A little something to wet your whistle

I got wood for Christmas! I'm not kidding...

It looks a little like an adult version of Lincoln Logs, but it's not. It's more along the lines of our first "fun" project in the new house. So excited. We've finally reached the point where we're adding personality to our house. High five!

This one's a doozy with lots of math. So glad I married a smart man who remembers how to apply the pythagorean theorem.

Like the title suggests, here's a little something to wet your whistle for what's to come in 2014...

Good bye 2013. Bring it on, 2014!

Another Statement Chair with One Kings Lane

Statement chairs have been around for years and if you're a blog reader, you may have noticed there's a bit of a buzz going on. Have you seen the statement chairs over at The Hunted Interior or A Creative Day?

My statement chair was one of the first purchases we made for our previous house 6 years ago. I bought it because I was looking for something big and comfy. Honestly, I didn't put much thought into the history of the chair, but with One Kings Lane's new resource guide the information is right at my fingertips. Boy, someone over there has really done their homework...oodles and oodles of furniture information right under your nose! It's the jackpot for someone who's into furniture restoration. Need to know what period your craigslist score is from, check here. Want to add a crazy juxtaposition to your room like I did? Look here for a little, okay a lot, of inspiration.

And, want to know one of my biggest design mistakes?...purchasing this chair! What??!! I pulled the trigger before I was confident in my design choices/abilities. I took a friend with me to the store and since she has impeccable design taste, liked the chair, gave it her blessing, I bought it. 

So where did I go wrong? I didn't listen to my gut. I repeat, I didn't listen to my gut. Are you catching my drift on how important that is?

I knew I wanted a bold, geometric fabric for this chair but it wasn't offered in the manufacturer's selections so I settled. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Don't ever settle. 

So, friends, don't be stupid like me. Use the resources available, like the one from One Kings Lane. Take the time to see what's available and think about your own personal taste. Then, make your informed decision, purchase the statement chair your heart desires, and be confident that you've made a great choice. Learn from my mistake...you're welcome! ;)

Merry Christmas

{via}

Merry Christmas, friends.

Design*Sponge sharing the love today!!!

I was super excited when word came down the pipe that Design*Sponge was interested in featuring our master bedroom in one of their Before/After posts. Click here to read the article! I was also super excited to know that someone else in the design world liked my bold black stripe which means I'm not the 'crazy woman who reverted back to her childhood and painted a racing stripe in her bedroom.'

If you're visiting from Design*Sponge, please feel free to 'look' around and see what we're up to these days. Our new to us house is in need of tons of updates so there will be plenty to read and check in on in the future. I'd love for you to become a familiar face around here.

These pictures/posts should give you a little taste...

Our backyard is heaven on earth, but don't let that fool ya, click through to see the 1984erific jewel hiding behind those gorgeous trees.

 Check it out here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

And since we all like Before/After shots, here are a few more:

  

The majority of our house was painted Harvest Wheat. We brought it into this century by painting Ben Moore's Natural Cream.

There wasn't a shortage of dated wallpaper in this house. I was ripping it down practically before the ink dried on our closing documents!

Kids' Bathroom

You can read more about this transformation here, here, here and finally here.

Once again, I'm humbled that the crazy awesome team at Design*Sponge showed a little love to our bedroom makeover today. Hopefully, we'll have lots more content for them in the near future!

Black and White Simplicity

I'm loving the black and white trend that seems to be popping up in everyone's Christmas decorations this year. It fits perfectly into my everyday decor so I ran with it!

This is our first time ever to have a banister to decorate. Instead of wrapping it with garland (which would have been pretty too), I thought it'd look nice with a handful of wreaths.

Want to know my trick for getting them to stay in place? Poster tack! You can find something similar here. Sneak a tiny bit right under the ribbon and you're golden.

Then there's our tree...

This picture is post massive fall, i.e. shattering lots of ornaments and scaring us to death at 2:30 in the  morning! I'm talking base and all, which means we were not only cleaning up glass but lots of water too. Fun times. We're still not sure how/why it happened exactly. Maybe it was our silly elf playing a mean, mean trick. ;)

The reason...

Some might describe my Christmas decor as non-traditional but if you take a second to think about it, I mean really, really think about it, I'd say you can't get more traditional.

I was watching a show the other day and the host said, "Your entry is the place where you set the tone for the rest of your house. It should lead people to get a good idea about who you are simply by stepping foot into your house."

And that, my friends, is what I had in mind when I pulled out the Christmas decorations this year.

Plain, simple and the reason for the season front and center.

 Put your thinking caps on and see if you can guess the symbolism behind the 3 feathers placed in the wreath!

Ok, before you go thinking I'm all holier than thou, I must disclose that there's another reason behind my design. When I pulled out our Christmas decorations I quickly realized what once looked good in our Austin house, doesn't look so hot in our Dallas house. So, instead of buying all new things, I decided to shift my focus and remember the reason for the season. 

Online purchases and our next project

4 days!  That's how long we've been iced in. Can you say stir crazy? I'm all for a few snow days here and there but this is getting a bit excessive, and it's ice, not snow...there's a huge difference. I MADE everyone give me their pajamas today because they needed a serious date with the washing machine.

Enough of my bellyaching already! All this time inside gave me plenty of time to make some online purchases. Like this waxed canvas urban tote that I purchased with an etsy gift card from Christmas last year. Yep, you read that right. I've been hanging onto this puppy and have had the hardest time spending it. There are soooo many choices that I couldn't make up my mind. Since my current purse is literally falling apart, I decided this purchase makes the most sense.

RedStaggerwing

Check out the chair I ordered for a client. It shipped the next day and I can't wait to see it in person.

Last, but not least, there's been a little bit of this going on over here...

Just waiting for the ice to melt so we can buy the supplies! Such a tease, right?

Kids' Bathroom Before/After Pictures

We've made slow but steady progress on the kids' bathroom and I finally have a handful of shots to share with you today. Let's jump right in. We moved in last July and here's what it looked like...

BEFORE:

With a few minor major changes, this is what it looks like today...

AFTER:

Bye, bye ugly wallpaper...

BEFORE:

Hello, beautiful subway tile...

AFTER:

Did anyone notice my inexpensive way of dealing with the not so sightly shower tile/surround? Yep, I made a faux shower curtain and simply hid it. By hanging the curtain from the ceiling, the entire sight is obstructed and the curtain adds a little softness to the space. Painting the gold surround is on the to-do list still, but until then the curtain makes it more bearable.

Those of you with boys are probably laughing right now as you take in my subtle, or maybe not so subtle, bathroom humor... aim HERE! 

I searched high and low for a piece of art to tie in the green lights, then felt like a dork when I realized I had the perfect piece literally hanging outside the bathroom door. A little switcharoo and Bryn's frog drawing not only saved me money but completely makes the space! The existing frame compliments the hardware perfectly.

Since this bathroom is shared by both kids, I needed to bring in a handful of masculine touches. Let me tell ya something funny, see that hand towel? Before I put the antlers there, you would find it haphazardly thrown near the sink on any given day. But, as soon as the antlers came into the picture, Reed makes sure the towel is rolled back up every. single. time. I even told him he could "drape" the towel over the antlers and he informed me it looked "much better" rolled up. That's my boy! ;)

I found these jars at Walmart for less than $5. They're perfect for the girlie accessories that often get shoved it the back of the drawers. I like the added color Bryn's nail polish brings into the space when displayed this way too.

I really tried to shop our house for accessories as a means to save money, so many of these items probably look a bit familiar to those of you who've been reading for awhile. It's fun to find new purposes for everyday things. The wings on our little duck friend lift up and allow for the perfect spot to put your jewelry.

Click here to find the paint we used. I almost picked it simply because I thought the name was so perfect! It's a really great light gray that doesn't steal the show from the surrounding elements. I'd say the picture below best represents the truest read of the color:

So, there ya have it, friends. This bathroom redo taught me how to tile a wall, install lighting and use lots of caulk to hide my mistakes. There's still work to be done and ideas rolling around in my head that'd take this bathroom to the next level, but for now, since there are SO many other house projects to be tackled, we're calling it quits on this one!

Thanksgiving Blessings

Pardon this Christmas interruption while I bring you a little bit of Thanksgiving, remember that holiday? It's the one that comes first and gives us a chance to count our blessings. Totally not worth overlooking in my book!

{ruffled}

{Creature Comforts Blog via Pinterest}

{gin 'n' bird via pinterest}

Enjoy your pretty table, enjoy your yummy food but most of all enjoy the people who are sitting next to you. Be grateful they're healthy enough to celebrate Thanksgiving with you. Slow down the pace long enough to truly count your blessings. There are far more to be counted than we could ever imagine!

Blessed beyond belief.

Two words...Library.Ladder.

It's been less than a week since my original post on library ladders and look what has taken up residence in our living room!

I decided to start searching Craigslist, thinking it'd take forever for one to pop up. I was oh so surprised when I ran across this Monday. In a matter of minutes of seeing the post I was literally on my way to pick it up.

See that pretty little "P" on the wheel cover? That's one of the reasons I moved so fast. 

And, here's what that "P" stands for... Putnam Rolling Ladders have been around since the early 1900's and have quite the reputation in the world of personal libraries. They're known for their superior quality and craftsmanship. Putnam Ladders' clientele includes people like President George Bush and Diane von Furstenburg. I'm pretty sure they didn't buy theirs off of Craigslist. What do you think? ;)

Of course, when you get top quality you pay top dollar, so the $100 price tag attached to the craigslist post had me hearing angels singing! Have I mentioned that I received a quote from my carpenter for $1000 just for the ladder? Yikes! I bet my carpenter's version wouldn't have those pretty brass bars on the underneath side of each rung or the awesome patina this one proudly wears.

The treads are in excellent shape. They look worn in this photo but it's really just dirt. With a little elbow grease it'll soon be evident that this particular ladder has barely been used.

{Nicole Franzen via desire to inspire}

I have absolutely no idea when the "library" will be built (may be years from now) to go along with this ladder, but it was too good to pass up. The picture above is similar to the idea rattling around in my brain as to what our wall will look like when it comes to fruition. It will certainly have books but won't necessarily resemble an actual library wall. I like to think of it more as a place for our family treasures!

A promise through ducks?

It started with Sally...
Sally was the lonely mallard hen that showed up in our pond when we first moved in. She was awesome and I saw her as a gift. It took me back to the days when Bryn and Reed were itty bitty and I found myself wondering what I was supposed to do with them at 9am and they'd been up so long already that if felt like the day should be close to ending but it was merely just beginning. Remember those days?

Well, ducks were my answer! We had a pond in a nearby neighborhood and we spent hours upon hours feeding them along with the "turlies" and "bishies" (turtles and fish for those of you who need the translation).  The ducks were my saving grace during a time when I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Getting back to Sally, she flew away after only a few weeks. I was sad because I had high hopes of her finding a male friend and letting us enjoy their babies come spring. But life goes on, with or without ducks.

Life goes on and so do those ugly feelings of being overwhelmed. In light of being transparent, I'll admit that our move hasn't been the easiest thing for me. Some days I'm fine and others I struggle to be content. It seems this move has highlighted many of my not so pleasant personality traits, namely being impatient.

I was sitting in bible study last week and the question was asked, "What's God doing in your life right now?" I gave it some thought and suddenly it hit me...ducks...

 Look what's on our pond now! Not just one duck, but 10. The number fluctuates daily so it's a treat to look out every morning and count their little heads.

What's this have to do with God's work, you ask? I see it as his promise to me. He's telling me he carried me through those times of feeling overwhelmed when Bryn and Reed were little and he's going to carry me through this season of life as well.

I snapped these pictures this morning after I took the kids to school because I need a visual reminder of how God's the only one who can make the leaves change colors. When I'm frustrated that my bathroom paint colors haven't been selected, I need to turn my focus elsewhere. I need to focus on the beauty that's currently surrounding me and not get bogged down about the mildew we spent the weekend scraping out of our shower.

I need to appreciate this view as I'm driving up and down this driveway a thousand times a day playing chauffeur for the two most precious gifts I have, instead of grumbling that all I do these days is drive in circles. I need to find joy in this season of life before it's gone and I wonder where it went.

It's been awhile since I've offered to pray for you. I've let this aspect of my blog slip and I shouldn't have. So, if you're feeling a little overwhelmed or you too are struggling with being content, leave a comment or send me an email and I'd be honored to lift you up. (dfrieling1@gmail.com)

Around the House

Thought I'd pop in and share a few random bits and pieces going on around here. My bathroom lights finally arrived and kid's bathroom is really coming together...

The green is a little brighter in person and they're super fun. I'm still hammering out the details but I promise a full reveal when it's worthy.

I broke one of my big design rules and ordered this fabric on a complete whim because it was super cheap...

That rule? you ask. ALWAYS order a sample when viewing fabric online. Those lovely polka dots were NOT visible at all on my computer screen nor was there a description telling me of the lovely tone on tone polka dots. 

Reed wasn't pleased to learn my plans for this fabric included the bathroom he shares with Bryn. "Mom! No, no, no!" he protested. I tried to tell him the dots would "disappear" when it's hung but I'm not sure he was buying it. (Not sure I'm buying it either. shhh!)

Because I have a million and one, half started/half done projects going on, let's move on to the office...

Looks black, but it's not. Bought a sample, slapped it on the wall then lo and behold there was a blank canvas in the same room. Next thing I know, I have a large piece of art that doesn't fit in a single room in my house!

Hummm, what do I do with this now? Add it to the other stacks of displaced items that still haven't found a place since the move. Sounds like a plan.

I guess painting this did accomplish one thing, it gave me long enough to think about the color and realize it was all wrong for the office but would look great in Bryn's room! So, I'm currently trying to muster up the energy to paint Bryn's room along with 2 bathrooms. Fun times, my friends.