Domino and Decorate

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful sunny weekend. I can't remember much of mine, but I'm pretty sure it was wonderful. Today I had to show you what my sweet husband surprised me with on my birthday:

 
Remember this post? I have been wanting this book for so stinking long and he was sweet enough to remember. He remembers everything.

I also received a Amazon giftcard from my Brother and SIL. I've never received one of those before, but I started jumping up and down (I was alone when I did this) because I knew immediately what I wanted:

This one arrived just this morning. I am already in love with Domino and I cannot wait to start checking all the goodies that are in Decorate.

Rita Konig

HAPPY FRIDAY! See these two photos? These are shots of, designer, Rita Konig's New York apartment. I love the colors and the collected and personal look she has created. How do you feel about the LOVE poster? I am all about decorating my home with peices that have meaning, but sometimes artwork in a home is just to add color, contrast or interest.

I ask because Made By Girl is having a sale on her LOVE prints until June 29th. I am debating.

A Love- David Hicks La Fiorentina

I have loved David Hicks La Fiorentina fabric for quite some time now. No matter the color combo, the design is classy, modern and bold. Look at these rooms with the fabric as an accent:

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Here is what I am thinking. I would love to buy a pair of pillows in this fabric, but they run a pretty penny. So, I have decided to give it a DIY try. I'm thinking some colored fabric, tape and fabric paint might just do the trick. Wish me luck!

It was my Birthday and it was Awesome!

Saturday my husband and I celebrated my birthday. There are two things I always ask for 1) Spend my day outside in the warm sunny weather and 2) Spend time with my family. I got both and it was the best day!

I spent the day running around in these fun shoes from Twigg. Do you feel awesome depending on the shoes you are wearing? I DO! These shoes make me feel so girly and light and airy. My peter pan/pirate boots, I am wearing at this moment, make me feel unique and awesome and every time I see a curb I have to do a heel click jump.

We slept in and then went to breakfast (I love eating and my husband always makes sure that is a big part of any of our plans). We then headed out to my Sister and BIL's house where we played with their 4 children in the backyard. Sprinklers under the trampoline and happy kids running around in their bathing suits on a sunny day. So fun! Then some Japanese for dinner and to the restaurant that has the BEST RESTAURANT DESSERT (Yes, bold claim and I will make it).

It was such a fun day. Once my parents get back in to town, the whole family will be getting together to bbq and hang outside to re-celebrate my birthday. Can't wait!

Our Bedroom

The last week has been a bit crazy, but I promise to have some posts recapping all of it's awesomeness.

I have been debating for a long time when or even if I would show you our apartment as a whole. It is always a work in progress when you are working with a small budget, life and a mind that wants a million different things. I've decided to bite the bullet and show you our little apartment starting with our bedroom.

I've put a hold on most projects until we move next month so that nothing gets dinged in the move or I don't buy more things that will need to be pack up in our already tight fit trailer.

1) will be painting our nightstands white and adding some gold hardware

2) tossing the lampshades when we move and buying new ones (maybe black!)

3) That sunburst will be finding a new home in our next apartment and something a bit more substantial will be taking its place

The wall mural was my Valentine gift to my husband. It was up  for 4 months and just came down this weekend. I think I read it more than he did, but it's just because I like hearing how wonderful I know my husband is.

About a month ago we switched to some summer bedding. The DIY West Elm duvet cover (with 2 comforters inside it) went into storage and was replaced by a light weight comforter. It's perfect for the hot summer nights that have already arrived.

As much as I love things to look pretty, I only keep books on my nightstand that I am actually reading. If something is somewhere not being used I begin to feel cluttered.

Here are the togo fabric pillows I sewed last week. I wanted to try them on the bed, but I am sure they are finding their more permanent spot on the couch in the living room.

So there you have it, our bedroom. The last week and a half has been warm enough to sleep with our window open at night and the birds always wake me up between 4:50-5:00am. Waking up to birds chirping can't not make you happy.

DIY- Your Home Is Where The Heart Is

I've thought about purchasing prints from Lily Gene for quite some time now. They are a great price at only $25 and they look clean and professional.

I know my husband and I will do a bit of state hoping over our life together and I thought having pictures of the states and cities where we've lived would be a fun timeline to display on a wall in our home.

The other night, I was cleaning out my supplies closet and decided I would try to make my own I-Heart-My-State print with a left over 8x10 canvas.

I googled my states I wanted and printed them off. I chose Utah (where we currently live) and Missouri (where we are moving in 2 months)

I taped the printed state to the back of the canvas and then held it up to the window and traced the state with a pencil. The Utah one I used a lamp because the sun had already set.

I then chose my colors and got to painting. I did one coat of the background and then did a coat of white filling in the traced state. I then did another coat of each and let it all dry.

Lastly, I grabbed a fine tipped red Sharpie and drew a heart in the location of the city we live in and will live in when we move to Missouri. The first try I was able to get perfectly shaped hearts, but the size what a bit small. I tried making the hearts a bit bigger and ended up with some not-so-perfect hearts.

Here's the final look:

Now here is what I am really excited about, On the back of each I have a 3x5 card that I've written all the important dates that have happened in our lives while we have lived in each location. For the Utah canvas, I have listed mine and my husband's graduation dates, our wedding date, etc. On our future states I will list birth of each children, Law School Graduation, new jobs, etc. I think it will be a really fun thing for our family to have as we grow.

Schumacher Chiang Mai: I'm smitten

Who knows what I'd give to own these colorful pillows.

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I have fallen in love with Schumacher Chiang Mai. I want it on my bed, I want it on my couch and I want it as an entire chair. I entered a giveaway this week to win two gorgeous Chiang Mai pillows and I thought if I was positive enough I would get them. No luck. 

However, if you are in the market for a pair yourself, you can find them here, House of Pemberly, on Etsy. You seriously need to check this shop out. Have I also mentioned that I wouldn't mind a bench or pillows in La Fiorentina as well?

Fabrics!

Welcome to Monday morning! The sun is shining . . .  so that’s good. How was your weekend? Was it as eventful and yet uneventful as mine?

Checklist for this past weekend:

• Pack up camping gear only to find out the Canyon is closed due to flooding

• Cook our tinfoil dinners in the oven and eat them outside our apartment

• Roast our smores at the mini-mall by the other canyon while making conversation with couples waiting for their restaurant reservation

• Sunny Saturday morning bike ride

• Flood my parent’s basement while washing our car

• Spend a good part of our Saturday moving soaked boxed from one room to another

• Sunday brunch with the entire family to celebrate our little niece, Avery

• Sew some pillow covers for the couch

• Clean out our storage closet for the furnace maintenance man

AND look what showed up this weekend

I also received a birthday card in the mail from my In-Laws and my MIL was sweet enough to remember I had wanted an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt to match my hubbies and had sent that as well. I love surprises! So, hopefully this week (my birthday week) I can surprise all of you with some little projects I’ve been working on.

ADORE Magazine

The new June/July issue of Adore Magazine came out this week and it is such a fun read and loads of eye candy! The colors are phenomenal and the furniture pieces are amazing. I would love to live in this magazine.

Check out some of my many favorite looks:

 Love this gold wallpaper. Stunning!

 I have been dreaming of a console table just like this one

 Hello color, green sofa, awesome chair and killer coffee table

 I would like to pull off a purple headboard and that lamp is the perfect orange

 A bed I would love to wake up in every morning

Hello color!

I get so excited each time a new Adore issue comes out. I am enthralled for weeks.

P.S. My fabric for my pillow covers arrive today!

Foo Dogs!!!!

Foo dogs, I think, add a creative, bright, eclectic feel to a space. Now, obviously you could get this same kind of feel with some other accent piece, but foo dogs are what I am loving. I had never drifted toward asian design or accent pieces in the past, but I have come to love the architectural build and just completely unique look of asian inspired pieces.

I found some "Foo dogs" at my parents house, but they were small, leaned too much towards the lion looking side and just didn't sit right with me. THEN!!!! Last night I walk into Hobby Lobby to grab another canvas for a project I am working on and spot these:

These guys are more Foo dog looking, they are lighter and have a more creative pose. They are also larger than the "Foo lions" my parents had and I have been needing some larger objects around the house to avoid the trinket-nick-nack look. The best part was that these little guys were $15 a piece and %50 off. $15 for these two guys?! How could I pass it up?

BUT. After 10 minutes of walking around with one under each arm I put them back telling myself two things: 1) I  shouldn't spend money on these little guys because I have maxed out my design budget for. . . .  a while. 2) We are moving in two months and I can not be bringing things home that I will have to pack up and move. The new rule, until we move, if something comes in then something must come out.

However, by the time I fell asleep last night I had figured out a solution to my two reasons not to but them: 1) I am selling our old lamps which will cover the cost of the Foo dogs and 2) they will take the moving space that those old lamps were going to take up as well as the "Foo lions" I had found at my parent's house. So, guess who is coming home with me today after spending only $16.02? These guys!

Yes. I am excited. Extremely.

All that being said, check out these foo dogs used throughout these rooms. I haven't decided which bold color my little guys are going to be. I am leaning towards either the usual blue or perhaps orange!

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I'm ready to get my "Foo" on.