Our Work in Progress

We've been moved in to our new home since February, so now its down to the finishing touches, so far this is what I've come up with. Pardon my dirty windows - in my defense it rained today so they aren't in photo ready condition. Also disregard my 9 month old's annoyed stares in the background.

These roses and my daughter's grass science experiment are the only live plants we have in the house- neither of my thumbs are green. (Again, please disregard my dirty windows).

That's my 9 month old son giving me all sorts of curious and annoyed looks as flashed the camera at his eyes a dozen times. 

I think my favorite thing about this angle are the Photo Canvases! They were so easy to make and such a small ding to our wallet but such a big impact on our walls. 

I've had many people ask me about our lighting fixture and Edison bulbs. We bought it Lowes for only $200! The Edison bulbs came with the fixture too. 

Here's how the lights look all lit up. Call me weird, but I just love, love, love the industrial look even though I have bits of American and French country all over. 

I know I've still got a lot more to do but, I think it's coming along nicely. We don't have much room to work with, so I'm trying not to get too carried away. I think all I need to do next is find a few more things for the walls and I'll be done! Stay tuned for more pics and updates, hopefully by this Fall I will have the house completely decorated.

Photo Canvas

I'm loving the photo canvas craze and I've been seeing them everywhere. I've seen a lot of DIY instructions for them, but with moving and trying to get settled I never got around to actually doing it myself. So... the next best thing was to buy one, but for the size I wanted, they can be quite pricey. So after shopping around I found that Walmart actually makes them for about $25 for a 16"x20", and the best thing, you can get it the same day!

I have a random, skinny diagonal wall in my house that was in need of some sprucing. All the art pieces I found were either too big or too small for the space, but these canvases worked perfect. I definitely suggest using Walmart's photo canvas options so start a mini gallery wall in your house; it's affordable and the quality is awesome! Check it out: 

These are the pictures I wanted to display:

And after spending about $50 for both, and two nails, this is what I got:

I'm really happy with them! This is them up close:

My Favorite (Affordable) Home Decor Sites

The hardwood is down and the tile has been grouted! We are one step closer to settling into our new home. With our final walk through less than two weeks away, its crunch time for packing and gearing up for our big move. It's killing me not to post pictures, but I want you to see the house in full, so once we are in I'll post some right away!

I've been having a lot of shopping for the finishing touches and minor details to make our house a home. From paint, rugs, accessories, and hardware, I'm in Shopper Heaven! As an MVP in the sport of shopping, buying a new home and furnishing it, is like the Olympics. Although its been fun, at times, it has been hard to find affordable, yet stylish stores to find unique home pieces. After scouring the internet and looking through my hundreds of pins on Pinterest, I've narrowed down my favorite home decor sites for affordable shopping and inspiration to these: 

Sometimes I'll find pieces that I fall in love with on these sites, and they look rather easy to replicate, so I'll go back to the mothership (Pinterest), and find DIY ways to imitate the look. I can also find cheaper yet similar version of items I like from these stores at discount places like TJ MAXX and Marshall's. If you find a piece or look that stretches your budget, but you can't live without, you should think about a DIY project. Who knows, you might surprise yourself after channeling your inner handyman! If you know of any other sites, I've missed, or that you suggest, let me know, I'm always open for shopping ideas!