Formal Living/Dining - Phase 3!

As you all may know, I have been working in phases to re-design our formal living/dining room. Today I would like to show you the 3rd of 4 phases. Yupp - That's right! I said 3 of FOUR phases!! Totally didn't think I would be changing this room so much, but hey - why not?? 

In my defense, I will attempt to explain myself. It got to the point where I would change one thing, and realize I didn't like something else. For example, I found that amazing rug for a great deal and just had to have it! Well... The "icy grey" of the wall color just didn't match with the new "stone grey" of the rug. It DROVE ME CRAZY and so I made the decision to paint the walls - SO glad I did! I am just in love with the new wall color. It's still in the "grey" family, but much warmer. Just perfect.

So like I said, it has basically been a snowball effect. Change one thing, and in the end.... it's all different! In this case, I've been very happy with my slow progression. In fact, even since I took these pictures, I have moved into phase 4 (and hopefully the FINAL phase) of this room:) I can't wait to show you what all I have done with the space! That will come soon, but until then I hope you all enjoy my {phase 3} reveal!

Scroll all the way down to see my 1-2-3 {before and afters}

And here are the steps I've taken to get to where I am now:

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

Phase 3:

So what all do you see different??  Here are the top 3 changes:

1. The HUGE buffet has been moved to it's proper home - behind our dining room table.

2. We've got a NEW rug! And I'll tell you all a little secret - it's actually 2 rugs up against each other! Finding a large rug like that for a reasonable price it just about impossible and this is a great solution. The pattern matches up perfectly too:)

3. NEW paint color - The paint color is called Stone Manor by Valspar - I've been very happy with it!

Stay tuned to see what I have next! I'll give you a few hints. There might be some sort of new table, and some new upholstered pieces as well. Yippee! 

More to come:)

DIY Lamp Makeover

About 2 weeks ago I broke my absolute favorite lamp EVER. It was my green glass blown lamp that I bragged about in my {Pottery Barn Copycat Post} that I bought from Walmart a few years back. I was so devastated and SO mad at myself. I actually had 2 of them, so I still have one left, but they were a pair, and that was my favorite part:( Thankfully, I found a new life for it's remaining parts! 

For a while now, I have had a decorative seagrass piece that I recently wanted to transform into a lamp. I really didn't feel like buying a lamp/light kit, so I just never did anything with it. Well... after breaking my favorite lamp, I now had the perfect lamp guts to work with. Here was my process:

Thankfully, I already had the lamp shade from a previous lamp, so the odd oval shape wasn't a problem.  Below is my verbal attempt at explaining how I configured everything together:

Steps:

1. Take apart an old lamp by first removing the bottom felt lining.

2. You will then see the wiring and will unscrew the bolt that is holding everything in place. 

3. In my case, I had to tear apart the cheap metal that my cord was encased in. I needed to pull my cord through, but the hole was too large for the plug to fit through. That is why I had to rip apart the metal. This part was surprisingly easy since it was a cheap lamp from walmart:)

4. Pull the cord through the base and take away any parts you don't think you will need for your particular transformation. This was a trial and error task for me!

5. Now we are down to our basics. I then pulled my wiring through my wicker decorative piece (aka my new lamp base) through the bottom.  I pushed it through the top opening of my wicker piece.

6. The cord simply feeds out the back of the lamp (so it wobbles a bit - but barely!) And the top part of the lamp peeps out of the top - ready for a light bulb and a shade!

7. Place your shade on your new lamp, and your done!

Neat huh?? Hope y'all enjoyed my little lamp makeover:)

A photoshoot with my niece!

Today I got to hang out with my adorable niece to take some photographs for her 2nd birthday that is coming up! It wasn't the easiest photoshoot (especially for someone who isn't a professional photographer - aka me), but I sure think we got some cute shots! Isn't she the sweetest?? 

My money mug - saving for some new chairs!

So, for a while now I have been able to avoid buying any sort of "high ticket priced" furniture items, and it's pretty nice! Most of our staple items in our house were either pass-me-downs, gifted to us, or made by Graham and myself.  For example, our couch was my graduation gift, our dining room set was a gift from Graham and I's parents years ago, and most of the rest of our furniture are garage sale finds that I have re-finished. Or antiques of course! Either way, we've been very lucky when it comes to avoiding expensive furniture purchases, and I am SO thankful for that.

I very much love everything we have, but I think the time has come to maybe buy something new.... WHAT? Buy something NEW?? Totally not my style... I know.  I love vintage furniture and the story that they bring, but I think it's time for a change. I have fallen in love with a pair of seagrass wingback chairs from Pier 1. They are SO beautiful and very classic in shape. They are $299 each and a great deal if you start researching comps for an item like this.  I've been searching for an affordable option for a while now and these are by far the best deal I have found. But... I'm wanting to buy 2 of them which ups the price a bit.  So... drum roll please! That's where my money mug came into creation. I have officially started saving for my chairs and I am super excited! Not sure when I'm actually going to end up buying these chairs, but at least I'm on my way! Hey, a girl can dream - right??

Alrighty, now for the fun part! Here are some of my inspirations that I have been drooling over lately... Wicker, seagrass, you name it - I've drooled over it all!

First and foremost, here is the Pier 1 wingback that I am saving for:

(Imagine 2 of them with white cushions)

 

 {Pier 1}

Ok now here are some of my other favorites!

 

{pottery barn} 
 Above is Pottery Barn's version and every bit as beautiful!
But it's $500 with a $50 delivery surcharge, so not as good of a deal.
($650 with the ottoman + $50 surcharge)

{via}

 {pottery barn}

{Pier 1}

{World Market}



{pottery barn}

*sigh* Aren't they all so beautiful?? Wicker and/or seagrass items are the perfect way to incorporate texture into a room. The material is extremely durable and can be cleaned very easily - another reason why I love it:) 

Make sure to come back for my 3rd phase of our formal living/dining room reveal this week! My pillows finally came in so I can actually take pictures now:) You might have noticed that {if I ever do actually buy those dreamy seagrass wingback chairs} they will most likely be used in the formal living area. Soooo that means I might have a phase 4 for my formal living space. We shall see! 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend:) adios!

Classic Up-Do's & a Wedding!

Over the weekend, I was so very privileged  to serve as a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding in Austin, Texas. It was the seriously the most amazing wedding I have ever been to. It was not only filled with tons of amazing family and friends, but the atmosphere was just perfect. Casual elegance would be the perfect way to describe it:) I would also say a perfect way to describe the bride as well:):) Thank you Gerrie and Ryan for putting together the most beautiful weekend! You are both very loved:)

I was also lucky enough to do some of the up-do's for a few of the bridesmaids, along with my own hair as well. I have been doing hair for years and have actually done hair at most of my friend's weddings, including my own:) It's so fun for me to do and I just LOVE it! I always tend to forget to take pictures of the "final product", but this time I remembered! Here are a few of the up-do's I did for the wedding. Mine it the side bun on the upper left corner! This was before we all got ready. Scroll down for some pictures of us in our dresses and jewelry to get a good grasp of the whole look.

And here are a few random shots from the

wedding day activities & reception!

Awesome pic of the {Invitation}

I also got to help out a little bit with Gerrie's hair too!!

I was responsible for the "poof" haha

I mean, cmon! Every Texas girl needs some volume:)

And just so y'all can see how cute they are...

some {adorable} shots from their engagment shoot!

Their photographer is AMAZING!! Check our their work at The Nichols Blog!

I can't wait to see the photography from the wedding.

I know the photos are going to be just beautiful!

And here are some more shots of us enjoying the weekend!

The bridesmaid dresses were from J. Crew and you can find them HERE. They were SO comfortable and totally re-wearable. My particular dress was called "Arabelle" and you can find it HERE in "Graphite". We were all allowed to wear a fun necklace or fun earings. I found my particular necklace at Franchesca's for right around $28. They have tons of beautiful costume jewelry that's actually very good quality. I would totally recommend the store!

Alrighty folks, I think that's about all I've got for tonight! I am so happy that I was a part of such an amazing weekend and wish I could go back and re-live every moment of it! There was dancing, laughter and SO much joy, and it was all because of one beautiful couple - Gerrie and Ryan. I love you guys and thanks for such an amazing weekend:)

Hope you all enjoyed my little wedding post today! Happy Monday all:)