nightstands are finished!

wow, this last week was something else. not only did our new nephew make it safely into the world, but we bought a new car and got our new (finished!) nightstands from d's dad!

this picture is awful - we had to stick them in my office for at least a week to let the finish cure and that room is pretty dark... but you can at least get an idea of what they look like! i want to get the bedroom painted before we even think of lugging them up the stairs. hopefully we can get a color picked out soon and maybe get it painted over the 3 day weekend.

d's dad and i worked together and came up with this design based on a few different nightstands we really liked. they are built out of walnut, with no stain. i love how they are slightly modern, but not so much that they can't fit in with some more traditional elements.

i can't wait to get this room looking the way i want it to. i'm still trying to decide what to do about bedding... hoping to find a cheap, thin quilt to use during the summer months as i already have something that will probably work for the winter...

my little nephew!!

my little nephew, ethan henry, came into the world on wednesday, june 23rd. last week was exciting for us in several different ways, but this definitely is the highlight of it all. he is my parent's first grandchild, and they are so excited he is here. of course, so am i! i was happy i could snap a few photos this weekend of him and the family. he's probably going to think i am crazy when he's older... i'm going to take photos of this little guy every chance i get!

friday links.

wow, the week has just flown by! i can't believe it's already friday... what all has happened this week? for me, we replaced the water pump and timing belt in my car - only to be told after the work was done that i also have a small crack in my radiator. woohoo! (sarcasm) i guess that means we get to go car shopping. as much as i do want a new car, i'm going to be sad to see my little red convertible go... i guess it's time to get a grown-up car. also, i think my camera is broken. it still takes pictures, but it's blurry on the sides. i thought i just had some settings screwed up, but after resetting everything to default, it's still there. so... i'm going to take it in and see what's wrong.

here are some links from the week. hope you all have a wonderful weekend and happy father's day!!!

apartment therapy has a great list of low maintenance plants. i already have some sweet potato vine growing in the backyard... i really need to add a few more! it's so beautiful trailing down the side of a tall container.

really love this diy recycled t-shirt necklace tutorial from getcraftee. i'd love to try this with some patterned shirts...

these ginger-soy beef tenderloin kebabs sound delish. we really need to get our grill fired up... found on food for my family.

a diy duct tape dress form. that's what i said! if i ever get into sewing my own clothes, i'll definitely make one of these! thanks prudent baby!

bedroom inspiration.

beth's amazing guest bedroom, found via apartment therapy.

with our nightstands to be soon within our grasp, i've really started thinking a lot more about our bedroom. right now it's painted a rusty red that matches our winter comforter... and i just can't stand it anymore. so, i looked through my inspiration folder the other day, and noticed a trend. bright colors (what's new) with a mix of neutrals. so, here's my plan:

paint the walls a nice greige. nothing too dark... we have a huge window, but the curtains usually stay closed, unless d is out of town. he doesn't like the sunlight...

have fun with the bedding. this is where a nice pop of color will help the room from being too brown. i love the bedding on the above photo ( it's the bella hothouse quilt from anthro and a little above my price range) but i'd like to be able to change it with something inexpensive whenever i'm ready for a change.

accessorize with bright colors. i've got tons of stuff in the rest of the house - why not bring some cute stuff into the bedroom?

and my biggest challenge: spend as little as possible. we've already paid for the wood for the nightstands, so i'm not going to include it in my final count. i'm planning to buy paint for the walls and trim, shop in the rest of the house for accessories, make some free artwork for the walls, and maybe try to diy a duvet/quilt out of vintage fabrics. we've also discussed putting down this flooring everywhere there is currently carpet.

in the meantime, here are some pretty photos:

i'm shamefully admitting, i don't know where this image came from.

photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo, found on desire to inspire

design sponge sneak peek - tonya sutfin

design sponge sneak peek

gardens, links and a rant.

i spent friday evening enjoying this (any many other) great views. this is my friend raechel's garden, and she has about a million different plants hanging out on the hill and driveway next to her house. she was kind enough to snip a few cuttings for me so i could grow some of my favorites at home. i can only hope to have gardening skills equal to hers one day...

since i didn't post any links on friday, i thought i would put a few up today.

i love this idea to etch your last name into a pyrex dish (for when you take it to parties and pot-lucks) from makeitandloveit.

dottie angel posted a tutorial for an 'ordinarily extraordinary' blanket. i would love to make a larger version to use as a bedspread during the summer.

this grill bread looks tasty! we haven't even used our grill yet this summer... but hopefully we will soon! from sfgirlbybay.

chezlarsson is sharing his concrete diy challenges on his blog. this is probably one of my favorites. an initial bookend... why are these heavy, decorative objects so expensive when you buy them? not sure. but i'd really love to make this and several of his other concrete projects...

really loving both of these before and afters at designsponge. love the stripes...

this blueberry shortcake recipe has my attention. filing it away for a sunday brunch someday. from savorysweetlife.

i also love this tip from savorysweetlife (again!) about shaping uniform hamburger patties...

i've had a lot on my mind these last few weeks. our budget. our future. trying to save money for these things we think will make us happy... like a bigger house. i won't argue with the fact that there are a few things about our house that just aren't working for us. but it's not all related to space. so, do we need a 3,000 square foot house right now? or even in the next few years? (not that we'd buy one that big, but we're sitting at 1450 right now) i feel like maybe we should rethink this a little. move/get rid of some furniture we don't need... make a few updates that would make us a little happier... because right now we need to spend some money elsewhere, and that will take cash of our 'dream home' fund.

we're trying to decide who should get a new car. we have one car that's air conditioner gives out in an hour or less of driving time and another car (mine) that is having coolant issues that we can't seem to get resolved. i want a small crossover suv - d wants a pickup. we really just need something we can drive for more than a few hours without passing out from the heat and that won't leave us stranded on the highway... but who gets the new car?

sorry for the rant... i just can't see a clear-cut 'right' to this situation and it's driving me crazy. usually something will tell me what the best decision is...

thrifty!

maybe not by way of thrift-store, but i was definitely thrifty. i went to an estate sale on thursday during my lunch break and brought home lots of goodies.

these beautiful, old measuring spoons. my mother in law has this same set that i've been admiring for a while. i couldn't believe it when i found the same set.

i love wooden spoons. it reminds me of when i was younger - my mom has some wooden spoons and i always loved their worn texture.

does this tray look familiar? i found the same one at a thrift store last year, and painted it black. i think i'll keep this one brass, though.

i have no idea what this is supposed to be used for. it's not a door knocker, i don't think. i'll probably stick it in the kitchen and use it to hang dish towels off of!

i also found this pretty dish. it's got a few chips on the edges, but i just love the design. and, it's pink, so i'm not sure if it is depression glass or not....

i also got a few other things: an old pastry cutter, a rolling suitcase for d, an aluminum steamer and some baking pans...

to do list.

i am having an increasingly difficult time focusing on just one thing. i have so many projects/updates i want to do around the house... but i've realized i just need to make a list of the ones i want the most and work on one at a time until that list is finished.

so, i figured i would write it all down here and cross them off as i get projects finished. these are in no particular order, and i've created separate indoor/outdoor lists because i tend to migrate between the two depending on the weather conditions outside.

INDOORS||

finish bathroom

paint bedroom

clean and organize office/spare bedroom

clean and organize sunroom

organize bedroom closet

sew new cover for cedar chest

OUTDOORS||

fence raised bed and plant veggies

spread the rest of the mulch

get branches out of the backyard

plant alyssum and zinnia seeds

make/find/purchase some sort of larger outdoor table

friday links.

i'm glad this week has gone by so quickly, but now i have tons of stuff to do this weekend! gone, it seems, are the days of lazing around the house every saturday and sunday, waiting for the new work week to begin. i am going to be finishing off the projects that didn't get completed during our long memorial day weekend. what are your plans?

here's some links from this week:

i really love these flores lawn chairs from anthropologie, but not the price. found on apartment therapy.

centsational girl gives tips on how to pick a chandelier for any space.

peony hair clip tutorial from ruffles and stuff. i know a few little girls i could make these for...

a bicycle bucket tutorial from noodlehead. i need one of these for my bike...

diy pallet dining table on readymade, found via apartment therapy. this would be super-cheap for an outdoor table...

gumpaste bow tutorial on makeitandloveit. for all the cake decorators out there...

whatever you do, have a good weekend!

how was your weekend?

other than not feeling very good on monday, we had a great weekend.

saturday was spent working in the yard in the morning. a trip to the home depot that afternoon (i got a new rose bush!! i love garden roses. above is a photo of one of the blooms. i still need to plant it...) and then we had steaks with d's parents and his memaw.

sunday we went to the sneed family reunion. since i took my camera with me, i was deemed reunion photographer by memaw... which would have been fine had i checked my settings before clicking away. i managed to salvage most of the photos i took, although they are blurry around the edges. (depth of field was not set correctly for a group setting). that will teach me to look at everything before i start taking pictures.

monday we tried to get out and do some more garden/yard shopping done. i knew the home improvement stores would be busy, but GEEZ. parking lots were filled to the brim, and i would rather spend the extra $10 and shop when there aren't any sales going on.

what do we still need to do in the yard?

buy more boxwood. i bought and planted 4 this weekend to replace dead ones. i miscounted, though and will need several more. there are 2 that i am trying my best to save... i thought these were supposed to be hardy?

buy dirt/compost for the raised bed. we were going to do that monday... but didn't feel like hauling soil around a packed store.

plant my veggies in the raised bed. i am determined to have some home grown veggies this summer!

i also bought some sweet asylum and zinnia seeds that i am eager to sow. there were so many seed packets i wanted to buy, but left with these two, as well as radishes and carrots to try our hand at.

i also have some bags of mulch that need to be spread on all the beds. i'm tired of pulling weeds... i know this won't completely fix the problem, but it sure will help!

there are lots of other things that need to be done in the yard, but these are the ones i'm most concerned with. it's all starting to look so much better!