4.21.2014

I See You

I have been looking for a little clear purse for a while now.  Is it practical?  Not really.  Is it fun?  Yes.  So I was thrilled when I found this cutie at Francesca's a few weeks ago.  It has made several outings and has forced me to only bring the essentials rather than my usual haul.  I am also loving a longer, fuller skirt these days.  Perfect for the temperature changes.  Happy Monday...J

Top {Chico's}, Skirt {Ann Taylor}, Shows {TJMaxx}, Purse {Francesca's}, Pen Necklace {Kate Spade}, Sunnies {SEE}

4.16.2014

Before & After: Nashville Kitchen

Hello Wednesday!  How has everyone's week been? So excited today because I will welcome my baby sister to our new home in South Bend.  But, first, I must share our final "Before & After" photos of our Nashville home.  For those of you just now stopping by, we were in this home for a little over a year, and it was in need of some major TLC.  We spent so much time and money on projects that needed to be done, I really did not have the time or money to focus on the decorating I wanted to do.  But, I think I made a great start with some accents and what we already owned.  It certainly does not look perfect, but we came a long way.

Second to the front yard, the kitchen was probably the area we spent the most time in, but you will see below we still had more plans.  As much as I loved our little labor of love, I have to say it is nice to be in a place that does not have a project around every corner.  I would love to know if you had a favorite "Before & After" picture.  What transformation did you love the most?  See you here tomorrow...J

What we did.
-Purchased and installed a hanging microwave.
-Purchased a new fridge.
-Hung a pot hanger.
-Painted the walls and all trim.
-Hung curtains and accent wall of curtains.
What we paid someone to do.
-Paint the cabinets.  We were just too tired to sand and paint them ourselves.
What we still wanted to do.
-Replace flooring.
-Replace stove and dishwasher.
-Install more cabinets above the counters to the right of the fridge and frame the fridge in.
-Replace countertops with quartz.  

4.14.2014

Before & After: Nashville Bedrooms

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone had an amazing weekend.  I have two final posts to share with you from our Nashville home.  Thank you all for your sweet comments so far.  It was certainly a labor of love.  Today, I wanted to share some of our bedroom photos.  I only had one before picture of our guest room, and you will see below that we actually did not do very much.  However, I think the photos really show how some paint and styling can turn a room around.  Hope to see you here tomorrow...J

What we did.
-We painted the guest room, but not our master (second photo).
-We added curtains to all windows.
-Purchased and repainted guest room night stands.
-Purchased new bedding for guest room.
What we paid someone to do.
-Nothing, yet.
What we still wanted to do.
-Replace light fixtures with statement pieces in all bedrooms.
-Paint master bedroom.
-Install builtins along the right side of the master bedroom.
-Purchase new rugs for bedrooms.
-Purchase king bed, headboard, and bedding for master bedroom.
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4.11.2014

Before & After: Nashville Family & Living Rooms

Happy Friday to my friends!  Today I wanted to share our updated living room and family rooms.  One of my favorite parts of our Nashville House were these two front rooms connected by french doors.  It was perfect for entertaining, and I loved the challenge of decorating two connected, but defined spaces.  There was still so much that I was hoping to get done, but I think we brought the space a long way.  My favorite decision was probably the "orange fiz" paint for the family room.  Everyone thought I was a nut when I declared I was painting the family room orange.  1.  Who does not love a nut?  2. I really loved how it turned out.  Keep reading to find out, what we did, what we paid someone to do, and what we still wanted to do.  Do you dig it....J 

What we did.
-Painted the family room "orange fiz."
-Hung new light fixtures.
-Pulled up the tile below the cast iron stove.  The tile had been put directly on the hard wood with cement, wire mess, and nails.  Took us about 5 hours to get 3 by 4 feet of tile up.  One of my favorite memories from our marriage.  
-Hung new curtain rods and curtains.
What we paid someone to do.
-We asked our movers to take the cast iron stove with them.
What we wanted to do.
-We wanted to get builtins done for the entire wall with Stuart's TV.  I know, I know. That TV is too big for the room, but it was all he wanted.  
-Reupholster the camel back sofa and the wing back chairs.  

4.10.2014

Before and After: Nashville Dining Room

Hiiiiiii.  Just don't even know what to say, I have been away so long.  Just a few things that have been keeping me busy.  1. We moved.  So excited to start showing you the new place.  2.  I had to have a little unexpected surgery.  I am almost back to my old self.  3.  I have been crazy busy with my new job.  But I am happy to be back with our final Nashville house pictures and lots of fun new posts coming your way.  

Next up.  Our dining room.  As you can see, when we first got the Nashville house the dining room was so sad.  Gloomy, crazy wall paper, and not a place fit for dining.  But after hours of wall paper scraping (I will forever be thankful for my mother-in-law for taking on that exhausting task), several coats of paint, and some furniture shopping....the old gal, the dining room that is, was looking in tip top shape.  Don't cha think?  Happy Thursday...J

What we did.
-Paint, paint, and more paint.
What we paid someone to do.
-Hang chandelier
-Should have paid Stuart's mom for scraping the wall paper.  That woman is a machine or as we fondly call her, THE BOSS.
What we still wanted to do.  
-Get the built in cabinets and fireplace painted white.
-Purchase some fun curtains and a neutral rug.