a REMODEL peek

Here's a sneak peek into the latest remodel progress. The kitchen cabinets are white, the floors are in, and the granite is ready to go in. (And we have a dishwasher for the first time in 3 years!!!) Our bedroom is all painted- I'm so excited about the green wall! The carpet is scheduled to go in the rest of the house next week. Yes, carpet. I've lived in houses with wood flooring and i've in ones with carpeting and I like the comfort of carpeting on bare feet in the living area. And I think our little girl will appreciate the softness when she is crawling and walking and falling the first years of her life. Once the carpeting is in, we go in- as in move back in... oh my gosh. I am SO ready.

a painted, wait before speaking, CROOKED REMODEL UPDATE with a side of sugar

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You're going to be getting a lot of updates on the remodel in the next two weeks. The update for today is:

#1. The kitchen and our bedroom are painted and look great. Yay for my painter husband! That means all of the rooms are done being painted!

#2. I should really learn to keep my mouth shut until something actually happens or is finished. The concrete countertops I was so excited about? Not happening. The estimate was $600 and then my dad's friend came around saying he had a bunch of granite slabs left over from his own kitchen remodel. The cost for that? Free or so. My dad showed it to me and it's a nice white/gray/black speckled granite, and in the name of the budget- we are using it. And also, c'mon... whose budget-cutting countertops ever end up as nice granite slabs? We're pretty fortunate there!

#3. Our kitchen floors are being leveled by one of the brothers-in-law right now. The crooked little house is still going to be crooked (in some places it looks like the ceiling was intentionally slanted, but then you look across the room and it's not... ha ha) but at least we won't be walking on slopes.

I hope you are all having a wonderful, productive (or restful), and delicious weekend! I am munching on Babycakes NYC chocolate chip cookies hubby made last night and some fresh Babycakes NYC blueberry scones he made this morning (have I mentioned he's amazing?). And now I will be entering a gluten-free, alternative-sugar coma.

P.S. I have been saving glass jars left and right for months so none of my flours, sugars, or grains will be without a window from their place on a kitchen shelf. I just love homebug's example.

our bedroom is going GREEN

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It's about time for our bedroom to be painted and I can't wait to live in it. We are doing white walls with a dark green accent wall behind the bed in Dunn Edwards Bonsai (the color it shows on my monitor is not at all the color on the card- it should be more like the 1st photo above). We bought the West Elm Organic Cotton Pin-tuck Duvet in Sea Grass on sale the day after Christmas and I'm thinking we'll go for some yellow accents (loving these sheets) and whatnot in the room. We also need to find some gorgeous blackout window shades- I sleep best when I can't see a thing. We added a built-in closet to the bedroom, so the bedroom that was previously small is now itty-bitty. I think we'll have room for bedside stands and a chest of drawers. And there is also a DIY upholstered headboard project on our list, but that can wait until we are in the house again.... as can the 100s of other DIY projects I have in mind.

Looking at the gorgeous greens in the photos above excites me. Green is my favorite color- it will be nice to live with it staring me in the face every day!

the doctor prescribes RUCHING

West Elm's Organic Cotton Pin-tuck Duvet

Anthropologie's Rosette Bedding

Pottery Barn's Ruched Voile Duvet Cover

Anthropologie's Cirrus Bedding

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful and well weekend. I haven't been sleeping well lately and I have finally figured out why. My bed is definitely lacking some ruching. I am sure that if I was covered in deliciously intricate ruching, I would settle into beautiful ruching-filled dreams so much easier... 

PALLETS of opportunity

Ashley Ann's daybed  as introduced by Design*Sponge

 Cathinca's outdoor bench as introduced by Apartment Therapy

My father has pallets galore just laying around work and his home shop. I am not nearly as creative with available materials as these two ladies, but I am definitely going to benefit from their repurposed projects. If you have pallets available, you can too!

I think my DIY To-Do List is a few miles long so far...

BEDTIME sentiments

-Jason Loucas as introduced by Design is Mine-

This photo is making its way straight into my inspiration file. I have always loved inspiring, warm words over a bed, but I am loving the idea of those words being the same color as the wall even more. It's as if they were embossed onto the wall. Something like this is definitely going to make an appearance in my bedroom overhaul.

P.S. Don't think I didn't notice the gorgeous bed and bedding... and those mirrors. It's all perfectly yummy!

pop goes the YELLOW

-Amy Lau via House of Turquoise-

I love this white and yellow rug (which reminds me of the Young House Love- formerly known as This Young House- living room rug that I saw at Pottery Barn on sale for a steal last summer and have regretted not getting ever since even though I definitely did not have the money to buy it then, but like pretending that I did) and the coordinating yellow frames on the wall. I am thinking our guest room is definitely going to need some yellow popping around inside of it. Possibly a pale gray wall and saturated yellow accents (a la this post)... and other colors thrown in, of course. I'm not a two color sort of girl.

BEDROOM inspiration

In the midst of our remodel, I have been collecting inspiration for each room and planning what I want to do (and what hubby wants to do- he's a great help in pointing out what is silly and what actually reflects our combined style). Since this blog was started to share the remodel, I am going to do a post on the inspiration for each room. We haven't gotten to the point of moving back in our house, much less decorating it, but here is a peek inside my head to see what is inspiring the coming redecorating.

This is our bedroom as is. I love the color of the duvet, but feel that I need another color besides the assortment of white, champagne, and ivory. (The antique frame on our chest of drawers was given to me by my grandma- I am HORRIBLE about putting photos in frames. This is one of many photoless frames in my house. Admitting this to you, I have just decided that one of my resolutions this year will be to fill all my frames with photos.)

Although I like more of an eclectic vibe for the rest of my house, I want to keep the bedroom a romantic and relaxing place.

(This photo and the one below aren't cited as I clipped them from mags back in the day. If you recognize where they are from, let me know!)

This is the color scheme I am going for. I am going to keep our duvet and add several green accents around the room in the way of pillows, antique books, and whatever else fits in. We are also going to paint either one wall or all of them a very pale green. I want to add more unique, vintage pieces so that the room has more personality and reflects hubby and I as a couple.

I love the smaller cabinet on top of the bedside stand, with the beautiful display of frames and photographs on top. It maximizes storage space by providing a cute place for books and still gives room to display pretty little things.

(seen at blue moss - via Box Brownie Trading Co.)

I have long loved the idea of having a romantic sentiment above my bed. This one would be perfect.

Small Antique Pine Display Cabinet via ebay

This is the perfect size for the bedside stand, and I would paint it a distressed white or ivory and fill it with pretty green objects.

Hotel Luxury Shams in Sage via Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Some green pillow shams would be nice.

DKNY Pure Harlequin Decorative Pillow in Green

Vintage Swan Vase or Planter via how now design

This swan would be cute with a little green plant in it (if I don't kill it).

Kissing Pleat Shade via Anthropologie

I could replace our champagne lampshades to add some more color. I love the origami-like details on this shade.

Peppermint Hand Mirror via Urban Outfitters

Something pretty to sit on the dresser.

Lana Velvet Pouf via Urban Outfitters

The antique chair in the corner of our bedroom is moving to the living room. I would love to replace it with this pouf. Let's be realistic, I need someplace to throw things when in a hurry. : )

Zinnia Flower Curtain via Urban Outfitters

I want to add just a bit of dark green, and these floral curtains are the perfect solution. I like that they incorporate the lighter green shade, and they also add a cute pattern to the patternless room.

Succulent Pillow via pillowhappy

I don't know if I would want this on the bed or not, but I love this pillow! Maybe it could sit on the pouf.

Now the interesting part will be to see how my inspiration is translated when put on a budget...

smitten with THIS BED

How beautiful is this bedroom shot from Anthropologie? I love the feminine pale blue bedding, moss green headboard, with the pop of color from the accent pillows. I could hop right in and call it my own.

(In this photo: cirrus bedding - lipizzan pillow, butterfly - lipizzan pillow, bouquet)

nice to meet you, LIGHT LOCATIONS

I was making my way through a maze of design and decor blogs tonight, as I often do, and was introduced to a gem of a site via please sir. I don't know about you, but I love to see home interiors. Every time I come across a house tour on a decor blog, I can't wait to visit each room and see what unique spin the homeowner puts on decorating. If anyone knows of a blog that is solely house tours, please tell me because I will be ecstatic. I think this site comes close. Let me introduce you to Light Locations. Light Locations is a site dedicated to providing beautiful and unique locations to the film and photographic industries. I'm not in the film or photographic industry, but I am in the nosy neighbor club and I want to sneak a peek inside these homes and yours if you'll let me. Take a looky-loo with me...

See, now wasn't that fun? Now you are ready to join my nosy neighbor club. You know you want to.