A {spicy} giveaway...

I was in Anthropologie last week and found these adorable 

spice jars, with colorful lids and chalkboard labels. And because

I love ya, I picked up three extra and thought I would

offer them as a giveaway.

My little blog hobby has been growing and I have you all to thank.

At times, I think this blog suffers from an identity crisis - is it a decorating blog? 

A flea market/vintage blog? A family blog? Believe me, I am trying

to focus the focus around here....changes are coming, a re-design and more

purposeful writing about design with a mix of vintage thrown in 

for good measure - Mostly, I am taking this blog in the direction

of my authentic self {I know, deep, huh?}.  I am grateful 

you come along on my journey.....at almost {gulp!} 45 years young

I am making room for some 'second half of life' plans.....'cause I intend to make

every stinkin' day count.

"It's never too late to become what you might have been"

So dear friends, in order to enter the giveaway, you must:

1.  Be a follower, cause I'd love to get to 1000! Blog

about the giveaway and I will enter you twice!

2.  Tell me where you are in life, have you realized big

dreams? Or like me, are you a work in progress?

Enter before midnight on Wednesday, February 1st!

Can I give you a hand?

Glove molds are often found at flea markets and antiques stores, a item

you might wonder, "now what would I do with that?"  

I love my glove mold and find it to be a handy way to display

all my favorite necklaces and rings .......

What vintage item do you use in a new way?

Random bits and bobs.....{no, not 'boobs'!}

My mailbox has been a treasure trove of good home goods catalogs 

in recent weeks......Ballard Designs, Shades of Light, Wisteria.....

I chose some of my favorite items to share with you...

It's not surprising that when I grouped these items together

they resemble my curated home to a tee!

Well, I guess I know my style.....

But it's fun to change things up too, right?

I am in the midst of doing just that with my living room, a space

that has been basically a storage room for mismatched

furniture since we moved in last May.

I am attempting to style a new look, with the help of a favorite

blogger/designer whose style I have long admired.

I am having so much fun bouncing ideas back and forth.  I FINALLY

feel like I am heading in a new direction that takes me

just a bit out of my comfort zone but still compliments

what's going on in the rest our home.

This week I purchased TWO of these pillows from an Etsy seller

after I won my FIRST blog giveaway! {thanks Melaine!}

Yes, they are for the "take me out of my comfort zone" living room!

Aren't they fabulous!

There is still much work to be done.....I can't wait to show you the results.

Happy messes.....

I snapped the photo above last night just after my little girl finished doing

her homework at this spot in the kitchen.

For whatever reason, the black Chuck Taylor's, carelessly kick-off in the

midst of multiplication problems, reminded me of the lyrics of 

a song I had earlier in the day.....

"you're gonna miss this...you're gonna want this back,

you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast"....

My 'little girl' has been growing up and spreading her wings

in new ways these day...in ways that make us proud and relieved

all at the same time.  I guess I would consider her my "late bloomer".

However, when kids stretch and grow, both literally and figuratively,

it can be hard on a momma......Normally, upon seeing shoes

under my dining room table I would call her back to collect them

and put them away.  Last night I took this photo of those shoes

to remind myself that one day those shoes won't be there and I will wish they were.

My mom had a piece of embroidery framed and hung in our home growing up

that said the following:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow...

For babies to grow up, we've learned to our sorrow...

So quiet down cobwebs...

dust go to sleep....

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

I guess I finally got the message, thanks mom!

Go ahead, be honest.....I can take it!

I purchased the vintage painting pictured above a few weeks ago 

at an antique store.  The purchase took me out of my comfort zone.

While I liked the 70's orange-ness of the painting, it was not something

that I would 'normally' be drawn to........and lately I seem to be 

in a 'change it up' kind of mood.

When I brought it home my first thought was, "holy &*^" what did I do?

So, I proceed to stick the painting in the back of a closet and feel

bad about the wasted money {which fortunately, was not that much}

and my bad judgement.....

This past weekend I painted my living room Benjamin Moore's "Duxbury Gray" - which cannot

be judged  by the photo above!  I have BIG plans for this room and while doing some

*dreaming* in there today, I decided to pull out the painting and see how it 

looked with the new wall color.  Maybe it's growing on me, maybe it's not?????

So dear friends, what do YOU think?  Funky goodness or a regrettable purchase?

Sometimes we just need a reminder.....

Some DIY.....yes, you read that right!

Thought I would share a very simple DIY project I tackled recently.

Ever since we switched our front door lock-set to an oil-rubbed bronze finish, I was

bugged by the brushed nickel handles on the french doors in our entryway that lead

to my husband's office.  They 'clashed' with the new entry door handle!

Are you following my crazy?

Instead of replacing the handles, the product pictured above took my handles from this.....

to this!

I am curious to see how the spray paint handles wear, and of course, I would like to 

spray every brushed nickel finished handle in the entire house now.....

This pretty dusting of snow we had in the higher elevations around Portland today 

certainly inspires me to DIY.....could be dangerous!

Happy Sunday!

***P.S. - Just recently I reached 800 followers on this little ol' blog!  In addition,

this post is my 350th post!!!  Wow!  I am feeling a giveaway coming in order

to celebrate those occasions....'cause I appreciate you all hanging out here with me.

I can't help myself.....

That craving for change in my home always seems to show up right on time.....

on or around January 1st, usually right after the tree is out on the curb,

the tacky green and red tubs are secure in their attic space for another year.....

Yes, I know, I have proclaimed on this blog, a few times, my

dislike for Christmas decor and messing up my regular imperfectly

placed decor - but that doesn't stop me from letting it all hang out in

it's red and green glory...

When the holidays are done, the house always seems.....well, undone.

Do you feel the same?....Come on, PLEASE tell me I

am not some crazy, freak.....

So at this point, when said craving shows up {right on time}, I start 'projects' that lead

to other 'projects' that lead to my house becoming 

ONE BIG MESS of projects and let's just say....

momma get's cranky and anxious about getting her perfectly,

imperfect home back in imperfect order!

This weekend I painted this $12 Goodwill find {yes, I know I already painted it

and blogged about it here}..... I was feeling that my light colored

walls needed a little contrast in the furniture department.

As much as I love the all white look, I just don't think I can pull

it off and live with it.

The dresser is newly painted SW Urbane Bronze, sanded to distress it

and then it got a tung oil rub down to finish her off.

As the picture above proves, I obviously don't like to iron!  Ha!

I also purchased these parson chairs and slips at World Market during their

super-duper furniture sale last week. I also brought in

a sisal rug for under the dining room table. 

I ended up moving my bench to another area of the house, which remains a big mess 

and thus not photographed for the purposes of this blog post.....

So what 'projects' are making your home pretty these days?

Another friend's fabulous home...

I am on a roll!

When I stopped at a friend's home to pick her up 

for a little flea-tiquing outing, I remembered to bring my camera!

This is a friend who loves everything white, and frilly, and

romantic and chandelier-y......

It's always fun to visit her home because we have been

friends for so long that I remember where and when

many of the beautiful pieces in her home were purchased.

Chippy green dresser in the hallway....ah, Farm Chicks 2004, a particularly

rainy day but fun nonetheless!

The two photos above are the master bedroom....gorgeous!

This is a girl who is in constant 'tweaking' mode, a collector/purger....

the subway sign is 'new'.....

Above is a view of the sitting room off the kitchen.....

The vintage french wine jugs.....Farm Chicks 2011, I know that 'cause I

was there!

The bird cage is new since I last visited.....damn if it wouldn't fit inside

my bag......I love me a bird cage!

Yep, awesome vintage cart in the kitchen that is the perfect entertaining

bar - also Farm Chicks 2011!

This is her dining room - it's a beauty.  The cow painting is

from artist Leah Anderson......also wouldn't fit into my bag!

My friend had recently had these vintage chairs painted and reupholstered - a little

daring but SO darling!

Thanks Carrie for letting us peak into your home, it's beautiful, and

comfortable and reflects the love inside....

We are all curators at heart.

via pintrest

from the Serena & Lily catalog received in my mailbox today....

~

"We travel. We collect. We arrange. We rearrange.

We mix the old with the new; the bought with the found;

the passed-down with the picked-up-along-the-way.

We create these beautiful little galleries throughout our homes

that express our passions and curiosities to all who pass through.

And then, we start all over again."

~

These words could not be truer for how I feel about what I do in our home,

particularly at this time of year - the start of a new year.  I have been

fluffing and making plans......how about you?

A magazine fix......bliss!

In recent years, it seems every visit to the magazine rack leads to disappointment.  

And don't even get me started on the issues that arrive in my mailbox with beautiful covers with content that can only be described as 'anorexic' {ie. current Country Living} inside.

I was giddy with excitement today as I devoured every page of the 

new February issue of House Beautiful!  There is so much

decorating goodness, inspiration, accessible design and inspiration!

I particularly loved the feature "Living Room Re-do in One Day".  The

layered, collected look is pure perfection!  I love this space!

Thank you House Beautiful for going the distance and hanging in there

for all of us - your publication has improved and become

accessible for the home decorators and your content has not slimmed!

Go buy your issue your today - we need to support these publications!

You won't be disappointed!

Christmas......

When I look back at these photos, taken during the last couple weeks, it's no 

wonder I am feeling completely exhausted.....

We seemed to squeeze gobs and gobs of fun into our holiday!

And in case you are interested, I'll provide some of the details:

*the season started on 12/15 when we enjoyed the girls' school's Christmas

concert - LOVED that they could call it that...

* we entertained my family in our home for Christmas

*held our annual family Christmas cookie frosting contest on Christmas

Eve morning - this year we posted pics on Facebook

and let our friends and family decide the winner!

* we all got 'just what we wanted' for Christmas, which

included lots of electronic gadgets.....and Frye boots for momma!

* we ate too much

*we built Lego things

*we played Pictionary and Headbanz

* we celebrated a Packer win on Christmas day!

* we all danced to Wii's 'Just Dance' in an attempt to work off 

the calories {didn't work so much for me}

* saw some good movies - We Bought a Zoo and the Descendants {loved!}

* one of us got her ears pierced! {finally, she says!}

* we packed up and headed to snow {on the mountains, which is just where I like it!}

* we went sledding and caught some air

* some of us went skiing {obviously not the photographer in the family}

*we shopped

*we ate some more - ugh!

* we rang in the new year with my parents

*and celebrated a big birthday for my dad!

Nope, we are not the family that does the "gift they need, gift they want, something to read......

but the kiddos got things they loved and wanted and some things they needed {none

of which are pictured here}.....

However, I was super proud of my 13 year old who had raised money at her school {by planning

and executing a cupcake sale all by herself} for 

a pet food bank in Portland after hearing a flood in their building ruined

much of their food.  On Christmas morning we all went to the pet food

bank to present her donation and witness their good work.  When

we pulled up, on Christmas morning, an hour before the pet food bank

was to open, there was already a line - of people waiting to get food

for their pets........  It was eye opening, for me, but mostly

for my big girl who learned that seemingly small gestures can provide

so much to great needs.  Her love for animals lead her to service and I think she 

is hooked!  Let's hear it for 13 year olds!  They ROCK {even if you give

them iPhones and Beats}!

So.....how were your holidays?????