lately.

1. spotted on the little green notebook/ 2. can't wait to get this book

hm. i don't even know where to begin. the last few weeks have been exhausting. who knew that moving a few things around would take such a toll on every free second we have. add a bunch of social commitments (albeit fun ones) and you've got one tired lady.

just a few of the mishaps along the way:

• our washing machine has stopped spinning. this doesn't work for me. soaking wet cloth diapers are not pretty. trust. you should have seen me and sam trying to perform "diagnostics" to solve the problem. made me love sam that much more. (ps it's still broken)
• one of matilda's bottles fell in the dishwasher and sam had to use a heat gun to remove it from the bottom. it was glued. problem solved.
• i patched all of the holes from the frames we'd removed from the walls. proudly i repainted the patched holes with "alexandria beige" only to see that the new paint did not match the old and there were dark spots-everywhere. luckily sam found the old paint can buried below the house so that will be my project tonight. repainting.
• we've had the hardest time deciding on what kind of wood to use on the desktops, but i think we've figured it out.

thank God for wine.

a cute thing that happened today:

there was a lost baby owl outside at my mom's house. she had to call animal control to help move it back in to the trees. all matilda could talk about was the baby owl: "i saw a baby owl. it had two wings."

print by print

just a few pieces i'm crushing on right now.from top to bottom, left to right:
1. tad carpenter is the genius behind the incredible yeah burger graphics and his prints are just as charming. i love this whale. silk screen printed on wood. there's a less pricey version here.2. peggy wolf is my kind of girl. her work, mixed media and collage, features the most stunning portraits such as this lovely lady. gorgeous. i discovered her through oh joy and her fabulous art wall.3. hannah turned me on to these adorable illustrations by claudia pearson. this plum ketchup print is my favorite and would look so great in my kitchen...4. this sailor man has my heart. i found out about ashley g from the ever-popular nie nie. i ended up ordering this print from her because it reminded me of me and sam!5. this sunshine print from freya art is so bright and cheery. reminds me of matilda.6. last but not least i am utterly enchanted by this eco-friendly feather print by groundwork. sigh.
i have been craiglisting like crazy and am down to just two lack shelves all in preparation for our new office desks that we will be picking up this weekend. "we" finished painting too! sam is really good at it and i'm really good at picking up wine and ice cream as a reward.

from left to right: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6.

if you're like me you can feel kind of perplexed when it comes to choosing how to arrange your favorite pieces of art. these people in my humble opinion get the gallery wall right. it can go oh so wrong in a heart beat. my favorite art wall is that of the home of blogger oh joy who was featured on hgtv's secrets from a stylist with design star winner emily henderson. how freaking cute is she?! i am late on the emily train, but i just adore her and the show. new girl crush alert! i was pretty turned off by hgtv for a while, but now i'm back on. i just couldn't stomach one more bad makeover. knowwhatimean?

by the way, class was cancelled this week. have no fear i'll have lots of great info for you next week!

ps tomorrow i'm going to be sharing some favorite prints to hang on your art wall!

our bedroom

hope you all had a lovely weekend! we spent saturday night cuddling in our stripped down bedroom to the sounds of an amazing thunderstorm. i haven't heard a storm like that in a long time. so lovely and then sunday we spent the cloudy day indoors painting the office, making time to eat out with some of our favorite folks of course! matilda has started saying, "this is so fun" and "that's my favorite _ _ _ _." cracks me up and warms my heart!

how we stripped down our bedroom and took it from cluttered hot mess i'msostressedoutbytheseprojectsthatarestaringatmewhilei'mtryingtofallasleep to a relaxing retreat:

we dismantled the sewing nook (btw that it one of my all-time favorite pictures of my girl) and took down all of the art work off of the walls except for the large deer watercolor over our bed. i propped up the pig print as well as a prize winning embroidered bouquet (sewn by sam's mama) on the shelves for visual interest. we added some simple shelves to the corner where the nook was, along with some of our favorite books that i put in neat stacks. the goal has been to cut down on clutter and simplify. having our favorite books here clears our night stands and keeps them accessible.

we also hung these airy grey and white curtains and made them extra high for dramatic effect. they make the room feel so calm. the stereo has been carefully camouflaged behind the curtains, instead of out on display. my favorite thing to listen to right now is shrift pandora. dreamy.

when working on the vintage vignette i posted this and this to see what people liked better. the peasant was the definite favorite. lots of great tips on styling your home here.

searching for a better shade for that lamp. any great shade sources you care to share?

we are still in the process of moving a few other things around but i wanted to share with you our progress! makes me feel like things are moving along...

a lesson in deck staining

listen to me, all proud of myself. trust me when i say the universe is keeping me humble.

sam and i learned a really great lesson yesterday. you see, there are two types of deck stain: acrylic and oil. oil seeps in to the wood and highlights it. acrylic paints over it. you guessed it we used the latter. sam and i couldn't figure out what what bothering us about the color and it was that it looks like PAINT.



don't think it wasn't a beast (i'm going to be polite) to stain either. a whole day we certainly don't have down the drain, along with over $100 because we got way too much.



it doesn't seem to bother matilda and guinness.



here sam is using the proper stain. it's night and day. also, we're having our street worked on, thus we postponed the yard sale.

all deck gurus please come forward, or just make me laugh. has this happened to you?

© copyright homemade grits

getting organized.

i finally broke down and bought a planner. several snafus taught me that my memory just can't be trusted.

we're going to be organizing my tiny sewing corner. i want beautiful rows of thread and jars of buttons and boxes lined up in neat rows. inspiration....go!



{martha stewart}



{hands on art studio}



{flickr}



{flickr}



{flickr}





{good housekeeping}



{daily danny}



{little birds}

© copyright homemade grits

What our next home will look like

There are a few things missing from our current abode:

1. A fireplace to snuggle by, hang stockings on.



Apartment Therapy

2. A basement for Sam's leathermaking, musical equipment...a mancave of sorts.



Magnolia Leather Works

3. A garage for storage of lawn care equipment and our cars. Protection from large acorns and general sludge.



Regency garage

Put a few things together and here you have my dream:



About.com

Home is where the heart is and our hearts are here for now.



© copyright homemade grits

Inspiration: Ali Edwards Weekend Creative

I'm always looking for inspiration online for decorating and gardening. This morning while watching Montel, that's right, I came across Ali Edward's blog. I have been looking for creative ways to display photographs and I loved her "weekend creative : photo type case" project.





old type case+



your favorite things=



I love it!!

© copyright homemade grits

Brocade Home

One of my favorite websites/stores to get lost in is Brocade Home. My dear friend Karina turned me on to the site a few years ago when I was on a hunt for original iron outdoor furniture. Can't say it was in my budget, but it is so much fun to dream. It doesn't look like they carry the outdoor line anymore, but look at these gems...













They now have a design blog that is beautiful and inspiring...click here.



© copyright homemade grits

Just like old

If you are interested in new appliances with a vintage appeal, I've scoured the web just for you. I love anything with a retro feel, but I also love knowing that my appliances atleast start clean and new.

Ever since my Aunt Kimberly turned me on to Elmira Stove Works, I still fantasize about owning one of these retro stoves or refrigerators



Only thing is they'll set you back about $4000 a piece!

Elmira Stove Works

These espresso makers would jazz up any makeshift corner bistro!



Target.com

I love this coffee maker by Hamilton Beach. The creamy banana color is so fun, no need to just go with stainless steel.



Cooking.com

This series also has a blender. Here it is in classic 50's red.


Parker's Pantry

Everyone should own a Kitchenaid Mixer in a crazy color. They will inspire you to try out that new cookie recipe you saw in a magazine. You will feel a bit like Martha herself!


Macys.com

Although, Sam would probable not appreciate this one as much, despite his love of all things vintage, I couldn't resist the idea of a pink toaster. However, it does come in other colors!



JCPenny.com

Presto!


Retrorenovation.com

© copyright homemade grits

Spring cleaning

So, I've decided to do a before and after piece. I've always loved these. I first developed my love of organization from a Berenstain Bears book. I loved the way their rooms looked after they cleaned them. Containers, and labels, and order oh my!


Amazon.com

So, not the same as Berenstain bears, I wasn't quite as awed by my own feeble attempts. Let me say, however that it takes a real woman to be so vulnerable as to divulge her flaws for the internet world to see. Let me also say that I sincerely doubt that my friend Jessie or my neighbor/friend Christy have ever had a closet that looked like this in their life. So, without further ado...before....YIKES







and After....







When you live in a tiny cottage storage is definetly an issue. As you all can see this is a multi tasking linen closet that does not exactly fulfill my Martha Stewart hopes and dreams. Because I can still not do a perfect fold on a fitted sheet (my Mom can by the way) I decided to bundle sets of sheets and then put them in a recycled quilt bag. I also moved some of my gift closet items to the linen closet and organized my sweet husband's tools and household items such as light bulbs, putty, etc. All in all it's a step in the right direction. As we prepare for Matilda I am trying to get as much organizing and spring cleaning done as possible. I am so excited to tackle to nursery!

© copyright homemade grits

update: the closet contains the same amount of things as before.