{Home Tour - Part 2}

{THE DINING ROOM & KITCHEN}

Continuing on in the tour......

Directly past the living room is the dining room. We use this space A LOT.

The dining set was a C.L. find that we refinished.



And I am in L-O-V-E with the capiz shell chandelier. It was already a fixture in the house when we moved in (surprisingly), but I added the white "scruncii" (spelling?) to conceal the icky looking chord. I know, I am just so crafty haha!!

The table has 2 leaves and is quite large. It can fit 10 chairs very comfortably, and more if needed. It was already black, but needed major TLC, and the caned chairs needed a fresh coat of paint and new cushion upholstery. Unfortunately we (my husband, Ali, her husband, & myself) tackled this one before blogging began so no real before photos exist. Boo). This table definitely gets it's fair share of use. Second from hosting both of our family Thanksgiving's last year, it doubles as a game table, work space for my hubby, and is in general the most social spot in the house. We love it!

As a bonus, the man selling the table and 8 chairs "threw in" a china cabinet, stating that he didn't think he would be able to sell it separate from the set. Ummm...........YES HE WOULD HAVE!!!! But, I'll take it!! He didn't get any arguments from me on that one!


This is where I keep our extra dinnerware, all of our "fancy" glassware, and my special trinkets i.e. my oh-so-famous citrus reamer collection (haha), and some of my favorite milk glass pieces.

And of course, since I am Ali's sister, I have some swans added in for good measure ;)


And last but not least, in the corner of the dining room sits a worn leather chair that I "rescued" from my old office when they changed over the decor. It is such a comfy chair to read in or just to sit & chat.

(The pillow is Dwell Studio for Target - from our wedding registry :) )

To the right of the dining room is the kitchen. This kitchen is basically the reason that I said "WE NEED TO LIVE HERE!!". I am not a cook by any means, and it is not a huge kitchen, but the openness along with the amazing finishes are so stunning, it was love at first sight!

Ahhhh.....Carrera marble!! Love it so much!!







And if you don't have one of these, you totally should!!! The Keurig!! Yummy coffee/tea! Love it!


And this wall of cabinets was another BIG selling feature for me. They are push cabinets (Ikea, I think?) and have so much room for food storage! So clean looking too!


And that is that. Our dining room & kitchen :)

The prettiest dining room & kitchen I have ever had....BY FAR! As I mentioned, I know that we won't live here forever, but for the time being, it is home, and we LOVE it!

:)
See you soon for Part 3 - The master bedroom & bathroom!

-L

{Home Tour - Part 1}

{THE ENTRY WAY & LIVING ROOM}

Ok, so, due to the lack of projects going on around here, I am sure that it is very obvious that I haven't gotten my mojo back......YET!! I'm still waiting for it. Any day now! I am sure I will be lying on the couch when I find it ;) LOL. So, while I continue to wait, I thought I would show you/tell you a little bit about the place I call home.

As I've already mentioned, I "met" (re-met for those that know the story) my husband in January of 2010. He was in the process of moving, so I thought I'd help him look. I was living in San Diego still, renting a room from a friend until I found a more permanent place. He had started his own law firm the previous year, and wanted to find a bigger home that had an extra room for an office. Now, historically, I have LOVED looking at empty homes/apartments for rent/sale. I love the open spaces and all of the possibilities. My sister used to say that I wasn't allowed to go apartment hunting for us when she and I lived together. She said that I could see the good in anything - to a fault - dumpy apartments especially! haha!! Well, what does she know.....?! I have great taste!! Anyway, while my husband (new boyfriend at the time) worked hard all day, I spent my free time after work (ok, sometimes during) searching Craigslist and rental websites for listings. I was going to find him something great!!

Low and behold...I found it. The MOST AMAZING place!! I was so excited. The minute we toured it as an empty home, I said "WE NEED TO LIVE HERE!!!" and everything was history! He and I BOTH moved in there the following week!! LOL!! I love our home. Rental or not, it has FAR surpassed any expectation about the home that I would get to live in as a newly married woman in Orange County, CA. I am so grateful and thankful that my husband let us live here! ;)

So, let me quickly set the stage. The neighborhood is about one mile up from the ocean, just off of a main thoroughfare. It is a small neighborhood with tree-lined streets that back up against a lush hill. Our house is in the middle of a quaint little cul-de-sac.

From the front, truthfully, it doesn't look like much. Kind of small and outdated.

But once you open the doors, it's a completely different story :). The front door opens up to a bamboo-lined courtyard.



It was really weird at first getting used to the fact that our front door wasn't really the "front door".

This is the view from inside the entryway looking out. This open space creates the best cross breeze and sunny spots! I love it!


Once you enter the house, on the left there is a small sitting area. Sometimes I read here. It's very peaceful. (Please disregard the empty photo frame. It's on my get-my-mojo-back list)


On the right is a console table, mirror, and some succulents that I am desperately trying to keep alive!! haha! (my black thumb is throbbing as we speak)


Straight ahead you walk in to a half wall. The owners said that when they purchased the home, there was a brick wall that went straight up to the ceiling. They wanted a more open feel, and I am so glad they did what they did. We have so much natural light pouring in all day long.

On the other side of this wall is a fireplace. It's a fake one that turns on with a remote (hilarious!!), but it still keeps us warm and toasty on those rare chilly evenings.

And then you enter my favorite room in the house - the living room.....it's a giant wide open space.


I did my best to incorporate some of my favorite new things with things that I already had.

The couches were so fun to pick out. I got to pick the fabric, the shape, and the pillow fabric as well. We got a truly amazing deal at a local furniture store down the road!

LOVE those nickel nail-heads!! :)

....and my quatrefoil coffee table! A STEAL of a deal for $40 on Craig's List :) They definitely didn't know what they had!!

And that's all she wrote. :) When we moved in together and merged our stuff, we had more than enough stuff to work with. But even though it was all really nice stuff, in general, it was kind of a hodge-podge. We are really happy with how the final look turned out. The before shots wouldn't have been bad to show you, but these after shots are way more "us"!

Thanks for looking - and stay tuned for the next part of the tour - The dining room and kitchen!

:)
-lisa

(*P.S. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I need to stop using my Iphone as if it's a professional camera. Haha!!)

{All about me}

It's my turn, sister......



I am... Lisa. A wife, soon-to-be-mother (to my little 8-week seahorse - yay!!), sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, cousin, aunt, and friend.

I want... to live a happy, healthy life surrounded by the people that I love.

I have... finally pried myself out of bed before 10 am. LOL (ugh!!)

I wish... for a healthy little baby!

I hate... fighting over dumb stuff that doesn't really matter.

I fear... losing the people that are closest to me.

I hear... the cars breezing by.

I search... the internet (mostly "Google Images") for baby nursery ideas :)

I wonder... where our forever home will be?

I love... the breeze through the trees and the sound of waves crashing.

I never... want to be too lazy for a fun time!

I ache... to be a good wife. I am still a work in progress.

I sing... in the car when I'm feeling good.

I dance... at weddings (to at least one or two songs - LOL).

I lose... my desire to wear all of my high heels and wedges! Flip flops for life! :P

I need... to travel more.

I always... wait too long to get my hair cut and to get my car washed. It's a real problem. Random, but true.

I am confused... by how the telephone & radio works. The signal travels through the air? Waves? Huh?!!

I am not always... perky and energized. I need to work on feeling more peppy and enthused!

I cry... not as often as my husband LOL!!!!!
(j/k - he cries at movies, but is a rock during really serious things. I am not so easy to cry during a book/movie, but ball when it comes to death or arguing)

I sometimes... wish I had more to blog about!! I need to get more projects going!

I am not... too complex to really "get". I wear my emotions on my sleeve.

I usually...wish that I could sleep in.

I should... exercise more often and eat better!

That's me!!


:) I am in general a happy girl. I have SO much to be thankful for!

happy weekend everyone!

-L

{The fourth & The flea}

We had a very successful weekend, both professionally and socially! The flea was a TON of hard work, but was a huge success. My sister did a post about it here and posted pictures of all of the fun, so if you haven't checked it out, head over there asap!!! We had a lot of support from our family and friends (even VERY stubborn ones that insisted on buying things from us at full price, even though we tried to give them a deal!! ugh!!), and all in all we made our money back, along with a ton of good sales to push us way over the top! It was a good first go, and we def. plan to do it again soon!

The 4th was another busy day, but a different kind of busy! My sister also posted about our day here. We love the beach, so off to the beach we went! My husband had a great time playing in the water with the kiddos, and we got to spend time with some friends that we don't get to see enough!! Noah and Hayden were adorable, as usual, the sun was out, and it was a perfect day! Although it took me until today to fully recover (that sun was hot!), I am a happy girl!

I'll post about "real" stuff again, soon, I promise! I gotta get my butt in gear!!

:) Happy Wednesday!

-lisa

{Happy 4th of July weekend}

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!! I hope you all get to do a ton of relaxing and eating and whatever else it is that your little heart desires!! I've got the beach on my mind!!!! A little vitamin D will do me good!

:)
See you after the flea!

xo

-L

{Getting ready to flea!}

Oh my goodness, I am a sluggish, tired, lazy beast with almost zero motivation to do anything right now!!! I have no time to lose since the flea market is this coming Sunday, but I seriously cannot get my act together!!! Ugh!! Every area of my house is a mess, especially the places that I have "dumped" my flea market treasures, and all I want to do is lay around and take tums and crunch ice!! Big time ugh!!

Here is the status - I am about half way through with tagging everything, and I still have 2 chairs to paint/upholster and a coffee table to stain! Ahhhhh!!! I need some energy STAT!!

War room # 1 - tagging station (this has been used as a "craft room/play room, but will sometime soon transform into a nursery :) )
War room #2 - the garage. Filled with un-finished projects and my large pieces for sale.
I need to whip myself into action - starting now!! Watch my dust! ;)

Oh....and on a totally unrelated note, has anyone else been TERRIFIED of a vitamin! This thing is RIDICULOUSLY huge!!!
And the picture doesn't even do it justice. I swear it is like an inch long and thick!!! I started to take it but hesitated like 5 times before actually popping it in and getting it down!! I was worried that my husband would have to come in and give me the Heimlich, lol, but thankfully, it went down ok! Ha! Yikes!! I am s-c-a-r-e-d!! No bueno!

Happy Tuesday! Wish me luck with the mojo and the vitamin! At least the flea is over this weekend. The vitamin will be in my life for 8 more months!!! Ahhhh!!

;)
-L

{R.I.P. Red}

So......sad to report that Red didn't have such a long and fruitful life!! He had the "ick" and passed away yesterday! :( poor guy!! I am going to take a fish break for a while, and will start fresh in a few months! It makes me too sad! Rest in peace, sweet Red!! From what we could tell, you were a really great fish!

In other news, Josh and I went to a wedding yesterday - it was a lot of fun!
(disregard the possessed look we have in our eyes - all of the lights made the flash go crazy - haha)

I have SO much to do to get ready for the flea market this weekend, so I am off to get caught up! Being newly pregnant and sleeping in until noon does not make for very productive days!! ;)

Happy Monday!

-L