Ikea + 1 Teenage Boy = B.O.R.E.D.

Do you see that face? Doesn't he look thrilled to be at Ikea?...and this photo was taken in the first 5 minutes of our visit.

We took a little trip down to Dallas over the weekend and had to do the obligatory stop at Ikea. If you don't have an Ikea in your town, you know what I mean.

Love this media center (although, I'd take mine a little smaller).

I still REALLY want this dresser. I think I'm going to have to make it a priority to save up and make a trip down there again at some point. It has great storage and it would be perfect in my bedroom.

I'm lusting after white, slipcovered dining chairs.

Is he looking like he's having a good time yet? Oh yeah, he has my blackberry in his hand and has been checking sports scores...I think it eased his pain.

Love the hutch (are you sensing a "white" theme here?).

I bought a pair of these striped curtains. $29.99 for a pair and they're 98 inches long and made of thick cotton! Love Ikea.

Oh, wait...what's that?! Somehow swedish meatballs and sparkling swedish cider brought on a wee smile.

And because I felt so bad about dragging him through 20,000 square feet of throw pillows and window treatments I caved when he begged me to buy this florescent red doggy pillow for our little Kingsley. Oh yeah...totally works with my color scheme. Kingsley does love it though. I guess sometimes asthetics have to be sacrificed for the bigger picture....like a happy boy and dog :).

Cute as a Button

First, I need to announce the winner of Friday's giveaway.

Can I just say you guys made this decision soooo difficult! Each of your comments tugged at my heartstrings, and I honestly wish I could have given a set of birds to each and everyone of you...I'm not just saying that. But, sadly, I only had one set, so I had to make a VERY tough decision.

And the winner is: Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick.

Thanks to everyone that stopped by, and continues to stop by. I appreciate each and every one of you, yes, I will have more giveaways in the future.

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So have you noticed my fancy schmancy brand spanking new "Our Suburban Cottage" button on the left of the blog? I'm so excited I can't stand it.

It was designed by the amazing (and patient) Kate at Smitten Blog Designs. I am NOT an easy client. I'm from the world of "this blog button needs to reflect my very essence", and she was totally cool with that. And, it only cost $10!!! She should have charged me much more, but nope, that's the price. They also have entire premade blog templates that can be downloaded starting at $5.

So feel free to download my fancy schmancy new blog button and add it to your blog, and check out all of the great options available at Smitten Blog Designs - and just so you know they didn't pay me to say that...I just really liked them.

Have a great Monday!

GIVEAWAY!!!!

Note: This giveaway is closed. Thanks

It's here! Giveaway Day!!! I think I might be more excited than you guys. You know when you buy someone a great gift and you just can't wait to see them open it? That's how I feel. Oooh, or remember that time Oprah started jumping up and down when she did the big car giveaway? Yep, I feel kind of like that.


Ok, so without further adieu, here's what I'm giving away:




Aren't they cute?!


You may remember them from this post. You all swooned over them, so I knew I had to go back and get them. They are kind of small, so don't be disappointed if you win and they're not the 10 inch birds you had hoped for. They're more like 3-4 inches, but they're totally adorable.


What do you have to do to enter? Just post a comment below. Be sure I can find your email address somewhere, otherwise leave it in your comment. I'll announce the winner Monday.


Good luck!!!

PATIO INSPRIATION

Remember, to be sure to stop by tomorrow for a GIVEAWAY celebrating my 50th post! I'll give all the details tomorrow, but I promise you'll like it.

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Now that spring is officially here (in the U.S. - I thought I should clarify in respect to my friends "down under") my eye has started to wander outdoors to our back deck (and garden...or lack thereof, but that's another post). I've always dreamed of having a great back patio or deck where I could have friends over, barbeque and chill out on long summer nights. I finally have a great deck, but sadly not much patio furniture.

Here are the realtor photos of my deck from before I bought my house (I'm being a little lazy here...sorry).

The deck isn't ginormous, but it's definitely roomy and it has lots of potential.

This is what I'd really like to have out there (in case you can't tell, I didn't use a ruler once - and yes, I REALLY need to get Photoshop!):

The hold up? I need patio furniture. I did score on this little table on clearance at Garden Ridge last fall for $15 (I'm not making that up!), and I already had the chairs from Ikea (I need to spray them black).

I figure once the chairs are painted black it will have the same feel as this table/chairs from Pottery Barn. Not my dream color combo, but not bad.

I still need seating for the upper tier of the deck, though, and I really want a loveseat and at least 2 side chairs. I'll be keeping an eye out for bargains to round out my collection of patio furniture, and I'll let you know what I'm able to find. In the meantime here's some great patio eye candy for you.

Photo Credits: 1&2 via Camilla at Home, 3. Cottage Living, 4 &5 Pottery Barn (old photos), 6. via Simply Natural

IF I CAN'T HAVE COTTAGE LIVING....

Okay, I should really stop pouting about the fact that Cottage Living is no longer with us. So, in the spirit of moving on I've embraced a new magazine (well...new to me), Coastal Living. It's a little more beachy than Cottage Living...ummm, understandably since it is "Coastal" Living, but it's not bad....and by "not bad" I mean it's really pretty darn good, I'm just still pouting.

And I'm dying to know more about these spray paint colors!

All images: Coastal Living

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Also, don't forget I'll be having a GIVEAWAY this Friday that you won't want to miss!

THE LOOK FOR LESS: MASTER BEDROOM

First, I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY this Friday to celebrate my 50th post. I’ll write more about it during the week, but be sure to stop by Friday for your chance to win!


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Remember when I came up with a plan to make a few changes to my master bedroom? Here's a refresher photo.




I already have the nightstands (purchased on clearance at the JC Penney Outlet last year for $49 each), and I have white bedding and a headboard similar to the one pictured above. So basically what I need to focus on is finding accessories to create the right look.


This pillow is by Thomas Paul and it's $100....a little bit much for me (and by a little I mean A LOT!).




I considered this option by Pottery Barn (found on Ebay). It was close to what I wanted, but the blue was a little more bold than I wanted, and I wanted to see if I could do better than $31.99.




And then I stumbled upon some lovely linen damask fabric at Hobby Lobby. It was 30% of it's normal price of $29.99 a yard, and I only need 1/2 yard to make a pillow...so I jumped on it (um, by the way...the lady at the cutting counter at Hobby Lobby may look at you a little funny when you ask for only 1/2 a yard of fancy upholstery fabric...just so you know).



I already had a pillow insert, so the total cost of this pillow? $10. Woo hoo!



I loved this wood tray(?)...vessel(?)...thingy. The one in the picture is from West Elm (no longer available), but I'm guessing it was $20-$30.




I stopped by a garage sale the other day and what did I find?





Oh yeah, wood tray, vessel, thingy. And the price? $4...YES, I said $4!


Finally, I loved this mercury glass candle holder. It was also from West Elm, and I'm not sure what the price was, but I'm guessing $20?




See this mercury looking vase?




The price? $2 on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Score!




I also bought a nice little mercury looking glass ball for $5. Combined with a candle holder I already have they look lovely.


I'll let you know when the bedroom is completely finished, but I'm loving how it's coming together so far.

I CAN BE A LITTLE IMPATIENT

First of all, go check out Thrift Store Thursday at Holly's great blog Homebody. She's having a linky party so there should be lots of great stuff to see.

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And in other news..., am I the only one out there that's ridiculously impatient? Granted, this can be a good thing in some ways because it keeps my butt in gear and helps me to accomplish a lot. For example, in the first weekend after moving into my old house I had stripped all of the wallpaper in the kitchen and entry, replaced the knobs on the kitchen cabinets, and started painting the dining room! But, um, can any human really keep up that pace?

Although, good ol' Mr. Armstrong may qualify...

Layla over at The Lettered Cottage did a great post the other day called her "Ta-Dah" list (if you haven't read it you should totally head over there) and she also did a great guest post over at Nesting Place yesterday (...seriously, that girl is having a rock star week). She's in the midst of redoing a complete fixer upper, so she knows a thing or two about being overwhelmed by house projects. I really admire her philosophy of:

A) Acknowledging what you HAVE accomplished, and

B) Pacing yourself by doing a little bit on the house each week, but not so much that you want to keel over....Um, is that a lightbulb moment for anyone besides me?

VINTAGE GRAIN SACKS

I've been thinking about vintage grain sacks quite a bit lately...Ha! Can you imagine if that was a response to "Penney for your thoughts...?". Anyhoo, I've especially been drawn to the gorgeous monogrammed grain sacks out there. My fascination with these grain sacks was all started by this post at Joys of Home where she created her own "grain sack" with burlap and craft paint.

Oh, how I want to make one of these now. I especially love the olive branches. Brilliant!

Here are some other gorgeous grain sacks I've found out there:

1, 2, 3: Ebay - Antique Vintage European Textiles ; 4 & 5: Via Willow Decor; 6: Tricot Naturelle; 7. Ernst and Thistle ; 8. Petit Coterie

If I do in fact make one of these and it looks halfway decent I'll be sure to post about it. If it looks horrible...I guess I could share what not to do :).