New Art...A treasure

I have another treasure to add to my art collection. It may just be my favorite piece thus far! I mentioned back in March that I was hoping my dad would draw a picture taken at Reed's baptism. Over the summer, he did just that. This piece is priceless on so many levels.

He drew it while we were living with them, waiting to move into our house. It was special being able to walk in and see his progress. Did anyone notice that he's drawing it upside down? He says that helps him with perspective and shading. Interesting, right? And you thought I loaded the picture wrong!...nope, that's really how it's oriented.

There's something so incredibly beautiful about watching someone use their God-given talent. 

This photo was not staged, their dachshund, Charlie Brown, claims my dad's lap as his spot of choice 99% of the time. Spoiled rotten*cough*cough.

{Actual photo}

I took this shot because I wanted to capture the raw emotion oozing out of Reed as John was praying over him. I love seeing John's hands on his shoulders, his wedding ring and even his camo waders. These things are all symbols that connect John to Reed as his earthly father. Then the words of his prayer and the baptism that followed were committing Reed to God as his Heavenly Father. See? There's so much going on in this picture!

{My dad's pencil drawing}

A closeup so you can appreciate the amount of detail. Those tiny tears melt my heart.

I shared my dad's story almost 2 years ago when I first started blogging. If you haven't had a chance to read it, please do. He suffered from a virus that attacked his brain and left him with a considerate amount of brain damage 7 years ago come October. His ability to draw is a gift that God used to aid in his recovery and one that miraculously improved post brain injury. Click here to read more.

Lighting Look for Less

Have you seen Crate & Barrel's new lighting? When I saw this beautiful light...

Dumont Pendant Light

                                        ...it reminded of a picture I posted back in May.

so, so pretty!

The originals are available at Dunlin for $948 EACH! Crate & Barrel's version is on sale for a mere $239.20. That's quite the savings.

These are fun too...

 

                                       Union Pendant                                Fulton Pendant Lamp

Can you tell I'm on the hunt for lights? I need a big 'o chandelier though since the previous owners took theirs with them and left me a bundle of wires. Gotta love that!

Happy weekend, friends. I'm having lunch with a childhood friend and I'm really excited. Remember this Transparent Tuesday post? Yep, we live close to each other now. God just keeps on answering those prayers. Above and beyond, friends, above and beyond!

Entry idea

Happy Tuesday that feels like Monday! Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. Mine was full of design while my peeps, aka, the family, made it back to Austin to visit friends and celebrate the opening weekend of dove season.

Would you believe me if I told you there was more wallpaper removal going on over here? Will it ever end?! I'd show you pictures, but who am I kidding, those are boring. You want to see the pretty after shots, but sadly, I'm wading through all the middle stuff that isn't very fun to look at right now.

On that note, let's feast our eyes on something that is fun...

Esther Stewart

When I ran across this piece of art by Esther Stewart, I immediately began to wonder how it'd translate on the walls in my entry. So, I whipped out the painter's tape and played a little...

Hummm...a little crazy, right? I'm sure it'd look totally different once some of the shapes were painted and others were left for negative space. My wheels are turning. I have several other ideas I'm toying with and one is very labor intense for my sweet carpenter hubby. I bet his vote is for the painted, geometric craziness. ha!

There are so many "half started" projects going on that it's a bit overwhelming. I think it's time to sit down and prioritize! Will one of my "list making" friends please help me focus?

Rug for Sale

If you're in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and would like to be the new owner of this beautiful rug, give me a shout! My new entry is screaming for a round rug so this one needs to find a new home...is it yours?

Let's get up close and personal...

The color variation in this shot is from the vacuum. See...it's clean!

Expect black and cream and perfect condition. Silky soft. Everyone that walked into our house seemed to be scared of stepping on it, so great efforts went into walking around it!

The details:
Roughly 5ft x 8ft (Specifically, 92.5 in. x 64.5 in.), Price: $275

Send me an email if you're ready to adopt my rug: dfrieling1@gmail.com. Thanks!

Progress...

So, I went into the kids' bathroom this weekend to remove one light fixture and this is what happened...

When I pulled the fixture away from the wall I noticed how easy it'd be to pull back the wallpaper, then suddenly the room looked like a tornado hit!

This is such a beautiful sight! Do you remember where I started? Here's a little something to refresh your memory.

Then, on Sunday, we had out of town family coming over for lunch. Literally, as they walked in the door, I sold my dining room chairs to someone from Craigslist. Woo hoo! Time to break out the folding chairs for lunch.

What's next? I'm still searching, but this is what I've got my eye on...

Low profile and mid-century. Just a little nervous to order something I haven't sat in before. I'll let you know if/when I pull the trigger!

Monochromatic Bookshelves

Bookshelves are styled...for now. I'm not really sure how long they'll stay this way, but they're done and they didn't cost me a penny. That was my goal: don't buy anything for styling, save your money for the big things (cabinet painting, texturing walls, mirror removal, etc.).

They lack color. They're monochromatic. That's on purpose. My best friend in Austin used to ask me when I was going to bring some color into my house. It took me a while to get what she was asking. In my eyes there was plenty of color...gray, black, white, cream. Those are colors, right? ;)

This shelving unit lived outside in our previous house. John and I built it for the patio. Who knew it'd grow up and be able to live indoors one day?!

I like this little section. Read into it as you may, but I see this finger pointing up and it reminds me to keep my eyes focused on what's most important.

Are you tired of seeing sticks and feathers in my house yet? Hope not!

These frames were very inexpensive years ago when I found them at Michaels. They've become one of my favorites and wouldn't you know it...they've stopped carrying them.

Sweet little owl from John's grandma's collection.

Another Grandma treasure. She had good taste, right?!

Goodwill finds and a sweet gift from my sister-in-law.

And, the selves from the Fiddle Leaf Fig's perspective. ;)

So tell me, are you a fan of monochromatic or would the lack of color drive you crazy?

Nursery Design (Ridiculously adorable baby animals)

I was very surprised when my sweet friend/client let me in on the little secret that she's expecting. Luckily, it's not a secret anymore so I'm free to share the sweetness, aka her nursery plans. This is her third child so she's looking for something "clean and classic." No need to go over the top with themes or girly stuff this time around. Third child is lucky to be getting a cutesy room at all, right?

I'm completely in love with the baby animal prints from The Animal Print Shop. So adorable! Sadly, her sister-in-law just used the same prints in their nursery so we had to go with plan B. What are the chances?!

Who wouldn't want to wake up to these adorable faces?...

Lamb Little Darling

Baby Zebra Little Darling

Baby Elephant

Baby Giraffe Little Darling

If you have a second, check out the other projects we've done in their house. Kitchen remodel here and spunky girl room here.

Hope you all have a happy weekend!