I'm going in the record books people!!

Yeah that's right... they're adding me to the books! My title? The South's Slackiest Blogger. I don't even believe "slackiest" is a word, but they're putting me in there, that's for sure!

I haven't even looked at my blog for the past two weeks because I feel so terribly guilty. I do although, have some freshly completed projects that I am very proud to show off today! But first, I want to share a little update on my kitchen project. The kitchen is a go friends, that's right I am done, done and done! Its funny what your body goes through when doing a major project like this....one night I woke up literally with a fever, cold chills and all because of the junk we were pulling up with the floor, and my nose has NOT quit running because of all the dust we stirred up! But it was SO worth it. I will leave you with the entire list of what we did, what we payed, and how we did it on Saturday.

This past Monday I visited a new client in Charleston, and completed a bathroom renovation! This client is my sister (in law) Susannah Wiksell! Does that count?

Here's what we did with her entry way powder bathroom.

With small bathrooms, especially powder rooms, you want to make a bold statement, and that's what we did by painting the walls a bright and rich turquoise and adding gold floret stenciling.

And after...

For the stenciling, I drew out the pattern on board paper and cut out a small and large flower. These were traced randomly on the walls and painted with gold acrylic paint. I added a little special touch to some of the flowers to give an added interest to the wall.

We spent around $30 for this entire project, by using accessories from around the house for the finishing touches, and only spending money on paint and a brush!

So small a price for such a dramatic change!

E, Myself, and a guest post

Hey sweet friends! I cant wait to share some new updates on my kitchen. We made a wonderful trip to Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta, and I found two great fixtures for over the island and sink and a few other accessories. Of course, I can't show you until they're up!

In the meantime, check out my guest post over at E, Myself, and I, where I share my opinions on top decorating mistakes people commonly make.

(p.s.-If you are ever in the Atlanta area on the second weekend of the month, you've got to check out Scott's antique market, definitly worth the trip!)

Updates coming VERY soon...countertops will be in on Tuesday...thats the last thing we're waiting on!

Day 8

It hurts to type....my fingertips are hurting from a long day of tiling and we're only half way through! I was a little slow laying on the mortar..I wanted it to look pretty (my inner artist was coming out again!) But today I'm ready to go, we're in the home stretch...well, as far as the tile goes.

We've got a beautiful 12x24 travertine from floor and decor outlets. This is a GREAT resource for flooring..check it out if you have flooring projects.

Now I've got to give props to my very handy parents (they do this for a living) that are up helping me with all this....laying tile, building walls, adding trim, cutting doors....ewww, so much work.

Here's a little advice if your planning a project like this....be prepared to be a little overwhelmed, know that your house WILL be dirty and dusty, plan to eat dinners cooked in a microwave, ALWAYS have a crowbar and hammer near by, your hands and back will be a little sore, and make LISTS!!!!

Can't wait for ya'll to see the finished project...I can't wait to see it too!

I've waited a whole year for this!!

So where in the world have I been?! I am so glad you asked...I have been in serious demolition mode since this past Monday. Will and I bought our lovely home a little over a year ago, and I have wanted to tear apart our kitchen since then... and now the time has come. I have been having SO much fun. I have torn down my first wall, and I smiled the entire time. We have torn out cabinets and ripped (slowly) up two layers of very very old laminate flooring. We were SO excited to find wood floors under the laminate to only be let down again when we discovered that glue had pretty much ruined the wood. Thats okay though, we've got a back up plan....TRAVERTINE!

Now a few months ago I drew up a floor plan for our kitchen. It opens the kitchen up and introduces new seating and more workspace! I'm shooting to have it all done by next Friday!

Here's where we are right now... the wall is down, cabinet doors are off, and floor is up... we are waiting on some fresh paint, granite countertops, new light fixtures, and travertine tile floors. Here's pictures of our progress so far......

Here's the wall that is going down!

I had to razor along the edge to get the crowbar in and take the trim down.

It's gone!!! We also moved the island to the middle of the room... before it was just a cabinet but to save money we turned it into an island.
Yeah he was smiling then, but 30 minutes later that pretty smile was long gone... that is some tough stuff to get up!
Then I had to take over....

So demolition is over, now we have to put it all back together! Stick around for more updates!

Uplifting for my design soul!

So.. as you may know, we were at the beach last week. It is now Wednesday of the following week and we are STILL not home!!! Here's the scoop. We got home on Sunday around 11.. so excited to be in our house, and start some projects!! We were in our house no more than 5 minutes when we discovered that our house was infested with bugs!!!

We are clean people...

I don't know how this happened...I guess not being there, cleaning and they just multiplied. So So disappointing! Anyhow, it's being treated, but we haven't been back and I haven't been able to do ANY projects! I need some uplifting in my design soul, so I found these inspiring images... with lovely colors, bold patterns... and layers and layers of texture.

I hope these make you happy as well!

Images courtesy of Hillary Thomas Designs and Angie Hranowsky

Let me count the ways I love thee.....

I'm really liking numbers incorporated into the home. I know its not a new hot off the press thing... Pottery Barn has been selling number pillows, vintage number signs and paintings for a while now. I've even used it in my home here, but numbers, I think are here to stay. If it's done in a tasteful way... in a way thats not expected and creative, like on the stairs or on pots in a laundry room. I also cannot wait to have an adorable room for my child with cute little number charts like the one below from Design_ski on flickr.

(Images courtesy of Pottery Barn and Songbird)

SCAD, your awesome!

Hello All!!

As an artist I love to find unique items....especially when they are created by other artists. SCAD, I discovered, has a website that sells their students' work, and for a reasonable price (for the most part). I absolutely love the acrylic dinnerware collections! They are cheery and fun and made by aspiring artists. Around $10 a dinner plate and $8 for bowls, these little gems are a steal! You can find them here.

I say mix and match...throw in sweet little glasses filled with flowers and herbs....a few fancy stemwares.....sprinkled with embroidered napkins....tasty treats......insert laughing friends..and you've got a perfect summer party.

Here are a few beautiful summer tablescapes found on flickr; hopefully you can find some inspiration from these designs. Its always good to mix (within reason), patterns, textures, and colors. I love to see whimsical dainty crystal glasses matched with bold summer dinnerware or bowls.

While I was searching through flickr I discovered a few amazing new blogs (well new to me), where these images were found. NYCLQ was founded by Lynda Quintero-Davids, she has a great eye for staging and design. Also I stumbled upon Olive Juice Photography; she has beautiful pictures!

Do ya'll have any good ideas for your summer tables and party's..please do tell.