Houston, We Have Lift-Off!

After months of not having internet at my place, the "Verizon guy" came and set up Fios!  Let me tell ya, it's been a royal pain in the rear trying to piece blog posts together when you have to plan a trip to the local coffee shop into your day.

Now I don't even have to brush my teeth when I want to write a post!  But I will because dental hygiene is important.

Soooo, you know what this means?  "Before" shots of our new casa!  Enjoy!

Isn't it cute!?

View from the front door.  Check out that peach dining room!  It was like walking into a cantaloupe.  Pictures don't even do that neon hue justice.

Why yes, the first piece of furniture in our living room was the TV.  We clearly have our priorities in order around here.

Sassy purple kitchen.  And by sassy, I mean terrible.

Hello, cat urine-colored sink.  Our entire master bathroom was done in this color.  You don't even want to know what it's like to bathe in a shower the color of pee.  Gross.

The den.  AKA, the Casey Cave.  AKA the only place I'm allowed to use lots of color.  Ryan's all about some neutrals.

This color is only acceptable when used on Levi's.  NOT in our master bedroom.

The "band room," as Ryan as dubbed it.  Clearly "music room" doesn't adequately convey the sense of cool Ryan is going for in here.  I just call it the man cave.

So, there you have it!  We're movin' and shakin' on getting the place spruced up so I'll have lots of fun to follow!

Sneak Peek

Here's a little sneak peek at what's been going on at the new casa.

I'm up to my eyeballs in paint and boxes here but I've got a home tour to show you guys soon!

Hello, Friends!

Let's ketchup.

I can't believe I've let two weeks slip by without a post!  Actually, I can, because it was kind of intentional. I personally hate to be blown off, so I'm truly sorry I did that to you guys, but it was all in the name of spending some much-needed quality time with my family.

And that was just week one.  Week two has consisted of doing a bunch of grown-up type things.

For instance.... WE FOUND A HOUSE! After months of hunting and creeping around back yards, we finally got a place and it is P-E-R-F-E-C-T for us! There are spare bedrooms! A garage! A fenced-in back yard! THERE'S A FIREPLACE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

We move in on the 14th and Ryan and I are both super excited. Now if only we could stop arguing about TV stands. ;)

We have a reaaaalllly big day tomorrow.  Can you guess what's gonna happen!?

I'll leave you in suspense until then. ;)

Happy Monday, friends!

Stickin' It to Design

I must have gone and lost my damn mind.  Seriously. 

Yesterday I got this crazy idea to go outside and get some sticks.  Pretty harmless, right?

Just some sticks, sittin' around my apartment, all innocent like.  For the record, Bear was really confused and kind of pissed that he couldn't chew on these sticks.

He was even more confused when he couldn't chew on them after I painted them.

"Quit taking pictures of those sticks and let me chew 'em, already!"

Not bad, if I do say so myself.  But I wasn't content to just let them sit in a vase on my coffee table.  And I had to get them out of the dog's reaches, so...

 

I put 'em on the wall.  Not only did I put 'em on the wall, I hot glued them to the wall.  I'm pretty sure there's a line in my lease that says you can't hot glue shit to your walls.  And if there's not, there should be.

I just hope it doesn't mess up the paint.

I think I kind of like it.

So, done anything completely irrational lately?

Thank You, Anthro!

As soon as I buy new book cases I'm totally doing this:

via

Also, I am requesting either (or both) of these couches as a housewarming gift. 

via

via

Start pinching your pennies, people!  We need to can make this happen!

I'm Torn!

Ryan and I are looking at moving in together after the new year.  Let's not even talk about how scared I am to take such a big step.

I'm SO sick of looking at Craigslist and realty websites.  I've been stalking streets with Google Maps, trying to discern if the neighborhood is "sketchy," and whether or not the house in question has a fenced back yard.

Of course, not being the most practical of people, I'm already dreaming of how I'm going to decorate our new place.  Let's keep in mind that Ryan is way more opinionated about decor than any sane man has a right to be.

So, here's my dilemma: Do I go colorful or neutral?  Because I am drawn to both!  I know, I know, keep big things like furniture neutral and then you can change it up with accessories, but who really has an extra closet for things like throw pillow covers?  Also, Ryan is drawn to what he dubs modern, while I like a mix of old and new.  So, some inspiration photos from both sides of the color argument.

Colorful:

Kristen F. Davis Designs

Danielle Oakey Interiors

Neutral:

Haute Indoor Couture

For the Love of a House

There's so much to love about all of these rooms!  I'm instantly drawn to bold colors and pattern, but neutral rooms are the ones I find myself thinking about again and again.  I also have a mild obsession for anything old.  The more falling-apart, the better.  I also have a dog who makes keeping anything clean impossible.

Help!  Where do I begin!?

Why I Refuse to Buy an E-Reader

As a six year-old child, I had one design goal for my future home.  It looked a little something like this:

Not much has changed over the years.  I'm slowly building a book collection.  The bookshelves won't fill up as quickly as I like because I have one rule that I refuse to waver from: I have to read each book before it finds a home on a shelf.  For me, bookshelves aren't about being "styled."  I don't want my bookshelves to hold vases.  I want them to hold books.  Books that I have read and treasured.  I don't want to buy books because they fit with my decor, or can be used as design filler.  I buy books because, for me, there's nothing better than getting lost in a story.  I've always been this way.  I blame my mother and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Every book in my apartment has been read at least twice.  Some of my favorites have been read upward of a dozen times.  When I see walls and walls of books like this, I see the endless possibility of stories, adventures, and knowledge.  I want to pass a library on to my children someday.

Also, having a ladder is not an option; it's a requirement.

All images via my Pinterest.