{ Man Cave Updates }

not furnished yet, 

but I couldn't help to accessories it a bit...

this is the overall look

Everything was chosen with Danny in mind,

 The Dan Cave

The wall color is Koala Bear, by Behr, 

but it resembles the color eggs one of our chickens lay.

I know, pretty empty , right?

But, it's come along way since looking like this...

and then, this

Yikes.

so, without further ado,

I tried to accessorize with Danny's things, so it felt more 

Danny, than Denise.

{bear with me people, wait 'til he hangs up the furs!}

this is a shot of behind the bar.

I hung a shelf for his mugs and other what-nots.

{I know I'm missing a switchplate cover}

love the vintagey ceiling lights

the sconces beside the window are outdoor light fixtures from Home Depot

I always like the outdoor fixtures better than the indoor ones.

an old red chest I found on the side of the road, and the silver trophy cup as well,

believe it.

the bar top is not in yet.

it will be galvanized steel...eventually

{ehh hemm, Matthew}

here's a close up of the bar.  the facade is made of reclaimed lumber.

and the foot rest from plumbing pipes and 

re-purposed bricks from a cousins house.

I love the slate with all the wood and metal.

hidden gum balls.

I thought the gum ball machine would be a cute addition to the room, 

especially with its price tag of only 5 smackers.

But, Jonas proved me wrong.

It's not so cute when a 2 year old is drooling multi-colored spit, 

'cause he can't keep it in his mouth since his mouth is packed with gum.

So, now they're kept away from little fingers.

I'm showing you the stairs half way through a project.

I used 4 different colors on the risers.  

Each color was a left over from colors used throughout the house.

I'm planning on some thing else for the risers too, so 

stay tuned.

{ All American Decorating }

 H a p p y

M e m o r i a l

D a y

 via House Beautiful

 via Southern Living

 via Country Living

via Country Living 

via Coastal Living 

via Country Living

{ Summer }

It's here!

{ E N J O Y ! }

Chase’s Nursery–The Reveal

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally have pictures of Chase’s nursery.  And, it’s completed just in time for him to get here.  Hopefully he will come sometime over the weekend.  If not, I’m definitely being induced on Wednesday.  I didn’t really mention it on the blog, but this pregnancy has definitely had it’s ups and downs.  We had two preterm labor scares back in January.  It all turned out okay, but it really threw us for a loop while it was happening.  Since January I’ve had more contractions than most women have while delivering 5 children.  The closer to his due date that we get the more contractions I have.  The doctors were sure he was going to come early, but he’s already decided to show everyone, especially me, whose boss.  Now he’s full-term and we can’t wait for him to get here so that we can see his sweet face.

Enough of the mushy stuff.  Onto his room and the details.  In case you just started reading my blog or just missed my original idea board for his nursery here it is.  I had to sacrifice a few of the design elements due to the price but I feel like overall I created the nursery that I had originally envisioned.

When I figured out that the West Elm rug I originally wanted was going to break our budget I opted for my own DIY verson.  For the ottoman, I reupholstered the infamous leopard-printed x-bench in a chevron print.

I originally purchased a vintage piece similar to the one on the inspiration board for his dresser/changing table.  Once we moved I decided that the vintage piece was going to look a lot better as a buffet in our new dining room, so I opted for the white Malm from Ikea.

I never intended to use the Serena & Lily glider that was on the inspiration board but I wanted to find one similar to have slipcovered.  After looking and looking on Craigslist I had almost given up on ever finding one that was the style I wanted and within my price range.  Then sweet Angela from The Painted House emailed me to let me know that she wanted to sell the glider she had used with all three of her children.  I was so excited, especially when I saw how pretty the form was.  It was just what I was looking for.  It’s also extremely comfy.  Here is the before shot.

I used a prewashed ivory linen for the slipcover so that I could easily throw it in the wash and clorox it.

This bird mobile was the very first thing that I bought for the nursery.  I actually bought it about 7 months before I was even pregnant.  It was on sale for $19.99 at Sundance.  I knew I would use it whether I had a girl or a boy. 

The gallery wall consists of art from Etsy as well as 2 pieces that Billy made when he was a little boy.  The little painted swallow was gifted to me from a dear artist friend, and I actually won the abstract canvas during one of Angela’s giveaway about a year and a half ago.  That piece has been so many places in our home and it ended up working so perfectly on Chase’s gallery wall.

Here is one of my favorite accessories in his room.  My cousin gave me these adorable mugs that spell out his name.  I just love them.

The hanging ceramic bird houses are from West Elm. 

Scored the cute lamp at Homegoods.

Thanks to a suggestion from one of my awesome readers I was able to get the fabric that I really wanted for his crib skirt and pillow at an unbelievable deal on Mary Jo’s Cloth Store.  I couldn’t believe it, but on this site it was less expensive than my designer pricing.

And there you have it.  A full tour of Chase’s nursery.  I’ll probably be MIA for the next few weeks.  I’ll try to post pictures of Chase as soon as I can after he is born.  I’m sure I’ll have my hands full for those first few weeks though. 

I hope you all have a Happy and Fun-filled Memorial Day!

Info and Sources: 

- Overhead pendant light – Ikea Boja Pendant Lamp

- Wall paint – Sherwin Williams Rainwashed

- Stuffed owl – Pier One

- Curtains – Ikea Aina with custom banding added

 

LiveJournal Tags: Chase's Nursery,West Elm,Ikea,DIY,The Painted House,Etsy

{ What Took Me So Long }

you might think I'm referring to my lack of posts...

but I'm actually referring to the

 unfinished pine counter top in my laundry room.

It used to look like this

quite a difference , ehh?

You can read more about the Laundry Make Over 

here

Since we've been renovating our kitchen 

I've set up a little coffee station for

myself on the laundry room counter

here's a little box I bought years ago that 

works well for little knick knacks

and such

The top was so easy to do and so economical.

It's a simple piece of Pine from Home Depot.

I had HD cut it to the length I needed, and 

then attached it to the under side of the counter with "L" brackets.

I recently stained it with a poly-shade

in Walnut.

It's such a quick project, I can't believe it took me this

to finish.

I'm so happy with it. 

One Lovely Blog

Yesterday, I was so generously awarded the “One Lovely Blog Award” by The Sister Sophisticate.  What a fun and unexpected surprise!!!  Especially, since my blog has been lacking lately due to the big bump that’s growing inside of me. 

Since I received this award I have to tell you 7 things about myself.  I’ll try to think of things that you may not know so that it is more interesting.

1.  Let’s reserve 2-7 for things that you don’t know because number one has to be the fact that I’m pregnant (which I’ve talked about A LOT), due any day now and dying to have this baby.  My official due date is June 1st but the doctors moved my due date up to May 22nd about a month and a half ago.  In case you aren’t by a calendar that was 2 DAYS AGO!!!!  They also told me about 2 weeks ago that I probably had about 48 hours to go.  They obviously didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.  Can’t I just have this little man already!!!

2.  I really, REALLY hate bugs.  Spiders in particular.  I scream every time I see a spider.  Even if it’s the size of my pinky finger nail.  My husband on the other hand is scared of snakes but not spiders.  We make a good team because snakes don’t bother me in the least, and he kills all the spiders for me. 

3.  I’m really loving blue right now.  It took me a while to warm up to the color blue but now I love it and I don’t ever want it to go away.  My mom thinks it has something to do with the fact that I’m having a boy.

4.  I’m always cold (with the exception of these last few months of pregnancy).  Even in the dead of summer while laying on the beach I can get chill bumps. 

5.  **Cheeseball alert**  My hubby and I were set up by our 2 best friends and he originally contacted me through a message on MySpace (who even remembers MySpace???).  The 2 best friends ended up being our maid of honor and best man in our wedding.  They were pretty proud of themselves for making a successful match.

6.  I have a crazy Jack Russell Terrier named Sweetie and I have diagnosed her with “OCSD” (Obsessive Compulsive Squirrel Disorder).  She seriously obsesses about them night and day.  Now that we have a yard for her to play in she hunts for them all day long.  Her second favorite hobby besides looking for squirrels is swimming.

7.  And, for the very last fact, I really like to sing and even tried out for American Idol a few years ago.  I obviously didn’t make it but it was a fun experience.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know some fun facts about me.

Here are the blogs that I’m passing this award on to.  I think these blogs are lovely and I’m sure you will too. 

The Painted House

Savor Home

Cookin’ Cowgirl  - (All I have to say is YUM)

LiveJournal Tags: Lovely Blog Award