I didn’t mean to be gone from this space for so long but life got busy.  We remodeled our master bathroom, my sister came to visit, my mother came to visit and I was asked to help with some Quilt Market sewing (will share soon!)  Add mother’s day in there mixed with end of the year school functions for the kiddos and you can see why blogging took a back seat.  I am SO glad that school is almost out-I’m ready for a break!

After ten years in our home we were finally able to do a major remodel.  We had our Master Bathroom remodeled by Landon at Jacob & Co Remodeling- and could not have been happier with how everything turned out.  Our bathroom was the original 1978 bathroom- although somewhere a long the way someone had upgraded the tile floor.  A basic 12″ white with black grout that had been painted mauve. I almost forgot to take any before shots- I quickly grabbed my camera and took some pics while they were setting up.  I had my wide angle lens and wasn’t able to get the best pics as the room is so small, but trust me when I tell you it was pretty ugly!

Don’t you just love the gold glitter swirl of the sink? YUCK!  The sink was the hardest part of the whole remodel.  The original vanity and top were 28″ wide…which is nearly impossible to find anymore.  All we could find (without having a custom cabinet built) was a 24″ or 30″- due to the size of the bathroom and the proximity of the toilet we couldn’t do a 30″, it was just too big. After hem-ing and haw-ing and googling and driving all over the valley we went with a very basic 24″.  In the end I am SO glad we did, our contractor built the shower out about 4″ more than the original- the smaller vanity was the best choice and it doesn’t feel too small at all!

We went with porcelain tile that looks like wood for the floors, I absolutely love it!  The space is so small I knew it wouldn’t cost that much more to have the floor laid diagonally. I love old houses with bits of charm and knew that  bead board with a molding shelf would add just the right amount of character to the space.

Due to the wiring and the medicine cabinet we chose we had to stick with the basic light fixture- I don’t love it but it works.  The wall color is Sea Anemone by Martha Stewart- it looks much brighter on the walls than the sample card.  I’m debating between these two Katie Daisy prints to hang above the toilet.  The shower curtain is temporary until we find one we really like (any recommendations?)

The biggest change is of course the shower- it feels HUGE.  I searched pinterest and home dec sites before we started looking for bathrooms I liked- the theme I kept finding was Carrara  Marble, but I knew our budget could not support a marble tiled shower.  We decided to go with a Carrara looking ceramic tile (however the bull-nose is marble as we couldn’t find a synthetic that matched).  I love the look of subway tile and wanted the tiles laid in the same way.  We are very happy with the choice- and it is very easy to clean!  The niche with the glass tile is for hair products and soaps.  The niche at the bottom is a foot rest for shaving my legs so I no longer have to perch like an exotic bird in the shower.

I’m still working on decorating the space…I’m kind of slow and like to take my time, but we are loving our new space.  Big thanks to Jacob & Co!!

Last Thursday my son’s bed broke…again.  My husband assured me he could repair it (again) with wood glue.  I said, “no, we’re going to Goodwill, I saw a great twin bed there last week”.  He protested, but we went anyway.

We did get my son a great 1960′s solid wood twin bed (that now we need a box spring for), that I may or may not paint in the future….While we were there we spotted this little chair.

We both liked it (nary a protest from my husband), for $18 we took it home.  I cleaned it up (although it didn’t need much cleaning at all).  Aaron wanted it in the dining room/office/family room because their aren’t any comfy chairs in there, but the dining room walls are yellow.

I decided a pillow with both yellow and blue was in order to tie everything together.  The white linen I thrifted a few years ago, the yellow and blue knit I picked up at SAS.  I keep seeing variations on the Union Jack in pillow, throws, stationary etc and really like it.  I didn’t realize until after I made it that this Union Jack pillow is in the colors of the swedish flag!  Ha Ha!

I think it ties in nicely- and we all like sitting in the chair.  Hooray for Goodwill!

trying to get all my ideas down in one place.  click image to go to flickr and read all the notes.  fingers crossed we can start setting the nursery up this week….I’ll feel better when progress is being made.

Still need: car seat, monitor, stroller & a NAME.  Please send recommendations (mostly I would like your opinons on baby monitors), it’s been a long time since I had a wee babe!

Remember last Monday when Sarah and I headed out to PHX for some food & shopping?  Well, what I didn’t tell you was that while we were in frances we saw this adorable vintage lamp.

I spied it up on a very high shelf and Sarah brought it down.  We both ooh’d and ahh’d over it, commenting about how the colors were absolutely perfect for the nursery/girls room. Sadly it was more than my budget would allow for a lamp, so we put it back and I vowed to start watching ebay for another one (which I looked for and could not find).

Well, my sneaky sister in law and sweet mother in law secretly had the lamp put aside and purchased it for me!!!!  Last night while we gathered for dinner at Sarah’s place she set the lamp up on her piano and waited to see how long it would take me to notice it!

Isn’t it just the cutest lamp ever?!  There is a small night light in the “house” that shines out the window when turned on-perfect for middle of the night feedings!

I’m dying to get the nursery set up, but I still have to move all the sewing stuff out of it first…my sewing room will be moving into our odd L-shaped hallway, but first we need to get lighting put in and an outlet.  I’m also searching for a twin sized quilt in white, aqau, pink and red for my daughters bed…send links if you see cute ones!  I think I’ve decided I just do not have the time to make one before january!

If left to my own devices my house would be one monochromatic pallet of pastels.  I think to me it represents cleanliness and simplicity- two things I value.  However, I’ve decided that I need a bit more color, -a little pop if you will- to give some variety to my home.

#1 is an adorable print that I bought from Stephanie last year for a quarter.  I found the frame last week (thrifted of course!) and painted it red.  It’s hanging in my kids room and I love it!

#2 Is an old typing desk that I found about a year ago.  I finally painted it red this past weekend.  I think I want it in the sewing room…but I’m not sure how or were.

#3 Sewing with color…

#4 I painted my terra cotta pot red…just for fun.  It resides in my dining room.

Even mother nature is adding color to my home.  Isn’t the tree just beautiful?  I love the way it looks in the spring!  What about you, how have you added color to your home?  If you have pics please link them in the comments- I’d love some inspiration!

*edited* be sure to head over to the farm chicks blog- they are giving away fabric!!

A little Pandora (my funky fun station) a bottle of windex and a broom- my kitchen, dining room and living room now gleam.  At least until the kids come home.

I remember visiting a museum as a kid to view beautiful woven baskets and rugs.  The docent told us that each item had a small flaw, probably one we couldn’t even detect.  She told us the people who made these items believed that only God could create perfection, so they purposely added flaws to their arts- to show that they were humble.

So…if anyone asks, that’s why I didn’t scrape the small piece of hardened food off the upper right corner of the kitchen window.

After 11 years, 2 kids, 4 apartments and 1 house we finally bought a dresser.

We’ve always had large closets for storing our clothes, but we both decided it was time we bought a dresser.  We found this one at a thrift store and I loved it.

I have no idea if it is infact a MCM peice or an 80′s reproduction (how does one tell?).  I liked it’s clean lines, solid wood and legs.  The mirror is kind of fun too, now the mirror above the bed (on the WALL!) can reflect the light back to the dresser mirror, really helps light up the room!

p.s. it is totally ok to laugh at our ghetto TV.  the hubs wants to get a small flat screen with a built-in DVD player.

Today was a perfect Sunday afternoon. By desert standards it was a chilly day, which meant we could legitimately light a fire (so what if the house smells like we’re camping)!  I love our fireplace, I’m told that in new builds these days you cannot get a permit for a wood burning fire place, it has to be gas.  Makes me love mine even more!

From scratch sugar cookies with sparkly snowflake goodness.  Do you want to know my decorating secret?  Fill a ziplock sandwich bag with icing (mine is a combination of heavy whipping cream, vanilla and powdered sugar) and cut a tiny bit of a corner off.  Use it to pipe out your fun designs.  If you do have a tip set (which I do) a sandwich bag is still a good alternative to the huge icing bags, I just slip my tips into the hole I cut in the corner .

Fresh roses from my yard, 1pt added for winter in the desert!  I have one rose bush that has grown to about 7ft high, I think it’s time for some pruning.  I’ve never been much of a gardener (although Aaron and I are talking about a raised bed this spring), but every January I go out and hack the rose bushes back to a more manageable size.

Italian Pot Roast for dinner, which we ate in front of the fire.  The son was so mesmerized by the fire he rarely took his eyes off of it!

Going backwards in the weekend, I had a really good time Friday at Crafeteria.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hi, gave me lots of warm fuzzies (which I needed since it was a cold night!)  Sarah took a few pics of our spread

Georganne assigned us the perfect spot!  On this cold Friday night we were sandwiched between free hot coffee and the Urban Cookies table- right by a light!  There was a good crowd and we did a decent amount of business.  I really enjoyed chatting with Brady Breese the co-owner of Urban Cookies, he is the baker of the yummy cookies, which I of course had to sample.  The Milk Chocolate Chip cookie was so rich- would go perfect with cold milk!  Now lest you get all bummed because you don’t live in PHX and can’t swing by for an afternoon snack -they ship- all over the US.  If you are still undecided about whether or not to order some for yourself, they are a green company.

Saturday at Bliss was a fun event too!  There were 3 kids who sat down to make the ornaments, two seven year-olds and one six year old boy.  I was totally amazed that they each finished their ornaments- they didn’t give up!  One of the little girls had never sewn before and she impressed me with how straight her stitches were.  Again, I had some kits left after the event and listed them in the shop if anyone would like a fun holiday craft- that even the kids can do!

Tomorrow I’ll be adding a few more items to the shop, a few things that didn’t make it at crafeteria.  I know, I said I was closing the shop…I’m so indecisive!  I for sure won’t be doing any big shop updates until after the first of the year!

A few weeks ago I was browsing Goodwill for a pair of pants, instead I found this diamond in the rough for $2.

It was a good size and didn’t have too many tacky “things” on it that would need to be removed, so I bought it.  I used my scissors and wire cutters to remove the ghastly bow and “crystallized fruit”, I did save the little birds nest that were on it though.  After everything was off I fluffed up the branches a bit, making it appear more full.

I ventured out at about 8pm on Black Friday to grab these little things from Micheal’s.  They had a huge selection of do-dads for making your own wreath.

I only used one of each bunch of berries, and about half of each spool of ribbon.  I started by ripping the silver berries off the large stem, and then using their wire to wrap it around different wreath branches.  Then I filled it in more with the aqua berries.  I wanted the birds/nests to be a bit symmetrical at the top of the wreath, I spaced them out enough that I could put a large ribbon in the center and hang it.  After everything else was on I tied a bunch of small ribbons and adhered them to the wreath using some 24 gauge wire I had (I would recommend something a bit heavier).

I wanted something simple but pretty and was very happy with the results!  It now hangs on our front gate, welcoming all who visit!

All together it took me about an hour to create and cost me approx. $9.  I could maybe be talked into making a smaller one…if anyone is interested.  Go forth and create!  Happy Holiday decorating!

family + good friends + good food + plumbing problem = thanksgiving!

hope yours was great too!