Hung up

The exterior of my house was power washed yesterday. Spring cleaning took on a whole new meaning with that little project. It is great if you need to paint but don't have funds in the budget for that just yet.

The next project on the list is to clean out my closet. No. This isn't my closet. Mine looks much better than this but I do need to swap out my wool sweaters and boots for tank tops and flip flops. And get rid of some stuff to make room for the lastest and greatest from the likes of JCrew. So full disclosure here. I actually prefer the wire hangers from the dry cleaner and that is what I use.

Horrific huh? I know, I mean I am just scared of Joan's (aka Faye Dunaway's) eyebrows in the picture but imagine if I had to make this confession about wire hangers directly to her. I don't even want to think about it(shudder).

Anyway... I was thinking my closet would look something like this when I finished. Just ignore Paula, I do. Wait.

There, that is better. First step in this glorious transformation=new hangers. I heard about these beauties via the blog world and so I went to pick mine up at Homegoods (18 for $12.99). They are awesome. Yes, it is true, they are total space savers, clothes don't slide off and now everything is streamlined.

As for the cleaning out, all it seems I have managed to get rid of are, um, the wire hangers. Hmmm...

Images courtesy of Apartment Therapy, The Cinema Source and InStyle

Nursery of the Week: Sneaky

Lacking space in your nursery? Or are you just one of those people that likes everything tucked away? Here is your solution from Area Interior Design - built ins! This closet hides the changing table and storage behind a set of uniform closet doors. This design can also "grow" with your child as you can make it a desk area or a media cabinet when they are older by removing the changing area element.
found via cococozy

Gigglebugbaby

Are you looking for a fun shower gift? How about these sweet treats? No, it's not candy, they are the essentials packaged in the cutest possible way from gigglebugbaby.

The products can be purchased through Etsy:

"Sweet Treats Baby"! Baby necessities-like blankets, onesies, diapers & more-made into deliciously adorable little treats sweet enough to eat! They make fantastic new baby & baby shower gifts."

Check out the Jumbo Cupcakes
Ingredients:* 2 Pair of Socks (0-6 M)* 1 Pampers Size 1 Diaper* 2 Soft Washcloths* 1 Burp Cloth* 1 Bib* 1 Onesie (3-6 M)* 2 Flannel Receiving Blanket * 1 Soft Tip Spoon (Headband for Girls)
No need to wrap, they are almost too cute to undo and use.

Gigglebugbaby is local too! She is a stay at home mom to four kids here in Denver.

Sunny and bright

Where have we been? Good question! Spring is finally here and to help celebrate we thought we would show you an adorable little nursery in a bright and sunny combination - yellow and orange!

This rocker is an antique that was recovered in yellow cotton duck with white piping, such a great shape. The bedding is modern and fun with the orange sherbet color and the white squiggle design.

These plastic woven storage containers are one of our favorite organizing tools, especially for the changing table area. Here they become an accent to the overall design theme since they incorporate the color palette of the room.

Our Flip is Done!

Two months after purchasing our little project, it is done!

I am going to walk you through each photo and let you know just what we did in each area.

If you remember, the exterior of the home needed some serious help.

1.The front window was about eight windows retrofitted into one. We replaced them with a picture window.

2.We also ripped off the turquoise metal awnings that were above the windows.

3. The roof had serious hail damage from the storm last spring, we completely replaced it.

4. The North side of the house also had serious hail damage so we replaced all of the siding on the north side.

5. The white siding was dingy so we picked a nice neutral greenish gray exterior paint and coupled it with handmade cedar shutters. We chose to do the cedar because unbelievably, it was less expensive than purchasing the plastic shutters sold at hardware stores. In addition, it matches the cedar posts that we replaced.

6. The front door was replaced and storm door was removed.

7. Lastly, we ripped out all of the weeds and over grown bushes and laid down wood mulch.

This is the view from the front door looking in towards the living/dining room and kitchen.

1. As you know, we knocked down the dividing wall into the kitchen and put up a header.

2. We continued the wood floors into the kitchen and re-finished the rest of them.

3. We painted all of the walls and trim.

4. We replaced all of the light fixtures and updated the electrical throughout.

Here is a more detailed view of the kitchen.

1. We rearranged the kitchen and spread it out to create more space. By adding a peninsula, we created a boundary between the kitchen and living areas as well as allow for more work space and flow between the spaces.

2. We installed cherry cabinets, granite tile, glass tile back splashes, stainless steal appliances and new lighting throughout the space.

Here is a view of the only bathroom in the house:

1. The only things left standing in this bathroom were the bathtub which appeared to be recently replaced and the white 4x4 tiles. We had to replace some damaged tiles here and there, but the rest were in great condition.

2. We replaced the vanity, sink and fixtures.

3. We added glass tile to warm the space up and make it feel less sterile.

4 We replaced the wc.

5. The shower doors and shower hardware was replaced.

6. The mirror and light fixture was replaced.

Because this is such a small bathroom, we wanted to keep it light and airy. The blues in the glass tile combined with the white tile and the pale blue paint give it a clean, polished look.

This is the North side of the house where the siding was replaced. In addition to all of the exterior work that I already mentioned, we painted the fence and replaced the garage door.

The bedrooms were all in good shape, so all we did was paint and replace light fixtures and all of the interior doors.

Amazingly, we came in $1,000 under budget! We are so pleased with the results!!!

Serendipity in Scottsdale

My husband, son and I took a little break to watch some spring training and visit some friends and family in Arizona last week. While we had a great time soaking in some sun and watching baseball, we were so charmed by a little spot that we found for dinner on our last night.

Located in Scottsdale is

Olive and Ivy Restaurant and Market Place.

They have an adorable outdoor lounge and seating area, an open dining room, and a spectacular private party room. This outdoor lounge and patio is adorable! What makes it so great is the comfortable furniture that is upholstered in bright, contrasting colors. The green and red fabrics really pop off the white bases and the desert background. As the evening wore on, the patio was full of people enjoying their meals outdoors.

Notice the mixture of the soft scape of the grass and the hard scape of the pavers. They give the patio a great structure and form rather then just plopping furniture down in a wide open space.

Look at this beautiful party room!

I love the mixture of the contemporary glass chandelier and the "knights of the round table" sort of old world European feel of the furniture. The white sheer drapes keep the space light and airy while providing some privacy if needed. The draped tent ceiling is a combination of both feels. You feel as though you are draped in a tent, however, the sheer white of the fabric makes it modern and dramatic rather than heavy.

Look at the great ceiling and lighting in the main dining room!

I Love, LOVE it when designers remember the ceiling!!!! Without this beautiful dropped ceiling and interesting lighting, this would be any other ordinary restaurant dining room. The mixture of textures with the wood and pendant lights combined with canned lights and reflective glass tile on the side walls makes the space.

We had a great dinner here. Not only was the atmosphere great, but so was the food. If you are in the area, check it out!

Party Time!

It's Friday and so we thought we would share some snaps from a recent 1st birthday party.

This was the favor table where the kids could come up and make their own bag. It worked well for this particular group because there weren't too many kids and they ranged in ages. They were either young enough that they needed a parent to help them or old enough where they knew better than to toally raid the station.

Sorry for the blurry picture. This was a great idea for a cake. The cupcakes were all gathered together and frosted as one giant piece, like a cake. The the kids could just come up and pull off a cupcake for themselves, no serving required.

For the Kids!

For the Adults!
Have a great weekend :)