this is NOT sponsored.  just me sharing what i am loving lately! 

I am totally stuck in the ever-swirling-vortex of fixing up the house prior to our Christmas Eve party.  You know me, white trim needed painted again – which leads me to paint a table – which gives me the urge to buy new rugs to go under the table …

Oh.  This snow ball effect.  Surely if Frosty was a husband, and I was his wife, he would let me melt before I swiped my visa again.  Thankfully, I am not a snow-woman, and although Dan the man packs his own set of snow balls, he agrees with what was needed.

Minus one, well, 4 things.

You see, I had my eyes on plaid red holiday pillows for years now.  Honestly, nothing revs me up more than the sight of plaid during the holidays up against a crisp brown leather couch.  I have window shopped, picked up and held them in stores, and always walked away before I fed into my obsession.

Then one fine day a week ago, the amazing Wayfair had some amazing sales going on and I could not resist.

This zipcode design Lily Area Rug was exactly what we were looking for our kitchen.  We purchased 2.  One for underneath our freshly painted table (soon to be shared) and one for in front of our sink.  I am a fool for larger rugs in the kitchen – I know, it’s weird.  But, I am in there a lot and my feet love the cushion.

Glad to have the rugs checked off of my list – and for that price?! C’mon I should have gotten 1o.  Just kidding.

Now, this Holiday Plaid Pillow  had me at hello.  I was SUPER bummed when the shipment date said after the new year … I was tempted to cancel if I did not see it leave the warehouse by this weekend … last night I was laying in bed and got the email that it was shipped and will be here tomorrow! Kid you not — I said “OooooH YEAH” out loud, in the creepiest/most excited voice ever when I read the email.  Four of these lovely pillows are on their way!

Cute right?! Just wait till you see them on leather ….

So with that order well on its way – I am back to painting! Can’t wait to show you guys these pieces set up in our house!

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I just had to share with you guys a bit of our family room progress! I stumbled across a few pictures of when we first started renovating this room and could not resist snapping a few for comparison! We added a few window treatments to this space and it has made such a difference! Not only does it block the draft from our old windows, it adds that cozy feeling this over sized room needed!

Red Red trim, stay away for meeee…just let me be alone.  This red trim as most of you know really kicked our tushies.

Now, the room is lighter and has such a great family feel that’s extremely functional!

We have the same brown leather couch we had at our old house in the basement.  I really did not like the thought of this pit going in the family room – months later it is growing on me.  We are always entertaining, so room for plenty of bums is such an added bonus to this large space.  Glad we kept it.   That sweet Olive Oil on there giving herself a bath however, has made her mark … so who knows how long it will survive this “Don’t declaw your cat” phase.

We added these fantastic Sonoma curtains from Kohls a few weeks ago across our entire first floor.  This girl cannot, (and I mean cannot) pass up a clearance!  Why buy one when you can buy ten!? The new lighting is from the one and only Home Depot – online actually! You should scroll through, but reserve hours of your time because they have thousands to pan through.  I love the nautical feel/industrial feel.  Anything is better than those flower ones they had in here.

We LOVE this fireplace – we are constantly having fires during this chilly winter.  We took off the front piece, to expose more brick as you can see in the picture below … still trying to figure out what we want to go there so it’s looking half done for now.

Somehow I convinced Dan to let me get roman shades for this oversized window in our family room.  Maybe it was a really good dinner? Or a new t-shirt? Or sex? Who knows, but he was all on board and we are both so glad we agreed on it.  Not only do they dim the glare on our T.V. – but I am a fool for added texture.  Gimme that texture.

Here you can find the ones who had in our old house – and here you can find them on amazon and get them yourself!

Love the crap on the floor in the hallway? Yes, I shoved and threw stuff there.  Where I thought it was out-of-the-way .. haha.  Fail.

Olive is also a peeping tom.  So if you come to our house, keep your clothes at all times and the bathroom door shut when you’re in there.

We still rock the kids play area – I love how when looking into the room you have no idea all of this junk is behind the couch.  It. is. fantastic.

Eight long months later and the progress we have made is unbelievable.  Honestly, I’m proud of what we have done on a constant tight budget.  We are not homeowners that have a money tree to buy what we want and when we want it.  I am proud of the fact that our DIY style is an affordable one.

Now, if I had a money tree, do you know what I would do??

1. Create a DIY wall unit for the wall with the t.v. Who wants to sponsor us so we can get it done?! C’mon… I know you’re out there  🙂

As much as I love this  craigslist dresser makeover – it would be SO nice to have the entire wall filled – with something like this …

(potterybarn)

We will DIY this piece by next summer, put it on that project list!

2. For that gorgeous wall unit I DREAM of building would be just as amazing with a much larger t.v. for the hubby.  We all know ladies that bigger is better for our  men.

3.  New patio doors – this is much more of a need than a want.  Considering you can dry your hair with the draft from how old/improperly installed it is.

4. Art work.

The new curtains + window treatments have added the warmth we were looking for in this room.  Art work would really tie it all together nicely.

That’s it.  This room really has come together so well .. and does not need much more.

What rooms have you made small improvements on that have made a big impact?

I’d love to know!

p.s. really digging this globe that my parents got handed down to them by my darling grandparents – thank you grandpa + grandma the boys are LOVING it!! 

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If you know this blog well enough, you know I’ll pick through an antique store, I’ll pick through your garage sale, your garbage, HEY, I’ll even pick your nose.

Okay, maybe just my kids if I have to.

 Point is, I am hooked on finding household items for a steal.  I literally get far to excited when I find an item I can give life back to.  Now, with that said, it is not always done correctly, or perfectly for that matter.  I am definitely a DIY-wanna be.  Not even close to a pro.  But I love what I find, I love what I make it, and I love doing it!

We have a store here in town that has a multitude of thrifty household items that we frequent.  The kids know the owner, and the owners dog that stays at the store.  And Dan and I know every nook and cranny to dig into to find just the right piece.

We have been wanting an area in our house to store liquor, wine and a few glasses at.  Especially since we torn down the majority of our kitchen cabinets we needed the extra space.  We fantasized about larger pieces from Pottery Barn –

(source here) 

A gorgeous piece made to fit each glass and bottle and really stand the test of time.  Reality is our pockets were not in the mood to drop a small fortune on a cabinet to store alcohol.  We’d rather buy alcohol with that money.  Ya with me?

So while we save up to get a piece like the one above, we decided to get thrifty.

While digging through the outside area at the thrift store we found this dirty dingy gem –

We loved the handles and the traditional lines to the cabinet! One thing that was hard to look past was it’s lean.  Poor thing looked like it itself had one to many cocktails and was falling forward.  We contemplated bring it home for minute, because it also needed a good sanding as well … and then, an $11 sticker popped out at us and we did not waste a second longer to purchase it! ELEVEN dollars?! It it works out, great, if it doesn’t – no great loss.

Dan set it up in the garage and ended up having to shave off (with a Ryobi circular saw) the back legs of the cabinet until it was sitting perfectly level.  We were moving in the right direction! A lot of chipping away and sanding later I was finally able to paint it the perfect shade of navy blue, Starless Night by BEHR.

The results? A gorgeous not-to-traditional bar that looks amazing in our dining room!

Dan finally treated himself to a record player – he has always wanted one to play his dads old records with.  It has been such a great addition to the dining room, being able to play music at dinner.  It is sleek and small, and the sound that comes from it is great! Oh, and it is only $45! Bada – bing.

I found this great framed chalkboard at the one and only HomeGoods + decided to add a cocktail theme holiday phrase to it!

Isn’t it amazing what taking a little bit of time and a lot of love to a piece that could have been thrown out furniture can turn into?

Inside we have the records, a few glasses and a shelf that is just begging to be stacked with liquor.  Okay, okay, it can stop pulling our legs now … we’ll go get some.

So let this be a lesson to you! You do not always have to jump on that brand new piece from a store or website — something old, something borrowed and something new can be applied to home decor as well, and truly helps bring a room together! So start thinking, turning something old INTO something new!