new home decor ideas // breakfast area

 

The room that needs immediate attention is our “eat in” breakfast area. My dad has wanted us to invest in a table since Kyle and I moved in together over 4 years ago. But we always had excuses. Apartment too small. A table goes where Mulligan plays. A table goes where Kennesaw and Mulligan plays. A table would block Mulligan and Kennesaw’s direct path to the backdoor to go outside. But now we really don’t have an excuse. It is our home, we need a table– that will block the sliding glass door, Mulligan and Kennesaw’s direct exit out back. Bah hum bug.

But. on a positive note: that gives me the opportunity to play interior decorator. So, this is what I am thinking.

Buffet. IKEA Stornas Collection. Gray Brown. {not pictured in the correct color} // Table. IKEA Stornas Collection. Gray Brown. // Picture for over the buffet. World Market. //

I want a buffet for our placemats, napkins, and napkin wear.  And a place to store all our serving dishes and other dishes things. I like this one because it has the 2 long drawers plus the 3 little ones.  And I love the open shelving for a wine rack? Or other more decorative/fun bowls {for example my Parker Bowls from Crate and Barrel}. Plus, I love the idea of decorating the top of it and I already have ideas.  Fingers crossed when we measure the wall it isn’t too big.

I just LOVE the picture and thing it will go great with the green wall color and the rustic looking furniture. I spotted it at World Market this week and had to literally hold myself back from buying it.

And the table matches the buffet.  They’re a package deal. And need to be the same material. I cannot wait to decorate the table too with all our fun wedding gifts!

And... I promise... as rooms start to come together I will post the real life, not just my fantasies!

I hope everyone has a really good weekend.  If you need Kyle or me we will be at Home Depot and at our new house... hanging curtains, changing locks... being domesticated and married. :)

12 Things I Learned in 2012

I am a total blog post idea stealer. I saw this on Oh Well Instead and learned that the  idea game from one of my most favorite bloggers Jenn who is in Atlanta and I swear I will meet in real life in 2013. And I believe with each passing year you learn life lessons and continue to grow as a person. You just have to slow down at times, reflect and then catalog those lessons for the future. So... without further explanation – the 12 things I learned in 2012.

1. Hard work pays off. I have been presented with some excellent opportunities this year and built excellent relationships with people I work with. I hate when my parents are right – but if you work hard enough you really will go far.

2. It is hard to fall off the workout wagon and it is even harder to get back on. I cannot even fit in my wedding dress that I wore in March, the gym sounds like a fabulous idea, but it is sooo hard to get back into one.

3. I need ME time like there is no tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong. I love Kyle J. But there are times when I just want to sit back, watch tv, play on the internet, and just be alone. When I am not getting that time I get cranky and irritated. I need to get better at me time in 2013 and warning Kyle when I am about to get cranky.

4. I am a HUGE control freak. I never realized how intense of a character trait {or flaw} this is until I got down to the wire in wedding planning & house hunting & in many aspects at work. I pretty much overwhelm myself because I have to do it or it won’t be done right. Again, I need me time or I go crazy.

5.  You do not need a lot of friends, just a handful of good friends. After having a friend drop out of my wedding and then learn that another good friend was nothing but a liar face, I learned that all you really need in life are friends you can turn to for anything and everything. You shouldn’t have to censor yourself and separate conversations for friends.

6. Stay Humble. It is great to accomplish great and wonderful things. But how you handle those great and wonderful things speaks volumes. It is not attractive or cute to only talk about your successes and be me me me.

7. Ebay is a great way to get rid of your junk/things you don’t need/want anymore. They saying is true – one person’s trash is another person’s treasures. And you can make some quick easy cash.

8. Your happiness {and unhappiness} really does cross over into other parts of your life. So determine if your unhappiness is permanent or momentary and make life adjustments if/when needed.  Happiness is a direction, not a destination.

9.  I think I am an interior designer. Now... lets just see how horrible our new house turns out to be.

10. Some of the most important people in your life will keep secrets from you. You may never know the reason why they chose to not tell you things, but you have to remember there is a reason behind their logic.

11. Sometimes you just have to be there for people. It isn’t always about offering the best advice or siding with someone. Sometimes it is all about just being there for when someone is ready to talk or cry or scream.

12. Lazy Friday night dinners in front of the TV make the best dates. You don’t have to get dressed up or go anywhere, but you’re still spending quality time together. And really, why would you want fight the world on a Friday night after you fought the world for 5 days straight at work?!

Well... with all that said, I hope everyone had a great 2012! :)

Happy Homeownership!

Kyle and I are officially homeowners! And, I feel like we only signed our name like 40 times, not 100 times.  And it only took like 40 minutes not hours.  People... don’t be so dramatic when it comes to home buying!

This is one of my favorite pictures because Kyle isn’t even left handed and he is posing for the picture and grabbed the pen with his left hand. What a total goofball.

I have no idea what I signed or agreed to – other than that we promise to make timely mortgage payments and try our best to never ever default on the loan.

But... we are both very excited and now I can officially look at home decor pictures on Pinterest, paint colors at Home Depot, and furniture at Havertys and not be a total crazy. =D

Here’s to saving for a roof and updated HVAC units and fingers crossed we get those programmable thermostats we asked Kyle’s dad for for Christmas! :: yawn ::

I cannot wait to post pictures of the house as we get situated and things fall into place!

Weekly Wrap Up

This may be a new trend for me. {If I can remember each week} Highlighting our past 7 days for our fabulous readers. :)

First piece of big news. THE HOUSE. we are closing on Tuesday!!! It is crazy and we cannot believe it is happening. 

I have been holding off revealing the house – in case something fell through. BUT... THIS IS OUR HOUSE! We are both really excited about it.  We’re officially moving to the suburbs of Atlanta – Alpharetta to be exact. Good school systems {for our imaginary children},great backyard {for our real life dogs}, and a house of our very own! :)

But I think that means we can cross another thing {well two things} off my 30 before 30 list – figure out what Kyle and I are doing with our lives and buying a house!

Kyle and I went to The Container Store this weekend and he loves the place just as much as I do.  He loves it so much he took an overpriced notebook off the wall and started jotting down ideas for different parts of our house.  True Story.  So future good gift ideas for us: Container Store gift cards. And, I got a running list of gift ideas for him.

We actually spent all day yesterday in the Perimeter finishing our Christmas shopping and remembering why we hate the Perimeter and why we do ALL our shopping in like October. Never again.

Work. We got the big deal. So, on top of packing and moving, I will be spending A LOT of time in Birmingham after the 1st of the year.  I spent all day on Friday with our new client for observations and questions and let me tell you... I have A LOT of work in my future. But, I am excited.  Implementing an onsite account is a new thing for me and I am ready for the crazy challenge!

Well. We have a short week this week. :) We’re heading back to Virginia for the Christmas holiday and then when i get back... life gets insanely busy!!

for the house i do not own.

we are officially supposed to close on the 18th. so i am now in constant “i need this for the house” mode. i need an intervention. i need to chill.

{read the rest of this post in my whiney, fast talking, but i need this, breathless voice. if you know me, you know what i am talking about}

For example: see the big fork and spoon bronze art? i need that. I showed them to kyle and he told me they were [and i quote] “very stupid” and that he [and i quote again] “good if we had a giant over for dinner”. heartbreaking. he is no fun. but i can picture it in my kitchen, on the wall next to the pantry. hanging just like in the picture. or maybe horizontally with the spoon facing one way and the fork the other. i feel like they’re funky and fun and will add character to our light, moss green kitchen [that will eventually be repainted]. and the fuddy duddy that is my husband can deal with it. But... with all that said, the one thing i know: i need them and will get them, eventually. mark.my.words.

and then this hutch. i mean. it is a beauty. i like that i can store serve ware underneath [and wine] and then put fun decoration on top. plus, i want something to put all our napkins and placemats in rather than our kitchen drawers. but at the sticker price of $1,099 this piece of furniture will not be in our future home. i know, $1,099 – gasp. shock. awe. – totally unattainable. and i don’t want to hear about “investments” and “having it forever” because $1,099 is a crap-ton of money. we will continue to look at target for a great buffet/hutch thing. plus, i don’t think it is dark enough wood. ideally – i would love to find a buffet/hutch thing to match the kitchen table we need to buy. but i want the shelving underneath and the drawers.

but as i look at kitchen art [aka the fork and spoon] and then furniture, i realize that i really love dark wood. and we currently have dark wood because kyle and i love the clean look of it. our cabinets, they’re white. we’re going to need to make them dark [eventually] to match the decor i am wanting to pull off.

one thing i know [other than that i need that fork and spoon art] is that i need to win the lotto or put bonus money to our eventual kitchen upgrade and semi-home painting [kyle and i may be misadvised, but we think we can paint 97% of the house on our own. stay tuned for pictures]. i like pretty things, it is a major downfall.

oh and another thing i know: i need to breathe and live in the house for like a week before i start buying things and decorating. for all i know, i am designing one of the other houses we looked at.

bad dog mom!

I totally forgot to post that it was Mulligan’s 4th birthday this week!! And even worse – we did nothing for him. We knew Kennesaw would steal whatever toy we got him. Seriously. Bad Dog Parents.

But... I feel like it was just yesterday that I was telling Kyle “no” and then seeing the cute puppies and quickly saying “yes” and it has been nothing but adventures since! Chewed up walls, trips to the dog park, visits to Santa, trips to the vet over eating rocks, tormenting him and making him wear his fleece coat, him digging in his water bowl, and I could go on forever.Mulligan was SO small when we 1st saw him and decided we wanted him.  It is funny because of all the pups he was the adventurous one. The one who escaped from the puppy room to say hello. And now, he is scared of pretty much everything. Maybe we shelter him too much!

Happy 4th year of life Mulligan Lackashore Shanahan!  Here’s to many more years of being the spoiled human animal that you are!!

Santa! I know Him!

VICTORY!  Both Mulligan and Kennesaw are smiling.  Santa, he is not.  He looked grumpy in every picture he took with all the dogs this year!  But, how cute are my kids!! Ho Ho Ho!

I posted this picture on Facebook and the girl who helped save Mulligan from the junkyard commented on the picture and said "shut up! santa is not in the junkyard!" ... silly silly - mulligan now lives in luxury!!