Living Room Media Unit

Hi peeps! How's everyone's week going? I am having a great and relatively stress-free week (that basically never happens in my work-life) so I'm totally enjoying it! Plus the weather outside, although still blazing hot, FEELS a little bit like Fall to me. The light is changing and I can just sense the new season. Or maybe just wishing it here??

So I have a little project today to show you that Jeremy and I worked on this past month. Remember this wall in our living room?? When we bought this house the entire living area and hallways were different shades of dirt. I kid you not. Dark tan, taupe, chocolate, dark sage, and khaki. That's totally okay if that's your jam, but it's not mine. I like our spaces to feel more open and airy.

Here's where we started in April of 2015-

And, before we moved in we painted it light gray-

And then around September of last year we were starting to get settled and I felt like it was this HUGE BLANK SPACE. Just drove me nuts. So I hung a vintage quilt my Mom gifted me as a house warming gift on the wall, and called it a day.

It worked for awhile. A year I guess. But honestly the whole granny chic look just isn't my thing. I went through a farmhouse, gimmie all the chippy and rusty things stage when we lived in Birmingham and I'm kinda over it. But I have all of this vintage-y stuff so until I can replace/sell/buy new things I like that are more in my bubble I had to figure something out. A mix so to speak (and isn't life always about this mix? Where you are, where you want to be?? I could preach about that, right? Amen.)

I lived with the above look/feel for basically the past year. Annnnd, about a month ago I decided enough was enough. No more quilt on the wall. Enter an idea. A media unit. Big. Filling that wall. Something that makes an impact and adds function to the space. So I started pinning some things I found on the inter-webs and came up with a plan-

An Ikea hack!!

I sketched out an idea. Two tall BILLY bookcases flanking two short BILLY cases in the middle. I wanted the shorter ones below the TV to have doors to hide all the junk. And, of course. I couldn't leave the back of them plain so I painted it... you guessed it. Navy! My go-to color of choice.

I also bought these library lights to go at the top of the two taller shelves. They are the same brass lights as pictured in the photo above (bottom left bookcase).

And, here's the current progress:

 A TOTAL transformation, right?! Jeremy was a champ and installed it for me (I know he literally cringes when I come up with a new "idea" I need his help with. Sorry babe!). All we need to do is add the crown molding at the top of the two tall bookcases, add brass pulls to the doors (haven't found the perfect ones just yet) and install the brass library lights up top. Easy peasy. I really do love it so.

And, because who doesn't love a good before and after shot. Bam-

A few things I learned along the way-
1. The BILLY bookcases weren't tall enough for my space so we bought two extenders. The top shelf on each of the the tall bookcases are the "extender" part. Basically just another shelf to make it unit taller.
2. If you paint the mdf back before you slide it into the bookcase it will get chipped up/scratched. Nothing a little touching up won't fix, though.
3. These definitely need to be bolted to the wall! They are lightweight!
4. It is possible to cut through the thin mdf back. We did so to plug our TV junk in (Hi, Matt! Thanks for your help!!). You can (barely) see the box sitting on the second shelf (from the bottom) on the left side. I love that its camouflaged now!!!
5. I put the bookcases together myself (with Jonah's help) one evening when Jeremy was on his way home from work. Time consuming and tedious, but not difficult at all. No power tools required for the assembly of the units themselves.

I love that it adds character to our big living space and makes it feel more put together.
What do you guys think?!?

Pom Love {Pom Pom Tutorial}

Please raise your hand if you love pom poms as much as I do. Yea?? Good. Cause I'm showing some pom love today. Let's discuss.

I don't own a pom maker. That hasn't stopped me from making hundreds of poms over the last three years. I mean... why let a little thing like that squash your creativity?! I've made poms for Jonah's nursery, poms for gifts, pom garland for parties & decor. I have no idea why I haven't just gone out and purchased one, but I haven't. Honestly, it's so easy I didn't even think about one. Anyhow, I thought I would share how I currently whip out quick + easy peasy poms. They aren't perfect but they sure are cute!!

Step 1: Gather your yard, and start wrapping around the base of your finger.
Step 2: Make sure to keep your fingers spread (to make the pom larger) and wrap the yarn around your fingers 50-60 times. (You can play around with the thickness as you start to make them. I've found that with my palm size, this is the perfect number of wraps to make full poms.)
Step 3: After you've wrapped it all up, cut your yarn.
Step 4: Cut a 6-9" section of yarn and lay it on a flat surface. Carefully remove the yarn that's wrapped around your hand and lay it on the cut portion.
Step 5: Wrap the cut portion around your yard and tie in a tight knot. (Make sure you pull tight when you knot it! This is the key for secure poms that don't fall apart easily!!)
Step 6: This is a photo of what it should look like once you've tied it up nice and tight.
Step 7: Take your scissors and cut the looped portion of one side. This released all of your little yarn squiggles. I know. That's pretty precise directions, right? Thank me later. Do the same for the other side.
Step 8: Trim your pom. Play around with the length. You can make it super trim or leave it a little messy. I usually leave mine messy. Y'all know.

Annnnd, then make a bunch of other colored poms and delight in them. String them up. Make a garland. Add a single pom to a gift box. Fill a vase with fun fall colored poms. The possibilities are endless and this is SUCH a fun + cheap project. One roll of yarn is $3, and makes TONS of poms.

Instagram your photos with the hashtag #pompomsarefab

GO HAVE A POM PARTY!
--

ps. Happy Labor Day!!

Faux it UP {No Sew Window Panels}

Confession is good for the soul, right? Okay, good. I have a confession to make, y'all. I don't sew my window panels. Ever. Especially not if I purchase the yardage and make them myself. And no one is the wiser. Fancy that. Here's how I achieve my faux magic...

1. Cut your panels in the desired length. Fold the top down (I always measure from my rod, to the floor before this step to make sure my panels are the perfect "kiss the floor" length!) and crease (or iron a crease).

2. Then, fold the sides in towards the middle to hide the not so pretty side edges (at this point you can use iron on adhesive to make a real side seam, or sew a seam if you prefer. I prefer to fold.).

3. Clip your first ring to the end of the panel. 

4. Lay out your rings (I use 7 per panel) in even increments along the top of your panel (you can measure if you want to be particular, I never measure. Ha!).

5. Gather up your ring and make sure the panel looks professional, and your rings are placed evenly.

6. Install your rod and hang your fabulous panels! (Make sure your panels kiss/puddle on the floor so you don't have to hem the bottom. Otherwise, hem or no sew the bottom so they don't fray!)

Note: This is probably not the best solution for you if you don't change your mind very often (planning to keep your panels for 10 years?? Sew them!!!), but for those of you like me who change it up and change your mind quite often, this works perfectly. You can re-purpose the fabric quite easily. Lazy girls guide to panels. Boom.

I plan to share more of the family room once it's complete. I have a plan and I'm working on it. Can't wait.

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Balloon Wreath {Crafternoon Delight}

I saw this idea on Pinterest. I mean, how many of you guys can relate to THAT statement. What do we not see on Pinterest?!?  Exactly.  Anyhow, months and months ago (like six or seven months ago) when I started planning Jonah's birthday party I came across a balloon wreath and fell in love. I already knew I wanted his first birthday to include balloons. Somehow. Someway. Balloons just equal happiness in my book. So, I set out to make it on my own.

(Go here to see Jonah's Party)

Balloon Wreath Tutorial

1. Lots of balloons (I bought mine at the dollar store in bulk. Probably 10 packages would do it.)
2. Floral pins (I purchased these at Wal-Mart for $1 per pack. I needed 4 packs)
3. Straw wreath form (Hobby Lobby, use your 50% off coupon!)

This is seriously the easiest wreath to make. There is only one step- push the floral pins into the wreath form. Keep going. And going. Until your wreath is positively BURSTING from happy. Rearrange as you see fit.

Delight in it.

Details+ Tips: 

-I left the plastic on my wreath form. Just less messy. 

-I straddled the balloons rather than puncture them. No reason for this, just what I ended up doing.

There are ENDLESS variations of this. You could make a July 4th Balloon wreath with red + white + blue balloons. A halloween wreath. Ohhh, goodness. Get to pinning (literally. get it?! ack, I made myself laugh with that one.) those wreaths!!

Jonah's Big ONE

Three short weeks ago my Jonah Knox turned ONE. Insanely hard to believe because I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. Everyone told me that time flies when you have a baby, but I didn't really understand until now. Time is measured by Jonah's growth. He's literally turning into a toddler in front of my eyes. It's truly one of the most bittersweet feelings. I miss the infant Jonah so much, but I'm delighted to see the toddler Jonah emerging. He is such a sweet little scamp. Rotten mess.

I thought it would be fun to show photos of his party and then do an additional post later in the week with the details and a few DIY craft tutorials. I crafted most of his decor in the months leading up to his party. I had a really hard time deciding on a "theme" because I didn't want it to have a "themey" feeling. Just a happy, cheerful party that celebrated our little man turning a year old.

Once I decided on the paper goods, everything was a breeze. They were the starting point for the overall design. We hosted the part at our local Children's Museum (best idea ever, hardly any clean up- and the kids got to play!). It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon affair. Cheerful. Happy. Fun. Joyful. I will cherish the fun memories!

Party details, sources, DIY tutorials (I made the balloon wreath, all garlands, the large pom number one, and the favorite things poster & table runner) to come later in the week. Happy Monday, bloggity peeps!