Wall shelves

We have a very blank wall in our house. It's one of those big empty walls that is just really intimidating. I havn't known what to do with it. It is white and would be fun with just about anything on it...that's the problem.  Too many choices.  I think I'd like to just have some big simple shelving.  Here are a few I found that I like. 

 Hope you enjoy...

 

designfromca.blogspot.com,

countryliving.com,

thelennoxx.com,

eclecticrevisited.wordpress.com,

ohdeedoh.com

Bubbles

I loved being able to spend some quality time with some friends from my college days. I love how God puts people in your life that become such great friends in such a short amount of time.  It's so much fun to be able to share life together...even if that means from miles and miles away.  I'm so thankful for such amazing friends.

One friend has two sweet little girls.  We got them some gifts.  A baby doll, bubbles, and a light- up rubber ball. We may have had more fun with them than the kiddos.

Here's some pics that reminded me of our time together:

You're never too old for bubbles

We went shopping for hours while my mom watched the kids.  Some quality catch-up time was much appreciated!

We had a late-night salon at the house, painted our nails and got hand massages...the best!

Had a fun picnic at the park...

I am so thankful for such sweet ladies and such a special time.

www.nadjaseale.com, debutanteclothing.com, bluevelvetvintage.com, boldnherbaceous.wordpress.com,

Decor Pillows

I decided to make some new throw pillows for our bedroom. We have plenty of pillows as is...I know.  People tease me about have way too many throw pillows, but don't worry, I just re-covered some I already had.  It's just fun to change it up.  Here's what I came up with.

It wasn't bad before, just a little drab.

I started by lining up a color palette of fabrics I already had.

I weeded out the purple after making a few pillows.  I like it but I already had too many!

I've had the black and white floral print fabric for years and years. It was an old vintage dress...sounds sad to cut into it, I know, but it really wasn't cute at all.  Don't worry...

...Oh, and the pillow in front was a gift.  I didn't make it... ( I think it's from Target)

Our little Breakfast Nook

We got this vintage table at a garage sale several months ago.  It needed a little cleaning. I took some steel wool to it and it cleaned right up. The chairs are a friend's. She has such great taste.  She used them in her wedding around the head table...how fun is that!  For now, they bring some fun color to our kitchen.

I decided to bring some plants inside to cheer us up.  I love freshness inside!

Have a great Friday!  Enjoy the weather this weekend.  I'm excited about spending this weekend with some sweet friends from college. Can't wait!

Urban Rug

We got to go to Urban Outfitters while we were in Chicago too.  I got this floral rug.  It really helps make our kitchen feel a bit warmer.  I love color. Our white walled house is fun, but I've been so afraid of what to do that I just keep not doing anything.  It was so fun to finally add some pops.

This little rug was from IKEA.  It was only four dollars!  I got two for the kitchen.  One yellow and one red.

Here's the Urban Outfitter's rug.  I love the bold colors.  It has all three of these patterns on one rug. 

I decided to put it under the wooden island.  I stand around it a lot, so it's nice to have a little something soft under my feet.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Thankful

We watched Soul Surfer last night.  I've been hearing lots about it and how good it was.  I cried...several times.  It was so amazing to see how Bethany handled everything and how she rose above something so tragic. It was so encouraging and motivating for me.  It reminded me to quite worrying about the little things and to be thankful for what God has blessed me with. There are so many times that I forget what I have right in front of me.  I am so blessed.  She said in the movie, Life is about so much more than surfing...it's about love.

Life is about so much more than decorating or designing or blogging or shopping or ...you fill in the blank.  It's about showing love to others and allowing yourself to be loved by others.

If you havn't seen it...you should!

Here's the real Bethany Hamilton...One strong lady!

Have a great Wednesday...


Kendra

Missing...

Sorry I went missing for a short bit. We just got back last night from a trip to Chicago with the fam.  It was so much fun.  We got to got to the Field Museum, the Navy Pier, Wrigley Field (to see the Cubs and Cardinals Game), eat some delicious pizza, and my favorite, IKEA!  I'm so excited I finally got to go.  I was teasing that all my dreams were going to come true and IKEA.  I think they did

...No, not really, but I did have lots of fun there and was very inspired by the way they set up their store and all the amazingly cute things they had on display.  They really do have some great prices too. I got a few things there that I'm really excited about. 

Still figuring out where to put them...I love that part!

This rug... (we havn't put one in our living room yet and this really helps make it feel a lot cozier.  It feels warmer...crazy what a rug will do)
 
These curtains...

This fun accent blanket...

And this pillow...kinda hard to see the true colors here, but it's really fun.

I'm excited to share some pics with you from our trip.  Our camera broke thought towards the end and we have to take it in to get it replaced before I can even get the pics off...so it might be a bit.  Hope you had a great weekend though.   

www.ikea.com

Wall Stencils

I was in Hobby Lobby the other day and came across some wall stencils.  They are a print that you can repeat all over your wall to make it look just like wallpaper!  They are only about $20.  Lot's cheaper than wallpaper!  I know you still have to buy the paint, but even with that, it saves a lot of money.

I found these online that I really like too.  I would love to do one wall with a fun print in our living room and bedroom.  Now I just have to decide on which one!

I love this one...it looks like lace!

www.wallandmural-stencils.com, www.royaldesignstudio.com,  www.designerstencils.com, Etsy,

My Little Red Planters

I have been wanting to plant some flowers to put out on our back deck. With the weather cooling down a bit, I'd love to be able to spend some time on our deck relaxing.  Potted plants would just make that time a bit more enjoyable.  Look at these cute little pots I found at Hobby Lobby!  The three little ones are only about three inches tall.  Of course, I was drawn to them, being so tiny, and then got them home and realized I had no tiny plants that would fit in them.  I'll have to get some small flowers too...

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I was craving chicken salad sandwiches for a few weeks and finally decided to just make them.  I think I ended up making way too much though, by the time I added all the ingredients, I had a whole big bowl full.  We ate on it all week....ALL WEEK.  I don't want chicken salad sandwiches any more...

...sorry I don't have all the correct measurements, but it's kinda like egg salad where you just add until it looks like the right consistency...

Here's how to make:

You'll need:

Chicken
Green Grapes
Sliced Almonds
Mayonnaise
Vinegar
Terragon
Salt

Finely chop the chicken and cut grapes in half.  Add in bowl.

Ahhhh Friday

So, it's Friday once again.  I am so thankful for the weekend.

This picture pretty much sums up how I feel.  The weather has been perfect lately (well, at least compared to the 103 degrees we have had!), I have new plants in some brand new pots (I'll show you soon), and now we get to take a breather...yay!

 I wish I could dress like this every day!  It looks like the perfect summer/fall weekend outfit!  So cute and relaxed. A great mix of modern and vintage.

Have a great weekend!

Photo from: www.pinterest.com  pin# 108873392

A Family FAIR...

I thought share our fair photos with you.  We went last week and had a great time together. Justin and I went with my sisters and met up with some other fam and friends there. 

We decided not to buy ride tickets, so we just walked around and looked at artwork and photography indoors for a while (it was 100 degrees that day!)  This is where we came across a giant table with bins and bins of candy.  We couldn't resist so we all grabbed a few of our favorites.  I had to try the mini jawbreakers. They were the size of a bebe! 

Fall is coming!

I'm so excited for fall.  I like summer, but fall has always been my favorite season.  I can't wait for that perfect temperature where you can wear a light sweatshirt with shorts.

I've been looking at ideas for patio furniture because ours is empty right now and I'd love to have a place to relax in the fall air.  I just told Justin I'd love to make some corner bench seating that we could put removable cushions/pillows on.

Here are a few pieces I like...

This first one is similar to the one I have in my head for our deck.  I think we could make it.  I really like the coffee table too.  Such a neat shape.

DIY Cork Board Walls: Post Two

Now that you have your cork cut, you are ready to insert it into the frames you have gathered. Next, simply arrange on the wall.

Thanks to Katie, I only put a few holes in the wall while deciding on where to place my frames.
She had a great tip for hanging art on your walls.  Just cut out paper templates of the general shape of your frame and arrange them on the wall where you like.  This way, you can re-arrange as many times as you need to without putting lots and lots of holes in your wall!  I loved it.  So I gave it a try. 

Here are my templates...

DIY Cork Board Walls

I was so put up with our blank slate walls I had to do something about it.  I started in our office/sewing room where we spend a lot of time during the day.  I loved some of the cork boards I saw here, and wanted to try a few of my own.

I went to the local flea market and picked up some super cheap tiny frames.  Hobby lobby had some small packages of cork sheets and I went to work.  It was a really fun project that didn't take lots of time.  Simple, quick and cheap...that's what I like.  So here's the first part of my process.  I'll post the other tomorrow.  You should make some...or maybe you already have.  I'd love to see them!

This Week's Smiles

It's Friday!  I am so thankful for life. There are so many things that we get to enjoy.  Here are some things this week that made me smile...

The rain, after a long hot week.

Bed Frames

We've been excited to have a guest bedroom since we moved. I have kept it pretty well cluttered until now.  I made myself finish going through boxes yesterday, and am now ready to paint...well once I finish getting the wallpaper off.  I have it about 3/4 of the way done now.  I get impatient.  It's taking everything in me NOT to just paint over the wallpaper. I'm almost done though.

My good friend is coming to visit with her little kiddos, so I have a special motivation to get it all done!  I have two weeks.  We've been looking for a bed frame.  I love the simple, old metal frames.  I'm also a fan of the over the top ornate though too.  It's hard to decide. I guess we'll see what we can find for cheap!

I hate wallpaper!

I am still trying to make myself go through our spare bedroom and get things put where they go.  I worked on it for hours today after work. I told myself that when I finished the boring part, I got to paint the walls as a reward.  I did finish it...with a little help from Justin.  After almost an hour of choosing the paint color,  I brought the paint home, and with much enthusiasm, began tearing down the wallpaper border. That enthusiasm ended quickly.

Summer Fresh Salsa

I love freshly made garden salsa!  It has such an amazing flavor.  Our sweet neighbor gave us some tomatoes from her garden last week.  I was so excited to use them in this salsa.  I mixed some of the vine tomatoes from Aldis in too.  It was so yummy!  Here's how to make it...

You'll need:

1. One can of sweet kernel corn (drained)...I suppose the word can doesn't sound so fresh..but the rest is!  you can make it all yourself if you have time/choose to)
2. One can of black beans (drained)
3. One or two onions (depending on how much you like=) )
4. Fresh tomatoes
5. Limes
6. Fresh Cilantro

You can put as much or as little in of each ingredient...Just taste test and add what you like.

It's as easy as that!  Enjoy!