Monday, September 27, 2010

Places we have lived...

I love the idea of having some art to commemorate the places we have lived.  When I saw Jenna's state prints, I fell in love.  I like the modern vibe, fun pops of color, and just a little something different.  I love the work Jenna did for me when she re-designed my blog, so I was thrilled to order from her!

I have had these prints since we were in Boston, and I had been dying to put them up.  I got them into frames while we were staying with the Crows because I just wanted to see them again.

I am not sure that the bold red desk is going to stay red as it doesn't really go with our current color scheme, but for now, I love how it looks with all the bright colors.

Jenna was extra sweet and was willing to create Iraq for us, as I thought it would be fun to see how long people try to figure out which state is on the bottom right...

Illinois, New York, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Iraq...

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Guest Room

We painted our guest room upstairs a tan color (Behr - Distant Tan).  I was excited to get to use my imperial trellis look-alike duvet that I bought ages ago at Home Goods.  That was the only 'new' piece that went into this room...the rest is stuff that we had used in other rooms before...

Before...

After...

Watercolor by Suta Lee over the Urban Outfitter's upholstered headboard...
Love that donkey tail succulent...
I am really digging the gallery walls lately...I need to update this picture because I finally located the white porcelain keys that belong in the black frame...

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A great tailgating idea...

So, the Crows and some friends put on the best tailgate this past weekend.  Picture perfect weather, just the right amount of food for 75+ adults and 40+ kids, great company, cocktails, etc. 

Krissy is such an effortless gourmet cook, so she had this idea to do a waffle bar.  At first, I thought...oh my.  That's going to require a lot of work, manning of the irons, not fun.  But, Krissy, in all her infinite wisdom, figured out that we could just pour the mix into plastic cups and let everyone do their own.  PERFECT.  We knew that some batter would be wasted this way, but we think this was the only way to successfully pull this off.  They had bought two huge boxes of Pancake mix at BJ's, we just had to add water, mix and get into the cups.  Krissy made some yummy sauces to top the waffles, and the lines never slowed down for people waiting to make a delicious waffle.

Sorry I was a doubter, Krissy - GREAT idea.  If any of you are planning breakfast tailgates, you should give this a try.  A couple of tips...


1.  Keep a trash can right next to the station as the cups are a little messy after pouring the mix onto the irons.
2.  Be prepared for spillage...just make sure to plan accordingly with your tablecloth/table, etc.
3.  We had four irons to begin with, but they were blowing fuses, even though they were on a power strip.  So, you may want to have them running from a couple of different outlets.


The station, complete with irons, batter, whipped cream, syrup, non-stick spray for irons, and fruit sauces...
A tray like this one was PERFECT for transporting batch after batch outside...
The tasty sauces...with Army labels ;)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Guest Bath

Most of the colors I selected for our house are pretty neutral, so I really wanted to go bold with at least one room.  I have been wanting a really dark room for a while, so I decided to go for navy (Behr Peaceful Night).  I am so thrilled with how it turned out...it definitely makes me want to try a larger dark room next time.
I had won a Syroco Federal mirror on eBay, and I wasn't sure where I was going to put it yet.  While I was chatting with Sommer, she said, you know, a gold sunburst mirror would look really cool against the navy.  BINGO!  Perfect place for my eBay find...thanks, Sommer!


It is a long and narrow bathroom...hard to get good pics...

I also spent way too much time seeking out perfect shower curtains.  I wanted something for this bathroom that was just sort of fun/whimsical for Paddy, and not too themed.  I bought a $10 white curtain from Target, tiny bits of fabric from WalMart, and I made this one...




In between the towel rods, I needed something for the wall.  I stumbled across these 2 pages of scrapbook paper that I had purchased a while back, and I threw them into some Ikea frames.


Finally, oak cabinets are a theme in all the rooms, so I have just stuck with using white accessories in all locations...

Monday, September 20, 2010

Our House, Take One.

Hello out there...I have fallen off the face of the blogging world again...I seem to do this from time to time.  We are moving in and feeling pretty settled...having visitors right away and Paddy's big Baptism to plan for were wonderful motivation to get done.  There are still lots of ongoing projects and dreams that I have, so I guess I will document those along the way.

We are loving being here at West Point...it is such a breathtaking, peaceful, Mayberry-like place.  One of my new friends is really into photography, so I am hoping she can help me improve while we are here.  I would love to capture some of the beauty of this place.

I have started taking a few pictures of what we have done to the house so far, so I will share as we go. 

I just risked my life to get this picture of our outdoor light - we have an obscene amount of acorns falling - we are all just waiting to get pummeled in the head or realize that we have dents in our cars.  Back to the light...it is one of my favorite parts of the house...isn't it charming?