Vintage Pretties

Family Room Fluffing -- New Decorative Pillows

Our bare, white walled, open-spaced new house is very, very slowly becoming more and more homey. You may one day even call it cozy.  In about 10 years. 

I've been putting a lot of effort into the family room because we spend the most time there.  I've made a few mistakes already and threw up a few things just because we needed something, but I'm getting there. 

One thing that I love, love, love in the family room are the pillows that I made for the sofa.

I spent numerous nights online, considering fabrics and coordinating, deciding which ones would look best together.

I had an accquaintance do the monogram on her super fancy embroidery machine (mine can't sew a design that big) and I stitched up the fabric into a pillow for the centerpiece.

I posted about the cutie patootie polka dotted pillows a few months ago (see?  that is how long it took me to decide on these!).  The paisely fabric is my absolute favorite.  It is SO gorgeous.  I want it everywhere! In fact, I was considering making curtains for this room in red version of that fabric, but its too burgundy.  Drat.

Next, I'm working on the mantel.  I currently have picture frames there, with the pictures of models still in them.  Classy.

Hope's Bathroom -- After Photos!

The facelift of Hope's bathroom is complete! 

The details are my favorite part:

And, my favorite:

What we did:

-painted the walls

-sewed a new shower curtain

-sewed personalized towels

-changed out the light fixture, the towel rod & the toilet paper holder

-added a robe/towel hook for more hanging space for guests

-changed out the cabinet knobs to glass

-added a silver tray & a personalized bubble bath

Hope said that she would like to paint a picture for above the toilet, so I need to remind her to get cracking on her artwork :)  I'm also going to keep my eye out for a few cute accessories for the counter. 

We are really happy with the cheerfulness of the room!

 

Red Roses

Remember the rose bush that I posted about here?  It exploded in flowers over the weekend! For the first time ever, I was able to take cuttings & make an arrangement of flowers from my own garden. 

As time goes on, I hope that I will be able to fill my yard with a small cutting garden.  I would love to add pale pink roses to current plants.  Wouldn't a bouquet of lilacs, hydrangeas & pink roses be lovely?

Jewelry Organizer -- Quick IKEA Fix

I love IKEA!  I know, who doesn't?  Super cute decorating solutions, super inexpensive?  Sign me up!  And, we are lucky enough to live about 5 minutes from IKEA.  So, if I get a good idea (i.e.: find something good on Pinterest), I can just pop over there and get everything that I need.

My latest IKEA solution is for my costume jewelry.  Up until this week, this is how I stored my necklaces:

Nice, huh?  And ever so easy to find what I was looking for!

Enter IKEA:

The Bygel rail and S-hooks.  $2.98 for the whole thing.  Yes, $2.98.  I put up the rail on my closet wall and....

Ta Da!  Perfect jewelry holder -- I can see everything and they can't get tangled.  There is even room for several more necklaces. 

Now, if I could only find an IKEA solution for this....

(Photos of rail & hook found at IKEA.  In the store, they can be found in the kitchen organization area)

Spring Flowers

Please excuse my little absence...I was wrapping up spring semester!  I have three weeks off before the start of the summer session --- ahhhhhhhh. I have a list a mile long of crafty decorating projects that I want to tackle while I'm off.  The truth is, the list is long, but I'm going to do whichever ones strike my fancy and let the others go, because a relaxing pace is what I'm going for. 

Since it is our first spring in this house, I've been doing a lot of planting to give the yard a little color.  The gorgeous iris in the top photo was a housewarming gift from a friend of ours who is an amazing gardener.  The iris bulbs come from a group that have been planted at several of her family's homes.  Isn't that the most thoughtful housewarming gift?  It is so, so beautiful.

There is a sweet story behind this rose bush as well (if I do say so).  On the 8th anniversary of our first date (yep, we are corny like that), Glenn gave me one of those "miniature rose" plants that comes in a 4 inch pot.  After we enjoyed it inside for a week or so, I thought "What the heck, it couldn't hurt to plant it & see what happens".  Keep in mind that I cannot grow anything.  The next spring, lo & behold, the bush came back to life and started blooming!  We took it from the old house, put it in a pot on the back porch of the rental and replanted it here and it is growing better than ever!  It's become a special plant for us -- symbolic of how our relationship grows and strengthens through the years and changes.

There is no story behind these.  We got them at the garden center and planted 7 of them in front of the porch.  But, the photo turned out so pretty that I had to share :)  I also planted a peony that is yet to bloom (or get buds...grrr) as well as a lilac and hydrangea that aren't pretty yet.  I'll take photos once they start to get pretty.  It's my dream to have large enough flowering bushes to take cuttings for vases.  I have a way to go, but I'm on my way!

Summer Is Coming & Momma Needs New Clothes! -- Summer Clothes

It's already getting hot here and it's quickly becoming apparent where there are "holes" in my wardrobe.  Once I get a last few projects done for this semester, I'm taking an entire day to go shopping!  Here is what I am thinking:

For this outfit, I already have some of the pieces -- I picked up a sleeveless tunic similar to the one shown and a pair of white capris.  I would LOVE to have a pair of white flat sandals like those Jack Rogers....!  And, I have the silver bracelet, a present from my husband several years ago. 

(the items shown in the photo: top: vineyard vines, pants: oldnavy, shoes: Jack Rogers, bracelet: Tiffany & Co)

Next, I need some more cute tops. 
I love these two from Lilly Pulitzer (navy)  & J.Crew(acqua).

There are also a few basics that I really need, a trench coat & black ballet flats.  My old spring coat went kaput, as did my black flats.

The coat is from London Fog & the shoes from J.Crew.

And finally, I am desperate for a dress that isn't too fancy & isn't too casual.  I have loads of dresses that are basicly dressed up t-shirt dresses that are perfect for everyday at the grocery store & the pool.  And, I have dresses that are perfect for really nice occasions.  I LOVE these three for those let's go out to dinner or Old Town Alexandria nights:

Adorable dress from Lilly Pulitzer

These two are from Kacey Hughes

I'm going to have a hard time narrowing down my choices and looking for cute look-alikes, as all of these items add up to about $1000!

April Menu

Sources: Southern Living, Food.com, & SkinnyTaste

Summer is coming early around here -- today it reached 90 degrees!  The warmer weather is pulling me towards lighter foods.  More chicken and fish, fewer stews.  And, spicer foods -- Mexican & Asian -- what is that about?  We want our food as hot as the weather?  Maybe it's the cerveza and margaritas that so refreshingly go with them :)

Here are some of the meals that we are having this April:

Sczechuan Noodles (with Shrimp Added) and Steamed Broccoli

Parmesan Tilapia with Wild Rice and Peas

Homemade Pizza (the best homemade dough recipe I've found!)

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos with Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Bacon and Gouda Burgers and Pesto Pea Salad

Curried Shrimp & Corn Chowder and My Mother's Spinach Salad

My mother's spinach salad is a family favorite and a hit at every potluck.  Here is the recipe:

Spinach Salad

1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing, made according to the package directions (I use the low fat version of the directions)

1 clove garlic

1 pound spinach cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 pound bacon, cooked & crumbled

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

salt, pepper & garlic powder

Cut the garlic clove in half & use it to rub the inside surface of a wooden salad bowl (skip this step if you do not have a wooden salad bowl). Toss the spinach, bacon & hard boiled eggs in the salad bowl.  Season with salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste.  Toss with salad dressing.

I'm sharing this post at Stone Gable's On the Menu Monday

 

Fabric Matted Art

While I've been missing from the blog this past week or so, I've been busy on house projects.  Hope's bathroom is painted and the light fixture for that room is on order.  Downstairs, I put together a fun and easy project that I thought that I'd share. 

As any long-time reader of my blog knows, I'm a big fan of The Graphics Fairy.  I've used the images found there as art (here and here are two examples), in projects and even as gift tags. So, when I saw this great decorating idea using images from The Graphics Fairy at Nine & Sixteen, I had to try it. Here are the results:

I pulled together some of my favorite images of animals (I'm not normally into animals in my decor, but I really like these, so I went with it), found some old frames that I had in the basement and backed the images with leftover fabric that I'd purchased for throw pillows.  I love it!  The fabric gives so much texture & interest to the images. 

******

Correction: The rabbit image is from Vintage Printable.  The others are from The Graphics Fairy.

Spring Break Fun

It's back to normal life after a busy & fun spring break. We had so much fun. Hope & I planned out lots of activities so that boredom would never threaten to set in.

As you can see from all of the check marks, we accomplished most of what we set out to do. First, was a day in DC with Daddy & Mommy, complete with a visit to a kid's museum, lunch out, cupcakes, and visits to several of the Smithsonians (it was a busy day):

Next, we played in the park with friends, who also had the week off!

Another day, it was egg dyeing time!

Friday was science experiment day.  If you have a kid, you need to try out this super easy & fun borax crystal experiment.  Look at the pretty, sparkly results!

On Saturday, we baked & decorated a butterfly cake.  Hope saw one in an ad for Joanns or some similar store & decided that we HAD to make it for Easter.  I made ours using Smitten Kitchen's delicious yellow cake recipe & homemade icing.  Yum, yum, yum. I'm a medicore cake decorator at best, but Hope declared "It's beautiful Mommy!".  That's all that I need.

We really did have a great time, but I'm beat!  I think that my normal schedule is more relaxing than "time off" :) 

Easter

Happy Easter everyone!  We are at home this year, just the three of us.  I made a brunch and set a nice  table...even though it's just us, it is still a special time.

We had a delicious strata from this Cooking Light recipe, smoked salmon (Glenn's request), berries, mimosas, and a special cake that Hope & I made yesterday. Yum.

Afterwards, Hope searched for the plastic eggs that Easter Bunny stuffs with goodies and hides in our yard.

A few pics with Mom & Dad, of course

I hope that you are having a lovely holiday!