Boy's Clubhouse

As soon as the kids come home, the first thing we do is to make sure their homework are done and check their bags for notes/letters/communications from the school and their teachers. One day my step son came home and showed us the school paper he wrote for an in-class writing. He wrote about his room.We don't always have them with us so it was so heart warming that he wrote about it. He described the color of his room, the size of his bed, what's on his walls, how he had the Flag of honor displayed on his wall, his Taekwondo medals and awards and his NFL pennants. Every little detail of it. I wish I had kept his paper at home.

Anyway, here's a look at little VJ's room...

sports quilt set: Target

Circo stripe window panel drapes: Target 

cast iron ball finial drape rod: Pottery Barn

Circo score table lamp: Target

Star Wars Darth Vader alarm clock/radio: Toys R' Us

alarm/dock: iHome

bed & night stand: Haverty's 
paint color: Rain (SW6219) by Sherwin Williams

Last year, one of the cities we took the kids for the summer vacation was New York City and we made sure we visited the 911 Memorial. Although they were not born yet when that happened, they have heard all about it in school. Little VJ saw the Flag of Honor and insisted we get it for him. He had us hang it on his bedroom wall.

10th Anniversary Flag of Honor: 911 Memorial Store, NYC
NFL pennants: here

dresser: Haverty's

So what boy's room will be complete without a sign that prohibits girls and pink from coming in?

boy's clubhouse tin sign: Hobby Lobby

Little VJ picked the tin signs himself while Mr. VJ painted the letters and hang everything on his wall.

game on tin sign, eat-sleep-play ball tin sign, pain is temporary tin sign, records are made to be broken tin sign,  
black wood jumbo letters: Hobby Lobby

We can say that Little VJ appreciated the effort we put into making his room "his" ;-)

I hope you are all having a great week!

xoxo,
Tey

A peak into our home...

... this Christmas season...

Christmas is my favorite holiday. Every one is just cheery and looking forward to spending time with their families and friends. The different colorful traditions and food are just icing on the cake. The other fun part of Christmas is decorating. So, without further ado, welcome to our home...


Berry wreath, nativity scene, and a hurricane vase with different red and gold Christmas balls adorn our foyer...

florals: Hobby Lobby (here)

rug, console table: Pottery Barn (old)

Our formal dining room reflects our casual style. I mixed-matched the dining chairs. The side chairs are leather upholstered but I had my mom sew slip covers to soften up the look.

dining table: Pottery Barn (similar Hayden Dining Table and Sumner Dining Table)

arm chairs: Pottery Barn (Grayson Chair)

draperies: Pottery Barn (similar Dupioni Drape)

slipcovers: mom

The centerpiece was made up of antique-silver bowl with sugar-like glazed fruits and a pine wreath with berries, pine cones  and red and gold balls.

antique-silver serve bowl: Pottery Barn (antique-silver serve bowl)

We turned the landing wall of our stairway into our gallery. I hang our wedding and family pictures printed on canvas along with canvas prints of "Family Rules". The banister is decorated with a wreath with pine cones and hang using plaid ribbons in red/white/green colors.

Our Christmas tree is probably my favorite of all.  Our nephews helped hang some of the ornaments when they spent thanksgiving with us.We got a 9.5 ft tree this year. Yes, it is almost touching our ceiling.

This is the time of the year where we get to showcase our Christmas ornament collection. See, instead of buying t-shirts and cups or shot glasses (hubby used to collect both) from our travels, we started collecting Christmas ornaments. We get to showcase everything every year and brings back beautiful memories every time we see them.

all drapery hardware: Pottery Barn (PB Oversized Drape Rod and PB Double Drape Rod)

cane chairs: Tommy Bahama  La Palma Loose Back Chair ( similar Nassau Leather Chair or Rum Beach Chair)

The throw pillow covers coordinated perfectly with the ribbons I used all around the house.

throw pillow covers: Pottery Barn (Plaid Pillow Cover and Silk Pillow Cover)

faux fur throw: West Elm (similar faux fur throw)

The hurricane vases are filled with spiced apple-scented potpourri...

mercury glass candle holders: HomeGoods (here)

hurricane glass: Pottery Barn (hurricane glass)

Yes, our home looks like a Pottery Barn show room, it is not the first time I was told. I love the beach casual look and quality of their furniture. Most of our stuff are purchase throughout the years but some are still sold in the store.

To wrap the presents, I chose this gold with red and green Christmas wrapper to coordinate with all the colors in our home.

Hannah of course had to pose...

And remember my post a couple of months ago about our little calendar girl? The Jacksonville Humane Society's calendar is out. Our little Hannah is featured for the month of November. We are proud doggy parents!

Still in need of gift ideas?  Please consider donating to your local Humane Society (for Jax Humane click here) and help save a furry friend's life.

What is your favorite holiday? Do you decorate for Christmas?

xoxo,
Tey

In Pictures: Big 1-0!

Our little man is not so little anymore - he is now 10! He loves Tony hawk and skateboarding so we asked our a very talented dear friend to bake a skateboard 3D cake for him.

Tony Hawk Skateboard 3D Cake

It has my step-son's name on the other side of the cake

He was blown away when he saw his birthday cake and the mini skateboard cupcakes I made. 
I found this SK8 favor boxes and filled them with necessity for school the next day: skateboard key chains, pencil, sharpener, erasers and a little toy.

We asked him what he wanted in the menu and he told us all of his favorites.
We aimed to please =)) 

While waiting for his other friends to come, they were giving me funny faces and poses. 
They can't wait to go swimming!

'Til next!

xoxo,
Tey

Master's bedroom makeover

Another passion I have is for interior decorating. I'm not a pro, no formal training, just an avid HGTV and Fine Living viewer. I remember when I sold my townhouse, the buyers asked me if I was an interior designer and replied "I just watch too much HGTV!" LOL. They liked the way I decorated and furnished my house that they even bought most of my stuff. Everyone who viewed the house asked me for the specific names of the paint colors I used.

I was not as busy then, so on weekends I always think of a new project to do. I broke my nails, learned how to paint, stained my favorite pair of shorts and T, learned how to use power tools, stuff I never thought I'd learn.

Anyway, I'm getting tired of the way the master's bedroom looks now and the easiest way to change the look of a room is through fabric and paint. I like the color of the walls so I probably will not change it. It is currently painted this muted pale blue grey called Rain from Sherwin Williams. The bed is a four poster canopy bed in mahogany. I like this bed but I got tired of the canopy so I took it off. The bed is currently flanked by plugged-in sconces with natural linen shades. The duvet and shams had prints in blues, greens and beiges. The draperies were 2 toned dupioni silk in blue and green.

I love different textures and I am also leaning towards organic fabrics in beige and natural linen colors. This bed ensemble from West Elm is so appealing to me. Green will be my my accent color so it will pop with the pale blue walls. The accent will be in the lumbar pillow with subtle fern detailing in green. I am also considering switching the sconces with the green bedside lamps(?) or maybe just keep my sconces(?).

Below is a compilation of my choices:


Resources:
From West Elm:
Organic cotton pin-tuck duvet cover in natural - West Elm - seen here.Organic cotton pin-tuck shams in natural - West Elm - seen here.
Fern Jacquard Lumbar pillow cover - Pottery Barn - seen here.
Sheepskin pillow cover - West Elm - seen here.
Grant Sconces with natural linen shades - Pottery Barn - seen here. OR
Sonoma bedside lamp in Green - Pottery Barn - seen here.
Organic cotton knit throw in natural - West Elm - seen here.
Organic cotton knit accent pillow cover in natural - West Elm - seen here.
The draperies are where I am having a hard time choosing. Maybe a solid color in a darker linen shade and fabric. Any suggestions?