Obsessions

I have a new obsession.  Well two new obsessions.  Obsession number 1.  These boots:

I’m not quite sure why I have a sudden obsession with cowboy boots.  But one minute I was casually looking for a cheapo pair of cowboy boots to wear to a Western bar (long story), and the next thing I knew, I was utterly smitten with these puppies.  Problem is…they’re $260, which is way more than I usually spend on shoes.  I’m typically a Target/ Payless kind of shoe purchaser, so $260 is a bit out of my typical shoe purchasing comfort zone…plus there is the fact that I’m not really a cowboy boot wearing person.  Either way, I’m smitten.  I need someone to convince me that these are not a good investment. Because right now, all I can think about are these boots.  Well, these boots AND

This stuff–Obsession number 2:

“That’s beadboard!” you say.  And I say back to you “Ha ha!”  Because you would be wrong! It’s beadboard wallpaper, available for a fraction of the cost of beadboard.  It’s embossed, so you still get the texture of beadboard, but it’s much cheaper!  Neato, eh? Here’s another pic:

Pretty awesome, eh?  You can order it yourself here. Now think about how cool I would be if I wore those boots IN a newly beadboarded room…

CURTAINS!

When we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we were somewhat relieved to find that the previous owner left her window treatments. Since we were new homeowners who had recently purchased a washer/ dryer/ fridge/ bedroom set, we decided to keep the window treatments she left since they were okay, and leave that expense for another day.   Well my friends, that day is here. And I couldn’t be more excited!  Here’s what the windows in our living area looked like before:

The living room:

The dining room:

The kitchen:

Like I said, they aren’t awful, the rods and finials are on the ornate side, which doesn’t exactly jive with the rest of our style.  And while I do like the red curtains, the green curtains don’t  coordinate with anything else in our living area and they had definitely seen better days.

I ran to Pottery Barn and my hubby did the labor:

And this is what I have now!

Living Room:

Dining Room (I’m recycling the old curtains from the living room here…):

And my favorite, the kitchen:

I love this print!!! I’ve never been brave enough to use a print on curtains in my home, and I was pretty nervous about it.  But the nice thing about this little eating nook in our kitchen is that the decor in this room doesn’t change with the seasons as it does in the rest of the house, so I don’t have to worry about having the curtain coordinate with all my seasonal decor.

The other thing I really like is that you can see this room all the way from the front door, and it’s really quite striking to see this gorgeous print right when you walk into our home:

I just LOVE IT!  I’m so excited to be able to cross this major purchase off of my list of wants for the house! Don’t you just love that feeling?!?  Let me know what you think!

Things to come…

I’m excited to share some fun party ideas with you next week, and I thought I’d give you a sneak peak into what I’m working on:

What will I do with this random assortment of things?!? Stay tuned to find out!

Hibachi Brew Ha ha

Tonight, our officer spouses’ club held a farewell party for Amy, one of our members.  I’m so sad to see her go!  Amy requested that we hold her farewell dinner at a Japanese hibachi grill restaurant in town–so yummy!  I wanted to make this dinner feel special, more than just your standard girls night out, so I pulled a few things together to bring to the restaurant and spruce it up.

First of all, I made a little hanging sign thingy for Amy’s chair.  I just used blue and gold card stock and blue raffia that I already had on hang–super easy!

Next I bought little blue and gold star confetti to sprinkle on the table.  This only cost a few dollars and really spruced up the tables. Lastly, I bought a star candy mold at Michael’s for $1.50 along with some blue and yellow melting chips.  And last night, I made little chocolate stars which I packaged in these little cellophane bags and tied with raffia (which I also had on hand). I put these at each place setting.

So for under $10 I was able to create a few personal touches (or “good things” as Martha would say) that made this farewell dinner a little more special. Remember that just because you’re holding a dinner or party in a restaurant, doesn’t mean you can’t add your own flair!

Amy, we’ll miss you!!!