When I saw this post today on Bryn Alexandra’s site, I saved it immediately. It’s perfect! Exactly what I am trying to achieve in our downstairs. The colors, textures and pattern. I like the rug she has pictured but am worried it would be too light against our couches and blend too much but something along those lines might work. Even the color in the background for the walls is lovely….I wonder if James will let me repaint? 
We’ve been in our home for a little over a year now and it’s still a work in progress. I am sure this happens to a lot of people….the never ending ideas, projects and purchases. I am not complaining though, I love it. The month of April was all about the outside – cleaning garden beds, planting, pruning, playing in the dirt. It’s looking a lot better and my grass is even green again (in some places), but I still have a few things waiting to happen (waiting on $ actually).
The inside is a whole other story though. I can’t say we have done much at all since we first moved in. A couple new tables downstairs (one of which I can’t wait to devote a whole post to!), a few pictures on the walls and a new duvet cover for our room….wow, not much. Did I mention these things cost money?
Anyway, much like I did for my garden, I want to make a list for the home. For the things I’d like to accomplish or complete.
Do you read Young House Love? No? Well you should…..it’s ok, click over and see what I mean, just come back! 
I love this blog and get so many ideas! It’s good and bad. My current obsession is this project they have been working on…the console table. I have a thing for console/sofa tables. I really want one. I’d love to be able to put one behind our couch as well. It’s like adding another dimension to the room! I don’t think ours would be anywhere as large as theirs but something less than two feet wide would be nice.
I’d also love to find a rug for the living room. It’s been an ongoing, fruitless search. The main problem is just deciding on a pattern or lack of pattern or color or lack of color…what to do!? I also want a big rug…no 5×7, thank you. I’d love to do a soft jute rug and then layer a colorful rug on top….not sure James digs that idea though.
The walls….it still looks like we just moved in. I’ve barely hung up any photos or anything to personalize the space more. One wall in our dining/entry area I’d like to do a wall of photos and memories (also seen on YHL). Another spot I’d love something pretty is over our bed….maybe something peacock inspired? There is also the corner of our stairwell that is a bit dark and has random trays and empty frames. I’d like to move those and do some colorful art on the walls. Something that looks good from the top of the stairs and when you see it from the living room.
Our bathroom….is boring. I think I’ve decided to paint it…maybe a gray? I’d like to paint the cabinets white too. Then accent with a purple, navy and aqua….maybe some yellow to pull in the peacock colors from the bedroom.
We were at Home Depot the other night and renovated our kitchen while we were there. Well, not really….just in our minds. It involved painting the cabinets and adding a backsplash of small white subway tiles. I can see it now…
*Sigh*
Like I said it’s always an ongoing project. Trying to decide what is most important though and how to pull it off is difficult. One task at a time, right?
Is there anything you are planning or working on for your home?
If you follow my photography blog, you’ll see that last month I made a goal of completing some sewing projects for a friend. She is having a little boy this month and I am so excited and happy for them. Brian and Blakeley will make awesome parents and I can’t wait to meet their little man.
The two projects or gifts I decided to make for her were a nursing cover and 3 infant bibs. I found the pattern for the nursing cover here via Think Liz. The bibs I also found here via Think Liz.
I made one change to the original pattern. I started with only one material – the blue and green one – but realized it just didn’t feel thick enough for me. So I went out and found the green polka dot, which I love. I sewed it wrong sides together, folding under the sides the same way the tutorial instructs, which made for the nice contrast on the green side. It was an easy change and if I make this again will do the same.
The bibs were super easy and fun to make. The back of them were soft flannel.
Aren’t they cute!? I’ll definitely be making these again for friends.
As I typed that title, I smiled because it reminded me of my elementary school back in Bedford that is called Spring Garden. Good times and best kindergarten teacher ever!
This post isn’t about schools though (even though there is a lot going on with our public schools and teachers now), it’s about gardening. The weather is feeling more spring-like every day and I have an itch to get out in the yard and make things pretty again. Just this morning, I spent an hour out back cleaning out the beds. I recently planted pansies so they are blooming and add nice color. The rose bushes are starting to leaf out again and I am hoping for a prettier year than last. I wish they would stay more bushy rather than tall and gangly looking. Roses are not my forte though. This morning I pulled weeds and pulled out dead ornamental grasses the previous owners planted. I had been pulling them out slowly as they died or froze and am finally done with them. They were pretty but not what I want to grow. I finished up by fertilizing everything and planting a French Thyme and some sweet basil. Our basil did so amazing last year, I am hoping for the same this year. Oh, I planted a rosemary bush a few weeks back as well and it survived the last freeze.
All this cleaning up and prepping got me thinking about what else to add to the beds this year. I have two very long, skinny beds along the back and side of the garage. One has mini pansies, spearmint and the thyme as well as two jasmine vines. The side bed now just has two honeysuckle vines that are almost done blooming for the season. Then I have the wider beds that run all along the fence where the rose bushes are as well as some natives like sage and lantana. The pansies are there until it’s too hot and then the rosemary and basil.
I want to think carefully about what to plant and not just throw whatever out there. The side yard gets a lot of direct, hot sun in the summer so whatever I plant there needs to be able to take that. Along the back of the garage under our patio, is shaded most of the day so something that doesn’t need a lot of sun would be good. I would like something taller as well that I can see from inside through the windows.
Since the rose bushes aren’t going anywhere (though I have thought many times about yanking them out), I am limited to planting in between them. I am the kind of person that likes to really fill in a garden, I don’t want to see much dirt. I don’t want it to be so perfect either….I guess I want it to be wild. Haha! Our front yard feels pretty ‘formal’ to me so the back is kind of where I do my thing.
I’d like to plant something tall in between the rose bushes so they cover the fence a bit. The previous owners had hibiscus which did the trick but I am not a huge fan.
I’ve been making a list in my head of what I want to do this year (since last year I was much too busy to do a lot of gardening):
Wow! I didn’t realize my list would be this big….don’t tell James!
I would love to hear what you all think. Any suggestions on what to plant or not to plant? My goal is to have all this done by the end of the month.
James and I were married three years ago last month. With all the craziness surrounding my party, we decided to celebrate low key and not spend a whole lot.
I put together a 4 course menu (with a little help from my brother).
We started with a cheese course in the living room while we watched our wedding DVD. The cheeses were favorites from our 1st anniversary dinner at Jeffrey’s – Humboldt Fog and St. Andres. I also bought a bottle of Reisling – significant because it was the subject of one of the first ever texts we exchanged.
The second course was vodka pasta. The recipe was told to me by my brother who got it from his Italian mother-in-law….divine! I guess it was a little nod to our Italian honeymoon.
The third course was a sirloin roast and cesear salad accompanied by a pinot noir. For dessert I found a chocolate mousse cake that was similar to what we had the night he proposed to me. I added the mini eclair and cream puffs because they are also James’ favorites.
During dessert we looked through honeymoon photos and opened gifts to each other. Well, James opened his, he had already given me mine a few weeks earlier. I got him a 16×24 canvas of a picture I had taken in Chicago that I knew he liked. For me, he bought me a side table that matches the credenza we have in our living room. We happened to see it at Uptown Modern and I couldn’t leave without it. I love it in our living room next to our Barcelona chair.
What a great evening, spending time together and reminiscing about the past three years. Thanks, babe!
Hello to anyone still checking my blog waiting for a post cause I am sure that is what you all are doing. Waiting. Though I highly doubt anyone really waits for me to post something there is still an excitement and need that I have to write. I guess since I don’t journal as much as I used to, I realize that this is taking the place of that, it’s important that I still do it and keep a record.
So, without further ado, a little 30th birthday recap for your reading pleasure.
I love parties, especially when they are for other people, but I was turning 30 so that meant, party…for me. I honestly loved the idea of a party and was excited about it and planning for it. I ended up waiting too long to start the planning so things were a bit rushed on that front (i.e. not as much time as I wanted to work on the invites) but all in all, the party was great even if James and Adriana teased me about planning my own party. I can’t help it!
I do owe a huge thanks to my mom, Adriana, Jessica, James, Matt, Nathan and my mother-in-law, Amy for all their help that weekend. I really needed it and they were awesome!
So the party was MadMen/1960s themed, cocktail party. That meant I needed a killer dress which I found on ModCloth and very much resembled a dress worn by a MadMen character, except in red instead of green. I tried for the green but they were sold out. No matter, I LOVE the red!
This was the photo I used for both dress and hair inspiration.
For the invites, I found a box of blank note cards at Borders and with a coupon only paid $5 for them. Then I went to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby to get some goodies to dress them up. I found type writer stamps for the 3-0 and some 3D pearls for the front. Each design was completely different. Here are a few:
I stamped the 30 onto white, textured card stock and then used the black and white polka dot and houndstooth pattern for a bit more fun. For the info on the inside, I ‘designed’ (nothing amazing, I assure you) a little something with all the necessary info, printed and cut it out then stuck it on. Voila. I probably would have done that part a bit differently had I more time but it worked fine.
For the location, I initially thought The Belmont but after looking at prices that was quickly shot down. I didn’t want to make my guests have to pay for food and drink. Then my sister, Adriana mentioned their condo’s clubhouse on the 9th floor…uh, yes, please! We checked it out and it fit the mood and theme perfectly! We had the whole space including a bar and pool table for the night.
Here are a few of us at A’s place doing pre-party prep…food and flowers! You can kind of see my hairdo and how it came out…love it!
For the food we did appetizers to go with the cocktail party theme. I did a little research to see what was typical party food in the 60s and this is what we came up with: deviled eggs (thank you AMY!!!), ham and cheese, mini sandwiches, relish and cheese trays, cheese spread, chocolate fondue, chicken salad in cucumber cups and crostini. For my birthday ‘cake’ I decided I didn’t want cake but donut holes so we picked up a few dozen from Krispy Kreme. Cheapest birthday cake ever, I think!
Here are a few pictures of the food set up. I made menus which we framed and set up next to the food and bar to list out what was being served. The signature drink was a Cuba Libre but we also had a pretty well stocked bar including champagne and some non-alcoholic punch.
The only decor we did were candles and flowers (bought for me by my mother in law!). The space didn’t really need a whole lot of decorations anyway and it fit with the cocktail theme.
Most of the boys played pool while the gals chatted (or ‘manned’ the bar – thank you Jade!). I had wanted to do a video slideshow and play it on the screen above the bar but there wasn’t a way to feed it in. Instead, I brought a stack of my old albums from childhood on. Good times looking through those!
Here are some photos of people having fun and looking good in their 1960s outfits.
For fun, we set out candy cigarettes, played an advertising, guessing game and set up the photo booth for some very silly photos. Check out the VP blog for those.
The party ended way too soon for my liking but that happens. Such good memories and by far one of my favorite birthdays ever.
Thank you to everyone who came to help me celebrate!
I am not a window shopper at all. If I don’t have the money to shop then it’s pointless. Why look at things you can’t have?
We are on a pretty fixed budget right now since the photography business is a bit slow. We are also trying to kick a bit of debt again a la Dave Ramsey. So, until that is over, no random shopping trips for me.
Yes, I went ‘window shopping’ after all. Target has what they are calling a Retro Resort Collection from Merona. There are a couple cute things. Both of these dresses are $40 and totally something I’d love to have in my closet.
Love a good cardigan and these colors are fun.
I am a sucker for stripes too, especially black and white. I think I need a new year resolution though to not wear so much black and gray.
I am also doing a lot of window shopping for a new pair of boots. Last year I got a great pair of brown boots but this year I’d like a pair of black wedge boots. The ones I am eying the most are these from Steve Madden.
My sister, Adriana has also gotten me hooked on Loft items. I couldn’t pull pics but here are a few looks of theirs that I love.
Dressed up Denim (I wish I dressed like this on a daily basis…when it was a bit warmer.)
That’s about all I have my eye on for now….anything you’ve been window shopping for?
Yes, I am admitting this to the world….or at least to whoever reads this blog. I am a nail biter. Have been for as long as I can remember….age 7 or 8 maybe?
I have always hated the fact that I bite my nails and have tried numerous times to break the habit. Nothing works though, I’ve even been offered money!
Well, I heard about this manicure called shellac nails from a client. I hate fake nails and would never consider acrylics or anything like that but this type of manicure is different. They don’t mess up your natural nail and the finish is smooth and so pretty! It’s not a fake nail either, just layers of gel and polish on your nail so it’s a little hard.
I thought this would be a good way to get my nails to look pretty and protect them from myself so they could grow out. I talked my sister into going along with me and there we went, with our short nails to get a manicure. Now, I have only ever had a manicure one other time in my entire life, on the day I got married. They were still short but I had managed to get a little bit of length on them so they were slightly decent.
The ladies at Embellish assured us this would be a great way to get our nails to grow and they were right! We went last Thursday evening and I have not bitten my nails since then!! Kind of a record for me. My nails are already starting to grow and look great. I am so excited and can’t wait to go back next month when they are longer to have them done again.
Embellish is a cute little spa and boutique with two locations in Austin. It was a fun atmosphere, the staff was great and they even had Glee reruns playing! Score.
I’ll keep you posted – fingers crossed the nail biting habit will get kicked!
I know we are in December and Thanksgiving is over but I still wanted to share these photos. I was pretty pleased with my tablescape for our Thanksgiving dinner. The only thing I bought for it were the pumpkins and the flowers. Everything else was already on hand.
Hello December!
Wow, where did it come from?
I am very excited about this month, it’s one of my favorites and I love Christmas.
This year for gift giving and what not I wanted to see how much I could shop local or from other small business owners. As a business owner, I feel it’s really important to be able to support others. I know how hard we all work to keep our business afloat.
Beth over at Think Liz is doing “12 Days of Handmade Holidays” over on her blog. I just love this idea! She is on day three so be sure to check it out and visit in the coming days. Enter her giveaways while you are there!
We’ll be headed to the tree farm on Sunday to get our tree instead of going to Home Depot like we usually do. I think it’ll be a really fun experience and we’ll be supporting a local business as well.
Have you thought about shopping small this year? If you have any fun shops to share, please comment.
Here are a few of mine:
Stardust Pastry (You can visit her at the Barton Creek Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.)
