dining room...finally!

have you ever had a design concept in your head, then when you go to plan it on paper- or in my case the item arrives at your house- you look at it, scrunch your nose, and say that's not what i really wanted.

well, that is the story of my dining room.  finally, we finished it and i couldn't be more happy with the outcome. 

here is a re-cap of what i thought i wanted:

not sure what i was thinking here...

this was the big mistake i made

where i actually bought this table and hated it in my house

i have always loved this look, but it just doesn't fit my home's style

vincent wolfe

and my all time favorite!

sarah dorio via made by girl

so as you can see, i've been all over the place, and now i have finally settled on this:

 we painted the walls and

purchased the table from crate and barrel outlet

and here's a reminder of what my ebay chairs looked like upon arrival to my house

my husband was my hero and painted them in 20 and 30 degree weather

 and i re-upholstered them, making sure to center the beautiful pattern.

i got this fabric at crate and barrel outlet and i'm so glad i did!

isn't it funny how 40 people coming to your house motivates you to get some of your to-do list items on your to-done list!  we had a family party on saturday to celebrate the new year and i'm glad we got this dining room done.  we definitely needed all the addtional seating we could get!

i hope you all had a wonderful start to the new year!

pop these!

i made baked jalepeno poppers the other night and they were so tasty.  i took some pictures, but i didn't want to post them, so i stole an image from a site-  it's really hard to take a quality photo of food after the daylight goes...anywho...these are amazing and i'm bringing them to my friend's house for nye. 

jalepeno poppers

about-recipes

here's how to make them:

(note: mine are not whole, i cut them lenght-wise, so this picture is a little deceiving but you get the idea, right)

~cut peppers length-wise and de-seed and de-vein them

~mix softened cream cheese, shredded colby jack or chedder, garlic powder, salt and paprika

(and i think i may have added a little milk? not sure, you make the call)

~stuff this mixture into the halves

~top with panko bread crumbs

~bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown

these are de-lish!  happy new year friends!

cowhide: a neutral approach

i'm a fan of cowhide rugs,

but if i were to get one for my house, it would have to be all white.

or at least almost all white.

there's just something that is so elegant about the white version

compared to the black/white variations we see all of the time.

so, what do you think?

all white, or is two-toned your thing?

i hope you all had a great christmas!

1. 6th street design school

2,3. elle decor

4,5. decorpad

2 lil updates

sigh of relief-ahhhh

we finally got the ledges and placed them in our upstairs hall

for my mini photo gallery that i have been thinking about for quite some time.

 i love how it turned out! 

and we scored these ledges at ikea for $15 each, yay!!

just another view from downstairs 

 and, we've made some progress with the playroom

two chalkboards, painted on by my husband

and a cute moose, put together by yours truly from

cardboard safari

doesn't it just feel so good to get a couple of the items

checked off the to-do-list.

it's like two early christmas gifts!

i need to do this!

this is one of the cutest and probably easiest

"bulletin boards" to diy.

 i just have to find the perfect frame.

and while i'm showing this great inspirational photo,

shannon at what's up whimsy {where i got this photo from}

has recently done a great series of wish lists from fellow bloggers.

she recently featured mine, so check it out and her fabulous blog!

what's up whimsy via decorpad

blue...

you know when you've said something for so long, like

 "i really don't like decorating with blue"

you totally write off anything in that spectrum.

well, today is a new day friends. 

here are two rooms done in blue that are to-die-for.

what do you think, have you crossed over?

chic little house

and this, so luxe and fab!

they used blue as more of a neutral and i'm lovin it!!

windsor smith via digging decor

dreaming of a white christmas?

no, i'd rather be dreaming in this white bedroom.

this is perfect, don't you think?

via decorista

christmas at my home

we finally put up the chirstmas tree last weekend

 full of feathers, gold, white and silver...

 and a few glitzy pine bouquets

 a simple mantle display...i don't have much to decorate

a fireplace with since i've never had one before

(did you notice the mirror?)

 lit at night- merry christmas!  

3 colors combos

citrus, black and white

not as "halloween-ish" as you would think, right!

i think it's stunning, clean and classic.

dark brown, white and red

modern,zen, chic

black, white, and red

never done better!

via mary mcdonald

good giveaway to win!

i recently won a giveaway hosted by julie from belle maison

for a $50 giftcard to her online store

***

what a great contest to win, let me tell you. 

i received my selections this weekend and i'm lovin' them.

i got this super cute owl pitcher

 which i'm using as a vase for this beautiful bouquet i picked up at trader joe's on sunday

 and this adorablely chic horseshoe hook for jaxon's room

thanks julie!

stay here: seven hotel, paris

i'm pretty impressed with this hotel in paris.

{the only thing i don't care for is

the fiber-optic lights used quite frequently...}

i wonder if the floor is like walking on a pillow top mattress?

pretty dreamy, huh?

see, this room would be perfect without the bomchickawawa lights

check out the tree-stump leg side tables,

i'd have to make sure to bring my extra large suitecase with me.

i'm sure they wouldn't notice with all the lights blinding them.

and who cares about a cowhide rug,

the cowhide tub is where it's at!

seven hotel

create this look

i plan to re-create this look

in th is little space off the entry

my look will be a little less rustic

what do you think about the idea of framed live art?

image 1 via apartment therapy