0 favorite new Etsy shop

While I was voraciously consuming paint color options on Pinterest the other day, I stumbled upon a gorgeous fine art photo print of a dandelion in the color scheme I am looking to splash all over the great room. 

I of course clicked through to the Etsy shop, and couldn't help clicking through the rest of her photos. In doing so, I fell in love. 

Lisa Russo Fine Art is amazing. I love all of the pastel processes she puts on her photos, and how soft, beachy, and inviting the pictures are. I guess I  really like that shabby chic, cottage feel the photos evoke. Didn't really realize that until now haha

Here are some of my favorites

I think at least a few of these will be purchased to put in the Ugly Duckling. Lisa offers photo prints, and wrapped canvases, which I am super excited about. 

Detail: favorite new Etsy shop

0 House Love Pinspiration

Warning: this blog will probably take on a home improvement feel as I get the my new place set up. Hopefully you don't mind me sharing all my painting, decorating, and DIY attempts that are bound to go wrong. This happy girl isn't a very DIY kinda person, and lacks the ability to finish those cool Pinterest inspired crafts I want to achieve. Speaking of Pinterest, I have a whole board dedicated to future decor, and it is inspiring me like crazy, thus the dark gray dining room I posted yesterday. Seriously, what would I do without Pinterest? I am so not creative when it comes to style and decor. I tend to get all matchy-matchy, and blah blah blah with decor. Not fun when you have a big beautiful house to decorate.

I've decided to call the decorating of my home Project Ugly Duckling, because it's all yellow, and ugly. Hopefully I can get it to look like a graceful, elegant, beautiful swan by the time it grows up..er, I finish.

Here are some of my favorites pins that are currently driving the redecorating of my home.

I am petitioning Billy to allow me to get a natural colored dining room table, as he is set on a dark color. And that chandelier, omg I need it.  Too bad Egyptian glass chandeliers are quite pricey. I may just have to get a knock-off, or find a way to put aqua covers on a different chandelier. Either way, I am getting something like that. I've already found an identical rug for only $100 at Garden Ridge, and know where to find a table very similar to this.

Because our kitchen, dining, and living rooms are all in the same space as a great room, I wanted to be able to have a color scheme that sort of played off each part, while individualizing the spaces. The living room will have a dark turquoise accent wall like this, and we just ordered a gray sectional to fill up the space. The rest of the walls will be Behr ultra in French Silver, a really light gray color that is a great neutral to run throughout the house. I can't wait to see it all together! 

We chose Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore and will be looking for big dark furniture for our bedroom. We won't be doing anything to our room or bath for quite some time, though. We prioritized our projects, and the master is last since it will generally only be seen by us. It's currently a non-aggravating cream and sage green right now, which is a relief from the yellow everywhere else. And wow, are houses expensive! Everything you change or do to them quickly rack up the $$.

{You have to check out Bower Power, where the bottom photo of the painted walls came from, and see the amazing, fun projects they get up to!}

Our guest bath is plain ugly. Or plain and ugly. Either way, it's not fun and needs some love. I am digging the idea of gray and purple together, I just don't know what I would prefer to have on the walls versus as accents. 

And that's about it for Pinspiration right now. I have to focus on a few projects at a time, or my brain might explode from choices, decisions, and start hemorrhaging from the quickly disappearing bank account. 

Detail: House Love Pinspiration

0 Moving stage 2 complete

Whoa Nelly, it's been daaaayyys.

Okay, let's catch up! 

First and foremost, Billy and I are homeowners!! 

We closed on our house October 11th. I am so very happy the whole loan process is over with. It was such a headache. I was cautioned that the buying process would be a hassle, but I think I may have underestimated it. 

Next, stage 2 of the move is complete! Mom and I drove a moving truck, with my two cats in a crate, 30 hours to Austin. I was so worried that the kitties would freak out and yowl the whole way, but with some calming collars and a pheromone spray, they were so good and barely made a peep. I do think they are a little traumatized, however they will get over it quickly now that they have their very own room in our new house.

Rolling down MY street, to MY house for the first time was surreal. I got so giddy, and immediately ran into my house to check that it was still as awesome as I remembered.

And then I killed a tiny baby scorpion in the dining room. No joke, it really happened. 

Welcome to Texas, y'all.

We unpacked the truck and ended up getting the kitchen unpacked, but I have pretty much left everything else for when I head back next week. I did manage to get the dining room painted, because I was dead set on getting rid of some of the awful yellow that covers the entire house. Why the previous owners were so yellow happy is beyond me. I'm not kidding, both guest rooms, the hallways, the living room, kitchen and dining room are all a very heavy mustard, or what I termed "Corona with a lime in it" yellow. Wanna see? Oh, twist my arm...Here are some cell shots I took as I ran around the house before unloading my stuff inside.

Kitchen and dining room from the living room

Living room {and soon to be turquoise accent wall} from the hallway

buttery yellow dining room, and scene of the scorpion murder

kitchen

living room and fireplace from kitchen {and the door to the master bedroom}

Don't think for a minute that I wouldn't share an in-process photo of the painted dining room! I have to buy a ladder to finish the edges, and probably do a lot of touch ups once I am back out there next week, but oh my goodness, what a difference a coat of paint makes! I want to put wainscoting or beadboard and a chair rail on the bottom half of the walls, but was intimidated by the prospect of having to cut the wood board to accommodate our low windows. Then I stumbled onto the genius idea of wainscoting wallpaper. Um, even I can cut paper and paste it to a wall. 

 I chose Behr ultra in Iron Mountain, and I love it. I had my heart set on a darker shade of gray called wet asphalt, but the test patch looked black at night, and my mom talked me out of turning my dining room into a dark cave.
Those two bottom photos are from Southern Hospitality Blog when Rhoda did her bathroom with beadboard wallpaper. I am completely inspired and cannot wait to attack this project.

Unfortunately, I am stuck in California this week, and won't be able to  get my hands on some paint and wallpaper until next week when I visit Billy for his birthday. My man is going to be 31! Aside from painting, I plan on grocery shopping and making a bunch of freezer meals to last him the 3 weeks until I move out there for good.

And man, I am ready to be completely moved and living with my hubby again. This back and forth business is for the birds.

So there you are, all caught up to where I am now. Come back tomorrow for my Pinterest inspiration for the rest of the house!

Detail: Moving stage 2 complete