Renovation on River Road

Matt and I have been working on the living room lately. It took a lot of demolition but we finally get to put it back together. The archway that was there originally was in pretty poor shape. They didn't take the time to do it properly so we took it down and started from scratch.

These are a few pictures of what the entry/dining room and living room looked like when we bought the house. Lovely green peel-and-stick tile, old bent fan, cabin wood on the far wall.

Moldy ceiling, more peel-and-stick tile, and just generally poorly constructed everything. All had to be torn out and redone. Even the windows.

This is the current state of our house. That table is just till we can build a farm style one. The bar is unfinished, and obviously so is the rest, but I think it's really come a long way.

My beautiful new archway. Blue in the back of the bookcase which is the same blue as the door in the living room and also the ceiling.

Coffered ceiling in the living room. The blue is Mount Airy and the walls are Sourdough.

Touches of Red

Our guest bedroom is going to have neutral walls. Possibly a pale blue,or greyish color and the accent color will be....red. Not fire engine red. Or neon red. But a beautiful shade of crimson. It's hard to explain but it will be great.

I think this pillow would look perfect in the bedroom. The maker, Sukan is one of my favorite sellers on etsy. The pillow cover is a bit out of my price range, plus it would be coming from Europe so shipping is a lot, but it is fun to dream.

A couple of weekends ago I went to Birmingham, then Atlanta with my bestie, Lydia. The main purpose was to go to the High Museum of Art. We of course decided to make a trip to IKEA. It was fantastic. I really want to take Matty. I got several things and it was only $36 total. One of the things I got were these shelf brackets. They're the perfect shade of red and for only $5 I know they'll go great in the room near the corner desk Matty will be building. I'll probably use a natural board and seal it for the actual shelf. I think white has too much contrast and more red is just too much.

uh, yeah. some more

Another fantastic tutorial. This one is from Tao of Craft. I would love to have a few of these for a nursery with a woodland theme. Wouldnt that be sweet?

A simple yet impressive tutorial on V and Co. by guest blogger Cluck. Cluck. Sew. I'm not really a flower person but I think this pillow is great.

Favorites, and More Favorites

I seem to save a lot of tutorials in the favorites list. Maybe someday I'll take a weekend and try them all. These flowers are so delicate and lovely. The tutorial is from Mrs. Priss.

Design*Sponge is one of my all time favorite blogs. Partly because of all the before and after photos submitted that basically rock my world. Also for the sporadic tutorials that seem like something I could actually manage. This faux-pottery project is pretty cool and looks like it would be a quick afternoon craft time. Project submitted by P.S. -I made this... and no that wasn't some subtle way to say I submitted it. That's actually the blog's name. :-)

Favorites

I've been using my husband's laptop for a while now since my charger and battery went kaput. Whenever I find cool projects or websites I save them in a folder on his favorites tab. This one is the Snow Ruffle Pillow and the tutorial for it is on V and Co. Vanessa has a great blog. Highly recommend browsing through it.

I think these wall decals by Shanna Murray are really charming. I could see this going above someone's bedside table.

I love this tutorial from the blog A Few of My Favorite Things. She found a shirt she liked on J.Crew and decided to make her own version. It turned out really great. Have a look.

Vegetable Garden

Our house when we bought it had not been lived in for 4 or 5 years. That means 1. the inside of the house smelled atrocious and 2. the yard looked like the secret garden having not been tended for so many years. And a result of no. 2 is that our yard has had leaves and such decomposing on it for years and years. It is incredibly fertile and has more earth worms than most people would know what to do with. Matty and I decided (mostly I decided) that we wanted to have a vegetable garden. A month or two back I bought packets of seeds, then lost them, then found them again, then lost them again. And today I found them again. So I decided to make a quick project and get those seeds growing.

Matt and I are both huge fans of squash. I love them cooked down so long that they turn into mush. Flavorful, buttery, delicious mush.

(ignore th paint on my hands. I have also been working on the house today)

When I opened the corn packet I don't know what I was expecting, but not raisin looking kernels.

Tomato seeds are probably my favorite out of the ones I planted. They remind me of really, really rediculously small bird eggs. I think anything in miniature is fun so these were a nice surprise.

Matt hates cucumbers. Unless of course they are in the form of pickles. I really enjoy cucumbers, on salads, as cucumber sandwiches, and also pickles. We may try pickling some if I get a good crop.

I needed a way to mark where I planted what, so I got toothpicks, tape, a sharpie and scissors and made my own mini markers. When we plant them out in the yard I'll have to find another way to mark what's what.

I put all four containers of seeds on a cookie sheet, on a stool, in the front window. Decided that I'll need to get strawberries and watermelons too.

Breath Taking

photo by Jason Busch, stylist Rachel Brown

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I came across this awe-inspiring photo on the design files. She has an interview with photographer Jason Busch. His website has incredible work. But there is just something about this image that made me stop. Hill End Artist Retreat is in the outback of Australia. I don't know if I am subconsciously drawn to it because of its location or not. It does remind me of the house from the movie, Australia. I loved that house as well. Maybe I'll design the exterior of our house to play off the appearance of homes found in the Australian outback.

mini mushrooms

I made these little mushrooms a few weeks ago with Sculpey III clay from Hobby Lobby. It was a quick little project and fun to do. They are currently sitting in my kitchen window. I like having little burst of fun around the house. I'll probably make more and hide some on the book shelves, in the linen closet, and in the pantry.

Window Shopping

This desk would fit perfectly in our guest bedroom. Well, our future guest bedroom. Right now it houses our couch, tv, trunk and mini fridge. The husband wants an office. Unfortunately our house won't really have an extra room for that so I think this desk would be a great solution. Space saving and very functional.

Admiring this hammock from over at World Market. I think I know the perfect place for it in my backyard. Only thing it lacks is a giant net surrounding it to keep the mosquitos out.

Premier Prints

Traditions, Cloud/Linen

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I have elaborate and possibly overly ambitious plans to upholster a headboard for my master bedroom. I've drawn off the outline, gathered ideas and tips, measured and calculated. I've had this vision in my head of a patterned fabric, linen with a white print or something similar. A decorative pattern but not too overwhelming. The only catch so far was that I hadn't been able to find any fabric remotely resembling what I've envisioned. I had high hopes my favorite fabric store in Jackson, Premier Prints, would have something, but I just don't make it down there enough. Then the other day I realized there is an outlet fabric store near me in Sherman that is the supplier of my favorite store. Imagine my excitement. This Saturday I'll be trekking up there to browse the options in person. I've found these two fabrics on their website and think one of them may be what I'm looking for.

Suzani, Cloud/Denton

Certain Curtains

these curtains are from Through the Country Door

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When it comes to buying things for the house, I always have something pretty exact in mind. Then I have to search and scrounge and really hunt for that perfect thing I've imagined. Sometimes if I can't find it I try and create it. My living room is a shade of khaki or tan, not sure what to call it. The paint name is Sourdough. Then the accent color is a beautiful warm, antique shade of green. That green is what will be on the walls in the entry/dining room.

I wanted to bring the tan in so I've been looking for an interesting curtain with a country cottage feel. I came across these curtains last week and just keep looking at them. They're linen and absolutely beautiful. I never thought I would choose plaid, but there it is. A rich tan linen plaid. And for just $24.99 a panel, I couldn't be more sold on them. Now I just want to run it by the husband and order them.

Vintage Spoon Garden Marker

This spring I'm going to have rows of vegetables and fruits. I'd love to have squash, tomatoes, zuchini, strawberry, watermelon, sweet potatoes, and others that I just can't think of at the moment. I'm also going to have an herb garden in the kitchen window. Wouldn't these garden markers by jessicaNdesigns be just lovely to go in the window box. I had considered them for the actual garden, but it's going to be a pretty big plot and they may just get lost. But they would definitely stand out in the kitchen. Plus, a set of three is just $18 which is pretty good price for supporting a fellow artist and crafter.

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I also think these would make for lovely gifts. Great for Mother's Day, bridesmaid's gifts, and your garden loving friend.

Ok, so a girl I went to college with posted this on Facebook, from YouTube, and it totally cracks me up. I don't know if it's cause I went to Zumba last night for the first time and this turtle has better moves than me, or if its just because watching something shake its backside is naturally funny to me. Enjoy!

Brown Paper Packages

Isn't this a lovely way to wrap a gift? The yellow and white accent is vintage shelving liner. The white band is canvas fabric. Add some jute twine and a diy flower and you've got the best wrapped gift around. This project is from a blog I discovered today. The Thrifty Crafter.

Our Monster of a House

I don't say that because of it's size but more of the giant, unruly, misfit of an undertaking it truly has been. Here is a video from when we first kind of started the house. It was still in the demolition phase.

Fruit Bowl

I think my counter needs this amazing bowl. I've been thinking about what bowl I want to use as my fruit bowl. It's been a year and a half and I still hadn't found one I liked. But then I was looking at some unfinished wood sitting on my granite counter and it hit me. I need a wood bowl. Real, raw, unfinished wood. This bowl from Target is perfect.

Creative and Rustic

I'm really loving this adorable creative bedroom. The bed is so sweet. I think Matty will be building all of our beds. ah, the beauty of having a carpenter husband.

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This New Years day I'm working on the house (shocker). I've been feeling really greatful for Matt having a day job. I've been able to spend more time with him this past week than probably in the last 4 months. Night shift was absolutely horrible, but it is over now! He's still sleeping, but when he's up we're going to work on getting the kitchen put together. Pictures to come