dreaming of where i could dream

it's kind of amazing and a little depressing how quickly ones taste can change in decor. at least mine. just when i thought i knew what i liked (straight lines, pottery-barnish type furnishings), and after we invested some actual money into bedroom furniture, i find that i've shifted away from the finished, matchy look. 

in the end this really is all just too bad for me, because my husband is a believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." and our bedroom set (yes, it's a "set"...sigh), is only four years old, and it certainly ain't broke. i'm sure we'll have it for a long time to come, but in the meantime, here are some designs that make me want to sell what i have and start over! (a girl can dream.)

i don't think i could be more in love with this bedroom. it is beautiful! may be i can find a headboard like this for the guest bed at least?

(source: decorology)

and this one is so sweet...i can see it as a girl's room or even a guest room.

(source: decorology)

i would never have enough confidence to put these bold colors together, but they completely work and are stunning!

(source: decorology)

this one is just sexy.

(source: decorology)

 this room is pretty busy, but i'm drawn to it (everything except the zebra print ottoman that is).

(source: apartment therapy)

oh, and this one is so pretty! the wallpaper is such a fun vintage print.

(source: roomenvy)

i'll keep dreaming and living vicariously through the other rooms in our house!

tacky beach towels

 

why is it that despite my overly picky taste, i own and use the tackiest beach towels known to man? really bright harsh colors with some sort of 80's beach scene sewn in them...oh they're bad! every summer for years i've thought how i'd like to invest in some new, not-quite-so-hidious towels, but it never seems to be a budgetary priority. one day i will make this happen! 

may be i'll get something simple like these:

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or cutsie like these:

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actually, plush and modern sounds perfect:

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reduce, reuse, recyle - t-shirts

matt (my mr.) has a plethora of old, kind-of nasty, yellow pit stained undershirts. i've recently been replacing them with new ones, and so i'm left with this massive pile of the old. this picture is just what i took out of his drawer a few days ago. i have another huge bag stuffed in my closet.

it hurt my heart a little to think of just throwing out such a large stash, and since i have no idea how fast cotton material decomposes, i just couldn't do it. giving them away is not an option since they are slightly disgusting, so my search began. 

i found some ridiculous ideas, like making a dress out of them (just dumb - who wants a dress that looks like your man's undershirt?), and some overtly obvious ideas, like using them for cleaning or waxing your car - i already have a stash of rags for those purposes. anyway, i did come across clever ideas, so if you have this same problem, here's what you can do:

-save a few for coloring your hair, or painting, or anything else messy you or your kids do

-use them for packing christmas ornaments away, or as packing material for shipping

-cut up small squares to keep for cleaning eyeglasses or polishing jewelry

and if you have a baby, these ideas are fantastic, and will probably be how i will end up using my t-shirt stash:

-cut up squares and use as reusable baby wipes for diapering or clean-up wipes at meal times. if you're already using cloth diapers (which we did for noah and will for baby girl), then you can just throw them in the wash together. i read a tip to double the material when making, so serious messes don't leak through so easily.

-t-shirt trash liners (aka, trash bags). those of us who use cloth diapers are probably trying to save money and the environment, so natalie from old made new, came up with this brilliant idea to line your cloth diaper pail with a t-shirt-created liner, rather than buying and wasting plastic liners. and again, just like the wipes, you can throw it in the wash with your diapers. so smart!

-and finally, along similar lines, natural violet gives a great tutorial on how to make your own cloth diapers from t-shirts.  if you dare to be so ambitious, they are super cute!

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friends with skillzzz

i love to bake. and a lot of the time, my goodies turn out pretty decent. what i'm not good at though, is attention to detail. 

i tell myself that i like organic, rustic looking cakes to give myself an out for the less than perfect result. or "as long as it tastes good, isn't that really what matters?" (which is such a lie since i firmly believe you eat with your eyes first!) i just become a lot more interested in the final product than the steps involved in getting there. i'm so impatient! i do, however have some friends who have much more perseverance than i do, and have come up with some beautiful creations. so lovely in fact, i have to share them.

this is missy, and she made that hunk-a-hunk of burning cake love right there. if i attempted such a feat, the 73 layers would have slid off of each other right onto the floor. hers however, turned out beautiful!

she also made this sweet circus cake for her little griffin's first birthday.

and this one she made because she thought it sounded amazing (which it does...dulce de leche cake!), and she added the paper flower on top for a little flare! isn't it so pretty?

friend shanna also makes amazing creations that i would never be able to mimic. she made these lovely detailed cupcakes for her daughter reese's third birthday. they look so professional!

and these pirate cakes she made for her son aidan's party. unbelievable!

 and check out these romantic cookie trays from bff sarah. she made all of these little delights for my baby shower back in 2008. don't you love the way they're all displayed?

and one more lovely creation from the little man dearest to my heart, my noah. he decorated his own cupcake at his friend lee's birthday party. i think it just might be my favorite!

all of a sudden i have a sweet tooth...

ideas are a-flowin'!

i mean really...

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there are just so many sweet options! i really love the massive rustic mirror hanging behind the dresser in the room right above. it adds so much character to the space and is completely unexpected as it juxtaposes the stereotypical wall decor of a baby's room. oh the possibilities!

after spending some time searching girls' rooms online, i think i've finally found some items that could pull my vision together.  here's what i've got so far.

this:

and this

and these!

and this gorgeous tie back to go with the lovely curtains:

and every baby's room needs a rug, right?

and of course a sweet blanket to go with simple bedding:

and just this one more thing for now:

this is so much fun! creating a room from scratch is just a darn good time. can't wait to meet the baby girl to fill the space and really give it life.

retro dresser and nightstand

i found a retro dresser and nightstand for noah's new room! and for 50 bucks! total score. i can't decide whether to leave them this light wood color, or paint them something funky, or may be just like a gray? hmmmm...

now, if i can only find the right bed.

a boy's bed

the search for the "big boy bed" is on! i've found several kinds of beds that i like for noah's room, but i can't figure out where to buy them! if my mr. wasn't so busy or my dad lived closer they could easily make one of these. they're so simple. we kind of need it asap too...if only there was an ikea closer!!! i know they have something similar to some of these. oh well!

room envy

home designing

home designing

home designing

rustic and romantic girl's room

obviously, i've started the hunt for the new baby's room, as this is my second post this morning about nursery decor! 

this is a strong contestant for the direction i might head in for my little girl's room. i love how eclectic and rustic and romantic it is. just beautiful.

Check out this link for more pictures.

if i were having a boy...

...i'd want to decorate his room something like this! figures, on my search for baby girl nursery inspiration, i find a baby boy's room i'm in love with! maybe we'll just have to try for a third... ;)

and i might have to give matt a project after seeing this armchair turned rocker. how smart? i've been really disappointed in the glider we got when we had noah...i can't stand the way it looks, and the slider mechanisms often catch. i'd love to have a rocker that's as gorgeous as this one!

see tons more inspiration at oh dee doh.

couponing; the new way to shop (new to me at least)

 (photo source)

last week, my life changed! no really, it did. ok, well at least the way i shop changed. i took a coupon class. yes, yes i did. i channeled my mother-in-law's deal-finding ways, and signed myself up for this class that would put me right alongside those women who are constantly facebooking and twittering their "i bought 50 items for $0.23" shopping excursions. after taking this class, i now have one of those experiences under my belt, and feel as though i must shout it from the rooftops! actually, i can't shout too loudly yet, because i'm still figuring it all out, but here's the bulk of what i learned with a lot of details in-between.

stack your coupons. which means use multiple coupons on one item that is already on sale. revolutionary!

of course there is so much more to it, so i highly recommend taking a similar class, but if you live in the st. louis area, i am in the process of figuring out how to host a class at my house. let me know if you're interested in coming.

as a stay-at-homer, i've been convicted recently that part of my responsibility is to figure out how to get the most mileage out of our finances. i haven't always (ok, never) been great at doing this, so i'm pretty pumped about becoming a little better.

some handy resources: (i'm sure there are millions of others, but again, i'm new to this, and this is where i'm starting!)
Coupon Kadie
Money Saving Mom