Don't sue me

That's what I typically tell people who dare to use our front steps...

Well that was embarrassing. I guess I never realized just how trashy these things looked...but I bet our neighbors did! Okay, so let's get to it. We're replacing the front steps! I know, you can hardly imagine why, but it's happening. I'm sure it's obvious, but there are so many things wrong with these things. For starters, they're rotting faster than an idle banana. Secondly, not one of these steps are the same height. I'm not sure who was hired to build them at the time, but nothing is up to code here (a detail I was kindly reminded of by every contractor who stopped by). Lastly, I'm a big fan of symmetry, so the solitary pink & teal iron railing is outta here. See ya!

If you successfully make it up the stairs without sustaining an injury...congrats! You've made it to the front door!

Evidently, the door mat blew away in a wind storm & left quite an imprint in its passing. And since no one uses the front door...this is the first I'm seeing this myself. Awesome. I had good intentions of removing the old storm door last summer, but then chickened out for whatever reason. But this year I'm doing it! I'm not sure if we'll replace the door right away, but for now I love the idea of being able to see the original door when you come up the soon-to-be new & improved steps.

Of course, removing the door means no more of this...

Nothing says welcome to our home like a good spear to the gut! Or we could always charge admission upon entry. Apparently, this piece of the door also serves as a stadium turnstyle.

And I'm fully aware that removing the door means no one will get to see my creative sign that directs guests to our side door...

Don't fall off the steps on your way back down!

But WAIT....there really are doorbells at the front door!

I kid you not, I had no clue these even existed until 2 weeks ago! Well, that only took 4 years. I suppose it's time to finish painting the entryway stairs...it looks like we'll be using the front door more often!

I'll be back soon with progress pictures! But until then...please use the side door/doorbells.

Bedroom Inspiration...the Cinco de Mayo version.

I've decided that 2011 is the year of the master bedroom makeover. Our bedroom is in need of an update & this year seems like the best time to go at it. That is, according to my 2011 resolution/to do list....of which, about 1 item has been completed (so take what you will from that bit of information). It's definitely not something we'll get to right away, as outdoor projects are high on the priority list right now. But it's for sure on the radar.

So in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I give to you my five (current) bedroom inpiration photos!

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This room is fabulous. But if I'm taking one thing away from this space, it's that the wall color--Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray--is pretty fabulous. And mostly, I noted that for my own reference, but your welcome. Let's face it, remembering where I "filed" that info will be the thing that likely stumps me....


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I absolutely love this room...the pillow, the tufted headboard, and well...everything else. I'd be one very happy & well rested girl here.

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I've loved this bedroom ever since I saw it in the pages of Country Living magazine. In fact, I have it filed in my inspiration folder...under "The Husband Won't Like, Keep Dreaming" tab.

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Just perfect. This is definitely husband friendly. And definitely one of the photos I'll be referring back to when it comes time to tackle this remodel.

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One of my faves. I've had this photo saved for quite awhile now. And hmm...would you look at that, another tufted headboard! Notice a theme here?

And just for good measure, I'm tossing in a nook photo. Because who doesn't love a good bedroom nook? I certainly do...especially when they look like this!

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So happy Cinco de Mayo to all! I'm celebrating by relaxing with an entire dinner of nacho chips....after that 5-mile run of course. Ole'!

What's happening around here...

With the husband traveling for work (and evidently checking up on me when he's gone), I decided to start a little segment I'm calling What's Happening Around Here. Which is the best possible way for the husband & I to connect while he's away. That is when he's not dining with clients, shopping in San Fran (his current destination), or you know...working. In all actuality, I kid. The husband is legitimately working while he's away. I have to say that, he's reading this. And I kid again.

So without further ado, I give you the first (and likely last) installment of What's Happening Around Here. And I warn you...it isn't pretty. But well, that's reality.

Our herbs have died. Hey, what can I say...we're not indoor plant folks. But at least we have stylish DIY planters! And the sun is actually shining!

We may not be able to keep plants alive, but I do love me some blooms! These were a lovely gift from my cousin Allie. It's ranauculous & peony season! The best time of the year. Period.

The stairs aren't finished. I had you fooled! It's a good thing we don't regularly use this staircase. Especially since I think it's the most ideal place to "hide" the paint cans.

I know, you have no clue what you're looking at here (except for our window treatment-less dining room windows...we're going on FOUR years here now...). So let me give you a closer look...

Yep, that's all sorts of lovely water damage. We're set to replace the roof in the next week (if it would ever stop raining...the reason we're getting it replaced in the first place!), and then we can focus on repairing the ceiling. The fun never ends around here!

And this is the reason no one has seen photos of the "finished" kitchen. Whether or not anyone actually sees that I still need to paint the teeny-tiny area above the cabinets, remains to be seen. So until I finish that up, I won't be officially revealing the kitchen just yet. Which will likely happen in 2013. You're welcome.

I realized I still have the easter eggs on display (the only easter decor I put out this year!). I can't bring myself to put them away just yet. I love the color these wooden beauties bring to the mantel! Don't worry...once they start competing for space with the christmas tree, I promise to put them away.

And that concludes today's What's Happening Around Here tour. You're welcome, husband. Now get back to work!

Jillian Harris

I've been a fan of Jillian Harris since her Bachelorette days, so it's no surprise that I'm a fan of her home as well! Jillian's interior design background & expertise can also be seen over on Extreme Home Makeover. After watching this weekend, I'll be tuning in regularly!

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Check out Jillian's website for more good stuff!

You better not pout

Yikes.

So it's been awhile. The husband has been traveling for work & last week he checked in on the 'ol blog to see what's been happening. Which would be a whole lotta nothing. I can't decide if there aren't enough hours in the day or whether I just suck at time managment. I'm guessing a little of both.

So let's get back to it! Last weekend we finally got around to hanging some shelves we purchased during the great Canadian Ikea trip of 2011 (and by we I mean, the husband). These are the same shelves that someone may or may not have pouted over after a disagreement about where to hang said shelves, whether any of Ikea's light fixtures were suitable for the kitchen, and the cost of curtain panels. Can you tell we'd reached our limit?! 

After taking measurements & creating a detailed plan as to how the shelves would be hung (this is why the husband is in charge...apparently, my method of "eyeballing" isn't nearly as effective), "we" got to work!

(Warning...really bad photo montage ahead. It's been raining NON-STOP around here. This month is going down in history as the most ridiculous month ever.)

The gratuitous cat shot. It's funny how cats are typically sleeping in the other room...that is until a large scale project breaks out & they have to be in the middle of it all.

Here's the husband very carefully measuring, hanging & doing all the work. All the while I'm snapping photos & not being helpful.

About an hour after we started, we had new shelves! But let's take a look at what the space looked like before...boring, bland & totally lacking something. I never realized just how bare our wall was! And why we didn't do something about it sooner!?

And the after...

Right now the shelves are holding a montage of wedding photos--just in time for our anniversary next month! It's the wall I'm affectionately refering to as the "wall of us". Has a nice ring to it, huh? The husband asked how long the "wall of us" will exist. And frankly, it will exist as long as it takes for me to get my ass in gear and replace the darn photos (not happening anytime soon), or whenever we add another member to our family (also not happening anytime soon). Whew, looks like I have some time.

Happy Tuesday!

Take it outside

With warmer weather right around the corner (well, we hope...it was snowing here today), our thoughts will soon be shifted to outdoor work. Which always gives me a little anxiety this time each year. Our house is large (at least by our standards), and along with it's age--over 100 years--it requires lots of upkeep & maintenance. And of course, money to make that happen!

Last summer was a pivitol year for us. We finally rid ourselves of the giant weed garden we'd been so impressively cultivating for the last 3 years since owning the house. God bless my mom...she worked tirelessly to get our garden to the point where our neighbors were talking about it (and not in a bad way....imagine what they'd been thinking before?!). The only stipulation was that we were responsible for the upkeep. I'm happy to report the husband & I held up our end of the bargain.

But here we are again. Another year, another round of spring weeding & clean-up, mulching, mowing, maintaining....you get the picture. Additionally, we've got some BIG (quite literally) work coming up that I'll be sure to share soon! In the meantime, let's kick up our feet & do some outdoor dreaming, shall we?

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Here's hoping for that warm weather soon...let the summer work begin!

Somewhat of a hiatus...

Yep, that's apparently where I've been lately. I took a little hiatus from the 'ol blog. I could go on & on about how busy I am (chairing a fundraiser taking place in 2 weeks, training for a half marathon next month, and...oh yeah, that thing I call a full time job). Honestly, when we have kids, I really hope I'll be laughing at my current "busy-ness". It's ridiculous, but not that ridiculous.

At any rate, I thought it would be much cooler to say that I'm occupying my time over at Pinterest. I know I'm late to the party. Which I can't quite believe, given this visual goodness over there...

all photos via Pinterest

 Lovely & inspiring, huh? And here I thought I spent too much time over at Etsy...

DIY planters

Happy post-weekend to all! So I know I promised photos of a little DIY project I gifted the husband for his birthday last week. And then that thing called life got in the way. Don't you hate when that happens?! So instead of rambling about how busy I am (and my need for a good glass of wine right about now!), let's get to the details!

I started out with some simple planters from Lowes...

A little chalkboard paint for "labels"...

Rocks for drainage...

And the finished product!

Okay, so the husband may have had an inkling he was getting the gift of herbs for his birthday. Especially after a lively discussion of sorts the weekend before (one of us may have been pouting & the other one may have raised their voice to get their point across...just saying). But I bet he never imagined there would be chalkboard paint involved! And no, your eyes don't deceive you...I have yet to officially "label" our herbs. Apparently, when you throw away props--including the chalk--from your wedding photobooth, there will in fact, be a shortage of the stuff when you really need it the most. In the meantime, we'll play the "Which Herb Is This?" game until I take the time to actually label the darn things.

And yes, the husband loved his DIY herb planter gift. The same gift I used that very night to make dinner, in fact! Which, for those of you wondering, went surprisingly well. Even if dinner itself was just so-so. I guess you can't expect too much out of a recipe that calls for low sodium marinara, right?  

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Husband

To the husband...my faithful reader, who loves that I have a passion for design & this crazy blog, and who may not always agree with my decorating decisions, but always lets me have my way (okay, so he lets me have my way 98% of the time)...to you I say, happy birthday my love.

Today our roles are very much reversed. I'll be assuming the role of chef and will be cooking dinner for my foodie husband tonight. And in typical fashion I'll be flustered, sweating & telling the husband to "go away", when he comes into the kitchen to stare at me or ask, "why are you doing it that way?" at least eighteen times. This is the reason you don't find me in the kitchen very often. So here's hoping I make it out alive and that dinner is edible.

And stay tuned tomorrow...I'll be sharing the DIY birthday present I gifted the husband!