White Out

I have a fascination with white rooms now. like all white- white floors, white furniture, white lamps... you get the picture. I've had this issue before- Ordy has tried to get me to QUIT spray painting everything i get my hands on WHITE, but I can't help it...  see what i mean:


Imagine in a corner, as a side table stacked up...

Peta Approved :) 

 OMG be still my heart. i can't tell you how much i love this mirror...

This reminds me of a chess piece :)

It reminds me of my milk glass obsession! I love collecting these:

Ordy hates the white kick. haha. I could definitely do the burlap/linen look- you know- nice and neutral!

Don't worry- I'm not redecorating anything anytime soon! In fact, I'm looking for a place to get rid of this guy that doesn't fit in my house

:( SAD DAY because I love it! I'm off to bed to get some rest before my morning of yard sales! It'll be my first friday morning one! haha wish me luck :)

Not to be annoying, but vote here for the blog! The reset was earlier and I need votes!

An-tweak-quing

After a whole weekend of cake pop madness (3 different showers, 180 pops total), I decided I needed a break! My dad was in town and I hated baking and slaving over the oven instead of hanging out. I decided we needed a good day Saturday to do something with the whole family, so we hit up Scott's Antique Market. It's a once a month thing that several people have told me I MUST go to... after hearing it twice in one week, I googled it and saw that it was this weekend. I had to go. No questions asked. I  corralled my family and made them come too- even though everyone in my family is into stuff like that, it didn't take much force. It's just hard to get out with the two kiddo's but we did it, despite Kian having to skip his afternoon nap.

Cute Pops for a Shower

We trekked through aisles and aisles of antiques (the term was questionable for some obvious "junk"). I will say that I was pretty shocked at the steep prices, but I guess they had to pay for their booths somehow... I loved seeing all the different stuff there and going around saying, "that's my dream dining room table!" My dad and Ordy would make fun of me and snicker about how many 'dreams' I had. Ordy told my dad he counts how many times a day I say the word, "want". I have been good lately though! I'm very content, I just see stuff that I want ONE DAY. Not now! Boys. They just don't get it. (But really, now that we're on the subject, my dream is to one day own a 10 foot rustic, all wood dining room table with huge benches instead of chairs...how much more family oriented does it get?!) 

DREAM TABLE (only put benches)

Looking for treasures

vintage phones

I LOVED these:

I want to collect these glass items (to the left) with the bead popping out- it matches the turquoise vintage one I have in my living room. I see them everywhere, I think it's a sign...

I saw a lot of people with the same ideas I have, only they're out selling them for $$$ (LOTS of money). I don't know if they're actually making any money, but even I know how little their cost is, so selling even one would be a huge deal. For instance, there was a guy there selling framed chalkboards... ok, EASY project!! C'mon people! Have a fun craft day at home!! Don't spend $80! I can't wait. It's been on my list of projects only I haven't found a frame ornate enough to want to use, so I'm still hunting. The guy selling them said he only had 2 left and he had a ton in the morning... good for him though! I just know I won't be one spending $80+ on a $20 craft (if that). 

Chalk Board Frames- ADORABLE

Simple Frames

Ok, so the question everyone's dying to know... did I buy anything? You were dying to know, weren't you??? Just kidding, I like to pretend people actually read this thing hahaha. So, to my imaginary audience, the answer is: yes. I was an idiot. I bought stuff I didn't even need. Stuff I don't have room for. Stuff I totally justified in a matter of 10 seconds. I decided in my one post about the uncozy living room, that I really wanted a new coffee table since the one I currently have is too modern and contemporary for my shabby chic, cozy idea of my living room- so, I had been thinking about new ones anyway... and as I was walking through the vendors, this one coffee table caught my eye. It screamed, "Sheila". I had to take him home! And not just him, but his brother and sister too! So, I'm the proud owner of adorable "vintage distressed" coffee table, end table, and breakfast table. I would say dining room table but it's hardly that... 

My goodies, all loaded up

They're all sooooo cute. what's so NOT cute is having a 4 table pile up in my living room and having bandit have to jump over hurdles just to get to the back yard... Oh what a predicament. 

don't judge me. I'm working on it

Living room not short of tables...

After all day Saturday at Scott's we were leaving to get on the freeway- exhausted and sweaty- when we noticed the ENTIRE SECOND building we completely missed! THE NORTH part of it!!! I was so sad, but too tired to ask to go, and we were going back Sunday with Ordy's truck and trailer to pick up the tables so I was going to just ask to stop by since Sunday's are known for people getting rid of stuff just to prevent packing them back up- I was sure I'd get some sort of deal! Well, Sunday came and all I did was get my tables- probably a good thing...

Whole 'nother building we missed

I am extremely happy with my finds, I just am too overwhelmed to place them in the right spot just yet. I have to do a complete revamp of my living room and I think Ordy Boy is coming over Wednesday to help do some grunt work. Such an amazing BF, putting up with me and my foolishness haha. List of projects for Ordy Boy:

1. Hang up 47" TV above fireplace
2. Put new bulb in outside light
3. Take out the 4 bags of trash I have piled in the back... (he has a truck, makes it easier)
4. Help me move all the tables around
5. Possibly move the couches around to fit the new tables
6. Hang new stuff (this is a maybe, because I still don't know where they all should go)
7. Retighten my stairway railing (I think too many early-morning-clutching-it-for-dear-life has loosened the screws)
8. Pick up the dead roach (side note: i'm obsessed with that Ortho Home Defense spray. Ladies- spray it once around your house about every 4-6 months and you'll thank me. As creepy as it is to have random dead bugs everywhere, it's comforting to know that the stuff works and they're DEAD, not crawling around my house. It's such a great product...I love knowing I didn't have to feel them crunch under my flip flop to kill them!)
9. Love me forever and ever despite my redecorating ways...and for putting him to work on a weeknight. Gah, he's the best. 

I'm excited to see what will turn out, I'm kind of overwhelmed with a lot too. As usual, I am procrastinating instead of reading for class, so I'm off to finish up all that good stuff. My head starts to spin when I think of how cute my dining room table COULD be with white beadboard half way up the walls, light paint on the walls or wall paper, an adorable chandelier and unique chairs to match the new table- but then I know that's about 1 month of ignoring schoolwork, so for now I'm just leaving it alone. My dad would much appreciate that. hahaha.

Something like this...only not as stuffy, and better chandelier and chairs

***Sad day today, my favorite flip flops are a goner- I can no longer rush to wear them before I run out the door late for class... I have to actually put some thought into my shoe choice now- and this makes me sad... 

RIP Havainas, you will be missed

Uh-Oh... Bit By the Redecorating Bug...AGAIN.

I know, I know... I really need to stop and focus my energy on other things... like school perhaps? But I can't help it. Enough is enough. I caved. I realized I hate how I spend 95% of my time upstairs. I'm NEVER downstairs! The 5% I am downstairs it's to use the kitchen- not the living room. Well, that got me thinking, what makes my living room so unlivable?? I've always known I reject my downstairs, but it was confirmed by a friend who didn't want to watch a movie here because it was "uncozy". *GASP* Uncozy has always been a bad, bad, bad word growing up in my "cozy" household... It was used to describe New York alleys, and freezing floors with no socks on... how could a Parast have an uncozy living room??? I immediately started brain storming uncozy features:

1. Large, white marble tile flooring. I HATE carpet. I vowed to never have carpet because of the filth that gets trapped in them and we fail to see. So, I have white marble floors and as open as it makes the place, I don't know if the trade off for being uncozy was worth it... I bought a big brown rug to add warmth but it seems like that's not enough
2. Modern furniture. I have 2 really nice couches that were given to me by my sister and her husband a few years back that I know weren't cheap and I LOVE them, but they're just so uninviting (to anyone other than Bandit). Bandit isn't allowed on them because they're so nice, but I know his hair doesn't just float to the top... he obviously sneaks on when I'm away. I wonder if I need a darker brown...
3. The color scheme: chocolate and brown. I know this color scheme was/is huge and I just went with it. But now I'm so over it and am debating to just sell everything and start fresh, or work with everything. I have a baby blue wall that I recently painted about 2 months ago, and the accent wall on the fireplace is brown... so I wonder how impractical changing would be... 
4. The layout. I can't do much with the door/stairs/fireplace/laundry room doors... so I'm limited to seating arrangements and tv. I just decided my 32" tv was way too small for the living room and too random on a side wall, so I sold it today to get a bigger one to place on my mantle. The 32" looked awkward on the big shelf so I'm looking to get something that would be a better match. I'm not big on tv (NEVER watch anything) but I hate that a lot of my friends are and I can't offer them comfortable entertainment. So, for all the friends that have come over and voiced their opinions, I'm listening :)

So those are some things to consider. I'm trying SO hard not to act spontaneously and do the whole make over tonight... I asked Ordy Boy to bring his drill just in case hahaha. 

Here are the only pictures (please excuse the graininess- phone pics!!!) I have of my living room, but they are from when I first moved in. So the rug is different (the new one is brown with baby blue and beige leaf pattern) and a few other stuff. I swapped the brown recliner with the bookshelf from the picture so that's different. 

I really wish I had half the guts as most designers do to experiment with color (in places other than my office haha). I realized, I'm single (not married) now and it would be BEST to get to do whatever I want before I have a husband to run ideas by!!! I mean, now is the time to get away with a pink throw pillow (NEVER thought I'd hear myself say that, but for design purposes and nail polish- I can manage pink...) but that's just an example. Just saying, while I'm young and "free" I should experiment! Before I have to go into "neutral" world hahaha. I mean what husband would allow my adorable, chic rose pillows?? (It adds such a soft touch to the masculine chair!!)  I might as well get all my "glamorous" out of my system... haha

Another "staple" that I love (that I'd like to work around) is my amazing beige mirror. 

So far, I have beige "modern" couches, a brown leather recliner, a glass "modern" coffee table, a beige studded mirror, and brown damask drapes + rug that I spent more money than I'd like to ditch so soon. I guess I need to accept the living room and just do small changes to make me happy (different tv over mantle, rearrange...) or do what I always do and go drastic. Ha, I honestly don't have time to even be thinking about this right now, I can't believe I'm even blogging instead of reading... I know one person who's going to yell at me for this! 

In a dream world, I would love this (I'm still researching):

and this for my dining room:

Any suggestions/ideas? I know I am blessed to know design savvy friends... am I wasting time? To be honest, I'm probably going to do something, and it is more than likely GOING to be drastic... so might as well shoot me suggestions/pictures/etc! I'd love to see any ideas that I've missed!