Country Roads: 2013

Monday, May 20, 2013

Little Changes

Sometimes you just have to change something little. Last night as I went to serve dinner, I took out a trivet that is about 20 years old and I realized how old and outdated it was so I popped out the tiles and spray painted the wood. Then I added a couple of leftover tiles from one of our bathrooms and voila, new trivets. Sometimes it is the little things that make you happy.

Oh these are my new wooden placemats. I wouldn't have gone looking for them but saw them at a yard sale and fell in LOVE. They change the entire look of the table. LOVE them.

Monday, March 11, 2013

SHABBY CHIC MIRROR

If you don't remember the mirror I got at a yardsale a while back for $1.00 you can check out the link HERE. I absolutely hated the picture I had above the dresser in my guest room so I replaced it with this mirror and like it so much better now. I think it goes well with my craigslist dresser (from Brazil) and my $10.00 headboard and clearance comforter set. Not a bad start for a cheaply put together guest room.

The mirror how it originally looked

The mirror all pretty and in her new home

The guest room as it is now.

The guest room before with the picture above the dresser.

It wasn't a bad picture, it just didn't match well.

Here are some blogs that I will be linking up to this week. Join along.

Masterpiece Monday - http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com
Monday Link Up Party - http://makingtheworldcuter.com
Make it Pretty Monday - http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com
Before & After Party - http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com
Table Top Tuesday - http://www.astrollthrulife.net
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
Tuesday's Treasures - http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
Wow Us Wednesdays - http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
Welcome Home Wednesday - http://www.vintageonadime.blogspot.com
Open House Party - http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
Whimsy Wednesdays - http://thenymelrosefamily.com
Thursday favorite Things - http://katherinescorner.com
Feathered Nest Friday - http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
Thrifty Things Friday - http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com
It's Inspiration Friday - http://www.atthepicketfence.com

MY NEW UNPLANNED LIVING ROOM LOOK

So here is what happened. My hubs and I went to Wolf's Furniture to get our new dining room. Online I had picked out six chairs and the china cabinet. WEEEEEELL when I got to the store I fell in love with this other set. It was similar in design but built a lot better. We wrote up the order for the china cabinet, six chairs, the table and a jute rug, BUUUT, as we were writing it all up I could not keep my eye off of the server so we added that as well. The china cabinet was on back order but they immediately delivered the server and table set. I was so excited but the server just did NOT fit on the wall I had hoped. No worries...... I thought I will just put it where the china cabinet was going to go and I would put the china cabinet where the server was originally planned to go. Well (again), when the china cabinet finally came there was NO way and what I mean is NO WAY that it was fitting in the dining room. Being in love with it too much I could not send it back so I moved it to the living room. Now you know, the cabinet just did not go with my furniture in that room. Soooooo I took down the picture and removed the white chair, instead opting for what were the end chairs in my dining room. This lead me to Kirklands where I found these lovely shell canvas prints. A couple little touches in the cabinet and the room was complete. Oh I can't forget the coconut on top of the cabinet that I brought back from a recent trip to Siesta Key in Sarasota, Florida.

The living room from the foyer BEFORE

The living room from the foyer AFTER

Another view of the living room from the foyer

The coconut on top of the cabinet

One of the pictures from Kirklands. I love it.

The lamp that I've had forever but didn't go with anything.

I am so happy to now be able to see it.

The living room from the front door.

I'm going to go now and cozy up in my new room and read a book now. I hope you are enjoying your space and your day as well.

Lisa

This week I will be linking up to the lovely blogs below. You should check them out. They are all wonderful.

Masterpiece Monday - http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com
Monday Link Up Party - http://makingtheworldcuter.com
Make it Pretty Monday - http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com
Before & After Party - http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com
Table Top Tuesday - http://www.astrollthrulife.net
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
Tuesday's Treasures - http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
Wow Us Wednesdays - http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
Welcome Home Wednesday - http://www.vintageonadime.blogspot.com
Open House Party - http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
Whimsy Wednesdays - http://thenymelrosefamily.com
Thursday favorite Things - http://katherinescorner.com
Feathered Nest Friday - http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
Thrifty Things Friday - http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com
It's Inspiration Friday - http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Thursday, January 31, 2013

LUCKY THRIFT STORE DAY

I don't know if any of you are from the Northern Virginia area but if you are you must go to The Closet. It is a thrift store in Herndon, Virginia. If you go on a Saturday BEWARE. The store is so crowded with stuff AND people. If you are claustrophobic it is not the place for you. I went there with a friend of mine the other day and found all these wonderful items for a total of $27.00. I couldn't believe it.

My friend is amazing to thrift shop with. She has an eye and misses nothing. After we were done shopping on this particular day we went to the bread store next door to get some samples and a loaf of bread, when I see a butter bell. I mentioned that I had been wanting one but didn't want to spend twenty bucks on it and she tells me there was one in The Closet?? WHAT??? How did I miss that??? So after tasting our bread we went back and there it was tucked away in the corner of a shelf loaded, and I mean LOADED, with stuff. Like I said, she has an eye. I decided I would have to make another round since now I felt like I was still missing something.

Now let me back track a moment. Several months ago I bought a large fork from Hobby Lobby to hang on my pantry door. I knocked it off and it broke in half. I replaced it with a spoon and several weeks later my mother knocked that off and broke it in half. I tried a couple different glues but since it was resin it kept breaking. I finally gave up. I told my mom I wished she had kept hers from the 70s. If I could only find a vintage wooden set. WEEEEEEEEEELL like I said I did a second pass through The Closet and guess what I found??? A vintage 1970s (marked on the back with the original tag from The Hecht Company) fork and spoon.

What a fantastic day. Here are my finds....

A BLACK CANDLE STICK

POTTED PLANT

VINTAGE FORK AND SPOON

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SPOON AND FORK

A BLACK ROO (because you can never have too many Roos)

GLASS CANDLE HOLDER

A JAR FOR MY MANY CORKS

A JAR FOR MY POWDERED LAUNDRY DETERGENT

ANOTHER PRETTY GLASS PIECE

(I need a candle and something else to fill it)

WHITE SHADOW BOX (with linen back and pretty pins)

I forgot to get a picture of the butter bell. Oh and I forgot I got some costume jewelry as well :)

What good finds have you found lately?

Lisa

You should join me in linking up to these great blogs.

Newbie Party - http://debbie-debbiedoos.com

Masterpiece Monday - http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com
Monday Link Up Party - http://makingtheworldcuter.com
Make it Pretty Monday - http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com
Motivate Me Monday - http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com
Before & After Party - http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com
Table Top Tuesday - http://www.astrollthrulife.net
Time to Shine (Party) - http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
Tuesday's Treasures - http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
Wow Us Wednesdays - http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
Welcome Home Wednesday - http://www.vintageonadime.blogspot.com
Open House Party - http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
Whimsy Wednesdays - http://thenymelrosefamily.com
Thursday favorite Things - http://katherinescorner.com
Feathered Nest Friday - http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
Thrifty Things Friday - http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com
It's Inspiration Friday - http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

REARRANGED OFFICE

Now I have to work......

I belong to an online yard sale group. I've picked up a couple items on there. There are a few things that are overpriced but overall you can get some really good deals. This past weekend I went on to check it out and saw a brown leather recliner for $100.00. I thought it was beautiful but since we were heading to buy our new dining room furniture I didn't want to spend the money. That was until I got to Wolf's Furniture and saw similar ones priced from a thousand bucks to two thousand bucks. I immediately regretted my decision to not get the one online (especially since my husband looked at them and commented on how much he loved them). I grabbed my phone from my bag and searched and was so upset because I could not find the listing. It had been sold, or so I thought. The next morning I was still bummed about losing out that I decided to check the group again and low and behold he had just re-listed it. YIPPIE for me!!! I don't think my fingers could have typed my response fast enough. I WANT THAT CHAIR!!!

On Monday my son was out of school because of an ice storm so I treated him to lunch and he helped me pick up the new (to me) recliner (once the ice melted of course). When we picked it up the man selling it told me that it was only a couple years old and he bought it from...... of all the places..... Wolf's Furniture.. Are you kidding me? I got a steal!!

When we got home we discovered that unfortunately it did not fit in my office so we had to do a little rearranging. My older son happened to be off of work that day so he came over to help me with the move. We had the entire office moved around in two hours. Let me tell you I was pooped!!! I'm not used to that much movement for two hours straight. It was all worth it in the end. I love the new arrangement and love that I now have a view of the back yard (my back used to face the window). I don't know how much I will love that in the summer since my pool is the view I have now.

The BEFORE pics (I hated having my back to the window)
The room seemed so long and narrow this way.

The worst part is having to unload the shelves and the desk.

That's my handsome & extremely helpful older son.
He ROCKS!!

The new layout

The side view from the door

I just got the desk chair clearance from Wolf's

The view from the door (and a shot of the new recliner)

See the pool in the yard? That'll be hard to look at while I work in the summer.

So what do you think of the new layout? So far I am loving it.

Lisa

This week I will be linking up with these lovely ladies.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

NEW FURNITURE

Last week I posted about my new dining room furniture. I went last weekend to order it and, oh my goodness, the table was way too small for my 20 foot long dining room. Plus I wasn't ever in love with the chairs and I definitely held to that upon seeing them. So I did not end up getting the set. I was a little disappointed but I am a believer that if it isn't meant to be it won't be. Sooo I continued the look and found a set that is the exact size I need and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of the pieces. I am excited. I will be extending the table to 90 inches and will have six chairs on the sides (like the picture) and will have my original banana leaf end chairs remain on the ends.

The end chairs will stay here

The china cabinet will go where the white desk is.

The white desk will be moved to the other end of the room.

The entire set I'm getting with the exception of the end chairs

The side Chair (I'm in love with everything about it)

That is it. I cannot wait until it comes in. It is going to take about 8 weeks. Now to list my current set on Craigslist. Hopefully I will get a buyer for it soon!!

Lisa

I'm sharing today with these fantastic blogs:

Wow Us Wednesdays - http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
Open House Party - http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
Whimsy Wednesdays - http://thenymelrosefamily.com
Thursday favorite Things - http://katherinescorner.com
Feathered Nest Friday - http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
Thrifty Things Friday - http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com
It's Inspiration Friday - http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Sneak Peak Of My Next Project......

JUST A LITTLE SNEAK PEAK

I found this lovely for a dollar (YES that is RIGHT $1.00) at a local flea market. Can you believe that deal? I love the detail on it and have been looking for a circular mirror for over a dresser in one of my guest rooms. I can't wait to get it all prettied up. Pictures coming soon. Have a great day y'all.

ADVICE NEEDED PRETTY PLEASE

HELP.... I am having a dilemma

I hope everyone has been well and has been having a good ol' time out there in blog land. I have been inundated with work and haven't been able to get on in a while.

I posted a while back about my dining room (you can read about it here). I was looking for some furniture that I wanted and I finally found it. Actually it was quite accidental. I was on another sight and this just popped right up. I wasn't even looking for it at the time. Anyway here is what my dining room looks like currently.

AND..... THIS is the new set I am purchasing on Saturday. I am getting the rug as well.

Here is my dilemma. I really LOVE LOVE LOVE the table and the Hutch is absolutely GORGEOUS but I'm not a fan of all the matchy matchy with the chairs or even the chairs themselves. I don't mind them but I am not head over heals in love with them either. So my question is this.... should I use four of them and keep my current end chairs or should I get six of THESE beauties ????....

So what do you think? Any ideas?

Thank you bunches,