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!