Our Trip

Good Morning!

Several weeks ago we drove down to Ohio and I explained the circumstances here.  

Even through the trying situation we made it an enjoyable trip as much as possible.

Our first rest stop about 2hrs in.  My daughter took this pic : )

We saw many cool trucks on our drive down..

That really makes me happy!  I love this..might have to frame it : )

When we arrived we were honored to have the President of Jane Tv, Jackie Dorman, open up her home for my family to stay.

It was so good to be with them.  There is Jackie getting business done.

She had an interview set up with a magazine in Easton.  I love coming to this place! It has every store imaginable that could meet all your needs.  Check out the site and see for yourself and it is a family friendly atmosphere.

Saw this car there..

STUNNING!

Love the color blue with the camel color interior.  My husband was drooling : ))

While my husband was falling for the car I was dying over this outdoor fireplace.

And of course the obvious question was, "Can you build me one?"  That's me and the other man in my life.

I hope you all enjoy Halloween and stay safe.

Living Room Coming Together

Good Afternoon!  

I am really excited to show you more on the living room and the pieces that are making it all come together.

Not long ago we had our birch tree in our backyard come down in a windstorm

and I had an idea : )

The wall in my living space was totally empty..

I decided to make them into sculptural light pieces that would also expand the height of the ceiling.

We cut the birch to 9ft and placed them in wood containers that I got at Pier1 for $15, placed marble chips from Home Depot for $3.99 and placed Grundtal lights in the center from Ikea.

I had been wanting these curtains from Ikea for 3yrs after I had seen them on an episode of Sarah's House on Hgtv.

I bought this lamp from Pier1 as well from their clearance section for $25..now the other lamp I was borrowing from my family room could be returned..lol.

Here is my son asleep and after I looked at this picture the chair was calling out for a pillow..and so was my sofa.

The pillows we bought from good ol' Ikea.

My eye caught this piece at a consignment store..

hmmm...

Have a great weekend everyone : )

Living Room Arrangement And A Wrap up

Good Morning to Everyone : )  

 

We have been hosting a lot lately and just recently there was a singer/songwriter's group at our house.  I love hearing the lovely sound of voices and instruments through my home.  

Having people over is more of an incentive to create an environment that people love to come to and enjoy.

Which leads me to our living room..

I spoke about it here.  In that post you will see the layout of the furniture before.

I decided to change it because just like the dining room that arrangement wasn't working for us.

The flow into the living room is so much more open compared to how it was before.  

I didn't want to block the view by putting the sofa in front of the window and making the windows seem smaller than they were.  That lamp on the table actually goes into my family room..hahaha.  

Now that flow has been established I will soon be able to add the other layers into the room : )

By the way, I do want to wrap up our basement situation.  If you haven't read about it check it out..

1.  Rising Water

2.  Demolition Part 1

3.  Demo Part 2 : Clean and Clear

4.  The Why and How

That situation had plagued us for quite some time and I am happy to say it plagues us no more.

This makes me so happy!  That rotten smell and pools of water will no longer be an issue.

Here Corey is filling it back up.  Now we have not cemented it back yet to make sure the pipes were in full working order.  I am happy to say no problems have arose.  Whew : )

  Hoping your week is full of creativity.

How's Your Journey Going?

Hello All!  

A couple of weeks ago around 2am I woke up from falling asleep in my family room and my husband had just finished recording music in the studio when we got the news that someone we knew had passed away.

We were devastated.

He had just got finished speaking and said to his wife, "I love you. I'll see you at home." He never got a chance to make it there.

Corey and I knew we had to go to the memorial service.

We all piled in our car and made the long 8hr drive to Ohio.  It was a lot of time to think.

I thought about how fleeting life is...I thought about my husband..my children.

What kind of legacy will I leave behind?  Will it be something I am proud of?

All I know is this...

I want to be a wonderful wife.  I want to be a place of safety and acceptance for my husband.  I want to stay true to the vows I took.

I want to be a great mother for my children.  A place of assurance and unconditional love.  I want to be an encourager of dreams.

I want to be an incredible friend, one who will sharpen you to become better and tell you the truth even if it hurts because I love you.

This drive was bitter sweet.  It put this thing called "Life" into perspective. The realization that there is more than this.

Yes, Ohio, I welcome you.  I thank you, God, for this dear man and family and for the shift in perspective.

May all of us live a little more purposefully today.

Can It Be: Living Room (and some cool news)

Hey Everyone!

The weather is beginning to change and my wood stove is working in full force in the evenings.  I wrote about ours here.  I love it and it saves us on our energy bills.

Let's do a recap of what has been accomplished so far..

Family Room (still a work in progress)..

(need new furniture..but my floors are done)

Hallway

Dining Room

Now we move onto our living room.

I wish I had the complete before pics but I don't.  All I can say is it had the same nasty, stained, beige carpet that was throughout the house.  Watercolored huge valance over the windows with the long 1980's blinds.  All the walls throughout the house were painted white except for the family room.

For those of you who have been around the blog for awhile you know what I asked for right away.. tear up that carpet and lets continue the hardwood floors.

We continued the hardwood floors from the family room..to the dining room and into the living room space.  We moved from a really small home and needed new furniture.  We got this at a steal from Slumberland.  The two white chairs are Natuzzi and they were a discontinued item that we got at an unbelievable price.  As you can see we continued the chocolate venetian plaster wall oppsite of the wall in the dining area.  I love the big windows!  I am the kind of person that has to have a lot of natural light in a space.

The floors came out beautiful and again my husband did a great job. 

Will let you know how this furniture arrangement faired.

SIDE NOTE:  

I wanted to share the announcement from Jane Tv from twitter

myjanetv Jane.tv

Att Chicago Area Janes! Keep an eye on www.jane.tv website for upcoming fun events in your area with your very own Chi Town girl @despar2

I will keep you posted on what this all entails..  Have a great week all!

Calm And Soothing Color

Today's guest post is from Susi, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, a fantastic online resource for lighting fixtures, lamps and the latest trends and products in lighting for your home.

We're all busy busy busy with the demands of our lives so it's important to find spaces in our homes that are retreats from the stress of the outside world. Color plays a big part in defining the energy of a room. When creating a retreat or oasis, look for calm and soothing colors to define the space. Here are some of our favorite calm and soothing colors for the home. Enjoy!

Neutrals don't have to be boring. The calm pale dove grey of this room's walls creates a soothing base for the rest of the warm neutral creams and tans. Beautiful.

While crisp white creates a fresh look in a kitchen, an off-white, pale cream or whisper of gray will create a more calm feeling space. Soothing colors relax us rather than invigorate. Love the interesting range hood and multi-arm pendant light in this kitchen design.

It is no coincidence that many calm and soothing colors are inspired by the coast. Soft blues and sandy whites are lovely shades for a calm oasis for a bedroom.

Sage greens are soothing colors for bedrooms. Must be the link to the outdoors and nature that make cool greens calming colors.

Taupes and grays are also soothing colors for the bedroom. Mix in a few metallic versions for sparkle and sheen to add interest to the neutral color palette.

Silvery lavender is a beautiful color that is so soothing and calm. Colors with a lot of gray to them tend to be more soothing than colors with white undertones. How beautiful will this room look in the reflection from the ornate light fixture and silvery ceiling?

Think of your happy place when selecting colors to calm and soothe. Coastal blues, forest greens, desert sands... all can be found in calm, soothing colors for your decor.

Love this calm feeling bathroom in a lovely silvery sage green. Think of calm and soothing colors for the bath and bedroom to create a retreat for yourself.

What do you think of these serenely decorated interiors? Visit Arcadian Lighting's website to discover more design ideas and a brilliant selection of lighting fixtures!

Arcadian Lighting is the best source for lighting fixtures and accessories at discount prices. Arcadian Lighting has been in the lighting industry for over 15 years selling decorative home lighting fixtures and lamps online, and has become one of the top Internet retailers for home lighting products
Images (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Basement Drain Part 3: The Why and How

Good afternoon : )
I want to thank all of you who have visited my guest blog post at Welcome To The Laundromat.  Thank you for sharing part of your heart with me as well.

Continuing about our basement...

We are finally making progress with this drain.  If you have missed out on the previous posts you can check them out here and here.

My husband, Corey, is going to explain why we were having drain issues and how to fix it.

Here is a blooper..too funny : )

I will be sharing the wrap up of this project very soon. 
  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the little adventures in life : )

It's Personal

Hi Everyone!  I know that I don't normally post on Wednesday but I wanted to let everyone know I wrote a guest post on..

Welcome To The Laundromat

It's a more personal post and will give you some insight..

Please stop by and say "Hi"

Before And After : Mid-Century Seating

Happy Monday!

It's an absolutely beautiful fall day here and we are getting ready for a barbecue with friends this evening.  There is nothing like surrounding yourself with great company : )

If you remember earlier in the summer I was a part of Sharefest.  I bought three chairs to restore.  Two were for the teachers lounge and one was for me.

Here is what the chairs looked like before..

I got them for $15.  They had a heavy stain lacquer that you couldn't tell what kind of wood it was.  We stripped it down.  You can check out what I did with the other chairs here.  

To get those chairs to look like that took a lot of work.. actually weeks with our busy schedules.

We just finished up the last one which will be going into my husband's office.  

Here is how my daughter and I reupholstered the seat.

The original fabric was not in the best condition (old and dirty).

Lots of staples to remove from the lining.

I pried up the staples with sharp end of scissors (I know there is a better way but I used what was on hand..lol) while my daughter pulled them out.

There were a gazillion staples on the actual fabric and we did the same process to get the lining off.

We began to staple the new fabric around the seat making sure the fabric was tight all around and the lines weren't crooked.  I then cut the excess fabric.

So here is the chair..

I love the fabric!  It represents my husband so much.
And to my surprise we found out the chair is walnut...not bad for a $15 buy and $8 worth of fabric from Hancock : )

 Stay tuned for some exciting news ...