Headboard idea...

Just saw this...

listed on Craigslist. 

Wouldn't this be so easy to DIY

(on a large scale) and use as a little

girl's headboard?  Hmmm...

I feel another project coming on!

Craigslist Freebies...

Inspired by Better After's Sunday Freebies post,

I decided to check out the freebies

available on my own town's Craigslist. 

I didn't find one listing for free dirt (dang),

but we've got lots of...

ROCKS!

And a chicken slum house... 

{be afraid, chickens, be very afraid}

More rocks...

 This is listed as a "Free Nice Hida Bed Couch." 

At least the "free" part is accurate...

Broken concrete (aka rock)...

A free porch.  Huh.

I'm all about "repurposing" things, but not sure how I would make this work...

Wood...

Ala "The Help," these folks have a toilet in their front yard...

And more wood...

Kitchen Citrus Update

Just found this example of

"Best Use of Citrus as Decor in a  Kitchen"

from Hooked on Houses:

If you can tear your eyes away from the Clooney Candy,

note the lemons on the counter. 

And also the large container of weed. 

Have a happy day!  :)

Kitchen Ramblings...

Please note that I'm making up for my lack of

post-frequency with post-size. 

This one's long...here we go.

So those posts I did about my 2012 Home Goals? 

That's going to be IT for goals for this year. 

I figure just those goals give me PLENTY to

do for at least the next few months

(and I've already started on some of them...YAY ME!) 

So maybe I'll do mid-year resolutions for

the rest of the house later.  But we'll see.

Anywhoooo...

One BIG project I want to take on this year

is re-doing our kitchen.  We can't afford a

total reno at this time, but I figure with

some new (not too expensive) flooring, painted

cabinets and some detail work,

we can get a lot of bang for our buck. 

Here are some kitchens that I love...

That blue painted hutch?  To die for!

The wall color in this kitchen is exactly like mine. 

I like the combo of the wall color, white

cabinets and dark wood (or laminate flooring).

I love the look of a big bowl full of limes on the

counter, but lord, who could ever eat that

many limes???  And plus, counter space is not

plentiful in my kitchen, so no limes for me. 

My countertops are currently occupado with mountains

of homework and artwork and books and

magazines and grocery lists and receipts and

notes from teachers and goodness knows what else. 

I love to see photos of picture-perfect homes,

but lordy, where is all their STUFF??? 

They obviously have housekeepers and chauffeurs and nannies.

But I digress.

More counter-hogging citrus.  Love the TV at the

end of the island (though my kitchen is too

small for that).  And again with the white

cabinets and dark-ish floors.  Love.

Oh, and to the folks over at KitchenAid? 

If you want to send me a stand mixer,

I will shamelessly promote you every day. 

I like this color:

Limes would look good in this kitchen,

but this homeowner chose lemons instead. 

Love these light pendants.  But my ceilings are

really low (like you can reach up and touch them. 

Really...it's like a cave in there) so pendant

lights would be impractical.  These homeowners

chose to go citrus-free.  HA! We'll have the last

laugh when they come down with scurvy.

We have a roughly U-shaped kitchen that

looks like this (do not be intimidated

by my mad graphic design skillz yo)...

There are cabinets over the breakfast bar that make my kitchen look like this:

But look what happens when we take down the cabinets...cue angels singing...

aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh....

Much better, yes?  Of course it is...this kitchen

is from one of the HGTV dream homes (or idea

homes, I don't remember which). 

Apples, not citrus.  I'll stop now.  But it's lovely, yes?

But...if we remove the overhead cabinets,

what do we do with all the crap treasures

that are stored there (i.e. lots and lots of

glasses, coffee mugs, wine glasses, etc.)?

Well, here's my thought.

We use the space under the "breakfast bar," which

we never use anyway, and repurpose the

overhead cabinets that we removed to create

some storage under the breakfast bar like this:

{from No Minimalist Here}

Minus the chicken wire...I don't

need people lookin' at my stuff.

We know that the cabinets are exactly the

same length as the breakfast bar, and

almost the same height.  We can either add

legs to the cabinets (to make it look more

like a piece of furniture) or set the cabinets

on the floor, leaving some space above them

for low baskets (like she's done above). 

And then finish it all off with trim, beadboard, etc. 

It will look like it was meant to be there.

What do you think? 

Has anyone had any experience with a project like this?

It's a major under taking, but I think it's do-able.

Whew...thanks for sticking with me on this one!

I'm working on a mood board...which I will share a later date.

I'm Participating...

Only one unfinished project?

Lord I don't even know where to start...

Valentine's Day Cards

I've been looking online for some

printable cards for the kids. 

Look at the super-cuteness I found...

I think these are the ones for The Girl

{from The Rubber Punkin}

...or these

{from Pumpkins & Posies}

For my co-workers

{from The Long Thread}

I used this one a few years ago for The Boy.

{from Secret Agent Josephine}

I think we'll use these this

year for The Boy (a little more

grown-up, and no I Love You's or

Be Mine's, which are a little

foofy when you're a 9-year-old boy.

{from Living Locurto}

SO CUTE!!!
{from Amy Is The Party}

YAY Orange!

I'm psyched that Pantone's color of 2012

is my favorite color/scent/flavor...

Tangerine Tango!

I may have to add some

splashes of orange

(much to my husband's chagrin, I'm sure)

ala...

{from Life as a Thrifter}

...or...

{from thedecorologist.com}