That's Life..

Hello all.  My lack of posts lately can be blamed on LIFE and its refusal to stop happening. The whole of the month of May we ran around trying to do all those things that are impossible to enjoy once that stifling Texas summer heat comes barreling in!  We enjoyed games at the ballpark...Go Rangers!

Trips to the zoo (where we were delighted to find a new baby chimp!)  So cute!

We were also surprised to find dinosaurs lurking behind every corner ha!

Two lovely birds that I caught kissing and the beak of a certain duck made me want to paint something in our house the perfect shade of aqua. Yes, design inspiration can be found anywhere, even at your local zoo!

We also visited the museum quite a few times.

Add to the many outings, almost daily walks to the park, lots of homemade popcorn and I love Lucy viewing marathons in the late evenings and you can see why posting has been scarce!

On Monday I decided enough was enough.  I looked my troops straight in the eye (eyes?) and announced that the fun was over.  It was time to finish all those half done projects, like that dining table I was going to paint but only got as far as filling in the scratches with wood filler.

and that gallery wall-to-be ( for a month just pieces of paper taped to the wall)

all the frames from Ikea waiting patiently under the buffet.

Yup it was definitely time to get moving.  Since putting my foot down I have been walking around with a half tired, slightly harried look on my face which causes my kids to ask me repeatedly throughout the day "Are you o.k. mommy? Are you sad or something?" It's hilarious! I have spent the last few days painting like crazy and reassuring my offspring over and over again that I am o.k. . ha! ha! These projects must. get. done. Today I finished priming the table and will be painting it this weekend. Yahoo!

Since I suffer from decor project ADD I went from priming the table to doing something radical to this piece of Ikea Art.

Yup, I covered it with primer.  Soon after buying it I realized it was totally wrong for the breakfast nook hence the primer fest..

 No worries I have a fantabulous idea that will transform it into something better suited for the space. Pictures of all finished projects and some how-to's coming (hopefully) soon!   If you have made it all the way to the end of this really loong post you deserve a reward.  I leave you with this inspiring image. (I chose it because it reminded me of the windows in your living room sis.)

 Have a great weekend!

*if you have the original source for the above pic. please let me know Thanks!

Top Ten Reasons to Paint Your Walls White

Are you afraid to go out on a limb and paint a room (or two or three) in your house white?  I was hesitant at first but decided to take the plunge after realizing that almost all the rooms I had saved on my computer as favorites had white walls!  Here are the top ten that inspired me.

Here is our family room, the first room I ever painted white.  I am in love!

Hmmm.... I wonder which room I should paint white next.



*images from BHG, Country Living,  House Beautiful and The Lettered Cottage

Cottage Style Living Areas

Hope you all have a great weekend!

*Images courtesy of My Home ideas

Before and After Family/ Living Room

This is what the living/family room looked like before we closed on the house.

Before:

This is what it looks like today.

After:

Below is what the fireplace looked like the day we moved in. (Apparently pink and muave were all the rage during the early 90's)

Before:

After: (a closer look at the fireplace)

We are so enjoying this room now! All the effort was well worth it. For details on where we purchased the items in this room check out our house tour page. 

If you have a fireplace you would like to remodel come back to the blog soon because I will posting a detailed account of how we did it complete with pictures.

We did not remove any of the fireplace bricks but instead chose to cover them with thin plywood and moldings. Hubby and I have no previous carpentry experience whatsoever so if we did it so can you!

There are still many things to be done in this room but I am glad that the hardest part is over.  I will be hanging curtains panels I bought at Ikea on either side of the door and the window so the roman shade edges will be hidden.  We will also be replacing the door with one that has a full glass panel (to better mimic a window and provide symmetry).  I will post pictures of the changes as they occur.