The Clueless Homeowners: Back to Reality

After over a week off work, I'm heading back to work in the morning. I'm not going to lie, the thought of it is giving me a sad. And the though of getting up to go to the gym before work after a week off makes me want to cry.

But I had a great week off and got so much done! The projects I did (and some that I started and nee to finish) have me really excited.

Last weekend, I didn't do much except clean the house and pick a paint color for the living room. Then Tuesday, I headed off for a few days in Houston. I lived here as a kid, and haven't been back since 91. I saw a lot that triggered my memories, spent some time with a friend and her brand new baby, and did a lot of shopping!

First, I checked out HomeGoods for the first time. At first, I was disappointed. It was just a home section in the back of Marshall's. Then when I actually went back there, I realized it was much bigger than I thought. I was seriously impressed with the lighting selection. It really made me wish I needed lamps! The only room I need a lamp for is the guest room, and they didn't have one quite small enough. The prices were amazing, though!

I didn't end up buying anything, though. Partly because I didn't find anything I couldn't live without, and partly because I was holding onto my decor dollars for our next destination.

I'm an unashamed Ikea fangirl, people. This place is my home. I'm pretty sure I could literally live in here.

I came with a mission: bookshelves for the office and a long list of fabrics. But just like last time, I got sucked into the displays and was mesmerized. My shopping buddy (my mom, an Ikea virgin) was also enamored. We ended up having lunch in the restaurant and spending all day there.

We were both very inspired by one of the first display rooms we saw.

I loved the gray couches with the flat woven rug and the white furniture. It really confirmed that the color scheme we;re planning for the living room is the right thing for us.

I also loved this room. I wish I was bold enough to paint a room orange! It's my favorite color, but I'm too chicken to go that far. I'll just stick to accents!

I also picked out some furniture for a future trip. When we're ready to buy a sofa and dining room furniture, we're planning to make the trek to Houston so we can have access to Ikea, West Elm,and some of the boutique stores.

We haven't decided on a sectional or a sofa and loveseat yet, but we know it will be gray, and we're pretty sure it will be Karlstad. We love the color on this ottoman.

And I'm pretty much set on the Torsby table (the larger version, but with this white glass). I also love the Tobias chairs (probably the clear) but I'm not 100%.

The fabric selection wasn't great, and I wasn't able to get a lot of the fabrics I wanted. But I found a lot of great alternatives, and I can't wait to tackle some sewing projects in the weeks ahead.

I ended up with the bookcases, fabric, a new living room rug, and a storage piece for the kitchen, as well as a few odds and ends. I'll be showing the kitchen piece later, once I've styled it (It's sitting mostly empty in the kitchen for now).

I wasn't planning on buying a rig for a while, but when I saw this one in that first display room, I fell in love. The color scheme was perfect, and at $150, you couldn't beat the price. I passed it up at first, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. When my mom saw me looking at it for the tenth time, she very generously offered to buy it for us, and now it's very happy in its new home!

I think somebody likes it!

We were so excited about the bookshelves, though, that we put them together as soon as I got home! The lights didn't come with screws, so I ran to Lowe's today and now our library is complete. We even have extra shelf space to fill up!

I love how much more put together the office looks with these in place. Plus, we finally don't have boxes of books in the closet! We actually moved the old bookshelves in there, and have some of our books that don't really warrant display in there.

We re-matted the art from the bathroom and moved it in here. Brett loves it and it looks great in the room. We have some new art for the bathroom that should be done this week!