Ginger Bread Woman!

A costume only about 2% of the world's population can truthfully wear.

Love my ginger girl!!

Yes, I bought a Disco Ball

I co-hosted a baby shower this last weekend.
While prepping the last minute details, I popped into WalMart to pick up a cheapo plastic table cloth from the party section. I was disappointed that they were out of the white I wanted, but the trip wasn't in vain!
Imagine my surprise when I looked just down the aisle from the plastic spoons, table cloths and plates to find a disco ball.
Did y'all know WalMart carried them? And for $10 no less!?!

I was with Mr. Concrete, which made me pause a moment before voicing my need desire for said shiny loveliness, but he just shrugged his shoulders and gave into my nuttiness. 
Love that man!

Now before y'all decide I'm 100% off my rocker for spending good money on such 70's dorkiness, I invite you to check out my Pinterest board. I'm obviously not the only one who's decided their beauty works no matter what the generation. 
All I know, is this one's a keeper at my house! 

Oh, decisions...

They say that picking the right WHITE paint color is one of the hardest colors to choose.
They {whoever those pesky people are} would be right!!

The brown that I thought would be perfect on EVERY. WALL. WE. OWN. when we moved in, well, isn't.

I want light and bright and I'm finally gonna get it. But that means I have to choose the "perfect" white, and that's not as easy as it sounds.

Bear in mind that it's overcast and foggy so this pic probably doesn't represent the colors exactly true, but here they are.

Valspar

1. Cliveden Mist 6007-1A 

2. Caribbean Walk 7003-5

3. Cooper Melon 7003-2

4. Honeymilk 7003-4 

My current thoughts go something like this...

#1 has more grey undertones which probably won't work with my current baseboards, cabinetry, etc. {plus my Kylie thinks it has pink undertones, eek}

#2 is a nice mixture between 3 and 4, somewhat similar to 1, but without the grey.

#3 is a front runner with the family and was the closest thing I could find to Benjamin Moores Bone White {a.k.a. Natural Wicker}, and was what I originally really thought I wanted. But now I'm wondering, too dark and creamy?

#4 I love Honeymilk. We're painting the deck this color. It's the perfect warm white. But in this space, it may be just a bit too bright...???

Hmm...

Anyway. I'm gonna live with it for a few days and make a decision. Or should I say, the family will live with it and I'm gonna go to work and then drive two 17 year olds to Kansas City for a concert cuz it's just not OK for them to go on their own no matter how old they think they might be! {are ya feelin' me here people?}

Either way, the painting has begun and it's about time!!

Any thoughts and opinions y'all have would be warmly welcomed!!

Painted Cork Board

Laundry / Craft Room Makeover ~ Part 2

Things are coming along in my craft room. I've called it a laundry room ever since we moved in two years ago, but that's slowly been changing.
Over the past few months it's truly becoming a craft room that just happens to house the washer and dryer. 
I'm loving it!

One of the things I knew would end up in this space was the cork board that used to be in our garage entryway. It needed a wee bit of a makeover to fit in with this fun new space, so that's what it got.

Here's the before of this little board I found at Hobby Lobby a year or so ago...

The during... with a stencil I made using my Silhouette and cut out of Contact paper. If you recognize the pattern, it's probably cuz you've seen it on this amazing floor.

And the after...

I'm. In. Love.

Meet my Linen Chesterfield

It's come to my attention, that unless you follow me on facebook, there's about a 100% chance that you've never seen my new, {a few months old} couch/sofa/whatever you call it in your neck of the woods. 
It's my favoritist couch ever. 
Say hello to the Linen Chesterfield.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh"

{heard as a chorus of angels singing, vs someone screaming for their life} 

It's a replica of one that Restoration Hardware sells for around one million dollars.

Or something close to that. 

We got ours at Nebraska Furniture Mart {they call it a cigar couch. i will murder the person who smokes a cigar on this couch} for slightly less than one million dollars.

Now lets look at the beautiful tufting.

It makes me sigh.

I will also murder the first dog who jumps on it.

Ok.

Maybe not murder.

But yell really loudly as to scare away the offending beast. 

Pesky little Schnauzer. {i jest. it's really the kids I have to watch out for}

It's so long that I may have to take pictures from the deck so you can see it straight on.

I'll try that next time.

Now to paint the excessively brown wall behind it, add some artwork to the aforementioned excessively blank wall and locate the perfect bench/coffee table to grace the empty area in front of it.

But for now...

I'm just enjoying the most perfect couch ever!!

I'd invite you over for a cup of coffee while we lounge on it together, but I'm a little afraid I might spill.

Chalkboard Spice Labels

I'm not much of a cook.
Truly, the amount of take out that comes into this house is embarrassing.

Don't judge!

Despite my lack of regular cooking, I've still managed to accumulate quite the collection of spices over the years.
For the past two, I've been constantly hunting for a way to organize and beautify my little stockpile of mismatched plastic bottles. 

I was pretty sure I'd never find exactly what I wanted, but World Market finally proved me wrong. {that happens on rare occasions}

The perfect little glass bottles at a mere 99 cents a piece.
I bought 25.

As soon as I got home, I did what I always do, and googled for label ideas. 
Have y'all heard of Lia Griffith? Well I hadn't till I found her amazing little spice labels during that search.
How cute!!
She has a whole set of free printable labels that are truly adorable.

Problem was, I knew I was going to be needing some slightly non-traditional labels.
{I put our beta's food in one of the jars. Very cute, but nobody's gonna have a pre-made label that says "Fin's Flakes"} 

So I did what I often do, and made my own.

Super duper easy people!

I just designed the labels, printed them off on a full sheet of label paper and cut them out with scissors. 

If you follow me on facebook or Instagram, you've seen this pic already. You know, the one I took when I was supposed to be napping before work but was just too excited with how cute these turned out to sleep!

Yep, I'm a weirdo sometimes!

I love 'em!!

The chalkboard background I used didn't print out with quite as much detail as it had on the screen, but I'm ok with that. Lia's look like they print perfectly though, so if hers will work for you, ENJOY!!

Oh, a bit of a warning.
Since they are just labels printed with an inkjet printer, they will smudge if you get them wet. It's happened already, not gonna lie.
In anticipation of this, I printed out several of our most used labels so they can be easily replaced.
Easy peasy!!

If you'd like to make your own and like the fonts I used, they are Apple Chancery and STHeiti, which both came loaded on my Mac.

I'm off to take a little nap before work. Here's to falling asleep fast!!

I'm linking up to some amazing blogs! Check them out HERE or just click on the Link Parties tab at the top of the page.