ExtravaGAGAnza

P.S. - Did any of you watch the WWHL ExtravaGAGAnza last night?  Amazing.  I can't stop giggling at this picture of Andy: 

Love him :-)

Master Bathroom Redo

Hello!  It's been a while (even though I vowed to blog more often ;) hehe). Today I wanted to share some photos (iPhone quality, don't judge!) of our master bathroom renovation we completed this summer.  If you remember the before pictures of our bathroom, you probably recall the awful red painted wallpaper (a Bella and Birch infomercial product- yuck!)  We ended up having to have a friend plaster over it because we could not remove that darn stuff!!!  We finally got around to re-tiling our bathtub this past May and we've been enjoying our new subway tiled shower alllllll summer.  We love it and I hope you do, too!  

Here's a look at our bathroom when we first bought the house:

It definitely needed some TLC, am I right?!?

I really wanted to brighten up this space and make it simple, clean and timeless.  If you check out my Pinterest board you'll see all of my inspiration photos for the project!

We had never tiled anything before so to prepare ourselves for the task, I scoured the web for tutorials.  I really loved the tutorial I found at Queen B and Me.  She was very clear and straight-forward with her directions and it gave me all the confidence I needed to tackle such a scary project!  Definitely check it out if you are planning a similar project.

Here is what it looked like after we finished the tiling job:

Since then we have added a shelf to hold cotton swabs, cotton rounds, make-up brushes, etc, and a picture frame holding a pretty Manet print.  

Details:

Wall Color - Silver Drop by Behr

Subway Tile - 3x6 from Home Depot

Grout Color - Dove Gray from Tile Shop

Shower Curtain - Crate and Barrel

Picture Frame - IKEA (added brass brackets from Home Depot)

Shelf - Lowes

Curtain Rod, Curtain Hooks, Toilet Paper Holder, and Towel Bars - all found at Home Goods/TJMaxx

Rugs - Target (old)

Thanks for reading.  Hope you love it as much as we do!  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

I couldn't resist adding one last picture of my cutie-pie hubby during our tiling adventure :-)

Haha!  Have a good night!

Emily

Happy 4th!!

So last night I redesigned my blog and I'm hoping to REALLY start blogging now!  I've sort of been a slacker (my last post was almost a year ago!)

Writing a blog is something I’ve wanted to do for a couple years now, but for some reason I find it completely intimidating! I’m a huge lover of interior design but my career is in marketing—this blog is that creative outlet that I long for.

So I hope you'll join me as I finally overcome my blogging fears and share my journey of new homeownership, DIY projects, and maybe a few puppy pictures, too! :-).

Have a great Independence Day
Emily

Indian Summer

I saw this fabric today at Hancock Fabrics called Indian Summer and I'm in LOVE.  Isn't it just perfect?  It has so many different colors in it and could fit into most rooms in my home.  It is $17.99 per yard + 50% off... I think I need to go back and buy some immediately.  I'm thinking of recovering my dining room chairs with it... maybe den curtains, too...?

*Also, it is an indoor/outdoor fabric so if I use it for my dining room chairs, any stains will be easily removed - score!

Have a great weekend all!

xx, Em

House Tour (Closing Day)

Justin and I had been searching for a home for at least a year and a half - always looking in the St. Louis (MO-side) area.  EVERYTHING we had seen was either sold in 1-3 days before we could check it out... or had major crackage in the foundation... we finally ended up settling just a few houses away from my parents house on the IL-side and I couldn't be happier!  We are closer to all of our friends and family, the commute is not bad at all, and we got 2x as much space for MUCH less than the areas we were looking in... here are some pictures from closing day:

Standing in front of our new house (with a free iPad!! -thanks Tammy!)

Drab Dining Room 

Kitchen

Living Room

Dark Den

Small Bedroom (little boy's sports theme)

Hallway

Spacious Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Foyer

Front Bedroom

Enjoying a beer in our new house :)

Wetbar

Main-Floor Laundry Area

Main Bath

 We have BIG plans for this house and we have already gotten A LOT accomplished.  I will post BEFORE & AFTERS in the near future!

Good night, xx
Em

Print Perfection

I am swooning over this new anthro top.... sequins, embroidery, bright pink, boho-chic... what better combination?!?

Entering the Blog-o-sphere...

So I've been wanting to start a blog for quite some time now... and today is the day I will make my first official post!  I am still trying to figure out how this website works and all, so bare with me :) 

Most of the posts will most likely involve one of 5 things... 1)  My hubby  2) our new puppy, Novi!  3) our new house!!  4) fashion+design  5) my obsession with wedding design.  2011 was a crazy year and a lot of new and wonderful things have happened.  

• One of my childhood friends, Anne, got married in April! 
• My friend Kelly and cousin Scott moved in together after renovating their home... it's pretty much the cutest house ever!
• My sister, Jackie, and her hubby, Bart, had their firstborn, Teddy.  (first-time auntie over here!)
• Justin and I are now referred to as... Auntie Em and Unkie J
• One of my other friends, Katie, got engaged - yay! 
• My friend Andrea finished PA school in Chicago and found a great job back in STL!
• I married the best man I know, Justin, on October 7th!
• Planning the wedding pretty much consumed my entire life for the entire year...!
• I bought my first car ...and I really feel like a big girl now.
• We adopted a cute Japanese Chin/Shih Tzu mix puppy and named her Novi.
• My husband got a great new job in the same field that he is already in... he starts on Monday.
• My friend Anne told me she is expecting her 2nd little one!!
• Katie asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding - so excited :)

See!?  I told you it was an eventful year!  

...And 2012 has been no different thus far.  We just bought a new house... yes...  after 1.5 years of looking, we finally found one.  And who would've thought that it would be in the exact same subdivision I grew up in for 20-some years!?!  Yep, we are moving 5 houses down from my mom and pops.  Crazy!

Anne on her wedding day!

The cutest nephew in the whole world... Theodore.

Me with my best girl friends!

:)

Yep, I'm that dork that took a picture with my new car.

Novi-bear :)  She's the cutest.

Our house! ...needs some curb appeal, but we'll get there.

That's all for now... more to come!