Sunday, March 31, 2013

Vintage Red Cedar Chest

A couple of weeks ago I found a gorgeous cedar chest for sale on craigslist in a neighboring town. I was kind of freaked out to go and get it because the messages back and forth to the seller were extremely brief and they never provided a name, so I had no clue if I was even meeting a man or a woman.  Of course, I also happened to have no other adult available to go with me, so I brought my boys. (And then I emailed my husband the address so he would know where to tell the police I went should I never return because I'm totally a big chicken and sometimes assume the worst.)



Friday, March 29, 2013

Things I'm Loving This Week...

Happy Friday! Here's a mish-mosh of things I am completely loving.  Really. I'm pretty sure I need that pillow for summer.



4 LEIF  5 Target








Thursday, March 28, 2013

Updating with Black Paint & Burlap

I love both black paint and burlap and recently had a great opportunity to use them together. I found two awesome pieces of furniture (at separate places) that were just begging for a makeover.

 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Painted Thrift Store Shelf & Mantel Display

Oh my gosh, this weekend went by fast! Can you all believe it's Monday already? 
 
Saturday my Mom and I took the boys to Mystic, Connecticut, for the day and froze!  I wonder when exactly spring will arrive up here in the northeast? 
 
On the way home I took some back roads and stumbled upon a seriously cute consignment store in Colchester. I could have spent forever in there, but for some reason, 9 and 11 years old boys don't want to go antiquing with there mother and grandmother, so there was some pretty substantial complaining going on. And this is despite the fact that my oldest got an owl for his collection and my youngest found a vintage Mickey Mouse bank for his room.


Sunday, March 24, 2013

$25 Refinished Antique Dresser

 All of you that redo furniture with the sole purpose of selling it, how do you let the pieces go?!? 
 
Last weekend I bought this dresser at the Goodwill for $25. I love the size and the fantastic, original hardware.
  

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Follow Number Fifty-Three on Bloglovin'

Happy Saturday everyone!
 
 
I've had a crazy, busy week and can't wait to share all of my makeovers and thrifty finds with you.
 
 
If you haven't done so already, head on over to Bloglovin' and follow Number Fifty-Three. It's super easy to sign up and import all your favorite blogs. Seriously. It took me maybe 2 minutes, total.
 
 
Thanks so much!
  
Typography Art Print by Ashley G - I'd Rather Be Thrifting
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Friday, March 22, 2013

Things I'm Loving this Week...

Happy spring!
 
I seem to be craving color lately (even though when I look outside everything is still covered in snow). How about you?





 

 


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Simple Easter Egg Tree Craft

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week has flown by!
   
The boys and I have been busy with school; we're using this as a catch-up week and a going on field trips week.
 
I've also found several great pieces at thrift stores and on craigslist to refurbish so I've been busy painting.
 
The other day I took a break from furniture to make this sweet little Easter egg tree.
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Spring Outfit Trend: Ruffles

Do you have any clothes with ruffles?  I realized the other day that I kind of have a lot of shirts, in particular, with ruffled accents.  And, I've noticed tons of spring clothes that are featuring this trend.  I love how ruffles can transform a garment from girly and feminine to edgy.  What do you think?



 
 



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Upcycled Painted Toolbox

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a great weekend! I picked up an awesome antique desk (via craigslist) to work on.  It will be a new piece for our living room mini update and I'm kind of thinking about going bold. I also sold another piece of furniture that I painted. Yeah! I'll share more tomorrow about that.

Anyway, one thing that I really love to refinish are old wooden boxes and containers. It's amazing how a little paint can totally change the look.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

Planter with Moss & Bark


 

 

 
Last week, my boys asked me to bring them down to the end of our street. This is seriously one of my favorite things to do. 
 
We live in a small city, so our yard it kind of tiny. Actually, it's tiny and hilly so not always the most conducive to playing and running around.
 
But, at the end of our street is this place my boys call the monuments.  It's sort of this large cobblestone circle with statues commemorating soldiers who fought in various wars. They like to go there and walk around calmly and examine each statue run around or ride their bikes like complete maniacs.  And attached to the monuments is this huge plot of land and a beautiful old school that is in transition.



Antique Side Table Redo


I have always loved the lines of this table and when I saw it in my Mom's tag sale pile I snatched it up for myself.  She had previously had this on her enclosed porch, but decided to go with more greens and neutrals this year. It all worked out great since she ended up taking a vintage end table that I had recently painted emerald.



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

[Project Notebook] Gallery Walls





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being both a collector and someone who despises clutter I love gallery walls. It's like the best of both worlds. I get to display collections, while at the same time keeping things neat, orderly and organized.  I already have a couple in my home. You can see my huge family picture gallery wall in this post and my bedroom silhouette wall here.
 
I'm slowly starting to gather items for a gallery wall in my living room. (We are planning some updates in there this year.) And when I revamp the television area I would like to incorporate a small gallery. However, unlike the other two that I previously shared, that are based more on a cohesive theme, I would like this one to be more collected/eclectic.
 
Here is where I am inspiration wise so far:




1 Source  2 Source  3 Source  4 Source  5 Source


Do you have gallery walls in your home? Please tell me about them!
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Outfits Inspirations: Stripes




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lately, I've been really wanting to incorporate more spring items into my wardrobe (despite the snow and rain and all that) and I've been noticing that I've been pinning lots of outfits that feature stripes.  I already have a striped scarf, similar to Number 5, but I think it might be time to add in a few more stripey things.  Have you done any spring shopping yet?


1 Source  2 Source  3 Source  4 Source  5 Source
 
 



Monday, March 11, 2013

Homeschool/Office Shelving




 
 
Have you checked out the last couple rooms tours I shared? If not, you can catch them here and here.  I snapped some of the pictures one sunny day and supplemented with some I had on file because, our house has been an utter disaster. I have so many projects going on at once, rooms that are half finished, stacks of supplies and ugly furniture waiting for makeovers. One thing I love about blogging is the documentation. See. Now I have proof that I have accomplished things even if it does look like a bomb went off in here.
 

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Antique Glass Front Cabinet

Hi everyone! Finally, we are having some beautiful weather here in the northeast. We plan on taking a nice long walk with the boys this afternoon. Can't wait. 
 
A couple of weeks ago I purchased this gorgeous glass front cabinet from my favorite local store (The Trading Post for my Western MA friends). I had been looking for something like this forever to replace the black dresser we previously had here. Antonio snatched that piece up for his bedroom makeover leaving us with an awkward empty space in the corner of our living room.
 
This cabinet could not be more perfect; look how it fits just right underneath the black shelf.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Chalkboard & Stenciled Eggs

I have to say, that while I love spring, I'm not a big Easter decorator.  My house is so neutral and simply decorated that bright colors and bunnies just don't seem to mesh.


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

[Project Notebook] Home Office

I've mentioned on Facebook, more times than I can count, how much I truly cannot stand our office/classroom. It is a total disaster and collection of everything that doesn't work elsewhere in out home. And this is pretty much where we spend all our time, people! It needs to stop.  Since I buy mostly thrift, it will take me time to find all the right pieces, but that's to be expected. I'm reusing lots of what we already have and moving furniture from room to room (my oldest took most of the current storage up to his room for his makeover, so this is giving me a bit of a fresh start).  Oh, and since this is a tight space with lots of stuff (remember that this is both our office and homeschool classroom) I am picturing light and bright with lots of open storage.  Here's my inspiration:
 
 
1 Bliss  2 décor pad  3 unknown  4 Thistlewood Farm 
 
 
Now, I'm off to continue painting shelves (bright white, of course) for said office makeover.
 
Have a great day!
 
 



Tuesday, March 5, 2013

My Top 5 Beauty Products



A while ago, here, I shared a list of my fave beauty products of the moment.  Then, my shampoo and conditioner I loved was discontinued. Tragic. And Christmas happened and I got all sorts of new fun stuff to try. So, I thought I would update. I love trying new products, especially when they work really well and cut down on time or the amount of things I need to use and these definitely fit the bill.




philosophy  2 Clairsonic  3 Sephora  4 WEN 


Monday, March 4, 2013

Hallway Library/Gallery Peak

Here's yet another space that has gotten a facelift since the beginning of the year, but has never fully been revealed here.  Our upstairs hall was also painted Benjamin Moore's Cloud Cover to blend with the rest of our common open areas.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Updated Dining Room Tour

I'm the queen of letting one project cascade into an entire house makeover.  It just sort of happens sometimes when you update one small thing. 

Like last summer when I redid our dining room. After I had gotten a substantial amount of the house painted, we realized the color was just not for us. So, of course, my repainting of the main areas in our home with Benjamin Moore's Cloud Cover spilled over into the dining room.  And I've been sharing one post after the next showing little tidbits of the makeover, but realized I never actually shared the room all put together. It's about time I did, don't you think?

Here's the view into our newly painted dining room from the living room: