Operation: Window Treatments

Well, the house is officially de-Christmas-ified. I'm usually a little sad when it comes time to take down that big lush Christmas tree but after looking through the new spring Pottery Barn catalog, I was instantly motivated to de-winterize the house. Yes, it's barely into January and I am already thinking about spring. Sad.

Once the Christmas tree and all the other winter greenery was taken down, the living room looked pretty bare. It could also be because there is still one major thing missing in our living room...

Curtains.







There is a major lack of window treatments, but definitely not a major lack of windows. One of my favorite parts of living here is the huge amount of natural light the place gets. Everything on the main floor is always so bright and sunny!



Ahh! Just lovely. :)

So right now, I am totally focused on dressing my naked windows. (And that big empty wall above the couch- I've got a few ideas for that.)

I actually have lots of curtain panels; they're pretty much coming out of my ears, but none are the right color, size, or quantity. (I smell a garage sale coming this summer.) I would love to have these burlap drapes from my beloved Pottery Barn:



But at $89 bucks a pop, that's not even an option. (I need 8 panels for the living room alone.) So I'm on the hunt for inexpensive curtains. Ideally, I would like to find some in the same color family as those from PB. I played around in Paint to show you what it could look like (As always, click the picture to see it bigger):



Pretty, right?

Or what about off-white?



I could get wild and crazy and opt for a print:



Or maybe not.

I'll let you know what I come up with!

Is There Anything Better?

Is there anything better than buying a bright yellow ruffled and polka-dotted tank top in the middle of January just because I can?



Or maybe finding a pair of jeans that fit like a glove, then looking at the price tag to find a neon orange sticker with "$11.99" stamped on it?



What about getting the very last adorable ruffled gray coat on sale - and in my size, nonetheless?



Or how about topping off a perfect day of shopping with a hot and minty Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks?



I think not. :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is just days away, and I am ready!


The presents are wrapped...


...and sitting happily under the tree.


The Christmas baking is under way...


...and the decorations are in place!

Christmas time will always hold a special place in my heart, not only because it's celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but because it will always be a reminder of the day Jesse proposed to me!



2 years ago today, on December 23rd, he asked me to be his wife! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Comfort & Joy

Comfort and joy is exactly what we've been experiencing since we've moved to our new place. It's all coming together perfectly, and already feels like home! I still have some decorating to do, of course. (That big empty wall above the couch is just screaming, "decorate me!!") I just thought I would give you all a little sneak peek at how it's lookin'!

We just put up the Christmas tree last night. I was worried that maybe we wouldn't be able to get a tree this year will all the moving, unpacking, and painting we were doing, but my sweet mother-in-law gave us her old tree as a gift. What a Christmas blessing. :) It's my first ever fake tree, but it's just as pretty and just as special.

Now if only I could find some time to do my Christmas shopping. I haven't started and Christmas is only 11 days away... that sounds about right. I always have and always will be a procrastinator.

Out With the Old, In With the New!

Say goodbye to the outdated crusty kitchen...

And hello to my brand spankin' new kitchen! Isn't she beautiful?!

We're officially all moved into our new place, and we are loving everything about it; the privacy, the space, the newness of everything, the DISHWASHER... It's a dream. I only have pictures of the kitchen thus far because although we are all moved in, we are not all unpacked and organized. Everything is still a little chaotic, and Jesse's deer heads are laying all over the dining and living room floors. I'm sure nobody wants to see that. :)

I painted the island right away to brighten up the kitchen a bit. I used an Olde Century paint color called Buttermilk, the same color I used to paint our entertainment center.

One painting project down, many more to go. I plan on painting the kitchen, the living room, the master bedroom, and the spare bedroom. Ahh!