Boy Nurseries Are Difficult

I'm having a hard time with my son's nursery change-up.  Right now it's a disaster area and completely unusable.  All he can do is sleep in there.  I have to do something about it soon.  Like, this weekend soon.  I'm still not totally sure what it is though. 

Maybe one day I'll have a girl and she'll have a pretty room like one of these.  Girls' rooms just seem to be so much easier to decorate.

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This one's been floating around Pinterest lately.  via

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Any boy nursery inspiration you'd like to share?  Are girls' rooms really easier?  I'd love to know!

Y'all have a good weekend!

T.J. Maxx Finds

I made a quick stop by T.J. Maxx on my way to Target yesterday and the home-wares department was bringin' it!  Yes,  I said "bringin' it."  I think I've been spending too much time with middle schoolers.   

Anywho...I was just browsing through and I was kind of shocked at the amount of stylish furniture they had. 

Here are a few of the super affordable pieces I saw:

Black and white lattice ottoman $55.

 Brown, gold, green suzani ottoman $55.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this credenza looked like a Restoration Hardware piece and at $200 it was a lot cheaper than anything you could find there. 

I know the inventory fluctuates from store to store, but if this is any indication of what other T.J. Maxxes might have right now, I'd say it's a good time to look.

Blah!

I'm  having a super, super, super, busy week and I really didn't expect to be as tired as I am.  My students tested last week and we're re-testing/make-up testing this week.  It is exhausting. 

On top of that, I still haven't recovered from our weekend at the beach.  Does anyone else find that "vacationing" with a toddler is more work than relaxation?

Despite all the ideas floating around in my head and how anxious I am to get started,  I'm gonna be putting them off 'til this weekend.

Until I have some of my own work to show, here are some gorgeous inspirations pics.  Are you tired of me posting pictures of homes with white walls?  No?  OK.

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Never Waste Your Money On An Organic Onion!

I've been trying to buy more organic and whole/unprocessed foods lately.  Of course, this can lead to a pretty big grocery bill.  Today (I'll get back to decorating tomorrow) I'm gonna quickly share a tool that helps me stick to our food budget.

The Clean 15 is a list of fruits and veggies that have little to no pesticide residue.  Because they have zero or low amounts of pesticide, I don't waste my money buying organic versions of them.

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The 2011 list was recently released by the Environmental Working Group and they even have a handy dandy printable version that you can cut out and carry with you when you go to the grocery store.

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So easy and such a great money saver!

Our Beachy Weekend

First, we had a wonderful weekend in Emerald Isle!  Second,  how funny is my son's expression in that picture?!  He was so sleepy from playing on the beach that no matter how goofy I looked (crazy hair and all) he could only muster up that stoic pose.

I hope every one else had a fantastic and relaxing weekend! 

It's going to be a busy week and I've got a lot of projects I need to get started.  I'm looking forward to getting some work done and I'll be posting plenty of updates.

Have a nice Monday!

Still Considering....

...white walls.  I saw this yesterday via YHL and it's got me leaning even further towards painting everything white.  It looks so clean and fresh and not sterile at all.

Since I'm gonna need a lot of paint I started trying to find a bargain on a bunch of it.  I made a trip to the aisle of mistinted paint at Wally World, Lowe's and Home Depot.

I didn't find a great white, but I did find a great gray.  I got a whole gallon for $5.  I have quite a few ideas for it and I have a feeling it will go a long way.

(Did you notice that the "mistint" is misspelled?  Ha!)

In addition to painting my walls pretty soon, I'll also be painting the slip cover of the rocker in my son's nursery.  I started a patch test almost the second I got it in the door.

I haven't found the right green yet, but I'm really looking forward to getting started when I find the perfect shade.

My project list keeps getting longer and longer, but instead of painting this weekend, I'll be at the beach enjoying some much needed down time!


Y'all have a good weekend!

Dead Ringer: 2 for 1 Summer Sandal Edition

Ok, this post is not home related at all, but when I find a good deal I just have to share. 

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Here's the first Dead Ringer:  These babies are from the Seychelles Summer 2010 line and they were originally $90.  (There's a size 9.5 on clearance at Amazon for $31.98!)

I was thrilled when I came across these for $30 at Shoe Carnival the other day.

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I ended up getting a pair in this color....

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....they're made by LifeStride, which is why the sole is a little thicker than the Seychelles shoes, but it also makes them super comfy.  I wore them today and my feet feel fine!

I got the tan color because I was inspired by these lovely shoes worn by Emerson of EmersonMade.com.  She practically has them on with every summer dress she modeled....that tan color goes with everything.

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In my search that led me to the pair of LifeStride shoes I bought, I also found the shoes below.

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Here's the second Dead Ringer:  This pair of sandals is from this year's Seychelles line and they're $90.

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This pair of sandals is from Target and they're $17.99(amazing!).  I didn't get these because they don't come in tan (womp womp), but they are super cute and you can't beat $18 for a solid knock-off.

Painted Pillow

Yep.  I painted those stripes onto my newest throw pillow.  I had originally planned on using green fabric to Heat-n-Bond stripes to the pillow, but I figured that a little fabric medium, acrylic paint, and painters tape would be less time consuming.  Since I didn't do a very complicated pattern it only took about15 minutes to paint the stripes.

My new striped pillow is replacing this pillow:

I love the pattern, but ever since I decided to incorporate more green in my living room through the stenciled curtains and solid green pillows, it just seemed out of place.

The best part about this project is that it cost me ZERO dollars!  I used drapery fabric and paint supplies that I had left over.

Here's a shot of the new pillow with the stenciled curtains.

Love!

If you're curious about how I sewed the pillow,  here's my No Zipper, Envelope Pillow Cover Tutorial.

If you're curious about what I used to paint the stripes, here's my Stenciled Curtain Tutorial.  Just use tape to create stripes instead of a stencil!


I'll be linking up at:

White Walls?



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I saw the picture above via freshome.com.  They typically feature super modern interior design, but today they posted this shabby chic kitchen with an industrial twist.  I love the big open space and all the white.  Makes me want to paint my whole house white.  It looks so fresh!

Anyone have mostly white walls that they love or hate?  I'd really love to hear what you think about living with white walls.

I'll pretty much be thinking about my walls all weekend.  Hopefully I'll be productive and have some time to relax too. 

Happy Friday!

It's a start....

...it's not exactly beautiful...but it's a start.  I bought some things to help get me organized. 

Before I show you my very unimpressive pictures, here's another beautiful pantry to go along with the organization inspiration I posted last week.

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Ahhhh....so pretty....and now, my pictures.

Thanks to a little $10 basket from Target, my arch enemy (that I originally posted about here), the kitchen/dining area counter, has been vanquished.  All clear!  Hopefully it'll say that way.

Here's another $10 basket that's doing a great job of concealing clutter.  This one is from HomeGoods and it's on the top shelf of our pantry.

This handy dandy broom holder is another addition to my pantry.

My last purchase was not cheap, but it was necessary.  My husband and I bought some nice Henckels knives last year and they've been clanking around in our silverware drawer ever since.  We looked and looked for something to keep them in so they would stay sharp.  We didn't want a big butcher block because we only have two, but we could never find anything small to keep them in.  We came across this drawer organizer last week and despite the high price tag it came home with us. 

Obviously I still have so much to do, but I'm on my way to having more beautiful organization!