Office Update

I've slowly been making some good progress on the office makeover that I started back in September! In early October I broke down and bought the desk I wanted from Overstock, it was a PAIN IN THE BUTT to put together, and blood, sweat, & tears were shed {literally} from Adam and I trying to put it together, but in the end, it really is perfect! We also finally got our TV we've had since last Christmas hung on the wall! AND the latest & greatest news is we got new office chairs!!! My parents got Adam and I office chairs for our Birthdays! {our birthday's are only 2 weeks from each other} I was probably more excited for the gift than Adam, but I'm sure he really appreciates them since he was using my old vanity stool to sit on :) There are a few things I still want to do, but I am totally happy with the progress! Here's a look:

{we drilled a hole through the wall to the other side - Adam's closet & guest room, to hide the cords!}

{I found this PERFECT frame at an antique store months ago and painted it white, of course!}

{these fabulous black & chrome modern side chairs were given to us by a very special friend last February, I love them! and they are so perfect in our new office!}

{ordered "live to CREATE to live" from UppercaseLiving! The wire curtain rod is from IKEA}

{I've had this lamp for YEARS - I still Love it! These side tables Adam found at Goodwill for $4 each! they are so cute and such a perfect size - I'm debating painting them, probably will, but not until spring}

{& our new chairs! so cute! so perfect! Happy Birthday to us! Thanks Mom & Dad!}

In case you don't remember, the old office can be seen here and here! SOooo much better now, if I do say so myself! ;)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I love Christmas! Everything about it. The lights, the tree, the decorating, the spirit, the parties, the giving, the food, the time with family... everything! This year it started to look a lot like Christmas a bit early in our home. Usually we put up lights the weekend before Thanksgiving - turn them on the day after - then get our tree that same weekend, then decorate the house. This year we've had Christmas decorations around our home since October!! The reason; I'm doing a Christmas Craft Bazaar, along with Adam's Mom & Aunt the first weekend in December. Every free moment I've had has been devoted to making wreaths, painting, glittering, & using a LOT of hot glue! We have wreaths hanging from every door in our house, the dining table is stacked high with projects, and we've all got glitter on us. I'm excited for the sale to be here soon & hope that my items are a hit! Once all these items for the sale are out of the way, I can finally start decorating our home for Christmas for real.

The Town & Country Christmas Bazaar is at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center in Albany, December 2nd-4th. 

{here's a peek at some of my items}

Let there be light!

Here's my reveal - finally - the my CB2 delivery, 

I MADE A BUBBLE LIGHT CHANDELIER! 

I've been eying these DIY bubble chandeliers for some time now and just never had the right spot for it. That was until I re-did the bathroom. I found this fabulous mirror on craigslist and fell in love with it, I had to have it.

 

Once I painted it white, of course, and we hung it up, it just completely clashed with our standard boring bathroom light fixture. The detailing on top of the mirror touched the wall mount and the shape was just not right. That's when I thought a chandelier would be the perfect solution - then I thought Bubble Light Chandelier! and a few months later.. that's what we have!

It was a piece of cake to make and if you're interested go here: {here} Rachel from the Small Notebook did a WAY better job at a tutorial than I ever could. But here's a pictorial of what I did.

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Much better - I love it! The only thing left to do is hide the cord going up the wall. I'm thinking I need to get something like {this} then paint it to blend in with the wall. to be continued...

Special CB2 Delivery!

Yahoooooooooo!!!!

I've been eying something that I've wanted to make for practically the last year and I keep just putting it off, until now. Hopefully tomorrow I have an update about what it is.. YEAH! :)

Office Makeover, in Progress...

Last weekend I got a wild hair and decided to makeover my office. I work from home so I spend a TON of time in this room and something about it just has never been right so I decided I'd do something about it- starting with paint. I admit I was apprehensive to paint over my painted wall pattern I had painted 1.5 years ago, but it was time for a fresh change. {see before here}
I browsed google images as I usually do for images relating to "small home office" "home office makeover" ... then I found this: {cute home office} I loved the soft walls, white anchors, & the pops of color. This will be my inspiration. I went to home depot to pick out some paint & the first swatch I picked up was Behr Paint & Primer - Sliced Cucumber. I loved it. I got it. I painted.

This is what the room looks like now

 

The rest of the plan: New desk, curtains, rug, chairs, art work, & probably some custom UppercaseLiving!...

here are some of my ideas/wants:

{curtains from World Market}

{rug from Urban Outfitters}

{desk from Overstock.com}

to be continued...

Happy Weekend

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Biking, Blueberries, & Banana Beer Bread

Mmmmm! Blueberries are back in season & the best U-Pick farm is just 1 mile from our house. So close that I usually just ride my bike & try to fit as many containers in my basket as possible. I love snacking on them just plain or putting them in my yogurt in the morning! The last batch I got i decided to do some baking with. Go {here} for blueberry baking I did last summer. I searched online for a lemon blueberry cheesecake recipe and came across one on the Food Networks site - it was delicious!

{Graham crackers for the crust}

{blending the filling}

{before going into the oven}

They were so good I forgot to get after pictures because we ate them too fast! Sorry! but trust me they were delicious! Go {here} for the recipe!

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Another recipe I tried was for banana beer bread. Adam found the recipe on {Deschutes Brewery's} facebook page & wanted to try it out. We had some extra ripe banana's so I whipped up a batch.

{from facebook post}

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup beer Twilight Ale, Black Butte Porter or Obsidian Stout

{I used Twilight}

PREPARATION:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 91/4-by-5 1/4-by 23/4-inch pan. In a large bowl blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until foamy before beating in the bananas, butter and beer. Combine the two mixtures, blending until the two ingredients are moistened.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean and the top is golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan.

So good! I think next time I make it I'll add blueberries in it too ;)

Yard Projects

We had BIG plans for our backyard, and well we didn't quite get them all done, there's still time this summer - or we might just wait till next.. but here's a preview of what we've been up to in the yard.

{new fence!}

{painting our bird house to match the rest of the patio items}

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I found this glider while we were in Bend over Memorial Day dogsitting. My sister & I were on a coffee run and I spotted this driving by a yard sale. I think I said "TURN AROUND!" not expecting Cali to actually turn around, she did! (she is not a garage sale goer!) It was only $25 and a perfect addition to our patio! {see here for other chairs found last summer at a garage sale}

{before}

{I made patio pillows! Out of a clearance tablecloth from Target, linen napkins from InkWell, & a table runner I picked up last year on clearance at Z.Gallerie}

{i picked this metal butterfly up from an estate sale for $1, I thought it was cute}

 {slate that we got from a friend, we had plans to build a patio with it, but have decided that we don't know what we're doing and would rather just have a new concrete patio poured. We've used the slate in other areas now - I'll blog about that soon!}

This is the area we planned on laying the slate. Since our plans have changed it's just sand for now.
{free labor - aka mom & Barb! Thanks for your help!}

{the pots in the above picture - I spray painted yellow & white & planted Petunias and Begonias in them}

{I put together these hanging baskets. I love how awesome they are doing! the flowers started off very small}

 {a good friend gave us this hammock- we love it!}

 {finished patio pillows!}

{the same friend gave us these large planters. They already had the topiaries in them, then I planted the petunias around it. I'm debating whether or not to paint the pots white.}

{finished glider painted to match our other pieces! - not sure why I didn't get a close up, but you get the idea}

Our backyard is defiantly enjoyable and has come a long way since last summer, but our future plans include: 1. Getting a new concrete patio poured. 2. Building a new fence/gate on both sides of the house. 3. Building a fire pit out of the slate. 4. Going in with the neighbors to rebuild the last side of old fence we have left... Maybe next summer! :)