What to do??

It's summer time, or well, it's pretty darn close. Anything over 70 degrees counts as summer in my book. You know what that means? Cotton dresses, swimming pools, tan lines and - yep, you guessed it - MOVING! Ugh!

Moving is the one thing about this summer I'm not looking forward to. There's boxes and cleaning and lifting, oh my! It's all very overwhelming and kind of, sort of exciting all at the same time.

I've found a very cute condo not too far from where I live now. I love this neighborhood and I'm glad I'll get to still shop at the same grocery store and eat at the same restaurants. I know this part of town and it knows me. I like it that way. What I don't know yet is how I'm going to decorate this new home?!? I need paint and furniture and drapes, oh my!

Where do I begin?

dining room 

Ok, so this is what we see when you walk in the door. Small - yes, green - yes, bad light fixture - yes. But, this is where my round pedestal table and swanky new chairs are going to work their magic and make this look suitable enough for Martha and Oprah to come over for dinner.

living room

And here's where my new white slipcovered couch that I just bought is going to go. (FYI - it looks nothing like that white couch) It's really cute and looks like it came from Pottery Barn. Hopefully, when I get these walls a nice shade of crisp blue/grey and throw in a some fantastic lamps and a shabby chic coffee table it will be blog worthy. Stay tuned.

kitchen

And the kitchen... the heart of a home. Well lets just say I hope a "heart" doesn't haven't to be big to be good. I think the word that comes to mind is "cozy" - and that's fine by me. It's got all I need and enough counter space for my mixer!

deck

Again, let's remember... this isn't my furniture or my weight bench. I can assure you, all of that will be long gone once I set up shop. But, it does make me wonder what in the world I'm going to do out here. It's a great deck with a nice view. I haven't really got a plan yet, but I'm working on it. That outdoor kitchen, hydrangea bush and hammock may still have to wait until I build that dream house. 

And so, there you have it - the tour before the tour. Hopefully the next pictures I put up will be after some painting, delivery of the new furniture and the hanging of the drapes. Maybe I can find some friends to come and help... you know, the way they do the hanging of the greens at church? I think this would be a great group project! 

Beach finds...

This past weekend was a great way to start off spring. We headed down to Sunset Beach for an oyster roast with friends. Before the party got started I ventured off to do a little thrift store/consignment store shopping. The great thing about eastern NC beach towns is that they are full of cute little stores just waiting for someone from out of town to by their very nice, but often over-priced goods. We found this great shop near Ocean Isle Beach that had some really great pieces that inspired me to get to work on some things around the house.

For example,

This chair has become part of my "mood board" for my bedroom. I want these colors in my new bedding. I wanted this chair, but I thought we'd start with the comforter first. I've got to get to the fabric store ASAP.

I also found these prints that I think would look great in my coordinating bathroom.

and these two

But perhaps my best inspiration - or the project that may get done this week - was this mirror! I've seen them everywhere and I wanted it. However, my pocketbook did not want the $450 price tag. And so, I was forced to leave it behind. But, I did find a round mirror on Craigslist that is MUCH larger and with a MUCH smaller price tag. (think $20). I'm rounding up my supplies and hope to have some to show off very soon.