My Wreath Frenzy

One of my favorite things of being a homeowner- wreaths! I love hanging wreaths for each holiday and/or season. I feel like its such a fun way to add some charm to your front door and express a little personality:) Last Christmas Hayley and I actually made wreaths and it made me so happy! I have my eye on a few wreaths I just might purchase on Etsy. First course of action- a Mardi Gras wreath of course. When I was a little girl I loved how my mom always hung a Mardi Gras wreath when we lived in Louisiana. My favorite part about this one I found- the creator named it "Throw me something mister!" Gotta love it!

Here is the wreath I have my eye on for Easter

I saw this one and feel like it shouts summer! Plus, I love that it reminds me of Kansas:)

Call me old fashion, but I just love these silly things. Its the little things I guess!

Home Updates

After seven months in our new home, we are finally settled in. Phew! We have worked so hard on making it unique to us and are finally ready to show it off. Enjoy a few snapshots of the place we like to call home!

Master Bedroom and Bath (paint color, Restoration Hardware Silver Sage)

Office and Guest Bedroom (paint color, Sherwin Williams Nomadic Dessert)

Guest Bedroom
Guest Bath (paint color-Behr Toffee Crunch)

Family Room, Kitchen and Breakfast Nook (paint color, Sherwin Williams Latte)

Dining Room and Living Room (paint color, Sherwin Williams Lemon Verbena)

Entry (also SW Latte)

As you can see, I did alot of research and testing of paint colors. I feel like paint adds so much to a house. I decided to omit pictures of our 4th bedroom:) Currently it functions as a catch all for gifts, wrapping paper, crafts, and storage. Not the prettiest sight. But, one day it will become a nursery. It is in the perfect location for a nursery, directly beside the master. I hope you enjoyed your tour!

One Last Project (for now)

I must say, decorating and filling our home is exhausting. So we have one last project we are working on and then we are taking a looooong break! It is great because we really don't have much else to do, but this one last project is important to us. Plus its a fun one! Currently, our TV hangs above our fireplace and there is a nook to the right of it where a TV can be placed. We filled the nook with a console and can't seem to find the right item to hang above it. Finally, we decided that shelving with family pictures would be perfect! I found these Holman Ledges from Pottery Barn.

Now we are going to frame old black and white photos of all different sizes from both my family and Adam's family to place on the ledges. This project is very near and dear to my heart. I cannot wait to have a wall filled with old pictures of our parents, grand parents, and so on. It brings me so much joy! Right now we are in the phase of collecting all of the pictures. So, it may be a while. Until our "masterpiece" is complete I wanted to share with you some of my family's photos. I am lucky enough that my graphic designer brother has retouched and made digital copies to many of our family's old photos. Thanks Nic!
Do I even need to explain who this is below? :)
The Perez family in Cuba, my Abuelo is the dapper young man seated in the suit.
The Perez family in Cuba (my dad is the blondie).
Young Victor Manuel Perez (Dad).

My mom, looking good!
My mom as a tot, no wonder she is such a horse lover!
My maternal grandmother, Julia. Just glam!
My maternal grandfather, Fran.
Three cuties! Mom, Aunt Marcia, Uncle Jay.

Making a House a Home- Decorating Ideas

In between all the fun with family and friends, Adam and I have been working on making our house feel like home. Of course, with this comes a lot of projects. PAINT: As soon as we moved in we painted a few rooms in the house and thought this would allow us to stick to the builder's paint in the other areas for a while. Needless to say, it didn't take long before grew to hate our builder's paint. It was in all major, common areas of the house. It just seemed cold and was too flat. Our walls were getting marked up too easily! We decided to throw in the towel and paint the ENTIRE house. As much as we wanted to paint it ourselves, it was a huge job! So we decided to call on Andy Keister with Grace Painting. He is a fabulous painter, very trustworthy, and inexpensive. I highly recommend him, if anyone needs his digits. In the entryway, kitchen, breakfast room, family room, laundry room, and hallways he painted SW Latte. Which I LOVE!! In every bedroom (except the master which we already painted) he painted SW Nomadic Dessert. This is one shade lighter than Latte. I need to post pictures of the house soon. I am so happy with the finished product. Here is an example below of SW Latte in another home. I absolutely love the warmth in this color!
Currently we are working on furnishing the formal living area at the front of the house. This is the last room that really needs work. It is a very small space off of the formal dining room that I intend to keep open for entertaining, so I am working to create a nice sitting area for guests. My idea was to have two ivory arm chairs around an end table. Anytime I look at decorating magazines and books, I am always drawn to Ivory upholstered seating. Check out the picture below I found online that gave me this idea. I just love these Ivory chairs. Also, I know that I need a rug to warm up the space- visually and literally (its all tile). I am always drawn to cowhide rugs. I just love them in a non-western setting! I think it adds a nice surprise to the room. Plus, my country boy of a husband was all over that! See these examples below I used for inspiration.


So of course, I naturally turn to my usual furniture/decorating "go-to" spots for the chairs I envisioned. Nothing just right for the price! Reluctantly I visited Overstock.com. Much to my surprise I found EXACTLY what I was looking for at half the price of what I fell in love with at Ballard Designs and Pottery Barn. I ordered two of these Ivory Manchester Club chairs. I cannot wait for them to arrive. Oh and did I mention that shipping was $2.95??
Last, but certainly not least I found the perfect pedestal end table at Ballard Designs and ordered a beautiful black and brown cowhide rug from Ebay. Now, the only thing I need are some snazzy throw pillows on those chairs and my "sitting area" is complete!