bedroom [inspiration]

the inspiration workshop with gussy sews is back! the prompt for this month is bedroom.

full disclosure: in every apartment i've lived, my bedroom is always the last room i decorate. ideally it would be first. i'd create a relaxing space to retreat to each evening. but in reality, it is forgotten about and used pretty much only for sleeping. my kitchen and dining room and living room get my attention because those are the rooms people see! case in point here's what my bedroom looks like this evening:

things of note: 

1] my toolbox currently resides in my bedroom.
2] yes, i did make my bed, but that's more of an obsessive compulsive thing for me.
3] target bags strewn across the floor. maybe it really is time for an intervention.
4] and last but not least, there's a down comforter bundled up on my papasan chair. it's been a crazy winter here. some nights it's just too warm for the down comforter, other nights it's a usual winter, freezing, and it's my best friend. so i currently keep two comforters at the ready. it really adds to the luxurious vibe i have going on ;)

but... there is hope! i've done a good amount of decorating to the rest of my living space last year and decided to start focusing on my bedroom this year. thanks to pinterest, i'm full of inspiration [and maybe a little bit of coveting ;) ]

my ideal bedroom would include the following things:

fireplace

source

reading nook

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rustic features

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and a statement piece

source

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i feel more relaxed just looking at these pictures! and hopefully i'll have some more to share of my own room in the next few weeks. happy thursday, friends!

see more bedroom inspiration here...

old yeller

we recently had tenants move out of the building i live in, and they left behind a chair. once i saw it i couldn't get it off my mind. a call to my landlord and the chair was sitting in my dining room. extra seating + sweet vintage find + all for free = an amazing day for this girl.

i knew the perfect spot for the chair... right where my christmas tree was ! i don't think i've ever been more excited to take down a tree after christmas.

say hello to old yeller!

and here it is close to its actual color...

it's old and yellow and i. love. it. i'm a fan of its straight lines and its cute little buttons. i may try sanding and restaining the legs and cleaning it up a bit. may. there's just something about its current condition that makes me like it more.

have you had any sweet finds recently?

christmastime

just a few pictures of the goodness this week has held...

last minute shopping crafting to finish up some gifts

christmas morning afternoon [we had to wait for my sister to get out of work to exchange gifts this christmas! longest. day. ever. (: ]

why yes, we do have matching fleece pants (:

and of course there have been plenty of good eats this week...

there's no place like home for the holidays (:

oh happy day

today was my last day of work for 2011! hello 12 days of vacation! i have so much to be looking forward to...

-in the next two days i'll be hustlin' and bustlin' [not to mention huffin' and puffin'] and hoping to finish making my christmas presents! if all goes as planned, i'll share after christmas so i don't spoil any surprises! (:

oh deer, you have no idea the [unrelated to christmas] plans i have for you.
let's just say hunting season isn't over in this home.

-john and i leave saturday for a road trip to the motherland, otherwise known as new jersey. we'll be visiting with my family for almost a week! 6 days of christmas festivities, eating holiday food, sleeping in, lounging around, and lots of relaxing, including some reading, playing wii with the fam, and seeing some friends who will also be in town! i'm so excited! i just can't hide it!

ok, yes, technically, this picture is from several years ago.
but really, is there anything better to associate
with things i get excited about besides ice cream?!

-and last, but not least... pinterest! i have given in. i have joined the dark side. i have made my obsession official. my invitation came this afternoon, the perfect way to kick off this little break (: come follow me!

i just love this time of year! (:

holiday decorating

oh friends, have you tuned in to the frank sinatra holiday station on pandora? it is the perfect music for sitting in the glow of christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate, and wrapping presents!

this week's inspiration workshop is holiday decorating. confession: i've been decorating since the weekend before thanksgiving! i knew i'd be visiting family thanksgiving weekend and i wanted to be able to come back to christmas!

here are a few pictures of what my home looks like for the holidays:

lots of lights and candles, bringing the outdoors inside with the berry wreath and pine cones, and plenty of nostalgia with a tree full of ornaments that i received growing up (:

how are you decorating for christmas?

love[rug]

last week some friends and i took a little trip to our local christmas tree shop for a little girls night out/shopping trip. i wasn't really planning to buy anything because i'd been there a couple of weeks ago and had already picked up some decorations for the season, but then i came across a display of chindi rugs and i couldn't tear myself away!

the rugs were marked for $2.99 and as usual, i had a hard time making a decision on which one(s) i wanted. i carried around four of them in the store with us until we went to check out. i decided to get three. the cashier rang me up and then said something to the tune of '$5 and change.' um, excuse me?

the rugs were on sale for... wait for it...

74 cents.

even the cashier couldn't believe it.

and i left with all four rugs.

i love the color they add to my home. and because they are small i can see myself moving them around when i catch the redecorating bug. you can't beat a no-cost makeover!

God is so good, friends. especially in the little things. i hope you are blessed by His good and perfect gifts on this lovely monday.

a reminder

as responsibilities add up day after day, year after year, i find myself rely more and more on writing to-do lists and penciling in dates on a calendar to help me remember to do something or be somewhere.

i'm not that old, but it's pretty easy to forget even the basics sometimes. [anyone with me on this one?!]

things like making sure i pay my bills on time, return a phone call, or meet a deadline.

life gets busy. i allow too many things to have my attention. and before i realize it, i've forgotten something.

or how about remembering things like His faithfulness? His goodness... His love.

i had to take my car in to the mechanic last week for the fourth time in four months. i was stressed, angry, and overwhelmed by it. i was frustrated at the financial strain all of this has caused me and was feeling defeated by at the thought of ever getting out of debt, especially if things just keep happening.

the autobody shop called yesterday to say that the car was done. the moment of truth. how much would i owe.

the total? $26.98.

on top of that, i'd rented a car over the weekend to visit family and kept it for an extra day when my car still wasn't done. instead of charging me the normal $50 + taxes for a daily rental, they charged me the weekend rate, meaning i only had to pay an extra $20.

amazing. He is so amazing.

He sends me reminders, day after day, year after year. He speaks loud and clear of His desire to provide for me. He pours out His love every day.

reminders encourage and keep us pointed in the right direction.

which is why i immediately fell in love with this wooden caddy from dayspring:

it is gorgeous and a great piece for entertaining, but it is also a reminder. the gold piece on the front is stamped with this verse:

give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love. [psalm 107:8]

every time i see it i am reminded of His unfailing love. i am reminded to give thanks. and i am reminded of His provision as it holds silverware and sits among dishes and cups and food on a dining room table in an apartment, all gifts from His hand.

*i received this product in exchange for this review from the lovely folks at dayspring and (in)courage. all opinions are my own.

dining room update [inspiration workshop]

this week's prompt for gussy's inspiration workshop is dining room! you can see an earlier post of mine about my dining room here, but i thought i'd share some more pictures because i've made a few additions.

[and no, i'm not talking about the air conditioner (: ]

the mirror clock was a gift from my sister. the pictures on the wall were taken by my talented friend, elizabeth jones.

i also picked up a tall vase from target on clearance and filled it with some sticks i found outside. i think it's a nice complement to my yarn wreath.

john said he'll find me more "substantial" sticks (:

and of course, there's still this big lonely wall. or as i'm calling it for now, the bike room...

but i'm slowly but surely making progress on the frames for it! my goal is to have it done by the holidays [whichever one that means ;) ]

it's been such a blessing to have this dining room. it's the place we gather with friends to play card games and board games. it's where we spread the fixings for pizzas all over the table and assemble our own personal pies. it's the place i sat for hours with some of my lifelong friends and caught up on life, shared our hearts and our dreams, and laughed over old memories. it's where john and i eat meals together, work together and play scrabble together. it's a place of nourishment, of the body, soul, and heart.

fall wreath [diy]

this week's inspiration workshop is all about DIY. i made fall wreaths last week to give to my family and friends when i visited home and thought it would be the perfect time to share. i've read many great tutorials on wreaths and felt flowers so i'm not really doing anything new. just how i've done it myself (:

the craft stores were having really great sales last week as we rounded the corner to fall and, thanks to heather's blog, i was also armed with coupons. [i love a good deal!] i bought several 12" grapevine wreaths to use with this project. i also bought felt in a mustard yellow color. i think it's very fall-ish and i liked the way it looked against the color of the wreaths.

the first step to making the felt flowers is to cut circles. i used a bowl and mug to trace circles...

after tracing, i cut. and i cut. then i cut some more.

as you can see i wasn't too worried about having perfect circles...

because after all the circles were cut out, i went back with my scissors and created a wavy type border around them.


from here i cut a spiral into the felt starting from an outer point. when i got to the inside i clipped an end to form a point.

i made five wreaths so after all the cutting was done, i was left with this:

i plugged in my hot glue gun, and started rolling the felt to create the flowers. unfortunately, my hands were full between the rolling and gluing and i did not get a picture of this step. but, i started rolling from the inside of the circle to the outside, but you can also start from the outside and roll in. when it was all wrapped up, i put a little line of glue on the end and pressed it into the side of the flower.

after they were all glued, i trimmed up the edges on some a bit. this was just my personal preference in the way they looked.

beautiful! for my own ocd and organized behavior, i laid out the flowers once they were all done. (: because i'd used a mug and a bowl to make my circles, i ended up with [roughly] two different sized flowers.

from here i picked and chose the flowers to put on each wreath. i initially laid them out in a very evenly-spaced big one, little one, big one, etc. pattern, but john helped me move them around a bit to achieve a not so orderly and more organic look.

once they were all laid out, i put a circle of hot glue on the bottom of each flower and pressed it into the wreath for a few seconds. because the surface of the wreaths are so uneven, i wanted to make sure it had time to form a good hold to the flower. and voila! here are my wreaths!

i am so happy with the final product[s]! i love that john has an eye for these things and am so much happier with them being not quite so perfect and exact and being a little more unplanned and wild. (: i was so excited to have handmade gifts to give to my family and my friends, too. and they are such a pretty way to add some fall to your home!

what fun fall crafts are you making this year?