Working with Actions in PSE

I decided to play around with some of the "actions" I have collected from The CoffeeShop Blog. I know have mentioned this several times, but the Sun Kissed action is my favorite. Let's be honest, I like the actions that don't require a lot of work on my part. 

Before:

View from Manuel Antonio Hotel in Costa Rica
Picture taken by my sister

After:

This picture looked pretty good before but I decided to try the 

Vintage Blush action on it

Here are a few actions, all from The CoffeeShop Blog

Finished End Table and Ballardizing My House

I am just now getting around to posting the pictures 

of the finished end table

Here she is. I am so bad that I didn't bother taking the time to lighten up my photo...or better yet, take it during decent light. 

I have been trying to incorporate some of the Ballard Designs ideas into my home and here is what I have so far: 

$6 "Antique" Books from D.I. compared to:

 $18 Antique Book Bundles 

To my husband's delight, I incorporated antlers into my decor.

I saw them all over the Ballard catalog 

but can't find them on their website

{maybe they decided they were't cool any more?}

Free from the mountains in Utah!

{basket was $2 from DI and books from TJ Maxx. I love coffee table books!}

End Table Redo

I worked on this end table/night stand this weekend. Its been around awhile....hiding in the corner of the basement. I was perusing KSL and Craigslist in hopes of finding an end table for the front room. I found something that was really cute but then remembered that we had this not being used. To most people this is just a regular old end table that looks a bit dated. However, its a little more special than that. 

If you turn it upside down you will see "Jensen" on the bottom. Brad made this table when he was in high school. He was a bit hesitant to let me paint it but I promised him I wasn't going to paint it a crazy color or paint it and sell it on Craigslist {which is something I do a lot}.

It is all painted and ready to be revealed but I decided to replace the handle with a knob. I need to fill the holes and drill a new one {actually, I probably won't be doing any of that- Brad will}. I will be back shortly with the "after" pictures.

2011 Home Goals

I am a little late for Nester's Home Goals Party but I want to get this on record. Some of these are lofty ideas but a girl can wish. My first goal is important to accomplish because it will lead to my second goal.

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First, I need a shed. At this point I don't know what size, shape or color but it is a must for me to clean out the garage. My second goal is to make my garage look like this:

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 Okay, my garage won't really look like that but I plan on trashing, organizing, painting, pouring concrete steps (currently wood steps), putting down an epoxy floor, and adding a little mud room area like this:

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Another goal is to finish the master bedroom. I started painting the walls white and Blue Hubbard (Sherwin Williams), but I have not finished so there are some areas of my old paint- yellow (yuck!). Here is my inspiration:

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 My room is not quite this large but I do plan on copying it somewhat. My walls will have the same wainscoting detail with Blue Hubbard above the white. I am keeping my cherry wood sleigh bed and matching nightstands (unless I can miraculously find some cute pedestal nightstands for cheap). I have a beautiful new flat screen on the wall directly across from the bed so now all I need is a cute dresser to go under it. I hope to be able to reveal this room by April. Not sure how long I can stand looking at my tri-colored walls.

My fourth goal is to add some wainscoting to the front room like this:

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My fifth goal is to de-clutter my entire house. I hate hate hate clutter and when I start to feel clutterphobic I start throwing stuff away. Thank goodness my house hasn't ever looked like this!

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My sixth goal is to add crown molding to my main bathroom and frame around the mirror similar to House of Smiths

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Here We Go Again

I am about to get obsessive....there are a bunch of Silhouette Giveaways going on right now. I. Must. Win. One.

Go enter!! Beneath My Heart,  House of Smiths, Keeping It Simple, All Things Thrifty, Design Dazzle, Craftaholics Anonymous, and The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Lucky Break

Back in December I was desperate to win a Silhouette machine so I spent a lot of time entering giveaways. Needless to say, I did not win. However, I did win two other giveaways. One of which was a contest on  Swell Swag for credit to Wheat and {Wildflowers}.

The necklace came in a pretty package

When I saw this "lucky" necklace, I knew it had to be mine.
I especially love St. Patrick's Day!

I also got this tiny type initial necklace

 Go check out Wheat and {Wild Flowers}

A Birthday

We recently celebrated a birthday at our house...Brad turned 32 on 1.11.11. I managed to forget to take pictures of the two of us but got some shots of the goodies. 

I found the cute cupcake circles at Paper Glitter and 
I got the idea to make colorful cupcakes at Our Best Bites

I found this banner and other birthday printables at
Draw! Pilgrim

Spicy Story

It all started when I got sick of my spice rack taking up space on the counter... 

Things did not improve much when I put the glass jars in a plastic container in the pantry. The problem was that I could not see what spice was what without lifting them out. Then one day Kelly came to my rescue. She showed a picture of her new spice organization. Enter RATIONELL VARIERA {don't even ask how to say that} 

I went from a pile 'o glass jars 

To this! Thanks to Brad for a lovely Christmas gift

 I had hoped to put them on the inside of our cabinets but It just wasn't working out for us. They ended up hanging on the pantry door. Now I have 28 new glass jars to deal with! 

Can't Get Enough...

You've seen this print all over the place:

I know I am not the only person obsessed {maybe I am?} with Quatrefoil. {some pronounce it "kat-er-foil" or kwat-ra-foil"} Basically it means quatre 'four' + foil 'leaf'. Grammar lesson aside, I first saw this print when one of my sisters pointed out a necklace similar to this:

Here are a few great finds:

$320 from Amazon

Of course I could be like Beckie at Infarrantly Creative  and make my own mirror . I know this would require my husband's help and he isn't as excited about this kind of project as me.

Living Livelier found this mirror at HomeGoods for
only $13. Where have I been? 

I love this pillow from Shop Ten 25 

This rug is only $1,198 for a 2'6''x10' runner

This rug from Shop Ten 25 is practically perfect in every way

I love this 'Tini Table' from Oomph

My Favorite Model

No, I am not talking about the likes of Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks or Gisele Bundchen....

Here is Little Miss Sydney....

She is not afraid to do a little "hip pop"

Or "shoulder shrug"