Before and After: Master Bedroom

It's finally finished! (or at least as good as it's gonna get for a while) Why is it that it seems the Master bedroom is always the last to be finished? You would think it would be the first- after all, it is the room that is just for you; a place to relax and unwind. Although it took 6 years to get here, I can say it was worth the wait because it's by far my favorite room of the house.

Before: (I'm still kicking myself for not taking original before pics- just think burgundy paint and 80's floral wallpaper)

After:

I'm sure you're wondering by now how on earth Derek let all this pink in here? I said "you better live with it, or else..."- actually, I think he just loves me alot.

A birthday for the books

Derek really outdid himself this year. I definitely underestimated him! I was having a good day- a homemade breakfast from my parents, pedicures and lunch with friends- then off to Modern Steak for dinner with Chris and Candice, or so I thought. Candice and Chris were running late, so Derek called the restaurant to see if they would hold our reservation(but really he was talking to himself). He told me they would only hold it for 10 minutes and they already had a 45 minute wait time without a reservation. We would never make it on time! He seemed really frustrated that it wasn't working out and suggested that we go to St. Francis instead because they could probably get us right in. Since I'm so easy to please and I always love St. Francis, I agreed to go there and decided we could go to Modern Steak another time. So we get to the restaurant and I still don't have a clue. The hostess played it very cool and it seemed she was seating us as a table of 4 until we walked upstairs where everyone else was waiting. I'm usually not one for surprises, but this was the best. I got kind of emotional- it's so nice to feel loved!

The menu- this may have been the best meal of my life. (P.S. If you haven't been to
St. Francis yet, you must go!)


The quiz that Candice compiled- I've never laughed so hard in my life.
The answers: 1. C 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. B 6. A 7. D 8. All of the above 9. D 10. B 11. D

Beautiful peonies, tulips, and roses in fun vintage jars lined the tables.


I'm sure glad there were only 3 candles on the cake instead of 30!

I'm so grateful to be surrounded by wonderful family and great friends. I think 30 will be a very good year. ;)

Friday Finds

Today I am the big 3-0! So, I'm off for a day of celebrating, but in keeping with the Friday Finds theme, here are the things I found this week that were probably in style 30 years ago. :)

Facelift

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I've given my blog a little make-over. I wanted to come up with a clever name that combined everything I love- family, my religion, home, and decorating. And while the name Home Sweet Home isn't all that clever or original, I decided on that because 1) I enjoy spending time at home with my husband and my kids and I love coming home after being gone(especially to a clean house!); 2) only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness and I want to have a home that's comfortable, a place that people enjoy coming to (especially my children as they go through their teenage years- yikes!); and 3) right in the middle of our house sits this table:

I walk past it what seems like a thousand times a day, but it makes me smile every time.

This is the book that sits in front of a pile of books and it's been there since we moved in, almost 6 years ago. It's a book about Mary Englebreit's home. My tastes in decorating have changed somewhat since buying the book, but I still love the cover- it's a good reminder to me each day of the feeling I want to have in our home- sweet.

Introducing: Home Sweet Sale

Because the blog sales have been so successful, but because I already have a whole lot of things piled up to sell again, I started a new Sale blog! That way I can continue adding items as my house is ever changing. It's not going to be auction style as before, so whoever claims it first gets it! Check it out at thehomesweetsale.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. Hopefully you find something you like! (And remember to check back as items will be added often)

Friday Finds

I didn't do too much treasure hunting this week, but these are the things I did find. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the 2 pieces of milk glass on the right are so cute; they're unlike any I've seen before. (FYI- there is a purpose to these Friday Finds; stay tuned to find out what it is!)

School's Out!

Today's the last day of school which means it's also the day to give teacher gifts. I had such a hard time deciding what to do because Clara and Clay's teachers have been SO great this year and I wanted to give them something special. I always love gift baskets, but I wanted to keep it on the healthier side (because I know teachers probably get lots of treats!) so I thought "How about a breakfast basket?" Our family LOVES breakfast (we would eat it for every meal) so I decided to put in some of our favorite breakfast foods.

Contents:
* Trader Joe's buttermilk pancake mix
* Fresh and Easy honey and flax granola
* Fresh and Easy freshly squeezed orange juice
* Fresh and Easy Vermont maple syrup
* fresh strawberries
* napkins from Home Goods
* spatula
* tea towel from Ikea

Who wouldn't love that?

Before and After: Entertainment Center

This wasn't a huge change, but I wanted to soften things up in the family room and since I'm loving pink, cream, and gold, that's what I went for. I changed out the green glass knobs for clear ones with gold detailing, and got rid of the pink and green dishes.

Before:



After:

I added lots of books and lots of milk glass and ironstone.

I think it's just what this wall needed.

Velvet and Linen

If you haven't already noticed, I added some new links to my sidebar, one of them being Velvet and Linen. I don't know how I didn't know about this before, but there are some BEAUTIFUL pictures. Her home is AMAZING and her style is exactly what I love- go take a peek!

Friday Finds

This was a group of finds from a couple of weeks ago- everything for under $100. Not bad, huh?

The basket was $5 at Salvation army, already lined and in perfect condition! It goes perfectly in Clay's new room (pictures of the finished room to come next week). I love a good bargain!

Collecting: Italian Florentine

I didn't even know what Florentine was 6 months ago, but I came across my first piece at an antique store and fell in love. I've been collecting ever since. Here are some of the beauties I've picked up:

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year old boy!

Friday Finds

I think my Fridays will be dedicated to posting my finds from the week. Thanks, Lindsay, for the idea! All of these fun things were actually from a sale Lindsay had with some of her family- she always has great stuff! Total spent- $53. I've already put a few of them to use and have plans for the others. I'll let you know where they end up!

Before and After: Guest Bedroom Round 2

I know it hasn't been too long since I made over this room the first time, but I was never really happy with it. I thought I liked black and white, and I still do, I just can't live with it. So this is what the guest room is looking like now:

Much more soothing, and much more me, don't you think? I really want to paint the walls a soft cream because I love white everything, but I don't even want to think about painting because I'm so burned out. I really like it for now.

And here's the cute little guest bath. I wish I had before pictures of this room, but you'll just have to trust me when I say it was bad; really, really bad. I think the result is what really started my love for all things white. :)

Tonsils

Clay had his tonsils and adenoids removed Monday morning. The poor kid didn't know what was coming- every day for the past week he's started his day with "Is today the day I get my tonsils out?" with excitement, like it's a really fun thing. And I guess it was fun, in the beginning. He got to watch movies, play Nintendo, color, decorate his mask, and go for a wagon ride. This was my first experience with surgery as the parent and I was so nervous! I have a fear of being "put under" and not waking up and with Clay having a heart murmur, it made me extra anxious. Everything went extremely well and the surgery itself was so quick- maybe 20 minutes. He was beside himself when he first woke up, but he eventually calmed down and by Monday night, you wouldn't have even known he'd had surgery that morning! He's hurting a little today, but I think it would've been too good to be true if he didn't have some pain. His concern now is that he won't be able to eat some of the the foods he likes. Yesterday he said "I want my tonsils back in now, so I can eat crunchy food." I assured him his soft diet was only for a few more days. I'm just glad it's over and done with and now he can start feeling good. This should improve his speech, hearing, sleeping, and weight!