dear mr. ross, thank you!

so today i thought i'd show you my new and improved ceiling fixtures for my little room redo. i can tell you're overflowing with excitement.

but first, i need to send a big ginormous thank you to the amazing, brilliant and super duper talented eddie ross. back in january he had a lowe's gift card giveaway and i was the lucky winner. needless to say i was really happy and really excited.

so i used this wonderful gift to purchase this light fixture for my room. it replaced a pretty ugly fan which can be seen here. i knew i wanted a chandelier .... i new i needed something with a bit of sparkle ...and it needed to fit into my very small budget. but i guess 'free' fits into any budget. right? so here it is in all of it's glory.

i just love it. perfect for the space and it suited all my needs perfectly. it even looks great with my little shaker peg rail. so, again, a huge thanks to eddie ross!!

loveliness!

the ceiling fixture also needed replaced in the bedroom portion of the space. again, the new fixture also replaced a super ulgy fan which can be seen here. i opted for another fan, this one, as some of my guests really do like it and use it.  check it out: 

 i actually think ceiling fans have come a long way! i especially love the fans that do not have pull cords! what a difference, right? and this fan really felt right for the space. the actual light portion reminded me of a barn light.

now, if they could just come up with an easier way to install them! if you ever go to install a ceiling fan (especially one with a remote ... ie. no pull cords) plan to have a friend on hand. i needed to stack a box on a ladder on a bed. it was tramatic.

piece by piece my lovely little room is coming along. and, if i can get myself together i'm hoping to show you my curtains tomorrow. i just love them. stay tuned!

a new chalkboard

well, i painted another 'thing' with chalkboard paint. i don't know about you, but i love this stuff.

i have a little built-in cabinet in my hall where i store extra sheets, towels, etc that needed a little pick-me-up.

a quick coat of black chalkboard paint and it was already looking fierce.

inspired by a quote that's been floating around the blog world these days, i grabbed my chalk and got to work.

a perfect and very true message for all that enter.

dont' you agree?

garden suite progress - shaker peg rail

well my room if finally taking shape, and i'm so excited to share everything with you. i have been taking lots of pictures and i couldn't be more thrilled with how everything is coming together. it's even better than i expected!

so if you'll remember from the before pictures i have one pretty large wall in the sitting room area. so, i wanted to come up with something unique, sunny and different to dress up this wall. so... here's what i did.

this is the before:

and this is the after in progress:

lovely, right? i still want to add some more special touches (sounds like i need to hit up some of my favorite antique shops!) but you get the idea.

oh, i bet you also noticed curtains in the background. yep, all six panels are sewn and hung! but that's for another day.

back to my peg rail .... here's how it all came together.

i purchased a long piece of molding from lowes - 12 ft - yeah ... you should have saw me trying to fit it in my car!

it was white to start. it's that fake mdf style molding. i did want wood but they didn't have this particular style/length  in wood. once i got it home, i cut it to size and spray painted the whole thing with kyrlon's sun yellow.

all the shaker pegs (also from lowes) got several coats of white spray paint.

i then when over the fresh painted sun yellow molding with lots of acrylic paints i had. i brushed on a lighter yellow. then a darker yellow. then white mixed with yellow.

after all that, i diluted some burnt umber with water and wiped it on with a rage to add some 'age' and give it more of a 'wood look'.

i sanded it.

then i whitewashed the whole thing to get the white would settle into the cracks. then i quickly wiped off the excess.

it sounds like a process ... and it was ... but i got exactly the look i wanted.


i then screwed the molding to the wall, measured for my peg placement and then drilled!

fun, but messy. so far so good.

then i added some good wood glue to each hole.

then inserted all my freshly painted white shaker pegs.

and that's it! a beautiful new rail for display lots of garden/farm inspired goodies! loads of character on one tiny, brightly color strip.

i wrestled up a straw hat.

and my mom bought me the most perfect antique aprons. i just love them. aren't they beautiful?

i had the little stars, so they went up too.

i want to add a couple gardening tools and maybe a big sign above the rail ... but that's to be determined.

either way, i'm in love.

and i can't wait to hear what you think!

advice needed ... flor carpet tiles

i'm coming to all you wonderful people for some much needed help.

there are several areas of my home/little inn that could benefit from an area rug. i love hardwood floors, but sometimes you just want a little softness under your feet. while i do have area rugs but i'd like to start replacing them to suit my style.

for the past couple years i've received catalogs from flor, i even order samples once.

the options seem endless. the styles are beautiful. and some are very reasonably priced ... even more so then an area rug. i also really like that fact that i could change out sections of the rug if needed. especially in my case as i experience a lot of traffic in and out.

so i'm looking for some honest opinions. what do you think of them?

do you own any of these squares? any particular style you recommend? best bang for your buck?

i would overly appreciate any advice. just leave any information in the comments below that way everyone can use the feedback. and, should i decided to try flor, i'll defiantly keep you all posted with my opinion.

thanks a million!

*and i'm obviously in no way being compensated by flor to ask this ... although, to be honest, if they would like to buy me a carpet to try i wouldn't resist. flor, are you reading this?

this week on pinterest {3.27}

wow. lots of lovely images and inspiration on pinterest this week! it was hard to choose my favorites.

like these super cool cement garden balls. i seen these babies a couple years ago and just came upon them again. i think it's a sign.

they are made with round forms like a glass globe for a light fixture.

...or a soccer ball. i think they'd add such a interesting touch to a garden.

now on to a completely different subject ... i've been recently thinking about getting a tattoo. i probably never will cause the thought of something that permanent scares me, but who knows.

surprising, i found that a lot of people use pinterest to catalog tattoo ideas. smart! anyway, i came across the one above and i really love it. it's small. it's meaningful. it's simple. it's beautiful.

what do you think about tattoos? have a good story? a horror story? do you have a tattoo? want one? i'd seriously love to know. leave a comment.

 

 and these cupcakes freakin' kill me! aren't they so cute? they are chocolate cupcakes with oreo cookies and m&ms for the eyes and nose! people are so darn creative.

i have a dresser in my guest room (which is coming along quite nicely) that needs a good paint job, when i saw the picture of this dresser redo i kinda feel in love. i know it's super simple, but it couldn't be more perfect.

and these peanut butter chocolate bars look to die for!

huge, huge fan of peanut butter and chocolate together! oh yeah! click here for the yummy recipe!


and speaking of paint, i'm still a huge fan of chalkboard paint.

i love this quote (perfect for a lovely little b&b, right?) and i of course love the chalkboard. i also may have just recreated this loveliness in my house this weekend. (don't worry, i'll show you next week.)

oh my. this could be one of my favorites. for some reason i'm loving little toadstools these days and i thought these were super duper cute! they are from pier1. and since i don't live near a peir1, i immediately sent my super amazing and beautiful sister-in-law to pick up a set for me. isn't she the best! there is actually a set of three! yay. just love them.

so now i after talking about owls and tattoos and chalkboards and mushrooms and cement gardens spheres and blue painted dressers you may understand why i feel this quote is perfectly fitting for me.

i'll be a kid at heart forever. thank goodness, cause being a grown up can be a bummer sometimes. expect the whole drinking wine part.

like these pins? you can check out all my pins here.

halleloo!

i finished painting today. a few touch ups here and there, but i'm calling it done!

so after my wood floors scrubed and 'refreshed' then the fun can begin. curtains to be made ... beds to be dressed ... art to be created ... ceiling fixutres to be hung. this is the part i just love ... when a vision becomes a reality.

here are a couple more pictures of whats to come.

pretty, right? remember the before?

slowly, but surely.

so far, so good

first, thanks for all the super sweet encouraging words yesterday! you haven't lost faith in me and i soooo appreciate it!

things are progressing faster than planned in the painting department. thank goodness. but things are still a bit crazy. lamps don't have shades. power screwdrivers are on paint cans. tables and chairs are on beds. craziness.

as i mentioned the ceiling is finished. exposed wires await a fixture.

and today i finished up the trim. that's my least favorite part to paint. so i'm beyond thrilled it's done. and what an amazing difference.

then, with the help of my amazing mother, we began to cut in the wall color. i'm using two colors. one is antique white.

the other is dover white. my paint treatment is 'a little different' so i'll attempt to explain it when it's finished. it will be much easier that way ... and hopefully make more sense. both colors are from sherwin williams. i swear by their paint.

this is a shot of the antique white ... it's the area in the upper right corner next to the window frame. the molding on the wall will be painted the same color. it's hung at a weird height and i didn't want to remove it. so i'm working with it.

more wall color with some of the fabric. (this red and white fabric is actually from wal-mart. they were closing our fabric department and i got it for a steal!)

and a couple more new additions to the fabric for the room.

i've been wanting to do a room with primary colors. it reminds me of the country and farm life. the yellow sun, the blue sky and a big red barn. i just love it!

more to come! hopefully painting will be done on friday! *fingers crossed*