A New Display

This post has been a long time coming. I actually received a gift in the mail a few weeks ago and am just now getting around to showing you. What is it, you ask? It's a homemade quilt fresh from Miami!

This was made by my mother-in-law who lives in Coral Gables. You may remember she also made the quilt in the guest bedroom. Yes, she has a knack for this!

She actually made this one as a tablecloth but it's so pretty, I don't think I can risk getting food all over it (because I'm sure I would)! 

The backing is black and white, so I could also use that side.

I think I might display it instead, at least for now. I may pull it out as a tablecloth for a special occasion. Either way, it's a great new keepsake!

Much Needed Organization

Landon and I did some much needed organization over the weekend. We decided it was time to get rid of some of our book collection. We had so many that will probably never be read again, so we actually thought it was a good way to make a bit of money. 

We filled three bags of books and took them over to Half Price Books, which will buy gently used ones. We knew we probably wouldn't get much for them. Most of them were pretty old and random. 

When we got to the store, they said it would be about 20 minutes until they would have our offer ready, so we perused the store waiting. In the end, they offered us $13. We knew we wouldn't get much, but I was at least hoping for $30! So, we decided that process wasn't hardly worth the time. I think next time they will get donated to Goodwill or some other charity.

But, one good thing did come of all of this. It cleaned out some room on our very full bookshelf. So, I started moving some things around and reorganizing. It doesn't look as nicely staged as so many on the blogosphere, but we still have to be functional at my house. And it looks better than it did.

I really need to think ahead when I start doing these kinds of projects. Because the "old" bookshelf looked so cluttered, I realized I never took a picture of it. I avoided it at all costs. So, I can only show you the "now" pic. But, just imagine this with layers and layers of books crammed in each "cubby."

We also decided to clean out the drawer of our guest bedroom desk. This drawer had turned into the "I don't know where to put it" drawer.

Let me just tell you a few things I found in this drawer -- old Christmas gift receipts, movie tickets, bills that had been paid, lots and lots of post-its. You name it, I found it. Landon and I actually had a good laugh going through it. There was so much random junk! Luckily, it looks like this now:

Much better! Now, if we can just get those college diplomas framed, we'll be golden!

10 Years Ago

I know it's been a while since my last post, and I feel like I must apologize. Not that I think you are all waiting around with bated breath for my next post, but I do feel bad I've been away for so long. Good news, though, I have many projects I'm ready to tackle in the next few weeks so I should have plenty of things to tell you about!

One of the reasons it's been so long since you've heard from me is that Landon and I took a trip to Nashville last weekend for our 10-year high school reunion. We are very lucky that we both graduated the same year from the same high school. It makes it much easier when it comes to reunions.

I was actually on the planning committee of the reunion and if I were perfectly honest, I would tell you that by the time the day of the event arrived, I was not very excited. Even though we had a great group on the committee, the planning process was a bit difficult due for a number of reasons. We weren't sure how many people would show, if we would break even or if anyone would have fun. So, after driving 11 hours to Nashville, I was a bit ready to just "get it over with."

BUT, I can't even begin to tell you how much fun the reunion turned out to be. After all the stress of planning, it was so much fun to hear the stories of where life has landed everyone and reminisce about our time together a decade ago. I think everyone had a great time, and I was proud to have been part of the team that made it happen. I am very glad we chose to go and can honestly say I look forward to the next one!

I'd love to tell you I took tons of pictures, but I didn't! So, here's one of me and Landon getting ready to go. I'm not really sure we've changed that much in 10 years, except, of course, a little weight gain!

Did you go to your last class reunion? How was it?

She Sells Sea Shells

The shells I had bought at the Estate Sale a few months back have been sitting in my "office" still in their bags. So, I decided it was time to figure out what to do with them. I actually have a vase that Landon had bought me when we were dating from Pottery Barn. I wanted this vase so badly because in the Pottery Barn catalog, they had a fish swimming in it and I just thought that was so cool. Then I thought through the practicality of having to clean it and decided I would forgo that idea. So, it's been sitting on my black bookshelf in the sunroom holding some weird green "stick things." Well, not anymore.

I removed the "stick things" and voila.

It looks nice and pretty sitting on my black bookshelf. I'm also still looking for ideas for my sunroom. Here are a few things that have recently caught my eye.

Source: twiddlerhouse.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: blueeyedyonder.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Kristin on Pinterest

What about you? Anything caught your eye lately?

Gone is the Gold

Remember the frames and mirrors I bought at the estate sale a few months back?

Well, Saturday, I got up early and headed to the garage before it hit 100 degrees, and began transforming these beauties. I was a little worried because the back of the spray paint can said not to use it in temperatures over 90 degrees. I'm pretty sure it was already at or close to 90 degrees by 10 a.m. I was worried it might affect the results but ...

I'm happy to say the project was a success!

I especially love how the detail of the mirrors turned out.

I also decided to spray paint the frame my bridal portrait was in. As you'll remember, it has been sitting on the floor of my bedroom since we moved in.

I could have just put some newspaper over the glass and been done with it, but instead, I wanted to take the pic and glass out. Well, this proved to be a bad idea because the corner  of the glass broke as I was getting it out. So, it's looking like I'll either be buying a new piece of glass or looking for a new frame.

I plan to do the other frame from our wedding (also sitting on the floor as seen in the pic above) but didn't get around to it this weekend.

These will all eventually be going on the wall in my bedroom along with my yarn letter. But I'm hoping to paint my bedroom first. This is what my bedroom wall has looked like for over two months.

And this is "third generation." It doesn't even reflect the paint samples that have already gone up and been vetoed. I've literally grabbed every green-blue color from Lowe's, Home Depot and Sherwin Williams. Finally, after much debate, I have made a choice. 

We're going with the middle color -- Valspar's La Fonda Mirage. The color is from their National Trust for Historic Preservation series, and this particular color is named after Santa Fe's La Fonda Hotel. That's not why I picked it ... I really just like the color. But, it's good to know.

The picture above doesn't really sow the color best. Hopefully I'll have it on the wall soon so you can see it better. 

Yarn Art

Well, I've done it ... I finally joined Pinterest last week and I'm officially hooked. I didn't see the appeal at first but after browsing and seeing all the inspiring pins, I now get it. I'd love to follow you, so let me know if you are on Pinterest. You can find my pins here.

Well, as I was browsing Pinterest this weekend, I saw this pin, which my friend Ashley had pinned, and loved it.

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Apparently, everyone else loved it, too, because as soon as I pinned it, it was repinned several times. 

I love the simplicity of these letters. The more I thought about them I remembered I had a cardboard "C," which I had bought a few months ago. I thought I was going to paint it, but I just wasn't convinced that would be best, so I thought, why not give the yarn a try?

You'll notice the yarn I bought was not a smooth yarn. I actually realized later that this was a good thing. After looking at the Pinterest yarn letters closely, I noticed they had wrapped from several directions, so I first started wrapping horizontally. I pulled out the glue dots to help me get started.

After the first "wrap," this was the end product. Not very pretty.

But, things were looking better after the second "wrap."

Except for the corners; they were still looking rough. I found it a little difficult to cover them. Every time I tried, the yarn would slip and uncover a portion of the cardboard.

So, I got creative. I cut some small strips and glued them over the edges using glue dots.

And, after a few more wraps, it was finally completely covered, corners and all. With every wrap, I realized I liked the non-smooth yarn because it really hid all the imperfections.

I really like it plain, but I think it would be even cuter with some decorations on the bottom of the "C." I'm thinking a cute felt flower or pom pom to keep with the "homespun" look. I didn't have either, so for the time being, I just laid some buttons on it to see what it would look like.

I haven't glued anything down, so I may look for something better. I have plans to put this on my bedroom wall in my frame art, which I am a little closer to having done. I'll tell you about it soon.