Since Saturday was the first official day of fall (it didn't feel like it at nearly 100 degrees in Texas!), naturally I had to decorate!
I also had a great time last Thursday at the blog workshop that I mentioned here, and came home with some goodies! A cosmetic pouch from Stephanie Johnson, earrings from Kendra Scott, waterless beauty balm from One Love Organics, and some super cute matches from Design Darling.
If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty much the most unlucky person in the world and never, ever win anything. Well, my streak has been broken, because I won the most fabulous marble lucite tray from Parker & Rain. I can't wait to figure out where I'm going to use it!
I did one final (I hope) rearrangement in the living room. I kept the sectional on the same side, but switched the side table and basket, and so far this one has worked out best for us. Doing this finally gave me a place to hang one of Charlie's guitars. I also replaced our coffee table with a smaller version of the one we already had. I don't love it, but it was cheap enough that I won't mind replacing it when I find one that I do.
After looking through all of my home office inspiration pics, I've realized the reason why I'm still not in love with this area is because it looks so darn cluttered. All of those pretty pictures don't have a massive computer and printer, which is obviously not realistic. I think I'll like it much more when we get a new computer this fall.
Not only will it eliminate 90% of our cords, but it'll also give me space to put something like this (minus the wheels) next to the desk for our printer, freeing up a ton of space on the desk.
Can you believe the desk I'm using today, is the exact same desk that I got for my 2nd birthday? As much as its small size drives me nuts, it's hard to get rid of it!
I first sprayed the cork board with Elmer's spray adhesive, and then carefully lined up the fabric before pressing down. This step wasn't necessary, I only did it to keep the fabric from shifting while I stapled it onto the back of the board.
After a little trial and error, I found the best way to keep the upholstery tacks straight and evenly spaced was to line them up along my ruler like this:
Almost finished!
I'll post a picture of the finished project once I have my desk done!
I haven't posted in awhile because I've come down with a nasty cold thanks to constantly being surrounded by germy kiddies, and because my desk situation currently looks like this:
This painting project has turned into quite the time sucker. I started using it before I allowed the paint enough time to cure, so little bits started chipping off the top. After another coat of paint I decided it would be best to protect it with a couple coats of poly. So, I had to let the fresh paint cure for 48 hours, and then today I applied the poly letting it dry a few hours between each coat. THEN I'll have to let it sit another 48 hours before using it again, hence the reason I've stolen Charlie's laptop to write this post. I'm not totally happy with the way it came out, though. For some reason the coats look a little uneven, and it doesn't help that I'm super OCD about stuff like that.
I've also filled in the holes where the previous hardware was, because my new hardware is a little smaller. The brass handles I talked about here ended up not working because they looked super small and weird, so I found this hardware that I'm currently trying. I haven't put on the handles yet, but plan to soon. Hopefully by Wednesday I'll be finished and able to post some pics of the project!
P.S. sorry if there are crazy amounts of typos/errors in this post. I can't stop watching Hoarders, so I'm trying to watch and write at the same time! Do you ever watch this show? It fascinates me, but it always sends me into a cleaning frenzy.
I spotted this lovely bubbled beverage dispenser a few months ago at Anthropologie, but I would never in a million years pay the almost $300 that it is selling for.
I popped into World Market to check out the stools that I mentioned here, and was super excited to find this almost identical match for only $19.99! It most definitely came home with me.
I also made a trip to Ikea and found the most fantastic mint green dishes for only $15 for a set of 12! They are a little lighter green than they appear in the picture, and mix in very nicely with our current dinnerware.
This weekend my fabulous Grandma helped me reupholster our living room chair.
Before
After
Even though it was time consuming (it took me about six hours total), it was surprisingly easy to accomplish. Basically you: 1) remove the staples, 2) take the chair apart, 3) carefully remove the old fabric, 4) use it to make your new pattern, 5) pin patterns together using the old fabric as your guide, and 5) sew that shizz back together! I was afraid I had forgotten how to sew, but once I broke out the sewing machine it was like riding a bike!
I also did a little switcheroo with the sectional and chair. I wasn't in love with the last layout, so we'll see if this one works better. I'm still on the search for a great coffee table, so if you see one, holla!
I'm also really loving this one, but I'm just wondering if it might take up too much space in our tiny room?
Speaking of World Market, they've totally stepped up their game recently. I'm seeing if I can somehow manage to incorporate one of these pieces into our home. Wouldn't both of these be fabulous for a foyer or mini-bar?
First of all, how did no one correct me on the title of my last post?! I just read that I had typed "it's arrived." Seriously, I need to quit writing posts in the middle of the night...
Anyway, remember when I said we took over 700 pictures on vacation? Well, it was 977 to be exact! Instead of boring you with a million landscape pictures, I'll post just a few of the highlights.
We love, love, loved feeding the giraffes
These guys all had so much personality!
Beautiful roadside stop
At the summit of Pike's Peak. Isn't it just amazing? They have some serious trust in people, because there was absolutely no barrier and that went straight down.
It's Big Foot's footprint, ya'll
This guy had no problem coming up to people for food. He almost hopped into our car!
Our favorite part of the trip (and reason for going) was to see Mumford and Sons play at Red Rocks. They wouldn't let us take our dslr into the concert, so I had to make do with my super old point-and-shoot. I'm pretty sure the iPhone has more megapixels than this camera... whatevs.
All three bands came to the stage to sing Joe Cocker's version of "With a Little Help From My Friends" for the finale.
Nathaniel Rateliff was one of the openers and I'm definitely a new fan. This is my favorite so far. It's one of those songs you can listen to when you're really content, or when you need a good cry. Am I the only one the listens to music when I want to cry? Ha.
Our sofa has arrived! We chose the Jackson Sectional from West Elm. I'm not sure if we'll keep this layout, but we're trying it for a week or so to see if we like it. I've draped fabric over my slipper chair to see how it works with everything. Hopefully I'll get around to recovering it very soon!
