I have been busy with school, homework, and rearranging and decorating my house... Needless to say- I haven't had a whole lot of extra time on my hands, so I apologize for my absence. Hopefully things will calm down a little next week...
I am hoping that my new house will be all put together soon, and look fantastic so that I can finally show you pics (even though we have been in our new house since Christmas time). I just got some new curtains, and have finally added some finishing touches, so I will keep you posted!In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend!
WOW! I have been given my first award for my blog! Although I'm not entirely sure what this award is for, the title of an award is super exciting! I really do pour my heart and soul into this blog, and its always nice to be recognized. So, thank you to Lesa from Home Frosting for giving this award to me!
Now, its my turn to pass this award on to 7 other blogs, but before doing so, the rules state that I must answer 10 questions. Here is goes:1. Why did you create your blog?I originally started this blog as a place to keep wonderful, inspirational ideas. I needed more organization to them and thought this would be simple enough. Then, I started doing more and more crafts and used my blog as a way to showcase what I have done. A lot of the people around me don't see (or care about) the projects that I do. This then became a way for me to show others my hard work and designs. 2. What kind of blogs do you follow? Mostly decorating and crafting blogs. I like blogs that I find inspirational, so whatever that takes! I have also been enjoying some art and photography blogs lately
3. Favorite brand of make-up. Bare Minerals. I love the natural, non-cakey feeling. (kind of a weird question...)4. Favorite brand of clothing.
I'm not sure I have a favorite... I actually mainly shop at either thrift stores or Ross. I am a cheapskate, and can't afford to spend too much money on clothing5. Indispensible make-up product.? Not too sure about this one. I stick with bare minerals cover up and mascara. Easy, and natural!6. Favorite color.Hands down favorite color is Purple. Some might say its actually an obsession... I also have to put that my favorite color combo is purple, turquoise, and lime green... 7. Favorite perfume.I love Juicy Couture, and also Ralph Lauren. I have "Glamorous" by Ralph, and have sampled a couple others- this man knows what he is doing!8. Favorite movie. Steel Magnolias. Then Pretty Woman. Classics, and no matter how many times I have watched them, I still love them and don't even get tired of them.
9. What country would you like to visit and why?I have been itching to go to Thailand. I want to see the culture, and the temples. I also have really been wanting to go to Costa Rica. Mainly cause I want to ride the zip lines through the jungle...10. Would you rather forget to put on mascara on one eye or forget blush on one side of your face?Considering the fact that I don't really wear blush, I would rather forget that one. However, I must say that I have actually forgotten to put mascara on one eye before. I didn't even realize it till I came home from school and work! I had done half my eye liner, and half my mascara, and looks ridiculous!Okay, now its time to pass this award on to the following talented women and their inspiring blogs. 1.
Blush and Bashful2.
Liz at Octavia Brown3.
Ilaria at IDA Interior LifeStyle4. S
arah at Leaf House5.
Athena at Left Coast Luxe6.
Lindsey at Lou Lou Pear7.
Tracey at thrift. nest. sew. Here are the rules: 1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award. 2. Answer the 10 questions above. 3. Pass the award along to 7 blogs you recently discovered and enjoy. 4. Leave your recipients a note telling them about the award.
After all that amazing weather we had the last couple weeks in California we are sure paying for it this week! I am loving all the wind, rain, and hail we are getting on the coast- so much fun! All this weather though, means spending more time indoors. I must say, its a nice change up, cause with the sunny weather before I wasn't getting too much stuff done, cause I was sitting outside soaking up the warm sunlight, or going for bike rides. My house became a little neglected, so now I am making up for that. I have already re-arranged my bookshelf, added touches to the nightstands, and this morning I spruced up my carved shelves.
For those of you who are new, I thought I would introduce these amazing shelves to you. I scored them off craigslist for $10 for the both of them. I have had them for about a year or so now, and I am still in love with them. They are easily my favorite things in the house.
I also thought I would show you a couple different ways that I have had them styled (its nice for me to have them all in one place so I can see the progress myself).
This is at my old house...
We have since moved, and I have already styled these differently. I seem to be very satisfied with one of them, but then there is always something about the second that just doesn't seem right... They can be challenging for me to decorate sometimes...
This is one way I just recently had them... Above is shelf #2 and below is shelf #1
This is what I spent my morning putting together. Above is shelf #1. I love it! It still feels like winter, but with a subtle touch of spring...
I made the sunburst mirror and the owl is a dear friend
Shelf #1 sits above the fish tank, and shelf #2 is on the other wall just to the right of that door
This is shelf #2 now. I kept it simple too, and stuck with more blues.
I have a thing for Sea Turtles... Love them to pieces!
What do you think? Do you love these shelves as much as I do?!?!?
Hehe, that title isn't supposed to sound as dirty as it does ;)
What I mean by score, is I went to Goodwill the other day. I got some pretty amazing scores, and they added some nice touches to my nightstands in the bedroom.
I found this tall display stand and fell in love. I immediately thought it would be perfect on my nightstand as a "catch-all". I keep all my jewelery in my closet on the other side of the room, and so I like put my earrings and anything else I forget to take off, on my nightstand.
I feel like it works perfect here, and adds interest to the area as well, and for only a couple dollars I am one happy girl!
I could use it for so many other things around the house too... Which you know I am going to do eventually...PS. That vase is a candle holder from Homegoods, and I stuck the perfect plant in there. I absolutely love the way they go together!
I also found these cute little "milk glass" pieces. The vase is glass, but the little bowl is actually plastic- which I actually like better cause this is my honeys nightstand and he uses that bowl for his random "catch-all" so its good that it is sturdier and not as fragile as glass.
I had the fabric already, and after putting the milk glass pieces on there, I knew it would look cute as the backdrop. The white just didn't stand out against the light wall, so the fabric added that extra pizzaz and interest.
The little wooden tulips are a dollar store find that I am super happy with. It brings a little bit of spring into the corner!
The lamp is a salt crystal lamp that my mom got me a couple years ago for Christmas. I like it cause of the interesting look, and the light that it puts off is perfect. Its a nice, warm, slightly darker, soft glow. Its always nice to have something new and cute to look at in your home. I love to just sit there and admire my work, and all the adorable things I have or have made. Do you do the same thing, or is that just me?
I spent all day today doing homework. Yuck! So, in the middle of my homework session, I needed a break. While getting the house cleaned up a bit, I payed closer attention to my bookshelf in the living room. Now, I loved the way it was before, but it just needed a little oomph (I like to change things up a lot). Thats when the fun began!
This is how it looked before. Nothing wrong, just boring.
I changed up the placements of things, and added a couple new things as well.
These are the top two shelves.
These books were transformed with a little leftover fabric...
And I love how they turned out! That material is from my Fabric Canvas Art, so I like that it flows from one room to the next.
A pretty fake flower
Here are the bottom shelves. This is mainly where I added the new stuff...
Plant on Travel Books
*I want to go to Thailand sooooo bad!*
My retro art. I got this fat quarter on sale with the intention of making one side of a pillow with it, but I needed some pattern and pizzaz on the bookshelf, so I inserted the fabric into an empty frame I had lying around and BAM! Instant interest!
I got the beaded twig things during Christmas, but I just cut off the holly looking leaves, and I can now use these things anywhere in the house at any time of the year. I like how they look with the retro flower fabric...
I made a framed chalkboard a couple weeks ago, but soon after it was finished the cats knocked down a glass of water, which spilled all over my new chalkboard. Needless to say- I was frustrated! But, I decided to use it anyways and think of the ink spreaded splotches as character rather than flaw. I might end up changing it later on too!
I adore the quote, and I thought it was a refreshing idea to have a chalk-quote board on the bookshelf. My housemate noticed it immediately and pulled out other quote ideas that we could change out whenever we wanted.
Good Morning! First, I would like to welcome my new followers! I am now up to a whole whopping 11 followers!!!! Very exciting for me...
Anyways, I do a series called "Around the World" where I showcase different decor styles from all around the world- so I hope you enjoy this week which is Asian decor.
I love the Asian style decor, and a lot of times that is what I lean towards in my own house. I find it soothing, and simple. Its all about no clutter and keeping your life simple which is what I strive for. My favorite is probably the style of furniture. There are just so many to choose from! I love how this table has that Asian flair to it, but the owner made it a little more modern by painting it that fabulous green.
The large round medallion where the handle is, is very common. I adore this look!
Another aspect I love about the Asian decor is bringing in the elements from outside. Being one with nature. For instance, the dining table above (I know, its hard to see) has smooth river rocks just under the glass. Simple, elegant, and earthy.
Fountains and fish tanks are common as well. I love the soothing effect of water, and the noise of the fountains.
The bedrooms are simple, neutral, and the beds are low to the ground. While I love this look, I find this genuine Japanese style a little bare and boring for my personal taste. I like to take elements though, and tweak them to what I like.
Its all about the artwork too. Its beautiful, and different. My Aunt has this lovely piece that is actually one of the pieces of hardware, with the round medallion on it, in a frame. Its one of my favorite pieces in her house...
Notice the stone wall? Another way to bring in nature...
Simplicity. Keep only what you need in the room, and get rid of the rest. No clutter, and clean.
Love the sticks! Bringing in the outside!
Have no idea what to call this, so Book Heart Art it is! I am actually very proud of myself for this one! I really love it, and put a lot of thought into it, and it turned out great!
As much as I would like to say this was ALL my idea, its not. I originally saw this image (below) and knew it would be fun to replicate. I thought it was really sweet, and then I added a little spin of my own to it...
Every Heart has a Story to Tell...
I heard this in a song and thought it was so true. And how perfect is it with the story heart!
For the heart, I actually used pages from the book A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I love that movie, and have seen it so many times, that I was totally over the book. It had been sitting in storage for years, so I didn't really consider it a loss. I mean, I love the story, and I think its sweet, simple, and romantic- which is perfect for this project.
And I actually searched through the book to find this page with this verse on it. I think it is beautiful, and the perfect face for my heart with a story
Isn't she purdy!
I started with this piece on the wall, where it was totally drowned out. It didn't stand out at all. Then, I moved it to my carved shelves where it looked okay, but still wasn't at its home.
Then I had a brain fart... DUH! Why don't I put it on the bookshelf with all the other books!?!?!?
I know, I thought WAY too hard about the whole process of this project. But I just couldn't help it! I love it when I get into a mood where the creative juices are flowing, and I am just beyond inspired. I also know that more than likely anybody who sees this thing in my house isn't going to see any of these thoughts or details when they look at it (which is totally fine) but this thought process makes me love this piece even more.
AHHHHH. Perfect placement. Perfect idea
Totally in Love...
Linking up to...
Now, its my turn to pass this award on to 7 other blogs, but before doing so, the rules state that I must answer 10 questions. Here is goes:
This is at my old house...
We have since moved, and I have already styled these differently. I seem to be very satisfied with one of them, but then there is always something about the second that just doesn't seem right... They can be challenging for me to decorate sometimes...
This is one way I just recently had them... Above is shelf #2 and below is shelf #1
This is what I spent my morning putting together. Above is shelf #1. I love it! It still feels like winter, but with a subtle touch of spring...
I made the sunburst mirror and the owl is a dear friend
Shelf #1 sits above the fish tank, and shelf #2 is on the other wall just to the right of that door
This is shelf #2 now. I kept it simple too, and stuck with more blues.
I have a thing for Sea Turtles... Love them to pieces!
I found this tall display stand and fell in love. I immediately thought it would be perfect on my nightstand as a "catch-all". I keep all my jewelery in my closet on the other side of the room, and so I like put my earrings and anything else I forget to take off, on my nightstand. 
I feel like it works perfect here, and adds interest to the area as well, and for only a couple dollars I am one happy girl!
I could use it for so many other things around the house too... Which you know I am going to do eventually...
I also found these cute little "milk glass" pieces. The vase is glass, but the little bowl is actually plastic- which I actually like better cause this is my honeys nightstand and he uses that bowl for his random "catch-all" so its good that it is sturdier and not as fragile as glass. 
I had the fabric already, and after putting the milk glass pieces on there, I knew it would look cute as the backdrop. The white just didn't stand out against the light wall, so the fabric added that extra pizzaz and interest.
The little wooden tulips are a dollar store find that I am super happy with. It brings a little bit of spring into the corner!
The lamp is a salt crystal lamp that my mom got me a couple years ago for Christmas. I like it cause of the interesting look, and the light that it puts off is perfect. Its a nice, warm, slightly darker, soft glow. 
This is how it looked before. Nothing wrong, just boring.
I changed up the placements of things, and added a couple new things as well.
These are the top two shelves. 
These books were transformed with a little leftover fabric...
And I love how they turned out! That material is from my Fabric Canvas Art, so I like that it flows from one room to the next.
A pretty fake flower
Here are the bottom shelves. This is mainly where I added the new stuff...
Plant on Travel Books
My retro art. I got this fat quarter on sale with the intention of making one side of a pillow with it, but I needed some pattern and pizzaz on the bookshelf, so I inserted the fabric into an empty frame I had lying around and BAM! Instant interest!
I got the beaded twig things during Christmas, but I just cut off the holly looking leaves, and I can now use these things anywhere in the house at any time of the year. I like how they look with the retro flower fabric...
I made a framed chalkboard a couple weeks ago, but soon after it was finished the cats knocked down a glass of water, which spilled all over my new chalkboard. Needless to say- I was frustrated! But, I decided to use it anyways and think of the ink spreaded splotches as character rather than flaw. I might end up changing it later on too!
I adore the quote, and I thought it was a refreshing idea to have a chalk-quote board on the bookshelf. My housemate noticed it immediately and pulled out other quote ideas that we could change out whenever we wanted.
Breathe: Its your only obligation
Finding one of these as a child was always so exciting. It sprang about the opportunity to wish and dream and hope. Finding one as an adult is slightly the same, but I don't get as excited anymore. I love the idea that when your a child and you make a wish while blowing all the pods out you really think that wish is going to come true. Now, I simply make my wishes more simple and don't want or need all the things in life I once thought I did.
In order for me to keep a form of constant happiness, I strive for simplicity. Its the only way that I can think about the big bad world that we live in, and cope with it. I don't need much, and I am happy with just love...
I love the Asian style decor, and a lot of times that is what I lean towards in my own house. I find it soothing, and simple. Its all about no clutter and keeping your life simple which is what I strive for. My favorite is probably the style of furniture. There are just so many to choose from! I love how this table has that Asian flair to it, but the owner made it a little more modern by painting it that fabulous green.
The large round medallion where the handle is, is very common. I adore this look!
Another aspect I love about the Asian decor is bringing in the elements from outside. Being one with nature. For instance, the dining table above (I know, its hard to see) has smooth river rocks just under the glass. Simple, elegant, and earthy.
Fountains and fish tanks are common as well. I love the soothing effect of water, and the noise of the fountains.
Notice the stone wall? Another way to bring in nature...
Simplicity. Keep only what you need in the room, and get rid of the rest. No clutter, and clean.
Love the sticks! Bringing in the outside!
Every Heart has a Story to Tell...
And I actually searched through the book to find this page with this verse on it. I think it is beautiful, and the perfect face for my heart with a story
Isn't she purdy!
Then I had a brain fart... DUH! Why don't I put it on the bookshelf with all the other books!?!?!?
AHHHHH. Perfect placement. Perfect idea
Totally in Love...
