weekend fun and more progress

this weekend my best friend stephanie and her boyfriend zach came into town for a visit.  before they came into town though, billy and i were working hard to try to get our guest bedroom somewhat put back together.  {working full-time doesn’t leave much time for getting my own personal projects completed.  that’s why our guest room has taken over a month and a half to complete so far.}  we started trying to install the crown moulding weekend before last but ran into a slight complication.  it seemed like a pretty simple task.  weekend before last i went out and bought the piece of crown moulding that we needed.  i measured, marked and billy and i cut.  i found out while trying to install it that i marked my angles and cut them while the crown was upside down.  when we went to fit it up on the ceiling it was too long and too short in the wrong places.  by the time we figured out that i had marked the wood wrong it was too late on sunday evening to start everything over.  so, the project went unfinished for yet another week. 

saturday morning was mine and billy’s last chance to get the crown moulding installed before steph and zach got into town.  we made sure that i had the angles correct this time.  we measured, marked and cut again.  when it came time for the install all was going well…that is until the guest bed that i was standing on BROKE!!!!!  i guess all of the moving we did to my grandmother’s antique bed wasn’t too good for the railing because it literally broke in to.  having a functional guest bed in our bedroom for our guests was much more important than getting the crown moulding up.  luckily we had an extra bed frame in our storage unit so we were able to disassemble the broken bed and assemble the new one.   unfortunately the crown had to wait once again.

once stephanie and zach got here we had a fun day of running around atlanta.  they had never toured the sweetwater brewery so we took them down there to taste some good beer and go on the tour.  it was so great to visit and catch up with them.  they had tickets to a concert last night so billy and i took it easy while they went to their concert.  today we all had brunch, and then billy and i got back to work on the guest room. 

i am happy to say that the after 2 long weeks of trying to get the crown moulding installed it is finally up!!  now i have a little caulking to do to finish it up.  well actually lots of caulking to do, but i’m just really happy that i’m one step closer to getting the guest room finished.

i promise that i’m going to post pictures as soon as it’s all complete.  i’ll also give a girl’s tutorial on how to install crown moulding.

how was your weekend?  anything exciting happen?

LiveJournal Tags: guest bedroom furniture,guest bedroom

Having nothing at all...

*photo credit: Google Images

What would you do if you literally had nothing but the one person you loved?

This happened to my sister's friend, Claudia, just this week.

Her apartment building burned down, taking with it everything she owned, everything that brought her comfort. Praise God she escaped with her and her son's life, but the rest is gone.

This got me praying. This got me thinking. This got me feeling a tremendous amount of guilt. Here Southern Hubby and I are searching for a 3500+ square foot home when we don't even fill our current 2700 square foot home.

Do we really need it all? Does Southern Hubby really need that media room? Will I literally find no joy in life if I don't get those wood floors, or that granite topped kitchen island? Here is a single mother with nothing and I'm worried about wood beams on my ceilings. How incredibly selfish does that sound? It's quite embarrassing, really.

We will probably move forward with the move. Because, quite honestly, we're weak. We're selfish. I find unwarranted joy in 'things'. Things that I don't need. Things that won't last. Things that shouldn't make me happy, but do. In this past year, I'm finally coming to terms with my selfishness. My need to hoard pretty, expensive, lovely things. And I'm working on it. I don't think I'll ever stop loving things. With God's help, I want to depend less and less on them for my happiness. I think that is the first step.

If you're feeling even an inkling of this, I wholeheartedly recommend reading Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. It will immediately change your way of thinking- make you question your way of life. He challenges you to live the way Jesus would.

PS- Please keep sweet Layla Grace in your prayers. This beautiful two year old, who is suffering from Stage 4 cancer is in her last few days of life. Please pray for a pain free and peaceful return home.

xoxo

loving…

1.  this ikat rug from william-sonoma home.  so pretty.

2.  this cool wood-grain tool.  now you can i can faux bois whatever my little heart desires.  i saw this tool here and you can purchase it here.

3.  this blog called isabella & max rooms.  i stumbled across it earlier this week and can’t get enough.  there are wonderful pictures and plenty of great diy tips.  i’m loving her ongoing tutorial on how to make window treatment panels.  if only i had a sewing machine.  in my guest room i’ve been making my own but i’ve been cheating and using the no sew method.

4.  this mushroom wreath, new at crate and barrel. 

5.  this playful hopscotch rug from cb2.  how cute would this be in a kid’s room.

i’ve been in houston all week installing a model home.  it was a fun time but i’m ready to get home.  i’m heading home this morning and looking forward to the weekend and seeing my best friend.  she’s coming into town for a visit.  i’ve got a lot to do before she comes though.  hopefully my plane doesn’t get delayed. 

have a great one!

LiveJournal Tags: loving...,william-sonoma home,faux bois,blogs,crate & barrel,cb2

Spilling the Beans

I've decided about whether or not to mention this on my blog just because we weren't 100% sure but I think we're getting there.

Southern Hubby and I are moving.

This may not be earth-shattering to you but it is to me. I hate moving. Like loathe it. Packing my clothes, wrapping each individual plate and wine glass, moving our beds. Ugh. It's just too much.

But right now, with the lower interest rates and such, Southern Hubby thinks it is a most opportune time to add square footage and some little house 'treats' we don't really need, but would like. You see, this house will be the one we keep for a long time. We're thinking 15 years or so. (Did you know the average American family moves every five years? And did you know that in August it will be five years since we built and moved in our house? We're so typical, huh?)


So, I told him that it has to have certain things for me to be happy. I'm not going to move just because. We then proceeded to make a list of things we'd both like in our house...things that are non-negotiable.



Mine were...

1. Exposed wood beams

2. a kitchen island

3. custom built ins/architectural niches

 4. hand scraped wood floors

Then we made a list of things I'd love to have but are not required... but I'll get to those in the next post. Let me show you the one thing Southern Hubby needed/wanted/had to have. Period.

Men... hmmph!

xoxo

one kings lane and a special offer just for you

most of you who frequent the blog world have probably heard of one kings lane before.  we’ve mentioned them quite a few times because they are pretty awesome.  if you haven’t come across “okl” on a blog or found them some other way then you really should go and check them out.  onekingslane.com is like a private shopping club and they sell some of the best home products on their site at amazingly discounted prices.  here’s the trick though the quantities are limited and you only have a short window to buy them in, like say…72 hours.  if you are a member of okl then you get an email each day notifying you of the great sales events that will be going on that day.  their website also shows the current and future events going on so that you don’t have to wait for that email to come in.

one kings lane was founded by susan feldman and alison gelb pincus, two home enthusiasts that decided they wanted a to figure out a way to offer home decor and accents to the public at an affordable cost.  at the atlanta market i was fortunate enough to meet susan.  not only is she beautiful, but she was so sweet as well.  after talking with her about my blog she connected me with alison.  alison through out some ideas of how to bring a little piece of one kings lane to you guys.  we decided that instead of having a giveaway with one gift we would have a giveaway for everyone!!!! 

here’s the deal.  anyone who signs up to be a member of one kings lane on the charmhome sign-up page will receive a $10 credit.  as long as you sign up by march 10th on my sign-up page (click here to get to my sign-up page) you can use that credit to shop for any of the items on the okl site.  the $10 credit will expire on march 31st so you have to use it up fast. 

these are just a few of the great items out there on one kings lane right now.

archipelago candles

bliss studio pillows

hillary thomas bedding

 

bailey street tables

culinhome cutlery

simrin table linens

there’s much more to check out so if you haven’t signed up before hurry and sign up so that you can get your $10 credit and start shopping.

CLICK HERE to be taken to my sign-up page. 

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

LiveJournal Tags: one kings lane,giveaway,hillary thomas,simrin,culinhome,bailey street,bliss studio,archipelago candles

Can I shop, please?

Sacrificing for Him.

I didn't realize I had such an addiction to shopping. I gave up shopping for Lent and I'm about to have a tiny break down. The Lenten Season began just one week ago and I already can't take it. I just keep jumping from blog to blog, J.Crew to Amazon, Etsy to Pottery Barn, and I see beautiful things I want.

Want. Need.

Two very different things.

I want these...

 and this...

Redeeming Love

and this...

Oh, and one of these would be really nice...

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

But the only things I need, are these...

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

How I feel today...

Amen to this cute looking gal with pigtails.It's supposedly going to snow again today and tomorrow here in north Texas.
Time for more thick and cozy socks.

Time for my flannel pj's and flannel bed sheets.

Here's what my part of town looked like the last time it snowed. This happened right before Valentine's Day. It was unreal for Texas.

And we got to make real snowmen, too! Not the ugly, dirt filled, black snowmen we're used to making, either! Southern Hubby thought it was hilarious. Since he's a Yankee, he's been there-done that. He thought making a fort was much cooler, but in the end I won.

Stay warm out there, ya'll!!

xoxo

Time for snuggling with my three boys.