Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: July 2011

Beadboard Bathroom Sneak Peak

Well, hello. How is your year going?

No, really. I meant to say year (not weekend).

Like, how is 2011 going for you?

Mine is going by extremely fast. Yours probably is too because for some reason, time just flies.

I'd like to say that I've made a lot of progress on house type projects this year now that it is more than half over but then I realized that I haven't.

I recently remembered that waaaaay back in January I posted this nice little "Home Goals 2011" list HERE.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. But then, I forgot about it.

I just thought they would naturally occur as we continue to do projects around the house throughout the year.

But, they didn't.

This doesn't mean I haven't done anything over the past 7 months. Just not things on the old "Home Goals 2011" list.

However, this changed last week. Mr. Chic and I decided to paint the boy's bathroom which just so happens to be numero uno (#1 for those who don't hablo espanol) on the Home Goals 2011 list. The paint led to the beadboard. (hooray for beadboard!) which slows down the process as beadboard is a little more complicated to install than rolling on paint.

So, here is a little sneak peak. We Mr. Chic hopes to be finishing up the installation by the end of the weekend and then the fun part, decorating!!

Here is a before...

Before

In progress...
(don't worry, the chair rail will be painted white and the wall will be covered where you see the sloppy blue paint job. :)

How about you?? Have you completed your "Home Goals 2011" project list? Hope I'm not the only slacker out there. :)

Flaunt it Friday 64!

Hello party people!!

Well, I'm sorry that my blog was a little slow this week but my week was a little fast if you know what I mean?!

I've been working on lots of fun projects that I'm excited to share with you and will be doing some sneak peaks over the weekend. (they include beadboard and stencils, but not in the same room, and not stenciling the beadboard, just so we're clear on that)

Also, for any of you crafty types living in IL, my friend is organizing a fundraiser for a great cause, The Autism Society of McLean County.

"The Autism Society of McLean County in Bloomington, IL is organizing a craft and vendor show on October 8, 2011. All proceeds from booth space sales go directly to the Autism Society to support their children's programs. We are looking for crafters of all kinds. If you are interested in joining us, please send an e-mail to a.bossard@autismmclean.org for more information! Deadline for early registration is August 1st. Please help us make this a huge success!"

Ok, party time!

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The Pinterest Problem

Who doesn't love Pinterest?

If you ~~are living under a rock and~~ don't know about Pinterest send me an email and I'll invite you. (You have to be invited to join, they are fancy schmancy like that.)

I have to say it took me a little while to warm up to Pinterest, it wasn't that I didn't like it, I just kept forgetting about it. But as I've learned how to navigate it better I have become kind of addicted. It is a super awesome place for eye candy and inspiration.

You already know this.

How do I know?

Because you have also spent too much time pinning and re-pinning away an hour when you just meant to check your email for 5 minutes.

I know how it goes... it's a time sucking monster.

But being a time sucker is not my real problem with Pinterst. My problem is all of the inspirational lovely-ness causes me to be indecisive.

I've been ~~dragging my feet~~ working on this Master Bedroom makeover ever so slowly. I think I have it all planned out and then I go on Pinterest and start second-guessing when I see things like:

*All pics found on Pinterest

I find myself falling for the popular and trendy gray and yellow color scheme.

I start questioning my current monochromatic redecorating plan... am I doing it in neutrals because I won't have to paint a room with a vaulted ceiling? Because I already had some neutral bedding and decor? Because it's "safe"?

Pinterest is making me a bit indecisive and slowing me down.

It's not Pinterest's fault, it's mine.

It's not like this didn't happen before Pinterest, it did.... when I'd come across a great room on a blog or HGTV or BHG or even a great piece in TJ Maxx. I'm just easily distracted by beautiful decor, I can't help but want to recreate it and put my own Chic on a Shoestring Decorating spin on it.

Pinterest makes me want to decorate ~~my butt off~~ like crazy!

Am I going to give it up because of the Pinterest problem?

No. Stinking. Way.

How about you... do you play the second-guessing game when you're decorating? Has Pinterest made it worse (or am I just a crazy person)? Yes, I know I'm kind of a crazy person but that's why you read this, right?!

Happy Weekend!

PS: Check out my other blog The Besties HERE, it has fabulous "best of's" from mostly newbies around blogland.

Flaunt it Friday 63 and Meet Sweet Sewn Stitches

Hello, Hello friends! What is the deal with this summer?! Where is it going?? Why is it going so stinking fast! It's already time for Flaunt it Friday again!

But first, meet my sweet new sponsor, Alyssa with Sweet Sewn Stitches. She has all kinds of fun stuff happening on her blog like this:

Red Ticking Stripe Pillow Cover - Natural Muslin Cotton - 16" x 16"

Can you say "Cute"?!

And this...

Can you say "YUM"?!

Stop on by and check it out here!

Now, time to party!

Monochromatic Master Bedroom Update

Some of my friends were giving me grief about what's going on with my monochromatic bedroom makeover. Read about the inspiration HERE.

I know, I know... it's been a ridiculously long time and I'm still not done. But I have a good excuse, sure it is.

So, let me give you a little background....

Our master bedroom has been bugging me ever since our mattress fiasco (read about that HERE) last year which ended up with us trading up for a king mattress. When we traded up we had to sell our queen sleigh bed which I really loved.

I decided to replace it with what I thought was a similar style at a reasonable price. I sold our old queen bed for asking price and just had to add a little moola to it to get my king. I bought it out of a catalog from a reputable store.

Bad idea.

A person that is as freakishly obsessed with decorating as I am should NOT buy a major piece of furniture that is impossible to return without seeing it in person.

Lesson learned, if I can't return it I don't buy it unless I can see it first.

The new king bed isn't that bad.... it's just not "sleigh-ish" looking at all. It is much more masculine and modern looking than it appeared in the catalog. It doesn't really flow with the rest of my bedroom furniture and decor that is more traditional. I know, I know, it's ok to mix furniture styles but this mixture wasn't doin' it for me.

I know, it looks fine but it was not the style I was hoping for.

I then started seeing all of the great DIY upholstered headboards all over blog land. I was kicking myself thinking why didn't I do that, it would go perfectly in our room, I love the look of it, and it would have been way cheaper. Total bummer dude-ettes.

via decor pad

via HGTV

But lucky for me my new bed started breaking... Yippee!

At first I was really peaved that this expensive piece of furniture is starting to fall apart after less than a year... but then I found out I have a warranty- I can return it and get my money back!

YAHOOOOO!!!!

So, where does this tie in with not having my room makeover finished yet? Well, they haven't come to pick up the old bed yet, I'm actually calling them about it today (that's progress, right?!). The bed has to be out of my way so I can stencil the wall behind it. It's not the kind of bed you can just scoot over and with Mr. Chic's broken foot, he ain't movin' it.

It needs to be gone so I can talk Mr. Chic into helping me make the new headboard. He has lots of other yard projects that take priority (for him anyway) until he sees how bad it will look when we don't have a bed.
I'm also challenging myself to do it on a shoestring budget which slows down the process, finding stuff that I like that actually works for a cheap price can take time.

I'm reusing a lot of stuff I already have and spray painting some items too. I also want to paint my bedside tables but am having trouble figuring out the process and paint combination to get the color I want.

Most importantly, I'm enjoying the lazy days of summer spending lots of time lazing around with my boys before school creeps up us. They don't call it lazy for nothin', right??

See, these are all great excuses for my lack of progress. But at least now you know that I haven't given up, I'm just doing it summer style...

Million Dollar Decorators are you for Real??

Hello lovely friends! I don't have time to watch much tv but there are a few shows I record on the DVR that I watch when everyone else is sleeping. Recently I've added Million Dollar Decorators on Bravo.

Have any of you been watching it??

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I don't know if I love it or hate it. Maybe I love to hate it??

I can't stop watching it even though some of the decorators are reedonkulously annoying and seem to get all the air time.

I am floored by the outrageous amounts that people spend on pieces of furniture (I know, I know, it's Million Dollar Decorators, of course they are going to be spending insane amounts of money) BUT, my Chic on a Shoestring brain says, NO!! You could totally get that at HomeGoods for $89.99!!

Even if I was a millionaire, I wouldn't spend $25,000 on an end table. I just couldn't do it, I don't care who made it or how old it is, it just doesn't make sense to me. I'm not saying that it's not ok for people to do it because I think people should spend their money how they want to, I just couldn't do it. Just sayin'.

So, on to the cast...

via Bravo, from left Mary McDonald, Jeffrey Alan Marks , Nathan Turner, Kathryn Ireland , and Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

The show has some big name decorators that are super talented with big personalities (of course, it is reality tv ya know).

Mary McDonald is my favorite, I love her style, elegant and glamorous. She also has great fashion sense. She's a little bit of a "Miss Priss" but I think the show tries to make her appear worse than she really is. She is kind of funny and I like that she seems to tell it like it is.

Here is a bedroom from her portfolio, I think it's fabulous even though it's definitely not a look that everyone could pull off in their home. That's why she decorates for millionaires. ;)

via Bravo

A lovely living room by Mary McDonald which could be pretty easily recreated on a much lower budget.

via Bravo

Kathryn Ireland (not the swimsuit model) has a very eclectic and warm style. It's not really me but I can definitely appreciate it and she is great at it. She seems to not take herself too seriously (kind of a goofball!) and always have a drink in her hand. It could be the producers making it appear that she always has a drink in her hand?? Who really knows?! She couldn't be too goofy or drunk all the time because she is so successful.

This bedroom by Kathryn is just so cute!

via Bravo

Next is Nathan Turner. He owns a popular furniture boutique in LA. He seems like a nice guy and doesn't get nearly enough airtime on the show probably because he's a nice guy.

This is a beautiful table scape he did, I love the Ikat table cloth I'm also loving the pillows in the background.

via Bravo

Next on the show is Jeffrey Alan Marks, he is very talented but he takes himself way too seriously. On the show he says "some days my job is more important than the President". What?! Are you serious?!?

He really said that. Yuck. Give me a break Jeffrey Alan Marks, you're killin' me.

So even though he takes himself way too seriously he is super talented which is why I can't turn it off. Look at these beautiful rooms!

via Bravo

Ok, it looks cool but I'd always worry that the boat hanging from the ceiling was going to come crashing down and kill me in my sleep.

via Bravo

I absolutely LOVE everything about this kitchen!

I saved the worst for last. Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.

However incredibly talented he may be I can not get over his snobbish personality and super-annoying Thurston Howl III accent.

The first time I watched the show I almost fell out of my chair because of his ridiculous accent, I thought he was joking... like doing an exaggerated impersonation of someone else (like Thurston Howl III). But that's just really how he speaks! It's unbelievable.

I need to stop myself now because I was raised that if I didn't have anything nice to say I shouldn't say it. :) Watch the show and make your own opinions dear friends.

Here is a room from his portfolio...

via Bravo

As someone who loves decorating I enjoy the show, even though it drives me nuts 90% of the time. Have you watched it? What do you think??

Flaunt it Friday #62

Hi friends! So.... what do you think of my new blog design? You likey?? It's almost finished, still working out a few kinks and getting some buttons made. Elizabeth over at The Mustard Ceiling has done a super job making my blog design ideas come to life!

If you are thinking about having your blog designed, check out The Mustard Ceiling, Elizabeth has been a pleasure to work with and her prices are extremely reasonable. Thanks so much Elizabeth!

TGIF! Time to party! Since I don't have a button yet just link my blog party name on your post pretty please.

Summer 50% Off Sponsor Ads and New Blog Design!

Hi friends! I'm SO excited that Elizabeth over at The Mustard Ceiling is redesigning my blog!!!

She has done a fabulous job creating just the look I wanted and I can't wait to share it with you!

To celebrate my new look I'm offering a special for any new sponsors that would like to place an ad on Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, $10 for 30 days!! This is 50% off my normal ad fee!

This will get you a 125x125 square ad in a prime location in my new sponsor area near the top of my left sidebar.
This is a great inexpensive way to get your ad viewed by thousands of people for just over a quarter a day!! Last month I had over 52,000 pageviews according to Google stats.

Act fast... this offer is good through Friday, July 15. Please contact me for more details!

Master Bedroom Sneak Peak and Curtain Double Fail

Well hello there. Several weeks ago I shared with you my monochromatic bedroom inspiration from Candice Olsen. They were really crummy pictures of the paused tv screen, remember now? (Can you believe I even posted those?!) If not you can see them here.

I have been s l o w l y working on my thrifty bedroom redesign and really don't have much to show you. So why not write a blog about it, right?!

"Hello friends, guess what I've done on my room makeover??

Nothing!!!

How interesting! Let me tell you all about it!"

Well actually , I've done a few things but nothing worthy of a reveal so I'm just going to give you some sneak peaks.

First, I got this lovely stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils which will be showing up in my bedroom makeover. And, I'll be doing a giveaway sponsored by them in the near future, stay tuned for that!

Next, I'll share with you a sneak peak of my bedding, it was free last year when I got my king bed, I didn't use it at the time because it didn't go with my other decor but now it is perfect!

While working on my room I had a major curtain fail.

I asked Mr. Chic to re-hang the curtain rod to go for the dramatic "long-drapes-high-curtain-rod" look because we have a vaulted ceiling. Unfortunately, we had a miscommunication of where the rod was to be placed. It ended up in this awkward area about 6 inches above the window frame trim. I guess I shouldn't have left the room during installation. FAIL

The other fail were these curtains. I'm not much for animal print but these monochromatic shimmery zebra panels looked fabulous in the store. I thought that since the pattern was monochromatic I could get away with the zebra print. The pattern wasn't even the problem, they just looked a little too dressy for the look I'm going for. DOUBLE FAIL

I will take them back after I work for 20 minutes to figure out that weird perfect fold to get it back in the tiny package but I won't be able to get it right and they'll be an ugly lumpy mess stuffed back in. Does anyone else have trouble with that?? I can never get curtains back in the package right, ever.

DOUBLE FAIL

Anywho, I hope you've enjoyed my little sneak peak at our master bedroom redesign. Stay tuned for a Cutting Edge Stencil giveaway!

Happy Weekend! :) xoxo

PS: Please support newer bloggers at my other blog The Besties" featuring the best of you!

Flaunt it Friday #61

Hello party people! I hope you got more done this week than I did! :)

Be sure and check out the good stuff that all of you are doing over at my other blog The Besties and send your best posts to thebesties {at} hotmail {dot} com! I would love to feature you!

Now, on to the party!

4th of July Pretties

Happy Independence Day bloggy friends!

I have a confession.

I did not decorate for this wonderful holiday.

Not. One. Thing.

We couldn't even hang our American flag on the front of our house because our flag holder bracket broke... some patriots we are... our neighbors probably think we're communists!

I usually really don't do too much for the 4th but nothing? C'mon... nothing?! Geesh!

As I talked about a few days ago, the time this summer is just flying by. I still have out my spring birds. Good thing birds are kind of summery-ish too. :)

Since I totally slacked off on 4th of July decor I thought I'd share some pretty 4th of July decor I found on the web at some of my favorite decorating places...

via Better Homes & Gardens

via Country Living

via Better Homes & Gardens

via Country Living

via Better Homes & Gardens

via Martha Stewart

Wishing you and yours a fun and safe Fourth of July. God Bless America!!

Bedroom Inspiration... it's getting hot in here! (it's not what you think)

We were supposed to be celebrating Independance Day at a family barbeque today. Unfortunately, it is TOO. STINKING. HOT.

It has been about 95 degrees out there with a heat index making it feel like 106. I would guess that the humidity is at 100% but according to the Weather Channel it is only 65%. What? Seriously!? Have you seen my naturally curl complete frizz-ball hair?? It is the best indicator of humidity.

Anyway, we get this kind of weather in the Midwest so it's no surprise, we just had an incredibly mild June and now... Bam! Summer heat smackin' ya in the kisser!

There is even a "heat advisory" stating: Dangerous heat index. Outdoor exposure should be limited.

So, we wimped out and didn't go to the big 4th of July BBQ. Instead we took it easy. The boys ran through the sprinkler. I spent too much time pinning things at Pinterest.

What a cool thing Pinterest is, if you haven't seen it you've gotta check it out HERE. I'm still trying to get mine organized a bit better but I'm loving it.

Today I was checking out Master Bedrooms. You might remember that a few weeks ago I showed you the monochromatic master bedroom I am using for my own bedroom inspiration HERE. I am slowly making progress and will share a few pics soon of my room.

For now, I leave you with some pin-worthy bedrooms I found today.