Lovin' in the Kitchen ...

Yes, folks, the tree is still up!  

Out went the Christmas elves and gingerbread men ...

and in came the hearts.  There are flowers embellished with hearts ....

hearts that say "I like you!"

one with a simple word of:

and, ones that don't say anything at all.

Of course, there are *YUM*mies to indulge on ...

because they're nice and ...

Annnnd, there's a reminder of what we all want ...

along with a big reminder of what we all need!

So, is there "lovin'" going on in your kitchen?

Thanks for stopping by!

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My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Savvy Southern Style/WUW

Becca

Our *Wanna Be* Sanctuary

Some of you may remember when I redecorated a few rooms at my parents' house this past summer, to include their sunroom.  In this space, I replaced a wicker loveseat, two chairs (all with red cushions) and *yellow-y* walls with a relaxing 4 chair configuration dressed in blues and creams, with a few pops of coral and a big ol' boat that appears to be floating on the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, which is right in their backyard.  Once I was done, my parents named their "new" room "The Sanctuary." 

Ever since then, I've wanted to create a little "Sanctuary" in our sitting room; however, it's not as big as my parents room, NOR does it overlook the ocean (bummer)!  Still, I'm determined ...

Here's what it looked like this time, last month:

And, here's what it looks like now:

Like my parents' "Sanctuary," I really want to have 4 white accent chairs in this space (possibly EKTORP Jennylund chairs from IKEA) and position them  around this perfectly-sized round ottoman I recently snagged at Home Goods:

And, while I won't be painting our walls Wythe Blue like I chose for my parents' sunroom, I've added pops of blue back in ... like with this fun, new, geometric fabric,

along with bringing back the blue accent chest that I replaced during the Christmas season:

Also, I'll re-introduce pops of coral once Spring draws near ... for now, I've kept a bit of red for Valentine's Day:

Bessie (the cowhide that *was* in our breakfast area) is now enjoying this space that is filled with lots of white, to include a sofa table that was oak stained a couple of weeks ago, but is now Annie Sloane's "Pure White,"

a pretty, white garden seat I recently scored at TJMaxx,

  

lots of white pieces in the bookcase:

and, okay, a few shells ... just because.

Here's hoping that I can find the perfect chairs to fill this space, without overwhelming it. Until then, I suppose I'll just enjoy our "Wanna Be Sanctuary." (lol)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

And, be sure and come play with us:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
From My Front Porch to Yours/Treasure Hunt Thursday

French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

An Unexpected Valentine Mantel

Greetings, friends!

Gone is the glitter, faux snow and reindeer; however, one thing that didn't have to leave after Christmas were splashes of red ... thanks to Valentine's Day! 

After running into World Market a couple of weeks ago to grab one "little" thing, I found myself unexpectedly loading a NOT-so-little thing into my car.  That purchase then became the surprise focal point for our Valentine's Day mantel:

Of course, I *then* found my car driving on auto pilot to Michael's to find a few goodies to complement such unexpected purchase! First, I spotted simple, inexpensive red vases to add faux florals (already had on hand): 

Next, while there, I found a pack of red and pink hearts, which I would later embellish with smaller Martha Stewart adhesive hearts and hang at varying heights across the mantel:

And, what's Valentine's Day without Cupid?  These cuties were actually part of a gift bag ... I simply detached them from the bag and gave them a spot on the mantel, as well, along with a few, scattered rose petals:  

Plain, white candles were given a bit of Valentine whimsy by adding layers of decorative ribbon:

Lastly, after finding these cute, adhesive tiles, I thought it'd be fun to frame them:  

One last peek at our unexpected Valentine mantel:

Thanks for stopping by ... hope to see your unexpected additions, too!

Come play:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday
Jennifer Rizzo/Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party

A New Addition

Greetings, friends!

While I should be putting our house back together after taking Christmas down last week ... SOMEhow, I found myself with a paint brush in my hand.

You see ... I've wanted to add an antique secretary to our great room for quite some time now, but, have never found one that I liked ... that is, until the other day (thanks to a rainy morning and Craigslist).

Here's what *she* looked like after we brought her inside ... in pretty good condition, despite dings here and there.  Still, I could practically hear her begging me for a makeover ... so, that's exactly what I did.

And, here's how she looks now, thanks to a can of Annie Sloane's "Pure White:"

Of course, I had to distress her a bit to honor peeks of her history (love the ball and claw feet):

I also decided she needed to be a bit fancy, so I replaced her rather nondescript wooden knobs with fun, clear *vintage-y* ones:

Lastly, to add a bit of pizazz, I painted on a simple, French graphic (thank you, again, Graphics Fairy)!

Before:

And, AFTER!

I truly hope she approves of her new look!

Now, back to vacuuming up glitter and finding everything I tucked away for the holidays!

And, come on over and play with us:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday
Jennifer Rizzo/Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party
From My Front Porch to Yours/Treasure Hunt Thursday

Thanks for stopping by,

Surprise Gift!

Greetings, friends!

 

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends and are able to take a deep breath and relax a bit now that it's all over! 

 

As for my gang, we're still cleaning up bits of wrapping paper here and there, as well as starting the daunting task of Christmas "take down." (ugh)

 

But, before I forge ahead, I simply had to give a "shout out" to my sweet husband for surprising me with this beauty for Christmas:

 

I had *noooo* idea that he was going to do that and can't wait to get to know it better (although, admittedly, I'm a bit intimidated by its fancy lenses and *grown up* features)!  If you're a Nikon D3100 owner and have any tips and tricks you'd like to share, I'm all ears!

 

Until then, you can find me in an OCD panic, as I deal with boxes, glitter and *mess* everywhere!

 

Happy New Year!

 

Becca

Oh, Christmas TreeS!

Yup, it's me ... again!

 

Just when you thought you were done seeing my Christmas  posts, I thought I'd spring one more on ya' before the big day!

 

I'll make this easy though ... not many words ... just pictures of a few things that I had yet to share.

 

First up, the tree in my husband's office ...

dressed in deep reds, dark greens, golds and browns and another crazy tree topper ...

full of our "12 days of Christmas" ornaments,

 

 

along with a vintage golfing Santa or two.

Moving on over to little man's playroom ... you never know who you'll find on his tree ...

 

There's Frosty flying around,

and even a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ready to attack anyone who dares to mess with any of the ornaments.

In Jax's bedroom, I added a small table-top tree:

dressed in all things sports.

And, sp*eaking* of sports ... step on out to my husband's man cave, where I treated him to a NY Yankees tree (my apologies if you're not a fan).

For fun, I added a few things you'd find on a day at the ballpark, such as popcorn,

 

boxes of cracker jacks and an ice cold Budweiser.

 

 

Lastly, we'll cruise on over to our bedroom.  This tree is dressed in colors of blues, creams and golds to match our room's color palette:

 

 

Fleur-de-lis ornaments (from Dillard's) sparkle in the light,

 

 

as do words of "Joy,"

 

 

and a wild and crazy tree topper.

 

 

I'm a bit sad that, not only will our trees be coming down next week, but our festive Christmas cards will, too (idea from Pinterest),

 

 

as well as allll of this.

 

 

Are you a bit sad, like me, at how fast this holiday season has gone by, or, are you ready to start the New Year with a fresh, clean slate?

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Becca