Our Portable Home | East Coast Style in the Southwest

Let there be (nicer) light!

2011-10-10T09:42:00.000-06:00

Well hello there chickies! How are we on this lovely Monday morning?

Today I'm here to show you some progress on the kitchen! Although I made a plan, we haven't stuck to it in the order we originally assumed, but who does?! Phase two was supposed to be a cabinet above the fridge, new brass hardware & adding crown molding to the top of the cabinets. We're working on the hardware at the moment (I keep changing my selections, oops!) but we're waiting for the new year to complete the other steps.

So. Lighting. Ok. We had no idea what we wanted. Here are a few options we considered, and eventually rejected.

1.Shades of Light 2.Lamps Plus 3.Lumens 4.Lamps Plus 5.Home Depot 6.discontinued? 7.Shades of Light 8.Schoolhouse Electric 9.Home Depot

For one reason or another, they just didn't work when I did my ~~Photoshop~~ hack job of the space. Because this home doesn't really have a style, it was very hard to choose something! I feel like lighting can help clearly define the style of a room, along with other things like moldings & furnishings. These weren't helping. So we kept our eyes open for something that felt right.

Have I told you how much I love the Restore? Well I do, a lot. My husband and I decided to stroll through our local store last week during one of my mornings off. I was looking for wing-back chairs, but I still like to peak at the other sections. While we were originally lured into the lighting area by another fixture, once we saw the lights we chose, ideas were flooding!

Enter: your standard builder-grade brass foyer light.

We plan to Rub 'n Buff them so the finish is a little more antique, a little less eighties. Or possibly spray them black. I don't know yet. One step at a time!

My husband hung them using a recessed light adapter from Home Depot. Eleven bucks, say what? The pendant has made it through the night (something I was SERIOUSLY concerned about) but I will have an update about the durability of this product in the near future!

We haven't hung the other one yet, but here's my sad Photoshop to show you what it might look like when they're both up! It won't be as close to the shelves as it looks, I promise.

I'll have a tutorial for using the converter, as my husband said the instructions basically sucked.

What do you think?! I'm totally in love! Eep!!!

PS. We have two microwaves. Can you say fatties?

We're on the right track!

2011-09-17T15:15:00.001-06:00

Seeing this kitchen on the cover of a magazine made me smile!

Why, you ask?

Because our kitchen looks like this:

Green-ish grey cabinets, open shelving with black brackets & as you know from this post we'll be introducing white marble (or a solid-surface substitute) counters!

Look at who's totally on trend!!!

I told you babe, I'm not THAT crazy ;)

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! We will be rooting for the local university's football team later today & the Washington Redskins tomorrow! I LOVE football season :)

Phase One : The Kitchen Chronicles

2011-08-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

We started off with an easy task : paint the kitchen. Simple right? Well, it wouldn't be me if it was just that simple. As we were taping off the cabinets and counters to prep for paint, I wondered aloud how hard it would be to raise the cabinets 3-5 inches. And the rest is down hill from there...

(please excuse me while I ramble for a bit...feel free to scroll for pics if you'd like!)

Raising the cabinets seemed easy enough. Only problem? The STUDS. There are none in the proper places above the cabinets. Dear Lord, somebody hold me. But, because I had jumped the gun and we'd already removed the cabinet to the right of the range, we realized how much more open the kitchen seemed. Not wanting to be without the storage that cabinet provided, we decided on shelves. Then we decided to paint the cabinets. add crown molding. replace the counter tops. The list just goes on and on. For today though, I'm here to show you phase one: shelves & painted cabinets.

From the beginning I strongly disliked the kitchen. It felt tract-house, builder grade, boring. Functionality was not the problem (beyond the over-the range microwave, but that's for another time!). It was just, well, ugly to me.Take a gander:

When I say ugly, I don't mean OMGosh-I'd-rather-rip-my-eyes-out-than-rip-out-those-cabinets-ugly, I just mean, there's no spark and absolutely no desire for me to be in it.

So, yadda yadda yadda, I told you we removed one cabinet, and added shelves. Here's what that looked like for a few weeks:

If you'd like more detailed info on what we did to get to this point, drop me a line!

Better, but not quite there. See, the problem is, I read blogs and I am a recovering member of Shelter Mags Anonymous, ~~SMA if you're nasty~~. I can see the potential. I can see what so many people before us have done to take a lackluster kitchen and make it shine. And I can see that our kitchen is not quite ready for it's closeup. So we took a step back, evaluated & jumped in before we could change our minds. and let me tell you, I am loving what I'm seeing so far.

Yum.

Phase two, which we hope to complete in the next few weeks, includes a cabinet above the fridge, new brass hardware & adding crown molding to the top of the cabinets a la The Lettered Cottage.

Beyond phase two, we still have pendant lighting, lowering the bar, new counters & backsplash, and possibly new flooring throughout the house. It's gonna be awhile, so stick along for the ride, k? It's gonna be awesome sauce :)

What are those crazy kids up to now?!

2011-07-28T19:03:00.001-06:00

So hubby and I are in the process of painting each room in our house. As I'm sure you all know, paint is the cheapest & easiest way to refresh your home, so it's a great way to start! We painted our bedroom not too long ago, so we decided to move on to the next room, the KITCHEN! I've had lots of crazy ideas in my head about my "dream kitchen, even though hubby is the cook in this house!

I have tons of inspiration pics, but I'll spare you & show only my three favorites. Let's go through them!

From the one below, I love the cabinet color & the effortless way they combined multiple metal finishes in such a small space. It flows very well. Hubby asked me if you can mix metals, and this picture says yes!

(click pic for source!)

I'm so in love with Erika's kitchen! The color of the cabinets, the roman shades, the casual & cozy feel of the room - it's beautiful!

(click pic for source!)

And Emily's kitchen. I'm taking note of the glass front upper cabinets, the honed black granite counter top & the bin pulls on the drawers!

(click pic for source!)

With all of these kitchens in mind & with the chef of the house on board, we've come up with a plan. Actually, we painted the kitchen THEN came up with a plan, but so far it's working!

The walls in the great room (kitchen, living & dining rooms) are Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray.
We're painting the cabinets Sherwin Williams Brainstorm Bronze. To decide on the color, we followed a tip of Erika's by painting a piece of cardboard with a few different samples and checking them out throughout different times of day. The darkest color is the one we like the best!
The counters will be honed black "granicrete". It's a concrete surface made to resemble granite at a fraction of the cost. I'm really excited about this!
We're going with a carrera marble backsplash - a splurge -but since we'll be saving with everything else, I think it's absolutely worth it.
Here's the first metal in the room: copper pendants. They give a slight nod to traditional, which I'm beginning to find myself more attracted to.
By far my favorite part of this makeover is the brass hardware! That inspiration picture really made me open my eyes to it
Color will come in through the counter stools & our dishes. We've had these dishes since we got married, so I want to show them off!
And the icing on this oh-so-yummy cake, the faucet. Bridge & totally trad, I'm so in love!

Other things of note:

The microwave-over-the-range situation does not work in this house. It's coming down & a nice hood will replace it. (We have a new place for the microwave too, don't worry!)
We currently have a weird wall-bar thing, that's coming down too. We're going to have one continuous counter top for the our peninsula. I think it'll help make the space feel less choppy.
And last but not least, we're adding open shelving to the right side of the range!

So here's our official before photo:

Let the fun start!!!

Let's try this again...

2011-07-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Hello friends & family! What's it been, six months?! Yikes!

I didn't have much to report in that six months. It's been work all day, ~~party~~ sleep all night! Dante is finally rated in his job, which means his schedule is now crazy ridiculous, so whenever our schedules meshed, we spent that time together. We've gotten pretty used to it, so we're officially working on the house!

*************************************************

Remember back in JANUARY when I talked about our plan for our master bedroom? That got thrown out of the window. Hubby expressed a want for something a little less cheery, a little more soothing since he'll have to sleep in their during the day on some shifts. Back to the drawing board I went, but with no hesitation. I had secretly grown tired of it as well, just didn't want to say anything!

Hubby picked out the paint color. It was pretty random how it happened.

Scene: Chilling, watching tv..

Me: Let's paint our bedroom.

Him: OK, what colors are you thinking? When do you want to do this?

Me: I have no idea & let's do it right NOW!

Ha! So, I grabbed my Sherwin Williams deck & let him at it. I love the color he chose. It's a moody grayish, greeny brown. Fantabulous! So with the new color in mind, I went to work!

Because we are working on a VERY limited budget, I wanted to reuse as much as we possibly could. That

includes our existing furniture, coverlet & recycling the headboard that was previously in the room.

I have two variations of this room, so let’s review:

In version 1:

1. Sherwin Williams Warm Stone SW7032

2. When we recover our headboard, we’re going to use this tutorial by the lovely Janell Beals with

a toffee-toned faux leather & nail head trim.

3. Here’s the variation. I’ve been coveting this Schumacher fabric for forever. It’s gorgeous and

has the perfect combination of colors to tie in the old & the new in our room. However, it’s

expensive. It would only be for a 14x48” pillow, so I know 1 yard could work, but it ain’t a cheap

yard!

4. This is a beautiful Thom Filicia fabric that will be for throw pillows, I’m thinking three for the

bed.

5. I found this nightstand at JCPenney, which will be the inspiration for what we plan to do on our

current nightstand. If that doesn’t work out, these could be in the budget!

6. This lovely little lamp is from Target, out of their mix-and-match line. I’m still looking for a drum

shade for them, but this one from Shades of Light will stand in for now!

7. Since the color will come through in the headboard & pillows, I’m keeping the bedding pretty

neutral. It just needs to be a backdrop.

8. Same goes for the sheets! These are probably my fave sheets, from the Fieldcrest line at Target.

9. We’ve had this coverlet set since we got married. I love the color!

10. Whenever I think of leather, I think of cozy sweaters & snow & fireplaces. We don’t get snow

here, and there is no need for a fireplace, but I’m bringing in the sweater pillow for some

texture on a chair for our reading space.

In version 2:

Like I said above, the only difference is in #3, the “accent fabric” (man I hate how that sounds!) This is

a slightly more budget friendly option. Also a Schumacher print, Sandoway Vine offers a slightly more

subtle version of the same color palette.

We've completed step one (the painting) as of this past Sunday. I'm so excited to see this plan come to fruition!

Stylish Blogger Award & Giveaway Winner

2011-01-18T08:00:00.005-07:00

Thanks to Amanda at Casa Brasi for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award! The rules are to write 7 things about yourself and pass on the award to 15 other recently discovered blogs. This is proving to be a lot harder than it looks...

1. Before I met my husband, I didn't think I'd be married until I was thirty (or close to it) but the moment I met him, I knew we'd be together forever.

2. I can roll my arms over my head, from front to back, and then again from back to front, apparently by temporarily dislocating my shoulders...gross but so cool!

3. I am so spoiled...I am the only girl in my generation on my dad's side of the family and the oldest on my mom's side. And I LOVE it!

4. I went to Campbell University in NC for one semester. Going to college straight out of high school is not for everyone, and that is all I have to say about that. I've had 3 years rest, and I'm diving back in starting this summer!

5. I am subscribed to 215 blogs and have only commented on maybe 15...I'm working on it! I'm really personable, I just don't know what to say without being awkward sometimes, yanno?

6. I watch shows like NCIS, CSI, Law & Order and Cold Case. I've seen an autopsy before. The human body fascinates me. I wanted to do something in forensics until I went to a forensic anthropologist's lecture in a summer program...I about fell out of my chair from boredom. I love science, but I need a little more creativity in my life.

7. I have a hard time dealing with boundaries and personal space. It freaks some people out. So if you meet me, I'm not being rude or creepy, I'm just too friendly. It's OK to tell me to back up! :)

I'm supposed to choose 15 recently discovered blogs to give this away to...but in an effort to remain in my bubble for just a few more days...can I just offer it to all of my lovely readers? :)

You're welcome!

And now...for the winner of the WoodyLiana F. Schumacher Imperial Trellis Lumbar Pillow giveaway....drumroll please...

Giveaway | F. Schumacher Imperial Trellis Lumbar Pillow

2011-01-08T08:00:00.012-07:00

In an effort to revitalize things around here, I'm proud to introduce the very first giveaway on this blog!

Woody Liana Lumbar Pillow Giveaway!

This week, Liana of the fabulous Woody Liana etsy shop is giving away a lumbar pillow in the beautiful F. Schumacher Imperial Trellis fabric. I have personally worked with Liana on the lumbar pillow in our master bedroom and even won a giveaway that she hosted through her shop. I should be receiving those pillows later this week! Her work is beautiful and she has amazing attention to detail. And the best part is, her work is affordable. Amen to that!

Alright, now that I've raved about her, let's get to the details! You are entering to win a lumbar pillow sized 14x24 (an insert sized 14x28 fits perfectly)with matching welting and coordinating back.You have a choice of the following color ways:

Mandarin Parchment

Coffee/Natural Treillage

It's very simple to enter, just comment on this post. Only one comment per email. Giveaway ends at midnight MST 01.15.2011. Winner will be announced 01.17.2011

Window Shopping | Around Town

2011-01-07T08:00:00.001-07:00

This past week, my husband and I have been working on totally different schedules. I've seen him for maybe 15 minutes in the morning, then I'm off to work, and I'm knocked out by the time he gets home from work. Ah, the military life! Because of this, I've been spending as much time as possible exploring our town. I really don't like being home by myself!

-Please excuse the crappy picture quality, I only had my BB on hand!

First Stop: A Local Lighting Store! (For personal security reasons I can't say the name!)

As I said here, we're slowly but surely getting rid of all the crappy builder grade lighting, so I've been on the lookout for bathroom lights! These are a contender, but I'm still keeping my options open.

Blogger Megan, from Honey We're Home, has this amazing chandelier in her CLOSET and it's pretty darn sexy in person. Nice choice Megan!

And the reason I paid the place a visit:

I couldn't get a decent picture of it, but it is GORG! I'd like to hang that over my dining table. Yessireebob!

Second Stop: Habitat for Humanity Re-Store

Um yes, I'll take these. Slap a nice navy lacquered finish on them and plop them in our guest room! $20, say what?!

Matching desk, needs a new top, but it's long and lovely, with tons of storage space. I would love to have taken it home, as it's the perfect length, but you can't fit two chairs under it and that's what we're in the market for.

In it's current state, this set is not my cup of tea, but for $100 for 4 chairs and a table, I wouldn't be afraid to take this home and have the chairs re-upholstered in a fun fabric. Rates are super low in our area, so it wouldn't be too expensive.

Thank you for "shopping" with me!

Simple Updates & Moving Forward | Master Bedroom

2011-01-04T08:00:00.002-07:00

When we purchased our home in October, we both agreed that all light fixtures had to go. The ceiling fan in the living room, the boob lights in the guest bedrooms and hallway, the dressing room lights in the bathrooms and the sad little pendant in our bedroom are on the chopping block. (see sadness below...)

It took me forever to figure out a replacement for our bedroom- we'd talked about getting a ceiling fan as it gets pretty warm in our and one day I stumbled across an idea. Like literally. We purchased the Eden Pendant from cb2 for our base house's improvised dining area (below), but when we moved to the new house, we had no need for it.

Two nights go, after tripping over it for the umpteenth time, I decided to try and replace the ugly little globe in our bedroom. It was actually pretty simple and it looks SO much better! Right?

And in other bedroom news...here's the current state. Noticeable changes include new Celerie Kemble's Betwixt pillows in grass and NO headboard...we dismantled it and are going to recover it.

Here's the plan of attack...

-Reupholster headboard similar to West Elm's

-Paint room, still debating the color-thinking about Harmonic Tan SW6136

-Order bedding - Pottery Barn's Essential Duvet in Ivory & Fieldcrest Luxury sheets in Gold

-Purchase longer drapes & another rod

-Prime, paint and order new hardware for nightstands

-And the best part: accessories!

Hopefully our bedroom will be completed by March! One piece at a time!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

I just want wish all of you and your families a safe, blessed and happy New Year!

See you in 2011!

Incorporating Jewel Tones | Living Rooms

2010-12-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Somehow, when shopping for myself, I tend to gravitate to only a few colors. Black, white and teal. I honestly never realized it until my husband pointed it out to me some time ago. Teal, turquoise and aqua are the only real colors in my closet. I was horrified for about two seconds, trying to figure out if there was a store around where I could prove I liked gray too, but then I remembered all the episodes I've watched of Colour Confidential, and realized I could use my limited clothing colors to my advantage.

So in our new home, I know exactly what I want. Something funky, fresh, a little glam, a little chic, and totally us. Sometimes we forget that we are JUST starting out, that we are only in our early twenties and that we don't need to have our home look totally put together by someone twice our age.

The first time I ever considered jewel tones was for my mom. She loves all things purple and wants to decorate her home that way. I, on the other hand thought a more subdued palette with "pops" of purple would be more for her taste. She informed me that she's still young & she's single and she wants her home to reflect her fun personality. While reading through my blog reader a few weeks back, I came across this post by Erika at BluLabelBungalow and immediately felt it would be perfect for my mother!

While we've actually chosen to go more in the direction I originally proposed for my mom, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I've decided on more of a peacock inspired palette, with rich plums, olive greens and my go-to color. Luckily, my hubby has agreed, or surrendered, you be the judge!

I've been shopping for inspiration on houzz.com and decorpad & even looked at wedding schemes...take a gander...

How fun does that wedding look? Reminds me of Mardi Gras. Throw me some beads!!! Anyway, here's what we've got so far! Go ahead, laugh...but it's a start!

Sectional from Ashley Furniture Homestore

Green pillow from Ross

Teal pillow from Kohl's

I'm actually trying to turn my focus back to the master bedroom, but the living room is next on the list! As always...more to come soon!

Images 1 & 2, 3& 4, 5 & 6

Blog-o-versary! | OPH Turns One

2010-12-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

So apparently this little blog turned one on the 17th of this month!

A lot has happened in the past year, and I'm glad I have this little slice of the world wide web to share our adventures. As I talked about before, there will be some changes going on around here in the new year, and I'm so excited to get started!

Anyway, enjoy your holidays!

Love, The ATC Family!

Making Promises I Can Keep

2010-12-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

When I first started writing this blog, it was mainly because I read a few, it seemed fun and I wanted to try my hand at it. My husband and I were just married and had finally moved in together (officially anyway) so we didn't have much and were using our creativity to furnish and decorate our home. We refinished a table, bought a couch and oversized ottoman for 300 bucks, and brought some cheapo brass lamps into a new decade. Those were the good ole days!

But then, I fell into a slump. I found more blogs and felt less creative. Who'd want to read a silly little blog like mine? I tried numerous times to motivate myself, but I fell short. I was trying to be something I'm not and I fell flat on my butt!

But no more of that. I'm living by the infamous Julie Powell motto, "I can write a blog. I have thoughts" and putting my best foot forward. If I crash and burn, oh well. If I have fun, great. If I inspire someone, even better!

So, going into 2011, I promise to:

Write at least once per week
Craft/DIY/Decorate at least once per month
Bring giveaways to the blog
Start featured spouses up again -with a little twist!
Never give up

Thanks to those who have stuck with me, although you might have forgotten I was here!

Bookmarked...

2010-12-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here's some things I've been bookmarking recently...just thought I'd share...

*FREE* printable download

lovely master bedroom @ Casa Brasi

gorgeous pillow!

fun papers at PaperMojo

*HOPEFULLY* our future bedding

and a few new to me blogs...

Enjoy,

Sofas, showers & shots...

2010-11-12T19:01:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

I have a little mash up of things to talk about so let's get to it.

Last Tuesday we got a new sectional! Thanks to my MIL & mom for such an awesome housewarming present. Here's where we lounge around these days...

It's sooo comfy and is HUGE! Dante and I can comfortably chill (together) on just the chaise! And it's a sleeper for guests & our moms of course! We love it so far, but we're still trying to figure out the best arrangement for this area. With the sectional in it's current place, it separates the great room a little, which is good and bad...I'll let you know what we end up doing!

In other news, I'm co-hosting a baby shower the Sunday before Thanksgiving (can you believe Turkey Day is less than two weeks away?!). The mommy-to-be requested a purple, black & white damask, and silver color scheme with owls! I'm in charge of the decor and I've been having too much fun!

While walking through Target a couple months ago, I stumbled across these cute wine bottles and knew they would be perfect for the scheme.

BUT since it's a baby shower, and I didn't want to tease our guest of honor, I decided to DIY it! I created my own labels in Photoshop using the ones above as inspiration, printed them out and slapped them on Grape Crush! I was so excited when I found the glass bottles at WalMart as I wasn't having any luck finding them anywhere else.

Don't you just love how none of the labels are in the same spot on either bottle? Geez...but it's ok! They still look great! I'll have more pictures of the decor after the party, but I couldn't resist showing you this cuteness!

And last but certainly not least...shots...as in shots of tequila ;)

My hubby has been wanting a cocktail shaker for quite some time now. I have no idea why, as real men drink their alcohol stirred not shaken and I wasn't even old enough to partake in shaken beverages! But for my birthday, he got a cocktail shaker from Marshall's. Like how that works out huh? My birthday-his gift. He's spoiled.

Anyway, last week I went back and purchased the matching ice bucket and wine-chiller-ma-bob. They make us feel so grown up-as if joining the military, moving across the country and buying a house aren't enough...

And now I leave you with our booze tray...we've got 12 of those tall shot glasses you see on the left. Party anyone? We've got you covered!

You see that Don Julio in the front? Yeah...we're sorta best friends....

Have a good weekend! I know I will ;)

Happy Veterans Day!

2010-11-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

To my husband, and all active duty, reserved and retired military, I thank you for the sacrifices you make/made each day so that we may live in peace.

Kitchen & Master Bedroom Updates!

2010-11-03T10:44:00.002-06:00

I have a small kitchen update...meaning we finally have appliances! We got them last Tuesday, but were unable to use the stove (long story!) until Friday I believe. But they are here and are gorgeous, and I'm trying to learn to love the side-by-side fridge until we can upgrade!

And in other news...I've started working on the master bedroom.

Here's the state we're in right now:

(Please don't mind the way I "made" the bed to snap a picture. When I do our reveal, things will have been ironed out, and there won't be such a ratty comforter, but I like to show progress!)

There is still so much to be done, but I'd like to think we're off to a good start! So far we've semi-finalized the paint color, which is Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray, very similar to this color below.

It's nowhere near the color I proposed in the moodboard, but we both agreed we want something moody and dramatic, so we'll see how we feel once it's up on the walls.

I purchased a lumbar pillow in the Hot House fabric, and it arrived within a day of shipping! I worked with etsy seller WoodyLiana and am very glad I did. She was very informative and offered free samples of fabrics that she currently has available!

I found an inexpensive alternative to my originally suggested curtains from Target, they are they most gorgeous shade of blue! I also found emerald green throw pillows that will be replacing the temporary ones you see above. They're also from Target, but weren't in the budget this week!

Other things left to do include painting the room, finding taller & beefier night stands, fixing our headboard (it got a little messed up in the move!), hopefully finding a more budget friendly comforter/duvet, mounting the TV, accessories...and the list just goes on.

And now here's where I ask for your opinion...the lamp you see above, with the shade I'd like to use ~~barely balanced~~ on top of the current one...what do you think? It's only going to be for my side of the bed, something curvy & colorful on my nightstand. Dante will probably get something like this:

Please be honest! You probably won't hurt my feelings, haha!

Adorable!

2010-10-29T08:35:00.023-06:00

I know it's nowhere near Christmas yet, but seeing these cute little stockings has me dreaming of a white one!

found here

My husband and I have a red, black and silver scheme, as we did last year, but these were too cute not to share! Here are some other items that caught my eye:

West Elm

Pottery Barn - this could be an easy DIY!

cb2

and these are by far my favorite:

let's get the party started! (Crate and Barrel)

Haha! Enjoy & have a safe Halloween!

Master Bedroom

2010-10-26T07:03:00.001-06:00

With our secret out, lets talk decor. It's one of my favorite topics to discuss when it comes to the new house, so you are warned, I'm going to talk about it constantly!

I immediately decided to focus on the room that is normally neglected in any home, the master bedroom. Originally I had visions of neutrals-navy blues, taupes, and creams, but then I remembered, we're in our early twenties! We should be bold and daring ~~and out of control~~ while we can! So...being the super sweet wife that I am, I asked my husband for his opinion on the color scheme that would be going into our room.

He requested the following:

Burnt Orange
Blues-Gray blues
Chocolate Brown
Gold
Kelly Green

Um...sure! Well, he requested "green", not kelly green, but when I showed him that "green" included chartreuse, he specified the "regular green" which I take to mean Kelly green, since it's my favorite green!

Anyway....to get back on track...here's the plan:

-As soon as I looked over his list, the Celerie Kemble Hot House fabric in the Spark colorway popped into my mind. He signed off (thankfully...that fabric ain't cheap!) and my little brain got to work.

-I'm thinking a soft, blue-ish green-ish gray for the walls, along the lines of Sherwin William's Silvermist (SW 7621). We had a similar color in our base house's living room, and it's beautiful!

-I'd like to work with our existing furniture, so we're just going to give everything a nice deep stain, most likely Minwax's Bombay Mahogany. I was hoping these pulls would work, but after seeing them in person, they might be too shiny. But never fear, Martha has other pieces in her collection that might do the trick!

-I hope to keep the bedding simple with solid sheets from BB&B, and this classic duvet from Pottery Barn.

-I stumbled upon these great panels while browsing for window treatments for my office. I love the stone-y blue! (Oh yes, stone-y is a word)

-For accessories, I'm thinking these yummy pillows in paprika, these from AllModern.com and two of the sweet little lamps from IKEA. I'm also eye-ing this sassy mirror from Zgallerie that'd be perfect over our bed!

-And I'm still on the lookout for a good chair, so let me know if you see anything!

So what do you think? Totally your taste? Or too wild for you to sleep at night? Let me know what you think! And of course, I'll do my very best to document the process!

Happy Birthday...

2010-10-25T08:40:00.008-06:00

to me!

Yesterday I celebrated my 21st birthday! My mom came to visit and, helped us move as well!

I'm totally exhausted, as we closed, moved and painted the old house all in one weekend. I've got some posts scheduled for the week, as I'm probably going to be unpacking like crazy for the next week or so!

So enjoy, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Lol, do people say that any more? I'm not the hippest chick...

Our Portable Home

2010-10-22T14:00:00.042-06:00

I named this blog Our Portable Home in October of 2009, when I realized that my husband I would be moving our “home” every few years. We’d be picking up our personal belongings and making each new space, whether military issued our out in town, our own. Everything we purchase, sofas & cars, dining sets & clothes, has to have a purpose. See, because we’re a military family, we could be living in one place for 8 years, or 18 months. We never know, so everything’s gotta be able to move from place to place. It all has to be portable.

Well, once my husband and I arrived at our first official base, we got a crazy thought in our heads. We weren’t happy with our humble living situation on base and began to think about the day when we could live the American dream-own our own home. That was in May of this year.

Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that two crazy teens that met one night at a bowling alley would become best friends, then date & eventually get married at the ripe age of 19 & 20. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe that we would be one of those crazy teens. And never in our wildest dreams did we believe that today, October 22nd of 2010, we would become homeowners at the age of 20 & 21! (I actually turn 21 on Sunday! Talk about a birthday present, huh?)

At times, I know that we both feel like the military was one of the worst choices we could’ve made. Sometimes it’s so bad we’d rather be living back in his mom’s basement, squirreling away money to move out on our own, than dealing with the choice we made. But we made that decision, and we have to live with it for another 4 years, 8 months, 1 day. But most times it’s not so bad. There are so many opportunities we’ve been blessed with since he joined. Buying a home is one of them.

So let’s meet the new digs, and I’ll tell you all about my big plans in future posts :)

Our New Home

Great Room

Kitchen & Dining Area (we'll have Stainless appliances delivered after closing!)

Family Room

Our Backyard & mountain views :)

Master Bedroom looking into the Master Bath

Master Bathroom

Master Closet Laundry Room

Guest Bedroom 2nd full bathroom

My yummy office ;)

So there you have it...our new, not-so portable home! I'm in love!

Inspire me...

2010-10-18T15:00:00.003-06:00

For some reason, I'm so into this pic right now!

It's not like anything I'm ever drawn to. But it just draws me to it. Elegant, girly and totally sophisticated. The rest of the room is completely different from what I expected based on this pic, but it works well.

See more of this room at the Nesting Newbies magazine, or click the above image to go to the designer's website!

Who do you root for?

2010-10-17T19:33:00.000-06:00

It's Sunday night, which means my husband and I are parked in front of the TV watching football.
I like to make it known, although I don't think I've ever talked about it here, that I am a die hard Washington Redskins fan.

Being from DC, you have two choices, you either rep the home team or you're one of those crazy Cowgirls fans who only shows your love for them when they're winning! The Cowboys and their fans irritate me, but that's for another time!

So, I'm wondering, who do you root for? Are you a home team fan, or do you go for the rivaling team? Or is your team not even in the same state? Have you ever been to the stadium where your favorite team plays? Do you even watch football? I'd love to know!

We've changed up our look!

2010-10-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

It was time to grow up the blog. It was looking a bit too cute. Here she is now:

Much better! There's still a ton I have to do. I'm trying to shake things up around here, or spicing it up if you will, so there's a lot that's going to be changing soon.
I hope, as I always say but never seem to follow through, to get more active on the blog. I have tons to share with you as my husband and I transition (it's my exciting news I hope to share soon!) and as I began to become more of a domestic diva :)
I plan to share recipes & decor ideas from a baby shower I'm hosting next month, as well as Thanksgiving! And I plan on sharing my experiences as a budding photographer.
So, stick with me! I'm working on being more open, and putting myself out here, as I'm honestly an extremely shy person, but the military is breaking me out of my shell, and I figure this is as good a place as any to share my life :)

Surprise...I'm alive!

2010-10-07T08:37:00.000-06:00

Where in the world was I?!

It’s a shame. I’ve been right here the whole time, but haven’t been motivated to write a thing. Life has been at a standstill and moving at a whirlwind pace all at the same time. I’ve got some exciting news to hopefully share with y’all soon. I am jumping out of my skin, I can barely contain myself!

Things have changed so much. For the better, but it’s definitely taking some getting used to. Let’s see…what’s happened in our neck of the woods? We adopted a new puppy. His name’s Geoff and he’s a miniature poodle. He’s my puppy, and Ziggy is Dante’s. I love that little ball of fluff so much. He’s probably the laziest thing ever, and sleeps all day :)

I got a part time job (finally) and being away from the house and our dogs is so strange to me. But it makes me love my time at home so much more. Adjusting to the working lifestyle has been a bit of a struggle, since I haven’t worked in over a year, and I don’t have consistent hours, so I’ve been taking naps whenever possible!

The photography business is going well. I had my first official PAID photo shoot at the end of September. It was awesome! Here's my favorite from a previous shoot:

That's about all for now...I should be back with my exciting news update soon...as well as some decorating ideas I have :)

Lots of <3

Robynne