Our Home - Coming Soon!

After many months of some fairly extreme decorating-laziness, I have jumped back on the "beautifying our home" train. I dont think there is a real-live train like that, but I sure do wish there was. Regardless, I have finally been adding things to bare walls, putting lamps where lamps belong, spray painting everything that can't run from me, etc, etc...

This is simply my introductory post that will lead you into the many, sporadic posts over the course of who knows how long that will feature a ton of the re-dos we did when we first moved in to our crazily out-dated home & many of the fun new additions we have done recently around the house as well. Some projects will be DIY, some will be purchased, some dug out of an old box in the closet and nailed to the wall... some old...some new... you get it - variety, randomness... but lets be honest, it will all be budget-friendly (aka cheap!) so get excited if you too are saving your pennies like crazy & can pretty much only afford items from the clearance aisle at tj maxx. No offense though tj maxx... you know I love nothing more than when you offer me a cheap, bronze, gaudy frame which can be spraypainted WHATEVER BRIGHT COLOR I WANT!

Alright enough rambling introduction, let this picture be a little glimpse into the fab-ness of the "Our Home" series..

So fiiine. :)

Rainy Days: Braches House

These past couple of days have been overcast, rainy, and a little gloomy... but honestly, I'm loving it. I feel like it hasn't rained in forever & I just love the way rain makes me feel... Relaxed, content, mellow... I think my coffee even tastes better when I can hear the sound of rain outside. Plus its funny to watch my dog freak out when he has to go to the bathroom in the wet grass -- what a nerd.

Anyway--all this rain got me thinking about when my family went down to our land in Gonzales (South Texas) last May. My parents took us to see the house on the property that we hadn't seen in forever... it was a bit of a run-down mess, but it was still beautiful, especially with the rain and the way the overcast sky made the colors a little eery.

Heres a little (I promise, just a little) history on the house and land:
A log house built in 1831 by Sarah Ann and Bartlett D. McClure was replaced by this plantation-style house built in the 1840s by Sarah Ann and Charles D. Braches. The house became a stopping place for wagon trains, stages and mail hacks.
After the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston ordered the burning of Gonzales before the advancing Mexican Army. A large oak tree near the home will forever be known as 'The Sam Houston Oak', because it was here the general is said to have rested on his first stop during 'The Runaway Scrape'.
You can see the Sam Houston Oak in the last picture, as we were driving away from the house.

Enjoy these rainy day pictures & hopefully you'll be as inspired as I'm feeling by the historical charm, rainy colors, and old rustic beauty of the Braches House.

Lovin - House of Turquoise Blog

I clearly love turquoise... especially when its paired with yellow - so cheery and pretty! I recently found this blog that I'm a tad obsessed with called House of Turquoise. Every picture features home design that has at least a bit of turquoise (usually lots!). These pics below were found in the turquoise & yellow section and I just love them. Such great inspiration for all types of design!

New Oh Louise! Website

It's way overdue, but I have finally finished re-doing the Oh Louise! website... not only is there a fresh new design (or at least more fresh than the christmas cards I had featured before), but now you can purchase Oh Louise! products right from the website. I am so excited about this & hope you are too! Here's a sneak peak of the Home Page -- but do click over & check out the whole site!

Etsy Fav: Jane Joss

One of my fav Etsy artists, Jane Joss is also a member of Etsy Dallas. We recently did a trade that I couldn't have been more excited about... stationery for Jane Joss -- a beautiful fabric plant for Oh Louise! :)

Check out some of their awesome creations-

Mollie's Bedroom on Uptown Country

My mom and sister have a new obsession which has now been passed on to me -- Uptown Country! It's a cute shop in Snyder Plaza where a mom & daughter duo redo furniture and other home goods. Today Mollie's bedroom (and her many Uptown Country purchases!) are featured on the Uptown Country Blog. Check it out & you'll be glad you did -- lots of fun inspirational pictures that will make you want to redo your house on the cheap.

Mollie's Bedroom in College Station, TX