Commitment issues

People of the Internet; I need your help!

Wayyyy back in 2013 when I started blogging about our home adventure, I mentioned how excited I was for a fresh, crisp white bed and this cute orange throw. I have loved the simplicity of it over the past year (I know! a whole year!) but unfortunately my husband has not. We are horrible animal parents and our dog is "mistreated" (to steal the words out of my former neighbors mouth - yes, I'm still bitter) so much so that she sleeps in our bed, usually between us and curled up as close as possible up next to/on us. She lives a double life and spends her days as an outside dog so you do the math. Dirty dog + white bedding = grungy, not crisp. It's not HORRIBLE since I bleach it every now and then, but it's not pretty.

Anyway, Mark has muttered his disdain so here I am, trying to find new bedding. We've been using the comforter shown here, which is fine and hides the dirt well, but I know deep down its by Steve Madden "teen' and I can't get over the somewhat immature feeling it gives off.

I've brought home 2 comforters/duvet covers and since returned them, and even had one in my cart until the very last minute, but I'm pretty sure shopping for duvets is the hardest thing EVER. Worse than childbirth.

I'm going for a grown up eclectic look in our house, with some layering and relaxation thrown in. I want something that doesn't overpower the room but that will also hide some of the dirt that the dog brings in. I also love having a throw at the bottom to break up the giant piece of furniture in our small room, as well as lots of different throw pillows at the head of the bed.

Here are some that I'm liking:

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See why I went with white in the first place?

I actually have some new favorites after putting these all in one place. Hopefully I can make a decision ASAP! Unfortunately a couple of these are on final sale, so I'm super hesitant to make a purchase, especially considering my duvet commitment issues!

Please lend me your thoughts on what you think I should do! Thanks!

New addition to the family

I posted a teaser on my five on Friday last week about a chair we had purchased for our living room. All three of the chairs were definitely contenders, but if I'm being honest, I had my eye on one from the start. 

I thought this chair was fun and would offer a good pattern into our otherwise pretty solid home. The price was right, and I liked the casters too, but I wondered if it would go out of style. I could see a cute orange pillow or brightly colored and patterned pillow plopped down to make it the perfect reading spot. Mark, however, didn't love the girlish pattern so much.

I was at West Elm last weekend and stumbled upon this desk chair. It was smaller than the two other contenders, but I LOVED the grey chevron (duh) and natural wood legs. I sent this picture to Mark and he agreed! Neither of us agreed on the price, though, which was about $75 more than the other two, for a much smaller chair. Plus, I've had West Elm dining chairs before and they didn't last long. Also, I can't really bring myself to add any more grey to my living room!

So, there was only one left standing:

We have a LOT of Ikea furniture in our home. I understand the stigma that it holds; that it is for cheap college students and will fall apart easily and quickly. However, we have bought a lot of our pieces knowing what use we want out of them and being incredibly pleased with how they perform. This chair was well priced and seems well made, and it just happened to be the look that I wanted. It feels classic with a hint of modern, clean lines.

We've had a nook in our living room since we moved in that was just BEGGING for a chair. It has bugged me having people over and only having our couch to offer as seating, which makes for awkward moments since everyone is facing one direction (normal for some, awkward for me). After some Christmas money came in and I had a lot of free time on my hands, I went for it and single-handedly maneuvered, purchased, and loaded the chair into my car from Ikea. Yes, I was that girl in the parking lot un-boxing a giant chair and shoving it into my car. By myself. If only I had taken pictures of that!

Here's our chair in it's new home:

It's definitely a red-orange and matches almost perfectly to the window nook in our kitchen. My photos read more red, but it has more of an orange tint than it's letting on. :)

And just for you Ikea-haters, here are some images that prove how great design and great price can mix and produce something beautiful:

(and I thought I loved stripes!)

Also, which deer pillow is better? You be the judge!

Bookshelf diaries

Bookshelves are underrated.

Built-in bookshelves, especially.

Just look at how a well-styled bookshelf gives the room (and it's owner) a defined personality:

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I can only hope to one day own a home with built-in bookshelves, but for now, I have to start small. I did so a couple weekends ago by purchasing this bookshelf from Ikea. I had seen this Pin previously and had similar ideas for my new purchase:

I'm not convinced (and neither is hubby) that we should spray paint it, although that is what drew me to the original inspiration. What do you think?

Here's where we are so far:

Obviously, I need more books!

Christmas cheer

My sister in law probably won't be able to cope with this information, but it's December 4th and I have yet to put up my Christmas decorations.

Things have been a little cray-cray at my house, what with the kitchen remodel and all, so I have vowed to wait to bring down the Christmas chaos until the kitchen is done and cleaned up.

There have been some lulls in the work where we are waiting for something to dry, etc., so I've taken out a few things that weren't packed and also added some new things to the mix!

We made these fun chalkboard signs at a friend's bachelorette party and I thought it was appropriate to put a little Christmas message up on it. 

I've added it to my gallery wall (in my rearranged living room that I have yet to document) and I love the charm it brings!

These amber colored mercury glass balls are my favorite but they were just rolling around in my closet so I just placed them in a basket.

I had some random holly berries laying around and I thought they would be the perfect addition to my ever changing front door wreath! I like how subtle they are. 

It's nice to have a little Christmas cheer around the house while we finish the remodel.

Have you started decorating for Christmas?

Target Tuesday : Christmas Edition

It's Tuesday, so that means it's TARGET Tuesday! I've got some special Christmas or Holiday items to share today. Target has a unique way of approaching the holidays and I really like their products!

I had to seriously fight the urge to buy one of these warm mulled cider candles. They smelled SO good. The packaging was super cute and reminded me of what you would see in a fancy boutique. Way to go, Target!

I thought these bags were super cute! They weren't exactly in a Christmas theme, but they coordinated with some other Christmas items that were brightly colored. I'd love to get a gift in one of these bags!

These bowls were super cute, and they were dog and cat bowls! I bet someone out there is using them creatively for candy or something!

I also really wanted to buy the origami ornaments for Motley this year but at $7.99 I decided they were a little too steep for an ornament...for a dog. Regardless, they are super cute!

I love this rustic / campy theme that Target has going on. I could see all of this stuff in a woodsy lodge!

These were really cute, festive, but still simple.

I probably wouldn't buy these, but they reminded me so much of some homemade felt ornaments and decorations that my mom had while we were growing up. Too funny!

I like this twist on the snow globe! Who says it has to be round?

I saw these in the Target AD and I reallllly love these red baskets. If I had a wood fireplace, I would have totally snatched one up to put my logs in. 

That's it for today! Do you buy your holiday decorations at Target? Share if you do!