Love the Boys?

We're trying something new this week. We want your advice. We want you to help with the styling of our house! So pay attention all week, because we need help!

We love our boys so much, we wanted to make sure they got some "face time" in our decor. I mean, Jon and I have so much of our own tastes, styles, selves in this house, that we needed to represent the canine/feline portion of our family in some way.

We (Duke, Calvin and I) had a nice long conversation about what they really wanted to represent themselves in the house, and after many vetoes in the areas of carpeted walls for scratching, and doors made out of bones, they consented to sit for portrait sessions.





As Tyra would say, these were their best pictures.

Now, our TV had to be in a funny little spot in our living room. Off center on the wall its anchored on, because half the wall is floor to ceiling windows. And then off center on the wall part of the wall, because we wanted it somewhat centered with the couch. And that left us with a wonderful spot for our boys.



Now comes your part of the post. Calvin and I are still not sure how well this wall works. Sometimes the space above the TV seems a little too... male pattern balding. I don't want to do anything too busy on the wall, but possibly one more simple picture above the TV? Maybe add an unique art piece above the TV? Or perhaps just move the pictures of the boys down? Or maybe you think we should just leave it alone? I want to know what you think.









[Please forgive my VERY poor Photoshop skills... I don't even actually have Photoshop, those pictures were all done on Paint. And while we're on the topic of disclaimers, please forgive the cables I have not wrangled yet, as well as the rubber ducky. Duke forgot to clean up for the pictures.]

What are we thinking??

The Man of the House, Returns.

He's done!! My LT has completed Initial Flight Screening and is finally coming home to me. He has worked so hard, and has had some ups and downs, but he passed his check flight (with an Excellent, of course) today so that means he gets to come home!

Duke and I are very happy we finally (almost) have Dad back.

(He's chasing his tail)

He's coming home!

Some Light Reading.

Our bedroom gets amazing, warm light between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. We have north and west facing windows in the room and the light just breaks right through the blinds, providing the most amazing place to read in the early evening. While this picture comes close to capturing the light, nothing is as good as the real thing.

I'm really loving our house on Vance AFB.

Diagnosed: HSE

Posts like this are a little difficult for me to do. Let me explain.

I suffer from a condition called over confidence(OC), also known as high self esteem(HSE). You see, when I see something fun, cool, interesting, I feel like, why spend $300 on that when I can make it myself?? So I try. I blame my condition on being the first grandchild on two sides. I was told over and over that I could do whatever I wanted to do. "If you put your mind to it, you can do it."

That's not true. No matter how much of my mind is put toward the idea of apperating, I'm still in Oklahoma right now. No matter how much of my mind is put toward manning a spaceship, NASA is not too impressed. No matter how much of my mind is put toward not getting bruises, my elbow/knee/toes are just drawn to pointy corners.

And while I have HSE to begin, once I finish my project, I get a little self conscious. It's a strange condition.

So enough about my health, and onto the post. While watching and episode of Color Splash with David Bromstad yesterday, I spotted my inspiration.

Photo courtesy of HGTV.

It's a small picture yes, but I loved the simplicity of the birch wallpaper. And while I don't think I would paint my trim lime green, I liked the contrast. So I started thinking.

I can't put wallpaper on the walls in this house, but could I put it on something else, and use it as art? Lean it against a wall somewhere? Which wall? Wait, how expensive is wallpaper?

So I googled "Birch Wallpaper," and believe it or not, this was one of the first images I found:

Photo courtesy of DesignerWallcoverings.com

But A. There was no price in sight. B. I was sure it was going to be too expensive for my nickle and dime taste (I prefer free. Or maybe 15 cents). And C. I was sort of leaning toward putting this faux-birch in the bathroom, and I wasn't sure how wallpaper would work in a bathroom, especially when it is not even attached to the wall.

This is when my HSE kicked in. "I can do that!" I thought. And I just so happened to have one blank canvas laying around, as well as one painted canvas (that I had done previously and did not like). Thus, I had two canvases, and all the paint and paint brushes I needed to get painting. So really, I spent nothing on this project.

Well this is the part of the project that I start feeling a little ridiculous for hanging my own art on my walls. And I'm not even sure if it looks good. But whatever, because I like it and it adds a pop of some MUCH needed color to this white, boring bathroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

So... yes? Does it resemble birch trees? Should I be embarrassed? Should I see someone about my "condition?" You know what, I don't care, I can't take it. So just keep your opinions to yourself. Please do note, however, while those last photos are labeled "After" that does not mean that room is finished. No, no. I need a new rug, perhaps some new towels, a soap dispenser, and a few little things. It's just "after" the artwork was hung. Does anyone else do this? Suffer from OC or HSE?

A Trip to Dollywood.

Today is a nice, cool, rainy day in Oklahoma. We really needed this, its been so hot since our 104 degree welcome a month ago. Too bad today was the day I had the umption in my gumption to make headway on those dining room chairs. Oh well, I guess I'll have to curl up on the couch with a good book and some tea.

About the title of this post: just kidding. I am not going to the magical world of Dolly Parton any time soon. BUT I feel like my neck of the woods could be considered Dollywood right now.

You remember this? Oh yeah, and this too? Well, I'm at it again. This time, I had to make a little "Happy Birthday/Welcome to the World" present to my gorgeous little pseudo niece.

Meet Mollie Joy Palladino.



Isn't she the most precious little girl? She came into this world after making us all wait 13 days. Well, 9 months and 13 says. I do have to admit, it might be my fault she was so late. For the first 7 months of Katie's pregnancy, I was sure her due date was August 17, not August 4. Well, somehow I transmitted these thoughts to little Mollie, who decided to make her entrance on August 17, at 12:01am. Yep.

Anyway, I promptly got to work on a baby for the new baby. And here she is.



And since one day (far, far into the future) Mollie will hopefully be like a cousin to our children, I of course had to take a picture of Mollie's baby, with Millie. (You remember Millie, right?)



Did you notice that Millie has a new dress? The dress she wore in her last photo shoot was actually borrowed from another doll, so she has been sitting -gasp- naked in my closet for a while. And because J was concerned she would miss the freedom of not wearing clothes, I picked out a nice Americana, "Let Freedom Ring" sort of fabric for her new dress. And I even tried out a fancy stitch on my sewing machine.





See what I mean about Dollywood? Not only are there dolls galore, but the woman of the house is going a little bit kooky without her husband...

Secrets from a Stylist

Just a quick post today about my girl, Emily Henderson.

Photo courtesy of HGTV

Okay, shes not my girl per-say but she definitely was my favorite contender for this seasons Design Star on HGTV.

(Yes, I watch reality TV.)

Last night on the season finale of Design Star, Emily won her own HGTV show! Which makes gets me particularly stoked because her show concept is designing rooms/homes around your personal clothing style. Which just so happens to be one of the most basic, and my personal favorite way of designing an interior. So mad props to Emily, and I cannot wait for Secrets from a Stylist!

I'm a Gallery-na!

I have a wall. It's big. It's white. It's bare. It's also a feature wall in my house. Sits right behind the dining room table. You can see it from the kitchen, you can see it from the couch, you can see it from the table, and you can see it from the door. You can even see it from outside.



Now, let it be known that I love a good gallery wall.

Photo courtesy of Elements of Style.

Photo courtesy of Alicia B. Designs.

And when I came across this inspirational picture, it hit me like a train. I knew what I wanted to do...

Photo courtesy of Knock Off Wood.

I'm pretty sure you see where this post is going. I wanted needed a gallery wall! It's perfect. I can display photos in a way that will look like one giant piece of art. I love it. And I can design it however I want. I can do whatever I want to do. And J can't say anything about it because he's in Colorado (love you LT!).

So I promptly stopped doing whatever I was doing at the time (which may or may not have been blog stalking) and grabbed a ruler, some graph paper, a tape measure, and a pencil. Because I'm a little nerdy and I get excited about things like this.

I came up with three different ideas and needed an extra opinion. To Facebook chat I went, and luck be a lady, my artistic and design savvy friend Amy came to my rescue.







I was starting to lean toward option #2, so when Amy said she "loved the simplicity of four," I knew option #2 was it. Now, how do I do this cheap?

12 frames is a lot of frames. I needed cheap frames. To Walmart, to Walmart to buy an 8x10 frame. Home again, home again, with 12 frames I came. Yep. 12 frames, $2.50 each. I can handle that.

(Remember this picture from the other day?? It was your hint of things to come.)



Once I got these beauties home, I dug out a calendar from 2 years ago (90% off after January 15) and started cutting. I decided I wanted black and white pictures. Of lighthouses. Good thing I had a calendar of black and white lighthouses laying around. I also filled in a few extra frames with some pictures my talented sister took, my aforementioned friend Amy took, and a few from my camera.

And then I had my gallery wall.



I love it! I love it so very much! I, of course, went with straight lines for my wall. What more do you expect from a girl who would marry stripes if she could? I find my eye being drawn to that wall. All the time. I'm loving the look. And what did I spend? Maybe $35? On the whole wall? All the art I need on one huge, white wall for under $40? Yes please.

And if you wanted a few close ups:









What do you think? I love it. Are you more of a random gallery than straight and orderly? Or maybe you love the order of a wall like mine? Have you ever thought about displaying art/photos in a artistic way? Maybe you have? Please share!

Shedding Some Light on the Situation.

Not this situation.

photo courtesy of thedeliverybag.com

I'm kind of embarrassed that I know of that Situation.

Anyway, the situation we are shedding light on today is this:



Our bedroom. And more importantly, this:





(Yes, I did get that phone for free, thankyouverymuch.)

That was a lamp I got at ARC a while ago. Why did I buy that thing, you ask? Well because I just simply loved the lovely shade of burple (blue/purple/barf) and the way it highlighted the brassy gold base so well.

Psych. I bought it because it had a twin brother (same wonderful color and all) and it was half off. Of $3. Yes, it was $1.50.

As you might have caught on up there, I did not like the color. It felt dated, dirty, and cheap. Maybe because it was dated, dirty, and cheap. One will never know. But what one does know, is that these lamp brothers really get along with my good friend Mr. Rustoleum.

I got me some Air Force blue spray paint (I was going for navy, but the color turned out a little lighter than the original plan, which I actually like because now it is very close to "Air Force Blue.") and sprayed the heck out of these guys. And then fell in love with two more Air Force men. Because after a change of clothes, these boys were men.

Now, you may be able to guess that if I buy cheap lamps, I will hold out for cheap shades. I was not okay with buying a shade that cost 12 times the price of the lamp. So when I came across two matching, textured, white shades at Ross (but originally from Target) for $3 each, I just had to bring them home. And as luck would have it, they worked just fine with those amazing Air Force Blue lamps.





I feel like an adult. I have bedside table lamps. And they match. Forget that I only spent $12 on both lamps combined, I can read in bed. If I can stay awake that late.



So, what do you think? I personally love them. Have you ever painted lamps? Considering doing it now? I'm telling you, its the way to go if you want cheap but beautiful lamps. Also, what do you think about the Air Force Blue? I think J will love it. And it works on an Air Force base.

I am the Striped Lady.

I had to fight Genevieve Gorder long and hard for the title, but I won. I am the striped lady.

I love stripes. I can't get enough of them. I'm absolutely, positively wild about stripes. Stripes, stripes stripes.

If you say it enough, it sounds (and looks) like a made up word.

I got this fabric on sale for $3 a yard at Ikea. There were only about 2 and a half yards left, but I snagged it up.



I wish I had more. It's stripes. And its white. And navy blue. Can you get anymore perfect? Maybe Taylor Lautner my husband can, but in a fabric, I don't think so. I have made two pillows...



A table runner...





And an apron with this fabric.





(Did your eagle eyes catch a project worthy of revealing later this week? It's in there somewhere...)

I have definitely stretched my 2.5 yards pretty nicely, but I'll tell you this. I'm not throwing away even a scrap of this fabric. I can make flowers or something with it. I know I can.

Oh and ps, these projects were super easy. The pillows? Our couch came with these ugly babies:



I hated them. I always kept their backside facing out. It was the exact same fabric of our couch. It was boring. But it was better than the front side. But with my sewing machine, awesome stripey fabric, and 10 minutes, I covered them up. Easiest job in the world.

And the table runner? Yes, it has a seam down the middle of it, I know. I didn't have a piece long enough for the table. And since I had to sew that seam down the middle, the project took me all of 7 minutes, instead of 5.

As for the apron, that baby took me about 20 minutes. I love it. I can't stop wearing it. Making spaghetti? Apron time. Making asparagus? Apron time. Making cereal? Well, maybe not apron time. Yet. I didn't have a pattern for the apron, I basically cut it how I wanted, sewed a hem all the way around, and sewed it onto some ribbon. And voila, my new favorite accessory.

I'm not sure why I love stripes so much.. Could it be the straight lines, looking so nice and clean? Because they are simple? Fresh? Don't know. How do you feel about stripes? Love em? Like em? Any other pattern tickle your fancy? I know my mom loves polka dots, what about you?