We all live in a yellow.....accented house

I think my kids would love to live in a yellow submarine.....me, not so much. :-)

I DO love yellow accents though--they make me feel so bright and cheery! And they are a nice change-of-pace from the green that I am addicted to....

{Cute little verse plaque from a friend}

{New plate from my MIL--I love it!}

{Fresh spring scent}

{Awesome new bowl for my birthday...it makes everything taste better!}

{Little bench I found at a thrift store last week.....my husband didn't understand the need. lol}

What is your favorite accent color?

Thanks for the help.....stranger

Found another great blog......bookmarking this baby!

I NEED {inspiration}, if I am gonna make this house look like I want!

What's your favorite blog to visit for decorating inspiration?

A window to my life

We are in.

There are no pictures hung on the walls yet. There are still boxes everywhere, waiting to be unpacked. And I am thinking that in light of my new life theme--"Simplify"--much of the content in those boxes will be taking a trip to the thrift store. Maybe Savers/Goodwill should make us a partner...I have made 4 trips there already. So we have a long way to go until we feel "at home". But we are making progress....

Next step: window treatments.

I have the fabric for the girls' curtains. I have the curtains for Elijah's room...just need to cut them off, so they will fit his oddly-shaped window. I have temporary curtains for our room (I hope to get some fun fabric for new ones someday!)

Now to figure out what to make for the sliding glass window..... I am stuck! I am still in the process of "re-inventing" my living room style, so I have no idea what to do for the window treatments. :-( Hopefully I will have time this weekend to look around.....

Aside from decorating "concerns" though, it is nice to finally be in our own place. It is fun for the kids to have bigger rooms and we are looking forward to having the open space (with its hiking trails) right next door.

What is the first decorating project you tackle when you move into a new place?

The possibilities are ENDLESS

We have not broadcast this fact, but we are in the process of purchasing a condo. We intended to rent the rest of our lives, thanks to our horrible prior experience with home ownership but...

...sometimes God opens doors that we don't expect!

So we are hoping to be home (condo) owners again by the end of the month and I am trying to keep my mind on the duties at hand, like homeschooling and babysitting and cooking and PACKING....but all I can think about is the fact that this will be my chance to
redecorate my house!

I have not had the money or the guts or the vision to redo anything in the last 3 years.
But I am ready for a change....
I am trying to simplify my life and I want new decor that matches that simplification. :-)
(Soulful Sayings--Etsy)

I found this site with some good links.....

And I am pretty sure that I will be using some ideas from this blog....

I will be shopping HERE when it opens in the fall (I think about it on a daily basis ;-)

And I will be adding pages to my *inspiration binder*....


Not to mention scanning all of my favorite blogs for ideas based on their decorating styles....basically, stalking blogs and intently staring at every picture. Don't be creeped out if you are one of those bloggers. ;-)

For today, I am just drooling over Restoration Hardware's site......this room is so relaxing!

Where do you go for decorating inspiration? Please share!

Slicing and dicing helps me think

I love getting decorating magazines--reading all of the ideas and tips and recipes. And then I...

...RIP 'EM APART.

You heard me....I rip out all of the pages with cool ideas and I stick them in a big fat binder. If I don't, I will never remember all of the concepts. You see, I am kinda creatively challenged, and I will never be able to replicate the ideas without seeing the pictures (and often, the step-by-step tutorials.)

As I was perusing last month's Better Homes and Gardens, I came across this article. I fell in love with so many decorations and ideas in her house! Plus she has an adorable family....then I visited her blog and loved her even more! Her style is more elaborate than mine, but her placement and use of "found objects" is near-and-dear to my heart.
So I will be adding Pure Style Home to my blog roll, and checking it often for inspiration.

What blogs do you use to gain decorating inspiration from?

You had me at *Mason jar*

I was glad to read that the Pioneer Woman and I have another thing in common. Too bad we don't share the common thread of being creative enough to run a stinkin' awesome blog. That is where I seem to stray away a bit........but anyways, back to the point of this post.

She hit the nail on the head with the afore-linked-to post.

I {ADORE} Mason jars.

Canning jars, glass jars, whatever you wanna call them.....I think they are so great. I even went so far as to steal some cool star ones from my own mother's house. Shhhh. She doesn't read this blog, so its our little secret. And they look fabulous, sitting around my house with stuff in them. Much more useful than sitting on her pantry shelf, collecting dust, right??!!

Now if I could get around to using some for their original purpose.......I just might fill them with applesauce this weekend......

The simple things make me happy.....

If you happen to have some free time on February 21st, you may want to check out
this class at Pottery Barn Kids. Two of my favorite words are involved:

FREE and DECORATING.

(My other favorite words are "food" and "coffee". :-)


And make sure you register for this class--it fills up fast!


Unfortunately I cannot attend.....I will be hosting a party for TEN 1st & 2nd grade girls.

I think I'm in love.........

Ah, my heart just warms every time I see it.

There are so many things about it that make me happy.....I can learn something new about it every time I connect with it.

And it makes me feel like I am coming home whenever I look at it.

I have found another love interest.

It is this blog....and the website connected with it.

Not only are all of the pictures fabulous but the ideas are fun and inspiring, and the products are to-die-for!

And it was so cool when I realized that it is based out of Spokane, WA, where I spent many precious moments of my young life--my great-grandmother lived there, and my grandparents grew up in the town. So some of the pictures on the website are very familar.....

And if any of you needed ideas for my Christmas present, this site is a good place to start. :-)

Have fun checking it out and being warmed from the inside!

Just like a day at the beach!

Our master bathroom has a "summer beach" theme. I wanted to incorporate some family pictures on the wall, but a slight lack of funds put a halt on the decorating for awhile.

I was getting a little antsy though.

So I searched through all of my decorating notebooks and pictures, and dredged up a frugal idea from my college era.

You see, my roomate and I back then were also lacking in decorating funds. But lucky for me, my roommate was a decorating genius and she came up with some fabulous ideas. Ideas that required little or no money and involved found objects around the house.

(Seriously, I think she could replace Evan Farmer on this show.)

Anyways....I recalled her using some garden twine, a few nails, and some clothespins found on our neighbor's clothesline in the back yard. She added in some cool black & white postcards, and poof!!!! Instant wall decor (and very shabby~chic to boot!)

So, I ran to Target and Lowe's for some twine and silver hooks.....spending a whopping total of $3.27.......then came home and ordered some prints through Snapfish (always via Ebates, of course!), and paid NOTHING because I had 50 free print credits. Woo-hoo!


And now we have a fun beach-y bathroom! (Now if I could only convince my hubby to paint the rental walls even though it means having to paint it back in a year when we move.......)

Any ideas on coercing him? :-)