Wow, what a weekend!  After six weeks of renovation, we finally finished up the kitchen over at our Alma Project at I snapped a lot of pictures, can’t wait to show you the transformation, it’s such a great before and after story!  Thanks for all the sweet comments on our blue balcony from last week.  As promised, here is the four step easy peasy lemon squeezy way to sew your own removable pocket pillow covers.

First things first, grab yourself some outdoor fabric from a local fabric store or online (here’s a great list of online fabric sources!)  I used two yards of P. Kauffman Conservatory Aquamarine for two rectangular lumbar pillows and two yards of Waverly Meridian Medallion for the square versions.  (Depending on the size of your pillow, you often can get away with only 2/3 of a yard per pillow, but I ordered 1 yard for each pillow to be safe.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello and happy Monday everyone!   I’m on the east coast this week hanging out with my in-laws in Savannah while Coco gets some love from the house sitter back home.  We’re out here eating a lot of southern food and seeing all the sights, Tybee Island, downtown Savannah, Hilton Head, and then spending our evenings sipping cold drinks on the screened porch, I’m havin’ a great vacay!   

Before I left home, I cleaned off my desk because I prefer to come home to a clean surface.  I made a few upgrades to the home office in the last six months, including a new rug, a smaller desk, a white leather chair, and some new curtains too.  The space still has the same blue gray grasscloth wallpaper I installed a few years ago, so I was glad to finally find a great rug in the same palette to complement.   

I settled on a more petite desk in the hopes of avoiding the piles of papers that used to stack up.  I found it at local interiors shop and love its “x” base.  I also switched from working on a laptop to a desktop after I finally found a white monitor I liked (so hard to find for a PC!).   

Read the rest of this entry »

While recently hunting through a local fabric store, I came across a few rolls of laminated cotton and became obsessed with the idea of creating something out of this very cool material.  I didn’t buy that day but the idea was wedged in my brain for a few months.  Laminated cottons like these are great for lining makeup or tote bags or even making tablecloths, but I had something slightly different in mind. 

With all the weekend picnicking we like to do with the kids, I got to thinking I could combine this reversible placemat idea with this makeup brush holder idea and I came up with picnic placemats with pockets for utensils for all of our summer outings.  

In a patriotic spirit, I chose red and white fabrics and I love how the touch of red check is a throwback to the traditional tablecloth in the same classic pattern.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay friends, time for the project breakdown on the playroom reveal earlier this week.  I’ll tackle the four projects from easiest to most challenging, here we go!

The Play Table:

After shopping around online and finding only plastic tables in my budget, I spied this ad on Craigslist the weekend before the install and literally jumped for joy.  It was a used Pottery Barn Kids chalkboard table with a storage center in the middle for crayons, art supplies, etc. and four solid wood chairs.  It was perfect!  I quickly emailed the owner and drove over to grab it mere moments after she replied to my email telling me it was still available.  $45 buckaroos was a total score!

The chalkboard surface was worn and scratched but the rest of the table was in great condition, so I sanded the surface with the orbital to get it nice and smooth. Next I taped off the wood and primed the surface, and followed it up with two coats of teal paint to bring it back to life.

Such a cute addition to the space with plenty of space for arts and crafts.

Read the rest of this entry »