Profiles Follow-Up

Didn't I tell you I was going to do a silhouette of my dog? Look how handsome he is!

 

I have had a lot of interest in the silhouettes and I am so excited to make them for y'all! A lot of you have had questions so I wanted to try to answer most of them here. 

• If you would like me to make a silhouette for you, just send me an email with images of your loved one's profile. It can be a baby, a child, a spouse, a pet, etc. Please try to get as much of a close-up as you can so I can get the most detail out of the image.
• I can print them out on my computer or paint them with acrylic paint. The framed one of my daughter is a print from my computer. 
• I can add text to the image if desired.
• Each print/painting is $20 (plus shipping) and will be an 8.5" x 11" unless another size is requested.
• I can do a variety of color combinations so just let me know what you want!

Here are some other examples:

Stage 1 is Done!

It was so hard to leave the beach today. But it was a little easier knowing we had a surprise to come home to. If you remember, I mentioned a new project I was working on before we left. While we were gone, it was completed!

It is amazing what a difference new carpet and paint can make. I still have some paint to touch-up, but I am so happy with the result! What do you think? 

Game Night

Last night we decided to play board games on the screened-in porch. It was a perfect night - the sound of the ocean in the background, a breeze blowing, alcohol flowing, good food and lots of laughter. We played several games - LCR, CatchPhrase, Mad Gab and Apples to Apples.

I had never played Apples to Apples before but now I am hooked! It is such a fun game. It is perfect to play with a group of friends because it makes everyone laugh hysterically but there isn't too much thinking involved so you can still carry on a conversation while you play. Basically, you flip over a card in the center of the table that contains a phrase like "dirty", "powerful" or "sexy". Everyone has 7 cards in their hand with different people, places or things listed on them. You must choose one card from your hand that you feel best represents the phrase on the card in the center in the table. It results in some pretty hilarious combinations such as:

Honorable = Bart Simpson

Hopeless = Men

Miserable = Creamed Corn

Violent = Weddings

There were so many funny pairings, but for some reason we can't remember most of them this morning (I am sure the alcohol has nothing to do with that.) If you have never played it, you should definitely give it a try the next time you are with family and friends!

Black + White

Picture by YvesLorononpermanentvacation

On the beach yesterday I was noticing all of the different umbrellas spotted along the shore. I think literally every family had an umbrella. There were fish prints, rainbow prints, florals, solids and lots of stripes. Out of all of them, the one that repeatedly caught my eye was a simple black and white striped umbrella like the ones pictured above. I am always drawn to black and white stripes. I know there have been posts about black and white on every design blog that exists, but it really is such a simple, classic look. I just can't get enough of it.

Bedding by Dwell

Decorpad

Flickr

Last 3 photos: Designers: Weena & Spook

Williams-Sonoma Home

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Image from Girl Meets Glamour

Wish You Were Here

We are having a great time and it is only Monday! Riley has had a relaxing time so far.

She woke up and refueled with some goldfish.

She was a little scared of the ocean, but loves the pool! This morning started out with a little of this:

My sister, my dad and I rode our bikes into the town of Duck and looked around. I found my dream beach cottage that is actually for sale.

Unfortunately, we don't have a trillion dollars laying around, so I don't think we can make an offer. The afternoon plans involve the beach and lots of these!

The best part is, we still have 5 more days!

Beach Bound!

We are heading to the Outer Banks today! I have the best big sister ever - she rented a beach house for a week and invited all of us to come join her. You don't have to ask us twice! 

This One's for You, Jill...

One of my best friends from UNC came to visit us a few weeks ago and she brought my daughter this book.

It is possibly the grossest funniest children's book ever! It makes me laugh out loud every time I read it to Riley. Since she is only 1, she does not see the humor in this book yet and is not the least bit interested in potty training, but she still likes to listen to me read it to her. And she likes it even better when Jill reads it to her first thing in the morning with bed head. 

Two Birds with One Stone

Before I had kids I thought there was no way I was going to let my house be overrun with bright, plastic, obnoxious toys when I had a baby. Then I had a baby and my house is starting to be overrun with bright, plastic, obnoxious toys.

Unrelated to the baby, my desk was also becoming unmanageable. Easy solution - we hung 3 shelves on an open wall in our sunroom. The lowest shelf is just the right height for Riley to grab her toys and the top two shelves hold my art supplies safely out of her reach. It's not fancy, but it is so functional. It has become her little play area and now that her toys have a place to go, it is so easy to clean up after her once she goes to bed.

And, when I am working on a project, all of my stuff is organized and easy to find.

We both couldn't be happier - she has easy access to her toys and I can see the top of my desk again!

Another Day, Another Project

I don't know what it is about me, but I always have to be working on some sort of project. The second I finish one I spend about 30 minutes thinking about how tired I am and how glad I am that the project is finished. And then my mind races until I find another project to start. Sometimes they take days to complete (like HERE) and sometimes they only take a few minutes (like HERE). My latest project is a pretty big one. It is actually being completed in 2 stages. Stage 1 is underway and looking good so far! I had to call in some professionals to help with this one and it will (hopefully) be finished while we are at the beach next week. I will post pics as soon as I get back. It has something to do with this area of my house....

Before & After

I love before and afters but they don't always work out. I try to up my chances of success by choosing projects that were so bad before, that almost any change would be an improvement. Check out this chair.

 

I have two of them and they aren't pretty, but they used to belong to my grandmother so I didn't want to let them go.

I removed the back cushion, added a little gray paint plus a little of this:

 

 And the result is attractive chairs that also have sentimental value. Success!

** After I posted this, my husband informed me that he still thinks this chair is pretty ugly. Maybe my project wasn't as successful as I thought? Oh, well. You can't please everyone :)