Valentine's Decor: Chalkboard Edition

Yes, I know it's only January. But I put up a few Valentine's decorations. {Heavy stress on a few!} I put just a couple things throughout the house. I definitely don't do it up for holidays other than Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Indulge me if you will...

I got this ceramic plate from Hobby Lobby and painted the center with chalkboard paint.  I weaved some red plaid ribbon through it, wrote a cutesy message on it and called it good. :) I had the ribbon and paint already Total price: $3 for the plate

Here's yet another chalkboard that I always change with the seasons. I got this one at Hobby Lobby, too. It comes pre-made so I just stained, then distressed the wood around it. Easy  peasy. {Did I ever mention how in love and addicted I am to chalkboards?}

Of course I use the chalkboard markers. They come off easy with the Magic Eraser and look so much cleaner than regular chalk.

Total price: $5 for the candle from Hemispheres; the frame I already had

Like I said, I definitely don't do it up big. But, I've got a couple more little decorations I'll post soon.

Do you have anything Valentine's Day related up yet? Have a good weekend!

What's the next holiday?

Sadly, (and finally) we took down the outside Christmas decorations and the tree. Right after the New Year I took down all the Christmas decor in the house, but we left the tree up for a week more just to enjoy it a bit longer.

My house looks empty. I needed another holiday to decorate for. I figure it was nothing TJ Maxx couldn't solve.

So I went looking for new and cheery place mats and napkins to tide me over until St. Valentine's Day.

I know it's a bit early, but I completed a cute Valentine's Day craft. I'll have to share it with you soon. I think it turned out just darling.

Thanks to Southern Hubby schmoozing some clients at a happy hour right now, tutorial for the craft coming on Monday! :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! TGIF!




PS. Today I'm linking to

Some Fall Decor

As promised, here are some more fall pictures. I just put a couple of doo-dads here and there just to get in the fall mood. I was so beat from unpacking that I really didn't feel like going all out and getting every single decor tub out. And believe me, there are many tubs.

I'm still working on the mantle. Well, scratch that. Replace working with giving up. I threw up some garland leaves and stuck in a couple of fall picks and called it good. Like I said, I'm a bit housed out right now.

This season, Martha I am not.

 "Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." -Emily Bronte

Really loving this quote right now. So poetic. So perfect for this season. Did I ever mention to you how in love I am with chalkboards? I got this one from Hobby Lobby then stained and shabbied it up a bit. Easy peasy.

Okay, so I know the scarecrow guy is a Halloween decoration and isn't supposed to be out but I couldn't help it. He's so dang cute.

I'll be back with some mantle pictures if you'd like. But I promise, it won't blow you away. :) Glad I have a month break until Christmas decor time comes around. Lord help me with that one. ;)

See y'all around.

Savoring today

These are the moments this homemaker dreams of...

The kitchen is clean from the breakfast rush. The dishes are washing. Cups of coffee have been consumed. Laundry is folded. The pups are quietly sleeping in their comfy beds. (I even had a few quick moments to knit this morning.)

So, I figured I'd take advantage of this time to blog.

As of right now, we're still in the midst of getting the house in order. I'd say the downstairs is about 90% finished. We just had some built-ins installed in a space that was wasted and I finally got around to decorating them.

I did some fall decorating. Not my best work, but it will have to do.

I'll be back soon to show you some of them,  but for right now I wanted to share this awesome coupon class. In no way am I a coupon diva. I don't clip. I don't print. I don't save. BUT- I want to be! I'm fascinated by those women I see at my Kroger with the huge coupon binders. I want to be her! Weird, I know, but true.

So, I was thrilled to stumble on The Frugal Find. She just made her coupon class free to everyone! I may not be a coupon diva, but I do know free is a good thing! :) I don't know this girl from Adam and I wasn't paid to endorse this class, but I just had to pass it along. Right now, I'm only a couple classes in. Before you know it, I will be one of those cool coupon divas! Yay!

I'll be back later this week with my quick attempt at making my house look somewhat fall-ish. :)

PS- If you do take her class, don't forget to give her some love. She's doing this out of the kindness of her own heart (and out of her pocketbook!) and as a ministry to others. :)

The Move. The House.

 I can sum up the whole moving process in one word: STINKS.

I can sum up the house in one word, too: LOVE.

It doesn't quite feel like home yet, and we're not settled in all the way, of course- but we love it. During our devotions at night, we are constantly thanking our Father for this wonderful blessing. And I'm just so dang happy to be done with the whole packing/moving process. That fact is almost as wonderful as the actual house. ;)

Anyway, here are just a couple of pictures of the main living areas. We still have the entire upstairs to unpack. And our master bedroom is still in need of some work. Oh, and the master closet is begging for attention. And...OK, I need to stop thinking about the unending list or I'll drive myself crazy.

                                 Don't worry, we're getting the wine shortage fixed very soon. ;)

Needless to say it's still a work in progress and I have yet to decorate for fall. (Wonder if I'll ever get to that?)

But my babies and Southern Hubby are here and that's all I could ask for right now. :)

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

Stools...it's not what you think!

Since I've been on this huge farmhouse kick, I've been dying to change out our current kitchen counter stools. Dying. I want a stool that is adorable, budget friendly, and fits my new decor obessesion. And I want it with rush seating. I love rush seating with a capital L.

These are the ones we currently have...

I got them forever ago at Target when they had that huge Global Market thing going on. But sadly, they're just there for looks. The woven seat is pretty flimsy and the legs can pretty much be bent by an 5th grader. It's funny to see people's eyes bulge when they sit on them, knowing that these charming, but useless, chairs are buckling under their weight. Other than an occasional laugh, they're pretty much good for nothing. (Although they *do* hold purses and shopping bags pretty well!)

Recently, I came across the site, All Barstools with nothing but gorgeous chairs! I got so excited! After searching Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and even Craigslist, I found this to be the best selection with some darn good deals.

I am so loving these chairs, but I can't decide what will go best with my table and the kitchen decor- the black, or the linen/white color? (PS- My table is the one below...a creamy vanilla color with dark brown wood table and seat tops)

Or, dare I even think about a red? Would that be a bit much?

What do you think?

xoxo

Drooling over Farmhouse Styles

As most of you have seen, my home is filled with dark woods, wrought iron, reds, tans, browns, etc. People have described it as 'old world', but my younger sisters describe it as 'old lady'. (At 19 and 21, they can't appreciate the fine art of a nicely placed wrought iron piece.)

But lately, I've been day dreaming about slowly changing my home to give off a more farmhouse feel. Do I know how I'm going to do it? No. But I can't help but drool over these inspiration pictures.

Even Pottery Barn has jumped on the farmhouse style bandwagon. Those quilts and that white, shabby table keep me up at nights.

Look at these wood ceiling beams! And the hardwood plank floor boards!

Oh, plank wood floors...why do you tempt me so?

I told Southern Hubby one of my non-negotiables in our next home is a kitchen sink that is in front of a window. I'm a big fan of natural light.

Kill me now, this kitchen is gawgeous!!!

Loving the iron bedframe!

Alright, alright. I'm done envying and wanting for now.

What home decor styles are YOU drawn to right now? Leave me a link so we can all take a peek!

xoxo