Time to Reevaluate and Redecorate

Nothing in life stays the same.  Especially true about our home.  With my oldest in college, it's time to reevaluate where we are and where we are going.  I've known for some time now that my home wasn't reflecting the changes in our lifestyle.  Now it's time to make changes and get our lives (or at least our home) back on track.
When we first moved here, my style was primitive country. Baskets, wood spools, quilts, pine furniture filled our rooms.  We didn't have a lot of money and thrift shopping was my thing.  Then I wanted to update our look and we bought (actually bought new) a few pieces of furniture. Remodeled our kitchen with custom cabinets and granite countertops and our style was now Tuscany.  Two years ago we took a trip to the ocean and that began another change. I now want a cleaner, more relaxed look.  I've started looking at colors like blues and oranges that I never really liked before.  I love the white craze...I would paint all our furniture white if my husband would let me.  Each child wants their own room, but that is off in the future. It's time to redo our home to reflect our family now.
So......
I'm going to blog about the changes in our home in the upcoming months.  I get so many ideas from the talented ladies who share via blogs their homes and projects, a lot of these will be incorporated into our home. Some of the projects I'll be working on:
Painting countertops to look like granite..(shhh! don't tell my hubby-the granite man)
Faux painting to hide less than perfect walls.
A place to scrapbook.
Turning an old eyesore shed into something fabulous
Giving our house street appeal
Landscaping for privacy and fun
Decorating with flea market finds
Incorporating our love of travel into our home
Teen girls room
Teen boys room
Updating a dated fireplace
Reworking an entry closet
Decorating an entry when there isn't one
Setting up an aboveground pool and decking it.
Outdoor lighting for style and security.
Installing wood laminate flooring
Updating furniture, because I can't afford new
learning to use power tools.
and more....

I'll be posting before and after photos and some in process too.  I will post links when I find tips and tutorials on-line. If you have any ideas for these projects let me know.  I've been scavaging through my magazine stash and every link I can find, but I can still use lots of ideas.
 I hope to have all the indoor projects completed by Valentine's Day 2011.  (I'll work better with a deadline)
We'll celebrate with a party-you're invited.
Here's my Plan of Action:
Laundry Room
Boy's Room
Girl's Room
Bathroom 1
Family Room
Living Room
Dining Room
Master Bedroom
Exterior Projects

So let me know if you find some ideas for a small laundry room.

Wedding Gifts

Don't we all have that friend that inspires us, especially when we didn't even know we needed inspiration?  Well for me that friend is Teresa. Teresa is a doer.  She always seems to be doing something- painting a room, scrapbooking, gardening,shopping, traveling, something.  (My creative moments come in spurts brain farts with lots of slack time between.)  So I wasn't at all surprised to find she's been busy making things for her oldest son's wedding. I asked for some pics that I could share here.

These adorable bags are for the

wedding party.

Teresa etched these glasses for the bride and groom and the groom's attendants.

What a wonderful frame

for the newlywed couple to display their wedding photo.

Teresa told me she used her Cricut on these items.  (I was so impressed I had to order one.)

She'll make a great Mother-in-law, I know 'cause she's been a great friend.

I"m linking this up to share with  Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

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Visions Of A Teen Boy's SteamPunk Bedroom

My oldest son is turning 16. He really wants a bedroom of his own so does his 12 year old brother. That means that our next house must be 5 bedrooms. But first we have to sell this house and that means paring down. And that mean deciding what to keep. A difficult task because I have no idea what kind of house we will buy next and the boys may still need to share a room. Originally I wasn't going to choose a theme for their room, but when I saw my first SteamPunk computer I knew this had to be in the boy's room.
  What is SteamPunk? "Steampunk is a fusion of the Victorian era with machinery, a mix of antiques and technology.'Steam' refers to the style we're talking about: think steam engines, big leather bellows, the whirr of cogs. Materials to look out for are wood, leather and plenty of brass - materials that Victorian engineers were familiar with. The 'punk' in steampunk refers to being creative and doing something new and different rather than tartan and mohawks." -According to Sky Gazzard at Mooky Chick.

I love that all the boy's electronic stuff can be made to blend into the room.

I'm thinking stained wood floors and the suede painting technique on the walls. A victorian area rug and curtains. And a bed like this one that I found on Mother Earth's website:

-->Plans for building bed here<--

I hope I can find some interesting rusty old architectural items to decorate the bed.

For more DIY SteamPunk items, check out Instructables.com

I'll be adding photos of items we make for this room later.

Giveaway on Beneath My Heart

I love jewelry, epecially handcrafted pieces.  The Vintage Pearl creates one of a kind, personalized jewelry.  This jewelry is reminiscent of the "Mother" necklaces of the past but with a modern twist.  One of my favorite pieces is a layred charm the top piece could have children's names and the bottom piece, Grandchildren's names.  It has a Mother of Pearl accent.
  As a new sponser for Beneath My Heart they are giving away a fifty dollar gift certificate. 

This Weeks Finds

I am a Hunter-Gatherer.  I LOVE thrift shops and garage sales. Its the THRILL of the hunt.  I always find a few treasures.  Here are a few things I recently found.

My favorites are the blue vase, $1.00 and the white pitcher, $4.50.  Right now my house is in transition from dark colors to whites and beachy blue greens.  So, i really like the turquoise plates and the pretty shell, $.50.  The two white candlesticks are actually egg holders- I don't know what i'm gonna do with them but they were $.25 for both.  The little urn turned out to be medal for $.50.  I plan to use it with some kind of decorative ball on top in vignettes.  I'm thinking it would be cute to change the ball for different occasions.  The two little brown bottles, $.25 each- I plan to use as candle holders.  The clear vase and bottle are for future projects.  I fell in love with the little girl with the flower she will sit on my desk to remind me to "Stop and smell the flowers."  My big finds are the champagne bucket, $3.00 and the glass display, $3.00.  I'm going to take the display apart and make something new. 
What would you do with it?

Valentine Brunch

I wanted to something special this year to show someone special how much I appreciate all he does. My plans were very elaborate, a traditional English tea.  I was going to bake scones and other goodies and have a selection for fine teas, etc. I even bought silver teaspoons.  I thought of putting my small round table in front of the fireplace to make it really cozy.  Lots of candles and romantic music and us just talking....

"The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry"

And so did mine when we got 16" of snow, and another day of snow predicted.  The children I was going to send to town for the day ended up staying here, even the college student whose classes were cancelled.  Not the romantic tete a tete I had planned.
So I decided to do the best with what I had.
The table got moved to our bedroom. No time for baking or shopping.  A total revamp of menu.
I never had a chance to shop for a romantic tablecloth or pretty dishes or a centerpiece.
I had a couple of very pretty pressed glass dishes that I had out to make a picnic basket set.
They are cobalt blue.  I really wasn't thinking about using blue. But it's what I had.
I remembered there was a red tablecloth with blue flowers at my booth (flea market). So I picked it up.  Funny, every time I try to get rid of it, I find a use for it.
My dear hubby brought me a dozen very pretty roses that I placed in a cobalt blue vase. I also had a faux mercury candlestick that I paired with a glittery glass candle holder.  I had a silverplate bowl that usually holds fruit as a makeshift ice bucket. The two champagne glasses are from our anniversary spot, Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Mo.  Since I wanted some privacy, we brought in the coffee maker and cups along with hot chocolate in the silver heart-shaped basket.  Chocolate-covered strawberries, dipped pretzels and our favorite cookies.  We never had to leave the room.  It was a very relaxing day.

I'm linking this to Tablescape Thursday.  I'm very thankful to all the ladies who put such beautiful tables together. Such wonderful inspiration.