This is country livin'...

Nothing like a post-weekend recap with another weekend right around the corner, right? Right.
So did anyone guess what I was up to this past weekend? That's right, I'm speaking to all 4 of you. And sorry folks...if you're family or friends, you don't get to play along. Because you already know that I was in Columbus for the Country Living Magazine fair!

Ooh boy, let me tell you, it was good times. The weather was perfect & the vendors were a plenty. In fact, I don't think either my mom or I were prepared for the sheer madness (albeit fun) of this event! We were first time newbies, but even the folks who had attended before said the Saturday attendence was IN-sane! So instead of carrying on about how amzing this event was, I'll get right to it with some photos. Man, there was a lot to capture...this is just a fraction of what we saw while we were there!

Cari Cucksey of HGTV's Cash & Cari was also at the fair! I spotted the Re-Purpose booth, but figured she had sent staff to the event to hold down the fort. So I was surprised when I saw her roaming about, visiting with folks, etc. I attempted to say hello & get a picture with her, but she was chit chatting with some women, so sigh...I moved on. And don't even bother looking for her in this pic 'cause you won't find her...the booth was madness!

We took a post lunch break for some Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams. YUM! If you are in the Columbus area, or have a store near you that sells this goodness, you are in for a treat! I'm actually quite happy we don't, as I'd be frequenting this place often. I went for a trio of brown butter almond brittle (to die!), salted caramel, and brambleberry crisp. Did. Not. Disappoint. That's all I'm saying folks.

The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Josh & Brent, were there for a book signing! Okay, so this was one event I was not planning to miss (along with hundreds of others apparently). There was a lot of hoopla surrounding this book signing--think competition with others for a prime spot in line, standing in line to buy their latest cookbook only to find that a second freakin line was simultaneously forming for the actual signing, a lot of sweating, standing around for 1.5 hours (!), and general chaos & confusion--but then it happened...



I had no clue what I was going to say to them, but they were so, so nice. I think we were chatting about my necklace in the above photo (Josh was a fan). And apparently whatever Brent was saying in the photo below was so exciting, that clearly I was about to burst.



And lastly, the family portrait...we are SO tired in this pic, it's actually quite comical. Brent and Josh? Not so much. Get a load of them, aren't they the best?

I heard a nasty rumor that their show might not be coming back to Planet Green. And I'm hoping that's all that was...a nasty rumor. The husband & I can not get enough of their show!

Okay, so you're probably wondering what I purchased while we were there. Truth be told it wasn't much. Which is kind of crazy, considering there were an insane amount of vendors. There was so much great stuff to be had, but honestly...if I can't figure out where I'll put it when I get home, then I'm not gonna buy it. I guess I'm practical like that. Also, I'm not a fan of hoarding (although, some might say otherwise at the sight of our attic). Some of the antique vendors were pretty pricey, so that pretty much solved my "to purchase or not to purchase" dilemna right then and there.

These large plastic letters were $12 each, and I'm sure you'd never guess they're going in our kitchen, right?

I'm loving this K made out of old scrap metal. Because one can never have too many initials in the house.

And yes, I did manage to purchase some other things (other than large letters) during our trip, but these were the most notable house related purchaes that I made all weekend.

I can't wait to share what I'm up to with those large letters! I'm loving the way things are turning out (minus one large minor mishap) & I'll be back to share pictures soon!

Keeping up with the Joneses

I was attempting to post pictures from our weekend adventures, but I just didn't have it in me today. Instead, I've been over at Life Begins at Thirty, Right?. I absolutely love this blog. Janice is our neighbor to the north (Toronto, specifically speaking), and her house is pretty fabulous. Just check out her living room...



via

Beautiful, huh? One might say I have house envy...which is the topic of conversation of her most recent post that you can find HERE. I think this is a must-read reality check for those of us (me included) who find themselves lost in the la-la land of the internet--blogs, Pinterest, you name it. Life isn't always what it seems, but you wouldn't always know that right? If you're so inclined, head over there and leave a comment or two. People are keeping it real over there, and that's pretty refreshing.

The real, real entryway

Yes, those rumors you've heard are true.

We have a real real entryway.

Along with a million other doors that get you into & out of our house at various locations. If you've been to our home, you know. It's the house of doors! Our house was built as a dual family with maids quarters. So there are doors for the family, doors for the hired help (of which we have none, unless of course you're counting me), doors for the guests...and so on & so on. Don't you just love a house with history? Our house of doors is especially good times when the cable guy, contractor, or in-law's come over and can't figure out how they came in. It never gets old. What can I say, I'm easily amused!

Anyhoo, so here's the lowdown of what you see when you enter through the front door. Which, you'll all be using now that you can't kill yourselves on the way there (thank you new stairs, we love you).

I debated about keeping the existing wallpaper, as it's actually quite lovely. But it's old & seen better days (as have the foyer doorbells..yikes!)...

The wallpaper looks better in photos, but it's not pretty in person. It's peeling & aged in several spots (I'm all about vintage, but this is a bit much). I thought about removing the wallpaper all together and just painting, but I can tell that some areas of the original plaster walls aren't in the best shape underneath. So I've decided instead to wallpaper right over the darn thing. And as I type this, I'm awaiting a phone call from Sherwin Williams to tell me when my order has arrived! I'm super excited about this wallpaper. I'm just hoping it translates well in the space. Oh well, time will tell. Fingers crossed. I will post pics soon!

Okay, onto the floors. They're octagon/chicken wire tile, original to the home...

Yikes. They look a little dirty in these pics. But they're in great shape for the age of the home! It's probably hard to tell from my stellar photos, but the tile surround is black & burnt orange/red. I didn't necessarily need to match the wallpaper exactly to the floor colors. But my crazy coo-coo mind got the best of me, and in the quest to have everything look just right, the new wallpaper is almost an identical color match to the floor (not originally intended, honest, but it worked out that way...I love when that happens!).

Fingers crossed I can tackle some wallpapering this weekend (with the help of my mom, naturally...you didn't think I'd go this alone, did you?)! I'll be back tomorrow with a weekend recap!

Long time, no post

Long time, no post! I have little time to write anything of substance today, but I'm alive. And alive is certainly a good thing...especially after the fun, whirlwind weekend of yore. I'll be back with a full update later this week! Can you guess what I was up to?

I'll be back tomorrow with an update on the real, real entryway. Until then, happy Monday to all!

Project Hallway revisited

So to start the week off, I'm revisiting project hallway! And nope, it's not quite finished (I had you fooled, didn't I?). The same goes for the rest of our house. There's always some tweaking, adding, changing, moving things here & there....you get the picture, right? At any rate, I finally took the time to finish painting the risers on the steps this weekend. Check that off the list! Next up? Window treatments (if I would ever get around to ordering the fabric)! And then things should be for reals complete in there. I'm gearing up to work on the real (real) entryway to our house--yep, there is one! I'll be back soon with some before pics & plans for that space!

For those of you who want to take a trip down memory lane, you can revisit the 'ol before & after post HERE. And for those of you too lazy to check out that post (I don't blame you, it's Monday afterall...) here are the most up to date pics of the space!

(eeek...maybe I should do something with that ugly cord, ya think?!)

I've also linked myself to the Roomspiration link party over at Abode Love today!

Go check it out! Or vote for me! Or something like that. Or how about this? Just check out all the amazing entryways that are over there. There are some good ones!

Happy Monday!

Project Hallway update!

Okay, so remember this $15 steal?

Of course you do. You don't have a short term memory.

So when I purchased this frame, my plan was to switch things up in the front hallway. Things just weren't sitting right with me. As much as I liked it, something about the wall of frames was just off. Let's take a look...

That something "off" would be that large rectangular frame. It didn't have much character & screamed, "look at me, I'm a large empty boring frame!" The husband had his gripes too. He'd always been super annoyed that the thing was bent & never sat flush against the wall. I can't say I disagreed either. I thought about putting some smaller frames inside, but wasn't totally over-the-moon about that idea. And then my friends, the new frame came along!

So I got to work removing the old frame & touching up the walls. The new frame was sprayed & ready to hang, and then this happened...

Ah, the beauty of an old home with plaster walls! Hanging things around here is a bit of trial & error (well, at least for me anyway...I'm sure the husband would have done a better job). And if you're wondering, my trial & error is still there. I just hung the frame over the holes without bothering to patch them up. Because I'm lazy & impatient like that. And because I put the caulk away.

So anyway, here's what things are looking like now!

You might notice I added another, smaller frame to the top left of the wall. I actually added that awhile ago, but never got around to mentioning it. But now that the new frame is in place, things seem very complete! I'm so happy with the way things turned out. See? A minor frame change out, and all is right in the world again!

Oh, and in case anyone is curious (probably not, but anyway...), my spray paint of choice is Valspar. I mean, I go through cans like it's my job. There was zero rhyme or reason how I came to this discovery, other than the fact that Lowes is conveniently located to me and I can get in & out of there in a jiff. It's probably not the best brand out there (it'll set you back less than $4 a can), but I've found it to work the best for me. In an effort to cut to the chase, I don't prime or do much prep, but I get a smooth even finish everytime I use it. And no, Lowes didn't pay me to say this. It's just that this is the sort of stuff I would find helpful if I was desperately seeking Susan a good recommendation. So there you have it folks.

TGIF!

Deals & Steals

It's deals & steals time! I scored so many this past weekend, I don't even know where to begin. So let's get right to it, shall we?

Can anyone say, TWO side tables for the low, low price of FIVE DOLLARS?!

Why, yes please and sold! And no, that's not a misprint. Both tables came in at a grand total of $5! You can't tell from this picture, but they need work. The owner of this no-name junk store told us he priced them at $5 figuring someone (ie. me) would come along & be willing to restore and give them new life. I'm not sure what I'm planning to do with them just yet, but I knew I could not turn these down (doing so would be a crime!). The husband thinks (or perhaps wishes) I'm going to refinish & sell them. But you know what? The husband would be wrong. That same visit I also purchased a vintage milk jar (sorry, no pics) and costume jewelry...

Grand total: $10 (score!)

That same day (different shop) I purchased this mirror for our hallway...

Okay, for starters...let's ignore the mess in the man's den & the collection of just folded towels & sheets on the dining room table (where everything goes to live these days)....mmmm, k? I tried to crop them out of the photos, but I'm lazy...so welcome to my reality.

Anyhoo, back to the mirror! I've recently been on the lookout for a federal style mirror. But since those are expensive & hard to come by, I settled for this vintage lovely instead. It's amazing how your mind shifts once you see something new & exciting! I was instantly drawn to the color & finish (it's kinda hard to see here, but it's off white/yellow & worn in all the right places). But when I got it home I hated it and had plans to give it a little makeover. Fast forward a couple of days, and I'm in love once again (with no plans to change anything)! The husband, on the other hand, HATES it. In fact, he yells "ugly!!" everytime he passes through the hallway. At first, I laughed and told him to stop calling himself that. But now it's just annoying & I ignore him.

Grand total: $34 (yeah buddy!)

And check out this beauty that I incorporated into the gallery wall...

I did a little switch-a-roo, changing out a framed initial for this amazing sunburst mirror found at a country/general store. There was zero hesitation here. I snatched it up the second I saw it, fingers crossed that it was priced right. And guess what?

Grand total: $18 (boo yeah!)

And last but not least, this frame that I posted about earlier this week...

I found this baby sitting by its lonesome in an antique shop...with no price on it. Which normally isn't a good sign in my experience. But something told me to ask anyway. The woman in the shop said she'd have to look it up or contact the owner for more details. So off I went, continuing to browse the store. I figured if I came back & it was too expensive, I would sadly turn it down. So my socks were knocked right off when she told me the price...

Grand total: $15 (sold!) 

And I'm sure all you smarty pants out there can figure out--from the multi-colored cardboard--that I wasted no time getting my spray paint on. And you would be right. I'll be back tomorrow to share what I've done with it!

And that concludes this episode of deals & steals. Don't you just love a good bargain? Martiyn Lawrence-Bullard, eat your heart out!

A little this & that...the September edition

Ahhh...it's September. The husband declared today that he's not ready for fall. This was right after he declared that many others feel the same way (this is a bold statement not backed by fact, btw). Heellloooo, sir, I'm not alone when I say there are plenty of us who are ready for fall. Pumpin spice lattes! Scarves! Not sweating to the point where you think you'll die! I think what he meant to say was that he's sad summer is coming to an end. But after the hot, hot heat of this summer I say...bring it on fall! I'm soooo ready...

Anyhoo! We had a delightful weekend away at my in-law's cabin, but now it's back to reality and lots of fun projects...

I've scored some major deals & steals lately and have been working on some fun projects that I will share soon. Once the cooler weather strikes, I can't be stopped!

And who said no one's excited for fall?