The Hundred Dresses

I was listening to NPR the other day and they were doing a story about books that highlighted how hard it is for kids to fit in sometimes. One of the books they talked about was The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes.  I remember reading this book in the 4th grade in Mrs. Poff's clas!  It is such a sweet book with a great message and really cute illustrations.  If you have never read it I would recommend it!

Hobby Lobby

 I went to hobby lobby on mission to find a hooks for the powder room and master bath.  

I tried to bee line it straight to the hook section but was quickly distracted by this colorful display of summer dishes.  I have been looking for some plastic dishes to use indoor/outdoor in the summer and love all of these!

So cute..right?!?  I am waiting for the 50% off sale!

After my slight detour I got back on track and quickly found some hooks that I liked.

I bought this set of hooks for the master bath.  Wall space is limited in there so I opted to put this set of hooks on the back of the door and utilize the wall space I do have for some artwork.

I am thinking about painting it a light grey but we needed it so bad I went ahead and had Rich hang it.

I am considering these two options to hang a hand towel on in the powder room.

Option: 1

 

Option: 2

I am leaning towards option 1...

I also found a couple mirrors I liked for the powder room.  I am still going to do some more looking but I am anxious to mark that room off as complete!

Weekend Happenings

Even though we still have a lot to do it is so nice not having our weekends consumed with construction projects!  Here are some random happenings from our construction free weekend!

 Mom went "dumpster diving"and picked up this oak table! One of the legs was a little wobbly, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.  We left our old kitchen table behind at the other house so this will be perfect until I can decide what I really want. 

I ordered these curtains from Target and can not wait until they arrive!  These will be going in the dining and living rooms.  The rooms are right across from each other so I decided to keep the widow treatments the same.

We have three camilia bushes in the front yard that are in full bloom.  I am not sure they are supposed to be blooming right now...  I think they have the seasons mixed up because of all the crazy weather we have been having.

On Friday we had tornadoes touch down all around us.  So thankful we did not have any damage.

We made a trip to Southeastern Salvage which has tons of Restoration Hardware pieces right now!  I had my eye on this little table!

I watched my first episode of SMASH.  It moved kind of slow so I am not sure how I feel about it.  I am going to try and catch a few more episodes on Hulu.

Rich loves this little Indian restaurant called the Curry Pot just down the street from us.  I always resist going not because its bad but just because I don't really love their food.  Well this all changed on Saturday when Rich assured me that the Saturday buffet was going to change my opinion of this little hole in the wall.  Well he was right--the Saturday buffet was delightful!  This is a picture of Rich's 2nd plate ;)

 This coming weekend we are going to try and start work on our new garden spot!

Home Office

I am turning one of the bedrooms in our new house into a office/craft room.  I am in need of some storage.  I have so much ribbon, scrapbook paper, paint ect. and would like to store it in something that is easy to get in and out of.  Right now I have everything in a three drawer dresser and it is really hard to navigate.  I am leaning towards cubbie type cabinets like these.

These are from IKEA. 

 

 I also think this looks like a great way to file things without having a bulky filing cabinet.  I am keeping a twin bed in this room so this would be perfect at the foot of the bed.

And for all those really important papers a fire proof box.  In the event that something terrible happen...we had multiple tornado warnings on Friday!  It would have been nice to grab a box like this.

Getting Settled

 After two weeks it is starting to feel like home at Twin Brook.  I have been trying to decorate as I unpack. This method is pretty slow but working well.  

The foyer is complete with the exception of a good rug.  The dresser was mine growing up.  I believe it got painted white around the 4th grade.  I would love to strip it back to its orginal wood finish, but I have enough projects on my plate right now.  I have plans to hang the picture which was a Old Time Pottery find a couple years ago.  Rich brought home the books awhile back.  One of the law firms in his building was getting rid of 100 volumes all of which were published in 1880.  He asked if I wanted any and I said "NO"....  He had to force the 20 volumes that we have on me.  I could shoot myself for not taking the rest of them.... 

 

This is our make shift kitchen set up.  I am all about using as many paper/plastic products as possible right now.

 

Here is the main prep area...  I know it would look so much better with a table cloth but we handle so much food here it would have to be some sort of plastic.  I am hoping this set up will only last about 4 more weeks so it will probably stay like this for now. 

The pantry, and yes that is a Easter bunny!  I unpacked him and decided he could go ahead and stay out since spring feels like it is right around the coner with the high for today being 73!

  The blue tape is on the floor to mark how far the cabinets will come out and how big our island can be.

 

Our tiny card table.  I left our kitchen table at the old house as I was not in love with it.  I have plans for a new table made out of reclaimed wood.

This is the first dinner I cooked in my "kitchen".  I have to say it turned our really well.  I made Chicken Tikka Masala in the crock pot, recipe here , with a side of cranberry green beans, and a loaf of ciabatta.

 ,

Chloe made us a delicious chocolate cake which we have been enjoying all week!

 

My biggest challenge in the make shift kitchen is not having water.  This is how I have to wash dishes.  I feel like a pioneer woman with my one cupboard and long trek to the well... 

One thing that I am stuggling with is what to do for window treatments.  I am not a private person and if it was up to me I would leave the curtains open all the time.  But since we have neighbors I am trying to be considerate.  I currently have curtains from the old house up which I still like but do not like having to pull them closed every night.  I am considering bamboo shades.  They seem like the most cost efficient/stylish option.

Plantation shutters would be ideal!  But $$$

I also like the idea of Roman shades.  For now as my mom said, "it looks like Fort Knox" as I have all my curtains pulled.  Hopefully I will make a decision soon so we can lighten up a bit!

We Moved!

We made the big move last weekend!  We got almost everything in one trip which was nice.  Thanks to our families for ALL their help!

I finally have a spot for my estate sale find!

 

For now it is going in our makeshift kitchen and will be used as a pantry. 

 

Things look as though a bomb went off in most rooms, but everything is slowly finding its new home.  We are so happy to finally be in after 8 months...!  There is still a huge to do list but as home owners know there will always be a to do list.  I will me MIA as I try to get things in order.  I will say that organizing and decorating is a nice change from construction work!