Shabby Chic Decor. Gold and Silver for the win!

It took me awhile, but I am thrilled with they way this worked! This is my nightstand, and it has been a few months in the making!

First of all, during the remodel, I had the bedroom painted Charleston Grey (Kwal) with a couple of shades lighter on the ceiling trim. I left the ceiling, baseboards, doors and other trim white.

I wanted a grey/silver and gold look in the bedroom, since I have gold and silver bedding that was only a year old. I got that at Tuesday morning when I was remodeling my Mapleton home. So, I needed a new nightstand. I found this nightstand (I'll take a picture of DH's tomorrow) at Tuesday Morning in St. George. It was regularly $400, and they had it at $199. SOLD! I stashed it in the garage at the rental until we got moved into our new home.

I found the picture frame at TJ Maxx for about $5. Our wedding picture will go in it (yea, another project...find the pictures and have one made the right size)
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The very cool gold flower I just found at one of the antique malls in Orange, CA. We had been in CA for Christmas and New Year's with my family. I took a day to go antique shopping. Actually, I took more than one day....but I took an entire day down in Orange. One of the booths had very cool crafted items in the Paris chic genre of decor. There were 3 of these gold flowers, pieces from an old tole lamp or wall decor perhaps. I showed restraint, and bought just one. Perfect for my nightstand, don't you think?

I just love it...I think it adds to the shabby chicness of it all!

As for the lamp, I've been looking for lamps for 4 months now. I just couldn't commit to one. I'd shop, pick some out, then put them back. I can't begin to tell you how many lamps I actually almost purchased. Anyway, when we returned from CA, I had to take DS #4 to Target. We had seen an ottoman that he needed for his room. A place to sit and it had storage for all of his guitar/amp cables. I happened to look in the lamp aisle and whammo! There was the perfect lamp base. There was only one. Then I decided that I liked another one...same height. Then I started to examine the shades. Hit the jackpot! Found 2 shades that were fabulous, perfect for the decor and the are the same! Snatched those babies up and brought them home! I am very pleased with the results.

Any thoughts? Comments? Are you blogging about your decorating and want to share what you've done? Post a comment, and share the link to your post. I'd love to hear what you think!

Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger...just saying! I'll post more pictures of the bedroom in the coming days.

Footloose at Tuacahn 2009

We are going to see Footloose tonight and I am so excited to see it! It has been getting rave reviews. The dancing is supposed to be fantastic. I'll post and let you know how I liked it tomorrow.

Hello Kitty homemade flower arrangement

A young adult friend of the family is a huge Hello Kitty (HK) fan. My son took her to her High School Prom, so I made up a little flower arrangement with a HK theme. Here in St. George we have a Harmon's grocery store, and they have a nice floral department. For about $8 you can get a nice little bouquet of flowers. I brought the bouquet home, and "accessorized" it. I started with some HK stickers, and put them on some card stock. I punched these out with a hole punch, used some glue dots and stuck the punch-out to a bamboo skewer (used for BBQ), and put them in the flowers. You can cut the skewer to be the height you want.

I also put a stick on a hang tag, and tied it to the mason jar (cheap vase!)

Flowers=Joy

I have been missing my Mapleton property......at least when it comes to planting flowers and having the opportunity to work in the dirt a bit. That is the downside of renting. Anyway, I bought a few plants to plunk into a pot. My friend, Char, brought me some of her extras. After one week, it is looking so good. We actually filled 2 pots and they are both wonderful to look at.

Pug and His Teddy Bear

I thought that Pug looked so cute this morning. He loves his Teddy Bear (it used to be one of David's bears) and will play with it, then carry it to his bean bag and usually put his head on it. Today, he looks like he is hugging it! What a funny little dog.

Do you have any fun pet photos? Post a comment with a link to your blog posting!

The rewards of getting out of bed!

I really wanted to sleep in this morning, but somehow forced myself out of bed. I let the dogs out and was amazed by this gorgeous sunrise! I'm glad I got out of bed. The vibrant colors were gone within a half an hour.

Hope that your morning was lovely as well!

Donate usable items before the end of the year!

It is that time of year to donate your usable, unwanted items to charities. Today we are taking several boxes full of usable, good quality items that we don't need to Deseret Industries. Here are some helpful hints for donating:

1. Make sure that the items are usable...that means in good working condition. I know that Deseret Industries has to throw out a lot of trash that people bring in. If it is trash, then put it out in your own garbage can!!
2. Donate clothing items that are clean. Put them in the wash first if needed. Charities do not wash clothing first before selling it.
3. Check with your local charity first if you are uncertain about what they accept and for their donation acceptance times.
4. Be generous. If you still have items that you have used in years, and aren't likely to use it in the years to come, then give it away. Maybe someone else needs it!
5. If you want a tax deduction, make sure you get a receipt for your donation and make a list of the items you donated. Keep this information with your important tax records. Your tax preparer will appreciate it!