Our Home~ The Living Room

I snapped a few pictures of our living room yesterday.  

It is important to me that our home is comfortable and liveable, so I don't stress a lot about making sure everything is too perfect. Decorating is definitely a hobby and passion of mine, and I believe it serves multiple purposes. But, to me, the most important goals are to beautify our surroundings, create a warm environment, and make it function for the day-to-day use of our family.

And, to me, there is no other way to do that except with {my favorite} vintage pieces!

I have actually been working on painting a different lamp for this table. I am really liking how it is turning out. As soon as it is finished, I will do a post so everyone can see!

The table, itself, is a work in progress as well. I wanted a nice tall table for beind the couch and I found some old legs at a thrift store, so I went ahead and just built a little table. Now I am having a hard time deciding on what kind of paint/finish I want on it, so I thought I would just live with it for a while until I decide.

I refinished this buffet a few years ago with my favorite creamy white paint and I absolutely love it. It is so chunky and sturdy and it works really well to store all of the baby toys.

I am switching out the artwork over the buffet, so I guess these will serve as good before pictures! I am putting a set of 6 of these botanical prints in Pottery Barn inspired burlap mattes and frames 

{featured on Knock Off Decor last month}.

I am switching around most of the accessories as well.

From here, you can see a glimpse of the entry way with my big chalkboard. I am trying to decide which summer quote I want to put up there... Anyone have any good ones? I am having a really hard time trying to decide!

On the big, massive wall in our living room, I have a tall framed Monogram that I stitched by hand onto tea-dyed pintuck muslin. This thing is really huge.

I found these big corbels at a local antique mall, so I built a shelf out of them.

On one of the side walls, I have a pair of my vintage ice cream stools that my mom bought me for my birthday a couple years ago. I absolutely love them!

As dorky as this sounds, I am really proud of this house plant! I have kept it alive for about 4 months now! I am sure you are impressed ; ). I haven't been successful with houseplants in the past, so I am pretty excited that she is still alive. I think she needs a name... Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks for taking a peek into our home!

I hope you are all enjoying your week!



I am linking up here at French Country Cottage amd here at Miss Mustard Seed

4th of July Party Decor Giveaway Winner!

Thank you everyone who entered my giveaway!

All of the comments were so sweet, and truly meant a lot to me. If you didn't get a response from me, it is because you are a "no-reply" blogger and I was sad that I couldn't thank you for your sweet comment!

Without further ado...
The winner is.....

Kristin from Simply Klassic Home!

I laughed so hard when I saw which number the random number generator picked because Kristin's comment was so sweet and made me giggle. And while I was giggling, Ella looked at me with her inquisitive little stare like, "What the heck is so funny!?"

Kristin said, "Um, freaking out over here! You are so fabulous!!! Love this giveaway and your vintage 4th photo shoot. So adorable!"

Congratulations Kristin! Thank you for your support and kindness!

Last Day to Enter the GIVEAWAY!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday!

Ours looks like it is going to be a HOT one!

I just wanted to pop in with a reminder that today is the LAST DAY to enter the

GIVEAWAY for vintage 4th of July party decor!

You can go here and enter up until midnight tonight!

I will announce the winner tomorrow morning.

Good luck!



GIVEAWAY! Vintage 4th of July Party Decor!

Hello everyone!

I am really excited to share this giveaway with all of you just in time for
your Fourth of July parties!

I had so much fun making most of these things, and I hope someone will really enjoy them!
It is my way of saying thank you for the wonderful support you have given me.

The giveaway includes:

12 cupcake flags made out of vintage book pages and antique seam binding {unused}

24 red and white stripey cupcake liners (I like to double up on mine)

Vintage book pages and ribbon for you to make your very

own vintage book page pinwheel banner- Tutorial here.

A fun cake banner,

{I will have these available in my etsy shop soon}

A red and white vintage napkin pennant banner,

{if you would like to see the tutorial on how to make these, click here}

2 old burlap potato sacks that you can see I used as a sort of tablecloth

and a vintage, white lace-edged table runner.

I wanted to get a couple of closeup shots of the cake banner and cupcake flags and liners so you could see them a little better.

I am excited to have these cake banners available in my Etsy shop very soon!!

To recap, this giveaway includes:

~12 cupcake flags made out of vintage book pages and antique seam binding

~24 red and white stripey cupcake liners (I like to double up on mine)

~A fun cake banner

~A red and white vintage napkin pennant banner

{if you would like to see the tutorial on how to make these, click here}

~Vintage book pages and ribbon for you to make your very own
vintage book page pinwheel banner- Tutorial here.

~2 old burlap potato sacks that you can see I used as a sort of tablecloth

~A Vintage, white lace-edged table runner

I am probably more excited about this giveaway than anyone else! I feel like that for everything- Christmas, birthdays, etc. So, thank you all again for your support and kindness!

To enter, please be a follower of my blog and simply leave a comment. You may add an aditional comment {entry} if you blog about it or post it on facebook {one for each}.

This giveaway will close Sunday night at midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday, June 25th! At this time, I can only ship to a winner in the domestic United States.

Good Luck!

Linking up Here and Here

Our Home~ Pictures of the Dining Room ~GIVEAWAY starts tomorrow!

I have been procrastinating taking pictures of my home for a while now. I was hoping to do it while my sister was here so she could guide me through from a photography standpoint. She is such an amazing photographer and I need all of the pointers I can get! Well, we played a little too much and didn't do it, so after she left, I got her pointers over the phone.

{Oh, dang... that reminds me, I never posted her maternity pictures that I took... I need to do that!}   

ChiWei and Kristin were so sweet to ask me to post pictures of my home and it gave me a good little nudge! I will be posting pictures of my home over the next week or two, off and on with other posts. I have a few other fun things planned... including a super exciting GIVEAWAY starting tomorrow.

Anyhow, my favorite thing about our dining room is the three big windows that let in all of that beautiful light!

We got our table while we were on vacation on the Oregon coast. It came out of the old Seaside Inn. I saw her pretty legs, and it was love at first sight! I keep the leaf in the table so we have the extra seating, but when it is removed, the table is square. The fun thing is that it has the original old crank and everything.

I found these chairs at a thrift store, and I really need to give them a fresh coat of paint and new cushions. Isn't it funny how you can look at rooms in your home and just pick apart all of the things you want to do to fix/change it?

My hubby took me on a date and bought me these gorgeous Peonies. Every time I see them, they make my heart skip a beat. I love, love, love Peonies. They were my wedding flower, and I have been known to slow down or slam on my breaks just to admire them growing in people's yards. I think my husband thinks I am a little obsessed, but come on... they're Peonies!

I haven't quite figured out what I want on this cabinet yet. Actually, I have changed it again since I took these pictures. I really love this beast of a furniture piece. I say beast, because it is huge, tall, and heavy! It is a cute original farmhouse cabinet, that looks handmade to me. I love the dividers in the flour drawer, the little cutting board that pulls out, and all of the chippy paint.

I found that "Statesman" newspaper holder at a yard sale on an old farm nearby. It is a local antique that was used for our paper- The Idaho Statesman.

Here are a couple more pictures of the most beautiful flowers in the world.

I am so, so, so excited to post my GIVEAWAY tomorrow!

This one is really fun... so be prepared to tell all of your friends.

I'll give you a hint... vintage inspired party decor!

Can you tell I am excited? 

Thanks for reading!

I Am linking up here at French Country Cottage

Jute Twinkle Light Shade Tutorial

I promised I would post a tutorial on how I made these little jute twinkle light shades that I used to decorate my sister's baby shower, here. I layered my hanging decorations with these, the big bulb lights, and a vintage pennant banner, so it was fun to have all of the different textures.

They are pretty easy to make, but first you need to gather your supplies.

You will need:
~a glue gun
~white PLASTIC Dixie cups
{paper ones aren't strong enough}
~double braided jute twine
{I found mine at a thrift store in a big bag...
does anyone know where to find this great stuff?}
~a knife
~a pair of scissors

First, take your white PLASTIC Dixie cup {I found mine at Walmart} and place them upside down. Carefully cut an 'X' in the flat part with your knife.



Shoot a thick bead of hot glue around the rim of the base of your cup, outside of where you cut the 'X,' and begin to coil your double braided jute twine.



Continue adding glue and coiling your twine until you cover your entire cup. I decided I like the look of them better when I add an additional row past where the plastic ends.



Snip off your edge and glue it down.



I used an old strand of Christmas lights that I had on hand. If I had more time I think I would have wrapped it with brown floral tape as well. I didn't put a shade on every light; I spaced them with three twinkle lights in between. Just push that little shade right over the little bulb base and the 'X' you cut, will grab it and hold it in place.



Overall, I like the texture and masculinity they added to the party decor {she's having a boy} and I think it will be fun to use these for other things as well!

This same technique works with regular jute twine and Elmer's glue. Wrap it around the cup, ensuring your rows are close together, and use plenty of glue. Once dry, the twine shade pops right off of the plastic cup and you can put it right onto the twinkle lights. It doesn't let the light shine through the shade as well as the double braided jute twine, but it is still really cute. : )

I have a few fun things planned for this week, including a GIVEAWAY!!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Monday!

Ella's First Father's Day

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because my little sweetie pie has the most wonderful daddy. It is amazing how much of a daddy's girl she has been since she was only a few weeks old. The way she looks at him warms my heart and I love how completely enthralled she is by every single move he makes.

And, as I am sure you can imagine, he is equally devoted to her. She is his little princess, and she has him completely wrapped around her chubby little finger. I am pretty sure she can get anything she wants with those sweet eyes and that playful little smile.

He is also the most wonderful, supportive, hard working, funny, loving, caring and amazing husband to me and I feel blessed every day. He calls us "his girls," and it is important to him that I live out my dream of staying at home with our sweet baby. For that, I am so overwhelmingly grateful.

I truly feel blessed every single day.

 

I wanted to take a bunch of pictures for him since he has to be away for work on his first father's day. It was so cute how she kept clapping and cracking herself up, in between talking to the people across the street and our dog in the backyard. She is so much more animated now, and I am enjoying getting to know each of the facets of her adorable, fun personality.  

Happy Father's Day, my love.

We are so thankful for you.