This, That, and a GIVEAWAY!!!

I have a few things going on over at my old house...a DIY project, a bedroom redo, and of course several hundred ideas floating around in my brain...but today I'm super excited to bring you our first GIVEAWAY! In case you haven't noticed, we have our first blog sponsor (check out that little button on the right side of your screen)...The Lemonade Stand!

The Lemonade Stand is a wonderful business started by two stay-at-home moms turned entrepreneurs. They hand cut, sand, paint pictures frames and are now offering even more! You can find them via their website, their Etsy store, or their facebook page.

...to win this oh so cute, handmade, distressed lime green 5 x 7 frame...simply leave a comment on this post! We will pick a number at random and ship it to you the next day. And...the giveaway ends at midnight Friday, February 10th so we can get this frame to you by Valentine's Day! This is a first for us, so become a follower on our blog and "like" The Lemonade Stand on Facebook to keep up with their latest products and more giveaways...

Happy Tuesday!

Rachel :)

Copy Cat Chic

I've taken a little time (ok...a LOT of time) over the break and have been trying to update/clean/organize Brainy Smurfs room. The twin beds that were bunked at one time, then separated, are now bunked again. I have been searching for two swing arm lights to mount on the wall beside his top bunk and lower bunk to give him a little more lighting when he reads. Here's the inspiration picture...

Restoration Hardware

I love the sconces in this picture from Restoration Hardware. Unfortunately, I don't love the price. Long story short, I found them for a good bit cheaper and let my friend Reichel over at Copy Cat Chic know. Today, she featured this Chic Find...so stop by her place to see what I found!

Rachel :)

Family Room Inspiration

See this little guy...

He is the inspiration for a little updating I'm doing at my friend Shannon's house.

I heart him. Really, really heart him. And it turns out he was here all along...

Can you find him? Top, center shelf...check him out.

Sometimes you don't have to go very far to find what you are looking for. I will say he has provided oodles and oodles of inspiration. It's like he spoke to me. Seriously. Charlie Horse now has a shelf front and center. All by himself. Just as it should be. I can't wait to show you the rest.

Rachel :)

The Details of the Back Deck

When Jules and I first started talking about this project, the number one thing she wanted from her back deck was for it to become another dining area. As much as I would have loved to used the table and chairs they had, it wasn't working in the area. Big, round, and bulky, the table only sat four people with no room for more. I have a love for farmhouse tables and picnic tables, so out with the old and in with the new...

Before

After

After

The new picnic table fits in the area perfectly. You can sit eight kids or six adults with plenty of room on all sides to move around. I purchased the traditional picnic table from Lowes. After a good sanding, I stained it using Cabot Dark Walnut Wood Stain and used Cabot Spar Varnish in Satin for the nice sheen and to protect it from the elements. A two inch hole was drilled in the center of the table, and was I excited to use the umbrella she already had.

She also wanted a buffet that would act as storage and could double as another eating area. I found this great piece of furniture in her basement. Yes...the basement...

I took it home and cleaned it with the original plan to paint it. After much thought I decided it would be a lot easier to paint it later than to strip it...so I left it as is...

before

After

The vignette is complete with two topiaries in galvanized buckets. I was super happy she wanted me to remove the original light fixture and even happier when she liked the nautical one I found at Lowes. The counter stools from Overstock.com are a metal replica of a tolix stool, and she LOVES them. They fit perfectly and are super functional giving more seating there or at the ends of the picnic table. Above the buffet is an antique (yay) glass window that I turned into an outdoor chalkboard. I definitely have an obsession with chalkboards. An upside down drawer pull was screwed into the bottom corner of the frame so they never have to hunt for chalk. And...how adorable is that message!?!...I love this family!!

Remember the mismatched back doors?...

They now stand out and match after getting a fresh coat of a black satin oil based paint. I love a good black door!





In the corner was another fabulous find...When Jules and I met for the first time, the kids were having a great time pushing this vintage metal cart with caster wheels around the backyard...

Yes, it was a little sad that day, but it loving it's new home with with an old metal red cooler. How awesome is that!?! Another find from my favorite thrift store in town!

And this is the area where the grill used to sit. A few weeks ago it looked liked this...

A few pallets, cushions, and pillows later they now have a comfortable place to curl up with a good book!

Jules also had a few planters that she wasn't using. Isn't great when you can use things that you already have? I put them to good use...

They are now on the railing of the stairs to the deck complete with pansies...

And that's the entire tour! Last post about the deck...I promise!

Rachel :)

Fridays Find

I recently stumbled upon a blog that I have fallen in love with...Our Vintage Home Love. Not only does Diana have really awesome skills, but she makes these fabulous bread boards that you can buy in her Etsy store. She puts them up every Monday morning, but know that they sell fast!! She is super talented, just look at how awesome her house is...

I also adore her kitchen...



I love the open shelving and stacks of solid white dishes. Turns out she bought them at the Dollar Tree and swears by their ability to handle the bumps that go along with kids (she has four!). Affordable, practical, and easy on the eyes...what's not to love?!?

Rachel :)

So...it's been a super crazy week! I'm hoping to get caught up on my photography challenge this weekend!

Friday's Find and More!

Our local Habitat ReStore is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I try to go once a week, but sometimes we get so busy the days fly by and its Sunday before I realize I never made it. Last week I took a girlfriend for her very first ReStore experience. $10 later, I walked out with these...

My goal is to make them look like this:

Pottery Barn

I know they are not beautiful yet, but I love their size and shape. Mr. T said we needed more lamps (can't you hear the sarcasm?!?) So, for now, they are hanging out in the attic but I have a feeling they will make an appearance sooner rather than later.

On another note, I was able to get a bunch accomplished yesterday, including whipping up these two cuties for my very favorite BFF. A little bright for me (I am still scared of color) I think they will be just what she's looking for.

And last...the Photography Challenge. Day 2. What You Wore Today. Hear you go...

Seriously. I can't take pictures of myself forever. I managed to figure out the self timer. And I managed to cut my head off. Maybe I'll find it before Monday. Have a GREAT weekend!

Rachel :)

Obsessed

I have a new addiction...I know it's completely random, but it incorporates my love of history and things that are cool. I've decided to start a collection, which is a pretty big step for me because I'm not a collection having kind of girl. Unless you count Cabbage Patch Kids (elementary school), converse (middle school), stamps (dare I say high school...yeah, I was cool),  and snow globes (what was I thinking?!?)

So back to it, my new addiction, obsession, infatuation, and hopefully collection are Japanese Glass Fishing Floats. When it comes to things like this I am generally a day late and a dollar short. I am so unlike Marlene who wears clothes a good year or two before they are trendy. I'm definitely a late bloomer, so if you know all about them then you can just stop reading here.

If not...

Japanese Glass Fishing Floats were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their nets afloat. Large groups of fishnets strung together, sometimes 50 miles (80 km) long, were set adrift in the ocean and supported near the surface by hollow glass balls or cylinders containing air to give them buoyancy. These glass floats are no longer being used by fishermen, but many of them are still afloat in the world's oceans, primarily the Pacific. The earliest floats, including most Japanese glass fishing floats, were hand made by a glassblower. Recycled glass, especially old sake bottles, was typically used and air bubbles in the glass are a result of the rapid recycling process. After being blown, floats were removed from the blowpipe and sealed with a 'button' of melted glass before being placed in a cooling oven. (This sealing button is sometimes mistakenly identified as a pontil mark. However, no pontil (or punty) was used in the process of blowing glass floats.) While floats were still hot and soft, marks were often embossed on or near the sealing button to identify the float for trademark.

Today most of the glass floats remaining in the ocean are stuck in a circular pattern of ocean currents in the North Pacific. Although the number of glass floats is decreasing steadily, many floats are still drifting on these ocean currents. Occasionally storms or certain tidal conditions will break some floats from this circular pattern and bring them ashore. They most often end up on the beaches of Alaska, Washington or Oregon in the United States, Taiwan or Canada. It is estimated that floats must be a minimum of 7–10 years old before washing up on beaches in Alaska. Most floats that wash up, however, would have been afloat for 10 years. Once a float lands on a beach, it may roll in the surf and become "etched" by sand. Many glass floats show distinctive wear patterns from the corrosive forces of sand, sun, and salt water. When old netting breaks off of a float, its pattern often remains on the surface of the glass where the glass was protected under the netting. Other floats have small amounts of water trapped inside of them. This water apparently enters the floats through microscopic imperfections in the glass while the floats are suspended in Arctic ice or held under water by netting. To accommodate different fishing styles and nets, the Japanese experimented with many different sizes and shapes of floats, ranging from 2 to 20 inches (510 mm) in diameter. Most were rough spheres, but some were cylindrical or “rolling pin” shaped. Most floats are shades of green because that is the color of glass from recycled sake bottles (especially after long exposure to sunlight). However, clear, amber, aquamarine, amethyst, blue and other colors were also produced. The most prized and rare color is a red or cranberry hue. These were expensive to make because gold was used to produce the color. Other brilliant tones such as emerald green, cobalt blue, purple, yellow and orange were primarily made in the 1920s and 30s.

no...I'm not that smart, information was copied and pasted from Wikipedia

Marlene is going to make so much fun of me for this very nerdy post, but before you jump to any conclusions, check out these awesome pictures...



all images via For the Love of a House

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Apparently these are pretty rare, although fakes (good ones and bad ones) are fairly easy to find. Is a good fake as good as an original? Would you know the difference? Would your friends? Does it matter...?

Rachel :)

Friday's Find

A few months ago I ran across this picture from Pinterest:

For the Love of a House

First, I love, love, love this kitchen. Completely my style. 110%. If you do one thing today, CLICK on the link. You will heart it too. Second, I really heart the glass canisters under the cabinet. I heart them so much that when I ran across them at WalMart (yes, I really said WalMart) I bought three. Here they are:

The great thing about these...they are $6.97...super affordable! The bad thing...there is no seal. Fine for dog treats and popcorn. You probably wouldn't want to fill them with baking ingredients. Have a super great Friday!

Rachel :)

Friday's Find

I can't go longer than a week ago without venturing into some sort of antique, thrift, junk, salvage store. Call them what you want...I HEART them. Because of this, and because of all the cool things I find, I am going to start a weekly series called "Friday's Find" to share my rummaging experiences with you. Sometimes I buy. Sometimes I don't. I have a board on Pinterest called "Things to Hunt For" if you ever want to see what I'm looking for. It's the stuff I'm not looking for that gets me.

I've wanted a runner for our kitchen for some time. For a while I had my heart set on the Farrah Rug from Ballard Designs. I waited and waited for it to go on sale. I waited so long they discontinued it. I even stalked Dana over at House Tweaking to see if she would keep an eye out for one at the Ballard Outlet near her house (I'm pretty sure I now can't go within 1000 feet of her house...) Unfortunately, she doesn't want to be my personal shopper or my best friend, so I'm still stuck with Marlene (who wouldn't even call the Ballard Outlet near her house). Turns out the Farrah Rug is back in. I'm keeping it on the back burner...because here's what I found yesterday...

It's a 9 foot, large weave, sisal rug from The Company Store. I got so excited and called Marlene who said, "The Company Store has rugs?" Whatever. It's still a little janky from being rolled up, but it is beeeeeuuuuutiful and in great condition. I HEART my favorite thrift store!

Rachel :)

Organic Bloom

If you haven't heard of Organic Bloom yet, rest easy...you will! They are a framing company based in Oklahoma, run by a very cute 20ish husband and wife team. Their business exploded overnight and when you take a look at these pictures you will know why. The good news: they rock! The bad news: they only sell to independent photographers...

my personal favorite

You can learn more about them from their website, blog, or facebook page! All images via Organic Bloom.

Rachel :)