Katie + Carla

First of all, have you seen Katie Bower’s office reveal? It’s the bee’s knees, so check it out! And you should add her blog to your reader because she’s honest and snarky and creative! The perfect combination, if you ask me.

And while I’m touting bloggers, let me add one more- Color Me Carla. I think I first found her blog after seeing (and falling in love with) their house tour on Design Sponge and realized they hail from the same city as I do. And just recently, they moved into what sounds like an amazing house a little further out in the country (in the same city as my parents!) and I am just dying to see what she does with it. Her mood boards are the bomb.com, too, so go on and take a look.  She’s got the snark-factor too!

sunday craft time.

First and foremost- I taped up our newspaper photo! It fits well in the space and it’s fun to look at. Bry and I smooching on the front page of the saturday paper- who knew?

and, I might as well give a little shout out to my favorite tiny gray ikat bowl. How cute is that?

But, back to the topic at hand: sunday craft time.

Here’s the situation:

When we first moved into our house, I thought that I might paint the office/closet a grayish blue color. Turned out it was much too blue and not at all gray, so my test swatch just sat on the wall next to the window. For TWO AND A HALF YEARS! I’m not sure how it lasted- things like that usually bug the bejesus out of me, but I guess I just looked past it? Who knews.

But last Sunday, the time finally came to take action. I was putzing around in the basement and I came across this random “doodle” book that I got for under $5 on mega-sale at Anthropologie over the holidays. It’s essentially an adult coloring book full of fun paper. Some of the pages are more prone to doodling than others (empty printed frames, etc), but some were simply fun, patterned paper.

So I did what any restless young adult would do, and turned some of those fun patterned pages into an impromptu strip of wallpaper! It was so easy- I simply cut my favorites to the same width, taped them all together in a big strip, and then very lightly stuck it to the wall.

It’s not my favorite project of all time, and don’t get me started on that chair, but as a temporary fix for a room that is in dire need of an entire paint job, it’s fun.

My next project for this room is to pain that ugly orange-tinted file cabinet a bright white, and I also really want to replace the chair. A simple black one would look much better.

For now, it’s a bit of a case of pattern overdose!

Awww shucks, who cares. Patterns are fun. And that’s the joy of owning a home- you can  tweak and turn and twist and experiment as you wish!

Speaking of experimenting, I’ve been seeing a lot of layered rugs lately. I gave it a try in our living room but again decided it was just too much for the space.

So again, that beauty-of-a-printed-rug is sitting sad in our basement.

Someday it will find it’s glory! I just need to be careful in our smaller house, as too much quickly becomes TOO MUCH.

I also tried it with the black and white rug I have, but again- too much. The rug graveyard in the basement is piling up!

And here’s one final sunday craft time creation- a basic birthday card for J!

Happy Friday!

Color Me Thirty.

When I got married I used the wedding as an excuse to get my craft on. I’ve done little things here and there since then, but nothing quite like the next project at hand: COLOR ME THIRTY!
Talk about the perfect opportunity to get together with friends, whip up some delicious food and cocktails, throw on that party dress and celebrate. It’s not until May 19th, but there is never too much time to prepare the party, people.

The evite reads:

Then I blinked, and I was turning 30. 

We’ve heard it before: “birthdays aren’t about the number of years.” They are about celebrating growth & new experiences. 

Sure, sure. 

But they are about numbers too. And this is a big one.
30. 30. 30! 
A full-fledged adult! Oh my. 

Numbers or not, it certainly calls for a party. And as all you veterans know, it will be a THEME party. It’s been too long, and we will never outgrow them. 

I thought and I thought, and the one thing that kept crossing my mind was COLOR. Lots of color. Why? Because YOU ALL bring so much color to my life. At 30, it’s more colorful than ever, so let’s celebrate that. Rich and vibrant and lively! 

Wear your favorite brights. Neon, color-blocking, or just a really colorful collection of random colors from head-to-toe. A multi-hued masterpiece.

We’ll serve colorful snacks, bright cocktails, and try not to give you a headache with the kaleidescoped décor. Check out that color wheel and get ready for pantone-mania. 

As always, feel free to bring a friend or a significant other, or perhaps someone who is really colorful and will feel right at home around us. And please bring a drink or snack to share if you so desire. Come for a bit or stay for the night- we’re flexible and casual!

Be there, be bright, and be ready to rock.

 

And here are some images from my birthday board. I have to be careful not to overdo it, but this could be fun.

 

P.S.- Don’t get me started on how I feel about turning 30- that’s a post (or seven) in itself.

Sunday Craft Time.

Not my favorite creation of all time, but simple and fun!

Sunday Craft Time.

This was the easiest project ever- made with items found around the house.

And yes, I’m mad for washi. My collection below is from Mari Mi and leftover from our wedding gift bags, but there are so many other fun colors and patterns out there. Would be the perfect birthday gift for me. . .hint, hint:)!

I love doing stuff like this. Reminds me of when I lived alone and would lose track of time crafting into the night. Not that I want those days back, but times have certainly changed! (and I don’t even have kids yet. I can’t even imagine how things will change when that happens:)

And, more washi!

Simple Crafting.

What a fun and simple project with fabric pens! You could easily do it on a canvas or even a pillow. I like, I like lots.

1. Supplies Needed: Fabric Markers (I used a medium tip), Tape and a cloth surface (I used a fabric covered journal) 2. Tape a geometric shape on your surface. You can do sometime simple, like I did, or something more personal like a monogram. 3. Fill the inside of your shape with lines. I used a cross hatching technique and kept my spacing pretty consistent, but not perfect. 4. Remove tape to reveal beautiful clean lines! 

From the talented Elsie of A Beautiful Mess. I like this project too. And be sure to check out all her outfits- so funk.

Rooms I love.

Do you see this kitchen? How about those wooden shelves built into the brick column? And how about that waterfall marble countertop or the planked ceiling? Amazing.

This window. Speaks for itself, I’d say.

What a dreamy master bedroom. I love the ceiling beams, the massive headboard and big windows, and that rug.

and here’s a similar rug, used in a family room. Love that couch too- caramel leather, come to me!

Mismatched chairs? I’m smitten.

I must have a thing for beams. Rustic beams, even better. Beaming rustic beams!

And what about this warm little setting? Note the table! And the lamp base! and the nailhead chair!

I’d eat my bowl of cereal here.

and store my clothes here.

The island light fixture!

And there’s that rug again. . .

Is that enough for now? I’ll leave you with some color,

and beams of course!

All images (and sources) from my Pinterest page:)

So many sources.

There are SO many sources out there for home decorating inspiration (at times it’s rather overwhelming, I’d say!). But why not add another? I’m sure you all know about Pinterest and Design Sponge and all the amazing home decorating blogs out there, but did you know about the online magazines available?

My favorite: Janell from Isabella and Max Rooms started an online mag last year called House Of Fifty.  She is such a strong voice in the home blogging community and obviously knows how to curate (and create) a collection of awesome home inspiration. House of Fifty is a beautiful collaboration from some seriously talented designers. And they just launched a House Of Fifty App so you can read on your ipad!  Take the time to click the mag and read through it- you won’t be disappointed.

Now if I could just find a way to make more money, work less in the office, and flip houses in all my spare time with all my spare money:)

Be your best, yo.

I made this for my new desk at work. It’s a reminder to stay true to yourself, but also to be your very best. Seems simple enough, right? Be you, but be the BEST YOU. Don’t compare yourself to others, don’t wish you were someone else. Be comfortable in your skin, but don’t settle with yourself. ROCK yourself!

I also decided that one of the most notable differences between an artist and a weekend crafter is the use of mod podge. Artists likely don’t depend on mod podge, whereas weekend crafters live for it.

 

I like to think of it as a very respectable medium, and therefore I am definitely not an artist.  But I am the very best version of a weekend crafter that I can be!

Headboarded.

I thought I would take some time to document my adventures in upholstered headboarding. I’m not going to walk you through all the details since there are oodles of tutorials online already, but some photos and stories of my steps should be good and fine.

As you may remember, we have some funny little windows above our bed that go out to the sunroom. I’ve heard that they were initially put there to help with airflow in the early days- our house was built in the 1920s and obviously there wasn’t AC back then (I wouldn’t last- even in MN!). Alas, the windows are a cute little feature and I will admit that when it is open-window season, they do help with airflow in the room.

However, having these windows as a focal point on the wall always kind of stumped me with the question of whether or not we needed a headboard. Would it be too much?

We proceeded just fine without one, but then one day I decided that an upholstered headboard would be just right- it could add some softness to the wall and some “coziness” to our bed. And with freshly painted bedside tables, I thought a simple headboard would only add to the bedroom progression!

First, the color scheme. Check this out:

The headboard would be made of the patterned henna-ish fabric above, which is actually a clearance curtain panel from trusty Target. I paid $14 for it, and as you can see below, it was the 84 inch length. Not bad, not bad.

I also picked up a twin size mattress pad and some quilt batting (I think that’s what it is called) from Joanne Fabric, and super-fabulous husband Bry helped me get the right size and weight of wood at Home Depot. With my staple gun and some spray adhesive, I knew it was time to get started. 

Please take note of Tilly- she is seriously ALWAYS by my side when I am doing random projects. Love that dog so much.

I cut the mattress pad down so it fit perfectly over the wood, but left some edge with the batting so I could wrap it around the wood and keep the edges soft. I did my best to center the pattern, and just wrapped and pulled and stapled until the fabric was good and secure and centered. I was going to try to add some tufts or nailheads, but realized with such a busy pattern, it would be better to keep things simple. So I used some scrap wood to build a bit of a frame, which I also covered in the same fabric. You can see that detail here:

We decided to adhere it to the wall since we don’t have a rug in our room right now and the bed is pretty easy to move around. So we used a simple hinged system from the hardware store- it is made for things like this and what I liked best is that the headboard will lay flat against the wall.

And then, EEEEEEK! The fun part- seeing it on the wall with the bed. I was a little worried I wouldn’t like it, but I did, I did. Now if I could only remember to take off those cheap little roller blinds.

And now came the fun part- styling it. I still haven’t come up with my favorite combo, and truthfully, most days it’s a pile of mismatched pillowcases on our normal pillows, and all the cute throw pillows are on the floor. But sometimes, every once in awhile, I make it up nice and it definitely makes me smile.

Which combo below do you like best?

Sick of seeing all the different options yet? Me too.

Finally, let’s hope that I can someday make a decision about lamps. I would love a simple wall sconce (with a bending arm?) on each side. But that requires some electrical work. Would it be worth it? I’m hesitant, only because I think at some point we might have to do this with the wall and then the sconces would have to go. We’ll see. And perhaps some art of each side as well? We also really need a rug, especially as the weather finally gets colder. Oh, and a new light fixture! But we are making progress, slowly but surely. That’s the beauty of owning a house- there really is no rush and you can continually tweak and change things as you wish. Such fun.

Happiest holidays!

What card did we go with? Happiest Holidays! i loved the font, the one-photo design and the simplicity. I chose a photo of Bry and I on the red bridge because I thought it tied in nicely with the red letters. I was also able to place some photos on the back, along with a quick message.

My mom has done a good job of keeping copies of all the christmas cards from our childhood- let’s hope I am able to do the same. One down, oodles and oodles (hopefully!) to go.

In other news, I wore my hair in a bun yesterday. What is it about buns that are so fun? Who knows. But bun fun was had, and here is what I got when I tried to get a photo of it.

OH, and our 36 hours book arrived yesterday (that Amazon, so fast). It’s bigger and more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I can’t wait to slowly peruse the pages.

My favorite parts are the different colored ribbons separating each section.

And in eating news, I finally made some Christmas cookies- peanut butter blossoms and chocolate crinkles to be exact.

Lots of them.

I even used this, and loved it (I couldn’t stop petting it!).

And this was my “helper,” aka crumb patrol. Bry took this photo to show where Tilly was camped the entire time I was in the kitchen. I almost stepped on her numerous times. And no, that bump on my belly is not a baby bump, it’s a cookie/holiday snacks/cocktail-baby-bump. Aaargh: I did such a good job eating well and exercising this summer, and then post-wedding: BAM!: zero motivation and zero control. But as I like to say, come the new year, there’s a new sheriff in town. Watch out.

OH, and our cute little neighbor boy delivered some bread bowls (my favorite!) and broccoli cheese soup that we ordered a couple weeks ago- I can’t even remember what the sale/fundraiser was for, but the soup was delicious. You bet we devoured every last bite. . . only to discover afterwards that the bread bowls alone were 550 calories each! Goodness. This new sheriff better get to town STAT.

And I better focus more on eating our CSA veggies (beets, rutebaga, turnips, brussel sprouts, spinach and more) instead of cookies and bread bowls!

Last but not least, my first upholstered headboard is complete and affixed and looking fantastic. It’s not perfect, but it turned out A-OK. The process deserves a full post, so I’ll only share a photo of the finished product now (how’s that for anticipation?).

Please tell me now- do you think it looks crooked? Affixing that thing to the wall was a beast (and I didn’t even do much of the work), but I think it might be leaning a teensy bit to the right. We’ll live with it though.

I still want new lamps (wall sconces?) and a rug for the room, but it’s slowly coming together and looking more and more “put together, but in a fun way.”

Christmas is in four days! How did that happen?

Color!

I’m a mediocre color user- I have splashes of it in my wardrobe and in my decor, find it appealing when used appropriately, and am certainly drawn to it. Especially since the weather here in MPLS has been so drab and gray the past couple of days!

So, here is a round up of fun, and COLORFUL, stuff.

1. These puppies are made in the US (Maine) and you can customize the colors on your own pair (including up to 8 characters of embroidery).  They are shipped within 4-8 business days and cost $114.95. Not bad, not bad!

2. DIY directions for the blocks are in the book State of Craft and on etsy (one word of caution: these blocks are NOT intended for children). Do you make handmade ornaments each year?

3. Colorful child’s room: from Hus & Hem. So whimsical and fun, and I particularly like that giant bow above the bed.

4. Kind of an obnoxious yellow sweater that I certainly would not look good in (I swear that color yellow only accentuates the red in my skin and I look like a sunned lobster!), but love it on some people. Here, Kendie rocks it.

5. LOVE this pom pom garland over driftwood from Bridget. So fun, and can be used as decor all year long.

6. Colorful, knitted poufs from CB2- I have always thought these would be fun as an ottoman in a nursery.

7. Speaking of nurseries, Lay Baby Lay has the best sources and mood boards- I love this “Cherry Lemonade” one- especially the gray crib and FABULOUS print!

8. Vintage colorful sweater (Levi Strauss!) via ModCloth. Fun-ness.

9. Jeffrey Campbell suede booties- oh my.

10. And last but not least, glitter nails (so not me, but fun).

And finally (duh!), the J.Crew catalog. Check this out.

Holidays ’round here.

This weekend, we realized it was high-time we holidize the house!

To sustain us, however, I first took some of our CSA squash, parsnips and funny-looking carrots,

and made this (I chose this recipe because it didn’t have any of the heavy cream that a lot of the other squash/carrot recipes that I looked at included. We have been eating out, having dessert, drinking wine and cocktails and hot cider, and thus, it seems that I have found some of the weight that I previously lost. I’m all about enjoying the holidays and the fun treats and festivities that come along, but it doesn’t have to be every eating occasion of every single day. And besides, this soup has crumbled bacon on top- that makes it delicious!):

Seriously delicious, especially with red wine and a green salad and warm baguette. MMMMmmm.

But back to the holidizing. First came the tree. We usually get a frasier fir, but they are seriously expensive. And since we have been spending a lot of money already this holiday season (TILLY. EATING OUT. CHRISTMAS CARDS. BATHROOM RENO), we didn’t splurge. And I was confident I could make this one cute. And it smells delicious.

I added some plaid ribbon from Joanne this year, and we doubled our lights. Bryan insists on the big colored bulbs, and strangely enough, they have grown on me. I love the kitschy funkyness of it. The skirt is actually an old tablecloth that we found at Arc Value Village.

And two of my favorite ornaments:

Woodsy owl,

and sock monkey from our Hawaii honeymoon:

Since we don’t have a fireplace, I again used our piano windows as a bit of a “mantle.” My homemade garland is still going strong, as are the thrift store stockings and knick knacks.

I also have a “twig and berries” arrangement on the TV console,

with some candles below,

and a simple centerpiece on the dining room table:

Santa can be found on the buffet,

and sitting simply on the shelf.

Outside, the windowbox is full of spruce tips, random sprigs of holiday-esque greens, and tree trimming from the free bucket at home depot:)

With the tree lights on, candles lit, and soup on the stove, I’d say the house has been successfully holidized!

Yarn Letters.

I so want to do this- so simple and so cute! 

I should do it with our wedding letters:

Courtesy of the amazing Jen Loves Kev.

Bedside Progression.

Up until this past weekend, we had some lovely blonde birch-ish bedside tables, which were actually part of Bryan’s old bedroom set, which previously belonged to his grandmother. It’s a nice mid-century set, but the color of the wood was a little different than the rest of wood in our house (which is primarily white or a deep oak). So I set out to paint them.

The last time you saw them they looked like this,

And now, the same view looks more like this (photos courtesy of my phone and thus not the best quality):

So much better.

It took numerous coats and plenty of patience, but totally worth it.

I’ll update you on the revamped bedding,  tentative lamps, and my first shot at a homemade tufted headboard as soon as possible.  Today, just some photos.

And a gratuitous pic of Tilly resting her head on the striped pillowcase, because it’s so darn cute.