Spring Mantel

I had a little trouble getting this mantle together. I looked back at last year's and then realized I had used some of the things upstairs. So, that's why it wasn't coming together.

Plan B:

I almost cut up the flowers from my wreath because it doesn't fit on my door. I didn't exactly want to do that and just stuck it in the toolbox. Lo, and behold, it fit and I liked it.

And, for those who have made comments that my house is always clean...there is a huge mess behind me. I just choose not to photograph it. :)

Candlesticks, Topiary, Bunny: Goodwill
Toolbox, Books, Crate: Wesley's Stash
Wreath: HomeGoods
Clock: Big Lots
Plate: TJMaxx
Bird: Dollar Tree
Pails: Target's $1 Spot
I won the eggs in a giveaway.
 *The crazy wreath was the most expensive thing. Why do they cost so much? Other than that, stuff was el-cheapo. I had everything on hand and only had to buy the pails. So, my mantle cost me $2 this season.

Kitchen

**Please excuse the quality of the pics. I'm afraid my lens or camera is about to go toast, but you'll get the idea anyways.**

First off, a look at the kitchen before (taken the day after we moved, so randomness is everywhere):

It wasn't quite my style...so, my dearest hubby scraped off wallpaper and painted and painted. I helped paint the walls, but that wonderful guy did the majority of the work himself. I just "guided." ;)

I don't have everything quite the way I want it, but I'll show you where we're at so far.

I'm wanting new lights above the sink and some kind of covering for the window, but not sure what.

I would also like to replace the fan. The chalkboard is quite large. I found the frame 90% off at Hobby Lobby and grabbed it. I was originally going to paint it white, but the gold is distressed and not quite as bad, so we're leaving it for now.

The door leads to the basement and still needs some more paint. We're a little painted out right now, so it'll eventually get done. LOL

Hoping to find some material for curtains to go along with the plates.

We found the cabinet handles at a surplus store. They were gold and ugly, but cheap. So, he just spray painted them oil rubbed bronze. The drawer handles came from Hobby Lobby 1/2 off. (Which reminds me, I still owe you $ Becky for finding the others). He added beadboard wallpaper to the cabinet doors and then painted over it. Changed the look dramatically! 

I painted the sign out of an old cabinet door.

We painted the counter tops with counter top paint. So far, it's holding up. We shall see.

Shew! Major picture upload, huh?! 

So, just a recap...

Hallway

When we looked at the house before moving, I was wondering if I would find a place for my white bench-the living room is pretty small. This is by far my favoritest :) Goodwill find. That and my pie safe. It's a tough call...

As the guys were unloading they moved it right to the area in the hallway. It fit perfectly and thus, it found it's new home. 

It wasn't very easy getting a picture of this area. I may or may not have ended up standing in the bathtub to fit it all in. This is one reason I do not like prime lenses.

My sister bought me the sign for Christmas (Homegoods) and then I decorated around the colors in it. Love clearance at Hobby Lobby!! Unfortunately, the closest one is now 1 hr 15 mins away. Guess that helps the pocketbook out. 

And Wes has been hard at working doing this:

Excuse the mess. Open cabinets means new toys for Weston.

Bathroom #1

A lot of our family hasn't made it here, yet, so I'm trying to show them as much as I can through this blog. I know I enjoy seeing other peoples homes, so hopefully you do, too.

We kept the bathroom fairly similar to our last house. I liked the decor, so I stuck with it. :)

I didn't quite understand the arrangement here. The cabinet doors wouldn't fully open because it bumped into the mirror concoction. Someone mentioned (Hi! Kristin via Becky) that they would take the cabinet doors off and put baskets on the shelves. It was nearly impossible to find matching baskets, in my price range, with the correct measurements. I remembered I already had the one and it fit perfectly. I fixed the other shelves with decor. There is a decent size linen closet, so it all worked out. 

 

We used to have the mirror in Arilynn's room, but I couldn't seem to make it fit. I was wondering what to use in here because I wasn't putting the box back up. Then it dawned on me. YAY! The light fixture came from a salvage store that cost us about a 1/4 of what it would have at Lowe's. There is a tiny chip, but no can tell unless I'd point it out. I haven't even noticed it since Wes hung it. The tan light switch is driving me crazy, but I keep forgetting to get one to replace it.

Mantel

I got my Christmas decor down fairly quickly this year. (I guess Arilynn's tree is still up. It blends in). We put our tree up as soon as we moved in, so it was up longer than normal. I was excited to decorate my mantel, but it took me forever to finally get anywhere with it. I wanted to go and buy all new things, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. So, after stealing from this room and that and sending Wes outside to cut branches from our tree, I think I finally got it. For now.

GW pitchers and wooden container.

I did buy one new thing with Christmas money-the canister came from TJMaxx.

We went goodwilling when we went home for Christmas and I was super excited to find this topiary. I knew it would look perfect sitting there. Wes was thrilled trying to arrange it in our vehicle with the 500 tons of other things. I heard about it all the way home, but I didn't budge. It was going home with me. Tee hee...

Mom gave me the clock for Christmas! :)

The Living Room

Yes, we're still alive. Phew! Moving is hard work. We still don't have everything sorted and put away, but we're getting closer. (I hope).

The living room is done...for right now...until I change my mind about something.

Come on in...
WARNING: Lots of pictures.

This is before (yes, we're messy movers)!

 

 

We painted ETA: (Lowes-Olympic Tightrope) and added the board to the lower part of the wall. Made a big difference. The top is supposed to be a warm gray, but it sometimes looks tan to me. I wanted something more neutral, so I could change things with the seasons.

 

I stole a lot of the decor from our bedroom, so now I'll have to just about start from scratch in there.
 

I paid entirely too much for the wreaths hanging in the windows. They were 50% off at Dollar Tree.
 

 We just started decorating for Christmas once we began. No sense changing it after a couple weeks. I love having a fireplace mantel!!!!!!!!

   

I found this printable from browsing Pinterest.

 

The pitcher and reindeer were a GW find.