Sliders and Sectionals

We got our sectional couch! And it looks great, compared to the hand-me-down we had for years. The best part about it, besides the comfort, and look, is that it locks together with brackets so it doesn't slide apart from the other section (like the old one did). We love it, Baxter is getting used to it by trying every spot, I'm sure he'll love it soon.






The kind of sliders we do like are these. I made them for dinner tonight with steamed broccoli. They were so cute I had to take a photo and share them, Yum!

Our little sickie boy

I have been preoccupied this week with our Baxter. He has had a big flare up in his intestines and we are trying to get a handle on it. Last night was hard us all, he was not feeling well. Rory and I love our little one, so lets hope he has a speedy recovery.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of the little guy some from the first day we got him.

Shades, check!

We had a long day of errand running. We decided to take the drive north, since the rain took a break. We both needed jeans, we did a Trader Joe's run, & I needed cleaning supplies and a wood floor duster for our new floors. So we went to Walmart for the cleaning supplies, and there I found these two drum shades in the perfect linen material to go on my thrift store find from last week. The two Asian inspired lamps that Rory was apprehensive about, now go wonderfully in our master bedroom. The color matches our linen drapes and I think these lamps are a better size for the room.

Rainy days

Not much to share with renovations as the rain has delayed most of that. We are still waiting on parts to rebuild our "free" whirlpool tub, hopefully we will get that running this weekend.
The rain has really been needed, the lake that was so low from years of drought, it increased from 16% this Monday to 31% today. We hope it stays that high until jet ski season.
Baxter has been enjoying playing in the rain, he wadded through a large puddle in the back of my parents property yesterday looking for fish, I think? He has been all about the mud.
The local news has reports of trees coming down all over from a combination of ground saturation and wind. Here are some images.

I heart Estate Sales

Well the holidays are officially over and that means Estate & Garage Sales are back on! Who's coming with me?
I have to admit it's a bit of an obsession of mine, always looking for fantastic deal. While the first sales of the New Year were lacking some major finds, I did happen to go to one that was right up my alley.
A whole section of fabric remnants and bolts of fabric for sale. The woman had an interior design company that closed and was getting rid of all the extra material from her store. I only bought a few pieces, but what a deal! For only a dollar a bundle I couldn't pass it up, and Rory and Baxter waited patiently for me in the car. I bought a nice peice of French linen, a beautiful satin pattern, some great corset hooks on a bolt and more. Till next week!

Thrift store find

I scored these two matching lamps at the local thrift store today along with a great big handwoven seagrass basket. The lamps were sans shades, but I think I find something that will work for us or at least customize some shades to work.
They are more of an Asian style, and we are trying to stay mostly south of the border in decor, but I love the natural botanical design and the colors are just right for our master bedroom, and the price was right. I'll post photos when I find the right shades.

Extra bedroom reveal!

The art room now has new hardwood floors and baseboards. We have begun to move things back in and I can start using it soon. The shelving still needs to go up, and we need to organize our "junk". For now I have two desks pushed next to each other for more work space till we can build, buy, or figure out a better set up.
But check out the before and after.

Before

After!

Little Desert Oasis

We had some time on our hands this weekend to catch up a bit with our lanscaping. The bathroom remodel has been pushed back a week as we are waiting on parts. So I tackled our messy side patio and raked up all the leaves, then Rory and I took all of the old bark and mess out of the planter area and laid down some generously donated DG (Decomposed Granite) from my parents.
The agave and suculents were a fun purchase from our favorite nursery. The beautiful blue pot was a great gift for us from Rory's mom for Christmas.

I hope our new plants like their new home and do well here for a long time.

More tile pictures

Well here is the latest tile choice for the bathroom remodel. I found this beautiful 4x4 Talavera tile from a very expensive tile website. I fell in love with it, I ordered samples and they are perfect. Unfortunately the very affordable "mom and pop" tile company we order from does not carry this design, or the sink. But fortunately I asked and they can custom make any design you want directly from Mexico and get it in about 6 weeks, at no extra charge!

I altered the previous sink colors to make this more coordinating color combo with the 4x4 tile.
I Photoshop. I think the Aqua blue in place of the yellow is much more suiting for a bathroom and will look beautiful with the Mexican White trims and solid tiles.

Linen Pin Board

I took a very ugly gray pin board with a plastic frame around it that was left in the house when we bought it, and turned it into a cute green linen covered craft board. I plan to hang it in my "art and craft room" when it's finished. I will use it to pin up projects, pictures and inspiration. I got the idea from guess where...Pottery Barn! Where I get most of my decor help.

Pottery Barn board



Baxter my little helper is always there just when I need him. He tends to stand right on the project I am working on.


Here is the finished pin board, I am sure I will add to it as the projects pile up. I have a few buttons to sew back on to some pillowcases so I pinned them up on the board to remind me.

Just for fun, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2010 to all!
We had a great day today. The first of the year, we took Baxter for a long walk in the cold brisk air. We had family visit us in our new home from out of town. Rory and I went to the apple store and I picked up my new laptop!!!! Yeah!
And we were invited over to a private beach house by friends in one of the most beautiful parts of our coast. The home was gorgeous, originally a very old monastery. The home once held nuns, but is now a beautiful Spanish style retreat right on the sand.
We came home after a nice walk on the beach, and I started my first project for next Christmas. I know its a bit late, or entirely too early as we have put all the decorations away and tree is in the back of Rory's truck. But I made this fast and easy tree skirt out of burlap from the hardware store. We will enjoy it in about a year!


Here is some video we took of Baxter doing what he does best. Digging in the back property hoping to find a gopher or squirrel. He so enjoys it, as you can tell from his grunts of satisfaction.




The newly renovated beach house we visited this afternoon. Although it was overcast the sea air was wonderful and the home was just beautiful.


I added knobs to my newly painted laundry room cabinets to make them easier to open. Not a big home improvement but it makes a difference when doing laundry on the on the go.


Here is Rory removing the mirrors from the master bath closet so we can take down the walls and start our demo next week. The mirrors will hopefully be going into my art room, I plan to mount them on the wall so I can practice yoga and dance and maintain the correct posture. Mirrors are quite expensive so I am glad I have a use for them.