Chair Love
I have been wrapped up in work lately. Being couped up in an office is not very fun, especially when the winter weather makes things even more dreary. I am itching for spring! But, here is a beautiful office for inspiration. If I were sitting in this office while doing my work maybe I would be feeling a bit more motivated. Maybe. I will also have some WEDDING photos coming soon! 
Is that not an awesome chair?! Hope that helps your winter blues, and that spring is on the way!
Spring Chair Love, And A Break
Spring is here! I am so excited, and my yard proves it! I have been working every spare moment in the yard and rock gardens to start fixing some of the weed-y damage left by the previous owners. Not always fun, but it is rewarding.
I am taking this free moment to gaze longingly at some relaxing pictures, like this one of the gorgeous chair and peaceful bathroom! Let me tell you what all has been keeping me so busy! To start, we got chickens! Oh, and there is my new job, getting ready for some painting and other home and yard projects, and planning the WEDDING! Yes, we are finally in full planing mode! It has been keeping me BUSY!! We are so excited, but definitely get no breaks as of late!
Also, the onset of spring and this gorgeous weather has reminded me that there is no place I’d rather be! No matter what anyone else thinks my life should be, I accomplished my dream, and we are living it right here. That is what keeps me going each day when there is so much to be done. Just thought I’d share! Now enjoy this lovely room, and check back soon for more projects around our place!
Snow!
It’s that time of year again! Snow! Yesterday was a snow day for me. The office was closed, so I was paid to stay home, wrap Christmas presents, watch White Christmas, and drink hot chocolate! Well, I did some boring chores, too. Today it’s back to work, and it is freeezing outside! Here is a quick snapshot of my new snow boots to keep me warm and dry when visiting clients, and one of my drive to see a client today. Those country roads can be soo pretty (and annoyingly slippery!)
Beautiful!
More Flowers
A few of the seeds we planted in the spring (which I forgot about!) have popped up now! They are tall purple flowers, and oh-so-pretty! They are in the front of our house by the mailbox. Not very exciting out here, but they do brighten the space up a bit.
When I got home last night I was surprised to find flowers and candles on the table and a spaghetti dinner waiting for me! Aw! I had this vintage table cloth (from the engagement party) on the table the other night when we had friends over, so it looks all fresh and summer-y in here!
Sweet, huh? And, don’t worry, I do have a few more (and more exciting!) things to show you all this week! I am trying to figure out how to change bitmap pictures into something I am able to upload here. Any ideas? Anyway…stay tuned!
Wax Seals
When we first got engaged I happened to find a W stamp and some silver wax on sale. Of course I snagged it, but we have yet to use it. Although I’m not technically a “W” yet, we decided to test out the seal on our thank you’s from our engagement party. They turned out pretty cool!
Our supplies and our blank thank you notes:
Tony melted the wax for me. We did a few practice runs, but he started to get it down pat.
He said it worked best to slowly swirl the wax stick around while on fire, then as it drips to move the wax into a larger circle. I then stamped the wax with the seal, and viola!
Simple, but fun and a very cute touch. We thought we should make this our signature for all of our cards from now on. And, it was fun to do together!
Our Engagement Party!
We finally had it! It’s all over, even the cleaning up! It all went great, and we also wanted to thank everybody for coming and for the great gifts and cards! And, I have a few pictures to share!
The above is the general view of the backyard before the party. The picture doesn’t really do it justice. It was really nice, relaxing, and cozy. It was impressive for those who had seen our backyard a few months ago when we moved in!
The above is the table before all of the food. The vintage table clothe came from Fred and Ethels. The vintage letters are always hanging in our bedroom, and of course we had to have a big diamond! Isn’t that silverware bucket cute? My mom found us that. We also had some big dice (of course!) on the other end.
There were antique Ball jars scattered on the table tops and even in the grass that held candles for lighting up the night.
I love all of the paper lanterns. These were so easy, they had batteries! And, they were only a couple of dollars at the dollar store! They set a nice mood.
And at night everything glowed!
I hope some of these simple, but fun ideas help you with your next party. I loved them so much that I will use some of them for our casual BBQs and bonfires!
Mother’s Day Flowers
I hope all of you mothers had a great Mother’s Day! I visited my Grandma for mother’s day. We took her out to eat and brought her some German kabobs. It was a great day. Inthe end, though, I was the one getting flowers! She sent me home with some tulips from her yard. They brightened up the kitchen! She also sent them home in a very old Ball jar with a zinc lid! I just love the jar! She also sent home these pretties that are both over 100 years old! What a great day!
I hope all of your Mother’s Days were just as great!
Bit Of Chair Love
I happened upon this super cute chair on the blog Purple Area. It would make an adorable desk or side chair. I just love the black color and the curved back.
I even like the purple wall here. This would be adorable in a little girl’s room… or even a grown up girl’s room!
Kitchen Inspiration
We are currently preparing to do a bit of kitchen renovation in our house. While I have a pretty clear picture in my head of what I would like to do I have also been scouring the blog world for some inspiration and creative ideas. We are trying to do this on a very tiny budget, so I am also searching ideas in that area. Today on Apartment Therapy I found one of my favorite kitchen pictures.
I just love the little swinging door. It reminds me of old western saloon doors. I am wanting one for our kitchen. I’m just not sure that every kitchen could pull this off. Maybe that will have to go on my “someday” dream list. For now we are thinking more basic remodel in the kitchen. I would like to sand and paint all of the dark wood cabinetry a glossy white. The cabinets are outdated and mismatched. This will also allow us to fill the holes from the old hardware and add new pulls. These are the pulls I am thinking of, bin pulls:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wmc3cgAjw0k/SHeOWPk3S3I/AAAAAAAAAOc/sp4juB_wHwA/s400/IMG_6026_bin%2Bpull.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theletteredcottage.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html&h=266&w=400&sz=12&tbnid=1nyLQKGa76QSAM::&tbnh=82&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddresser%2Bwith%2Bbin%2Bpulls%2Bpicture&hl=en&usg=__noAFFwDt8FmB3VYpI7taTYFlhEQ=&ei=zCHRSb_kJMSInAfzwbhq&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&cd=1
I have also been reading that it is possible to safely paint laminate countertops. Since paint is a much cheaper alternative to replacing the countertops at this point I would like to paint these black. Here is inspiration for a black and white kitchen with warm hardwood floors:
