V-Day Fun!

Hi-ho!  I'm popping in to share, or I guess re-share, some V-day things we've done over here in the past.  I always like to see what I did last year when planning out what to do this year.

Here's a quick look back with links to the crafts:

I started by making this cute felt heart wreath (it will be making another appearance in my mantle reveal tomorrow!).




I made a few "Milkglass" pieces to adorn my mantle too.





Little and I made these little treats for his friends.  We'll be doing this again for his class V-day party.  Delish!







I also made some vintage valentines to dress up the kitchen and mantle.  These came out again this year too!






I re-used the vintage cards and the heart wreath, but I did a few different things this year to dress up the mantle.  Tomorrow I'll show you what I came up with.  There's a new DIY that I am LOVING!  Get your printer and extra burlap handy!

XO,
  Sara

Fashion Fun - Hot Orange

Whew!  I'm still recovering from our trip to the Children's Museum.  Oh.  My.

I should have known better than to go on a Saturday, but I was not prepared for the craziness of 100's of children all partaking in experiential, hands-on activities with absolutely no structure or supervision.  I mean, these parents were definitely taking a mini vacay.

Kind of tough to explain to my Little Guy that he has to wait in line for his turn on the crane while Pushy McPusherson gets to elbow his way through.  Maybe that's because Pushy's dad cut us in line on the way in.  Apple.  Tree.  Not far.

Anywho.  There's my vent.

Has anyone else noticed the abundance of hot orange lately?  I mean, it's everywhere.  Jewelry, clothing, home decor.  No problem here.  I kind of like it.  Is it orange?  Is it red?  It's both!

I got this cute little sweater on major markdown at J.Crew and knew it would go perfectly with my Target bracelet.  Love it when that happens.

This is a little "Small Things" hair-do.  If you haven't checked out Kate at thesmallthingsblog.com, you really should.  She has great hair tutorials.

Since my top was so fiery, I paired it with some calm and classy Coach flats.

Please don't be looking at the haphazard towels in the background.  Great.  Now you're all looking.

 It was chilly out, so I put on a tie front jacket from T.J. Maxx.

Do y'all have anything red orange yet?  It really does make you feel warmer!

Tomorrow I'm going to recap my V-Day posts from last year in case you missed them.  I've got a couple of new things up my sleeves to share later too.  We're trading out our Internet modem tomorrow so bear with me if there's a lull.  Hopefully not!

Till then!

  Sara

In-Spy-ration: Playroom

First of all, why is it February?!  Seriously.  I haven't even taken my V-day stuff out yet! Secondly, that little groundhog better see his shadow, or not see it, or whatever he has to do to make spring come early.  Just sayin'.  This southern girl is ready for some heat.

If you're a regular reader, you know I've been trying to give Little's playroom a facelift.  It's cute and cheery and organized, however, I'm ready to take it to the next level...

Here's what has my wheels turning...

I just love the whimsy here.  The button "O", too adorable.

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One of my girls did this in her daughter's room and it is fab.  Great way to show off the book covers and grab little ones' interest.  Now, if I only had a wall for that...

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I love the little seat here.  This would be great because, I for one, get tired of sitting on the playroom floor.  Great colors too.

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This is the last photo because I just love everything about this space.  The texture, the long table with the checkerboard pattern, the light fixtures.  This is what I'm going for.  Just because it's a playroom does not mean it can't be an extension of the rest of your house.  Fun and kid friendly, yes, but also high on style.

Love.

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I hope y'all have a great weekend!  We're heading to the Children't Museum tomorrow.  Should be a blast!

XO my lovelies,
  Sara

Idea Board Clips

I love to look at pictures of the people I love while I work.  It makes the mundane job of paying bills more happy.

Although my Idea Board is for just that, ideas I've clipped, right now it is showing off some great pics of my fam.  I really don't like to push pins through my photos so I dreamed up a little project to solve this problem and still get my smiling faces on the board.

Walmart had little packs of tiny clothespins.  I knew they would be perfect for holding up a picture, however, they had no pins to adhere to the peg board, and they were a little plain jane.

No problem!  I gave the pins some love with a little craft paint.  I stuck with a navy, white, and mustard theme to compliment my office colors.

I painted each pin white first.  Then, I went back over with navy or yellow to make my rugby stripes.  No measuring here!  Just eyeball it.

Then, after the paint dried, I hot glued a thumb tack to the back of each pin.

Not only are my fav pictures on display, but the cute little pushpins add another layer of character and fun to this evolving room.

I love how it turned out!  Really simple, cheap, and very useful.  My favorite kind of project.

Grab a pack of pins and make a set!  I have another set serving a different purpose to share with you later...

XO,

 Sara

Office Idea Board

Have you ever started a project, only to have it lead you in an entirely different direction than you anticipated?

That's what happened to me when I set out to just cover Little's playroom peg board with some fabric.  A drop cloth and 200 thumb tacks later, and I have a new Idea Board for my Office!

Here's how it happened...

We were playing a rousing game of "Dinosaur Stomp" (Little's creation) when I just couldn't take the unsightly peg board anymore.  I mean really, a 3 year-old and push pins?  What was I thinking?!



So, I yanked it down and decided to cover it with some pretty fabric since his artwork will soon be moving to a new and awesome location (to be announced at a later time!).

I had a leftover Home Depot drop cloth from my curtain project, so I ironed it up...

and stapled that sucker on the bulletin board.

Well, that didn't look finished, so I whipped out a few boxes of thumb tacks I had lying around.

Wow!  It actually looked really good.  And way too grown up for a playroom. I could just see the pile of thumb tacks after Little was alone with it for 5 minutes... Hmmmm.....

So, the giant, weathered chalkboard that I LOVE (which I don't think I've shown you yet), was relocated to the playroom and the new and improved Idea Board found its home in my office.  I really feel like I'm in a Restoration Hardware catalogue when I sit at my desk.  So dreamy.  So modern, yet so traditional.  Perfectly me.

Not bad for an impromptu, no cost project, eh?

Tomorrow I'll share how I'm "pinning" up things to my new cute board.  Also, a really cheap and easy project.  I'm sensing a theme around here...

See you then!

XO,
  Sara

Blog Update and a New Project

Hi Guys!  I didn't forget about you yesterday.  I'm having major issues with the photo uploader on Blogger.  Is anyone else having a problem?

I select my pics and then the whole computer locks up and I have to shut it down and restart.  It makes getting a post written a wee bit difficult to say the least!

Bear with me.  Hopefully Blogger will fix it soon.  Did you hear that Blogger?  Fix it!

You already know I've been working on our master sitting room, doing some updates to the playroom, and making over our office/guest room, so why not add just one more project?  What happens is, I get to a stand still on a current redo and then start a new one...Hopefully I'm not the only one this happens to.

Our laundry room has always been tidy and neat, but it's been lacking in the style department.  I mean, it's a laundry room.  There's a reason it's been at the bottom of my list.

I wish I had a before, before to show you.  Imagine that the washer was pushed up against the dryer.  That's how it was.  Then, I realized that if I moved the washer over, I could fit an Ikea expedit in the space with oodles of storage.  THEN, I realized that I have these awesome cubbies that keep moving from space to space as we need them.  They fit perfectly!

However, the black was looking a little ominous, so I headed to Home Depot for a few (4) cans of Almond spray paint.  It matches the appliances perfectly!

As you can see, the cubbies are slightly raised from the floor.  This is due to the metal tray the washing machine sits in.  In order to balance it out, I put a few books under it near the dryer.  This is very high tech.  All the pros do it...

I don't have my after pics ready for you yet (because I can't get them loaded!!!), but here are a few teasers before the big reveal.

Can't wait to share the after with you!  I'm really loving the cheery space.  And anyone with children knows you spend a lot of time in the laundry room, so it better be cheery!

I haven't forgotten about my other unfinished projects.  I really have been busy!  This little comic sums up my decorating style to a T...

I'll have something to show for it soon!

XO,

 Sara

A Little Bit of In-spy-ration

Hi Friends!

 It's Friday.  Can I get a "Hallelujah!"?

So, I'm starting a new section on the blog of things I've spied around the design/cooking/fashion world.  Who knows what it will be each week, but it will be full of fun!  I'm calling it, "In-spy-ration".  Get it?

Today is a closet that I have been fantasizing about ever since I read the article in the latest edition of Traditional Home.  If you know me, you know I love some good reality tv.  Bethenny Frankle is one of my faves.  She keeps me laughing and has a great since of style.  And her closet...

I die.

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Where do I begin?  The shoes?  The quatrefoil dressing table chair?  The chest of jewels? The octagonal mirror?

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I'd be one happy girl in that closet.

I'm definitely feeling inspired to go clean my own space.  I've already rainbowed my clothes, but I just may be having to reorganize my shoes by color as well.  That means I'll have to get a few new colors, you know, to make the rainbow right...

Have a fab weekend!

XO,
  Sara