New Front Door

A few weeks ago my parents took Greer and me out to dinner, first insisting that we needed to stop by Lowes.  I'm always up for a trip to a home improvement store, so there was no argument from me.  Once we arrived, the truth came out- they were surprising us with a new front door!

The old door:

Greer knew about it ahead of time but it was a surprise for me.  So we spent an hour or so picking out a door we love and all the little details about it.  We ask for it primed but not painted so we could pick our own custom color.  It was due to arrive in about 4 weeks, but it came within 2!

 

So last Saturday we spent some time pulling out the old door and replacing it with the new, gorgeous, window-y one.  And by "we" I mean Greer and Dad.  

 

The light makes such a difference in the living room and stairway corner.  

A little blurry but you get the idea.

Oh by the way, the antique record cabinet is nearly finished.  Post coming soon!



 

 

I love walking downstairs in the morning to a bright sunrise, or turning on the porch lights at night for the home-y glow to float in.

I am completely undecided on a front door color.  I would love a bold, Mediterranean blue door...

from Travel Adventures

Or how about some of these.....

from A Punch of Color

from Fresh Home Ideas

from Tobi's Blog

from Steve Tollner Painting

I dig the rosey pink but I'm not sure sure Greer will appreciate it.  I hadn't thought of lime green until my Google search for "colorful front door" but I do really like it!  It's a nice change from yellow, which I love but everyone is doing.  My challenge is figuring how to balance a bright, colorful door with a gray house with brick-colored shutters.  I wish I could wave a wand and change all the colors!

You'll have to come back to see what color we choose!

Daisy Girl Finds a Home

You may have read about a poor, homeless, giant painting of Daisy Girl (as we affectionately call her).  Greer picked her up at a thrift store with me in mind.  Daisies are a recurrent theme in my family as they were my grandmother's favorite flower and they were the flowers for my wedding. 

I thought the whole painting and frame were too dark to hang; I wanted something lighter.  Greer didn't want to paint the frame because a) he didn't know if it was antique and b) it would be a pain to get the painting out.

Finally, after sitting in various rooms in the house, we agreed on painting the frame. 

What a difference a light frame makes!

Participating in:

Weekend Wrap-up Party @ Tatertots and Jello

Greer's Stencil

Hi friends!  I'm sorry for my lack of posts....  grad school kicked in it full force and I had two Anatomy exams this past week.  Hence, I've done nothing but study.

I did want to update that we finally hung something in our bedroom!  Greer has been working on some stellar Alice in Wonderland stencils.  I meant to put up more of them but I don't have all the pictures yet, so I'm posting my favorite.

Are you ready?

Originally he had some colored paper behind it but I prefered just glass.  At least for this room.  And it also seems more "through the looking glass" that way.


I haven't hung Daisy Girl yet because I'm not sure where to put her.  I think I've mentioned Daisy Girl, but if not.... here she is.

Greer found her in a thrift store for me and I just have no idea where to put it.  It's not quite what I was going for in our room color-wise.  I also want to paint the frame but Greer's not a fan of that, so we'll see what happens.  She's a cutie though, huh?

Have a great weekend!

La Cocina: Las Detalles

La Cocina = The Kitchen
Las Detalles = The Details

I thought I'd share some kitchen details in our house at the moment.  I was playing with my camera, trying to see if I could capture close ups.  Want to see?

We aren't fans of keeping things in the commercial containers.  We both love mason jars (what is it about them?).  Greer is really good about knowing what to store in them and pretty much does it as soon as we buy a refill.  I can't name everything in them from this picture, but I know there is sugar, popcorn kernels and coffee.  As of today we have added a jar of southern grits straight from South Carolina! Wooo

To the left of the sink are some other fun things.  The bowl is hand-made and was a wedding gift.  There is a sun on the inside bottom.  We like to keep it filled with fruit so we grab the healthier snacks in front of our faces.  This was also storing some seeds until those were planted.



My Other Mother suggested the white lights on top of the cabinets and I love it.  I turn them on as soon as the light starts fading.  The bicycles are left over from our wedding.  There is another handmade bowl wedding gift, honey pot (our wedding theme was Sweet Honey Love), and a silver tea set wedding gift.

This is my childhood table given to us by my parents.  My dad made this table out of some wood and an old Singer sewing machine.  When we moved into the Burrow, we only had the ice cream shoppe 2-seater table.  That now lives on the porch and we inherited this beauty!

Last, everyone's favorite picture it seems.  It's next to the door and whenever someone (like my mom) leaves, they say "I love these pictures!"  The frame was an engagement gift from Greer's parents and the photos are a few of our engagement photos by Alisandra Photography.

Those are just a few kitchen details to keep you reading until I can post more about projects!

Studio + Guest Room: A Few New Detalles (Details)

In my previous post about the Studio + Guest Room's sleeper sofa, I mentioned the need to get creative and cheap to bring my mood board to life in this room.  I've started to take baby steps in that direction.

"Baby steps...baby steps to the door...baby steps down the stairs.." -What About Bob anyone?

Here are just a few of the detalles nuevos (new details).

You may have seen the aged wooden trunk in the mood board and possibly remember how I planned to relocate one of Greer's suitcase end tables.  It's hard to see in this picture (I'll post a new one another time), but I did just that.

I'm gonna just stop for a second and list a few reasons why I love a suitcase side table:

1. Greer makes them = it's DIY and I don't have to spend hundreds on the same thing at Anthropologie

2. Unique look = I think they're especially fun in a guest room for the metaphor

3. Storage = it's still a suitcase!  I store those things that we don't need to access often but don't want to get rid of (like electronics guides, extra cords, etc)

4. Table space = there's a lot more table area to a suitcase than your average end table.  This is great for guests.  Plenty of room for a lamp and decorative item or two, while leaving space for guests to add their necessary bedside items.

I'm sure I could come up with more reasons, but I'll leave that to you.

You can also spot in the above photo, one of the Pier 1 red flower dishes I got from my co-worker's yard sale.  Cheap decor- $6!

My last new additions are wall art.  I have a tough time decorating walls.  I'm trying to plan this out carefully and think about where I will want things to go.  So far all I've had to buy are the frames.

The Mirrors are UP!

If you already read about the Big Kahuna being up, you know I enlisted some family help today to get some things on the wall.  Using my father's math and carpentry skills (how am I going to learn all this?!?), we got the mirrors back up on the wall.  Already, the Guest Rome/Office/Studio feels bigger with all the light reflection.

It really helps to have all that light reflected out of the mirror since there is no window on that wall.

I'm hoping to make a giant curtain to cover the edges and soften the look some.

Step by step I'll get this in order!

Studio + Guest Room Paint

Hola hermosas!  I just finished painting my studio office, which is also our guest room.  You have seen pictures that were taken in that room when it was painted coral.....everything. looked. orange.  I didn't even enjoy being in that room because the lighting + the paint color = pain.

(Click "continue reading")

Studio + Guest Room Mood Board

A little vintage.  A little carnival.  At little red, a little blue.  This is my inspiration....

Guest Room by pennylane5309 on Polyvore.com

Click "Continue Reading"

A Proud Wife

Hi all!
I had to share what I woke up to this morning.  I started to walk completely past, then turned back to stare, then woke my Greer up with a thousand kisses.

He made me a stencil of the (modified) flag of Spain!!!!

He is so talented!  As soon as I find a home for it (probably kitchen, maaaaaybe studio), I will post a picture.  I just had to share. I love his work and creativity and patience for the kind of painstaking detail stenciling requires. 

And for anyone interested....he does custom orders ;)

The only modification he made was of the toreador (bull fighter) and toro (bull).  That makes it even more symbolic for me because bulls are a big symbol of southern Spain, including Salamanca (where I studied).  I don't know if he knew that ahead of time.  Maybe, because I but a (rather ugly) bull belly button ring when I was there.  Don't worry, I didn't wear it much and I have let that hole close up!  Still fun to have the bull though.

Back to the modification... the crest on the true Spanish flag would be way to intricate for him to stencil, at least in one night.  This is what it looks like:

I like mine better.

:)

Knobs, Knobs, Hardware and Knobs!

Helloooooooo Anthropologie!  You are so much monies but so very adorable!

I have seen loads of DIY Anthropologie-inspired projects in the creative blog sphere that have turned out fantastically well that I thought I'd take a look at this pricey store for inspiration.

Then I found the hardware section and went nuts!  So many beautiful drawer pulls and doorknobs!  Who gets excited about this stuff!?

Me.

I have a few favorites of course......

 
 




Among my favorites are a few I am deciding between for my dresser re-do.  I want your thoughts!  Think 1930s-40s carnival flavored and which do you see? 

I have my idea...but I want yours too.  And it can be a combination...

 

What do you think, eh?

I Put The Hammer...

.......through the wall.

oops.

I was trying to hand this small shelf I picked up at Goodwill to add something 3-D to the bathroom wall. 

[ you can tell it is not in the bathroom ]



I got one nail in smooth as buttah!  But the next guy...nuh uh...

First, I realized I hit the stud.
I decided I could win.
Then I bent the nail, making the hole bigger.
Not winning.
I tried to use the claw end and pull the nail out...
And you can see those little bruises on the wall to the right of the hole.
More force... I thought...
And as I pushed the hammer to pull the nail out, the hammer head went through the wall.
And the nail stayed.
Blast.

My wonderful, patient, humorous husband was able to get the nail out with a smile and a "we'll fix it later."  Phew! 

I gave the shelf a new home in my office.



Permanent? Probably not.  It's rather dwarfed there... but I'm not messing with it until I have a better plan.....

Ten un buen dia!

Communication Station!

Ay amigos tantas cosas que decir!  It was such a productive, fun long weekend that I haven't taken time to s l o w  d o w n  and catch up here.  The college application deadline for our school just passed so work is piling up! 

First things first, my easiest project:  The Burrow's Communication Station!

Click "Continue Reading"

I Learned How to Sew!

I know it takes more than just one day of practice, but I have begun learning to sew with the help of my Other Mother and the generous bridal shower gift from her sisters to me (a nice sewing machine!).

 My first project is complete and, I must say, gorgeous!  PILLOWS!!!!!!!!!!



Staple gun project to come later....but it was in use....

 

I fell in love with the fabric we found at JoAnn Fabrics and think I might be making even more pillows.




(The blankets are covers to protect the furniture from Marzipan kitty)

 I love that the orange in the fabric picks up the living room walls but also pulls in some of the blues we have scattered around the room (not pictured.)  Perfectly accented by the blue fabric...mmmm delishiousness for my eyes!

Would you like some close ups?

Getting closer....



So beautiful....



My Other Mother made the round pillow because I was not ready to move on from sewing a straight line yet.



The other two...



I just can't stop staring.  I should probably warn Greer that these fabrics are about to show up allllll over the living room.  Mmmmmm.....

What do you sew?

DIY Bench from Knock-Off Wood

I never posted about this bench when I started because I was so busy.  It took me much longer to finish than it should have because of classes and Zumba and all kinds of craziness this fall.  I now have the chance to share and I'm pretty pleased with the product.

Before I go on, I just wanted to give credit where credit is due.  I found the plans for this project at Ana's Knock-Off Wood.  This woman is amazing.  She has plans for any peice of furniture you could imagine and want to build.  I cannot wait to get started on another project from her website.  Check her out!

So, we needed to clean up the junk and shoes at our door entrance.  What better than a cubby bench?  Here in progress...



Workin' away at my dad's shop

 I spent quite a few afternoons at my dad's shop learning how to use the power tools and measuring techniques.  I have to put a plug in for my dad's work- Shenandoah Second Wind.

Here we have the final product in place at home:

Thanks for stopping in!  Keep tuned for more projects...

Ciao Bellas!

Curb Appeal: Front Porch

We have a giant, half wrap-around porch that is not really put to good use yet.  We have a wonderful hammock on wheels that is just plopped in a corner.  We also put our old kitchen table (remember this?) in another corner so we could enjoy breakfast with the sunrise.  Other than that, nada.  I'm brainstorming ways to fix this...feel free to add your suggestions.  What do you do with your porch or outdoor space?

Autumn Decor

So we've learned this month that I love seasonal decoration and Greer does not.  However, he is a patient and loving husband who only wants me to be happy.  And so... we are slowly getting some seasonal decorations around the Burrow. 

Don't get excited- we don't have much money, time or space, so we don't have much that screams "fall" except for the nature in which we live.  I did buy a pumpkin from Wal Mart (I know.. very much not the same as a pumpkin patch) with my mom.  That now sits on the front steps.

I threw a fake fall bouquet (Wal Mart) in one of my leftover wedding vases.  I love the look of the twine vase- it truly goes with any season. 

I spotted a $3 fall leaf dish at Ross and thought that was a cheap enough peice of decor.  The challenge has been finding a good space for it. 

Do you decorate seasonally?  What are your fall decorations?  I found some fun ones other creative bloggers have come up with that I thought I'd store/share here.

Tater Tots and Jello

I love these spray-painted Dollar Store pumpkins Jen made at Tater Tots and Jello.  I really love the blue color (who says fall is only orange, red and yellow?!).  Visit Tater Tots and Jello to find out how to make this display!

Gail's Decorative Touch

I really love that Gail from Gail's Decorative Touch used acorns to celebrate fall, straying from the traditional pumpkin.  Greer thinks "pumpkins and nuts on a stand are silly," but I really like them.  Visit Gail's Decorative Touch for the tutorial on how to make these adorable topiaries (is that the word?? haha).