To Paint or not to Paint?

I have been debating about this front door for a year now. I told myself that I was going to think on it before I did anything drastic where I can't go back to wood. I love the wood door on one hand, and I feel it's not me on the other. My house has no shutters so there is no color on the outside. The door is looking worn so it needs something... The question is, do I paint it? (I was thinking of an earthy green color) or do I restain it possibly with a darker stain? ( I don't know if that would work or not).

I could use some ideas and advice! Anyone out there with some expertise or just an opinion???

Fall is in the Air!

It's actually a little muggy and sticky from all the rain we have been having, but I could not wait any longer to make the trek up to the attic to pull out my fall bins. Having some crows and pumpkins around makes it seem a little cooler in my mind anyway. I have this bucket on my front porch sitting on a old wooden crate. Elise made the shutter sign for me. I love it!

I made this pumpkin sign and it is hanging out by the sidewalk. When I get some real pumpkins, I am going to put about 5 of them out here and make our own little "pumpkin patch".

This is a peek at my mantle. I painted one of my windows black and added some touches of orange.

A grapevine pumpkin under the willow tree. I have never put a picture in that frame and I have had it for years. I might put one in it soon...who knows.

This shutter is propped in my foyer. I added some fall color to it and I just love that saying on the little sign.


I had to throw in some pics of my three munchkins.

This is them waving their flags honoring a soldier who was killed in battle. The streets were lined with people in support of the soldier's family as they drove to his funeral. It reminded me...don't forget those who are putting their life on the line daily for MY freedom. We have been praying for the soldiers every night since this day. To our fallen hero, thank you for your awesome sacrifice! You will not be forgotten.

My little pumpkin is almost one! I can't believe it! It's meal time again...

Here he is sleeping on his grandma at church. The nursery wore him out. Grandma was loving every minute.

Brayden is on the move like he is most of the time. He always likes to crawl with something in his hand. Many times, it is a door stop like he has here. Other times, he has a toy, the phone, or the remote. Whatever he can find that makes a good clanking sound.

A Q-U-I-E-T getaway just for two

Last weekend, the hubby and I were able to get away for a night just the two of us. We visited a little town called Madison. It is a very small, quaint town with cute hotels, bed and breakfasts, antique shops, and unique restaurants. We stayed at this hotel called the James Madison Inn. It was the most friendly, clean, and beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in. We ate breakfast out on our porch. The food was awesome!

The hotel is only two years old, but this is a very historic town, so they built it to match the surrounding buildings. The columns were taken off of an old house in St. Simons Island that was going to be torn down.

The details in the room were awesome. Here is the bathroom. As usual, I did not get a very good picture.

This was a rain shower head. I have to get one of those at home!

Some shops across the street...



Isn't this staircase beautiful?

This is the cute little garden out front. The guy was so nice to take pictures of us. They made us feel like we were the only ones staying there. Best of all, they had a British accent. I love that! We decided we need to get away at least one of month (HA!) Maybe once a year is more realistic. Thanks hubs for planning a trip for us!

The Bathroom Reveal!

BEFORE (This is the best picture I could find)
AFTER (almost complete)

I must need a better camera because these pictures make this green look yucky. It is not really this bright. I love this shelf that holds some bathroom goodies. I wrapped a bar of soap in scrapbook paper. It is hard to see, but it turned out cute. I made the "bath" sign from an old door panel and I used tiny yo yos to spell out the word. I got them from an etsy shop called Yo Yo cottage.

I painted the cabinet black and added crystal knobs and framed the mirror with simple 1x4's and some bull's eyes in the corners. We did the beadboard too which took the longest (my husband nor I are real handy carpenters!). I used 1x2s for the trim and ledge.

I added some random birdies because they make me smile and got these frames at a garage sale for 50 cents each. I spray painted them black. I got these vintage style hooks at Hobby Lobby for $2 each half price. I love them!

I got this stool at a garage sale for $1.00 and painted it, added some torn scrapbook paper to the top with Modge Podge and then added eyelash fringe. It is such a girly stool isn't it? Kind of has a french flair...

I have really been into Before and After photos as you can tell. It does my heart good to see how a little paint, a lot of work, and a little money and creativity can transform a room! I started this hall bathroom months ago and I posted about it here. It took longer than expected and I still have to get a new light fixture and faucet, but I love how it turned out. This was my first experience tearing down wallpaper and I will say that I will never wallpaper an entire room!

An AMAZING cottage makeover!

I just stumbled upon some pictures of the most amazing before and after photos over at
The Old Painted Cottage. I can't believe the transformation. The pictures look like they are straight out of a magazine. I am in awe that they could do this much work in 12 months. They must not have any small kids or kids at all for that matter! Check out their home here. It is great eye candy! The ideas are endless...

A surprise brick backsplash and some curtains!

Our kitchen BEFORE (one year ago)

Our kitchen AFTER

I changed out the flourescent light for a pretty crystal chandelier, painted the island and lower cabinets (Latte from Sherwin Williams), put chalkboard paint on the pantry, painted the walls an earthy green called "Lion" from Behr (you can't see the walls in this picture), did a brick veneer on the backsplash and changed out the outlet covers, and VIOLA! Here is the new kitchen. It took some time, but now it feels more like mine.

I have rec'd some comments about where/what kind of brick veneer this is, so I looked it up and here is the info:

It is Robinson Brick thin brick/thin veneer

color is Peppermill and the mortar color is Tobacco Brown

I got it from a brick yard in my area, but you can search "Robinson Brick". They have a website with pictures and you can search a store nearest you, or have it shipped to you.

It was not hard to install although we did not do it. Our contractor laid it just like tile on top of the sheetrock using a thinset. He used a tile saw to cut it. There are installation instructions on the website too. Hope that helps! You can email me with any other questions.

I was not expecting to get my brick backsplash so soon! I mentioned it in this post, and a few weeks later, the Lord provided me with one literally. My friend Elise over at Nest Sweet Nest
reminded me that God gives us the "desires of our hearts" and He did just that. I was blown away that God even cares about those little things that mean so much to me! We had hail damage on our roof, so we got it replaced after approval from the insurance company. The roofing business is very competitive, so our roofer agreed to do the backsplash and some painting if we let him do the roof (apparently roofers make good money). So his labor for the extra work was part of the price of the roof. We just had to buy the supplies. What a deal, huh? God is good! I love how it turned out!

The inspiration for these curtains came from here. The sun is not shining today, so this picture is not the best, but here are my sunroom curtains that my talented friend Elise came over and helped me with. I lined them with burlap the first time, and did not like how it looked so I did red ticking the second time and it is perfect! I love how the ticking looks from outside too.

Here is closer, but poor quality picture. These curtains are just rectangles that are lined with a coordinating fabric, folded over the clipped with cafe rings. You can turn it over and use the other fabric for a different look. I just used upholstery tacks to hang them up. I just got this new sign too at one of my favorite shops. I know, summer is about over, but it has been calling my name for months. I love it so much, I might just leave it up all year!

This is a close up of my living room curtains. I debated between the gingham and the houdstooth for a long time. EVERY person I asked said go with gingham, but I decided on the houdstooth just because I loved it (and it was much cheaper). They ended up being too long so I folded them over then clipped them with cafe rings, an amateur seamstress' best tool!

They really warm up the room, don't you think? I did both panels for $37. Not bad huh?