Decorating with Love

What do some people have against Valentine's Day?  So what if it is a "Hallmark" holiday!  It's not hurting anyone!  Phew!  Glad I got that off my chest.

Since the Christmas decorations have been down, the house has felt a little empty.  Then I remembered, I have a few Valentine's decorations lying around!  Now, our dining room is feelin' the love.

Does anyone else decorate for Valentine's Day, or am I the only crazy one?

Awesome Find!

I have been all over town searching for a buffet for my dining room.  We realized we needed some extra storage to put my grandmother's china and little odds and ends away for safe keeping.  I really wanted to find something I could refinish and make my own, instead of paying a ton of money for a new one.  But everything I found was HUGE or over priced!  Then I found this one at Target for $170, with free shipping and an additional 15% off !

Cute, huh.  I really thought this was it.  It was a little smaller than I wanted, but I thought I could make it work.  Clint wasn't totally convinced this was it.  On Saturday, I went to 3 antique stores and 1 thrift store with my mom and came home empty handed.  Then Sunday, I fell in love.

Clint and I went to a couple antique stores and didn't find anything.  I remembered one other store I wanted to try on the way home. 

It was fate!

The best part, it was $48!

It needs a little work on the very top and I am not very crazy about the finish.  I would also like to change out the handles and knobs.  So, spring and summer, I may be sanding and staining.

I've seen a few of my blog friends with some great finds lately!  Anyone else been having luck with great finds?

 

Living Room Plan

My living room has the winter blahs.  Actually, it has been blah for a long time.  Poor Living Room...she has been neglected for too long. 

This is how she looks right now.

Not very exciting.  

Things I love about the room...

The ceilings

The doorways and wall color

The fireplace and hardwood floors

It needs a splash of color.  For months, we have been trying to find something to inspire us.  Then it happened! 

All the furniture in the room will have to stay.  I also love the mirror above the fireplace and the curtains.

So here is my first attempt at a mood board for the living room:

1. CB2 – Teardrop Diamond Hanging Vases - I plan to buy about 5 of these to hang above the area where the TV is.  Don't ask me how yet (suggestions?).  Bonus-This gives me an excuse to buy fresh flowers more often. :-)

2. Ikea - JONSBO ORÖD Table Lamp Base - I plan to put this lamp shade near the couch with the green lamp shade that is already on a lamp we have.

3. CB2 – Nash Floor Lamp - We really need a new floor lamp.  The one we have now is very cheap, small, and boring.  I have been hiding it behind our green chair.  The square shade is what drew us in to this one.

4. CB2 - Citrus Vases - As soon as we saw these vases, we knew we had to fit them in some how!  These would look great on our book shelves to the left of the TV.

5. Inhabit Living– Reef in Plum Pillow - I just love Inhabit Livings pillows!  They never let me down!  We already have 2 pillows from Inhabit Living on our sofa that usually go in the breeze way.  These should make the couch less boring!

6. cb2 - Hour/15 Minute Glasses - After we found the Citrus Vases, I knew I had to have the hour glass!  These will dress up the book shelves as well.

7. West Elm - Recycled-Glass Vases - I love, love, LOVE clear glass vases!  I am thinking of using the bud vases to line up on the book shelves with more fresh flowers. Maybe even on the fire place.

8. Crate and Barrel – Delano Tray - We have a small storage ottoman that we use to store blankets.  I thought setting the tray on top would give us an area to put magazines or books that we like to read out there.

9. Flor – Toe the Line Carpet Squares - Finally!  The piece that made it all possible!!  The idea of carpet squares for us, just works.  With 5 pets, cleaning and vacuuming becomes your life.  Being able to clean a square is more appealing than cleaning a whole rug.  I created this rug using the Design Your Flor tool on Flor.  It took me months, but it finally came together and gave me the color we so need in here.

 We love the idea of adding vintage with contempory elements.  Within the next few months, we hope to have the room put together and updated photographs! 

Blah...

Even pets get the winter blahs

Couch Potatoes Dora and Ox

You Work Where?

The building I work in was an automotive factory in the early 1920's, located in Detroit.  It has gone through several changes over the years and is now used as a storage warehouse.  Many people would consider where I work a dump.  No joke, and I would have to agree with them to a certain point.  First off, the part of the building I work in is clean and organized, compared to the rest of the plant.  But I see it for what it is.  Even though the building has been modernized, you can still see it's history in hiding spots.  I wanted to share some of my favorite details.

Tile flooring

We only have a cleaning staff of 2 in the entire building, so ignore any dirt you see.  I am not a huge fan of the color, but the pattern is da bomb!!  The tiles are an odd size, 8"x3.5".

Painted brick

It is throughout the building and mostly white.  I just love the rough edges of the brick.

Industrial Elevator

I have to admit, I am very afraid to operating this elevator and usually have someone else help me.  But it is so cool to look at!  The doors open from the middle and a lever is used to move it from floor to floor, once inside.  I usually just take the stairs.

Old windows

About 10 years ago, the building had siding put over the entire structure.  Even though these windows are awesome to look at and I would love to have some sun light, I have been told stories of snow leaking through them years ago.  Yikes!  Thank god that is not the case now.  I will just admire them.

Old fire alarm.

It has been painted over, as you can sees and does not work anymore.  The system was updated after 9-11.

Old door handle

This is the door to our storage closet.  The door doesn't fully close or lock.  But this is something I would love on my doors!

They just don't make 'em like they use to! 

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I haven't been feeling so hot...stupid sinuses!

Picture Happy

Meg, over at House Notes, had asked to see some of my art. I have very mixed feelings about sharing my photographs. Even though I love creating art, I never felt that my work was good enough or worthy of sharing. Throughout my school years, I devoted so much time and energy into trying to find what makes me want to create. I don’t think I ever found that reason I searched so long for. I know, it’s complicated.

What I want to show you are photographs that I love, but not because I think they are good pictures. Many of them give me feelings that I never want to lose.

Rusted, unused farm equipment.

My Grandmother visiting my grand-pap's marker at the Veterans Memorial, for the first time.

San Francisco series:

My birdie, Sweet Pea, that had passed away a few years ago.  We always had fun with him at Easter. 

Clint and his father visiting his grandfather's grave in Clincho, VA.  This trip meant a lot to me.  It was the first time I met his extended family, who live in a very small town in the hills.  Clint's grandfather passed away a month after we started dating.

The rest of the pictures I have to show you are hanging on the walls our home.  They are all taken with film, instead of digital.

Lily Pads taken on Henry Ford's Estate in Dearborn, MI

First signs of Spring!

The rest below, are pictures of the very first game at Comerica Park, where the Detroit Tigers play.  The stadium wasn't even fully complete and it was freakin freezing that day!  Many of you may not know, but last year, Tiger Stadium was torn down.  Growing up, my father use to take us to Tiger games during the day and read the paper while we ran around the stands.  So, you could say Tiger Stadium was a second home and a great past time.  These pictures hang in Clint's game room.   

As you can see, I LOVE black and white photography.  There is just something that I feel tells my story better in black and white.  I hope you enjoyed them!

Laundry Room Make Over DONE!

I want to start off showing some befores.  The room wasn't a total mess.  It had great bones to work with.

Since our washer and dryer were on their way out, we decided to spring for new.  With that came inspiration to make the area more user friendly.

Here it is!!

Our basement is unfinished and we have no future plans of finishing it...at least not anytime soon.  So, I had to work with what I had, and on a very tight budget. 

The first purchase, besides the washer and dryer, was paint.  While at Home Depot, I was able to snag a can of "Oops" paint for $5!

That is the pinkish color you see in the area.  We had quite a few cans of paint left at our home when we moved in from the old owners.  One of those cans was an unopened can of oil base white ciderblock paint!  The walls got a refresh.  I used primer for the white stripes because I already had it.

For the shelves, I tried to use what I had already, which ended up working well.  The only items purchased were the pictures on the top shelf for $5 each!  The frames came from the dollar store.

The baskets are from Ikea.  I had them sitting in the basement already and spray painted them white.  They hold dryer sheets.

 

The jars are filled with the lint traps and Oxy Clean.

I have a small stool, purchased from a garage sale years ago for $1, I use because I am too short to reach items on the top shelves.  It needed a face lift.

As for storage, the baskets, jars, and vases all came in handy.  Who doesn't have most of these items around their home??

I used the vases to hold sponges, scrub brushes, any other misc. cleaning items.

I need to work on this area, which is to the right of the dryer.

After that, this area is fully complete!

Items I already had:

- Ikea Hamper

- Ikea baskets

- Ikea laundry organizers (black and white)

- Stool

- Jars

- Vases

- Rag Towels

- Shopping bag holder

Here is the break down of what I spent:

- Hot and Cold Pictures from Joann Fabrics - $5.00 each

- Black Frames from the Dollar Store - $2.00

- Paint - $5.00

- Spray Paint (2 Cans) - $6.00

- Iron Holder from Bed Bath and Beyond- $10.00

- Mop and Broom Holder from Home Depot (under the stairs) - $5.00

Total ------$38.00!! (made a small error and forgot both pictures were $5 each, my bad)

Hope you enjoyed my mini make over that made a BIG difference!