approx 10 lbs at 9 weeks, first day at home!

25.2 lbs at 15 weeks! our little boy is not so little anymore!

Here are some pics from Black Eiffel :

and more from JuBella :

and more from YDF :

Check out Sixx Design for more of their amazing design work.

And you better believe I’m going to be picking up their book, Downtown Chic.

I love their unexpected use of color, and their mix of vintage and modern pieces.  They buy what they love, and i’m all about that philosophy.  It keeps things interesting, and never too matchy matchy.  And you know i’m all about the feng shiu,  and am digging their use of open spaces and lots and lots of windows.  So their bold choices of color got me thinking of adding more splash of color to the abode.  Here are a few things on my wish list:

CB2′s knitted pouf:

Target’s Metal Bistro Set in yellow:

CB2 Orange Formosa Tray Table

West Elm Links Duvet Cover :

Etsy’s , Quite Contrary , print :

Etsy, deKanimal, print :

Now, who’s gonna jump on the 9 by Design bandwagon??!?

Well, I attempted this project myself last weekend.  Check out how!

First, I looked for 3 already used bottles around the house.  I wanted to pick 2 taller bottles, and one shorter one- for height variation.  I also wanted to pick bottles that had different types of “texture” and shape.  Here is what I came up with.  The shorter bottle once stored a chicken marinade from Trader Joes- I liked the height and interesting form of the neck.  The middle bottle once stored a Port Wine we got from Napa.  I liked the sleekness and simplicity of this bottle.  Finally, the bottle on the right is an S. Pellegrino bottle.  I liked that this bottle was a little fatter than the Port Wine bottle.

So, after picking out which bottles I wanted to transform, I rinsed them out and made sure they were nice and clean on the inside.

Next step, I had to take off the labels.  I plugged our sink and filled it up with hot water and  3-4 drops of dish washing liquids, and dropped the bottles in.  I then left the bottles in there soaking for about 1 hour.

Once an hour passed (check the labels after an hour, you’ll know if it’s time for the labels to come off, or if you need to leave them for a bit longer), I peeled off the labels while they were still in the water.  Some labels were easy to take off…such as the S. Pellegrino bottle and the Port Wine bottle, but the Trader Joe’s bottle needed a little help from our dish sponge and a bit of scrubbing.  After the labels were off, I washed, rinsed and dried the bottles.

Then, I got my painting supplies ready.  When we were at Lowe’s, I came across some discounted paint-  half a pint of Valspar Samples for $.50…yup! 50 cents!  We used Mercer Blue Satin and Breakwater Interior Satin Latex.  We also bought a pack of sponge paint brushes (we use these often) for about $3.50.

Then it was time to paint!!  You may want to start painting below the rim of the bottle first, so you can use your fingertips to turn your bottle as you paint, without messing up the paint you already laid.  Last step would be to paint the rim.

We ended up doing 3 coats of paint on each bottle.  Letting it dry for about 2 hours before the next coat.  The amount of coats may also depend on the color of your bottle or the color of your paint.  Here is what it looked like after the first coat.

And, here they are after 3 coats!  I love the look…so simple and chic!  Really loving how we used the same color, but in different shades…it just looks like it makes sense that way.  If you are looking for a super cheap and super easy project, try this one!

The only flowers I needed to refresh so far, have been our coffee table flowers.  I switched them from the white vase, to a shorter, smaller vase (from Anthropologie, can be used as a glass, or like me- as a candle tea light holder- I love the color!)  There were a few shorter flowers that went bad.  I took the bunch out of the white vase, snipped the bottom at an angle under fresh water, put in nice clean fresh water into the green vase, and voila!  A new arrangement!

From this:

To This:

The other mums in the bud vase are still livin’ large.  I havn’t even refreshed the water, or snipped the ends yet…but will probably do so today or tomorrow.

I am convinced that Mums are the longest lasting flowers I have ever had!

Check out these cool closet make-overs.

from theofficestylist.com

from livinglocurto.com

from keloconnell.wordpress.com

allyou.com

roomremixblog.blogspot.com

So I stuck the jar in the freezer overnight, then the next day i chipped of the excess wax.  Then, I washed the jar…and voila! Another storage item!   I paid about $6 for a candle, and storage jar! Not too bad.

Here it is frosted, after spending the night in the freezer.

Clean, washed, and ready to be used!

Love how amazingly simple and innovative this is.

Apartment Therapy

I love the short setting of these flowers…perfect for our coffee table!

Love the way these Mums look in these two bud vases.  I think i’ll be keeping one of these on my nightstand upstairs, and one on our kitchen counter.

Not bad for $1.49 per “arrangement”, right?

The other day my sister gave me these flowers straight from her garden…nothing like free flowers to spruce up your home!

How yummy do these look in this honeycomb vase?!  These flowers are livin’ the life on our dining table.

So…let’s see how long I can get these blooms to live!!!! I will have to be good about cleaning out the water and keeping them nice and fresh!!!!