"Friday" Morning Pinterest Top 5 on Monday...

Here we are friends for another round of my Pinterest Top 5. But today is Monday? Yes it is. This past Thursday-today I was dealing with sick babies at home and hosting my mom for a more than welcome helpful visit. My eldest daughter fell ill at this virus that's been going around and long story short, dehydration, hospital and now home and healthy.

I love browsing Pinterest. It amazes me how many people out there who are so creative and so willing to share things that they've accomplished or hope to accomplish. Creativity, I believe, is a gift from God. There are so many things that He has given us to draw inspiration from. And then we turn that inspiration into art. Whether it be something as simple as drawing a rainbow, or sewing a brilliantly designed wedding gown. Or building a treehouse to decorating a millionaire's mansion. We are so creative and I thank God for that. 

The other night when my mother was here, Maddalaena who is three, drew a picture of my mother.  It was so simple but so accurate. She drew a circle with hair. My mom has a round face and she has dreadlockish hair. And that's what my daughter drew. That also plays into the phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". And it couldn't be more true. Maddalaena also drew a dinosaur about a year ago. Check it out.

Maddy J's Dinosaur. 

Amazing isn't it? Creativity at it's best.

Now for the Friday Morning Pinterest Top 5:

All of these photos are courtesy of their owners. They all link back to the original website. All of my opinions are 100% my own and there is no profit for sharing my opinion or these products.

First up an outfit from the blog Lilly's Style. Go and check out her blog and see what amazing looks she's put together in the past. I love learning what trends are new and interesting that she displays.  I also enjoy checking out what Lilly will be wearing next. She has an amazing sense of style, and her wardrobe is to die for!!

The Navy blue striped blazer provides somewhat of a chic and professional addition to this otherwise casual outfit. At the same time the coloring and style of the jeans provide a modern feel. The soft colors welcome spring.  The brown satchel offsets the look. It's a welcoming and refreshing step away from the norm. She looks clean and fresh. Ready for work or an outting with friends. It's chic, classic and casual. What's most amazing about Lilly's Style is that she offers a shopping list, if you will, to where she bought everything she's wearing in the picture. And if something isn't available, then she'll provide a close match. 

This photo is brought to you by a sponsored post over at The Design Confidential. The Design Confidential is like Ana White's site but with a more sleek and modern look and feel. Ry Turner offers a library of modern and classic DIY woodworking plans mostly aimed at furniture. 

Meet the Kiran Spot Resist one faucet by Moen. This faucet is kick butt. It's a unilever faucet designed to be easy to install, use and best of all spot free!! I love how sleek and modern and simple it is!!  How people out there have been driven insane by the constant chore of scrubbing and polishing those shiny sink faucets only to have spots on them three to five seconds later? I have. And I still do. Even when I don't use the sink spots appear to mock me. Head on of to The Design Confidential to check out Ry Turner's latest post about Changing Faucets.

This next pin is from a site that I frequent on a daily basis. Not because I'm crazy, but because there is always something new and interesting being offered every single day. Some of you might have heard of Decor Steals. If you haven't, now you have. 

This Wooden Jointed Fingered Mannequin Hand is up for sale until 9:59am tomorrow or until sold out. Isn't cool in an vintage-y antiquey sort of way? It's one of those things that you would find in an artists loft or in one of those underground coffee houses that hosts regular poetry nights right? I think that the made-to-look-old woodenness of the hand and the metal joints in the fingers give this piece an aged feel. It would also be awesome to on this and pull some pretty cool pranks on people. Just sayin'. Now the thing with Decor Steals, is you have to sign up to receive daily newsletters. These emails will let you know when the next "steal" is up and running. Then you can go to the site and if you like or love you can buy it. Or you can check out their extended steals. They even give you opportunity to pick and choose what will be coming up within a month!

This next pin a about an Anniversary Giveaway on the site The Girls With Glasses, which is a site I've never been to. But from the looks of it, the site seems hip, young, cool and modern. I'll be looking forward to seeing what the site is all about. 

Look at all the cool stuff you could win!! I see a few things that I would like to have. Number 10, 12, 2, all of them lol. I'm entering and I would encourage you all to do them same!! Giveaways are an awesome incentive to get and keep your current audience. But it is also just a nice way of saying thank you for reading and being faithful.

This next on is a favorite. I get to personally share with you some typography prints of a beautiful, amazing girl that I went to high school with AND competed with on our high school outdoor track team. She was crazy fast back in the day and I guarantee she's maintained that speed. Patty Murphy owns her own papery design business and boy is she talented. I LOVE her work. I sometimes peruse her sites to get inspiration and ideas to apply to my decorating to my home. She is sweet and kind and a beautiful person all around. I implore you to go to her blog or her store and go check these amazing designs.

And this is one of the many designs she has on her site. I love it so much here are a few of her others!

Aren't these beautiful??!! Patti does custom invitations and paperies. If you see anything you like just shoot her an email which you can find on the about page. Please head on over to Patti Murphy Designs and give her site some love. Don't forget to pin and share!! 

Friday Morning Pinterest Top 5

Welcome to my Friday Morning Pinterest Top 5. I'm starting this little entertainment segment, if you will, as something fun and random. Every Friday morning(hopefully) I will be sharing pictures(with links back to the original site) of the top five Pinterest pins on my Pinterest account. It will be something new and different every week. How exciting is that!! I'll also be sharing my opinions on each pin as well. 

I thought this would be fun and interesting. I could be writing about food or a craft or a latest trend in fashion. It's all up in the air and it depends on all of you! The pins I'm sharing are pins from my the people I'm following on Pinterest. If you have heard of Pinterest and still haven't joined GASP!!! You should! It's absolutely amazing fun and it can be so inspirational.

There are so many things on Pinterest that you can take and create something entirely yours. If you're stuck on a room design or even what to have for dinner, there are plenty of ideas to choose from. Pinterest can also keep you in touch with your friends. You can learn a lot about people and their tastes in everything under the sun. You may also learn something new about yourself.

First up, Strech a stroller pouch that zippers from Infantino.

For all you mamas out there, HOW COOL IS THIS??? I think this is pretty ingenius. I mean seriously. It Velcro's around the bars of the stroller and provides storage for all of our mama(and baby) essentials. I would love to have one of these and I just may make a purchase. Also, on the rare occasion that the stroller flips over(hopefully without junior or junny inside) all of our important carry ons are kept safe. Like those oh so expensive phones you mamas carry around or those unmentionables we would like to keep hidden.

The Hooded Car Seat Blanket with Tutorial

I always loved the Kiddopatomus version of these. They were so soft and warm and fuzzy and too small for my kiddos. Don't get me wrong it's a great idea. But I just think this one from The Complete Guide To Imperfect Homemaking is perfect. I love the hood and the long wrap around arms. It snuggles baby perfectly. Keeping them nice and secure and warm. My littlest one is too big for this but maybe some relatives would like one for the upcoming winter?? I definitely have to give this a try!!

Grilled Nectarine Bowls

One word. Drool!! My mouth is pouring drool like when my baby boy The Hulk eats gums a plum.  These look so delicious, it makes me want to bust out my grill and learn how to start, maintain and cook on a charcoal grill. The recipe is shared on The Old Hen. It originates from her friend, Amy Graham, a culinary chef. These are pretty simple to make. Buy firm white nectarines. Cut in half. Brush with olive oil. Take out pit and grill until slightly tender(forkable) and browned. Me I would put some pecan ice cream in the center for effect. But, click the picture and follow the link to discover a new delicious recipe that goes hand in hand with grilled nectarine bowls. Amy Graham owns her own business and has a website The Sassy Turtle. Go on over and experience what Amy has to offer in culinary delight!

This is a Three-in-One. Score!!! 

Three safe to eat cookie doughs: Chocolate Chip, Sugar and Cake Batter.

Diet? What diet? That word, you know the D one, isn't even in my vocabulary. I'm sorry to all of you who are trying to get your bikini bod exercises on. These will surely cause you to think twice about all that work you've been doing or plan to do wink wink. These will be on the menu at any summer party I might have this summer. Just look how good they look? All the joy of eating our beloved cookie dough without the poisonous risk. Hop on over to Willow Bird Baking, make and enjoy!

Another multi-recipe score!!!

Crock-Pot Chicken Teriaky

Now, for all you diet friendly friends here is a healthy chicken recipe. All done by one of our shared most favorite kitchen appliances, the Crock Pot. Just heat her up, toss in the ingredients and walk away for a few hours. I may do this one tonight :) Looks absolutely delicious. And to add to it, this link has a few other delicious recipes too.

Like what you see? Interested in trying new ideas? Let me know how they turn out. Don't forget to visit all these sites for even more Pinspiration!! Also, don't forget to pin and share!!

Floor Cloth Help

Hey all! I have a quick question for you. Which one? I'm making a floor cloth for my dining room. The  drapes are orange and white, the table is a natural wood color with a grayish blue base. I'm trying to figure out a color scheme for the room and I would be delighted with your input.

As you can see, here's the table with it's dual coloring. And in the background you can see my bright orange and white drapes.

This is a close up of the drape pattern and color.

Now, which one of these, matched with the Golden Lab would "complete" this look in a floor cloth.

The pattern would be every other color in 6 inch chunky stripes.

In my personal opinion, I'm leaning towards Palladian Blue. Oh and all of these are Ben. Moore Paints.

The Master Bedroom Reveal!!

Over the last month or so I have been hard at work redesigning our master bedroom.
I am absolutely excited for this!!! Like I'm so happy that my cheeks hurt from smiling from too much. You know? Like my inner child is jumping up and down screaming "Weeeeeeeeee" eh let's be real. It's me not my inner child. I have been waiting 8 years to finally do this. Now, what I'm about t show you is phase 1-3. Yes, there are phases. There's still a ton more to do! Now when I started off with this project, I had high high hopes of building this room completely DIY style. I was going to build the furniture and stain it and then have The Hubs make some mirrors and a mantel and what not. But then The Hubs went on deployment. So I copped out. I bought some stuff and finished it. So it became a partial DIY project. We're still going to build the mantel but that's about it.

You know, sometimes you have to realize and accept when something is just out of your reach. And I believe that it takes a lazy mature person to do the practical thing.


You can NOT do a proper before and after without before photos. That would be like making mac and cheese without the cheese! It's just something you don't do. Kind of like too tight speedos on old guys :)

BEFORE:

Just be warned. I am leading you into my design failure and ultimate clutteredness. Brace yourselves and young ones shield your eyes.

Some of you remember when I painted these back when we lived in Groton. I was partially proud of these. This is where my DIY addiction began.

I had extreme high hopes for this room. This bedding was to be paired with the now current bedroom furniture and lamps. But sadly the bedding did not make it through our children. 

Fast forward to our move to Maine. This was my emergency preparedness. We got about 30 inches of snow and a power loss threatened but never came... That's not the whole supply. Notice how there are two bottom drawers missing? Yep... I like Ikea. I like it when you live in an apartment and you're not moving around a lot. But if those things don't apply, I wouldn't buy it. It's not meant to be moved and pulled and carried. 

The Hubs dresser. Poor thing. Bless it's heart. It tried so hard to be all it could be for my man. But it had enough. I couldn't carry through on it's task of holding a large amount of clothing and that TV.

Enter the replacements.

The bed. Let's start off by saying, we had no bed frame. You read that right. No. Frame. How sad is that? Oh we used to have one. Many years ago before The Hubs broke it. Now, I know that some of you are thinking that it's not fair of me to put the blame on The Hubs when he's not here to defend himself. But I only speak the truth when I say he broke it. He broke the frame AND the boxspring...TWICE. He likes to jump onto the bed. I'll leave it at that.

The bedding was something I have been looking forward to for a good long while. I love Pottery Barn. And if I had the money about 95% of my mom would be Pottery Barn. I have begged and pleaded my case with The Hubs that you get what you pay for. Meaning, spend a little extra dough for some nice quality stuff. Now, I didn't buy all the bedding from Pottery Barn. I only bought the duvet, euro shams and bedskirt from there. Everything else was from Target or Ikea.

Duvet: Fresco Paisley by Pottery Barn

Euro Shams: Linen Ruffle Shams by Pottery Barn

Bed Skirt: PB Essential Bedskirt by Pottery Barn

Sheets: Threshold Performance Sheet Set by Target I bought the Blue Global(pattern) and the Yellow(solid) sheet sets.

This candle has been in my smell good repertoire for about 7 years now. It's the Ginger-Peach pillar candle from Pier 1 Imports. I love how it brings a sense of spring into the atmosphere even in the coldest of winters.

The "candle holder" or trapezoidal plate is made from recycled glass and it was a HomeGoods find. I love the textured  of this piece but I also am really impressed with it's versatility.

Our new dresser. Yes. Our. We had two. The rooms here in Maine are really small. They say they were built in 89, I doubt it. Maybe 69...maybe. Anyway to save space and make all my master bedroom dreams come true I ordered this beast of furniture from Country Cottage Furniture. It was unfinished when it came. It has 12 glorious drawers. They fit ALL his clothes. Except for the ones hanging up. And there's still room. Mine barely fit. Not because I have so many but because I have so little. The Hubs has more clothing than I do. Yes, yes it's true.

New Lamps. Much needed light. And they're gorgeous!!!

Standard knobs. Soon to be chrome standard knobs. I'll either spray paint them or buy new ones. Not sure. I'd rather take the DIY route but sadly that doesn't always work out for me. I think I'm becoming DIY challenged. Although most things I do involve painting. And I am a TERRIBLE painter. I can't get a smooth stroke to save my life.

Bottom half of lamp. And an anniversary present for The Hubs. He always has to have water by his beside. That results in copious amounts of glasses on his nightstand. Seriously, we run out of cups.

So I bought him this recycled glass carafe and tumbler from Are Naturals. It's super cute and super cool. The tumbler is the size of a double shot. ;)

Another DIY project. The topiary. I've always wanted them but I refuse to pay the $30-$40 or more price tag. So I figured I could make the for nothing. I bought the pillar holders and the fake boxwood tree balls(two to be precise) at The Christmas Tree Shoppes. Then I took the topiary balls and hot glued them onto two of the pillars. Badda-bing Badda-boom!!! Topiaries. 

What a splendiferous difference isn't it? And since taking these pictures I have hung hand painted mirrors (that I scored at the orange store for $19 a piece) behind my nightstands for grandeur.

I'm super excited!!! A piece of art by my favorite artist has come in!!! Later this week I'll be picking up two paintings I had gallery wrapped. Later on I'll be sharing the new art additions to my home and a little blurb about gallery wrapping canvas paintings.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

"And these are a few of my favorite things..." Most of you out there grew up watching the Sound of Music. This was one of my favorite movie songs growing up. I had a few others but they were all from Disney lol. Today I'll be sharing with you a few of my favorites from around the net. 

First, a trip down memory lane...

That's right. A Track. Outdoor track to be precise. I loved this sport. Ha who am I kidding, I still LOVE track. Not the field part so much. I was never coordinated enough to do all the jumping and throwing. Most of you who know me know that I was a sprinter. I ran the 100, 200, 400(most hated), 4x100(my favorite) relay and the 4x400 relay. What I love about running is the freedom you feel. It's just you. You can relax, find your pace and just go. The reason I loved the relays so much was because I felt that I could run faster with other people depending on me. There was also a bond between you and three other people.

Christian Louboutin. That's it. 'Nuff said.

Leonid Afremov. He is a world renowned artist who paints these amazing vivid impressionist portraits of people, cityscapes and objects. I adore his work and although I don't own any originals yet, I do own two reproductions and a hand embellished giclee.

Farewell to Anger

Loneliness of Autumn

Justin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience.

I got a sound bite of this album watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon while he was hosting Timber-week with Justin Timberlake. I especially love track 2 Pusher Love Girl. It has a soulful sound to it. It's smooth.

Something I've always been fond of was glass. Plain, thick glass. I love glass because it is characteristically transparent. I hate surprises and I prefer to "see" everything. I'm a planner and a bit of a control freak. But I love the curved edges of recycled glass. It brings a softness. It's not as sharp.

The Casa Collection. Pottery Barn.

These are just cool. I found these at Z Gallerie. They cost about $31 for a set of four of one kind. I bought four tumblers and four high balls for $2.99 a piece at HomeGoods. Right on HomeGoods, right on.

Capri Glassware. Z Gallerie.

New fragrance I pulled out of a magazine is the new Jimmy Choo scent Flash. I love how light and springy, summery and fabulous it is. It'll make you feel fresh and feminine all day long. 

Flash by Jimmy Choo

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little bit more. I surely enjoyed sharing a little more of myself with you! 

AND WE ARE BACK!!!

And we are BACK!!!! Yay!!!! I know it's been like forever. But...I finally just got the keyboard in the mail about a week and a half ago. First I sent it to my old address and then I had to have my mom send it to this house. So it took a little detour to get home. It's been well missed. I have been going crazy not being able to properly write a blog post or to be able to take pictures and upload them. Now, I can. Aren't you glad?  Did you miss me? Huh huh? Cause I missed you. I missed sharing my life with you. I missed posting super cool updates and DIY projects with you.

Speaking of updates!!!! Boy have we got A LOT!!! As of lately The Hubbs is out to sea. He'll be gone for about a lengthy amount of time. Which delays the building projects a few months. But not to worry! I will be repainting and refinishing furniture all around this place. Let's get up to date.

The Master.

We've got the bedding, the fabric and the lamps!!! We are missing the furniture. But hopefully that'll be here in about two weeks!!! EEEKKKK!! I'm SO excited. It's our first real legit ohmygoodness store bough piece of furniture. Not the Ikea stuff(which I love), but something that's substantial.

Here are some snappies!!

I don't have this exact lamp, but it's quite similar to the one I found in HomeGoods.

This mantel is similar to the style we'll be building. Not so big or with as many grooves. I'm not that groovy (ROFL!!!)

We bought 2 of these exact rugs from HomeGoods for $159 a piece!!! They are 5x7's, if I could have gotten one larger rug I would have. This rug is so soft under foot it's like walking on a cloud.

This is a mirror similar to two that I purchased at Home Depot on clearance $19.99!!! I'm spray painting them an oil rubbed bronze to match the curtain rod(72in-144in.) I purchased there for only $37.95!! You'll get to see those once the Master bedroom drapes are finished. What? I have to save something for later.

I'm totally going to talk up this furniture store, Country Cottage Furniture, I just ordered from. So I'm assuming you've all heard of unfinished furniture stores. You know, stores that sell completely built gorgeous pieces of furniture unfinished or for an extra dollar or two to do the hard work for you. I opted to do the hardwork myself. One: it's cheaper and B: it's cheaper.

First I'll be staining it in the same stain I've used on every other DIY project in this house. Minwax Wood Finish in Red Mahogany. If you live in the MA, NH, South eastern ME areas order from them!! They are so sweet and are willing to accommodate you. Their prices are fair and they have a low delivery cost. 

The Bed: Alder Shaker

The Nightstand x2 : Alder Three Drawer McKenzie 

The Dresser(we'll be sharing this baby. Similar DIY woodworking plan here.):

Alder 12 Drawer McKenzie Dresser

And the bed dressing:

The duvet cover, bedskirt and shams are from PotteryBarn. And the sheets are from Target. The king sized pillow shams are from a duvet set also from Target and the little pillow is from Ikea. Although everything ALWAYS looks better on websites or in magazines don't they?

The Dining:

Now, I've shared with you how to strip, prep and paint a dining room table. I've also showed you pictures. Right now I'm in the process of making pinch pleat drapes for the dining room. I'm making them because I don't feel like paying the hefty price tag of custom drapes. They can run from $50 a panel to over $500 a panel depending on the style and fabric used. Later on I'll show you how I made them, where I bought the materials and which genius seamtress I chose to follow for inspiration.

An inspiration of the drapes I'm making.

The chandelier. I'm really sorry for the terrible picture. Learning how to shoot on manual.

Candles on our table. I love the smell of ginger peach. You can snap these beauties up at Pier 1 Imports.

This natural linen will be the fabric of choice for the newly upholstered seats. That and a ton of scotchguard. I do not trust my kids in any way, shape or form when it comes to not spilling on my furniture.

And the refinished table. Which has seen better days. Yeah...I didn't know that you need like 4-5 coats of polycrylic when using it over paint. Plus curing time for the enamel alkyd paint(if using). You know to make sure every thing is nice and hard. I totally didn't follow those things and although she looks gorgeous she hasn't lasted more than two months unscathed.

Here's a little sneak peak of the drapes coming together!!! My first pair of professional quality drapes. And you know what? They're not as hard as you'd think. Using drapery fabric is nice.

Side hem.

Bottom hem.

Now, for a little family update in an array of photographs.

Enjoy!!

Super snow storm preparedness. I totally thought that we were going to lose power for at least 2 days. I made my room into the living quarters and Seamus' room into the kids play room. Yep...I was all that and then some. But we never lost power. I almost feel that all that work was pointless.

Some extra water for the non-existent power outage and loss of running water.

My hand crankable NOAA storm station. It's super cool. There's an LED flashlight on the front, a am/fm radio that taps into weather related stations, a hand crank so that you can charge it without power and it also comes with a slew of adapters to charge via wall and computer and you can charge your cell phone with too.

BDubb playing with a blue car. I love this stage of a baby's life. How they can find everything, that to us is so usual, new and exciting. Even if they stare at it every day over and over again.

The Hubbs modeling his new hoodie in Japan. It was so good to hear from him when he was there. It's hard being apart and it makes you appreciate the little things in life.

One of my fave pics. My two little ones sleeping together and holding hands. Maddy has this dependency thing where she has to be holding your hand on the way to sleepy land. it's a comfort thing. And Blake was smiling and I had no clue when I took it. I was focused on Maddy and how sweet she was. Sometimes her sweetness clouds everything else. Hey it's her thing.

A view from the bridge connecting Kittery to Kittery Point. It is beautiful up here. It's just that the housing ain't so great ;)

Slight profile of me. Eh what can I say? It's...Me.

Thanks for checking out my blog and reading a long just for the heck of it.