office peek

I'm ashamed to say that for over a year our desk was a sad, old rectangle card table. It....worked. We couldn't commit to anything that I didn't love :) And we needed something long. I finally settled on this baby.

And you may remember my mood board.

But how was I going to get the table to home to Boise?

I patiently waited two months until I found a way to get it home. It was a bit of an ordeal! But we did it!

The room is not done in the slightest but, I am feeling so much better about my little office already.

It's the perfect spot for me to sit at the computer and it's great for one of the kid's and I to sit and work on homework or color Octonauts. And if you squint your eyes really hard you will see an iMac...unless you are my husband or my wallet.

I have yet to pin anything on my pretty boards but that is on my to do list. Color will be the order of the day.

 And also a different angle. All in good time the printer will be across the room and off my desk. But, we have plenty of workspace here in the meantime. Oh, and look at my lucite stapler and tape dispenser I scored on clearance at Target for $2.22. I think I did a happy dance.

So even if I have this in the other corner, I am content with my office progress.

Who wants to play I Spy!? There's some good stuff in this pile. But not for my house!

miss l's room

I really liked my girl's room before.

But I like it even more now.

One weekend, I was feeling a bit blue. I want to get something done when I feel blue usually. And having zero dollars I knew the only thing I could really mix up was my daughter's room. You see for a year I was saving this pair of bergere chairs, pillows and a stool for a project. But that project had been put on hold and since changed...a lot. Getting installed in the next few months though.{!} So they came to rescue my mood and I turned them into a sweet little sitting area.

 

Then I moved the bench by the window to create a little window seat of sorts. It's been really fun there because we get amazing sunsets from the back of our house. I also moved the mirror over the headboard. But do not be alarmed, it's a plastic mirror and well secured at that. Nobody will be injured by the cute mirror :)

 I popped her little desk into the corner and moved the bulletins to that wall. All the kids love to sit there and color.

The art stayed the same mostly, except for adding this owl mask that she made that I love.

Not too shabby for a free makeover! And it's another one of those 30 by 30 projects I haven't shown you yet. Check it off the list.

my weekend

What a fabulous weekend I had! It was busy, busy and full of soccer games, errands and a few super fun parties. But, the thing I am most happy about is this.

Isn't is gorgeous! It was bad! Not so bad that our car slept outside but bad enough! I didn't even think to take a before shot. I still have to donate that high chair, move the file cabinet to the office and spruce up that chair but this garage is ready for a new friend, my friends. After 3 years of being a one car family we are in the market for a mini van and I could not be more thrilled. Do you know how much furniture I am going to haul in that bad boy!? And my 3 kids barely fit in our back seat right now so it is a long time coming.

The joy of this shot is that all the bins are empty. Lots of purging and donating happened. Feels great! And a special thanks goes out to my hubby who did a lot while I was at a birthday party.

And then the cutest thing that happened this weekend. Friday night my daughter passed me this note. "Paint your room Mama." Love it! She then took me to one of my magazines and told me which colors she thought would look best. A girl after my own heart!

Happy Monday!

love it or hate it?

Well everyone loved that navy dresser yesterday! I love it too. It's a lot like one in my boys room. I will snap a picture later today when they are awake. It's one of my favorite colors to paint. And I wanted to do something similar to my side tables in the living room. Unfortunately they came out so much brighter than I had anticipated. I hate when the paint color doesn't match the paper color! There's part of me really likes the side tables. Maybe just not in my living room. Which is why I haven't revealed my living room just yet. I cannot decide if I love them or hate them.

What do you think?

Next time I will purge my magazines and pick up the hot wheels :)

Okay so I love the gloss on it. And I think I do love the color but I had always pictured them navy. Maybe they distract a little from the rest of the room but I don't think in a good way. And let's face it, I don't really want to paint them again. But I'll do it if need be.

I could try distressing them ever so slightly with some stain to darken them up. Or I could mix this paint with black and do one more coat. Or I could leave them as is. I have been calling the color electric peacock. All three options are free. What would you do? Tell me honestly because clearly it won't offend me if you hate them!

catching up

I feel like I have been playing catch up this week! Hopefully this weekend I can get all caught up and feel back to normal {and get over this little annoying cold too!}. It's been one busy, hectic week. But all in all a good week so that's a relief.

I have been busy working on a few client projects and my projects as well. I have been doing a lot of shopping for the playhouse I am working on and stumbled upon the cutest teacup set and teapot at One Kings Lane.

Aren't they cute? And just $16 for the set of 6 cups and saucers! This playhouse is going to be tricked out :)

How about another project of mine?

I wanted to do a large pin board for my office. I really liked this one from Courtney Hill via decorpad.

But I already had two large cork boards to work with. I also really like Bryn's boards from her office. Plus, there is going to be a lot of pattern in the room eventually so I wanted to keep the fabric simple.

I used the same method from the bulletin boards in my daughters room for these. But I wanted to add some nail head trim to them. Nail head is expensive if you do not buy it online. But I was in the zone and wanted them to be done immediately so I trudged off to Home Depot anyway. I found brass thumbtacks right next to the nail head. And I thought why not use these instead. Which coincidentally took up more time because I had to go search for more thumb tacks at more stores. I need to learn to just hit up the next Home Depot instead of trying Lowes and Walmart. Didn't I learn this while searching for the brass corners!? Go to the original source and it will save you time in the end.

 

Are you still reading? 

 

Well, I haven't hung these yet but here they are in all their glory.

 

 

 I love how the thumbtacks turned out. They are not prefect and I just used my finger to space them apart. I love that it is easy to make little adjustments as needed. Now I just need to hang them during my weekend catch up! I hope you have a nice weekend, whether it's relaxing or productive!

 

it was the best weekend ever

My husband and friends really went above and beyond this birthday weekend of mine. I was expecting a little dinner with friends Friday night, a nice gift from my hubby and a weekend of finishing up my projects and garden. Boy was I wrong! 

It all started with my surprise, my best friend in the world flying up to surprise me. My husband has been cooking this for months and months. Then he set up heavenly facials for us both and later we hit the town with a few of my best ladies Friday night. My bestie and I also picked out the same earrings without each other knowing and each bought them. They will be our new bff forever earrings. Just like our very own half heart necklaces, only cooler :) Then we finished up at the cheap movie theater with the movie, drink and popcorn totaling $5. My LA friend about died! I'm such a loser and never shot the whole group. I will always regret that!

I shopped more than I think I ever have Saturday. I love birthday gift cards!! And I was given pretty strict instructions to buy nothing for the house. Which I stuck to because my wardrobe has been a sad state of affairs. You should all be proud because this 30 year old didn't walk into the Home Goods section of my TJ Maxx. That has never happened before. It was a moment.

The best part was all the quality time I got to have with people I love. It's super cheesy but I have never felt so special! I cried when I thanked my husband last night. I also cried the whole way home from dropping Ashley off at the airport. 

And I'm sure you are all eager for my 30 by 30 update. You will be happy to know that 24 are complete but this tax day baby is going to have to file a week's extension to finish up the last six. I'm comfortable with that if you are :) That doesn't mean you won't be seeing a bunch of them in the meantime. 

I hope your weekend was as magical as mine was. Mine may never be topped. And I'm okay with that!

progress!

Look what's living with me now...

And I am in love. I'm not sure if this is where they will live or not but they are having their tryouts right now. What do you think? I might have to design my bedroom to work with them at the foot of the bed. We'll see.

I will be showing you my full living room next week. After all the projects are done. I did want to show you the full lamp now instead of making you wait. The lampshade is project number 11 that you've seen I think. You are going to get hit HARD with projects after this little birthday of mine has passed. Some are really boring and necessary and some are lots of fun!

 

 

And while we are in a coral mood I will show you my simple little Easter table. It's not winning any awards but I threw it together and liked it :)

There's still so much to do! I'm so glad I gave myself the challenge though. I'm getting a lot of little things done that have been on the list for quite some time now.

in overwhelm

My head is spinning finishing up these 30 things! I'm also trying to make my house ready for whatever Mr. Wallace has up his sleeve, doing loads and loads of laundry and of course looking after those kiddos of mine. I'm getting close though! 

Until I get through all the pictures I will leave you with this image that I have been OBSESSED with and simply have not stopped thinking about since I laid my eyes on it. My thoughts have been here while I have been painting, organizing and sewing.{ and laundering :) }

{Meredith Heron via Style at Home} 

Oh and these stools are MINE! They are en route. Woot! They have been on my mind since well before this post.

I cannot wait!

glam lamp

Remember my red lamps?

{summer 2011}

I kind of loved them. But they just didn't go with them room. So I gave them a little makeover. Well the shade is still in it's final stages. So for now I give you project nine, the glam gold lamp base.

I started by taping everything off

 And then I decided to take a little chance and use the paint and primer in one spray paint from rust-oleum. I was scared after the first coat.

But after five very light even coats I had this. Worked like a charm!

Soon you can see the entire lamp. I think I already like them better than the red, a good sign. And that side table the lamp is sitting on is also mid-painting. It's crazy over here! But this 30 by 30 is making my living room look pretty fancy! My office too! 

Happy Easter weekend!

8 is great!

Number 8 out of 30 is a little abstract art. I haven't painted in forever. I used to do it much more in my early twenties. However it has never been a strong talent of mine. I do enjoy it though. I'm not sure how I feel about these yet. I at least know I like the afters better than the before. My mom gave me these canvas prints and I of coupain painted them up. Here is my free art project.

Before:

After:

.......not sure where they are going yet. Perhaps on another 30 by 30 project for the dining room area. Man my walls look electric blue in this picture. They are not. Bluer than intended nonetheless. Oh well :)

seventh wonder

Posting will be on the lighter side this week as I am spring breaking with my kids. I will share a few 30 by 30s with you though. I know what you are thinking....actually that's a lie, I don't. But I am thinking how in the world are you going to do 30 projects if you go out of town. That my friends I have no answer to. But if I play my cards right there will be a few projects helped along and maybe even some at my vacation destination. And in all honesty my hubby has a honey do list while we are gone :)

Without any further ado I give you project 7.

These wreaths are old news but I have always wanted to make a wreath plus I have been trying to make one of these since Christmas time. Back when I couldn't find a styrofoam wreath to save my life. It was easy peasy to wrap the pretty yarn around. And then afterwards I tied the flowers to it with yarn.

I have all the supplies for another wreath of sorts for the front door. And the front door itself is getting a little makeover. But all that will have to wait for my return.

5, 6 in the mix

30 by 30 is plugging away right now. I have lots in progress, lots on the list and some ready to be photographed. I'm starting to think I should have started this in January or that maybe I'm crazy!

Over the weekend I made 21 dinners. 21 baby. It cost $92 dollars and took me about 2 1/2 hours to prep and cook everything. And I have called a truce with dinner. Why? Because dinner had been bumming me out lately. It never stops! And my kids have been super picky. There are times when I am so motivated and make such good food. There are also times, usually at the end of a season, that I am completely uninspired.

It's been a pretty good week. I've fallen in love with my crock pot. I used many of these recipes and I made a few up {I haven't tested those out ones out yet}. So far so good.

Number 6, I stole from Jenny yesterday. We have been trying to work on our kids behavior lately. And it was perfect timing to introduce something new. Instead of them having a cute coin purse I went with their own mini mason jar. Mostly because my kids would make a mess with them and my youngest would eat them off the floor. 

So far my oldest is eating the new motivation up and my problem child is taking it hard. Hopefully today when we start off the day with it he will do better than last night. I think he is technically negative 10 beans right now. But we'll work on that! This one was free since I had all the jars and beans on hand.

 

Don't worry most of 30 by 30 will home decor or organizing related. But you gotta give me these two :) If I'm going to keep my house clean and have time to decorate it with my projects I need these two to help me along.

i am number four

Today's 30 by 30 I love! It's also my Pinterest Challenge. I have been wanting to add a little gold to my living room pillows. Gold fabric is a little out of my league it seems. So after some thought and a few pinterest searches I decided to paint some gold stripes on a pillow I found on clearance at Home Goods. The pillow and supplies cost me $22.

Here's what I used

I carefully measured, marked and taped off the pillow {this would be easier with a pillow that was flat and not stuffed. I had to make it work, and it did!}

In the end, I decided not to use the fabric medium and just painted. I was worried it might dilute the gold. I did want something to seal the stripe but didn't have anything so I tested before I carefully started to paint the edges. I'm not going to lie I totally prayed at this point for it to work. And it did! 

I took the tape off while the paint was still wet and here is what it looked like with my cell camera. Still wet but super sexy!

And here it is on my couch

LOVE!

Pin It

4 down.....26 to go. Yikes! But I'm having fun!
Check in with the pinterest challenge at Young House Love, Bower Power, Hi Sugarplum, and The Great Indoors.

best magazine ever

My 30 by 30 is in full swing. Many of the projects are in progress. Number 3 might be a little boring to you but it's lots of fun for me. Right before moving to Boise from Southern California,  my husband begged me to reduce the magazine pile. I was hoarding every single issue of Domino magazine and was quite proud of my stash. I loved looking through them. It was the worst and best decision to give in and tear out my favorites. It took quite some time and there was a LOT of pages to tear out. But I did it and regretted it ever since.

I had the pages started in my giant binder with plastic sleeves. But, time wasn't on my side and I needed to pack my apartment up. And so after three moves and more time than I want to admit I hunkered down this weekend and finished up my book. And afterwords I couldn't believe how much fun it was to look through. I was reliving the glory days with my favorite pages and stories. It turned into the best magazine I could have ever asked for. Longest too!

And I think I am finally over my shame from destroying the beautiful Domino magazines too. It probably helps that it's hitting the shelf again next month. I.cannot.wait! And I think if I hadn't done this my magazines may have "fallen off the truck" in one of those moves :)

I must be growing up! I'm curious if any of you still have every issue or what you do with your favorite magazines after you read them? Clearly I have a hard time letting go.

campaign lacks and 30 by 30

I slept in until 7:15 this morning. Ahh, I rarely sleep past 6:00 over here. It was a nice morning. I wanted to share my lack hack with you. This is probably not a big surprise but I went with the campaign side tables. And I am obsessed with them! I love them so much.

 The hardest part was finding the brass corners locally. But after many trips to different hardware stores I was in business. Note: Lowes does not have them, home depot does. And you need 8 corners per lack side table. Four on top, four on bottom. The best part is they aren't much, the cost of both side tables and hardware was under $25. Not too shabby.

I am playing around with the styling of everything still, including my cute new pillows. I love them too. They will be even better once I change out the polyester pillow form for a down form. But they tie in all the colors of the room and for that I am happy. Here is some more playing.

Too much light but you get the idea :) The coral pillow is one of the ones I sewed a few weeks ago. The other ones were a birthday present. I have more pillows on my list. 

Speaking of my list, I've decided to self impose a challenge on myself. I'm thinking 30 projects by 30. I turn 30 in about 6 weeks. 30 by 30 seems fitting, especially because it seems my husband is planning some type of whoopla. I'm not sure what it is but I want to look fancy if people are going to be say hiding in my closets or coming to my house for dinner. Who knows what he has up his sleeve.

So, lets start the list:

1. coral pillow

2. campaign side tables

3...............

I better get started!