pink pouf.

I am currently writing this post from Cloud 9

because I just found the perfect pink pouf at Home Goods!

source

for only $60!

 Little Man and I were browsing the aisles...

I turned the corner,
The "Hallelujah Chorus" began playing.
My heart was racing.

Love at first sight.

The world went into slow motion as I began walking towards it.

I had just found the perfect pink pouf for our baby girl's nursery!

When I got home I found this image on Pinterest by searching "pink pouf",
 and yep, it's exactly the same as mine.

The addition a pouf to a room's decor brings an element of playful sophistcation.
Here are some other fabulous ones,
in case incorporating a bright coral pink one doesn't quite fit your color scheme...

source

Do you have a crazy love for poufs, too?

Fulfilling the Vision? or Swamped by Projects?

My hubby and I are currently reading a wonderful book by our pastor, Gregg Matte:

Finding God's Will: Seek Him, Know Him, Take the Next Step

In fact, our small group Bible Study that meets in our home each week is going through it together.

A few days ago, a particular passage from Chapter 11 spoke to me, and I wanted to share it with you.

The chapter's content is about leading, Matte defines two words: vision and projects.

vision: the grand direction of God's leading

projects: the short-term, incremental tasks that are done to arrive at the goal

Matte gives an example of how projects tend to get in the way of our vision.

His example is that of people who have a vision of living in a comfortable,
hospitable home which is open to frequent visitors.  

However, the homeowners get stuck in project mode &

never get around to having friends over to fellowship.

The pressure of perfection leads them to more and more projects.

"The patio furniture is seldom occupied; the china remains in the cabinet; no one comes over to the house; while the homeowners continue to scurry to finish unending projects." 

That's obviously not what they initially intended, but rather something more like this, 

where their projects point to their vision...

"...Clean the house to mess it up with a party; use the china so much that you know you'll break some; have a tremendous conversation with a loved one on the patio as spring blossoms.  Play in the yard with your kids so much that there are worn spots."

He concludes the section by saying

"allow the vision to drive the projects instead of the projects squelching the vision."

Is your vision to have a home that's welcoming, a place of fellowship,

a home where the door is always open to visitors?

That's definitely the vision for our home.

I used to get so nervous that people would judge my decorating skills 

because these two chairs  still weren't recovered, or my table wasn't refinished,

or I hadn't hung pictures, or my yard had weeds, etc. etc. etc.
Before I realized that my projects had skewed my vision, there were definitely missed
opportunities of opening our home to others. 

If I had continued to allow those imperfections to get in the way of hosting friends and family, 

I cringe at the thought of how many missed opportunities to love and fellowship we'd have missed.

How many Bible studies? Christmas brunches? Easter lunches? baby showers? or birthday parties?

would I have chosen not to host just because I was focused on completing the projects

rather than fulfilling our vision. 

Do you have projects left unfinished? Don't let them stand in your way!

Fulfill your vision this weekend! Invite the neighbors over, plan a party, make a mess, 

break some china while you're at it. 

and l.o.v.e. on people in your home, just as you intended to do from the beginning!

source: 

Finding God's Will by Gregg Matte

Chapter 11, pages 182-183

Hallway Runners - ordered!

If you follow me on Pinterest you know that I found 

an amazing deal on a particular hallway runner.

At the beginning of my search I made a mental list of criteria.

Always a great idea, so you don't end up throwing your hearts desire out the window,

just because you find a good deal.

{criteria}

*indoor/ outdoor rug which would hold up to our hallway traffic

*a neutral color that i won't tire of 7 months down the road

*simple pattern but enough to give the hallway some pizzazz

here and here i wrote about runners that had caught my eye,

but in the end I picked one that wasn't on either of those lists.

I was flipping through my favorite Ballard Designs catalogue on a car trip

 a few weeks ago, and I stumbled across this picture of perfection...

love. quatrefoile.

love. gray.

A 2'7" x 8' runner was only $49! 

Which was great because I needed two of them,

and most of my other favorites were $150/ea.

I could order two for less than the price of one of the others I'd liked!

For some reason that didn't make me bite the bullet on ordering hallway rugs.

Then, yesterday, I received a Ballard email informing me that all outdoor rugs were

15% off!

done.

I ordered two of them this morning, and with tax and shipping the grand total was $101.25! 

Now that's a deal that can't be beat.

and the rug meets all my criteria. 

I can't wait for them to arrive on my doorstep.

I'll post pics as soon as they do!

Dijon Dreaming (updates)

A few months ago I posted this
Client Inspiration Board:

Dijon Dreaming

Julie & Evan Master by peaceofhome 


I created this inspiration board for some of our dear friends who live in Austin.
Julie is a self-claimed "non spender of money when it comes to clothes and house decor"
Well, she asked the right person for help!
After we picked the color scheme she gave me creative freedom to choose the decor elements,
which made the process so much fun!
 I got started by designing the Inspiration Board, shopped for items online,
then we made a weekend of it, went for a visit, and found even more great items on our shopping trip!

Here is the progress that's been made so far...

BEFORE 

AFTER

changes made:
*cleaner, simpler lines
*removed the side table/ small lamp which were crowding the space
*added a floor lamp with a mustard shade to keep the light for reading
*tossed in a few decorative pillows to bring the white from the bedding
across the room and to tie in the mustard accents
*added a small basket on the right for holding books

the dresser went from a light brown

to a peaceful grey with knobs that pop!

changes:

*de-cluttered the surface, but kept their favorite things.

*removed the wall clock that was too small for the space

*willow branches in the yummy dijon vase added a natural element to the room

finally their bed received some dijon and grey treatment, too.

BEFORE

AFTER

we shopped around on saturday and found those great fabrics,
then i sewed pillow covers and the bolster pillow.
(better pic of pillows coming soon!
along with a pillow cover tutorial!)

love those lamps?
found them on clearance at crate and barrel for just $40/ea!

and notice the window treatments?
we took down the sheets that had been on the windows since before they purchased the house
and added these grey drapes from Ikea for only $40!

they add such great contrast to the light walls and bedding.

This room transformation ended up being rather thrifty,

from the great deal on items listed above, to repurposing the dresser,

making the pillow covers, and shopping at the fav Home Goods for throw pillows, etc.

We still have a few things left to do...

*decor on the wall above the bed

*rug at the foot of the bed

*mirror above the dresser

...but she has a baby due in the next few weeks!

So these tasks obviously got bumped to the back burner,

and all her attention was focused on her sweet baby's nursery!

but someday those finishing touches will be made in their master bedroom.

Until then, I am glad to know that she and her hubby

"sleep better in a decorated room."

sharing this project with:

Domestically Speaking

and

Blue Cricket Design

and

Shabby Chic Cottage

Fabric Selections

Yesterday, I shared my color inspiration that I found on Pinterest

and today you get to see the fabrics we found that fit our color scheme perfectly.

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crib skirt

{source}

roman shade window treatment

{source}

accent chording for crib skirt & bumper

 also to be used on the inside of crib bumper

Rosehips by Duralee

outside of crib bumper

Aqua by Duralee 

The fabric for the crib sheets will have to remain a secret:

(1)  i like secrets and surprises

(2)  i can't find images of those fabrics

(3) yes, i could take pictures, upload, and post but little man's nap time is almost over

(4) the anticipation is good for you

If I told you how many times I have laid the fabric samples out and stared

with a huge smile on my face, you'd probably think I am crazy.

Dreaming of creating the perfect nursery for our little girl is so much fun!

Only 117 more days until we get to kiss her sweet face...

Calming Color Combination

The day we heard the surprising news that we were having a girl,
I knew immediately what color scheme I'd choose...

Something similar to the light teal & coral colors in this room

{source}

Last week I found an Etsy shop that makes custom crib bedding

for a very reasonable price!
All I needed to make my dreams come true were a few fabric selections.

On Friday, my sweet mom and I spent the day in search of fabulous fabrics,
 and by dinner time we had created the perfect combination.

This is the image we carried up and down many aisles and aisles...

{source}

This color palette is calming and fresh with a splash of coral spice.

A few times I was tempted to veer away from my original plan,
but custom crib bedding is just not one of those things I was willing to compromise on.
We pressed on until we had found exactly what we were looking for!

Are you on Pinterest?
My sister-in-law, Lauren, told me about it months ago and I have become completely obsessed!

If you use Pinterest come find me & follow
Peace of Home
so you can see what I'm dreaming up before it ever appears on the blog!

Tomorrow I'll show you a sneak peek at our selections from Friday's shopping trip!

a darling surprise!

A few weeks ago I wrote and shared the news that we were expecting a baby boy!

We were so thrilled! I am absolutely obsessed with this cute little man and his dada

(this pic is almost a year old, but I just think it's adorable.)

and couldn't even imagine how much fun we'd have with three dudes in this house!

Yesterday was our 20-week anatomy ultrasound.

My Dr. sends all her patients to a 

specialist who checks everything to make sure the baby is developing normally.

We received a wonderful report, our precious baby is developing perfectly.

We are beyond thankful for such a great report!

We did receive a very unexpected bit of news, though.

As, Linda, the sweet ultrasound technician was taking measurements and counting fingers and toes,

she asked a familiar question.

Here is how the remainder of the conversation went.

Linda: "Have you found out the gender of your baby yet?"

Liz: "Yes, we are so excited to have a second baby boy on the way!"

Linda: "Really?...Well I am 99.9% sure you are having a baby girl!"

Liz: "AHHHHHHH!!! Really?!?! Oh my goodness!

(I was beaming from ear to ear and continued smiling for the remainder of the day!)

Hubby: "Wait. What?"

Liz: We are having a GIRL!!!!! 

I then continued to laugh hysterically with sheer joy and excitement!

Linda had to ask me to calm down so she could continue with the ultrasound...

And the Anatomy Specialist Doctor came in and verified the results,

It's a GIRL!!!!

source

Hubby is definitely excited but he has been in a state of shock for the last day or so.

I know he'll be such an incredible daddy to our little girl.

And I can't wait to see them lock eyes for the first time.

We couldn't be more excited! 

So, I have set aside my boy nursery plans and the girl plans are in full swing!

Here is what I have dreamed up so far...

l.o.v.e. the color scheme in Isabella's Room 

and I am going with the teapot theme...like in this room from

laybabylay

See those teapot pendants in the top left corner of her design board?

They were originally $270/ea at Anthro!

I went to pick up a few today and bought each one for only $50/ea!

I paid $150 rather than $810!!

Let's be honest, there's no way I would have ever paid $810 for those,

even though they're too darling for words. So excited about my deal of the day!

Below are more lovelies that I am currently imagining in her room...

 (this lamp at Anthro is almost $300...but hubby and I devised a plan to create our own!

i'll definitely give you a step-by-step how to...stay tuned.)

Wondering how a little girl was mistaken for a little boy?

So were we...perhaps her umbilical chord got in the way???