mountain view

One thing I really like about where we live, is that the mountains are about 20 minutes away. Unfortunately, since the air quality out here is so terrible most of the year, you can only see them maybe a little more than a month or so out of the year! Last week, after some awesome rain, the air was clear enough to see them (although, it was still a hazy view...), and I had to take some pictures to prove how close they are! :)

from the edge a field near our house

I have never been able to get over all of the random shopping carts EVERYWHERE.

The homeless use them for their belongings...and alot of people take the bus, so they use the carts to take their stuff to the bus stops and then leave them. I've seen other people use them as strollers.

It drives me nuts seeing them all over...

view from the far west end of our street.

Apparently they are going to start building a house on this empty lot soon...

in front of our house in the street :)

Yay for garbage day :)

The white posts sticking out of the ground are at more empty lots where they are starting to mark for houses.

from our backyard.

Yay for naked vines on the neighbor's gazebo and spindly trees that need some leaves! ;)

So there you go. Proof that we have mountains nearby! :)

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our home...again :)

I can't believe we've been in California for more than a year! Time flies when you're having fun, I guess ;) ha....
Okay, so for family who have asked...here are some pictures of the updated decor :)
I am banned (by myself) from changing anything else for awhile. I'm working on this thing called contentment ;)
I didn't take pictures of every room...Mason was sleeping and you've already seen Adelyn's room :) Nick's office hasn't changed....and the bathrooms aren't that interesting. :)
Anyway...here we go.....

We got a new duvet with the help of a Christmas gift from my father in law :)

I actually saw it on a blog a year ago and have been eyeing it...

I. Love. It.

Adelyn was following me around and wanted me to take a picture of her "funny face"

I made this chalkboard from an old cupboard door.

For little notes and memory bible verses...

I got some fun throw pillows all on clearance at one point or another....

and I looove the gallery wall...I have another post on that, so stay tuned ;)

I got this rose one for $3 on clearance and BBandB this last fall! woohoo :)

I have actually come to like this little alcove above the tv alcove.

I didn't know what to do with it at first...but now it's fun to switch things around (to my husband's chagrin)

{clock, flowers, box and "F", bird: HL..bird cage: Michael's..birch candles: etsy}

The mirror is one I got from my mom when we moved. It was going to be in Addy's room, but is too heavy to hang. I repainted it and popped it up there.

The "mural" on the wall is actually cork placemats that I hung with 3M picture strips. If you haven't discovered these, you need to. 99% of the things hung in our home are with this (including the gallery wall)...not a nail hole in site :)

I love owls. I don't know why. I just do.

This is the new center of the table since I first took these pictures

Just to prove that our house is not picked up all of the time...here is the toy room with 4 days worth of play:

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adelyn's {unintentional} room redo

I wasn't planning on doing Adelyn's room. It just sort of happened. A few thrift store finds here. A Craigslist find over there. A super clearanced duvet cover and a few gift cards later...and we were on a roll.

:)

I liked her room before, but since we can't paint.....the white walls with the explosion of hot pink was a little overwhelming.

So here is a little tour of what it looks like now. I did include where I got things because I like it when other people do that :)

I had been eyeing a duvet cover at Pottery Barn Kids for a while, then saw this identical one on SUPER clearance at Target a few weeks ago.

{for some reason, the dark pink keeps translating really pinkish red in photos...it isn't  :) }

{all bedding and pillows from Target. Table: WalMart last year. Rug: Hobby Lobby 3 years ago}

I about died when I found this early 1900s farmhouse-ish iron (that sucker is heavy, people) bedframe on Craigslist. It was exactly what I had been looking for. It came with a footboard that we aren't going to use, but may make it into another headboard years down the road ;)

...and BONUS....

it was already sandblasted and ready to paint!

I found this lamp at a local thrift store. Painted the brass base a muted light gold ( Rustoleum's Champagne Mist) and got the lampshade at Target. I got it 50% off because it has a mark and a fray on the backside...goes to show that it never hurts to ask :) booyah :)

The quilt is my favorite....Mom made it for Addy when she was born. I wanted to display it somehow...and since I took the felt bottom off of the lamp base (germies)....I figured it would be a good use for it to protect the dresser.

{lamp: thrift store. Shade, bird and bookends: Target (bookends are 3 years old) Plate, cup, quilt and piggy bank: gifts}
Nick stripped, sanded and painted the chest of drawers, dresser, and mirror that we had bought on Craigslist before we left Des Moines last year. Don't they look awesome??
The pulls were a splurge for us {from Home Depot}, but they were so worth it :)

{fan:Target. Tray, jewlery box, vase: thrift store. Bird and flower: Hobby Lobby}

I made this message board to hold all of her fun birthday cards and pictures.

I got this table lamp and the shade at the thrift store. I love the zig zag print and thought it would be okay to sort of match it to the other lamp...

....click here for that little how-to.

So that's about it.

Oh, and just to make sure I'm not fooling you into thinking everything here is perfect...
yes, her bed is made in the morning (most of the time)...but after nap it generally stays like this:

;)

Update:
Since I took these pictures, I found this piece of art hiding under our bed that I had found a while back...apparently it's from Target? I got it at a yard sale ;) I painted the frame white for some uniformity....
{her curtains are still translating redish on here....driving me nuts}

 

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addy's and mason's rooms

{Addy's room is actually a dark pink, but it's translating reddish. The comforter I got last year on clearance at Target for $8(!!) The lamp is from Marshall's and everything else is from her previous room}

{the horse monogram is from etsy. The dresser and crib were Addy's. The crib bedding was from Target 2 years ago. The nightstand is part of Addy's dresser/chest of drawers set from craigslist that Nick stripped and refinished. The lamp is from Target.}

 Taking a break from the midwest trip posts, but not to fear, there are a few left ;)

Slowly but surely, I am getting the kids' rooms somewhat finished. It's driving me NUTS that I can't paint the white walls. I can hardly stand it. I would LOVE to paint Addy's room a really pretty grey and do some sort of stencil on one of them. (like this one).

Mason's room is pretty much done.
If you know my husband, then the decor of this room won't surprise you at all. :)

(since I took this picture, I switched the crib bedding from the stripes facing out, to the polka dots...looks way better)

The picture above Mason's bed, is a poster adhered to an art canvas. I didn't like the look of a frame, but didn't want to just tape the poster to the wall. I got the canvas idea from here.  Looks way better for sure. 

I have some new drawer pulls that I spray painted oil-rubbed bronze to put on the dresser. Nick stripped and refinished this dresser for Addy's room last year and I thought it looked better in Mason's room...plus we got another set for her :)

Addy's room is the least finished. We still have to strip and repaint her dresser and chest of drawers. I got them off of Craigslist right before we moved. I think we are just going to do a basic white and get some glass drawer pulls. Keep it classic. That way I can do accent colors in the photo collage, curtains and pillows. I want to find a fun rug too. I'm planning on doing some sort of stencil on the curtains. I found some grey curtains that I would rather do, but pink is what we have, so I'll hafta work with it :) I'm going to switch out all the scrapbook paper I have in the photo collage for more grey/blue stuff..eventually :) 

I'm also going to recover the pink lamp shade and take out the pink and green puff balls that are inside...maybe keep the pink, but add grey and white or something?  I'm not totally sure yet. I hafta work with what I have since my decorating budget is pretty much $0 for a while ;)

Anyway, I've had some family members ask for pictures, so here ya go :) Any project ideas or thoughts, I'd love to hear them! ;)

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strawberry goodness....you know you want one...

One of the neat things about Nick's new position is that some of the growers that are clients of the dealerships that he is working with grow really yummy things :) Yesterday he was out working on a machine of Driscoll's (as in Driscoll strawberries)....However, the flat of strawberries (as in 8 clamshells!) he brought home last night are from this grower:

I have never heard of them, but holy goodness, Batman! These are the most amazing strawberries I have ever eaten. We have already gone through 2 of the clamshells!

I did have to make chocolate covered strawberries last night...they are delicious.

Someone else likes them too.

Ooh, I bought these candle sticks at Marshall's yesterday. I LOVE them. The only this is that they are too turquoisy for the living room, so they are now living on the dining table....but I'm considering painting them a yellow to match the kitchen area....but I love this blue....I can't decide. If you have an opinion, please share!

Oh, and this is for the grandparents:

Mason's "I'm bored with this" face

Mason's "I'm slightly more interested" face

Isn't he huge?!

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I'm in love....

...with this bowl.
I can dream, right? ;)

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I did it...it's done...

I wound up having the time to paint the living room yesterday. I don't like it as much as I thought I would--but I guess when you're used to bright green, a more neutral wall would take some getting used to--(although I am getting used to it and in the pictures it's not so bad) the color swatch was more grayish, and this has a pink tone to it....but it does make the living room look bigger, so I guess that's a plus when we are ready to sell the place (which is sooner rather than later).
Anyway...I guess I sound like a downer here...it's really not terrible, but I won't use this color again ("oatmeal" from Ralph Lauren).... :)

...and now that I'm looking at these pictures, I really don't like how random the black/white photo by the window looks...may have to change that... ;)

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