One man's junk...

Is this girl's treasure!

An office was throwing out these old, dirty, falling apart chairs.

I could see why, they were pretty narsty!


I could also see that they had great lines for simple slipcovers.

They now sit at the heads of my table.

They would even work well enough to use as extra seating without being obvious dining chairs.

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5 minutes of fame.

We returned from our trip to Vegas and Utah to visit family this morning at 3:00am (don't ask). We had a great time with lots of adventures. More pics to come.

While windsurfing at Deer Creek my hotty hubby was photographed and put on the front page (2nd section) of the Salt Lake Tribune.

(Yep, that's me above!)

Once the wind died Jake tried out wake surfing. After a few flops he got the hang of it.

Thanks "P." family!

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Bedside table.

Since re-doing my bedroom I've had bedroom furniture on my radar. I'm on a scrawny budget so I'm on the lookout for inexpensive furniture or anything I can makeover. I came across this somewhere and stored it in the back of my mind. Then I couldn't find it again so googled "IKEA Dresser Makeover" and found it! See the full story here at Curbly.com.

I was so inspired by this makeover that I persuaded my family to make the 1 1/2 hour trek with me to IKEA to pick up two Rast Tables. When we got there and saw them in person the scale was much smaller than I anticipated. Just not right for the room. Darn.

Nonetheless, I'm inspired and still on the hunt for any thrift store find that I can makeover.

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Silver or white?

I posted about these old lamps my mom gave me for my birthday a while back.

Here they are again.

While at Home Depot, this can of metallic spray paint caught my eye.

Here are the results. I thought it would turn out more reflective like the lid of the can.

I sprayed the other lamp with plain old white.

Results:

Now your input...

Which do you like better?

Silver or white?

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In honor of...

Dearly Beloved, we gather here today to honor Tupu, our wonderful blue fish of 8 months and 11 days. Tupu, you were a faithful pet companion who brought joy in to our lives as we watched you swim. You never asked for much except clean water and a pinch of dried worms every morning. Little Gavin, next door, liked you so much he named his own very first fish after you. May you swim happily in fishy heaven.

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What to do with old maps?

Decorating with maps has become really popular these days.

I decided to cover some books with old maps for my sons room.

Fold the overhang over the inside covers.

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911.

My neighbor Lindsay stopped by to check out my newly painted bedroom this evening. I was a bit hesitant to show it off. My 4 year old's reaction to my gray and black color scheme was, "Cool, it looks like a Star Wars room!" I'll wait to post pictures until I can decorate it out of any hint of a Star Wars theme.

She has a good eye for design and anything aesthetically pleasing so I was a bit nervous. She assured me I was on the right track. She also brought by this present she had wrapped for a friend who's husband is a firefighter and they are having a baby. Could this be any cuter? I just love those little fireman boots. Thanks Lindsay, you constantly inspire me!

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Paint colors chosen.

Has anyone been to the paint department at Home Depot lately? They have a whole new display of paint chips. You can even by a 2 - 4 ounce paint sample for about $3.00 - $4.00 to take home and try about before you make a whole gallon commitment. (Wish I would have known that when I painted my boys' room with 4 different paint colors).

Here are the paint samples I picked out.
This color is called Granite Gray by Glidden. I'm planning on painting three walls this color.

This color, called "Evening Hush" by Behr, will go on the wall where my beds sits.


It's almost black, I know. Why would I paint my room black?

For one, my bedroom gets blasted with intense sun.

I'm hoping the darker colors will take the sting off.

Here's my inspiration:

I found it in Oprah's home magazine.

It's a bold statement...but hey, I'm a bold girl.

I just could leave this picture out.

This is the hot painter I hired.

He's very sweet and a little camera shy.

He gave me a great quote...and shhhh, don't tell anyone but he makes after-hours, house calls.

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My dirty little decorating secret...

If you knew me you'd know that I ltake great pride in the way my house looks, I like to be organized and I'm down right fussy about decor.

Prepare yourselves, I'm about to reveal my dirty little decorating seceret...my bedroom.

This lovely quilt screams style, doesn't it? I put it on the bed after my boys jumped on my lovely white comforter with dirty feet. And can you believe...NO BED SKIRT! GASP! That's been on my to-do list ever since we moved in the house 2 years ago (actually, decorating this entire room has been on my to-do list for the past 2 years).

And yes, a crib in the corner. In my defense, my youngest was still a wee newborn when we first moved in and walking to the other side of the house 15 times in the middle of the night wasn't gonna happen.

Don't you love my in-genius tv stand? It's two night stands stacked on top of the other.

Hi neighbor! I see you peeking at me from your side of the wall. Got to love modern day builders...they really know how to build a house for privacy!

I'm starting to re-think this post about now.

Toys, the coffee table that I grew up with and just can't bear to part with, clutter...this room has it all!
Those are two paint samples on the wall that I was testing out for the room.

The changing table tucked nicely in the corner.

OK, so this room is not bad but it's certainly not on the house tour I give my guests.

This master bedroom has been a catch-all for everything in the house. When you're a mom sometimes things have to be all about function for a while. Plus, Arizona homes have no basements so where do you put all your junk?

Now that I've confessed my least desirable decorating sin I'm ready for change. And change is COMING! We've already cleared the entire room, bought some paint samples, put a few items on Craigslist and we're ready for a homemade Extreme Home (room) Makeover. I've sweet talked my honey and he's ready to tackle this project with me. That was exhausting, now I'm off to bed (which is now sitting directly in the middle of my bare room).

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