{ in total awe }

When I saw this transformation, my eyes about bugged out of my head.  No joke.

This kitchen should totally be in a magazine.

Erin from Rare & Beautiful Treasures took this tiny rental kitchen from this:

to this:

 for less than $100!

And you'll never guess how she did it!  You seriously need to head over to her blog to check it out.

I was honestly amazed at her ingenuity.  I don't think I EVER would have thought of it.

Isn't that such a wonderful thing about blogging?  Finding so many new and awesome ideas from all the millions of people out there who are SO much more creative and talented than I am!  I LOVE it!

My favorite part about her new kitchen? 

This:

I adore how she strung up pictures with clothespins! 

Such a fun, easy way to make a bold statement.

Remember this little awkward area in my kitchen?:

(I'm talking about the small weird space between my cabinets and counter next to the fridge.  Sorry, wish I were home to take a better picture!)

Wouldn't a line of clothespin pictures look fabulous there? 

I cannot wait to put some candid ones up! 

Thank you Erin for inspiring me with your gorgeous re-fab!

{ fall wreath obsession }

Um, I love wreaths. 

Like, totally, completely, 100% love them.

and when I found this wreath over at Dream Home, I almost freaked out.

Okay, okay, I totally freaked out.  But how could I not?  I mean, look at this beauty!

 It is simply GORGEOUS!

I LOVE the simplicity of it.  Oh, and those adorable rosettes.  To. Die. For.

When I get back to Utah, I'll be replacing my store-bought wreath (which I do still love):

with a knock-off of Kasia's adorable wreath!

Any other wreaths I should be checking out and swooning over?  Point me in their direction, and I'll gladly come drool over 'em!

{ i had a baby }

Which is why I've been MIA for so long.

That plus moving from Maryland back to Utah to have the baby, then back to Maryland, and now to Pennsylvania for my husband's work equals VERY little time for crafting projects.

Also, it has taken me awhile to get the hang of two kids.  Cause, you know, they outnumber me now.
I feel like I am finally getting there though.  Course, since I'm in Pennsylvania for the next couple weeks, so my projects will be severely limited.  But I'll be here, lurking around. (um...not in the creepy way that that sounds though :))

And while I wait to get started again, I'll be enjoying giving mucho smooches to these two lovebugs.

sorry for the quality...crappy phone pic

Ah! Love those two. 

I will be back shortly with some projects to show you.

Until then, thanks for continuing to inspire me with all your crafty genius.

{ window treatments: the before }

I love my mom.

Seriously.

She doesn't "get" my passion for decorating, but she totally "gets" me and since I love it, is totally supportive of me.

We were talking about all the changes I am in the process of making to our condo (does the list ever end?  Um...no :) and she mentioned that she has been wanting new curtains in her living room and kitchen for the longest time but just hasn't found the time to make them...

Enter me.

When she asked me if I could help her with some new window treatments, I think I about squealed out loud,  I was so excited.  Here is what we are starting with...

Window over the kitchen sink -- overlooks the backyard

Three bay windows looking into the side of the yard

One large window looking into the backyard

and two patio doors

I am so excited to get to work on these and have been scouring the internet looking for some sample pictures to show my mom.  I want the room to reflect their style and be comfortable.  Also, my parents have 13 (almost 14!) grandchildren, so it has to be very kid-friendly.

Any ideas for window treatment styles I should look up would be greatly appreciated!

{ fabric loooove }

I have a problem.

I love fabric stores waaay too much!

Seriously, as soon as I walked into the shop, I wanted to not only get fabric for baby boy's room, but re-do my daughter's nursery and every other room in the house.  Those places are dangerous.  Seriously.

Luckily (for my husband), I restrained myself and ONLY purchased fabric for the nursery right now.

Do you have any idea how hard it was to find "boyish" fabrics that were still cute?  I am picky too...I wanted cute, but not "cutesy".  I'm weird like that.    After weeks of searching, I found some fabrics I loooove:

Oh! Could you just die!  I am LOVING them!  They are bright and fun and just what I wanted in baby boy's room!

I wasn't originally planning on using a brown, but it seemed to work well, so I went with it.  And I love it with the other colors.  Seems to tie thm all together, don't you think?

I love the stripes on this one...I think it just screams boy but in a cute way.  Maybe that doesn't make sense, but in my head it totally does :)

And my all-time favorite!  I adore the pattern on this fabric.  So fun!  I knew I wanted squares, but I love how these are not all perfectly lined up.  Perect, perfect, perfect!

All this time, I've been planning on painting his room green, but now I'm wondering if that would be too much...any thoughts or opinions?  I know I could always go the traditional blue for his room,  but I'd like to do something a little different if I can make it work.

I feel like I can breathe so much easier now that I have the fabrics picked out and in my possession!  Anyone else feel that way when they finally get what they've been searching for?  I feel like the hard part is over, now I can just put it all together the way I see it in my mind.

Any thought on wall color?  Also, I'm planning on getting dark bamboo shades or his room.  My babies tend to wake up to light (Um, I guess it's just baby, since I only have one child right now!), and I like to sleep in, so anything that helps with that, I am all for!  Any suggestions on where to get those? The window in his room is 59"x47"...do they sell them that large?  Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!