The Blue Door & More

Bathroom Wall Art

Posted on May 10, 2017August 7, 2019 by Leah

Remember last week when I talked about my new ideas with printables? Well in the midst of working on that bar art, I started making some for our bathroom. Our bathroom has some large chunks of wall space that just seemed so bare. The one that bugged me the most was the space above the toilet. So I used my new printable creating skills and made some bathroom wall art.

Now, I haven’t been blogging that long but if you had told me when a few months ago that I would later be taking pictures of the space our toilet occupies, I would have thought you were crazy. Seriously, I felt like one of those girls taking selfies in the bathroom mirror. I’m not sure which is worse though. ?

Bathroom wall art

Since the wall behind our toilet is fairly narrow but tall with our 9 foot ceilings, I felt a long a narrow piece would fill the space well. I haven’t seen any (then again, I’ve never really looked at bathroom decor at Hobby Lobby) but making printables really became a game changer. I love silhouette art and decided to go that route with objects commonly found in bathrooms split among three frames.

In the beginning, I thought about toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower things, etc. I couldn’t get that to look right – it seemed more suited for a kid’s bathroom. I spent all of 2 minutes on the bobby pins and then decided to go more feminine with hair and makeup silhouettes. Landon doesn’t seem to mind that it’s not objects he uses. He even helped me decide on the order to hang them. ?

Bathroom wall art

The frames are from the dollar store and I love how the silver is shiny like our shower curtain. I’m not sure if I’ll do more art in this room in the future. We have a super tiny window that needs a proper curtain so maybe when that is complete I’ll have more direction for adding more bathroom wall art.

I am in the midst of so many DIY projects for our house and sometimes they take longer than planned. Plus, you have to make time to live a little! ? I had made the bathroom wall art printables weeks ago and also had purchased the frames around the same time. It’s nice to take a break from big projects and do a small quick one. Finishing something is a great feeling!

Our Bar at the End of the Kitchen

Posted on May 3, 2017March 26, 2023 by Leah

Both Landon and I grew up in homes where there was rarely alcohol. I honestly don’t ever remember seeing my mother drink. We laugh now because whenever we are at either of our parents’ homes, they are asking us if we want a drink before we even get our shoes off. My how things change! To take after their present day hosting antics, we took it a step further and made a home bar – complete with an oh-so-trendy gallery wall.

Home bar

It’s kind of astounding that we even need a bar when we have a wine rack built into our cabinets (and beer should be refrigerated). But there is a season for liquor (mine is usually allergy season because I don’t need more histamines from wine making breathing difficult) and we have all these fancy glasses. The Mr & Mrs wine glasses were a shower gift. The Yours, Mine, and Ours glasses and decanter, a wedding gift. We also have our glasses from when we went on the brewstillery tour in Nashville. The iridescent goblet-like glasses and pitcher were my grandma’s and have a matching chip and dip bowl. We have a dozen more wine glasses in the cupboard (you know, for everyday use). I suppose we are missing martini glasses but honestly, I’d rather go to our local wine bar for a martini than try to make one. (Yes, you read that right, our wine bar makes martinis.)

Yours, Mine, & Ours set. Mr & Mrs wine glasses.

A tray is a bar cart necessity

When I searched Pinterest for bar cart ideas, they always seemed to have a tray to anchor the bottles on top. I have this lovely silver one from my grandma (not the same grandma I got the goblets from) and thought it added enough vintage charm to make our drinks feel exceptionally classy. I have doubts that this grandmother of mine has ever really had a drink but hopefully she doesn’t mind us using her tray for our own speakeasy.

The best part of putting all this together was making the wall art. I shared a sneak peek a couple weeks ago about the cork sphere. It used all the corks we had (we are more Bota Box type people). Side note – Amazon sells wine corks!

The printables were the most fun. They actually came together really fast, which is unusual for my perfectionist self. I already had all the frames from half a dozen apartments ago but never got around to using them before. I spray painted all of them black and then started putting holes in our walls to hang them.

Bar art gallery wall — Gallery wall/Printables

These printables have definitely opened me up to so many other ideas for our house. At one point I had a bunch half done and open on my computer. Every time I’d start one I’d get an idea for another and have to start that before I forgot what it was. We’ll see where else our walls get affected in the coming months. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a mint plant that is begging to be made into a mojito at The Bar.

The Bar sign

Kate Spade Inspired Wreath

Posted on April 26, 2017August 7, 2019 by Leah

Front door

Has anyone noticed the weekly weather trend this month? It seems every week has started off gorgeous out and sunny on Monday, then gradually gets colder and rainier through the work week, but by the weekend it is once again beautiful and warm. Mid-week showers bring weekend flowers? Ha maybe not quite but these weeks have really tested my footwear options. Sandals and boots worn just days apart. Such a shame! To brighten my spirits (and our front door), I made a wreath for our front door.

Whenever I need a new desktop background, I always search for Kate Spade patterns. Something about them just makes me happy and feeling energized. Our front door was lacking some decor and I couldn’t resist showing it a little Kate Spade inspired love. Plus, these pink peonies just warm my heart – and I am not really a fan of pink!

Kate Spade inspired wreath

I picked up most of my supplies from Joanns on sale. I originally tried to use black and white ribbon but found it way too difficult to keep the stripes consistent in size (ribbon is slippery). Then it dawned on me, yarn! I alternated black and white yarn and oh my did that work a thousand times better. Next, I popped the peonies and some of the leaves off the stems they came on and used wire threaded through the middle and then wrapped around the wreath, hidden under the yarn.

It’s been rainy and cloudy the last two days but seeing the wreath every time I come and go seems to brighten my day just a little bit. I am seriously thinking of adding them to the decor inside our house.

front porch — We have some major plans for landscaping and making our porch a little more grand looking.

Aside from our front door, not much else is new this week. We are still waiting to find out when/if Landon will get an MRI on his knee (he tore his meniscus a few weeks ago and has been in a lot of pain since). I got a new curling iron and am in love with it! I also have a haircut and color planned for tomorrow – I still haven’t decided what I want to do. Maybe I’ll take a note from our door, and brighten things up for spring!

Life Updates

Posted on April 19, 2017August 7, 2019 by Leah

Oh boy has life been busy since my last post! We stayed home for Easter and definitely took advantage of having a free Saturday to do all sorts of things. I maybe got a bit ahead of myself by starting three different projects… But you will see those in due time. ?

A new coffee shop opened up last week in our town so we went for a little coffee date Saturday morning to check it out. It was amazing! I cannot wait to go back this weekend and hang out there. It was a little busy so I was too distracted to take pictures but I did take one of the dark chocolate brioche we shared…after I tried some of it.

On Easter Sunday we went to church and had Easter dinner with Landon’s family. We did not one, but two Easter egg hunts. All in all, it was a great day celebrating our Savior. ??

Here are some small updates that have been happening around our home.

We built a desk for the treadmill. I honestly think it is life changing. I wanted to be able to surf the web and multitask while dominating FitBit challenges and found this tutorial. It was so easy to make! Right now I am hooked on some novels by Penny Reid and have been walking and reading to get my steps in.

We finally got a big rug for our entry way. I had been looking for one I liked for about a year. I had a normal size rug and it just was awkward in the winter to stay on the rug and scoot around the door. This one is 4×6 from Target and it makes the hallway feel more grand. The hallway is still empty and not decorated but the rug definitely is heading in the right direction.

I got the vase on the table from the dollar store and the bouquet was from when I was a bridesmaid in my cousins wedding. It will be five years this June. Wow time flies!

Bouquet

Speaking of my cousin, she turned 30 a couple weeks ago and I sent her a little something. Cute, no?

Kisses jar — There are 30 Hershey kisses in the jar and some chapstick tied up in the bow!

Lastly, here is a sneak peak on one of the projects I was working on. I cleared out all our wine corks and made this sphere. Can’t wait to show you my final plans for it!

Hope everyone had a good Easter and is enjoying the warmer weather! ☀️

Mercury Glass Coasters DIY

Posted on April 12, 2017August 7, 2019 by Leah

mercury glass coasters

Coasters. They are the sacred barriers between beverages and ring-free furniture. The first nice coasters I ever bought were from Pier 1 in college and we still use them, but they were only a set of four. Sometime last year, my mother-in-law had coasters she had never used. They were the kind you can put little pictures in. I am not a fan of putting a sweaty glass of water on anyone’s face (even if the picture is under glass) but I knew I would need more than the four coasters I already had and that I could figure out how to give them a makeover.

before photo of coasters — This is what they looked like before.

I’ve been on a mercury glass kick lately and naturally I checked Pinterest to see if it was something that could be created via DIY. Turns out it can be and it was so, so easy. It also turns out that the coasters are perfect companions to the two most important beverages: coffee and wine. ?

Supplies needed:

Glass coasters (or tiles would work but they must be clear)
X-acto knife
Ball point pen
Glass cleaner
Distilled vinegar
Krylov Looking Glass spray paint
Paper towels
Vinyl bumpers

Directions:

I first used the X-acto knife to remove the vinyl bumpers. Next, I tore off the little plastic picture holders.

After that, prepare to spend a lot of time scraping off the white paint on the back that makes the foggy frame for the photos. I switched back and forth between the X-acto knife and the ball point pen for this. I was afraid of scratching the glass too much with the knife but found if I held the pen at an angle the edge around the ball point worked just as well without the risk of scratches. It took a long time to do all four coasters and it got rather dusty but it was in some ways soothing. I kind of compare it to those mini sand boxes that sit on desks and the rake is smaller than a normal table fork. My own little zen garden (we won’t talk about the knife in it ?).

After all the paint is off, the rest of the project goes really fast! Use glass cleaner to clean the backs of the coasters and let dry completely. I got a bit excited with the next part and forgot to take pictures of every step. I splashed some vinegar onto the coasters (the same side the paint was on to hide imperfections). For this, I took a water bottle with a squirt top and filled it with vinegar. I drizzled it over the coasters and the vinegar made pools on the coasters. Then I quickly used the spray paint and sprayed over the vinegar puddles.

After letting it dry for a minute or so, I used a paper towel to blot the paint and absorb the vinegar puddles. I let it dry a for a few more minutes and repeated the process again. After that dried, I spray painted it without the vinegar and then blotted that with one of the damp paper towels to pick up smaller specks of paint.

Once they are fully dry and look perfectly imperfect (as mercury glass should), add the vinyl bumpers to the same side that was painted.

Back of finished coasters — The backs are finished!

I then flipped them over, cleaned the tops with glass cleaner, and then poured a glass of wine. The next morning I tested them with coffee – my Tiffany mug looks cute on them, no?
wine and coasters

Coffee and coasters

Nashville Road Trip – Part 3

Posted on April 7, 2017August 7, 2019 by Leah

Last week Landon and I road-tripped to Nashville. It was about 700 miles from our house to the doorstep of our adorable Airbnb cottage. Overall, we had a blast and would totally go back again! Here’s part 3 of our time down south. (You can catch part 1 here and part 2 here.)

Day 3

On our third day we ventured out of Nashville to the city of Franklin. We first stopped at the Carnton Plantation. It was a house built in the 1820’s and turned into a Civil War hospital during the battle of Franklin in 1864. We did the extended tour of the house and surrounding, including other buildings on the plantation, the garden, and the Confederate Cemetery.

Back of Carnton House — The back of the Carnton House – It had a huge back porch!

Front of Carnton House — The front porch. The trees lined the walkway up making a picture of the entire front of the house impossible.

There was so much history and the tour guide really did a great job making it feel like we were there on the day of the battle. We could even see the blood stains on the wood floors. It was creepy and so full of history. They didn’t let us take photos inside so you’ll just have to go see it for yourself. ?

Confederate Cemetery sign — Confederate Cemetery History

Confederate Cemetery — I took this in the middle of the long and narrow cemetery. It feels like it just kept going and going with graves.

After hearing all about the McGavock family and the battle, we ventured down to Main Street Franklin for lunch. This town was absolutely picturesque. The houses, the downtown, the shops, restaurants, everything made this town seem perfect. We ate at the very cool 55 South and had the most delicious lunch. Then we walked up and down Main Street enjoying a sunny day. We also found the perfect sign for me:

I deserve more jewelry — I think every girl deserves more jewelry! ?

That afternoon, we headed even further south of Nashville to Arrington Vineyards. We found out after we were there that it is owned by Kix Dunn, of Brooks and Dunn! No, we didn’t see him there but we did try some great wines and brought some back with us.

View of the vineyards — If only we had brought a picnic basket!

On our way back to Nashville, we stopped for some Starbucks and then found ourselves in some horrible rush hour. It definitely wasn’t fun but we were happy with our afternoon treats and enjoyed talking about everything we saw that day. Later, we picked up some more wine and a pizza from Five Points Pizza, a local place recommended by our Airbnb host. It was delicious! We watched the last of Time After Time episodes and did some packing to make our morning smoother.

Driving Home

Since carsickness got the better of me on the way to Nashville, I made sure to take “non-drowsy” Dramamine on the way home. I put “non-drowsy” in quotes because I drove the first 3 hours and then was basically useless the next 7. I slept a lot. A LOT. There were some bad storms running across the midwest with quarter size hail that we were trying to stay in front of. We were pretty successful but for a good hour in southern Illinois, I was meteorologist/navigator. But I was sooooo tired. It was horrible fighting to stay awake and figure out if we needed to stop and wait out the storm in Springfield.

Landon was great handling so much driving. We never stopped the whole way home for more than 5 minutes to refill the gas tank or use a bathroom. Of course, the 24-hour “non-drowsy” pill wore off at about 12 hours – right when we got home. It was nice to feel mostly awake but even nicer to enjoy that new alertness while sitting in my comfy chair in our own home. ?

Summary

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Nashville! We felt we split our time well taking in all different kinds of cultural and historical experiences. We also learned a few things about ourselves.

After all that whiskey tasting, we learned we are not whiskey-on-the-rocks type of people. I’m not even sure I would like it in a mix drink. It wasn’t bad and we certainly didn’t over do it (I didn’t finish any of the samples), but it has a bite and we are just more of red wine type of folk. Both distilleries were still worth touring though!

I learned how to relax on vacation and not feel so antsy every time we were in our cottage before it was dark out. I also learned that “non-drowsy” is a lie and I need my mom to make me some essential oil concoction for motion sickness before we take another road trip.

We both would love to go back again. We would like to spend more time listening to live music, maybe tour more vineyards, and see the Belle Meade Plantation (it also has a vineyard so there is history AND wine).

My favorite part of the trip is a toss up between Belmont Mansion and just being downtown Franklin. There was something about that city that makes me just want to travel there and wander the streets to see the amazing houses and venture into all the shops and try every restaurant (I think I need one of those houses for that). Landon’s favorite part was Broadway, followed by the Carnton Plantation tour (he’s a little history buff ?).

And that’s a wrap! Hopefully it makes you want to travel to Nashville too! In case you missed it above, here are parts 1 and 2 of our trip.

Have a good weekend! I’ll be back next week with more decor and DIY stuff!