Lighting

When we first moved into this house, the number one thing I noticed was the light fixtures. They were all UGLY. Brassy, gold ugliness. I finally decided that it was time to change out some lights. Let me first say that overall, it is easy to change lights. It is not hard to rewire them. The hard parts are 1-holding the new light up while you screw it in and 2-getting the wires inside the chain while still having the chain hold up the weight of the light. Overall, I will probably now hire someone to put up lights but I can say that I put up these two.

Before

Before

During - don't let the smile fool you, I am secretly hating it

After - please ignore the mess

After, much better than before!

Before - this was one my least favorite lights in the whole house

After!

If you have 15 minutes...

If you have fifteen minutes, you can help your closet go from this:

To this

Amazingly, I did not take anything out of the closet. Just rearranged. I was even interrupted two separate times by the boy. Now, to tackle other closets.

New Curtains....different room

Remember how I said that curtains can change a room? I decided to give it a shot in a different room. My dining room, while totally an awesome color, had horrible blinds. They were the cheaper plastic ones that bend and break easy. One of the dogs completely knew how to move them over so she could look out. In the process, she had managed to break and bend them.

Here, you can see how awful they were...

Much better afterwards. It makes the room feel more elegant and finished.

Playroom - before and after

I was getting super tired of the playroom always being a complete mess.

So, my mom and I took Xander to IKEA and got some great organizers. The thing about IKEA stuff is that you have to put it together. It took me and Katlyn 3 different nights and one Saturday afternoon to put everything together. Then, we took everything out of the playroom and put some of the organizers in.

After looking at it for a minute, Katlyn and I decided that we did not like them there. So, we moved them to the other side of the room.

And that worked! The room looked one hundred times better than before. I need to go back and get another tall unit for the other corner but over all I like this wall.

On the other wall is a desk that my mom got for Xander. At the time that I took these pictures, the desk was not completed. This is the location that it will stay though.

Let's talk about the lamp. Not the fact that the top is on completely crooked but the "toys" that are on it.

If we look a bit closer, you can see who resides on each level of the lamp. These are VERY important toys in this house. We all love them and thougth that they should have their own spot.

Overall, I love the way that the room came out. Xander loves it even more. He enjoys going in there and knowing where to find everything.

New curtains can change the room!

Our living room is in the process of getting a make over and I am loving it!

First, we ordered a new couch

This picture does not do it justice. The ottoman and pillows are not as shiny as the picture leads you to believe. They design is round, bubbles and I love it. Unfortunately, it does not go with the rug or the curtains. So, the next thing I had to do was change the curtains. So, it went

from this:

To this:



I think this small change made a world of difference! The walls look a different color and the room looks brighter! The next thing I need to do is change the rug. I have not found one yet that I like but I think I want to stay with one that is burgundy/red. Thoughts?

Overall, the room went from looking like this, which is nice but dark and a little drab

To this, which is much lighter and more inviting.



I am also going to eventually replace that loveseat with two arm chairs. Overall, I am happy with how the room is coming along.

Sunday Beauty

(all take in Oklahoma, Aug 2010)

Back!

I am back! In the two months that I have been gone, I have stayed busy, busy, busy! There has been lots going on over here at my house.

Stay tuned and be on the lookout for new posts!

Roses

The roses that I had planted this spring were not too happy. The spot that I picked for them is perfect but with the 100+ heat that we have been having here in Virginia, they were slowly looking pretty sad.

As you can see, the roses were NOT happy.

Superdad and I headed to one of our favorite stores (Home Depot) and picked up a few supplies.

The first thing that I did , was to lay the pavers around the flowers so I could see exactly what I was doing. I then left it that way for a few days. This was partially because I got busy. It did end up helping in the end, though because when I pulled them away, it left a perfect mark of where the pavers had been. This gave me a good idea of where to dig the grass up at.

Once that was done, it was just a matter of digging out the grass. I did not take pictures of this part because I was a bit sweaty. But, I think that the results turned out really nice. The roses already thanked me too.

Quick fix

I love the blog Young House Love. They gave me a great idea for the red plate that I got at a yard sale a few weeks ago.

There idea is to use it in the kitchen to organize the things you use most often. So, here is the area beside my stove.

And here is the same spot using the new plate to it's full potential.

I knew that I wanted to put the oil on it since I had been storing it down in the bottom cabinet. The Superdad was the one who actually gave me the idea to use the salt and pepper.

So, what do you think?

Yard sale finds

A good friend and I have been hitting up the yard sales as often as possible this summer. This past weekend, I was able to find a few good things.

The plate is destined for the kitchen and was a steal at $3. The cafeterra was also $3 and was a great find. I accidentally burned mine up a few years ago so I was excited to find it. The best find, though, is the pillow case. It is silk and from West Elm. The lady who owned it works for Pottery Barn and loves to decorate. She also loves to change up her house often and just wanted to get rid of it. She let me have it for $1! Can you believe that?? It is destined for the guest room. The guest room needs color and this is perfect for that.

The other thing that I found was a mirror. Mirrors are expensive, especially if they have a nice frame. The one I found has a nice frame and is SUPER heavy. It also has a logo on the back that I can't find anything about on Google.  I am going to do a bit more research before I do anything to the mirror.

Here is the mirror and the detail on it.

Eventually, I would like to paint it a tealish color and hang it in the hall that leads down to the basement. It will go on the left where those two pictures are. The teal color should be a nice pop of color and will make interesting appeal.

Oh right, the cost. It costs a whopping $7. I know. A steal. When he told me that, I paid the man and walked away before he could change his mind. Hopefully I will be able to do a little bit of research on where it came for and then I will be able to paint it.