before pictures you are about to see may scare the heebee jeebees out of you... yes, our yard was THAT bad!

Our neighbors' dog has chewed holes in our fence over the past two years and we have replaced and patched the darn thing so many times I can't even count. Along with that, our lawn has been struggling for a couple of years, and we lost one of our trees over a bad winter {which you can see that my hunky hubby had already chopped down before I took this picture}.

Finally, we had enough!! We have a small backyard as it is, and we just wanted a safe and fun place for our little Ella to play. We decided to replace the fence (reinforcing the neighbor's side so their dog can't eat it), regrade the yard and lay sod.

So here is the before pictures of this side of the yard:

{Notice the bag of compost covering the latest gaping hole}

This planter that you can see here had curbing around it and I actually had my garden boxes in there until the tree next door grew too big and created too much shade {All of that had ben removed before this picture}. So, we decided to make that nice big area all grass for the little one.

And here is the after. Oh, my heart skips a beat every time I look at it!

It is not completely finished in this picture, and we still need to stain the fence, but you get the idea. I have big plans for that space that is still dirt behind the patio. I will be building a planter box of some sort.

Here is the before picture of the other side of the yard:

and a picture of while they were laying sod:

(I have the greatest friends, brother, and hubby ever to lay all of this!)

This side of the house is where my new garden will be and we are in the process of building the new bed for it. I will show more pictures of it once we get it finished!

I am SO happy with the progress so far! And I think it looks so nice with the new exterior paint job as well. Here is a little before and after of that if you don't remember that post {see post here}.

Before:

and After:

It is coming right along...

Oh, and here is a shot of the cutest helper of all! Can you believe I haven't put her hair in pigtails before now!? I love them. Oh, she melts my heart. I hope she just loves her new backyard.

xoxo

My Home Exterior Reveal! & How to Choose Exterior Paint Colors

2013-05-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share pictures of our newly painted exterior with you today! And while I am at it, I am going to share the tips and tricks for picking paint colors that I learned along the way.

As I found out a few weeks ago, choosing paint colors can be hard! I knew that I wanted a brown with gray undertones, but do you know how MANY millions of those there are!?

Remember this? My 13 sample pots (the colors were a lot richer and more distinct in real life) painted on the wall .... yes that really did happen. I jumped into buying sample pots a little too soon. Well, hopefully some of my tips can help you narrow it down a little easier than I did, and hopefully avoid some of the stress as well!

Well here is the before {after all of the nails had been caulked by the painters}:

And here is the after:

We didn't go very far from the original color, but some of the details made all of the difference.

Tip #1: Search, search, search for other houses to imitate. There are SO many houses out there that there is really no need to stress about trying to come up with colors all on your own. {Unless of course you are really excited to do that, then have at it!} My suggestion is to search online first to get a general idea of the color combo that you are looking for. White with black trim? Red with cream trim? Yellow with white trim?

Here is a house that I found online that I loved and wanted to imitate.

Traditional Exterior by Moraga General Contractor Canyon Construction

and here is our house now. Keep in mind that the sun is shining very brightly on it right now, so it is pulling a little warmer than it actually is. I LOVE this color! I will share all of the paint color details at the end of this post.

If you live in an area that has a decent amount of houses, a good idea is to drive around and see how they look in real life.

Tip #2: Follow this tip at your own risk~~ If you live in a safe and friendly area, go up and ask the person whose house you love if they know the color of their paint. I found a house very similar to this, I knocked on the door, and she actually let me borrow the pot of paint to go and get it matched! Now, obviously this tip has to be used with a lot of common sense. Don't get yourself hurt! Not everyone lives in lovely Idaho, but if you do... just ask! Also, keep in mind that house colors fade over time. So, if it has been a few years the house might be a different color than it was originally. This particular house ended up being a color I didn't care for because it had actually faded into the color that I loved. It had been 7 years since it had been painted.

Tip #3: If you narrow down your colors, go and pick out a few sample pots and paint them onto your house. You will most likely want to go with something that has more of a cooler gray undertone than you would originally think you would need. Just remember that the sunlight will make it appear warmer than it is. Alternately, if you live in an area that is cloudy the majority of the time, you will be much more able to choose a warmer, truer color. You may want to ask your painter if they are OK with you painting sample pots onto the house. Mine gave the OK because he knew I was using good quality Sherwin Williams samples that he would be able to easily paint over. Different paints have different qualities, so if all else fails, ask your painter first. Paint your samples onto different parts of the house that get different light. It will look different in the light than it will look in the shade, and you need to make sure you like both.

Tip#4: Choose a color that best compliments the house that you have... not necessarily a house you would build. Does that make sense? If you live in a home that you did not design or build, chances are it has certain quirks that you would not have necessarily picked for yourself. Work with those quirks and pick paint colors to enhance the home that you have. If I were to build my own home I wouldn't necessarily pick these colors, but they look great on this home.

Tip #5: The nice guy at Sherwin Williams told me that when you purchase a sample pot, you can have them mix it at a percentage. So if you like a color, but want it lighter, start with having it mixed at 25%. It will save you money because you can always go back and ask them to increase it to 50% or 60%, or so on without having to purchase another pot.

Tip#6: Picking a trim color (and other detail colors) is just as important as picking the house color. You need to decide what you want your trim to do... blend, pop, accent? {hint: Sherwin Williams has exterior combination suggestion cards that are really pretty... can you tell I am a SW fan!?} I wanted my trim to pop, but the plain whites I tried just didn't look right. Once I tried one with a hint of a creamy undertone, it was EXACTLY the look I was going for.

Look at the difference that this trim color makes! The house just pops! Originally, the house was 4 colors: The lighter base color, darker top color, dark trim color, and white-ish stucko. We chose to go with an all over color and a trim color and it made a HUGE difference. Careful consideration of the details pays off!

which leads me to...

Tip#7: Follow your gut! I made a few trips to Sherwin Williams because in my gut I knew that the other trim samples I picked just weren't right. Painting your house is a BIG and long-term job. If something about your color combination isn't sitting right with you 100%, then try something else.

Tip #8: Take into account your permanent fixtures. For example, if you have rock or brick on your house, you will want to make sure the paint color does not clash. The same is true of shutters, your roof color, garage doors, etc. We decided to paint our garage doors the same color as the house, but not everyone is able to do that. Also, our roof is a pretty gray color, so I needed to make sure that I picked a color that coordinated. Since brown and gray are both neutral, they generally match.

Tip #9: USE A GOOD QUALITY PAINT! I cannot stress this enough. Your house will fade prematurely if you don't use good quality paint, which is a total bummer. If you don't, it will end up costing you more in the long run. Also keep in mind that all paint will fade to a certain degree outside. Darker fades faster. But good quality paint will not fade as quickly as a lesser quality paint.

Tip #10: Be brave! You can do this! It can be SO intimidating to make big home decisions, but you can do it! And remember that the people at the paint stores are happy to help. I can't tell you how many times I bugged the guys at Sherwin Williams, and they were SO good to me! I learned a lot from them. Be brave; you can do it!

The paint colors are all from Sherwin Williams:

House Color: SW 7032 Warm Stone

Trim: SW 6140 Moderate White

Door: Black

If you are local to the Boise area, we used Ryan Small Companies to paint our home. Ryan (who just so happens to be my brother) and his crew did a great job! As you can see in the before photo, he caulked every single nail in the whole house~ a step that a lot of painters take shortcuts and leave out. It makes a HUGE difference in the final finish as well as the durability. I was really pleased with his perfectionism on this job, and his willingness to work with me to make my vision a reality!

I am so, so, so happy with how it turned out. In real life it is just a beautiful brown color with a gorgeous gray undertone. And the creamy white trim just pops. Love it! I hope these tips and tricks help you to choose exterior paint colors you absolutely love! Remember, it may seem a bit overwhelming but you can do it!

P.S. Here is my sweetie pie running into the picture, carrying her purse of course. You can see the flowers I need to plant up by the house. I am so excited to get them planted!

Linking to French Country Cottage

Book Page Treat Bags Tutorial

2013-04-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

This week is going to be a crazy week for us here! We are ripping out the yard {the fence has already been taken down}, building a new fence, building garden boxes, and planting a garden. Next week the hubbs will be laying new sod. I am so excited to see how it all turns out, and to have a fun new yard for Ella.The painting of the exterior of the house is finished and I will be sharing pictures of that with you later this week. I hope you don't mind a little exterior overkill... but, hey, that is what I am up to this week!

In case you missed it a couple of weeks ago when I guest posted over at Creative Home Expressions, I wanted to share with you how I make little treat bags for parties. This is a perfect little project for all of the summer parties and weddings, and they are so quick and easy to make!

First, gather some old book pages. Try to find some that are fairly sturdy. For mine, I used pages out of a vintage German dictionary I had on hand.

Next, fold your pages in half.

And then use your sewing machine to sew the edges. I used the outside of my presser foot for a guide. {please excuse my un-manicured fingers. I have been working in the yard :)}

Then fill with your treats. I used some clearance Easter candy I had on hand.

Super easy!

I think they add a lot of charm, don't you?

I also made some similar ones out of disposable placemats {here} to hold chips for my little one's shabby chic garden birthday party. They were super easy and fun.

What is your favorite thing to make or decorate with for parties?

Linking to French Country Cottage

My Four Very Very Favorite Paint Colors

2013-04-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I have shared a few of my favorite paint colors in the past in different posts, and I thought I would put them all in one place for you. There aren't a ton of them listed here because these are my VERY favorite and I use them A LOT!

1. Cake Batter from Lowes. Most of the furniture in my house is painted this color. It is the perfect creamy off white. If I had to pick one single favorite color, this would be it.

seen: here, here, here, here, here

2. My favorite chalkboard paint is from Valspar and you can purchase it at Lowes . I am sorry that I don't have a picture for you, but it comes in a can and you use a brush to apply. I have tried quite a few different kinds, including the spray on versions. This is my favorite chalkboard paint by far. It has such a pretty finish. And it is really nice and durable. You can see my post on painting and maintaining your chalkboards {here}.

seen: here, here

3. If I ever want to use a spray paint that is almost a dead match for the cake batter above, I use Heirloom White by Rustoleum. It is wonderful! (Rustoleum is my favorite spray paint and I always use the comfort grip spray paint tool by Rustoleum as well~ I bought my tool at Lowes. It makes your spray paint have the most wonderfully even coverage}

seen: here.

4. Satin Red Heritage Spray Paint by Rustoleum is my favorite red. It is such a perfectly deep and pretty red. It is not quite as bright as it looks in the picture above. It goes really well with my vintage red decor pieces. Here is the tag at Lowes.

seen here, and here

After much trial and error with different colors over the last 10 years of refinishing furniture, these are the colors that I always use. They are just really lovely shades {and I am pretty picky when it comes to my paint colors}. I do love to add greens and butterscotch colors too, but I can't really say I have picked my very favorites of those yet. As soon as I do, I will definitely let you know.

I hope this helps! If you paint something, I would love to see a picture!

P.S. There is a really great brown color in this post {here} that you may like as well. It is a really pretty slate brown color.

Quick, Easy DIY Fix for a Badly Broken Exterior Door

2013-04-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

Don't let his cuteness fool you. When our mischievous little furry boy was a pup, he chewed the moldings off around the window of our back door. Over years, it has deteriorated further and further and it was time to change it out. I went to Lowes and found out it would cost just under $300 to replace the door. As I talked to guy at Lowes, he told me that I didn't need to replace the whole door at all! He told me that I could buy just the insert that comes with the moldings and the window for under $92! Sweet!

This is why I shop at Lowes all.the.time! {They are not paying me to say this... I really am a Lowe's super fan} Can I just say that I LOVE that they have the integrity to tell me the best way to fix it and not the way they would make the most money!

I forgot to get a good before picture, but you can see the old insert laying up against the wall.

Here is a close up of my hunky husband installing the new insert. It was so user friendly. The molding on the inside screwed into the molding on the outside with the glass in between.

Here was his lovely assistant.

He literally finished installing it in under 20 minutes. It also came with plugs to cover the screw holes.

The outside of the door will get a fresh coat of paint this week. You can see a sneak peek of the colors I picked for the exterior of our home in the pictures above. I will share pictures of the whole house after it is all completed!

Working on the outside of the house is making me really excited to make my garden boxes and build my patio table! I will definitely be sharing lots of pictures of the process with you. First things first though. We are replacing the back fence, regrading the yard, and laying sod.... All in the next two weeks! Our yard is so pitiful right now {I took lots of before pictures} and I am SO excited to have a beautiful outdoor space!

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

A Vintagey Bag~ and Questions for YOU!

2013-04-22T15:03:00.001-07:00

Hello friends! I am back!

I feel like I have been running a million miles an hour lately, and it all concluded with my trip to the SNAP! blogging conference over the weekend. Holy cow, I feel like I learned so much.

Before I left, I had to get a bunch of stuff together and I wanted to do up a little bloggy bag for myself too. If you want to make one, it is super easy. First, I used a permanent fabric dye pen to write on my bag.

Then I embellished my bag with my stash of vintage trims and ribbons. I also tied a gorgeous old tatted hankie with the trims.

Easy, right?

So, ever since I returned from SNAP! my mind has been going and going and I was hoping to ask you some questions! For the most part, this is just my little creative journal and I blog about whatever I am working on at the time. But, I would LOVE to hear from you what you like to read the most.

Here are my questions for you:

What kinds of posts are your favorites?

(Ie. DIY, recipes, personal, seasonal decor, home decor, etc.)

What do you, or hope to, take away from reading my blog?

You can just leave your answers in the comments.

Thank you in advance!! You guys are the best!

P.S. I guest posted about my little easy party favor bags over at Creative Home Expressions. They are fun to make, so I hope you will go over for a visit!

Thanks again for answering my questions!!

GIVEAWAY, Blog Progressive Dinner, and Make the BEST Asparagus in Under 10 Minutes!

2013-04-08T14:02:00.001-07:00

This wonderful Progressive Dinner and Giveaway are sponsored by Land O Lakes®, Le Creuset, and Dreamfarm. The recipe and all opinions are my own.

This is a really big, fun post today! Not only am I sharing one of my favorite and most asked for recipes, but a bunch of other bloggers are sharing theirs as well in a great big Springtime Blog Progressive Dinner.... and at the end of this post there is also a GIVEAWAY valued at $650!!

For any of you visiting from some of the other blogs in the progressive dinner, Welcome! Aren't you so excited to get your hands on all of those gorgeous recipes? I know I am!

I am excited to share one of my very favorite {and easiest} recipes with you today. I have tweaked it and played with it over the years, and this is now our favorite asparagus. I get asked for the recipe all of the time whenever I make it for my friends and family and I always have to laugh because it is ridiculously quick and easy...

You will need:

1 lb. Asparagus, washed
1 Cup Water
1/2 to 1 Tbs. Land O Lakes Butter
(Tip: Land O Lakes now has Half Sticks which help to keep your butter fresher longer when using smaller amounts)
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese
A Handful of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

First, chop the woody bottoms off of your Asparagus.

Put asparagus in a pan wide enough to hold them without bending their heads. They can overlap each other if they need to. Add 1 cup of water and place on high heat on the stove.

Cook, covered, on high for 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness, until asparagus is tender, yet still nice and firm. Carefully shake your spears back and forth halfway through your cook time. You will have all kinds of steam whistling out of the lid. That's ok! When your Asparagus is finished cooking, discard remaining liquid. (you will be sauteing the asparagus a bit more in the next step, so in this step, err on the side of under cooking it so you don't end up with mushy asparagus)

Place butter, garlic salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan over your spears, and begin to saute them over medium high heat until butter is melted and the Parmesan begins to get gooey and lightly browned, but not burned. Some will crust on the pan and you can scrape it off. Trust me, that is the good stuff.

Remove from heat and place on a pretty plate. Sprinkle with a handful of shredded Parmesan.

Enjoy!

You can visit all of the other girls in this progressive dinner to snag their recipes here:
(doesn't this make you hungry!?)
And now.....

.....for the GIVEAWAY! One lucky winner will receive all of these prizes! A prize package valued at $650!

Land O Lakes:
MSRP: $150

One half stick butter dish
One serving bowl
One set measuring spoons
Four dinner plates
One Product Coupon

Le Creuset:
MSRP $349

The FABULOUS 5 Piece Cast Iron Set

Dreamfarm:
MSRP $148.65

Scizza
Teafu
Supoon
Smood
Gargect
9" clongs
Chopula

Just enter using the Rafflecopter widget below! Giveaway runs until 4/15 at 11:59 pm.

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation or product for participating in the Springtime Progressive Dinner Party. I love these brands and wanted to reward my readers with an amazing giveaway! Land O Lakes®, Le Creuset, and Dreamfarm all provided the prizes for the giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own.

Homemade Single-Serve Microwave Macaroni and Cheese in a Mug!

2013-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to share a couple of projects with you, but this week had kind of gotten away from me! Does that ever happen to you, too? Instead, I have one of my favorite recipes to share with you today~ Homemade Single-Serve Microwave Macaroni and Cheese. Not only is this creamy and delicious, but it is SO much healthier than the store bought kind! I love that I can give Ella mac & cheese without the chemicals from the boxed kind. And, yet it is just as quick and easy to make!

Several months ago, I had seen a couple of recipes for this and I tried all of them. I wasn't pleased with any of them, so I made up my own recipe. It is seriously SO creamy and good! And, trust me... it is super easy!

You will need:

A large mug or bowl (I use a big soup mug)

Whole grain elbow macaroni

Water

Cheddar-Jack Shredded Cheese

Splash of milk

**I have tried several different types of pasta/cheese combinations, and this my favorite by far. It is so creamy,yet the pasta is still nice and firm. Please note: if you use different ingredients, your results may be a bit different. For example, white pasta usually takes a little less time to cook. Just keep an eye on it, and you will be fine!**

In a microwave safe {big} mug or bowl (make sure it is a big one or it will boil over), put 1/3 cup whole grain elbow macaroni and 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup water (If you have a stronger microwave than mine, you may need more water... just play with it adding a couple extra Tbs at a time). Microwave for 6 minutes, stirring at 4 minutes, 2 minutes, and 1 minute.

(Microwave times may vary depending on the strength of your microwave. Mine is fairly average I think. You may want to check it at the 1 min interval to make sure it hasn't dried up if you have a stronger microwave~ stronger microwaves will need a bit more water)

The pasta should be cooked and there will be a tiny bit of thick pasta water in the bottom. Leave this water.

Add a heaping 1/3 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (pictured above). Return to the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to melt the cheese.

Stir well, adding a small splash of milk (maybe 2 teaspoons).

Enjoy!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for our Springtime Blog Progressive Dinner with all of our favorite spring recipes! There will also be a HUGE giveaway!

Choosing Exterior Paint Colors

2013-04-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. It was so beautiful outside for us that we spent a lot of time outdoors. We loved it!

I would like to thank those of you who have left comments on my Thoughts on Real Life Decorating blog post. They were so thoughtful. I am working on responding to them, so you should hear from me soon :).

The outside of our house needs to be painted. Badly.

But it is a huge commitment, and one that I have had some anxiety about. My fear is that I will pick a color and it will look one way on the swatch and look pink, or purple, or whatever on the wall! It is so hard to pick a good color and I have dragged my poor hubby all over town looking at homes. Yes, he is the BEST.

We decided that we wanted Slate Taupe color with a crisp white trim. 2 trips to the paint store and 12 sample pots later, and I was still not loving any of the colors. : ( Oh, and my house now has stripes of all of the different colors on both the front and side walls. Oops.

Did I mention my husband is the MOST patient person I know?

(That is my address blurred out in case you were wondering)

And after all of that, there was still nothing I was really excited about. Ugh. So, I hit the road again and went through a neighborhood I hadn't driven through yet. And, there it was... the perfect color!! A beautiful slate taupe-y color with a cream trim. I was SO excited!

Now this is another reason why Idaho is the best place in the world. I knocked on the door to ask what color it was and I met the sweetest woman! Not only did she get me the paint can in her garage, but she let me (a complete stranger) borrow it from her so I could go get it matched!

So, that is what I will be up to tomorrow and I am so excited to get the house painted now! Of course I will share pictures when it is all finished!

Out of curiosity, what is your favorite color combination for a home exterior?

Here are a few pics of our Easter.

I actually just put cereal and fishy crackers in the eggs, but she LOVED finding her little treats, and dumped them straight into her little mouth!

I hope you are having a great week so far!

Working in the Yard and Brainstorming

2013-03-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

With the beautiful weather we have had lately, I have spent much of my time working out in the yard. Ella wants nothing more than to be outside every minute of every day, and I have enjoyed starting to get the yard ready for the summer. We will be having the outside of the house painted next week, and then we will also be laying new sod in the backyard. Then I will be building my new garden boxes and starting to plant a few things including flowers and landscaping around the yard. We are moving my garden to the other side of the house where it will get better sunlight, so there will be quite a bit of work involved in the transition. But, I am happy for it. I really enjoy the excitement of spring.

We haven't really worked on the yard very much over the last several years except for basic maintenance and my little garden, so I am really excited to brainstorm what we will be adding this year! Here are a few things I have planned so far:

Hydrangeas

via

Peonies {Of course! My very favorite}

I found big packages of the bulb starts at Costco! Score!

Boxwood

Lavendar

Roses

and, of course my lilacs.

via

Can't you just smell them already?

Oh how I love spring.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I will be back next week with some fun projects :)

Thoughts {from my heart} on Real-Life Decorating

2013-03-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have some thoughts from my heart to share with you today about our homes and decorating.

Sometimes I think we are our worst critics. Especially when our circumstances, resources, time, talents, or other things seem to keep us from doing all of the things that we want to, or feel like we should, be doing with our homes. Sometimes it is so easy to be so hard on ourselves when we don't live up to all of our personal expectations, as unrealistic as they may be.

After sharing my home tour over at City Farmhouse, which I re-shared here yesterday, that annoying little voice of self doubt crept its way into my mind. I kept thinking that I wish I had more things crossed off of my to-do list. I wished more of my projects and rooms were finished. I wished that my home looked more "perfect." It was such an honor to be asked to share my home for her Style House of the month, and Jen was so sweet and kept saying how wonderful everything looked. But inside, I just felt a little inadequate compared to all of the amazing homes out there.

Am I the only one that does this to myself?

I thought and thought and thought about it. I felt so nervous. I felt so disappointed. I felt like I failed.

And then I stopped.

I made myself stop.

I stopped telling myself that I wasn't good enough. I stopped comparing myself and my home to others. I stopped being critical of all of my works in progress. Most importantly I made the CHOICE to stop.

In an age of the "gotta have it right here, right now" attitude, only perpetuated by the never-ending loveliness of Pinterest, it is sooooo incredibly important to resist that voice with everything we have. It is a choice to resist it.

Yes, my brain is always moving and I always have projects on my to-do list, but I can't, and don't, expect it to all be done by tomorrow. My family is always my top priority, and I decorate as my time and budget allows. I get comments and emails all of the time along these lines, and I just want to reach out with a big hug to say, "No one is perfect! Not one of us has a perfect home or perfect life!" We all put one foot in front of the other and do the best we can.

Here's the thing. My philosophy is that a home should feel collected instead of decorated. I don't want my home to look like a showroom. I want it to have far more character than that. And that will take me years to build.

More than anything, I think it is so easy to get caught up with the way we want our homes to look, that we forget to be thankful for what we do have.

I am thankful for my millions of works in progress. I am thankful for the talents and abilities that I have been blessed with. I am thankful that I have the best, most kind and hard working husband in the world who supports me in everything I do. I am thankful that I get to stay home with my baby, and that I get to tickle her little toes and giggle with her at the doggy. I am thankful for a warm home that shelters my little family. I am thankful for the ability I have to love and care for others.

I need to remember to replace each thought of self doubt, or dissatisfaction, with a thought of gratitude.

So, why are we so hard on ourselves anyway?

Let's stop today. Let's stop being so hard on ourselves. Let's stop comparing ourselves and our homes to others. Let's stop feeling what we have and what we do is inadequate. Not one of us lives a perfect life with perfect circumstances, and we all do the best we can. Let's give ourselves a break.

Let's make the choice to stop. And let's help each other to stop.

I have never met a more supportive or kind group of people than I have in my blogging journey. I am truly thankful for you and for the ways you help me to stop and be grateful.

xoxo

Our Home Tour {updated}

2013-03-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I shared my Valentine home tour over at City Farmhouse and I never really shared it here. I changed a few of the pictures to show the house without the Valentine decor, but I can see that I need to work on taking even more updated pictures.

Anyhow, here is most of what I shared:

I LOVE to decorate, repurpose, DIY, and create! I am a stay-at-home mommy to one beautiful little girl and am blessed to have a wonderful and hard working husband who always encourages me to soar. Welcome to our home.

My hubby purchased our home before we were married, 7 years ago. Actually he purchased it before he even met me! I think he did a pretty great job, and I feel very blessed that we have had such a warm and comfortable home to live in. As the years go by, we are slowly making it more and more ours. We hope to eventually build a home that we design... someday :).

One of my favorite things in our home is the tall ceilings and lots of light. This allows me to have this huge chalkboard in our entryway and I use any excuse to doodle on it!

Our living room, dining room, and kitchen are all open to each other in one big area.

Yes, I have kept this plant alive for a year and a half!!

I have since added these curtains new lamp. I will probably change out that shade for a linen one. I am trying to refine this room little by little to make it what I want to be.

In our dining room, I also currently have another chalkboard all decorated for spring. I am so inspired by vintage charm.

Here was the dining room before I changed it. I really need to get some more updated pics. I will work on it!

My Craft room is the place I keep all of my current projects, craft supplies, etc. I dressed up my dress form for Christmas and I liked it so much that I never changed her. Now this room is getting totally ripped up as we are turning it into a guest room. Our current guest room will now be Ella's room. I am excited to share the pictures as I go!

This chair pretty much says so much about my life and about our home. Certainly not perfect, beautiful in its own way, and a complete work in progress. And, you know what, I kind of love it.

The desk is one that I painted and used all through college. {I have been a thrifter/DIYer for as long as I can remember} We are now moving this desk into our office/den where it will be getting a makeover as well.

I have big plans for our kitchen and look forward to painting these cabinets someday! (See... lots of works in progress)

I have a jar of vintage Jello molds and cookie cutters on my counter I love having them so easily accessible.

I have been collecting the bedding from Pottery Barn and Antique stores for our master bedroom for about a year now, and I am still working on a big fluffy duvet cover as well. I wanted all white bedding and I LOVE it! I may, or may not have plans for refinishing our bedroom furniture ;).

For the past couple of months, I have been working on our bonus room/family room, and this is what I came up with. All of that storage is for our little Ella's toys. What you see here is only half of the massive room. The other half (if you were to look behind where I am standing here) is a play area that I am working on. So, it is nice to have all of the storage facing her little play area.

And here is her little vintage play area:

Well, that is what I have so far. As you can see, I have lots on my to-do list. I hope you will come back tomorrow as a share a few thoughts from my heart on decorating and real life.

Pinterest Feature Friday!

2013-03-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to get to be the one to pick this week's pinner for Pinterest Feature Friday! I love Pinterest. It is so fun to get on and dream and plan for things. If I need a recipe, I go to Pinterest. If I have a question about how to kill bugs, I go to Pinterest. If I am brainstorming for parties of my next big room redesign, I go to Pinterest! I love it so much, in fact, that I have many (alphabetized!) boards! I like to think of it as my very own, carefully curated, encyclopedia that I can reference whenever I need. And, I do often!

So, as you can imagine I was excited for the opportunity to go through and find a pinner to feature. There were so many great boards that it took me a while to pick just one. But, I was sure hooked the second I looked through Tanya's boards!

Tanya Blogs over at twelve0eight where she shares lots of handmade, DIY gorgeousness. She has 77 Pinterest boards filled to the brim with over 10,000 pins, with a big variety of fun and beautiful things to look at. She is a girl after my own heart with her love for vintage, DIY, and thrifting!

I love her Home Decorating Inspiration board in all of its vintage chic fabulousness:

Her Fabric Hoarders Unite board is absolutely luscious:

I have been completely preoccupied with trying to get my yard in order now that my little one wants to be outside ALL the time. So, I loved seeing all of the fun ideas here on her Garden board:

I am so happy that spring is here and that Pinterest is inundated with the fun colors and spring project ideas. Tanya's board, Spring Inspiration, just makes me smile.

I thought this pin from here was just gorgeous, not to mention functional. Wrapping paper is so pretty; why not use it as functional decor?

I also loved this pin of a cafe curtain from City Farmhouse:

And I love these chair covers:

Thank you for letting me share my new favorite pinner with you today! I hope you will go and check out her Pinterest boards and blog. If you would like to, you can follow my Pinterest boards as well!

I hope you have a lovely weekend everyone!

New Curtains for the Living Room and a Curtain Rod Revamp

2013-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was at Home Fabrics looking for something to reupholster a couple of chairs for the office. I didn't find what I was wanting, but I did run into this great thick cotton fabric in the clearance bin. It is a beautiful light brown color. Sorry for the overcast day pictures, but in real life the fabric is a bit richer. I really love the color. It is rich enough to be substantial, but light enough to not overpower the beautiful windows. It almost has a linen look. And, the best part is that it was only $1.50 per yard!

I purchased this curtain rod on clearance a few years ago with the intent to use it in the office, but that hasn't happened. So, I decided to put it up in the living room for now. I have never really cared for the style of the rod, but I knew I could paint it and have it work just fine with my decor. I needed the 120 length rod for these big windows, and I think I got it for a steal at $15. Eventually I would like to hang wooden rods in here as well as the dining room windows, but this will be perfect for now

I just used a couple of coats of regular old black craft paint to cover the bronze color,

and it ended up looking like this:

I also purchased this lamp at TJMaxx the other day on clearance for only $37! It is a chunky beautiful cream painted wood lamp. I LOVE it. I haven't decided if I will use it in here or in the office. The original plan was to change out the shade for a linen one, but I kind of like the contrast of the black. I will just have to live with it for a while to see.

In the background you can see a sneak peak of a chalkboard drawing that I will be featuring on a major website soon. I will definitely share a link when it goes live!

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

A Family Heirloom

2013-03-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

When I was little, my grandparents gave this little house to my parents to give to me someday. My mom gave it to me yesterday, and I was so excited to receive it.

On the inside, my grandma wrote a note for me.

As you can see there is a LOT of dust in there from over the years. Also, there are pieces of the bushes that were originally on the outside. It isn't in perfect condition, but I still love it. I feel so special to have a family heirloom of my very own.

I need to try to get some of the dust off with a Q-tip or something. I don't want to hurt the paint at all. Any suggestions?

I love the detail of the climbing flowers on the front. What a perfect little house.

I stole this quilt top from my mom while I was at it. :) Thanks mom!

I think I may put it in Ella's room.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

My Soft & Yummy Sugar Cookie Recipe

2013-03-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot that I wanted to share this sugar cookie recipe with you. I made these cookies a few weeks ago when I did the post for Brave Girls Club. This is a recipe that I have made a lot and it always makes the yummiest, softest cookies.

Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1 tbls. milk

2 tsp. real vanilla

2 cups white flour

In your mixer, mix together butter, sugar, and baking powder until well combined. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time.

I usually throw my dough in the freezer for a few minutes to help it set up before I roll it out. I know that most people refrigerate it, but I am far too impatient for that!

Roll dough out on a floured surface, cut with your favorite cookie cutters, and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

As you can see, my cookies are never perfect. That's ok. They taste great!

Bake at 375 for 7 minutes. If you like a harder cookie, bake for a minute or so longer. I love my cookies nice and soft so I usually watch them pretty carefully to make sure I don't overcook them.

Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting, and enjoy!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Chalkboard with Free Template and Printable

2013-03-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I am so excited to share the latest chalkboard collaboration with you! Kristin, Simply Klassic, and I worked together to bring you these fun freebies!

She designed this adorable template and I drew it on my chalkboard.

She is such a talented designer and it was a lot of fun to draw. You can draw one on your own chalkboard using the Chalkboard Drawing Tutorial~ click HERE~ with the template that you can download by clicking HERE.

Or, if you don't want to draw one, you can just print and frame the free printable! Head on over to Simply Klassic and download the free printable HERE!

One of the best things about the early spring is the tulips. They are so happy and joyful. They look like the way I feel inside when the sun starts shining. I love how they look next to the chalkboard.

The sun streaming in these windows was so luscious too. I could just soak it all in... for hours.

Except this little one, with her crazy hair and and beautiful smile, was even more fun to play with! So we went outside and played with her doggie out in the gorgeous sunshine.

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

: )

I love Numbered Things! {and a list of my favorite number fonts with links!}

2013-03-11T02:44:00.002-07:00

I had something else planned for you today, but I had a few technical difficulties. So, instead, I thought I would share another fun font post. You know how I LOVE fonts and typography! This time I wanted to share a few of the fonts I use when I need to add numbers to my projects. Numbers add such a nice touch to projects. Just look at these:

via City Farmhouse

{One of the very best blogs!}

via Rambling Rennovators

via

via Home By Heidi

{another fave!}

Aren't they all fabulous!?

Well, here are my top 16 favorite free number fonts:

1. Tagettes {here}

2. Ecuyer DAX{here}

3. Combustion {here}

4. Before the Rain {here}

5. Kaligraf Latin {here}

6. Foglihten No.01{here}

7. USSR Army {here}

8. Janda As Long As You Love Me {here}

9. Wisdom Script {here}

10. Marcelle {here}

11. Dead Hardy {here}

12. FFF Tusj {here}

13. Civilian {here}

14. Champagne {here}

15. AFL Font Pespaye Nonmetric {here}

To see my other font posts, click here.

Please abide by each font's terms of use.

Thanks for reading!

My Top 10 Favorite Free Vintage Easter Graphics

2013-03-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love free vintage printable graphics!? The decorating and crafting possibilities with these beauties are endless!

I have put together links to a few of my very favorite free downloadable Easter graphics for you. Each link will take you to a page where the image can download. If there is not download button, all you have to do in most cases is click on the image to enlarge, right click on the image, copy and paste it into your document!

1. Vintage Peter Rabbit Printable {Here}

2. Vintage Bird Eggs {Here}

3. Vintage Peter Rabbit Printable {Here}

4. Butterfly Printable {Here}

5, The Original Velveteen Rabbit {Here}

6. Sweet Lamb {Here}

7. Bird Eggs {Here}

8. Vintage French Print of Rabbits {Here}

9. Best Easter Wishes {Here}

10. Sweet Bird with Nest in Envelope {Here}

If you have any other favorites, please leave the link in the comments! I would LOVE to check them out and pin them on Pinterest {Here}!

A Repurposed Vintage Play Area~ Details, Tips, Tricks, Paint Colors

2013-03-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun collecting all of the pieces for this little vintage play area for Ella. I thought I would share each of the before and after pictures with you, as well as my tips, resources, color choices, etc.

I picked up the big wood piece at the local ReStore. I am not sure what it was. Maybe it was some kind of cabinet door or something? It is so huge that I am not sure. Anyhow, I painted the trim with my favorite creamy white chalk paint {recipe and color code here} and then painted the inside piece with chalkboard paint. To see my tips for homemade chalkboards, click {here}.

Chalkboard before and after:

This little play kitchenette was something I picked up at the thrift store. I removed the pot rack and the hooks because I knew I wanted to hang the peg board above. After Granny passed away last year {here}, I pulled the peg board out of her garage to keep and use for Ella's play space. All I did was freshen up the painted part a bit. I liked the wood of the pegs, so I just left it as is.

Here are the before and after pictures for the little kitchenette:

The kitchenette is laminate, so I primed it with a Rustoleum plastic primer spray paint. Then, I used 2 coats of my new favorite red spray paint (after I taped off the things I didn't want to be red)~ Satin Red Heritage Spray from Rustoleum. I got it at Lowes. Love, Love, Love the color! And I am super picky about my reds! {Tip: I always use the comfort grip spray paint tool by Rustoleum~ also available at Lowes. It makes your spray paint have the most even coverage}

Here it is in the store if you are looking for it...

and here is another shot of the finished piece:

This table was also another thrift store find. It had been well loved by its previous owner, and although sturdy, it was covered in paint and crayon marks. I decided to freshen it up a bit. First, I sanded the top of it down with a rough 32 grit sandpaper, followed by a finer 120 grit sandpaper. Then I rubbed the top of it with the Walnut stain by Minwax, and two coats of Jacobean (LOVE this color!!) stain by Minwax. I picked up both of the stains at the Home Depot. I wish I had gotten a shot of it without the table runner because the whole top is just so gorgeous and vintage looking.

I painted the base with the chalk paint and covered the whole thing with a coat of minwax wax. I love the patina it ended up with! I sprayed the chairs with my favorite creamy white spray paint that almost perfectly matches my chalk paint. It is called Heirloom white by Rustoleum and I have only found it available at Home Depot.

I spiffed up the whole area with these vintage red striped linen towels I purchased off of ebay. I think I may need to find more of them because they are just so pretty. I have a project I will be sharing soon using these gorgeous towels.

The hutch was, yet again, another thrift store find. I forgot to take a before picture until I had already started painting it, so I ended up getting one midway through the first coat. You get the idea. It was a bright blue and I covered it with 3 coats of my chalk paint.

Here is the before and after:

I filled it with my vintage red enamelware collection. I have been collecting this enamelware for about 10 years now. I just put the smaller pieces in here for my little sweetie pie to play with.

Here is another before picture (cell phone pic) of all of the pieces:

and the after:

I got the light fixture recently at a thrift store, and cut off all of the dangerous parts, then used a ribbon and a screw to attach it to the ceiling.

Of course Ella needed a cradle for her babies. She loves to put her babies and her Minnie Mouse in there to go "naw-night." It was already this color when I bought it at a thrift store, so I just freshened it up with my chalk paint. The adorable handmade vintage baby quilt was a gift from my mom, her "nonna," and she uses it to snuggle her babies.

I added several of these hand-embroidered touches into her play area. First, here with her dolly quilt. Then also with this sweet pillow I found at a thrift store. It was the perfect size to fit in her little vintage wicker rocking chair that I also found at a thrift store. {I am starting to sound like a broken record... :) Lets just say I am a veeeeeeeery lucky thrifter... knock on wood}

I also added these hand stitched napkins to her table. Yes, from a thrift store.

When I found this ironing board at a thrift store, it was already this color and in really great condition. I just cleaned it up, sanitized it, and it was perfect.

After everything was painted, it was so fun to put it all together. Ella loves to play up here in her little area. And, I will be honest, I like to play in here too. :)

Adding wood planks to these walls is still on my to-do list, and I think it will just be the perfect touch to this area!

To see the rest of this Family/Bonus/Playroom redecorating, tutorials, and furniture transformations click {here}.

Thanks for reading!

linking up at Stone Gable, French Country Cottage,

The Craftberry Bush, and Miss Mustard Seed,
and Clean and Scentsible