Give Thanks

I'm glad leggings are in style this year because that is what I should probably be wearing to prepare for the feast this afternoon. No matter what I tell myself, I always eat too much. I am not a huge fan of turkey or dressing, but the green beans, potato dishes and desserts get me every time. I have very little self control.

As much as a dread the after-meal full feeling, I am very thankful for the great food and the family that I have to enjoy it with. I have been so caught up in my busy life these past few weeks that I think I may have forgotten how lucky I am. Its easy to do - get stressed and feel upset about little things. But as The Husband reminded me this week we have such a great life, home and family. In an effort to remind myself of how grateful I am I thought I would share some of the things I am thankful for this year:

• Both my husband and I have jobs that we enjoy very much
• We have a wonderful home that might not always be clean or perfectly decorated but it is warm, safe and comfortable
• I have wonderful parents and great in-laws that both love me very much
• Although they might be spread out all over the state, I have great friends that get to hear my voice every night at 5:30 while I sit in traffic
• I am thankful for this great blog that so many of you seem to enjoy. I allows me to express my creative side and earn some extra money all in one!
• And last but not least, I am so excited that my BFF Jessica is moving all the way from North Carolina to.....right here in Austin, TX with me! I can't wait to explore the city with her!

And, since the blog is supposed to be all about nursery decor, I thought I would share a room inspired by the rich Fall shades of orange and brown:

This mood board was put together by Little Apple Designs, a great company that can "virtually" design your room with your budget, complete with a shopping list.

I love the stripped wall paper, vintage mirror and rug. Though I am not sure where it all came from, I know the bookshelf is from Oeuf.

And just in case you were wondering, I am spending Thanksgiving with family in the great city of College Station, TX where the Aggies are preparing for the possibility of beating the hell out of tu. Gig 'Em Ags! Whoop!

Totally Overwhelmed!

You would not believe how crazy busy I have been with work and out of town trips. I promise to get caught up on blogging and painting this weekend. I have my first free weekend in MONTHS and I am so excited to do nothing! For now, here are a few shots customs have sent me to keep you entertained:

Thanks for hanging in there with me and I promise there is more to come!

Real Life Room: Caleb's Monkey Room

A few weekends ago when we were in Houston for my nephews birthday I snapped these pics of his nursery to share. Enjoy!

His crib is diagonal in a corner. My sister-in-law painted the letters navy and white to match the bedding. The monkey picture is from Pottery Barn.

This is the picture that started it all. They asked me to paint something for the nursery that incorporated their colors (navy and white) and something they love (the beach). After that, people started wanting to buy my art and the blog was born!

Caleb is lucky enough to have 2 crafty Aunties, another one painted this palm tree picture for the other corner of the room. Wonder if that means Caleb is going to grow up to be an artist?

With a family full of educators, reading is very important to us. Jamie put these little bookshelves right above the chair rail so that the books were easy to get to. He already has quite a stash!

This picture also shows of the navy and tan walls with white chair railing. As a rule of thumb (that can always be broken!) put the darker color on the bottom and a lighter on top.

Real Life Room - Flea Market Chic

This stylish Real Life Room comes to you all the way from Mississippi and features one of my favorite paintings so far. The red and baby blue theme is unique and so chic.

The walls are painted a light blue and the crib is Creations Summer's Evening Sleigh Crib. The bedding is called Flea Market and it is from New Arrivals. The crib blocks some of the skirt, but it has a gorgeous vintage handkerchief pattern that I tried to replicate in the paintings. Simple wooden letters above the crib got a fancy touch with some sheer ribbon.

The white dresser was a hand-me-down from a relative and it was sanded and painted white to match the crib. Red gingham draw pulls were added to make it feel more custom and tie into the rest of the room.

The simple white drapes feature 3 bands of red ribbon at the bottom. This makes inexpensive panels feel custom and is simple to do with bonding tape, even if you don't sew.

Thanks for sharing, Allison. Your nursery is so chic - and so neat and organized! Please say you straightened up for the picture or we are all going to feel like messy Moms!

Cowboy Cool

Hate it when you find a picture of the perfect final touch for your room online, only to find that it is no longer available or never for sale at all? Such was the case with a recent project of mine. Julia was working on pulling together a cowboy theme room for her toddler when she ran across some pictures she just had to have. She sent me the link and we tweaked the colors a bit to match her blue and red color scheme.

These are the "inspiration" photos she is using to create her room:

Love all the western touches like the metal star, cow blanket on the edge of the bed and cow cushion on the bedside chair

She wants to paint an existing dresser in the room red

And now for the finishing touch, a set of (2) 16x20" paintings of a tractor and cowboy:

Julia LOVED them and I can't wait to see the room when it is complete!

Trash To Treasure Tuesday: Hand Me Down Decor

Its Trash To Treasure Tuesday over at Reinvented. Click to check it out!

Last weekend The Husband and I had a whirlwind trip around Houston, stopping off at his parent's house, our nephews 1st birthday party, my hometown salon and finally, my parent's house. My parents recently gutted their 1988 kitchen and got all new custom cabinets, counter tops and appliances. In the process, Mom cleaning out her cupboards and had a few things waiting for me when I arrived.

First up, a coffee pitcher and mug set she got as a wedding gift and never used once:

Its a little more yellow than the picture lets on and i thought it kinda went with my Tuscan kitchen. Now that I am looking at the picture thought its looking kinda dated......

I also picked through her collection of antique Mason jars. They used to line a cabinet and were filled with dry pasta and beans. Very country kitchen. I choose a collection with screw tops and am am trying to come up with a good place or craft to use them.

I found this picture and love the idea of using them to store crafty bits but I don't have a bunch the same size and with them being antique I don't know if I want to ruin them. Maybe I will just fill them with flour, sugar, baking powder and other dry goods and trick people into thinking I actually bake.

If you have any cool ideas, email them to me. And, if you know how much these things are worth, let me know b/c my Mom has a ton more she wants to sell.

Real Life Room: Will's Modern Retreat

This Real Life Room comes from Florida and was designed by my fashionista-friend, Alana. It all started with this "Mood Board" - a great way to coordinate fabrics and put your plan together.

She sewed the curtains all by herself!

The crib with mobile and coordinating crib skirt

She also created this "Logo Mobile" which I featured as a DIY project on the blog a few weeks ago

And last, but not least, the artwork I created for her as a gift for baby Will:

Her color scheme of rust, aqua and grey is truly unique and although I was a little skeptical at first, I just love the way it turned out!