Knick Knack Paddy Whack

So as I get the last 2 rooms of my house in some semblance of order I thought I'd show off some knick-knacks that have caught my eye lately, granted I am not the biggest fan of knick-knacks but I do really like these and have come to the realization that I don't have to have a place for everything right away and that I do have the option of keeping thing to switch up the look every now and then. This is also called making excuses in order to buy things I don't really need aka FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out).

Birds - yes, for some reason I have a fascination with birds, as long as they are too scary or real looking then I'm a fan. I don't know where I picked this up or why I like them so much but I did and I do.

2. Faux Flowers - Faux is a nice way of saying fake which is a nice way of saying that I can't keep pretty flowers alive so I resort to genus fauxous for my flora and fauna. I don't do the fake plastic/polyester combos though. Ok I'm lying I don't know what the fake flowers I buy are made out of but I know that I don't get any that are too gaudy or obviously fake looking, well at least not to my untrained eye.

3.

3. Metal & Glass - I love the window panes that are so old the glass looks as though its dripping, same with vases. I like them to look well loved but still in mint condition whether it be by glass or the antique pewter collection from Pottery Barn (oh how I heart you).

4. Chargers - I'll be honest, I don't exactly have a true need for this but I like it and I'm sure I'll use it one of these days. It just matches both kinds of china I got and pulls them together, plus its such a pretty blue.

5. Serving and Storing - These aren't the only serving/storing pieces I want but they are the coolest out of the bunch. I mean who couldn't use an old dough bowl or a long hollowed plank of wood? And a glass dome, isn't that just standard these days or shouldn't it be? In my book they all should, pretty little things.

6. The Randoms - Don't ask me what I'll do with them or why I like them but I do and think they should be in my repertoire of decor, you know just in case I ever need a random set of antique keys or some pretty storage or pottery pieces. You can never be too careful with those sorts of things.

Chow Time

I've been avoiding showing off the kitchen because it always seems to be such the disaster. We had a shindig celebrating Tim's birthday/being in remission and cleaned the house to be spotless, just in time for about 30 people to come over. I think that I'll just make everything look clean and actually do the real cleaning after from now on. We had a great time and it was really amazing to be surrounded by so many of our friends that were able to make it with such short notice. After parties we both really get into straightening modes and are able to get everything nice and clean. Such was the case after Saturday although I have to admit that I hid quite a few things from the camera's view.

Anyways here is our kitchen. I replaced all of the silver knobs with these aged brass ones from Hobby Lobby. I went during a sale so they were only $2 rather than $4 which really added up with as many as we needed. I love the new look, it really did change the look of the kitchen making it look more vintage at least in my view.

I actually have quite a few knick-knacks around the kitchen but they don't ever seem to get in the way like I thought they would originally.

Both the tray and the Gurgle Pot were wedding gifts. My friend Julie asked what she should get our friend Maggie for her wedding and when I told her I thought a Gurgle Pot would be the perfect gift I never thought she'd get one for me but it was perfect, color and everything. I LOVE it.

This coffeemaker is my savior every morning when I'm stumbling out of bed. The sugar bowl was a splurge from Belk's but I love the eclectic look it gives. I also used a cookie jar from HomeGoods as our utensil jar, its the pretty blue I like so much and is just the right size all around.

The blue is carried on in the cookbooks that were given to us by a great friend as a housewarming gift. It then ties in with the yellows and naturals of the kitchen in the dishtowel from Anthropologie my sweet mother-in-law gave me at one of our wedding showers that we leave on the oven.

Lastly there is the little corner over by our bar where we store wine, our decanter, some pretty frames from Anthropologie and a vase and calla lillies from Smith and Hawken. I miss that store, Target carries the line which is awesome but I wish the store itself would come back for me. Oh well. 

I got the wall rack from Pier 1 for only $10 and its been really neat to watch the constant changing of it as we get various cards and invitations in.  I have to admit that I stole the idea from my friend Christy after she got hers to hold Christmas cards last year. It has been a great addition.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Get some barstools - We need something to allow people to hang out and chat while I'm slaving away in the kitchen, haha. Plus it would just allow for something to make that look a little more finished. The blue version would even match the dining room chairs I like so much.

2. Get drawer/cabinet/pantry organizers - I love things that are cleaned and properly organized and right now our cabinets, drawers and pantry are none of the above. I want to buy some of the pull-out racks to make everything more efficient and easier to use.

3. Get a rug? - I'm torn on this one, do I get a rug in order to protect the floors or is that going to be too much of a pain to keep clean. What do you all think?

Yay, You!

"You did it!/ You're done!/ You made it!/ You're through! OH WHAT A GREAT MOMENT!"
- Sandra Boynton

He's amazing, the bravest person I know and he is done with chemo. Kicked cancer's behind and has some pretty cool scars to show for it. I'm so incredibly amazed, proud, thankful and just blessed to have him in my life. I love him more than words can express and I'm so grateful that I get to spend my life with him. Happy Birthday babe and Congratulations on reaching remission. I'm so incredibly proud of your fight and glad we can get our forever started. I love you.

Be Our Guest: Part 2

Bedroom #3, its the poor forgotten little thing that was completely empty save for Tim's PlayStation 2 console and games for awhile. We showed it a little love with a bed and leftover pillows, blankets and etc but it still can use a lot more, bless it.

I have absolutely no idea where the pillows are from, I want to say Target but then again I think Bed, Bath and Beyond. Regardless I got them back in college and the blanket, mattress, lamp and TV table are from Tim's college apartment yet again.

The closet has some medical supplies from after Tim's surgery, leftover wedding decorations, Tim's mom's wedding dress and my wedding dress (the lady at the dry cleaners told me it looks like a corpse all laid out in the box...gee thanks). It also has the comforters for both guest beds that I need to get some duvet covers for but can seem to make a decision on yet. Shocker.

Things we have left to do here:

1. Get a bedframe - I'm not crazy about/not locked into the way the bed is set up right now which leaves me completely open to getting a new bed. I've always wanted a metal bedframe but am afraid I'll get my arm stuck in the middle of the night. I'm not a peaceful sleeper, ask poor Tim how he gets so many bruises. Putting one in a guest room lets me still get it but saves my extremities from trauma. The majority of my friends are much more coordinated than I. Ballard again has a great one that would work perfectly.

2. Get a nightstand -  everyone always has something they need next to them at night, whether it be a cell phone or an alarm clock. We need a nightstand in this guest room so that our guests have a place for their things at night. Ballard Designs (shining yet again tonight) has a neat one thats pretty inexpensive.

3. Get a TV stand - Once again the Durham end table would have to be my choice because I can do so much with it in the man cave later (i.e. place the two of them together to make a coffee table, yes please).

4. Get curtains - The view from the window in this room is all shingles which wouldn't be an issue except they have these little windows that allow anyone to peer into this room. Curtains it is. 

Just a heads up, I have to say that I'm SUPER excited about my post for tomorrow so stay tuned :).

Be Our Guest: Part 1

First I just wanted to show that I actually am making progress on one thing...I still have no idea whats happening with this though.

Ok so back to the real reason we're here, Bedroom #2. This is my favorite because it actually has my old bed in it. That thing was so incredibly comfortable...until I tried to share it with a 6 ft. 200 lb man. Then it felt like a cot but up until that point it was amazing. 

I got the pillows and coverlet from Target a few years ago as well as the nightstand currently posing as a stool. The lamp came from Tim's college  apartment, yes the kid had a fully furnished/decorated apartment in college. The trunk was a gift from Santa back when I was a kid and the frames are leftover from our wedding and have photos of our loved ones that have passed away.

Otherwise the room is incredibly empty with just a TV and outdoor table from Tim's patio.

The closet has our nicer stuff that will be displayed as soon as we get our hutch in the dining room and that dresser has the majority of my college sorority t-shirts that I will someday (hopefully) turn into a quilt.

Things we have left to do here:


1. Get a headboard - How sweet is the little bird perched on this headboard? I love it! Thank you Ballard Designs...

2. Get a nightstand - I found this at Ballard Designs too, technically its a side table but I think the height would work with the tallish bed plus I like the pull out shelf for people's stuff to sit on while they are sleeping.

3. Get a TV stand - I don't know that we necessarily need a dresser in that room, just something to put the TV on that would also work in another caliber later for the "man cave". I think the Durham end table from Ballard Designs (yes they are hitting it out of the park tonight) does the trick and because we need 2 of them (for the other guest room) they will fit into my plans for later perfectly.

4. Restain/recover the trunk - This is a super nice piece of furniture that I'm actually not even going to take the risk on redoing myself so I'm going to have to hire someone one of these days to get it stripped and restained to a nice dark color...maybe if I wait long enough I'll just like the light stain again. I also want to recover the fabric on top with something a little more updated and less scratchy to sit on.

5. Get curtains - With how close we've seen that they are building the house next to us we need some curtains over every window of the house...desperately.