Friday Fabulous - Blog Love

So I've been excited to get back into some of my favourite blogs over the last couple of weeks.  The fun thing about blogs is that there are usually links to other fun blogs which usually leads to even more fun blogs and on and on.  Well, I started clicking and discovered some interesting new-to-me blogs.  I just couldn't help myself and I wanted to share some of my recent discoveries with you.  Clicking on the blog titles will take you straight to the goods.  I hope you are as inspired as I have been.

Nesting Place - It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  I can so relate to that statement.  I've particularly enjoyed looking at the transformation The Nester's home has gone through over the last couple of years (click on the home tour).  She has really put a personal stamp on her home - a rental home at that - while keeping things livable for her family.  That's right people... she's got 3 boys.   

from Nesting Place

What She Wore 365 - just because I need new inspiration for my wardrobe.  Did I ever mention that when I married Mr. D I moved from a place that had four distinct seasons to a place that has two real seasons...warm/hot and cool?  Half of my wardrobe was instantly unnecessary.  It's taken me four years to figure out how to dress in this new climate (I actually got tired of wearing flip flops...scandalous, I know!) and I've finally started to wrap my brain around it so I'm excited to get shopping.  That and we have some kickin' outlets down the way that are calling my name!

from What She Wore 365

ThirtySomethingFashion - I haven't spent too much time getting into this blog's past posts but I was instantly intrigued because the poster was pregnant.  That's where I'm at right now ... not necessarily pregnant but definitely in mommy land and I'm always looking for new inspiration that says "fun, stylish, and able to run after a two year old."  I'll be checking this blog out for sure.

You really must check out these great blogs ... you just must!  Happy clicking everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

...one more thing...what blogs are you following these days?

DIY - Paint Chip Art

To say that I use google on a regular basis is an understatement really.  I'm not ashamed to say that I am a full fledged googler.  My family makes fun of me because I'll often google whole phrases at a time but the cool thing is I usually always find what I'm looking for.  I was searching google (is googling a real word?) looking for an appropriate picture for my last post about paint chips and I found some really fun DIY projects.  Check out some of my faves.  Click on the picture to find out more about how to create it yourself.

Easter Garland - from modern parents messy kids.

  

Paint Chip Wall Art - from life, crafts & whatever

Framed paint chip art - from young house love

Paint Chip Calendar - from pinterest

Wow!  Hope you are as inspired as I am!  I'm thinking it might be time to hit my local home improvement store.  Now to figure out how to get that many paint chips home without causing a commotion...

Happy crafting.

Picking Paint Colours

source

So you want to add a little pizazz to your space.  The easiest way to do that is with paint.  We've all been there, right?!  You head down to your local paint store full of excitement and there it is.  The giant wall of colour choices.  Where on earth is one supposed to start anyway?  After all, there isn't just white but there are 25 different shades of white - some with yellow undertones, green undertones and even red undertones.  It can be so intimidating for sure!  I haven't painted a ton in my life but I have picked up a few valuable tips along the way to help narrow down the choices.

1.  start with the experts - I've found that many designers have a few colours that they use over and over.  I figure they have go-to colours for a reason so why not start there.  Candice Olson recently partnered with Benjamin Moore and put together her top 5 favourite neutrals.  They are a great place to start when trying to decide on specific colours and let's face it they are just plain beautiful.  Click the picture below to see more about her great picks.

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2.  use the fabrics from the room as a jumping off point 

This is fabric I'm considering for my dining room chairs.  The lighter blue and the white were "pulled out" of the fabric and used as the paint colours on the wall.  I think this fabric would look fun as chair upholstery and tie the whole dining area together without looking too matchy-matchy.  You could then pull out the darker blue/black and use that colour as accents in the room - candle holders and picture frames would be a great place to start. 

3.  don't be bashful - use those suggestion cards at the paint store.  Hey, there's no shame in using these little booklets and they are a really great way to know what colours to put together. (unfortunately, I don't have a pictures of one of those little gems).

Here is the MOST IMPORTANT TIP ever!  

Always, Always, Always paint a large square sample of paint on the wall in the room where it will be used.

I can't tell you how many blue colours we went through before we decided to go with Cloudy Sky in our bedroom.  Seeing the paint in the actual lighting of the room will bring out its undertones.  Believe it or not, the undertones that come out can actually change the colour.  At first, I wanted to use the ever popular Cloud White by Benjamin Moore.  Once I painted it on the wall I quickly saw that, in our lighting, the paint turned light green.  Uh...that wasn't the look I was going for.  I eventually settled on Atrium White because it stayed white in our lighting.  

Save your time and money - do a test patch!

Happy paint picking everyone!  I promise there are more pictures to come but there's a bunch of furniture in the way so it may take a bit.  Patience - at least that's what I keep telling myself anyway.

Living Room Progress Report

Well, here we are again.  So much has happened in the last week-and-a half that I don't know where to start.  Mr. D decided to take a week off work and start getting ready for our room switch-er-roo but little did I know that the week would end in us ripping, well Mr. D ripping off all of the old molding in the boys' new room.  Phew, it's been a whirlwind of painting, sanding, filling and moving junk stuff from one room to another. Not only that, but Mr. D felt so enthusiastic that he wanted to get our bedroom painted too!  WOW!  I'll post more about these transformations at a later time but let's just say they have been up to three years in the making.  THREE years people.  The hilarious thing is that Mr. D up and decided that he wanted to get it ALL done in one weekend...with a toddler running around... and a pregnant wife who can't really bend in the middle anymore.  Needless to say, we pressed on and it's almost done.  Almost!  I can't wait to show the boys' room but that will have to wait for another time.  We are still waiting on some trim work to be finished. 

OC-16 Cedar Key by Benjamin Moore 

Instead, let's turn our attention to the almost forgotten living room.  This living room update has been a long couple of months in developing.  Actually, it's been almost two years in the making.  You see, we painted one singular wall of the living space a wonderful and warm colour called Cedar Key by Benjamin Moore just over two years ago before little D was born.  It was delightful and made the room start to feel just a touch brighter.  


The other three walls were the old olive, no, pea soup green.  Now, I have nothing against pea soup green but this particular shade was making our house feel like a cave. We're talking DARK people!!!  I actually like the opposite of dark in my home.  I'm a bring on the bright sun, open the curtains and turn on the lights kind of gal.  So, fast forward to last weekend and you can understand my surprise when Mr. D suggested that we paint the living room ALL Cedar Key.  I did a little happy dance inside and ran for my paintbrush.  Well, its done and it looks wonderful.  It's bright, cheery and makes our chocolate sofas pop.  It makes things that much more exciting to update because the "envelope" of the room provides a great foundation.  The carpet is another story.  We won't go there.




The picture on the left is very similar to the two chocolate coloured sofas we have in our space...minus the very interesting throw pillows.




Part of the reason why things have been dragging a little is that I've been very indecisive picking fabrics for throw pillows and the ottoman.  I'm not really sure why choosing fabrics has been a sticking point for me because fabric is a realm that I'm really comfortable with.  I think it's because there are so many great fabrics and patterns out there now that its so difficult to narrow down the choices.  I think I've narrowed it down to the fabrics I really love...for now anyway.  Here's what I'm looking at.

1.  white curtains - Ikea
2.  zigzag pillow - source unknown
3.  wide stripe pillow - Potterybarn
4.  damask fabric - fabric.com


I'm still wavering about colour but I've always loved the crispness of light silvery blue with white.  I'm also really into wide stripes because I think they add an element of fun.  I'm not sure I'm going to find the exact fabric I want to I will probably have to piece things together to make the stripes I want.  I'm still debating the fabric choice for the ottoman because little D plays there ALL the time.  Right now, the pleather is extremely easy to clean so I need to keep that in mind.  There are so many more elements but I have to pace myself.  I get so tired these days so my new "mantra" is one thing at a time.  Right now I'm shifting my focus to getting the painting and finishing done.  After that, we're back in business in the living room and those pesky curtain rods will be the first to go up! 


Until then, happy painting or fabric picking or whatever projects you are working on.  Oh, and I'd love to hear about them so drop me a line and tell me ALL about them.


Ciao!

Blog Love - Recent Discoveries

Hey everyone.  There are those times in life when you are going along, minding your own business when all of a sudden...something comes along that just clicks.  It fits, it works and it's inspirational.  Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic.  This past weekend, thanks to that amazing little invention called DVR, I was introduced to Mr. Goodwill Hunting.  Some of you may be saying "honey, get with the program.  That's old news."  Others of you may be saying "Mr. who?"  Well, let me introduce you.

This is Mr. Goodwill Hunting and his blog is right here.

photo courtesy of rashoncarraway.com

He is not bashful about his love for thrifting and has found some amazing pieces for decorating his spaces and others too.  Recently, he was on the Nate Berkus show and outfitted a livingroom with all of its major pieces for under $300.  Check out his blog and be inspired!  There is hope to have a great looking space without having to spend an arm and a leg to get it!  Boy, that's great news for this gal's budget.  I'm still exploring his blog but I think his suits are so fun!  Anyway, I couldn't let any more time go by without sharing this fun find with you!

Happy exploring!

Free Christmas Printables from JDC

I've shared this amazing blog with you before but I just couldn't resist telling you about what's going on over at Jones Design Company.  Emily, the blog's creator, has been offering some great free Christmas printables and I couldn't wait to share them with you.

Christmas gift tags

Christmas art print

Christmas Party Invitations

Christmas Gift List

Click on the links in each title to find out how to print these fun Christmas pages.  You've got to check out the rest of this great blog.  It's SO inspiring!  I think I have a bit of a soft spot because Emily is from the Pacific Northwest and I always love to see what's happening over in my old neck of the woods!

Happy printing!   

  

...one more thing...you've got to check out Emily's "What I wore" section.

Blog Favourites

There are just so many great blogs out there and so little time!  I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.  Why keep a good thing a secret right?  Click on the logos to check out these blogs.

Jones Design Company is a recent find for me and I was inspired right away.  Check out her kids' rooms...so fun!

Thrifty Decor Chick was one of the first blogs I discovered.  It's a great resource for DIY projects for the home.

This was the first blog I ever read and I can't even tell you how inspired I was!  I've never come across someone who loves different fonts as much as I do until Marta.  She writes about her life, her work and design inspiration.  You just need to check it out.


I stumbled across Ain't No Mom Jeans one day as I sought inspiration for my sad and boring wardrobe.  I was so excited to explore this blog and see that I wasn't the only mom struggling to redefine her style after having a sweet little one.  I particularly thought the New Here? section was a great introduction to this blog by real moms for real moms!


Honest to Nod is the blog attached to the store Land of Nod.  I haven't fully explored this blog yet since I only discovered it last night while window shopping on the Land of Nod site.  There are some cute ideas for all things kid related - crafts, food, party ideas.  I can tell right now that I'm going to waste spend a LOT of time here and I can't wait for their Christmas ideas to start popping up.

Well, those are just a smattering of the blogs I'm following right now.  Do you have any favourites to share?

Photos and Facebook

Hey everyone!  Things have been moving right along over here.  It seems that each week goes by and the living room to-do list keeps growing!  We will get back to talking about my design process, I promise!  But for now,  I'm super excited about a little project I'm working on in the living room.  It's not quite ready to be unveiled but I'll give you a little hint while I work hard on the finishing touches.

This little package was one of the highlights of my week!  My photos are here!!!  Snapfish is one of my go-to websites for photo processing.  They frequently have sales and specials that are too great to resist.  I once had 100 4x6 prints done for the cost of shipping (about $3.00).  Wahoo!  Oh, and I compared the cost of my order with Walgreen's online photo processing and Snapfish was able to do it for half the cost.  I always LOVE a deal!   You've got to check the website out for sure.

Speaking of websites, check out One More Thing on facebook!  I always love to hear from my readers!

Ciao!


...one more thing... check out picnik for free photo editing - super fun!

Ikea Here We Come!

One of my favourite places to shop is Ikea partly because the distance from my home makes it an automatic shopping "destination" instead of a shopping "stop-in for a quick look."  Also, partly because of the sheer number of items, great and small, to look at and dream about that are within the very limited budget I'm working with. Totally LOVE that! 

Little dude and I decided that Saturday was a perfect day for a shopping trip to Ikea as there were a few items that I was hoping to pick up for various projects I want to do.  We were working on a bit of a timeline because nap time was looming so we went straight to the Marketplace, foregoing the meandering walk through all of the showrooms.  Hubs was away for the weekend so it was just me and squirt, who thoroughly loved his first experience in the child-seat of the cart. 

Oh, and by-the-way, whoever invented those shopping carts must not have taken them around the store for very long because I was a in a constant battle to keep the thing rolling straight.  Hmmm...maybe they need to look at that.  Nevertheless, we found all of the goodies on the list and a cute little mat for the kitchen to boot!  Here is a pic of most of my finds.

The picture rail, at the top of the photo, is for another project that I'll show in the coming weeks but I'm super excited about adding it to my decor!  Also, I just love love the price - $14.99.  Totally do-able! 

I have a window and french doors in my living room so I bought the white curtains to see if they would work in my space.  TOTALLY do!  They have a linen texture without the linen wrinkles or linen price.  I love love them!  I just need to go back and pick up another pair.  I've got a fun project in mind for them too but I'm still on the hunt for one last part so it may be a bit before it's done. 

The picture frame is one of my favourites EVER!  Ikea is genius in that they have a line of frames in white, black or silver in many different sizes that all coordinate.  I really like seeing mismatched frames on the wall but the organized side of me finds matching frames so peaceful and appealing.  Also, hubs prefers matching frames as well so Ikea's the place for us!  I can't wait to show you what I have cooked up for the picture frame.  Soon enough, soon enough. 

Oh, and who can resist Ikea's 100 tea lights for $3.99?  Totally in my budget!!  All in all, it was a very successful trip and I am SO looking forward to adding some homey-ness to our home!  Why didn't I do this sooner?

Where do you find tried-and-true items for your home?

..... one more thing... just because he is SO adorable (if I do say so myself), here is little dude in his first Ikea shopping cart EVER!  He was so proud!  The blurry feet show just how excited he was!  Oh, and their handy-dandy waist strap fit snuggly around even my skinny-minny dude.  Totally love that!