lobster and swan

I love this house, its so cozy and sweet and oozing personality. I love the lights over the bed! Am I crazy? ...tell me you don't like this...

check out more of Jeska's sweet british style at lobsterandswan.blogspot.com

galaxy tote

J.Crew has this sweet little old tote called the "galaxy" tote...its cute...

Chris says I have a knack for picking out the most expensive items in the store...that means I have good taste, right??? Haha..anyway, this thing is 595 bucks, so its safe to say I won't be getting this thing for Christmas, but I bet some lucky gal might!

the good, the bad, the ugly

Here are some photos of the new house. This is like a sneak peek more than anything. I have so much work to do that I am afraid to show all the problems with this house until I make some improvements. I do love a fixer-upper...but this one needs lots of fixin'!

I got some of my curtains up and installed my urban outfitters tie-backs...I love them!

The living room above is now a grayish beige, much more calming than the fluorescent red when we moved in!

We installed a shelf that wouldn't hold, it busted right out of the wall! The plaster in this house has been awfully trying, to say the least!

Ok, take a closer look at those bricks...they are real bricks that had been painted over and then repainted to look like bricks....ahhhhhhhh....my worst nightmare! Not to mention the other atrocities going on in the picture(gas hose, rusting fake brick insert, gobs of yucky old cat hair, the porcelain plate with a country scene painted in the center). I am in the process of painting this over, can't wait to show you the new and improved "after" shot!

Oh yes, it gets worse, the linoleum is all over my kitchen and it is gross! I could wash it all day, and have(!), and it still is awful.

Some grimy creature scurried up the wall...many many times.

No words are needed when describing the bathroom:-(. I will say, however, it has tremendous potential! I will be on this project in a flash, but it will take me a while! Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

new chair

My "new to me" chair! Its not a reproduction like the one below, and it might be really orange, but it was 10 bucks! Reupholstering this thing should be a breeze!

rad chair

Today on designsponge, there was a "simply color" post featuring a chair(above #2). It just so happens on my excursion out this past weekend to some flea markets near our new town I found the very same chair. I told Chris they typically go for about $250 (the one above is priced at 248). Well, Chris bought the chair for me, for 10 bucks! Not too shabby...although mine isn't a crisp white covered one, its more like orange tweed, but that is easily remedied! Imagine my delight in seeing this post though this morning...I had to share it with Chris:-).

ikea excursion

On a whim yesterday, Chris and I headed to Ikea to find a cheap bed. Well, the one we decided on will have to wait as we had no room in the car to get it home. We did however pick up a couple items that were needed for this new house we are in.

This lamp above is something I've wanted for a while now. I am probably going to get another one for Chris' side of the bed...but this one is currently on a little table next to the couch! Its even better in person!
The chandelier above we got for the new bathroom. I wanted sort of a modern romantic bathroom this time around, especially since we now have a claw foot tub! The bathroom is in horrible shape...pictures will come soon as I am eager to start and finish that project!

I didn't get the honeycomb mirrors above, but how cool are they? I'd love to put these on an entire wall in the bathroom but its not going to happen...has anyone bought these? I'd love to see what someone does with them!

decor8blog

Every morning I browse blogs, either on my blackberry, or if Keira is busy with her toys, on my laptop. Www.decor8blog.com is on my daily routine of blog reading and she had a pile of pictures up this morning that were super sute. Check them out if you haven't already. Anyway, I saw this one and I kept coming back to it. There are a lot of different colors going on and different frame finishes and sweet little plants...I can't put my finger on what I like so much, I guess it just seems very fresh and perky! I could use some perk this morning! Today I am packing up remaining items around the house and painting at the new house!

doilies

Anthropologie has a cute 5ft diameter wool rug that looks like a doily! Maybe for Christmas???

before and after

I found a five dollar old yucky lamp at the thrift store a few weeks ago and wanted to make it over. It has a really nice shape but it was brassy and dated. I brought it home and Chris cringed and promptly dumped it down in the basement. On a very overcast and rainy day I decided to spray paint it an ivory color...I know, kind of boring! But I may make a wild shade for it later or repaint it, but in the meantime it looks pretty darn better! :-)

This is a pile of stuff I was putting together to see if it would work for the next house, so it is sort of styled but not how it will be when I decorate...just wanted to show everyone what 3 dollars worth of paint will do for a 5 dollar lamp!

Eight bucks ain't so bad for a new lamp!

a little more inspiration

A little inspiration for the front entry room/livingroom.

Saturday is the big day- we move into our new home! I am completely overwhelmed, not necessarily by all the boxes lurking around here, but the limitless possibilities I keep running across. I find things I forgot were in plain sight! Just when I planned things completely, I have already changed my mind! Shhh...don't tell Chris:-). I can't wait to get unpacked...but first I'll be painting a little on Friday afternoon and then hopefully I can upload pictures frequently to share my progress. I finally cleaned all 800 pictures off my camera, so I think these posts might pick up a bit soon! Wish me luck!

desk before

BEFORE

Remember this beast, from a post I did back in April??? This is the before image...below is a post on what I did to it!

updated desk

AFTER
I realized not very long ago that I never shared an updated image of my desk...you know, the one I found on the side of the road? The ugly yellow one? Its now an almond white, but I kept the hardware creamy yellow...I may change it up after we move and I find a good spot for this thing. I also need to update that chair cushion...

stripes

This came from apartmenttherapy...I really like these muted stripes. I did one large stripe at the top of my dining room and I just about lost my mind! Sometimes you don't realize how not level your house is when you start to draw a simple level line around the room! I might try this at the next place, in a smaller room, like this!

paris

I snagged both of these photos from joanna goddard's blog "acupofjo." The above image of Paris is in honor of my brother and new sister Jodi's honeymoon! As crazy as it was, they want to go back, maybe next time Chris and I will accompany them:-).

And the hairdo above is just divine! Makes me want to dye my hair red again!

chinatown

This is one of my favorite snapshots we took while we were in California. We visited Chinatown in San Francisco on a chilly evening and had a very mixed experience! Anyway, I loved the buildings and the decorations and the delicious smells around every turn.