Things I am Loving Right Now...

I think I need to pick up some of these knobs for an upcoming project I am dreaming about!

I have been loving this dish towel since I saw it months ago.  It's the perfect style for our classic, modern very dark kitchen.

This towel ring NEEDS to find a place in our house.  It's the perfect scale and size for our yet to be started basement washrooom though!

I have come to terms with the fact that due to forces beyond our control, we are unable to even start the landscaping or fence project in our backyard.  They will happen next year, which is great since I can save even more money for the yard of my dreams!  In the meantime, I am dreaming of this firepit:

We desperately need a new dining set.  Our table top is worn, the chairs are strating to creak.  Our set was cheap, purchased as a single gal out on her own for the first time.  It has served us well over the past few years, but I am ready for an upgrade.  I would love something simple and chic like this:

I have been stalking these two pieces online lately, waiting for their prices to drop a bit, I think I just might HAVE to give in though this week.

The perfectly antique frame.  To paint white and start a gorgeous arrangement on my stairwell walls!

Painted out in white, this would work perfectly in any room of the house!

Loving this cherry blossom bedding!   Unfortunately, I have no place for it!

I am pretty sure I am going to go grey and white in the guest bedroom when we get around to it. 

 Here is a great inspiration shot:

Sources:

aqua knob, tea towel, grey bedding - Anthropologie

towel ring, cherry blossom bedding - Urban Outfitters

frame & mirror - online ads (I'm not linking so they don't get stolen from me...)

firepit - Walmart

Dining Set - Ashley Furniture

Introducing Finley Dawn!

This sweet little girl has been keeping me from projects lately!

So far, she is a perfect little leash walker who is eager to get to know the cats, despite their feelings towards her, and she is such a love bug.

Unfortunately, she is used to being with others and the cats not having taken to her is driving her insance... apparently it's a little boring and quiet around here for her!  HAHA!

But we anticipate the three of them being best of buddies soon enough so she will have some playmates!

Our one worry, she still has not taken to her kennel.  Like, AT ALL!  Sure, she will go inside and accept treats and praise for doing so.  But as soon as you shut the door, all hell breaks loose.

I will admit that this has not gone over well in our house and admittedly, we've broken the rules about just ignoring it and "it will stop..." as people like to say.

As unfortunately,it DOES NOT STOP!!!  Nope, this little lady barked non-stop for over 6 hours last night!!

We had resorted to ear plugs and apologizing to our neighbours in our heads.  Unfortunately, when one of us needs to get up at 5am to be at work on the weekends, what ends up happening is that she learns to sleep on the floor by the bed.

There haven't been any accidents, except for one time that was my fault.  She needed to go but I thought it was more important to go first myself, then took too long and as I reached down to let her out, had a back spasm and collapsed on the floor.  Poor thing couldn't wait any longer and had to go!

You could tell she meant well, so we aren't worried in general.  However on days when I work, we were hoping to kennel her for the first little while.

We're going to have to do a lot of training between now and Tuesday if we expect that to happen.  Wish us luck!

In lieu of projects though, here's my favorite photo so far:

She is such a daddy's girl and he in unbelievably proud to be hers!

Weekend's Antique Find

I hit up the Antique Mall this weekend and while there were a ton of things I was interested in, I only picked up one little thing:

This chippy little bird was damaged and marked down to $5.00.

I initially picked him up thinking that he would look striking in white, but I am actually loving him in his natural greyish color.

He looks a little warped in these photos, but he's actually perfectly shaped!

We haven't decided on a permanent home for him yet, but so far, he's looking perfect everywhere we put him.  Like he was made for us!

Prepping for Puppy

We've spent a little times this week getting the house puppy proofed and purchasing some essentials for her arrival on Friday.  I have to say though, I was incredibly surprised at how hard it was to find a dog bed that met all of my criteria:

• Fit in with our color/decor scheme and not scream "dog bed"
• be large enough to accomodate her at least as a puppy
• be comfy enough to warrant being called a dog bed and not dog blanket
• be reasonably priced

After an unfortunate incident with a bed I picked up at Costco ( did you know their beds are filling with a cedar chip combo???) that ended up with me returning the ridiculously LARGE, great priced bed, I drove around everywhere trying to find something that met all the items on my list.  I didn't think it was going to happen and actually worried I wouldn't find something appropriate in time.

That was, until I took the advice of a girlfriend and hit up HomeSense!  They had the perfect bed for us:

JACKPOT! 

It was only $24.99, super plush and soft, big enough to accomodate her for at least a little while (and then become something else...) and it works wonderfully with the rest of the colors in our house!

It even matches perfectly with Greyson's flower bed!

We know that eventually, she'll need something a little larger, but we're sure one of the cats will probably take to it if she out grows it!

Any tips for great places to find reasonably priced animal supplies??  Local would be best!

Adding an Addition...

We're adding a new addition!! 

Unfortunately, it's not to our home (although we COULD use the storage space!) 

Nor am I pregnant....

We are however adding a new member to our family!

Cory and I have been searching for the last few months for the perfect little puppy to add to our brood.  Today, I came home to a little surprise.... Cory had the day off and came across this sweetheart online:

She was exactly what we had been looking for in terms of appearance, so he took it upon himself to give the breeder a call and see about setting up an appointment for us to drive out there tonight to meet the 3 females they had remaining to see if her personality was suited for our family.

I have to say I was a little surprised and taken aback, as despite the fact we had "Seriously" been looking for so long, we had just been waiting and waiting until we found the perfect dog for us.

Well, we found her!!  This little cutie, was the spunkiest one of the bunch, and also the most personable!  She was no stranger to giving me a ton of kisses and being a little cuddly - her sisters however, were much more interested in doing some wrestling or playing in the trees.  Her personality and easy affection for me was what helped seal the deal, and we put a deposit on her!!!

The rest of the week for Cory and I will be spent preparing the house, and the rest of the family for their new sister!  The boys haven't really dealt with dogs, or other animals first hand... and their few interactions with a puppy through the screen door have been a little iffy....  But we are ready to take on the challenge, and it couldn't come at a better time!  I happen to have a long weekend due to a scheduled appointment on Monday that requires me to be home all day, which will give puppy the opportunity to socialize with new people!

Fingers crossed that these two will learn to love our newest addition as much as they love each other!

I know I had planned to show off some projects from the weekend, but this new addition will probably take a little time to get adjusted in our household, and us to her, so I'll try and post when I get the chance!

Unexpected Absenteeism

Hmm... What happened?

It's already Friday and not one post this week from me? Oops!

Somehow this week got away from me. I was super busy, and life was full.

I am exhausted from the whirlwind of activity this week and am desperately looking forward to some well needed rest!

Also, I hope to have some home-related projects for next week! Fingers crossed... Cory is off this weekend so I am hoping to have him help me tackle the huge to-do list amassing in our garage!

One board for the weekend (in addition to sleeping late, eating well and napping?):
- hoping to hit up some thrift stores to see what I can score
- possibly a picnic in the rivervalley with the hubs to take some pretty pictures
- attempt #2 at refinishing the end tables for our living room
-attempt #2 at refinishing the vintage lamp
- a craft project
- a girls night out for drinks on a patio and finally seeing Sex and the City 2

How about you? What do you have in store?

Easy Update: Hanging Basket

A few weeks ago, I showed you how I turned my porch from this:

To this:

It took very little money but looked soooo much better (except for the fact that we are still waiting on the stair risers from the builder...)

Since then, we've mixed things up a little bit (and the hydrangea died...).  Somehow, it was still missing something.... so I rummaged in the garage a bit in my "Front Porch" bin until I found what I was missing!

Last year I had purchased a few hanging basket brackets and had yet to hang them, so the second Cory was home, I asked him to help me hang it.  Yes, I could have hung it myself but I wanted a second set of eyes to gauge the right height once a basket was hanging from it!

Literally 10 seconds later, I had this:

It was exactly what I was looking for!

I let Cory choose the bracket we used and have to say I was pleasantly surprised at his pick - it was the most decorative and scrolly of the bunch!  It's also my fave!

I potted a combination of pink azaleas, purple pansies and some dusty miller in here.  I can't wait for them to fully bloom!

Oh, and I should also point out that this pot was dark green last year.  It didn't work with my color scheme, so I changed it in under 5 minutes!

My New Love!

I fell in love today!  Yes, I was tooling around, innocently looking for nothing in particular, keeping in mind the gift cards burning a hole in my wallet.  I was just about to check out at Home Outfitters when I spotted some neat stuff in the dishes.  I did a double-take when I spotted these beauties:

Sigh... wipe drool from chin!

These babies exemplify every single thing I love:

• 
  
  white dishes with silver
• 
  
  pretty little birds
• 
  
  floral
• 
  
  vines

I HAD TO HAVE THEM!!

Unfortunately they sell a 20 piece boxed set; a small serving platter and the sugar and creamers.

THEY DO NOT SELL THE DINNERWARE INDEPENDENTLY!!!!

Since I was not in the market for dinnerware and my shopping budget was a lot less than they were asking, I wasn't able to pick up settings for at least 8... which is what I am sure I will be back eventually to purchase.

In the meantime, I left with these:

For now, they will have to do, and they have already found a place with my birdies and milk glass in the dining cabinet.  But aren't they PERFECT??

Potted Patio

Since it's highly unlikely that our builder will get around to doing our grading, nevermind the landscaping this year, we will most likely be dealing with a mud pit for another year. :(

For what it's worth though, we really enjoy sitting on the back deck, enjoying dinner, drinks or conversations with good friends, regardless of the crappy view below.  But, since I really can't go without some pretty blooms, I visited Home Depot this weekend to add a little color to our otherwise bleak deck.

Here's a few of my pretty pots:

This one has turned out wonderfully!  I love the mix of the bright pink mini roses with the dusty miller in that perfect blue pot!

Another pot with mini roses:

I also added some texture with another silvery looking plant, the name of which I can not remember right now.

I LOVE how full I filled this pot. The mixture of tall spikes and low floppy blooms is perfect!

I didn't want to spend a ton on perrenials and I love the purple with the beigey-tan of our house and patio cushions, so PANSIES & VIOLAS dominate this little arrangement of pots on the side table!

We bought this railing pot the other day and Cory modified it with some wood from the construction site next door to make it fit snugly.  I filled it with snapdragons and mini violas.   The have actually started to bloom from all this rain!  I can't wait until the pot fills out - I stuffed it right good!

It started to rain as I was planting and hasn't really stopped since, so for the meantime everything is sitting like this:

Which gives me the perfect view of pretty flowers from the patio doors.  But I think that once everything blooms and the pots are spread out ( and i get some more...) thinks will perk up nicely out there!

Now, only to do something about this rain...

Saving (Flooring) Grace!

One of my favorite things about our house is the floor we chose when we built.

One of my least favorite things about our house is the floor we chose when we built.

You see, it hasn't even been a year, but right from the get-go stuff like this kept happening:

Yes, aside from those crumbs you see, those are some pretty major scratches!  These ones are around the dining table.  But into the area that is the walkway to the patio, in between the living room and dining space.  So... pretty visible.

You see, we knew this would happen.. so we even went out and bought felt pads.  As soon as we moved in, we installed them.  Unfortunately they kept falling off.  If they did manage to stay on, they looked like this only DAYS after we put them on:

You can thank me later for showing you one of the "cleaner" ones.  YUCK!!!

I guess that's what you get when you have pets....

Anyhow, this was getting a little outta hand.  Plus, all that cat hair was making it's way under the glue and the felt pads were falling off, inevitably causing ugly scratches.

A trip over to Home Depot  to try and find a fix, yielded these babies:

They were around $3.00 for a pack of 4.  (One pack, obviously does one chair...)

When we got home, I peeled off the yucky felt pads, and the simply hammered in the new bottoms.

Afterwards, they glided so perfectly across the floors.

Now, if only I knew a quick fix for the floors, as the scratches the couch left, weren't so small.....

Campy Cherubic Lamp Makeover

As a teenager, this lamp served as a necklace holder and display stand in my bedroom.  Somewhere along the way, it lost it's shade and harp.  I think that was when I decided it would look best sporting a black-light light bulb!  What can I say?  My room was white and purple, it matched and made everything GLOW!

Anyhow, this poor thing has travelled with me to 4 homes now, and has been living the last few years, stuffed in the back of closets.  Unfortunately, it just wasn't working for me, style wise.  However, it worked perfectly and I knew something fun could come of it!

I had been seeing white lamps with everything from ceramic animals to artichokes everywhere lately, so I thought it might be cute to do a campy, chubby little cherub lamp.  My vision was a white base and black shade!

Two days later, I am loving this lamp SOOOO much more now!

1very light coat of Krylon white primer and 3 coats of Krylon Satin finish spray pain in Bright White and I'm a happy girl.

The only thing I am NOT sold on, is the shade I had:

The shade is too long, and you don't get a good view of the clear crystal part in the middle of the lamp, which is pretty neat.  Now I know that I didn't paint the gold hardware pieces, an oversight I tell you.  Plus, taping them off when I did the white, ended up with the gold flaking off in places... but I actually kind of like it.  It makes it look a lot more vintage (but gorgeous now) and not so stark and brand new!

 

Here's the lamp with another shade that I think is the right shape, just the wrong color:

What do you think, a better fit for the base?

So, for the meantime, I am on the lookout for a shade shaped like the white one, in black.

Thoughts?