Monday, July 28, 2014

Before...and a word wall freebie

Well, it's time. So much for reading DIY decorating blogs in my pajamas. So much for sleeping til 8:30 everyday and lounging in the pool. So much for summer. Sigh. It's so bittersweet, isn't it? This year it's a little more bittersweet because I really loved my class from last  year. I'll miss them. They were so funny.  I will forever remember this conversation I overheard at lunch one day:

Boy:  "When I grow up I'm going to be a pirate!"
Girl:  "You can't be a pirate once you have a wife!"
Boy:  "Yes I can, I'll just collect treasures on Thursdays!"
Hilarious. You just can't make this stuff up.

So here is the beginning. My pictures are all going to have to be taken with my phone. And it's barely a step up from a flip phone. So bare with me. We left our camera in CA when we were on vacation. Thankfully, it's being returned to us. I felt pretty sick about it. So thanks to the people at Duff's Cake Mix in Los Angeles! I love you!!!!!



 
 
A big mess. I wish I could say "I got so much done!" But God hates liars. So onward til tomorrow. Here's a word wall freebie for you from the decoration set I'm using.
Thanks for reading.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Details, details....

It's all in the details, isn't it? I recently sold our 35 year old foreclosure. We were blessed to buy it cheap and sell it high. We put a ton of blood sweat and tears into it and I was sad to leave it. But God gave us a bigger and newer home that wasn't on a busy street like the foreclosure. I love my new house. It was a short sale and it also needs some work. Not major work like the foreclosure, but it needs character.

So...I spent my summer painting. My kids rooms, my kids furniture, my furniture, lights, the backyard wall, the outdoor fireplace area...you get the idea. so in trying to add character to this new house, I've found that I need patience. And details.

Here is one way I've added some detail:
This is part of our new kitchen. It's just a bank of cabinets on a short wall. I tried to plan it so that it would stand out and look more like furniture. A built in hutch. My kitchen is very traditional. I like to marry traditional with fun and contemporary and organic farmhouse. (Is that even possible?) So I'm adding some bling in this hardware.

 Here it is close up:
The knobs for the top cabinet aren't in yet. But they are almost as sparkly as these bad boys. It's a little hard to see with this phone camera, but they are SPARKLY!!!!

And for the furniture. After about 6 tries with paint colors, I finally learned my lesson. Pick the paint color last. I didn't know that at the time, and hated the paint color but was out of time. So I found a pillow at Anna's Linens that matches the paint. I LOVE my Anna's Linens, and I LOVE this pillow. I painted a chair to match the pillow and recovered the seat. The top is the before picture and after on the bottom.
 
These details in my big but very characterless house are the beginning of turning my new house into a home. It's the time we spend on projects like these that make us fall in love with our homes.
 
The details in our classrooms are the same. I'm starting to decorate my classroom on Monday. Stay tuned for some details.
Thanks for reading!
 

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Secret Agent theme

How cute would this be as your students get to your door on the first day of school?

I have a Secret Agent theme coming up this year and I am totally doing this.   Here's my word wall so far.


 
More pictures will be coming soon!
Thanks for reading!
Ann