Pinnable Friday: Spring Has Sprung!

It is definitely Springtime here in the midwest!  The mild temps and rainshowers have caused the plants to sprout, trees to bloom, and the bulbs to pop up out of the ground.  Thankfully, Pinterest has also been full of all kinds of Springy ideas :)

Source: imgfave.com via Tessa on Pinterest

I love tulips and think this would be a great way to bring their beauty indoors.  And, since the back of our house faces west, we have plenty of sunlight for this project!

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I think this would be a very cute Easter centerpiece using real daffodils (wish I had found this long before now so I could have gotten a few bulbs planted).

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With Spring, comes fresh produce and yummy salads.  I found this recipe and think it looks pretty amazing. 

Source: tasteofhome.com via Tessa on Pinterest

To me, the perfect Spring dessert incorporates lemon in some way and while I have not tried this dessert yet, it seems like it will fit that bill!

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Spring also means cool evenings and the new house has a big front porch that is calling for some furniture so we can sit out there and enjoy those evenings.  I love the pops of color and fun furniture in this picture.

Pinnable Friday

It has been a while since I've done a Pinterest post so I thought today would be a great day to showcase what I've been pinning lately:

Comeback Sauce:  Brandon is obsessed with the Fry Sauce at Freddy's and when I came across this recipe I knew I needed to pin it so we could have Fry Sauce at home.  In fact, I made it this past week and I think it was a hit.  Our sweet potato fry dippers weren't so great, but the sauce was pretty tasty!

Source: syrupandbiscuits.wordpress.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Printable Planners:  Every year I aim to get more organized and if you recall, I put together a household notebook last year to aid in this effort.  I have been using the notebook but found a few different printables on this site that I think would be a little more helpful.

Source: designfinch.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Patterned Book Shelves: Of course, we are in the thick of house updates so I've been pinning a lot of ideas lately.  I just love the geometric background of these book shelves.  We just spent a lot of time painting our book shelves and now I'm thinking I want to add a little pattern to jazz them up a bit. 

Source: houzz.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Outdoor Planter Idea:  With the unseasonably warm winter we have been having, it makes me think about spring that much more!  I need some new ideas for outdoor planters and I think these are very striking and beautiful.

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So there you have it -- a little taste of what I've been pinning lately!  Happy Friday!!



Pinnable Me Friday - Kitchen Ideas

One of the big rooms we want to eventually re-do in the new house is our kitchen.  Currently, it has light blue laminate countertops and a sky blue and white tiled back splash.  It also has the ever-popular (and I say that with sarcasm) honey oak cabinetry.  Pretty awesome, right?!?  Since the kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in any house, I definitely want ours to be fabulous!  So, thanks to Pinterest, I've been able to get some ideas of what I'd like to do.

This kitchen embodies a lot of the characteristics we're looking for:

• light colored cabinets
• glass inserts in a few cabinets
• fun hardware
• dark, solid surface countertops
• mosaic back splash

I don't love the light fixtures and some of the more traditional decor, but the bones are great!

Source: remodelaholic.com via Tessa on Pinterest

The thing I love most about this kitchen - the cabinet color!  I love the idea of a slightly grey cabinet because it adds a modern touch and is something a little different than the normal white.  I also love the cabinet profiles - straight and simple - along with the hardware and glass inserts.  The only thing I'm not terribly crazy about is the light colored countertops.

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This is another kitchen that is similar to the first kitchen, but uses subway tile (a cheaper alternative to mosaic) for the back splash, which I also like.

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As for kitchen decor, here are a few things that have caught my eye!

A bold color!  We have not officially decided if we'll paint all of our trim white, so that will be one factor in the big paint decision, but I L.O.V.E. this navy blue color!  The kitchen has big bright windows so I think it could handle a dark color, especially if we paint our cabinets a light color. 

Source: hgtv.com via Tessa on Pinterest

I love the style of this kitchen.  Everything from the chandelier, to the kitchen table and chairs, to the curtains.  Such a fun look!  I'm definitely not crazy about the cabinets or countertops though...just an FYI.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Tessa on Pinterest

One of the other features of the new kitchen that we are excited about is an eating bar.  And since we will probably do our fair share of eating in that location, we'll need barstools.  I think these are fun and won't take up too much room or get in the way of traffic since the door to the deck is right beside the eating bar.

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Tessa on Pinterest

So, there you have it.  A few ideas for our new kitchen!

From Rags to Riches

Remember this post from August 5?  Well, we did not exactly get that pallet table finished within the week.  We didn't even get it finished within the month, but have no fear...it is finished now!

Brandon did a very thorough job in disassembling and reassembling the pallets to make sure the best boards ended up on top and that each board, corner, and crevice go primed and painted.  I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

I mentioned in my previous post that we were going to put our own twist on the project and that twist was the color.  We did not think that the wood would take stain very well, so we knew we were going to have to paint the table, but what we didn't know was what color.  I toyed around with a bright color like purple or green or something fun, but after I realized how much effort it would take to repaint it once I got tired of the bright color, I figured I better choose something neutral.  I knew I didn't really want black, so I decided to match the slats in the chairs which are a dark charcoal/taupe color.  And I LOVE the outcome!

This pot is too big for the table, but I wanted to show the scale and show it from a different angle.  I plan to find a fun pot to put a fun fall plant in of I have some cute lanterns in the storage room that I could pull out.  We'll just have to see what I come up with!

And have I mentioned my favorite feature?  The casters!  I can roll this baby all around the patio and it rolls with ease.

Who would have thought two rugged old pallets could become such an awesome (and useful) table!

Pinnable Me Friday - Pumpkins

The cooler weather and the definite change in the season has me thinking about all things fall, especially pumpkins.  So, today is all about pumpkins as decorations, treats, and the color in apparel.

DECORATIONS:

I love the texture of this wreath and the addition of pumpkins is just too cute.

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A beautiful use of pumpkins in a front porch planter.

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If I had any "art" skills, I'd be making these!  So cute!

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A sparkly fall or Thanksgiving table.

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TREATS:

My love for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins in brownie form!

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 My favorite morning drink is the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.  If this recipe is really good, it could save me a lot of money.

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Yum!

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Pumpkin Whoopies

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APPAREL:

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Source: polyvore.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Source: ebay.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Happy Friday!

Pinnable Me Friday - Chairs!

As I was browsing Pinterest with my sister over the weekend (she hadn't been introduced), I realized I had pinned a lot of chairs.  So, today's post is all about the amazing chairs I've found and would love to own someday :)
Usually I save the best for last, but in this case I couldn't wait to share these beauties.  I love everything about these chairs - the fabric, the shape, the pillows.  I'm sure I couldn't afford the real things but I would love to find a pair of old chairs at a thrift shop or antique store and recover them to look like these!

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I'm not sure if I mentioned how much I'm loving the Chevron patterns right now, but just in case I haven't, I'm kind of obsessed.  And this chair falls into that obsession category.

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These chairs are so sleek and cool.  If only I had a cool enough house to put them in.

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If we had a bar, these would totally be ours.

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Another cool kitchen chair option.  Probably not the most comfortable, but they would look good!

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Pinnable Me Friday!

This week I decided to feature a couple of successful Pinterest projects/ideas.

In my first Pinnable Me Friday post, I featured this set of DIY candle holders that used old jars, twine and spray paint, and last night the girls from our small group got together and attempted this project.  We decided to use the frosted glass spray paint instead of the white and I think they turned out pretty neat!  Even the boys (who went to a shooting range while we had our craft night) were impressed!

Here is Ali doing a test run with the spray paint.

Christy is pregnant, so we made sure she took safety precautions while we were using the spray paint!

I had a heck of a time getting the twine to stay in place as I wrapped it around my jars, so I was a little bit skeptical about mine were going to turn out.

And finally, the finished products!  This is Christy's set.  She's an interior designer, so she got all creative with her bows...

And Ali's set...

And my set...

We grouped them all together and decided they make the biggest statement when there are more than three.  I will probably display mine at Christmas so I will definitely need to make maybe eight to ten more to really create a dramatic look.

When the boys got home, we were teasing them that we had set the mood for a romantic, candlelit evening!  Ha!!

We also enjoyed a few appetizers for dinner prior to our "activities" and I used another Pinterest idea, Nutella Fruit Dip, which I posted here.

All I did was mix 1 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt with about a half a jar of Nutella and let it chill overnight.  Then, I served it with fresh fruit and Angel Food cake.  It was delicious and a definite keeper!

Happy Friday and Happy Pinning!