The Search is Over! Found my Coffee Table!

Like many other pieces in our home, I wanted our coffee table to be special. It had to be the right size, the right color, it couldn't be wood, I preferred it to be vintage.

With requirements like that I knew it would take time. I'm sure many of you check craigslist on the daily like I do. The two things I look for are coffee tables and mid century credenzas.

The other day I found a real contender. The price was right and it had a unique look. I went to view it and am now the proud owner of a vintage coffee table!

One thing about vintage coffee tables is they are EXTREMELY short.

Scott is going to build something to raise ours up. In the meantime we are using these risers.

It's ghetto fabulous.

We can still enjoy it until that happens!

Look at the pretty burled wood. LOOK AT IT!

The plan is to build another box underneath the bottom one and cover it in brass sheet metal.

I think it will be quite nice.

I've already eaten dinner on it and enjoyed it thoroughly. It's super easy to clean, which was a must for us.

In other news, the bathroom is coming along nicely. Scott was supposed to start tiling today but they were out of subway tile. WTF!

It already looks so much bigger with the ceiling raised. I can't wait to see how much bigger it looks when we take the other fur-downs out!

Happy Monday Lovers!

Art Wall is Up!

I actually did a project this weekend people! Motivation is back!

I got all of my art hung. It was sitting on the floor gathering dog hair for so long. But now it's up! I also completed my paint chip art. That's two projects, look at me go!

I still have plenty of room to hang more pieces once I have them. I didn't really plan out the arrangement because I have a secret weapon.

My mother in law got this for me. It's the best tool that I never knew existed that I now can't live without. You hang the art on this little hook. It even has levelers on it.

Once you have it in place you press this little piece and a pokey thing (technical term there) marks the spot on the wall for your nail. It's awesome!

This is my new piece of art made from paint chips.

                                                                           Source: mintlovesocialclub.com via Brandi on Pinterest

This was the inspiration for it.

I made this little arrangement as well. (does that count as a third project? woah...)

I had my dining room photographed by a pro. More on why later.

I finally have a complete set of wine glasses. I've had my eye on these forever. Aren't they gorgeous?

What did you do this weekend?

Thrifty Tuesday

How about a little thrifting to get you through this tuesday? It's pretty overcast here in Dallas but nothing some vintage treasures can't cure right? Right!

I went to my favorite Canton Flea Market last weekend with my two moms (mom and MIL) and Sarah and her lovely family even met up with us for a bit! I get giddy to show people my favorite things and I knew Sarah would love this flea market so I was so happy to show it to her!

I picked up these two frames for $15. Sorry this dark picture doesn't show them off better. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like they're never at home during daylight hours, sigh. Anyhoo, they have an ivory frame with a light pink accent. I'm brainstorming right now what to paint for them.

Not sure if anyone else has ever noticed but vintage wastebaskets are not only hard to find and even when you do find one they are $$$! I was so happy to spot this one for $15. The flowers are in perfect condition too!

And my favorite find of the day (possibly the year?!)...

A bamboo dresser for only $40!!! Yes people, you can be jealous :). I have 3 dressers in my house already so Sarah actually had to convince me to buy it and I'm so glad she did! It's in great condition. All it needs is some new handles and some high gloss paint. Can you beleive someone put those blue plastic handles on there?! Yikes! It's hanging out in my parents barn for now while I'm dreaming away about how I will paint it. Inky blue with gold? Jade Green? Ice blue? So little time...

I also wanted to share this charcoal drawing I did for my cousin's wedding shower. I was afraid she might not like it but it was a hit! That makes me so happy! It's supposed to look like her dress by Maggie Sottero. I really like the way it looks in this black frame with black matting. I got the frame from Michael's for only $23. I think I will have to go back and get more for my own artwork!

And in other big news, I think I finally found a couch! I was shopping at one of my favorite places, High Fashion Home, last weekend and spotted this beauty...

Isn't she a beauty? Sorry for the awful phone pic. The cushions are down-filled and sooo comfortable covered in a thick gray linen blend, I believe. The nail head accents are the bees knees too. The price isn't as high as you'd think too! Luckily, our tax return is coming soon and we'll be getting it!

The magic continued when I found this perfect suzani fabric for the wing chairs I purchased off craigslist. I will be saving up to buy this in the near future!

Such a successful weekend if i do say so myself! How was yours? any good finds lately?

Starting the Year Off Right!

I hit the ground running the first weekend of this brand spankin New Year! I don't have pictures but I sanded and primed 4 dining chairs + a bench from our bedroom. I wanted to get some actual paint on them but it was so cold in our garage! I've vowed to get a few coats on them this weekend for sure.

A project I'm excited to show you is some very inexpensive and easy artwork I put together. I was very inspired by this post a few weeks ago over at Little Green Notebook. She featured some marble paper framed as artwork. It was so beautiful and at only $14.50 shipped I was sold. Unfortunately, so were a lot of other people because it was sold out, sads. A few days later I checked again and they had only one in stock. It was mine!

When I unrolled the paper, it took my breath away.

These pictures simply do not do it justice. The colors are so vibrant with flecks of gold. All beautifully swirled together in such a unique way. I hated to cut the sheet in half to frame it! But I had a plan and I was determined to complete it.

I got some simple Ribba frames from Ikea for $15 each. They came with matting which I fully planned on using. But in the end I just couldn't cover up even more of this gorgeous paper.

I'm very happy with it! The colors are going to look great with my master bedroom scheme I have in mind. Once I get these walls painted they will pop even more. For a total of $45 this can't be beat!

I was gifted this amazing light from my in-laws for Christmas. MIL reads my blog and knew that I wanted this (hey Kaye!). I had planned to hang it in my hallway but once I saw it I knew it was meant for bigger things, like the entry way.

It was kind of a bitch to hang with the ceiling medallion but we made it work and we BOTH actually love it. It's so great when I do something and my husband not only notices, but actually likes it!

 

It makes a really pretty pattern on the walls when it's lit.

I haven't made any resolutions this year really. One thing I did think to change was to force myself to relax more. I know a lot of us fill our weekends up with various projects and other fun things, and I do too. But lately I've been feeling a little overloaded. So I decided that each and every weekend I will force myself to watch a movie. This will INSIST that I relax for at least 2 solid hours on the couch each weekend. So I guess that's technically my resolution.

How was the start to your New Year? Make any resolutions?

Weekend Happenings

Yay! Monday is over! Wasn't last weekend lovely? The weather was so beautiful and good times were had. Saturday I met my mom at my monthly flea market Canton. It was the busiest I've ever seen it! There were also more vendors than I've ever seen. I guess it was because of the weather.

Remember last weekend when I said I was working on a project in the yard? Well Sunday we finished and I'm so excited to show you!

This is our yard before. It needs to be cleaned and spruced up big time!

Here it is all cleaned up and improved with a tree! It's a pretty tall Red Oak tree which should turn beautiful colors in the fall. I also planted a few plum mums and other shrubbery on clearance at Lowe's. Who knows if they'll make it but I fertilized them to the best of my abilities at least.

Did you know Fall is the best time to plant a tree and fertilize your lawn? The fall rains help them to grow strong roots all Winter long and in Spring they spring to life! I surrounded my new little flower bed with rocks I stole acquired from the Texas countryside. I almost had enough to circle the whole thing. In Spring I'm going to install a little pond on the other side of the flowers. See that huge pile of bricks in the back? I pulled them all out of the back flower bed under the trees, and that's not even all of them! I guess the old owners liked to just throw random bricks back there. I found all differents kinds of bricks too, quite strange!

I also picked up some great goodies at Canton of course!

This little wooden bucket for $15. I didn't find any good plants to put it in so I just stuck my aloe plant in it, doesn't quite fit though haha!

Looks cute with my pot from Anthropologie!

I'm newly obsessed with pink depression glass. The light hue of pink is so lovely. This tray had so many sections for chopped veggies and such but I thought it would be perfect to organize some of my jewelry, only $25!

Picked up this brass tray and canister with Mother of Pearl inlay for only $13 on my DC shopping trip with my new BFFs Eddie and Jaithan!

Ahhh, good times! I also bought some fudge but I think we all know where that went!

How was your weekend?

I Put the Pro in Progress

So much was done around the house this weekend it was unbelievable! I don't have pictures of the bathroom just yet. We did accomplish everything that we set out to do though. And that is always a good feeling! Here are a few pictures just for your reference.

Here is the before-before, what the bathroom look liked when we bought it.

This even after we sanded down the super textured walls...

Then the "before-after", what I've been living with so far...

Looking at the above photo we have removed the outer walls of the shower. Taken out all the tile and shower pan, the old tub (not visible) and removed the fur downs above both sink areas. We re-framed and sheet rocked everything back to normal with electrical. I ordered new vanity lights and they are on their way. I promise to take a snap after they are up!

So while my husband and father slaved away in the hot attic and worked tirelessly I tried to make myself useful. I helped to clean and haul away boards and such but other than that I was just in the way. So I decided to tackle a few long awaited projects of my own!

I painted swatches of gray in the living room...

I'm pretty sure (80%?) the one on the far left in both photos is "the one". It is Nimbus Cloud by Martha Stewart.

I also sanded and primed two dining chairs. It has been so hot I can't motivate myself to tackle this project. We had a nice afternoon shower friday so after that it was perfect outside. I'm taking my time anyways to save up the money for professional upholstery.

I also finally hung my art wall! I am most excited about this! It makes my little desk nook so cute. I have been collecting these things for about a year. As they say the waiting is the hardest part. I love how it looks though and I have plenty of space to add more!

With this type of art wall I didn't feel the need to measure. I measured the width of the wall just to get an idea of the space I needed to fill up. Then I laid it all out the floor, rearranged to my liking and started hammering. I did move one or two things a bit but no biggie.

The blue school clock is my favorite, it is from an antique store by Scott's parents lakehouse, as is the small blue butterfly print. The "S" and "B" and empty green frame are from Anthropologie and were a gift from Scott. The thin green and gold frame on the bottom was a gift from my mother in law. I cut a piece of cork and glued it in there, it will be perfect for tacking up post-its and business cards. All other items are from my various thrifting excursions.

I hope you had a good weekend too!