Reclaiming my guest room/craft room

I can hardly believe that it has been six years since my husband's sister moved in with us.

Now, she is not a random in-law. She and I were RAs in college and she was best friends with my roommate. She was the one, in fact, that introduced me to my husband, saying, "You two might hit it off." We were engaged three months to the day that we met. So, yeah, we like her.

My hubby and I lived in an apartment for our first year of marriage then lived with my folks for about a month while our home was finishing being built. We only lived in our new house for about two months before she moved in and she's been here ever since. She occupies the bedroom at the end of the hall near the garage and her stuff takes up space all over the house, even on the back porch. Her absence will leave a void in our hearts as well as in our home.

BUT...it's time. She's ready to leave and we're ready to send her away from the nest!

AND...I get my guest room back. YES!!!! My plan is to convert it into a guest room/craft room. My mother is very excited about having a dedicated guest room after sleeping in the living room on a futon for so long!

Even though she probably won't close on her house (which is only about 1/4 mile from our house) until the end of the month, you bet I'm already making plans for that room!

Have you ever had a dream where you find a room you didn't know about, like a second kitchen or another bedroom in your house?? It's going to be a lot like that.

My first project will be re-painting the room. When I saw this bird, I knew I wanted the colors to inspire my new room.



But before I could take my bird to Lowe's to choose paint chips, I had to deal with that my SIL had already done to the room. She is a creative gal and has painted the entire room with lamp posts, vines, trees...even a castle!





It reaches onto the ceiling and although it looks really cool, it's not what I had in mind for my new craft room/guest room, so the whole room will have to be painted over.

So, I started with an inspiration piece: this piece of artwork from

Joom on Etsy

I love these colors! Plus the two birds in the nest represent my two boys! :)



I have this favorite mug as well and realized that the colors will blend well with it, too.



And that, my friends, is my color scheme. Aqua, green and orange.



It just so happens that the aqua color (the middle one) is called "Serendipity," one of my all-time favorite words that means "Finding valuable things not sought for." I love that!!! I've often said that if I opened a shop or a bed and breakfast some day, I'd work "Serendipity" into the name. It was meant to be!



I'm thinking of the top color for the ceiling. Aaaaahhhhhh.

As for furnishings, I'm moving my craft table out of my Morning Room and into this room. It will fit well on the same wall as the door. I'd love to paint it green and cover the chairs in a fun, coordinatng fabric!



Above it, I picture simple shelves on brackets like these, to hold my crafting supplies.



Opposite to that, I envisioned this day bed from IKEA but it's not in their new catalog!!



So I'll have to come up with a plan B. We really only need a twin size bed in here since we rarely have couples stay with us. I pictured it dressed in white with a ton of fun pillows in my accent colors, including this one, also from Joom on Etsy.



Above the bed, I love these vinyl wall decals!



Beyond that it would depend on what else would fit as far as a bookcase or armchair. I've taken measurements but I have no spatial skills so I can't really work out the layout. That's where my hubby will come in handy!

So I will continue to gather ideas and inspiration for this room and see how my vision comes together over time. It will be fun! It will also open up a lot of room in my Morning Room, so that will be a whole other project! I'm so excited!

Fall Nesting Party

Brought to you by

The Inspired Room

Click on the above link for more FALL inspiration!

This is the only fall decorating I've done so far. This is in my Morning Room. I took down the spring/summer flowers and tried to mix in some nice fall textures.



I used some pinecones in the cheese server--kinda fun! And I liked how the pitcher and plate went together.

I forget sometimes that books can be used to add height--I need to aquire more neat books!!



I "shopped the house" for the orange candle and the reed infuser. It's like having new stuff! I left the bird stuff out because here, birds LOVE autumn!!



And now...

Here are my own 20 Little Things to Love About Autumn list:

1. Temperatures in the 80s. Yes, that's "fall weather" in Phoenix!
2. Our annual trip to the local farm for a train ride, corn maze and to pick a pumpkin.
2. November is "birthday month" (including mine, my mom's and my oldest son's) so the whole month is like one big party!
3. The smell of cinnamon simmering on the stove.
4. Crumb top apple pie.



5. My favorite colors to wear and decorate with: green, orange and red! This year, I plan to add some rich turquoise to the mix.
6. The church Fall Festival.
7. Putting my baby is an orange striped sleeper with a pumpkin hat!
8. Adding my cozy leaf-print throw to my favorite chair for cool mornings.



9. Picnics.
10. Trips to the park during daylight hours.
11. Football!!! Go, Gators!!
12. TEA! Yummy new flavors with cloves and cinnamon. This is the "tea station" I just set up in my dining area.



13. Going to the high country to see the leaves. We don't have leaves in the valley.
14. Thanksgiving. That's when I met my husband 8 years ago and every year, it's fun to see how our family has grown!
15. Decorating with pinecones and acorns.
16. Actually using a comforter or blanket on the bed!
17. Longer nights for reading and sleeping.
18. New plaid socks.
19. Chili in the crock pot.
20. Gathering ideas for holiday gifts.

Your Decorating Style

This is a fun quiz from Home Good's contributor, Deborah Needleman.

Take the quiz

HERE

Mine is COUNTRY ECLECTIC. And it's very accurate!!

"You have wide-ranging interests and influences and therefore appreciate a mix of styles, periods, and objects. You would never use a matching suite of furniture or could stand a home that seemed cookie-cutter. But you love the breezy, layered look of wonderfully personal beach houses and the happy florals of English cottages. Bringing the outdoors in makes you happy: a little chintz or ruffle or weathered furniture, urns filled with tennis rackets, colored glasses filled with cut flowers, vintage-looking, mixed tea cups, and all things that give a sense of a happy, simple life.

You value comfort. Your home is a warm and open friendly place, and you feel happiest when everyone is cared for and relaxed in your space. Elements like pillows, throws, overstuffed furniture, and good lighting set the mood. You may also enjoy layering different fabrics or mixing patterns to create a cozy effect."

When you take the quiz, you also get "putting your style to work" tips and "Your Happy Home Colors."

Take a moment and try it, it's fun!

I've been featured!

What a lovely surprise to find this morning that I've been featured on the blog "The Cutest Shops Online!"

I'm so excited...and honored!!



Check out the post

HERE

Her blog is super-cute!

To celebrate, I'm offering $1 off every set of file folders ordered through the end of the month, PLUS two free bookmarks with every order! Enter code CUTE at check-out and I will refund you the money!

Exploring

Andrew is hooked on his new "Franklin" video and in one episode, they go "exploring" while on a camping trip so he's been asking me to go exploring with him all week. Today we finally did it. I don't take the boys out much because of the heat but we were brave and headed to our neighborhood park.

Andrew loves to push. Ethan seems to like it, too!



Taking time to watch the birds and planes overhead.



Ethan seems to like being outside, too.



Can't go to the park and not slide!



Relaxing in the shade.



Pointing out the birds.



Showing Ethan the pine cone he plucked off a tree.



When we arrived home with pine cones and a feather, I got to thinking that it would be nice for Andrew to have a place to keep his exploring treasures. I just picked up a few of these trays for $1.31 each at the store the day before--perfect!! So we got to painting!!



I'm going to add scrap booking paper to the sides to jazz it up. He was pretty proud--and it matches his bedroom!



All in all, a fun morning!

Friday's Fave Five #20

Read more entries over at

Living To Tell The Story

1. My husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on the 6th! Here's us only a month after we met. We were introduced over Thanksgiving weekend 2001, were engaged that February and married August of 2002! Talk about a whirlwind romance!



My mom came over to watch both boys so we could enjoy a leisurely dinner together--the first since Ethan was born! It was lovely to talk uninterrupted and enjoy each other's company!

2. I got lots of organizing done this week! Besides looking sooo much better, I'm amazed at how much better I FEEL, too! Check out that post

HERE

3. I actually sat down at my craft table and made some cards! I haven't made time for that in quite a while and it felt great!





4. Speaking of crafting, I got a $40 order in my Etsy shop this week--all the way for Canada!! That's my biggest order so far and the first time I shipped internationally--pretty exciting!

5. Two play dates this week, which definitely helps the days go by faster when you're "stuck at home" all week! One day, my friend Jen brought her boys over, including her 3-week old. We were "pregnancy buddies" and it's fun now to compare babies instead of pregnancy symptoms! Here's the boys together--that's my Ethan on the left. Isn't he huge???



And for good measure, here's the latest picture of the boys:



It was a great week--we are truly blessed!

Organizing projects

The Fly Lady (www.flylady.net) says that the reason we put off projects around the house is because of our perfectionism. We don't begin because we don't think we can make it perfect like "Oh, I need to buy some stoarge bins first," or "It'll take too long and it won't be just right."

I've experimented with this idea. The bottom line is, imperfect is certainly better than it being the way it was...and it almost never takes me anywhere near as long as I think it will. This is why I do one project after another in "spurts," because my success gets me motivated to do more!

This closet seemed totally daunting. It was literally stuffed to over-flowing and wasn't really functional at all. It took me...get this...half an hour to clear it out and put it back how I wanted!! I was amazed. Granted, it took me maybe another half an hour to put things away where they belonged and gather the giveaway stuff, but still. An hour?? Why did I put it off for so long???

BEFORE:





After:



Now my diaper bag and pool bag are in the closet and off the couch when you first walk in and we even had room for the vacuum so it doesn't have to take up space in the office anymore! Hooray!

Since I was on a roll, I finally cleaned out my junk drawers and added these baskets to keep things seperated and more accesible.

This took about half an hour, too, even with consulting my husband on what I could toss!





And before I lost momentum, I tackled my craft area. This BEFORE is actually the picked-up version of the real before, but it gives you the general idea!! I didn't even have space to work!



AFTER:



I know, this still looks like a before! :) But I know where everything is and my most-used items are more accessible now. I even worked on my bookcase to get it functioning properly!



Here are some other projects from this week!

Revamping my coffee and tea station.



Clearing out my "hot spot" and putting out this cute lamp. I love the glow!



I moved my desk supplies into the cabinet above so it wouldn't clutter up the counter. I love it!



Then I moved my tray with my vitamins over and added toast-making supplies. This makes a lot more sense.



I even went through all my books and magazines and put back the ones I use the most. Muuuch better.



It feels to good to get this stuff done! Phew, I need a cup of tea now...