Decor and More

First of all, it was Claire's birthday on Monday! We celebrated with my aunt, uncle and cousins the Johnsons on Sunday along with lots more family singing to her via Google video chat. It's so fun to see Claire turn into a little one-year-old. Wow - every couple days or so I'll look at her and think her hands are so big! or how'd she get so long? She moves and plays like a one year-old now too and gives us her little two-toothed grin (although her top ones are on their way down). We love that girl!

Some other things going on include the fact that I'm finally getting things on the walls and into place. Here's an update on our decor. It's a fun (and I will admit sometimes stressful) journey for me to discover what I like and how to get there. The fun thing about decorating is that it evolves with you and I have much more evolving to do - so here's the beginning:

The office/playroom: The Ikea table and chairs were totally a curbside dump pick-up that I snatched up. Gotta love those and the sneakiness you feel while throwing them in your car! Map display was created from .50 cent painted Goodwill frames and vintage maps from a world atlas from Goodwill (many more maps left  in that book - time to look up some more ideas!)

The book holders are Ikea spice racks. Inspiration here. 

Living room:

 Family motto created on MS Publisher and printed at Kinkos for $2.00. Shutters another free curbside find. And that end table between the two couches? Totally an ugly veneer, but nothin' a little extra burlap couldn't fix!

Heritage wall - one of my favorite things. I have many more old family pictures I want to add over the years. Enlarged wedding pic - $2.00 poster print at Kinkos. Not as long-lasting as a high quality print but when you're on a budget, it's perfect - looks great and very affordable.

Entryway:

Kitchen:

Burlap curtains. SO happy how those turned out. They cost like $2.00/yd at Joann's (make sure to bring your half off coupons!). I used stitch witchery to hem the inside of each panel, but it really didn't need it. The width of each panel was perfect bought as-is and doesn't fray. The bottom and top where they're cut do fray however, so I used a little hot glue on the corners to secure the strands in place. DIY tutorial here.

Bathroom:

Print from Sugarfresh during a sale.

Just finished a tufted headboard for our room and got some shelves for Claire's room - those pics coming soon!