A Quick Hello!

I just wanted to say a quick hello, and to let you know that I still haven't forgotten about you!

But how could I blog when I've had this little guy in my arms!

Love both of my nephews!

I've got a few new projects to show you all soon!

I haven't forgotten about you!

Did you think I had forgotten about the blog?  

I know its been about a week, but I haven't forgotten about you all! 

 It's been super crazy around here, look at the DIY my sister accomplished!

His name is Jonah Lee, and he is just the cutest little thing!

I'll be back to regular projects soon!

Let Me Introduce You To.....

I thought it was about time to show you what I've been working on this week, and the reason for the trip to Ikea last weekend!

Let me introduce you to Karl!

My new love!!  

Oh no, I haven't replaced Josh,  I just love my new sofa!

I'm also loving the Expedite bookcases we picked up from Ikea on our trip....I'm having lots of fun styling them with all my things. Oh, and of course they are great for storage!

 The green curtains will eventually go, one thing at a time though.

Maybe something crisp and white, edged in a vibrant turquoise, well see, its still very much " in progress".

I just LOVE his sleek modern lines, and comfy relaxed slipcover, he's perfect!

I can't wait to I get my new fabric, and I'll start whipping up some new turquoise, coral, and aqua pillows for the room!

Look what I put on top of the new Ikea bookcase, my DIY Kate Spade Ampersand!

It will eventually make its way onto the wall, but I'm still looking for, or looking for inspiration for something I will paint, to go with it.

And don't you love my aqua hourglass, I've been wanting one for ages, and ZGallerie was tempting me with some at $35, but I ran into Home Goods last week and saw this one for $8!

Now that was too good to pass up!

Look what else I found at Home Goods!

There was one right next to Ikea and I just HAD to run in to see what I could find, and I am SO HAPPY I did!  I scored this gorgeous nailhead trimmed ottoman for only $35! It was originally $69, but I got it on clearance!   Perfect color for the new living room, I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, I think I may have even squealed!  Poor Josh, I think I embarrassed him...haha...but I LOVE it!  Don't you?!

Do you want to know, this coffee table it what actually got me interested in DIY!

It was the very first thing I ever refinished, and has made it through college and several moves afterwards.

I've loved it for so long I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I'm really wanting to get something a little more modern, but I can't bare to get rid of the thing!

My little nailhead trimmed ottoman is looking perfect next to Karl!

Josh surprised me with some lovely flowers for Valentines Day!   I've got them on my coffee table, for some reason that's were I seem to enjoy them the most.  Maybe one of these days I'll find a new favorite spot.

Well, there you go, that's just a little glimpse of some of the changes going on around here!

What have you all been up to lately?

Well I did it again!

Yup!  I did it again!

I ordered more fabric!  This time though, I bought with something in mind, the new living room look!

It should all be here early next week, and I am so excited, I will be making some bolster pillows for the new sofa, and some other things as well.  Not sure what.....yet.....I'll figure it all out!

Hey I know I have a fabric problem, I just can't help myself!

What do you think?

HeLLLOOOooo Karl!

So we are making a little progress on getting all the goodies we bought this weekend set up, whooHOO!!

Muscle, aka Josh, finally maneuvered our old monster sofa out and all the way to goodwill, poor guy has been working twelve hours a day too, and still he did it after getting off work, AND driving an hour home!  He just knew that I couldn't stand that thing!  So nice of him!

Anyway, I immediately got to assembling our new Ikea sofa, the Karlstad!

I had originally planned on getting the Kivik sofa, but when we got there is was so super low to the ground that I just didn't think it was the look I wanted...so  in walks the Karl.

Here's a little glimpse of the fun that was going on in here tonight!

The Ikea instructions always crack me up, I can't help laughing when I see the....have a work buddy image, cause that will make you happy!

What have you all been up to tonight?

DIY Kate Spade Ampersand

I have been wanted to do this DIY forEVER!

But today I finally took out the watercolors and got painting!

Do you see the hot pink Ampersand, it was part of a photo collage in a Kate Spade store, and I just knew that I needed one! 

 Well, I got back from Ikea this weekend with lots of frames to complete a photo wall for the new living room, so I figured it was time to get painting!

I started by free handing the ampersand onto some watercolor paper.

Then I began layering some pinks, reds, and corals, to get some depth and the rich coral color I wanted!

You don't get to see  the finished product, I ran out of daylight to get a decent picture!

I can't wait to get this up on the wall, we are still living with boxes of new furniture, and all the old stuff we haven't been able to move out yet!

We are hoping to get everything to Goodwill this week, but Josh has been working overtime, and since he's the muscles, I just have to have some patience!

But I can't wait to get the new things set up!

I will share pictures of everything when I get it all finished!!

The newest blog on the block!

Have you heard?  Kelly Wearstler has joined the blogging world!

Her blog is called My Vibe My Life.

Kelly Wearstler's work is FaBuLoUs! 

I can't wait to see what see will share on her blog!

I LOVE her workshop!!

what a loooonnnggg drive!

This is what we drove home with late last night, after a trip to Ikea and Homegoods!

Whew it was more than a 6 hour round trip drive, but I am super excited with what we found!

Wait till you see what I paid for this nail head trimmed ottoman!

I LOVE IT!!!

Can you tell we are excited to be almost home!

Blog Swap!

He guys, welcome to my first blog swap!
Charlie from Attempting Aloha will be sharing a few projects with you today, while I am battling my way threw D.C. traffic to Ikea!
Wish me Luck!

 Aloha Blonde's DIY Life fans!  My name is Charlie (pink, not blue). and I'm thrilled to be swapping blogs with Ashley today.  I've been following her almost from the beginning, and I'm so in love with her style. The girl has talent! And she's super sweet to boot! And pretty. Triple threat. I'm working on jealousy this year, so I'm putting all that aside and still being friends with her. ;)
So see that flower pillow in my header? That lovely little thing was actually inspired by one Ashley bought to sit on her fabulous bench she transformed!

But today I really wanted to show you a few Valentine's creations I've been working on. You've got a week left to bust out some decor and make some sweet gifts, so here's what I've come up with (so far...).
I just finished this "P.S. I Love Your Laughter" sign yesterday morning. It's a sign to put in our bedroom that I'll be giving to my sweetheart for Valentine's Day. I'm sure I'll appreciate it much more than he does, but hopefully it will give me a daily reminder to keep him smiling.

I also made a little heart-shaped fabric wreath out of a hanger and white fabric. I had to play around with where I put it, though...
First I hung it on a bright red platter in our dining room:

But then my husband came home and told me it looked like something out of Victoria's Secret, so I decided to hang it on our living room mirror instead:

Better!

And I invented the "Valentine's Stocking" for my husband and I to put treats for our girls in on Valentine's Day morning.

 And if you love flowers and burlap, here's a great way to combine the two: Burlap-covered vase! I bought a cheap $1.50 plastic vase from a party supply store and dressed it in some burlap. Sure, I get the occasional complaint from the vase about the itching, but she's so happy to finally have flowers adorning her that she doesn't mind too much. ;)   And if you don't have fresh flowers blooming in your front yard, an empty vase on your table is an excellent way to send a hint to the Mr. about what to give you for Valentine's Day!

Wrap a pink ribbon around a Goodwill-find pillow, slap a flower on there and call it a day!

Lazy-mom's version of Valentine's art:

I have no pics yet with love notes, but I'll show you what we're doing. I made this chicken wire display to show off our cards from friends at Christmas, and we've decided to share love notes with each of our family members on it leading up to Valentine's Day. So everyone checks daily to see if they got a new note on the wall. :)

Thanks again, Ashley, for letting me visit and joining Swap 'n' Meet Saturday. You have fabulous readers, and I'm excited to have the chance to meet them!

Come stop by anytime you're needing a little sunshine and sand. We LOVE tourists. ;)

Aloha,

Charlie

I hope you all enjoyed reading about some of Charlie's projects!