July 4th Fun!

Hope everyone has a a safe and wonderful 4th of July today celebrating America!  We had a little party last night and had lots of fun.  Fireworks, Food, and great Family & Friends.

I was so excited to entertain again I bought cheap tacky decorations to put up all over the house.

  

I made a corn dip and potato salad I have pinned on Pinterest….you’ll have to follow me to see :) They were both great.  And thanks to my Mom, Aunt, Mother in Law, and Sister in Law for the extra help with the food and Will for grilling hot dogs and hamburgers.  We ate well!

We had a wonderful Fireworks show thanks to the guys!

  

 

We only had one fire :( and we were very prepared for that.

Best Friends, my cousin Kayla (right) and here friend Brittany.  Loving the dyed t-shirts in red, white, & blue.

My cousin, Heather’s little girl, Emma.

Our friends, David & Maria’s son Parker

David, Wilder, Frankie, and Maria

Everyone have fun today and enjoy the day!

April 

Playing House

That is exactly what I feel like we are doing right now…playing house.  We have moved into our new home and it is what we hope to be very temporary.  The house is great but we are trying to sell this one and move on to the next all in effort to get our developed neighborhood built out.  Being a developer in the current economy has not been easy….especially a first time developer.  We are hopeful good things are to come and soon.  You can read about those adventures here and here.
I wanted to show you guys the progress.  It has been a whirlwind Spring but after our vacation we moved and we are now officially settled in.  I would do a lot more on the house if I knew we would be here long term but we are optimistic that it will sell soon.  Since my current decor is pretty basic I thought I’d show you photos and tell you what I would do if it were going to be mine long term.  I’ll add what I may do short term as well.  Please not in all cases I may hang a few pictures..it does still look a little blank. 
And please don’t judge these photos….not the best but this is the unofficial house tour :)

Living Room

If it were long term….
1) Fabric roman shades would look great. Maybe white with a color border in light blue.
2) Furniture-a white or light beige couch with two side chairs in a fun fabric.
Our short time frame….
Probably won’t change anything big in here unless we do purchase a new couch, which I’d love to do.

Kitchen & Breakfast Area

This ceiling is like WOW!
If it were long term…
1) A tile backsplash with a pretty design above the sink
2) A custom built island with lots of storage
3) Purchase a long runner for a rug
4) Add some cabinet organizers from the Container Store
Our short time frame….
1) Purchase a cheap island or furniture piece to re-do (the current island is borrowed from the builder).  I found an awesome one yesterday on Craigslist for $50 and when I called it had already sold :(

Breakfast Nook

If it were long term….
1) Roman shades to match the living room and nook
Our short time frame….
1) Nada :)

Dining Room

If it were long term…
1) Bamboo roman shades with long drapes
2) Purchase a buffet to refinish & create a bar area
3) Purchase a China Cabinet to refinish
4) Recover seat cushions to a more vibrant color
5) Replace the light fixture with something a bit more casual
6) A nice bright rug under the table
Our short time frame….
I may possibly paint the table at the window a white to match the chairs

Master Bedroom

If it were long term….
1) Curtains, Curtains, Curtains, most likely long  and the same color as the dark pillows
2) Purchase a bench for the foot of the bed with a fun fabric on top
Our short time frame….
I may still chunk out the money for curtains….trying to hold out
**Also, I just purchased the bedding and I love it.  The duvet is the vintage ticking stripe from Pottery Barn, this was a Christmas present and I am just now using.  Thanks Mama! The quilt and white shams came from JcPenny and the two darker pillows from TJ Maxx.  The little sailboats are from a Interiors Consignment shop  (more on that later).

Master Bath

 









If it were long term….
1) New towels and bath mats
2) Add fake built in shelves above the toilet (which you can’t see) for storage and decor.
Our short time frame….
Thinking about removing the towel rack and replacing it with hooks.  The rack is a bit high for me to reach and Will never hangs his towel right…can’t get over it :)
**The cat bowls and water fountain (yes I have diva’s) are not really where I would prefer but space is a bit limited.

Guest Bedroom

If it were long term….
1) Hang pictures
2) Do something fun in the little nook
Our short time frame….
Nada…well I may paint the chest

Guest Bedroom

If it were long term…
1) Change out the light fixture
2) Remove the towel bar and hang hooks on the opposite side and put a shelf up in the spot were the towel bar currently is
3) New shower curtain and bath mats
4) This is the cats litter room and if it were long term I would try and figure out a better solution, right now the litter boxes are in the tub
In our short time frame…
Add a toilet paper holder….oops, guess someone forgot that

Office/3rd Bedroom

Gotta love that cat :)
If it were long term…
1) New taller bookshelf or leaning bookshelves that are the same color as the desk.
2) A wall with map wallpaper and paint this room a different color
3) A storage/shelving system in the closet that can accommodate all office supplies & filing
In our short time frame..
Still debating hanging shelves

Loft/Bonus Room

If it were long term…
1) I would re-do this room completely! A sectional couch a must, a new TV stand, shelving for storage and decoration
In our short time frame…
We may move the treadmill out and re-arrange.
**this room would be a great playroom or office as well, but we would most likely use it as our main living area.

Well, what do you think?  Any other suggestions?
Hope you are all keeping cool in this insane heat!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
April

Technical Difficulties

ARRRRGH!  I really am trying to show you new house pictures.  I was so proud of myself that I had this house set up in less than two weeks of moving!!  Keep in mind it is still on the market, had to get it ready for a buyer. 

I don’t know if it is this computer or my camera causing me so many issues but I cannot get my pictures downloaded.  Hopefully soon I can figure it out.  I do see a new computer in my near future!!! 

Hope you all are having a great week!

April

Ahhhh Vacation

I cannot even describe how much I needed a vacation!  I needed to get out of town and away from everything that goes along with packing and moving and a break from work didn’t hurt either.  Here is my paradise…

Will and I went on a family vacation with his parents, sister and her husband in the Bahamas.  We had a great time and I unplugged from my cell phone, email, and even Facebook for at least 80% of the time I was away…It was awesome!  Next time I think I will leave the phone at home. 

But I had to take some Instagram pictures…

   This is where we stayed, Hopetown,  in the Abaco’s.  That is Will and his Dad taking pictures of the lighthouse.  It is such a quaint little town and very much laid back island life here. 

We had a boat  and a golf cart so we were very mobile. 

I held this crab and it totally freaked me out.  It had huge pinchers!  The two guys here rented the golf cart and we kept running into them on the island.  One day they had just got back from crabbing and had a whole bunch.

We went to Man-O-War and visited this really cool Sail Shop where the ladies there sew bags from sail boat sails.  We tried to convince them to get on Etsy and set up shop…they could make a killing!!!

My new beach bag.  It has a yellow bottom, not in the picture but cool because it is the Bahamian flag colors.

At Lubber’s we met some really cool cats and the bar owner had a great eye for design.

    Here is everyone, minus Will relaxing by the sea.  It was a wonderful trip and it’s hard to believe it has already passed up by.  We had been planning for almost a year.  Now I need another vacation so I can get back this nice relaxed glow :)

Hope you are all enjoying your Summer and going somewhere fun!  It is my favorite time of year and it is finally HOT here at home :)

April

Summer Mantel

Hello!  Happy Summer Everyone.  I have been on a Bahamas vacation and Moved! since I last blogged.  I am still trying to catch up but I thought I would link up to Layla’s Summer Fun Link Party today because bringing Summer into our house was a first on my list.

I love that our new house has a lot of white woodwork and everything just feels shiny and new and it is…It is so clean.  After my trip I was defiantly in a sea shell, cool breeze mood and I had just the right items to spruce up the mantel.
I am still considering painting the mirror.  I have had it for a while and I’ve never really had a place for it but here in the new house we decided not to put up a TV in the Living Room and I need something big to cover the switch box and the mirror is a perfect fit.  Considering painting the thatching white and the black boarder blue/green.  Once I pulled everything together on the mantel it look fine, but still thinking on it.  What do you think?  To paint or not?
Love my old fan. I purchased this last fall at an antiques festival.
Seashells and my beautiful blue bottle.  The whole scene just feels breezy to me.


Ok…what do you think about that mirror??
Be sure to check out all the other link ups at Layla’s.
I’ll be back soon with my Summer adventures. 
April
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