Project Obsession

Home Inspiration by shaeded on Polyvore.com

Well it has been months now that I have been putting my thoughts to our bedroom remodel. We have had the lightest shade of lavender in there for 5.5 years now. While that is a favorite color of mine I am so over it! But as I creep into warm and neutral color territory the fear comes over me...will I miss the airy, light feel of my bedroom? Will it be too dark? Will it even match? Argh!

I hate decorating challenges because I am not independently wealthy so "running out and getting a new bed" is not an option for me. I am so tempted to paint my Ikea bedframe that is super supportive and wonderful--and black---either a silver color or even white? I don't know what to do! I truly need some decorating minds to help me come up with the details that will make this room 'not perfect to be beautiful' as our dear nester has taught us all.

It has literally gotten to the point of obsession with me, I want to make the changes and get things done NOW...and then it rains again and I can't have my windows open which doesn't allow me to go buy paint and start! I know that gray is becoming a popular color and I am considering Gray now as well, since I don't have a single thing defined yet, why not add more confusion to chaos right? :)

If you didn't read my original posts months ago about the remodel, my starting factor came from finding some gorgeous fabric at Hobby Lobby that I envisioned making my own curtains out of and changing our room to a lush, sanctuary for adults only (mostly). The fabric is a rich brown with other neutral accents tied in.
Here is the fabric:


Here is another item that I have pictures getting for our bedroom, because it is a photographers website I can't copy and paste it, so you have to click through here to see it...www.lidgardphotography.com

Here are some pictures of my room, please help me get some clarity here on what will match! I actually paid retail for the Pottery Barn lights so I cring at the thought of painting them. I currently have 3 mirrors in my bedroom, I am realizing my love for mirrors...and you know what else? Amy at Maisy's Market has another one that I want too!!! I won't link to it, I might make it a birthday present for me, so you have to wait to see it!!!


I am starting to wonder based off of my tastes in the polyvore board I played with today if I should be sticking to a soft neutral palate. Can grays/taupe/cream/black/silver and a little dash of white work together? I have the nightstand shown in the picture, although mine are pine, wondering if I should paint them white like the ones shown in the polyvore pic above. (They are from Ikea) I am off to get more pictures posted of my bedroom. Once I get this all together, I am truly hoping for inspiration and finality to this decision! I want a new room badly! My husband asked me what I want for my upcoming birthday and I said my bedroom to be redone...his face went blank and he said..."honey, what materialistic thing can I get you for your birthday?" He definitely knows that until I finalize this decision it will haunt me to change! LOL

What are your immediate thoughts? I am finding that I love color but I am so drawn to faded neutrals too...you can see my bedding is a soft taupe/cream/sage already. But of course at this rate that might change too...

Spring Thoughts

I hope everyone had a very Happy Mother's Day! This was my best moment that day, when my 5 year old came in after saying "I look good" and checking himself out in the mirror. Then running back upstairs with the card he made me. Oh how that blessed my heart!

I am really sorry for not blogging recently. I have been working on not being a computer zombie since we got the system revamped and back online. What a mess things were for a while trying to get tons of paperwork settled and sorted. I would take a bag to the library for a full month filled with bills, papers and other random things I needed to look up and take care of online. It really goes to show how much the internet helps us but also keeps us so busy! You know what I have discovered in my mini-internet break though? I am becoming more willing to get outdoors, appreciating and touching my flowers and plants daily. Gardening on my own is amazing, refreshing and breathing life in me! Here is a picture of some of my flowers I so proudly grew!


Something I recognized a long time ago is that I often feel like I fall short in so many ways. I am betting I am not the only one. A dear friend of mine loaned a book on cd called Captivating and it is really opening my eyes to who I am created to be in Christ. I grew up believing that if I thought I was beautiful that was vanity, so if I was ever complimented I would reject the information so as to not get a "big head". It was a couple of years ago that another precious friend of mine sent me the girliest, prettiest, pinkest birthday package I had ever received in my life. It was amazing what that gift did to me...it brought me to tears recognizing that while I longed to be a girly girl, I had rejected that side of myself. I cried for days and touched and longed at the box of pretties wondering how I was worthy, wondering where that femininity had been tucked away and how long it had been missing. I wore a beautiful white dress on my wedding day and felt lovely, but I wasn't a girly girl. I had two children that God blessed me to bear but I wasn't (in my eyes) a beautiful example of a woman. How do we get to this place?

We can blame a lot of factors especially these days with every magazine saying Hey, do it better, be more disciplined, do it in 7 days, lose weight, keep your looks, stay fit, cook a meal, roll your eyes at your husband because YOU do it all! Isn't that what society points us to these days? We don't need those husbands other than to help us buy the things WE want and of course to heat up the bed every night. I want to encourage you ladies, protect your marriage, it is being sought after by so many angles these days! My heart cries out to the younger generations as the girls are becoming the leaders in relationships only because they are missing out on the true treasure God has for us...to be sought after, romanced, loved, protected and not have the hunter instincts that he gave more to men than to women. My husband was the first man, admittedly, that I gave absolutely NO signals to about my feelings. I had finally come to the realization that I needed to be sought after, longed for and needed. My husband is a very outgoing man but when it comes to women he is shy. This was a huge step for him to take because he wanted me so much he moved out of his comfort zone to pursue me. Amazing isn't it? We believe that we need to help fix things, but in this very scenario while I wondered if I was worth it, indeed if you want something bad enough, you will do anything to get it. My husband sheepishly asked to hold my hand. He kissed me and then walked away because I am sure it was about all he had in him to be bold enough to walk up to me and do that out of the blue.

But do you want to know the most important factor in all of that? Being pursued made me feel loved in such greater ways than simply having him say it to me after I said it first. We have a strength in our marriage that I know God instilled because we were meant to be together. We also have a covenant in our marriage because for the first time we both felt like we had a relationship that was the way God intended it...

While getting off on that I have to share with you that there have been some major things happening in our lives right now. Some good friends of ours very quickly went from a 20 year marriage to a devastating relationship ordeal that is messy, heartbreaking and pains ME even though it isn't my marriage. It hurts to see how badly things in people's lives can get and how quickly it can happen as well. While we try to counsel them and support, there is no line to know where to befriend and where to back off and stay out of it. At the same time, our blended family has gone through some worldly opposition I will say. Which has shifted our family dynamic a bit with our teenager and his "rights". Not to mention younger siblings observing and losing respect for the family as well, making us as parents work harder, feel completely unappreciated and detached. In the midst of all of that, instead of blogging, I have been working hard to stay connected with my husband and scriptures to stand on to keep us rooted in our foundation of faith and not wavering with the circumstances.

I am truly believing that God is with us through these trials and heartaches. I ask for your prayer to support us right now and please be patient as I do still have big plans for this blog and events to come. We just have some things to focus on right now that we need to prioritize.

We are thankful that this weekend we are headed to KC to see my family and visit my grandmothers again. They are 80 and 90 so we have gone 3 times this year so far to visit them. I will return to blogging next week. I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend, get outdoors, enjoy creation, enjoy your family and thank God for men and women that have fought for our freedom.

Many Blessings!
Sarah

Pink & Green Swap

I recently joined a swamp hosted by Sarah at Blue Castle. It was a blast to build up anticipation and meet a new friend online. I was paired with Stacy who lives about 30 minutes away from me, how wild!

I sent her a package that you can see pictures of at her website. I didn't think to take pictures before I mailed it and I was so excited to get my package...I ate the fabulous homemade ginger snaps she made me before I got a picture of them too...whoops! It was a wonderful swap and I thoroughly enjoyed sending and receiving the packages! Thank you so much Stacy!!! I hope we can continue to get to know each other and meet up at some point as well!!

Here are some pics of the wonderful items she sent me...
Her homemade Strawberry Vanilla Hand Scrub which you can find at her etsy shop allsugaredup. It came just like this and works wonderfully and smells great! I love the packaging idea, just adorable!
She also included some darling glass magnets she made, a raspberry lemonade scented candle, Rose scented bath salts, pink polka dot tissues-adorable, some fabulous pink and green blank notecards in a darling velum envelope, freezer labels which are so genius I can't even take it! The adorable "enjoy your life" notebook and the rose design headwrap towel along with the darling pail full of cookies that have already disappeared somewhere--hmmm... ;)

This was a hugely fun event and I completely enjoyed it! I hope you enjoyed seeing the swap items shown here. Click on the picture to see the up close details of the items she sent me.
Stay tuned, I hope to have a giveaway posted by the end of this week!!! Yay!!
Sarah

Getting Back in the swing of things + some giveaways

There are some great things out there right now to win, enter and especially discover for moms for Mother's Day!

You can check out this Kleenex Anti-Viral Tissues & Visa Giveaway contest ending May 15th at STL Mommy. I really enjoy her website and the variety of things she shares!

Fabulous burlap table runner giveaway! I want it!!! Here is a pic of what is offered in this giveaway. Click here to go enter. This was made by Grace and you can view her etsy shop coastline.

Tori Amos is offering a free gift for Mother's Day here.

Target is offering things in various states, you can look for your state here.

Great giveaway for 100 days 100 items given away here at lecreuset.

On Wednesday, May 6, you can get a FREE 8 by 10 photo at Walgreens.com! Use coupon code MOTHER to get the freebie online. If you want to get the freebie in store, click here to get a printable coupon for your free photo.

Right now you can get 25 free music downloads! Get your free downloads at this link here.

Here are some financial articles from various blogs participating in a carnival right now here.

Last but definitely not least, the contest for the DaySpring giveaway at We Are That Family ends tomorrow. Run over and enter!

I will be back tomorrow. Have a great day!

Sarah

Our computer is healed! :)

Boy, over a month of little/no contact...the struggles, the dilemma's of homework occasionally, no recipe connections, no spur of the moment movie reviews--that one was huge, we rented a few movies that were just horrible with no knowledge, I regret seeing them!!! What a blessing the internet truly is to our daily life!

I do have to highly recommend a movie that we did thoroughly enjoy..Faith Like Potatoes. What a fabulous and real movie, I actually took a lot from it as did my husband! I am also reading a fabulous book called The Power of a Praying Wife. I highly recommend reading that, I got my copy through the library but it is so good that I have a copy on hold at Family Christian Books to pick up today.

I will be working to get a few giveaways together in the very near future. I apologize for my long absence. I also plan to do a post about some of the things God taught me during my "no access" days.

I hope you are all doing well and I can't wait to start hearing from everyone again!!!

Sarah

Exciting News!!!

Our computer is fixed! We are expecting a new modem in the next few days and then I will be back online with a newer and happier CPU! I am so excited! I can't wait to get back in the mix with my wonderful online friends!!!

Check out my updates and keep watching, I will be hosting a giveaway soon too!!!
I can't wait to be back! :)

Have a great weekend!
Sarah