Ikat

I'm sure you've seen this print, even if you haven't known exactly what it was...it's Ikat and it is everywhere!  You can find it in clothes for you, the kids, handbags, rugs, and pretty much anything that can come in a fabric print. I love that it adds personality to a room or an outfit, but there's something relaxed and casual about it too.   Here are a few of my faves...

overstock.com

Amazon

Pottery Barn

West Elm

Gap (Love this style...fun and forgiving!)

Free People

Ballard Designs Fabric to go on this...

Ballard Designs chair (LOVE the casters!)

What do you think?  Are you loving Ikat as much as I am?  Maybe your next home spruce-up will include some of these beautiful prints.

How do YOU do it?

Not that I'm worried about being at the point anytime soon that my house is so clean and perfect that when my friends come over they are afraid to touch anything and ruin the perfection.  But a conversation with a friend lately made met think about the purpose of my house when entertaining.  Is it to show of all my projects and gawk over my good deals?  (OK, I have to admit I have gotten really excited about something like that and couldn't wait to tell some CLOSE friends : ))  Is it to get a potential client?  Is it to show off that it is white-glove clean? (yeah, I didn't throw this one out there for me : ))  Is it to show that I'm the hostess with the mostess?

Maybe no one else struggles with the idea of perfection when entertaining...and while I hope my my house is presentable and I am a warm and inviting hostess, I hope even more that my home can be a place of encouragement.  A place where people feel comfortable (both my kids friends and my own).  A place where even though my kids may have chipped paint off the trim (which may or may not have happened during a scooter race during the "Snow Week" we had this year), people can come here to reach out to other people, and not just see the items on my to-do list.  I hope this home is a place where when someone has a bad day, they know they are welcome here and will be welcomed with a hug a big cup of coffee (and I'll even share my hidden Milano stash : )).  I want my friends to know that if they need a babysitter last minute, they can call me, because whether it's before cleaning day in the week or after, I care more about the friendship than them seeing my house in a crazy state.  I hope when anyone walks though the door, they feel comfortable enough to kick up their feet and make themselves comfortable or help themselves out in the kitchen.  I hope out of town family and friends know they always have place to stay or a place at least to hit up for a home cooked meal.  I hope I can become the first person people think when they need a home/hostess for something.  I know I have work to do in this area, but being focused on the goal of loving people instead of solely concerned about the state of my house has changed my methods and perspective.

Ok, so I KNOW some of you reading this, are right on board with me.  How do you do it?  I'd love to hear thoughts on how to do better in this area from other women I know do a great job of this. 

(I was going to post pics of a baby shower I recently had, but I forgot to take any...and I thought our S.S. class member would probably appreciate me not posting pics of the costume parted we hosted last fall....so sorry, for the pictureless post!)

Anthro letters

I love letters as wall art...especially Anthropolgie style.

Anthropologie's Zinc Letters

But at $18 a pop, it wasn't in the budget.  Sooo...I figured out a way to get the look I want for a fraction of the cost.  Sure, the real thing is probably better, but I'm so excited with how this project turned out!

I saw a way online to make wood like like metal, so instead of using wood I headed to Hobby Lobby and bought 3 3D cardboard letters at $2.47 each.  (I'm sure they'll go 50% off next week, but I was already there for something else so I picked them up : )) 



I ALWAYS have black spray paint on hand, and I did....but only enough to get me this far...



So I went to my craft paint box (which is full due to all the school projects we've done over the last few years!) and luckily I had some black.  I finished them off with that.



This only took a few minutes to dry. Then, I had some silver craft paint that I rubbed on with a paper towel.




So easy and so quick.  This project took me less than 30 minutes and less than $10.

original idea for the letters

another option...since some days i live on tea and coffee

this one's for that point in the day when I'm wondering what daddy's ETA will be : )

I may go back with another coat of my "zinc" and give them a shinier look...not sure yet.  What do you think?

Confession time

Here goes...I love black painted walls.  I can't have them in my house, because in order to pull of that look, you've got to have a lot of natural light...so you don't look like you're going for the Halloween-look.  But I think done in the right way, it can look so glamorous. Lots of white molding and some flowing white window treatments would make those walls look like a million bucks. Case and point....

casa howard

decor pad

decor pad

So, would you do it if you had all the ingredients to this daring recipe?

The design tip found at your grocery store

No, it's not some crazy craft made out of lima beans or plastic bags.  This one takes hardly any work at all really, and it can make a WORLD of difference.  So...are you intrigued yet?  I'm talking about fresh flowers.  Scroll through any home decor magazine and you are guaranteed to see it throughout.  It adds that special pop of color and just an extra dose of "life" to any room.

I have to admit...I might be a little spoiled on this one.  I always had an aversion to flowers for special holidays.  It's not that I don't love them, because I do...but it sometimes meant "I didn't think much about this special day, and so I picked some flowers up on the way home from work to keep the peace."  Can I hear an AMEN???  So, this summer in a effort to keep things exciting and new in our marriage, my sweet husband decided he was going to buy me fresh flowers every week...just as a reminder that he loves me.  This was huge...my thoughts on flowers were no secret, and the fact that he came up with this all on his own meant so much to me.  (This is NOT an endorsement to go tell all your husbands/significant others that the key to a happy marriage is flowers every week...it just works for us! :) )

Now, we are on a budget, so a lot of times these just come straight from our local grocery store, but I cannot tell you what a HUGE difference this makes in our home.  The color, the changing selection....it all adds so much to the overall look of our home.  See for yourself....

bathroom...just a couple red gerbera daisies help the neutral color scheme

Ok, these were from an upscale grocery store (bought because I was hosting a baby shower), but aren't they gorgeous??

Now onto some more rooms from Decor Pad that are lit up by their flowers....

The greenery brings so much life to this kitchen

I think I'm ready to cook brunch up in this gorgeous kitchen

One of my favorite kitchens, designed by Caitlin Wilson.  Preppy and clean. (Did you notice that amazing wallpaper too?)

Love the monochromatic color in the flowers...you notice them, but also all the other details in the room

You can't go wrong with a centerpiece of hydrangeas for the dining room

Love the contrast of color these add....and I ADORE that table those flower are on!

Gorgeous color scheme....and the flowers complement perfectly

Isn't this room to die for?  Such a mix of feminine and masculine...like the light pink roses on the rustic table.

So maybe getting flowers every week isn't an option, but maybe next time you have company or host a party in your home, try picking up some flowers while you do your shopping and see what that little change can add to your space!

Just a little eye candy....

Can y'all believe this amazing makeover that Penny Lane did on my blog???  You know when you are about to receive a package in the mail and you keep checking to see if the mailman has come...well, that's how I've been with my new blog design and I couldn't be more thrilled with the results!

What do y'all think?  You'll have to head over to Penny Lane Designs and check out her amazing creations!

Do you love it?

I don't know if y'all are like me, but every once in awhile I come across something that I really LOVE.  Whether it's at thrift store, at Target (am I the only one this happens to ALL the time here?), a boutique, or wherever it may be...you see that one thing, and you can feel your heart pitter-patter a little bit.  But then, you realize you have no place for it in your house...so off it goes back to shelf.  But when it calls your name a little louder, you convince yourself you'll find a place because it's that spectacular, and of course it's on sale.  : )

But, when you get it home it sits in your closet in the bag for months and months because you can't figure out where to put it.  Or maybe it is out, but it's just not taking center stage like it should.  So, my challenge for today is...pull it out of the bag, dust it off and put it out for everyone to see it, because my guess, is that they will love it just as much as you do!

What have I taken out of hiding recently??

This silver that I couldn't find the right thing to go in....finally met it's match

Both the large flower pic/frame and the sunburst clock had been waiting for a home for awhile...I love the statements they make

I'd love to hear what your favorites do to freshen up your home!

Light your world

Like I've mentioned before, I love old homes...I live in an older home and other than my crazy plumbing issues, I love it.  One drawback to older homes is the lack of natural lighting they let in.  Now, of course, this isn't always the case, but for the most part they don't have the big open spaces and large windows that new homes offer.  So how do you keep these older homes from feeling like they are caving in on you?

• Take down the blinds.  When we first moved in, I couldn't wait to get my 2-inch blinds up.  I really do love the look of them, but slowly, I have taken them down to let that natural light in.  Even when they are in the open position, it still hinders lots of natural light from coming.  Keep the curtains shut at night if you need the privacy, but otherwise, hang the curtains so it lets in as much light as possible.

House Beautiful

• This might be obvious, but keep the paint light and bright.  I've got the perfect example of what not to do.  When we bought our house I wanted so badly to paint our dining room (we use as an office) that brick red that everyone and their brother used in their dining room.  So I did.  And now I've got the new paint waiting for me to cover it up because it feels somewhat dungeon-like. Still love the color, just wrong for the amount of natural light it gets.



Keep in mind this room is about to be redone ~ and I didn't pick the paint to go with the pool table ; )

• Another curtain tip...choose light and airy over dark and weighed down.  Not only does it let the light in, but dark window treatments can suck up the all the light that is let in.



Light Sheer Curtains that even have a print, West Elm

• Here's one I'm working on currently...filling up wall space with white matted frames.  There are so many ways to do this, there are pre-made pics in the matted frame all ready to buy, you can head to Hobby Lobby and do it yourself, or you can even use the large white matted frames  that people use to sign at weddings....you don't have to sign them, but I probably wouldn't get the one that says "Our special day." : )



House Beautiful

• Mirrors.  Not to get all nuclear physicist on y'all (not sure if that applies, but you get my drift), but find a way to place the mirrors so it actually reflects the light.  I had a mirror for years above my fireplace and while it was fine there, I moved it directly across the room from my window and made such a huge difference! It literally helped light up the whole room with natural light.

House Beautiful

Some of you might have newer airy home that needs to be "cozied" up a bit and we can address that later, but for now, hopefully this can help the rest of us light up our life a bit.

Having fun with kid's fashion

Ok, so when the first baby comes, if you are like me, you want everything to be perfect.  Perfect layette, perfect nursery, perfect stroller, perfect high chair, perfectly matched shoes and outfits....but by the time baby #4 comes along....it's part survival and you realize they only can be this little once where they can get away with 4 different animal prints all at one time.
 
My youngest turned three yesterday (that is SOOO bittersweet!) and this baby girl can rock some fun outfits.  She is known everywhere we go for her spunky little look ( I even had notes on my FB page yesterday about it!).  That's obviously somewhat due to what I buy her but she also chooses the funnest outfits...and I love it!

Here's just a sampling of Little Ms. Spunky. ;)

All dressed up for bed

Apparently it was just a stripes kind of day

The dress I picked out for her for Christmas...the sweater was her little touch she added

And now for some other great picks....

crewcuts (jcrew's kids line)

crewcuts...LOVE stripes

crewcuts...can you imagine the twirls to be had in this dress??

crewcuts..rompers, cute on her (not me though :))

crewcuts...with jeans or a dress this would be precious

crewcuts...wouldn't this add a splash of color and fun to any outfit

gap kids

gap kids...fun but covers what needs to be covered on my baby girl

gap kids...wonder if i could make this??

converse for crewcuts...ummm, yes please!

piperlime...comfy and cute

piperlime

And this little look never goes out of style for the toddler crowd, right?



And on that note...enjoy the rest of your day and I hope you'll enjoy dressing those sweet babies!