Wednesday, January 26, 2011

what i wore. . . no. 2

alrighty, i'm back for another week of
"what i wore wednesday" because you ladies
made it so much fun.

i had a request for larger photos in
order to see fabric and detail better.

while i hesitate because i'm afraid the only
thing that will show up better are my wrinkles, gray hair,
and grand canyon pores i do am aim to please, so here ya go. . .

wednesday
(meeting with school principle -no, no one's in trouble!)

white top: old school j.jill
navy cardigan: loft
jeans: lucky's
shoes: target

thursday
(errands for our church)


plum top: anthropologie (sale upon sale item)
cardi: gap
neclace: target
jeans: loft
shoes: target


friday
(painting, running, cleaning)

sorry, can't bring myself to enlarge this one. really, there's nothing
to see here!

top: pastor j's closet, vintage gap
sweatpants: target


saturday
(son's basketball game)


cream top: loft
cardi: backpacker, local
necklace: indy craft show, local
purse: loose lucy's, local
pants: oops! (reject jcrew chino's), local
shoes: gift

here are some detail of the top and cardi. . .










sunday
(church)



top: anthro, sale
jacket: loft
neclaces: target
jeans: levi's

more detail. . .


monday
(chillin at home with a sick kiddo)


cowl neck top (more sweatshirt than sweater): target
cardi: loft
jeans: lucky's (i finally wore these jeans out today, i noticed
a tear in the knee as i was getting in my car. sadness.)

and that's all i got for the week!
make sure you visit all the other wwiw participants. you're sure to
find some inspiration!

Monday, January 24, 2011

master makeover in progress

i was a little caught off gaurd by the calender today.
january has really gotten away from me! 
we've had snow days, scheduled days off, and sick kids.

the only thing all this means is that my project list is
getting restructured.


but that's life right?
if having kids has taught me anything it's that
flexibility makes life a lot easier.
a lesson that has not come easy for this highly structured gal!

today, because bean was home and passed out on the sofa
i decided to get started on our master bedroom which
is within earshot of the sofa.
it's a project i wasn't going to hit until spring,
but, i had the paint so i figured why not!

i have done absolutely nothing to our master since
we moved in last september other than our bathroom

below is a very before picture. it's actually an mls pic and what we saw
when we first looked at the home. so, none of it is our stuff.
their bedframe, while very nice, really overwhelmed this room so we sold our
bedframe before we moved
with plans to do something a little different for a headboard.


it's impossible to see the wall color with the lighting in this photo.
it's a fleshy pink color. i have previously described
it as resembling the underbelly of a pig. not a great color.


this looked a lot better on my camera than it does here.
the left side is the new color, rice grain by sherwin williams, mixed
by home depot. love behr's paint and primer in one.
the right side is the old pinkish wall.


rice grain. it only took one coat of behr p and p. awesome!
the trim and molding, currently a creamy white, will
be painted a bright white.



all walls were painted today except this one. it's going to be an accent
wall and will receive a treatment of horizontal
planks, painted white.



i'm hoping to land somewhere between these two looks.
the above pic is clean and fresh and below is
rustic and fresh, and a little less perfect which suits
us better.


it will be my first project using my new nail gun and compressor so
join me in praying that i don't land in the hospital with a nail driven through
my hand. just kidding, mom! i'll be fine.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

mixing it up

i know this is a diy/home decorating/seehowstacyreworkshersmallhousesoitsfunctionalfor5
kind of a blog. but i thought it would be fun to mix it up just a bit.

once a week.

or wiww for the acronym lovers among us, over at
the pleated poppy since she started the series.

because i have more projects than i can count going
on around the cottage i thought it would be a fun (for me, anyway)
diversion to play along.

i like fashion. i'm not particularly good at it but am always
looking for inspiration on how to put together
what i already own  in ways that are new.
that's one of the things i've been trying to do in 2011
since our budget is getting smaller, not larger!

so here we go. . . i managed to find my camera three days last week
but my goal will be a daily shot of "what i wore," even when i'm in my
painting clothes.

sunday
  (church. . . we're a casual bunch)
black quarter lenght t - shade
blk/red top - oops!
jeans - levi's
boots - jcrew from like 18 years ago.
necklace - gift from loft

here's a close up of my top in case the design wasn't clear. i love it.  it's wool and
i'll be sad when the season's change and i can't wear this.


monday
(hanging out with local college student on campus)

striped top - target
scarf - target
brown sweater - loft
jeans - levi's
boots - luchesse

tuesday
(school meeting, errands)


green and cream t's - shade
long cardy - tjmaxx
cords - loft
boots - miz mooz


my youngest didn't want to miss out on the action.
plus i can sum his style up in one outfit.

everyday
(4 year old uniform)

top/bottom - oldest brother's old soccer uniform.
worn daily around the house, occasionally out  if the weather suits,
sometimes to church because i have
learned to pick my battles, and almost always to bed.


go check out the fun fashion at the pleated poppy!

Friday, January 14, 2011

snow, botched plans, and a closet re-do

my plans for last week did not go quite as expected.
i was going to start working on the boys' rooms and bathroom.

and then this happened. . .


we live in south carolina. which means that this kind of snowfall
shuts us down. the snow fell on a monday which meant no school.
it also meant no school for. . . tuesday. or wednesday. and late starts
on thursday and friday. no, it did not continue to snow on those days but it was
cold and there was ice. and apparently the powers that be are
afraid to allow south carolinians to drive on icy roads.
apparently there is good reason for that.

what this meant is that my plans for the boys' space was put on hold.

next week i'll take you on a tour of their awkward space but for today you get to see
my new and improved closet.

i had no plans to re-do my closet at this time but it was an easy project to 
tackle while the boys were at home.



can you say blah! our twin closets. pastor j's on the left, mine on the right.
have i ever mentioned that when we bought this house
all the walls were a fleshy color with pink undertones. like the underbelly
of a pig. not the prettiest color i've ever seen.
our bedroom is still this color. it's on the makeover list for this year.

because i tackled my closet makeover on a whim i didn't get
a before picture. i know, blogger fail.

but, i have the next best thing. pastor j's closet. which pretty much mirrors mine.


except his is neater than my before was. please note the light. every closet in this house
lacks a fixture. is this normal? i'm on a mission to change this.


here's my after.


the lighting is horrible. sorry about that. i painted the top blue hubbard
 (had it on hand from our bathroom and den) and the bottom
white (also on hand).



i put some floral craft paper on the backs of the cubbies 
using spray adhesive. chances are i'll
change this out when i find a paper i like better but
this will do just fine for now.



i started collecting velvet covered hangers in our old house, in preparation
of our move and the reality of smaller closets. these are much less bulky
and keep things feeling so much neater.


i scaled my purses down to one for each season plus a few
clutches for special occasions and threw them all in this galvanized
bucket.


apparently i cut off my light fixture. just noticed this. if someone is dying to
see it i'll snap another photo, otherwise just trust me that it
is tons better. baskets hold shorts and t-shirts.

 
since i took this photo i have put a rug in here and it warms it
up all the more.



so there you have it. my quickie closet makeover.
this is part of a larger plan for our bedroom. last weekend i sold
our dressers and plan to use my closet for all my clothes. so,
it was necessary for it to be more functional.

now i'm ready to get busy on the rest of our room.
and our closet doors?

i'm thinking this would look great.



i'm linking up with beneath my heart and funky junk interiors.


Friday, January 7, 2011

an organized pantry

we have a small pantry. in fact it is combined with
our laundry room, right off our kitchen. it's about three feet
deep and nine feet wide. to the left is just enough
room for the washer, to the right is just enough room
for the dryer. above each we have some shelves.
not exactly a ton of room or even easy access to pantry items.

i love our little cottage but oh, how i would love a pantry like this.

or this.

or this.

i love an organized space!
apart from being more functional and accessible it's just so much
 nicer to look at. and that counts for something. if you enjoy your
space, if it inspires you, if it is functional and warm, you will
want to be there.
as a stay at home mom, my home is where i spend nearly all
my time. it's important to me that it makes me smile.

this week i decided to tackle my pantry/laundry room.
it's been in process since we moved in so it was time to finish
it up.
as i mentioned, our pantry is tiny. here are some
before pics. . .


there it is, right through that door. like i said. small.
the day after we moved in i took the bi-fold door off to
let light into the kitchen through that great floor to ceiling window.

this is the washer side.
lots o clutter. i put up the shelves on the right a month
or so ago in an effort to provide a bit more shelf space.


this is the dryer side. there are two cabs above which i have left alone.
the top of the dryer has become a major dumping ground for just about
anything you can imagine. we have meds, dapp putty, random tools,
pie crust, lunch boxes. a mess!

i don't have a before shot but the overhead light was just a bulb hanging out of  the
ceiling so i knew purchasing a fixture was on the to-do list.
apart from that, my goal was to spruce up the space without
spending any money.

here it is now. de-cluttered and much more functional.


i pulled all my canisters i could find around the house to sort
dry food, cleared off the area on top of the washer of
everything except detergents, and hung
up a couple vintage food charts, framed a verse from
deuteronomy and put it in an old frame i painted yellow.


the dryer side was decluttered. i have a red locker basket
with the boys lunch boxes and a tray for medicines. on the wall to the
right are hooks for grocery bags and some of the boys' art.



and i now have a proper light fixture. this is meant to be an outdoor
light but i like it here.


a wreath i had stuffed in our hall closet was pulled up to add
 a little pretty to this highly used space.

all in all, it's much better. i can't stop  thinking about that red screen door up above, though.
that would be the perfect solution here, no? it would let the light in and be awfully cute!

i'm linking up at domestically speaking for maryanne's "let's organize" party.



Thursday, January 6, 2011

coffee filter wreath

coffee filter wreath's were all over blogland last year.
you've seen  them.


they are puffy and feminine and interesting.


i'm a little late to the coffee filter craze but all the stars
aligned last night; i had my filters, glue sticks, wreath form,
and the biggy - a chunk of time to see it through.

FOUR hours to be exact.
yep, that's how long it took. i was determined not
to stop halfway through for fear i wouldn't come back to finish her off.


this is what you see when you enter our front door.
another door. it's our coat closet and it is
directly across from the front door so i like to have something pretty
there.



mine's not quite as puffy. my filters are glued closer to the
wreath from and then i went over it with a pair of scissors
to trim her up and even out some spots. still needs a little more evening
out, i think.

a very cheap project. my wreath from was half off from hobby lobby - so, 2.50 - and
i bought store brand natural coffee  filters for .89 a pack. I used two packs.

the only casualty in this project were my finger tips. i lost approximately
2.5 finger prints.



if you try this don't give up. you will think at many points along the way
it looks horrible but keep at it. once you get all your filters on
you'll be happy with it!