House of Hydrangeas

While I loved a lot about our home before we bought it, there was one thing that I knew I would be changing after moving in--the paint colors!  All three guest rooms and our master bathroom will be getting new coats of paint, as well as the open living room that I mentioned yesterday. The largest guest room belonged to the previous owner's teenage daughter....hence the coral pink walls. This next room was a former nursery, and since we plan to use it as such one day as well, we're not worried about painting it just yet.  We'll wait for a baby to come first :) The last guest room was a safari room for a little boy, complete with bamboo lined walls.  It will be transformed into Jon's man cave. And last but not least on the "to paint" list is our master bath.  It's a little hard to tell in this picture, but the walls are actually faux finished in a sage green over a beige.  The faux has to go. So here's what I'm thinking for the new ...

Our living room is slowly but surely coming together.  The biggest To Do's are ordering a new media console, painting the room (which is unfortunately open to the dining room, kitchen, office and breakfast area which means lots of painting to be done!), order a few lamps and a console for the long wall behind the couch. I realize I haven't shared any pictures of our "new" house (we moved in at the end of last October) with you guys.  So here's a glimpse of the living room before we moved in. This is what you see when you walk in the front door.  The dining room is on the left, the living room is straight ahead and the office on the right. A closer look at the living room.  Florida loves their plant ledges...I do not.  You win some.  You lose some.  I also want to replace the tile around the fireplace.   A view from the back of the living room looking toward the front corner of the house. The room behind the half green wall is the o...

That's right, folks.  A few days ago we reached 1,000 followers on Pinterest !  If you're missing out, start following here .  You'll get to see a lot of goodies, inspirations and dreams like this... Or, you can follow me anytime by clicking on the Pinterest button in the top corner. Thanks again!  I'm so glad others see beauty and inspiration in the same things I do... Have a great weekend!

I'm not sure about you, but I love a nice, warm bowl of soup when the weather is cool.  Even though it's March, and I live in Florida, we've had some chilly temps this week (sorry Spring Breakers).  So last night I made one of my favorite recipes, Chicken Tortilla Soup.  It's tasty, spicy and best of all, so simple to make! (not pictured, Velveeta cheese and tortilla chips) Chicken Tortilla Soup 12 oz can white chicken breast 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed 14 oz can mexican corn (or regular whole corn like shown above) drained  1 can of Rotel-your choice of heat (I prefer the Hot for a nice kick) 1 can chicken broth 1 can cream of chicken soup 8 oz Velveeta cheese, diced Tortilla chips (optional) Start by adding all of the ingredients (except the diced cheese) into a stockpot, paying careful attention to which cans should be drained.  When you get to the black beans, remember to drain AND RINSE before adding them to the pot. ...

I recently updated the dresser hardware on my trusty Ikea dresser I bought nearly nine years ago when I  moved to Dallas.  The dresser has been good to me, but I thought it was time for an update.  And if you ask me, hardware is one of the easiest ways to do just that. Here's the before: As you can see, the original knobs weren't bad, but I wanted something with a little more presence.  Inspired by an image I found on Pinterest, I ordered  these guys . I was drawn to the clean lines and contrast that would be achieved from the brass finish on the dark dresser.  And at less than eight dollars a piece, I was sold! After a little help from my screw driver, I had this.  Quite the update, huh? Here's another before and after for comparison... I feel like I got a brand new piece of furniture for less than $80!  If you want to update a piece in your home, think about getting new hardware.  Remember you aren't restricted...

Since moving into our new home at the end of last October, I've been trying to figure out what kind of new area rug I want to buy.  You see, the rug that was previously in the dining room of our old home was moved outside here at our new home (it was old... and Remi had used it as a chew toy).   So our current dining room sits rugless...and it's killing me.  After measuring our new dining space, I realized that a 6 x 9 would be the best size for the space...which just so happens to be the size of the rug we have in our living room.  Thus came the idea of moving our living room rug (which is technically an indoor/outdoor rug--great for dining rooms and any food mishaps that may arise) into the dining room and purchasing a new rug for the living room.  Are you with me? Operation "Find a New Living Room Rug" has been in progress for quite some time now.  I think rugs and sofas are my hardest purchasing decisions.  Because of their size and price tags, I...

Over two months later, I'm finally getting around to posting on my nephew Cohen's first birthday!  Because he was born just six days before Christmas, it was important to my sister, Meredith, to have a party to make him feel special, separate of the normal seasonal celebrations.  And I'm always up for a planning a good party! Since Cohen was little baby, he has loved giraffes.  First introduced with the paper mache bust hanging over the changing pad in his nursery( here ), my sister says he's been a fan ever since.  Using that as the inspiration, the party planning began.  Meredith found an invitation she liked at  Tiny Prints and thus the color palette of green, yellow and brown was established. Cohen wore a monogrammed yellow chevron coverall on the big day, and the cheerful pattern was also used throughout the party.  To create a prominent backdrop on the fireplace mantel, we covered a remant piece of beadboard with chevron fabric.  ...