While the husband's away.....

Matt Has been in San Francisco this week for work. He is at a Networkers conference. He also got the chance to tour San Francisco a bit with old college friends.

Here is a picture of him enjoying the beauty of San Fran.




While my hubby is away, I decided to decorate a bit. Nothing major....I didn't buy new couches, or that dining room buffet/hutch I have been dying to get. I kept it small.

I finally decided it was time to hang those darn pictures I bought about 6 months ago for the Living Room. I have stared at blank walls long enough!

Now.....it isn't that we are COMPLETELY lazy about these things. (just MOSTLY....) It is just that I wasn't completely sure I was in love with the pictures.

Wall art is a funny thing....I find it hard to commit. I mean, you are going to stare at it every day.....and we all know, framed art is not cheap. Right?

Thankfully, I found the pictures I hung at a really great price! (Like for $15 a piece at Walmart.) I figure, at that price, I can hang them and if something better comes along in the future, I can just take these down and not feel guilty about it. (Not to mention, I am sure I could find a place for them in our front office.....)

Here is the new look:




You can't tell what those pictures are very well from that photo....but the focal point in each is a leaf. The leaves are raised--so it adds some texture, too, I think. I am not sure the size of the two pieces are completely right for the wall......but I tell you, it is a HUGE improvement than blank walls staring back at me!

Here is a closer look: (excuse the sun streaks and spots)....it IS morning, and there is just no stopping the sun! :0)



Now, while looking at these pictures, I am struck with how "uncolorful" this room is. Hmmmmm..... The pictures seem to really emphasize that. The crazy thing is, that I feel in real life, it is not quite as stark as it appears here. I also think it has more warmth going on in real life. I actually like the peacefulness of the browns, and mustards, and creams, and cranberry.
It IS still a work i progress though. I also still need to update those curtains---just haven't decided what I want, yet.

Guess what else I did yesterday?

I bought a cute little accent table to go in the LR, too. I got it at Kirkland Home. It was one of those "put it together yourself" deals. So I did, thank you very much. :0)
I am sure it would have taken Matt about 20 minutes to do it. It took me an hour. Some of the screws didn't line up well, and I had to get creative. BUT-I did it. MYSELF. Yes, I am kind of proud of that fact. :0)
Here it is:



I had to rummage around my house to find stuff to put on the three shelves. It was kind of like "shopping". I went down into my basement storage, and dug through boxes that were still packed from our move. It was good. I found a bunch of stuff that I put aside for my upcoming garage sale.....but I was able to grab a couple of things that I could use, too. Here is a close up of the top shelf:



Okay....so none of that stuff came from the basement. I pulled the glass display jar (can't think of the word for it at this moment in time) with the apples from my kitchen hutch. I pulled the glass vase with shells (which also completely smells like the beach....yum!) from my LR side table, the candles were originally hidden in a drawer.....and the glass bird is new.

Did you happen to notice that TALL glass vase next to the table? I LOVE that vase. I bought that a while ago, too....and struggled with where to put it. It is totally fun, because there are trees on it and little birds perched on the branches.



Found that at Homegoods. Love that store.

Here is a closer look at the birds....



Cute, right?
My kids think I am a little crazy that I get excited by these things.

Jake said to me yesterday..."Mom, what exactly is that tall glass thing for, anyway?" I told him it was to decorate with. Then he asked. "BUT, what is it FOR??" I simply said, "To enjoy". Then he said, "Weird."

Whatever....
I guess sometimes you can't expect everyone to "get it".