Thursday, April 29, 2010

Lemon Leaf Garland

I've been scouring the internet for weeks trying to find a long farmhouse style table.. I spotted g some fantastic hand crafted furniture a few months back and have been set on it ever since. So far, no luck. Between style, price range, and size I haven't found the right fit yet.

(White Flower Farmhouse Shop)

No worries. I have plenty of renovating to get through before I can actually put a table in the kitchen! But, when I DO find the perfect table for my perfect new kitchen, I want my first dinner party to look like this....

I'm sooo in LOVE with this lemon leaf garland. Garland in general gets my blood pumping, but green, orange, and yellow with that dark blue table cloth...heavenly!! (ok. so I'm easily excited!)

DIY instructions can be found here. Feel free to assemble at Casa de Robinson and leave it behind as a house warming gift.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Casa de Robinson



BEFORE...

Kitchen/Dining room.
Note the lovely drop ceiling and metallic wallpaper.


Foyer.
Lovely gold speckled mirrors and more wallpaper.

In fact 4 layers of more wallpaper.


Spare Bedroom. You guessed it. More wallpaper.

I'll save the bathrooms for another day.
Let's just say teal.
and pink!

DIY Chandelier


I wish I was ready to move on to DIY projects like this one....



Peachy

There was a lot of peach tones going on in my house growing up. pale blue, peach, mauve, mossy green. I think pastels were the "in" thing back then. Then my mom started transitioning over to darker hues. Hunter green, maroon, navy blue.

I've taken a personal preference to earthy tones. yellow, tan, sage, cream. But, I think I just fell in love with peach all over again....

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Josie Maran

I was watching E! news at the gym yesterday and saw a segment on Josie Maran's green home tour. I could only find the Access Hollywood version, but I'm sure it's the same basic content.
I love trees & plants.
I love composting.
I love old furniture made new again.
I love fruits & veggies.
I love green living.


I also love finding new all natural products, including her line of cosmetics. She use organic, cold-pressed Argan oil and lots of other all natural ingredients, plus it's packaged in either a recycled product or a biodegradable corn based resin.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Let the fun begin...

Being a homeowner is exhausting! Especially when you buy a house that is outdated, dirty, and in need of A LOT of TLC. Settlement was Friday afternoon. They handed us the keys and we were off. Straight back to our new home and we set to work.

It was a bit overwhelming for the first couple of hours. Just trying to figure out where to start. There's sooo much work to do, inside and out, plus the entire place needed to be super cleaned so that we can move in and start living there next weekend.

I think Jim and I worked well together and divided the tasks up well. We're both hard-workers and neither us mind a little dirt under the nails. I just hope I can repeat those 2 sentences in 6 months!) Overall I'm happy with the work we accomplished for our first weekend (especially considering Jim had to work most of the day Saturday). But the road ahead is long....

Lots of pictures to follow...

Monday...


"There is no substitute for hard work."

~ Thomas A. Edison

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Recruits

I've got decorating on the brain. But, I'm trying to ignore it. I need to get in the mindset of wallpaper, scrapping, peeling, Spackle, paint, sweat, labor....What was I thinking?!

Good news. New house....with pool! The Lazy L. All hard work will be rewarded with pool time. The offer stands for any other victims I can recruit. I've also decided to keep a variety of beers, refreshing beverages, cold salads, and easy to prepare grillable items in hopes of keeping all our lovely friends happy and content. Come on over...the party's starts Friday @ 5:00

Monday, April 19, 2010

Monday...


"I accept chaos. I am not sure whether it accepts me."


~Bob Dylan

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Breakfast.



We are trying to get rid of food before we move. After raiding the freezer this morning we decided on french toast with cinnamon raisin bread (freezer), mango & strawberries (freezer) and fried eggs. We also finished off the boysenberry syrup from the fridge. YUM!!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Charlotte



Aside from several minor travel disasters ( I'm just trying to forget it all happened!), my trip to Charlotte was a perfect weekend. My second set of parents, the ones who listen to loud music and call their daughter a boozehound were in town. Boy do they have some great stories...

Add in Nicolette's gentleman caller, Mitch, and I was the much needed fifth wheel for the weekend.

Friday night it was a Checkers Play-off game. Hockey is hard to watch. I suggested making the puck a fluorescent color so it's easier to keep track of what's going on. Craig was so excited to get his picture with one of the CheckMates.

Nicolette refused. She didn't want to have 'that dad.' I suggested pretending he was my husband instead of her dad, but she still wouldn't go for it.

Saturday brought perfect weather for an afternoon at the Carolina brewery. $5 gets you 5 tokens and a free little beer glass. It was a big menu. Mitch had trouble deciding. He needed some assistance from his BlackBerry...

There was a band.

Patio umbrellas.

And happy faces.
(I've heard that beer can have that effect on people)

Saturday night, we had a delicious dinner downtown at RiRa's Irish Pub. I recommend the Guiness BBQ burger. Other favorites for the night included the potpie and the green beans. We finished up the evening with more beers and a little hearted conversation about god and religion. Sunday morning the parents departed. Nicolette and I spent filled the rest of the day with a little time pool side, lots of girl chat, and dinner at Mac's BBQ.

Sooo good. Get the lil' pig with mac n' cheese if you're ever faced with the decision. Does every meal leave you with this face? I mean look how happy this guy is.


Jevin goes to work.

I came across these pictures while I was sorting and packing stuff for the big move.

Some of my all time favorites. My nephew, Jevin, was about two and a half. I drove him to Marietta to my brother's job site so he could see where his Dad worked. He was soo excited during the whole drive. He was a chatter box for a kid his age, full of insight and plenty of commentary to keep any adult entertained for hours. And, as long as his surroundings were fairly bug and spider free, he wasn't the crying type either . Sometimes you'd even forgot how little he really was.


But that day, it made him seem so very tiny. Surrounded by all the big dozers and trucks. He suddenly became this little guy who was just too scared to let go of your hand. The type of thing that makes you love a kid. He finally got brave and climbed up into the cab with Rich. I think his little eyes still have a hint of anxiety.

That was four years ago. He still remembers that day and recalls the details quite well, but he nevers mentions being scared. I wonder if he just forgot that part?

Monday, April 5, 2010

Weekend Rewind

We had a really fun, action packed weekend. Although I don't have one single picture of any of the happenings. Friday night we had front rows seats for a boxing match at The Blue Horizon. great time! Two knock outs, one ridiculously mismatched fight between some Hispanic version of the Pilsbury Doughboy and an intense end to the evening with a heated ten rounds in Derek "Pooh" Ennis vs. Jose Gonzalez. I really know nothing about boxing, but it was a great fight.

Saturday we spent the day enjoying the great weather, then off to Mikado for hibachi. great time! It was my first habachi experience and I know have the strong urge to add a huge griddle to our new kitchen. I was undecided about whether to just get chicken or chicken & steak. Go for the steak!! It was sooo delicious.

Sunday was spent with the in-laws and the extended Robinson family. great time! (ok it great is probably a bit of an exaggeration in describing Easter dinner, but we did have a nice afternoon.) I made this sweet potato souffle for the first time, and it turned out to be a big hit.

The rest of April is going to be be pretty jammed packed! Friday I'm off on a 5AM flight to spend a long weekend in Charlotte. One last dose of relaxation and girly fun before the house buying, moving, wallpaper removing chaos begins. Followed by a weekend of packing (ugh!), and by the weekend following we'll be homeowners.

yikes
.

Monday...


"All you need is love."

~John Lennon