The first thing to arrive was this fabric sample:

I fell in love with it online but I needed to see it in person before making a final decision – and I think the final decision is a giant YES.

I’ve waffled and agonized over color schemes, the vibe I want the nursery to have . . . I could go on and on over all the internal debates I’ve been having but perhaps I’ll save that for another post.  But in a nutshell, I think this fun, whimsical and colorful animal print is going to be an awesome jumping off point for our little girl’s nursery!

And now onto the other exciting delivery – just a few moments ago I heard the FedEx truck pull up and Jason and I instantly had the same thought – the crib!!  The FedEx guy single-handedly trotted this giant box up to our door:

YAY!!!!

Here’s the crib that we got (who knows when we’ll actually get around to assembling the crib, so this stock photo will have to do for now):

Isn’t she a beauty?!?  I love the mix of finishes and the clean, simple lines.  Swoon.  And it was delivered in less than a week – double swoon.

I’m in the beginning stages of actually putting all of my ideas for the nursery into a design board, so I’ll keep you posted on that.  In the meantime, what do you guys think so far?  And did you have a tough time designing your child’s nursery?  So many decisions!!  :)

Putting up the tree and all the festive trimmings is always a guaranteed good time – and it always puts me in the holiday spirit.  This year we ditched our old Charlie Brown Christmas tree and sprung for a 7 1/2 foot pre-lit tree, and it makes such a difference!  (It didn’t hurt that the new tree only set us back $130, after using our Sears points and getting free shipping for ordering in the store.)

We also abandoned our old red and gold scheme and tried out peacock-inspired hues, all inspired by some fun and funky stockings that I scored at the Crate & Barrel outlet for just 5 bucks each.  In all, we spent less then $40 for this entirely new look thanks to some DIY ornaments like these, donated goodies from my mom, peacock feather earrings, and gifted crystals from my grandmother years and years ago.

We are really loving our peacock-themed decorations!

These photos were all taken this morning, and it’s all even more glorious at night!

What about you guys – how are you decking the halls this year?  Link up if you’d like, we’d love to check out even more festiveness!

Actually, it looks like this:

We knew the day would come when our lovely dining room set would go to it’s real home (with my uncle’s son) and, my friends, that day is here.

So not only do we need new dining room furniture (I’m thinking this table, not sure yet about chairs), but we’re springing for a new light fixture.  The current one is going to live at the flip and mama’s gettin’ a new chandelier!

But I’m having a bit of a dilemma.  Hubby has given me the go-ahead to order one of these chandeliers.

The brave girl in me is dying for the drama of that crazy Edison chandelier.  Can you say conversation piece?  Jason said that he wasn’t sure if our house was cool enough for this fixture, so of course I reminded him that our house will never be cool enough if we don’t add pieces like this.  But now I’m scared.

And the other part of me that plays it safe thinks we should go for that gorgeous capiz chandelier.  It would look fabulous, and I know we would love it.

So what’s a girl to do?  Safe or brave?

I have been meaning to tell you guys about our covered patio forever!!  You see, we gave it a little makeover this past winter and spring and now it’s all ready for some summer lounging!

The list of changes we made is actually pretty long.

The first phase took place while we were still flipping the last house – we lured some of the trades over to our house to work their magic, staining and scoring our worse-for-wear concrete patio, patching the sagging sheetrock in the ceiling and painting it a bright white to match the bow window and doors (it was a dingy gray before), and installing 3 recessed lights for some nighttime ambiance.

Then it was my turn to brighten things up a bit with a new color scheme and some fun new pillows – the striped ones are sewn out of fabric I bought in a market during my trip to France last summer!

The last time you saw our patio it looked like this . . .

. . . and before that it looked like this . . .

. . . but because of the changes we made now it looks like this!

I liked the old patio but this version is much more “us” – it feels cheerful and fun, and I hope it feels welcoming.

Wanna come hang out?  :)

Last weekend our powder room went from a little boring to bold, and this weekend I added this print from Persimmon & Pink that I’ve wanted forever.

Sometimes in the blog world it’s easy for there to be a misconception that all bloggers’ projects go just as planned from start to finish, and that there are never any failures.  Lest you get the impression that all my projects are successes (ha!), let me assure you – my first attempt at picking a paint color for the powder room was a complete and utter disaster.  In the words of my husband, “Take 1 was an epic fail.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

I should have been tipped off when I opened the paint can (Behr’s Moonlit Pool) and instead of looking like this:

it looked like this:

But back at Home Depot the paint guy had assured me that it would look like the sample once it was dry and I had a few coats on the walls. Sure, why not?

It did not look promising.

Then it looked even worse . . .

. . . and when the first coat was finished it looked appalling.

I decided to stick it out and power through 3 coats, just in case the Home Depot guy was right and the paint would look superb once I’d gotten enough of it on the walls.

Sadly, that was not the case.  It doesn’t look so bad in this photo but trust me – it was blinding.  And still very patchy.  I almost thought Jason might divorce me.  My sister saw it, too, and said “Wow, that’s turquoise!”

Not exactly what I was going for.  Luckily, after one coat with the new paint I was feeling much better.

Anybody else have an epic fail out there that will make me feel better?  :)

P.S.  My mom says the paint in the powder room is royal blue, not slate blue, so there ya go.

And our powder room now looks like this . . .

. . . instead of this!

Although the light blue walls were pretty I had gotten very tired of them – they felt kind of wimpy to me and I really wanted something more exciting!  This slate blue color is exactly what I wanted (although getting there wasn’t so pretty – more on that disaster tomorrow!).

This powder room is impossible to photograph since it’s tiny and the only light is from the sconces – so sorry for the somewhat crazy photos (for this photo above I dragged two lamps into the hallway so you could actually see the sconces).

But I absolutely love how the color turned out – to me it feels a little more dramatic, sophisticated, and much more interesting.  I ordered a print for above the toilet that I’ve been lusting after forever – I’ll post updated pics once it arrives!

And for you curious folks the paint color is Regatta Bay (550F-6) by Behr, and I used their Premium Plus Ultra Paint & Primer in One in the interior flat enamel.

(Clearly I didn’t tidy up for you guys – sorry, that’s just how I roll sometimes.)

Seriously, I just want to sit around and stare at it.  The colors are so vibrant and fun!

I made a little faux pillow out of it to see how it will look as pillows in our den.  The pattern is much larger than I expected, but I think that’s okay.  It will be fun to pick different pieces of the pattern to highlight, like the bird.  (And check out how good it looks with my chairs in the background!)

Here are some of the existing pillows that will be playing with the new fabric.  I wasn’t positive that they would play nicely together but I think they really do!

Ooh, and I also ordered fabric to make the window treatments for our never-before-seen-on-the-blog-laundry-room and the adjoining bathroom.  Exciting times, people, exciting times.

I must say, I’m pretty proud of myself for actually getting the ball rolling towards starting some of the projects on my list (I have a well-earned reputation for procrastination).  So far I have:

• ordered fabric for new pillows and window treatments
• bought paint for the powder room
• made a failed attempt to order the lotus chandelier for the entryway
• successfully ordered a snazzy pendant for the breakfast nook
• bought lacquer spray paint in Chinese Red for the mirror that will be going in the hallway

Hopefully I’ll have more updates soon!  So are you guys as smitten with the new fabric as I am?

But I think I’m ready to tackle a few more projects on my to-do list that have been waiting to be crossed off for far too long.  I joined Pinterest a few days ago and it’s got me feeling all inspired!

Here’s my list:

• Sew new pillows for den using this fabric:



Source: fabric.com via Liz @ It’s Great to be Home on Pinterest

• Paint mirror from new flip for hallway, pick a fun color.
• Hang starburst mirror (seen here) in guest bedroom.
• Hang burlap or other inexpensive fabric on entryway walls & install chair rail (have to convince Jason on that one).



Source: karaskottage.blogspot.com via Liz @ It’s Great to be Home on Pinterest

• Order Lotus pendant for entryway & have installed (make sure it can be changed to hardwire).  This will have to wait awhile until the budget allows.



Source: islandwoods.com via Liz @ It’s Great to be Home on Pinterest

• Find pagoda pendant (?) for breakfast room (and paint red, maybe?).  Apparently I’m not real decisive on this one.  :)



• Make cafe curtain for laundry room – find cute fabric.
• Bring back neutral shower curtain for laundry bathroom – apply ribbon trim to spice up.
• Make cute roman shade or stationary shade for laundry bathroom, maybe using this tutorial:



Source: isabellaandmaxrooms.blogspot.com via Liz @ It’s Great to be Home on Pinterest

• Find solid yellow lumbar pillow for master bedroom.

What’s on your to-do list?  And are you on Pinterest?  If so, leave your username in the Comments so we can follow you!