New Buffet Table for Dining Room

Hello friends!!  I hope your week is going well!!  We are having a good week here and really looking forward to the weekend :)

As most of you know our Master Bathroom project is/was consuming a LOT of our "spare" time....but we are SO close to the end of Phase 1 and 2.....so last weekend we headed out on a little shopping expedition.....to start looking for the accessories and decor to "finish" off the room.....

And....as usual.....when I'm looking to buy something.....I couldn't find.....ONE.....SINGLE.....THING that would work for the bathroom.....GAH!!

BUT....also.....as usual.....I found plenty of other totally non-bathroom related things that I LOVED!  Double GAH!!

AND....There was one thing that I COULD NOT pass up!!  SO....I got this dining room buffet table......

Ahhhh....I love it SO much!  The "quatrefoil" like pattern on the bottom of the buffet table is what totally sold me on it!!  If you remember.....I've already shown you my DIY quatrefoil art that I have in this room HERE....

AND what's even better.....I got it at a great sale price!  YAHOO!!  It was originally priced $399 (in my opinion way over priced) and I got it for $209!!  ROCK ON!!

Don't get me wrong....I don't really consider $209 a cheap price, but for this piece I thought it was a good deal!!  It came from Kirkland's, so it's not solid wood.....but for a buffet table that is really more for looks than anything else....it will work just fine :)

It wasn't a total impulse buy....I've actually been looking for a buffet table for this very spot for a year or so.....and I had thought about getting this one.....

  Source:  Reflections Three Piece Cabinet Set

And it is SO cute....but it is about three times the price of the one I bought....and the deal breaker....it's really too large for the space we have in our dining room.....

And I also thought about remaking one off of craigslist....but I've been stalking it looking for a while.....and just couldn't seem to find one that I liked for a price that I wanted to pay......

So anyway.....I'm so happy with the one that I got.....and the Hubs was with me and he didn't give me too much static about buying this when we were really supposed to be buying stuff for the bathroom.....thank you honey!!  Love you :)

So....just for fun.....here's another pic....

And here's an upclose look at the quatrefoil design on the buffet table....



Pretty cool!!

So....anyone else found any great deals lately?  Oh....please do share :)

Until next time....

XOXO-

Kristal

Christmas Tablescape Trial Run

Hello sweet friends!!  I hope your week is off to a great start!!  If you're like us, then your December is just getting busier and busier....but in a wonderful way!!  And as a double bonus we've gotten a slug of cold air come through...so at least for a couple of days....it actually feels like Christmas!!  It's awesome!!

I've got most of my Christmas decorations up now....but just can't seem to leave it alone....and find myself adding a little something here or there almost everyday.....I guess that's not a bad thing, but I know I'll be kicking myself when it comes time to take it all down......BUT.....I am LOVING it while it's up!!!  I'll have to give you guys the grand tour sometime soon.....

BUT.....today we are focusing on the tablescape......they are doing a link up party over at The Lettered Cottage.....so you can go there to check out everyone else's gorgeous tables......by clicking HERE......

AND I didn't want to miss out on the fun.....so I decided to go ahead and make a trial run with my Christmas table decorations.....

AND....what fun would it be if I didn't share it with you guys too?  SO....here you go.....

Of course you guys have already seen my centerpiece and how I made it.....but if you want to look again....then you can find it HERE......

SO.....with the centerpiece already done.....it wasn't too hard to add the rest.....

SO.....I'll share a few more pics and then an couple cheats secrets tips ....

Here's a look at the whole table.....

And one more of the whole table.....

And a few up close looks.....

Ok.....so I promised a couple of tricks.....well....when I started putting this together I already had the centerpiece that I made.....and I used my China and crystal (that we got for our wedding)....and I used the silver charger plates that I've had for years....AND.....I was determined not to buy anything to finish out the table.....SO.....I had to improvise.....

Hmmmmm....what to do.....and then the ideas started flowing.....and I ended up using scrap book paper for the placemats....and I actually really like it......the paper is the perfect color and so blingy with all it's glittery goodness :)  And....seriously....with the charger plate, the real plates, the glasses, etc, etc....do you really need much more?? 

Oh yeah....then I hit another problem....no napkins.....ugh!  Well....that one was a bit harder....and I thought about going to buy some.....but I'm proud to say that I didn't.....I ended up using some more of that Deco Mesh stuff that I talked about HERE to stand in for napkins and also look pretty.....and then I topped the mesh with some cheapo Wal-Mart ornaments....and I think those little Reindeer are so pretty :)

And the last thing that I did was to put a large ornament in each glass.....and that was it.....

As usual....we've got to keep things easy around here.....it took me about an hour to dream it up and put it all together.....seriously.....

AND....just to keep it real.....I took a pic of this room before I started my little transformation.....I can't believe I'm showing you this.....but here it is......

You know.....ya gotta live.....so things get messy sometimes.... ;)

Ok....so now forget all about that awful picture....and focus instead on some more table beautifulness (yeah....I know it's not a real word)......

So....what do you guys think?  I think it turned out really nice.....

Are any of you working on some new decor for your table this year?  Do you have any unique tricks or tips that you use?  As usual....I'd love to hear.....I'm all about copying sharing ideas :)

I need to show you how the rest of this room turned out, but we'll save that for another day.....

Until next time.....

XOXO-
Kristal

Another Christmas Decor Sneak Peak & Happy Birthday to Me :)

Hello friends!!  I hope you are all doing well and are now in full Thanksgiving mode.....

I've already got my "stretchy" pants all washed and ready to go for the big day.....ha, ha!!  BUT.....since today was my birthday....and we ate A LOT....and my Mom made me a red velvet birthday cake.....which I ate WAY too much of......I may have to get those stretchy pants out early :)  LOL....well....kinda.....

SO....anyway.....as you guys know I decided to go ahead and get the happiness flowing by getting my Christmas stuff out a little early this year.....and we really did make a lot of progress on getting everything decorated last week.....don't get me wrong....WE ARE NOT DONE.....BUT I'd say we are maybe 75% complete (sorry....my inner nerdy engineer needed to quantify it)......

BUT I am so excited about the way my dining room is coming together that I just have to share a little sneak peak of what's to come when it's finished.....I guess technically I already did that when I shared my new centerpiece here......BUT......whatever.....just pretend like this is the first time....okay??  Sorry.....I'm just so excited about it....I've never attempted to do a themed room before, so I'm having a lot of fun with it!  :)

So.....here you go....some more Christmas beautifulness (probably not a real word) in silver, white, and aqua? blue.....

This is on top of my China cabinet in the dining room.....

I've also got little white lights inside of the silver "tulle", so it will glow at night.....but haven't gotten a pic of that yet....

Here are a few up close pics (the first is my favorite!).....

The ornaments are all from Target and the "stuff" popping out of the candle holders is from Hobby Lobby (got it half off.....yay!).

The little "trees" below are from Hobby Lobby (got them half off too!) and were part of the display that started my little obsession with this color scheme for this room....

And here's a super easy, but pretty little thing.....just popped a few ornaments on top of a silver tray.....

Sorry....you know me.....I like EASY!!

AND.....I have more to show....but I think this is a good stopping place for now.....

I have big plans this week to do some crafting, so hopefully I'll be able to share a little of that too :)

Until next time.....

XOXO-

Kristal





Goodbye Fall.....Hello Christmas.....

Hello friends!  I hope your week is off to a good start!!

As you guys know....things have been a little rough around here lately....with my Dad's broken leg that I talked about here and my Mom's broken foot that I talked about here.......you wouldn't think that much more could happen....BUT.....a few more (not good) things have happened.......but.......I won't get into all that tonight......

SO.....we need some FUN around here.....and we need some HAPPY things too!!  SO.....we are putting up our Christmas stuff NOW!!  I LOVE Christmas!!  It is such a happy time of year and it seems like most people are just in a better mood.....

SO....I am hoping that getting all our Christmas stuff out will help get us all back to our normally happy selves.....

SO....seriously.....don't hate on me b/c I'm a little early this year with the decorations.....believe me....I'm with you......these stores that start putting out Christmas stuff in July/August have LOST THEIR MINDS!!  Seriously....it's ridiculous.....BUT hopefully since I'm only a couple of weeks early....you guys who think I'm too early can forgive me just this once :)

SO.....I saw a display at Hobby Lobby a few months ago.....with the whole display being done in silver, white, and a aqua? blue.....and right then I decided that I wanted to do a whole room with this color scheme.....something totally new for me.....since normally I just drag out all the same old stuff year after year......

SO......here is the first thing that I put together for this room.....

Ummmm.....LOVE IT!!  :)

I already had everything in the picture except for the Christmas ball centerpiece....and I put that cutie together yesterday.....ok.....so confession time......I actually intended for it to be a wreath.....I made one last year (I'll show ya later) with no problems, but the wire I used this time wasn't stiff enough to hold the ornaments in shape.....SO......my wreath kept collapsing on itself.....ugh!!  SO.....while I was trying to decide how to fix my little problem (aka....start over with the wreath).....I laid the "wreath" down on the table.....and.....then I really like how it looked.....and whattya know....my candle holder fit perfectly in the middle.....oh yeah.....I've got an awesome centerpiece!!  Cool!!

SO....I decided that I'm going to leave it here.....and probably make another wreath......

Here are a few more pics of this pretty little thing....

Of course I'm still going to change out the rocks in the other vases with something that will go more with the theme.....so hold tight....I'm just getting started.....

AND.....if your are interested in making one of these Christmas ball wreaths / centerpieces........they are SO EASY!!  Seriously.....anyone can make one of these......

All you need is a piece of wire....if you want the wreath, then you probably need wire with a thickness similar to a hanger.....so it will hold it's round shape.....

Then you just thread the Christmas balls onto the wire......some recommend that you hot glue the hanger part of the ornament onto the ball before you put onto the wire.....I didn't do this.....and had no problem.....but it probably depends on the ornaments that you are using.....so use your good judgement.....or try a few and see how it goes......

Once you've threaded all your ornaments onto the wire.....probably about 50-70 ornaments....depending on their size and how large of a wreath you want.....then just tie the wire back to itself......

AND.....BAM.....you've got yourself a gorgeous wreath or centerpiece!!  IT REALLY IS SO EASY AND LOOKS SO GOOD!!!

I hope you'll try it :)

I can't wait to share some more......but.....

Until then.....

XOXO-
Kristal

Taming The Creme Nightmare.....Ahhh....Yes....The Dining Room Makeover Part 1

We have affectionately referred to our house as THE CREME NIGHTMARE for years.....because when we moved into our house there was not one painted room.....THE ENTIRE HOUSE WAS CREME! Ok....so it was nice to have a blank pallet to work with.....but.....ugh.....all that creme....bleh.....SO BORING!

So......I am sure most of you have heard how a little paint can totally change a room.....and....I have to say that I totally agree!  That's not to say that painting is easy....especially if you have a little one running around...to be truthful it is a big old pain!  All that taping and plastic....ugh!  BUT....it is SO worth it when you see that transformation!!

So....I got the itch one day to paint my dining room....oh yeah....did I mention that this was on a Monday....And.....we were having a party at our house on the following Saturday.....yep.....nothing like a deadline to get you moving FAST!! 

So here's what I started with......

Ok....ok....so it's not bad.....but it is REALLY creme!!  Seriously.....I think we need to spice this baby up a little bit!!

So.....I saw this post over at Thrifty Decor Chick and LOVED the color that she used in her dining room.....SO dramatic.....with such a formal touch.....SO....I had to try it!!

So.....here's the after......

Ahhhh.....L-O-V-E it!!  The color is Cinnabark by Behr.....it is a really rich dark brown color and it really POPS with the white molding.....did I mention that I love how this turned out.....oh yeah.....I guess I did!  Seriously though......going with a color this dark was risky for me......remember....I am an engineer.....so I like to play it safe!  And it didn't help that the hubs asked me about 50 times while I was painting if I WAS SURE that I wanted to go that dark.......ha............now he loves it too!!  Don't doubt the VISION babe......don't doubt the vision!!

Here are a few more pics, so you can get a good look :)

And a couple up close pics to show you some of the details......

The big "hurricane" type candle holders in the first picture above came from Home Goods (I bought one and my Mom bought one for me....thanks Mom!!). 

The second pic shows off my recent obsession with all things quatrefoil......just look around......this stuff is everywhere right now!  I suppose it is a trend of sorts.....but I noticed when I was at my parent's house that their 1970's kitchen cabinets had an bit of quatrefoil......so I guess what goes around comes around :)  ANYWAY.....since it's a little trendy I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it......SO I used a stencil to paint the quatrefoil design on the piece of cardboard that came with the frames (and I got the frames 1/2 price at Michael's......I think.....or maybe Hobby Lobby....can't remember).  I think they turned our pretty good for a cheap and easy DIY!!  I also like the sort of global / Moroccan feel that they give to the room.....there's my spice :)

And the last pic.....I just used some old vases and candle holders that I had around the house.....added some river rocks and candles.....and sat them on top of a mirror that we took out of our 1/2 bath when we remodeled it......such a quick and easy centerpiece......just my style!!

Well.....whatcha think?  Likey?  I hope so!!  We really do!!  BUT.....as I'm sure you can tell.....I'm not finished in there yet.....there are still lots of free spaces that need some love.  I've been thinking and I've got some ideas......oh yeah.....it's gonna be fun!!  BUT.....I won't spoil the surprise.....you'll just have to wait ;)

What ideas do you guys have for this space?  I'd love to hear about them......

Until next time....

XOXO-
Kristal

I'm linking up here.....