{what does...}

..a couple of stains on a cute $2.99 thrift store shirt +

  

..some matching fabric, needle and some embroidery thread =

{matching thread found after taking this picture in my daughters craft stuff}

Reveal coming soon!

{last weeks thrift store finds}

My kitchen/dining/family room area is undergoing plans for a makeover... Wall color and all.. now this doesn't mean that I'll be throwing out the old and getting all new. The fun comes with timeless, vintage pieces and making as much of what you already have somehow work. These three pieces will be finding their way into the newly made-over space. I L.O.V.E. the vintage blue/turquoise tones which I will be incorporating in with my already red kitchen cabinets and adding a lot more white! I can't wait... but I'm still trying to pull together all my ideas. 

Is it just me... or does everybody have a "thing" for old muffin tins? 

{M&D's Living Room Makeover}

I just had to share my parents Living Room Makeover. Unfortunately, I didn't take before shots, so this is only the reveal! I do have to mention though, they made the decision to *keep* all of their furniture {note: which was all 30+ years old} and have it all reupholstered. It was all such classic furniture & built like a rock, not to mention the fact that they couldn't find an 11 foot sofa like the one they had {which my Dad really wanted, this couch is his "nap" couch.. he loves that he can lay out flat from head to toe on it}. So they picked new fabrics for the furniture, kept their amazing curtains and had them cleaned and rehung, replaced the carpet, added tile in the foyer/hallway, repainted and added more molding. Oh, they also kept all of their lighting, it too was irreplacable. They took them down, had them cleaned and the missing crystals replaced and now they are more beautiful than ever.

The lamp looks absolutely amazing with the new fabric on the sofa to the side of the end table {notice how the lamp has a light in the bottom of of the lamp too, that part can be on by itself creating great ambiance lighting} and the end table... gorgeous with it's white marble top and over-sized square shape.

So far, this table is the only *new* piece of furniture in the room.

My Mom loves floral arrangements, she designed one for their master bedroom when they did that project some years ago and now she just designed this one for her new living room. She picked out the white magnolias because my Dad's from the south and it reminds her of him and knew that he'd like them.

This cozy love seat used to be dressed in an olive green velvet fabric, they replaced it with this rich, chocolate-y velvet fabric.

This gorgeous candelabra wall sconce hangs above the brown velvet love seat.

These chairs used to be dressed in a dramatic, red velvet material now they wear this elegant, neutral diamond pattern fabric.

The chandelier that's worth a thousand words. L.O.V.E. it!!!

Well done M&D!

{do forgive me...}

I've neglected you so... Not that I wasn't gettin' gritty over anything a-l-l this t-i-m-e, believe me I was... it just hasn't been much of my own & what it has been, I haven't taken the time to post it. I know... my bad! I think it kind of spurred from trying to find things to finish up the boys space themed bedroom makeover, and between a lack of dinero and not finding affordable bedding things, that project came to a screeching halt! {One of my biggest pet peeves I'll have you know.. to start on something and not be able to finish it}. Therefore I lost much of my drive & excitement and found myself strolling through blog-world admiring all the other projects that were being executed in a timely manner and were of course so well done.

Anyhoo, I F-I-N-A-L-L-Y found some of the items I was looking for, thanks to 1. a long-distance friend who paid me a spontaneous visit, 2. who needed to do some shopping of her own, 3. and was kind enough to tag along on my long awaited & much needed trip to IKEA! Yay--- I'm still not done, {are we ever done???} BUT- it's feeling and looking much better now, and I'll take that! I promise some "in-progress" pictures, if I can ever get a second to spare when their room is in a post-worthy state! HA! I'm hoping for this weekend after they do their chores and pick up their room from the weeks clutter buildup...

Oh, and just to leave you with a little smidgen of whats makin' me gritty these days... take a gander at these photos loaded with Delicious, Fall Goodness!!!

T.T.F.N. but not for l-o-n-g...

~sandee.

{homes that swoon me...}

Whenever I see homes like these, I'm SwOOnEd for sure... They draw me in and make me want to knock on the door and get to know who ever lives there. They are so welcoming & lend such a feeling of establishment and nostalgia, which I love in a home! An equal part of what makes these homes so appealing is the mature landscape flanking the home like a picture frame to a photo... 

I could see myself living in any of the top three homes, no problem whatsoever!

I'm not lovin' the gingerbread, victorian trim to the porch but the overall makeup of the home minus that and maybe a little thicker columns doesn't disappoint!

 

These are all homes I found from someone who did a historical home tour within the same neighborhood. I would love to live in a neighborhood full of homes like these. Is it just me, or does anyone else crave to incorporate as much from yester-years as they possibly can into their lives today? I know I DO, I yearn for it... sometimes I sort of wish I was born in a different era. I mean, I LOVE and GREATLY APPRECIATE many modern advances & conveniences... but there's just something missing unless you strive on a daily basis to preserve the ways of life that are simple, precious and irreplaceable by ANY-THING else. 

I don't care for the oval window on the top side of this one or the blue siding all that much but I can surely envision it in white with black shutters & a red front door! Gritty-licious I tell ya!!!

{a cozy little room}

I thought I'd share some glimpses into my littlest one's simple cozy room. Back in January I made a trip to a local furniture consignment store in search of some pieces for my kid's rooms.. and gritty little pieces I found indeed! 

This black shelf headboard...

...and this aged dresser were amongst my many finds!

It was love at first sight when we saw the map above his bed at the Crayola store in Kansas City, MO while visiting my sister in the Fall. On each state it has little pictures of things that represent that state, it's very fun to look at & lends to the wondering, inquiring mind!

There is a story behind every piece in his room, that's what I love... The red shelf was a hutch to a desk my husband used to have when he was single that I painted red for my twin boys room a few years back, now with the recent move & makeover of their room it no longer matches so I added it to this room! The big chest was from a neighbors garage sale last summer, it opens up for storage {big plus} and makes for a great play space on top. The red magnet board and star book holder {better seen in the photo below} are also from the same consignment store I found the head board & dresser. 

I've added some more books to his red shelf since taking these photos the night that we moved it all in, but I'm still in search for a few finishing touches on the left side of his room.. mainly for the walls, other than that... we think it's a pretty cozy little room!

{this gritty house...}

~makes my heart skip a beat...

{the only drawback is that it could use a bigger front porch, but all in all... it's setting and exterior has me doing cartwheels!!!}