Room by Ikea

First off, boy #1 is not grabbing boy #2's butt. Oy, forgive me for even writing that sentence. We were walking around Ikea when Greg and I noticed the boys walking arm in arm. I love to capture memories like that. I didn't realize that I captured the hug in motion, which resulted in a strange picture. Walking around Ikea often causes me to break out in a spontaneous hug as well.....just a warning in case we ever shop Ikea together.

 

 

{in process of being changed}

So, yeah.....we decided to sign the lease on our temporary abode for 1 more year. March will end the second year in our new state. We literally went up to the very last minute with our decision.....our realtor is still sending us house pictures. We are going to take another year to decide about a few things. Is this where we want to be? Should be? If we stay, which town will we settle in?  When we decided to hold off on purchasing a home, we started looking into moving to a new temp place. The hunt got too confusing, and we realized we are pretty content where we are.

Well, except that the walls are too thin for our taste, we have an interesting neighbor who likes to hang out in his window (absorbing vitamin D) wearing only his knickers for hours each day, and the boys need more space. Otherwise, we are trying to continue to view this as a fun adventure. How many times will we get to live in a funky apartment 25 miles outside of NYC? Probably not many.

  

{ahhh, white bookcases }

With all that being said, we decided that if we were going to stay another year then we would change a few things. You may remember this. It worked fine for us, but I was hoping for some brighter colors, and a simpler look in our homeschool area. A trip to Ikea and only $130($40+$50 for the bookcases, desks were $20 each) bought us 2 bookcases and 2 desks {I had one bookcase, and the chairs came from storage}.

I still am feeling worn out from this cold, but I was determined to get everything back on the shelves. 

These are quick pictures.....hoping to purge some of the books, organize and hang some things on the walls. I've figure out that I like changing things up, and sometimes it takes a while before you get it right. I also learned that I should turn off the lights before taking pictures.

We are thinking of getting bunk beds for the boys. What do you think? Wonder what the odds are for falling off the top bunk? 

Praise On

Our kitchen wall had contained a messy cork board and white board. It was blah. Most of our framed art is in storage back in NY or wrapped tightly in the garage. I'm telling you....living with many things in storage is either causing us to

A. Decide we don't really miss what's in there and can pass it on to someone else, or....
B. Makes us miss it enough to unwrap and put into our temporary abode 

We've found a nice balance between A and B. In fact, with our next move {which could happen next month or next year}we are hoping to take even less stuff than we did during our big move.  Ok, back to the kitchen wall....

I've been keeping my eyes open for an inexpensive but fresh piece of art. Happy art....the kind that makes you smile when you look at it. After a semi successful art searching trip where I found the print with the pop of green, I had an a-ha moment. Why don't I paint some myself? That thought lasted for about 5 minutes. I blame part laziness and part I have no clue where my paints are and don't want to purchase new ones. And that's when I noticed some leftover Christmas gift wrap. I simply taped it to the back of an old 4 window photo frame I owned{after removing photos}.

Then my wheels really started turning. I remembered reading about some free prints online, quickly did a google search, and downloaded a print. That would be the Today will be the best day ever  print. I love that saying. Which leads me to my final picture/print.

 

This one really makes me smile because there is a story behind it. I was searching for some keep calm and carry on free downloads, quickly found some in various colors, chose my color and downloaded. It was so easy and fast. And then it started printing. I wasn't really paying attention, and quickly put it in the frame....and that's when I noticed it. It didn't say Keep Calm and Carry On.....it said.....

Keep Calm and Praise On

I got chills. Ok, maybe I was just crafting too quickly and it said it all along, but I'm telling 

you I never once saw that it actually said praise on until it was in the frame. Now that is happy art, the kind of art that makes me smile.

My Favorite Boots

Since my last post(s) was a bit deep......I wanted to head into the weekend with something fun. As we know, because we no longer have a home to decorate....I need to focus my joy of decorating in another direction. Yes, I'm still trying to find ways to make our temporary digs feel like home, but basically....all that means is moving things around...or purchasing storage bins. I currently do not have any favorite home items *sigh*. No biggie....I'm moving on....to boots.

I love, love the look and ease of boots this season. All kinds of boots. I am an equal opportunity boot-er. I love the look of tucking your jeans into boots. Pair that with a long sweater....and I'm pretty sure that will be my uniform this season. So, I've decided to link up with 320 Sycamore Lane and share my list of favorite things boots. I have to add that because I was born with a huge frugal bone in my body {I think I got it from my Nana} each of my purchases were with bargain in mind.

This first pair was my super deal of the month (a couple months ago).....after almost purchasing them online at Target for full price (which was a great price $39.99) I happened to find them while strolling the aisles...in my size....for $9.98. They are soft like butter and fit perfectly over my jeans..... Love 'em.

This next pair was part of a 2 for ....sort of....package. Again, at Target online. If you purchased 2 pairs, you would get both for 20% off, plus free shipping(I believe they are doing a similar deal now). They are real leather....a sort of strange cognac color, but Greg chose the color....didn't want to make him feel bad by rejecting his input. They were only $39.99 plus 20% off.

I wasn't so sure about these leather boots. Again, Target online....part of that 2 for deal. Originally $49.99....plus 20% off. Real, thick awesome leather. Probably not as awesome as a Fry boot....but they work for me....especially because I'm pretty hard on my boots. I'm still trying to figure out how to wear these....I sort of feel like an east coast cowboy in them....though they are engineer boots?

{not this exact pair, but very similar}

This last pair was my best boot bargain. They were in my closet and I didn't even know it. That's what moving and storage can do to you....things get hidden or forgotten {I'm working on that by simplifying}. I had purchased these boots years ago. I stopped wearing them because they were a little loose...and just felt awkward. That is....until I tried wearing them over my jeans. They now fit perfect....and basically didn't cost a dime. At least I can't remember what they cost...it was that long ago, but guarantee it was a bargain{at least I hope}.

*The best place to find Target boots is onine at http://www.target.com/  The store does not have the same deals or selection.