Sometimes I actually accomplish things....

Summer feels like it's just getting going for me. The temperatures are super hot - which I never like - but it also means that July + August are almost here and lots of exciting things are happening! We leave for our glorious 10-day British getaway next Friday afternoon and I am itching to get started on packing! I love packing for a vacation, but always procrastinate unpacking once we get home. The opposite is true when moving - I don't enjoy packing up a home, but love the process of unpacking and setting up. I have been keeping an ongoing list of things to bring so as not to forget when it comes time to put everything into a suitcase; sure I'll remember my toothbrush and passport but I might forget to pack a spare pair of contacts or my jacket if I don't write it down.

Something that I really wanted to get before we left was a new DSLR camera. My Canon Rebel was fine, but sometimes the quality wasn't what I had hoped for in such an expensive camera. As it turns out, Dodd Camera was having a "buy your old equipment" event at the same time a really nice Nikon camera I now own went on crazy sale. I still have to learn how to make the most of it's capabilities. But I'm hopeful it'll live up to my expectations.

I tested it out for the first time last week after I'd had an unusually productive day in the "being creative" department. These days are few and far between, so it was worth documenting. First, I finally got around to making a pom pom garland for our front window. It cost me all of $2 to make in about 40 mins. I found the pom poms at the dollar store (2 bags of various colors) and then strung them together using a needle and some white thread. Simple!

This isn't exactly a huge achievement, but I also figured out a way to get some vegetables in my kids! They used to love them as babies but now I can't seem to persuade them to eat anything except maybe potatoes. It's the oldest trick in the book, but I decided to blend a ton of spinach into some homemade pasta sauce. At first the color was a bit brown so they probably would have passed on it based on presentation alone, but after adding a tin of tomato paste I was back to some basic who-knew-it's-full-of-green-veg spaghetti sauce. And they ate it all! Woo! I even got a smile out of Jack.

Today was spent less productively killing a ton of flies which I suspect are coming up from our basement. SO stressful. Although I guess I was successful if you count that I'm 20 for 20 in terms of flies and their squished little bodies.

Spring @ Home

Today I'm feeling much better after a bout with the flu and Tim finally returned from the hospital this afternoon. I'm loving that the sun has been out all day to lift our spirits. I can not wait for the warmer temperatures to arrive for good. How it goes from 50 degrees to 35 degrees in 24 hours is beyond me. Nevertheless, spring is officially here and I have had the house decorated accordingly for about two weeks (I couldn't wait!) Here's a little tour:

 It's all about the seasonal mantle.

The vase of flowers on the little table w/ the books was from Tim on a day I was definitely Angry Mom and probably was mean to him and SO didn't deserve them. That's true love, folks.

Here's a closer look at everything else:

I used the three white mug idea for my winter mantle and I think they'll be a mainstay. I knew I wanted little "sprouts" in the mug, but was a bit of a challenge trying to come up with a way to execute that. In the end I filled them with lentils ("soil") and used the leaves from some artificial flowers I wasn't using to create the sprouts. It's not perfect, but it works.

My friend Cherish and I went on a spring-mantle-display-hunt and we both picked out the artichoke tea light holder. The vase with split pea filler was a Pinterest idea and we used those faux candles instead of real ones. They last longer. The picture is of my Grandpa taking a nap on his honeymoon in England. I cherish it.

I love the smell of both these candles. Especially the yellow one - it makes the apartment smell like lemons! I've been wanting a little birdhouse for a long time and decided to paint it myself.

These windows are on either side of the fireplace. I think the three little white candles will be another mainstay. I added some lemons to cheer it up.

The End.

Lots of (faux) flowers and bright yellows to cheer this place up.

Kitchen Wall

I've been wanting to paint a wall in the kitchen for a few months now. I like the color scheme but it was lacking a certain something. The cabinets are white and the walls are beige, so I wanted to throw another color in there that flowed with the rest of the house. We had a gallon of paint downstairs that we got for free. It's a shade similar to hot chocolate - not something I'd typically pick out but since it was free we figured we'd make use of it. Last spring we tried it out as an accent wall above the mantle. It took a little getting used to, but now I love it. Here's the mantle decorated for winter - thank you to my talented + thoughtful sister Andrea for making me the "Maranatha" banner (which means "Come, Lord!" in Aramaic) for my birthday.

So when I had a hankering to give the kitchen a bit of a facelift, it made sense to use this color again.

Very blah. Clearly needed something.

Ok so the change is subtle. But the contrast of colors (the beige in the kitchen is the same as the color on the window walls by the mantle) makes it feel a little more thought out. I also added some things to the wall.

1. I repainted this picture frame (that was sitting in a box in the basement) 

a shade of gray and filled it with a picture of London.

2. Another basement box picture frame that I took the backing out of and used as a dry erase meal planning board. I have some fabric I might use as a background instead, but for now this works.

3. A letter holder of my parents' that they no longer wanted. 

I also repainted this a shade of mint green.

All together, this project cost me $0 to do! I'm telling you - it's all about using what you have lying around the house and re-purposing/repainting it. Speaking of painting - thank you Tim for doing the hard work and painting the wall for me! And with only a brush as your tool!

Homemade Christmas

I was pretty crafty this Christmas. I say that because it's rare I have the time or energy to do a whole lot of DIY projects. It probably has something to do with the fact that Tim is off school for a month. In any case, I got a lot accomplished in the way of making things myself instead of purchasing them. I made two strings of garland: one with paper doves + one with dried oranges. I was too lazy to take a picture of my own, hence the link.

I also did a handful of drawings for people who requested them for others
+ a couple people in my family.

For my sister - I still owe her other drawings! But I thought she might like this too.

For a friend's gift to her sister & brother in law.

For my brother in law's girlfriend. They live in San Francisco and this is a shot from their balcony. I (obviously) super imposed the image of the boy holding balloons (original source unknown) and added the text myself.

How to Create a Photo Wall

The voting was a bit split so I'm just going to start with the photo wall. The advent post was a close second but I still have some thinking to do on that subject, so it will have to wait a few more days.

The story behind the creation of the photo wall is this:

Some time ago, we purchased a large framed mirror from our neighbor's garage sale. It was nice (like, Pottery Barn nice) and I'd been trying to find something for a big blank wall in our dining room. At $30, it was the right price and seemed to be just what I'd been looking for. 

Our dining room is the center of our home in the sense that it's the room which connects the front of the house to the back of the house so we walk through it frequently throughout the day. This also meant that I was walking by that mirror countless times a day and looking at it. It's no secret that I'm someone who struggles with self esteem, and beauty and appearance is totally an unhealthy obsession of mine. I feel awkward confessing this, but it's the truth and I'm positive I'm not the only woman out there who can't seem to walk by a mirror without looking into it. Yes, out of vanity but more so out of insecurity just to make sure I look ok. Some of you probably think this sounds totally self absorbed, and you're right.. it is! But it stems from years of believing that my value as a woman is found in my appearance, and never feeling as though I measure up. Which is why I had to take that mirror down. There are days when I'm so consumed with the displeasure I experience when seeing my reflection that it brings me to tears. Sometimes anger. Sometimes anguish. This has been my pattern for years. I think it's the pattern of many woman. For those of you interested, Killing Us Softly is so worth the watch if you struggle with self image like I do (I think this is just a trailer, but you can find the full version presentations elsewhere on youtube). It was eye opening for me. And it explained a lot about why I feel the way I do about myself. I bet this whole conversation was not what you were bargaining for with a post on home decor!

Anyways, long story short, putting a giant mirror in a high traffic part of our house was probably the worst decision ever and only fueled the fire of an already serious issue. It was after a few Providential conversations and "ah-hah" moments that I realized the mirror had to go. It was an idol in my house. If I could have, I would have smashed it with a baseball bat. Instead, it's in our closet because we hope to sell it - hopefully not to a woman with self image issues. 

Of course, now I was left with that giant blank spot on my wall again and nothing to fill it with. 

Or so I thought (dot dot dot). 

A picture wall, like these, is something I've been dreaming of for a while. But to achieve this, you need... you guessed it, a large blank wall! Thank heavens that mirror was removed from it's throne and in its place I now have a beautiful collection of photos depicting our story. God is so good. He gave me beauty for ashes. Max Lucado once painted the picture of us as little children sitting and eating dirt and God, being the loving Father that He is, coming over and wiping our mouths, giving us a sip of water and handing us an ice cream instead. As cheesy as it sounds, this picture wall is my ice cream (and that mirror was my dirt). I can not tell you the freedom I feel now that mirror is gone.

Phew. Ok, well here's where the heavy stuff ends and the easy part comes: the how to! 

First, you need frames (duh). Ideally, you're one of those people who has the patience to make multiple trips to thrift shops to slowly build an eclectic but inexpensive collection. I am not one of those people. Thankfully, I was blessed to already have a number of frames around my house to utilize. Another option is to buy a pre-made collection (which I tried at first), but that can be expensive and I prefer picture walls with variety rather than uniformity. It was amazing once I started looking around the house how many things I found to build my collection - even though it meant pulling a frame or two that was already in use elsewhere. Truth be told, all of the included pieces were better showcased on the wall then they had been elsewhere in the house. I did purchase two frames (about $25 total) - one large oval one and a smaller decorative one to complete the look. So far, that's all I've spent!

Once I had my frames together, I played around with the arrangement on my floor to visualize spacing and placement. The trick, of course, is figuring out how to transfer your setting from the floor to the wall.  Lauren Conrad's blog, of all places, is where I found my answer. She suggested arranging the frames on top of butcher paper,  tracing your placement and then taping it to the wall (you can read the whole tutorial here). Ingenious! Except I didn't have butcher paper on hand (who does?) so I just used sheets of computer paper for the small frames and some plain brown wrapping paper I had for the larger frames. I then cut them out individually and placed them on the wall as I had on the floor:

If you think you'll have a hard time remembering which frame belongs to which cut out, then I suggest you number both.  After you've done that, it's time to hang! The best part about using pieces of paper as placeholders for the frames is that they'll help you determine where the nail should go; once the nail's in, just rip the paper down. I have to give a shout out to Tim who did all the nailing and hanging himself. He's far better at this part than I am. Of course, he may have had a tiny helper.

Here's a picture of the final product. I was so excited to be able to use those white shelves (which Tim got for free a while ago) because they add such a great dimension to the space. 

That big gap at the top is where the oval frame goes (I wasn't sure if I was keeping it at the time). It's currently hanging in it's place but it's a gloomy day and this shot was from a sunny day with better lighting. Plus, the frame is still empty as I'm waiting on some photos from our family photo shoot with our friend Danielle. Here's a sneak peek (in case you didn't see it on Facebook).

So that's the story of the photo wall. 

Or the story of me taking steps towards a healthier self image. 

Either way, my heart is lighter because I'm eating ice cream instead of dirt.

Seasonal Robot

Yesterday I had big plans. Big plans for great art. I had this frame that seemed perfect for a four seasons theme and I had big plans to hang it somewhere in Jack's room. At first I was thinking I'd just find some images on line. And then when that wasn't happening, I thought I'd just draw them myself.
The results, in my opinion, were totally underwhelming and not really what I had envisioned. However, Tim loved it and insisted we hang it somewhere where we'd see it often. That somewhere was next to the bathroom sink - the "go to" spot for most priceless art, right? Anyways, here it is:

The Fort Reveal!

Ta da! Here it is!

And here's the break down in cost + supplies:

Obviously this project is far more expensive than $21. Just because I had a lot of things around the house I could use doesn't mean I didn't pay for them at one time. Something like this, when starting from scratch, probably would cost over $100 to make. If you think that sounds unreasonable, consider that it took:

Four curtains (never cheap!)

Four pillows (2 large, 2 small)
A sleeping bag

A duvet cover

The IKEA star (which probably cost around $15 at the time)

Fabric + ribbon for the bunting

A hula hoop (which wasn't cheap at $7!)

And a spring hook

I point that out only because I know when I see DIY stuff like this on Pinterest I think "Wow, it'll be so much more cost effective to make this then it would be to buy it." At $100 plus, I'd say you're not really saving all that much money - unless, like myself, you happen to already have most of the supplies needed. And of course, I also get the pleasure of saying I made it myself (with the help of others). Thank you to Tim for being patient with me as I fussed over the whole thing and to my sister Andrea for making the bunting. It was the finishing touch!

Our Dream House

There was a time when I said I would never buy a house. I love to travel and renting just always seemed to lend itself better to getting up and going, whereas a mortgage tied you down.

And then I had kids. And those kids were boys. And boys need the outdoors. The city we live in doesn't offer much to renters in the way of outdoor space - and we have almost nothing. Our backyard is a postage stamp of weeds and dirt and spider-filled ivy.  There's also an old box of spices (?) that someone left back there and some rotting wood palettes. Not exactly the ideal - unless your a little boy and then it sounds great. But as a mother, no.

All that to say, I dream of the day I can send the boys outside into a safe, fenced in backyard where they can play for hours in the fresh air. I mean, don't get me wrong - we love our current apartment and are so grateful for it and our landlord (my brother-in-law!) but I think like most families, we now see the benefit of being home owners (as well as the expense, womp womp). Oh, and we're also mega House Hunters fans, so we've been plotting our appearance on the show with our "must haves" list at the ready which, I might add, does not include a kitchen with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances or double sinks in the bathroom. In fact, we wrote down a list of what we'd look for after watching a House Hunters marathon. It'll be years (years) before we'll be able to even consider buying a home, but here's what we came up with:

We're definitely Craftsman style home kind of people. 

Here's an example of what we like when it comes to curb appeal:

We love smaller homes with big porches and lots of unique detail. Nothing over the top, but something that looks and feels classic but homey. I love when exteriors incorporate natural elements like stone and wood. And I do love a house with a red front door. In short form, here's what else we would look for:

Must haves:

Good neighborhood (location, location location!)

Lots of character
3-4 bedrooms

1.5-2 bathrooms

Nice backyard (with fence, or possibility of fence)

Lots of storage

Garage (preferably attached)

Central air + newer furnace

Newer roof

Decent counter/cupboard space in kitchen

Fairly move in ready (no major renovations needed)

Nice to haves:

En suite bathroom in master (with large tub! I love spa tubs)

Close to park or water

Laundry room

Space for playroom

Dishwasher

Wood burning fireplace

Larger family space

Eat-in kitchen

Hardwood floors 

Newer appliances

Attractive landscaping

Don't want:

Wood paneling

Fixer upper

Hideous carpet

Wasted space (i.e. formal sitting room)

Massive backyard (too much work!)

Ugly flooring or counter tops

On busy street

I feel like we're pretty down to earth when it comes to what we look for - we're not super picky. But then again, I really do base decisions on the "feel" of something, so maybe we would turn out to be really annoying House Hunters. You know, the ones on the show whose real estate agent looks into the camera and says "I've shown them over 50 homes. They just aren't being realistic about what's available in their price range." In any case, I can't wait to meet our first house - a long time from now!

What about you? What do you look for in a home?
If you already own a home, what's your favorite feature(s)?

Autumn Mantle

I love the way my friend Ellie puts together a home.  She has an eye for arranging spaces in a way I just wouldn't think of.  She also has an uncanny ability to find amazing clothes/homewares/accessories/you name it at thrift stores. So a few weeks ago, when I was feeling the itch to change some things up, I commissioned her to re-design our mantle for the fall season. I knew that if I had any hope of finding things at the Salvation Army (not to mention on half-off Wednesday) I would also need her to come along as my secret weapon. And for around $10, this is the magic she created:

1) The picture is an old hand sketched flower arrangement with "October" written below it, so it fit with the season ($4 at Salvation Army). The white candle is a delicious apple spice scent that I bought at Marshall's with a gift card. Fall candle scents are definitely the best, no? The other candle holder was 25 cents at Salvation Army.

2) The owl was another find at Marshall's that I got with the same gift card. It was originally black, so I spray painted it. Unfortunately, the spray paint caused an unwanted "crackle" effect but it wasn't terrible so I put it out anyways. The other two items (candle holder, "This House Believes" embroidered picture were bought on our babymoon in Gettysburg).

3) Picture of the boys in a frame I found in the basement. Always love that.

4) The vase was another 25 cent purchase at Salvation Army. The books are our own. The little stone owl was a gift.

5) The wreath was $3 at Salvation Army. The turkey tea light holder was 50 cents.

I'm in love with the arrangement and also look forward to changing it in subsequent seasons.

Thank you to Ellie for lending your talents and time!

Tour of the Boys' Room

This room used to be an office. Then it was our friend Cameron's makeshift bedroom when he lived with us for 6 months. At that time, there was really no insulation so needless to say...it was like sleeping in a garage in the winter (he was forewarned). Once the boys moved in, the walls were insulated but it still get's pretty cold in there so we remedied this with a huge area rug and a top end space heater (thanks mom and dad!)

I have to admit, even though it's taken me a long while (roughly 5 months) to get to the point where I feel the room is complete, it's still not exactly how I would want it. I think its good for me though because I need to be reminded that while a pretty home is a blessing, striving to create the perfect, straight out of a magazine house can end up being expensive and all-consuming. Honestly, between the many things my parents (and others) have gifted us as well as the magic of repurposing, it probably cost me less than $100 to decorate this whole room. Not bad I say!

So here... let's take the tour:

This is the view from our bedroom door (it's an adjoining room).

The bunting is one of my favorite things because it incorporates my original color scheme. I made it with super glue (I don't sew) and scraps of fabric from my sister. Speaking of my sister, you should check out her etsy shop! She makes lots of beautiful things - especially children's aprons.

This is what's to the left of the dresser (Moses' side). I made the little height chart with a piece of green ribbon I had lying around and color sample cards from Lowe's. It cost me $0. The pictures above the closet are representative of the boys - I don't know why, but when they were born we associated certain animals with them - for Jack it was an owl and Moses a whale. The Dollar Store in Ontario is incredible and I was able to get the canvases for $1.25 each which is a total steal.

The owl painting is a complete replica of something I saw on Pinterest. The whale I kind of winged. 

Moses' crib. Fabric hoops are such an ingenious way to decorate a wall space.

This side of the room is the part that kind of grates against my aesthetic nerves. I would have preferred to use white picture frames - I feel like there's too much dark wood - but this is what we already had so I saved a lot of money by just going with it (I could always spray paint them white, but I'm nervous I'll ruin them). The curtain - which my talented mother made -hanging on the inside of Jack's crib is annoying me, but I'm too lazy to retake the picture and that's how it usually ends up anyways. Keepin it real. It's hard to see but two of the prints are from my shop, one is from Etsy and the biggest frame has the print out of Psalm 91.

I love everything going on with this dresser. It was refinished by my mom (because again, she's amazing). I also love the picture of the bird's nest above the dresser as well as the little Colossians 3:12 clothes line - another free project. I was originally going to cover that door (which we never use) in the corner with chalkboard paint, but it never happened and probably would have cost too much money anyways.

And that's that. Is it always this clean? No

Do I always have to vaccum the carpet to keep it from collecting dust balls? Yes

Is it cheerful, welcoming and a place Jack loves to play? Definitely

That said, I think it all looks way better in person, so you'll have to come over for a visit. 

Old News.

This is old news but several months ago we invested in a new media cabinet. I didn't like the way our old one looked, plus I wanted a piece of furniture that could store our dvds as well as the television. Here's the old one:

I hated how all the wires were visible. It looked messy and unkept. The whole thing just looked cheap and cluttered. I also realized that almost everything in the bookcase on the right was mostly unused: books we never read, cds we never listen to and dvds we never watch.  This prompted a major media purge which also resulted in not really needing a whole bookcase to store about thirty dvds. Anyways, you get the point - that corner of the room needed a makeover. 

Our friends who live above us found an incredible IKEA media cabinet on craigslist for $50 and as soon as I saw it I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. Amazingly, we found another one listed on craigslist a few days later (what are the odds?!) The catch: it was listed along with a side table we didn't need for a total cost of $100. Way more than I was willing to spend. I contacted the seller and asked if he'd sell the tv stand separately, he said no. So I offered $80 for the pair since our friends upstairs offered to buy the side table from us... yadda yadda yadda. We ended up getting it. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was completely obsessed with getting this media cabinet - hounding the seller (the guy would NOT respond to my offer) and just using up way too much brain activity on a piece of furniture.  In that brief moment I was enraptured with Tumblr, I posted this would-be letter to the seller:

dear bruce from craigslist,

thank you for finally calling me about the t.v. stand. i apologize for all the negative thoughts i shot your way over the course of two agonizing days of silence. you’ve taught me two lessons: 1) that patience is key when buying something off craigslist and 2) sometimes my unflinching determination pays off. i’m glad that slightly hounding you resulted in being considered “the most interested buyer” compared to the other four people. 

sincerely,
me 

Here's the media cabinet in all its glory. I posted the picture on the right to give the feel of the whole corner now. So much homier, brighter and neater. For $50 this makeover was a steal. One of the best parts is that the wires are no longer exposed, nor is the t.v. in reach of little hands as it was before. And of course, I love that everything can be stored in one piece of furniture rather than two. Score!

Around the House

Amazingly, even though I'm totally sleep deprived, I've managed (with the help of my amazing hubby) to get some little finishing touches done around the house.

click to enlarge

Firstly, the hallway leading to the bedrooms has been in want of some loving since we moved in. It's a small space but the blank walls have always bothered me. I found these pictures in my parent's basement and I'm so glad I did. They hold so much meaning, not only because they're the wedding photographs of my grandparents & great grandparents, but because they're a special reminder of where our family started - in England. Since both my nanny and grandpa have passed away, walking by these photographs throughout the day helps me feel close to them again. I also love having little pieces of my English heritage scattered around the house; those British roots run deep in my soul. Anyways, I repurposed some unused frames I had lying around (I have a bit of a hoarding issue when it comes to picture frames - you'll see what I mean by the end of this post) and they worked out perfectly in giving the photos new life without detracting from their vintage, aged appearance (the quality of the photos is pristine - I just had to increase the exposure on them for this post).

Second on the list was to clear the kitchen counters of unwanted clutter - something I was inspired to do by this post. I don't have a before shot, but trust me - it was cluttered. More and more I'm appreciating the simplicity of a clear space or surface - there's something so freeing about looking into a room and not being overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in it. 

Another little finishing touch we added to the kitchen was to hang some more pictures; we've lived here almost two years now and haven't done much in the way of wall decor. I finally just bit the bullet the other day and put some stuff up there even if it is exactly what I had in mind. The funny thing is, I love the way it looks and can't understand why it took me so long to make use of all my leftover frames. The frame above my stove has been collecting dust for years and was only $4.99 (down from $44 - so I bought two). I hung its "twin" on the blank wall in our front room which was in want of some attention. I formerly had committed to painting something for the space but let's be honest - that's not going to happen for a long time. The kids won't allow it.

Part of the reason it took me so long to hang stuff is that I'm really picky when it comes to choosing images to frame. Tim made it easy this time by requesting I only use pictures I've taken myself. The frame in the front room has pictures of downtown London from when I lived in England; we have a framed map of the city hanging on another wall so it made sense to stick with that theme. The picture above the stove is some close-ups of a gorgeous bouquet of ranunculus blooms I bought from Trader Joe's last year. And the two images on the corner wall in the kitchen are some favorite shots of Tim eating a corn dog and another eating ice cream as well as a picture of Jack from vacation last year.

This run on filling empty spaces means I have less than five unused frames in the closet and no more boring, blank walls. Win win.

Pink Heart Love.

For about a week now, I have had the overwhelming desire to decorate the house for Valentine's Day (obviously not this minute, but soon). Why? No clue. This has never happened before. In fact, I've barely nodded in the direction of said holiday even after getting married. I can't decide if my urge to "recognize" is because I really want to celebrate the day or because I just like the color pink and filling my environment with heart shaped things is a happy thought.

The dilemma, of course, is that decorations cost $$ even if you make them yourself (especially if you make them yourself, in some cases). That said, I'm going to lightly entertain the thought of doing the place up for February 14. Here are some of my favorite options:

Crayon Hearts

- a little involved, but inexpensive and I do love the effect. 

Pom Pom Window Garland

- simpler but time consuming

Raspberry Tart Cookies
- easy and delicious!

We'll see how far I get with acting on any of these projects (there's a lot of tempting "ready mades" at Target). I have yet to paint that picture for the living room wall, although I did sort my sock drawer/bins last week - another tick on my list of things to do! Hopefully I'll have the whole list completed before long and will be able to start a new one (or take a break...)

The Bedroom: Before & After

It's finished!! It only took about 4 months (or a year if you count it from the first moment I had the itch to renovate) to pull together, but it's done! Here's what the room looked like about a year ago:

The Before: 

click to enlarge images

1) I should have known from the beginning that the wall color would only last so long; as much as purple is my favorite color, I tend to stick with the deep, rich hues - never the pastels. Sure enough, the color went from calming to depressing - a metaphorical rain cloud. And the picture of the Eiffel Tower that I thought would look so perfect above the bed just never worked for me; maybe it was the gray tones that added to the dismal feel of the room. It now hangs nicely over the book shelf in the office.

2) I could never find bedding that really complimented the wall color - hence the drab white duvet cover, which now lays in a pile in our closet.

3) The $40 Etsy wall decal that seemed like a good idea at the time (there's a white accent, it's just hard to see). It was a pain to apply and even harder to remove - I had to use a credit card to scrape it off which also took chunks out of the wall :(

4) The best part of the room by far was this $15 dresser craigslist find (amazing!)

The After:

The wall color is now a seafoamy green and I couldn't be happier. I also love my little collection of pictures (photo credit Madeline Bea) above the dresser (the frames only cost me $3.99 each at Target!)

I don't have a before of this little section of the room, but I love what it is now.

1) I've wanted this poster (used in Britain during World War II) for a long time, but never wanted to spend the money on it (the color I liked only came with a price tag of $25!) This one cost me $0 (the frame was only $6!) since I made it myself in Pages (using Al Bayan bold font and a crown graphic I copied from a digital image of the original poster). Anyways, I love the motto - I think its one to live by, especially with kids.

2) My wedding bouquet which sits on a little table I love that belonged to my Nanny (grandmother). It has a little cupboard and everything!

3) My favorite ultrasound picture of Jack 

I saved the best for last! 

1) The dot painting. It took me about 8 hours to complete over the past three days and I'm super happy with how it turned out. It was one of those projects that's pretty hard to mess up, but is still a lot of work to recreate. The most tedious part was spacing and drawing the circles (using a ruler and a compass) and the most challenging was matching the colors - I followed this color pattern for the most part. However, it was such a rewarding project to take on especially considering it only cost me $30 for the canvas (buying a painting like this at a store would definitely run into the $100s considering the size).

2) Yes, I finally found the elusive duvet cover I've been hunting for! A bargain at Target and it compliments the room nicely. So for now, I consider my work complete!

inspired!

We received that $6 art in the mail today. I created it for the blank wall in the front room, but realized after purchasing it that it would be a difficult size to frame. I'd have to buy matting on top of the cost of the frame to make it work and there's not extra money like that just lying around. Not to mention, I'm not in love with the final product.

No matter - I think I found my *free* solution! While browsing Pinterest, I came across this ingenious idea. It's actually meant to be a creative "guest book" for weddings, but I think I could easily recreate it (minus writing "Timothy & Lauren" at the bottom. No thanks). I've got a huge blank canvas that Tim bought me years ago, a box of paints that have been sorely neglected and most importantly, a pair of thumbs (necessary for the making of the leaves). The trick will be finding the time and space to work on it - hopefully during those precious Jack-naps. Watch this space!

waiting for the perfect something.

Last year I posted a list of ways that I'm lazy. I'd be lying if I said things have improved. I think it comes with being a bit of a procrastinator. On the other hand, I can also be extremely impatient. If I get an idea in my head to do or obtain something, it has to happen as soon as possible in a very Veruca Salt "don't care how, I want it now" sort of way (without all the kicking and screaming).

So I was always puzzled and slightly perplexed by my grandmother's habit of taking for. ever. to buy something. Nine times out of ten she'd come back from the store dissatisfied with the selection or the quality or the color choice... it was always something. I remember her coming home once with the "perfect" navy blue belt that had taken her ... wait for it... three years to find. Three years. If it had been me, I would have gone out once or twice and finally just settled on the next best thing to perfect. I wouldn't have had the patience to wait three years to buy something I wanted yesterday.

Well, I think I'm finally beginning to see the wisdom in taking this marathon approach to purchasing. Here's the thing: if I'm going to spend the money (of which there is precious little) than it should be exactly what I'm looking for.  Why settle on something I only half-heartedly like? Or worse yet - what if I buy the second stringer, only to find the perfect something later on and at a better price? 

This conscious way of consuming is just as applicable to things I'm not looking for but which catch my eye nonetheless.  Now when I'm tempted to buy something I ask myself, "Do I really love this?" If the answer is no, I put it back. If the answer is yes, than I weigh whether it's worth the asking price. Using the "do I need it?" measuring stick is pointless - the answer is almost always no. Not that I don't take it into consideration. Just today I talked myself out of buying a more-perfect Christmas table runner  because I already had a nice one at home.

Here is my short list of things, my very own "navy blue belts" if you will,  that I have my eye out for but am willing to wait to find (though maybe not three years. I'm not that patient):

1. A Duvet Cover

We recently repainted our bedroom and I've been on a bedding hunt ever since. I've already bought and returned four different covers because they just weren't quite right.  Then I came across the "Ditsy Pennats" bedding from Urban Outfitters and was certain I'd found "the one." Naturally, it's no longer available. Now it serves as my bench mark for the final purchase.

2. A White Ceramic Owl

Why? I love owl decor and there's an empty shelf on the media cabinet. Owls are in right now so you'd think I'd have my pick of the litter. Not so. Unless I want to pay at least $35 on etsy which seems overpriced since west elm was selling something similar for $8. But like the duvet cover, it's no longer available.

3. Framed Art

Removing the bookcase from the front room left us with a huge blank wall to fill. Large framed art is always expensive, so finding a cheap solution isn't going to be easy. I recently found a deal through one of those coupon websites that allowed me to create the artwork above for $6. It's an odd size though (13x20) which means it might be pricier to frame, not to mention it comes on "adhesive fabric" so it could be a total bust, but for $6 I'm willing to take my chances.

So Nannie C,  thank you for teaching me the value in waiting patiently for the perfect something.  

It's a lesson worth learning.