Master Bath

I don't think I officially posted photos of our master bath renovation. I took "before" photos with my camera phone, and something happened and I lost all my photos on my phone. Lovely. 

Imagine a bathroom with pink carpet (yes, I said carpet) with pink walls, and a vanity that was literally falling apart. Disgusting. Ugly. That's all you need to know. 

We started the bathroom renovation after we found out we'd be putting our house up for sale. That being said, I think I'd still choose the Martha Stewart vanity, floor tile, and shower tiles (which are just white subway tiles) had we planned to stay. 

I'm officially ready for a new camera, FYI.  A fancy camera- the kind professionals use. I'm good at pretending to be professional at things. 

Imagine the possibilities....

I searched "bamboo" the other night on Craigslist, and look at the beautiful patio set that popped up. I say "beautiful" because I'm imagining it painted and the cushions recovered. Christopher always tells me I have an overactive imagination (i.e. "great vision"). 

 The set is iron (heavy), so I LOVE that the chairs have casters!

Table comes with a glass insert (not shown): 

Imagine the chairs recovered in one of Quadrille's fun outdoor fabrics: 

*Imagine the chairs painted orange with this print... or a poppy red. POP! 

Or something more budget friendly from Premier Prints: 

Dad, how would you feel about hooking the trailer up to your SUV and heading to Dayton to pick these babies up???  Let me know.  ;)

***The only problem is we have a patio set right now. Anyone want to buy it??? :) **Christopher, stop freaking out. I'm not probably not going to try to actually make this happen. 

Oh Martha...

Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! I spent Saturday picking out a vanity, countertop, and tile for our master bath. It currently has pink carpet, so it needs updated before we can sell our home. Initially Christopher and I were saving money with hopes of removing the bathtub and adding LOTS of marble and glossy, white subway tiles. Now that we're selling our home that doesn't make much sense. 

While picking out the vanity, I fell in love with Martha Stewart's line at Home Depot. I chose to buy one of her vanities for our bathroom in a beautiful gray color. 

This is the style of cabinet I chose (i.e. least expensive option); I picked the Ocean Floor color!! It is beautiful in person! I think I would have picked it even if we'd stayed!! More pictures to come over the next few weeks once we get to work! 

Just A Couple of Things...

It's been a long week up to this point, so I've been trying to find little projects to preoccupy me. I made a side table out of books that I initially wrote about here. 

I like it a lot, but I'm going to switch out and rearrange some of the books soon. They're just too heavy to keep messing with for an extended period of time! I might swap the lamp out for a different one too! 

I also laminated some photos and put them in a clam shell bowl on our coffee table: 

I've seen this done before, and when I recently saw Ashley Putman talking about the exact same thing on the Nate Berkus show I decided I HAD to do it! 

Image via Lonny 

*If you look closely, you can see the bowl of photos on the coffee table!

The family room is really starting to feel cozy! I've been playing around with the pillows and other accessories in the room. I'd still like to paint the brick wall and hang a few things , but it's coming along!!! 

XOXO,

Kelly

The Alchemist

I have a new addiction.... to spray painting (as if my addiction to gold leaf and chalkboard paint weren't enough). Here are my two latest victims: 

Plastic animals from Michael's

Question: Why am I spray painting animals?????  

Answer: I want the Harry Allen Golden Pig (mentioned here), but it's not in the law school budget at this point in time, so I improvised: 

 Luca was very jealous that I wasn't paying attention to her. She's playing dead (or possibly just napping); either way she looks terribly cute. 

I'm spray painting one other item right now. Hopefully I'll post pictures tomorrow.  You'll love it!!! 

XOXO,

Kelly 

I Need Your Help...

Dear Blog Readers, Followers, and Anonymous "Creepers": 

I need your help. I mentioned in this post that I was considering doing a fireplace makeover. Specifically, I'm considering painting the wall white. A reader suggested that I build an actual mantel like this one to keep the integrity of the brick: 

I absolutely love this idea, and my handy father-in-law has agreed to help, BUT I still have an itch to paint the brick, so that's where you come in.

Here's our fireplace in it's current state: 

And here are some of the images that make me want to get out my paintbrush: 

via Decor Pad

via Design Sponge

via Design Sponge

Also, if I do paint the wall white, I'm considering painting the mantel black (but that's a whole other poll, I suppose). 

via here

So, what do you think? Should I paint or not??!! Please leave a comment, and let me know your opinion!

Thanks!!

XOXO,


Kelly 

Project "Display My Christmas Cards" = COMPLETE

I don't know about you, but we've been getting lots of Christmas cards here at 1551. I am a big fan of cards in general, and I have kept every card or letter I've ever received since fourth grade. 

I've seen a lot of cute ways to display Christmas cards, especially via Martha Stewart: 

I thought about trying to hang my cards with the garland on our staircase, but Luca loves to eat the garland already, and I would hate for her to eat my cards as well!! 

Instead, I decided to display them on the side of our refrigerator cabinet. I took clothespins and "glitterized" them using three different green glitters. *Glitter can be expensive, so if you don't want to buy full bottles, you can buy little sample packets from Michael's for a lot less money.* To stick them to the cabinet I just used double-sided adhesive squares.  If you don't include the time it took for the glue to dry, this project took less than thirty minutes. Easy! *I will admit, though, I have green glitter all over my face and hands right now. Sparkles never hurt anyone I suppose.... 

* If you don't see your card displayed, please don't be offended. I have a few out in my car right now, but it's 8 degrees so I'm not about to go back outside tonight to get them!!!  

If being crafty is not your thing, another alternative to hanging your cards is this cute photo holder from Urban Outfitters: 

It's only $8! Pretty cute! 

How do you display your Holiday cards??!

XOXO,

Kelly 

Wreaths Galore... and a Little Holiday Decor!

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that I've caught the "Christmas bug", I'm at least starting to come out of my "Scrooge mood". I pulled out some of our decorations last night, and I'm having serious concerns about being able to put a tree up this year with Devil-Child Luca. Instead, I've focused on decorations that are out of her reach: i.e. wreaths!

I realized while sorting through all of our decor tonight that I have a LOT of wreaths:

Reindeer Moss Wreath that I made last year to avoid paying for Pottery Barn's version:

Mine just needs a pretty bow, but very similar I think!!

This year I made a sheet moss wreath:

Doesn't look too bad, but I was trying to imitate the Martha Stewart one:

Total fail. Even adding a bow to mine won't help. Marth's wreath is one of the most beautiful I've seen. Ever.

I have two fresh magnolia wreaths: one in the bedroom and one in the dining room:

I also have a few preserved boxwood wreaths:

I leave this one out all year round (pre paint-job).

I also just finished another wreath. I came across this image on Pickles

Similar to a moth drawn to light, I was (and still am) drawn to and infatuated with this wreath. So I made my own version (slightly smaller).

I had to go back after I took these photos and fill in some of the blank spots. This wreath was a total pain to make, and I nearly had a breakdown during the process, but it was absolutely worth it! Just don't ask me to make a second one!!! He's (I've determined the wreath is male based on all the trouble he's caused me) such a fat, little thing I really had a hard time figuring out how to hang him, so I just hung him on a wine bottle. Perfect combination if you ask me.

This isn't my wreath, but my Aunt Kathy sent a photo of a peacock-themed wreath she made:

So many creative people in my family!!!

Here's a great way to use a wreath:

Similarly, Eddie Ross had this photo posted on his blog last night:

Love it! Place the wreath atop a cake pedestal. I can do that!!!

Lastly, I did manage to set out a few things for the holidays:

Magnolia garland:

I also put out our stockings. Luca doesn't have one, but I'm thinking it would be a waste of money to buy her one; it'd be ruined once Santa came and chocked it full of COAL.

Disclaimer on our mantle: it's not complete; I just wanted to share my blinged-out stockings with you.

What's a girl to do when she doesn't want to spend money on having stockings embroidered? Pin brooches and peacock feathers on them, of course!!!!

The feminine one is mine; the masculine one is Christopher's. Pause for reaction. This is my husband's punishment for not being home when I'm decorating for Christmas.

I'd like to put more pillar candles on the mantle and maybe switch the photo out with a mirror for now. I also have some greenery, but I'm not sure how to secure it yet!!

Have you started decorating yet?

XOXO,

Kelly