Miss Me?

It's been too long. Sigh. 

After a busy, family-filled 4th of July weekend, a week of extra long work days and household items breaking down, it's been a little challenging to find the time to sit down with the laptop and visit with my blog. But finally, I'm here and luckily I've managed to make some home purchases during my time away.

The hubbs and I have been working on furnishing our extra den area of the house. The hope is that it will become a bright, happy space that will welcome visitors into our home and of course, we also want it to be a good t.v. watching kind of room. (You can see a couple of my inspiration rooms here.)

The room's starting point was the used sofa purchase and this fabulous rug I snagged from o.co. 

We've also picked up a great storage ottoman to use as our coffee table and a orange lamp for a pop of color, both from Marshall's. Then tonight we grabbed a small bookcase from my favorite, World Market, to use as a side table/t.v. stand. Here's a couple pictures of how it is slowly coming along. 

There is still a ton to do: window treatments, some accent paint, new ceiling fan and accessories, accessories, accessories... but it's definitely a good start. (Especially when you considered where this room began.)

I'll be posting more photos as we continue adding to the room. I hope to knock this one out before too long. 

Until next time...

The Right Rug?

The hubbie and I will soon be decorating the extra living room space in our home which has basically functioned as only a pass-through to our laundry room since we moved in. With no sofa and no t.v., the room just never seemed to have a purpose. Luckily, we just scored a hand-me-down sofa from one of our friends for 150 bucks that's in great condition. So we are now on our way to making this a rockin' (and functional) room. 

We've decided that the first big purchase for the room will be a rug and after some research we've now got our eye on this one from West Elm. Thoughts?

I love it and so does Brent which is pretty amazing. I think the bold green is a great first step to making this a bright and welcoming room. The best part is that it's currently on sale so hopefully we can snatch it up soon. 

UPDATE: Due to a 2 month back order on this rug, I have now decided on the rug below. It was $100 cheaper (even with the West Elm sale) and it's in stock for us. It's a little less bold in  color than the original choice, but the pattern is the exact look we were going for. I should have it here in about a week! I'll post pictures once we have it in place. I hope you all approve.

Until next time...

Inspired: Color Me Happy

This week's inspiration is focused on some awesome rooms that are slapping me in the face (in a good way, of course) with their bold colors and love of pattern. I've been looking for some inspiration as I start decorating our extra den area of the house and I'm convinced bold is the way to go. It's the first room we enter in our home so I want it to be cheerful and welcoming.  Hopefully these beautiful spaces can rub off on me a little bit.

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Until next time...

WOW wednesday: The Bold & Beautiful

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How amazing is that feature wall in this bedroom? And the best part is that it's a tile mosaic! Who would have thought of tile in the bedroom? Not this girl, but it's gorgeous. Not to mention the spectacular amount of pattern on that bed. Be still my heart.

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I love this blue bedroom with the pops of orange! For me it's a perfect combo for a great night's sleep and a cheery morning wake-up. And is that zebra print on that bench? I think so.

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Now this room not only has some stellar patterns and massive pops of color, but it also has stairs going up through the sofa. What?!? Amazing. 

Until next time...

Design Shout-Out

Today I have a Design Shout-Out...

Our cousin, Lindsey Coplin, just won "Nursery of the Week" from Parenting.com.  Her "Modern Thinker" nursery was the fifth of six featured nurseries on the website. How awesome! Check out her skills and all the other successful nurseries here.

Congrats, Lindsey! It looks fabulous!

Until next time...

Simple Solutions: 10 Minute Art

This morning I finally found a use for two more of my IKEA frames! (I used the first one here.) After about 10 minutes, I now have two more pieces of artwork up in my guest room for zero dollars. Nice, right?

Here's what I did and what you can do too:

Grab 2 frames (I used the 2 IKEA frames)

Grab something to use as "art"

I used a watercolor painting that I made forever ago and cut it up into smaller pieces, but you could use a remnant of fabric or a page out of a book or magazine.

Tape the artwork to the mat to hold it in place and put the frame back together.

If you don't have a mat already included in with your frame like mine, you can pick one up at Hobby Lobby or make your own. A really cheap option would be to use a piece of white poster board. 

Hang your new artwork up on your wall

Here's how mine turned out:

Is there a wall in your home that needs some artwork? Save a few dollars. It's easy enough to make your own, don't you think?

Until next time...

"That's So Wrong" Wednesday Vol. 20

I'm just going to assume that you have all checked out the AwkwardFamilyPhotos website a time or two. If not, shame on you. They present some of the best family photos ever taken and the best part is I'm sure we can all relate to a terrible family (or class) photo that embarrasses you just to think about. 

Here is one featured photo that made me laugh out loud while at work. I love that they include commentary from the submitter of the photo.

"This must have been my 10th or 11th birthday. It was a custom that the cousins would give out the birthday spankings, but apparently it got a little rough. I think I look terrified. It’s like a scene out of “Lord of the Flies.” Notice the John Travolta poster in the background, and the fact that my brother is laughing maniacally and holding a leather belt.” (submitted by Vanessa)

BLOG UPDATE: I have decided to revamp my "That's So Wrong" Wednesdays. I will now be having a weekly, "WOW Wednesday" where I will feature either something terrible OR something so amazing that you just have to say, "wow". I hope you guys will enjoy checking in on whatever catches my eye.

Until next time...