What's going on inside?!

While it feels like we really haven't done much inside the house lately, I have thought of a few small projects:

Husband added an extra shelf in each of our closets 

I changed the OLD thermostat over to a nice new programmable digital one. It was terrifying because I am not 100% sure what type of HVAC system we have here (shame on me, I know), the wires didn't quite match up the way I thought they would and I was pretty sure something was going to blow up. Nothing did and it seems to be working swell thus far. 

And most recently we installed a screen door back in the sunroom. It's not the prettiest thing, but it's a really nice addition when the weather is warm enough to leave this door open. 

I do have several painting projects to work on but my primer had been MIA. I found it while installing the screen door (...) so I guess I'll have to get started on those soon. I am going to need some input on what color to paint some of the rooms, so ya'll better keep checking back to help me with that!

Not much new in the neighborhood

So the weather here has taken a turn back to being more "spring like" again and the cooler temps and rainy weather have kept me inside quite a bit the last few weeks. We're two months in here (already!?!?) and I feel like we've settled in and are comfortable just the way it is. The comfortableness has pushed the drive to work on that list of projects down to a trickle and getting up the motivation to paint, hang pictures and the like has nearly disappeared from me. It probably doesn't help that I am obsessed with "Get it Sold" on HGTV right now and I'm constantly thinking about the stripped down staged look, resale, and appealing to the masses. I know right....we just got here!

On the outside, I've got a mad urge to plant, plant, plant; but since I do not know what is already planted, I've had to put that on pause as well. It seems every time I scope out a location for a new plant or bulb area...a few days later something is sprouting out of the ground in that spot. It looks as though I am going to need to put planting on the back burner until later this spring, or stick to containers this year. Of all those new plants that keep budding and flowering, I've been particularly intrigued by this one:

After MUCH extensive internet research I finally figured out that it is a flowering quince....sort of. Actually it's a Chaenomeles (or so I'm fairly certain, just not sure about the specific species) which is related to a quince. The flowers are AMAZING! They are so bright and beautiful! Figuring out what this plant was also helped me determine just what those shriveled apple looking things were on the branches as well; last years fruit!

So while I have not been busy around the house, I have spent LOTS of hours on the Internet. I was very very excited to finally get an invitation to join the website Pinterest after "applying" for one several weeks ago. Have you heard of it??

What is Pinterest?

Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.
People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.
We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.

It is essentially what I initially envisioned  Tumblr to be like (when I first heard about it several years ago), but better...for me anyway. I follow so many blogs and see so many beautiful images on a daily basis that I love having this resource to "pin" those images, jot notes about them, and be able to easily reference them when ever I need to. It is less like blogging, and more like straight forward image collection and inspiration. Each image links back to it's original location making it easy to reference where it came from (another blog, online magazine or store) and also to properly note it's origin when blogging (very important!). Here are some images which I have "pinned":

Our sofa:

Source: roomstogo.com via Nico on Pinterest

Pillows from cb2 that I want! want! want!:

Source: cb2.com via Nico on Pinterest

Source: cb2.com via Nico on Pinterest

I have been using one of my "boards" to put together ideas for our living room.

If you spend any where near as much time as I do on the internet looking at pretty pictures, check out Pinterest and let me know if you'd like to join the community, I have several invitations to give out (how "gmail" like), just leave me a comment requesting one.  Coming soon is a blog about my other new found obsession...Instagram. Have a lovely afternoon!

Weekend Rummage and New Projects

We had absolutely gorgeous weather here in NC again this last weekend and I was happy to take full advantage of it! My darling neighbors helped me get my bike up and running again (they really are great!) and we were able to ride over to a couple of church rummage sales. I have posted HERE about the general thrift situation in my area and it seems, in general, fairly difficult to find cool old furniture; but this weekend I found SEVERAL very neat pieces. I certainly don't need to add any more projects to my "to-do" list, but I couldn't help filling a couple of spaces in the house that I didn't have the right pieces for yet. One of those spaces would be a work area for me. I had originally intended on sharing our current desk (located in the guest bedroom) with my husband, but was finding it difficult to work in a room with Northern exposure, when the front of the house has such amazing, sunny Southern exposure. So then I found this:

 

I love, love, love this little guy and think he's supremely perfect for a workspace for me out in the sun room.  The former owners had a desk in this spot and I've been thinking about putting one here ever since. That bright sunny window faces the front of the house so I can look up from the computer and look at the front gardens as a ponder what to write next. It is fairly small, but I am hoping that just prevents me from piling it high with "stuff". H thinks it looks like it belongs in a doll house. Check out all the detail in the craftsmanship:

The drawers were lined with charming vintage wallpaper:

 

I do have plans to paint it and think I might use some of the leftover paint samples from the old living room and go gray. 

Palette from Sherwin Williams ColorSnap App - You can totally tell the difference right?!?

And of course I'll be hitting up Hobby Lobby for some Anthro inspired knobs.

My other great find was this FANTASTIC dresser:

I had been using a credenza as a dresser but when I saw this, I just knew it would fit the space so much better. Our master is huge; and I'm not saying that to brag, but it really is gigantic given the age of the house. The former owners had a king size bed (on an angle and we all know how much dead space that creates! ) and two very large dressers. The problem with this is that our puny furniture just doesn't do the space justice. This new dresser is really deep and a lot taller than my credenza. I especially love the little drawers at the top which are perfect for jewelry and such. It fits in it's new home perfectly. H is a little jealous of it since he is using a boring IKEA dresser, but have no fear, for I shall continue to hunt for just the right piece for him too. My little mirror doesn't quite seem to match, but it is all I have for now.

We also found a DARLING table, but my neighbor decided to get that one. One of us had to get it because it has such fantastic bones and I didn't really know just where I could put it. I do not have a picture of it, but I found a picture of an identical one at Thrifty Decor Chick. "Ours" is still wood toned, and the top is in better shape, but I know it's the same one because the legs are identical.

All and all it was a pretty fun weekend of hunting and as always, I am looking forward to next weekends hunt as well! Where you able to get out and find any great things this weekend?

Bathroom One

One of the few rooms I've actually got a chance to "put my mark on", has been the guest bathroom. One of the reasons I picked this room was because it was painted with a flat paint, and condensation marks were visible. Using the paint I had leftover from the master bath at the old house, a semi gloss, I discovered why flat paint was a better idea in there. It was a lesson I should have learned long ago in design school, but semi glass shows all! and our 70 year old plaster walls are not in the greatest shape. 

Bathroom before. This nice neutral tan is the all around color. It's kind of like light chocolate milk.

Bathroom after. LOVE LOVE LOVE the brown 2"x2" glossy tiles on the floor. 

 

Just what is that fantastic color on the walls in there?? Why it's Sherwin Williams Breathless. I ADORE it!! It's a subtle lavender with more red than blue undertones. I first thought the name Breathless was beautiful and romantic for the color, but while I was painting it the first time I thought....this is the same color you would turn if you held your breath too long....Breathless, ha ha ha! I used the Sherwin Williams ColorSnap App to get this lovely little digital swatch. Depending on your monitor settings, Breathless may look more like the Mauve Finery color in real life.There's always lots to do around here...so until the next project....

Especially Thankful for 4 Day Weekends

Now that we are homeowners, I think we are extra thankful for 4 day weekends, especially when the weather is absolutely beautiful and the temps are hitting the upper 70's. It was perfect weather for lots of yard work, so yard work we did.
Our super awesome next door neighbors pulled in a huge favor and got us a borrowed pressure washer. We spent MUCH of the weekend freshening up the house, walks, decks, arbors, and lattice work. Personally, pressuring washing is only fun for the first....20 minutes, then...it gets pretty tedious. I think I've logged about 8 hours on that baby this weekend too. It is also not something for someone who is as anal-retentive as I am...I don't just want it to look clean, I want it to look NEW.

Here is H working on the front arbor

Yeah....the patio needed a good scrub

I've really been enjoying watching the plants come back to life. It has been especially exciting with a whole yard full of who-knows-what! 

 

My good looking Camellia. The other one is very yellow and the blossoms hardly open before browning and dying...any suggestions??

I don't want to get my hopes up...but this really looks like a lilac to me. I believe there is one hybrid that grows down here.

 

Don't know what these will be, but I love that they are green! 

I cheated...these are in the neighbors yard. Yeh SPRING!! 

 The hydrangeas leafing out. I LOVE hydrangeas and there are many plants.

\

Another unknown...These giant spiney bushes are covered with pink buds which are in groups. There is some sort of a fruit (???) hanging on from last year that looks like a shriveled apple. Any ideas what this might be? 

 

Another Midwestern thing...Pussy Willows!! I was SO EXCITED to see them. I've always loved them as a sign that spring has most certainly sprung. I feel like it's a Midwest thing because none of my Southern friends knew what they were; although maybe they just are not plant dorks like me. :) 

Hooray!!! I just love these fuzzy little guys! 

We also took advantage of this beautiful weather by having some people over for a BBQ. It's nice to have people over, because it really motivates me to get things unpacked, cleaned up and set up. Here are some pictures from how it looked: 

I set my Pier One chairs outside. These will continue to reside in the sunroom until the weather is a bit more consistent.

The gazebo has long since lost it's cover, but a $5 box of Christmas lights from an estate sale has helped dress it up. 

More seating, more lights. 

View from the patio, looking back towards the house (sunroom area). The giant fork (and knife) where paintings done (and left here) by the former owners. She was an artist, and I absolutely love these for their whimsy and for their colors. 

I haven't had a chance to use this little rolling cart in my house for quite awhile, so I was happy to have found a home for it, with some plants, out in the sunroom. I am still trying furniture arrangements on for size, so I'm not sure if this setup will stay or go. 

Other accomplishments for this 4 day weekend include (but are not limited to): 

• Getting juuuuuuuuust about everything wrapped up for final check out at the old place. (It will be sooooo nice not having to deal with any of that again for a while...or ever)
• Selling off a few un-needed items and recouping the cost of the oriental (inspired) rug a bought at an estate sale this weekend
• Said estate sale turned up the rug, box o' lights, white linen napkins, and some funky 'faux' tattoo hosiery (Etsy perhaps??)
• Cleaning out beside and behind the workshop and all around storage shed 
• Making an attempt to clean out the front pond 
• H's awesome lunch of ricotta, leek and bacon pizza; followed up with a steak dinner

WHEW! It looks like the weather will be "cooling off" again to more average temps so I am pretty happy with all we accomplished this weekend. For the next nice weekend we will be doing the touch up painting (post pressure wash) and hopefully cleaning up the brick mess (I was wrong in thinking it was a good idea to save the bricks from the old chimney...cause now I gotta clean them up!) What did you get done on this beautiful weekend!?

Flower Power

We were able to get into the new house just in time to throw a little Super Bowl party and since I love having fresh flowers in the house, I decided to do a little green and gold action. I bought a $20 mixed bouquet, pulled out the orange flowers and ended up with this:

After the Super Bowl, I wanted to do something a little bit springier and a little bit smaller, so I broke down this arrangement into two smaller arrangements and got this:

Aren't fresh flowers wonderful!? (Oh, don't worry, the orange flowers are in their own arrangement dressing up the bathroom :)

Official like REALLY offical!

We closed on Friday so now it's real...like REALLY REAL! No more renting, cause we are homeowners!! It had been pretty busy around here while the remaining repairs and upgrades were finished up, but all that has been taken care of now, we are completely moved in and loving it! I can't count the number of times H and I have said, "I love our house"!

Would you believe that this picture is already outdated?!? We've since had a new 30 year dimensional single roof put on. It's very pretty :)

I am really looking forward to posting all about our little projects here and there, but I think it will take me a bit longer to really get rolling as I finish up with a few loose ends here and there. So hang in there, cause good things are coming your way!