My Favorite Room

We have two guestrooms in our humble abode, but the "blue bedroom" is definitely my favorite. One main reason is that we hardly ever go in there, so it is almost always clean. Plus it has some special furniture pieces. First the bed is from the Hubby's great-grandmother, Goog, who is the original owner of my engagement diamond. It is a beautiful old brass bed. And is just perfect in my eyes.

Here is a picture from when we first moved in (this was taken in March 2009):

This is a more recent photo taken right before we had overnight guests come (hence the towels and bath supplies). In this photo you can see the amazing table that I use as a night stand for the extra high bed. My baby brother made this table as a wedding gift for me and the hubby. Casey is a super talented artist whose primary medium is wood. And he built this table inspired by my favorite piece of art in the house. It is super special and I love him for this gift.

Lately my brother has been working on wooden surfboards. Click here to learn more about his company and amazing, functional art.

Oh Christmas Tree

We have a very patriotic Christmas tree. I have been collecting the White House ornaments (and other congressional type ornaments) for a few years. So it is all about the red, white and blue. Blue lights, white snow flakes and primarily red ornaments and accessories. We also moved the tree this year so that it is in the front window. So here is the tree and holiday tablescape.

Please ignore the blinding light of the chandelier, I took this at night with the iphone...I know not the most professional. Anyway, Happy Holidays!

Electric Glow of Sex

Nothing says Christmas like "the electric glow of sex." The Hubby got these cute leg lamp lights last year for Christmas, so I am excited to add them to the Holiday decor for 2010.

Into the Wild: New Living Room Scheme

Our home decor is always evolving. In the past, I have gone on the rather traditional side of things. But with the loss on the great blue couch, I decided it was time to switch things up in the Living Room and go a bit more modern to appease the Hubby.

I had my eye on the Reagan Sofa at Pier 1 and have been saving up my gift cards. But I wasn't sure how I was going to make it work in our casa. But then I was totally inspired by the mood board Sherry and John posted over at YHL, and I am not sure if they planned it but their mood board is now the ultimate inspiration for our new living room. So here is the mood board:

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And here are the before pictures:

And here are the after pictures:






I am in love with the new color palette and more modern feel. Thanks Young House Love for the amazing inspiration! I will post more on the breakdown of the room budget, source list, etc. later.

A Lesson for Floppers

The hubby and I scored this awesome Storehouse couch off Craigslist for $75 in mint condition when we moved to Arlington back in 2006. It is super comfy, and worked well as our "guest bed" in the old apartment because it is pretty wide when you remove the back cushions.

But the story I have to tell is a sad one. You remember when your mom used to tell you, "don't cross your eyes they will stay that way." Well, my father's life enduring lesson was "Don't flop on the couch."

Flop - verb- to fall or slump down suddenly; especially with noise.

Unfotunately, we did not heed my father's warning. And after multiple flops by both of us. One day the couch went snap. It was a very horrible sound, the sound of my awesome $75 couch's demise. We tried to put it back together again with duct tape and even proping it up with some Harry Potter books. But with Maggie the Destructor Puppy in the house, the couch was not long for this world.

So now we are on the hunt for a new couch. Let this be a lesson, not to flop, but sit with grace instead.

Destruction of the Mary Nook

In our humble abode, we inherited a lot of quirky features, including a Mary Nook in the middle of the family room. Now, I love Mary as much as the next Christian (I mean she is the mother of our Lord and Savior), but a special place for a statue of Mary is not really in the design plan for my home. I tried putting flowers, and photos to fill the space, which was temporary fix but this week the Mary Nook finally came down. And I cannot be happier about it. It totally opens up the flow of the house. You will see what I mean in a moment.

So here is the first pictures of the Mary Nook in all her glory.

And here is a montage of the destruction:

We began with an exploritory hole. (P.S. this all started at 9pm because I couldn't live with the Mary Nook for one more second).

The Hubby is checking out the situation from the kitchen side.

A Man and his reciprocating saw...it is a beautiful thing.

Clearing out the debris.

Starting to make som progress.

I had so much joy in the destruction of the mary nook. (Please don't judge my outfit- I am doing a dirty job).

And now you can pass through the livingroom to the kitchen (if you step over the debris).

Tada! We still have to add trim and paint it up but that is for another day. Now we need to rest up and pray to Mary to forgive us for destroying her nook.

Baby Shower Spread

I recently hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Mel. She has a monkey theme for her future baby. I tried really hard to find some cute money accessories...but no luck. Most of it was cheap and childish. And then it came to me. A barrel of monkies!!!! They were perfect for the centerpiece and after the party Mel got to take them home for a fun future toy for the future baby.

Here is the table scape:

Dining Room Transformation

So here is the Dining Room before picture:

The Dining Room has been a work in progress. We still need to address the carpet island in the middle of our tile nightmare. But with the new chandelier ($105 on overstock) it finally feels like a dining room. And we actually have light to see what we are eating. Plus you can see the new crown molding. More on that DIY effort later.



The dining set is stunning, but it just on loan from the in-laws. So we will be refinishing my grandmother's dining room table and adding new chairs. Stay tuned for that project this summer.

Spring is in the Air!

Spring has sprung and so has our grass. It is starting to look like an over grown mess. I just picked up our lawn mower from the fabulous guys at Appliance Fix-It (who rebuilt the motor after the pole incident of 2009). And we are ready for some action. Chas has promised to start mowing tonight! Now I don't have to hang my head in shame in front of the neighbors.

I have started planting (hopefully the deer won't get them all this year). The azaleas are in bloom, so pretty soon things are going to be shaping up on the exterior.

This weekend's project is to re-stain the deck. It is in some serious need of love. I would guess it has been over 5 years since it has been stained. So it is due. I have the deck wash and stain and will be getting to it on Sunday (Saturday is supposed to rain and I have a Junior League event).

But in exciting parallel news, High Heeled Foot in the Door is giving away 5 gallons of Olympic Stain. What are the odds? Maybe you can stain something too!

Easter Weekend

I have officially survived the second Easter in our new house. Chas and I have been busy bees preparing for my family's arrival (they are tough critics). We finished lots of projects like mulching the front yard, installing crown molding, installing a new chandelier in the dining room, and lots of little projects. I will be posting about how we did all these things shortly.

But needless to say. We survived (although I took a 14 hour nap as soon as they were gone) and the house looks beautiful. Pictures coming soon.

One of the best parts of the weekend was our trip the National Mall for a picnic and to see the cherry blossoms.

My mother is the Executive Director at the Family Home and Garden Center in NH and she was beside herself. She had never seem the blossoms before and just loved every minute of it. I have to admit nothing says Spring in DC like cherry blossoms and the whole thing is very Americana.

I hope everyone else had an equally perfect Easter weekend.

He is risen. Hallelujah.

Confessing My Love for Valspar

Oh Valspar paint, how I love thee...

But I have not been faithful, and it will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I want to go on the record proclaiming my love for Valspar paint. I will never use any other brand again. I was lured by the convience of Home Depot and Behr paint (only 5 minutes from my vs. Lowes which is 25 minutes away). I will never make this mistake again.

I was painting all the trim and doors in my house straight up white (judge if you will, but I love true clean crisp white-even if it does get dirty...then I repaint). Anyway, I had used up my can of Valspar so I naively picked up a gallon of Behr white paint.

1st problem, it is watery. The paint does not go on smooth because it is too thin and it drips.

Because of the thin factor you have to do a minimum of 3 coats to get a solid tone.

Finally, and worst of all, it is a different color! I guess I should know that no white is created equal. But when I buy a straight up white can of paint they should all be straight up white no matter what the brand. Well Behr has a blue undertone to Valspars yellow undertone.

Absolutely Infuriating. After trying to work with the Behr paint, I gave up went and got some valspar and repainted everything. Not only did I waste $25 and hours of my time. I think I might have jepordized my relationship with Valspar. Trust me...I will never cheat again. I have learned my lesson.

Snowpocalypse

We have had CRAZY snow here in the DC metro area. I am really not a fan. I moved south for a reason. My family in NH is jealous, but I say they can have their snow. Of course DC has record breaking snow while I live here...awesome. But if you don't have to try to dig yourself out, and don't have to go outside. I guess it can be pretty to look at. Here is a shot of our house in all its snow covered glory.