Junebug

Nursery Project: Chandelier

2012-01-24T15:34:00.000-06:00

Although I had originally intended to post my nursery projects as I was doing them clearly that did not happen :) BUT I still have the pictures on my computer so it seems silly for me not to go ahead with them. Today I'm going to show one of the easiest (and most fun) projects I completed for D's room, the chandelier.

I debated whether or not to do a fun color on the light fixture or whether I should do something more neutral (like silver) for when we go to resell the house. In the end I decided that I live here now and I might as well enjoy where I live, so I picked up a can of kelly green spray paint and went to town! I found this little chandelier at the ReStore (I LOVE the ReStore) for $10. Total this project cost around $15.

This is what I started with:

As you can see one of the white plastic 'candle' sleeves was missing. So I guess I did spend a little more on this project because I bought all new sleeves at Lowe's, I don't remember specifically how much they were (such it is when you're posting this 9 months after the fact...) but I remember that they came in packs of two and were in the lighting department under the ceiling fans (in case you're on the hunt as well).

Before I started spray painting I wiped the chandelier down with a damp rag and then lightly sanded the entire fixture. After I sanded I did another wipe down and then taped off all of the bulb holes (not sure what the technical term for that is!) and the end wires.

As you can see I chose a bright green Krylon fusion paint. It worked wonderful. Here is a picture after (I believe) 1 coat:

After another 2 thin coats I slipped the new sleeves on it and the hubster installed it in our nursery!

Here's the finished product in (almost) all his glory (since he's missing a bulb - oops!):

I am SO glad that I ended up doing the green on this fixture. Everytime I look up at it it makes me smile. I often catch my little dude looking up at it too (I'm sure he's just checking out the shape and the contrast against the ceiling) and that makes me happy. One thing I have decided (and I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before) is when it comes time to change out the bulbs I'm going to switch them out for round vanity bulbs instead of the candle ones that are in there now. I think it will just make it a bit more mod and whimsical.

I'll be back later with more of our nursery projects and then once those have all been shown I'll showcase the finished product (which means I need to finish one more thing and take some more pictures - it never ends!).

Hope you're all having a great day!

Hello old friend...

2012-01-11T21:31:00.000-06:00

It's a bit dusty on this old blog! So much has happened since the last time I was here. Mainly I had a baby. What I've come to learn is that having a baby means that (at least in the beginning) everything happens day to day. It's good to have intentions to do something, but often those don't come to fruition. So while I had planned on doing lots and lots of blogging a lot of other things came before this old blog. These days my daily goals (outside of taking care of my son) include getting dressed (who would have thought that would be an accomplishment?), maintaining a somewhat clean supply of clothing for our family, and making sure we eat. Outside of that everything else is a bonus. (Maybe I'll come back another day and share my goals for this year...hmm)

I've thought of just letting this blog go by the wayside but despite it's lack of readership, I like it. Heck, I love blogging. I have lots of projects, redo's, and misc material that in my mind I think I'll post, but in reality that may not happen. In reality this may become a space that is filled with ramblings of an overtired mama. (Oh yeah, my son can now say ma-ma!) I'm not sure what this blog is going to look like in the future, or the frequency of which I'll visit it, but for now it's staying put in it's small little corner of the internet.

Breakfast at Tiffany's Baby Shower

2011-04-26T09:37:00.000-05:00

Remember me telling you that Sarah was throwing me a Breakfast at Tiffany's baby shower? Well it turned out fabulous!

(For those of you not in the know, Holly Golightly, the main character in Breakfast at Tiffany's keeps her telephone in a suitcase to muffle the sound. So the little set up above is just perfect!)

To see the full run down on the shower check out the CES blog for lots of eye candy and inspiration! (And make sure to check back on Thursday for the second half of the shower pics)

A little bit of early birthday fancy

2011-04-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

Today marks 28 years of my husband being alive.
My husband is no stranger to this blog, I'm sure to his dismay he is often mentioned and has been pictured numerous times (as well as having permanent photos on the side bar). I link to his blog nearly every time I mention him. Each year I write a short blog post wishing him a happy birthday and this year is no different. Although this year's post may be a bit sappier than in years past...sorry - it's my blog.

Christopher I am so glad you are my husband. I am SO looking forward to seeing you be a dad to our little guy. You have a generous spirit and a genuine caring for others. You love me more than I ever could have wished for someone to. I love your film reviews and even the tacky stuff you want us to buy for our house (I think you can picture your most recent purchase). Our house is lonely when you are not home and I always look forward to 4:30 when you walk through the door.

On your birthday remember that you are loved and feel special, important, blessed beyond measure, and grateful for the many good things in your life.

This morning to celebrate Chris's birthday we had an early morning birthday breakfast. Chris requested a coffee cake. I'd never made a coffee cake. It was surprisingly simple (and super yummy) - but it made for A LOT of cake! Hopefully his co-workers like coffee cake! Since I do like to bring a little bit of fancy to our everyday life I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a special little birthday set up to start the day. Chris is a big Royals fan so I went with a Royals theme and snatched up a few royal blue plates for just $0.88 cents each (the only expense outside of the cake supplies and the gift). The rest of the items were items from around the house. So here's a quick pic:

Happy birthday Christopher!

A Couple of Favorite Blog Links

2011-04-10T19:21:00.001-05:00

It is hard to say this outloud, but I spend WAAAY to much time reading blogs. I don't know why but I am really addicted to blogging in general. I mainly read party planning/wedding, photography blogs, & home decor blogs although there are a good dose of misc and other personal interest blogs that I follow pretty regularly too (like my husbands). Today I thought I'd share a couple of blogs that I find interesting, inspiring, or that I just plain like. For those familiar with the blog world, some of these are pretty common so you'll likely see some of your favorites too!

BY FAR my favorite photographer, Jasmine Star (j*). If you like photography and sass you've got to start following her. Not to mention she's flat out amazing.
Hostess With the Mostess - great blog/website for finding inspiration while planning your own small events. Modern, fun, and colorful usually sum up the events featured on this site.
Southern Weddings Magazine - This blog is written by the editors of Southern Weddings Magazine. Tons of just gorgeous weddings, ettiquette advice (which I love), give aways, etc.
Kara's Party Ideas - A new blog for me, but a pretty easy one to check in on and do a quick image scan on. There are tons of real party features to get inspiration from.
Young House Love - John & Sherry tackle tons of home improvement and DIY projects and along with making it extremely personal. Most of the time it feels as if they've invited you into their home and you're doing the projects with them. Great design along with very user friend DIY projects - a WIN in my book!
Frugal Coupon Living - For any cheapskates out there you've got to check out this daily couponing blog. Tons of deals for deals online and in the stores.
Nesting Place - A home decor blog dedicated to making easy, fun, design accessible to anyone.
House Tweaking - Another newer blog for me, but one that is quickly becoming a favorite. Just a woman writing about her home, her projects, stuff she likes and stuff that's worked for her.
Rage Against the Minivan - This blog is hard to catagorize as it covers a lot of personal stories, social issues, reader submissions, etc. Overall just a good, humorous, sarcastic, informative blog.
Creative Event Studio - So what if I help write this blog? If you like photography, party planning, and want to help support two gals living a dream check it out!

And since this list is getting a bit long I'm going to end it there, although it's just a smidge of some of my favorites. How many blogs do you follow?

Pictures From a Spring Day

2011-04-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

The weather today is so wonderful. I was hoping that by the time I got home from work it would still be nice so I could go on a little walk with my camera. When I got home I loaded up the camera and put the leash on the dog to set out for a walk. What I didn't realize is that the dog + camera + leisurly stroll do not equal happiness for me. It was really nice to get out of the house and wander my neighborhood on my own time at my (nearly) own pace, but the dog made picture taking a little more difficult than I had imagined, so our walk ended a little sooner than I had expected. Even so here are a couple of shots Tink & I managed to take:

And for the last picture of the day - Tink, after her near meltdown, happily realizing we are very close to home after an apparently stressful walk (for both of us). Stinkin' dog.

Using furniture for decor

2011-04-05T16:21:00.000-05:00

I was going through some of my saved 'idea' photos on my flash drive and found the photo below. Oh how I LOVE those blue chairs - what a punch of color and drama to an otherwise neutral tabletop!

Love 'em!

2011-04-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

Just a personal post to show off some cutie patootie shoes I got for my little mister. He's going to be pretty dang cute in these kicks.

It's hard to tell in these pictures but they are blue and orange plaid, not black and orange.

And in like a year and a half he can wear 'em. :)

My husband's famous!

2011-04-01T08:01:00.000-05:00

Check it out!

Sewing SUCCESS!!!!

2011-03-31T09:07:00.000-05:00

After our first sewing day didn't go so well Gail ended up taking some of the fabrics home and starting on the linens herself (amazing). A few days later she returned with her sewing machine in tow to let me borrow it. It is amazing what a difference a working machine is! A brief lesson from Gail has turned me into a very novice, but excited seamstress!

Here I am successfully working with some scrap fabric!

To date I've nearly completed all 4 curtain panels and the crib skirt. There is still more to do, but until the nursery gets a little further along I'm at a bit of a standstill as to how to finish off the curtains. I also need to pick up the last bit needed for the bumper that Gail started. Her bumper looks way better than anything I've done so far (the crib skirt looks pretty rough folks), but it's been pretty fun learning!

Sarah was also in attendance this day, but alas someone has to take the pictures. :) I can't wait until I can show off some of the completed projects. It's great to have talented friends!

Nursery Project: Dresser

2011-03-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Sick of hearing about the nursery? Sorry, but too bad. I've been working on a bunch of nursery/baby related projects lately and have a bunch of stuff almost ready to share - but not quite yet! I promise to try and do some event planning posts soon!

My plan for the nursery included finding an old dresser and painting it in the green accent color we are using. I searched Craigslist every day and scoured every local thrift store regularly in search of the perfect dresser (in the price I was willing to pay). I was looking for an older, short dresser that needed a little TLC that I could work some magic on. In the back of my head I was looking for a dresser similar to the one in our guest room:

One day I came across an ad on Craigslist by a guy who said he had multiple dressers and wanted them gone. The ad had no pics but said to email for more details, so I did. After a week or so I ended up getting a couple of photos of the dressers the guy had. I wasn't sold on any of them 100% but Chris liked one of them so I went over to look at it...especially because they guy told me it was only $30!

When I got to the man's house it turns out he was well into his 70's and was just the absolute sweetest old man! He was rehabbing his house getting it ready to sell later this year so he could get married. While I was there he told me all about his daughter and her husband (who are the same age as Chris and I) and even pulled out their picture in his wallet to show me. The dresser isn't at all what I was looking for, it is WAY more modern than what I had in mind, but it was in great shape, was solid wood, and that old man won me over! So here's a cell phone picture that shows the before:

One of the reasons I wasn't sold on this piece is that I was wanting a short dresser to use as a changing table, as you can see this is a tall dresser. Or so it appears. The top piece of the dresser (where the 4 white drawers are) is actually a seperate piece that can be placed on top of the lower drawers or used seperatly. We're not sure how we're going to use it yet, but isn't that neat? Since the dresser was overall in good shape with the exceptions of the drawers which needed a new coat of paint, and the inside of them which had some crayon on them we decided to not paint the entire piece.

Here's what we did:

Yep, I just painted the drawer fronts with the green accent paint and lined them with this super fun wrapping paper I found at Target! When I saw that paper I thought it was perfect, but then it ended up being just $0.87 a roll - that's when I knew it was destiny!

So now I am really loving the dresser, but am still very concerned that the room is going to look like a mish-mash of random stuff pulled together. For now this is all I'm going to show on the dresser, but once we pull the rest of the dresser upstairs and more of the details start coming together you'll see more details of it (I actually haven't even put the whole thing together yet since I brought the drawers upstairs to work on and the rest of it is downstairs waiting for the room to get ready for it).

Pretty papers

2011-03-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

I had the camera out photographing my upcoming baby shower invitations (did you see them?) and ended up thumbing through the vase we keep with invitations, thank yous, postcards, programs, etc from our friends & family. Last year we were sent a couple of really fabulously stylish invitations and today I'm going to share them with you!

I should preface this by saying we had a lot of friends get married last year. Two of the weddings had a bicycle motif. Here is Pat & Jenny's invite. It was really cute. They also had programs and their thank you cards printed to match. It really was a treat to recieve!

An obvious favorite from Ms. Sarah. You saw the invite she designed for me - this one she designed as well! This matched the wedding really well.

Here's the save-the-date from our friends Bunch & Kaitlyn. Their actual invite was just as cute, but I wasn't able to capture it as well on film (and our copy was really beat up).

This last one isn't an invite we recieved, but was actually apart of an Event Design Sarah and I just presented to one of our clients for a Retro Rock-n-Roll themed wedding. We can't take credit for the design at all because it is a free template online actually. But isn't it cute?

Isn't getting good mail so fun? That's why I find it so hard to throw away some times! So if you ever send me something cute, you can feel good knowing that I'm probably going to keep it around for a little while :)

Spring Table Setting

2011-03-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

We've finally gotten a brief reprieve from the cold, nasty weather here in the midwest. The sun was shining through my windows and warming up my spirit! As much as I told myself to do something more useful I just couldn't resist giving my tabletop a spring makeover. A few weeks ago I picked up these plates from Target for about $1 each. I've been waiting until it warms up to do something with them.

Admittedly this setting has A LOT of color to it, but I just couldn't help myself! White, yellow, pink, blue, green...the more the better! Even the hubs found a smile when he walked into the room - hopefully Spring has finally sprung!

This was also the perfect time to bring out my vintage cake stand (a gift from Sarah a few years ago). YUM. Hopefully this spring weather stays around to inspire me to do more around the house!

LOOK! SO PRETTY!!!!!!

2011-03-14T13:23:00.000-05:00

Did you know that I'm having a baby? No? Well I am. And he's gonna be the cutest dang thing you've ever seen. Just sayin'.

Sarah is throwing us a baby shower in a month or so and look at the invitation! She's been scheming behind my back working on what I've now learned is a Breakfast at Tiffany's baby shower theme! I'm SOOOOOOOO excited! (notice all of the exclamation points?) I love that movie and can't wait to see how she pulls it all together. Isn't this invite one of the most darling things you've ever seen? What a treat to get in my mailbox!

She designed these herself and I L-O-V-E them! Here's an up close picture that (hopefully) shows the rhinestone and pearl accents.

Give her some comment love and agree with me that these are SIMPLY MARVELOUS DARLING!

Sewing day

2011-03-12T18:17:00.001-06:00

This weekend Sarah and our lovely friend, Gail (with Miss Molly in tow), gathered for a sewing day to being on the nursery linens. The day started out regular....

Here's Miss Molly - isn't she a doll?

And here's her momma, Gail, beginning the bumper.

The bane of my existence at the moment...Singer Futura II model 925...little did we know that Rocky would be the only one cheering at the end of the day.

Not far into the project we needed the manual, which has been temporarily misplaced. The internet has everything though, right? WRONG. Apparently not when your sewing machine is from 1975.

So alot of this happened....

And a WHOLE lot of this happened....

At the end of the day we parted ways with Gail (who is my new hero) taking the pieces with her to begin work on them and an agreement to reconvene later with her machine another day. This last picture is a little blurry, but the sentiment is worth posting - love these two gals!

Oscar Party 2011 Recap

2011-03-01T14:07:00.000-06:00

Our 2011 Oscar party went off without a hitch and I do believe it is the best one we've thrown to date! To start things off though Sarah brought me her copy of the invitation for me to share on the blog. Here is the front...

And here is the inside....

We always lay out a 'red carpet' for our guests to walk down, but this year we added 2 large tripods (paparazzi) to catch everyone's arrival.

Next to the red carpet we had a station with a sign that read, "And the winner is..." and a frame filled with nametags that listed different awards and the guests name. I won Best Director! You will also notice that the official sponsor of the 2011 Oscar party is Chris's Film Blog.

Here is a view from the formal living room (where guests entered) into the Voting Booth (dining room).

In years past the voting booth has only allowed for two people to vote at a time. This year we changed it up a bit to allow for 4 people to vote at a time.

The inside of the voting booth. I really love this tablecloth but find it can be a bit busy. To help our guests not be so dizzy while in the booth I set each station with a simple red napkin.

From the Voting Booth guests entered into the food room to find Red Carpet Snacks. Food was kept simple with just four menu options, cupcakes, bruschetta, cookies, and popcorn. We kept everything on the food table consistent with the color scheme of red and white. The cupcake stand was made from empty boxes wrapped in gold wrapping paper. The Oscar statue at the top was something I already owned (true story), but could be purchased at any party store for $5 or less. I also made some very simple cupcake toppers out of left over red paper, toothpicks, a star punch, and rubber cement.

The Oscar viewing area (family room) was also outfitted in red and white. Generally when we host events at our house nothing is sacred, furniture gets moved, pictures get taken down, etc. Although I had planned to drape behind the couch and TV and remove the rest of the wall decor it didn't end up happening since I wasn't the one doing much of the manual labor this time around. Overall though I still thought it turned out well. We covered all of our throw pillow with extra while pillow cases we had on hand.

Chris subscribes to Film Comment magazine so we laid out several of those for our guests to read through. I felt like the table needed a tray, but had already used my gold tray elsewhere. SO an extra black frame got a bit of gold wrapping paper and there you go!

Chris also owns several vintage movie cameras, so placed those around for decor as well. The two movie projectors flanked the TV.

This is a bit of a misc decor item, but whenever we have large amounts of people over (especially if some have not been to our home before) I like to keep things as straight forward as possible, so I whipped up a couple of theme related Restroom signs to direct people to the facilities.

Last but not least I thought I'd leave you with this awesome picture of Chris and I's debut down the red carpet. It's hard being this famous.

Here's hoping that 2011 will be host to enough decent movies that Chris deems it ok to host the party again next year!

Nursery Planning II

2011-02-22T14:48:00.000-06:00

Just popping in today to share two things about the nursery.

1) I bought the fabrics for the nursery. I've decided to take on the crib bedding myself (with some help of course!). As I shared in the previous nursery post I am going to be using grey, aqua, and green for the room. Here are the fabrics I've purchased:

The grey/green fabric will be used for the crib bumper and the aqua will be used for the skirt and the inside of the bumper. I plan on adding aqua ties to the grey bumper (which hopefully will also have a white trim). The aqua skirt will have a green ribbon or ric rac trim. Depending on how the bedding goes I may consider making curtains as well. But we'll see :) Here are some links to bedding patterns that I've found online 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

2) Over the weekend my baby sister and I started this project and then I finished it after she left. Since you get so many baby clothes in the beginning (of all different sizes) I decided to make some size dividers to hang in the closet. They turned out just adorable (if I say so myself!). Check them out:

This project costs less than $10 and 2 hours to complete (including drying time). We painted the top with a silver acrylic paint then glued the green paper on the bottom with rubber cement. The ribbons are simply tied around the hangers and the numbers are just scrapbooking stickers. I already had the paint, but I purchased the hangers (47 cents each), ribbon ($1/roll), paper (50 cents for 3 sheets) and the number stickers ($3). I plan on painting the inside of the closet aqua - I think this will be a very cute addition!

Oscar Party 2011

2011-02-21T14:37:00.000-06:00

My husband loves movies. No, that's not true. A more accurate definition would probably be that he is obsessed with film. Directors, cinemotographers, and movie reviews are a pretty common discussion around the homestead. So each year we like to throw an Oscar viewing party - except on years when Chris deems the nominees so bad that we have to boycott the awards entirely (see 2010 nominations). This year the nominations were given the A-OK so we are setting out to once again host the event.

Yesterday I took on the painstaking process of putting together our invitations. Normally I enjoy these sorts of projects, even do lots of planning and preparation. This year, despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to come up with a design that I loved so at the last minute (after purchasing supplies even) I found myself surrounded my envelopes, paper, emobssing, powder, etc with still no concrete design. 5ish hours later they were finished (and I only had to make 8) and my back was killing me! The worst part? I accidentally sealed up the invites without including Chris's Film Blog card or taking photos of how they turned out...what I am able to share though is a teaser photo of the envelope.

Disappointing, eh?

I will say that we do have some good plans up our sleeve for the party though. With the addition of a brand spankin' new TV courtesy of Chris's parents for Christmas we'll be viewing the awards on a MUCH bigger screen than normal. Also returning will be our red carpet and ballot voting stations. And so this post isn't ALL text here are some photos from our ballots booth in years past (so funny to see how the space has changed!):

Lastly make sure and check out Chris's film blog for current and old movie reviews. 2010 reviews are at the top of the page.

Nursery Inspiration & Baby News

2011-02-08T17:49:00.000-06:00

I'll start with the baby news because I'm just that excited -

We're having a BOY!

YAY!

So now that we know what we're having (and we wrap up a couple of other projects around here) we can start on the nursery! I have tossed around several different color schemes, originally thinking of yellow and grey. As time wore on I still loved the idea of the grey but wasn't loving the yellow in fear that the room may seem too modern. (Not sure why I was feeling that way about those colors, but I was). A couple of months ago we were out and about and I spotted a line of clothes at Carters that are just TOO cute. So last weekend we went out to start our registry and bought one of the little outfits. That same day I had been out and about and found a scrapbook 'paper' on sale for 50 cents that I grabbed up. It is actually a vinyl cutout of the alphabet in a fun, punchy aqua color. For 50 cents I figured I could frame it up as an accent piece or not use it at all. And here are those two items:

After looking at these items and some various paint chips taped to the wall we've decided to go with a light grey color on the bottom portion of the wall with an aqua at the top. We plan on doing a tall chair rail (roughly 2 feet from the top of the ceiling) that will seperate the two colors. As an accent we'll use a fun kelly green color. Here is a photo including the paint chips:

I hope that it doesn't come across too babyish. I plan on finding a dresser and painting it the green and also having bedding that includes all three colors. Although at this point the bedding seems to be very elusive. I'd LOVE to find bedding with some sort of star in it. I don't want to go all out with stars, but I do think it could be a fun pattern accent. I'm not sure why, but this has been my favorite bedding photo for a long time now (even before I started liking the stars):

I can't find any bedding that is even close to something I would consider and would LOVE to have it made (which is my hope) but at this point that also seems elusive as I can't locate any fabrics! I found this crib sheet via Serena & Lily that may end up being used, but I do wish I could find a kelly green star print instead of the more lime color that is so popular.

And that's what all I'm thinking of right now for our little Mister's room. If you see any bedding or fabric that fits what I'm looking for make sure and send it my way!

Nursery Ideas

2011-01-26T16:58:00.000-06:00

Back when we were expecting my nephew to be born I did a blog about some nurseries that I found that I liked. You can check that out here.

Now that we're expecting our own small fry soon my head is filled with ideas about what to fill our baby's first room with. While I've got some ideas that I'm for sure going to use I thought I'd share some photos of nurseries I've found that I really like. I LOVE the all white nursery, sadly hubster doesn't feel the same. (But to see photos of my all time favorite nursery be sure and check out Wren's nursery by Holly at Life in the Fun Lane.) Here are some all white rooms that I adore...

You'll have to forgive me in advance, but I will for sure be posting more nursery inspirations in the future. I'll also share some of the changes happening around Casa Weseloh as we arrange stuff for the big arrival.

Guest Room Update!

2011-01-19T12:59:00.001-06:00

I am SO excited to share this project. I've shared photos of our guest room before on the blog and mentioned that it is my favorite room - but this project has taken my love of this room to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

For a long time I've dreamed of painting a ceiling a color. This project was actually started when Sarah and I went to the Rehabitat ReStore and picked up some used chandeliers that we have plans to paint. I wasn't sure if I would put the chandelier in the guest room or the nursery. After talking it over with the husband we decided to put the chandelier in the nursery because we already had 2 flush mount ceiling fixtures (brand new) hanging around the house that we didn't have a place for. Then a few days later as I was eyeing the ceiling in the guest room I realized that I had some left over paint from when we redid the basement that would be perfect as a ceiling color in the guest room. It is a lighter, complementary aqua color.

Although I've shared photos of the guest room before I always stregically cropped out the light fixture...or the lack of a light fixture...

And look at the after pictures...

Chris and I both really love the added color. It really makes the light fixture (even though it is so simple) and the trim 'pop'. I also love how it adds an additional layer to the room.

I also did another SUPER quick update to the room. The dresser had been painted several years ago and updated with new hardware. When I was in there examining the room the other day I realized that there was a little ridge detail on the 2nd drawer. So I whipped out a black sharpie and filled it in. It's not much, but it just adds even more character to the piece.

I didn't think it would be possible for me to love this room anymore than I already did, but it has happened!

2010 recap...

2011-01-03T10:41:00.000-06:00

I've never done a year end recap before, but somehow this morning it feels right to do. If I'm completely honest, 2010 was rough. Sometimes really rough. Normally I look back and think, 'was that a whole year?', but this new years I'm not asking that. I'm looking towards 2011. Here are my personal highs and lows of the year:

Low points:
(I'm starting with the lows so I can end on the highs)

My mom & step-dad moving to Las Vegas
My sister, nephew, and brother in law moving to New Hampshire
Leaving a good job to take a risk with a new job
Losing the new job
Being unemployed for 4 months this year

High points:

Chasing a dream to start my own business (being scared but doing it anyway)
Seeing our business take off faster than we expected & meeting tons of great people along the way
Visitng DisneyWorld, Puerto Rico, and taking a mini-cation to Topeka
Seeing Sarah get married
My brother in law getting married
Getting to know my mother in law better
Watching my nephew turn 1
Seeing my dad's family so much recently
Getting pregnant - hello 2011!

Overall the high points are much higher than the low ones...but somehow I've let the low ones stick with me way more than what I should. So although I'm not making any resolutions I am really looking forward to 2011 and all that I know it will bring. I've been working on getting my more cheerful attitude outlook back and being less pessimistic for a few weeks, so today I'm channelling that into the new year. So with that being said here are some things that I am currently looking forward to:

Visiting my mom in 3 weeks!
My doctors appointment tomorrow
Continuing work on CES and growing it like crazy!!!!
Hugging my husband when he gets home
Working on some small projects around the house
BABY!!!!
Working on the nursery
Pregnancy massage
Getting the basement organized into a workout & business space
Looking up the PBS Jane Austin mini-series schedule on TV (thrilling, right?)
Did I mention I'm seeing my mom in 3 weeks?!?!?

I hope that 2011 is a great year for all of those reading right now. Happy new year!

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-24T08:55:00.001-06:00

Just in time for Christmas....

2010-12-23T10:57:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I've logged on here. Since my last post quite a bit has happened, not the least of which is that I'm

That with a bunch of other changes have left me less than motivated to post. Now I'm feeling much better and ready to get back to the blog! This year we put up all of our trees (3) but didn't get to finish all of our decorating outside. Here are a few pictures of our family room decorations:

In the family room I let anything go color wise. That tree is where we put all of our family ornaments and less serious decorations. I picked up these green and white stockings at a thrift store that was going out of business a few years ago for something like a dime each. I just used regular craft paint and stamps I had at home to put our names on them.

The tree in the formal living room only gets white lights and silver/white ornaments. Here it is in all it's glory:

And here is are a few random photos of a dinner setting I put together in the kitchen for a small Christmas dinner we had last night:

For now that's all I've got. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Fall Decor

2010-10-17T13:28:00.002-05:00

This year I've gotten really into fall decorating. Normally I put up some small decorations, but this year I went a little above and beyond the usual decorating - and I have to say that I kind of love it. Here are a couple of pictures of part of the decor.

Mom said that she felt like she was entering Charlie Brown's pumpkin patch :)

The glider above we picked up over the summer in Topeka. Below is a small display on the porch right before you walk in the house.

Dining room buffet below...

A not-so-great picture of my fall table settings...

And lastly the kitchen centerpiece...

Happy fall everyone!

Friends

2010-09-26T08:52:00.001-05:00

A few months ago I made my husband take some VERY fun pictures of my best friends and I - in our wedding dresses!!! We're all married now and we thought it would be a very fun thing to do. If you've hung around this blog long you already know Sarah but say hello to Jeanette & Rachel (who we picked up in our Jewell days).

Sunroom: Mini Project

2010-08-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited about the change that I made yesterday to the sun room. I should start by saying that this weekend Chris was gone, Sarah & I had 2 photo shoots and 1 client meeting, and I was invited to a girls sleepover on Friday. Sarah and I restyled a couple places of her apartment and apparently when I woke up on Sunday Tink and I were feeling ambitious...so we got to work!

One of the things I've always loved about our house is our sun room. One thing I've always hated about our sun room is the floor - GROSS! The flooring was a dark green carpet. The previous owners had 2 dogs, which I believe they kept in the sun room as there were multiple urine bleach stains on the carpet & by the door the carpet was ripped where the dogs had tried to get out of the room. YUM, right? We'd been saying that we wanted to replace the flooring, but it always falls to the bottom of the list. I had been begging Chris to just let us rip up the carpet and paint the floor underneath, but he really didn't want to do it out of fear that it would look worse than the carpet.

Needless to say he was gone and I was motivated. Here are some photos of the carpet and why it needed to be gone:

Nice, right? See why it needed to come up? Here's what I found under the green carpet:

Brown 70's carpet! And then under that:

Sub floor. I pulled the carpet up all around the edges and the wood looked decent to me, so the furniture came out of the room and carpet came up.

Yes, that is all of the sunroom furniture out on our tiny back deck and the green carpet balled up and jammed in the stairway (it was heavy!). But when all the carpet was up this is what I was left with:

The black spots on the floor weren't actually spots at all, they were little tiny dusty bits left over from years of dirt in the carpet and erosion from the rubber backing on the brown carpet. It was really messy and hard to get up. Here's a picture of the paint on the floor:

This is obviously mid-paint as you can see places where I touched up. At this point I was actually wondering if Chris was right and it was going to look like crap, but I let it dry and put everything back in there and this is what it look like now:

I do think overall it looks WAY better than the carpet did, at least now I don't have to try and artistically hide the floor in all of my sun room photos! This project cost me $0 and maybe 3.5 hours worth of work. I don't plan on leaving the floor like this forever, it is for sure a temporary fix, but even Chris says that it is way better than the carpet. I know this has been a long post but I'm going to end with one last photo that is a close up so you can see what the painted wood really looks like.

Live like no one else...

2010-08-19T13:53:00.000-05:00

I saw this post the other day over at Thrifty Decor Chick and have been wanting to share it for a while. Those of you that know me personally know that about a year ago Chris and I decided to follow the Dave Ramsey debt snowball (thanks to our friends Sarah & Jon). We don't have credit card or card debt (thankfully) but we did/do have STUDENT LOANS...a lot of them. We haven't paid them all off, but we are WELL on our way (and SO excited for the day that they are GONE).

I really loved this post because I think that most people, in some form or fashion, can relate to the feelings she described being stuck in debt. So do yourself a favor and check it out. If you have any debt at all I'd encourage you to check out Dave & the debt snowball - it's SO worth it!

--
Also while you're looking at her post look at some of her oher posts too - she's pretty neat!

Just a quick note....

2010-08-15T12:31:00.000-05:00

I started a new job June 1st and it has certainly hampered by blogging! Seems as if I have several things I'd like to do a blog about, but there just isn't enough time in the day!

As you all know I operate a side business with my good friend Sarah. Our company, Creative Event Studio, recently launced a blog section on our site - make sure and add it to your Google Reader or favorite tab. We certainly will be updating it more frequently than I tend to update this blog.

I am still going to be posting on here with my personal partying adventures, photography practice, home decor inspiration, and all the things that tickle my fancy - but you should still check out our CES blog!

Birthday Pictures - 27!

2010-06-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

Last Monday was my 27th birthday. To celebrate the husband, best friend, and best friend husband & I all went to breakfast and then had treats at the oh, so lovely, Natasha's Mulberry & Mott. Here are some favs taken by Sarah.

(and yeah, there are a lot of pictures in this post)

Isn't this the cutest birthday girl picture?

I had a honey bee latte - it was SO good!

It was the CUTEST little shop. Even the bathroom was fancy (not pictured). It was so fancy that Sarah screamed when she saw it!

I love the mix of the antiques, vintage pieces, and the modern ghost chairs - YUM!

And then the obligatory birthday pictures! Thanks everyone for such a fun birthday!

LOST finale party recap

2010-05-25T09:14:00.000-05:00

For the LOST series finale (read a review of it here) we decided to throw a party. We were so busy setting up that we didn't get a ton of pics, but here's a few:

Guests entered in through the entry way which greeted them with the LOST sign. Once they opened the door they were inside the 'smoke monster'.

It just looks like black hanging crepe paper here, but there was also a smoke monster soundtrack playing, which was very cool. The small entry way is pretty small and with all of the black paper it was really dark.

The family room donned a Dharma welcome banner with lost Oceanic luggage, and a dharma food table.

Here are a few of the Dharma food products: bulk peanut butter, soda crackers, ranch dressing, salsas, and sodas.

Some of my favorite Dharma foods: apples, banana's, oranges, and (non-pictured) pineapple.

A photo of the survivors in the Dharma Initiative in 1974 next to the Dharma operations manuals.

More manuals...

Some of the survivors were also in attendance!

Apollo bars and some little Dharma bars.

The hatch!

Before & After: Guest Bedroom

2010-05-20T08:10:00.001-05:00

Today I am featuring another one of my favorite rooms - the guest room. This room was originally a nursery, here are the befores:

and here is Chris painting over the lovely bugs...

Honestly, this was one of the first rooms that we completed (minus a new light fixture, which we still need to do...). This room is nearly 100% hand me down furniture and has tons of family photos (which I love!).

We call the guest room 'Hotel Weseloh" :)

Before & After: Sitting Room

2010-05-19T07:38:00.000-05:00

Today's before & after is one of my favorite little nooks in our house. We call it the sitting room, but it isn't really a room at all, it really is just a nook. You were able to see the sneak peaks of it in the pictures of the formal living room, so I figured I might as well go ahead with the full reveal.

The sitting room was previously covered in wallpaper. This photo reminds me of one of those Magic Eye puzzles.

And after new hardwood floors, some 'red hot' paint, & new trim here are the afters:

After we chose the red paint (and painted 4+ coats...) I debated (for years) if I liked it or not. However once the new floors and trim were done along side the formal living room makeover I finally decided that I really love it. To me this room feels cozy and warm.

We begun collecting ship paintings in this room. The bookcase is an antique that my in-laws gave us. The chairs are Craigslist/antique store finds. This entire room (with paint) has probably cost us under $200 (not counting the floors)

This last picture is just a picture of the end of our hallway. We picked up this night table at the antique store one day for $5. My husband wasn't crazy about it, but I thought it was too fabulous to pass up for $5. It found the perfect home at the end of the hallway with all of my entertaining books and an old sangria turned penny jar.

So that is the before and after of the sitting room. Hope you enjoyed your Wednesday tour!

Before & After: Family Room UPDATE

2010-05-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, so like three days after I posted the family room before and afters we made another update - a new light fixture! Track lighting is still in place...but the overhead flood lights are G-O-N-E!!!!!

We picked this up at the Habitat ReStore for $20! We originally were going to pick up a chandelier on the cheap and paint it, but we found this vintage-y wood one and thought it was perfect! Check it out:

Before & After: the Formal Living Room

2010-05-17T14:25:00.000-05:00

I think I'm the only one enjoying these before & after posts, but that's okay with me!

Today the Formal Living Room got spiffed up so here's a tour through the evolution of the room! Here are the photos from the day we moved in:

This room was pretty non-descript (although the adjoining rooms had lots of personality with their wallpaper...). So after living here a while the room above was taken a few steps in the right direction with new hard wood floors, paint, and trim...

The room stayed as is for about another 2 years. Finally one day the husband and I decided we needed to spruce up the walls a bit with some decor. Although we loved the room and the 'bones' of it all (and yes, we really did love it all white) it was in desperate need of more. And here is the final product:

(the sitting room is on the left, more photos of that room to come soon!)

I love this coffee table!

Before & After: the Entertainment Room {Man Cave}

2010-05-15T08:27:00.001-05:00

The curly haired guy that I'm married to has a slight obsession with movie watching. I call him a film snob (because he is). Because of this when we were house shopping one of his 'must have's' was a move room. Our house has kind of a strange set up with a lot of 'bonus' areas, and thus the Entertainment Room was born.

When we moved in the 'den' was pretty basic, except that it had a faux brick wall. Imagine panelling that looked like bricks. Here are the before pictures:

The lace curtain came down on Day 2 in the new house and the wall came down about 6 months later...and here's what that looked like (we thought it would be simple to just pull down the panelling and paint the drywall underneath....except there wasn't drywall, it was old crumbling plaster...):

And here's the final product:

Ironically this room has been the easiest for us to decorate - men don't really want to change stuff around once they like it! Overall I really love this room, it fits the things that he wanted it for and it's not embarassing to me, so it works for us!. It is perfect for movie watching (and fully equipped with a big TV and surround sound). I would like to switch out the light fixture (and get rid of the box from under the coffee table...) but it's not on the top of my priority list since it doesn't bother him at all.

Before & After: Family Room - still a work in progress!

2010-05-14T13:35:00.002-05:00

While I'm off this month I've made one of my goals to get the house in tip top shape and take new pictures of the progress we've made on each room. The other day I took photos of the family room. The family room has always been a bit of a challenge to decorate and arrange. It is a fairly large room (13'x17') and has no natural light except from the adjoining sunroom. Additionally it has a fireplace, 2 doorways, and sliding glass doors leading to the sunroom. There are vaulted ceilings, but the ceiling line is asymetrical. Needless to say that without anything in the room, there is still a lot going on.

Here are photos of the family room on the day we moved in (unfortuantly I only have photos of one side of the room):

Because of the layout of the room there is one obviously way to set it up, with all of the furniture against one wall (the wall across from the fireplace, not shown) and the TV in the corner of the room. When we moved in this room was the least offensive (no wallpaper!) so we lived with it in basically this state for about 2 years. When we finally painted it got a fresh coat of a very light greenish/blue. We also did some massive rearranging to bring some MUCH needed symetry to the room. Here are the photos I took earlier in the week (lovin' the wide angle lens for these indoor pics!):

To add balance to the room I painted two paintings and hung them on either side of the sliding doors. We also floated our couch and loveseat on either side of the fireplace and placed the TV across from the fireplace. A cabinet was placed on either side of the fireplace. Basically in this room I've tried to do things as 'evenly' as possible.

We recently moved a tall, smallish, blonde colored entertainment center out of here and put in a dresser to hold the TV. I like the look of the dresser better, but after taking these pictures it really stood out how VERY EMPTY the two walls above are. SO we have since switched the brown record cabinet (that is shown to the right of the stairs above) with the white cabinet that was residing to the right of the fireplace.

Since we moved the white cabinet and the record stand I've also redone the fireplace decor. This room is still a work in progress. I'm going to be making a large vintage looking 'Weseloh Farm's' sign to hang above the new TV dresser to fill up the wall space above the TV and to hopefully get rid of some of that huge expanse of space! A new light fixture is also on the 'to do' list.

Lastly, here are just a couple of detail shots that I grabbed while the camera was out:

This is an old radio that has been converted into CD and CD player storage.

An old fan that I got last summer and Artichoke Annies :)

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? We're still working on this room, but so far I'm very happy with it's progress! What do you do with big empty walls? Do you like collages? (Which I do, but in moderation) Or do you like big pieces of art?

---

To view an update to this room click here.

To view more photos of my house click here.

Poor Dog...

2010-05-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

Poor Tink really had no idea what she was in for when I decided to 1) learn photography & 2) quit my job and be home for a month....

so on yet another test shoot, here she is in her home (kennel), she was extremely frightened at the most unwelcome intruder (camera/me) into her space.

Sunroom - Cleaned and Ready to roll!

2010-05-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I scrubbed down the sunroom & took some new pictures of the room. I've had paper lanterns hanging in there for a while, but I hung up the rest of them yesterday and rearranged some of the other ones. The green carpet is hideous, so look past that to see the room in all it's glory!

There are 2 small skylights in the room.

For Sarah's wedding we are collecting wine bottles...here are a few of which have taken up temporary residence in our house. (but don't they look cute in here?!)

I like this picture alot. This crate was pulled from my dad's old barn. It doesn't seem like you see many 7up crates around. Normally I just see the Pepsi or Coke ones.

May Table

2010-05-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

I'm suddenly finding myself with the month off. Hopefully some inspired posting will commence very soon. In the meantime here is a tabletop to share!

I whipped this together the other day using a very basic green color palette. I can't say that I think it's anything spectacular, but I think it is a nice, fairly plain tablesetting for the season. The day that I put this together it was rainy, so I was inspired to use brown as the accent. I was also very pleased because I made the table runner! I purchased the table runner fabric in the form of a smallish tablecloth from a garage sale 2 summers ago. I'd always liked it but it was far to small to use on any of my tables. I didn't have a runner to use and I had some no sew tape sitting around so 10 minutes later I had a new table runner. I have to say I'm very ahppy with it!

I've got a new table top idea forming in my head. The pieces are coming together but aren't quite there yet! Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

(I am also very excited because I picked up a bottle of Mrs. Meyers cleaner tonight. I've been eyeing it for a while and I'm excited to try it out myself. [WOW - how is it possible that I am this old blogging about cleaning products....] Since I'm going to be off the entire month of May my main goal is to get this house CLEAN! Once I try this out I'll let you know what I think!)

LOST party invites

2010-05-04T15:51:00.001-05:00

{{{Is anyone else having a crazy week?}}}

Have I ever mentioned before that we L-O-V-E LOST around here? We are so sad that it is ending! In honor of the series finale we are hosting a LOST finale party. Lots of good stuff planned for that, but here is the first bit completed - the invites!

Using the Oceanic 815 flight ticket from John Griffith (which I had to edit and redo parts of) here are the invites:

After I edited the flight information to include the guests name, seat number, and the event date I printed them out on cardstock and rounded the corners. I made an envelope label with the Oceanic logo to print the guest address. I also was able to bust out my emobssing gun for the first time ever to emboss the Oceanic Logo on the return address spot as well as on the ticket invitation.

Is anyone else having a LOST party?

Sunroom

2010-04-29T17:50:00.000-05:00

After composing my blog post about all the projects I've got on my mind about the house I came up with another one! Our sunroom. One of the things that I really loved about our house when we bought it was that it has a fully enclosed sunroom that connects to the family room. The deck is connected to it and it overlooks our yard. It is a nice room. Sadly the previous owners did nothing with it, and I have say that I am ashamed we've done very little with it as well. We did take down the sliding plastic shades from the windows and painted the walls, but there is still alot left to be desired.

The really big eyesore? Carpet. Ugh.

The sunroom is host to hunter green carpet. Not only is the room fully carpeted it has (and this is gross) big pee stains on it from the previous owners dogs. The dogs also damaged the carpet under the door. So yeah, it looks pretty good. Our plan has been to replace the flooring for a while now. I have been very tempted for the last several years to just rip up the carpet and paint the floor until we did something with it. My husband disagrees with this idea, strongly. So alas the carpet has stayed. I am hopeful that soon we will have new floors (probably a wood laminate or tile of some sort). So stay tuned for a room makeover soon (hopefully - hint, hint babe!)

I'm also considering hanging some soft long white curtain panels in the room. We'll see though.

In the meantime, while I'm dreaming of a new sun room, here is some eye candy to start you day dreaming of your own sun room (or of summer, or something equally as relaxng).

LOVE, L-O-V-E the Young House Love sunroom (and their whole house)

The next set of photos are from Steve & Brooke Gianetti's home. Their house is GORGEOUS. They enclosed the back porch to make this sun room. To see more of their house and to see what Brooke is up to check out her blog.

After Brooke needed more space for a home office they decided to change the above side of the sun room, which was underused, into an office space (below). Doesn't it look like a relaxing place to work from home?

I really love the colors and texture in the room below by Lola B's.

I hope you're looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

24 rooms in 344 square feet?

2010-04-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

If you didn't see this article on the MSN homepage you've got to theck it out. Talk about innovative uses of space!

Spring Fever

2010-04-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

I've really got the itch to make some changes around the house lately. I don't really have any one project specifically in mind, but instead have millions of projects that have crept onto my radar! A few of the projects that I have been eyeing are:

Finishing our bathroom wall: We had plumbing issues about 3 years ago that required them cutting into our wall. The wall hasn't ever fully be repaired....I think it's time to spackle, sand, and paint!
Redoing our master bath: Wallpaper needs to come down and paint needs to go up!
Planting: I've really been wanting to take a trip to our local greenhouse and buy some plants and flowers to pot and plant in our flower beds. I have no green thumb (AT ALL), but I'm ready to get my hands in the dirt.
Kitchen: Although it is SO not a possiblity to redo the kitchen right now, the hubster referenced how ugly our kitchen was the other day and it really got me thinking how I'd love to brighten that room up (not to mention update), but alas, this is purely just a dream.

Anyone else got the bug to redo stuff in your place?

Amateur Photography Hour 2

2010-04-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Since I'm working on my photography skills I'm going to try and pick up the camera whenever I have a few minutes to get more comfortable with it. Here are the best shots from yesterday's practice.

Thanks for looking!

Thought for the day

2010-04-21T11:04:00.002-05:00

Sent to me by my mama this AM:

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” - Scott Adams

And this photo below goes out to the aforementioned mother.

Brutus, thank you for being so patient as mom yelled 'sit' and I pointed the camera in your face. Poor guy.

Amateur Photography Hour

2010-04-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to learn photography. I'm just a beginner and I know NOTHING about it what so ever. It is kind of scary to learn! But I'm excited to learn a new skill set to be able to help out with the photography side of our business as we continue to grow. {Official plug: looking for photography or event design? Check out Creative Event Studio!} With the camera in hand and a semi-willing subject here are a few pictures of me learning photography....

Runners feet = gross

I really love this one.

I didn't take this last one (obviously, since I'm in the picture), but I love it! (thanks babe!)

So what do you think of my pictures? Wish me luck as I try and learn more in the coming days!

Looking for a place to rest?

2010-04-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

All of the sunny spring weather has really had me wanting to get our house spruced up. Yesterday I had high hopes of doing some planting. Go figure the day that I'm able to work outside the weather decides to be cold and rainy! In reference to the inside of our house I'm itching to do something new. Of course I'm sure that my husband would say that a good cleaning would make the house look much more Springish :) Lately my dream of a country cabin has come back with a fury and I've been wishing I had the time to just go and bum around in the sticks for a while. Since that clearly isn't a possibility here are some more country/cabin/rustic pictures that I know you'll all enjoy.

Doesn't this look quaint and peaceful? (sorry - not sure of the source)

I'm really loving this picture from the Thomas Callaway porfolio. Seems very comfy, lived in, and a bit rustic.

I'm not sure where this stairway came from, but it looks like it's fit perfectly in the home from above

This picture from French Country Living is maybe a tad too rustic for me, but still I really am loving all the textures and how your mind immediatly feels more at rest when envisioning yourself in the space.

I think that this table spot from Velvet Linen would be homey with my family and friends and a hot pot of coffee.

Spring Tabletop

2010-04-09T11:08:00.001-05:00

I seem to behind everyone else in blogland since I'm just now posting my spring tabletop. I had this up before Easter and then on Easter threw in the easter eggs for more color. For those of you out there who don't like a lot of color you may not like this setting! Thanks to the hubster for taking these pics!

This setting is all about color and pattern and layering, layering, layering! For a post Easter look all I have to do to keep it current for spring is remove the easter eggs and maybe put the napkin in the glass in their place for an additional layer/level to the tablescape. I've also since added two medium sized glass hurricanes that have frosted colors on the outside for additional depth. All of the items featured were things I already owned, so this setting cost me zero dollars!

To see last years place setting (which features the same pink and green plates) click here.

Spring

2010-04-06T17:37:00.001-05:00

It is finally Spring here in the Midwest. There is rain and thunder mixed with bright sun and fresh color. When I wake I hear the birds chirping, thankful that Spring has finally arrived.

I've been mulling over this poem the last few days, reminds me of rolling green hills, friends, family (with me and those loved and lost) and makes me feel the promise of what's to come.

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in

my heart) I am never without it (anywhere

I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want

no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

-EE Cummings

So in that vein I hope all of you are welcoming not only our changing weather but also the feelings of new life that Spring brings.

Bleh.

2010-03-23T12:56:00.000-05:00

Normally I try and keep this blog very upbeat and cheery. Normally I try and keep myself upbeat and cherry (with a good dose of sarcasm mixed in). Today I am feeling bleh. Really bleh. UGH. I feel just exhausted, and for no good reason. We haven't been crazy busy lately (!), I way overslept today and didn't go back to the gym like I told my husband that I would, so I should be well rested, but today I just feel a little overwhelmed and nervous about things in general, and honestly a little down. I do have a lot of stuff for me up in the air right now, but no real reason for feeling the way I do today. So I've decided to post random pretty pictures that I've loved for a while now that didn't really have a post to home them.

Here's my recent favorite photo (sorry I don't know where it came from)

And then here are some more really relaxing lovely photos. All of which make me wish I were in any one of them instead of where I am today.

And I really love this one with those blue chairs!

Alice in Wonderland Party

2010-03-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am going to see Alice in Wonderland - and I'm SOOO excited! I've been waiting to see the movie for months but have been to sick the past few weeks to go. In honor of the movie I am going to share some images to help inspire your own Alice in Wonderland event. You could use this theme for a birthday, shower, or theme party, and I have even seem some weddings with elements of this as well. Enjoy!

If you are planning an Alice in Wonderland party make sure to use tons of color and pattern. I wouldn't shy away from whimsical touches and would go with the 'more is more' mantra!

Many of these photos are by Jessica Claire, the bottom montage is from Project Wedding.

Shabby Chic Eye Candy

2010-03-03T17:19:00.000-06:00

To prove that I really don't love writing essays in my blog posts today I am going to share some picture love.

I tend to be kind of girly. Sometime a lot girly. I like pink (a lot) but I try to keep my decorating fairly gender neutral and middle of the road. If I lived by myself or had freedom to decorate a space to myself I suspect that I would decorate somewhat 'shabby chic'. I don't think I could ever do my house over the top in this style, but I love it in moderation (does that make sense to anyone else?). Even though I wouldn't consider my personal tastes to be overly floral or frilly, sometimes a girl needs a little of that! I think that what draws me personally to this style is how relaxed and inviting it seems. Wrinkles, cracked paint, patinas, and worn fabrics all seem so comforting!

I'm not sure on the source, but isn't it lovely to see the neutralness of this photo with the simple white dining chairs, chippy paint, and gorgeous chandlier.

Merker Interiors

No original source, I found it here.

I don't think I've ever seen a mattress on the floor look so lovely.

No original source, I found it here.

Not your typical 'shabby' but still so fun, comfy, and inviting.

Found at the same blog from above.

From the Velvet & Linen blog (!) here is a picture from Steve & Brooke Giannetti's home. To view their home tour click here. They've since made several changes to make things more gender neutral, but I really love how 'moderately' shabby their house is.

Shabby Chic

Lastly I want to end on a high note. Last year Rachel Ashwell, the woman behind Shabby Chic stores (and really the 'creator' of the style) had to file chapter 11 bankruptcy for her stores and product line. She wrote publicly about this on her blog. Happily her Simply Shabby Chic line did remain in Target stores. Now she has resructured her business and through alot of hard work and dedication has opened a new line of stores both here in the US and in London named, Shabby Chic Couture. For more information about her product lines, stores, or to read her blog click here.

Unfinished Finished Basement Before & After

2010-03-02T16:07:00.001-06:00

Warning: ANOTHER LONG (and wordy) post to follow (sorry)

I've been wanting to do this post for a few weeks but haven't been able to churn it out due to all the craziness that's been going on. I mentioned in the blog post from yesterday that my husband and I decided to 'finish' our basement for the bridal shower I'd be throwing. By finish I really don't mean 'finish' in the traditional meaning of basement finishing. We wanted to give it a 'facelift' if you will.

Unfortunately I don't really have great 'before' pictures of the space. I found a few photos that were taken the day that we moved in that kind of show the basement, but they aren't great. I'm including them in here anyways. My house is considered a raised ranch, but it SO doesn't look like it. Basically our basement is under our house and houses our garage/work space on one side and our laundry room/basement on the other side. The basement side of the basement has a separate entrance and is where our laundry machines are located. there are two regular sized windows and three little basement windows. There is also a fireplace at one end. Here are the before pictures:

Laundry side from the garage door

Fireplace side, also taken from the garage door. Built in closets are to the immediate left of this photo

Awesome, right?

When deciding what to do for this space I knew that I wanted to be able to create different areas. First of all I really wanted to create as much of a separate laundry 'room' as possible. I had originally had the idea of hanging things from the ceiling to denote the space. However after talking with my husband and lots of other stuff we decided to make a room divider screen. We went to the rehabitat store near our house (if you live in KC and haven't been there you are missing out!) and found 4 sets of bifold closet doors. They were in pretty rough shape. They were stained brown and some of them had been partially painted white - a project that had been abandoned and left some of the doors partly white-ish while the rest of the doors remained brown. Hands down painting these bifold doors was the WORST project EVER. E-V-E-R. Also on the laundry side there was an existing bathroom vanity with sink (which was not being used, the water had been turned off to the faucet) and a countertop. The vanity separates the washer and the dryer and the countertop is on the opposite side of the dryer. And that is the laundry area.

Outside of the laundry area the basement had white-ish walls (very dingy), florescent work lights (3, ugh!), and cords sticking out of the ceiling and down the wall nearly everywhere you looked. The fireplace was red brick and dingy. The floors were grey. There are also 2 different ceiling heights and two built in closets.

Plan of attack:

• Separate the laundry area from the rest of the basement

• Paint the walls, trim, and the floor

• Paint the fireplace

• Hang up window treatments

• Figure out a way to hide all the wires.

• Swap out the lighting (NO fluorescents please!)

We started by painting the walls an aqua/teal color and the floors a dark chocolate brown. We painted one half of the basement, the side with the fireplace. Although we thought the floors and walls looked good, something was off. The red brick fireplace went from looking a little rough to looking flat out DINGY. It took me all of 3 seconds to decide that the fireplace had to be painted white. A few days later and a couple of coats on the fireplace and things immediately looked so much brighter and cleaner! We also were able to repurpose a shelf that had been hanging on the wall into a mantel for the fireplace. Hooray - brand new fireplace!

We finished painting the rest of the room with the aqua on the walls and the chocolate on the floor. We began painting the bifold doors a bright white and painted the trim a matching white. Chris (my hubby and in house worker man) took the sink off of the vanity and put a thick piece of ply wood on the top of the vanity so we could use it as a countertop in the laundry area. I've been using it to store our laundry baskets and once I hang a rod will use the adjoining countertop as a folding area. All of the built in closets and the ceilings were painted in the wall color to try and minimize all of the weird angles and heights in the room. Once all of the wall and floor painting was done we went back to the Rehabitat store and bought some of the (don't judge) industrial plastic floor trim in white. Although I am the first to admit that plastic floor trim isn't the height of sophistication I will also admit that occasionally my basement leaks. When that happens I don't want it to happen with wood floor trim, so I'll be a little ghetto with my plastic floor trim.

There is one more area that I want to highlight in the basement makeover before I get to the photos: lighting. As previously mentioned there were THREE florescent work lights in the basement. They are HIDEOUS. We talked about a couple of different options but in the end did something a little creative and went with lamp shades. Yes, we used plain lampshades with big light bulbs and made our own very inexpensive light fixtures. For under $10 each they are a perfect touch!

The only after photos I have right now are actually from the bridal shower, so here are a few more bridal shower pictures, but mostly look at the fabulous new basement! (hopefully soon I'll be able to show actual basement photos!) And now without further adu here is our new basement:

Views from the outside door looking in & the garage side looking in. You can see a couple of our lampshade lightfixtures as well as our total paint job.

This photo is from the fireplace side looking towards the laundry side. I LOVE how you can't see the laundry machines!

Close up of the bifold door screens.

Photos of the fireplace, mantel, and cord hiding. At the top of the fireplace is a board that is running the length of the fireplace wall about 6 inches or so down. It is painted the same color as the walls but serves as a hiding place for all the hideous wires that are hanging from the ceiling that we couldn't remove or box in. The paper banners are actually hanging from this 'ledge'.

Close up of the fireplace and repurposed mantel.

Far away shot of the fireplace side.

I hope you enjoyed your sudo-tour of my unfinished finished basement. My apologies for the party pics, I will try and get actual basement photos soon. Additionally I now hate blogger and their weird formatting because I can't get my photos or text aligned the way it needs to, so please ignore the weird formatting.

A Coffee House Bridal Shower

2010-03-01T16:13:00.003-06:00

WARNING: LONG post to follow.

A few weeks ago I hosted a coffee house theme bridal shower at my house. This was no ordinary bridal shower. First of all this shower was held in honor of my very bestest friend, Sarah, so it had to be

P-E-R-F-E-C-T. Which for a party crazed gal like me meant that it had to be over the top fabulous. Secondly I decided early on that the perfect spot to hold this oen of a kind shower was in my then unfinished, and unsightly, basement. This meant lots of cleaning, paint (LOTS of paint), and work went into just reworking the space the shower would be held. I think it is fair to say that the odds were stacked against me.

Luckily I have a fabulous husband to help me with all of my crazy plans.

Let me begin the shower break down with an explanation of the theme and what I was going for. Like all of my events I always start with a theme (coffee house), unlike most of my other events I was mainly concerned with having the right space. I thought that the rest of the details would fall in place. As far as the space was concerned I wanted to create a cozy, ecletic, slightly off beat space. I wanted to coordinate the pieces/decor, but not have everything 'match'. The following is what turned out.

Sarah and I are HUGE FRIENDS fans from way back. In college we would watch, rewatch, watch, and rewatch FRIENDS on DVD. I'm not sure that there was a single day that went by that we didn't watch or quote FRIENDS. So not only did the idea of a coffee house theme seem perfect for Sarah's bridal shower, but it was not going to be complete without a little Central Perk action. I made this sign from an old window that had been collecting dust in my basement and some paint. I thought it turned out pretty well. I had several offers to take it off of my hands after the shower :) Needless to say it will be staying with me at my house.

From another old window I had laying around I painted the panes with chalkboard paint and made a menu sign. This was SO easy to do and really added another coffee house element to the shower.

The full menu with a photo of the bride and groom to be. We placed about 12 of the different engagement photos around for the guests to see. I thought it was great for some of the guests who hadn't had a chance to see them.

Coffee & Coffee 'stuff'

For months leading up to the shower I searched thrift stores for brown and teal coffee mugs and serving pieces.

Here is a side shot of one of the food tables with the plates.

For the favors I boxed up whole bean coffee and placed a teal label on it that had the type of coffee and the fair trade logo. I like to tie bows to everything, it is cutesy and doesn't always go, but it is a habit. You can see the favors in the background.

There was SOOOOO much food at the shower. I am really not a great baker so I outsourced the menu to the brides sister with the stipulation that I wanted baked goods - lots of baked goods. She delivered and the food was fabulous!

I can't wrap up the photos without a shot of Sarah and I. What a happy and fun day!

Lastly I want to wrap up this post with 'recipe' for how to throw your own coffee house theme bridal shower.

This theme is great because anything goes for the most part. Use a space that is a little off beat that will fill easily with the 'coffee' smell and that is a little on the small side so that it feels busier.
Use a variety of furniture styles. For this shower I used a mix of upholstered chairs, a small antique love seat, mis matched dining chairs, and a large modern leather ottoman.
Focus on the menu. make sure and have lots of coffee on hand as well as teas and hot chocolate. have lots of baked goods around, pies, tarts, muffins, mini muffins, etc.
Have a color scheme, but keep it loose. When you go in a coffee shop (not starbucks, but real local coffee shops) they are colorful and full of patterns and designs. Use your colors enough to tie things together but stay away from being matchy-matchy.
Make sure and have music in the background. Nothing kills a small event like dead air space, but a coffee house isn't a place that you're going to hear birds chirping.
Use a coffee themed favor

That about wraps up all the details of Sarah's Coffee House Shower. Thanks for visiting (and sticking with such a LONG blog!)

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Hosting a small event of your own and not sure where to start? Check out Creative Event Studio!

A little explanation

2010-02-22T13:43:00.001-06:00

Some of you may have noticed that the blog has taken a major hit over the last several months. Posting has come to a halt and the posts that get out there are really more about pictures than text. For all of this I am throwing myself at the blog universe mercy and begging for forgiveness.

NOW in my defense, let me do some explaining...

Starting around Christmas things at the hubs and I's house got REAL crazy. There was of course, Christmas, which in our world means mass traveling (which is fun, but tiring!). Immediately following Christmas we went straight back to work (which is crazy at the beginning of the year). Then my adorably curly haired husband totaled his car. Guess what happened next? Vacation with my husband's family. Then home and back to work, then more traveling to throw a birthday party. Then back home to work on my basement that had to be finished for a shower and bachelorette party I was throwing, in my basement (that was not finished). Oh yeah, and we started a business (www.creativeeventdesign.com) and did an Open House for that.

And now I'm typing all of this to tell you that it's been a whirlwind lately! I had fun doing all the things above (well most of them, car stuff is never fun), but man I am glad things are starting to calm down! I've got some stuff to share with you on the blog very soon, including a before and after of my unfinished finished basement renovation and some party pics of an adorable (if I do say so myself) coffee house themed bridal shower that was held in the basement. I also am hoping to balance out some of my recent posts with some more decor inspiration which has been lacking for the last several months.

For those of you still out there thanks for continuing to read and check here. I promise things to come very shortly!

Heritage Hall Open House

2010-02-05T15:56:00.001-06:00

MANY thanks to everyone who came out last night to the Heritage Hall Open House. It was a really fun event with tons of great people. Now we may be biased but we thought we totally rocked out the booth situation! Here are some snap shots of our Creative Event Studio set up:

Like I said, we really rocked our booth.

www.creativeeventstudio.com

Creative Event Studio

2010-01-28T10:03:00.011-06:00

Engagement, Bridal, Wedding, Family, & Senior pictures!

Tween Birthday Party Reveal

2010-01-25T20:03:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I had the most ~~exhausting~~ fabulous time throwing a tween birthday party for my 12 year old sister, Emma. Emma had requested a smiley face theme party. After thinking things over I decided to go with a black, yellow, & damask pallatte with smiley face accents. You can see the candy filled invites here.

Without further adu check out these party pics! (please excuse my poor photography!)

The table runner was actually a roll of fabulous, thick wrapping paper that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for $3.99! The black cups and saucers were thrift store finds (perfect that there were 6 for 6 guests!) that I paid $1.50 each for.

Candy is always a hit!

Homeade streamers and pom poms.

I made several frames with the damask paper and framed up pictures of her throough the years. I also stamped her age or the year the picture was taken.

NO boys allowed!

Nail station with crafts!

Photo booth props

So hopefully you've enjoyed the tour of the party! Happy birthday Emma!

Exciting Announcement!

2010-01-01T01:09:00.001-06:00

Thank you for sticking with me this week as we've muddled through some holiday table top posts. Today I am VERY excited to announce the launch of my brand new business, Creative Event Studio. This is a new two-fold venture with my talented photographer friend, Sarah, that focuses on event design and photography. CES is a project that has been in the works for some time now and I am beyond excited to be able to finally share it with all of you!
Here it is:

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Introducing Kansas City’s newest and most artistically organic event design and photography company— Creative Event Studio.

CES is a two-fold company offering unique event designs centered on individual interests and needs along with event photography to capture life’s special moments. Co-owners, Sarah Ebbert and Ginger Weseloh, have experience working both as a vendor and a client on large- and small-scale events, and know the ins and outs of how to plan, execute, and deliver quality events and photos.

What makes Creative Event Studio different?

They believe each event has the ability to be unique – because there is no one else like you.
They believe your event revolves around YOU – the client
They believe that great events are stress free – let them do the worrying for you!

Check out their new website at www.creativeeventstudio.com to see what they have to offer. While you’re there be sure to become a fan of theirs on facebook!

Mention this ad and receive 10% off of any package!

Last Christmas Tabletop post for 2009!

2009-12-31T15:51:00.000-06:00

Not only is this the last Christmas tabletop post for 2009 but this will also be the last official post of 2009. 2010 is sure to be a great blogging year, especially since we will be starting the year off with a very exciting announcement first thing on January 1st!

Today's tabletop photos are of the kids table. This, in my opinion, turned out super cute, and was really thrown together at the last minute! Out of all of my tabletops I thought this was the most fun. So without further adu...

This table was the perfect mix of fun and fancy that the kids really enjoyed having their own table (much unlike my sad days at rickety card table)! As with all of the tabletops featured here the cost for this was incredibly inexpensive since I spent $0. I especially loved this table because I was able to mix-and-match different seasonal items together. The plates, green tray, and cups were all items I picked up in the after spring clearance at Target. The other items were all things picked up in previous years during the Christmas season. I also really loved the fresher green color mixed with the sparkly chargers - just hte perfect whimsy for a kids table!

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of my holiday table tops. If you're anything like me this past year left me feeling like this:

Don't forget to tune in first thing tomorrow morning!

Have a safe & Happy New Year!

More holiday tabletops

2009-12-30T11:57:00.000-06:00

Don't forget to check the blog on Friday January 1, 2010 for an exciting & important announcement!

Today I'm featuring two of my tabletops that are very similar to each other, which is why they are being posted together, but they are a little different. Last Sunday our home was host to a small dinner. The following photos are the dining table settings.

I love how the ornaments from the chandelier look when photographed!

The place settings were pretty bare, but I was exhausted this year! Looking back I wish they weren't so plain, but considering everything was pulled from what I had in house I don't think they were bad for last minute!

The following two photos are of my dining table the week prior to Christmas. The settings are pretty similar to the ones above except the tablecloth is red and I used the coffee mugs from a Christmas set I was given to add a little more 'holiday' to the table.

Thanks for looking - don't forget to check back tomorrow for another table top!

Appetizer tray

2009-12-29T11:42:00.000-06:00

On Christmas Eve my curly haired husband and I were able to host his family over for a Christmas exchange. Although we didn't sit down to a meal we wanted to make the extra effort to make the day special. In that vein I pulled out a gold serving tray, some monogrammed appetizer plates (thanks mom!), ice bucket, candy dish, cheese dish, small dish caddy, and a few juice glasses to create this afternoon snack station. I'd like to note that outside of the food and drinks purchased the cost for pulling this together was $0.

Don't forget to check back on Friday for the big announcement!

Christmas Wrap Up!

2009-12-28T17:32:00.000-06:00

I had high hopes of blogging about holiday table tops pre-holiday, but alas found myself too busy to actually do it. However this week is very exciting in that I will be announcing some big news on Friday here on the blog. In anticipation of such a monument us occasion I've decided to do a rundown of the various tabletops and entertaining enjoyed over the past 2 weeks as we've made our rounds for Christmas.

So to start off this week here is the tabletop enjoyed at my dad's family dinner table; planned & executed by my step-mom.

One of the things that I loved about this setting was that the majority of the things weren't 'Christmas-ey' and that very little was actually purchased for this tablescape to happen. The gold chargers were a new purchase but the white plates, red bowls, and wine glasses were all in-house items. Once again this just goes to show that a beautiful table doesn't have to cost a lot!

Thanksgiving Place Settings

2009-12-17T13:06:00.000-06:00

Today is double dose day on Junebug! I've had these pictures from our Thanksgiving table on my camera for a month and just now downloaded them to share. Sorry for the out of season post, but sometimes late is better than never!

This year we spent Thanksgiving day with my dad's family. My step mom had purchased some really adorable autumn items to dress the table with. At the last minute I found myself putting the table together. Here's how it turned out:

These two pics are of the 'kids' table (Note the paper napkins). This is just a simple card table that was transformed with a fall tablecloth and some simple accessories.

These two pictures are of the adult table. The placecard holders are some of my old favorites of Martha's. My dad and I literally made these Thanksgiving morning in less than half an hour from sticks in our backyard and a glue gun!

Birthday Invitation Design

2009-12-17T12:55:00.000-06:00

As I shared earlier this month I am planning my 11 year old sisters 12th birthday party. She has requested a smiley face theme which I am turning into a black and yellow affair with smiley & damask accents.

I finished the invitations this morning and I think that they turned out super cute! So without further adu, here they are:

For these invites I used free Target jewelry boxes which I painted white (I'd recommend finding white boxes, but hey, free is free) and the candies are lemonheads. I found the damask ribbon and the smiley face foam stickers at Hobby Lobby. The envelope wraps are by The Fussy Designer which can be found here. Overall I have to say that I think these turned out just perfect for the occasion!

Entertaining Essentials

2009-12-15T18:06:00.002-06:00

The more I entertain and party plan the more thankful I am that I've invested my money wisely in useful, multi-funtional entertaining pieces. Recently I've found myself in the midst of planning several upcoming events and the fact that I already own a good stock of foundational pieces really makes planning much easier. Not only is purchasing entertaining basics better for the environment, but it helps keep your budget down! I find myself able to invest in more specialized decor elements instead of having to worry about taking care of the basics. So in the interest of sharing I've compiled a list of my entertaining 'must-haves'. You'll notice that the majority of these aren't expensive (several can be found at Target!) and aren't hard to find items. If you're looking for ways to spice up a blah party or are looking to build your collection I highly recommend starting here!

Silver Chargers

This set is from Target, $5.99 for 4. I always buy in at least sets of 8 or sets of 12 when it's availalbe. $5.99 is already a great price for this set, but I always try and pick mine up during the seasonal sales when things are marked down 50% or more!

A long tablecloth

My dining room table seats 8 and has no leaf, which means that I have to go out of my way to look for extra long tableclothes. My mom gave me this one for Christmas and it has easily worked it's way into my favorite entertaining items. It's neutral in color so it works in nearly every season, it is simple and stylish. This one is currently $25 at Target.

White Serving Dishes

I own a variety of white platters, bowls, and other serving pieces. Some of these have been purchased a chain stores like Bed, Bath, & Beyond and the late Linens-n-Things, while others have been picked up at antique stores and garage sales. My thought is that if they are white, I don't care what design they are because they match! The one pictured is from Bed, Bath, & Beyond and is $25.

Appetizer Caddy

One of my favorite purchases is the appetizer caddy from Pampered Chef. This is by far the priciest item listed at $60, but I really love it. It is great for parties because you don't need to worry about buying little party plates, you can whip this out in a second, it is dishwasher safe, and I just flat out love it (did I say that already?). It is handy and stylish which gets 2 thumbs up from me.

These four items are the ones I would recommend purchasing to start an entertaining collection. As I said most are very affordable and can be found in many different stores.

Happy Entertaining!

Damask wedding cake

2009-12-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

I was over at A Practical Wedding looking at Meg's Wedding Graduate post and check out their wedding cake:

How perfect would this cake be with the tween birthday party I detailed yesterday? L-O-V-E it!!!

Tween Birthday Party

2009-12-02T14:44:00.000-06:00

Recently it was decided that I would help throw my 11 year old sister's birthday party. This may not seem like a big deal to most people but when your 11 year old sister (who thinks that you are the most awesome thing ever) starts telling her friends that she's having a 'professional party planner' do her birthday party, it becomes a big deal real fast. My sister's name is Emma and she told me that she wanted to 1) have a sleepover 2) do a smiley face theme and 3) give out gift bags. Armed with those requests I decided that 12 is the height of the 'tween' years. This party needs to be fun, but not kiddish, and grown-up, but not boring.

Here are the main bullets of the party:

Black and Yellow with damask accents
Smiley faces will be used as accents and in the gift bags
Photo booth with a black backdrop and yellow props
Nail station with yellow & black nail polish
Candy buffet

And here is the mood board to give you a feel for what the party will be like:

The party will be announced with party invites very similar to the ones pictured below. White boxes with yellow lemon heads (kids love candy, right?) and damask printed invites. They will be wrapped with a printable damask label (pictured in the mood board, upper right corner) that I found online at The Fussy Designer Blog.

I think this is going to be super cute!

Thankful Edition

2009-11-25T12:32:00.000-06:00

I really hate when I follow blogs and they don't keep up to date with posting. I mean how else am I suppose to pass my time if others don't entertain me? Apparently I have become one of the millions of bloggers who bore others by their lack of posting. Please accept the following blog post as my apology.

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Things I’m thankful for in 2009:

I’m blessed with really wonderful people in my life, namely my husband Chris, who despite his many complaints about my housekeeping & laundry loves me unconditionally and without restraint. He also makes me look good in photographs.

Other people I’m SO happy to be in my life:

My new nephew Jay. He has the world’s best smile when he is being dressed up and photographed, and he is pretty good for snuggling too.

My best friend, Sarah, who is so crazy and fun and unbelievably good.

So many relatives and other friends that it seems unfair that I should be surrounded by such a large number of awesome people.

I’m also thankful for my job. I talk with people every single day who are without jobs because of the economy and thankfully neither Chris nor I have been overly negatively impacted by the things going on in America.
I’m thankful for my house and the fact that I’m able to live in such a nice home in a country where I have so many freedoms.
I’m thankful for God and the fact that He lives with me each and every day and I have the opportunity to worship him with a community of awesome people who diligently strive to live life to the fullest with Him. I’m SO thankful that He meets me where I am daily and still loves me the same no matter how bad I mess things up.
Lastly, I'm thankful for the many occassions that are coming up in 2010 where I will have reason to throw some pretty awesome parties!

Happy Thanksgiving blog-world!

Halloween Tabletop

2009-10-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

As most of you know I like to keep my dining room table set according to the season/holiday. Recently I put together this Halloween inspired tabletop with black, red, and grey elements. (Sorry about the pictures - I had to take them myself!)

Eco Friendly Party Supplies

2009-10-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

There are so many options when it comes to party goods and supplies that sometimes it is easy to forget the environmental impact that entertaining can potentially have, especially when it comes to disposable party goods. Many paper party plates (say that three times fast!) and cocktail napkins have inks or coatings that make them impossible or very difficult to recycle, thus adding more to our growing landfills.

Personally I have tried to implement more 'real' products into my own entertaining. Real napkins, plates, and cups not only are better for the earth but they also make a better impact on your events! Do real items cost more? Yes, but they last longer. Do green products cost more? Sometimes yes. When I first began researching green party ware products I honestly thought I wasn't ever going to find anything budget friendly, but the more that I've dug and looked around I'vce found products that fit the budget and won't harm our planet.

Without further adu, here is a list of green party product suppliers:

Branch Home
Plum Party (yep, they've got biodegradables too!)
Let's Go Green
Bamboo Bambu
Green Planet Parties
Eco My Party
Happy Green Earth

If you're not someone that normally thinks about what you're buying before you buy it you don't have to go through a speciality store or site to go green. Many disposable dinnerware companies are now producing eco friendly products that can be found at most discount stores. I live very close to Target. The last time I had to pick up plates and cups for a barbeque I bought these Bare products made by Solo. They were exactly the same price as the other disposable items, except these are made with post consumer products and are recyclable/compostable. (And did I say they were cheap?)

Lastly (sorry this is getting long!) there are lots of budget friendly options out there for non-disposable entertaining products. One of my favorite buys that I've come across is from Mission Restuarant Supply. For $1.75 you can get a dozen stainless steel forks. $1.75! That is super cheap for an item that you can reuse time and time again. There are deals out there for real products if you look for them. It might take you a little longer in the beginning finding reusable products in your price range, but in the end you'll save time by never having to shop for basics (like forks) again.

I hope that some of you find this information helpful and that you all examine how green your events are.

Happy entertaining!

You Tube Wedding Processional Dance Video

2009-10-09T14:33:00.001-05:00

In honor of Jim & Pam's wedding last night on the office here is the dance processional video for all of you (who like me) hadn't seen the You Tube video. It's quite the scene.

Event Trends 2009

2009-10-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Just like everything else in life there are trends in special events. Just think about how the event industry has changed over the last 30-50 years. Once upon a time it was the trend to have photography that is now seen as boring and far out of touch because of the posed, standard shots. I was doing some online reading and came across this article from Special Events.com where some of the industry experts talked about what was in and what is out in the world of special events. Obviously click on the link for the full article (and to check out some of the other great features on their site) but below are some of the highlights.

What's in?

Eco-theme events/natural themed events/using eco-friendly products and making them upscale/products with purpose
Technology
Total guest experiences (luxury resorts are out, events are being held in areas where the event is an extension of the location)

What's out?

Frivolus events/opulence/wastefullness
Submerged flowers
Lucite

What do you think is in or out? Especially here in the mid-west? Thoughts?

New Look

2009-10-03T12:40:00.000-05:00

Obviously I changed the background. I don't hate it, but I hate that little thing over in the corner...ugh. What do you think?

I found this picture hiding on my jump drive and remembered how adorable I thought it was when I came across it the first time. Doesn't this look snuggly?

Hello blog!

2009-10-03T09:20:00.010-05:00

Okay, I admit it, I've totally been slacking on the blogphere lately. I don't have much of a defense except to say that I've been working on some other projects, one of which you'll just have to wait around for the big unveil!

One of the projects that I hope to be able to post about very soon is my basement redo. I'm not finishing my basement, so I am lovingly referring to the project as my finished-unfinished basement. Once this is done it will be a true testament to the power of paint & a shoe string budget!

And since no post would be complete without photos I am going to leave you with a few photos of my sister's wedding from last year since she is celebrating her 1 year wedding anniversary this weekend. They had a simple courthouse wedding, but she was just about the cutest courthouse bride I've ever seen with her blue peep toe shoes. My curly hair husband photographed the wedding.

And in case you hadn't heard I now also have the cutest nephew ever....

Plum Party Sale!

2009-09-22T06:35:00.003-05:00

Right now Plum Party is having their 48 hour Fall Sale! The sale is good for almost everything in the store so get over there now to score some great deals at 75% off! Make sure and use coupon code FALL48HR at the checkout!

Introducing Chris's Film Blog

2009-08-31T19:51:00.004-05:00

www.chrisfilm.wordpress.com

For those of you that know me in real life or online you may have heard mention of my hubby's love of film. After much deliberation (and encouragement from many) he has finally started his own film blog. It is very much in the beginning stages, but I encourage all readers to hop over there, subscribe, and follow the reviews. Until he gets more reviews up on the blog feel free to follow the link on my right hand sidebar entitled, 'Movie Reviews by Chris', to read further.

Happy blogging - enjoy!

Barn Cabin Fever

2009-08-21T14:35:00.009-05:00

For the past several months I've been dreaming of converting an old barn into a weekend cabin getaway (not that I have the money to do this, or an old barn to convert, but I suppose that is why it is called a dream). So for the past several months I've toyed with this in my mind. About 2 months ago I mentioned it to the hubby. A few weeks ago I started collecting photos....and whining to the hubster..... :)

I should really stop torturing myself.

Alas, here is are some photos that I think would be wound into my cabin getaway.

A Michigan Heritage Barn - it looks like half a house & half a barn.

I LOVE this door! Wouldn't it be a perfect entry?This is my favorite bathroom. I think it would work in my barn cabin. This is from the Bracken Cottage in West Brooksville, Maine.This is the New River Bank Barn converted by Blackburn Architects.Barn Conversion by Shed Architects in Seattle.The Granery by Blackburn Architects.Another view of the Barn Conversion by Shed Architects.

Etsy Love

2009-08-19T10:09:00.003-05:00

So I logged onto Etsy to look at adorable baby things in honor of my new nephew and on the front page I got completely distracted by this adorable purse. If one can fall in love with purse then I am in love with this little wonder:

Now that I'm done drooling, let my quest continue...

It's good to be an auntie!

2009-08-18T14:20:00.005-05:00

I am now a very proud auntie to a very cute little boy!
Welcome Jay Michael!

Love, Weddings, & Anniversaries

2009-08-06T16:36:00.007-05:00

It's not Valentines Day, but it is my 4 year wedding anniversary today. This is us 4 years ago. This is our wedding 4 years ago.
This is us now.

This weekend we went to our good friend Andy's wedding. This is Andy and his new wife, Tara.

This is their wedding:

Tara & Andy had a wonderful (& wonderfully planned) weekend wedding that included a wedding 5K fun run, aerial tours of Cedar Rapids, rehearsal dinner, wedding & reception, and Sunday brunch. Talk about fabulous!

100th Post - Shameless Self Promotion!

2009-07-28T18:53:00.003-05:00

HELLO READERS!!!

I was getting ready to post a shameless self promoting post (hence the title) when lo and behold this happens to be my 100th post! So with all the congratulations in order (seeing as I've wasted enough time to post 100 times...) on to the self promoting....

For anyone that has followed this blog for a while you know that I have an Etsy shop. (If you didn't know go there now!} I've been doing a lot of updating to it recently and have come up with a few new designs that are being featured along with some older ones. Here is a taste of what you can find in my shop.

So if you're having a baby or just had a baby or are shopping for a baby check me out on Etsy!

It's not rocket science...

2009-07-28T15:16:00.003-05:00

While I was at my parent's house decorating & setting up my sister's baby shower my mom made a comment to me about how she had picked up some tips from me about party planning and how easy it actually is. Her exact quote was that 'it's not rocket science' and the truth is that it really is very simple if you keep a few things in mind. As I was pondering this conversation on my way back home I found myself writing down the following tips on the back of a KFC drive through bag (yes, I'm guilty of using the drive through...and writing while driving...). Hopefully you'll be able to use some of these to help plan your next event.

Plan ahead and be specific: Once you know that you are going to be hosting an event start planning. Obviously start with your pillar info, who, what, when, and where. In each catagory be as specific as possible. Example: Where: My parent's house: living room & dining room. Start to envision the overall event. Set a realistic timeline.
Don't be afraid of using a theme: I have never really understood this, and still don't, but so many people are afraid of using a 'theme'. Using a theme DOES NOT mean that you have to perfect match every detail to a color swatch or have huge puffy bows everywhere, theme simply means the overall mood/tone of the event. Sometimes this is very specific (The Wizard of Oz), sometimes it is more general (pink & green), or sometimes it is elusive (Natural Elegance, Backyard BBQ). No matter what you're going for you need a theme so that you have a place to start.
Set a realistic budget: Good events aren't about how much money you spend, but about how you spend the money you have. Find out how much you realistically can spend on your event and then prioritize your budget to reflect the things that are most important to you (food, decor, invites, etc).
Research & Gather Information: Once you've got your basic details & theme start digging around. Google image your theme idea and see what comes up. Look at event websites & blogs and see what other people have done for similar events. Collect images/ideas of things that you like. Start finding resources for products you'd like to buy or rent. Start gathering addresses for invites/thank you's.
Stay Organized: People make fun of me because I keep a file for each event that I am planning. In it I keep lists of ideas, photographs, vendor information, pricing information, and other things that I'll need on hand. This is a great resource that I highly recommend.
Don't use 'matchy-matchy' decor: I'm not sure if this should be it's own bullet point or if it should be in with the theme catagory but don't try and perfectly match all of the things. You want your event decor to coordinate but you don't want it to look like you bought all together. The best events feature decor that has a collected, homey look to them. As a general rule it is always better to use cloth over paper whenever possible.
Enlist help & utlize friends/relatives: Don't be afraid to ask for help! If you've got a friend who is a good photographer then ask them to take the photos, if you've got a relative that is a great baker ask them to help with cakes, etc. If you need shear man power to decorate or staff your event - ask for help. You'd be surprised at how often people want to help but are afraid to ask because they don't think they've got something to contribute.
HAVE FUN!: Don't loose focus of why your hosting your event. No matter what type of party you're planning you're probably there to celebrate & have a good time. Most of the time if something goes wrong you'll be the only one to notice, so brush it off and have a good time.

Wizard of Oz Baby Shower Pictures

2009-07-21T16:27:00.044-05:00

Here are some of the photos from this past weekends baby shower. The shower theme was the Wizard of Oz and I mainly used blue & white gingham with red & white polka dots to tie everything together. Overall I was pretty pleased with the outcome. The following photos are mostly of the event details, I hope to post some of my lesser quality shots (once I find my camera) that show the overall view of the shower. All of the following photos were taken by my good friend Sarah.

Follow the yellow brick road... into the Land of Oz!

Don't forget to visit the Lollipop Stand!

To make it feel more homey we used cloth napkins & chinaPolka dot cakeCandyland & lollipopsYou can't see it in this photo but the vase held a large branch that had note cards featuring Dorthy & Toto, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow with the words Happy Home, Heart, Courage, & Brain on them. Each guest was asked to right a well wish or parenting advice to the new parents.

You can see the wishing tree a little better in this photo.

All of the well wishes & advice were stored in this album which was given to the parents to be at the end of the shower.
Sunflower pens and notecards We had the shower in my parents home which has a very open floor plan. One of the obstacles in hosting the shower there was the layout of the home because the kitchen was in plain view. Luckily as we were decorating my mom had the ingenius idea of hanging up some of our excess fabric as kind of an awning which helped seperate the kitchen from the rest of the space and also helped tie in all the different spaces. I also framed several Wizard of Oz images that I had found online in garage sale frames painted white. These frames were used in various places around the shower. This frame is hanging above our drink station. My parents have a 12ish foot long mantel in their living room. I used red glittery chargers as a backdrop, made 2 sunflower topiaries, and draped the mantel with the blue & white gingham fabric. Next to each topiary are blue wooden stars with white star dots on them. We played the movie, the Wizard of Oz throughout the shower. At each end of the mantel are photos of my sister & her husband as babies. Just a sign with the baby's nameThe two end tables were decorated with blue fabric with a white linen overlay that featured a scene from the movie and lollipops!We gave sunflower & african daisy flower seed packs as favors.Baby Shower Bingo & gift bags My sister, on the left, and my cousin, on the right, are both pregnant, so Sarah shot this adorable picture of them.

Me, my grandma, my sister, & my mom

I hope you enjoyed the photos and feel inspired for your next event!

Sneak peek...

2009-07-20T13:54:00.003-05:00

Here's a photo from the Wizard of Oz baby shower on Saturday. I'll be posting more photos in the next few days, but want to wait until I've got the DVD so I can pick out my favorites. In the mean time say hello to Toto (aka my adorable dog Tink)!
Many thanks to Sarah for taking the time to come to the shower and photograph every possible angle as well as some non-sense shots like the one above.

A little outdoor eye candy

2009-07-16T15:28:00.002-05:00

As I was google searching the other day for gingham table clothes I came across this photo from Country Living. I liked it so much that I thought I'd share!

Wizard of Oz Baby Shower Inspiration Post

2009-07-13T19:18:00.008-05:00

The time has finally arrived - my sister's baby shower is in less than 1 week! For the shower I decided to do a Wizard of Oz theme. Here is the inspiration board for the party: Obviously her shower won't be an exact replica of the above but the overall scheme of the party will be blue & white gingham with red & white polka dots & sunflowers. Here are some great resources if you're throwing a Wizard of Oz party of your own:

Red & White polka dot plates from Plum Party
Blue Gingham Tableclothes from Guardian Eco StoreSunflower Centerpieces from Costco

Lollipops from Sweet Factory

Don't forget to serve lots of fresh fruit & home baked goodness!

Stay tuned for real party pics next week!

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If you've come across this post for your own inspiration, check out this one for pictures of the actual party. You can also read more about it on the Stem Fabulous Parties blog here and get help with planning your own themed event here. Thanks for stopping by!

Temporary Decor Ideas for Military Housing

2009-06-23T13:54:00.008-05:00

{WARNING: LONG POST TO FOLLOW}

This past weekend I was able to visit a military base for the first time as my sister and brother-in-law, who is in the Air Force, moved onto base housing. I had never been on a base before and really found the whole thing to be very pleasant and quaint. My sisters new home is actually much nicer than I would have imagined as I feel I've always heard adverse things about military housing. The home seemed extremely well kept & up to date. Nothing fancy, but not bad at all.

As the man & I were driving back home I began to brainstorm about how you would decorate a home that didn't belong to you and that had to be kept in essentially the same condition as when you moved in, much like an apartment. My sister says that the official rule is, 'white walls in, white walls out', meaning you can paint, but you do so with the understanding that you will be required to repaint back to white before you move. With this idea in mind I've compiled a list of easy, stylish, & temporary decor ideas for base housing (which also apply to apartment dwellers as well).

In the past several years there has been a major increase in the popularity of vinyl wall decals. To be honest, I'm generally not a huge fan, however, wall decals have really taken on a life of their own and they no longer are just names & phrases. Wall decals come in nearly every shape, size, color, or design imaginable - and the best part is that they are very inexpensive temporary decor. There are tons of companies that offer standard or custom designs, they are even available on Etsy. Here are some that caught my eye:

From Dali Decals:
From Etsy seller byrdigraphic:
Wall decals are a great way to decorate a childs room, this is from Etsy seller studiojk:

Another great alternative with a big impact is temporary wallpaper or wallcoverings. Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of taking down preexisting wallpaper, but with the invention of temporary wallpaper this experience is a thing of the past. There are a few companys that carry this product, namely Sherwin Williams (Easy Change Wallpaper), Paper Apartment, and TemPaper. I wasn't able to find out much about the Sherwin Williams product, but it didn't seem super user friendly. Paper Apartment papers come in a blank paper role (choice of color) and a paint pen for making your own designs. It is attached to the wall with 3M stick tabs (the tabs sounded to me like they were essentially large scrapbook tabs). It seemed as if Paper Apartment papers weren't as user friendly and truthfully were difficult to install and time consuming to decorate. Overall it seems as if TemPaper is the favorite, and with a little research it isn't hard to see why - it is stinkin' easy to put up and take down. There are 5 VERY basic rules of application that I would liken to peeling the back off of a label and sticking it on the wall. It supposedly (from the website & individual reviews) removes as easy as a post-it. Here are some of their designs:

Another great way to cover your walls temporarily is an old method of using fabric and good old liquid starch. This is a pretty simple project and as long as you choose an inexpensive fabric it can also be done for a reasonable amount. For full directions on how to 'fabric' your walls click here.

Photo via Jesseblog:

I hope that these tips find all military and apartment dewellers doing well and feeling inspired!