Hello & A Quick DIY

Hello All!  It has been WAY too long.  I am alive!  My Summer break from blogging turned into a sabbatical!  Life got the best of me... in a good way.  I turned 30 in October and have been putting priorities in place.  Blogging was one item that didn't seem to fit into my new daily routine.  I actually thought I wouldn't come back, but due to the sweetest emails from blog buddies I couldn't stay silent anymore.  I can't promise daily posts, not even weekly, but I promise to clean the cobwebs off my keyboard a bit  more often.
I couldn't not come back with a simple DIY I thought I would share. With the adoption moving right along, we have been looking at our house with baby goggles.  Seeing little projects that help with organization and clutter.  One area that needed help was the entry way.  We had this large empty wall going up our stairs.  I thought about just hanging art, but with the baby and living in rainy Oregon, a place to hang clutter ( diaper bags, jackets, scarves ect.) would be useful.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the wall without the beams already up, but just imagine it without.  So I simply purchased some wood beams from Home Depot. While I was there I picked up some Allen & Roth iron wall hooks for two bucks a piece. We trimmed the wood to the length of the wall then drilled them into the wall with anchors for durability.  Then I simply caulked around the beams to give it a custom look. After a little paint that matches our other moulding in the house and a touching up the wall paint it was time to add the hooks.  And viola!

The whole project cost under 50 bucks.  Can't beat that! Especially for adding esthetically pleasing organization to the house.

Glad to be back,
Heather

Happy 4th

Happy 4th everyone!  I loved catching up on sll my favorite blogs this morning to see how you are celebrating.  We are having our annual block party.  All our neighbors bring out their bbq's to the side walk and we have a huge pot luck.  I am in charge of corn and this year.
I have received a few emails asking if everything is ok due to my lack of posts.  Sorry for the radio silence.  We have been gone for almost 3 weeks.  First California and then Puerto Vallarta!  We called the trip our "babymoon," knowing it might be one of the last major trips we take for awhile.  I know in the near future my reality will change from laying out by the pool with a margarita to applying floaties and being paranoid about sunscreen.  I couldn't be more ready! 
I will make sure to share pictures of our trip this week. 
Have a fun and safe 4th!

Be Well,
Heather

Miscellaneous

Hello Strangers!  I should be calling myself the stranger.  Life has been life (busy) and in my little free time I have ditched the computer for yoga and sitting in the backyard with my dog. 

 Lately my thoughts and inspiration have been miscellaneous.  I thought I would put them all in one post so I can move on in my own mind.

I am loving the organic elements in the above picture.  The wood, iron, woven basket, air plant and color scheme. Those pillows are quite glorious. 

A am really liking this wood post propped up in the corner of the room with the Terra cotta pot.  I would love to replicate this in my own living room.  I have my eye out for a post.  Lord knows I have enough plants to pick from ( Crazy plant lady.)

The iron bookshelf in the corner and the display of books flat with bindings out. Simple, stately, organized.

I love the black paint with the gold simple knobs.  It gave me the idea to paint Collin's dresser with chalk board paint and use brass hardware.

The light coming into this room is beautiful as well as the idea of incorporating a mirror in the gallery wall.

The perfect leather couch! Simple bead board with a photo ledge.  I'm trying to decide if this is what we are going to do behind our couch?

I love the coffee table with the stacks of books underneath.

The minute I saw this photo of the grey/blue against leather I was in love.

Simple black bead boarding. Never thought to paint it black before. Really liking how masculine it feels.

* All photos can be found and sourced from my boards.

Thanks for letting my mind ramble.  I promise to have a more organized post next time.

Be Well,
Heather

I'm Sexy and I Know It

This pillow from Anthropologie has got sex appeal!  I first saw it pinned on Pinterest and on my "Wish List" it went.  I never thought the wish of owning it would become a reality due to the $150 price tag.  But the pillow Gods were in my favor!  I was browsing Anthro this week and saw it in the sale room for $50.  That is still more than I would normally spend on a pillow but I couldn't get it off my mind and I learned the hard way that if you see something that makes you so happy you can't forget about it, you better buy it! So I did and now it lives on our bed.  It will probably live in every room of our house from time to time.  It just looks good everywhere! 

Have an amazing weekend friends!
Heather

Window Watching

Apartment Therapy

I ran across this photo a few months back and it really intrigued me.  At first glance I saw two corner windows.  Looking again I noticed one window was creatively a mirror.  I love how the mirror reflects the window and vice versa.  How cleaver.  Well what do you do when you run across something so cleverly fantastic? Copy!

I put my mirror a bit higher than the first photo because before we know it there will be a little guy getting his sticky fingers all over everything, and I can't wait ;)

Before the mirror, I had nothing in that corner.  I now feel like each side of the hallway arch speak to each other and look balanced without looking two similar.  The mirror also bounces light around which is nice.

I added an Ethiopian basket above the mirror to create a little vignette and add some warmth and texture to my new white walls.  The adoption agency gifted us the basket when we were put on the list as a "Family in waiting."  It is very dear to me. 
I look forward to sharing the progress of the living room.  Thank you to all who left comments about the white walls.  I appreciated all the support and great ideas.  I love feedback!

Be Well,
Heather

In Transition

I thought I would share a shot of the living room with the newly painted white walls.  I am not as excited as I would have hoped. Why? Because I had NO IDEA how changing the walls from a beigy color to white would make such a drastic change!  My room went from warm to way cool ( not the "cool" kind of cool either.)  My whole house has a warm tone to it and painting the walls white seemed to really change the whole feel of the room.  I am not saying I don't like it, I'm just saying I am now in transition.  I did not think that changing the wall color meant I now see accessories, such as pillows and wall art that needs some tweaking. 
I need to tell you guys that normally I am really decisive and like what my gut tells me when it comes to decorating my home.  I have wanted the living room white forever and now that it is, I am second guessing myself. 

What I learned from this....

Paint can change everything, make sure you are up for a decorating challenge after painting and I personally don't like the transition period in decorating a room.  I feel unbalanced.  Hopefully I can find my balance in yoga tonight.

This doesn't mean I am not up for the challenge! I will be back soon with the tweaks I have in mind for making this room warm right up.

Be Well,
Heather

White and Wonderful

 We took the plunge and started painting our living room walls white.  I have been wanting to do this since we practically moved in but was apprehensive about it looking like one of those manufactured basic white walled homes.  These inspiring images made me realize how sophisticated, modern and timeless white walls can be and I decided to go for it.
When it came to picking the white, I thought how hard could it be?  HARD! There are grey whites, yellow whites, cool whites, warm whites, blah whites, bright whites ect.  I was looking for a cool/grey white that was on the creamier side with NO yellow undertones.  I know, a lot of descriptives for a color that is not even a color?!  I narrowed my search down to two and still staring at them.  We are hosting a big graduation party for my husband and his team for the police academy in 2 weeks and my walls look like this!  I better make my mind up quick.

Here are some more images of wonderful white walls.

* All images can be found here.

Be Well,
Heather