Tour~ The Deck

I decided to do the back deck next in my little home tour, since we just got a table and chairs for it. Pier One has all of their Summer furniture on 1/2 price clearance, so I bought the set I've had my eye on since Spring. We only bought 2 chairs for now, but we have a wicker chair that we use with it, too. Makes it more eclectic, right? ;-)

You can see Ben's trusty little Weber BBQ in this shot. He loves it!
Nathanael, Teddy and I love eating our breakfast and lunch out here. So relaxing.

We drag Teddy's highchair outside for these occasions. My favorite thing about our back deck is the lovely view! Living somewhere that looks like this outside has been a dream come true for me. Missouri is beautiful!

Closeup of the new table and chairs.

The weather hasn't been so hot the last week, so we've been enjoying being outside a lot more.

Hopefully it will stay nice for my brother's visit next week! We are so excited to be able to spend some time with him. :-)

Jessica

Room by Room Tour ~ The Kitchen

Our kitchen is on the small side for our house size, and a little short on storage, but we love it and it works well for us. :-) Although I love white kitchens, I also like the warm tone of our wood kitchen. It provides a contrast for all of the white and cream furniture in the living areas around the kitchen.

The dishes in the rack are not drying. I display them this way. This has sometimes been misunderstood. ha

I do decorate above my cabinets, but I understand why some people choose not to.

(Sorry about the blurriness in a couple of these shots.)

Well, that's all for today, folks. ;-)

The boys and I explored a local thrift shop today, and I picked up a couple things to decorate/use in the laundry room. So I may be doing a post on that project soon. :-)

Jessica

A Sewing Project Completed~My Yellow Blouse

I bought some top patterns a couple years ago, and finally bought some fabric a couple months ago. I worked on the sewing off and on for several weeks, and finally finished a blouse yesterday. :-)
I haven't sewn anything for myself in ages, as I am usually disappointed with the fit. However, I am pretty happy with this pattern. Besides being a little broad in the shoulders, it fits well, in a loose sort of way. Ha

Ben took this picture this morning. Nathanael wanted to be in it because he was all dressed up for church. ;-) I took this closeup myself. Haha

The pattern I used this time was New Look 6781. It was a combination of views A and E.

I may try the other pattern this fall. :-)

Room by Room Tour- the boys' bathroom

Today I will start on a tour of our house that we moved into on the last day of March this year. It isn't completely done being decorating, but well on it's way. Of course, it will probably always be changed a little from time to time anyway. If it was all the way finished, where would the fun be in that? HahaI think Nathanael and Teddy's bathroom is one of the only rooms that my Australian friend, Melissa, hasn't seen many photos of. At least not with it's current decor. So, this post is in Melissa's honor, as she has been requesting more photos. ;-)

I tried not to make this bathroom too feminine, but I couldn't resist adding a couple blue flowers pictures to tie in with the blue and white decor. The boys in my family like flowers, so it's all right. After all, God is a male and he created flowers, so why shouldn't men enjoy them, too? ;-)

We still haven't changed the white towel rail for the ORB one that is still in the cabinet under the sink....

This bathroom is very small, so getting decent pictures was nigh on impossible for me. Ha

So, hope you enjoyed this little tour.



Jessica

Newest Additions To Our Landscaping

Nathanael and I planted trumpet vines on our new arch today. They were already so long that I was able to weave them onto the arch for instant results. :-) They are supposed to have yellow flowers that attract hummingbirds in the Summer.

I think this will be a beautiful spot to relax with a good book. ;-)

We got some annuals on sale yesterday, too, that we planted in front of the mini roses this afternoon. It's a little late in the year, but the price is better now. Ha

We made this flower bed and planted the roses a few weeks ago. They are doing really well so far!

This isn't exactly landscaping, but I got a new Summer wreath to replace the 4th of July bow I had on the door.

Also, a mixed flower pot for the plant stand. Our old plant was looking very sad.

I love plants, trees and flowers! Ben does, too, so we are hoping to fill the yard up in the next few years. ;-) We already have a head start with the beautiful native trees, shrubs and vines that line our backyard.

Slipcover Make-Over In Our Family/Play Room

A few weeks ago, I found a sofa with a pull-out bed in it at a yard sale for only $50. It came with a drab grayish colored slipcover, which was ok. Certainly better than the somewhat worn, small scale red gingham fabric the sofa was originally covered in.
However, last night we went to the Penney's outlet to make a return, and I came across an ivory colored, two piece slipcover brand new in the package for only $19.95!
I think it looks and fits a lot better than the other one we had, and like the fact that the seat cushions have their own separate cover. It also has piping, which I don't think is visible in the pictures. It's easier to fit, with elastic at the corners, whereas the old one had 4 buckles in the back, etc.
I put the "after" pic first because it is prettier. ;-)
Before:

Closeup:

We use our lower level family room mostly as a play room and a sewing space for me. :-) The boys love having such a big room to play in, and since it is downstairs away from our main living areas, I don't worry as much about the mess they make. Haha I do try to get the family room all neat again at least once a day, though. I can't help myself. Ha

The boys love their tent from Grandpa and Grandma S. :-)

Our new little church also meets down here in the family room for now, until we grow big enough to need a rented facility.

So, as you can see, our family room is a very hardworking and multifaceted space. :-)

Hope you enjoyed the little tour!

I am joining in Sarah's "before and after" party: http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/07/before-and-after-goodwill-table.html

And also Twice Owned Tuesday at http://creatingahouseofgrace.blogspot.com/2011/07/twice-owned-tuesday-party.html

Jessica

~Window Embellishments~

Since our living and dining area windows frame such a beautiful view, I didn't want to cover them at all. Still, they looked so bare that they needed something. I found exactly what I had in mind at Hobby Lobby (of course-ha).
These wrought iron fleur-de-lis scroll thingies were half price. :-)

I love how they look topping our 3 windows that face the back yard. They tie in well with the "ORB" light fittings and door hardware, too.