Attempted Thanksgiving Tablescape & Link Party!

Did you know Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK?!?! 

That sure crept up on us didn't it! 

Even though I don't host Thanksgiving, although I have in the past... see here... I decided to get in on the fun of a Thanksgiving Tablescape because you know, everyone is doing it.

Worst case it got me to clean off the table. 

Yes, it is usually a  mess of art supplies, play-doh, markers, etc...

So it was nice to clean it off and do something like this!

I had these little turkey napkin holders laying around. 

They were orange so I gave them a quick paint job and they are looking much more chic now.

I picked them up at Goodwill a few years back and they've just been sitting in a drawer.

This year I put them to use (kind of).

The acorns were a bag from Meijer that I grabbed about two years ago.

I ran to Hobby Lobby and grabbed a few paint colors to coordinate together. 

I think they turned out cute.

And while I was at Hobby Lobby I picked up these fall-esque stems.

I LOVE the Lotus Pods.

It's nothing much, but our table is not large and grand so small, sweet, and chic is how we keep it around here and honestly I kind of love it.

Vase is from Home Goods.  Love that place.  And did you know they have an app? 

Download The Goods NOW.

Lanterns and candle holders are from Goodwill as well.  I think they cost me $5 total. 

I contemplated painting them white or gold, but in the end liked the warmth that the brown tones gave for a more Thanksgiving-like feel.

Do you guys have any Thanksgiving Tablescapes to share? 

Link Up below... I'm trying my hand at a link party because I want to see your ideas! 

2011 Home Goals Recap - Midway Point

I just want to say that I'm in a really good mood today!  Tired as all get out, but totally in a good mood!  The first song I heard when I got in my car this morning was LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem which is totally my favorite song right now!  So that really got me ready to go today!!! 

At the beginning of the year I made a list of a TON of goals to be finished around my house this year.  That's right THIS YEAR... not next or 10 years down the road.  I'm making myself stick to it!  And here's the progress as of now... Since I consider June 25th the midway point of the year - my birthday which makes my half birthday Christmas - I thought it would be a good time to recap. 

Living Room:

• To get new rug
• Uncheck
• To get chair reupholstered
• Uncheck, but do have slipcover so maybe half check
• To finish ottoman for coffee table or get new coffee table
• CHECK and CHECK - Finished Ottoman AND got new coffee table
• Fix all paint around edges
• Half Check - Halfway done
• New Carpet or if I can convince Mr. K, hardwood laminate.
• Uncheck, but have convinced Mr. K that's what we are going to do! YAY

Pantry:

• To Set up hooks and bench seat
• CHECK- found bench, Mr. K hung hooks
• Fix up walls with some sort of chalk wall
• Uncheck
• Hooks for mops etc.
• CHECK then Uncheck - Hooks failed!
• Organize shelves
• Uncheck

Kitchen:
Complete UNCHECK

• Build banquette for corner
• Install Light fixture
• Paint cabinets and add hardware
• Install island?

Stairway:

• Have painted
• CHECK- Thanks Groupon!
• Hang picture/art wall
• Half Check - Frames are painted and ready to be hung

Master Bedroom:

• Fix all edge painting
• Uncheck
• New furniture
• Uncheck
• Replace curtains and rods
• CHECK- Drop cloth curtains!
• Find new chair
• Uncheck, but remove from list - bench will be enough
• Add bench to end of bed
• Half Check - Have bench, but needs redone

Master Bath:

• Finish accessorizing
• CHECK
• New Shower curtain
• Uncheck
• Paint vanity
• Uncheck

Office:

• Organize
• Half Check - Always a work in progress
• Bulletin Board
• CHECK
• New Chair
• CHECK
• Style Bookcases
• CHECK

Guest Bedroom:

• Hang chair rail
• Uncheck - Might have changed mind on this
• Paint above and below rail
• Half Check - Will be painted soon thanks to Groupon!
• New comforter/bedding
• CHECK
• Reupholster chair
• Uncheck - Might paint it!

Upstairs Hallway:

• Paint and hang picture ledge
• CHECK

Not too shabby...
Out of 32 Items, 11 are completely done and 5 others are halfway done!  I think that's a pretty good place to be at the half way point! 

In the next couple of weeks, I hope to:

• Complete my gallery wall
• Complete my new bench for the bedroom
• Completely finish the pantry
• completely finish the edging

That will knock those off!  Biggest feats we'll have - Banquet in kitchen!  Here's hoping that's done by the end of the summer!  YAY!!!

How are your home goals going to for 2011 so far?!?  I'd love to hear!  I've added a link at the bottom so you can link up if you want!  :)
Happy Gateway to the Weekend!

Flip Flop Swap

Happy Monday Blog Hogs!!! 

I'm so tired today... maybe a bit more on that tomorrow... it's a long story! 
Involves me, the hubby, a plane and a car.  Boo to travel sometimes. 

Anyways I'm so excited to share with you today the surprise I received in the mail last week!  I joined the flip flop swap that was hosted by Lynn at Breaking Through.  I thought it was a super cute idea so I thought, why not.  The only limitation was that you had to purchase flip flops and couldn't spend over $20. 

So my partner was Janessa over at Our Blue Life.  You should go check out her blog!  It's super cute!  But here's what she sent me! 

**Side Note: Sorry for the bum pictures... my camera died on me the other day.  Actually died is probably an over exaggeration... it's batteries died, not the actual camera.  And I tried to put just plain AA batteries in to get me through, but they died pretty quickly so I have to go out and buy the Lithium.  Until then, it's phone pics.  :(

I'm so excited that I got FOUR PAIRS of flip flops!  I was going to have to break down and buy them sooner or later... I was down to two... a pair of brown and a pair of silver.  Now I'm set.  The giraffe print ones are too cute!  And I love paisley so these were all right up my alley!  There's also a pair of Missing Red ones... I wore them once, cleaned the house all weekend and now am unable to find them... odd, I know. 

I'm linking up over at Lynn's blog today to see what everyone else got!  I sure hope Janessa liked the ones I sent.  After I sent them I contemplated getting another pair... for myself.  They were too cute! 

Anything Goes Link Party

So now it's time for the Anything Goes Link Party!  I do hope you'll jump on in and participate as I love finding new blogs to read!    Click below to add your link!!!  Ends May 31st!

Share with your friends too... the more the merrier!

Minor Bedroom Changes

Do any of you remember my bedroom?  It's painful. 

I think it gets more and more painful every time I look at it. 

Painful, I know right?!?!  Like...woah!

Most painful part?  The major pieces of furniture that do not go together!
A five drawer dresser from Goodwill and a six drawer dresser from IKEA are enough to make me cringe each and every time I walk in there.  I don't so much mind my side tables and/or bed, but definitely have upgrades in mind when the time is right. 

In the meantime, I've made a few changes to my bedroom.  Actually after looking at that top collage of my bedroom, it looks like a totally different room.  It's still an ever evolving set of items but there have been a few noticeable updates. 

A few weeks ago I posted about the change in the comforter...
It's a Thomas O'Brien from Target.  I think I love it.  I got it in the King Size for the Queen Size bed and it drapes to the floor very nicely. 

The curtains...

Remember these goldy-ish colored set.  They started in my living room and when my mom gave me the old comforter set by Nicole Miller, they made their way up the stairs and onto my bedroom windows.  Well, with the change of the comforter, the goldy-ish drapes were too sheeny. 

So I took them from the above...

To these...

Drop cloths...

I've even hung them higher since these were taken.

Love them.

And hoping to paint a loopy detail or a chevron pattern along the bottom.

Cheap Art.

I saw three sayings on canvas on another blog, made by an artist.  I decided to type them out, and print them up... I made a couple of little frames to put around my house... Here's the one in the bedroom.
It sits next to Mike's side. 

I've also moved my DIY Star burst mirror from the front hallway to over the bed.  I did have to trim it down a little, but I think it works better with the colors in the bedroom....although it might be a crazy good pop downstairs on my new chocolate brown wall.  Things that make me go hmmm...

And you may notice those loopy canvas' on either side of the bed.  I made those a while back.  Actually a long while back.  They used to hang on the wall to the left in this picture below, but I actually quite love the set up at the moment where they hang in relation to the mirror.    They were inspired by a print I used to love at Ballard Designs and I thought for sure I could do myself... WRONG, but I kind of love the outcome.  What do you think?

So, there she is...

In the daylight...

And in the moodlight...



House Tour - Guest Bedroom

Time for another portion of our house to be seen... it's been long enough since I did this.  AND there have been some significant changes around my house. 

I have never introduced you all to my guest bedroom.  Now, now, now, don't get too excited.  The white walls and completely mismatched items make it a definite dropping place.  And with not too many guests other than my family, I haven't worried to much about it. 

So... here she is. 
Funny how I consider all my rooms female.  hehe.
I should name her hand-me-downs. 

We bought the bed from one of my co-workers who was downsizing.  Left side table is from an antique store.  Right side table is one I bought when we first started dating (6 years ago) so we'd have something next to our bed.  The wicker storage bench came from my mother.  Lamps are from Goodwill and Target - I found one at Goodwill and went to Target to find another - and I did purchase those shades new.  They are from whne my bedroom was slate blue. 

I found this chair on Craigslist about 3 years ago and I instantly fell in love with it.  It's from a photography studio that was closing.  I couldn't pass it up for the $30 they were asking.  I'm hoping to try the painting of the fabric on this chair.  Wicker tables are from goodwill but they were actually from Target.  And what do you think about the lamp here with no lampshade?!?  LOL!  I totally forgot about that when taking the picture!

It's your typical guestbedroom.  Bed.  Chair.  Full closet. 

To do list in here:
{1} Paint Gray
{2}Frame some other maps
{3}Make headboard
{4}Paint Chair
{5}Find cool dresser

After that, we'll be closer to finished.  :)

And hop on over to Flip Flops and Pearls where I'm linking up for Home Tour Tuesday!




 

And don't forget about "Raisin' for Red" this month!  Get details here.
15% of all proceeds purchased online through Hostess Red Cross will go to the Red Cross this month!
Did you have something on your wish list?  

Linking Up - TV Room

I know I featured our NEW COFFEE table a couple of days ago now, but I wanted to actually just feature that room today and maybe explain it a little bit... Hmmm....

This is our living room. 

It is the main room right off our front door.  We don't have another family room although we do have a loft that we NEVER use (except for a laundry drop off) so this is where we watch our TV and have our little get togethers!  And watch our favorite shows like Dexter, Shameless, and Modern Family!

Right now it's in transition I would say.  Somewhat bland and boring as I'm working on adding pops of color and new curtains.  It just feels cold right now and I'd like to get it to that "homie" feeling.  I also need to do something behind that TV on the wall as I mentioned in the coffee table post.  Any suggestions?  I would love FEEDBACK as most of the bloggers out there have impecible homes and decor! 

Here's what it looked like just 3 weeks ago:

 

And here it is now (almost same angle) (again, I know)

I think it's a huge difference, but you may not be able to tell much!  I think it feels lighter which is what I'm going for, but we'll see! Maybe it's just the lighting...

Things to keep:
New coffee table (love)
Wing Chair (although would love to reupholster instead of slipcover)
Lamps behind sofa
TV

Everything else is questionable!

Check out Shannon's Link over at Webbisodes!
AND don't forget about the $25 Target Giftcard Giveaway!  Click here to check it out!

-- {1st} Link Party -- Show Me Your Stockings! --

With the holiday just around the corner and everyone hosting link parties too and fro... I thought I'd try my own.  Inspired by the stockings post by Katie over at Bower Power the other day, I'd like you to

Show Me Your Stockings! 

What does your stocking display look like?!  Where do you put them?  I'd love to see it! 

Runs from Dec 1st-5th...

I hope you'll join us!

And don't forget to check out the Giveaway and the newly updated "Our Wedding" page!

-- Things I Don't Like About The Holidays -- Analyze This Holiday Link Party --

Cirlce of Lights
Indianapolis Downtown

I love the holidays!  There is something about Christmas lights and Christmas Trees that just make everything so magical and cozy and enchanting... I'd keep white lights up all year round if I could. 

But there are also things that quite frankly suck about the holidays!  And Ally and Molly asked us about it today!  So... here we go again...

{1} Parking...

While we prepare ourselves in advance for it, parking always sucks.  Anytime after Thanksgiving, be ready to park in the middle of nowhere and sprint to the door to attempt to avoid the wind and rain/sleet/snow mix (if you live in Indiana).  Are there malls with Valet? 

{2}  Parking again...

But this time because of the others searching for parking spots.  This really takes you to a crappy place.  You are waiting for a spot and waiting and they finally pull out and someone swings into YOUR spot from the other side.  Sometimes a bird comes out to play...sometimes not, but still it sucks.  They take the Merry out of Merry Christmas.  If you have a story to tell post a comment! :)

{3}  Splitting time between families...
Yes, both of our parents live in the same city.  Convenient and yet oh so inconvenient.  When do you get to the point where you stop trying to please everyone and just relax over the holidays?  We aren't quite there yet.  I think we are going to be there soon, but until then we do Christmas Eve at my in-laws, Christmas Morning (6am) at my parents, usually breakfast at my in-laws, lunch at my husbands aunt's house, dinner at my parents house, and dinner/sleep at the in-laws.  Does this get better?!?  I'd love suggestions!

{4}  Trying to get the best gift...
I know, I know... it is the thought that counts.  But I'm also a very thoughtful gift giver usually.  I want it to make sense, be unusual, and something they'll love.  Now, I rarely hit the mark on all 3, but I usually get at least one.  I've been scouring the Internet trying to find something for everyone without breaking the bank. 

{5}  That places are open! 

OK... I'm the first one to admit that almost every year I end up forgetting something and falling back on Walmart of Walgreen's to pull through these rough times, but I feel so horrible for those who have to work and be away from their families.  What happened to a time when nothing was open?  Do you remember that?  It was like living in a Ghost Town on Christmas or Thanksgiving.  Now, just about everywhere is open...we are even opening stores at midnight on Thanksgiving.  Really?  Is that necessary?  I think it would be nice to go back to a simpler time.  What do you think? 

Those are the things I don't like about the holidays.  Make sure to hop on over to Molly and Ally's 12 Days of Christmas Link Party to check out what others don't like about the holidays! 

And don't forget to enter yesterday's giveaway for the Lola Stretch Bracelet for Little Girls from Stella & Dot!  All you have to do is post a comment! Giveaways can make great gifts!  :)