the NURSERY TOUR! and a giveaway!

Here it is, in all it's crafted and vintage glory. My goal was to have Adelaide's nursery "finished" (is decorating ever finished?) by Ohdeedoh's Smaller Cooler contest and I did. I still plan to either wallpaper a wall or do a wallpaper or fabric mural, but that just didn't come to fruition in time. I'm happy with it as is though. I have included all of the details- probably way too many- at the bottom of the post.

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY- What you have to do is head over to Adelaide's Kooky Hideaway entry on Ohdeedoh and vote "Big thumbs up- proof that small is stylish!" by 8am PST on Saturday. When you've voted, come back here and leave a comment with your e-mail address and you will be entered to win an 8x10 Have a Nice Day print by Katie Daisy of The Wheatfield which is no longer for sale in her shop. It's a great big thank you for voting! I have the poster size (pictured) and love it! Thanks for your help!

THE DETAILS:

Bought or Gifted:

name banner: gift from annalea hart - bird mobile: crafted as a gift by Kristen of Smith & Daphne based on Spool's Tutorial - quilt and bedskirt: Pottery Barn kids (gift from my parents) - bumper: Target - fitted sheet: Target - sheepskin rug: IKEA - horse hanger: gift from Monkey and Squirrel - porcelain boat: KG & AB - white cubby system: Target - silhouettes: Disneyland - bird softie in cubby: gift from kiddins - porcelain origami crane: thrifted - blocks: gift, vintage - dreidel: gift - monster puzzle: gift, Target

Crafted by me or Vintage:

embroidered pillow: sewn out of a large vintage hankie - clouds - house cubbies: found at a thrift store then painted and papered - shelves: I painted all of them white, they were mine as a teen - chair: vintage - Lord's Prayer and alphabet stitchings: vintage, thrifted - lampshade: crafted - pink bow: repurposed out of a dress shirt - crib: vintage, was hubby's as a baby - dresser: vintage, my mom's and then mine as a teen - books: mostly vintage, some thrifted and gifts - carousel horse window hanging: vintage, thrifted - sock monkey: sewn in high school - dresses: vintage, thrifted - toys in house cubbies: most of them are from the inside of Kinder Eggs brought to us by our German exchange student when I was in highschool, they are sadly now illegal - Avon perfume girl: vintage, thrifted - porcelain children: vintage

There are more details/toys in the room that I haven't linked to--- let me know if you have any questions about anything not mentioned. I ran out of linking/mentioning-everything-by-name steam. :)

UPDATE: The winner is Michelle! Congratulations! I'll send the print right your way!

sometimes I miss you... SOMETIMES

I was laying in bed trying to take a nap an hour ago and I couldn't fall asleep. Sometimes my mind is just moving too fast to fall asleep. I ended up thinking about the remodel- in with some new ideas and out with some old, and then I started to think about the last house hubby and I rented. We lived in it for a short 8 months and I won't glamorize those months- it was in a loud location (think semis driving by in the wee hours of the morning and a bar two blocks away), the layout was not very livable (the only shower was in the very back of the house while our room was in the front), and the house made so many noises that I was often sure we were living with vermin or ghosts... but... that house had a LOT of potential. It was a 1908 craftsman home and had much of the original hardware, wood, window seats, molding, and innumerable beautiful details. Sometimes I wish that we could swap houses and have the craftsman home in our country location I love. Then other times I realize that is impossible.

Isn't is pretty? Yellow with white trim: one of my favorites.

The view from the front porch when the rose garden is in bloom. Don't ask about the bus.

The living room.

The window seat in the living room is to the left. One of my favorite features.

Another sitting room to the side of the living room.

The itty bitty kitchen.

What I am sure was supposed to be the dining room. Original fireplace and china hutch.

You poor wasted house. I hope someday someone will adopt you and love you back to beauty. (I am sure this is still for rent or sale if anyone is looking to live in Sonoma County.)

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.

SEBASTOPOL antique tour

I took a trip to a couple of our local Sebastopol antique shops the other day to see if there were any treasures waiting for me. Or actually, let me rephrase that. I went to see if there were any affordable treasures waiting for me. There are always treasures that are out of my price range. Here's a fraction of a tour for you:

This corner held tons of vintage signs, tins, clocks, and various other things.

These horses reminded me of my dear friend who collected horses as a little girl. 

One of the antique stores had a whole upstairs loft full of used and antique books. Too many to look through in a drive-by visit.

I loved these little bambis and mushrooms. But they were not on my list of things to look for. I had to stay focused.

My favorite objects to look at but not buy were these little peanut salt and pepper shakers. They are too funny. You tell me- what do their expressions mean? Are they about to be turned into peanut butter?

the TOUR

First things first- I suppose it's fair that I give you a tour of what I am working with. When I think of our crooked little house in its current state, the following words come to mind: fake wood paneling, mismatched window and door trim, exposed wiring, brown carpeting, KITCHEN carpeting (yuck), bathroom nightmare, and potential-- which is the word I hold onto. Here's a peek into our humble abode:

(click on the photo to view a larger version)

Row 1: front room, front room, the kitty room or guestroom-to-be

Row 2: living room, living room looking into front room, bathroom

Row 3: kitchen, kitchen, bedroom

We have our work cut out for us.