Hallway Update {the gallery wall}

February 28, 2014

Happy Friday friends!!!
 
The cold weather has once again kept me in doors the past few days....
 
Other than going to work for a few hours in the morning and taking Gracie
 
back and forth to school we have been in doors.
 
Not to upset other than the fact that it literally hurts to go outdoors for more
 
than a minute or two! I have to admit having no choice but to be cooped up
 
inside gives me all the more motivation to get all the little home projects
 
done that I have been holding procrastinating on. Today I finally completed
 
 our hallway gallery wall!!
 
Not to long ago I share this post with you.... I had just repainted the hallway
 
and was getting together the makings of our hallway gallery wall.
 
I have struggled with this space for some time now and I can honestly
 
say that having to be stuck in doors for days at a time really got my
 
rear end in gear to get this troubled space together!
 
In case you missed it here are some before photos
 
BEFORE:
 


 
And here is what our little high traffic hallway looks like today.
 
AFTER:
 











 
I have to say I am so very pleased with how this wall came together.
 
One thing I will be very honest about is the fact that this wall did not come
 
together in a day or even a few days. I spent hours dwelling on what exactly
 
I wanted it to look like. I knew that I wanted it to be reflective of our
 
family and most importantly wanted it to tell a story. Like I said earlier,
 
this hallway is a high traffic area and I knew I wanted the space to speak to
 
 our guests when they glance at it.... I also was tired of looking at all the
 
electrical boxes and thermostat!! Now it is a story book on our wall that
 
will be up for years to come....
 
I still need to find the perfect light fixture and rug but that can wait...
 
I am just so excited to be able to peak into this hallway and smile....
 
So my suggestion to you when wanting to start a gallery wall? One, take
 
your time!! Rome wasn't built in a day! Neither will your gallery
 
wall!! Two, tell a story. The story can be reflective of you, your
 
family, the town you live or lived in or anything that makes you happy!!
 
And three.... use what you have!! I have a ton of frames and tried to keep
 
a common theme in choosing which ones would make the wall. I went for
 
a more rustic look here to coordinate with our farmhouse bath and bedroom.
 
I will be back soon with an update on the light fixture as soon as I find one
 
that "speaks" to me and is reflective of this space and our family!!
 
Until then have a great weekend and stay warm!!
 
 

Wednesday Wish List {corner cabinet}

February 26, 2014

Happy Wednesday friends!!
 
Today is "wish list" Wednesday once again here @ Gracie Blue!!
 
If you missed my first post on this series you can find it here!!
 
Last week I raved about my wish for a white kitchen. Today we are taking
 
my wish list to the dining room.... Our dining room has taken on many,
 
many changes since we purchased our home almost six years ago. I really
 
wasn't focused on function when we moved in, all I wanted was this huge
 
farmhouse table from Pottery Barn! I envisioned endless parties and dinners
 
being hosted in our dining room and was more concerned with just having a
 
large table in the room rather than the over all function of the room in
 
regards to our immediate family and lack of storage space in our little
 
cape style home. So you understand lets take a walk down memory lane...
 
Here is our dining room just one year ago...
 


 
Looking at these photos now really gives me anxiety!! It's funny, every
 
single piece of furniture in this room has been sold on Craig's List!  It's
 
crazy how something you absolutely LOVE one day you can't stand the
 
next! That is exactly what happened in this space!
 
I am in the process of painting and re-creating the space so until then here's
 
a picture of our dining room just a few months ago.
 

This lonely space is screaming for function! So on my wish list for this
 
room is a nice antique corner cabinet of some sort. The room is not large
 
and with the two corners and two windows it really doesn't give way for a
 
whole lot of furniture so a corner cabinet would add function and character
 
to the space! Here are just a few on my wish list!
 
                                                       source

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                        Neat right? Having a piece that is actually built to be placed
 
in a corner is perfect and will save so much space while adding tons of
 
storage! Now the only thing left to do is find one within my budget!
 
Wish me luck! Make sure you stop back soon to see the dining room all
 
restyled and finally functional!!
 
Enjoy the rest of your week!!
 
 

What I Wore {putting it all together}

February 24, 2014

Happy Monday friends!!
 
Spring is in the air! I can just feel it. This past weekend was kind of a big
 
deal for me.... For the first time ever I ran 8.6 miles, (without stopping for 
 
more than a minute or two) and I did not give up!! It was super tough, but
 
pushing past my comfort zone was big for me.... I tend to look to much into
 
things that I may find difficult and I have a habit of doubting myself, but
 
this time I just pushed past the doubt and I am so glad I did. It just sets the
 
stage for continued success!!
 
Another exciting event was the Christening of my fifth niece Leah Faith
 
which brings me to today's post....
 
I never have really been a "fashonista" of any sort although I do LOVE to
 
shop (for anything really... I could spend thousands in CVS alone!) and I
 
seem to have obtained a huge collection of high heels over the years... I just
 
have never really had to "worry" about what to wear and getting dressed up
 
on a daily basis.... I attended catholic school from elementary
 
school through college and worked in
 
childcare and the fitness industries since I graduated college, so I never
 
really "needed" to get all dolled up for work five days out a week. I
 
always had some sort if uniform or just wore what ever I found most
 
comfortable, like jeans and a cozy sweater or sweatshirt. That being said,
 
I sometimes had a hard time picking out "outfits" when I go shopping. I am
 
more of "fly by the seat of my pants" type of shopper. When I see 
 
something I love I buy it, even though I may not have anything in my 
 
closet that will go with it... So getting back to the Christening... I had to
 
find something smart & casual to wear. Something that was appropriate for
 
church, but nothing too dressy for the non formal lunch after the service.
 
So I started to browse through my Pinterest board and came across these:
 
     

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source unknown
 
Cute right? So now I just found similarities in all three photos and thought
 
about what I know I had in my closet to make it work. The white top and
 
jeans were easy as was the statement necklace, and I just so happen to
 
have purchased a pair of  leopard shoes even though I wasn't really 
 
sure when or how I was going to wear them, but I am so glad I picked them
 
up!! So here is what my outfit looked like.
 
 

 
 Please forgive me, I was behind
 
the camera all day taking photos so I wasn't able to get a picture of
 
me in the actual outfit, however, I did take a quick selfie!
 
 

 
 Corny I know,  but I
 
really wanted to get a shot of the statement necklace, its one of my
 
favorites! Here are the sources for my outfit!!
 
 
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your week!!
 
 

Bloglovin' {follow me!!}

February 22, 2014

 
 
 
 

Sugarboo {gallery wall}

Hi friends!
 
I am happy to say that we have gone almost five days with no snow!
 
Lots of rain and chilly damp air, but thankfully snow free!!
 
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way!
 
Ok, not sure about you but I just can not stand a blank wall staring me in
 
the face.... We have this one wall in our living room that I just can't seem to
 
make up my mind on what exactly to do with it... We have a gallery wall
 
on one side so I want to extend it through to the adjacent wall, but I'm just
 
stuck on "what" exactly to put on it...
 
Here is a picture of what our living room looks like now.
 

 
And there's that blank wall!! Such an eye soar!
 
Originally, when we made over our living room, I had put up another wall
 
gallery with all Ikea frames but it just didn't go with the other gallery wall.
 
If you missed our living room make-over reveal find it here to see what I
 
mean! So now I am so afraid of failure once again with this wall that I am
 
hesitant to do anything! I thought of adding floating shelves or a mirror,
 
but nothing had jumped out at me until I saw this....
 
 
I almost died when I saw this!! Not only do I love the white bead board,
 
I adore that "love you" sign! So when I was reading this amazing blog I
 
discovered that all the art work around the home is from the
 
 
Now although much of the collection is way over my budget I have decided
 
to splurge on at least one Surgarboo piece, but now I am having a very
 
hard time deciding on which one. If you take the time to go through the
 
collection there are so many lovely things and great quotes that I would
 
love to put up all over my home if my budget would allow!
 
So for now I will think about which piece of art I think would work
 
on my boring empty wall....
 
This is what I put together to get the ball rolling!!
 
 
 
Stay tuned to see which one I choose!!
 
*this is not a sponsored post I just love Sugarboo designs and wanted to share*
 
 

Wednesday Wish List {white kitchen}

February 19, 2014

Happy Wednesday friends!!
 
We still seem to be up to our ears (literally) in snow.... Looking forward
 
to spring and all those "spring" projects that I need nice, warm, open
 
windows type of days to complete!
 
Today I am introducing a new weekly feature, "Wish List Wednesday".
 
Each Wednesday I will present all the things that I am currently hoping to
 
purchase, get done, or anything that may catch my eye and would like
 
to share...
 
Today I am sharing my hope wish for a nice, new, bright white kitchen.
 
I have been trying to find a way get up the nerve to paint our current
 
cabinets. It would seem like a pretty easy job, but my husband is just not
 
for it at the moment. I priced out the cost to have them professionally
 
painted, but at a whopping $6,000 it was a no go! Our current kitchen
 
cabinets cost us $10K, so I just can't justify paying that type of cash for
 
a job that I know I can conquer myself....
 
So in the mean time while I continue to talk my husband into the task I
 
will continue to wish upon a star and drool over my all time favorite
 
white kitchens.....
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I could go on for days but these are just a few on my wish list...
 
What's on your "wish list" today???
 
*You saw this weekly feature here first* 
 

Happy Valentines Day {from Gracie Blue ~ the blog}

February 14, 2014

Popping in to wish you all a very
 
Happy Valentines Day!!
 
 
Hope your day is filled with lots of
 
love, laughter & chocolate!!
 
 

Wedding Card Display - DIY

February 13, 2014

Hi again friends!

Yet another snow day. Mother nature is in some mood lately!

She has dropped another ten inches and more on the way!

All this time in doors has me stir crazy and I just keep on looking for

little things to do that I wouldn't normally be looking to do... Like going

through all three hundred wedding cards and figuring out what exactly to 

do with them... They have only been sitting in a box for the past six years.

So off to Pinterest I went but could only really find ideas like this

While all these ideas are super cute and creative I was looking to do

something a little more out of the box. I wanted it to be something I

could share with our daughter.... Something that could be easily displayed

 in her room.... So I came up with this.


This has got to be the easiest DIY I have ever done!

They entire process took me less than an hour and I had all materials

on hand.


I simply went through all three hundred wedding cards and used a heart

punch and punched away.... I really wanted it to look authentic and since

they were part of a very special day, shared with three hundred very special

people I made sure I got as much of the handwritten parts of the cards as I

could. It was nice going through them once again.... Some cards were super

sentimental and pretty so I kept those few aside and make a little book out

of them.... Once I had all the hearts I needed I went to work. I used an Ikea

Ribba frame I had on hand and  used glue dots

because I didn't want a mess and  wanted to be able to layer the hearts

evenly, not to mention it is super quick!



I used the paper insert that came with the frame and marked the

inside of the mat with a pencil so I would know exactly where I

needed to position the hearts. Layering is key for a filled look!

Not to mention I had tons of hearts to use!



What do you think?

Do you have all your old wedding cards or have you done

something super cute with them?