Going Natural One Step at a Time

Happy Friday! Can you believe how fast March is flying by!? I can't. Before we know it, Easter will be here! It's been an absolute dream week here with temperatures staying around 80 degrees. I love Springtime in Arizona! I've been spending my lunch hour outside soaking up all the Vitamin D I can get :)

So last Spring, I started to learn about ways to live a more natural lifestyle. Paul and I watched the movie, Food Inc, and our eyes were really opened to the importance of knowing what goes into our bodies and around our home. I started making goals, and I've really stayed true to one of them, which is that I make a lot of our bread/pizza dough.

But to be honest, the more I learned, the more I felt overwhelmed (and the more Paul started to see $$$ adding up). Because really, when you're talking about eating clean, cleaning green and living naturally, it's a huge can of worms! Finally I just basically stopped. I pretended to not know anything and just carried on as I had before. I almost wished I didn't know so that things could be more "simple" again. That's just the honest truth!

Still, this subject has been in the back of my mind and I can't deny that I really do see the benefits of these types of changes. I believe in it and I really want to offer my family and people who come into our home the best and most healthy situation that I can. Over the past year I've struggled with wanting this, but not being consumed with it. And finally, I'm beginning to feel more free in this area. Free to make one natural choice at a time. Free from the pressure and the lies that if I don't change absolutely everything, I might as well change nothing. That's so not true!

So when we ran out of laundry detergent this week, I decided this would be a great area where I could gradually transition into a more natural product. I did lots of research and there are a few great options out there. But I chose Nellie's Laundry Soda after reading lots of reviews and comparing brands. I'm super excited to put this new find to the test! And Paul's happy that the price beats many of our grocery store options. Win-win! I'll let you all know how it goes and give you my very own review as well :)

Hope you have a great weekend ahead, friends! Our weekend plans include having friends over for pizza tonight, picking up a chair I bought at our secondhand store this week, cheering on the Duke basketball team, making plans and dreams for our backyard landscaping, church on Sunday, and maybe a corn-beef + cabbage sandwich or two :)

Getting Settled

We are so overjoyed to be officially moved in to our new home. What a gift! We're still trying to get the hang of the new space. And I think with time, it'll feel more comfortable, and things will start to make sense. But for now I'm still in the stage of figuring out where things should go, what will work well with our natural living habits, and how to start making this place cozy.

It isn't really ready for a proper room tour yet, but I did want to capture a few moments so I can always remember these first few days. Above you can see:

1. I was so super super giddy as we began bringing in our bags and boxes from our car. It was so surreal!
2. I'm still getting used to the tile floors all over. It makes the ground super chilly, which I am sure we will love come July. But for now I'm wearing slippers all the time.
3. Deciding if I like the lamp base and shade combo. The bases I got from the Habitat Re-store, and the shades are from Home Goods and I added the black trim last week. What do you think?
4. Our little dining nook. This is probably the most "put together" spot in our house right now. I love the fixture and rug Mom got us for Christmas! (both from Overstock.com)
5. Putting together the shelves in my office space! They recently had a makeover and I find myself glancing over at them while I work throughout the day, just to take a peak. That's when you know you really like something.
6. Paul, Brent and our first out of town visitor, Ben, were working hard to put up the pendant lights over our kitchen island. They did an awesome job. I'm so thankful.
7. Our first minutes in the house together!
8. Sampling a few paint colors. For some reason choosing colors is really stressing me out. I wish I was more decisive.
9. Just a little glimpse of the many piles of boxes still scattered throughout our home!

Part of me wants everything to already be unpacked and settled, but then I try to remind myself how precious these beginning days are, even with all their chaos and confusion. I hope we will always look back and remember how very sweet it was these first moments in our first home together. And someday soon this place will feel so familiar – I'll know the little spots on the walls, and all the little nooks and corners and quirks like the back of my hand. And that will be so nice and comfortable. But for now, it's still new, and we're still getting to know each other, this house and I. So for now I may not know which drawer I stuck the scissors in, or where my favorite sweater is, or what's the best spot for the dinner plates, but I think we're going to get along just fine. This house feels like just the right fit for my Paul and me (and hopefully a few more someday too!).

Today's the Day!

Today is the day Paul and I have been dreaming about for over 7 months now! In a few minutes we will be heading over to our new house to pick up our keys and start moving in!!! We can hardly believe the day has come!!!

Last weekend, we packed up our apartment and moved out of our first Arizona home. We needed to be out by the end of December which left us with a tricky 5 day gap with no place to live. Thankfully, our dear friends here offered their home to us since they would be out of town this week anyways. We are so thankful for all the little ways the Lord has provided for us during this transition time. Speaking of which, we were so blessed to have this crew come help us pack our truck on Sunday.

What a difference it was to a year ago when we moved in. At that time our only moving help was my parents. It was a big job last January for 4 people. But now we have the most precious community at our church, Valley Life, and we are so humbled that we were completely moved out in just 2 hours!

On Monday morning we had our final walk through with our project manager. Then on Wednesday morning, we signed our closing documents and forked over the big bucks!

This process has gone so fast and so slow all at the same time :) And there were definitely many moments when I was unsure if I even wanted to stay in Arizona, let alone purchase a house here. But as the story unfolded, I'm so thankful that I can see how God has guided our steps all along the way through my husband's leadership and through the revealing of His plans for our family. And I know there is so much more I don't even know or understand. So for this gift, we give Jesus the glory, honor and praise!

I promise I'll be back soon with a little tour of our new pad ;)

Goodbye Buddy

This past week, my family said goodbye to our precious little pup of over 14 years, Buddy. He was the sweetest, most friendly and kind dog I've ever known.

I still vividly remember moments from the day I met Buddy. I had been away for a week with our church youth group on a work project trip. It was the summer between my 7th and 8th grade year and our bus pulled into the parking lot where our families were waiting for us. When I spotted my little brother he was holding a puppy in his arms! What a fun surprise :) I remember holding Buddy in my hand on the car ride home. He was so soft and sweet. And over the last 14 years he became an important and real part of our family.

Buddy loved to go outside. He loved to walk and to see people as we went along, to sniff the ground and feel the fresh air. We always said he would "prance" on his walks because he had such an enthusiastic spring in his step. Even the very last walk I ever went on with Buddy, Christmas Day, he still had the same prance as we walked.

In his younger years when we would open the front door too wide, he would run out of the house. Not because he wanted to run away, but because he loved it when we would chase him. We used to say he could run "faster than fast" as he whipped around the yard in circles. He was full of life and excitement.

He had a special fondness for my Pops. Buddy would snuggle his head up on Pop's lap and try to drown him with kisses. I can still hear my Papa's voice, "no licking!" as he tried to guard himself from Buddy's wet tongue.

Even though Buddy lived with my parents and hasn't been a part of my daily life for a few years now, I still couldn't believe how hard it was to see him go. I will miss that old dog so much. He brought so much happiness, so many smiles and so much life and love to our family.

Be Brave

We've been really into the Olympics here in the Schmitt household. The past week we've tuned in almost every night to watch our favorite athletes compete against the best in the world. I have personally grown quite attached to those adorable "Fab Five" gymnasts as well as the super humble and smiley women's swimming team. I've grown so attached to them in fact, that I told Paul they kind of feel like my friends. I've been thinking about why this is, what it is about these people that draw me in. Is it their incredible athletic abilities? Or perhaps NBC's coverage of their real life stories? And I think I've kind of figured it out.

They make me want to be brave.

I watch them get out in front of the whole world and try to perform their very best. And usually they do. But sometimes they don't and there's always that chance that they're going to mess up in front of millions of people. I think that's so brave!

You see, for the past while, really the past 7 months, I have been preparing to open up this little shop. Now it may not be Olympics worthy, but it has been the place where I have poured my energy and time and thoughts. I have nitpicked over details, changed my mind a thousand times, asked close friends and family for advice and studied other shops and businesses. And even though each piece has been carefully considered, there has been one huge missing piece these past weeks. And that was the courage to open. I haven't been very brave. Now I don't know if it was the adrenaline rush of watching the Olympics this past week, or just the fact that my heart and soul are finally ready, but over the weekend I gave myself the push I needed to wrap up a few loose ends, and finally press publish.

I knew I would never feel totally ready, and I know that I'll always want to revise my designs and strive for "better." But I feel so relieved to have finally taken this step. Sure, I might mess up. And no, it probably won't be live in front of millions of people (thank goodness!). But for me, opening up shop is a jump worth taking. Because otherwise there is no chance of winning gold!

A Sneak Peek

Here's a little snippet of what I've been busy working on this year. I'm hoping to announce the Grand Opening of my online design studio soon!

• 
• 
• 
• 

Our Day At The Design Center

Oh my. When we bought our house, the first thing the builder did (after happily collecting our earnest money of course) was make us an appointment at their design center. They set us up with a 9am – 3pm time slot, and we seriously laughed aloud. I mean, our house isn't that big, and we already knew we didn't want to go crazy on upgrades, so how long could it really take? We. were. wrong. It ended up taking us 5 hours to go through everything and make our selections. Yeowza.

Thankfully, we had made a lot of decisions beforehand, so we knew where we were going to spend our money, and we didn't sway too much from that. We both chose a couple things we wanted but didn't need, and Paul was sweet to let me make the major choices for the flooring and cabinets. He admitted that he couldn't tell me what any cabinets had looked like any place he'd ever lived, so his "in the moment opinion" probably shouldn't weigh too much. I was glad.

ANYWAYS, I fear this post is getting boring. But it's fun for me to record these little steps in our new home! Here are some pictures of what we've chosen. Can you picture it now?!  I can't really, but I'm hoping hoping hoping it all comes together well :)

First up, here is some of our flooring. I had shown some inspiration for my flooring a week or so ago, and we went ahead and chose a slate looking gray tile, with a pale "bone" grout. I'm excited about the contrast. If I remember correctly, it's a little darker than it looks in these pictures, and it definitely has a more olive tint, not a blue tint like I'm seeing here. Anyways, you get the picture :)  On the right is the carpet color we chose for bedroom 2 and bedroom 3. These will be the only places in the house with carpet (Master continues the tile).

I hinted a little while ago that I was trying to see if we could sneak some wood into our house and I DID IT!!!  I'm so excited!  I know that we'll enjoy our tile, especially in the heat of the summer. But any time I want some beautiful cozy hardwoods, all I have to do is take a little trip to our living room (my office!). Right when you walk in the front door, this is the first room you'll see (other than the entryway) so I'm super pumped about these!

I really wanted white cabinets in the kitchen. Every kitchen inspiration picture I looked at I kept gravitating towards light cabinets. It was a splurge, but I convinced Paul they would look good and keep the space nice and bright and airy. We went with the standard granite countertops – a simple gray, black and white and I really like them.

In the bathrooms we'll have white cabinets and these quite neutral countertops. They were Paul's favorite and I think they'll be just fine. None of the choices "wowed" me, so I'm mostly just hoping they'll hide the toothpaste spots well ;)

So that's a little tour of our future home!  We're even more excited than ever to watch it be built and eventually live there!  What a sweet blessing. And we hope all our dearly loved friends and family will plan a visit out to see us. Soon we'll have more than enough room!

There's No Place Like Home

As promised, today I have a really fun and exciting announcement. This past weekend, Paul and I bought a house! But this isn't just any house. It's a house that doesn't exist yet. That's right, we are building a new house!

{doesn't he look so good standing there on our lot!?}

We are so excited for this new adventure and it was just amazing to see how the Lord led us to this decision. We'd been casually house hunting for about a month or maybe a little more, with a realtor we really like. The market here in Phoenix is picking back up, and so homes were moving pretty quickly – especially in our price range. Our realtor suggested new builds to us, and actually we hadn't really even considered it because we didn't realize something like that could be in our price range.

{here I am in our backyard. we love those mountain views!}

So she took us about 15 minutes north of where Paul works to a developing community and we fell in love :) (ok so I had more of the "fall in love" feelings and Paul had more of the "this could realistically work well for us" mindset). We were so thrilled to find that we could get a larger yard, and a little more square feet than the resales we had been touring. After we saw the model and the lot on Saturday, we went up to Prescott to see what my parents would advise. They helped us brainstorm a lot of questions and concerns we should address before moving forward, and then they came back down to Phoenix with us Monday morning. We sat and had all our questions answered, and my parents both thought this would be a good choice for us. It was important to Paul and me that we have both of our parents' support, since we trust their judgement and they have much more homebuying experience than us! It finally came down to, "why wouldn't we move forward with this?" I'll admit, I was the enthusiastic one, and Paul was the cautious one, but we did come to an agreement that we would put down our deposit and sign the contract. Yay!

{we're so excited!}

The home is in a stunning location with beautiful mountains on 3 sides. It's really close to a large lake here in AZ and a huge recreational attraction. Even though the neighborhood feels "out in the country" it's actually just about 7 minutes to the closest shopping area. We have a large yard and our neighbors aren't right on top of us, which was one of our disappointments with Phoenix real estate we'd seen so far. Something that both Paul and I feel excited for is that the home just feels like it will cultivate a "slower" pace of life. It's quiet and surrounded by such beautiful creation, we both are praying that this will be a home where we will draw nearer to the Lord individually and as a family, without a lot of distractions. The sales lady pointed out to me a couple neighbors on our street and around the block who are also newlyweds, and there is a mix between young families and older retirees.

{our cute little street}

We feel so incredibly blessed and peaceful that God has lead us to this home. I am looking forward to "putting down roots" here and investing in our community and our church. It'll be a while before we actually get to move into our new home, but I'll keep you all updated. Our next step is to head to the "design center" in a couple weeks to choose some of the finishings for the home. You know I'm looking forward to that ;)

My First Loaves

We're hooked. Hooked, I tell you!

A couple days ago I posted about some changes I hope to make in the kitchen, and one of my 3 first steps is to make our own bread. I've been doing some hunting and reading (picked up Nourishing Traditions at the library) to find a good recipe to start with. I finally landed on Summer Harms' French Bread recipe. I was sold when she promised "this bread will empower you." 

However, I had been reading a lot about the benefits of soaking (here's a good resource), and I really wanted to give that a try too. So, I followed her recipe, but I substituted for 1 cup of wheat flour, and soaked that in 1 cup of the warm water and a tablespoon of vinegar for about 17 hours before starting the recipe. And you know what? It was super simple! Huzzah!

And oh wow. As soon as these loaves came out of the oven, Paul and I were at the kitchen table with our knife and butter ready in hand. Paul kept saying things like "oh mmmm this is so good!" And I mean, what better satisfaction is there than your honey thoroughly enjoying the fruits of your labor?! 

Not only does the bread taste amazingly fresh and good, but we know exactly what's in it, and I really like that. It's good for us and has no unnecessary additives or preservatives. I decided we probably wouldn't eat both loaves fast enough before they start to go stale and mold, so I double wrapped one and stuck it in the freezer to thaw later. The other is already almost half eaten since we enjoyed a sneak fresh out of the oven and again with our chili last night. Mmmmmm. Still, I'm hoping at the end we have some going-stale bread to make some yummy french toast. 

I can't wait to make try more breads! My next goal is a sourdough with my cast iron pot, a recipe found here. (Mom, can I have that back? I promise to make you delicious amazing bread!)

Food, Inc

(source)

Paul and I recently sat down and watched this film, Food, Inc. I have to admit, I was nervous to watch it because in a strange way, I don't want to change my food habits. I like what I eat for the most part, and I was scared that if I learned the real facts, I wouldn't, couldn't carry on like I have been. But Paul encouraged me to watch it, and I found it to be super interesting and informative. It didn't freak me out or make me scared to even go near anything in my refrigerator, but instead I think it challenged Paul and I to be making thoughtful choices about what food we choose to buy.

It can be overwhelming to think about this at first, because there are so many issues with so many different foods. But I am making it my mission to take small steps and make little changes one step at a time.  A few ways I hope to do this in the immediate or near future are:

1. Start growing some of our own vegetables and herbs. Because we live in an apartment building right now, our space for gardening is limited. But we do have a good size porch and it doesn't get too much direct harsh sunlight, so I think it will be a good location for a few potted plants. I am going to start with a tomato plant, and perhaps green pepper, and evaluate from there.

2. Start making our bread. I really like good bread. And I'm learning that I can make home baked bread much cheaper and without the preservatives of store bought bread. Cheaper and healthier? Sounds good to me (how about you, Babe?)!

3. I really want to start purchasing grass-fed beef. In the movie they talked a lot about how most cows are now fed corn because it's cheaper and easier to feed to a barn stuffed full of cows. But this is not the diet God intended for cows, and the corn actually cultivates e-coli in the cows stomach. In fact, they gave a statistic something like 90% of all e-coli in beef would be eliminated if all cows went back to a grass diet. I may have messed that up, you should just watch the movie. All that to say, I've got my eye on this local farm, JH Grass Fed. And you can look up local farmers in your area here. I need to work on our budget, because this meat is a little pricier, but I truly believe it will be a wise choice for our family. I found this post from Keeper of the Home to be really encouraging on how to shop healthy foods on a realistic budget.

So that's my plan!  Just three little life changes over the next days weeks and months that I hope will be a blessing to our bodies and our future family to come!  I'll keep you all updated on how this food journey goes :)

Smith Street Chapter Closed

We got good news today. I felt it needed a post of it's own.

We knew that when we left Illinois, we would be responsible to fulfill our rent agreement, which wouldn't terminate until July, and that we had no option to sublet. And for many reasons – both financially and situationally, it made the most sense for us to leave when we did and just continue paying out through the end of our lease. It was a loss, but we felt that "big picture" it was wise for us. Our landlord gracefully agreed to advertise our unit and see if they got any bites, but we were prepared for the worst case scenario – to pay the full amount. Going into it, I felt a lot of peace. I felt that the Lord had and would provide for us either way, be it financially or with new tenants. It feels good to lay things in His hand, doesn't it? I wish I did that more often, really. So you can imagine our excitement when a couple weeks ago, after only a short time of being here in Arizona, we learned that there was some interest in our apartment! We tried not to get our hopes up, prayed that God would see this through, and continued on with our life. Until, today! We just heard this morning that the new renters moved in today and we are officially released from our rent agreement! Hurray! We are humbled and thankful for God's goodness to us in this situation. We don't deserve it, and some might even call us foolish. But I feel so very seen and taken care of by the Lord in this, and I wouldn't trade watching Him work for anything!

I'll admit, closing the door (no pun intended, but I'll take it!) to our home in Illinois feels somewhat bittersweet to me. I told Paul it seems weird to think of someone else living in our first home. But such is life I suppose. Teaching me to place my hope in heaven and not delight in the fading things of this world! A lesson I surely need to keep learning.

**By the way! That lovely print of our first apartment building was done by sweet Alissa Mazzenga, from Feast Fine Art & Calligraphy! She's a lovely artist and calligrapher. She made address stamps for all my bridesmaids and she's so super talented.

Bringing Back Blogging

Oh hey everyone! Anyone still out there?!  ;)  My last post was in November, and sooooo much has changed since then.  Paul and I have started a new chapter in our journey, and I really want to record our adventures. So I'll start from the beginning.

These fabulous friends and brother came over on a beautiful 54 degree day in January and helped us pack up our entire apartment. It was a lot of work but we were so thankful for the extra hands (and even more so for the wonderful friendships) to get the job done!

The next morning, after spending a lovely evening at "Hotel Waite" we were off on our cross-country road trip in this little beauty...

That's right! We moved! And my amazing wonderful husband masterfully drove this impressive vehicle for 3 days.  It was bumpy and a little scary going downhill, but overall it was smoooooth sailing.

Plus I got to stare at this handsome guy the whole time.  Lucky me!

By now maybe you're wondering, "where did you move?" Well we now reside in the lovely, beautiful state of Arizona!

Here we are on the last lag of the trip. We were literally driving through the mountains up until 20 minutes before we arrived at our apartment. Who knew there were so many mountains in Arizona!? It's not the first thing I think of, but they really are so beautiful.  

And so, that's our big news. We took a leap of faith, and moved 1800 miles away. We've been here 2 weeks now and although it still feels a little like vacation (how can it not when it's 74 degrees outside in January?!), we are so excited to start this new life together. 

More updates coming soon including a tour of our new home, and some of our new favorite things to do! 

Christmas in October

I always feel sad when the weekend comes to an end :( This weekend has been beeeaauuutiful here in Chicagoland and Paul and I were able to get out for a couple solid walks. We love to go on walks - walking together made us fall in love in the first place! We always have good talks, and this weekend was no exception. In fact, we've been discussing some very important potential transitions in our life, so I was thankful for the extended time together. But alas, Monday comes! So instead of finishing my homework, I thought I'd cheer myself up with some Christmas card designing! Here's where I'm at so far...

August 27, 2011

The day I married Paul was the most beautiful day I can ever think of. Not just weather-wise (although it was beautiful weather) but just in the way the day felt. The week leading up to the wedding was a lot of fun too – all our family and friends coming into town, all the excitement! But still nothing compares to the actual day. Our ceremony was so so sweet to us, and I thought it FLEW by! We were surrounded, supported and witnessed by so many dear family and friends. And I thought our reception was a serious blast. The room was so lovely, the dance floor was always full, and the photo booth was a hit! I will always look back on that day with such sweet remembrance, and thanks to Tony and Sharon at T & S Hughes Photography, we will have the most gorgeous pictures to remember it by! Below are some of my favorites, although you should definitely check out the whole post and all of their amazing work.





























Ceremony: The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Reception: The Westin Chicago Northwest, Itasca, Illinois.

Since You've Been Gone

I have some really amazing news to share... 

On Saturday, April 23, 2011, PDS made me the happiest girl in the world and asked me to be his wife! 

He recreated one of our very first dates and took me to Cafe Deluca in Forest Park, IL for dinner. We sat at the same table and laughed as we remembered how nervous we had been 2 years earlier in that exact same spot. After dinner, Paul suggested that we go to the mall and pick him out some new clothes. My heart sank as my hopes for a "special date" were squashed. But I agreed and we went to the car. But then when we got to the highway I realized he was driving into the city, NOT to the mall!  I've never been so happy to not go to the mall :) 

As we walked up Michigan Ave, we stopped in front of the Chicago Symphony Center and remembered how we had enjoyed a concert there that same first date. Suddenly, Paul said "We're going tonight!" and pulled me inside!  We enjoyed a beautiful performance the first half, and then decided to walk around  alittle during intermission. As we walked into the lobby, Paul said "actually, I've heard enough, how about you? Do you want to go?" At this, I started to get excited ;) I agreed and we walked out into the fresh night air. 

After a quick stop at the car to get cannoli's (or so I was told) we found ourselves sitting on a bench in Millenium Park facing the bean and the skyline.  He pulled out a scrapbook I had made him 2 Christmases ago documenting all the fun adventures we had  been on. As we looked through the pages we reminisced about what a blessing our relationship has been in our lives. Paul had added about 10 more pages to the book which he carefully crafted all by himself (I'm so proud!). On the very last page there were the words "Best Friend Forever?" with a little envelope glued onto the page.
 

At that very moment, a women who was cleaning in the park came up and started sweeping right under the bench where we were sitting! We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, knowing what was coming, but not wanting to share an intimate moment with the park district employee! When she finally left, Paul got down on his knee, told me he loved me (for the first time) and some other special things and asked me to marry him. I of course said "YES!" through my tears of joy and he pulled out the most beautiful ring from the little envelope in our scrapbook. We stayed and talked and dreamed about the future and finally made our way back to the car and to my parents house to share our good news. I never knew I could feel SO SO SO very happy!! 

We knew we wanted to get married as soon as possible (when you know, you know, right?!)  So we set the date for August 27, 2011 and we could not be more excited :)

I knew that since our engagement was shorter than most people's it would probably be silly to send out a Save the Date card when the invitation would follow just a short time after. But still, I wanted to be able to make sure people knew the date and were able to reserve it amidst busy summer schedules.  So to save time, and money, I created this email Save the Date and sent it to some family and close friends.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

I can't wait for the day when I will be Paul's wife. In the last two years we have experienced incredible times of happiness and fun as well as times of sorrow and deep pain. Through it all we have found our greatest earthly blessing to be the companionship and friendship we have in one another. God has woven our hearts and lives together in a way that we could have never done on our own or through our own plans. In His mercy and grace, He directed our steps even when they were not the directions we had hoped or planned. Now, with our wedding around the corner and the hope of a lifelong marriage before us, we say with full hearts and honest humility, that Jesus has been so faithful to us; Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Bedroom Makeover Preview

Here's a picture of one corner of my room. I loooooove the color I chose for the wall! It's the perfect gray for the space :) The reason you are only seeing one corner is because I only painted two walls this past weekend. It was a lot of work and I am proud to say I did it all by myself! There is something exciting about taking on such a big project all alone. I'm really proud of myself and can't wait to finish the other two walls this coming weekend. So stay tuned, more reveal to come!

Impromptu Room Re-do :)

I think this winter weather is making me feel all cooped up and a little crazy, because in the last few days I have decided to do a complete revamp of my sweet little bedroom. Although I feel a little wild taking on a big project like this, I am sooo excited to make this room my own. To start, here are a few images of inspiration:

{from Martha Stewert}

{from Lonny Mag}

{from Spearmint Baby}

I am hoping to go with a teupe-y gray like the top picture, and maybe pair it with some soft salmon colors or pale pink accent colors. All of my bedding/rug/curtains/furniture are white. I'm so excited!  Here are some sneak peaks of my progress:

{definitely need a good stock of supplies and samples!}

{I have officially committed to painting some color}

{My new lamp on sale at Home Goods - I love it!}

That's all for now! I hope to officially start painting the walls tomorrow, and I think the rest will fall into place after that :)  Can't wait to show you the results!