say hello to my new diggs

At last! I finally got around to posting photos of my new abode.

A long time ago, I mentioned that John gave me a portion of the pool-table money to fill the void upon its passing. Since I could not find a craft table, I used the money redecorate instead.

Ellie suggested repainting the walls, buying some new curtains and rearranging the furniture. "Yah, right", I thought to myself. "It's gonna take a lot more than that." But, she was right! The whole project was waaaay cheaper and required a lot less items than I thought. On the flip side, it required a lot more time than I imagined, because I stink at picking out paint. Really stink. But my paint allergies/sinus issues flared up and so we quickly settled on a gray that I am happy with.

During the whole painting marathon, I was also busy searching for new curtain fabric(remember the blue stuff that I ended up hating?). I searched high and low for fabric that would add some sizzle to my boring great room. I had to be careful though, because I needed 7 panels(goodness me-oh-my) and anything too wild would make me dizzy.

I really wanted fabric that was solid on top and had a pattern creeping up the bottom, to the middle of the panel. I miraculously stumbled across the exact curtains I was looking for at Urban Outfitters.com. And they were on clearance too! I could barely have made them for a cheaper price($18/panel).

In essence, it all started with the curtains...

and a chair...

AKA the merry-go-round. It swivels and rocks, so the boys love to spin round and round and round.

Everything else took off from there. The only other major purchase I made was this vinyl bird decal from etsy. ($15)

Since the dawning of time, this wall cut-out has plagued me. Nothing seemed to fit it properly and I have been tempted many times to just fill it in with dry wall. I was ecstatic when I discovered that this wee little warbler finally found the perfect home in my wall.

Speaking of birds, here is my warbler pillow, made from grey velvet($5/yard) and mustard pom-poms($2/yard)...

This pillow was my first attempt at a zipper. I have always been askeered of zippers. My friend Natasha was kind enough to teach me the secret ways of the zipper. I now am obsessed with zippers.

And this other pillow almost inspired a post entitled "When Bad Things Happen to Good Owls". (Trim also $2/yard).

Within 24 hours of its inaugural appearance on my couch, someone spilled pen ink all over it while grading papers. He tried desperately to get the stain out before his missus got home, but to no avail. When she arrived home, she quickly called her super-sister Jessica, who rescued the pillow from certain demise. The trick? Aerosol hair-spray. Lots of it. Rinse and Repeat. Thanks Jessica! Your quick wit saved a certain sister's marriage:)

The owl perches happily-ever-after amongst its new habitat. And thanks Lorie, for the idea to embroider the inner eyes of the owl in orange. Good call!

The frame that once was blue and now is lovely putrid green.

And I purchased the huge orange candle + tray for just $3 at an antique store.

And who needs pricey Anthropologie knobs when you can make your own?

I found these vintage metal knobs at my antique store for a mere 50 cents each--compare to the $6-$12 Anthro ones. Seriously I think I got a high when she said $2 for all 4 knobs:)

And I cannot forget my chandelier. It used to hang over the pool table. It looked ridiculous hanging over the drums. So we moved it. Why, oh why, did it take me so long to figure that one out?

Meet the drum area.

Everything on the above shelf was old stuff I just rearranged.

We(John) painted the kitchen back-splash in a shade of mustard yellow.

This is where we eat.

Thanks so much for popping by.

Come again, you hear?