Yesterday I just had to get out of the house. I needed a break from unpacking and writing check after check to repair people. Luckily, we live close to a Super Target and a TJ Maxx. I wasn’t expecting to find anything, but then again, I always manage to find great stuff when I’m not looking. Never when I actually need it. Isn’t that life for ya?

Introducing my new office chair! I’ve seen variations of this chair before in TJ Maxx and shared it with you guys { here }, but I absolutely adore this version. It’s graphic and yet subtle, elegant and yet fun. It will make the perfect jumping off space for designing our home office!

My favorite part is definitely the nail-head trim. And the zebra pattern. And the dark wooden legs. Who am I kidding? I’m obsessed with it all. And the best part? Oh, that would be the price tag. It was on clearance for $99. I can’t figure out why they marked it down, but I’m guessing it was just to make my day. It worked.

I also snagged this cute little bowl to hold our keys by the entryway. It was also on clearance, for $3. I didn’t even realize it matched the chair until I was in the check-out line. I guess I had a thing for gray zebra print yesterday.

I have to say, as crazy as we’ve been with all these house repairs, we still love it. Every step, even buying a small bowl, takes us closer to making this place really feel like home. Cheers to that!

Tomorrow I’ll share a couple easy projects that can help you better organize your home. The first step to a well designed home, is to have a well organized home!

A couple weeks ago I spent the day hanging out with a friend in Atlanta. After lunch, we ended up at the Habitat Re-Store. If you’ve never heard of it before, it a huge warehouse were people donate old/new building supplies.

I’ve been there a couple times and it’s pretty hit or miss. They have furniture, but I can usually find better prices at a thrift store. If you’re looking for actual building materials, like tiles or door locks, they seemed to have a decent selection. As we walked around, I did find a couple good finds…

I LOVED these rustic lanterns. At $59 each, they would make a great statement flanking a mirror in a bathroom.

Here’s another great fixture. I was surprised to see the original $510 price tag, but I’ve seen lots of versions of this piece for several different price ranges. Again, a nice light to place in a guest bathroom.

I love the details of this glass table. It’s light and bright because of the glass, but the richness of the metal creates a great contrast. Perfect piece for a guest room nightstand.

We also found a great selection of windows (and a VERY awkward drawing of a pumpkin head bikini girl??). There are so many great uses for old windows, a few of which can be found { here }.

The best find of the day was………linoleum tile. Yep, it’s true. My mother-in-law gave me a great tip a couple weeks ago about lining cabinet shelves. I’m planning to line the kitchen cabinets in the new house with contact paper, but under the kitchen sink, my mother-in-law suggested using linoleum tile. It’s thicker, waterproof and much easier to wipe down than contact paper. Such a good idea! The best part, I got 8 tiles for under $1.82 total. I found the exact same time { here } for $2.21 per tile. Sweeeet!

After I bought the tile, I realized it was the FIRST purchase for our new house! How appropriate that our first purchase for the house was under $2.00. Let’s hope I can keep the rest of the purchases around the same price (yeah right). Here I am (below) with the tile, and my second purchase, fabric to make a pillow for our future guest room. It is SO fun to finally be able to have a house to buy for!

What about you? Do you have any special stores you go to for great deals? Have you gotten a great deal lately? If so, I’d love to feature you on here!

Last night I was pulling up the listing for our house (squeal!) and noticed something different. It now says “Sale Pending“! I don’t know why, but it made this whole process seem more real to me. Justin had already seen the “new” listing and being a typical guy didn’t see the big deal. For me, it was exciting!

The past couple weeks we’ve made a couple purchases for the house (that I’ll share later this week), but it didn’t really feel like we were buying it for an actual house. For those of you who’ve been through this process, you know that you’re crazy busy finding the house and getting the mortgage set up, but after that it’s a waiting game. I’m not an incredibly patient person so any progress, even a “for sale” to  ”sale pending” makes me feel like we’re moving forward. 

For those of you who have patiently been waiting for me to update this blog, here’s a sneak peek of a couple reasons why we fell in love with this house. I won’t give the full tour until we move in, but here’s our favorite room in the house…

which leads out to this…

It feels like you’re living in a tree house when you’re there. Only a few more weeks now!

What about you guys…any fun projects in the works for Thanksgiving week or are you just planning to stuff yourself silly on Turkey? All I have to say is thank heavens for Pilgrims. 

I’ve been MIA, I know. House-hunting and trying to find a new (used) car have been consuming my life right now. BUT, I’m back this week with a fun party and a delicious new recipe!

Today I’m sharing a serious want…this gorgeous sofa from West Elm. I don’t like the $800 price tag, but I do love the tufted back and the soft muted color. It would add instant class to any space. Lovely!

What’s on your wish list?

P.S. Please tell me that someone else under the age of 30 grew up on Nick at Nite when they were a kid. Welcome Back Kotter anyone?

(Image via Pinterest)

This is so lovely.

I need a book nook.

Stat.

That’s all.

Today I’m daydreaming about houses.

Something with a big front porch,

and lots of character.

Maybe tucked in the woods,

or on a plot of land with a couple chickens to spare.

It would definitely have Southern charm,

where drinking sweet tea on the porch after church is a must.

Sigh. A girl can dream, right?

What’s your dream house look like?

(All images borrowed from Pinterest.)

If I was going to have a party…

I’d hang pretty lanterns everywhere,

and make sure to have lots of pretty flowers.

There would be a whole table of delicious drinks to try…

and we’d sip them out of mason jars.

We’d dine on these adorable little tomatoes,

and stuff ourselves silly on ridiculously good looking burgers.

And when we’re full on good food and conversation, I’d bring out these cuties,

along with a shot of milk and cookies.

Who wants to come to my party?

P.S. Need help planning a party? I can help with decor, invitations, food…pretty much

every single detail. You have the fun, and let me handle the rest!

{ All images can be found on my Pinterest page. Check out the links to each

of these pictures, there are some pretty talented folks out there! }

It’s Monday, so I’m feeling more than a little inspired for the week ahead. Here’s a few fun projects that I would love to tackle!

(All images were borrowed from my Pinterest page.)

How clever?! I want to make this mug for my husband who has an unnatural obsession with mustaches. What is it with guys and facial hair?

I love these cute little soap dispensers! I’m keeping my eye out for some vintage bottles so hopefully I can make something similar one day.

I need a cute front door, ASAP. Something fun and a little different like this wreath.

These spoons would look fantastic in my herb garden. Need. To. Make.

So many projects, so little time. Anyone working on anything fun right now?

In the past few months, I’ve gone from not having any close friends who are pregnant, to having a few that are now expecting. That, my friends, is very good news for me. Why? Well, now I can shop for cute baby clothes and look at all the sweet nursery pictures I want! (And trust me, I’m taking full advantage of every opportunity for all things baby.) Since I’ve been scouring Pinterest for nursery inspirations, I thought I’d share what I’ve found! All of these images were found on Pinterest. (Told y’all it rocked.)

Image via Pinterest { here }.

How sweet is this nursery? I love that it feel so calming. It looks like the perfect spot to rock a baby to sleep.

Image via Pinterest { here }.

This room looks like a really cool kid would live in it. You know, the eclectic “I-don’t-listen-to-main-stream-music-because-I-only-go-to local-coffee-shops-to-hear-bands-that-play-songs-about-raindrops-and-eat-tofu” type kid. See, cool.

Image via Pinterest { here }.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, this incredibly bright room looks like a kid’s dream. I wouldn’t translate it exactly as I see here, but it definitely has fun elements like the Ferris wheel toy box.

Image via Pinterest { here }.

I ADORE these windows! There’s just something so “Father-of-the-Bride-Part-2″ about window seats. Anyone else remember the dreamy nursery from that movie?

Image via Pinterest { here }.

I’m not a huge fan of the dark brown furniture in this picture, but the wall behind the crib is so fun!

Image via Pinterest { here }.

In all of my “pinning”, I never saw a brighter nursery than this one. I think it has every color of the rainbow! I love the curtains, the light fixture and the rug. Oh, and the pops of yellow and turquoise. Oh, and some of the art. Ok, you get it. I like this nursery.

I actually found these lamps at TJ Maxx (where else?) and thought they would look so cute in a little girl’s room. Gah, they make the best stuff for kid’s!

Image via Pinterest { here }.

And finally, you’re daily dose of cuteness for the day. This post wouldn’t really be “Oh, Baby” without an actual baby now would it?

P.S. If you’re expecting and need some help with your nursery, give me a call! I promise, your baby will thank me.

(Image borrowed from { this } site.)

I love a good table centerpiece, so when I saw this tablescape (above) on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to use it as inspiration for my own table. The elegance of the flowers and silver trim paired with the rustic wood on the box…well you know how much of a sucker I am for that combo. I’m nothing if not predictable!

I started with a simple wooden box I found at Hobby Lobby for $20 and some silver ribbon I got for 50% off. (Score!) I played with the idea of  staining the box a darker color, but my table is already a dark wood so I figured I’d leave the box lighter for contrast. A little hot glue, (a designer’s favorite tool!) and box + ribbon started to equal a pretty fantastic new centerpiece.

Next, I used my all-time favorite design tactic: mixing old with new. I had several of these white flowers that I had used in a previous arrangement so I decided to cut costs and reuse them in this piece. Still wanting it to feel like a new arrangement (and not just same old thing in a new box) I picked up these fun sparkly jewels for 50% off to add something a bit unexpected. Every girl needs a little something sparkly, right?

And finally, here it is! I bet you didn’t expect to scroll down and see apples, huh? Well, I had them and thought they added a bit of whimsy to an otherwise predictable centerpiece. I have to say, I’m so happy with the finished product.

Design is all about finding inspiration, but truly making each and every project your own. If you look at my inspiration picture at the top of this post, you can see where I used a similar box and ribbon trim, but really personalized the centerpiece with a few other touches. Now that I’ve told you about Pinterest, you can really find ways to be inspired and take on fun projects. Go on, get started!

P.S. Yes, the title to this post is lame. BUT the centerpiece is not. Pick your battles, people.