Welcome Friends!

It’s the first day of May- I know, right? Where did April go?  My kids came home yesterday to give me very bad,  terrifying news: they only have 24 more days in school  Crazy, scary, thrilling news, right?  I have a few ideas for “Camp Mom” this summer- what with the outdoor playland that is California- but y’all where did last month, nonetheless the school year go?  Oh..that’s right.. we MOVED CROSS COUNTRY mid-year!

That’ll mess up your schedule like nothing else.

I know what I spent most of last month focusing on though- getting settled in our new apartment.  Today marks our second month here.  We love our place in La Crescenta- it’s in a good school district and we have some really cool neighbors.  In fact, I’m working on a post for y’all about neighbors, chocolate chip cookies, and becoming *that* family,  so stay tuned.

I’ve spent most of my time decorating the apartment and painting furniture so, today’s link up with my friend, Leigh Kramer’s “What I’m into” series will be a home edition- all the things I’m loving to make my house..er…apartment, a home!

Witty Tea Towels

This tea towel I bought from Urban Girl Accessories makes me smile.  I saw it in two different homes right before we left Boston, so I took that as a nudge from God that I needed to have it in my life!  It’s a fun reminder that “Hangry”  is a very real, very pervasive affliction and I suffer from it often :). Plus, my oldest, Tyson chuckles overtime he passes it in the kitchen and since he’s in that sour tweeny, “I’m too cool for anything” phase…I call that a win!

My Gallery Wall

Y’all!  I’m too proud of this thing.  It took me two weeks to plan it, four days to decide how to lay it out, and two hours to hang it. I’m going to highlight a few of my favorite pieces:

Thrift-ed and Painted Chalkboard Tray

I bought this tray at a thrift store for $3 and spray painted it with chalkboard thinking it’ll be a chic menu board.  But, I loved the clean look of all black so much, that I haven’t written on it yet.  I’m thinking about writing the word “EAT” in chalkboard in some cool font.  What do you think?  Leave it black or write on it?

Art in Frames (except Deer Silhouette)

I collected frames from the free section at a yard sale  but not sure what to put inside.  There are tons of free printables pretty quotes or images online, SheReadsTruth (my favorite bible reading app) has some lovely ones on sale and I always follow Jones Design Company for inspiration, so the options are endless. And a bit overwhelming.  Enter this amazing find:  Me and My Big Ideas Gallery Art Pad.  Wall gallery planning is SO MUCH EASIER with this set.  There are 14 pages of high quality card stock images for you to choose from.  The back has a guide for all the designs and the appropriate frames.

Deer Silhouette

I’ve always wanted a deer head in my home. It’s a nod to my favorite childhood memory spending weekends at my god-parents home where their living room is tastefully designed with my godfather’s hunting trophies.  Since the hubs is not a hunter, I knew it would be a hard sell to get a deer head on my wall. But y’all this Texan is determined and grateful for the recent trend of whimsical deer silhouettes in home decor.  This one from JaclynRoseDesign’s Etsy shop is my perfect for my gallery,  it’s elegant, playful, and totally easy to hang.

Birdcage

I bought this from Dayspring during a clearance sale back in Boston.  It’s so my fave because I love birds and freedom and the hope an empty birdcage fills me.  It’s supposed to be a photo holder, but the kids thought it looked better without pictures.  I’m torn again.  I think some 4X6s of black and white prints would be lovely.  What do you think?

Embroidery Hoop Art

Y’all this was the easiest piece to make.  Take white cloth, stretch it in the hoop, secure, paint!  I got the inspiration from an Etsy shop but since I was at the end of my budget when I found this idea, I put my DIY brain to work and voila!   I love it and the best part of that piece is when I’m tired of the silver triangle, I can swap out the fabric for something else.

Shalom Arrow

Because I have my wooden Noonday trays from Guatemala on the table and I have a reclaimed wood mirror waiting to go the opposite wall in the kitchen, I really wanted a reclaimed wood piece to tie the wall into the rest of the room’s design.  I also wanted to invest in a local business owner here in LA, so after searching on Etsy a bit, I found Amy Jorgensen of AmysReclaimed.  Y’all,  she is a DREAM to work with.  All I said was I wanted the word, “Shalom” and an arrow.  I gave her the dimensions and sent her a pic of the wall  and crossed my fingers.  A couple of days later she sent me this pic of my arrow.  It’s perfect!  I can’t wait to order more reclaimed items from her store.  There’s a mason jar set I’ve got my eye on.

“O” mug from Anthropologie

Having an odd name, I don’t find personalized items with the letter “O” very often.  Back in November,  when we came out here for the associate pastor job interview, TC took me to Old Town Pasadena to window shop and at Anthropologie we found this Homegrown Monogram Mug!  I’ve used it every morning since until I accidentally dropped it while washing dishes last month.  Good thing my friend works for that exact Anthro and assured me they had one in stock, so the balance in the universe has been restored, I have something with my initial on it,  and all is well.

This is what I’m into this month in my home, so tell me, what are you into?  What’s caught your eye on Etsy?  What witty saying needs to be on your tea towel?  and should I write on my chalkboard tray or not? 

Loving the Shalom in My Home,