My First Place!

My place is by NO MEANS done or even remotely close. But, I have set out some furniture and tried to prop up a few pictures here and there. And, my OCD kicked in and I can proudly say there is only 1 box left. When Claire moves in Saturday, there will be alittle more furniture and "fluffing" to post. But, since several people have asked, here's a peak at what it looks like right now...

Let's start with the outside. Looks a little more "lived-in", huh? I hope you enjoy this picture because it came at a price. I totally locked myself out of my house without my cell phone (or shoes) when I took this and had to call my parents who live twenty minutes away to let me in. And, did I mention it was lightning like crazy and about 95 degrees outside? At least I got to meet my neighbors...

Here's my room from the doorway.

And here's the view of another wall.

I have to say, I am LOVING my new dresser. So much storage!!!

This is the front room. It's kind of random right now.

But, I'm really liking the teal and gold together.

I wanted to show you my curtains in this room. Didn't my mom do a great job?

This wall obviously needs a little more. Maybe a bench in front of the window or something?

Another view of the front room.

 Excuse the box of junk. It's not staying there...

A view of the hallway.

Kitchen hallway table. I should probably hang that wall thingy, huh?

Here's the kitchen. My favorite part is the light fixture over the

sink that my mom gave me. Isn't it fun?

Just another view...

Here's the den. It's obviously VERY far from being finished.

But, check out my new chair and pillow!

Curtains in the den.

Just waiting for a table... ha!

Another view of the hallway.

And, last (and probably least), is the patio.

With my six dollar ferns...shout-out to Lowes!

It's got a long way to go, but I think it's off to a good start.

Come by and see me sometime!!!

A Night at Big Flex's House

I seriously have the best co-workers ever! I couldn't ask for better people to be around every day. And, no matter where we are, we have a LARGE time, ha! Last week, Flex had all the first grade girls over to her place for dinner. It was so fun to see everybody!

 

Flex has an amazing pillow collection! This one was my favorite ;)

Me and Lane...

We're all so sad Melissa is leaving us...it won't be the same without her!

Who will I talk to at recess????

Love me some Flex! She's the best hostest (and friend) ever.

Love, love, love these girls!!!

And, for reading this blog post, I will reward you by allowing you to view the best picture in the entire world.

The "Before" Pics...

Well, guys. It's official. I'm a homeowner!

I have lots to share. But, I wanted to put some before pictures on here so I will remember what my house looked like on the day that I bought it.

I closed on the house last Friday.

This is the front room. It was intended to be a dining room, but I'm just using it as a living room.

I love the big window!

This is the hallway that leads from the front room to the back of the house. It goes right through the kitchen area. I love the arch at the top!

Obviously, this is the kitchen. It looks over the den. I was so excited to get to pick out all the cabinets, counters and flooring.

Another view of the kitchen...

No idea why this picture is so dark. But, this is the den.

This is another view of the den so you can see the actual wall color :)

This is my bedroom! It's another dark picture, but the wall color is the same as the rest of the house.

And, this is the master bathroom.

Super proud of my new keys :)

Stay tuned for some updated pics soon!!!

Pier 1 to the Rescue!

Wow.

 This week has been nuts.

 Moving is a lot of work, ha! My current house looks like this:

And this:

Please don't judge me. I PROMISE this is NOT all new stuff I've bought!

In fact, there hasn't been a lot of shopping this week or last week. Unless you count some kitchen utensils, light bulbs and a $2 wreath holder for the front door. And I certainly don't count those!

I HAVE been doing this:

Ironing curtains!

And, there was a pretty big purchase today. But, luckily, this was a sweet gift from my awesome mom. You see, she's been working on covering a wingback chair for me for the last few weeks. The chair was free but I spent quite a bit of money buying white duck cloth to recover it. And, wouldn't you know it, that darn chair has been IMPOSSIBLE to cover. It's arms are so curvy and the sides have been the biggest pain. My mom and aunt worked on this chair for several hours the other night and it was just not turning out right at all! So, my mom made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She said that if I'd forget about this chair, she'd buy me a new one for the front room since I had spent all the money on the fabric. Um, deal.

So, she went with me this afternoon to Pier 1. And I picked out this:

Cute, huh?

The fabric draped over the back of the chair is the curtains for the room. I can't WAIT to show you those when I get them hung. I love them! And, I think this little chair will be great with my white ottoman.

And, THANKS MOM!

Hopefully, I will get some good "before" pictures on Friday to show you of the house. I'm sooo excited to finally be *this* close to owning my first place!

Getting Ready to Move!

I was so excited to find out this week that I am closing on the new house next Friday! Since this was a week earlier than I had expected, the news sent me into overdrive! I had to set up utilities, get a moving truck, get insurance set up, buy curtain rods and other stuff like that... all while trying to set up a classroom! Oh, and I haven't packed one. single. thing. It's obviously been a busy week :)

But, I wanted to show you (and my soon-to-be roomie, Claire) some of my new house purchases. I'm trying my best to go ahead and get as much of the stuff I want now while I don't have any bills to pay. Once I move, I'm pretty sure the shopping fun will come to a screeching halt.

These cute little canisters came from TJ Maxx. I think the big one cost $8 and the small one was $6. They're actually pretty big and heavy! These will be great in the kitchen with my new chalkboard labels!

My mom got me this little desk chair from Goodwill. It was $6. I'm pretty sure it's going to be painted a fun color someday. But, for now, it'll match my black desk well. Thanks, Mom!

This next one is my favorite. If you've read this blog before or you follow me on Pinterest, you know that I LOVE these prints! I've been wanting one forever. I ordered this one off Etsy and it arrived today. I got the mat and frame at Hobby Lobby because their frames are 50% off right now.

These little canisters are tiny. The picture makes them look bigger than they are. They came from Tuesday Morning and I think they'll be great in my bathroom to hold jewelry, Q-Tips, etc...

These are wall sconces. I got them at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off. I think I paid $25 for both of them. I liked them because they were big and sturdy. I haven't totally decided where they will go... but, I have a few ideas running through my mind. Ha.

And, here is what we're working on tonight. Drapery panels for the front room. This is my favorite fabric. I bought it almost a year ago and I've been saving it for the day when I had my own place. We're sewing a panel of brown burlap fabric at the bottom to make them a little more interesting. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

I may not be blogging too much for the next week or so. I've got a lot going on with moving. But, I have a walk through on Monday and I'll try to take some pictures of the house to post on here. I haven't seen it since they put in floors, cabinets and counters so I'm pretty excited to get in there!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Artwork

I don't know about you... but, I love artwork! The first thing I notice when I walk into a room is the art on the walls. I especially like bold colors. So, when I saw this cool painting from Annabellea.com, I knew I had to copy try it!

How cool is that?

I decided to make a coral colored one to match my bedroom in the new house. I think I want to go with a coral, teal and white theme in that room. So, off to Joann's I went to purchase a canvas!

Here's what you do. Use painter's tape to create a design. Since I loved the one above so much, I decided to try and make mine like hers. You can precisely measure each piece of tape and make it perfect... or, you can just slap them on like me and not worry about it. I promise it will still look great!

Then you just paint over it. That's it! It's seriously the easiest thing ever!

While I was waiting on it to dry, I wracked my brain for what to do with the second canvas that came in the package I bought. I had some gray paint I wanted to use and I just started taping away. Here's what I came up with...

I painted it gray and waited for them both to dry. When they dried, I peeled off the paint (which is so fun!)and saw the finished product.

Ta Da!

I have to say, I really like them! They're fun and colorful and will be easy to move around from room to room. I'm sure you'll see them again when I post pics of the new house =)

Just to give you an idea, here's the coral painting with my teal headboard (which is obviously still in the garage) and curtain fabric. I have white bedding. I'm picturing it hanging over the bed with maybe some sconces on either side? Not really sure.... but, I'm excited to see how it all comes together!

One more thing... I finished my homemade chalkboard yesterday. I found an old wooden frame at the Nashville Flea Market last year and got a great deal on it. It's been sitting over my bed empty for the last few months like this... 

I couldn't find anything to fit inside it because it's an irregular shape. So, I bought some  foam posterboard and cut it to the right size. Then, I painted three layers of chalkboard paint on it that I already had lying around.

 I LOVE IT! I can't wait to hang it in the new house.

Okay, I think that's all. Thanks for stopping by!