I recently made a Blurb book from all of my 2011 Instagram photos and it turned out amazing! I really love it and I will definatley be making more. Here's what I've been Instagramming from a recent girl's trip with my amiga Lisa. The photos with text were made using my favorite new app Typic. It's super easy and I love all of the fun options. I purchased the Pro version since I had a b-day giftcard.
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was in the high 80s and the sun was shining. It was a great day for flying. I had a fun crew and it was an overall pretty awesome night. I love my job. I am so lucky.
Too bad the weather isn't as nice today, however I am kinda enjoying the sound of the rain and thunder.
This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was blue, the temperature was and I was itching to get out and explore. I was tired from a week of 4am wake-ups, but I couldn't sit around in my room all day and I really needed a break from studying.
Despite being in Little Rock AR since March, I haven't spent many of my weekends here, so I haven't been out in the local area much. With the weather so beautiful on Saturday I knew I wanted to get out and do some more photography practice while I still had Amy's DSLR. I thought that since it was spring a botanical garden would be the perfect place to visit. Thanks to google I discovered Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs AR. It was a quick hour drive and not only was there a beautiful garden, but there was also an incredible chapel nestled into the wooded landscape. I love architecture, so this was an added bonus to all the beautiful flowers.
I ended the day on the river in Little Rock having dinner with some co-workers/friends. It was a very enjoyable day.
In my post about the Creating and Identity class, I mentioned that I have taken two other classes from Nicole's Classes. I wanted to take the Identity class because I really want to start my own business and I thought this class would be super helpful (and it was!), however one of the suggested prerequisites was Illustrator 101, so I signed up for that class first.
I scoured Craigslist and was able to purchase a copy of CS5 (CS6 doesn't work on my macbook) from a graduating graphic design student. I was excited to start using Illustrator, but I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. Honestly, I didn't even know what the program was capable of, but now I am super excited about the possibilities of using this for all kinds of things personally and for my future business.
The class is taught by the wonderful Alma Loveland. She is a wiz at Illustrator and her class was a lot of work, but I seriously learned SOOOO much. I want to keep trying new things and practicing so I don't forget all the cool things that I learned to do with Illustrator.
For the first two assignments we were to use a quote to make a poster. I tried to remember everything I learned from her Typography class and I made these two quote posters.
For my final homework assignment, I put together everything I learned in the class and made this invite as a sample for my friend that owns a dog hotel. Disclaimer: there are NO dog socials going on at The Highland Dog right now. It was just something we had talked about, so I used it as inspiration for this invite. I love how it turned out, especially the dog. He was a challenge, but it was great practice tracing and using the pen tool. Alma suggested I add something orange into the dog image and I think she's spot on. I'd like to go back and add maybe an orange collar, but that's for later if we ever use the invite.
I can't say enough about how much I've enjoyed the classes from Nicole's Classes. Seriously good stuff.
I'm in Arkansas for training for the next six weeks, but before I left I managed to make some progress on mi casa. I absolutely love how it's coming along. I can't use the toilet in there, I don't shower in there, and I don't really use the sinks, but I couldn't help from going in there over and over again and just staring at how great it is coming along. I'm super happy with it and so thankful for the help from my boyfriend.
Here are a couple before and in progress shots. It is coming along, though more slowly than I would like. I guess that's the norm in home remodeling?!?!
Putting this post together is the first time I've really looked at all the photos side by side. Man, it's come a long way. schew. What fun and I can't wait to get home and finish things up.
Here is a simple layout of the Master bath. I personally think it is an odd layout and I brainstormed many ideas of how to change it. I dreamed big and then had to rein it back in to fit the budget, so I left all the major plumbing items in pace and decided I could do a lot cosmetically to freshen up the space.
looking down the hall at the lovely vanity and it's "hollywood" light fixture. I actually tried to sell it on craigslist for $20...shockingly I had no takers! There are two closets to the left with double bi-fold doors. I'm thinking about removing them and replacing them with some fabric sliding curtains so that I can have better access into the interiors.
The vanity itself is in pretty good shape. It's solidly built so I am repainting and adding new hardware.
Looking to your left while standing at the vanity. Look at the light coming in through the window. I knew that the light needed to come into the vanity area.
Oh pretty (disgusting) wallpaper. The bane of my existence at this house. Had. To. Go.
Another view of the wallpaper and the wall that needed to come down. I understand wanting privacy on the toilet, but there wasn't a door here anyway, so I didn't feel bad taking away part of the wall.
TIme for demo. The best and dirtiest part of renovations. It actually took quite a bit more than just a hammer to bust through the wall. I was excited to use the reciprocating saw on this project!
I was disappointed to see the vent pipe and electricity coming down though the part I wanted to remove. I paid an electrician $125 to relocate the switch to the wall on the left, which made it more convenient anyway. I then re-framed as close as I could to the vent pipe and I did let my man in on the action with the reciprocating saw. He helped remove the header.
The new granite tops and faucets. So pretty! I purchased the granite remnant from a local granite place and had it installed professionally. I also got a small piece to go on top of the half wall to finish it off. I installed the faucets, which turned out to be WAY more of a task that I had anticipated. I bought inexpensive faucets and I really wished I had paid more for ones with pop-up drains and the water lines included. The extra expense of water hoses and then new pipes to connect the drains made the inexpensive faucets, not so inexpensive.
Also be aware that if you change your sink, your dain plumbing most likely will not match up. I was in full on plumber mode for this task, cutting pipes and everything. There may have been some frustration and head bumping. I also did get sprayed right in the face too. Better make sure those water hoses are fully connected before turning the water on!
Now that the wall is down it was time to make better use of the rinky-dink closet next to the shower. I really wanted some built-ins in that area to give it a more polished and upscale look.
I ripped out the door and frame, which was installed to compensate for the completely un-square corner. I think there was a line of caulk that was at least 1/2 think minimum. Here we built two boxes out of the plywood from a built-in we took down in the bedroom. We based our measurements on the material we had and decided on a large lower area with a drawer on top. Next to come are shelves and lighting above.
We clad the sides of the walls with 1/4 plywood because they were torn up pretty bad. I also wanted to frame around the built in and not have it go right into the corner. We left the 1x2 shelf braces up on the left side of the wall and nailed the plywood on top of them to create a gap on the left. That gap will eventually be covered with the same size trim that will cover the raw edges on the right.
I initially thought I wanted a rustic wood look to this nook, and was going to white wash the plywood sheets, but I decided I'm going to paint it white with a dark contrasting color on the back wall.
Here is the built-in all trimmed out with poplar trim pieces. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. I get so much satisfaction seeing my sketch turned into something in my house. I'm so proud that we built this ourselves. It still has a way to go, but I think it's sooo much better than the dinky closet that was there before.
Ahhhh.... painted cabinets. This is seriously one of the easiest transformations you can make. Paint is relatively inexpensive and a total DIY job. For minimum cash you can really update your furniture with paint. I chose the paint color to go with the granite. It is Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron. The walls are a couple shades lighter on the paint swatch, Bunny Gray. The cabinets aren't as dark as I had intended, but I think that is because I did not have BM mix my paint color.
I learned a lesson with painting this bathroom. Don't skimp on cheap paint. I bought some because it was on sale at my local paint and hardware store ($15). It was terrible! The walls had a terrible chalky finish and the paint itself had a lot of clumps in it. The store gave me my money back and I went to BM to get the correct paint. I also changed colors. The original color (in the first photo I showed with the granite) was a much bluer color that I loved, but didn't love with the granite and grey cabinets. Second lesson learned: you can always paint over it!
Pretty light fixture from Home Depot....and look at that planked ceiling! Whohooo I absolutely can't stop looking at the ceiling. I tried to remove the popcorn, but it must have had two layers, so it was a bear to scrape even the slightest bit off. The planking is pretty inexpensive, I believe I paid $60 to do my bathroom ceiling. Of course when I went back to get planks for the bedroom ceiling Lowe's had the stuff HALF off! The guy in the millwork department at Lowe's said that they weren't going to be carrying the EverTrue brand anymore, so that's probaby why it was so cheap.
Just look at how crisp and clean and polished those ceilings look! I removed the crown, added the plank ceiling, re-installed the crown and then painted it all. I'm not joking when I say I go in there and just stare at the ceiling.
The process is taking a long time. I've done it all except for the electrical and the granite installation. There were hours of wallpaper removal and even more hours of wall repair and sanding. Two different wall colors and a new ceiling. In the long run I would love to re-tile the shower, but for budgetary concerns once I finish up this room I am going to move on into the kitchen. I think the money to re-tile can be better spent in there. I'll just cover that tile with a pretty shower curtain. I've been itching to do some sewing anyway.
My friend Kelly opened up a dog B&B last fall called The Highland Dog. It is a super awesome place that is basically like dropping your kids off at your best friends house (who is as crazy about your dog as you are). I'm so inspired by Kelly's bravery to start something from scratch and become a business owner. It is a goal of mine to be a business owner and I feel so blessed and lucky to have such awesome friends who have followed their dreams.
I've spent a little bit of time hanging out at THD with Reese and last week I was able to drop off Reese for a day of fun dog daycare. Kelly posts photos throughout the day of her four-legged guests on her Facebook page, which I love seeing, even when Reese isn't there.
Here are a couple of shots of my Reese on her doggy daycare day. If you love just seing cute dog photos, you should definately Like The Highland Dog Facebook page.
getting cozy with Hobbes
watching Wilson (Kelly's dog) and Hobbes run up the ramp
one of her favorite indoor activities (besides sleeping): keeping watch
Happy Happy Happy
Kelly's Mom made St Patty's Day bandanas for THD guests. Reese is sporting hers here
Thanks Kelly for treating my Reese-dogg so well. She loves it at The Highland Dog! We can't wait to come again :)
After I move I usually want to unpack every single item and get rid of all boxes and packing paper as soon as possible. I don't even care if I have no idea where I will place things, I just want it out of boxes so I can get a real feel for what I have. This move was a little different. Since I was still in the process of painting and trying to do bathroom demo (photos to come) I unpacked very little. It does make it a bit of a challenge to feel settled and of course to find things I need! Anyone who has moved is probably guilty of just throwing all those final items in a box and not even marking it.... yep, I did that!
So here is the current state of living in my new place. No picking up for a pretty photo in these shots, just some raw I-just-moved-in awesomeness. HA!
Living Room. I painted trim Benjamin Moore (BM) Chantilly Lace, walls BM Cumulous Cloud, and the windows & doors BM Black Beauty. I love the colors and how the black on the doors looks. I'm planning on painting the fireplace and right now I'm leaning towards using the trim color for a bright fresh look.
Opposite side of living room. This is really the dining room area, but since I don't have a dining table I am using it as my desk area for now. I have a replacement light and I still need to paint the built in with the trim color. I have some fun wallpaper that I'm going to use on the backs of the shelves.
Looking into the dining area from the kitchen. I am just so pleased at how the black windows and doors turned out. I especially love how they look with the wall color and white trim. I don't know if I'm going to do this in the bedrooms, but I will definately be doing it in the kitchen.
Master Bedroom. Don't be jealous of my sheet curtains! The back windows look out into the woods, so there is no threat of anyone seeing in, however, it makes me a little uncomfortable when it's nightime. I think I've seen too many horror movies!!
Guest Bedroom. AKA dump grounds for all boxes and stuff. This room needs everything. I'm planning on using it as a guest room and studio space.
Entryway. I love the bright blue door. I matched the color from my inspiration vase. Here is an interesting story about that color. I have a habit of browsing the paint returns at Home Depot. They are always on sale for $1-$2 for a quart. A while back I picked up a full quart of semi-gloss paint in what my friend Amy would call "Jennifer-Nash-blue" aka my favorite color. I completely forgot about it and on a whim had Lowes color match the BM Blue Spa color and I painted the door. When I was going through my paints I came across the Home Depot find and it was nearly IDENTICAL in color to the blue spa. I couldn't believe it. I was a little mad that I spent the money on a new quart of paint, when I had the exact color in a box all along, but I got over it and it just made me chuckle. I guess I really do love that color!
Kitchen. This room is the staging ground for all tools. I have some big plans for this, but I am focusing on the smaller rooms (bathrooms) first. I want to paint the lower cabinets a darker color and do some open shelving on top. I am also planning a little appliance re-arranging. I'm dying to use this wallpaper on the one wall you can't see in this photo, but after the difficulty taking down wallpaper I am hesitent to put up new stuff. Fingers crossed I can make it all happen.
Master Bath. I posted some of the demo in progress photos on Facebook and my friends thought I was crazy to move in and start ripping out walls. I have to admit, that I did too once I saw the electrical and vent pipe in the wall. I couldn't help myself though. There is great natural light that comes into the toilet and shower room and I wanted some of that natural light in the "getting ready" part of the room. I have dreams of a vintage claw foot tub, but for now I'm at a standstill on this one until I can get an electrician in to help me.
Hallway Bathroom. The most complete project in my house. It's coming along. This Friday the counter tops will be installed and I am in love with them. I wanted them for the master bathroom too, but they didn't have a remnant large enough. There will also be a new floor and new toilet coming soon!
There is so much to do, wow! I invited my family down for Thanksgiving, so I think I need to get a move-on with the unpacking at least. Wish me luck!
Remember a while ago when I posted about Kerry's new baby? Well this post is similar.... I'm not pregnant, but I did make a major purchase. I bought a house! I bought a house all by myself for me and Reese! I can't stop using exclamation marks!!
It is super exciting and overwhelmed at the same time. It is also very bittersweet, because I am having to move out of Andrea's house. Living here for the past 4 years has been awesome. She's truly the best roomie EVER. I am so thankful for her generousity and also for her help with Reese when I have to travel. I'm sad to leave that is for sure. The big move will happen next month and until then I am pinning new ideas for my casa california and making plans for painting and renovation projects. This blank slate is a dream for an interior design junkie like me.
There will be mood boards and plenty of before & afters to come!
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