Since {I've} Been Gone

Hey guys! I'm dropping in just for a minute, or thirty, to share some updates that have occurred since you've I've been gone. I've mostly been "gone" because of what you see below, AKA an apparent teething baby that wants to cling to mom like no other + chew on every possible item, including my plants, bottles, bagels, and most importantly, my face (please ignore me in the picture below...bleh).

Aside from that, I've updated our living and dining spaces. This will not come as a shock to most of you because we all know how much I love to redecorate. I wasn't dissatisfied with our living space really, but it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for the space. Between that and my taste changing monthly, I had to do some updating on a budget, of course. It all started with a picture of a living room with light colored furniture + neutral tones, which led me to an entire redesign of the space. The first must-have purchases were some new rugs, one for the living room + one for the dining room. The dining room rug needed to go. That thing was like $20 (nothing wrong with that) from Big Lots and I bought it when we first moved in to our house almost 4 years ago simply to define the dining room as an actual dining room. The rug actually wasn't terrible, but it definitely was a cheap-o both financially and in design.  The living room rug was a Target sale purchase and while it's served us well, baby spit up has gotten the best of it and I've found it isn't very easy to clean because of the weird grooves (see below). I knew it needed to go, plus the all "white" (or ivory) rug just wasn't cutting it with my OCD shoe-removal self. It was getting dirt and mud all over it when folks would come over and ultimately I regretted purchasing it and I couldn't deal.

 Enter RugsUSA! I happened to go on the website the day before President's Day, only to discover they were having a 75% off sale on most rugs! *Hallelujah chorus* I found a 5x8 braided jute rug originally $165, for just $42 and a 5x8 patterned indoor/outdoor white+gray rug valued at $372 for $74. I was sold immediately, especially at the ease of cleaning an indoor/outdoor rug. I purchased both (somewhat on a whim) and anxiously awaited their arrival. They were perfect for the vibe I was going for, which was a more subdued, natural color palette.

I did nothing in the space until the rugs arrived because I wanted to make sure I liked them prior to redoing any thing else (pillows, decor, etc).  Fast forward 1-2 weeks thanks to all that lovely white stuff that's bombed our area lately. I LOVE THEM. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I will say that my pictures are not ideal because 1) I used my iPhone and 2)I'm by no means good at photography. That being said, here's the rugs as they are now.

I actually wish I would've gotten the next size for the living room rug because it's a little small for the space, but it's not terrible and I can work with it! The next purchase were those white slipcovers. Previously the chairs had dark brown linen slip covers and while they were manageable, they made the space pretty dark and I wanted to lighten it up. The white slip covers are Ektorp from Ikea and they were $29 a pop (all of the other colors are $100+ each). *SIDENOTE: Those chairs are one of my favorite Craigslist purchases to date. Ektorp chairs run $350 each brand new and I got both chairs WITH slipcovers for $50 total.*

In addition to the rugs + slipcovers, my dad created a reclaimed wood ("borrowed" from an abandoned barn) pallet wall above our fireplace and thickened up the mantle. The wall is a huge statement piece in the room now and really makes the "natural/rustic" thing come alive. It's not photographed well at all here, but it looks really awesome in person. Dad also created those arrows for me and I purchased some new lanterns/boxwoods for the mantle decor, which I photographed a little better in the next picture. 

 The diamond throw pillows on the couch and the gray ones on the chairs were also purchased (TJ MAXX + ROSS).

The boxwoods on the mantle were purchased at "At Home" (used to be Garden Ridge) and they're the perfect size/ shape. I was pleasantly surprised with their selection of fake potted plants and they're cheaper than TJ MAXX + Ross. CHEST BUMP! The lanterns were a TJ MAXX find. I think it's safe to consider myself a Maxxinista now. Below are more arrows that my dad made (with my supervision, haha). I saw something similar on Pinterest and just loved it. These hang in our front entry way. 

That shelf is a new addition that used to just sit in the garage. It's actually bigger than I'd like, so it's just temporary, but I'm most likely going to paint that wood door with chalkboard paint, because what else do you do when you have a random wood door?! If you come over and realize my obsession with chalkboard paint, just pretend it's normal. Thanks.

And to all you doubters out there who claim my house is "always clean" or "always organized", here's proof that though it's clean/organized, it's full of baby stuff. Seriously, it's everywhere and it's slowly taking over the entire house one giant "toy" at a time. In my opinion, everything should be collapsable. But, that's just wishful thinking.

That's precisely why my spring/summer project is: Operation Playroom, where I will slowly but surely transform our hell of a "sunroom" into a functional, storage-savvy, kid-friendly, aesthetically pleasing playroom for Miss Priss. I figure I have a few more months, at least, before she is moving around and needing a real place to play, so until then, my hamster wheel is turning with ideas! I just love the notion of her having a whole room to use as she grows and as her play needs change and develop. 

 Anybody have any tips on either painting over red brick walls or whitewashing them? That's a BIG to-do on my list before anything else can get accomplished in that room. I'd appreciate any input you can provide! Thanks for reading. Sorry if I bored you, but hey, you've made it to the end, so congrats!