Design Star Stunner

I have been DVRing this season of HGTV's Design Star and this past week's white room challenge was both amazing and atrocious. The designers were given a white room with a couch, 2 tables, and one bookcase. They were furnished 2 cans of paint and $1000 to spend at a grocery store. One contestant actually copied a design from a previous season, one didn't even finish and another just when crazy with paint. But When Nathan's gem was put on the screen I was smitten.

{Chandelier- orange slices, wall stripes- milk, floor-oatmeal}

This room is just genius. With only grocery store finds & paint, he created an edgy and beautifully modern-art-esque room. The words written on the couch and the pop of the orange, just amazing... although I would have liked a different shade of blue on the tables. Who thinks of dripping milk down a wall? A design star, that's who! a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Click here to see all the rooms from the challenge.

It makes me think, what is the strangest thing you have put into your home for the love of design?

Image courtesy of HGTV

New Neighbors and Growers

While waiting for the furry one to do his business, I found this guy on a nearby tree.

Don't you just love symmetry?

But I really wanted to give you an update on my Madison Jasmine. I planted these vines a while back and they are growing like crazy! They are taller than I am and are quickly wrapping around the columns that will be their new home. I give them lots of water and I temporarily staple them to train them up the columns. So far, so great!

Even my ivy is thriving around its trellis.

You have any new sprouts or visitors of the insect variety?

I can't believe it!

I will be back at the workplace promptly at 7:30am tomorrow morning for the first Faculty Meeting of the 2009-2010 school year. The past two months have FLOWN by. It began with a pergola, followed by a 4th of July shin-dig, then headed outside for some landscaping, then back inside for a guest room re-do, and finished with Erik and I on the couch watching some TV and relaxing. This summer has been one of the busiest, but a good one.



I'm looking forward to having a schedule again and actually dressing before noon. Don't get me wrong, I love the R & R of the summer, but it can get old, and I think if I come up with one more project to do Erik will flip! So here's to the Back to School Madness! Welcome back traffic, soccer practice, and packing lunches!

{image from here}

Must Have: JR Watkins

On one of my many trips to Target I stumbled upon this wonderful line of products. I am a sucker for packaging and this company wins hands down for best designs, but I also chose to purchase from their line because JR Watkins boasts that they are:

Committed to being America's most trusted natural products company, Watkins adheres strictly to the same quality standards set forth by its founder J.R. Watkins. J.R. Watkins Natural Apothecary line of personal care contains only natural, environmentally friendly ingredients from renewable resources, avoiding chemicals like parabens, sulfates, phthalates and more and is one of very few lines to be certified by the Natural Products Association.

I picked up their Aloe and Green Tea Hand soap, and I'm in love! The scent is subtle yet refreshing. I must admit that it is hard to stray away from Method, but change is always good once in a while. And with more and more choices when it comes to green product lines, the more we use them, the more likely that Clorox, and other harsh chemical cleaners, will leave the shelves for good!

All the Little Things

Here's a final look at the details of the freshened up guest room...

{ the BEFORE }

{ A fun print purchased from Etsy }

{ Mirror- Target, Lamp shade- Ikea }

{ Vintage camping prints from Old School Stationers via Etsy }

{ Light, rug, curtains- Ikea }

Everything has finally come together. The only little thing left is to repaint the dresser and update hardware, but it's not a have-to-do-at-this-minute type of thing. So I'm taking a break from redecorating. I can't wait for the next guest to come and enjoy the room!

How-To: Applique Pillow

{ courtesy of designmilk.com }

The guest room bed needed something red. The red striped rug was lonely. I wanted to incorporate red on to the bed, so I decided that a pillow was in the cards. I have been looking on Etsy and at various other sights, but adorable pillows like the one above are very pricey. Cheap-sake on alert! Make it myself I say!

I had some leftover fabric from the outdoor curtains I did for the back porch, so I whipped up a pillowcase. Next I search the web for a bird silhouette. I found this lovely and printed it out.

Then I traced it onto a piece of stiff felt. I chose the stiffened felt because it is easier to cut crisp lines on. Cutting out the bird is next.

To secure the applique to the fabric I used some fusible webbing- a nifty material that uses heat to bond fabric together.

Now that the bird was secured to the fabric I stitched it on with white thread, tracing around the edges. I must say it wasn't the best job, but it was my first time, no too bad.

After I closed the pillowcase, the red bird was reunited with it's bed mates. The pillows behind are actually just pillow inserts from other pillows I had lying around. They had ugly covers so I just took them out and put them on the bed. They have a more natural feel.

The bed now has its red pop and the rest of the room has come together nicely. Head to the next post to see the details!

A Little Lovin'

I feel so honored to have been given a Blog Lovin' from Huma from Her Little Place. I have gained a lot of new viewers courtesy of my jewelry board debut and I'm so grateful that you all give a couple minutes of your day to see what ramblings I have come up with. In order to pay it forward I would like to pass on the love to some of my favorite reads:

Lesley @ Homemade Grits

Her southern livin', baby lovin' blog is too cute- plus she is a wonderful neighbor :)

Ashley @ Mrs. Boatman (if you're nasty :) )

An amazing sister who is so clever and completely understanding my crazy ways

Alek @ From the Right Bank

We share a love for coil hoses and beautiful orange delights

Katja @ Nestled In

Her beautifully simple blog is so refreshing

Thanks Ladies! I enjoy giving you all my minutes every day!

Getting it Straight

Anyone who has a duvet has experienced this dilemma, guaranteed. You are so sleepy and ready to crash for the night, you hop in bed, get ready to pull the covers up and you grab... nothing. You reach for the comforter and you pull up a duvet cover. This is because your comforter inside has slipped down to the bottom of the duvet that hangs over the end of the bed. It is awful a lumpy bottom- that isn't good in any situation. Bed, Bath and Beyond to the rescue.

I found these life-saver clips at B,B & Y on the recommendation of my sister Becky. They clip the corners of the comforter and duvet cover together to ensure that they never do part, until the next wash.

So I took my comforter out of the cover, and put the cover in the washing machine for a good cleaning. When the dryer buzzed I popped it out, got my clips, and was ready to go... but, when I put my hand inside the duvet cover I discovered an amazing surprise: my West Elm duvet cover already came equipped with ties!!

Finally someone realized the heartache! I went through all the tugging and pulling daily to find out that I had the solution the whole time. I never wanted another duvet because of this problem, but duvets seem to be the only stylish solutions to bedding these days. They don't make cute comforters unless you are 12. And when I fell in love with my organic cotton pin-tuck duvet I had to have it, little did I know that it was a smart duvet!

So I turned the cover inside out, tied the comforter in, flipped it through and was good to go! Thank you West Elm for being REALISTIC, and making my life much EASIER. It's the only way to go.

*Note: the clips were not returned, they have found a lovely new home with Lesley, next door- sadly Dwell has not jumped on the tie bandwagon. No one's perfect, right?

Sweet Dreams

How-To: Cleaning Your Ceiling Fan

{ Tools of the Trade: Swiffer, Pillow Case }

How does dust collect on a moving surface? I have never understood how ceiling fan blades get so dusty, especially ours since it is always running. Well, somehow it does collect, and ours needed cleaning. I have used many methods to banish the fuzzy stuff: a swiffer, vaccum attachments, and a damp wash cloth. All of these strategies worked, but not as good as the latest way I have just discovered (maybe you already knew, but I am slow sometimes so it's just getting to me) A pillow case! Say what?! Yes, the bed linens make a lovely pocket to catch all those little, height-lovin' bunnies. Here's my breakdown:

Pillow Case Dusting

1. Observe nasty fan blades... gross.

2. Place pillow case (I wouldn't use a white one, just in case) over fan blade, up to the bracket.

3. Using one hand pull pillow case snug around the blade. Then with the other hand pull the pillow case down the blade.

4. Catch any leftovers with a Swiffer duster.

And hello gorgeous!

Total time: 5 minutes

Cost: $0!

Benefits: A less sneezy husband.

Have any cleaning questions? Send me a shout!

Guest Room Update

The Guest Room redo is still rolling but I wanted to give you another peak.

The To Do List still includes: refinishing the existing dressers, re-covering a lamp shade, and making some decorative pillows with punches of red for the bed. But it has come a long way from what it looked like when we first moved in:

The golden paint color was a leftover color from the previous house. I switched it for a warmer brown. The curtains were updated with higher hung Vivian curtains from Ikea. And the boring flush mount light was replaced with the more natural textured fixture, also from Ikea. I'll have more on the other details that were added including a How-To on the pillows I'm working on.

But what do you think of the changes so far?