Confession time....

Well, I guess it is time to come clean.  No I've done very little decorating recently... I just couldn't!  You see I've have some issues coming to grips with the fact that this is such a small house.  Honestly, I didn't think it would matter.  I mean I lived my entire life, prior to marriage, in itty bitty teeny tiny abodes.  We are talking anything from 2 bedroom military housing (700 square feet, apartment) to dorm rooms to the largest at 1000 square feet with a lovely yard.  Now I never thought anything of it until I was a junior in high school and we lived in a duplex, prior to that everyone else I knew was in the same boat (military families.) But now I discovered most of my friends lived in houses with basements, 2 bathrooms, family rooms, garages and big yards.  Did I also mention square footage of 2000 or more feet?  I honestly never gave it a second thought.  Even then I didn't think much because, well, I was an only child and it seemed big enough for our needs.  Well, enter marriage... We started in a lovely studio apartment that really wasn't a studio.  The only reason they called it a studio was there was only a doorway to the bedroom, no door!  But still it seemed huge!!  6 months later, we bought our FIRST house. Built in 1906 it had gorgeous hard wood floors, tall windows, incredible woodwork and space... It was a dream, well sorta but we loved it!  Through a series of moves we have moved into larger houses with more space, not just inside but outside as well.  The last place was 1850 square feet on 10 acres... 10 glorious acres to roam, build and play on!  Room to house critters and plants alike.  Enter our latest move... Now don't get me wrong I love Indiana... I'm just having problems coming to terms that we are limited on space and are on the opposite side of the school district.  Yep, everyone's friends live on the other side of town and it is sooo far to drive over here... Puuuleasssssssssssse!  Come on folks, we are talking 20 minutes in traffic!  Okay, now I've had my whine...   As I was saying it has taken some time but I am coming to terms.  Yep, we live in what could be defined as a cottage!  So my thoughts have been why not embrace it!  BUT... yes, there is that infernal word that I ALWAYS get after our boys for using... but I was feeling intimidated and pressured.  No NO ONE was putting any pressure on me but myself.  I felt I had to live up to everyone else's standards.  I know all our friends have HUGE houses but who says I have to!  I've always said quality is what counted not quantity!!  So now is the time to practice what I preach.  For years I've told my husband I wanted to live in a quaint little cottage.  We even looked a tiny little place when we lived in Ohio.  (granted it sat on 5 acres, had trees, and a pond but says I can't do the same thing but on a smaller scale!!)  We have gorgeous views, no trees but still a gorgeous view.  Who says we can't have a pond, even if we have to dig it out ourselves (oh how I wish we had our tractor here... it is at my in-laws 600 miles away but we do have farmer friends... hmm!)  Yep a pond to swim in and wade in... Flowers to smell and cut.  And most importantly a place where we can gather together as a family!  A home!

So things are going to take a little longer as I rethink my decorating... (battery has died once again the camera so I think either the charger or the battery is cooked!  It just won't hold a charge for long so no pictures until we can get it figured out!!)

I just looked at the date and realized I've not posted much recently... In fact this seems to be my story for life of this blog!  And will probably continue to be the case for the unforeseeeable future.  No, no the living room is not done.  But its getting closer.  Now we are waiting for the storage cube ottomans to arrive.  You see when I went into Bed, Bath, and Beyond with my coupon/returns/store credit in hand to pick them up I discovered one was missing and the other had a handi-dandi little tear in it.  The sales associate was so helpful and apologetic (they were supposed to be on hold).  So now they have been ordered and will be shipped directly to moi!  All for the low, low price of... no cash out of hand!  Free shipping plus discounts equals no money spent and a little left over for another day!!

Storage ottoman and bonus mini ottoman from www.bedbathandbeyond.com

 The cloches have been made.  As much as I love them I feel kinda bad as I discovered Evan has been having fun moving the little owls around and now they are permenantly affixed. 

(no the glass does not look wavy in person but it always photographs that way)

                                              
I thought about aging one of the owls but couldn't bring myself to do it.  You see, the shiny owl belonged to my Grandma who collected owls because it was their brand.  Grandma worked hard to keep all her pretties shiny and bright. The darkened owl belonged to Chris' grandma.  It's patina comes from having survived a house fire.. So you can see both owls are equally special to me.  And in the event you can't tell... they are are the same exact owl, made by the same manufacturer and everything.  Pretty cool, huh!?!  The next question, what do I display in them?  I'm thinking my gardening girl from Denmark in one.  Or maybe a pretty tea cup in both?

I found these lovely little baskets for cents at the local Goodwill!  One will become the loose change bowl and the other... maybe stamps.

And last but not least these beauties!  Stained glass window paint.. to make your own window clings.  We used them years ago for a "stained glass" window in our first house a 1904 1 1/2 story charmer.  And get this they were to be had at Joann Fabrics on clearance for.... 25 cents a bottle!  Plus I had a coupon for 25% off the whole order.  I am not sure if they were supposed to allow me to use the coupon but no one said anything.  Since we can't come up with a viable option for curtains in the dining/kitchen I'm doing a stained glass motif to match a stained glass panel we already own. 

And no... I am not going to make a promises on when things will be accomplished because we are quickly approaching the end of the school year and the activities are coming in fast and furious!

A very Happy Mother's Day

Not much got done last weekend!  We were supposed to have a track meet but upon waking Saturday morning Sean's face was swollen, splotchy red, and itchy.  Ah, poison ivy or oak or sumac but poison something anyway!  He had gone on a class picnic on Wednesday in a wonderful park (please do not ask me the name... but he can tell you.)  There were trees to climb, fields to frolic in, and streams to fish.  And all manner of goodies to investigate.  Enter Thursday evening... slightly red, looks like wind/sun burn and they was plenty of both the previous day.  Friday was met with itching and then there was Saturday morning...  So off to the doctor we went as none of the remedies we had tried the day before had any effect!  As in zero, zilch, zip!!  I took Sean to the doctor and Chris took Ian to driver's ed!  A short time later we were on our way with a prescription and it was an afternoon filled with shopping.  Yes, you read correctly, shopping!  With two teenage boys and their younger brother!  They were so funny!  They did good... a couple of hours later we walked out of the mall w/ bags laden w/ new T-shirts, gorgeous khakis, new jeans, a couple of gift cards, and wallets only slightly lighter (think B I G sales, i.e. BOGO, 25% off in addition to lowest clearance price, etc!)  Saturday evening was spent ferrying to and from birthday parties in the country, eating pizza, and playing games!

Enter Sunday:  Church as a family, Driver's ed for Ian again, and then it was off to the movies.  Yes we went to a movie theatre... I know, unheard of but we did it.  We watched Iron Man 2, ate theatre popcorn, and then there was a drive in the country plus a leisurely walk through the park near our house afterwards.  Sunday's meal was leftover pizza, french sparkling lemon ade, and fresh strawberries followed by a rousing game of Skip-Bo.

All in all it was a fine Mother's Day weekend!! (Sunday turned out to be gorgeous after Saturday's blustery day!)

A day of Befores....

Okay, I know I haven't been keeping up on posting but I really need to show you what I've been doing.  So today is going to be a day devoted to "Befores"...

A WORD OF CAUTION:  The following pictures are not for the faint of heart!  Please understand that this is a fair and honest representation of the "BEFORE".  Yes, this is what our rooms look like after a move... They are in no way indicative of how I keep my house on a regular basis.  For the record, our bedroom door and closet door are kept closed to "visitors".  Now remember I told you these are bad.... but wait until you see the after pictures later on this week!

The walk-in closet (aka unsuspecting dumping grounds):

The master bedroom:

view 1

View 2:

View 3:

I warned you it wasn't pretty!  But I've been diligently working for the past few weeks and what a difference!  No, there will be no reveal today as we are still working on the living room and so my new mirror has not been hung (that and the fact that the wire broke...)

So now I am off to work again!  OH, I do need to say a special thank to "Megan" at Beauty in the Attempt and Gail at My Repurposed Life.  So many of my projects have inspired by their posts... like the cloches, numbered pillows, cool bird baths, etc.

I should have the "AFTER" published by the end of this week as long as there are no unforeseen complications!  Ha ha! 

Hope you have a great week!!

I was going to say it has been pretty quiet around here but then I realized no it is just really quiet now!  All three boys are home from school sick today.  I think it is just a case of being overtired, at least I pray such is the case!!  Chris will be out of town this week so maybe more work will be accomplished, ha ha!!  I kept thinking I would have more pictures to post of projects or rooms but not much was accomplished decorating wise recently.  Despite the number of hours spent shopping for "accessories" there is little to show which really is a good thing.  Okay, I did buy new chairs, a couple of carpet runners, and wall clings but they are all going back.  Once we got them home we realized they just wouldn't work.  I don't really mind though as it is helping us to determine what we really want, need, and like!!  I'm finding out the likes and dislikes of my children as well as their decorating styles.  All in all, its been a fun process!  I've found out Ian likes bold masculine colors with clean lines.  Sean likes modern with a twist of retro plus geometric shapes and Evan's taste mimics Sean's to a certain degree which works well since they share a room!

Sean and Ian have had a number of track meets recently so they have been keeping pretty busy.  Between new patient physicals, allergy testings, and track meets we have stayed more than occupied.  As you can see Evan and I have enjoyed our own bit of silliness while the others were out and about!  I would love to post some of the other pictures from our afternoons but was kindly asked not to!  So I will honor that request and only post this one.  We were having so much fun between flying paper airplanes, tossing rocks, and just being silly with the camera!

We are also discovering many little surprises around here.  We have a beautiful clematis in our backyard which I can hardly wait to bloom.  Lots of lovely birds... and a nesting mama!  Oh I love doves and she has chosen to build her nest outside our window!  She is such a peaceful little thing diliently sitting on her nest! 

And you should hear the beautiful red wing blackbirds... Pure heaven!  I love watching God's handiwork daily!!

Well I had better get a  move on and call the school to let them know my boys won't be in today....

ORB loveliness

Yes, I have now succumbed to the siren call of ORB (oil-rubbed bronze!) No brassy accents for me, just oil rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, and a touch of aged chrome. These lovelies were found recently at Goodwill.

For me their lines are reminiscent of colonial plantations in the tropics. Now the same ladies dressed in a gown of oil rubbed bronze.

All we need is a lamp shade and maybe some pineapple finials. Well, we shall see about the finials.

The only tragedy lies in the fact that my can of ORB is almost gone... The can of Oil Rubbed Bronze from my Goodwill Swag bag which is still conspicuously missing. Hmm...

Oh and lest we forget the Ding Dong "cake" aka pyramid from my sweetie's birthday!

 

A word to the wise, be VERY careful on how many candles you light.  The coating on the Ding Dongs begin to melt otherwise.  Ask me how I know.... :) hee hee!

Goodwill makeovers....

It is a beautiful day out but I decided it was time I start "showcasing" the Goodwill makeovers.  I must admit I haven't done much because while in a bronchitis/sinus infection induced stupor I "stashed" my Goodwill swag someplace "SAFE."  We still can't find it!! LOL  So after a week of intermittent searching I decided the time had come to move on.  So we are moving on.... I know it will be found and right now there are more important projects to complete so once the boys' bedrooms are finished the search will start again (if its still lost, ha ha!)
First in the line-up of makeovers is this loverly pillow.  I know some of you might like it but it just wasn't our cuppa tea. 

Now the new look! 

You should hear my family clamoring over this pillow... Evan wants his own, Ian wants the number 29 on his, Chris has asked for either number 1 or 72, and Sean, well I don't think he has voiced an opinion.  Oh, yes he has... He thinks that we ought to have 5 pillows with the numbers 1 thru 5 denoting each family member.  Well I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I am off to hang sheets on the neighbor's clothesline... She called and left a message this morning saying they would be gone all day so I was more than welcome to come over and use it!  Trust me, that is one of the most thoughtful things she could have done!!  I just heard the washer finishing spinning so its off to hangs linens! 

Now to leave you with a little bit of spring!