Painting Our Home Office

We finally painted our office! I have been so ready to get it done. I am sick of being disorganized, living out of boxes and staring at mountains of totes. I hate starting another room in our house since my bedroom and living room are not complete. Eventually once I get all the furniture I need and final details finished, all the rooms with be photographed nicely and appear on the blog again. I am looking for a dresser for my bedroom, I need to do a painting for my living room, find a coffee table, finish painting the fireplace, pillows for my couch and a few DIY projects for the bedroom. When will this all happen? Who knows!!! ;) On to a before picture of my office...


We had to paint all the trim, the ceiling and remove the horrible wallpaper border. When we first bought the house this room had carpet. I ripped it up one day to reveal the wood floors, see that post HERE. We used a spray bottle full of water and vinegar to remove the wallpaper. I don't think the border was glued down that well because it came off very easily.


I picked a shade of mint green for the walls. The paint is Behr, card #440A, MINT FRAPPE
In every photo below it looks different...

I am in love with the color. It was exactly what I wanted. In person it is more green then blue. It's very true to the color on the swatch card. Cody loves it as well. :) I always like it when Cody likes the decorating I do. The last thing I want is for him to hate a room he has to live in. The office is for both of us because he is doing online college classes now. I plan to decorate the room with many of my vintage toys. I am struggling with how to display them and make the room NOT look cluttered. This room is going to take me awhile to pull together. Once I get some decorating done I will share some photos. Also we plan to make one huge desk area using extra doors in our house that we don't need. I am trying to be GREEN by re-purposing them.

A Few of My Favorite Things #4

Lauren made this adorable animal cutout bunting. I love this idea so much. I am just trying to figure out where in my house I could hang it! See her DIY post HERE.



A video of a group of Belgium Sea Shepherd's protesting whaling in Japan. I wish I could understand what they are saying. They are pretending to be whales and whalers. Then there are the Sea Shepherds who SAVE the whales from being killed. The video seems a bit crazy, but I thought it was very brave of them to protest this way.

Okay friends, I think this is so very awesome. I honestly wanted to steal this idea but I'm not that type of person/blogger. ;) Emily from Good Things started a blog post series called Collecting Colours. Last year she collected items that were all the same color and photographed them. This year she is mixing it up by selecting a two color combo. You can do items, photographs or whatever else your heart desires. Learn more about Collecting Colours HERE. I am going to be doing this by the way and featuring it monthly on my blog. I hope maybe you will join in as well.


I am pretty obsessed with quotes. I pin them all the time on Pinterest. I can't help it. I feel there are so many times in our lives that we may have a hard time expressing exactly how we feel. Then you read a quote in a book, poem or on Pinterest and you are like, "BINGO!" Or a quote may just be inspiring to you. This one above is words I need to live by.

What has been inspiring you lately? Please share any links that you think I may enjoy below. :)
Also I have been very inspired just by blogging lately, all of your comments and reading all your lovely blogs.
Thank YOU!

Sponsor & Friends // February 2013

Meet my newest group of sponsors! They are all so unique and special in their own way.
I hope you will go visit them and say hello!!!

BLOG // SHOP // BLOGLOVIN

My name is Shai and I am a 27-year-old mom, student, business-owner, blogger, and artist. I am a full-time Political and Social Philosophy student at Kennesaw State University, and am also minoring in Peace Studies. The Vagabond Studio's official mission statement is 'to inspire others to live creatively, beautifully, and sustainably, and that really is the main focus. But, to sum it up in one perfect word, The Vagabond Studio is about peace - peace within ourselves, peace within our communities, and peace with our environment. Here at the studio, we are often overly-excited, enthusiastic, and encouraging. My Favorite Post: Exit Buddies


BLOG // SHOP // INSTAGRAM
I'm Jen, the girl behind Red Parka Diaries. I live on the beautiful island of Tasmania with my husband Wade and our dog Benny. I'm an illustrator who dabbles in all sorts of creative arts and loves bright colours, vintage design, adventures, traveling, caravans, trees, elephants and everything handmade! I believe in marching to your own beat, living a life full of love and adventure, getting back to basics and being real. Red Parka Diaries is a blog about art, craft and building a beautiful, creative, sustainable and original life. It's a place for me to share my own and others artwork, to document my journey and to share the things that inspire me. It's about what makes me come alive. I love connecting with creative, adventurous people all around the world and I hope you'll be one of them!
My Favorite Post: 5 Books That Changed My Life

BLOG // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN
Hi, I'm Mackenzie! I'm a student studying apparel merchandising, business, and art at Indiana University. I have an accessories line called Birdfriend, selling handmade headbands, jewelry, and cute creatures here in Bloomington and online. I'm obsessively crafty-- I'd always rather make something than buy it. My focus right now is in knitting, crocheting, and embroidery, but I'm up for pretty much anything. Because I'm a student, I don't always have time to craft... which is where my love of fashion comes in. Putting together a cute, eclectic outfit is the second best thing!! I'm also an avid street style photographer (see my Btown Street Style blog) and whenever I get the chance, I love to DIY and alter my clothes to be more unique. My Favorite Post: Across the Universe

BLOG // SHOP // PINTEREST
I'm Adrienne. Married, Puppy Momma, Coffee Lover, Stay at Home Wife to a U.S. Army Soldier, Living in Germany. The Army doesn't come up a whole lot on the blog, but I like adventures, travels, drawing, crafts, and internetting it up! I am ALL for "live and let live" and "looking on the bright side".
My Favorite Post: Paris, A Recap

BLOG // BLOGLOVIN // PINTEREST
Awesome like this isn't born every day. Follow my adventures in life, my obsession with all things miniature and my love of skirts. With some fur ladies, crafts and a husband mixed in.
My favorite post: I Blog About Dresses with A Husband

BLOG // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN
My name is Stephanie and I'm on this earthly journey learning how to accept love in my life and share it with others. One thing I've realized is that once you let love in, its source is infinite. This was not a familiar concept for me 10 years ago, but now it's my priority in life. LOVE. And I have many loves which I write about on my blog.
My Favorite Post: Therapy Thursday

SHOP// FACEBOOK // TWITTER
Dawn, Owner of Little Ghost Vintage: There comes a time in every gals life where she can either let her days play out the way they fall or she can take charge of her future and at least try to be who she always wanted...which is where I find myself. I'm in my mid thirties (omg...I'm.In.My.Mid.Thirties) and have always wanted own a small shop and spend my days curating vintage and antique items. I'm doing just that via Little Ghost the store and Little Ghost Vintage on Etsy. tarting over has been a dream come true for me and it's so easy to work 7 days a week when the people who come in contact with are amazing and the work you're doing is something you love and believe in. I hope Little Ghost grows and can't wait to start upcylcing second hand items into something new and exciting!

I would like to THANK all these lovely ladies for sponsoring/swapping with me this month!
If you are interested in sponsoring my blog, I'd love to hear from you! Visit my sponsorship page HERE.

RECIPE: HAWAIIAN CHICKPEAS

Hawaiian Chickpea Teriyaki
By Lindsay Nixon // Happy Herbivore
This has become a new favorite of ours. It's so easy and quick. It's sweet and spicy!

THE INGREDIENTS:
1 can 15oz Chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 tbsp of Hot Sauce
1 tbsp of Raw Sugar
2 cups cooked Brown Rice (or cooked greens)
Pineapple or Mango Salsa



Combine chickpeas, teriyaki sauce, hot sauce, and sugar in large cooking pan.
Allow to marinate for at least 5 minutes.



Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly until most of the liquid has absorbed.
About 10 minutes.



Spoon over cooked rice or greens. Top with salsa.
We eat ours with brown rice to make it a more filling dish!
Cody eats almost a full jar of the salsa it seems. LOL

So are you inspired to buy the Happy Herbivore cookbook yet???

Compassion & Courage

Source
I pinned this image early in the week and really wanted to share it with you. I found it so beautiful. I also watched this amazing film called Peaceable Kingdom, which a person in the film used the quote,...

"It takes courage to think outside of the box."
It seriously hit me to my core. Such a simple sentence, yet with such a strong message. I am so thankful for my life. I am so thankful that I have opened my mind to new things and ideas. This journey we call LIFE is really something amazing. If I only I could float over the ocean on a swing using a cloud to hold me up. I guess a hot air balloon ride is the closest I'll ever get. ;) It feels so good to have my heart full of love and compassion for all living beings everyday. My heart smiles now.

Have A Great Weekend!

The Walking Dead in Instagram Photos

I am so excited that The Walking Dead is finally coming back on this Sunday! If you don't watch it I'm sorry that you won't "get" this post. Honestly this show just sucks you in and it basically becomes an addiction. I am not big into zombie stuff and I have always feared anything that was related to zombies. I love The Walking Dead because it has a great story line and always keeps you on the edge of your seat. I always take photos of screen shots while watching it. My favorite character is still Rick, second Daryl...


The show amazes me because it just keeps getting better. The third season has been so intense and I can't even imagine what the season finale is going to be like. I know it's going to suck waiting for it to start up again. Cody and I have actually not watched our cable since the show has been off. We aren't huge TV fans anymore, but The Walking Dead sucks us in.

I know a lot of you watch it, so who is your favorite character? Do you have a favorite episode?