OOTDs: Shades of Summer

I feel like I have so many more outfits and shopping purchases to blog, but that has taken a backseat due to a completely messy bedroom! I finally cleaned up a bit of the scattered piles of clothes that fill up around the mirror, so OOTDs are back!

I've already bragged about my favorite little summer cotton LDB from Walmart (and its teal sister). But adding my favorite chartreuse cardi and a black power pin made it seem a bit more interesting. And the maxi dress was a TJ Maxx find from yesterday. Floral print, smocked waist, ruffle neckline ... as Chloe from The Chloe Conspiracy would say "grabby hands!" My friend Kate suggested this brown braided belt to go with it - great choice! If only maxi dresses were appropriate in my workplace, I'd have so many more.

The dress even complements my new OPI nailpolish from my Elfster "elf"! (Strawberry Margarita)

This weekend we're continuing our mini front porch facelift. We replaced our VERY old and beat up storm door with a full panel one, replaced our welcome mat, and hung a basket of flowers. Next up is replacing the exterior lights and mailbox. It's improved so much with those tiny little fixes!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all my American friends!

Blank Walls are My Nemesis

We bought our flatscreen last August. And since August, the blank wall above the TV has been a thorn in my side. And since I'm a huge fan of my couch and TV, I've spent many hours staring at it. Oh, and not only was the wall a bit naked, it also sports awesome missing paint chunks. But I just couldn't commit on what to hang. I didn't want to mount the TV, because I can't commit to just one place -- what if I rearrange the room?! I also didn't want anything too distracting -- no mirrors (would reflect our picture window), no photos, and nothing bright to draw the eye away from the action. So it had to be either a series of things or something wide and horizontal. 

But then came TJ Maxx. Our store has an incredible Home Goods side. I want to just furnish my whole house in Home Goods decor. I came across a few of these square, patterned scroll-y things that were the perfect size for the space and also blended in with all of the other wall decor in the room. And they were on clearance! BUT ... they were pale blue. Thankfully that wasn't a dealbreaker for even this non-crafty DIYer! Black spray paint is almost completely dummy-proof.

The hubs helped me hang them, but even with help - they're far from perfectly straight. We couldn't even center them correctly above the TV. So I moved the TV and also moved the lamp to the corner and brought over the two little ottomans to give it a fake media center feel.

It's still not perfect, but it's making me considerably happier from my couch vantage point.

Next up -- figuring out what do with the wall space that's currently rocking that kissing poster and painting the top of the TV stand black.  I'm taking suggestions on the first.

Housewife Fail?

I was talking to a friend yesterday about how bored I am being a SAHW. She told me if she was home all day her house would be spotless. Well, geez, then I must be kind of sucky at this whole housewife thing. I took a quick scan around me. My house, while conventionally clean, is not spotless. I have piles of clean laundry in the corner of my bedroom; my bookcase hasn't seen a thorough dusting in months; and my fridge could probably use a scrub down. Worst of all ... I haven't removed all of the Christmas decor and tree.

The odd thing is I'm normally a tad OCD in cleaning, especially since we moved into our house. Seeing things out of place makes my anxiety level go up, and God forbid my husband leaves bread crumbs on the counter. Apparently it's something I've inherited naturally through my mom. In fact, she recounted this story to me over the holidays: When I was about 5 years old I was playing with the boy next door at my house. When he touched the end table, I smacked his hands away, and exclaimed, "Don't touch that - my mom just cleaned!!"

I then realized it was unrealistic to expect an immaculate house 24/7, because with unlimited time, it's easier to stretch out the cleaning in bits and pieces throughout the week instead of doing a huge Sunday cleansweep. I shouldn't feel like a housewife failure if the bathroom mirror has water streaks or a pile of paper builds up on the dining room table. Now I try not to beat myself up about the little imperfections - whether it be about the tidiness of my house or just ... me in general.

Decor Productivity

It was a productive decorating weekend for me, largely in part to having my friend and her husband assist in tackling some of the scary hanging projects. Four double-hung frames being one of them. :-/

I picked up some chalkboard decals (4 9x12) at TJ Maxx. I always liked the idea when seen in other decorating blogs, so I thought hey, why not. I needed something to fill some space on the wall above my coffee nook anyway.

Next up, hanging curtains and the photo gallery. Also at TJ Maxx I bought the cheese-tastic vinyl decal that reads "All Because Two People Fell In Love" - afterall, I'm not anti-cheese. And while the vinyl word decals are overdone on the Internet, it's not really a "thing" here, so I'm a total trendsetter.

Curtains purchased at Big Lots for $15 for two panels! I love the way it softens up the room and makes things a little more calming. 

Floating shelves in the bathroom were also put up! I'm going to add more accessories, but for now I just have my DIY Wordles (our first dance and last dance song lyrics). On the side wall is another DIY word project using the eye chart look. It reads "Bear bottoms are acceptable here." 

Our next projects include re-doing our bathroom floor with floating vinyl and painting it an avocado color. We're also getting a new mattress set at which time we're taking up the skanky Berber remnant, shining up the natural hardwoods and getting a plush area rug. 

6 Weeks as Homeowners

... and we still have working plumbing, a roof, and standing walls. I'm impressed and surprised.

My husband and I are probably the epitome of a clueless homeowners. Between the two of us, we have as much common sense as Jessica Simpson and are quite possibly the least handy people ever. Needless to say, there's been quite the learning curve. I've re-caulked the bathtub three times already; I ruined a brand-new iron with hem tape glue while "hemming" curtains; and I did three loads of laundry before I realized I put the lint trap in backward.

I have so many projects I want to tackle - the list just grows and grows. Thankfully the seller had painted the walls in mostly pleasing neutrals, so there hasn't been much to do in that regard. One minor project I completed was replacing the sad looking sage curtains that hung over the kitchen sink. After the hem tape disaster on my existing white curtains, I sucked it up and bought a bamboo shade:

Before:

After:

And much to my surprise, the room that may be the most "done", by simple terms, is the dining room - the room we use the least, but walk through the most as it connects the living room to the kitchen. Dining room set and rug from walmart.com. I'm going to add more furniture pieces over time.

Before:

After:

It's so hard to be patient. I want a fully decorated house NOW. So I remind myself that we have a few years to do the things we want do and just prioritize the current list. At least it feels a little bit more like home with each day. 

Damask Dining Room

I thought I would be completely over the damask pattern by now after having used damask accents in my wedding last year.

Apparently not. The print just keeps calling my name. So after seeing the "rollback" price and the customer photo reviews, I pulled the trigger on the Terra Luxe Rug from walmart.com. It arrived today. The verdict? L-O-V-E. The room is very much still a work in progress, but I like how the rug accents the black modern dining room set I bought recently. I plan on adding some more furniture (maybe a shelf or bookcase until the house budget allows for a decent hutch or buffet) and sprinkling some yellow accents throughout.

Coffee Crafts

When we first toured our house, I knew it was meant to be ours. Why? It has a COFFEE NOOK. Being the java enthusiast I am, I fell immediately in love. So I traded a coffee nook over a third bedroom. 

I enlisted the help of my talented and creative friend D (see her hilarious blog Just Dandy) to come up with some cute word art to decorate my nook. This is what we came up:

And this is how it looks in the space: 

OOTD: Only Happy When It Rains

Ever have days where you just want to grab the most random things in your closet and see what happens? I tend to play my outfits too safe, too simple. So today I did a combination I've never done before. Maybe the dark rainy day has given me more confidence to be adventurous. Or the fact I went to bed by 8:30 pm last night.

Unfortunately because of the dark morning, I had to drag my mirror into the bathroom to get more light. But now you can see some of the new house! I'm thinking of doing an OOTD in each room over the next few weeks. "OOTD: Here's my Kitchen" should be titillating.

Dress: heather gray cotton dress, Old Navy

Belt: Rue 21

Cardi: Merona for Target

Shoes: Bronze flops, Target

Adulthood is scary

I'm sure all of my many followers have been wondering, "Where has Amy been??? I'm just devastated to have only ONE lame OOTD this week."

I've been otherwise occupied into buying something a little more expensive than a new dress. 

My husband and I just bought a house!! We're stepping into a land of DIY projects, landscaping, and the dreaded "m" word --- ::gulp::.... mortgage. 

Our closing date is scheduled for April 16. Now I'll really have to find more creative ways to style clearance rack clothes!