Dream Home - Half Bath

This is the inspiration board for my Dream Home Half Bath:


I'm sure you are saying to yourselves - "What is with the stripes?!" But, I figure that it is more likely for me to get a half bath or guest bath than a separate entryway so I will definitely have these beautiful Chocolate stripes!!!

I basically adore everything about the idea bathroom that I found at My Home Ideas. The stripes are perfect and I thought I could use some vintage Hawaii posters or even postcards as decoration. I found the awesome vanity and great lighting at good old Pottery Barn. You may be wondering why I didn't go with a round sink similar to the one in the Idea picture. Well, I used to want one and I do think they look great, however we have one at work and I don't actually love it. So, I have started to go away from that look. Besides I love the idea of the sink being so huge! You don't have to worry so much about cleaning a counter top and the clutter that can build up. (Is this a sign of laziness?)

I was thinking this mirror would be awesome. I might even be able to make something similar myself. This particular mirror is called Rock Candy Mirror from Marjorie Skoras Design (same place as the Entryway Chandelier).


The floor is an awesome custom colored bamboo from NikzadFlooring. It is a frosted white micro bevel and would really brighten it up I think.


To finish off the look, I would use some pretty monogramed plush towels from Pottery Barn.


I think that I might actually be able to pull off this look, besides the flooring which is a little on the expensive side, but where there is a will there is a way!

P.S. I apologize for the dramatic use of the word "awesome" in this post - but lets face it, the room is pretty awesome! Ha!

Awesome Idea

Just to make sure no one freaks out - NO, I am not pregnant and this is not my child! But I will have one of my own someday, hopefully, and I saw this awesome photo project at Young House Love.

They take pictures of the their cute baby girl every week on different fabrics with a simple white onesie. Then, they photoshop the week number on the onesie. It is so cute and an awesome idea. Check it out here:

Young House Love: Where Do Baby Photos Come From

Scrapbook Project

I know that you are all waiting on pins and needles for My Dream Home - Hall Bath, but I'm having some troubles finding certain items so you will have to wait a little bit. In the mean time, I'd like to share with you my latest project - Scrapbooking!

I've always been a scrapbooker, I have a Scrapbook for each year of college + other events that seem to be eternally in progress! Currently though, I was asked by my Step Mom to make a Scrapbook for my beautiful and talented step sister whom is graduating from High School this year! Ah! She is on a dance team at school called the Trojan Belles. They are pretty great and have been around for a LONG time so as you can imagine an organization like that tends to take over your High School experience....ie, she has a lot of stuff - I mean memories - that would probably just end up stored away in a box and forgotten. Enter the scrapbook:

I usually try to organize my scrapbooks in chronological order but this time I think I'm going to go with events - Football games, competitions, shows, trips, etc...

These are the stacks of things I'm going through, just waiting on some more pictures and then we can actually start designing pages!


I'm going for a girlie and glitzy feel while also paying homage to the school colors (blue and gold). I found this great scrapbook and solid paper at good old Michaels:


And then of course I like to throw in some fun paper and stickers and Bling!

You always need Holiday stuff and they sell poinsettia's at Christmas as a fundraiser - I'm pretty sure they hold the market for poinsettia sales in Austin! Ha!


Can't go wrong with Football (and pink glitter letters)!


They took a fun trip to New York her first year on the team, so this is crucial (again glitter is a must)!


This paper is just awesome! It's perfect for competitions or their shows!


And some fun girlie items are always necessary (who doesn't love zebra print paper)!


Hopefully this will all work out and come together nicely! I think it's going to be fun! I'll post my progress and some of the fun pages periodically!

My Dream Home: The Entryway

Welcome to the first installment of My Dream Home Design:

We are going to start the tour in the entryway. Obviously it's a little difficult to provide specifics since I have no idea what the layout is actually going to look like. Throughout my dreaming process I have basically had two visions. One is my actual dream house - one that we build from scratch and I get to include everything I really want. The second is a more realistic house. So, I will start with explaining the layout of my dream house but I will highlight items that no matter what the real room looks like are must haves.

The Entryway:

My dream house starts with a beautiful Koa wood door with thin tempered glass panels on the sides, with of course, a pineapple knocker which is the universal symbol of "Welcome."

As you open the door, you enter into a circular vestibule style entry that opens up into a hallway which leads to the great room. Approximately a space that is similar to this (without the stairs):

I would love to have that star design in the flooring. It's like the North Star leading you home!

Speaking of flooring, I would love to have Tiger wood or Koa wood floors throughout the whole house. Yes, I realize its expensive, but we are talking about my dream house here!


Assuming that the entryway is a somewhat separate vestibule type area, I would like to paint it in very thick (12-18in) horizontal stripes in a cream color and a milky aqua color. Similar to these Valspar colors:

The white color is called Honeymilk and it is actually much more white than what that picture shows. Here is a picture of it from Young House Love (It's the lighter shade):


For lighting, I found this awesome photo at My Home Ideas:

I must have that chandelier no matter what!! After some google searching I finally found it at Marjorie Skouras Design.

I must also have a small chest that has some kind of drawers or doors. Something similar to this chest from Pottery barn would be perfect:

I must have something like this because when I grew up we had a small chest with a door on it in our entryway. For some reason I felt that it was this magical little hiding place. I firmly believed as a child that it held many secrets. It also was what I thought to be a perfect hiding place for my special little trinkets. So, I would like to have something that my children can use to hide their trinkets as well. On top though, I would place some fresh flowers and maybe some candles or something. On the wall above the cabinet, I would place this awesome sea shell mirror from Pottery Barn:


Those are the basics of my dream home entryway. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here is the look all pulled together:


Next week - the half bath! Get excited!

My Dream House

I am a freak when it comes to decorating and designing houses. I absolutely love doing it and I am obsessed at looking at design sites and DIY blogs. Unfortunately, I just haven't lived somewhere long enough or with the idea that I would be living there for very long to actually design my space. That certainly hasn't stopped me from dreaming of my perfect house. And, well, even just my permanent house. So, I have decided to share with all of you my ever elusive ideas of my future house in a several post series. Keep in mind that my dream house is going to be in Hawaii, which is the reason for the tropical, beachy feel.

First, I'd like to give you a glimpse at some of the key pieces that MUST be in my house!


This tile is a must. It's gorgeous. I've always pictured it in a bathroom but I bet it would look pretty nice as a backsplash as well. The tile is from Oceanside Tile.


I adore this bed. It is the perfect compromise between my husband and me. It's the beachy tropical touch I want in a sleigh bed which he really wants. It's from, of course, Pottery Barn.


Capiz shell lighting just screams Hawaii to me. West Elm has a variety of Capiz shell lighting in all different shapes and sizes.


I'm in love with this countertop for my Kitchen. It's recycled glass, so it's environmentally friendly as well as gorgeous. I won't go much further because I'll give away my dream Kitchen! This can be found at Granite Transformations and is under the Trend Glass collection. It's called Cosmic Brown! Love it!


And last, but certainly not least...this gorgeous painting! It is a painting of Pele the Hawaiian goddess of Fire. We have a poster of it which we tried to frame very nicely to class it up a bit. That is what we will have to start with until we can maybe, one day, afford to get an actual painting of it. This will be the centerpiece of our family room.

Hopefully this gives you a nice peak into my dream house. I'll be posting one room at a time once a week! I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any ideas!

Coupons!

For those of you who don't know, I am an extremely avid couponer. Obviously to save money, but it's also just awesome when you get great deals. You feel like you've won a competition or something. Well, today, I won big time!!

I mainly stick to CVS and Walgreens because they offer the Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards respectively. I always get help on these deals from SouthernSavers - (you don't have to live in the South for all of the deals). If you want to learn to be a super couponer I would suggest checking out the site. They have a ton of printable coupons as well as going through ads and giving examples of the deals you can get.

Here are the awesome deals I made today:

Walgreens:

Gillette Fusion Razor (normally $12.99) on sale for $9.89
Burt's Bees Lip Balm (not on sale but a must in this household) $2.99
6 Pack highlighters $0.19 (what a steal)
4 Powerades at $0.75 each - $3.00

Which means I owed $16.07
Minus $12.00 in coupons (including previous Register Rewards)= $4.07 (+ tax it came to $5.28)

Wait, that's not all - I got $5 back in register rewards, so I got all of that for only $0.28!! Awesome!

CVS:

Bonnie Bell Lip Smack in Dr. Pepper of course - $1.89
Venus Breeze Razor - $9.79 (normally $9.99)
Bic Soleil Shimmer Razor - $4.99 (normally $6.99)

Total - $16.67
Minus $14.00 in coupons (including previous Extra Care Bucks) = $2.67 (+ tax it came to $4.14)

Wait again! I got $5 back in Extra Care Bucks, which means I got this stuff for FREE!!!

Best coupon day so far!!

The great thing is that even if I didn't get the rewards, it still would have been awesome deals considering one of the razors alone is over $9!

Yay!

Heirloom Tomatoes

One of the greatest things about summer time is the abundance of corn that is available. But that's not what this blog is about.

This blog is about another great thing that summer brings us - tomatoes!! I've been craving heirloom tomatoes since I saw a recipe for an heirloom tomato salad, however I couldn't find regular sized heirlooms. I did find grape heirlooms!! They are so adorable and sooooo yummy!

What did you do with the heirlooms? you ask. Well, I made bruschetta! Yum!


Here are all of the tomatoes combined with their friends garlic, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.


Here are all of the tomatoes on top of their other friend - french baguette.


Don't they just look so delicious!


Yummm...

I want some more but I can't find the little fellas anymore. Very sad.

So, the moral of the story is that if you can find them in a grocery store near you - BUY THEM AND USE THEM! You can thank me later.

For those of you who are not inclined to cook without a specific recipe (ie my sister - Kim) here you go:

- Quarter a cup, or as many as you like, grape heirloom tomatoes
- Mince a clove of garlic per cup of tomatoes
- Chop 3-4 leaves of basil based on how much you like
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (taste it and adjust from there)
- Add salt and pepper if you like
- Slice a french baguette and toast it under the broiler
- Spoon the tomatoes on top of the toast. Eat with a glass of your favorite wine
(You can also add some parmesan cheese shavings if you are feeling super naughty!)

Enjoy!

Love,
Kelly

Linked up at Tatertots and Jello



P.S. So sorry about the horrible photography! My kitchen lighting is horrible and it was dark outside!

Cool Blogs

I've been looking into some new blogs lately - especially ones that have some cool redecorating and fun crafty projects.

Here are a few of my new favorites:

The Dress-Up Drawer

The Tidy Nest with this cool kitchen makeover

{cowboy} phraseology with this awesome bead board project

Sometimes on a Tuesday with this pretty office/guest room makeover. I love the colors!

Thrillingly Thrifty with a cool T-shirt butterfly mobile. She also links to an awesome polka dot mobile that I would love to try to make for a friend, but it's probably a little beyond me.

And of course Our Mush Push - my cousin's blog! She always has some good stories or great projects going on!

Hope you enjoy!