Estate sale

I've decided to start a TBT (throwback Thursday) segment for the blog. In keeping with the times I felt it would be fun to do this. So for these posts I'm going to share things that I have already done in the house, a before and after concept, or fun/interesting things we have done as a family. 

I think this will be a fun way to show you guys what has been going on here before the blog began!

So about 4 months ago Chris and I went to an estate sale. We have grown very interested in estate sales after watching all the new shows on tv. We couldn't wait to find one in our area. I found an estate sale through a group I'm apart of and the preview pictures had me EXCITED!!  It was a first come first serve sale, so Chris and I headed there pretty early in the morning, kid free of course. 

Here are pictures of our finds.......

The starburst mirror, which was up in the take a seat post last week. 

Chris was actually the one very interested in this mirror. I liked it but wasn't sure where I would put it. We bought it anyways and when we got home I instantly knew this was the perfect spot. The frame of the little mirrors is a bronze rough iron, so the entranceway to our room was a great location to flow with the vibe of our room. 

This trip was a mirror trip for sure. This mirror was the first thing that caught my eye at the sale and it was perfect for this spot in the girls' hallway. The hammered antique look matches the ceiling light perfectly. The orchid on the chest of drawers was also an estate sale find. It's artificial, but a perfect one at that. This spot has no natural light and I wanted a flower on the chest, so this was a happy medium for me. And I liked the chrome vase. 

This pearl vase with peacock feathers was another great find. I knew it would go great with the mood board I have for our room. This is not its permanent home, but for now it brings some height to the chest. 

I can definitely say that our first experience with estate sales was a great one and I look forward to some other good ones!! Oh and we also scored some great hardcover books for Chris too!  All of these items only set us back less than $250. I think that's a steal!!  Happy hunting, estate sale hunting that is ;)

Master bedroom renovation.....part 2

This post is about one of our larger projects in our room......a dresser and a chest of drawers. So it will be a bit lengthier of a post but action packed! I promise :)

It took me a while to find the "right" furniture for our room. Our room is quite large and I wanted it to stay that way so I felt white or ivory furniture would work best. The hunt began....and I didn't really find what I liked. Then I found some at Pier 1. I took some time to think about it because I always mull over large purchases. Then one night I decided to check out Ikea. A friend of mine told me she has her master bedroom furniture from there and liked it. And then I found the SAME furniture as the one I had loved from Pier 1 !!  The only difference between the too were the feet of the dressers and chest of drawers.  And of course the PRICE!!

As I was doing this research I found a company that creates overlays for IKEA furniture. Thank you Google!!  And I decided to paint the knobs the same color as the overlay.  Not only was I saving a significant amount of money, but also getting unique furniture you couldn't go buy in the store. 

So after Chris built the two pieces of furniture it was time to start decorating them. 

I removed all the knobs to prep for painting. 

I had to use clothes to keep the drawers from shutting. The girls loved trying to pull the clothes out, me not so much!

Since I had decided that I want gold to be the base of the color pallet for our room I went with painting them gold. This is the same gold I used to paint the mirrored table in our sitting area.  

A few days after painting my knobs the overlays arrived. They were cut perfectly to fit the drawers. And now it was time to paint them!

I used the same gold as the knobs to keep everything in our room that I have painted in unison. Once they were dried it was time to apply them. 

The company sent instructions on what type of adhesive to use that would work best for the overlays and durability. There were a few choices and I chose the clear drying liquid nails. As you can see in the picture above my bottle had a little mishap. 

It actually worked out better this way. The overlay is so thin that using a Q-tip to apply the adhesive was the best option. More time yes, but less excess liquid nail when trying to apply it to the dresser. 

The overlay was fast to apply. The part that took the longest was putting the adhesive on the backs of them. 

Just line it up and press on!!  I applied them at night so they would have hours to dry while we slept. 

And here is the finished piece! I'm in love with how the dresser turned out!!!

So here they are all finished and functioning. I am extremely happy with how they turned out. At this point our room is 50% finished. I hope to have it completed within the next couple of months. Follow me to look forward to seeing: new night tables, a jewelry chest and mirror corner, my very first vanity and finishing touches of decor, pictures and the tv mounted on the wall ;)

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

Hiya!!!!

With the summer quickly coming to a wrap I started signing the girls up for their activities. So we decided to have Giada try out tae kwon do and see if it was an interest for her. She loves it!! Giada and Chris are in the introductory class together so it is even cuter to see them do the tae kwon do together!

This is a great bonding experience for them to do this class together. They have already come home with some pretty cool moves. And hearing Giada say' "Hiya!" Is priceless. 

Nicolette isn't old enough to join yet and wants to BADLY!  Here are some pictures of them in actions.....

So now we are up to 2 activities and counting. This school year will be jam packed with fun.  Call me Super Mom!

"Charyeot!!" This is the attention stance, where you put your arms up in the air and move them down to your sides. As Giada would say it, chitty up. 

Day at the museum

This week we went to the museum with Grandma. The girls had a blast and it was a great way to spend a rainy summer morning. 

The way our morning started out I would have thought the museum was going to be a bust, but it was not! Of course the hurricane like rain and wind decided to start when we arrived at the museum and of course stop once we were inside. Typical summer weather. Needless to say I was DRENCHED!! Lucky I dried off quickly and the rest of our morning was awesome!!

I really love this children's museum because it is very hands on and incorporates arts, sensory play and allows the children's imaginations to run wild!  Here are a ton of pictures from our adventure. 

Nicolette loved this color wheel last time we were there too!

Water table fun

This room was Nicolette's favorite. She was enamored with everything glowing in the dark. Giada ran off with Grandma a bunch of times so I was not able to snap too many pictures of her ;)

The drums were her runner up for favorite areas. 

Artwork time with a few crafts. 

"This is heavier than I thought mommy!?"

My little Momma hen playing house and making food. 

Grandma and Giada have shared a bond since she was born and it is the most precious thing EVER!

The suspense of waiting for the other sides impressions to come through was exciting to her. 

As the summer is winding down I am trying to take in every precious moment we have. This day was filled with them that I will forever treasure. In a few weeks both of my babes will be in school and we will have less time together. So we are living every moment in the present!! Busy weekend ahead and I'm loving it :)

Eat your Brussels sprouts!!

These are most definitely in my top five side dishes of all times. I have always liked them as a kid, I know weird right?! But now we eat them even more often.....

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Here I paired them with mojo skirt steak. 

The recipe is super easy and the results are AMAZING!!

I wash them and cut off any ugly ends. Like some pictured above. Then cut them in half. I prefer horizontally but you could do vertically as well. Preheat your oven to 425°. 

Lightly drizzle olive oil on your baking pan. Then add the sprouts and toss them around to get a nice coat of the olive oil. Then sprinkle fresh ground black pepper, salt and garlic powder evenly on the sprouts. I use pink Himalayan salt and very little of it. We are not huge salt lovers so I use minimal amounts. It all depends on your preference. 

Place them in the oven for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes remove the sprouts from the oven and toss them with a spatula. This way they can be evenly crispy. Then place them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes and you are DONE!!

The thing I love about these sprouts is that they are full of flavor and they pair well with all types of proteins. Hope you enjoy!

Swim little fish!

This weekend the girls started their swim lessons. This was a huge priority this summer since the girls are older and around water often, oh and fearless!  Giada has been in swim lessons for the past two summers so she remembers her basic skills. 

I was having a hard time finding a place that I liked and had great instructors. Then these lessons pretty much fell in my lap. Like I literally got an email from the school and it was meant to be. Everything worked to our favor and it is a very reputable school!! That calls for a #winning!

I think it is safe to say the girls absolutely LOVED their classes. They are not in the same class together which is nice because they can have their individuality. And Giada has past experience while Nicolette has none. 

Aren't those swim caps super cute!!

It was too cute when Nicolette kept holding her arms in the air toward the teacher saying, "my turn, my turn!"

Someone wanted to stay in the pool and continue her class!

I'm excited to see how well they progress since they are both little fish in the water!!

Happy Monday!