Little Photo Gallery Wall

I love the look of gallery photo walls, especially the kind you see in Pottery barn catalogs that have all the different elements added like mirrors, words, signs, etc and I really wanted to do a small photo wall in my hallway but just couldn't figure it out with what I already had on hand. That is until I visited Natalie at http://endlesscrafting.blogspot.com/.  She had just done a post about her plans to do a gallery wall and while she hadn't put everything up yet I loved her combination of plates, photos and mirrors.  Well mine isn't nearly as nice as hers will surely be but I think it looks pretty good and I didn't have to spend a dime since I already had everything.  Here is what I planned to do but I ran out of space for the large photo frame.

This is what I ended up with

I really need to get a laser level to make sure everything is lined up correctly but for now this will do, I'm so tired of bare walls and I really wanted to see some of our photo's up on the wall.   Thanks for visiting!

Goodwill Goodies and a Distressed Table!

I just have to tell you that I'm super excited because I just finished my first try at distressing furniture and I think I did pretty well for a first-timer, Woo Hoo!!!  The other day when I was visiting my Momma I stopped at the Goodwill near her house and found this great french chair!!!!!


Have I told yall how much I love anything french inspired?... Well I am obsessed, but in a good way:)

Look at the detail!

It was $5!!!!! it is missing a support bar from the base of the chair but I'm hoping either my husband Jerry can fix it or if he can't figure it out, I'm hoping a carpenter won't charge a huge amount to fix it... we'll see.  I actually love the color of the wood but I even thought of painting it an aqua or turquoise blue to go with a white desk for my living room that I've got my eye on from Craigslist.

The 2nd thing I purchased that was just calling my name since I've always wanted a little pedestal table in my living room, was this little thing that probably came from the 70's or 80's... It was $10 and I think worth it since it's very solid.

At first I wasn't sure what color I wanted it to be, and again I thought about painting it aqua but then again my walls are sort of aqua and some curtains I've been eyeing have aqua and turquoise in them and I didn't want it to be blue overkill!  I decided on a creamy white since I already have a white china cabinet and entry table and I really like how those pieces make the room brighter, plus I just love the shabby chic/cottage style... I really wanted to try distressing, I'd never tried it and I really just wanted a light distressed look and well enough babbling... I like how it turned out, but do you think I should distress it more?

Obviously Brendon likes it too:) as soon as I brought it up from the basement after the paint was dry he decided it would be great to climb on and watch tv.... 2 year olds!

Thanks for visiting!

Mirror, Mirror on the...Floor?

Yep this is a pic I took of my mirror on my kitchen floor...my kitchen gets the best light in the house and I wanted you ladies to see the true color of the mirror (which is a cross between bronze and gold) because see I need your advice... I love this mirror, I bought it 2 years ago at Tuesday Morning, if you don't have one in your area it's kind of like a smaller version of Homegoods or TJ Maxx and like those two it's either a hit or miss.  When I purchased this mirror I was going after a Tuscan feel to my home and now I'm doing more of  a shabby chic, modern cottage look so I want to brighten the mirror up by painting it, but what color?  I'm thinking white since my entry/foyer table is white and I want to hang it above the table, the mirror I have leaning on the table now won't be staying since it's a bit too modern (another phase I went through).  Also, please ignore my half finished fall tablescape:)  I've also though of painting the mirror silver but since I have silver candlesticks and silver in the lamp I thought it might be silver overkill.... Anyway I'm taking a vote ladies, what color do you think I should paint my round mirror?

Can You Love a Chair?...

Um, can you love a chair?  If that's possible, I think I'm in love.... After stalking the Josette chair at Pier 1 for about 4 months now I finally took the plunge and handed over my credit card.  At $199 a chair this was really steep for me.  Like a lot of SAHM bloggers I usually do a lot of our home shopping at the Goodwill, Target, Craigslist, etc.   but after searching for months for something similar on craigslist and in thriftstores I knew that I just needed to splurge on something.  An added bonus is that my husband Jerry really liked the floral print as well and that's saying a lot! Like most men he doesn't have too much of an opinion on home furnishings, I'm lucky if I get an "oh that's okay" cuz usually it's just a grunt!  Anyway let me stop gushing over this chair but seriously I am in love... The only con to the chair is that it's a bit short, I heard one shopper say it looks like a children's chair but they are wide and comfy and did I mention beautiful!  I think my little guy actually loves them too:)

5 Reasons I Love Fall

First I just wanted to give a huge thanks to my followers! I now have 30 followers, I know some of you have them in the hundreds or even thousands but for my little blog I think it's great!  Now on to my reasons for loving fall.  For me the first little inkling that fall is on it's way is when I see this

Apples in the farmers market! I can't say there is any apple that I dislike.

Image via oregonlive.com

And of course Mom's apple pie, my moms is the best in the world (yes I know everyone thinks their moms is)

Image via mccormick.com

High School Football!

My son Devin has been playing since he was 8 and this is his first year playing high school football!  I love the excitement of it all, I don't know what's happening all the time but I know it's a heck of a lot more fun that watching the NFL on the TV

Photo by Eddie Saltzman and Mark Rodgers

Decorating for Fall

It's so much fun to scan all my favorite blogs to see what the latest fall decorating trends are, plus who can help but love when the Pottery Barn Fall catalog comes out!

Image via potterybarn.com

and the top reason why I love fall is HALLOWEEN!!!!! 

image via thenewparentsguide.com

I'm a big kid stuck in the body of a 35 y/o stay at home mom so when halloween rolls around we always do it up, go to the pumpkin patch, decorate the house, go to the haunted lake in our neighborhood, etc.  but best of all I think is watching the little kids parade around the neighborhood in their costumes!  well that and eating left over candy:)  So what are your favorite things about fall? As always thanks for reading!

Magnolia Wall Progress!

So I got all my new magnolia pictures in the mail last week and started painting the frames I'd collected with silver leaf paint which I am officially obsessed with.  I am going to be growing the collection and hanging it all along the entire wall including over the top of the china hutch.  I took a couple of pics from my husbands Iphone camera but this was at night so they are not the best.  For some reason my camera is dying on me, probably dropped it one too many times...  Anyway here are some shots, also a couple shots of my new vintage shabby chic china hutch  (I'm so in love with this thing) which was a housewarming gift from my mother (please ignore the ugly plastic light switch plate and unfinished baseboards, these will be finished and changed soon) more to come of the completed room soon! What do you think so far?

Magnolia Love

First I want to apologize for not posting in so long, but after closing on our first home the last week of July I have been so incredibly busy trying to make our fixer upper a home!  I will have lots of before and afters coming soon but we are still in the midst of a ton of projects so things are not quite at the point where I want to share just yet.  The main projects I have been working on have been my living room and dining room and my 2 year olds room.  For the last year or so I've been collecting photo's of Magnolia trees and flowers because I plan on doing a photo and art wall of just magnolias.  Magnolia trees are near and dear to my heart because not only did I grow up with one in my back yard that I climbed daily, but my Grandmother had a huge one in her front yard in Georgia where I would have tea parties under when i went for visits in the summer.  I also think the magnolia flower is just perfect and beautiful and I love that the tree stands for southern pride and strength!   Oh and did I mention that Steele Magnolias is in my top 5 of all-time favorite movies!  I recently purchased 3 new things to hang on my magnolia wall so I now think I have enough to put it together.  Check out my new etsy purchases ( I just love Etsy!).


ACEO From etsy seller SharonFosterArt

Saucer From Etsy Seller Myclosetshelf

Photo From Etsy Seller MelissaKimberly

I am thinking of doing my magnolia wall in my dining room around my vintage white china cabinet that was a housewarming gift from my wonderful Momma!  What do you think?