Phase one....

And so phase one begins......

Joey has promised me that we will put curtains up FOR GOOD in the house next month (minus the guest bedrooms - they keep IKEA for a bit). This totals to be 10 panels, one extremely long rod, and 2 regulars. OUCH. It's definitely time though, so onward we march :)

To something similar to this in the dining room I hope. One long rod over two. I think it adds so much to a room - especially a dining room).

And while he's feeling handy, maybe just MAYBE we can get him to bust out the paint clothes and give me something in this shade of grey. If he gets tired, he can just keep to the bedroom and bathroom for now. I'll understand.

But if he REALLY loves me - and something tells me my dad would love me enough (inserted for effect/guilt/you name it) he would build me bookshelves like these on the left side of our mantle.

Next stop? Couch, rug, coffee table, & putting one of my mother's handy "hide the huge tv" practices into place. Wish me luck (and pray I find a money tree in the backyard).

Xx

images via:
the inspired room
benjamin moore

gray

Okay....bare with me for a moment while I go off on a random spill about the wall color in our house. Technically, the best choice for the builders. Neutral. I'll take it. However, it has some yellow to it in the bedroom, and I'm not so much loving it. Is paint the most necessary purchase for us right now? nope. BUT I really think a different color in the bedroom would help pull everything together for me. You can see the post below with some photos of it, and it's obvious that the yellow is coming out more and more as we roll along with decorating it. It also has caused some issues picking out fabrics to upholster a cushion for the antique bench.
SO, I'm torn thinking back to my dream room and pondering the possibility of lightening it up with the wall color. Remember THIS?

These are a soft cool gray that would hopefully compliment the shades already in play.

Restoration is selling paints now, so I pulled some samples of their silver/neutral shades and found these. Maybe the top center?

Or the shade, Mediterranean featured in the bottom left.

This one looks an awful lot like the first room now doesn't it? I think I've centered in on what I like.
I guess the next step is a little bit of buttering up Joey for the job, followed by a little saving for the paint. Maybe I can occupy my time with swatches and constant battling in my head whether or not slate truly IS better than Mediterranean.

And while searching for paint shades, I found EXACTLY what I've been looking for. What a shame that they are not featured in a store, but rather in someone else's home. Pity. The prints are beautiful and I adore the frames. Just what I need/WANT
HAPPY WEEKEND! Mr Jones & I plan to have a date @ the gym after work (we slept in....shocker) then head for a dinner date then home for wine and a puzzle. "Wine and a puzzle?" you might ask. Well, our church has 21 days of fasting. I was the bright one who gave up TV. I am reading a LOT of books, analyzing the entire house (hence these posts), and re-organizing every nook and cranny of the house. One week to go. Wish me luck.

Images via

Door Sixteen

Decor

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Sunny Xx

Around the house update.....

I've been busy working on one thing at a time, and growing more and more frustrated at the "one at a time" part.....I'm the type who wants it all NOW. Who isn't?

Our most recent purchase was one of my favorites so far! After living with the linen white curtains inherited from my old house, we took the plunge and purchased these charcoal vintage velvet drapes. I couldn't be happier to sleep in our new cave thanks to the light it so lovingly shuts out while we slumber.

My office got the old bedroom curtains. Nope, not happy, however once we stick the third row of frames back (according to Denise, they were "much too high".....I have SO much to learn she says) and I get my new acid splattered cow hide (oh yeah, I'm pretty much stoked about that) then hopefully I'll find it a little less sterile in there. Those darn french doors will cost mucho dinero so I've decided to make myself content with what I have for now. (ps: Dear husband, what an AMAZING way to say happy 2nd anniversary or happy Valentine's, or happy YOU ROCK day.......but I digress.....)

And I've finally decided to officially call one room in the house complete. The guest bath has been a doosy for me to figure out what to do with, so as usual, I kept things white :) Only problem being I'd like to replace the bath rug with a stark white fresh one so that guests can get mud on it and I'll have something to "stress" over. I set myself up for disaster sometimes I think.




And 2 of my favorite things to come home to this evening? Why a handsome man in my kitchen cooking grilled chicken topped with roma tomatoes, feta, and basil. I taught him well :)
And on a totally random side note, how cute is this letter we got in the mail from my brother in law and his lady friend? They gave every one little scratch off lottery tickets from Texas (where they live) attached to the Christmas gifts they brought. Lucky Mr and Mrs Jones scratched off $50.00 :) These crazy kids mailed us the money! We would have TOTALLY kept it....I kid, but not really.

Happy Happy Friday Eve.
Xx

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

From our home to yours

Getting Prepared

Aspyn has been helping us get the house ready for an engagement party we're throwing for some sweet friends next month....

First on her agenda? Welcoming committee of course!
Showing me that maybe the plunge should be made in the curtain department....at about 200 a panel it isn't going to be fun (I thought tall ceilings and high windows was a plus)
She'll tell everyone goodbye when they leave, thanking them for coming and insisting that they come again
And hopefully we'll find a way to clean things up and get back to taking our time with the rest. I love that an event is speeding the house "project" along, but at the same time I am all about taking our time and saving some money while we're at it for the fun things in life.

Speaking of cleaning, this is what I came home to after a wedding shoot recently.....
I knew immediately that either someone died or Mr Jones was surprising me with dinner. Thank goodness Jamie Cullum playing our wedding music loud and clear signaled to me that it was, in fact, the latter.

Things are moving along

Well, the office space is coming right along.....
here's a little peak from the hallway.....
I am happy to say I stole mom's antlers......not her antlers, technically they belonged to a deer but Restoration gather them up and my mom gave them a home. Now they have a new one until she notices it and realizes what's happened.

A gift from my sister.....shipped overnight from NYC just in time for my 25th

>and a little wall art with photos from my family's past........
Joey painted my mirror and hung it while I was working hard. He really is helping make this house a home.
and my little Chloe. A birth announcement I did for a friend's little one.
Hope your weekends were fabulous. We spent Friday evening @ home, I shot a wedding saturday, went to a friend's lingerie shower, and today we had some fun pics taken by an amazing friend to celebrate our one year of marriage and first home. I'm EXHAUSTED and can't see this next week being any less tiring. I'll chose to see it as a blessing that I have so much going on in my life, but I think I'll head to bed and pray that Jesus holds the sun down a few extra hours.......can't I dream?

This little light of mine

Well on my last monday off ( a most favorite occasion to have) I visited a few of my favorite home stores in Homewood and found this beauty in At Home. After a 10 minute discussion with myself, I decided that it was absolutely necessary and financially splendid so we left together to head to the ceiling in the master bedroom.

Mr. Jones (quite the electrician) immediately set to work, but the wiring in our house was confusing his brain a bit since it was not something he was familiar with. Replacing a fan with a single light left a few stones unturned....like "What the heck is this hard box keeping me from screwing the light in?" The box answered him that he was simply a ceiling joist. . .unfortunately we didnt have the tool needed, so hanging was put on hold for a day.

we thought it was funny when the next night there was yet another issue with the wiring. Colors that usually mean one thing were seeming to mean another in this new house of ours

My electrician works in business attire.....

But he'll take off his nice clothes once I tell him that he'll most likely ruin them (as he has in the past)

we watched a little longer....

and waited ever so patiently.....

hopes were high

and after the 18th big reveal attempt, we had light!!!

I couldnt be happier to welcome another step to a complete bedroom into our lives. I promise to show the entire room (its a rather large one which proved to be difficult) as soon as a few more things get completed. New bedside table and a cushion upholstered for our antique prayer bench. I'm also hoping to have an antique bench repaired for the foot of the bed. Can anyone lend me a few hundred to speed this stuff along?

OH! I almost forgot! With some inspiration @ Leslie's and a few pointers from my mom, I painted something for our living room.

Happy Sunday!

I'm certainly enjoying..

My very own space! I've grown pretty fond of sitting outside with friends, joey, and even alone. I suppose I'm never really alone since Aspyn tends to be my shadow, but she's good company - quiet. It's nice to finally sit outside without an entire complex watching you :) We have fabulous neighbors and no one behind us.

Just a huge hill with wild grass that tends to send a bug or two my way. I'd rather share space with a butterfly than an old man having coffee in his too short of a robe each morning!

I recently joined a Bible study with a few 20 somethings on Thursday mornings. We're following the book "The Good & Beautiful God" by James Smith and I'm really looking forward to getting to know the side of God that Jesus knows. Any time I learn something new about my Savior I get pretty excited. It never fails to change so many aspects of my life - and it's always changes for the best. Who can argue with that?


Now, what am I enjoying even more today?

This photo from a friend's wedding.

My husband is HOT

It's spouse swap day (the day that he cooks, cleans, and does laundry) and I'm thinking after seeing this photo I might be acting a lot like a man....(*blush)

HAPPY WEDNESDAY

xxx