Southern Snow

I admit it...there have been many times in the past year since moving to the south that I get homesick.  It's been a big change...like living in another world.

White-Glazed Chateau Grey Cabinet and Recent Finds

I love finding these tall graceful cabinets with all their incredible details when I'm out and about.  I picked up this gem from Craig's List after seeing several unpainted (and pricier) versions in some antique shops.  The wood was dried and tired and had a bit of veneer damage so I didn't feel bad about  giving it a second life with a little paint (sorry no before pic on this one).  

A Blogiversary...of Sorts

I can't believe it's already been a year since I shared a peek of my brand new home just outside of Raleigh, NC and entryway table with a fall vignette!  I'm declaring it a "blogiversary", but in reality, I really started my blog all the way back in 2009!

Kitchen Scale Milk Paint Sideboard

I've been on a milk paint kick lately!  I just love trying out Miss Mustard Seed's colors in her new line of paint and "Kitchen Scale" has been at the top of my list....

Southern Bloggers Conference Recap

Wow...I think I've finally recovered enough from this last weekend...not sure if my house is fully recovered yet from me being gone, but it's getting there.  For 14 weeks, a wonderful group of women...Barb from The Everyday Home, Shirley from Housepitality Designs, Amy from Atta Girl Says, Suzy from Worthing Court, Cindy from Living on the Bliss, and myself had been planning the first ever Southern Bloggers Conference here in Raleigh, NC for this past weekend.  Here's a brief recap of the weekend...

Houndstooth Coffee Table

One of the quickest and easiest ways to add a graphic punch to outdated furniture or walls is to use a stencil.  With so many great stencils out there, the possibilities are endless.  When I picked up this outdated and tired coffee table (sorry, no before picture), it was just begging for a new look. You've probably seen this style of coffee table around with it's shiny, cherry factory finish...it's a perfect size table to experiment with some stenciling.

Luckett's Green Milk Paint Cabinet

I've been dying to try Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Luckett's Green.  I seem to stick to safer, muted colors and even though I love green, my stand-by paint colors are usually some shade of blue.  Nailing just the right shade of green is pretty challenging, but Marian came up with just the perfect hue...a bright, spring green or Luckett's Green inspired by the Old Luckett's Store in VA.

When I picked this cabinet up, it immediately reminded me of a 40's-50's style kitchen hutch and thought it would be fun to try out the new color with.  The cabinet was definitely dreary before (sorry for the bad phone pic)...

Craft Room - Office Reveal

I feel like a very lucky girl... You see, I haven't always had an entire room, filled with my favorite things, to escape to and create.  It's been quite the opposite for the last 5-6 years of my creative journey!  I used to dream of a space like this...

...A place to store all my jewelry-makings, paint and paper supplies, decorating books and publications, favorite vintage finds, but I honestly never thought I'd ever have "my own room".

I started off long ago with a can of paint, paintbrush, and a piece of furniture and a desire to decorate my first  small home for as thrifty as I could.  It slowly grew into a small business to keep me busy after leaving my career to stay home with my little ones.  I would sell out of shops and set up booths at local vintage/antique shows, all the while I was working late nights and a few nap times from my tiny dining table and the three-foot section between my bed and the wall!  A family of five in a 1,900 sq ft. home with a creative, inventory-based business wasn't always easy.  There were many times before big shows that my house looked like a store itself!