[kreyv of the day]

image from Interior Groupie via Pinterest

[so cheap, so easy]: Stella's Birdhouses

Ridiculously cheap, and ridiculously easy, people.  I bought these birdhouses at JoAnn's for $1 each. I had no idea what I would ever do with them, but they were such a good deal.  Actually, I don't even think they were on sale.  I think I was tricked by the bin and the big flashy $1 sign.  I think they're always $1.  Oh well.  Good marketing caught me in a weak moment.

I decided to change the wall above Stella's dresser as well as the items on it.  The white birdhouses really pop against the turquoise armoire, so that is where they live for now.  The tallest one actually has a little pink ribbon attached to it, but I didn't get a good picture, and Stella Bean is already asleep.  Just use your imagination!  The possibilities are endless with these little babies. (Mod Podge, anyone?) I was tempted to hot glue them to the top of her door frame.  Who knows, they could end up there some day.  Plus, it would be glue, not another nail hole.  No one said he was sick of glue, right?

Roomspiration Link Party

Tonight, I'm linking up Stella's Nursery at Alamode. Check out all of the beautiful nurseries, and link up your own!

[color kreyv]: Chocolate Brown

I saw this first image today on one of my new reads, Design Chic, and I just knew I had to feature brown in my [color kreyv] series. It's not just any brown, it's chocolate brown.  Who doesn't love chocolate--besides weird people? (Okay, if you don't like chocolate, you're not weird. That was probably a little harsh. You're just...really different, that's all.) As for me, who is admittedly a little off, I do love chocolate, and I love the color of these walls. I think the key is pairing it with white to really make it pop. 

Even though I love it, I could never have this color in my house. If I was reminded of chocolate every time I looked in my room, I would weigh 627 pounds, because we all know, I have no self-control when it comes to sweets. Being reminded of chocolate that often is just looking for trouble, if you ask me. I could really go for a Twix right about now.

image from Phoebe Howard Design

image from Country Living

image from Jeffrey Bilhuber

Exposed

Before moving to St. Louis, I was set on renting a loft apartment.  I love the exposed brick, the large windows, and the industrial look. I love the idea of living in the city near the local shops and trendy restaurants. I had my list of prospective places, and I was ready to apartment shop. Until...

The hubs so kindly brought me back to reality. Did I really want to drag a baby, groceries, and all of my other weekly errand finds through a parking garage and up an elevator. Mmm-no.  Did I want to have to pay $100 per parking spot.  Probably not. And, how would I feel if I had to make an emergency run to the grocery store in the middle of the night if Stella were sick, and he was on call? I wouldn't. That one was the kicker. Living in the city would be awesome, but I don't need to be wandering around with my child at night in it.

So, we live in the burbs where I park six feet from my front door, park for free (both spots), and I would feel fine running to the Target that is one mile from my house in the middle of the night (IF I really had to...and by run I mean drive). I still LOVE the idea of a loft apartment, but it's just not for us. I guess there's a time and a season for everything. Maybe our time will be retirement. Ahhh, just imagine being able to walk out of your building just steps away from good shopping...

image from Gypsy Mind

image from Cococozy

image from West Elm

Takin' It Easy

What a day we had today(Sunday)! We had to take Stella to the ER for a concussion. Yes, I felt like mother of the year. (Go here for the deets.) Ahhh, it's amazing kids make it through childhood with all of their bonks, bumps, and bruises. So, for the next few days, we are takin' it eee-zee...until Thursday. That's when there's going to be a giant par-tay at the Joyal house, because the sis is coming to St. Louie, and if you've ever seen us shop, it is the opposite of takin' it easy! And yes, I use run on sentences when I'm excited!

But, back to taking things easy. That's what we are going to do, and I think I could do a real good job of taking it easy if my bed looked like one of these, and I could just pull the drapes shut and sleep all day.  Just sayin'.

image from Domino

image from Mark Roskams for Masseria

image from Paul Corrie

[kreyv of the day]

image from Lonny Mag

[so cheap, so easy]: Hanging Frames

I came across this fabulous project a while ago and wasn't going to post it until I did it in my own house.  That didn't happen, but I do still plan on doing it.  I love the look of it, and it is yet one more creative way to display pictures.  Go here for the full tutorial.

The hubs would actually be proud of me for waiting to do this.  The other day, he said I need to be more "thoughtful in my decorating."  That could mean one of two things: one, I need to think things over a little bit more before I have him put holes in the wall, then change my mind a month later, and have him put even more holes in the wall. Or, two, I just need to be more thoughtful and stop asking him to hang up things, because he hates it so much!  Yeah, it probably means both.  The good news is, I can just hang up this little project all by myself!

image from Emma's Design Blog

image from Emma's Design Blog

[color kreyv]: Coral

In the words of Rachel Zoe (so excited it's on again), "Buh-nan-nuhs." Okay, not proud that I quote her, but she does have impeccable style (wish I had her non-budget clothing budget). Regarding the coral: It. Is. A-mazing...beautiful, love it, want it, etc., so forth and so on. And, don't even get me started on the navy/coral combo...and those entry hooks...to die for! If I bought a house today, I would definitely paint the entry coral. For. Sure. Geez, who thought a few pictures could get me so excited?! For that alone, I definitely need more coral in my house. Apparently, it makes me very giddy!

image from Moffly Media

image from Lynn Morgan Design via Decor Pad

image from Elements at Home

Complete Preciseness

My name is Jamie, and I am OCD. Seriously, I catch myself doing things during the day and think to myself, "Self, is that necessary?" (Let's not even discuss my conversations with myself.) Ever seen Sleeping with the Enemy? Well, the bad guy likes his food cans perfectly lined up with the labels out. My cupboards look just like that, except I'm not a murderer. Today I was putting the clean kitchen towels away. Towels for cleaning go on the left. Towels for drying hands go on the right. Sounds (kinda) normal enough, right? Did I mention that I rotate my towels, so that they all get used the same amount of times? I also rotate my plates. I think you get the point.

Since there's no turning back in admitting my craziness organization, let's discuss one more issue: Stella hides her toys. It is going to drive me to insanity, people. Why do I care? Because, I can't stand having incomplete sets of things. Her magnetic numbers--she's hid the three and the four. (She always hides the three and the four.) Sure, I should be concerned that my daughter may learn to count one, two, five, six...but my real concern is, "WHERE COULD A TWO YEAR OLD POSSIBLY HIDE THOSE MAGNETS?!" Don't even get me started on the blue cube and yellow triangular blocks that are missing.

On that note, let's take a deep breath and look at these pictures of pure organization, bliss, serenity, sanity...

image from Apartment Therapy

image from Fifi Cheek

image from Martha Stewart

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Andrea @ Decorating Cents, you made my day! Thank you so much for this award, really. I was having that kind of a week, you know the husband on call too much, take the baby to the dentist, grocery shop in the rain,look like a wet dog, headachey, on the phone with tech support forever, door-to-door sales woman "you-whooing" me at the door, so that I'm tricked into opening the door and listening to a luh-ong schpill, car gets rear-ended kind of week? Yeah. It was that awesome. And then, I got this little gem, which, let's be honest, would of been the highlight of any week. It's good to know people actually read this blog. I know you're out there, but you have to admit, you're a quiet bunch, and sometimes, I just hear crickets. Chirp, chirp...So, after ALL of that, thank you Andrea for giving me this award!


Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who gave it to you (check).
2. Share seven things about yourself (seven very deep, meaningful things like my love for chocolate chip cookies and Real Housewives, deep).
3. Nominate 10 blogs you have been enjoying lately (only 10?).


Seven Things:
1. My favorite foods are soft chocolate chip cookies (not too many chips, please), good bread, and salads that someone else makes. Don't ever ask me to give up complex carbohydrates. It will never, ever happen.
2. I cry when I see other people cry, even if it's on tv.
3. I HATE working out my lower body, especially lunges.
4. Guilty pleasure(s): The Real Housewives. Every episode is like a train wreck, I tell you. I just can't seem to pull myself away.
5. I have had the best time of my life in my 10 years of marriage. During that time, I have been by the hubs through undergrad, medical school, an internship, now a residency, and soon a fellowship. I'm not going to lie. I can't wait until he goes into private practice and makes real money. I'm just being honest. Money's not everything, but I really like it. A lot.
6. I have the cutest daughter in the entire world. She's almost two, and sometimes I literally cry just thinking about how quickly she is growing up. Is this normal?
7. I may or may not be OCD. Okay, I am definitely OCD...or CDO. "It's like OCD, but all the letters are in alphabetical order as they should be." via pinterest


10 Blogs I'm Digging Lately:
1. Becoming Betty
2. Little Miss Momma
3. Alamode
4. A Thoughtful Place
5. Hare Styling
6. eighteen25
7. 6th Street Design School
8. Paralyzed with Joy
9. Nesting Place
10. Simply Sadie Jane

[kreyv of the day]

image from Scout for the Home

[so cheap, so easy]: Flatware Art

I came across this little goodie on Apartment Therapy. The original post is from the site Crap I've Made, so you can visit there to get the entire tutorial. I love this project, and it's such a great way to bring more color into the kitchen--something I need to do! Cheap, check, and easy, check (and totally cute, check).

image from Apartment Therapy via Crap I've Made

Roomspiration Link Up

I'm linking up my living room here tonight. Check it out to see some fabulous living rooms, and link up your own!

[color kreyv]: Blue

Blue. Just blue, not sky, azure, navy, cobalt, steel, or powder. Royal? Perhaps, but mostly just blue...like the color of the blue crayon. I was looking for some blue tulle for Stella's Halloween costume, and I just couldn't find the color I was looking for, just blue. I ended up with something a little more turquoise, but it will still be super cute. Don't be scared, Jeremy's sister helped me make it, so not only will it stay in one piece, but it also might just be recognizable with minimal hot glue involved.

image from Mary McDonald Interiors

image from Shelterness

image from Elle Decor

Where in the World?

I am loving all of the map decor I am seeing. You know, it really might do me some good to have some of this in my home. I shouldn't admit this, but I don't know where anything is anymore. It's like I had to take the "End of the World Test" (identifying every country in the world)at the end of freshman year, and then I never needed to know it again. Don't get me wrong, I usually know the continent the country is located in, but that's about it. Totally embarrassing. I blame it on my lack of traveling. Yes, that is why I am geographically challenged. I need to go on more vacations, and no, as exotic as it is, Salt Lake City, Utah does not count.

image from Country Living

image from New England Prepster

image from Ohdeedoh

image from Rosebud's Cottage via Pinterest

PB Kids: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We had a great time in Utah, but it's so good to be home and back to our routines! Besides my hubby (of course), I had two other favorite things waiting for me: lots of good shows on the dvr and piles of catalogs waiting for me! I love that!

I haven't had a chance to look through the catalogs, but I did look through the first few pages of PB Kids. I'm not big on themes, but I love their new The Very Hungry Caterpillar line. SO cute! I love Eric Carle's books, and the vibrant, organic art paired with the rustic elements (that towel rack is to die for) looks fabulous in these rooms. Take a look and let me know your thoughts.

images from Pottery Barn Kids

Remembering 9/11...

images from jennzellers.com

[kreyv of the day]

image from Bear Hill Interiors

[so cheap, so easy]: Nickel Letters

Ok. Are you dying right now because of how cute this is? Me, too. Spray painted letters covered in nickels, come on. So. Cute. Now, I do have a few disclaimers. I've thought of using coins in a project before, but I'm not sure about the whole defacement issue. And, my second disclaimer is that I'll stand by my easy label, but I'm not sure of the actual dollar amount on this project...feel free to count the nickels in the picture, and let the rest of us know how many are there! (I know someone will do it.)

image from Justine Smith via Pinterest

[color kreyv]: Gray & Yellow

So, I've been on a gray kick lately. It really goes with everything. I love it. Last week, Melissa made the comment on this post that she loved the combination of gray and yellow. I thought to myself, "Self, I love that combo as well. That will be next week's [color kreyv]." And that, my friends, is how this post came to be. Thanks for the idea, Melissa!

image from Buy Modern Baby Blog

image from West Elm

image from Better Homes & Gardens

Up the Wall

Are you as in love with wallpaper as I am? I know the hubs is thanking his lucky stars that we can't install wallpaper in our home, but if we could, I'd be all over it. (What I really mean, is I'd be all over begging him to install it.)

While in Utah, we've been able to visit my little bro and his beautiful wife, Jesi, who has wonderful taste, by the way. They are expecting their first baby in January. When we went to their house, they showed me the wallpaper samples they are looking at for the nursery. It was so beautiful, and I am SO jealous! I know their baby girl's nursery will be to die for! I can't wait to see it, and I really can't wait to meet their new baby girl! You better get to wallpapering, Mac, you're going to be a daddy before you know it!

image from Design Sponge

image from Bazaar of Serendipity

image from Cococozy

Happy Last Day of Summer!

That's All, Folks!

Thanks for visiting our humble abode this week! Even though there's lots I want (for starters, a giant armoire made of repurposed wood to house that giant TV Jeremy had to have), I love our home! It's always fun to make a space your own, and I can't wait to do it again in 2.8 years when my husband completes residency and fellowship. That space will be a little bit bigger, but I'm up for the challenge!