So Matt needed some lacrosse gear and we took a drive over to Modells in Freeport.  That store bores me to tears. I can take about 15 minutes and I have to escape.  Luckily for me, there is a Pier One Imports a few stores down.  I can seriously get lost in there with a plethora of pillows, tableware, decorations and furniture to get lost in.  But, I came to a sudden halt just as I walked in the door…the perfect leather chair was right in front of me.  I cringed as I turned over the price tag but suddenly brightened – $895.  Ok, I could handle that. With cats, I was not dropping $3,000 on a chair – no way.  But now, I could start picturing this chair in my den.

I try never to buy anything full price.  Pier One always has sales so I bided my time. Sure enough, the Roan Club Chair popped up on sale for $589.98! I immediately ordered it online and had it shipped to the store for free shipping. A week later it was in, we picked it up, brought it home and Dan assembled it (which was minimal). I found a beautiful crocheted afghan hidden away in my closet which would fit my picture of this cozy corner and it was perfect:

Just what I wanted! Don’t you love when a vision can come to fruition? Just needs me with a cup of coffee!

These felt stars are easy and adorable to craft (from Purlbee) and are the epitome of the primitive look.  You could easily make them into a string garland  or incorporate them into a primitive theme (along with salt-dough ornaments below) with some burlap garland!

I absolutely adore these wood ornaments with scrapbook paper modged podged on (from Brown Paper Packages)  – another easy project:

These swirl nail polish ornaments (from Beautylish) are gorgeous:

My kids have made salt dough ornaments before and with the stamping here, they make a nice personalized ornament (from Design Editor):

It would be a great idea to host an ornament crafting party to make these for friends and neighbors who lost their Christmas Ornaments.  These are all fairly easy to make and you could definitely crank a bunch out over some hot cocoa (maybe with some schnapps). I hope you are as inspired as I am!

Happy crafting!

Perhaps you just bought your home from the original owners who thought having a microwave made the kitchen “updated”? By the way, that was us – we bought from the original owners and my kitchen was a laminate nightmare, with absolutely no counter space! Whatever the reason, there comes a point in time when a home owner needs a new kitchen.  The choices can be overwhelming and if you don’t select the right designer, you could very well spend thousands on a kitchen that does not suit your needs.

The folks at Bath & Kitchen Creations have been designing gorgeous kitchens for over 30 years to suit every taste.  Featuring Neff Kitchens, a cabinet manufacturer unparalleled in quality, durability and aesthetics, Bath & Kitchen Creations use state of the art computerized design tools to create the kitchen of your dreams. The beauty of working with Bath & Kitchen Creations is that they are a full-service remodeling contractor so they can handle all aspects of your kitchen makeover from demolition, drywall, framing, electrical, plumbing, paint, cabinetry, and countertops. Just look at this before and after:

One of the biggest headaches can be installing a new kitchen in existing construction. Sometimes you just never know what is hiding behind that wall. That was exactly the problem we faced. We expected to eliminate a soffit in its entirety, not realizing that pipes were running through it. We ordered cabinets with gorgeous crown molding that was supposed to be attached to the ceiling.  When my husband demolished the soffit, the pipes were an obstacle that caused us to modify our plans and unfortunately discard costly molding. Had we worked with a kitchen designer like Bath & Kitchen Creations, perhaps this expensive mistake could have been avoided.

I just love looking at their showroom and gallery photos of kitchens from every trend, from traditional to contemporary. While I am not a contemporary style afficinado, the contemporary designs by Neff Kitchens in the gallery are beautiful – clean lines, pleasing to the eye and extremely functional. I would happy bake cookies in any one of those kitchens!!!

Updating a kitchen is probably the biggest value upgrade you can do to your home. And, as a capital improvement, it may provide substantial tax benefits to do so. Have you lived through a kitchen remodel? Are you considering one? What was your experience?

Peep Wreath from Spittin Toad

I just love peeps!!!!!  They are such a symbol of Easter and so very colorful! Make sure to read her tutorial carefully to avoid disastrous results!

Easter Washi Tape Wreath at Tatertots & Jello

How beautiful is this wreath? A foam wreath base, white plastic eggs, ribbon and some washi tape and you have a spectacular wreath!

Butterfly Wreath at Alisa Burke

This upcycled newspaper wreath is breathtaking – love, love, love the butterflies!

Spring Wreath at Dollar Store Mom

At first, I thought this was made with paper mache yarn eggs but no, she managed to find rattan eggs and dyed them!

All Things Spring Wreath at Crafty Sisters

Stock up on that craft moss whenever you can – it certainly comes in handy!

These are some of the wreaths that caught my eye.  Please link up your wreaths and share your Easter creations!

I’ve been on there for a little over a week (lost track of time while I was in YEARBOOK HELL) and I have 30 boards and 365 pins. I shit you not – I collect a lot of stuff! But only the good stuff, ya know – like lemon vodka slushie recipes (now that’s a party!).  Now I was nice enough to link to the recipe and have it open in a different window so you don’t have to even leave my site – hows that for convenience!!! Who loves you huh?

So you can create all sorts of “boards” to store your pins.  Pinterest gives you a few boards with some boring titles but you can come up with your own.  I like the slightly vulgar “Party In My Mouth” for tasty tidbits and of course stole it from someone else.  But, you get the drift.  I also installed a little bookmarklet so that whenever I come across something I need to keep, just click the little button and I can pin my new found thing to one of my boards. Also, you can “repin” other people’s pins so you don’t even have to go trolling for your own goodies, you can scroll through other people’s stuff and pin it to your boards. Voila! Instant boards with cool stuff!  Here is a screenshot of some of my boards:

Now, I guess Pinterest wants to feel all exclusive so you need an invite to start pinning.  But, you know me.  So comment and ask me nicely and I will send you an invite.  So come follow me on Pinterest (very easy like Twitter @kasesq94 and check out my goodies….and I want to get a hold of your goodies too – get your mind out of the gutter people!!!!