summer sandals

 Thanks to the miracle that is Pinterest, I found a project to snazzy-up some basic flat sandals.  I wanted the tan-colored shoes, but H&M only had the black ones by the time I found this project and got myself to the store.  They were around $18 and I already have quite a stash of embroidery floss.  All I did was wrap the string around the strap of the sandal, making sure to hide the knots on the bottom.  It took me about 15-20 minutes per shoe, and I opted NOT to superglue anything to the shoe.  This way, I can cut the strings off and change the colors at a later time.  Booyah!

party party

We had some folks over to celebrate our finished floor project!  But I have a confession.  The floors are not actually complete.  The transition pieces are still missing!  Partially out of our control though.  These special transition boards were on back order for THREE WEEKS!  They should be arriving in the next few days.  Then we can be totally and completely and honestly finished.

Check out this OLD picture from when we first moved in!!  That kitchen light is so ugly.  The curtains are so heavy.  Theres a pony in the nook wearing my scooter helmet.  The kitchen is green.  And the floor... ick.

Here are some picture of our little party:

And here is a sneak peek at David's ALMOST complete desk project:

dipped

It looks like dippin' and color-blockin' are all the rage these days.  And I am totally OK with that.  I painted the peg legs of our living room chairs for a little dip effect and I love it.  I have a few other projects in mind like THIS ONE I stumbled across a while ago.  And THIS ONE and THIS ONE I recently discovered, but am waiting for the next credit card statement in order to spend any more dollars.  Plus, I am still loving this clutch for summertime.  So I can wait.  I think.

In the meantime, I dipped our wooden spoons!  About 5 minutes (apart from drying time) and zero dollars.  I used a couple of the tester tubs from our kitchen/bathroom/guest room paint choices, and some acrylic paint I already had.  Aren't they fun?

nice shades

I've been thinking about lamps lately.  With our fabulous re-dos on the main floor, the lighting needed updating as well.  Mary & Ben gave us this yellow one (I've had my eye on it for some time... it came from his family's lake house in Snow Camp, NC) and I found this neutral & textured shade at Target.  Perfect!

I updated our entry table lamp as well, because I didn't want two yellow lamps.  This simple shade goes perfectly with the base!  I will save the old shade in case we want to mix it up again later.

I swear that pic is not black & white.  

It looks kinda blah in this tiny pic, but the table below it has bright blue legs, so it works well with a more neutral/calm lamp on top.

I found this mercury glass lamp at TJ Maxx.  I thought it would do nicely with the mercury glass finials now framing the windows in the living room.  It ended up being 1. too short and 2. too dressy for the casual hang-out space we wanted to create.  But, I still like the lamp so it lives in the craft room now on my sweet sweet new desk (my birthday present from David).

In our house, there is only overhead lighting in the bathrooms and kitchen.  This is why I need to think about lamps so much!  I saw a neat idea for pendant lamps, so if we ever change up the dining area light, I think we will try this:  1 lamp shade plus 1 lighting kit.  Simple and inexpensive.  The shade is the focal point and where you could "splurge" if you want since there is no need for an actual fixture.  This would also be cheap and easy to change out so you can keep your home ever-changing and interesting!