furniture shuffling & a vintage dress...

last weekend, we bought quite a bit of 'new' furniture.  we just seemed to hit the jackpot, and i'm hoping to hit it again this weekend! while we already had the sofa and matching chair in these photos, we did find the new chair i'm sitting in, among other things.  that basically lead to us shuffling around our existing furniture.  finally (FINALLY!!) the 'peach room' as we call it, is starting to feel like a study.  you can see some of the original look of the room over here.  we plan on painting it this summer as well, so that'll really help it feel more masculine.

so where did this lovely sofa move from? the porch. which now has a new dresser and chair added to it, and another chair that we shuffled out of this room. i'm telling ya, lots of shuffling happening! i'm debating between adding a bed in the corner of the porch (similar to rachel's), and creating a cozy nook, which would be great for reading, or even sleeping on the hot summer nights... or finding another couch or loveseat.  it definitely needs something more substantial than the four chairs that are currently in there (which will lead to more shuffling!).

 it's been almost a year since moving into our house, and it's definitely come a long way. i love how cozy it is, and how it's so 'us'. adding finishing touches and finding the perfect pieces to finish a room is so satisfying. i'm not sure what i'll do once it's all finished. but as they say, a house is never done. but i don't mind :)

     dress: etsy (allyhoot vintage)
     belt: forever 21
     shoes: ruche (old)

an updated wall...

 you all may remember from my house snaps that i put up an instagram photo wall last summer.  i had lots of instagram pics, and i wasn't sure what to do with them, and i had a lot of bare walls at the time, so the instagram wall was a perfect temporary solution.  but that's what it was. temporary.  while i liked the look of it, and having an assortment of photos up that were easy to change, i found the idea of taping photos to the wall just a bit 'studenty'.  not something to find in a home of a 30+ year old. not to mention that we decided to put up a family photo wall going up the stairs, which you can see a glimpse of in the photo below, so it looked quite busy.

so after thinking it through, and taking down the instagram wall to force my butt to find a better replacement, we agreed on another idea... 

a plate wall.  due to the slanting wall from the stairs, it's hard to find one or two large photos that would work and flow with the wall shape.  plates are easy to hang in any shape or form you wish.  so then we were off to find some plates that we liked and worked with the decor of our home.

 success! the local antique shop had lots of options, and we quickly found enough to start our wall. once they were up, we realized there were some we liked more than others (surprisingly, we BOTH prefer the floral patterns to the blue ships/homesteads).  so as we find new ones, we'll add to and replace some of the current plates.

we both much prefer the plate wall to the instagram wall.  it's another step to making a house that was briefly just mine, to a home that's ours.

House Snappies...

 since getting my keys on may 31st, i've been house obsessed.  i know everyone says it takes time to make a house a home, but i'm impatient.  i want it to feel like it's mine, and to be warm and cozy. so after finally finishing the painting, i've been setting it up, rearranging, hitting yard sales galore.

here's a glimpse of the results...

my back entrance/mudroom, still pretty plain...  along with a peek of my backyard.

my bathroom, shower curtain from urban outfitters, and my 'closet'... which is actually the smallest of three bedrooms.  i really wanted a space where i could see my clothing, primp, visualize... now i have it.

chloe adjusting to the new house.  she's finding pretty spots to hang out, on a yard sale find chair, and in a window with lace curtains.

 my kitchen... which used to be red! i've been in love with farmhouse style corner hutches for a while now, and i managed to find this white one.  it was over my budget, but it just fit so perfectly. i had to take it home. i painted it mint green to add a bit of pop to it. so pleased with the results! (now just to fill it with dishes!).

my cream/white kitchen!  i've since replaced those light fixture shades with milk glass shades. it suits my style much better.  also, i managed to scrounge up lots of milk glass vases for this little spot over the stove.

i don't have a dining room, nor is there space for a large table in my kitchen. this table just fits perfectly! mixed with vintage linens in mint green, milk glass/hobnail accessories (vase and lamp), a teapot gift, and some aqua melamine teacups, its a romantic-farmhouse look.

these prints can be found in my kitchen as well.  the first two i found on etsy, and the second needlepoint was a $2 yardsale find. Score!

instagram, as you can see, is a part of my life. i just love the vintagey photos. so, i after spotting an instagram wall on elsie's blog, i thought this was the perfect spot for one. i've linked her tutorial, but i found painters tape didn't hold the photos. i switched to the blue sticky poster putty. so far so good.

also, lots of vintage goodies in the living room, found at various yard sales.  one persons trash is another's treasure after all!

as you can see, milkglass pops up repeatedly in my home, with some vases and a lamp again on an end table. i also have extra dining chairs throughout the house in the case of guests for dinner.  

and here's an example of my rearranging... note the difference of the display items on this cabinet?  a new vintage typerwriter find means rearranging everything and finding some new homes for items.

 i have a porch!! this was on my 'must have' list when i was house hunting.  vintage sofa and chairs, suitcases... these were a combination of yard sales and kijiji.  i also have a lamp and rocking chair, which were from my mother's family home.

little perks: i'm not a phone person. i almost didn't get one hooked up. but i did, and that called for an awesome phone! (sorry for the pun).  etsy has been a saviour for my impatience these past few months.  i found this working rotary phone.  love it.  and also, have i mentioned i have a strawberry patch??  a sweet treat indeed.  

 :)

j.

oh christmas tree(s)...

 i'm a tad bit obsessed with christmas. have you noticed?

my official christmas season starts on november 12th. early right? wrong.

i have four trees to decorate. four.

plus the one at work.

this is my mom's tree... and her railing... and a few little decorations.

her colour scheme is brown, amber, bronze, gold and cream, with a smidgen of lime... 

 

 then there's my tree...

vintage inspired with lots of gold, cream, light blues and mints...

  

 i found it a little bland, so i added some red!

 

did i mention i have two trees? but not enough room for both... so i brought it to the cottage.

a black tree, with white mesh, pewter, cream/white, silver, and blue ornaments.

:)

 then there's the 'family' tree.  the real tree, with a hodge podge assortment of ornaments we've been collecting since i was a baby.

also, christmas eve, we all add an ornament with our name and birth year on it.

very days of our lives...

 

 outside... we can't forget that!

white lights, garland and trees, with red mesh, x 2 doors. and white lights on the front of the house.

 

  

 baking!

butter tarts, with a french style pastry.

yummm..

  

 my treat tins are a hot commodity around here.

a select few close friends and family, and coworkers gets to enjoy these treats.

martha stewart: beware!

:)

j.