The Month of May

April 27, 2011

This past week I decided to do something I'm very excited about:  I'll be holding a few giveaways and posting every day during the month of May in honor of Lupus Awareness Month.  I've been really wanting to do something to this extent for quite some time and I now have the time to make it happen.  More details to come...

A few other important awareness dates** in May include:
May 10:  World Lupus Day
May12:  Fibromyalgia Day

Happy Wednesday all- half way there!!

** there are several other awareness observances listed here, these two illnesses are important to me because I personally know people that suffer from them.
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Splurge or Save

April 25, 2011

As a newishly (?) married couple who have not been living together that long, Husband and I have been slowly trying to furnish and decorate and make the house we're living in our home.  I'll be the first to admit that this is harder than I thought.  Trying to mesh two styles, create a cohesive look throughout the house, mix new pieces with old ones is quite hard.

Shortly after I moved in with the Husband, we purchased new bedroom furniture.  And that is the extent of furniture we have purchased together.  There are some items that need to be replaced, some items that should be replaced, and some items that are perfectly fine, but make me cringe.  My question is do we go cheap or do we save up to buy something that will last us forever?  Do we just make do with what we have and save for a rainy day?  It's really just all stuff and I wonder if it's worth the investment.  Will our tastes change so much that we will want to replace it?  Will it outlast dogs?  kids? moves?   Am I too old to be shopping at IKEA, scouring thrift stores, garage sales and craigslist?  On the one hand it feels like I should have outgrown that after college (even though it seems to be trendy now),  On the other hand, I have a really hard time spending large amounts of money, so that method makes sense to me.

What is your "go-to" place for furnishing your home?
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Bathroom Curtains

April 18, 2011

We have a smallish window in our master bath that I've been wanting to update for a while now.  When I first moved in with the husband, I created some handmade curtains out of this fabric:

Joel Dewberry
 It is perfect for fall, and looks delightful with brown and neutral tones.  However, it is not fall and I'm kind of over it.  I've been looking for new fabrics for a while and couldn't find anything that was quite perfect.  Then recently, I had a genius idea that I would make either striped or chevron patterned curtains out of some solid fabrics.  Blues and greens that feel bright for Spring and Summer = yay!

Some inspiration:

The Yellow Cape Cod  || via The Daily Beeswax 

HGTV || via Living Livlier

Mollie Johnson Interiors || via Living Livelier


Faith's Place

Southern Living || via My Home Ideas
 I love that this pattern is running length-wise instead of horizontally.  I may attempt to replicate it!

Posh Surf Side


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Back to the Land of the Living

April 11, 2011

After several months of studying, I finally took my (professional engineering) exam on Friday.  That means 1) for the next two months I will endure a stomach full of knots while I anxiously await the results and 2) FREE TIME- yay!  It began this past weekend with yard work, lazing on the couch, reading (for fun), drinks and a date with my husband, and naps.  I forgot how nice it was to actually have a weekend with nothing to do :)  I'm hoping to use most of my free time getting caught up on my "to-do" list for our house (which I'll of course blog about) and maybe squeeze in a few crafts before I find out if I need to start studying again.
Happy Monday!
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