Food, Faith & Design

In full bloom...the biggest Blossom St. change

2019-09-09T18:49:00.000-04:00

I'm giddy with excitement to share this reveal to you. Primarily because it made such a big difference. In older homes you can often find lots of rooms. A dining room, living room, small kitchen, maybe a den...they all are their own room with just small doors leading from one to the other but certainly not the open living plan we've come to love and desire. Life is just different now than it was 50-60+ years ago and the smaller rooms just aren't as functional all the time.

Enter the removal of walls. But before I show you that, let me show you the living room, which we kept in tact since it's a great space to visit, watch tv, etc.

It really only took some cosmetic changes for the most part. Change out the fan, can lights, paint and of course new furniture. Let's go back and remember the before...

And now with neutral furniture, retro accents mixed with traditional and of course a pop of color on the wall...

And from a different angle...

There's also now an area for the TV (you'll have to use your imagination because one's not installed yet) and an extra chair in the other corner.

Since this is an Airbnb, I try to add little touches with the art or in this case, a book and the art.

And now the most dramatic change in my opinion...

Yep, we took out several walls in the dining room/kitchen area and it made all the difference. Let's explore that area a bit more.

Before the dining room was functional but the kitchen was tiny with weird little nooks.

With not only that wall facing us down, but also the adjacent wall, it makes it a great entertaining space. And it's so light and airy!

I opted to paint the bench seat the same color as the ceiling to help tie in all the gray from top to bottom. Plus if someone spills, it won't really show as much compared to a white. The wear and tear should be much better. You'll also notice that the art captures the colors from the living room rug. Again, another way to tie it all together.

I mean don't you just want to sit here and have a cup of coffee or sit around with a table of friends eating dinner? Now's probably the time to bring up the pink chairs you've undoubtedly noticed at this point. The table and chairs were from a Facebook post and were only $260. But the chairs were horribly country looking. That's certainly not the style of this house. So I spray painted them in Watermelon (gloss) and then used some old brown paint to age them. The went from country to funky. I had my doubts when I moved them in but as soon as the pillows and art went up, they were perfect.

I also love that there's a fireplace in the dining room. A great spot for another of the dog prints and some fun accessories. I had the brick painted the wall color in this room so it faded and gave texture but didn't stand out completely.

And let's move to the kitchen. Before it had a weird breakfast nook (I think that's what it was?), a small kitchen and a small pantry.

Breakfast Nook

Kitchen from Breakfast Nook

The wall we removed leading to DR

And now the kitchen has so much more usable space...and of course a black sink. I'm now known for always installing the same black sink or something very similar. Oh, and the most awesome, functional island.

There are also little touches like a bar area and plenty of prep space.

I just love everything about the space now. The neutral walls. The openness. The bright pops of color in the art. And what you can't see are all the fine details. The lights, the gray ceilings, how the colors flow from room to room. I might want to rethink my own house after this project!

I mean, who doesn't want to come hang out here? To rent this space, check out the link here. Invite your friends! And if anyone wants to know details or sources, just message me. Now go paint something a bright color.

Resting peacefully at Blossom

2019-09-06T13:56:00.000-04:00

As I revealed earlier this week, the bathrooms at Blossom St. were a complete gut job. But they were a fun one. There's nothing more satisfying than ripping out old, worn out bathroom fixtures and seeing them back together in a classic, clean way.

So today let's take a look at the bedrooms. Some say there are three. Some say there are 4. It really depends on if you count what I call "the nook" a bedroom or not.

For the most part, the bedrooms were cosmetic updates. Ripping out old carpet, ceiling fans, door knobs, new paint...that sort of thing. The back den turned bedroom was the most transformed in that it not only needed the cosmetic work but it also needed a ceiling scrape to get rid of the popcorn and it needed new flooring. Here's what it looked like originally...

One word. Dark. This type of room is very typical in this style and type of house. In so many older homes they have a paneled den. Now if you have the money, you can take out the paneling and put in dry wall. In this case, and even in our house, we opted to paint over it instead.

And let's not forget this room had lovely boob lights. <insert groaning>

And now, this room feels light and airy with plenty of room!

The love seat pictured above pulls out to a single bed. This room is PERFECT for a family with a child or even three friends. It houses a queen bed plus the pull out sofa. Not to mention it has large closets for plenty of storage. Did you notice the coral side tables? Those are your traditional 80's round side tables that usually are in a pecan wood color. A quick spray paint and they add the right pop of color by the bed. And they were less than $40 each.

You'll start to notice a theme in the bedrooms...see if you can find it as we go along.

On to the next bedroom, which houses the only king size bed and also the only fireplace. I'm assuming this was once the master bedroom as it also has a door leading to the bathroom.

Before, it was not bad, just not great colors. This was really a good example of how basic cosmetic changes can make a big difference.

And now, it has so much more character and a light, happy feeling.

I really want to wake up in that bed.

So have you seen a theme yet? I mean aside from the fact I used the same paint colors (SW Elder White on the walls and SW Repose Gray on the ceilings).

Here's a hint.

All the rooms in the house will have a cute and colorful dog print. This Airbnb is dog friendly so when I found these prints at multiple stores (Tuesday Morning & Home Goods), I thought it would add a fun whimsy to the house but also give it more color. This one is my absolute fave.

The last bedroom or two bedrooms, depending on how you look at it, is the most traditional. One had carpet with lovely hardwoods underneath and then the nook was just plain jane.

You can see the nook that's sandwiched between the bedroom and the small bathroom.

The nook was literally a blank slate.

And now, this room(s) seems to be getting the best feedback! I think it's the art and rug combo. Despite not being sure if this would all come together, they all play together really well. If only my boys would do the same some days.

The nook is now a cute little room with a single bed. I always wonder what these rooms were used for originally. A sewing room? A nursery? An office?

The interesting part about both of these rooms is that aside from the queen bed, the rest of the furniture is all second hand from Facebook and consignment. Really! It just goes to show that you don't have to go new to be cute.

So there you have the bedrooms. I shopped for all of these with a few things in mind...

1. Bright rugs with neutral walls
2. Every room has white and gray bedding
3. Dog prints and bright artwork to keep it happy
4. Make them peaceful.

It's always iffy when you buy the furniture months in advance and aren't 100% sure it will fit in the room or even really coordinate. Then when it finally all comes together, it's so rewarding!

So which is your favorite room?

The scary and fun part of a remodel

2019-09-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

It's no secret to many that I'm not a fan of a "new build" typically. A custom build, maybe. But I usually opt for older homes. So of course that means I love walking in to homes and seeing the potential. The area we live in has many houses built in 1950's or 1960's and it goes without saying that they often need some work. I hear all the time from people "I can't handle a remodel. I'm not cut out for construction." And this is why...

This is a picture of what the floors at Blossom looked like when demo finished. Because of the original flooring, the subfloor also had to be demo'd.

Then there were the walls.

This is about the point where most people bail out. The chaos. The dirt. The ugly. It can be a lot if you're not focused on what it WILL be. I walk in and get excited.

Charlie tagged along one day and told me it looked like a house from the 1700's. 🤭 Here's a peek of a bathroom during demo, well minus the toilet that was out later that day. You could literally see down to the basement in 1/3 of the house.

Pretty scary if you're a homeowner. Or a kid. Or anyone who hates construction.

But let's talk about the end product...that bathroom above? Now looks like this.

And this...(there's a shower behind that open door but since the bathroom is small, it's too hard to photograph for this amateur photographer).

The other main bathroom went through quite the transformation as well. It first started like this. Blue and green wallpaper with a green and white floor. The shelf and vanity were installed beside the pedestal sink so it was very choppy.

And now, with just a little vision...

In truth, this bathroom was renovated with box store items. Yep. Vanity, lights, towel bars, etc. are all from Lowes and mostly in-stock items. You don't have to do tile or high-end finishes if your budget won't allow. You can still get a very nice look with other options.

We replaced the floor with basic LVP in a barn wood style. It's waterproof and easy to install (which translates to less labor and thus less $$). The shower (not pictured closely) is a simple insert vs. tile to save more money. Also a simple fix for rough plaster walls - bead board. Some say it's not "in style" but in certain rooms, it can really add a touch of texture and provide another visual element without breaking the bank.

A long vanity with a large mirror was all this bathroom needed to be more functional. Of course I added some fun elements in the art to make it feel more cozy...

What's hard to see is that the paint, the simple decorative touches, new lighting - all those details helped pull both bathrooms back to life.

So while the in-between can be scary, the finished product is so rewarding! Stay tuned for reveals this week on the rest of the spaces. You're going to see some pretty amazing changes!

A new project is Blossoming!

2019-07-24T15:54:00.000-04:00

Well folks, I've taken on a new project. This time it's not in my own house (although there are plenty of those going on currently as well). I've had the privilege of being asked to remodel a home in our Five Points area to become an Airbnb, affectionally known as the Blossom St. house. If you recall, I did the same type of project last fall in a similar area of town.

I thought I'd swing in and show you the before pictures so you can appreciate when I show you the after pics in several weeks.

Shall we start the tour?

The Living room - it's pretty dark at the moment but thankfully it doesn't require much work. This will simply get a coat of paint, new blinds, and a new light fixture. The house has beautiful high ceilings that I plan on accenting in the design plan.

From this door, you walk in to the Dining Room...

This room will get a new light fixture, paint, blinds and I'll probably clean up the dead bugs on the bench.

From here let's try to step our way in to the kitchen nook...kitchen...pantry...well all of the above but it takes several turns through a variety of random doors. You first walk in to this tiny little nook before you take a louey to enter the actual kitchen.

This above picture is from the other side of the kitchen standing in the door that leads to the laundry area (laundry area pictured below). There's also a little pantry in the other corner. A little hint: that wall is no longer. Nor is the one to the left. Did anyone say island?

Next up, the back room. This looks to have been used as a den. Originally it was a porch, I'm guessing. It's dark. Like really dark. And it has stinky old carpet and a popcorn ceiling.

This room will get a new coat of light paint, scrape and smooth the ceiling, add an overhead fan and light and new flooring.

And we'll get rid of this boob light. I can't stand a boob light!

Next let's take a tour of the bedrooms...my favorite is the master bedroom at the front of the house. It's light, airy and has the cutest fireplace. This room will get new paint, new blinds and a new light fixture.

Then there's the next bedroom which is just across the hall. It will get that icky carpet ripped out and we'll use the pretty hardwoods underneath. Plus a new coat of paint and new blinds.

From that bedroom you can see that it goes in to another little room that I like to call the Nook. I am not exactly sure what this would have been used for originally. A nursery? A play room? An office? It's sandwiched between the second bedroom and a tiny bathroom. It's technically a bedroom since it does have a small closet in the room. I'll be putting a twin bed in this room so someone can have their own space if they want.

There are two bathrooms - the first picture is of the one that's off the Nook and also off the laundry area. Yep, it's a little odd but hey, it's still useful.

It's getting a gut job. There's a shower behind the door, which was just too hard to capture in a photo.

The other bathroom is between bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 and is much more spacious. Sadly, it's not in great condition so it's also getting a gut job. And it's weird. Blue, green, random cabinetry...just weird.

So there's the 10 cent tour! I walk in to houses like this and see so much character. Literally my brain starts to explode with ideas. So much so that I have to go back and digest them all to put together a comprehensive plan. But that's the part that's so fun.

The design plan is done. Construction is well underway. It's going to be a mix of traditional and modern looks using both bright, unexpected colors and more muted gray tones. I can't wait to show it to you!

Ok, gotta go - I got a lot of plates spinning in the air at the moment!

I jumped on the Marie Kondo Tidying Up bandwagon.

2019-02-04T16:44:00.000-05:00

I admit, I heard rumor about this Netflix show on cleaning up or tidying up or something up and thought "I should see what all the fuss is about." But then there just seemed to be other things to watch and I never revisited it. Then my cousin texted "Have you seen Tidying Up yet!?" Nope. It wasn't until she said "she has a way of folding that will change your life!"

That little nugget was all I needed to look in to the show. Secretly I was already working up the motivation to clean out my closet. It was overflowing with old clothes, too many shoes (ok wait...that's not really possible. Maybe I should say too many shoes I don't wear and need to make room for new shoes I will!)

You get the picture.

So here we go - my Tidying Up experience.

I did NOT...

Greet my house.
Thank my items as I tossed them.
Empty my entire closet and drawers at one time. I would have just quit at that point. And we would have had to sleep on the floor.

However I DID...

Hold each piece/item and ask if it brought me joy. That really seems to work!
Organize by category. So that's why I did #3 instead of everything at one time.
Emptied my shelves first and dealt with those. Then moved to hanging clothes then to my drawers. It was definitely a multi-day, multi-week process.
Move on to other closets once mine was done.

This is what I started with...a hot mess.

And because I hate putting up clothes because I have to force and shove them in my closet or drawers, I end up with this often times.

And I also had to store my scarves behind the bathroom door, which was bulky and a mess.

So once I decided to embark on this journey...because believe me, it was a journey and not one to be done when you only have a few hours...I went over to Bed, Bath & Beyond to see what might be useful. I knew I needed a new over the door shoe holder and a new shoe rack for the floor. Then it was time to get to work.

And now...

Do you hear the angels singing!? Do you see those empty hangers!? That means not only do I have extra hangers but I also have SPACE. It's glorious. And this new shoe rack for over the door holds shoes so much better...

I organized by color and style so that my wedges are in the floor rack, athletic shoes and boots on the left side of my floor and then everything else is in this shoe holder. So much easier to find my shoes! (don't judge the volume. I have issues.)

The shelves are also much better. I now have everything coordinated so it's easily seen and quick to grab...

Those clear containers holding my clutches are the other storage items I bought at BB&B.

Take a look at my fabulously organized jeans. Thanks to the new folding method, I can now fit all my jeans in these recycled china boxes.

Once my closet was complete, it was time to start my drawers. I had several bedside table drawers, 3 drawers from the tall dresser and 2 from the long dresser. Not to mention the scarves and a plethora of misc. in a basket behind the bathroom door.

All done!

And all those scarves? Turns out when you clean out, you have an extra drawer that they can fit in.

I got rid of bags and bags and bags of old clothes. Some went to donation, some went to consignment and a lot went to trash.

I can't tell you how much nicer it is to get dressed now. I can easily find everything - I feel more inspired by my clothes (maybe because I can find them now) - and I know what extra toiletries I have (apparently I'm set for deodorant in 2019!)

I've since moved on to a few other closets and have just two left. If you take nothing away but how to fold better, it's worth it! I feel so much more put together now.

Now remind me of this when we have to tackle the attic this spring. I'm sure tears will be "springing" when that starts!

Reflections of 2018

2019-01-03T20:05:00.001-05:00

Over the past week I've been very reflective. So much so that I had good intentions of writing this post on Monday but wasn't ready quite yet. I've been thinking about 2018. How I thought it would look. How I expected it to be. And how completely different it ended up becoming.

But boy was it wonderful. Despite the many ups and downs, I can't help but look back on 2018 and be ever so grateful that God blessed us. He comforted us...grew us...and just loved on us.

I started thinking of early January 2018. I was working crazy hours, traveling 50-60% and under a tremendous amount of stress at work. However, we had also just spent our first Christmas at home. While we missed seeing my parents and extended family on Christmas, we had a lovely, quiet Christmas with just our little family and Carmen.

Fast forward just two weeks in to January 2018 and we were knocked down with the sudden death of my mother-in-law. I don't think you can ever really fully prepare for a death of a loved one. A sudden one is even more shocking. How special it was that we were able to spend a quite Christmas with her.

Through the shock, Daniel and I were reminded just how loved she was. And not only that, how loved we are. Friends brought food. Friends took our kids so we could take a breath. My parents dropped everything and were there in just 8 hours (and they live over 5 hours away!). Friends prayed for us. There were even special ones that came and participated in her funeral or preached for Daniel the next Sunday. It still feels a bit surreal that she's gone. While we miss her dearly, we celebrate her homecoming and the love poured out from it.

Move to February and March where Daniel and I both have job changes. Daniel left an industry he's known for 20 years, fitness. I also changed clients (long story that won't be aired here) and stopped traveling. While it took me a good 6 months to decompress from the work stress, it was a blessing these changes occurred. Carmen played a key role in my ability to travel without feeling completely like a horrible mom.

In April, Daniel achieved something very dear to both of us. He graduated with his Master's in Divinity. This not only was a huge accomplishment, but one accomplished over years and years of hard work. I was every so proud to watch him walk across the stage!

And what was even more fun was surprising him with a gift he never suspected. It's now affectionately known as "The Blueberry" around here.

What was also very unexpected this year were the fun trips, either with friends or as a family or double bonus - both. There are summer trips we always try to take with my parents - a trip to the Mountains of NC, Pirate Invasion weekend in Beaufort, NC and our annual Raleigh visit for a NC State football game. Those we all made again this year and are cherished traditions we have with the kids that I know builds lifetime memories.

But I feel like the Lord knew we needed some extra family time this year and blessed us with a few more adventures. I got to take the kids to my parents (they were away on a trip of their own) and have one of my besties join us with her family during the Big Rock fishing tournament (mackerel fishing).

Since we started families, we haven't had a trip together! So this was really fun to experience.

And perhaps the biggest surprise and adventure this year was our surprise (to the kids) trip to Disney.

I can't help but believe that God knew we needed a little extra fun this year. It's reminded me that life is so short and that we need to live in the present. But even more so, it's not just about the "gotta do's".

While I don't make resolutions, I am committed to creating even more fun memories for our family this year. It doesn't have to be fancy to be a fun memory. It can be as simple as saying "yes" when they want to help cook dinner or playing a board game or often in our case, play football in the front yard. But I also want to remember to take new adventures that create fun memories. I'm already thinking what that could look like for us this year.

So while we are still unsure what our future holds, we are excitedly awaiting to see what God brings us in 2019 for Schrallville. We know that His plan is perfect for us and we can't wait to see what it is!

2018 Christmas Schrallville Tour

2018-12-17T11:40:00.001-05:00

Y'all. I can't even. My parents are coming for Christmas this year! Last year was the first year that we stayed home. It was the first time I have ever not been with my extended family for Christmas at my grandmother's old house. But with Daniel needing to be around at the church, it just is too hectic to try and go back and forth with two kids. It was bittersweet for sure. But unfortunately, as families expand and life changes, so must traditions.

(extended family - if you're reading this, I'll be reaching out in 2019 for a Rothrock Family Reunion!)

OK, back to the tour...let's start with the crazy outside shall we?

O Christmas Tree, O Inflatables? For a long time I complained about having inflatables because I thought they were so tacky. I had visions of pretty, elegant outside décor. Then one day I just gave up. The funny thing is...these are not for our kids. They could care less. They are for my big kid (i.e. my husband) and for all the neighborhood kids. Our house is on the school route so many of those who go to the elementary school come down our street in the mornings. We hear often that they love all the festive décor. There's even a friendly little competition with a friend as to who can have the coolest inflatables.

At night the shrubs at the front of the house and the three dogwood trees have white lights. We are at nine inflatables and counting...

Let's head on in through the front door!

I always try to make the front entry festive. I have a pretty Merry Christmas rug, a table decorated and some greenery over the pictures.

I'm pretty proud that the ornament wreath I made years ago is still going strong.

This year, instead of shoving the tree in with the already packed living room, I removed some furniture and have it stored at a friend's house. Thank heavens for friends with extra storage space!

It's important to me to have cozy living spaces. That means it has to be pretty, functional, and include pillows, blankets, and color.

Say hi puppies. They also find the living room cozy in their bed that takes up half the floor space. They especially like it when the gas logs are turned on. They even have their own stockings hung on an armoire. The stockings are hung high so that when they are filled on Christmas Eve, they won't be taken down in 2.5 seconds like they were last year. (uh hmm...I'm talking to you Bowman!)

Each table top in our house has a little something Merry on it. (oh and I can see my decorating friends cringing that I didn't bother to fix my pillows prior to taking this picture!)

And I'm excited to add 2 new stockings to the mantle this year - Nana and Pop-E!

In the dining room I opted for a low tablescape so we can see each other at dinner. I'll add some tall tapers for Christmas Eve to amp up the pretty.

In the "man room" we have an additional Christmas. We tend to hang out in the living room in the mornings and the man room at night so I wanted it to be festive as well.

I let the kids decorate it this year. Hence all the ornaments at the 4 ft height. One of my favorite things to do is unpack the ornaments and decorate the trees as a family. This year I put the "fancy" ornaments on the living room tree and the kids picked what other ornaments went on what tree. They were really excited to be able to help make the decision.

I don't know why but always love decorating the kitchen. This year I wanted more of a vintage vibe. It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped but I still love it.

I found the cutest vintage picture ornaments that remind me of the 50's. I had plans to hang them in a different spot but I ended up hanging them from the cabinet door knobs.

It may seem like a lot to some but to me, making our home festive is what helps make it so cozy and fun. Each little spot has something fun to add a little more sparkle, even our hallway "command center".

My favorite memory this year is seeing how excited Cole got when it was time to put the angel on the Christmas tree. To him (and me), it's really important and the last thing you do to bless the tree. One day I hope to have a picture of it but this year I was too busy enjoying the moment to worry with capturing it.

So there you have it! A quick Christmas tour of our crazy house! What about you? What's your favorite Christmas decoration in your home?

The Townhouse: drab turns in to modern traditional

2018-12-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

I feel like I say this all the time but boy has it been busy! But this busy was very fun for me. I spent much of any free time I had September-November on a very fun project. What started out with a quick walk-through for some advice quickly turned in to a "here are the keys" moment. The property, a 2 bed room townhouse, was being remodeled to be an Airbnb.

Truly, this couldn't have been a more perfect scenario for me in many ways. I mean who wouldn't love to remodel a property with full creative privileges!? My instructions were to

Keep it more modern
Keep furnishings at a reasonable every day price (it is a rental after all)
Don't screw it up (ok that may have been mine)

So let's walk through the before and after's shall we?

The outside is siding so the yellow wasn't changing. However, I wanted to make it more modern since that was the theme in my head...modern traditional. Originally the door and shutters were black. I also needed to work with the adjacent townhouses that are blue (seen here) and gray with dark red accents.

I opted for dark gray shutters and a teal door, all of which were stock at Lowes. We also installed a fun front door with a glass inlay and rebuilt the railings. Simple changes plus a good 'ol fashioned bath made a huge difference. Too bad this picture makes them look black...

Too bad this picture makes the shutters still look black...but trust me. It's much better in person and in better lighting. Or maybe just better when there's a better photographer! I struggled at first for what to do with the color scheme. Yellow with black just screamed traditional but using the couch as inspiration, the teal really helped change the feel.

Moving on...once you walk in the front door you now see this...I don't have a before. It was just brown. And more brown. You can also see the pretty window in the front door from this angle.

Off the hallway is the kitchen that originally looked like this. Basic cabinets and white appliances. It also had this teeny tiny opening...window...cutout...mistake? I'm not sure what you'd call it. Either way, it wasn't good.

Anyone else feel that cool, icy stare from Cole sending the subliminal message to hurry up? Charlie has just given up. Head in hand given up.

I chose to move the fridge to the other side to sit beside a stackable washer and dryer. This allowed the counter space to expand and it to look cleaner.

And that opening thingy? It was widened as far as studs allowed and a bar top was created. I used laminate countertops and my favorite, a black sink. I remember when Daniel first wanted a black sink in our house and I was like "umm no" but eventually gave in. Now I only want black sinks! (I feel like there's a saying that should be inserted here). I love a black sink because don't show dirt and really look great with stainless appliances.

Let's move on in to the living room or what I originally called "the cave". Seriously no light. And it had a ceiling fan randomly placed over near the fireplace, not even in the center of the room. And it was made darker by the brown. And...well I could continue but let's just move on.

Ignore the kids still looking miserable. They don't exactly share my enthusiasm for design. Video games? Check. Design and looking at properties? Not so much.

I mean look how small that little window is!

So here's the new living room. It's quite possibly one of my favorite color combos I've done in a while. I worked with the couch and chair that were already in the room which was no easy task. It's got a midcentury modern feel to it without being overpowering.

Perhaps you noticed the rug. It's a great find from here. It's my new go to place for rugs of all types. The rug was a risk. I couldn't tell if it was cranberry or pink in the online pictures. Yep. It was pink. Like raspberry pink. I wasn't so sure the owner would appreciate my bold choice but I needed it to help add the right pop of color. Risk paid off because I think it really makes the room and it was under $200!

I mean holy moly right? I had a custom bar top installed using the same laminate used in the kitchen. Four simple bar stools scoot right underneath to save space when not in use. Cute mercury glass pendant lights were hung above the bar top to provide more light. And speaking of more light, notice the newly installed 9-light back door that can now act as an additional window. Seriously, it was like rainbows and unicorns when the light was released!

Here are a few more shots of the living room from different angles.

Downstairs also has a little half bath which was straight from the '90s. Laminate white and green floor, bad lighting...

And now it's a cute little updated bathroom. I used LVP (laminate vinyl planking) on the floor, which is a really great option in this situation. I also used the same laminate on the vanity as in the kitchen, which is right across from the bathroom.

In the downstairs and main parts of the house I used Sherwin Williams Repose Gray on the walls. It's such a great basic "greige" in my opinion.

Let's head on upstairs to the bedrooms and full bath. There wasn't much upstairs to begin with but I did repurpose a few things.

Bedroom #1 before:

And now:

I didn't really start with a particular color scheme in mind. I decided to let what was available at the stores help dictate what might work in these rooms. I wanted it to appeal to the masses but still be pretty. This room became neutral. Simple striped curtains in shades of cream, khaki and gray. From there it wasn't hard to find the same color scheme for the bedding. All found at Tuesday Morning.

Perhaps my favorite is the headboard which I sourced from Ashley Furniture. I skipped buying the foot board (it would make the room tiny) and used a simple bedframe that I bolted to the head board. I secretly want this headboard for my bedroom now. And those side tables? Target. In the clearance section no less!

Let's move to Bedroom #2:

Pretty much a blank slate if I ever saw one. And now...

I found a set of pretty blue and gray curtains at Tuesday Morning that became my jumping off point. It also went well with the bed and blue quilt I was hoping to re-use. The chair is also repurposed from the downstairs dining set.

Each of these bedrooms connects to a Jack and Jill bath. In an effort to save some $$ I opted to keep most of the bathroom and make some simple but impactful changes (lighting, vanity, shower curtain...)

Before:

And now:

Both bedrooms and the bath were painted in Sherwin Williams Passive Gray. It is just a slightly cooler gray than the main house to go with the rooms a little better. It does have a slightly green undertone to it so be sure to try it in your lighting before choosing it.

I'm proud to say that all of the décor and most of the furniture was found at your every day stores - Tuesday Morning, Home Goods, Target, World Market, Amazon and Hobby Lobby. The key is looking at what is available, what's on sale and then what can be combined to fit the space.

So there you have it friends. My fun project I recently completed. It's now listed on Airbnb if anyone is planning on visiting and needs a place to stay!

We met Mickey! Mouse that is...

2018-09-28T13:39:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Disney!

As many of you know, we surprised our children last week with a trip to Disney. I have only been once when I was young and the rest of the family has never been. So it was a HUGE surprise! We left early on Tuesday morning so we could make it in time to hit Epcot and left on Saturday morning to come home. Three and 1/4 fun filled days of Disney and here's what I learned...

1. The best money I have ever spent? Renting nice strollers.

I rented two single City Select strollers from Kingdom Strollers. I was a little concerned the kids would think they were "babies" but they only hesitated and then hopped right in. The strollers were delivered to our hotel's bell hop and we dropped them off there when we were finished on Saturday. I opted for two singles so we could navigate the crowds better and if we needed to, could split (which due to an epic meltdown one day, we did split for a short bit). I also made sure it was a single handed collapse so it was easy to take on and off the buses.

I promise my kids had fun. Those are tired faces you see. Plus they were tired of mommy taking pictures.

2. My kids love, I mean L. O. V. E., a buffet.

We were on the dining plan (a must in my opinion) and chose to have 2 character meals, both of which were buffets. Charlie essentially ate rice and any and all seafood on the buffet. Cole added some salad and fruit to his. It was 100% their jam. To be able to walk through line and choose their own meal without mommy or daddy telling them they had to eat something...well let's just say they wish I served a buffet every night. Sorry, boys. This momma is not a short order cook.

An additional bonus: we got to meet Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.

3. My kids like being scared, going upside down and are apparently have a genetically predisposition to be thrill seekers.

I thought we might start out slow on the roller coasters and see what they liked. I thought they might like them but I wasn't sure to what degree. So we started with some mid-scary, mid-size, less intimidating coasters. They loved them.

Since those were a hit we amped it up. This is them in front of the Twilight Zone of Terror (below). It's a drop zone in a spooky hotel. They could NOT wait to get on it and after it was over I got "that's it? Can't we go longer?!?" Cole's pointing at it because he thought it was so fun.

Perhaps their favorite was Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster in Magic Kingdom because "it's the first time we have ever gone upside down!" Space Mountain (a roller coaster in the dark) was a close second. This should show you how excited they were to get on. Bless Cole and his closed eyes in so many pictures.

4. Fanny packs are back in fashion but cute shoes should not be worn at Disney.

A certain friend made fun of me because I ordered a small black "fanny pack" from Amazon just to hold my phone and lip gloss. I knew that would be all I wanted to access easily and the rest could go in our backpack. See? You can totally still wear one!

Shoes. I brought 2 pairs of Sketchers that were slip-on and comfortable. Daniel told me they were hideous. But honestly, they were the only comfortable shoes I had that didn't make my ankle hurt. And since the people watching at Disney is much like that of Walmart, my shoes were the least of the disasters (58 year olds in tube tops and no bra anyone?).

5. Our family likes one full day at each park.

We weren't sure if we needed one or two days at Magic Kingdom. I had mixed opinions from other families so we chose two days. Having done so, for our next trip, we'll opt to do a partial day at Epcot, then one day at Magic Kingdom, one day at Hollywood Studios and one day at Animal Kingdom.

6. Late summer is still HOT.

It was 91-92 degrees when we went, which is normal for even where we live in SC so we knew what to expect...but that doesn't mean we are immune to the heat. We learned many tricks to escaping the heat. Shows, waiting in lines inside buildings, indoor rides...all great ways to escape the heat and cool off. We also bought the kids little fans with a water bottle attached to cool them off. And we drank lots of water. This is us on the People Mover so we could get a breeze, rest and get out of the sun for a bit.

Waiting for a 4-D show while we cooled off.

7. I loved spending time with my family.

Perhaps one of the greatest joys in life is seeing your kids happy and having fun. While we still had tears and meltdowns (tired + overstimulation is no joke), there were more happy smiles, laughter and hugs. I wouldn't trade those for the world.

8. I still love holding my kids.

They may be 52-55lbs and not so easy to pick up anymore but I still love holding them. You see, I recognize that pretty soon, they will be too big for me to hold or (insert teary eyes) won't want me to. So while I can, I'll hold them.

9. Going with friends, especially if they know Disney, is a blessing.

We went with close friends who have a daughter and all knew ahead of time that we'd be going in different directions because we have boys and they have a girl. But the fun part? We always met back up for dinner and shared our day. Having adults to text and chat with during the trip was an added blessing. We also met up with a friend from high school and they know Disney really well too. Double bonus! (To said friend: you notice I didn't post your picture? You still remain anonymous. 😉 )

10. The parades are awesome.

We were able to see the Death March (or whatever it's called) for Star Wars, part of a character parade and then the parade for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween. They really do an awesome job and are completely entertaining. The fireworks are pretty fantastic too. Oh, and I have apparently very limited knowledge of Star Wars characters but my kids know every single characters, their genealogy and/or reporting structure.

Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios

Headless Horseman starting the Halloween Parade

So there you have it. My download on our trip last week. I have finally recovered from the "Disney Hangover" and no longer feel like I've been beat to a pulp or run 5 marathons in 5 days. I'll leave you with a few more cute pictures of our trip.

Have a magical day!

Learning from Regrets

2018-02-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

If we are friends, you know that I've not blogged in a while because of work. I took on more responsibilities with a client and it required travel and most of my energy. What little energy I had left went straight to my family. All my hobbies and outlets took a backseat for a while.

That's since transitioned so now, if I feel so inspired, I want to pick up the proverbial pen again and blog here and there. Maybe I'll do a house update soon for fun.

For today though, it's about a much deeper topic than food or design. It goes along with my faith and is a tough lesson I recently learned. In January my mother-in-law, Carmen AKA "Mimi" died suddenly at the age of 70. She had a heart attack from an enlarged heart. She hated doctors so she never went and thus never knew about her heart condition.

It's been a huge blow to our family. The loss has been felt on a daily basis and in some ways, it's still surreal. I still look out the window and expect to see her pulling in the driveway.

Now those of you who are close to me may think "she drove you crazy, though. Right?"

Yes. She drove me nuts. On a regular basis. It was not secret and I know I drove her crazy too.

We were COMPLETE opposites in almost every way. That drove us to have quite the numerous amount of differences on a consistent basis. As in daily. Those differences started even from the beginning.

Daniel and I had counseling early on in our marriage over all the differences and how best to set boundaries, address the issues and manage the family relationships. The Lord healed and restored our family.

But that's not the point of this blog (although it's a great topic).

The point of this blog is to share what I learned through her death and what I wish I had done differently. It's always easier to see things after the fact. You know the old "hindsight is 20/20" adage.

1. Don't let differences skew your view of their true character.

I often focused on the frustration she caused me THAT DAY versus remembering her heart condition and WHY she did what she did.

When we were at the funeral, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that came to pay their respects. People from all over came to share how much she blessed their lives. The Banker who cried when we went by to take care of some estate business. She had just brought them cookies two days earlier. The sweet lady who cleans and helps at the local Chick-fil-A where Carmen was always kind to her. Teachers from the preschool where she spent volunteer time, often praying and encouraging them.

The list goes on and on. I had no idea she was praying weekly with a school prayer group specifically for my boys. I only focused on the moment, our differences or her quirkiness that I found weird at times. I often forgot to see how much she loved, encouraged and prayed for everyone around her, now matter how they played a part in her life.

2. Give grace.

I was so frustrated two days before she died because she asked if she could pick up some chocolate drink mix. I said yes but to bring it next time she came over. I didn't want her coming back over later that night because it was getting late. That was more selfish on my part. She instantly went and bought the mix and took it to Daniel at work, knowing she was going around my wishes. Did my wishes really matter? Nope. And that annoyed me. I even called her to ask her why she couldn't just wait to give it to us later.

In hindsight, it was just my controlling nature and it frustrated me. I neglected to see that she was just eager to help. I was quick to react and let my emotions frustrate me rather than give grace.

That's the last interaction I had with Carmen.

Before you react or blow something out of proportion, ask yourself, will this really matter in a month, in a year, in several years?

3. Accept your differences.

It's OK to have differences! Differences teach. Our differences often taught me patience. They taught me how to be more compassionate. They taught me more about forgiveness.

I learned to accept that she and I were complete opposites. It didn't mean it was always easy, don't get me wrong. But in accepting we were different, it allowed for our family to heal and function together. If you need a little time to calm your emotions, take it. But don't let it go on for too long.

4. Remember who else is involved.

So often we let the differences between family members separate us. I'm not talking about life threatening, unsafe or other very unhealthy situations. I'm talking about the typical family squabbles. And we had our share! She almost didn't come to our wedding it was so bad! Too many times we blow them up to such an epic proportion that it becomes easier to distance ourselves than deal with the issue.

If we had not let God heal our family, my boys would have missed out on someone who loved them unconditionally. They would have missed out on her quirkiness, on her Cuban cooking (that they still ask for), on her silliness, on her loving back scratches, on singing silly songs together, on snuggles...on her love.

5. You can't get time back.

Carmen died on a Wednesday morning. I remember distinctly thinking Tuesday night as I cleaned up dinner "I should have invited her for tacos tonight. Tacos are her favorite. I need to let go that she annoyed me yesterday and have her over tomorrow."

Guess what? It was too late. She died the very next morning.

We always think we have more time.

If you have long standing differences with a family member, don't wait to work on reconciliation. We don't know what the next day will bring. Your frustration today is not worth holding on to in the grand scheme of things. Take it from me. It may not be easy but you will never regret working towards harmony.

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

(Romans 12: 17-18)

We love her and will always miss her.

I just needed a little love...

2017-02-05T20:42:00.003-05:00

Is it just me or is it just so negative EVERYWHERE!? I mean I can't even deal with Facebook anymore because it's mostly rants, ads and debates. Then you turn on the TV and it's even worse. So this year, when February rolled around, all I wanted to do is embrace is love. February is the month of love after all.

I don't go all out since we're only talking 2 weeks but little touches here and there make me feel happy. Now forgive the pictures because I snapped these quickly and don't have the best lighting in some.

Both front doors have hearts to welcome in guests. I love how they sparkle and pop from the road. There's even a heart flag (not pictured) by the front door.

Did you notice the hearts on the glass in the front door? They make me smile the most. When I see them it says "kids live here and we love them!" I especially love them at night. The boys had fun putting them up.

Inside there are little touches here and there like the red hearts I found at Hobby Lobby that I placed in plants.

On our foyer mirror there's a metal heart that coordinates with the sign hanging from our mantle.

In the kitchen there are Valentine's napkins and a few votives and hearts placed. Again, not much but it's the small touches that remind us that love is in the air (or should be!)

Our dining room (that's open to the living room) always gets the most because it's where we eat every night and it's also where the kids find their Valentine's Day presents when they wake up that day.

This year I once again tied red hearts found at the Dollar Store with burlap wired ribbon on the backs of chairs. I smushed one so it's a slightly different shape but not something you readily notice and is quirky...much like those that live in this house.

Then I placed my red felt runner along with some simple candles found at Target for $3.

The kids have their own placemats that pull in the colors of our room. They are from Target several years ago (only $1!!) and I put their name in vinyl letters on the hearts. That's an easy trick for cheap placemats. The kids love them!

One new love touch this year are love notes to my children. I bought simple doilies at the Target $1 bin and every day (or so) until Valentine's Day they get a love note put on their bedroom door. A different color for each child and I try to specify a positive behavior. When they first saw them, they both beamed as they were read. (I might have forgotten and put three up at one time. Better late than never!) It really is important to fuel our children in positive ways and this one is so easy.

That's it for my tour of love. Just a few fun changes here and there. I hope this year you'll spread a little love to someone special! Smooches...

Much More Than Lights

2017-01-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

Meet my grandmother. I called her Gimmer because I couldn't pronounce grandmother and so when I was little, and being the first grandchild, it came out as Gimmer. Her real name was Emily Siler Rothrock (then Durban when she remarried after my grandfather passed). I loved her so much and I still miss her even though she's been gone for 13+ years.

I snapped this picture from an old photo album not long ago because it's such a good picture of her and much of how I remember her as a little girl. She had a great sense of style. She was always dressed well with a bright lipstick on. She used to tell me at 4:45p (when I was visiting) "come on, Anna, it's time to go freshen up for supper" and we'd go comb our hair and put on our lipstick. Her home was always well decorated as well. Lots of little trinkets that meant something and all types of sentimental pieces that all seemed to work together.

The house she lived in was one that she and my grandfather designed and built. It has such a fun layout and has a TON of storage. I would love to have the blueprints and recreate something similar one day. Every nook and cranny was thought through.

They were once featured in a small magazine which now sits framed in my living room. In the center it has my mom and her three brothers posing in front of their "locker" when they were little. I've always said your home and art should be personal. It should reflect who you are and what you love, not just something that matches.

So when we worked on our kitchen update I knew that the light we originally installed back in 2013 wasn't one I wanted to keep. The style was fine but the light it cast in our small kitchen was more like ~~retina burning~~ a radiating sun than a soft glow. You can see it at the top of the picture below. Pretty but not right for this space.

This brings me to the point of this post. Last fall I asked my mom and uncles if I could have one of the light fixtures from my grandmother's house. They still own the house and use it for extended family gatherings. She had two that were similar and the smaller one would be perfect in our kitchen. Much to my appreciation, they said yes. I literally did a happy dance when they all emailed back confirmation.

Here's what the new lights in our kitchen look like now.

Aren't they magnificent!? The hubs had them installed while the boys and I were still visiting my parents over Christmas and when I came in I squealed...and might have even just sat in the kitchen for awhile admiring them. They are a pretty blue, red and orange from the 1960's or 1970's (no one really knows for sure) and I just so happen to have these colors in my own home. They cast the pretties glow in the kitchen at night.

But you see they aren't just a light. To me they represent my grandmother (yes I'm crying as I type this). They represent her style. Her spunk. Her wonderful eye for design. Her strength. And most of all, my fond memories of going to her house. Now a little part of her home hangs in my home. It will forever go with me no matter where we live.

So to my family who said yes to me taking these lights...thank you. I know change isn't easy, especially when it's sentimental. It means more than you know and I still walk by and smile every time I see them.

Kitchen Updates

2017-01-04T17:12:00.000-05:00

You ever work on a project and picture it one way in your head yet in reality it turned out not to be so grand? Well I'm happy to say that's not the case here...well not anymore at least.

When we first remodeled our kitchen we tried to work with what we had to save money but also make it more updated and functional. In hindsight I would have chosen not to paint our lower cabinets white and would have selected a different granite. That darn hindsight being 20/20 and all.

I showed you the most recent picture before we updated (again) in our 2016 House Tour but here's a little refresher.

With the recent changes I was most excited about A) the lighting (there's nothing like trying to cook with shadows) and B) the back splash. OK really, the back splash. I have always wanted a tile back splash and never had one in my homes. Tragic first world problems. Daniel was most excited about the vented hood range.

So our friends over at SDJ Services handled most of the work plus a little more. I'm so excited to show you the finished kitchen because they did such a good job. Say hi, Shaun and Paul...

Hi Shaun!

Hi Paul!

Here's what the kitchen looks like after their handy work...complete with back splash, canned lighting, and a vented kitchen hood/microwave.

Isn't it sooo much better!? I mean it's like 110% better...if that were a real number. But here's the funny thing. After I had all of the back splash up, I realized I hated the wall color. My poor husband. More on that soon because the solution is not pictured here. So in reality this isn't a completed kitchen yet.

I opted for basic white subway tile with 1/4" grey grout to coordinate with the cabinet color. It's a small kitchen and while I could have done more fun in the way of tile, I wanted simple and classic for this house. I change things up too much so this allows me to play around. I opted for 1/4" grout because too small and it may have been too busy and white. The darker lower cabinet color is so much better for our busy house too. No more drips, dirt

You'll notice I purposefully left out the picture of the lights. There's a reason for that coming up in the aforementioned new post.

Until then, and because I love a good before and after picture, check out how far we've come in the 3 years we've been here.

Oh and if you want to contact SDJ Services for help in your home here's their info:

(803) 422-5978 or shaun.sdjinc@gmail.com

Christmas Tour (part 2)

2016-12-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

Shall we head a little further in to Schrallville? Yes. Let's.

This past weekend we hosted a party for our Sunday School class. Perhaps the biggest compliment I could have gotten, aside from that our house was very homey, was that it smelled good. I know that's weird but when you have 3 dogs, a cat and two little boys, that's a huge deal!

I took you through the foyer and kitchen in my last post. Next is the dining room...

The mirror has greenery, the manger scene is set and in the mirror you can see a Christmas ornament ball wreath is hanging in the window. I made one a few years ago in golds, oranges and teal blues to coordinate with our colors.

I also have an authentic wooden carousel from Germany. My parents brought it back from one of their trips and it's always fun to show the kids how the heat from the candles turns the carousel.

My table this year is filled with mercury glass - ornaments, candles, trees. With a little pop of red thrown in for fun.

I love the mix of sparkle and shine and it doesn't compete with the other colors in the adjoining rooms.

I put our Christmas tree in a different spot this year. It's usually over near the couch but I thought I'd switch it up. While I like it here, I like it better tucked over near the couch. This blocks too much view in an already divided house. You can see what I mean in the pictures below.

The living room always has a little something on the table tops...a Santa here...a reindeer there...

I love our coffee table this year. I bought a round wooden tray to add to the mix and with some fresh greenery and a few books, it looks very cozy.

Some find it crazy that we have so many things "within touch" with kids. I've always had it that way. The boys have learned from a very young age that there are things they can play with and things they can't. Now it's not a big deal and they appreciate the decorations.

The mantle this year is simple. With the TV and now soundbar, there's not but so much room to put decorations. But it's balanced and has a touch of sparkle without overwhelming it.

The rest of the house has touches of Christmas. The main bathroom has a festive shower curtain...the "man room" has little pops of cheer spread around...even the boys have a little tinsel tree and some matching red garland along their windows.

So thanks for taking our little tour. Our house is always open and we hope it always feels welcoming to all who enter.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tour 2016 (part 1)

2016-12-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

Well I did it folks. I broke my own rule. I decorated for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving. Yep. I went there. Now for many, it's what you're supposed to do. For me, I like having a Thanksgiving table ON Thanksgiving. But this year I knew with our schedules that I needed some extra time to decorate and get organized. I didn't want to kill myself trying to fit it in the weekend after Thanksgiving especially since we planned to put up a fence that weekend (more on that later).

So here's the first part of Schrallville at Christmas...Let's get our jingle on, shall we?

The front door is always festive with flowers, a lit snow man and Santa. This year, the Hubs also added a projector on the larger brick wall by the steps. It says "let it snow" with snow flakes twirling around. It's sort've hard to capture so I didn't bother. You can just use your imagination.

Speaking of outside, we also have a new fence we installed last weekend, mentioned earlier. It's adorned with lit cedar garland and red bows. Probably one of my favorite additions this year. Wonder if can keep the garland up all year?

The front yard also includes several inflatables that include Rudolph, Santa and Olaf. No, they are not small. The Hubs is committed to adding one new inflatable every year. <insert sigh here> If you can't beat them, join them.

Moving on in, there's our foyer. It's small but it has a welcoming touch with tidbits of Christmas. A basket of ornaments, greenery over the pictures, our stockings and a few touches here and there.

The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms to decorate. I don't know why but I truly love adding touches to it. Maybe because that's "my room" in the house. On the way to the kitchen you pass our advent calendar. It's a kid favorite, purchased from Pottery Barn, and is filled with dark chocolate and candy canes. I had one my aunt made growing up and I still have it. I have such fond memories of waking up in December to have a piece of candy.

In the kitchen the theme is red and green. I have a more whimsical look in here since the kitchen is neutral and can handle it. I also have a delicious McIntosh Apple candle that fills the whole room with delicious warmth.

I love vintage Christmas and I have a Santa on the wall. I need to find more. The 1950's Santa's were so cool.

The top of the fridge even has a touch of Christmas...

Perhaps a favorite are the sparkly balls that hang over the kitchen sink. With a little greenery on the light fixtures, it really makes the room feel festive. These are simply held up with thumb tacks and I knew I had to use them when I found them a few years ago at Hobby Lobby.

You may have noticed there have been some changes in the kitchen. More on that in a future post. We had some upgrades to the house recently that we are very excited about and made a huge difference.

Well folks, that's just a brief glimpse in to our home. I'll take you on a tour of the rest of the house soon! In the meantime, I hope you take time to enjoy the season and all it means. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to stop and enjoy it.

From Chewed to New

2016-08-25T15:36:00.003-04:00

It's no secret that our house is a little ~~chaotic~~ farm-like...but located in the city. We've adopted a new kitten or rather he adopted us by climbing under my car and taking a ride with us around town. Ryder he is aptly named.

Then we also have 3 dogs...all rescues and 2 of 3 are barely over a year old. Yes, our house is at times a circus when you also throw in an almost 5 and an almost 6 boy.

One said dog who shall remain nameless but not blameless (hint: he's black, steals anything and everything to chew up and is a furry mess) decided that our coffee table would be a good chew toy.

Enter evidence:

Not to mention the table was already a little scratched from years of wear around toddlers. But I just couldn't trash it. I loved the style, loved the size and it was still very sturdy. So off to work I went.

First I used a jigsaw to cut off the chewed corners. I essentially angled all four legs (2 were chewed) that used to be round to be more diagonal.

Cole then helped me sand them down to be a tiny but smoother on the edges.

Then it sat in my living room just like that...for months. Note the winter clothes above. We're now at the end of summer and I just finished the table. Yep, it sat cut up for many, many...many months.

Finally last weekend, as I sat on the couch completely exhausted from starting Kindergarten - I decided to get off my bum. And yes, I totally struggled with the new schedule. I mean that one extra hour earlier near about killed me. Needing to be out the door at 7:10 to walk to school? Murder. I'm pretty sure I struggled the most out of all of us.

Anyway, I digress.

I pulled out my Annie Sloan chalk paint that I've had for awhile. Sadly it had settled so I had to really stir and shake...stir and shake...until it was revived. I used Country Grey since it's what I already had on hand.

I did not sand it but I did wipe the top down with Windex to remove any oily residue...just in case. Here it is with two coats of paint:

While cute, it's sort've boring. So I set off aging it. I used a sandpaper block and went around all the edges and corners playing around with what I liked and where it might age naturally.

I of course forgot to take a good picture of the waxing process so we won't consider this a true tutorial. However, I put 1 coat of clear wax and then one coat of dark wax to darken the color a bit, using cheese cloth to do it. You only need a thin coat. It's sort of like rubbing in lotion in a way.

I'm so happy with the finished product! You can't even tell that they legs were chewed anymore unless you really inspect it. The aging process really helps to deflect and now it just looks like a cool distressed table.

I think I may apply the same concept to the back corner cabinet at some point when I feel motivated...in about 8 months.

Pretty cool, huh? Didn't cost me a dime and I just repurposed what I already had. Oh and for those of you curious, it took me just a few hours (due to a little drying time) then I let the wax set overnight.

House Tour 2016

2016-08-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all! Come on in! Welcome to Schrallville! It's so good to see you!

Since it's been awhile since I've shown the house and I'm constantly tweaking things, I thought now would be a good time to show you our current house before the holidays hit. So with that, let's start the grand tour.

First, outside, specifically our front yard, which looked like this when we first moved in:

Clearly in need of some curb appeal!

Last fall I designed and planned the front beds with a variety of shrubs and perennials that would do well in ~~the hottest place on earth~~ Columbia, SC. As you can see, we chose smaller shrubs due to cost but things have done quite well and we have a new colorful front yard.

You may have noticed that the front porch is different. In fact it is...more on that later but needless to say, it's one of my favorite spots to sip coffee or have a cold drink.

Let's walk on in to the "man room" which is just off the front porch and the main room we tend to hang out, especially in the evenings. It's also my home office. Before it was an overload of wood...wood paneling, wood windows, wood trim, wood everything.

And today it looks a lot like this...

It's probably the least completed room in the house. It has to house my home office, the cat litter (hidden strategically in the dog crate to the right until the kitten is older and said litter box can go away), movies, books and Daniel's home theater system. So to me it tends to feel a little disjointed. But for now, it works and maybe in time we can find better storage or furniture options.

Let's move in to the dining room/living room which are connected. Again, before...

And now, what I hope is a cozy but colorful main living area...

view from the front door/foyer

view from the dining room

Much of the furniture in the living room and dining room have been re-purposed or salvaged. Let's focus on my newest addition, the striped chair to the left (above). I literally pulled that off of a friend's trash pile as they were moving. Daniel doesn't even really blink an eye anymore. I got the "am I really supposed to take this chair home?" but he already knew the answer. A little updating and a trip to the upholsterer and voila! a cool new chair. Both chairs below were salvage (one from Goodwill for $5) and were aged and covered in the same fabric.

The kitchen is perhaps the biggest transformation but it's also still IN transformation. Before...

And as of today...

We recently had the lower cabinets painted a "greige" color because I was tired of wiping down white cabinets. I love white in a small kitchen but with 3 dogs, a cat and 2 kids...it always felt dirty. I love how the color helps recess the appliances and the island stands out a little more now. Soon additions will be made to include:

Tile backsplash (white subway tile) with grout to match the lower cabinets to tie it all together
Can lighting
Venting the microwave OUT of the house. Another lesson learned in reno. If it doesn't already vent out, make it so during initial reno.
Change out the overhead light to one from my grandmother's house. I'm so excited about this I can't even explain!

You'll see from this picture that I've recently created a command center in the hallway. We needed a place to keep school papers and dates for all to see. A table from another room and a few organizational pieces and we were set.

Let's head down the hallway, shall we?

And in to the boy's room which looked like this initially...

But now and with some recent additions, namely a larger red rug, it looks like this:

That pile of toys you see is a dragon lair. Just in case you were wondering. The dragons are sleeping and the soldiers have been fighting them most of the afternoon...well until big brother came home from school. I didn't even bother to photograph the closet area that houses toys and their arsenal. It's a train wreck right now.

The larger rug in here makes the room actually feel so much larger and they love having a softer place to play (we put carpet pads under the rug).

The guest room recently received a makeover to accommodate an office/study area for Daniel. He starts back with seminary next week after a 5.5 year break and needs a place he could study...and close the door from 2-legged or 4-legged visitors.

I was so thrilled that the bed, rug, desk and desk chair came from consignment. Then we simply used what we had for the rest of the room. He loves it and it feels much more put together to me too.

And finally our bedroom...complete with country blue wallpaper before we moved in.

And now...

I probably should have paid attention to the lighting in my photo but oh well. You get the gist. There are plans to paint the tall dresser at some point. The top of it is damaged and a coat of paint would really update it. I would also like to repaint our bedside tables. They have a case of "spray paint gone wrong" and need changing up too.

The bathrooms have undergone minimal updates. They are the one area of the house we've put off for now, mostly because they are so expensive. Our bathroom before...

And now...

While pepto pink is not my first choice, at least it ties in with the colors of our quilt on our bed so it's not completely awful. And clearly I need to straighten a picture. Details.

And the guest bath before...

And now...

So that's it folks! Thanks for stopping by and taking a tour of Schrallville! As we undergo some updates (hopefully in early fall), I'll invite you back in again to see what's changed.

Until then, pop on over and sit with me if you're in the area! Or call, I can still sit here. Either way, I'll be right here when I have a spare moment.

Creating a thrifter

2016-04-08T16:40:00.000-04:00

I went MIA and then posted about starting Whole30 only to learn that I was pregnant 10 days later. I'll fast forward and basically say, it's been a rough few months and blogging was not on my mind. After another miscarriage, I've spent some time recovering, both physically and mentally.

What do I do when I'm feeling down? I sometimes do a house project. This time, I chose to take Charlie along since he wanted to go by Brueggars first. So a plain bagel and chocolate milk in hand, we went to a few places looking for a drop leaf table.

It was going in this corner -

The table we were using is too small and dinky for the corner. It just looked odd. So off we went.

Here's about how it went...we stopped by the first store and Charlie says "where are we!?" I explained and we went in and breezed through. He wasn't impressed (and neither was I).

So we head up the road to a new consignment store and Charlie says "mom!? another one? You seriously have a problem!"

Yes, yes I do, son.

When we got inside he said "mom, this is like someone's house!" I told him that just like he likes to go to Target to look at toys, mommy likes to go to stores like this. It's my version of a toy store. He totally got it. In fact, he got it so much that he wanted to buy some things!

I found exactly what I was looking for and it was only $85! For those with great eyes for restoration, it just needed a little love. For those who do not have that same eye (uh hmm, Daniel), it belonged in the junk pile. I believe his words were "what is that ugly scratched up table doing in the driveway?"

Nothing a little wiping down with my new favorite wood product couldn't fix!

It's really this simple...take a piece of cheese cloth or other soft rag and wipe it down then let dry. I also wiped it down again with a dry cloth to get any excess off.

Look at how easy it went on and how one swipe made magic. (left side was done)

So after a quick coat the table was completely restored to a pretty shiny finish and the scratches were wiped out.

I think it took me a whopping 10 minutes! And look how much better the table looks. No more scratches! The corner looks so much better now with a larger table.

I of course have already changed the chair for another one but that's for another update.

Just remember - you can find such great pieces of furniture at thrift and consignment stores! They tend to be pieces with more character and only need a little love to make them perfect for your space.

Now go find yourself a fixer upper!

Whole30 or Bust!

2016-01-14T15:08:00.001-05:00

If you follow the news at all you know that the last few months have not been that easy here in Columbia, SC. The 100 year flood took a huge toll. It also took a toll on my waist line. Now I know that's not really news worthy but this is my blog and therefore I dictate the news. So there.

I worked really hard last summer (July-ish) to lose weight and lost 5-6lbs. I was under my "scary weight" and felt good. Then BAM. The flood. The gym closed and we were busy with all kinds of clean up and stress and all that it takes to recover as a city. Then we worked out remotely from another gym, but I was so busy that I only worked out 2x per week compared to 5x per week. Plus my workout partner, affectionately known as Sparky, bailed for a few months to take care of family. Add in the holidays and well ladies and gentlemen, you have another natural disaster on your hands.

I'm about to turn the big 4-0 in a couple of months and I vowed to be under my scary weight before then. In comes a friend who encouraged me to try Whole30. She was starting it for the second time because she too wanted to lose a little more weight and kick her bad habits that snuck back in.

Here's about how it went...

I leave the gym completely motivated. I mean I can eat what she had for breakfast (steamed broccoli and eggs). I can totally do it if it's going to "melt off" [her words]. I'm totally in! Plus all I have to do is buy the book versus counting points, watching portions in boxes, pretending to give something up for a day or two or whatever it is I've tried in the past.

Off I go practically skipping through the Barnes and Noble parking lot. Totally got this.

I ask the guy at the counter where the book is and shocker, it's January and thus on the book display. I thought, hmmm, maybe I should skim this to understand the gist so I know if I need any extra prep tomorrow.

I sit peacefully, with my Starbucks' mocha and start reading...I'm glad it was in a corner because I'm sure my face began to contort in all kinds of ugly ways as I read the heart of it.

30 days of...
No sugar of any kind. [OK I expected this one]
No alcohol [ouch that will cut deep]
No legumes [sheesh!]
No bread [yeah, expected this one too]
No chemicals like MSG [umm, OK]
No dairy [really!? what kind of program is this!?]

I try to tell myself it can't be that bad so I keep reading. The more I read and drank my delicious sugary, chocolate coffee, the more I thought: Not no but hell no!

I put the book down and walked out. Pretty sure there was a fast sprint to the car.

I phone a friend, tell her what happened for sympathy. She too had just read up on the program and said the same thing - Nope. I feel better.

Later that same night another friend pops over who happened to have also done the program and convinced me that it wasn't as bad as it seems. It's hard but it actually really helped her change her lifestyle to make much better choices. She's also lost weight and kept it off.

The torment! The torture! The conversation in my head was sort've like this:

Can I?

Nope.
Yes you can. No you can't. The wine alone will be hard enough much less the dairy, bread and sugar!

Then in true fashion I just fold and decide to think about it in the morning and say a little prayer for guidance.

The next morning I feel so sluggish. Sort've gross. Disappointed I had indulged too much the night before on things that were clearly not helping with weight loss. THAT'S IT!

I buy the book and off we go.

Wednesday was Day 1. I knew if I was going to commit it was now or never...or I would talk myself out of it. Plus I wanted to be done by Valentine's Day and in time to go visit some Besties in Raleigh to celebrate their 4-0.

Here's a glimpse of my first day...

This is what I used to eat for breakfast (plus 2 cups of coffee with a little cream and sugar in the raw):

It's sad but true. An unfrosted strawberry pop-tart is one of the few things that I can eat that doesn't make me want to vomit during a workout...so they just sort've stuck.

But yesterday, this was my breakfast (and I wasn't working out):

It was two hard boiled eggs mixed with fresh (practically homemade) mayo, salt, pepper and mustard powder; hot tea with lemon; steamed spinach with lemon juice and water. I figured out that I DO NOT LIKE coffee with just coconut milk. So tea it was.

For lunch I had the following:

Small spinach salad with a hard boiled egg, almond slivers and homemade vinaigrette; roasted purple potatoes and a small hamburger cooked on the skillet. It was very delicious and I must say, satisfying.

For dinner I tweaked my cottage pie recipe and instead of using instant potatoes I used real that had clarified butter, salt, pepper and unsweetened almond milk. I also skipped the corn starch in the beef mixture.

It was almost as delicious as the original recipe (let's face it - roasted garlic and Parmesan potatoes taste better than the simple version). I ate this again for lunch today as a matter of fact.

Did I snack? A little. When I craved something sweet I had an apple or an orange. I think I ate 2 small tangerines and an apple yesterday. I drank Lacroix if I wanted a fizzy drink and unsweetened tea if I wanted something with flavor. But generally I just drank water.

I did try black coffee with unsweetened almond milk today and it was tolerable. Not great but it gave me the satisfying coffee I needed.

I also worked out today and thought I was going to pass out. My body is literally in shock. It was screaming "I NEED A POP-TART! WHERE ARE MY CARBS!?" as I tried to swing a kettle bell and push a prowler. But I'm assured that this passes as my body learns to use it's fat storage and the better foods I'm eating instead of the quick carbs I usually feed it.

Anyone else tried it? I know you're not supposed to weigh-in but I'm totally weighing on Wednesday. I need the motivation. I even have a little calendar where I'm checking off the days.

If you've tried it, I'd love to hear your journey and how you felt at the end!

Stay tuned! I'm sure this will be a physical AND emotional journey!

I'm baaacckkk! (with a delicious new recipe too!)

2016-01-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

I feel like it's been ages since I last wrote a post...oh wait...it has been. Almost a year! Well 9 months really.

I had plans to continue all last year. Plenty of ideas. Then my camera basically died. It was only a point and click camera and doing OK but it just didn't take great pictures anymore. Sort've boring to write a blog when you have no pictures. I'm interesting but not that interesting.

But guess what!?

I GOT A CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS!

(cue applause and other rump shaking, fist bumping, high fiving happy dances!)

I'm now the proud owner of a Nikon D5500 with all the fixings.

Husband knocked it out of the park! I'm told he now has a "get out of jail free" card for at least a quarter. I'll give him that. I still have no idea how to use all the attachments and lenses and special functions but I'll get there.

So anywhoozle, I figured I'd ease back in to this by sharing a delicious recipe, perfect for these upcoming-let's-hope winter months. (I personally am sick of a spring winter). I've adapted this recipe from one my mom found on Facebook and tweaked a few things so that it's super easy and serves 6.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large or 2 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
6 Tbs butter
2/3 cup beef broth (I prefer unsalted)
3 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
3 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs garlic paste or 2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 packages of garlic instant mashed potatoes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Melt butter in large skillet then saute the onions and carrots until tender (about 10-12 min)
Add the ground beef and saute until well browned, making sure to break up the beef as you saute.
Add Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, thyme, rosemary, garlic and cornstarch along with a little salt and pepper to taste.
Cook uncovered for 5-10 min over low heat, stirring occasionally to ensure it's well blended.
Meanwhile, cook instant potatoes per package instructions (usually it's boil water and add potatoes and then let sit)
In a 9x13 baking dish, place beef mixture on bottom then top with mashed potatoes. Place shredded cheese on top of potatoes.
Bake until bubbling on sides (about 30 min). If you like a crusty top, broil for the last few minutes.

This can also be served in a round casserole dish as it sets up nicely and can be served like a pie. I paired it with a salad and crusty garlic bread. You could also serve these in ramekins and serve as individual servings for a different twist.

It's delicious as a leftover - I just ate some while I wrote this!

Bon Appetit!

I'll be back soon with pictures from Christmas. The decoration portion will be over due but hey, better late than never!

What I learned from my recent miscarriage

2015-04-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

I debated rather to write about this publicly. Many of our close friends, coworkers, clients and family already know but it's always vulnerable to put it "in cyber space"...but I felt God prompting me to.

Here's a bit about my history...my first child (from a previous marriage) was born at 26 weeks and lived for only 2 months. Most likely I had an incompetent cervix. I had to painstakingly make the decision to turn off the machines when his tiny 2lb body just couldn't thrive any longer. I held Jake in my arms as he took his last breath. I'll never ever forget it. I can pull up that night in my head in an instant and remember whispering "go with God, He'll take care of you now" as I rocked him.

After Jake died, I got pregnant again (again, in my previous marriage) and as I was going through the pre-op for the cerclage (that's where they stitch your cervix so you can sustain a pregnancy), the doctor did an ultrasound. At 16 weeks I learned I had had a miscarriage. Devastating.

Fast forward many, many years and two little boys later, it's January of this year and we learned, shockingly, that I was pregnant. I say shockingly because I already suffer from PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome) which means, among other lovely side affects, I don't ovulate regularly. In November the doctor tested me and said I wasn't likely ovulating since my cycles were 35 days apart (anything over 32 usually means you're not). True enough my hormone levels were too low to say I was ovulating. Daniel also has diagnosed fertility issues with his swimmers. Let's just say not all of them are mature enough to swim in the deep end.

We had already tried for a year...or as Daniel liked to put it "we weren't preventing". He wasn't 100% on board with the third child idea but willing to let God work if that was what He wanted for our family. So with the test and the time "not preventing" we just assumed it wasn't in God's will for our lives. Despite feeling for a few years that our family wasn't complete, I accepted it wholeheartedly. I was already blessed with two fantastic little boys. So we sold or donated all of our baby gear. Neither of us felt that going to the fertility specialist again was necessary either. So we got rid of everything and I mentally shifted gears to being a four person family.

Back to recent events...This pregnancy was normal as far as I could tell. We saw the heartbeat at 8 weeks and I had all the normal symptoms. Essentially I hibernated for 7 weeks because I was too nauseous and tired to do anything else. The nausea tapered off around 10.5 weeks but the rest of the symptoms remained.

Imagine our surprise when we go to the 12 week appointment (which was later than normal due to spring break) and we hear "this isn't a normal pregnancy" as they are doing another ultrasound. In fact, it wasn't a pregnancy at all. The heartbeat was gone and nothing was even barely visible.

I was devastated.

Deep down I had a constant nagging feeling that I needed to see the heartbeat again at 12 weeks to really feel excited. Maybe that was mother's intuition kicking in.

We left the doctor's office and as soon as we were in the car we both wept. How could this happen? God gave us a pregnancy we thought was impossible. God changed Daniel's heart to be ecstatic and joyful when we learned I was pregnant. The boys were thrilled about being a big brother and having a baby in mommy's tummy. Our house was settled and could accommodate a third child. I bought a minivan last fall for pete sake!

I admit, I was bitter. I was angry. I was confused. In a matter of three months I went from being completely at peace being a family of four to the shock of being pregnant (along with all the symptoms) and then excited my dream was coming true to feeling empty.

On Friday I was numb. On Saturday I had a complete meltdown. I essentially was a grown-up toddler mad, frustrated and angry that this happened. I asked myself: What was the point? I was perfectly content with our two beautiful boys if that was God's will. Why would I get pregnant and get my hopes up only to take them away?

I knew Sunday would be hard. I knew going to church on Sunday would be hard. Ironically it was three days after learning we lost the pregnancy. I was supposed to be joyful celebrating that Jesus has risen. My family was in town and we had an Easter lunch at our house along with the kid's joy in getting their Easter baskets. I was dreading it. I walked in to the sanctuary and instantly teared up. I walked to get tissues and ran in to friends who were kind and understanding. I cried more. I wasn't OK.

During the service I tried to stay numb. But then we stood up to sing "In Christ Alone" one of my favorite hymns. I remember muttering "oh great, of course it's this song", still feeling angry. And then I started to sing. It was then that I had a choice. I could stay bitter and angry at God or I could trust His character and rest in Him.

So I raised my hand in praise and sang, as best I could through tears, "In Christ alone, my cornerstone...here in the blood of Christ I stand". It was there that I let go of the bitterness and anger. I chose to praise Him in this storm.

"In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul." ~Psalm 138:3

I may never understand why we had a miscarriage this time. But I can always trust in Jesus, His character and His love for me. And that's enough.

Once you go black, you'll never go white.

2015-02-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

When we moved in we changed the color of the floors. We went from a red stain that was popular back in the 1950's (when the house was built) to a browner color (specifically Provincial). What we didn't change were the doors, which were all still stained to match the original red floors. It didn't bother me too bad but I knew they needed to be done and I needed a project that was simple but made an impact. I needed a pick-me-up.

You can see in those pictures that the floor is more brown than the red doors. Another problem was the condition they were in. When the reno was being done, not a lot of precautions were taken to protect the doors. Not a big deal since I knew I didn't want them to remain that shade. But you can see all the paint drips and over spray on them below.

So then the big decision had to be made...1) take them down, sand them (including all those panels) and stain them in Provincial or 2) paint them.

Hmmm...let me think for point two five seconds. Painting it is! Let's face it. I love a good project but I'm not one to have patience to sand and stain 11 doors. I mean I might as well just move out at that point. So then the next decision had to be made - what color?

Now let's briefly talk about door colors. The one we're all familiar with is white. Everyone tends to default to the good 'ol white. It's like that old sweatshirt that you automatically go to when you're cold. But I knew I wanted to step out of the box. A color would have been too much in our house. Since the house is more traditional in nature, a funky color might have been too much. I recently went in to a house that had the most gorgeous gray walls and the doors were a shade or two darker. SO pretty! But that house was newer and more contemporary.

I went with a classic color: black. Glossy, shiny black. When I painted the first door, the one into the office/man room, Daniel said it looked like a black coffin door.

Thanks for the support, honey.

(he later got on board)

I took a few weeks to get them done because I needed one side to dry before tackling the next side. I used a glossy black from Sherwin Williams (already mixed) and in an oil base because I wasn't willing to denature all the doors and hope latex stuck Plus let's face it oil-based paint holds up better.

When I paint with oil I go ahead and budget for multiple paint brushes because I just toss them at the end. I never have luck cleaning them so that they brushes are usable again. Plus I wear latex gloves so my hands don't get covered. And maybe because things like this happen courtesy of the kiddos.

Yes, that's the paint brush they tossed in to the ENTIRE CAN of paint. That took me a bit to clean up. Shockingly, other than a few hand prints here and there, they managed to stay out of the wet paint on the doors and none was spilled and no major catastrophes occurred.

In the end, I can't even imagine them any other color. I love them. And the paint high is over and I still love them. Here are some before and afters you can oooh and ahhh over.

Kitchen pantry:

Hallway:

Bedroom doors:

I also painted all the doors in our bedroom and the guest bath black. I hesitated and thought I might paint the bathroom doors (the side that faces inside the bathroom) white but when I was in the process, I just went for it and I'm glad I did. I thought it might clash but it looks great. I really didn't realize how bad they looked until they look so fresh now.

I still need to spray paint the door knobs. They are currently a mixture of shiny gold and a muted gold. They work great so I'll just spray paint a hammered wrought iron color instead of paying for all new knobs.

I really did have to refrain myself at one point. I wanted to start painting everything black. I stopped at the front door...tempted but unsure. Thoughts? Any suggestions? I can't paint the trim around the window portion of the door so that remains white...which throws me. The outside is yellow.

Suggestions. Go.

Make it Personal

2014-12-09T17:12:00.001-05:00

When Urban Compass asked me to write a post about my first place and how I made it my own, I cried. I had NO pictures from my first apartment. Well they are in my head but let's face it, that's a little scary. So I asked them if I could write about how we made our current house personalized and some ideas instead. They have a great platform to help people in NYC find an apartment. And let's face it. I would DIE to live in NYC even if only for a year.

When I got my first apartment, I was so excited. My own place. Even then I liked to decorate and make a space my own. Too bad I wasn't really great at it back then. Fast forward to my first house and I got to experiment even more...and made a lot of mistakes. Hello peach walls. Oh the horror! It's seared in my memory forever.

Fast forward another 15 years and 3 houses later, I have learned what I like and what I don't like. I've also realized how important it is to personalize your space - rather it's 100 square feet or 10,000 square feet. OK, the last is a bit unrealistic. Let's go with 3,000.

Here's how I've made sure that our house, affectionately called Schrallville, is personalized.

PICTURES.

There. I'm done. This blog post is over.

OK, fine, I'll explain further. Pictures aren't the only way to make a home personalized but it sure is a huge one. I'll give you several examples in our home. First, start with our gallery wall in the hallway...

Here it is from another angle...

We have all types of family pictures from recent to early 1800's. They are such great conversation starters but it's also neat to look back at your family history. Here's a picture of my grandmother on her wedding day (I just think she looks so beautiful!)

We also have a picture of our family for the past 5 years plus a letter for each of our names which adds visual interest. I saw a gallery wall not long ago that was all different styles of the letter L. Their last name started with an L so they just made a small wall all different types and it looked really cool.

These frames weren't expensive. In fact, many I antiqued myself using a little bronze spray paint and some gold paint for the edges. I chose a bronze/gold/dark brown for all the frames to keep it cohesive. If I had my choice I would have bought new frames that were more true bronze and gold but I hated to waste the frames I already had on hand.

I've chose pictures all throughout the house that are sentimental. I've posted about pictures a few years ago in this post. I still stand firm that it's important to find pieces that mean something to you, not just that match the space.

These are pictures of my great-grandfather and his BBQ Sauce recipe (forgive the horrible picture taking...I desperately need a new camera!) These were dug out of a stack of pictures and my uncle gave each of us a copy.

And of course my favorite, the framed magazine pages of my grandmother's house, including my mom and uncles when they were little.

But it doesn't have to be fancy! In the "man room" we have metal comic book cover replicas and a shadow box of his dad's medals that represent things Daniel loves. The comic books are from Hobby Lobby.

Are you shocked I let the comic book covers in the house? Anna M. is! But I know he loves them and that's what is important. It's not like I put them in the living room! (Which would never happen by the way. I love him but not that much. Unless you're reading this post, Daniel, in which case this is purely fiction. Not really.)

I found some Couture pictures at Hobby Lobby. I put one in the bathroom and one in the bedroom because I love fashion. After buying a cheap frame (that looks fancy) it was maybe $25.

Side note: I might need to toss that dying plant. Not the most attractive when you look at it in the context of a picture!

Another important way to make a home personal...FABRIC. Just a few examples...the bird fabric in my bedroom (still to be revealed)

The stripes in Charlie's room - found at TJ Maxx. See!? Doesn't have to be custom if you love it. For some reason I love the colors in these and it is very boy but still very pretty. I could even see them in a living room full of gorgeous neutrals.

The bird fabric in our dining room - the jumping off point for my entire color scheme in the house. Still in love with this fabric.

And the pillows and curtains in our living room. A hodgepodge of fabrics I love and found around town. OK, that's not true. If I look at this picture, all of it came from Fabric 101. My home away from home. I sometimes stop by just to dream of how I could use the fabric.

Here's some food for thought to get you thinking about how to make your space personal:

Fabric - use it for pillows, curtains, seat covers. You can even frame it!
Pictures/Art - In addition to the above, think outside the box. Like the pictures in a specific book. Frame them. They'd probably look super cool on the wall and you'd see them all the time.
Color (on the wall or furniture) - choose colors that you love and tailor it to the room. Love hot pink? Use it in an accent pillow so it pops but doesn't dominate.
Nicknacks - pick things that you like for tabletops. I have bunnies around the house because I love bunnies (and apparently birds, but only in fabric). They make me smile and feel peaceful. I also have an old iron key that sits on a coffee table. Just looks cool and I found it at a yard sale for $5.
Furniture - like that mod style from the 1970's? Incorporate a few pieces in your home and you'll always love it. I personally love French style chairs, classic antiques with simple lines and a few 1950's inspired pieces (like our couches). Everyone has a style they like, just make sure it fits your space. There's nothing worse than a giant couch in a tiny room.

Hopefully that helps get your ideas flowing. It takes time to find things with meaning or that you like so don't rush out and try to buy it all at once. After many places, this has to be my absolute favorite house I've lived in.

How do you personalize your house, room or apartment? Do you have one particular item that has to be incorporated? Or are you at a complete loss and have no idea where to start?

Work it...work it...work it, girl!

2014-11-13T13:41:00.002-05:00

Oh I just totally said that while sashaying around the room shaking what little bit of hip I have...and I may have done it with an attitude.

Try getting that image out of your head now. You can thank me later.

While I like prancing around, that's not what this post is about. It's about work. More specifically where I work. My work space. As I have mentioned, I work from home as an Executive Recruiter (and blog on the side). Working from home is both a privilege and a curse, depending on the day. Most days it's a privilege.

I still miss the social side of being in an office and dressing up (since I love fashion). Right now I'm sitting here in my workout clothes with dried sweat all over. Yep, still not showered from my workout this morning yet here I still sit. So there are those parts that I loved from an office environment but there are greater benefits to working from home. Like I can do laundry or clean the kitchen or vacuum or any other chores we working moms still have to do. Well at least until my cleaning fairy returns from her sabbatical. Plus I tend to be 10x more efficient because there's no one to talk to. I mean I try to talk to myself but it's sort've a one-sided conversation most of the time.

So let's explore where I work in the home. Until recently it looked like this:

And now it looks like this:

What? You don't see any improvement? Well that's probably because it's hidden BY ALL THE CRAP sitting on my desk. I mean who caught the dirty dish on the left side? Or the Polar Pop on the right? OK, the Polar Pop is ~~a staple~~ regular decor.

As the days were getting shorter, my old light wasn't providing enough light so I switched it out and raised it on some books to cover more surface. I also took some green file/magazine holders and put them on the desk to help store some of my project work and switched around the plant. Just a few quick changes to make me feel better.

Before this house, I worked out of an armoire. That armoire has been turned in to my craft work center, now housed in the living room.

But back to the desk. I would love to have a cute desk with pretty things all around like you see in magazines. You know with gorgeous leopard file folders, pretty dishes to hold your odds and ends, fashion books as decoration. People, that's not realistic. I need post-its and pens and paper clips and all kinds of file folders to keep organized not to mention a wireless headset and phone since that's where I spend the majority of my time. Most of that is not attractive. The only thing leopard is my "mom agenda" where I store my life.

But I do try to add little notes of cuteness to still make it me yet functional...like the little jade elephant I bought at an estate sale...

Or putting my pens in a ceramic holder and these green file holders to conceal my personal projects I'm working on.

So on a really good day or when I know we're having company, it looks like this:

OK but not great. It's still a "work" in progress. For one thing I'm hoping for a better mouse pad. It's currently a green tree frog the Hubs bought years and years ago. Not exactly screaming chic but not something I've gotten around to. Maybe Santa will bring me one.

I think I might consider not buying the hot pink post-it notes next time either. Bad call. It's like having a zit in the middle of your forehead or a giant booger hanging from your nose. People can't look away from it.

Since I like having a large monitor, I store my laptop on top of the file cabinet to save space. (it's behind the plant and picture, cleverly concealed)

And my printer is wireless and stored on the armoire behind the door. (evidently I need to ask Santa for a nicer camera too. The point and click camera is not doing a very good job!)

My old desk is now Daniel's since he just likes having a place to keep his laptop, bible and other paper things, but he doesn't actually sit and use it often. Most of the time he's just sitting on the couch.

It's convenient to have the desks in the corner so it's like an office nook where all our files, both personal and work, are stored and we can both work individually.

But still have this whole area of the room for movie watching or as it's called in our house "the man room".

Who knows, maybe one day I'll have my own business planning parties and decorating and can add on an office. I can just picture the pretty now. Fur rug, cool furniture, artistic glam galore!

OK back to reality. If any of you are an entrepreneur or own a small business and want to connect with others or possibly even gain some added perks, check out WeWork. It's a platform that empowers small businesses to succeed by making them more connected with each other.

So who else works from home? Anyone have tips on making the office nook prettier or more chic? Know where I can get some leopard post-it notes?

Happy Fall Y'all!

2014-11-01T16:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Fall Y'all! One of my favorite southern sayings for the season. I must admit when August hit it was all I could do not to decorate for fall. I was itching to do something different in the house. But alas, 95 degree weather and high humidity will not only melt your makeup off, it also deters you from decorating too soon. But when it was September. Game on. Plus there's nothing like throwing a baby shower featuring a ton of your husband's clients as guests to motivate a gal.

So let's talk the simple decorations I did this year, both in and out, in hopes that it might inspire. First the outside. Because we don't have any true landscaping around the front of the house yet (we are waiting for the money tree to grow before we plant anything else), I use my pots to add color.

I try not to use too many mums because they don't last all season but I did snag a few from Walmart for $4 a piece. Usually you can get good plants at the box stores if you grab them when they first come in. Since they were cheap, I grabbed several in yellow and deep burgandy.

We (and by we I mean me and the boys) also finally planted the hydrangea in the corner near our office windows (pictured above). We've had it for years and it finally outgrew it's pot. But this is a perfect spot for it!

The porch got an updated face lift with new plants, a fall sign and some faux pumpkins (in the lantern) plus I moved the wrought iron tea cart to the corner for height. It spruces that empty corner up plus it's a better spot for the cart itself. It used to be randomly under the carport collecting junk.

My favorite pot is in front of the porch. It's a mixture of a slow growing evergreen, lettuce, kale, snap dragons, violas and some dusty miller. I thought about adding some ivy but this area gets too much sun. As it grows in the colors and textures continue to compliment. It makes me smile.

The front door got a much needed update too. My poor flowers from the summer were toast. Literally they fried. So with some inspiration from a few Pinterest pics, my mom and I created this, which I love.

And because we had some extra pots and violas, I put a few around the driveway and front light post. I prefer violas to pansies because they don't require dead-heading and last longer. They tend to bloom much better through the winter too.

Of course none of this could have happened without my little helpers who helped me plant all the flowers. Perhaps that's why it took us all day! A few slugs lost their life but no other bugs or animals were hurt in the making of this garden. Cole *may* have loved the slug to death. Although he still says it was just tired and went to sleep.

So let's move on in to the 'ol hacienda and see what I did in there...I won't share every detail for each room but I'll try to give you some glimpses. For the kitchen, a few glittery wooden pumpkins and some fall leaves spruced up the sink. I also have a few things along the countertop. Most of the countertop items are Halloween so those will come down tomorrow.

The dining room is a favorite because...well it's just one of my favorite rooms. Ignore the blur on the right side. Clearly it's time for a new camera.

A few ghosts and some fall foliage over the mirror...

I bought a fabulous tiered decorative thingy at Home Goods. It hurt my feelings at first but the possibilities for this are endless so it had me at hello-buy-me. Seriously. I'm pretty sure it said that in the store. Or maybe that was Anna M.

Some real pumpkins and gourds, some glittery faux pumpkins, foliage and even a few birds made this a great tablescape. I made the table runner. It's just some burlap ribbon (the extra wide kind) rolled out and cut to the right length. And it was 50% off at Hobby Lobby compared to the $30-40 ones that were actual table runners.

The living room was simple, a few pumpkins strategically placed to make it feel like fall. Again, most of what I put out will work through Thanksgiving with just a few Halloween highlights.

The mantle was hard to capture due to the light but it's a simple mix of faux foliage and pumpkins. Certainly one of my favorite ways of dressing up the mantle. I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because it matches my colors so well.

If you haven't decorated for fall, it's not too late! So many of the stores already have Christmas out and fall items are 50% off. Snag some faux pumpkins and foliage and you have all kinds of options. Tuck some around a few pictures on a table; swap a pumpkin where a small knick-nack might go; change out some pictures for pictures of the kids in leaves. The options are endless. It makes the house feel so cozy as weather starts to get chilly!

I'll leave you with a picture of the food table from the shower. Why? Because I'm hungry.