JC Penney, you dog, you!!

When I think of "Penney's" I think of my mom dragging the three of us in for Easter dresses and white patent shoes. So its appropriate that this Easter, fast forward more than twenty some years, I drag my little love doves in for what I will call "a second chance" for this department store to reclaim my shopping heart. Why would I do this?! I saw a commercial for swimwear at JCP and a couple of them were pretty decent looking! So I checked it out and found several that were promising. 

This one I got by a.n.a ! Full coverage back, a little padding on the top but not the kind where the pads are removable and bunch up. And I loved the detail on the back!

DIY Hanging Basket Pendant

I used to work helping people put together nurseries and baby bedding at a store locally. One of our bedding lines was Serena & Lily. Their bedding is so stinking cute but very expensive! They also have home decor and furniture. Some things are very truly unique and worth the splurge and some are really not! I always admired this hanging basket from their lighting. Its an oldie but goodie as I think I saw this at least a couple years back and they still sell it. The price for this baby is $245.00 or a set of 2 for $445.00. What?! I know, right!! Scroll down for the DIY version.....

Confessions of a Shopaholic...

So many people are surprised when I say, "you should check out Meijer for home goods... the grocery store, you say"?!? Secrets like this reveal themselves to you in your mid thirties, when you have a few kids hanging from you and you realize that "multitask stores" were invented for "your kind" and you learn to embrace them, for all they can offer. Here's how a conversation may go... "Listen, loves of life, we need to grocery shop (we have the credit card, although technically that part is to yourself) and we also need to wonder over to the home accessories. There is a toy aisle in it for you if you behave"!!!" Yes, this is the same convo that you also have at Target... a lot! But every once in awhile, give Meijer a chance  too! Their groceries are way better and you can still enjoy some "grab & tuck" finds (def: a home "necessity" becomes buried in a grocery bill). 

So there you have it...the confessions of a shopaholic...or a deceitful wife and bribing mother:) In any event, this is what I uncovered, in one random unplanned trip the other day...



I would totally buy this for a little boys room or a rustic, modern room. This is something you could easily find at West Elm as a fun accent pillow but this one is far less!

Playroom with Lofted Space

Finishing our basement was a labor of love... most of the time. It did feel at times like it was like a long, painful labor that would never end, but looking back, it was very exciting and rewarding. We have never designed/built a house but this basement was a concrete slab and we had to plan every detail. And for the most part, it pretty much turned out exactly how I envisioned it. It will take me many posts to show you all of it so bare with me...this is the toy room/kid's space down there!

Inexpensive DIY Artwork & Wrapping Paper

I am so excited about this post!! A few weeks ago I stumbled across these wrapping paper rolls for $2.99 a piece at Marshalls. I loved them and bought them, not knowing what I was going to make of them. If worse came to worse, I knew I could wrap a gift with them, right?!:)

Buried in Fabrics & Paint Colors for Jenni's Kitchen Facelift

I am helping my dear friend Jenni add some color & window treatments to her kitchen, breakfast nook & family room area. I was her Valentines Day present from her husband:) Normally husbands are not inclined to buy me for their wives but I felt comfortable with the transaction...we are just talking about decorating help!! 

Anyway, I love to help her because her style and house are more traditional than mine so it challenges me to think in terms of what is best in the space rather than what I am first drawn to by habit of decorating my own place. She has done a far better job decorating than she gives herself credit for and I'm hoping that I picked some fabrics and colors that are "very Jenni" because her house shows her personality which is another reason I enjoy helping her. She has an opinion and she wants to make it a unique and workable space for her, not me:)

OK so here she blows. I have a million fabrics flying around here. I have paint chips stuck to the bottom of my shoes like toilet paper! This is the start of the madness....and also by no means the end. I could look at fabrics for days. But this is what has resulted in two trips and is just some suggestions for direction to start!

Kid's Artwork Organized!!

When we finished our basement there was room for a large walk in closet in our basement guest room. We also had pretty ample storage space we left unfinished down there as well.... So, what does one do with the kinda closet space that no guest is going to fill up?!? 

I had an idea one day as I was putting the kid's clothes away in their closets and I was staring at years worth of artwork piled up on the top shelf above their clothes. The basement closet needed a tall stack of over sized, built in drawers to organize each kid's artwork that was wide enough to lay the pictures out flat!! I cannot believe the amount of art they bring home in preschool years-some of it with just one blob of paint on it!!  And I am surely not the only mom who has been busted carrying the trash out in a see through bag with a piece of two of artwork exposed!:) 

We made each drawer 19x39 and 8 inches deep.  The entire cabinet is 58Hx47W. We also left space above the drawers for bins to put all the stuff they got from the hospital & adoption process- basically baby book stuff I have neglected to get into their books:)! I plan to also make a birthday bin for each kid, with cards, invites and any small decor memorabilia from parties. 

Notice how much smaller Vince's bin is. I am not jaded about the fact that you collect way less the third time around!:)  I am third born myself and have the paper thin baby book that sits next to my older sister's 4 inch wide journal of their lives! Vince should know straight up and early on...the cold truth:)

Loving some Target Window Panels...

I am not in need of window panels... or anything at Target really!! But I had to share these gems! So cute and so affordable! It is impossible to tell the texture and color looking at the online photos (honestly, who does their website!?!) so I decided to snap some pictures while I was there. Hopefully you can get the idea. 

The next three panels are Threshold Fretwork Border Window Panels. I put my favorite color first!!

This is the "cream/gold" color, although the gold could go more a citron shade as I can see some green in it. The panels are a woven cotton and the design is embroidered giving them that "I paid too much" for these curtains look! But o contraire...these babies retail for $24.99 (54x84) to $29.99 (54x95) a panel.

Unique & Unconventional Color Combos

I love color! I have been consulting on color for years and I love the way it can completely transform a room. If you follow me on Pinterest you may notice that these are several of the rooms I have pinned under my "Unconventional Color Combos" board. I am always looking for unique ways to mix colors. A paint color on the wall introduces a good background for your canvas, but don't stop there!! Many people neglect all the possible colors you can add to compliment your paint color. Matchy matchy looks good when it is executed right as a very bold statement when you are playing up texture and pattern. But if that is not your intent than don't feel like you have to run out and buy every fabric and accessory that has a shade of your paint color in it. Below are some examples of rooms taking a chance and resulting in bold and unique greatness!:) 

Photo via Cupcakes and Cashmere