Laundry Room Spice

There is a whole list of pros and cons to movin to the 'burbs. On the pro-side is a proper laundry room. Cabinets, a sink, additional space and a room with a door dedicated to laundry...this is what I'm talkin 'bout. In our old house we had a laundry closet. It did the trick and had shelves and space to store things like vases and the non-essential items, but I tell you what...this laundry room has changed my tune on doing the chore.

Here was my inspiration picture that I found on the Little Green Notebook.

Here's what we got going at the moment.




Okay, so it's not as cute as the inspiration room and my photography skills aren't as good, but we are enjoying it. I found that rad fabric at Calico Corners when they were closing their Plano location. 75% off and took the last they had. Then I dialed up my fabulous seamstress and had a perfect little skirt made. I picked-up the utensil rack from ikea and added a few touches here and there. What do you think?

Fell off the map.

What's happening, peeps? Have you been wondering what in the world happened to me? Ironically, I've been wondering the same, exact thing. You see, my whole life has just changed. New baby, new house, new neighborhood, new Target, new Kroger, and most frustrating.....NEW JOB. I keep waiting to wake up and find a new husband next to me. Mine's about to walk out the door and never come back! The man's a saint for his patience. I've said that before and will continue to say it. In one week + one day I turn 30. I know, to some that's not a big deal. And it's really not a big deal to me either, but with ALL this other change it's just all hitting me right in the face. I had a lot of things on my "to-do" list before 30 and with 8 days left I see that's prolly not happenin. Oh well, you know what...I did check-off quite a few things, and I can lose the baby weight while I'm 30. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Here's a glimpse of the days 'round this place.

Dad is most certainly, without a doubt in charge of bath time. When mom tries the whole world comes to a standstill, and then meltdown occurs.
Pea pod hit 6 months old. She scored her two bottom teeth and rolled to the doctor on St. Patrick's day wearing this adorable kelly green dress from Aunt Heather. The grosgrain ribbon belt with bamboo o-rings makes the most precious outfit for spring.
Okay, so the chair's a little big right now! We've started "eating". And yes, we have a total ham on our hands. DRAMATIC doesn't even cover the situation. It's hilarious to watch. Come over for breakfast anytime...we hold an everyday circus.
We jump. And watch dad play pool. It's a great activity around here.
We REALLY want to get on the move. How precious is that diaper cover? Thank you, Miss Sunny...I can't think of anything more sweet than a monogrammed diaper cover on that little hiney.

The built-in for the living room is taking shape. It's got a ways to go, but it's a step in the right direction. We're taking a major pause on other projects around here. The babe's bathroom has been painted and will be accessorized HOPEFULLY this evening and ready for a debut!

Treasures!

I was welcomed into my new neighborhood with a special invitation. Just the kind I like!
My dear friend, Christie, invited moi along with my still dear friend, but old neighbor, Jana, to do a little treasure hunting. I'm all about a find. We didn't know much about this said "warehouse sale open to the public" in a small, Podunk town, but best believe we were willing to check it out. Sale started at 10 am and we rolled in just about 10:01 am and by that time every interior designer in Dallas had scooped up MOST of the goods. But not all...
This little town is what I would call rural. Very rural. I would imagine a lot of big trucks and such, but on Saturday when we turned the corner it was all sorts of big Range Rovers and Lexus SUVs packed in the parking lot of a modernized barn-ish structure. That's always a good sight when you're unsure if this is legit or not.

Check out what I scored...

This is quite obviously a kinda cheesy re-production of an old London map. But, re-production or not, I like it. I have a real desire to own big, original maps from some of the places I've traveled. They're rather pricey, so for now this framed re-production will work quite nicely....especially for the give-away price tag.

Here was the deal of the day.
(Pardon the horrible camera phone pictures. I'm lazy today with a screaming, teething child. Big, good camera just wasn't in the cards.)
Granted, these are old school filing cabinets (circa a sweet 1982, I'm sure), but they are going to work PERFECTLY as my new bedside tables once they get a fresh, creamy coat of paint. I spied two that were already sold. Totally bummed, I got a serious bug under my bonnet (as my mom says) and started searching. After a little digging I saw two more! SOLD.
I wanted something along the lines of a bureau to adorn the sides of our bed, but knew what I truly wanted was way "outs.the.price.range". So...what could be better than these large, perfect-for-the-space beauties for $10 a pop?!?! I said...not much, I'll take 'em!

Then we were onto the local yocal antique shop. Man, there were a LOAD of treasures to be had in there. A load was still there largely because this sweet couple was a bit over priced on a lot of things. But...we managed to find some goodies!! Jana scored big here...I'll see if she can send me some pictures of her goodies and how she's using them. They turned out CUTE!

As for me...

Some salt and pepper shakers from Japan. Love the colors!
I also found some great records for my brother, the record collector. I can't wait to hear Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" on his sweet set-up.

Afterwards we had time to squeeze in the re-sale shop. That's always a hit or miss, but we did find some scores amongst some snotty, coughing children. I was glad the clean, never around too many germs princess was securely at home with her Da. I got my mom hand sanitizer keychain out and pushed on.


$0.99 silver tray. YES.


Scale is a little hard to distinguish here, but these are a pair of bud vases. I love anything in a pair and at $1.99 each these were a must. I think they might find a home by each sink in my jack-and-jill bath.

And lastly...
A cheese tray and dome for a whopping $3.99. Done.

Do you have some treasure hunting spots? Do you think antique stores are just for old people and moth balls? You should find your local shop and pop in. There are tons of great things to be had! It's always a good idea to take a good friend that's interested in your kind of thing. Even if your styles are different, just someone that enjoys the thrill of a good find. Then plan for a nice lunch and a glass or two of chardonnay. Makes for a great Saturday afternoon. Good luck digging.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

That's all in honor of those cheeks and creases in the wrists and ankles!

Is it so wrong...

...to dress your child like you wish you could dress? Skinny jeans really aren't a good look for this bottom-heavy body. But I just can't help but to put the pea pod in them (thank you Auntie Ang for the darling pants). Is that what one would call living vicariously though your kids? God help me if she wants to be a cheerleader.
Until then...have a great weekend!

You've so patiently been waiting!

So check this out! It's the first sneak peek to what's going on here at Casa E. Thanks to all the help, sourcing and advice of my long-distance-living-impeccable-design-executing cousin, we're LOVING the transformation. It was a tough decision to pack-up and depart the city. Truth be told, we enjoyed living in Dallas Proper. Sounds cool to say and was also cool to do...for a while. No one seemed to complain about the travel details to get to our home. It was central. It was easy. We had parties and gatherings and dinners and patio happy hours. But, then The Chief began tripping over baby toys, and we began arguing over the lack of space. It became more of a burden than something we enjoyed to live IN the city.

After the birth of the little one we no longer made our way to our favorite restaurant for a Monday night dinner. Those days are on hold for the years to come. And isn't that half the point of LIVING IN THE CITY? The ease of entertainment and restaurants and wine bars. We were scared of Applebee's in the burbs. But, we had to make a change and then we found a builder grade in the burbs and died over the floor plan. Clinton wanted a corner lot. I wanted wood floors and the nursery downstairs. He died over a media room. I dreamed of an office. The master bathtub and closet were gravy on our biscuit. We made an offer. We almost lost the bid. We crossed our fingers, and prayed we were making the right decision. It all worked out and now we reside in suburbia. With all of that behind us, we were ready to make this house a home that felt like us. We wanted to change some of the big, box house standards into something a little more charming.

First up, that faux Tuscan kitchen. Not a fan. Not a fan at all. And for all the nay-sayers on painting those cabinets...they're hands down my favorite part of the house! Go big or go home is the motto around here. I think that's now evident with the bold decision to paint, the monster window panels and the massively oversized lanterns. The in-person feed back has been great, so I hope we made good decisions! Enjoy!

Click here for the initial before and after pictures.

Up next...the pea pod's bathroom transformation. It's underway and lookin good!