Master Bedroom

This is one side of my master bedroom opposite the side where the bed is. I have wanted to put a chaise lounge here since I moved in but haven't found one that i love in my price range yet. This is what is going on there in the meantime.

 I just recently stripped this door....it was painted white. Not sure what I have in store for it yet but I will definitely share when it's finished.

When this room is completed I will share the entire thing!

Just Add White!

I bought a piece of furniture a few years ago mainly because I liked the color of it (clearly this was before I started painting myself).

It sits in the dining room and the color just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I decided I wanted to paint the drawers to start things off. 

I re-created the rough edges on the drawers by distressing them again with a wire brush. I left the gold lines in between the drawers and the turquoise legs and sides. I am still thinking of painting the sides Coco and leaving the legs turquoise but I'm going to sit on it for a few weeks. The new colors scheme fits into my house much better so I'm very happy with the result.

Shark bite!

Can we talk vacuums for a minute, because I have been bitten by a shark? I have all hardwood floors and tile throughout my house so never thought I had much need for a vacuum....until I got a kitty last year. I've been just sweeping my rugs and my hardwoods but never feel quite satisfied even after all the floors have been swept and mopped. Sweeping just doesn't do the trick. I have been wanting the Shark steam/vac for awhile now but also was really feeling the need for a heavy duty vacuum. So began the research, customer reviews, consumer reports, etc....yes I am very anal like that. #1 on consumer reviews was a Dyson for $400+....I was immediately out on that one. #2 on the list was this guy.

It is the Shark Navigator Upright Vacuum NV22L. Could hardly find a negative review out there. So i started psycho googling it to find the best price (in store by the way because I had to have it that day). Located it at Sears for $149. Brought it home, used it, best $149 I've spent in a long time. This thing is amazing. You may be saying, 'is she really going on like this about a vacuum?' and yes, i really am. Love that I can use on my rugs and hardwoods. Also has the pet brush attachment which is wonderful! I just had to share in the hopes that I will save somebody else who needs one from having to do all the research. 

FYI...if you have tons of carpet and a really big house this might not be the vacuum for you. It has a very small base. 

Happy Vacuuming!

Wild Angels....watching over you and me!

I blogged a few weeks ago about my friend Lindsay's nursery for her little Sloane. She was born last week and has been quite the little fighter. She's been in Children's Hospital since and may be there for a few weeks at the least (prayers are welcomed). So a few friends and i decided that we needed to decorate her little area at the hospital. We had a crafting night last night and I'm dying to show you the project. We did individual letters of her nickname 'Sloaney B' and decorated each letter. 

Ginny and I were lucky to have quite the little artist helping (thanks Lizzy!)

We are so proud of our little letters and can't wait to see them hanging on Sloane's pod.

Baked Italian Cauliflower

I have been making a very conscience effort to eat better and exercise regularly. I've been doing really well with it and thanks to other blogs and Pinterest for making it easier to eat better with the healthy recipes floating around. I have to share with you one that I made last night that is super delicious, easy and healthy. Only 320 calories in a serving and serving size is 2 cups!

Baked Italian Style Cauliflower

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 ounces lean ground sirloin 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, cut into florets 
• Cooking spray 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese 
• 1. 1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in beef. Sprinkle with salt and peppers, and sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in sauce.
  2. 2. Preheat broiler.
  3. 3. Steam cauliflower 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. (I don't have a steamer so I boiled mine for about 7 minutes).  Place cauliflower in an 11 x 7-inch broiler-safe baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with sauce mixture.
  4. 4. Sprinkle over cauliflower mixture. Broil 4 minutes or until browned.
  5. This was so delicious! 
  6. Original recipe and image from Myrecipes.com.
  7. I did change mine up a bit eliminating the bread and the olives; also boiling the cauliflower instead of steaming it.
  8. Enjoy friends!

Owl Transformed

Have y'all seen these at Anthro?

Well, I'm just pretty much obsessed. I love the colors and couldn't get over how amazing it would look in my kitchen with my colors. But OUCH...$128! I'm on a budget right now so that wasn't going to happen.

So I went home sulking...only to remember that I had this.

I had already started painting him when I remembered to take the dang picture. His back side is also what his front side looked like. 
I decided to do my own version of the Anthro cookie jar owl. I already had all of the paint colors to match and my Mr. Owl needed some color in his life. 
Here he is now.

This is the shelf he lives on-

And this is how good his colors blend in with the rest of the kitchen-

He's not quite as cool as the Anthro owl but he will suffice for now, especially since I don't need a jar full of cookies in my kitchen anyway. :-)

Whitewashing Brick

It feels so good to check projects off the list. I did a previous post on the brick wall in my living space that doesn't really fit into the cottage vibe I'm going for in my house. I posted on it before to get opinions on if i should paint it or not. 

Take a look at the before.

 One of the sweet girls that commented gave me the idea of not 'painting' the brick but 'whitewashing' it instead. So after researching that, i decided to give it a whirl.

What do you think?

I couldn't be more happy with the final result. Here is how I did it.

I cleaned the brick wall really good with TSP. 

Mixed 2 parts white latex paint with 1 part water. 

Using my purdy brush, I concentrated on small sections, about 10 bricks at a time.

After dipping brush in the paint, I would wipe most of it off. 

Brushed light coats over the sections. (you can always add more so start light).

Then took a wet rag and sponged the area lightly to get the final effect. 

Featured on Sassy Sites!

Southern Charm got a 'Shout Out' from Sassy Sites on Saturday. If you haven't yet, be sure to link up over at Sassy for 'Free for all Friday'. Always tons of great furniture ideas every Friday!

Say hello to my lil' friend

Martha Stewart Glaze!! 

In fact, the entire collection she has at Home Depot is pretty amazing between the crackle paint, glitter paint and glazes. But my latest obsession is this glaze that my sis-n-law turned me on to. It is so easy to use in that little container too! Remember this:

And this:

I did an earlier post on each of these where I had painted them but they were still longing for something extra. Obviously, it was MS coffee metallic glaze.

Have you tried any of the other colors of her glaze?