Age of Aquarius

It looks like I'm just in the weekly posting mode now. I really must be in a decor/reno/creativity slump! Either that or I'm exhausting all of my energy at work everyday. Not to mention braving the extreme cold to go grocery shopping. One of the things I hate doing in winter! Is everyone staying warm? This has been the coldest winter I think we've had in a long time. Another -30 degree wind chill day today. Spring can get here anytime now!

Anyway, moving on, I thought it would be fun to do a monthly post with astrological-themed decor. (Joss and Main, anyone?) If you're not aware, Joss and Main has a sale event every month based on the Zodiac sign of that month. They were my original inspiration, of course. But I've always had kind of an interest in astrology for as long as I could remember. I read a lot of magazines growing up, and always had to check my horoscope. I even cut them all out and collected my horoscopes for a while. So I thought that gathering up some of my own favorite decor-related items inspired by each sign of the zodiac would be a good time. So here's my first one: Aquarius inspired decor!

According to Astrology.com, those born under the Aquarius sign in the zodiac (January 20 - February 18) are humanitarians, and think a lot about how to make things work better. They are technology lovers, intellectuals and visionaries. They are "the trailblazers of the zodiac." The symbol for Aquarius is the Water Bearer, and its element is Air. Shiny silvers and aqua blues are colors that represent this sign well.

When it comes to decor, when I think of Aquarius, I think of calm, cool and airy. Silvers, blues and aquas. Modern and fresh with cooler colors. So without further ado, here are my Aquarius-Inspired Decor Picks (sources at the bottom):

 

From top to bottom: 1) Original art from Z Gallerie 2) Empire Mirror from Z Gallerie 3) Ombre pillow from Joss and Main 4) Waterscape art from West Elm 5) Wool Kilim rug from West Elm 6) Throw from H&M 7) Bubble glass vase from Target 8) Ghost chair from Amazon.

So those are some of my favorite Aquarius-inspired decor items out there. I love the airy, turquoisey vibe. Hope you enjoy my picks as much as I did shopping around for them :) And just for fun, here is a whole room I think goes well with this theme:

(From here)

Stay warm, everyone!

Texas, Anyone?

I'm really slacking on house and decor related posts around here, but there hasn't been a lot of work done on the house lately. I think we're scared to do anything until the foundation is completely fixed, which we'll be working on constantly this spring and summer. We want to make sure the house is completely level and then gut the kitchen. 

In the mean time, Trent and I have been talking about where we want to go on vacation this summer. The Dave Matthews tour dates came out this week, so that was the basis of our decision, as it has been the last few years. Is there something wrong with basing your vacations on where Dave is playing? Ha. True fans, I tell ya. Anyway, I was set on going to Colorado this year, and was hoping they would be playing at the Red Rocks. Well, no Red Rocks on this tour! :( We said we're going to wait to go to Colorado until they play there again. So we're waiting. 

Right now we're about 90% sure we're going to....TEXAS this year!

(Image from here)

Dave is playing 1 night near Houston - the first stop on the summer tour mid-May, and neither of us have been to Texas, so I convinced Trent that this was where our next vacation is going to be! He wanted to go to the 2-night Chicago show, but...CHICAGO? We go there every year at least once. It's time to go somewhere different for a change. So I think our vacation will be Texas this year. Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi...we're thinking about doing a loop down the southeastern part of the state. Time for another long road trip! Those are the best kind.

I'll hopefully be back with some decor or crafty related posts soon. I've been way too busy lately that all I want to do when I get home is relax! And think about vacation plans. :)

Wind Chills and Paint By Numbers

Midwest weather. You. are. my. nemesis. I would love to share more about Monday and Tuesday's temperatures, but I really don't want to relive those days. So let's try to get over this quickly, shall we? This was the weather outside when I woke up Monday morning:   

-16 degrees, and feels like -42. And it had snowed and was blowing with the wind. Needless to say, my work called and I had a snow day! So glad. I decided to stay home Tuesday too, because 1) the roads still looked partly covered outside our house, 2) I didn't want to brave the still below zero temperatures, and 3) We desperately needed groceries after being stuck inside all weekend.

There was an up-side to being stuck at home. I watched more movies, cleaned, and started on another Paint by Number. Here's the "before," and I will be sure to share the "after"...although I'm sure it will probably take me several months (hopefully not years this time!)

I also have another painting project in mind that I've been wanting to make, so I'm hoping to get on that project soon! I'm kind of excited about it. :)

Society6 Pillow Love

If you've never heard of Society6 before, I think you should pay it a visit. It's a site where you can find merchandise made from whatever artwork is your style by many talented artists - from prints, to coffee mugs, to pillows, to t-shirts, to iphone covers. Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite Society6 pillows, since they are all so adorable!

Like this one that Trent got me for Christmas this year. I've had it on my Pinterest Wish List for a while now. The artist is Emily Rickard, artwork is "Asking for Directions." It just so happens to match my iphone case I got just a month or so earlier, also from Society6:

So here's a little gathering of some of my favorite Society6 pillows, just for fun. Any of these are sure to inject a little personality and fun into your home.

Row 1 - From left to right:
1. "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That" pillow by Sara Eschak
2. "Pie for Breakfast" pillow by Emily Rickard
3. "Boston Terrior" pillow by Anne was Here

Row 2 - From left to right:
1. "Peonies Forever" pillow by Ez Pudewa
2. "Mr. Owl" pillow by Isaiah K. Stephens
3. "Gray Polka Dots" pillow by Her Art

Row 3 - From left to right:
1. "The Royal Treatment" pillow by Davies Babies
2. "Joy" pillow by Garima Dhawan
3. "Chevron Flora II" pillow by Bianca Green

Aren't these pillows so cute? You can see all of the pillows from Society6 here. Warning: there's a lot, and you may get addicted.

This Weekend

This weekend was cold. We're talking -20 with the Wind chill. And snowed several inches. We stayed home all weekend and watched movies...

Even though the list of things I need at the grocery store is like a million miles long. Why can't it be 75 degrees and sunny?

Oh, how I love being snowed in all weekend....

Living Room, January 2014

It's a new month, a new year, and guess what...I rearranged the living room again.

It's not much of a difference, I just did some pillow swapping, and the side chairs are now pushed back together again.

I couldn't help it...don't they just make the cutest couple?

We decided to bring the storage ottoman back into the living room, where it could actually serve a purpose again. It wasn't doing much in the bedroom with Trent's clothes stacked in piles on top of it.

 

That meant that this little guy who was living in that same corner.....

Would return back to his former home.

Don't think I won't bring back the colorful pillows when spring/summer rolls back around. 'Cause I totally will. But right now I'm sticking with mostly muted colors for winter.

I did, however, find a place for the Emily Rickard pillow that Trent got me for Christmas:

Now there's a nice little pop of color we can admire while we watch TV.

The couch hasn't changed much. Same spot. And it's still sporting those lovely ruffly pillows I got from TJ Maxx this winter. I love them! Notice my new owl vase, also a gift from Trent, that's sitting on the floor in the corner. See the little guy? Still have to decide what I want to do with him in regards to a more permanent location.

And the award for cutest couple goes to..... :)

I think I may keep this arrangement for a while. I like the two chairs next to each other by the couch, since we don't have a lot of seating in here, so at least it feels like we have a little more seating, until we can get some kind of bench or love seat or something more in here.

It is a small space, but it is cozy and intimate, and I think it's all we need.

It's been fun to see it evolve, especially since we started out here - (Gutting the room in 2010, to 2011):

And here's where it's at now in 2014...

I know I've said it before, but it is still my favorite room in the house.

Paint By Numbers

I can't remember the first time I got a paint-by-numbers paint set, but I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight. Drawing, painting, making jewelry, or anything crafty was pretty much my jam as a kid. It could keep me occupied for days on end. Well it's safe to say, that not much has changed. I'm probably the only weird twenty-five year old who does this for a hobby. Except now I'm even more of a perfectionist so it takes a lot of time and patience to complete one of these bad boys. But I have completed 2 in the last couple of years. Like this bird painting I just got done in December:

I started this one back in 2011 - that was the year that I got a handful of paint by number sets and I was going to paint them all and give them for Christmas presents. Well, this one I started but never finished. So this Christmas, I decided to finish it. And it turned out really nice!

Then there's the teddy bear painting below that I decided to do, because it had lots of cute little details and was really colorful. I actually finished this one in 2011 and have had it ever since. I was going to give it as a gift, but don't know really who would like it (teddy bears anyone??) so I've just held onto it.

Right before Christmas, I bought a couple of cheap frames from Wal-Mart, finished the bird painting, then framed them both. Of course I liked them better in the frames, but what do you do with them when they're done?

I decided to give the bird painting to my Grandma for Christmas. She likes anything homemade from us grandkids, and when I was a kid, I gave her two different paint by number paintings that she still has hanging up in her house to this day. So I thought if anyone that would enjoy something like this, it would be her.

I think she liked it. I was waiting to see her reaction when she opened it at Christmas, and when she did she seemed pretty excited. It's nice that one of my paintings has found a new home at least. And I have a couple more that I want to start painting, too. Unfortunately, the paintings I choose keep getting more and more ambitious, and these two others are probably twice the size with just as much detail as the two above. Maybe I'll share them when I get them done in the next few years! Ha.

New Year's and 2014 House Resolutions

Why, hello! Happy New Year! Better late than never, right?  Well New Year's was a good time this year. We went to Trent's sister's again and there was plenty of singing and dancing and all-around tom-foolery to go around.

I took down the Christmas decorations on New Year's Day. It was sad to see the tree go, and not to mention weird (isn't it always crazy how there's so much extra space once the tree is taken down?)

I took this as an opportunity to vaccuum, clean and rearrange the living room. So there's a bit of a different look in there now, and actually, the furniture is kind of back to how it was arranged a couple of years ago. We brought the Target storage bench back into the room (it was sitting in the bedroom not being useful), and pushed the two side chairs together again. I have yet to take updated pictures, but that's on my list to post soon!

In the mean time, here's a few "House Resolutions" that we hope to get done this year. I'm sure we may gravitate away from this a tad, but these are the main things I think we want done asap. So..here we go!

2014 House Resolutions:

1. Raise/level the living room.

2. Fully install the baseboard in the living room (only been waiting about 3 1/2 years for this to get done!)

3. Kitchen foundation / leveling / gutting / renovation (that's a mouthful, and encompasses a bunch of work!)

4. Organization - clothes storage in the bedroom, and starting on the closet and pantry. 

5. Walkway in the front yard.

I was going to list more than that, but I don't want to get too lofty! I think those five things alone are enough work to keep us busy the whole year. What to do you think? :)

P.S. - We've gotten so much snow so far this winter that I've almost forgotten what grass looks like. And -11 degrees this morning, not even with the wind chill? Can I please move to Florida already?