...2012...

I love reading blogs recap of the year... I went back to check ours out. And decided to share a few favorites. After all I have 99 admitted followers... That snuck up on me.... Thank you thank you! I have been thinking of a giveaway to thank you for following along with out crazy! Stay tuned for that!

We started our year off welcoming our (last) puppy Mac. I'm head over heels with this pup. I have to admit he is our best dog. I'm a little worried that with kids I'll have favorites.... Love all my pups, but Cleo being more of a bully breed, is naturally more independent... Polly is very much Drew's dog.... But Mac... He's my buddy and he's the best!

What Polly?

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Still working on our place...

I need to post more progress pictures.... You can see some here, here, here, here...

 

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A low was when Polly got hit by a car... Through the miracle of steroids she is fine, and has both her eyes!

We finished this house... And others...

With all of the beautiful work Drew has done in our house... I have to admit, the project that brought us the most happiness and sanity is our dog run. Just a place to keep the pups when we leave the house for a few hours. They are indoor royalty here. But no more destroying anything while we are out. This pooch palace is insulated, has indoor outdoor access, it's own ac unit and heater. The outside is beat.... But one project at a time!

 

I went on a lot of awesome hikes, this is still one of my favorites... This was my favorite sans dogs...

 

Started pulling the house together...

Did some fun kid crafts... Like this... More here....

Drew had some fun side projects.... Getting the look if a remodel for just the cost of paint! More here...

And wrapped up with Christmas decorations! What a great year! Thanks for following along!

 

Happy New Year!

Woke up sick today...

That was a bummer.... I went back to bed and woke up at 3 o'clock... Welp, hopefully it goes up from here!

For Your View Pleasure Friday!

That awkward moment when you're the main character in a cartoon....

Also followed by... They don't know the demons I face!

Oh.... You're welcome...

Best part of the best movie...

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This kid rocks...

Happiest kid at the Happiest Place on Earth...

I got my wisdom teeth out last week.... I spent some quality time with these guys and my bed!

Cleo met some chickens... The other two did as well ... They aren't pictured because they ran away like... Well... Chickens...

Oh the pups.... I can't even explain how Cleo was laying on the settee... Half off half on... Weirdo....

Shnoogles!

This picture killed me! Ha ha show off!

I will make one of these... Ha ha their faces... Priceless...

Scariest Hungy Hungry Hippo... Here...

 

Mosaic Patterned Tile...

This post morphed several times in the short amount of time I started typing it... I was first going to show my favorite bathrooms I have come across... Second it was tile... Third it was mosaic tile and finally patterns in mosaic tile... Here are some of my favorites!

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I know the above is not everyone's cup of tea.... I think I could put it in my forever house and love it every day! I think it is so original yet not outrageous...

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Mosaic on its own is a statement.... Tiny pieces that make up a large scale piece... The wall above has a lot of variation, that works cohesively to make a plain wall with the illusion of movement. Mosaic tile is fairly easy to lay as most of it comes on mesh 12"x12" sheets... The tricky part is making sure you get the same spacing within the sheet as you do with all the sheets... You don't want to be able to pick out where they separate sheets are. I have seen this happen more often than I would like.

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These next few designs I think are timeless... They are subtle enough and classic that they add dimension to the room without dating the room.

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It's my thought that when you're eye moves around the room with something that is subtle it creates depth and space.

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So intricate, so subtle.

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Subway highlighted by mosaic tile stripes. A simple inexpensive way to get the mosaic tile look with out the cost.

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This plaid floor is definitely a statement piece. In the right house I think it's a definite win. Definitely not every home.

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I love love love this trellis pattern... Bold and simple! A very dynamic bathroom.

Thes bathrooms and more are pinned on my board here...

What are your thoughts on mosaic patterned tile?

 

Christmas Decor...

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love having walls, flooring, paint (the list goes on and on).... An almost finished house for Christmas. Decorating for real for the first time... I started with my bunting that I talked about here... And some paper whites from a friend... I'm so in love with fresh flowers. Especially ones that stay alive in the basement!

We needed a fireplace for Sants to come down... I took my window pane chalkboard... And two minutes before guests arrived I drew a mantle and fire... I keep meaning to redo it and actually make it look nice... But alas... Here it is Christmas with the same fireplace... Love it! Hung our stockings by the chalk fire with care... Clothes pinned our Christmas cards on some of my DIY bakers twine.

I also made some smaller Pom poms and wrapped them with my twine around my tree! I scored this little guy from Savers for $3. It was perfect for this year. I wrapped my burlap bag from Washington around the base and it was Pre strung with lights... I want to keep it up all year!

I scooped up this Christmas village from the DI... A local thrift store... The houses (still with tags from the store for $8.00+) were between $0.20 and $0.70. Next year I might spray paint them white and add glitter. This year I thought the colors were fun. I got the tree candle from Goodwill for $0.25.

I bought some mason jars, these trees and village people from Joanne's at 70% off! Score! I made these Anthropologie knock off snow globes.

 

All I did was glue the tree and figure I wanted on the lid, filled the jar with rock salt, screwed the lid on.... Done! Darling decorations. For mere pennies compared to the Anthropologie decorations.

I used any glass jar I had laying around...

And even my cloche from Savers...

These ones I didn't glue down, because I like to switch out this one depending on the season/month/day...

In the bathroom I have my adorable Grinch hand towel my aunt and cousin helped me make! I love it... Drew hates it because he doesn't agree with having non functional hand towels. He is dying to rub his grubby mits all over this grinch grin!

This is one of the other hand towels I made... This is on our stove! I love it!

My Goodwill score if gold pinecone candles...

Out of my drop cloth scraps I made this tiny bunting to go over my map...

I scored on a quick sale from this etsy shop. A Recipe for Crazy! I have it hanging on an old pant hanger! It's perfect.

That is my holiday decor that I will be sad to take down... Starting to think about decorating for Valentines Day already! Happy Christmas!

Operation Sandy Hook...

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After the sadness of Sandy Hook I was looking for ways to help... I stumbled upon this fundraiser... Donate $5 and you can download one of these prints.... I send mine online to Office Max and get them printed for about $0.60... I love this and thought you might too...

 

This is the print that caught my eye... I bought it for a one day nursery... Or maybe will use it as a gift. I think it is absolutely perfect for a little boy room.

I have a real thing for feathers so this was right up my alley... Each feather represents a teacher that lost their lives at Sandy Hook... With a simple remember at the bottom.

 

I love this one for me or a nursery... Dream Big! If you're looking for a way to help check out their other prints here...