Kitchen Reveal!

We have lived in this house for 3 and a half years now. Time seriously goes by so quickly.... anyways... furnishing a house nearly twice the size of our first house took time. And money, of course. Meaning some major projects had to wait. Namely, our kitchen.

I've always wanted white cabinets! They are so fresh, bright, and inviting, they just lift my spirits (especially when skies outside are grey... which is a lot up here in the NW.) Last year I was talking to Hubs about how we could freshen up the "builder grade" look of our kitchen. My BIGGEST issue with it was NOT the color of cabinets, but the tile backsplash and countertops. Seriously, tile countertops are my nemesis. Cleaning breadcrumbs out of grout... enough said. Yuck. So began step one- butcherblock countertops and a fresh white subway backsplash with grey grout. 

Enter this year. We received news that Hubs would be leaving us for a while... off serving our country. Getting news like that right after giving birth to our 5th child came as quite the shock. I was devastated. But, if you know me, I do my best to make the best of a situation. I decided to finish my kitchen, BEFORE he had to leave. I figured if I was going to be making food and cleaning up after our five littles, all by myself, I wanted to enjoy my surroundings. And Bless Hubs heart, he told me to go for it. The rest of this post will simply be Before & Afters (since that's probably all you came here for anyways lol!) I will do another post later on products I used, tips and tricks etc. So, without any further ado!

Before:

After!

Before:

After!

Before Dining:

After!

 And the rest of the photos!

White, bright, country goodness! Thanks for stopping by! Happy Friday 'Yall!

Linen Kick.

I'm totally on a linen kick right now. The texture and fabric colors are absolutely SWOON worthy!

My lastest project was a Christening gown for my neighbor. The base of the dress was a white linen. I did a lace overlay on the bodice, with a cotton ruffle. Top it off with a lace overlay trim on the bottom....it's simple and stunning.

I also did a few custom linen crowns. This particular mustard one was my fav. I think I need to do a romper in this fabric as well, for baby Brigitte. (aka, the reason I don't post much nowadays!)

Hoping to add to the collection in the upcoming weeks, and with any luck I'll get them on here to share with you!

A Nursery for Brigitte

I know a few of you have been waiting to see pictures of the finished nursery.

Its been done for a little while, but due to fall weather.... (and the inability to stay awake while so

pregnant) it has taken me a while to finally get some pictures. And they are pictures from my cell phone... so they don't QUITE do the room justice... but this is all I'm gonna get for the time being lol! 

Today marks 37 weeks of cooking this little turkey.

I am SO ready to meet her, and kiss her sweet face.

I'm hoping she approves of her little princess space :)

And without further ado: 

Walking into her room-

This Anthropologie wallpaper was my inspiration for her room. I'm head over heels for it! Simply stunning, and worth every penny.

I sewed her quilt for her out of fabric I had on hand (minus the ADORABLE minky backing I found for it.) A total deal!

The cream plush and VERY soft blanket backing the rocking chair, was made by her sweet Nana (thanks Mama!)

And a GORGEOUS name banner topping her window, made by one of my very dear friends! This picture totally doesn't do it justice, it is fabulous!

With all the busy on her wallpaper I wanted a very simple mobile. I decided to do a ruffle top, using a spray painted wreath form as a base, and hung strands of crystals down from it. Its absolutely perfect, and feminine, and doesn't take away from the wallpaper at all.

B is for Brigette, and also for books by Sandra Boynton.

I got her dresser/changing table for a STEAL of a deal! $30 at a garage sale. It was an old, brown, rundown piece of furniture missing a few knobs. Enter several coats of paint (free... already had it on hand.) A glaze, which I also had. And GORGEOUS crystal knobs (at about $6 a piece, but totally worth every penny.) Its solid wood construction will absolutely stand the test of time. I love it so much I just can't say enough about it!

 A close up of the kobs...

Every princess needs a hair bow holder. For reals, this girl is going to be dressed to the 9's. LOVE.

Thanks to Pinterest, I got these adorable free downloads for her art.

My second splurge was on this chandelier. I've always wanted one in my girls room... so I went for it. At less than $100, it was still a pretty good deal. And the crystals complete the look with the mobile and crystal dresser knobs.

This sweet little lamb plays a lullaby. A must for nap times!

I wanted to keep all the bedding very simple, so I stuck with creams, and added satin bows to her minky bumper. Her crib is a VERY pale pink.

And that's about it! I hope you enjoyed the little tour :) The room will FINALLY be complete, once I can bring this little princess of ours home. She is pretty much my only "want" for Christmas this year.... and I can hardly wait!

Loves!

Wallpaper

So... Wallpaper, people. 

Its been one of those topics for me. One where I've gone back and forth trying to determine if I liked the idea of it or not. 

I mean, at first the word "wallpaper" reminded me of something probably slightly outdated that would take a LOT of work to remove. 

Then, as I "grew up" (I guess you could say,) I started to research design more. I've spent more then the last ten years of my life pouring through magazines, blogs, Tv shows, books and store websites learning as much as I can about decor. What goes together and why? Why wouldn't something else work? Why do I like or dislike a certain set up. Its been a pastime that has proved to provide a lot of sanity in the midst of raising my little munsters. 

While holding babies, or cleaning kitchens, I'll turn on HGTV for background noise/viewing. One thing I started to notice? In the most gorgeous of rooms, they tend to use Wallpaper SOMEWHERE. As an accent, or maybe all over... but it has definitely made its comeback. A big one. 

When we found out we were expecting another little girl, I thought maybe I'd give it a go. I'd had my eye on a wallpaper from Anthropologie for a while, and I was in loooove with it. Once I got the blessing from my Man, I ordered it and enlisted the help of my fabulous Mom to hang it up. I'm only going to give you a little peek... since the whole nursery reveal will be happening sometime in the next months.

It. Is. Gorgeous. It makes the room feel rich and cheerful. I'm so happy we took the plunge. And now that I know how to hang it PRETTY successfully, I'm itching to put some more up somewhere else...

Like this pretty little number via. Anthro. It would be stunning in our Master bath, with a gorgeous gold mirror. 

Or this, also Anthro. If someone wants to hire me to design a nursery or childs room around this FABULOUS wallpaper, I'll give you an amazing deal and a gorgeous design. Promise! I'm so in love with it. Perfect in oh so many ways.

Well... there is my little number for the day. I've obviously been on Anthropologie a bit much, but a little window shopping on there with a glass of herbal tea is my ticket to a calm morning right now! The little princess is getting bigger, and I'm doing my best to stay productive for the next two and a half months despite aching hips and overwhelming exhaustion lol. Wish me luck ;) And happy Wednesday! 

Clever Ideas

I've been a little M.I.A growing a B.A.B.Y.... it seems making limbs and lungs is all consuming when it comes to energy lol. Not that I haven't done this all before... multiple times!

Anyways, I thought today it'd be fun to get on here and share two fun ideas I've run across this last summer. First was a wreath I found on pinterest. The fabulous Mom Advice blog had this tutorial, inspired by a rather spendy Anthropologie wreath. I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on the yarn and make one for myself! I'm so thrilled with the outcome, it may never come down lol! Not to mention it was much more affordable than its trendy original at Anthro. 

So fluffy... it makes me want to sip hot cocoa, turn on the fireplace, and watch a movie snuggled up on the couch.

My second little snippet of fun for today, is from my 10 year anniversary vacay this past summer. My adorable honey and I decided to take a few days and vacation in Carmel California, at this adorably quaint bed and breakfast. Our whole room was cozy and trendy, but I fell in love with the little details... such as this bathroom.

I mean, book pages on a bathroom wall... its just genius! You'll never run out of reading material, and it looks fabulous! 

SO a toilet room and a wreath. A little fun for the day ;) I'm currently working on baby girl's nursery, and can hardly wait to share the outcome with you when it's finished! 

Hoping you all have a fabulous Sunday!

Books.

My Hubby and I love books.

One of our favorite things to do on a date, is wander into a Barnes and Noble and peruse.

In the winter that probably includes a cup of hot chocolate in hand.

We almost never leave without SOME new book, for ourselves or the kids.

The difficult part about this is our bookshelf. 

We had ONE lonely tall bookshelf, stuffed to the max.

Even after weeding out any unwanted reads, it still looked overwhelmingly full-

and that annoyed me.

And I didn't want to shove some other random bookcase next to it... as much as I love them, I don't want books taking over my house.

I like everything to have a place.... a place for everything.

In moderation.

So when visiting my friend, and finding two beautifully crafted bookcases

that she claimed to have no use for... I got a little excited.

Her Hubs agreed to sell me the duo for a STEAL of a price, and I started dreaming.

I sold my other lonely shelf, and brought the other set home with a makeover in mind.

Here is the before. They were already very pretty, just too dark for my bedroom.

Enter SEVERAL coats of creamy paint.

And some wallpaper backing, courtesy of Targets new home selections. I went with a neutral silver, so once the books were added it wouldn't be too busy.

And the final result! Gorgeous, sophisticated and bright. Makes my heart happy.

And yes. The books are categorized...

Twilight and Harry Potter get their own shelf. Just as it should be!

Time to do some reading...

Product fun!

I've had the opportunity to sew some SUPER fun products lately!

When sewing, its always WAY fun to have clever clients to work with.

My gal friend Nikki is one of those ladies... always coming up with fun ideas and letting me run with them! She is also an AMAZING photographer... 

(check out her site here!)

The elephants are one of my staples in sewing. The sweeties make a perfect baby gift!

 Nikki wanted a fox, so I took an old monkey pattern and tweaked it a bit... and voila. 

I've seen a lot of really cute canvas totes lately, so I whipped this one up as a baby shower gift. Stuffed with some Honest Company diapers, and it was perfect! 

This sweet bunny was inspired off a pinterest picture I've had on my board. I thought the whimsy was totally cute, so I hit up the fabric store and had fun making up my own little pattern for him. Another baby shower gift for a dear friend :) 

Sewing is a wonderful outlet for me. Turn up the tunes, eat a few candies, and let my imagination take me away.... (and usually a trustworthy pattern!) 

I hope these sweet pics added some fun and smiles to your day! Go create something for yourself!