favorite finds

A few years ago my husband was asked if he wanted this old work bench. Someone he knew through his job didn't feel like moving with it, and I am glad he said yes. But it wasn't until just 2 years ago that we decided that it would look great set up as a really cool table. It was just sitting in our basement collecting dust. I had just seen one like it in Pottery Barn for over $2,000, then another one at Terrain for over $3,000, then I was really glad he got it! It really is so fun- I had it in my dining room for awhile until I got my buffet piece that I painted and posted a little while back, and then moved it and put the work table in my family room. It's a great conversational piece.
 Here is our table, we left the back part of it off, we sanded it and used paste wax on it, it had a much darker finish on it before
.

The one I saw at Terrain for over $3,000 was a couple of years ago but I saw this one that they have there now just yesterday.

Feels good when you know you made a good decision about something and wow am I happy! I actually even like mine better. Couldn't find a picture of the one from Pottery Barn but I felt good just seeing this!

new rug for my foyer

I am in search of a new rug for my foyer, I haven't come across too many that will go well with both my living room and dining room since they are both off the foyer on either side. I do love my rug that is there now but it is so worn out and old looking that I think I can't pull off that it is an antique rug any more! I found some great rugs this morning on One Kings Lane, these rugs are by Jill Rosenwald, they are a great collection with beautiful "dynamic" patterns, as described on One Kings Lane. They are handwoven wool rugs, I find that wool rugs are easier to clean and a bit more forgiving. I love the rug in the picture below, although that would not go with what I have, it's just fun.

This rug was one of my picks, it is the Haven rug in sea foam and cream. I have both of these colors in my dining room and living room rug so it would be a great neutral color and I love the pattern. It would also go great with the color on my walls which is, Gray Wisp from Sherwin and Williams.
The price is great too for a wool rug, but I need to act fast because not only are they all selling out but this particular sale ends today!  You can check out more of their great sales on the link above, they are always offering beautiful designer sales.
I also love this rug from Ballard Designs, if I can't decide on the one above by today this is also a great choice because it is an indoor/outdoor rug. I like the larger one shown which is the Geneve rug in neutral.

Decisions, decisions....the clock is ticking!

second chance for an old chair

I have been so tired of looking at this chair of mine in my family room that I threatened many times that it was just going to go out in bulk trash and I was replacing it with a much nicer newer chair! Well after I was out and about the other day and came across a few beautiful chairs for inspiration, well I really wanted to buy them but instead used them to inspire me. I went home, tore of the very old worn out slip cover, I had loved this Williamsburg fabric years ago and now can't stand to look at it! But I decided to paint the beautiful wood trim that was hidden under the slip cover in ASCP Old White, distressed it a little and waxed it- but there is still a problem because it has the old wedge wood blue colored velvet underneath.

 So I went up to Calico Home and found a couple of fabrics that I had just seen on a few of those chairs of inspiration. I brought a couple of the fabrics home and decided on this one-

 I love how it looks on the chair and matches the navy in my pillow, yes again another problem, I need someone to make the slip cover for me and make it to show off my newly painted wood!

But I am glad I didn't throw the chair away, it looks better even like this! I love the old grain sack linen look of the fabric, I saw it on so many upholstered pieces the other day. So when it is finished I will post my "new" chair, it saved me many hundreds of dollars which is always a good thing!

Starting fresh in the New Year

2012, a new year, time to make those resolutions that we will hopefully keep. Mine should be the same every year and that is to get organized! Declutter, throw out and clean up! This year will be even more challenging as we are going to be be putting our house on the market! But what a better time to start organizing for the new year. Here are some great ways to help even the hopeless, like me, get organized in a stylish way.

My Home Ideas

OK, well this one is not your everyday simple organizing solution, but I love this so much I had to share it!  What a cool idea to disguise your things in your kitchen but by also making it look so different and unique .

BHG

 Great way to get the kids organized and learn a little geography at the same time.

BHG

 These labeled buckets are a simple solution to your clutter.

My Home Ideas

 I love the whimsical feel of this space.

My Home Ideas

This would be a dream for me, no excuses to get organized here!

My Home Ideas

Great utilization of space that creates 2 working areas that look great side by side.

My Home Ideas

I love the ladder and all the book shelves created in this boy's room, it's useful and fun.

My Home Ideas

Even if you don't have much space, try turning a closet into a small computer space, you can shut the doors and no one will know its there.

My Home Ideas

 The magnetized closet doors are a great way to create a message board and gives everyone there own spot.

BHG

These baskets are a quick fix for all your shoes.

BHG

This is such a classic great way to get everything organized. 

BHG

Even if you don't have too much space you can create the same idea under some steps.

My Home Ideas

The cork board looks great in this space and blends in with the natural look and green shade.

I hope those ideas will give you some motivation to start getting organized in the New Year!

Christmas Eve



 As we are winding down from the hustle and bustle of all our preparations and the madness that comes along with Christmas, it is just so exhausting when its all said and done! (I still haven't wrapped a single gift) I am trying to relax and enjoy my day at home with my family, my daughter has been tracking Santa all day on the computer, there's football in the background and food baking, I love it! But as promised here are a few pictures of my house decorated for the season. Starting with my front door - I love my Nantucket door knocker in the picture above, it's a great spot to hold some greens.

My Lemon Cypress tree. I keep it all year round, they are the prettiest green color.

Old antique ornaments and greens under glass dome.

My paper whites in full bloom- I love them

Red stocking under a glass dome

One of my favorite old ornaments.

Mercury glass candle holder

Those were just a few pictures that I thought I would share. And here is a last minute idea that I saw that's so pretty and easy to do.  I love the mason jar and how colorful the cranberries and greens look in the water floating around with the candle.

BHG

I actually love Christmas Eve more then Christmas day, maybe its the anticipation of the day to come and how excited the kids are and just being home as a family. So I will be wrapping gifts all night and hoping my kids will stay in bed, but enjoying every minute of it. Merry Christmas.

Snowmen Cupcakes

My daughter turned 8 today! I can't believe it, seems like it was just yesterday she was just born, sounds so cliche, but so true.  With that being said, for those of you who have kids born right around this time of year, you can probably attest to the fact that it is a little challenging celebrating a birthday so close to Christmas. It's hard to separate them out sometimes and try to make it extra special with so much going on. So I thought I would go a little beyond the regular iced cupcake and do something a little more creative for her to take into school to celebrate her birthday.

Someone had shared this snowman cupcake idea with me last week and I thought it would be so fun to make them.(although be prepared - they are a little time-consuming, and getting them to school was a feat in and of itself!) The kids loved them! I used the frosting as paste between the two marshmallows, and secured them with toothpicks that I stuck into the marshmallows and left some sticking down to put into the top of the cupcake. The hat is a Rolo, and the nose is a gummy orange slice cut smaller to look like a nose. The scarf is a licorice twist, the arms are pretzel sticks and then I used some black icing that comes in the smaller tubes, for the buttons and eyes. they look so cute. Abbie was very happy and I figure its a nice way to go a little above and beyond to make her day special because she is so special to me!

Bright Idea of the Day

While I was browsing around yesterday shopping, or just window shopping I should say, I came across these amazing unique lighting options.

How great are these mason jar pendants? There are 3 jars hanging from a single circular plate. I do have a very skilled lighting guy, wonder if he would be able to do them for a lot less then the $398 price of these!!

These filigree lights are just beautiful, the picture doesn't show how amazing they really are, they are truly  stunning. Even though some are big in size, they are so intricate and delicate looking at the same time. In the right spot these would be such a focal point.

They look like giant Christmas ornaments,so pretty!

This one wins for the most creative. It is a live chandelier- there are amaryllis bulbs placed around that are actually growing, replacing a spot where you would see candles or lights. The bulbs are mixed in with some cotton and greens all held up on a chandelier. You could put some twinkle lights around it to show off the flowers.

These were my bright ideas of the day, have any fun lighting ideas?