bloom

I certainly am no green thumb but I do love to plant me some flowers come spring! 

 We were about to throw away this old, heavy, metal filing cabinet when I decided it could definitely be used as a planter....

I used a layer of white spray paint then a layer of standard behr paint

decided on stripes....so easy and I just love stripes in general

filled it up with some empty plastic bottles/containers so not to have to waste potting soil

painted a little something on the front:

or you could also use an old light fixture as a planter:

got my pretty flowers from my sister and brother in-law's greenhouses...you must GO

and a few pics of the girl with her bestie this morning at Baker Park....feeding the ducks for the first time! So, so fun......

have a great weekend!!!

a fab vintage sofa, paintings in progress & a sofa for sale...

Leila and I were crazy painters yesterday...both so excited about our projects in progress.  Hers on the floor above and mine below.

this piece will be done this week....it is on a cotton shower curtain and incorporates pattern, color texture.  There is a vintage ribbon wrapped around it and the blue "ruffles" come from a baby's swimsuit that my sister passed down to me.  Unfortunately, it had been worn one too many times to be used this summer... 

And, we have been in the middle of a mad scramble to get this vintage leather Davis sofa in its new home: our living room.  We have wanted a leather sofa to deal better with our dog hair issue and to give use more room, however we didn't want just any leather sofa.  We needed something on the smaller scale with style and good lines. 

Went to Chartreuse and again it did not disappoint. Had my eye on this and the price was a steal... (courtesy of vendor Sue at The Treasured Hunt ...Chartreuse has several "vendors" who sell.)  I texted my husband a pic of it and called him at the office but I didn't hear back.  Sigh, I had to let it go.  When he got home on Friday night he told me he thought I had bought it. YOU WHAT?!?  My heart sank and I immediately e-mailed the owner of Chartreuse asking if it was still there.  Of course not....it had been purchased that day.

However, it was fate.  Apparently the lady who purchased it decided it didn't work in her home and had to sell it.  Score!....on that note though, we are selling this piece:

Make us an offer!  I admit it, I did paint the upholstery after seeing the steps on this blog but now that we are moving our sectional into the playroom to make room for the leather sofa, this has to go.  It is otherwise in great condition and was handed down to us from my parents.  It measures 58" wide and is 32" deep and can certainly be re-upholstered.

a week of firsts

It has been a fun week of firsts......a trip to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore for Leila to discover that fish really do swim in water......

and ships float

She kissed the tanks and squeeled "FEEESSHHH"

and the independence of being able to climb up on the sofa and "read" all on her own....

and the beauty of snow.....

and juggling really is not that easy (especially with balls that are half her size!)

Meanwhile, I am about to embark on a new painting which will incorporate the following:

 can you tell what's what?

a book nook complete

So we've been hard at work plugging away at our basement/playroom/guest room.  One major part is finally complete (thank goodness)!  What was once a boring closet under our stairs which we used to store paint and other household odds and ends.....

has become a charming, cozy getaway for our little girl who loves to read.  She will spend loads of time in here....I can hear her saying "whoaa" as she flips through her books looking at all the pictures.

We pretty much already had everything in here....the only things purchased was the wood for my husband to build it and of course he had to also buy a super duper special saw to make it all happen :) he did a pretty darn good job, don'tchya think? Also the cost of the lighting and the electrician to install everything in our basement. 

I found some quotes that I liked and distressed some scrap wood and painted them on the wood.

a black and white photo of my dad and grandmother hangs above the book shelf.  I lined the photo with chocolate velvet ribbon to give it a rich look and painted an old frame white.

Got this book shelf years ago at Goodwill for $10....it must have also been a little girl's once because it was light pink when I got it......

really looking forward to both of us having reading time together in her new book nook...so fun!

For more inspiration on how to make use of small spaces go here....

martha's february issue

If you are a fan of The Greenbrier (who isn't) or of Dorothy Draper (if you aren't you should be) then you have to check out the spread in the February issue of the Martha Stewart magazine (page 110 to be exact.)

I read it last week as I climbed my way through my elliptical workout and came across it again today in a doctor's office.  I admit it, I snagged yet another magazine.  But, it is being put to good use....there are a lot of other great tips that I am going to take advantage of!  And it reminded me of how much I want to go back to The Greenbrier...sigh....maybe next time for high tea? hmmm....

a few pics I took of Leila today:

 

a dresser made over

Leila having a good ole' time with her buddies!

Was excited to find on the designer Emily A. Clark's blog the exact same dresser made over but just in a different shade and new knobs.  The dresser above came from my husband's grandparent's house and I just loved it and knew it had potential. 

I have the matching tall dresser which I plan on painting a yellow for Leila's playroom.  But for now, here is the finished piece we are now using as a console in our living room:

I actually did buy new, modern knobs for this but they didn't fit the holes so I ended up just painting the existing antique looking ones a gray/blue....am loving it: