My Home Office and Some Marriage Advice

Do you realize that this office took me longer to complete then a handful of celebrity marriages?

Kim Kardashian to Kris Humphries .....72 days

Pam Anderson to Kid Rock....122 days

Renee Zellweger to Kenny Chesney....225 days

Carmen Electra to Dennis Rodman...9 days

and Brittany Spears to Jason Alexander...55 hours

Time to complete this office 365 days, 20 hours and 11 seconds.

To see where the marriage of the office started click here

 I am truly sorry that these "harmonious and "loving" relationships didn't stand the test of time like we all thought they would, but perhaps a bit more planning and thought like I put into this office makeover would have created more lasting and beautiful results for them.....I am just sayin!

And just by chance that any of them are reading my blog today,
 I would offer this advice to them.

 Maybe next time before you rush into anything as big as marriage, you will sit down on this chair that I got at World Market, in front of my lap top and Google "The Five Love Languages" or "Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus" and read 
them on my reader ....
in it's entirety.

 I believe it may offer you some help for the next round.

And if it gets late and turns dark before you are done you can turn this neat hanging pendant on that I got at Lowe's to light things up for you. Please feel free to close the curtains that I made behind the desk with a fabric by Waverly called Silver Lining,  particularly if the sun puts a glare on the computer screen. 

I'm sure some of my own books on love and relationships on the shelf or pictures on the wall of my own happy, loving union just may inspire you as well, particular my wedding picture right behind the desk.

In fact if you happen to see my husband while you are in my office, he will tell you that I am the best thing that has every happened to him...and him to me! 

Because really, and I truly mean this from the bottom of
 my heart.........

 I want your next union to last for a lifetime or at least a lot longer then the 365 days that it took to finish this office.

All my best to the above mentioned celebrities and to you!

PS- Someone should tell Kim that she needs to get a divorce from Kris before she marries Kanye.
PPS- You can see my office  journey here.

Grateful for~

A loving, lasting marriage .


Sharing over at~
French Country Cottage
Between Naps On The Porch 

Emily A Clark The 36th Avenue

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Home Office Journey

There is always that one project where the vision is so crystal clear, the planning is so thought out and the timeline to complete, seems so attainable.........

But not this one.

This project started 365 days ago and just finished for all the wrong right reasons.

First....... it started with my indecisiveness with the wall color. After 150 Grays and 200 blues a decision was made. 

Then .....  I lost some time because these built-in's that I stenciled here I ended up painting over after I discovered that it just wasn't the look that I was after.
Note to self: Next time you are going to stencil , apply your stencil to a scrap piece of wood or drywall and then determine if you like it. This will save a lot of time and effort.

Next...... I added some additional time and another project to the list when I decided to paint the desk using the same color that I used with this piece here . I am happy to say though - no regrets with that decision either!

Then...... I  not only ordered the wrong size rug but didn't like it for my office when I put it on the floor. The rug below was from Rugs.Com.

I tried a few ( well 4 to be exact) drapery choices along the way and it wasn't until the 4th choice that I was happy with how they looked in my space. FYI- This was number 2 from Target. 

 I even thought I would try to create a cover for my chair but 
quickly realized that this simply was not my forte, and probably never will be.

And when I finally landed on what I 'thought' was going to be the accent color..... I  created some simple art work for the walls here . Luckily, I ended up repurposing the frame for another project.

Needless to say, that although my original vision did not exactly come to fruition, the look I got is even better then I had planned and is finally finished.
 So it's only fitting that after 365 days, 5 hours, 20 mins and 11 seconds of starting the project, that I share the room. I hope you'll come back later this week so we can celebrate this journey makeover together.
Curious- do you have any of these 365 day projects?

PS- Until then, I promise I won't make any changes.

Grateful for~

A finished project!

Sharing with:
Savvy Southern Style

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I would love your Vote....Please

I am not much of a contest type of gal.

I don't play the lottery....cause I don't know how I would spend all that money.

Travel Channels Trip of a Lifetime....can't decide where I would go.

Beauty Pageants....Painting doesn't qualify as a talent

Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest...... I can only eat 68 hot dogs in 11 minutes (FYI- last years record is 10 mins)

HGTV Dream House....I love my own house and think it's pretty Dreamy

and something that I also love is this Outdoor Summer Cabana that I built last summer. The cabana that let me stay cool and shaded as I enjoyed some sweet tea and read some magazines. 

 Well I decided to enter it into a contest that the gals from East Coast Creative are hosting. 11 of the winning entries will be selected by DIY bloggers and the 12th spot will be selected by the most viewed project . 

So just click on this link here and then click on my project, it is #294. But hurry, you only have till Wed, Feb 27th at noon.  And cause I know you like to spread the word, it's really okay to tell your mama, your sisters, your uncle, aunts and friends to vote too. After you clicked on my project take a look at some of the other amazing projects that were submitted.

Me and my cabana thank you for your support!

Grateful for~

Others that think my cabana is pretty awesome too!

Weekly Wow's

Happy Saturday. I must start off with a secret... I have never paid attention to NASCAR racing until this week. How exciting for a female to take 1st in the pole position. And it's not like I knew what "pole position" was either...had to Google it. What I do know is my eyes will be on the race for the first time this year. Yours too?
My wow's this week range from a delicious treat, to the birds and I am most certain that you will gain some inspiration for your next project.

Okay.... Can I get a YUM!!!  Back for Seconds  shares an amazing recipe for a Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. My two favorites combined into one sinful dessert.

Design Dining and Diapers gets us in the mood for Easter with this cute pallet bunny art. I know ... but it's right around the corner.

Kristin from Simply Klassic Home wows us with her DIY headboard.

and Home is Where the Boat is does an awesome job with re purposing a chandelier into a bird feeder. 

So, whatever you choose to do today I hope it's something you love or with the people you love. Have a great weekend!

PS- I would love it if you followed me on Pinterest here for all my latest pins of inspiration.

or

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Clearly.... I am not Irish

Well that'll be the last time I have a few Irish spirits and then head on up to the craft room to work on an Irish Craft....

Because clearly..... I am not Irish.
I mean come on, what was I thinking??? I guess listening to "Danny Boy" or "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" on my ipod does not count as membership into the Irish Hertiage Club. 

Perhaps if I were thinking, then my homage to the Irish tradition for St. Partick's Day would better resemble that of a feathery shamrock that I was going to hang on the front door, and not look like a confused fluffy, green shaped alien that may even scare the kids.

 But as luck would have it, and with a few of those chocolate coins, a simple snip with the scissors and magically a Shamrock began to appear, just as my non-Irish eyes had envisioned.

So I say to all you Irish men, woman and Leprechans around the globe that may or may not visit this non-Irish household this St.Pattys Day....

Top of the morning to you. And the rest of the day to yourself.

irish translation:Mora na maidine dhuit. Agus cuid eile an lae dhuit fein.
Look who's non-Irish eyes are smiling now!

Grateful for~

Gold coins that make everything better.

Sharing at:
Fox Hollow Cottage
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Savvy Southern Style

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I am on a Quest.....

For brightness, not necessarily whiteness. Let me explain.  With a house of more windows then I care to clean and more then the number of football players on a team , my core kitchen is still not very bright. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Windows are situated across the room and not in this immediate area. You can see the entire kitchen here. 

 So my quest began......

About 2 years ago when I changed  my butlers pantry to a creamy distressed color. FYI-  this piece use to be black.

Over the course of 10 years, four different changes to the wall color in my Breakfast and kitchen area .  FYI- the previous colors have been school house red, a gold, a green color and now the current color called Polished Pearl.

Changing the mantle color to Old White

and the built-in cabinetry

 The latest in my quest for brightness was painting the mantle above the cook top so that both mantles shared the same color scheme.  I may decide to paint the entire cook top cabinet so that it gives it a more cohesive look.

So what else is next you ask in my master plan of changes.

Well, because I don't have any interest in painting all of the cabinets in my kitchen and I like the combination of painted and wood cabinetry, I will paint the island. At this point I have not decided exactly what color I will use, but it will be light and not white. 

I am also going to replace the back splash with a creamy white subway tile.

 I think incorporating these minor changes will help to achieve the brightness that I want in the kitchen, and even after all of the changes are completed one thing will remain the same- I still don't like to cook but at least it will be brighter!
Have you been on any quest's lately?

Grateful for~

A husband who does!

PS- you can follow along on my quest here, here, here and here

Sharing at~
Between Naps on The Porch

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Weekly Wow's

Happy Saturday. You made it through another week.

Are you out for a jog or working out like me after having a few too many pieces of chocolate from valentines day?? That darn Godiva!!

When you finish working out and wiping the sweat off your brow and are inspired to create a new project, here's a few ideas to help get your mojo on.

I love the use of numbers to create such amazing projects. Home Frosting created this number art using scrap pieces of wood- brillant!

Thistlewood Farms shares how she created a gorgeous little office under her stairs.

PB inspired floating shelf from Sweet number 9. I'd say that a little time and $70 in material was worth it compared to the PB price of $399.00. You think?

I have been thinking about making this sweet  "love map" ever since I saw it on Thursday.  Hymns and Verses shares how she put together this meaningful art piece that would be perfect for an anniversary or "just because" gift.

I hope you have a great weekend. Got any big plans?

Grateful for~

sweet children that love their mama!

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The Rest of the Story of the Breakfast Area

This poor room had been through a lot... I actually felt sorry for it.
A lot of paint changes, color changes, rug changes, accessory changes and furniture changes.
All for good reason though....see this poor room had a case of mistaken identity. 

When we first built our home, this room was designed as our Family Room. It was right off the kitchen, central to the house and has a nice big fireplace to cozy up on the couch. It completely made sense to us and made us comfortable on that couch in front of the fire, over the course of 7 years in the house. 

And then something happened as we entered into our 8th year. It occurred to us that maybe the room was a design blunder, that maybe it would be better served in the room that was originally designed as our sunroom. You can read about that here.  So we began the transition of creating what once was our family room into an extension of our kitchen, which is now our breakfast area.

During the last few years I have tried to make a space that really wasn't intended to be a kitchen seem like part of the kitchen. Truthfully it wasn't easy. Color was a huge challenge and after four  changes (here) I am confident that this color is meant to be in this space. This was the space with the previous color.

 Next it was time for the mantle (here) and built-in cabinets (here) to get freshened up with a lighter color as well. The contrast between the wood floors, ceiling beams and the lighter cabinetry just works in this space.

This is the view looking into the kitchen. I am working on a few other "minor" changes that will help to create more brightness in that area. You can read more about my "quest" for brightness not necessarily whiteness here.

Looking back from where we started, I am beginning to think that this blunder wasn't so bad after all.

 In fact if blunders can look and act this good, maybe we can hang out and do things more often.

Grateful for~

A husband that just goes with the flow with changes like this. As long as he has a chair and a remote he doesn't care where the family room is!

Sharing at~
Between Naps on the Porch
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Savvy Southern Style
French Country Cottage
Thrifty Decor Chick

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