Monday, August 20, 2012

I'm Back! For Good! Well, a While Anyway!!

Hello my friends!  I have been so crazy the last few weeks.  We got home from our trip and my MIL came for a visit.  We had a wonderful week with her where we fulfilled Part I of a lifelong dream!  We visited the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder!  My MIL loves the books, I love the books and now I have Jemma loving them! I will do a post on just that trip soon.  It was so neat!  We will visit more sites when my MIL comes back!  After she left, Jemma and I returned to Tennessee to visit friends and to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday.  We are home and settling in.  I only have two weeks left with my baby girl before school starts!

Thank you to everyone who left their advice on our living room.  After sitting on the furniture for a while, we moved it back to the first way with the sofa by the windows.  It wasn't the top pick, but it felt better.  With the couch on the other side, it really cut the room off and made it very narrow tight hallway to pass through.  The hubs even liked it better the original way so it is back to very open!  It may change again and I have some ideas up my sleeve, but I am waiting for our money tree in the back to start growing.  It hasn't taken off yet.  Hmmmm.....  :-)

A few pictures to show you that we have been...

capturing amazing sunsets from our porch


got grass


went to a parade with new buddies


spent some time with Nana (this is my favorite picture!)


visited Wisconsin and the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder





went back to Tennessee to spend time with our best friends from college and one of my best friends who lives in England




celebrated my Daddy's 70th birthday



my aunt was able to come down to surprise him


my favorite picture of these two


the annual photo shoot at my parents' house. 
 I haven't edited them yet, but I was really trying to capture the beauty of the toothless wonder!






visiting with one of my high school BFF's!


doing a little antiquing


going to the cruise-in with my dad in his 55 Chevy


and now I feel like this...



WORN OUT!!!

This is my parents' dog, Charlie.  We wear him out when we are there! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and thank you for all your help with our furniture placement!!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Moved It Around!

Hello everyone!  Thanks for all your suggestions and we followed them!  We pulled out the sliders and moved all the bad boys around.  Left it for a bit, sat on it, watched a little t.v.

What do you think?  















 VS.





Side by side...






I know what our thoughts are!  What are yours?  Tell me if you like the daylight vs. night better!






Sunday, July 22, 2012

Settling In

Happy Sunday friends!  I hope you had as great a weekend as I did!  We have a local festival going on all week and Saturday night we spent in a park eating ribs and listening to Bluegrass music!  I am really enjoying our little town and the small town feel of it.  Our neighbors are incredible and I already feel very at home here.

The house... the house is coming along.  Most of the important rooms are livable.  That is about it for now.  Nothing is really organized and that is o.k. with me for another month.  I am going to have all the time in the world come September when my baby starts school all day everyday for the first time.  She is giddy and I am heartbroken!  I am going to miss her so much!  I am spending so much time with her this summer and the cleaning, organizing and decorating can all take place after Labor Day! Here are a few pictures of the house with actual things in it!  It looks awful so just remember... Summer of Jemma!

When you walk in the front door, to the left is the dining room.  It is so nice to have a big space for my grandfather clock again!  We actually found out that she is a grandmother clock!  Grandmother's are bigger than grandfather's.  Who knew???



To the right is a sitting area.  I originally had the dining room on this side but when you walked up the stairs, you could see the top of the hutch which looked awful.  We thought about laying a piece of painted wood but the electric boxes wouldn't let it lay flat, so it went into the "actual" dining room space above and we threw some furniture into this space for a seating area.  Don't be alarmed everyone... this is not how it will stay forever!!!


We put a sofa table on the landing with some pictures.  I am kind of digging it!


If you head down the foyer you come into our living room/kitchen area.  It is a really big open space.  



I got this gorgeous mirror on sale for $30 dollars!  I found a $5 off coupon and will take it back to get $5 more off!  I wish it were bigger so I could put it over the mantle, but oh well... this beauty will find a home!



Some of our seashell collection thrown in a container.  I love that we gathered all these during our time in Charleston.


A super fast summer mantle.  I know the mirror isn't big enough.  I am thinking about making my own sunburst mirror to go here.  I bought the shutters for $8 dollars each and the candleholder for $10 at a cute little store that is only open once a month in our town!  This store is a blogger's dream.  It is filled with repainted and repurposed items!  I got the cute beachy votive holders at Michaels on sale.  I love how all the blue and green goes with my summer pillows!

For now, my houses are below my end tables!



If you take a left by the big brown chair, you go down a "hall" of sorts to my office.  Hang on to your hats!!  It is a mess!!!!


This is just some of our art work for the walls!  I have to purge!


 Now, I need your advice!  I set up the living room this way with the sofa stretched along the window and the hubby's chair to the side with the area open by the "hall".  I felt this really opened up the room. The BHW thinks it should be opposite to create a "room" and open up the windows.  I told him I am happy to try it, but I think this way is better.  He said to ask all my blogger friends so I am!



What do you think?

Have a great week!!!