Top 5 Happy Spots in Our Home

Earlier today, Kristina from A Cozy Cup of Tea, did a blog post about the "Happy Spots" in her home! She asked her readers to continue the thread and share their happy spots on their blogs too! Thank you, Kristinia for such a FUN subject today! You can also find Kristina on Facebook and visit her Etsy shop here!

Here's my Top 5...

(1) Our ever-changing dining room shelves are one of my favorite things to accessorize in our home. It houses glassware from our wedding and other personal touches. The vintage books and potted cactus are my most recent additions. (2) Our front porch was our most recent project, and I LOVE the transformation. Ryan and I use it so much more, and we even enjoyed two long chats out there this weekend {during nap time of course}! (3) My new desk chair in my studio adds so much POP! I adore the traditional shape and funky {but understated} fabric. The chair sits in front of my childhood desk too. (4) My built-ins make me smile. Every. Time. I. Look. At. Them. They're just gorgeous, and I recently rearranged some of the furniture to create this cozy little nook! (5) Preston's nursery was such a "labor of love". Vintage sock monkeys were our inspiration, but he's growing into such a curious toddler now! I {even the O.C.D. girl that I am} LOVE to walk past his room and see the toys of a little boy scattered about! It means he's enjoying the space we so carefully put together for him. I do dislike the fact that we had to lower the crib, and the skirt is no longer a nice accent. I am looking forward to updating the space even more for a growing toddler!

On another happy note, Modern Bungalow is going to Hollywood! One of my repurposed cupcake stands was purchased by a TV show prop master! It will be used in an upcoming episode of  "GCB" or  Good Christian Bitches!

I Steal From Little Boys, for the Sake of Design!

So...I'm a horrible mama, and I may have just lost my "Mommy of the Year Award" with this one!

I was recently looking at our dining room shelves and decided that, although I love that some of the vintage vases and bowls we collected for our wedding are on display, the shelves may be lacking texture.

While changing Preston today, I spotted this in his room.

Then, I stole it! Now, I have nothing against softball. In fact, I played it all through elementary and all four years of high school. I even played on a co-ed league during college {I must add that I am by no means a pro, but I give it my best shot}! My father still plays on a league, and we go to watch every chance we can. I want Preston to love the sport and grow up with it like I did. My dad lived{s} for the game. Growing up, we were drug to every tournament, double-header, and all-nighter he played. I loved to stand behind the fence and race after the ball when my daddy hit a home run. Later, he used to make me go to sleep with my mitt under my mattress and toss the ball above my head {while laying in bed} one hundred times a night {so I wouldn't be afraid of it coming at my face}. Anyway, I'm off subject, but I felt the desire to explain that before I show you what I did to this poor, poor ball.

The pictures will pretty much sum it up...

When finished, I noticed a huge problem. It looked more like a GIANT lemon than a topiary ball.{CRAFT TIP: If you want to make jute lemons, use baseballs and not softballs.} Then, a lemon shaped light bulb came on in my head. I grabbed this...

Yes, I know this is sideways. I cannot seem to fix the issue.



Adding just a bit of detail, and to distract from the lemon nubs on each end, I wrapped the green twine around the center a few times.

Now, it reminds me more of a coconut! I'm not saying this is a good thing, but I guess it does add some texture to our shelves and helps balance out the brown metal mirror. I have no idea how long this pathetic little craftcapade will stay there though. Gosh, those shelves do not seem to bow so much in person!



On a happier note, we are making headway on the dresser in my studio {I swear everything always takes three days longer than I plan on}. Remember this?

Well, it was primed.

It's also been painted, and the new knobs are on! I'm really liking it, but I have to put everything back together, so that post will come soon. I promise, because remember my dining room table?

It's still about half that full, and we need to eat dinner there again at some point!

Finishing Touches-My Studio

I had BIG plans for this weekend. I was finally going to paint the unfinished IKEA dresser that I've had for eight years!

It's recently found a new home in my studio, and it hides a lot of supplies.

It's also one of the "last" projects I have left to do in there..Yes, even I laughed at my use of the word "last". Who am I kidding?! Anyway, so I emptied the drawers, and my dining room table looked like this.

Ryan removed the hardware,

and then he told me we didn't have anything to fill the holes with {I'm replacing the handles with knobs}. Well, I wasn't about to head out of the house with the project itch. I wanted to do it NOW! Insert stomping foot and pouting lip {not really, but that's what I felt like doing on the inside}. Then....TADA! A light came on. I had Plaster of Paris left over from a craft project gone very. very. wrong. To my surprise, it worked just fine.

While it dried, I still had the urge to do something! I took a look around and realized my bulletin board needed some organization.

It's my favorite piece in the room, but I knew it wasn't living up to it's potential. I looked through my paper stash and found three prints that could coordinate with the space {it took four pieces of 12x12 paper in three prints total}. I measured the board and realized I could fit eight pieces on there {eight categories of items I needed-Bills, Receipts, Keepsakes, Upcoming Events, Fun Inspiration Pieces, Photos, Shipping Forms, and Odds and Ends}. Then, I folded each piece in half and cut, trimmed the bottoms to size and ran them through my laminator. I also knew that I would need some pockets, because I only had 5 bronze clips. Being lazy, I decided to make just two pockets {for Keepsakes, and Shipping Forms}. For those, I cut a piece to the size of the rest, then I made a shorter piece that was just as wide. I lined it up and stuck the three edges together with scrapbook adhesive squares. Next, I ran it through the laminator and scored the seam with a pair of scissors. I had a perfect pocket, so I just repeated the process once more. I think the finished results are pretty impressive. The best part? This update didn't cost a cent!

I wasn't done for the night! I have been hanging on to this fun roll of wrapping paper I got on a recent trip to The Paris Market in Savannah. Looking at my desk, I knew just what to do...

I realize that the wrapping paper bubbled. A lot. You can't see it from most spots in the room {I checked}, so I'm alright with it. For now. P.S. I used  Elmer's Spray Adhesive and Mod Podge to attach the paper to the wood.

Back to the original project at hand. I woke up Saturday ready to prime the desk, but it was raining. I sanded the holes and sulked. It rained all day Sunday too. Remember what my dining room table looked like?

You might not know this about me yet, but I am slightly O.C.D. Just slightly, and this was driving me CRAZY! Guess what? I woke up to rain today too {Monday}. Thank goodness it lifted, and I was finally able to prime it later this evening! Fingers crossed that I like the transformation. Come on over tomorrow. Maybe it will be done by then.