Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts

This house-buying process is so STRESSFUL!  There have been so many papers to send in, inspections to pay for, hoops to jump through.  I wish there was a person I could hire to do this un-fun part of buying a house, then I'd just move in and start decorating!  First you have to get approved for a loan, and they ask for basically a full biography of your entire life from the womb to present.  Documented.  With explanations of every detail. Once you get all that turned in, then they decide if they want to nit-pick every little thing you just gave them and ask for MORE explanations.  Finally, when you get all that done and get approved for your loan, then they load you down with required inspections.  You have to have a home inspection, home appraisal, pest inspection, water test (3 of those), septic inspection.  All of which you have to pay for separately, and they ain't cheap!  Then, they say, "Oh, by the way, we see (now that you've already paid to have your well water tested) that you have public water hookup (which doesn't require testing).  Pay a plumber to come out and give you an estimate to hook up to that.  If it's really expensive, we won't make you hook up (but we still make you pay for the separate inspection).  If not, you have to hook up (which is another additional cost that you weren't expecting) to public water and the well water tests you already paid for were for nothing."  So we do that.  After paying a plumber to come out, they decide you don't have to hook up.  Which is good, since we didn't want to hook up to public water in the first place.  THEN, our well water test comes back positive for bacteria.  So we had to go back and request that the sellers "shock" the well with Clorox.  Then send off another sample to be tested (for an additional fee).  That comes back positive again.  Back to the well to get yet another sample to send off (again, for an additional fee).  FINALLY... everything comes back clean and we are ready to roll.  Now if we could just get USDA to finish up, we'd be ready to close.  You think you're worn out from reading this?  Just try doing it in real life!

House Envy

I want to steal copy everything about this post from one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love.  I love all her colors.  Everything is so fresh but still warm and cozy.   I can't wait to get into our house so I can start trying all these fun ideas for myself!! Check it out:
http://www.younghouselove.com/2012/03/house-crashing-elegant-and-fresh/comment-page-4/#comment-992677

P.S.  If anyone out there is just dying to buy me a present, I really want this map:
http://www.schoolhouseelectric.com/home-and-office/accessories/topographic-usa-wall-map.html

Rugs

I'm trying to decide if I want have the money to buy some new rugs.  These are just a few that caught my eye.

 This is the Tortola Rug from Dash & Albert.  Love the bright colors. I plan on copying this idea and painting my back door this bright lime green.  So cute!

 Another Dash & Albert Rug... Cat's Paw in blue.  Guest bedroom?

 The rest of these I found on Overstock.com .  

Thought this one was kinda fun.  Music room perhaps?

LOOOVE this rug.  This might be my first purchase.  This would look awesome in my living room for summer! 

 This one's kinda in-your-face, but I like all the bright colors.

 The rest of these I just think are pretty... no clue where to put them... I want need rugs for every room, though, so why not keep my options open?  :o)

New house, new look

After looking at my previous post, I think I'm feeling a new look for our new house.... I'm looking around our current house which is mostly fall colors like reds, olive greens and browns, and everything seems so dark and winter-y... which I like for the fall and winter months (it's warm & cozy), but I think we need to lighten up for summer. I'm thinking some colorful pillow covers in fun fabrics, switch out the sticks and branches for some greenery and bright flowers and maybe brighten up the artwork on the walls. I have always been into black frames because you can mix and match them, find them everywhere (even the Dollar Store) and they're usually pretty cheap. After looking at all these cute blogs online, I think I may have to purchase a can of white spray paint and give my frames a makeover. Hmmm... a fresh new look may be in the works...

I like the colors in this pic... the coral, green, and aqua...nice combo.

Inexpensive Ideas

Just a few ideas on using found objects to decorate your rooms on a budget:

On this large wall, I had a dinky little picture hanging there but it just looked lost.  I needed something to fill up the space, but large canvasses, prints, and frames are really expensive.  I had these two old doors (one I found in an old out-building in the woods behind our house, the other my dad bought at a yard sale and just had it stored behind the garage) and decided to paint a scene on them and use them like canvasses.  I used leftover paint that I had lying around to paint the picture and kept it simple, so it only took a few hours.  You could also use decals or stencils if you don't like to paint free-hand.  

For this mixed media piece, I used pressed leaves that we had picked up on a trip to the mountains one fall. I took a maple leaf and traced it onto a piece of paper and then cut it out to make a DIY stencil, and painted several in different shades of red to make all the maple leaves.  Then, I took some of the real pressed leaves and decoupaged them onto the painting.  This was a pretty quick-fix for a big, blank wall in my living room.

These were super easy.  I picked up some pretty fall leaves and pressed them under a heavy book, put them in their frames (which I bought at the $1 Spot at Target) and voila!  Instant artwork!

I should have a heading called: "Objects found in the woods", because I always go hunting there first when I need some decorating inspiration.  One of my favorite things to decorate with: STICKS!  They give you height and volume when you have a bare spot, they're free, and you can find them everywhere.  For our non-working fireplace/mantle in the living room: the mirror was from an old dresser set that my mom had tucked away in the attic; the glass vases I bought at T J Maxx and filled with pinecones (found in the woods) and tree branches; more sticks/branches in the pottery vases on the floor, and then I put a weathered cedar root ball in front for visual interest (at least, I think it looks interesting...)  Can you tell I have a tree theme going on in my living room? :o)

Our kitchen had a weird layout and one large, empty wall, which I can't stand, so I just had to fill it up!  I found all these baskets at a flea market in our hometown for $1.00 apiece and the table legs I found in the woods behind our house.  

This is our old church sign.  My Grandpa saved it when it was replaced with a new one, and I found it in his wood shop.  I love the patina of old signs and this was even better because it had special meaning for us... and it was free!

Organizing

In anticipation of our move, I've caught the organization bug.  I've started going through every drawer in our house trying to get rid of all the junk that accumulates over time.  Does anyone else have a hard time getting rid of things?  I think I attach too many memories to objects, because there are all these little things that I never use, but for some reason, can't bear to part with.  Either that, or I think of what it cost originally and hate to just throw it away.  If I were really ambitious, I could have a yard sale, but who really wants to buy old nail polishes, half used makeup and old hair products?  I just realized I kinda sound like a hoarder...

Using SketchUp

Just wanted to post about an amazing free online tool called Google SketchUp.  It's one of my favorite downloads.  It's a fantastic, user-friendly, 3D modeling program.  It comes in very handy when you're trying out design ideas without having to actually get your hands dirty.  It's really easy to use and gives you helpful tutorials on how to use all the tools.  I attached a couple pics of some things I did for our new house to show you what you can do with it.  You can actually do a lot more and get super detailed if you have the time and patience; you can even go so far as to upload your own pictures or finishes and put them on the walls, in picture frames, etc. and it has a huge 3D library with pretty much anything you can think of that you want to upload into your model.  I used it here to get an idea of what I want our house to look like one day after we paint, add on a front porch, etc. (Mind you, all that is pretty far out in the future, but like I said, I'm impatient, so SketchUp kinda tides me over till I can get the real thing.)

Also, the living room in this house is really small, and I wanted to make sure all my furniture would fit and figure out how to arrange everything without having to move the stuff in real life.  I just took measurements of my existing furniture and measurements of the room, doorways, window placement, and fireplace and then you can move things around, upload furniture and size it to your specifications and even add in accessories and play with paint colors and finishes.  It's just a really handy tool and I would encourage everyone to try it out... it's free and fun to play with!