Hoarding Covering The Walls

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I love stuff. Art. Old relics. Things that hold a memory or recall a moment in time suck me in and keep me there. But I have a small house and a lot of… Stuff. It was only a matter of time before it encroached all over the walls. It is still a work in progress. At my last estimate, I need nine more pieces of art just to complete the two gallery walls in the living room.

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I purchased this crewel work of a monkey in a sail boat at the Rose Bowl Flea Market back in July. I bought some clips and hung it by the front door. Shockingly, the sellers wanted nothing extra for the mystery stains. “My husband is so thrilled with this piece,” she says as her face spasms from winking so hard.

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My sister and my brother-in-law gave my husband and myself these awesome vintage initials from an old sign (we’re guessing J.C. Penney’s) for Christmas. I love the purple color so we hung them backwards. This also kind of represents our thought process at all times.

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My daughter just finished painting this piece of art. It is based on Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It is her favorite thing she has done. We love our new art teacher, Jennifer Bonneteau. She is amazing. My son made a similar painting. I just forgot to take a closeup picture of it.

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The kids did their self portraits again this year. They did the paintings all by themselves at home. I think they did a great job.

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Here is where I want to put more pieces of art to complete the project.

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I bought this old folk arty game wheel at the flea market. I like it a lot. It was a lot larger than I had thought when we brought it home.

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I have an idea to put bookcases up here (better pictures of the niche can be found in this post). We are overflowing with books. I previously put bookcases in a niche in our home here. But I would have to wall in the kitchen on the other side. My husband says we need the extra natural light in both rooms. What do you think?

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I want to get a new couch in this room. I am thinking of this sofa in mustard or teal. I also considered a pink, but I think it would be too much. I am definitely waiting for a discount! What home projects are you currently working on? Any new furniture plans?

It’s The Little Things: The Sweetest Embroidered Hooks

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Sometime in August, Anthropologie sent me a 20% off code to use in their store for completing a survey they sent me. I spotted these embroidered hooks and I knew they would be perfect towel holders in my Otomi inspired bathroom. I like to mix quirky embroidered pieces with the animal patterned walls.

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I purchased three out of the four. They arrived and were smaller than I had anticipated. But I loved them so much. Here is a quarter next to them so you can get a good idea of the size.

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We had to buy the screws for them. They did not come with any.

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I think they really complete the bathroom. They make me ridiculously happy.

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They might, perhaps, be my most favorite things I have ever purchased from Anthropologie. And that is saying a lot. They are vintage looking. Outlandish. Fun. And completely go with our house.

I think I would have to fight Phoebe from Friends for them.

I would win.

And Monica would have to clean up the mess.

Then Joey would come up to me and say, “How you doin’?” And I would forget all about my perfect hooks. Which is just what Rachael was hoping for.

Could that be any more accurate?

Ahem.

It’s the little things: finding the perfect small little thing to complete a room. Or just small fuzzy animal faces. They would make anyone happy.

Even Ross.

Have you added anything small to your home lately? Do you have any embroidered pieces? Please share. I would love to hear about it. Don’t worry about Phoebe trying to steal them. I’ve got your back… “I’ll be there for you.”

Our Finished Otomi Bathroom

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I am so excited to share our finished bathroom! Here is part one and part two in case you missed them.

My friend, Jessica, owns Bella Wall Designs. She was such a sweetie and stenciled my walls for me. She did such an amazing job on the stencil. The whole bathroom just pops. The updated bathroom makes me smile. Just like Jessica does.

My philosophy on design is to do whatever makes you happy. And every room should have layers. Small bathrooms have so much potential, because you can really make them pop in a more bold way than the rest of your home.

Do not be afraid of color.

It has never bit anyone.

That I know of.

I wanted to share some tips on what I did for a quick update on a builder’s stock bathroom. Our bathroom is over twenty years old. I thought of replacing the vanity, but the tile in there is fairly new. And it matched the tile throughout the house. To replace the vanity probably meant having to patch some areas of the tile. This seemed risky (what if it didn’t match?) and costly. I also priced out several vanity pieces. I fell in love with an antique pine cabinet, but it sold out when I was not looking.

What’s a girl to do?

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Well, I simply purchased these furniture legs on clearance from a hardware store in town that specializes in molding. Our woodworker who did our library cabinets and baseboards put them in for us at the same time he did our mirror.

Then we just painted the cabinet a medium shade of grey to compliment the blue that was going to go in.

Added mustard knobs from World Market.

And voila’! Our vanity looked like a new one!

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I love the frame that Paul from Vrieling Woodworks. (he also installed our large baseboards and our bookcases) built us last year. It was installed around our standard builder’s mirror. It definitely goes with my Alice In Wonderland meets The Hobbit themed home.

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I love our farmhouse copper sink in our kitchen. I purchased that one off of eBay. So, I knew I wanted to continue the copper theme into our hallway bathroom. I continued the savings by purchasing this copper vessel sink from eBay, as well. Copper is a natural killer of bacteria. So, it is perfect for a bathroom. If you do choose to purchase copper sinks from eBay, it is important to do your research. Some copper sinks from certain countries have lead in them. That would be dangerous to have in your home!

The faucet was also purchased from eBay for a steal.

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We went to the local countertop dealer and requested a look at their scrap pieces. We were able to save money on the countertop this way. We also got a much higher end countertop than we thought we would be able to get, because of our savings. It is a concrete countertop with bits of blue glass and shells in it. Almost as if Alice came back from her adventure and put her souvenirs into this countertop.

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I bought the Otomi Stencil from Etsy. I have a collection of Otomi pieces from our trips to Mexico. I love the pattern. I knew I wanted to match the blue of the Otomi in the bathroom to the blue of the pattern below.

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Here is sweet Jessica, who did my stencil in the bathroom holding the Otomi piece with me. Notice her amazing vintage Ralph Lauren tie. She has the coolest style.

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Here we are in the finished bathroom. The embroidered crewel pieces are all part of my vintage collection.

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And here are some pictures of the bathroom sans us friends. The shower curtain is Anthropologie’s Flamenco Shower Curtain. I love the different shades of blue and green it holds.

I am so proud of this room. I think it came together in a variety of cool layers.

Have you redone a room in your home lately? Added any fun colors?

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

It’s The Little Things: Magazines

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There is nothing… And I mean nothing… Better than getting a new magazine in the mail. I used to receive many. Now my magazine choices have been narrowed down to four-five.

Here is the crazy part. There are no fashion magazines in the mix.

Gasp!

I just have not gotten into them. I could never afford to purchase most of the things in the magazine. I get that it is about ideas and pretty pictures, but there are so many fashion blogs showing me the same concept for less, I don’t buy them.

Lately I have been bombarded with medical bills from both of my children’s recent ER visits. Getting a magazine mixed in with the crazy treatment costs has helped ease the pain.

A little.

I purchase most of my magazines from Amazon. Here is what you need to be careful of: do not check the automatic renewal price, if you do not want to automatically renew for the next year. I just purchased Elle Decor last night, because I had a magazine credit to use up. It was $10 for a year, but at first the button was checked for auto-renewal. I checked the simple one year subscription box instead, for the same price. I dislike auto-renewal. I want to decide if I will continue receiving something I am paying for…or not.

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I store all of my magazines in this antique Moroccan fabric chest.

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My favorite magazine of all time is Anthology Magazine. It is expensive at $38 for a one year subscription (four magazines). I treat these magazines like books. They are so beautiful. The pages are thick, almost like card-stock. I love the different people and artists they feature. It is mostly a home decor magazine. It features funky different houses. I get so many amazing ideas from this magazine. Getting one in the mail is like finding treasure.

They feature a lot of people that buy or work for Anthropologie. They also feature some of the contributing artists. They have the neatest collections.

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I have subscribed to Country Living Magazine for as long as I can remember. This ain’t the country style people fear. Oh, wait. Is that just me? It is fun. Lots of bright colors and ideas. Very inexpensive magazine. I think I paid $20 for a 2 year subscription.

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National Geographic. Okay. I admit it. Most of the time these magazines will stay in their plastic pouches for a solid couple of weeks before I get to them. But I love history. I love stories from around the globe. There are a few writers that are amazing in their story-telling for this circulation. I love being transported to a different place. Amazon has some fantastic deals on magazines sporadically throughout the year. I got my subscription for $15.

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And House Beautiful. You know how I don’t buy the fashion magazines because I cannot afford anything in them? In my contrary way, the same could be said about the items and homes in this publication. However, because I have spent longer decorating than styling, I am more comfortable relating ideas from this magazine into my home than I am clothing onto my body. Perhaps as the years go by, I will find the fashion magazines less boring and intimidating, too. Plus, this magazine was $8-10 for a year’s subscription (I cannot quite remember exactly the small price I paid).

It’s The Little Things: Paying a small price to send yourself something fun instead of an endless supply of bills? Sign me up.

What magazines do you subscribe to? Do you receive any of the same ones I do?