Baby Will, at Four Months

Remember baby Will? I posted about him just a few weeks ago. Well, baby Will is four months old now, and he is just the cutest thing! We had a good time with him once again, and I have never seen such a smiley baby! :-)
















Baby Will didn't last long though, after we had gotten a few good pictures, he decided he was quite tired, and conked out! That's ok though, we had lots of fun. :-)

Inspiration Tuesday: Unfussy Gardens

My grass is getting greener by the second as this rain keeps coming down. I've also started a few seeds, but my black eyed susans have once again refused to grow (as they did last year) Looks like I'll be either buying a bunch at the nurseries, or stealing them from meadows this year. :-)

I've realized that I definitely prefer the look of unfussy, somewhat overgrown gardens to ones that are perfectly planned, pruned and mulched. With that in mind, I'm adding some new stuff to my gardens this year that should take me closer to that look. Here are a few gardens that have the style I am talking about.

from bhg.com

creativeearth.co.uk

cdislands.com

Oh, and someday? I am going here. How beautiful is this mountain?

This is the Temblor Range in California. Amazing, isn't it?

Keeping the Sinks Clean

After nearly four years of being responsible for my own house, I've learned a few things about keeping a clean home. Actually, I've learned a lot. :-) But today, I'm going to talk about clean sinks. I've discovered that if two main areas of my home are clean, then I feel like I have a good handle on the house's cleanliness. Those areas are the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink. If the kitchen sink is free of dishes, and the bathroom sink is free of hair and toothpaste, then I feel like I am doing a good job maintaining my home. It doesn't hurt that those are two areas that guests are guaranteed to see, so it helps my home stay visitor ready on a regular basis.

I've talked before about doing the dishes, and how I struggle with it. It's not the lack of a dishwasher, because the dishes were never done at our apartment either. It's just a general dislike of doing the dishes. It's boring, repetitive, and ruins my nails. And up until recently, I wasn't a very good dish-washer, so I had to repeat a lot of my work.  So I brainstormed a few solutions. I set a goal of having the sink clear each morning. That helped a lot. Then I started timing myself doing a sinkload of dishes, and discovered that a full sink of dishes rarely takes longer than fifteen minutes. If we have a lot of company over, it's a little more, but on a daily basis, especially when I clean the making dinner dishes while the food is cooking, it can take as little time as five minutes! So now I know that I can burn through a stack in less time than it will take you to read this lengthy blog post. :-)

Then I started thinking about the bathroom sink. I love the look of a freshly wiped sink and polished faucet. The problem was, I would wash the sink on Mondays, and then not again until the following Monday. And while that was less than stellar with just Lover and I, once my brother moved in that became a real problem. Just around the time my brother moved in, it seemed we started to do a lot more entertaining, and even had a bunch of people staying with us. So I put on my thinking cap, and came up with the following solution.

One of the reasons I would let a dirty sink sit, was because I had to track down a rag, get out the cleaning products and wash the sink. Then I had to put everything away, and find a place for the rag to dry before I could throw it in the "to be washed" bin. Not a big deal, but enough of a deterrent for me to talk myself out of it more often than not.

A trip to Walmart yielded two brown washcloths for a dollar each, and a set of 3M Command Hooks. I grabbed some bias tape from my ribbon stash, and hand sewed a loop onto one corner of each of the washcloths.



This little corner of the vanity in our bathroom, that butts up to the shower curtain would be the perfect hiding place for my "sink-cloth".



One command hook later, this little nook held a washcloth at the ready for whenever the mood strikes to shine up the sink. The loop makes it easy to hang up and it dries all on its own while waiting for the next time I need to use it.





Plus, it is hidden from sight, so no one is the wiser to my little solution. Most days I just use hot water to spruce everything up, but I also made up a spray bottle of vinegar solution that hangs out under the sink for when I have an extra second to clean it up good.



So that's my solution for clean sinks. What areas in your home equal clean to you? I'd love to hear about them. :-)

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday, Make it For Monday,

I'm not dead.

Hey friends. :-)

I'm not dead.

Just busy.

Did I tell you that life has been crazy lately? Oh, yeah, I did. Well, it still is, and unfortunately when life is busy, something has to go, and that something has been this blog.

But, I'll be back next week. Lord willing. And the creek don't rise.

In the meantime I will be doing a million and one things, and finding all the time I can to do this with my babe.

Inspiration Tuesday: Alphabet Office

OK, how seriously cool is this office?  I am luvin it. I was on Rate My Space browsing for basement ideas (and anything else inspiring) and stumbled upon this little gem.



I'm not one to simply copy  a design, but I think this room is stellar. That awesome wall treatment is done by projecting words onto the walls and painting them, and then layering silver wall  words over top of them.

The room cost under $1500 to do start to finish, and you could probably come in even cheaper if you have a good Craigslist in your area.



The floor is laminate wood, and don't you love that crisp white trim against the gray walls? I also love how they worked around the basement windows by simply adding ap picture ledge beneath the window. The big items in the room are from Ikea and TJ  Maxx, and don't you love the collection of white accessories?



I love the interest that they added to the ceiling, so that it doesn't look so basement-y



And purple and turquoise add the perfect splash of color.

So what do you think? I think I love this room a little more each time I look at it. Feel free to comment here, or head over the Rate My Space to comment on this room!

Makeup Remover on the Cheap

Didya know that you can use baby oil as an eye makeup remover? Yeah, I didn't either. I came across that little factoid a few months ago, (magazine? blog?) and a light bulb went off. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but I do always wear mascara, and waterproof stuff at that. It's always a bear to take off, and that makeup remover stuff is expensive. The best I had found was the Almay pads, and I would buy them at BJs in a double pack for about six dollars. Two packs would last me about two months.

So when I came across this little tip I was all over it. A bottle of baby oil is under two dollars at Walmart, especially if you buy non-brand.



I've been using the stuff for the last few months, and I have to say, I love it. It has the sweetest scent, and works like a charm. I find it works best if I wipe it over my eyes with a cotton ball, then brush my teeth, then go back and swipe my lashes again. Now, it is oily, obviously, but I have combination skin, and I've found that the skin around my eyes is a lot softer since I started using this. And all the oiliness comes off when I wash my face, so everything is copacetic.



Oh, but you know I couldn't leave that ugly bottle sitting around my sink, right? Well, a trip to Goodwill provided a cut glass decanter that I promptly filled with oil. Obviously, you might not want to do this with kiddos around, but you could also put the oil in a soap dispenser, and then just pump a few squirts onto a cotton ball.





So that's my easy breezy beauty secret that saves me a lot of moolah. I'm all about finding deals on the stuff that keeps me beautiful, so if you've got any awesomely frugal ideas I'd love to hear them!

thoughts

I don't have a lot to talk about today. I am having fun living life, snuggling my little nephew and catching up with my sister. (In-law, but I've never had a sister, and she is what I imagine my sister would have been like, had I had one.) They live all the way in California, and I really miss them.

My sister's sister is staying with us too, along with her two precious kids. It has been a blast watching them all play and interact. I can't believe how much energy little munchkins have. And how innocent they are. They are so well behaved, at a stranger's house.

Lover brought me flowers, and surprised me with a diamond necklace this week. Just because. I love that he is so sweet and thoughtful that way. He doesn't like to give gifts when they are expected. He prefers to give them when there's no expectation, because, really, isn't it much more meaningful that way?

So anyways, not a lot of progress on the house. Not a lot of time to blog. But that means that we are having fun in our life, and that is what is most important. :-)

Signing off now, nephew needs more snugglin' :-)

Makayla's Eight Month Pictures

I've been photographing this little cutie since she was just a few days old, and she just keeps getting cuter! Check out her adorable cozy outfit. Makayla is such a fun, curious little girl!











Can't wait to see you again soon Makayla!

Inspiration Tuesday: Fun and Easy Projects

Here a few ideas I have come across lately that I felt were so great I just had to share them! Take the time to check them out, they're all great!





This has got to be one of the most innovative storage solutions I have seen in a while. Becky over at Infarrantly Creative came up with a way to display board games by framing the play boards and clipping the pieces to the back. Check out her post for the step by step tutorial.



Sarah at Five Camels came up with this super chic yet ridiculously simple solution for displaying your necklaces. This has definitely been added to my to do list for the future, when life is a little calmer. Ha. Like that is gonna happen. :-)



Layla breathed new life into this table, with a lot of elbow grease and just a few supplies. Now it has the perfect timeworn finish for the farmhouse look she is achieving in her cottage.



The fabulous girls at Shanty 2 Chic came up with a genius idea for napkin rings, using curtain clips! This is such a great idea for parties, as the clips can hold any kind of party appropriate decorations.

And, finally, just for fun, Beth put together a post a while ago about the decorating trends of the blogosphere. If you are up for a good laugh, go check it out. :)

Dining Room Rehab: Before and After

So I know you are dying to see the after pictures of the dining room, and I am so excited to show you them. I've tried to match as many of the angles of the before pictures to the after pictures as I could, so you could really see the transformation.

Before # 1, in which you can see how little we had to work with. :-)



After # 1. Ah, so much better.



Before # 2. To the left just a tad. Who can forget the tiled floor, and the cork walls in the living room? Oh, and that palm tree plant? I murdered it. It was hideous. :-)



After # 2.  Sooo much better.



Before # 3. Mini blinds are rocking the house!



After # 3. Light! Glorious light!



Before # 4. More blank walls. And a partial view of those shelves.



After # 4. Pictures. And paint. And no shelves. Hallelujah!



Before # 5. Many a noggin was cracked on that cabinet, let me tell you.



After # 5.  Ah. Serenity. My noggin is at peace.



And then just a few more afters, because they are just so stinking gorgeous. :-)









So what do you think? Was it worth all the blood, sweat and tears?  What is your favorite part? Is there something you just can't stand? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions, even if you don't like it. I'm a big girl! :-)

If you like to read about the projects for this room, here are all the links:

• Walls 1 and 2


• Wall 3


• Lamp Makeover


• Wall Art


• Buffet and Shelves


• Decorated Corners


• Curtain Rehab

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Make Your Monday @ Twice Remembered

Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Dining Room Rehab: Finding an Inspiration Point

Back in September I wrote a post  with an idea board for the dining room. The room needed an injection of personality, and I thought the direction I wanted to take was warm, jewel tones and amber glass. I posted the mood board, and not too long after an inspiration photo of a dining room that had the same look I was going for.



Then I started brainstorming how I could create this look in our room. Something just wasn't jiving, and bringing in more saturated colors was just making the room look gaudy. Around Christmas I brought in lots of red, greens and golds in the decorations as a trial room for the colors I would be adding to the room, and I hated it. Like made me uncomfortable in the room kind of hate. Weird, right?

I talked to Lover about it, and decided that the paint and curtains in the room were all wrong and I would have to start over. That's me, always throwing out the baby with the bath water. Apparently there is a reason why I am not yet a mother. :-) He encouraged me to think about it a little more, before I started tearing apart what I had already accomplished. Then I remembered that I already had my inspiration piece for this room, my Spanish China!



So I took a super simple elementary approach to the room. I literally walked around the room, holding the plate up to the different elements in the room, and decided if they worked or not. Here the plate is on the table, and it worked. I held it up to the wall color, and it worked. The paint color is the color of mill on the plate, and the pretty scrollwork. Then I held it up to the curtains. Instantly, I realized that the curtains were fine, but the curtain rod completely clashed. So, I painted it. :-)  Now the rod is the color of the leaves around the little blue flowers.

I decided I needed a strict color palette of caramel, dusty blue, warm cream (think almost butter), and deep browns. Then I went through the room and removed everysingle thing from every shelf and piled it on the table. Next I worked on one area at a time, finding ways to incorporate the color scheme into each area. For this shelf, I needed a shot of blue to tie it in.



You can see it again in these sconces. Dark browns? Check. Warm cream? Check. A touch of blue? Check.

The bookshelf in the corner was the hardest to work into the color scheme. It is a mountain of dark wood, so things had to be added in very carefully to make it seem cohesive. It took me forever to figure out what to do, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I hauled out the rest of my Spanish china, and arranged it throughout the shelves.



The basket at the top holds the dinner plates. The two blue boxes hold the soup bowls and the rest of the coffee cups. The other little bits are displayed, and I love that they are out where I can enjoy them every day!

I love this chunky cream frame, and the print in it is one that I bought on my trip to Paris. Again, it has all the colors in my palette.



And in the last corner we have the dresser I refinished, with a cream napkin on top, a dark pedestal bowl holding pinecones and my blue mirrors. Just what the doctor ordered for this dark corner.



So there you have it. One room's progression from disjointed and inharmonious, to warm, welcoming and relaxing. Tomorrow I'll show you the whole room all put together. It's gorgeous. :-) See ya tomorrow!