This weekend we ventured to the beach for a few days.  We met my husband’s family there and it was a wonderful time!

We mostly ate and walked along the boardwalk and beach, but we also did some shopping for keepsakes.

Being the bargain shopper that I am, I purchased these lovely postcards for $1!  Yep, 4 for $1! 

I’ve got plans to matte and frame each postcard…I love cheap art that doesn’t look cheap!

While at a museum along the coast, I spotted a beautiful handpainted tile.  But I’m a cheapie conservative buyer, so I didn’t want to pay $12 for one tile.

Thankfully my husband could tell how much I wanted it..So he snuck back to the museum and bought it for me!

**Aren’t the lovebirds cute?!! And I love that it has coastal colors without looking too beachy.**

Thanks baby!

I love the beach…

It really is that simple.

We only live a couple of hours away from a beach and we try to go as often as possible.

It’s a great day trip.

But sometimes I wish we lived at the beach…like “right outside my door.”

And that’s why I often read this…

just to dream.

And the recent design of their Idea House in Seabrook, WA. has me smiling at the thought of our one day “beach house styled, but not really a beach house’ home!

These were my favorite pictures from the IdeaHouse…

I love the openness of this family room. And so much sunlight!

I love a good pantry!

I love this room for two boys!

I love those bone inlaid mirrors!  and the bamboo detail on the cabinets is pretty fabulous too!

And I’m a sucker for a tufted ottoman!

It’s a great house…and it will definitely be filed in my decor inspiration folder!

JHill Design City Prints!

                           These prints are vibrant, fun, graphic and on my wishlist!

                              They even have prints with muted color schemes!  My favorites!

                                             I love this one of Austin, Texas!

They have a variety of popular cities, but they also take custom orders!  The city of one’s wedding would make a great anniversary gift!  ***HINT!!!**:

Visit their site at http://www.jhilldesign.com/

(All images via JHillDesigns)

I think I prolonged this one because I’m slightly in denial over how long we’ll live in this apartment.  But I’m happy to report that hanging up pictures in our bedroom made the room feel a little cozier.

I also made the two small white pillows from these…

I’m a list person.

And I mean an obsessive compulsive list person.

I even carry a special notebook to keep up with my many lists.

I have daily To Do lists, project To Do lists, shopping lists, Idea lists, and plenty more that are too embarrassing to mention. My current project To Do list is somewhat ambitious.  But now that Peyton is at school during the weekdays, I hope to tackle a few of these projects each week:

To Do.

1. Paint Entry Table

2. Paint Peyton’s kitchen set (She requested pastel pink!)

(image via Target.com)

3. Paint Picnic table

4. Change knobs on Peyton’s media cabinet

5. Sew pillows for sofa

6. Recover sectional (This one is VERY ambitions, but it needs it!  Our sofa has had a lot of visitors!)

(This beautiful sofa is my design inspiration for recovering our sofa via House Beautiful magazine)

7. Recover arm chair

(Although our chair is an arm chair, I love the color of the bar stools and those brass tacks are lovely!)

8. Plant small herb garden (this may have to wait until next spring)

(image via http://pinkwallpaper.blogspot.com/)

9. Finish painting tower lamp base (I have a habit of not finishing…

10. Recover dining room chair cushions

11. Hang shelf in laundry room

12. Reorganize laundry room (It currently holds everything that has no proper place)

13. Reorganize utility room (Thanks to my husband, we tackled this one this past weekend.  Thanks, baby!)

14. Assemble Little Mikey’s crib (When he outgrew the bassinet a month ago, he started sleeping with us…So this one will happen VERY soon!)

15. Hang pictures in our bedroom

16. Purge items that we don’t use, need, etc!

17. Reorganize the pantry…I loathe those wire racks!

It’s alot to do, but I slowly plan to tackle everything on the list!

A few months ago I posted my mood board for our living room.  But I think I want to go in a slightly different direction.  Ok…I’ve already gone in a slightly different direction.  It’s still inspired by coastal design.  But I’m going for a lighter feel.  What attracts me to coastal design is the comfortable and airy feel.  Here’s my new mood board. 

Source List/ Wishlist:

We already have:

1.Cream TV console

2.Aqua desk- Craigslist find, painted pale aqua

3.Gold framed artwork

4. Gold/Ivory floor lamp- we have a similar lamp!

5. Driftwood Candle holders-purchased at JoAnn’s for $2

6. Grouping of Blue and Green vases- similar color vases purchased at TJMaxx and Marshalls

7. Tan & Cream Rug- similar color rug purchased from Lowe’s for $20!

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We plan to purchase (more like, I hope!):

1. Khaki Twill Sofa and Loveseat- Williams & Sonoma (a girl can wish!)

2. White and Gold quatrefoil wall sconce- CSN stores

3. Fabrics for pillows- Fabrics.com

4. Coral Pillow- Target

I’ll post pics as we transform this room!

I once informed my husband that I have 3 favorite HGTV designers and if I am chosen to receive some sort of surprise makeover that he should be prepared to name these designers in order.  The first on that list is Sarah Richardson of Design Inc. & Sarah’s House.

If you haven’t seen her show…you’re missing out!  She can bring a chic, modern, and sophisticated touch to any style of design.  I never thought I would like Country/Farmhouse style, but thanks to Season 3 of Sarah’s House, I’d trade in my heels for riding boots today!

and that’s just the kitchen!

Here a some of my favorites from her other projects…

What a lovely way to welcome visitors into your home!

If my laundry room looked like that, perhaps I wouldn’t loathe the 10+ loads a week!

Such lovely little girls’ rooms.  I wonder how hard it would be to keep them clean…

  Such a serene, yet chic master retreat!

And if we had a well-styled family area like the one above…

Then I could have a room like this…

or this one…

Just for the grown-ups.  (No spills allowed!)

Images via http://www.sarahrichardson.com & http://www.hgtv.ca