couch surfin, i mean searchin

(anthropologie) $1399

we might be in the business of picking up some new couches in the near future. as you may know, i dont make any decision without doing my fair share of google-ing different options and this situation isnt being treated any different. i know exactly what i want, which makes it a little difficult cause that leaves me with no flexibility.

here is a list of my stipulations:

1.) style- antique, vintage, victorian, wooden feet, velvet, tufted. anything with some flare. 

(urban outfitters) $659

(urban outfitters) $749

2.) color- currently our living room colors are earthy warm tones. the couches we have now and tan and brown and ive got a mustard yellow tufted chair that i got last summer at a yard sale. i would like to keep it in the color scheme that we already have going, but the more i think about it, i could change the colors in the living room. i do like grey and yellow together...

(urban outfitters) $749

(dania) $2498

3.) price- heres where things get sticky... used, you can pick up a couch like this off craigslist for as low as $100 bucks. you might have to re-upholster it or it could be covered in dog piss, but hey, it was only $100. new, i have seen them anywhere from $600 to $6000. urban outfitters has some couches that ive been eyeballin, but i just dont know how they would hold up long term and i dont want to buy something just for it to fall apart. i know that i would NEVER spend any more than $1000 on a single couch and a lot of the higher end couches are up there. i would be interested in seeing how much it would be to have a used one re-upholstered. my step-dad has some super great victorian furniture that he had re-done years ago and although i dont love the colors he chose, mauve and emerald green, it works for him and they still look great!

we still have plenty of time before we "need" new seating arrangements. hopefully the most prefect sofa will turn up at a yard sale or at a local consignment shop. 

its the simple things.

you know that feeling of accomplishment you get once you complete a d.i.y project or when you finally get the results you were expecting after mimicking a pinterest tutorial? itsnt that feeling just the bee's knees? i think so, but more often than not, thats not how it goes. on several occasions, i have been left frustrated, irritated and with nothing but a huge mess.

this is how my brain usually works... "OMG! i have the best idea in the whole entire world! my idea for this ______ is the most genius thing that i have ever thought of. i am a master creator! i am the greatest! this _______ is going to complete me and end all my desires of searching for the perfect ______. blah, blah, blah...", you get the idea. then i start to gather the tools/supplies/materials and it usually crumbles in front of my face. there is usually some minor hiccup that throws it all off course and i yell up to the sky and give up. ha.

but recently i have found that when this sort of thing happens, it helps if i at least try and make something little to build my morale back up, and it seems that these little accomplishments wind up being the staples in my home that i appreciate the most. so ive snapped a few pictures of my most used and beloved small-ish creations.

this is my chalkboard that i made after the failing of a painting a buffet properly. it was an old reprint of some oil and vinegar scene. i just unmounted the actual picture, spray painted the frame yellow, painted over the old print with chalkboard paint, and put it back together. so simple. and its been great having something that will and i can write little reminders on.

here is my precious little succulent garden. i dont quite remember what drew me to transplanting all these little guys into one little area after purchasing them from home depot, but they are so easy to care for and so stinkin adorable.
i imagine them to each have their own little personalities and have conversations amongst one another. its a like little succulent commune. im a dweeb.

these are salt and pepper shakers made from tiny wine bottles i did awhile ago after a dry spell that i blame on the long, cold, inspiration-sucking winter. all i had to do was get the wine bottles, soak them in hot soapy water to remove the labels, poke holes in the caps and fill them up. these are great because almost everytime we sit down to eat i am reminded of how crafty i can be. hahaha.

and finally, a little indoor herb garden, created after the frustration of many unsuccessful attempts at making some fabulous paint swatch art. i had the little glass jars laying around from a prior visit to ikea and planted basil, lavender, chives and cilantro in them. they now reside in the windowsill above my kitchen sink.

big projects are great, and have a huge wow factor, but sometimes doing those simple little 20 minute ideas are the ones that you can appreciate the most.

inspiration obsession

we currently have a half assed coffee table. its an ikea hemnes side table that floats all over the living room. i have been thinking bout trying to make something thats a little industrial looking or at least eclectic. i love the idea of making something out of junk, or a repurposing. 

while searching all over the interwebz i came across a site called scraphacker which has tons of ideas for uses of old doors. in that site i came across the picture found above and the link to the original tutorial found here at this sorta old life. anyway, both blogs are pretty amazing and have great, easily achievable ideas.

i showed the pics to will and he said that he was on board also, so keep your eye out, this may be appearing in my living room soon! :]

-- here is another awesome table that i found at scraphacker and they got it from designsponge. 

re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and re-blog and...

im baaaaack!! same awful punctuation and grammar, new and improved blogger outlook.

 yes, i am back. after almost a year hiatus, i am returning with high hopes and optimism. :] initially i had quit blogging simply because i got tired of spending all this time uploading photos and typing out step by step how i achieved the project, or whatever it was that i was talking about. it wasnt even that it took too much effort or that i didnt have enough time, it was that i felt like it didnt matter that i posted about it. nobody cared. i was presenting to an empty audience and that made me feel, hmmm... like a giant, pretentious idiot. what changed my mind you might ask? nothing. i still feel a little douchy, but whatever, its fun, and i missed it. so here i am, back at it. posting away about home decor, d.i.y projects and junk that i like. this time be prepared for a little more personal stuff from me, though. i am not going to be just posting about house related things anymore. i need to broaden this a little bit to keep us all entertained. anyway, enough of that. time for some pictures of whats been going over the past year!

-explinations and details to come.

so there ya go. a lot has been going on. and im truly excited to be back sharing it with all of you.

inspiration!!!

after the completion of the bathroom and the high i was on from the bedroom rugs, i havent dont much lately. i started the big diy rug for the living room, but i am at a little bit of a crossroads on how to finish it, and to be honest i am a little burnt out.

anyhoo, i have been looking at some great diy projects and other ideas and just wanted to share. plus, once i put them on here i feel a little bit obligated to do them.

fabric banners! so cute and easy and a great way to add some color to any room.

establishing an impressive pyrex collection. arent they beautiful?? all i gotta do is hit up the thrift stores .

some sort of a cute little diy necklace hanger for the bathroom. 

diy antiqued table. ive tried this once before and failed miserably. :/

i absolutely LOVE this headboard idea. and although i couldnt do this in our room because we already have a headboard, ive been thinking of making something similar to hang above it.

(you can find out where i went to get these ideas and the how-to by clicking on the picture. it will take you to the site.)

so there ya go. a few of my most obsessed over projects. now if i could only get one done...

do you guys ever go online and get inspired to do the magnificent diy projects?? do you ever complete them??

bathroom 201: mission complete

good news friends!!!! remember how i had a little freak out about the bathroom in this post?? well, i got over my color indecisiveness and took the plunge. we painted the bathroom!!!!!!!

the colors i went with were from the disney collection at home depot.

first things first, let me just give you a little background on this project. when i had told will that i wanted to paint the bathroom, it was right after we had the living room floors laid and he was a little hesitant to begin another room. i promised him that i didnt need any of his help for the bathroom except for him to tape for me. well months and months went by and for one reason or another i still hadnt gotten around painting the bathroom. then one saturday morning i woke up and decided to bang this bad boy out. will was at work, it was hoopfest weekend, i was bored... it all made sense. so i went for it. and i stuck to my word, i did it all, except he did tape for me and he helped with the removal of the giant mirror, (that i broke while trying to take down alone). 

a few things i learned while painting a bathroom:

1.) they make primer for a reason, so use it.

2.) even though the room is small and there may not be a lot of surface area, obstacles are a pain in the ass.

3.) getting paint in your hair sucks to shampoo out.

4.) straddling a bathtub will get you to use muscles you never knew you had.

5.) when your husband says that he will remove a mirror for you, dont let your ego get in the way. 

anyway, here are some pics of the progress and mess. 

i sent this pic to will while he was at work to let him know that i was thinking about painting the bathroom.

its pretty dang orange.

all done.

i did the ceiling and all the walls except the big one in the lighter color, the big wall with the (RIP) mirror a darker orange and the trim bright white. i like it, will likes it, our friends say they like it. when it comes to sell the house, i dont know i will think it was the best move but hey, its just a bathroom right? how hard could it be to re-paint?? ha. 

here is a pretty before...

and that is that. next big job is going to be the kitchen. and then the kitchen and bathroom floors. eep!!! exciting!!!!

DIY project gone right!

even though "red rug" backwards doesent spell "success", it probably should. yesterday i was looking at my living room and decided that i wanted to take the purple out and instead focus on the green and yellow as accents. we have a huge purple shag area rug that just collects every single one of the dog's hairs and is nearly impossible to clean, and i have been more than willing to move it to the basement and replace it. so, i started online looking for a new yellow or green area rug and stumbled across this awesome DIY idea found here. i loved the simplicity of it and the open interpretation and how you can incorporate two colors in it. so, we ran to walmart, where i found not only green rugs, but red ones too!!! PERFECT! the bedroom finally gets the bedside runners that i have been searching for!!! i picked up six red rugs, nine green rugs, a spool of teal cotton yarn, a spool of brown cotton yarn and a big fatty needle. i decided to do the bedroom ones first since they were going to be smaller. it took me a lot longer than i expected, although i did a lot of unnecessary stitching. 

three rugs. $5 each from wally world.

soooo, i just stitched along all the edges of the rugs.

and it didnt matter if it was perfect, cause the imperfections sort of gave it personality.

then i stitched the rugs together, again imperfections encouraged. 

oh yeah, that spool is only $7, and it was more than enough. ive gotta think of more projects now!

and here is the final project!! :]] i love it so much!!!

and here is is in our messy bedroom.

BTW, we obviously added red as an accent color to the bedroom. i think the last time i blabbed about the bedroom it looked like this:

you can read more about that here:

...which isnt a whole lot different than it looks now, except for all the new red that adds some pizzaz.

scored those floral prints from ikea in a set of five. the other two are green and  are hanging on the living room frame wall.

fun fact: this scarf used to be my one of my favorite accessories. 

picked up this cute little treasure box at hobby lobby for $3.99. its the prefect hiding spot for my feather earrings so my cat doesnt destroy them.

so yeah, it was a complete success. now i just need to do the green one for the living room. ill be sure to post pictures when its done! 

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