Did you know that in a climate where there is rain and moisture plants can actually grow???

I have been pleasantly surprised by this news lately and am so happy to be growing things. I have potted 2 little orange trees to brighten up our dreary front porch…

and set up a happy home for the birds to come and visit…

and an indoor herb garden (taking the place of the dreamed about vegetable garden once I realized how much work growing vegetables actually is) herbs are much easier and just as lovely.

Plus I painted the pots,

after which Matt kindly asked me to step away from the spray paint can and the chalkboard paint brushes.

Okay I will admit, this is turning into an addiction quickly. EVERYTHING in our home has gone the way of the spray can and chalk labels. It is just too easy…

and too much fun…

PS. It looks like the home tour is going over the promised one month allotment. I still have quite a few posts to share with you in the coming weeks, hope you don’t mind my little extension:)

blessings.

One of the more beneficial oddities of our new home is the 3 bedroom to 2 bedroom conversion it underwent some time ago. Because of this renovation our master bedroom is about the size of two normal rooms with two closets and a great little side nook. We decided this would be the perfect place for a design office.

I am ubber excited about this space. Over the past year my time spent blogging has rapidly increased, as well as my collection of very sharp (read:harmful to babies) supplies- so working from the kitchen table was not very practical any longer.

Now I have a lovely area to design, read/work in and I feel so blessed by it.

The details:

Since you are all aware of my obsession with spray paint let’s start there. I found a cheap Ikea chair in need of a little love. I used a bottle of mustard yellow spray to cheer it up. I also attached a few embroidered butterflies from a piece of ruined fabric- they make me smile and inspire me to design.

The shelf hanging behind the chair is going to become an inspiration area for words and ideas that I love.

It was important to me to have my craft supplies and sewing machine handy in this space. I am sure you can relate to how difficult it is to work when you have to lug heavy items in and out of storage, hopefully handy will equal useful.

I used a few leftover pasta jars to organize the small items and chalkboard paint became a great way to label everything. Little Chica helped me write in the word “buttons” and it came out so imperfectly lovely I just had to keep it that way.

We also spray painted peg board for the wall and I covered an old art canvas with fabric to make a pin board for design projects and inspiration. The desk is actually a “dressing table” that I received for Christmas. I love how long it is, I can spread out 2-3 projects at a time and quickly become very sidetracked productive;)

My last little favorite detail of this area is the magazine holder. It was originally bare wood and boring. I covered it with scrapbooking paper and found a sheet of the loveliest yellow laser-cut butterfly paper. It came out so pretty I want to make a whole shelf of them… maybe even a whole room.

Speaking of inspiration, how sweet is this headband- it goes perfectly with the office decor of mustard yellow and garden green. I believe we were dreaming on the same wave length- thanks to Chelsea for the great present, now Chica may end up being a part of her momma’s office after all.

blessings.

Every time we move it seems there are always one or two areas that just don’t fit. In this house, the main challenge has been three ginormous and very bare living room windows.

We needed curtains that were not see through since this is our main family living space for evening. I also wanted a bit of color to drown out the cabinesc wood walls- which by the way, don’t you love. I planned on painting them white but was sadly denied my request. They are growing on me though, we also bought this rad lamp and the room is taking on a somewhat 70’s-anchorman-wood-walled vibe which I am fondly begining to dig.

For the curtains we ended up using three blue queen duvet sets bought on clearance, and with a gift card! We cut each in half, then sewed the open seems and hung with drape clips. It was a simple and easy way to save on what could have been a very expensive purchase.

They add fun to our largest room. The one we use all day with the babies, and thankfully the curtains also cover us up at night- just incase we decide to jump around in our undies- wink, wink.

blessings.

We have a few chairs in our home. Okay, we have a lot of chairs. It has been a running joke- every time we move, all the single guys we know come over to load up and proceed to gasp at the insane number of chairs they are asked to lift and haul into the truck.

Chairs for sitting, for dinning, for office, for rocking, for cuddling, chairs for patio, chairs for extra- just in case we need to have a dinner party for 20. Chairs galore.

This last move was going to be different. I was purposely planning on moving a smaller amount of chairs. Until I found an amazing deal of $5 each for new dinning chairs at the thrift store…

and then my in-laws passed down a pair of large wing back recliners which we had to bring and try as I might I couldn’t stand to part with the old dinning chairs, a little spray paint and they became oh so lovely.

Also we needed to add a few small seats for the babies to read at, so once again the guys made fun of me for all of the chairs, but thankfully I know I have a place for 20 butts just in case they show up all at once.

blessings.

PS. My new attachable flash is in the mail, thanks for being patient with the photos in the meantime.

I have always wanted a mantle in our home, over a wood burning fireplace, on a wall filled with bricks. Sometimes life just makes you smile and every once in awhile you get exactly what it is you would like.

Our mantel….

I love how warm and homey it makes me feel.

blessings.

PS. The baby stools were a steal at $3 each- it’s great living near an Ikea.

PSS. The frame is an old trash on the street find that I spray painted orange. Consequently, I am becoming addicted to spray paint these days. Ev.er.y.thing that is not bolted down I am pulling out back to coat with a new color-it is such a cheap and lovely way to revamp a home.