TODAYS COLOR: WHITE

Shelterness
Shelterness
Shelterness
Luxury Home Ideas
Coco Cozy
COCO COZY

Cutie Patootie - Penguin Planter

Okay, I don't know where I am going to put this little guy. I just had to have him! I found him at an antique shop for $1.25! How could I leave him? In all the years I have worked and shopped in antique malls, I have never seen a Penguin Planter. There isn't one chip on him! He makes me smile.

BLOG LOVE - Polka Dots and Puppies

I always love to share with my readers other blogs that I love. Rachel from Polka Dots and Puppies is so crafty! She comes up with the cutest ideas and yummy recipes.
Rachel has been featuring some great holiday related posts. I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you. She made these cute Rudolph Cinnamon Scones... They make me smile. They are so cute, I may have trouble eating one. You can get the recipe {HERE}.
Here is a photo of her cute fireplace mantel display...
I love her Sweater Sleeve Trees! See how to make them {HERE}.
I am horrible at wrapping presents! Look how cute a gift from Rachel is...She designed the wrapping paper herself! What a fun idea! I love the added detailed of the snowflake and the button. Rachel has a whole category for DIY projects on her blog! Go visit Polka Dots and Puppies today!

My Dollhouse Not Completed

So the deadline for the, "I'm A Giant Challenge" is now here, TODAY. I am no where even close to being done. I started off strong with putting it together and the overall painting. I picked a bright sunny yellow for the exterior of the house with hot pink accents. When it was all painted I asked Cody what he thought and his response was,"It's so you!" I didn't want to paint the house pink because I figured that would to much pink. (Yes, even I think there can be to much pink sometimes!) There is plenty more pink in the inside and I have so much more decorating to do!Now is when I wish I would have just bought a smaller house! I don't know if the other people who did this challenge feel the same way I do, but it's much more work then I realized. My house is empty do to a lack of time and MONEY! I fell in love with some cool modern chairs online, but they were $38 each. My goal with my house was and still is to make a lot of things myself and hunt for things at antique shops. My living room is the closest to being finished....
I still need a coffee table, end table, rug and more pillows.Since I can't have all the Andy Warhol prints I want in my own home, I figured I could put them in my dollhouse. I would love to frame them out eventually. If you remember, I made the sofa myself. It's based off the Lounge Sofa sold at Crate & Barrel. I made the little pillows also.The other side of the room is looking cute. The vase I found at a thrift shop for around 50 cents. I used pink q-tips in the vase for decoration. The fireplace came unfinished and I painted it hot pink and white. The mirror is from Michaels, along with the small letters that spell out LOVE. I still need to paint the letters, I hadn't decided on a color yet. There is a hole in the ceiling where the stairs should be. I wanted more space in the room so decided to leave them out. The gray chair I made at the same time I made the couch. I have this white frame to glue to the mirror still...
My favorite and ONLY antique store find is this turquoise chair...I only paid $3.00 for it! This gray room is above the living room. I plan to make this room a small office/library with bookcases filled with cute little books. Now we'll move onto the Master Bedroom...Not much going on in here yet! I made a headboard out of cardboard and silver fabric that I paid 44 cents for at Hobby Lobby. I am not loving the hot pink bedding. It's basically just there so it looked like a bed for the picture. The third floor is empty with the exception of wallpaper in one room...The orange wallpapered room will house the bathroom once I find fixtures I like. Maybe I am to picky to decorate a dollhouse? lol Here is a close up of the kitchen...I did buy the kitchen set at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon, making it around $20. I got the fridge, oven, sink cabinet, table and 2 chairs in the set. The unfinished cabinet is from Michaels and cost $1. All the little accessories are from Hobby Lobby...
I plan to paint this cabinet yellow!
You can see I have tons and TONS of work to do still. Cody and I go antiquing often, so sooner or later I will hit the jackpot. I did find a lot of furniture at The Brass Armadillo, but it was the wrong scale/size for my house. I do enjoy this new found hobby and plan to stick with it even if everyone else is done with their houses! I am doing this for me at my own pace because it's fun. I know sometime today Nicole from Making It Lovely with be posting her finished house. Emily Henderson hadn't posted anything on her blog yet, but I am sure she will.

UPDATE: Emily posted on her blog that she wants to extend the Dollhouse Challenge, because hardly anyone finished by the original deadline! She has extended it till February 2012. I still won't be finished. lol

Our Christmas Tree - 2011

When we moved from Ohio a few months ago, I left behind most of my Christmas stuff. I decided to just donate it or give things to my mom. I gave my mom my big Silver Christmas Tree that we only had for a few years. I knew we were moving to an apartment, so I figured it wouldn't fit! Last year I set up a small Pink Tree in our apartment. The first tree Cody and I ever bought together as a couple was in 2005. I decided when we moved I couldn't let it go. That is the tree we are using this year....I basically had no ornaments. I didn't realize that till I unpacked my Christmas Decor tote and found it empty. I usually decorate my tree different every year. (Which Cody hates. He wants Hallmark ornaments, and what he calls a "family tree".) I like to "decorate" it and make it pretty. I tried to pick out ornaments that Cody liked also, meaning not all pink ones.

Did you see the cute doggie ornaments I found? You can see that post {HERE}I am happy with the way the tree looks this year! It's even better to see presents under the tree from our family! They have all been so sweet this year making sure to mail us stuff to unwrap Christmas morning.
I don't believe in spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on gifts. (Unless it's for kids!) Our parents will always want to buy for us though! It's nice to know that they are thinking of us also since they are now 1,200 miles away. This year my mother-in-law bought us some Christmas Vinylmations....
These Vinylmations actually smell like candy canes and other holiday scents! They are so cute!

Key Lime Green Curio

Things that I am drawn to has changed so much when it comes to decorating. Cody will see me pick out certain things while we are shopping, and he just gives me this look that says,"Oh! Please No! That's not going in our house!" I have been so inspired by other bloggers to buy more second hand items and breath new life into them. In the past I would buy furniture all the time that I planned on painting. Problem was I lacked motivation and time. Things are different now. I try to only have so many projects at a time to pace myself. Last weekend I found this cute little Wall Curio Cabinet for $7.00....The weather was mild enough this week to spray paint out on my patio. I lightly sanded the cabinet because it did have a glossy finish. I used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Spray Paint. First I applied 1 coat of primer. The only color of spray paint I had was Key Lime....
I decided instead of going and buying more paint I would just use what I had. Plus, I love the bright Key Lime green. I applied about 3 coats. Some of the little corners were hard to get and I had to apply more paint to them. I love how bright the green is....I am very happy with the end result. I bought it with the plan of putting some of my toy figurines in it...The cabinet is hanging in our front entry by our front door! I still have many projects for the front entry area, so I will reveal it when I get more projects finished.