Christmas Decorating

Christmas decorations! They're up! Well, some of them;)...I usually am not done decorating for Christmas until Christmas day. I am always adding stuff or moving it around. Here are some photos of what has been done so far...



































And at night...(oops, missing my tree skirt and the star in this one...oh well;))...


And here is the stockingless mantle...I am attempting to make my own this year so stay tuned for the updated mantle...


Oh yes, and you can't miss Thomas the train ;)...

Well, more pictures to come as I add more decor and move more stuff around (and hopefully make my stockings). Do you guys decorate your house the same way every year or do you change it up from Christmas to Christmas? My decor changes every year...I like the new challenge each Christmas of making it look better than the year before:). I reuse the same decorations, just move them around a bit. I am always looking for an excuse to decorate ;).

Anyway, I'll leave you with some instagram photos...I know they come out a bit blurry but I still love me some instagram effects!








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Dining Room After Afters

Well, hopefully you have had a chance to read about our new playroom. If not, don't forget to check it out HERE. Well, since putting in the playroom, we had to shuffle some things around in the dining room so I thought I would give you some updated after pictures of this room.

Just to recap, here are the after pictures I had shown you before putting in the playroom:











And here are the dining room afters, after the playroom (the after afters;)):












And just for fun, an instagram photo....I LOVE my old window and was so excited to finally have a place to display it! (Caleb bought me two of these last Christmas)



There you have it folks, the after afters! Believe it or not, the dining room has already changed AGAIN, but I will save the after after afters for another day ;-)!

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The Playroom Under the Stairs

So, it's time to talk..I mean, write..about the most talked about room in our house...the playroom under the stairs! It gets a lot of attention from people that come over to our house...especially kids!
It all started out as a simple discussion between Caleb and I...we were talking about our last house. In our previous house, we had a closet underneath our stairs that we used as Sydnie's room (don't worry, Sydnie is just our dog) and it was a great use of otherwise wasted space. Our pantry is partly under the stairs in this house, but we wondered about the rest of the staircase. What was under the landing of the stairs? Was it open under there? Was there wasted space just waiting to be used? So, what better way to find out than to take a look (which, yes, means cutting a hole in the wall)!

Here is a before picture (when there was no playroom in existence):



Here is the hole...this is what happens when your curiosity gets the best of you;):


This is what we found...


Lots of space!!!! (and Carter was eager to climb in)
So the hole turned into a doorway...


Caleb put up some drywall...(Cole helped, of course)


And he did some electrical work so we could have an outlet and a light...(don't worry, Caleb did the electrical work, not Cole)


We added a little bit of paint and some carpet...




And our "extra space" turned into a playroom for the boys!!!! And because I have the greatest hubby in the world, he went one step further and gave me a sliding barn door!


I'm smitten...isn't it beautiful? I told him what I liked and "my vision" and he built it! And it turned out even better than I could've imagined!!! Told you, he's the best.



And here it is now, painted and with the sliding door hardware installed:























Lots of work still to be done. I would love to make some bean bag chairs or some oversized pillows and put some kid friendly stuff on the walls. As the kids get older, it can grow into a reading nook or can eventually become a closet. We've also talked about putting a small tv in there in the future.
Oh, and as a bonus, it's also a great place to stash those unsightly toys when people come over and you don't want those toys to ruin your decor.

Exhibit A...


So, what do you think? The boys are definitely enjoying the playroom, especially Cole because he is the only person that can fully stand up in this room. He loves that he can reach the light and turn it off and on whenever he wants! But do you know who is enjoying it most of all? Sydnie! ;)

Feel free to ask any questions! Goodnight.

Thrifting Update

Can you believe I am already back for another blog post? Three posts in less than two weeks...a record for me (sad record, I know). Hey, while I am on a roll, I am going to get as many posts in as I can. As a mom of little ones, I don't get "on a roll" very often so I will take advantage (yes, I consider this to be on a roll;)). Now, if only I could get on a roll with cleaning, organizing and exercising, etc. ;-)

A few months ago, I showed you guys some of my thrift store purchases and I told you to "check back in" for an update on how I changed those items and where they ended up in my home. After months of moving things around and moving them around again, I think I found "the right spot" for each piece (at least for now;)). Accessorizing is always "trial and error" for me. I start by putting an accessory in a place I think it will look good...sometimes I know right away it's wrong...sometimes I know right away that it's right...and sometimes I have to just leave it there for a few days (or weeks) to decide if I like it or not. Anyway, for these accessories, after all their shuffling, I think I am finally happy with how each of them turned out and where each of them ended up!  Let's start with looking back at THIS POST to see what these pieces looked when I brought them home in their original (ugly) state.

Here are each of the items now:

First up is the small glass thingamajig (have no idea what to call it...it's terrarium meets cake stand). I spray painted the base white and filled it with faux "moss rocks". It is currently in the kitchen, on top of my stove. Here is how it turned out...

Next is the large wooden frame. I removed the lion painting (what? how could you? ;-)) and gave the frame a facelift by painting (dry brushing) it white. It is hanging as an open frame in my entryway on my new chalkboard wall. I am definitely going to redo the arrangement of the house rules but I will update you on that in a later post.

Here is a closer look at the dry brushing...it has more of a distressed look with this technique.


Next are the two wooden candle holders that used to be painted gold...look at the two outside candle sticks with the round candles wrapped with twine.


Up close...








Below is the former brass candle stick...this one I spray painted white and also rubbed a little distressed ink to make it look older (hard to tell in the pictures)...








And lastly, the brass tin...I spray painted it -you'll never guess---white ;) on the outside and I left the inside unpainted.



So, which one is your favorite? Which do you think was the biggest transformation from before to after? Can anyone tell I that like white ;)? When in doubt, paint it white! Hope you like my new and improved (and white;)) thrift store pieces. Goodnight.