backyard dreamin'

so, lately, this before-and-after has been haunting me (in the pleasant sort of way). it's all i can think about 

[image via here]

and it may or may not be my phone's lock screen:

i love it so much that it made me reconsider my dark exterior paint idea.
oddly enough jeremy didn't like the shutters. well, he'd better jump on that bandwagon quick, because that's my favorite part! ;)

well, get ready to have your socks knocked off because this is what we're workin' with:

eek!  but wait, there are plus sides. 

1. we are painting very soon.

2. that is not mold on the trim

3. it'll be a pretty drastic before-and-after no matter what we do

4. getting rid of the shrubbery will add light into the living room

5. we just cancelled directv last night, so that unsightly satellite can come down

also some down sides.

1.that plant in the corner is an amazing rose bush we inherited with the house :(

2. our roof looks a little ripple-y

3. there is a storage shed close to the end of the patio (& i'm not sure it can be moved)

so, i added this to the long list of house wishes. (i swear, every time i cross one off, i add three).

i need tools

i added a new page. it is a long list (who'd have guessed) of tools i'd like to add to my garage. you know, just in case. i have big plans, guys. but i'm sure you already knew that!

are there any holidays coming up?

giant framed art

yesterday, before going to my sister's to watch the bachelor, i hit up a couple random thrift stores. i was't looking for anything in particular, but had random thoughts 

in mind--white pitchers & old, framed art.

well, no white pitchers. 

but at my last stop, i walked by this old, framed painting. it's kind of exactly what i was 

looking for (only at the other places, they were 1/3 of the size and 6x the price!)

(check out my madi in the corner ^)

this baby is over 4 feet long and 2 feet tall and was only twelve bucks! i could. not. believe it! 

and i is perfect because i have a project up my sleeve.

the elephant in the room..

if you know me, you know i love elephants. not in a weird they're-all-over-my-house/elephant-stuffed animals-on-the-bed kind of way. i think there is only one other in my house, and it sits inconspicuously on a book shelf in the office.

so, when i saw this little guy at a second-hand store for 25¢, well. he's at my house now, obviously.

 it's just a tiny terra-cotta elephant planter. what else? oddly enough, the second i saw him,
i knew exactly what his fate would be. i don't know why it took me so
long--he's been hiding behind a curtain on the kitchen windowsill for months. 

but last night, he got sprayed white and planted.

(i snagged a fake succulent from hobby lobby)

he is now a friendly greeting (although suffocating under a cloche) 

to anyone who walks in the front door. 

[literal] house project

so, i went outside (on a grey, rainy day) and took a picture of the house to add to the house tour.

i mainly just needed a decent before picture, and this only gave me inspiration to update the outside. soon.

 eek! it's not that bad from afar. but close up, there's two-tone soffit (you know--some black, some white--the usual), rot, and rusty nail holes (the previous owners obviously hung their christmas lights up with nails) 

helpful tip: stainless steel, galvanized or aluminum nails should be used outside

anywho. i uploaded this photo and played around with colors. i am wanting a muted sandy-grey, but the colors that i envisioned on the app were too close to the grey/green already on the house. and i want a change. so i went with a dark grey/black just for the heck of it.

 

photo made using this tool

what i want in the end:

dark, sandy-grey exterior (including garage and brick on either side)

black shutters and  front door: 

 

updated doorknob and lock on door

garage door keypad

large silver house numbers

i think three colors are recommended for house exteriors. i am at two. i would like to have cedar shutters and cedar shake shingles on the gable. (eh, dad?) so, in the future, that would make three.

[you can see a full list of house projects here. and i mean full]

living room rug dilemma

so, in the near future we are adopting a new couch. one that fits our too-big-oddly-shaped living room, and one that is large enough for two people to watch movies. 

but, i'm having bit of a rug dilemma. um. which one?!

i've been looking at these options (of course, the red/grey zigzag one which i've never seen until today is calling to me) online but am nervous. it's a big purchase. literally. 8'x10'.

i don't want it to be so loud that i can't change up curtains, pillows, etc. (this girl loves change).
but, i don't want it to be boing all-grey. or do i?

there are two things in the room that need to play nice with the new rug:

mainly, our ugly red/yellow/orange/brown/cream tile with dark grout. bleh.

and a blue garden stool. but hey, no one says i can't paint you.

thriftstore finds

yet again, i was out thrift store shoppin'.

this little silver cutie was on a high shelf, so after tiptoeing to get a better look, i was stopped in my tracks.

the inside of the bowl is blue as can be!!

here it is with major camera-flash so you can see. it's lacquered. and awesome. and only $1.50

then i stumbled upon two matching throw pillows (that are much cuter and less-hallweeny in person than they are in these pictures). 

but, they're super cozy and i seem to aways be searching for throw pillows. at $3 a piece, how could i say no?

madi approves. happy super bowl sunday, everyone!