Family Rooms and Fireplaces

Let me first say...what a wild, crazy, God-filled, humbling, inspiring, AWESOME weekend I had with the best bunch of high school kids on the planet!  Actually, probably the real first should be a shout-out to Bill for braving the whole weekend solo, and willingly and happily so.  I could not have done it without you- thank you.  I missed him and the kiddos, but it really does feel good and necessary to be away sometimes.  For just a little while.  Especially when I get to be with God in a really different, amazing way.

But here I am back at home, a clean home, I might add.  :)

I'm tired.  And a bit sore (okay, a LOT sore), and my heart isn't really in writing this long, drawn-out {typical of me} post.  So I'm sticking with photos to tell the story.  That's probably the best part anyway, right?

This is how it all began...

 ...a sketch I made in the fall after finding my inspiration mantel and surround over at The Lettered Cottage (I am beyond grateful for the tutorial, Kevin and Layla- thank you!)

Well, and these, the vomitous cubby holes that just couldn't be emptied- more stuff kept coming and coming and coming!...

You know how one "simple, little" project begets other, bigger, more complicated projects?
That was really how the mess began, and we undertook the re-do of two rooms simultaneously.

But this post is focusing on the Family Room.  I'll save the Home Office/Music Room for next time.

Prepping the wood after spending {many} weekends cutting and gluing and clamping

he primed, I wrote chapters 11 & 12

great late-night dates

still measuring, just to be sure

left side up and looking good

looking even better

that's not a mantel, is it?

starting to set up my special little corner in the back of the room...

kiddos' art work = pure happiness!

with the center

(I was seeing if I liked the tan color better than the white.  I did not.)

Truth be told, I'm not really as smitten with the tiles as I was...five and a half years ago when we moved the windows and had the fireplace put in in the first place.   However, we were really committed to keeping costs to a minimum (that must be code for, we do actually need to feed our growing babes, and keep the house from freezing over, and pay the bills...)

affixing the mantel with the help of some handy hand weights

close up of some pretty details

I'm really proud of Bill for doing this- I think he did an amazing job, and I love how everything turned out!

more close-ups

whoops, I don't think this was painted yet and I'm not getting up to snap a couple pics

I told you, I'm sore!

more primer...we needed something narrow and not too "curvy" to finish off the edges of the tiles that were exposed along the wall- Bill thought of this and it was perfect!

This is my view from the kitchen now...it's wonderful!
(although the mantel accessories are forever changing, ha!)

So may I officially welcome you to the redone Family Room.

This project has lingered!  The mantel decor is temporary (I'm looking for something big and old to lean against the wall in the center), and I'm still deciding a few other things, but it's mostly done.

We love the colors and didn't see the need to repaint the walls...yay!

Okay, that isn't entirely true...the walls are pretty beat up and should be painted again, but I'm tired, oh so tired!

That pretty fireside chair doubles as well, a pretty chair, and my sewing seat for my new yet-to-be-named sewing nook

new old sewing desk- love!

 I'm still deciding what to put on the wall above the desk

  our old tv stand (Bill and my Dad made it a month after we got married) now houses games and more sewing supplies- it may get a fresh coat of paint one of these days...

I sewed up some pillows last weekend...I still want a big, bright, colorful one in the middle

I also have the furniture arranged much more in the center of the room than I ever have before- the heat from the fireplace feels great, and it's so cozy and close; plus it gives me another chance to move it all again and try something new when Spring comes back  :)

The green and blue fabric stash above will be the spring/summer pillows, and I found some blue panels on clearance for $5 each

the hand-painted egg I bought in Budapest

I still cannot believe it survived two months of backpacking through Europe, two long flights home, and sixteen years of adorning our Christmas tree~ this is the first year I've decided to leave it out so I can see it everyday and remember that time in my life

some favorite old books

...and the tag is still on the chair, ha!

I'm not sure what window treatment I want back there- something light and flowy I think
and I'm on the lookout for a reasonably-priced, neutral area rug for under the coffee table

the storage unit for the TV and all its "things" isn't my favorite, but....it was made by a prisoner in our local prison, learning a new trade, and hopefully learning that he has skill and importance and value, and I really like to support that, so it certainly works for now (our tall book shelves were also made there, and I think the pieces look nice together in the same room)

I'm thinking of adding something above the television, but I guess it depends on what I find for the mantel first

What's New In Here?
{long} leather couch
2 leather chairs + ottoman ~ Jordan's Furniture- 40% off, and a rebate!
2 microfiber pillows ~ Kohl's- 50% off, $24 total
media shelving ~ local prison workshop- $179
sewing desk ~ antiques store- $69
dual-purpose chair ~ TJ Maxx- $79.99
small plant (ie, cat snack) ~ Home Depot- $9.99
camel panels ~ Burlington Coat Factory- clearance, $7 each
2 additional pillow (forms) ~ JoAnn's, 50% off, $8 each (used cloth I already had; Bill hearts the corduroy one)
ceramic planter ~ TJ Maxx -$3.99
sweet pea pillar candle (currently on mantel) ~ TJ Maxx- $4.99, which smells like heaven, by the way
"fishers of men" table lamp ~ Burlington Coat Factory- $12.99
"bear" fur throw ~ Christmas gift for Ethan that somehow landed in the family room  :)
paisley pillow ~ Burlington Coat Factory- $7.99
the television is also new, and we saved up for it for a long time, so I'm proud of that!

I did want new lamps and a few other accessories, but then you run into that whole pesky issue of eating and not freezing to death...I tell ya, it's always something!  :)  Everything else was already in there, or somewhere else in our home.

I hope you've enjoyed looking around!

I can't believe that the room looked like this a few years ago ago...

I'd like to think I've refined my style a bit since then, though I still adore those cheery pillows I made when the boys were so small

And this a few months ago...

we didn't fit on the furniture- too many of us!

Now we actually have places to sit {and snuggle by the fire}and...
no more plain tiles!!  :)

Although these cuties are the perfect accessories!

Now I'm off to play princesses with my super cute girl...have a great day!

**update for Valentine's Day**
I couldn't resist sprucing up the mantel a bit in the name of love...

I'm absolutely swooning over that pale pink and those luscious reds right about now!

I've never had a mantel before, and I still haven't found my look just yet...   :)
Thanks so much for visiting today!  Blessings!

Linking up at...

The Shabby Chic Cottage
Savvy Southern Style 
Just a Girl
At the Picket Fence 
Thrifty Decor Chick

Old Man Winter...

...I've got a bone to pick with you.

I've kind of hadituptohere with you already, almost as much as I've hadituptohere with this unlovely pile o'stuff that greets me every time I walk through the door.

It's getting a little depressing.

You have thwarted every single plan I've made in the last three weeks by either
1)creating such a mess the schools must shut down;
2)or freezing up pipes...so the schools must shut down;
3)or making the roads impossibly slick, and causing a ten-minute trek across town to result in an out-of-the-way, nearly two-hour-long return trip home (okay, so maybe that isn't entirely your fault- people should really drive much slower to avoid terrible accidents in the first place!)

So since we're stuck home with plans thwarted and any array of various children who aren't normally home, I think it's time to freshen up my perspective around here a little bit.

The art desk, which sits in the entry way, (well, sat, but that's coming) was bursting at the seams, and the kids could never get to their papers or supplies without creating even more mess.  Not fun.  So I pulled everything out and started over.

I ended up recycling several half-used notebooks that have been rotting away in there for years now, but I hate throwing away "perfectly fine" paper!  It makes me cringe- does anyone else feel like that with old notebooks?

Since we create mostly in the dining room, I decided to make another change and move the desk right in there.  

Ah, that's better!  What a mess it was before!  (not sure why that looks so dark, though)

So bright and happy- love it!
Of course I would adore a side table or hutch back there, but I've made due without, and the children really do use this space for their creations.  I think that's more important for now!

I actually have my eye on that mirror for the entry way...only I plan to paint it either white or ivory, and hang it vertically

And here is a side-by-side view~ this isn't what I have in mind for the foyer, but I already have this little table and it didn't cost me anything in time, labor or money, so it's working for the moment.

Oh, that looks sad, doesn't it?  But making even a small change has opened up the space and it feels lighter and airier.  At least that feels good!

I'm not exactly sure what I would rather have in this space, but I'll be looking...

Caleb is home with us again today- he's writing a book.  LOVE that!  Isabelle is after me, so I'm off.

The next project on my list to tackle is our bedroom closet~ maybe that will be tomorrow, since I hear we're expecting another foot of powder!

Please pray for me.  :)

Super Cute Outfit for my Super Cute Girl

It's cold outside.  So I'm inside.  A lot.
I'm glad I have projects to work on.  :)

There's nothing like turtlenecks on clearance at Target and some leftover fabric to inspire me to get busy.  Oh, and some adorable, cheery fat quarters from JoAnn's on sale for a buck a piece.

Oh how I love happy scraps!

This picture doesn't do this bubbly print justice- it is SO stinking cute!
I got out all my high-tech sewing supplies and got to work.  Yeah, ha.

Polka Dot Party

I started this post yesterday.  Before The Incident.  This is the incident I'm referring to.

Deep breath.  It won't be cold and dark and wet and slushy forever.

And hair does grow.  Eventually.

Anyhoo.

We celebrated Isabelle's fourth birthday with family this past weekend...and boy, was she excited!  I always feel like I'm repeating myself, but I'll share again that we celebrate Isabelle's December birthday party in January. 

I was keeping things easy peasy for this party- I didn't even have a theme (gasp, I know!), though one sort of evolved all on its own.  A couple of months ago I picked up some adorable {cheap} paper goods from the Christmas Tree Shop, a large discount store, and then proceeded to dump store them in the basement and promptly forget about them.

I made Isabelle a beautiful dress for her birthday last year, but then spotted a butterfly one on clearance at Gymboree and couldn't resist, especially since that did fit her theme for her party.  The one I made kind of swallowed her up, too, so I wasn't heartbroken about waiting until she got a bit bigger.  I put it in a "special" storage box and completely forgot about it.  Are you noticing a trend here?  (I did find it in time for her to wear to my sweet sister-in-law's Baby Shower earlier this month.  Whew.)

Hah, just this very minute I remembered thinking about making a farm animal cake, or cupcakes rather, from a tutorial I read about in a magazine over the summer...what can I say?  Two birthdays within two weeks of Christmas, and then Christmas and New Year's...my mind is a bit, er, frazzled about now.  Needless to say, there were no adorable piggy, cow, or chick cupcakes, but...

 I love how spring-y and pretty this turned out!
(yes, I know the cake plate doesn't match...guess I need to hint a little louder about the white pedestal one I've had my eye on....)

Then I remembered the goodies in the dungeon...

Look at that!  Pretty polka dots in all the same colors!  Yippee!  :)

And for the birthday girl's attire....

If you read the post about the baby shower, then you saw it already, kinda...

this is Side One

Here's Side Two...

More pretty polka dots!
(I think I'll do a mini-tutorial about the reversible dress soon- so easy & cute!)

I also kept "dinner" simple (it was 4:30 in the afternoon)- I think all this winter hibernating is making me just plain lazy!

~On the Menu~

     Popcorn chicken

     Pizza rolls

     Polish Kielbasa (Lite)

     A tray of various cheeses & crackers, plus some grapes and clementines

     Tropical Fizz in the fancy punch bowl

I put out a small dish of party toothpicks and everyone simply grabbed what they wanted- it was great, low-mess, and simple!  It tasted good, too! 

Isabelle was dying to get to her presents so we let her choose: cake first, or presents first.  "Presents!"  No hesitation whatsoever!  The girl speaks her mind....love that!  {sometimes}

She was even gracious enough to let me take her picture beforehand.  This is what she did, no prompting- nothing!  I think I'm a little bit nervous about that!

Now it's time for presents!

the entire fami-razzi were taking pics, and she loved every minute of it!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Isabelle!

She did it!  One at a time, stopping to smile after each one...it was cute!

Working so hard to cut that cake...

...so she can eat it!

Yummy!

Thanks, everyone, for a great celebration!