April 9, 2013 · 11:01 am

Big (Pink) Plans

Sooo … we had our big ultrasound over the weekend. (!!!) You know, the one where you find out if you’re having a boy or a girl (if you’re into that sort of thing, which, DUH. I could not wait). And then we came home (after celebrating and stuff) and I immediately mocked up the baby’s room in Photoshop. What do you think we’re having?

nursery for a girl _ peach red black white gold

Eeeee! This is obviously very bare-bones, but the main feature will be the awesome walls. I’m imagining the same color we’ve got in the living room (and guest room, but that’s going away) in a softer shade – right now I’m thinking White Peach by Behr. And then I want to stencil over it, but do just an outline of the stencil, in GOLD. Like this genius. Love that so much. I’m considering the Monroe Twisted Cord stencil from Stencil Boss, as pictured here, but I’m undecided at the moment. I like that it’s not too girly, but it’s maybe not big enough – it’s definitely smaller than I have it here in the mock-up. I need to play around a bit.

I won’t be able to get my hands on this room until July, so this is all very preliminary – I’m sure I’ll change my mind before then. But it’s super fun in the meantime – planning a room that’s nothing but happy and sweet and fun. Soft, but still bright and contrast-y (if a room can be all of those things at once). I can’t wait to get started. And then I can’t wait to put a little person in here.

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April 4, 2013 · 10:41 am

Are You Ever Really Done?

I don’t know about you guys, but I am completely addicted to house/interiors/decorating blogs. ADDICTED. Just the same way I was addicted to wedding blogs when we were planning our wedding. There are so many great ideas in the world! TOO MANY GREAT IDEAS. I’m too competitive in nature to see all of these incredible things and then not want to do them all in our own apartment. I’m competitive with myself, p.s. – everything can always be better. And while that serves me well in a lot of things, constantly pouring money into an apartment, which is already pretty okay, isn’t maybe the greatest use of our funds.

So when we got back from vacation, I decided to go ahead and redo whatever I wanted, but using only the things we already own. Which is a lot. We have A LOT of stuff. And furniture. And rugs. And curtains. There’s no need to go out and buy more of any of that stuff. And so the very day we returned, Keith and I rearranged a couple of things, and ohmigod. Suddenly I totally love this place. I mean, I LOVE IT. There are a couple of tiny things I’d like to get or make (like a new bathmat for our new bathroom (!!)), but I think we’re pretty to close to being … done.

Wha??

I mean, you guys, I’m not even a dang decorator. Our house is not a showcase. I should be done, right?

That being said, I need to restyle the bathroom a bit and there are some finishing touches to do in the dining room and I have an entire baby’s room to do. So it’s not like I’m really, actually done. I’m just close. I really, really like walking through this place now. It makes me so happy. I love watching t.v. and looking at this:

Peach living room walls, red console, blue velvet wingback via My Hands Made It

Is it going to win any awards? No. Does it need to win any awards? NO. It’s our dang house! It should be however we want it to be. We’re not millionaires. My husband is a teacher and he supports us on his own. All of the money I make goes back into my business. We are really lucky to live where we live, as comfortably as we do. And I think it would do me some good to focus on that for a while. Oh and focus on building my company so we can become millionaires for real. Duh.

Anyway, I’ll take some more pictures for you guys as I move things around and once I finish our fancy bathroom (can’t wait!). Maybe I’ll try to stay away from decorating blogs, but I highly doubt it. And maybe I’ll be able to actually turn this moment into a lifestyle change, although I’m sure Keith is reading this thinking:

“I give it two weeks.”

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April 1, 2013 · 10:39 am

Baskets and Bears and Breakdowns!

Back to the griiinnd.

Vacation was kind of awesome, but not for any vacationy reasons. We did pretty close to absolutely nothing all week. We felt half-guilty/half-lame, but we just wanted to lay around, so that’s what we did. Keith repeatedly compared us to John and Yoko, and that made it feel slightly less dumb. Whatever. We didn’t have to go to any children’s museums, so we relished what might be our last action-less vacation for some time.

I also didn’t take any pictures. I’m the worst at vacation pictures! Especially since this trip was just one comprehensive tour of public restrooms. I’M NOT KIDDING.

Despite all of that stuff, I did grab a few treats for myself along the way, like this incredible basket:

round navy fuschia basket

Bought at the Asheville farmers’ market. PRETTY. I have no idea what’s going in this just yet, but I need to be able to stare at and admire it at all times. I also grabbed this awesome Royal Haeger planter at an antiques store outside of Nashville. I can’t wait to fill it with a giant droopy fern or something.

vintage robins egg blue royal haeger planter

This minty green hand is from the same antiques store. I don’t know. I just wanted it. It’s weird and I like it, and if there’s anything I need, it’s more small, random stuff.

hand ring display mint marble

And then there’s this guy …

mr happiest toy bear in the world

Well hello there, HAPPIEST BEAR EVER! We stopped to visit my parents on our way back into town and my dad pulled out this adorable vintage toy he had been hiding in their own antiques store for us. I can’t stop smiling at this little guy. He really is the cutest thing ever.

And that’s pretty much it! Aside from the breakdown I had in the Motherhood dressing room at the Opryland mall. A note for anyone who owns a maternity clothing store: LIGHTING MATTERS. That experience was far more humiliating and discouraging than the worst bathing suit shopping trip I have ever lived through. And I wasn’t the only one – the woman next to me said those very words as they were running through my own head. But what’s a vacation without your husband finding you (after you’ve been gone for over an hour) crying in the checkout line behind the slowest people on Earth in the most understaffed store on Earth clutching the one thing that fits you in the entire store? I’ll say this: “baby moons” can be a little more complicated than regular vacations when you’re in the midst of a major growth spurt and your hormones are, shall we say, a little uneven.

I’m glad to be home.

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March 22, 2013 · 9:51 am

Vacation Renovation

Spring Break, you guys! Wooooooo! Flash me your boobs.

Vacation begins at 3pm this afternoon, and a few short hours later, Keith and I are hittin’ the road for Asheville and Nashville. Yay! Sort of. I’m super excited about taking a trip with Mr. Keith, but I’m bummed that Asheville has crummy weather in store for us – rain all weekend. Thanks for nothing, jerks! I don’t know that I want to spend $100 to walk around a mansion and not be able to enjoy the gardens at all. Also … ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. That house better change all of our dang lives. Keith and I would be happy sitting around a hotel for three days anyway, so whatever, we win. Then it’s off to Nashville for some sun and slightly warmer temps. I’m just excited for the break, really – we’ll make the most of whatever we get.

Oh and in case you’re now digging around for your lock pick, don’t bother. There will be people in our apartment all week guarding our stuff and working on this:

Bathroom Renovation Before l My Hands Made It

That’s right. We’re GETTING A NEW BATHROOM! Well, we’re getting a new bathroom with a lot of old stuff, but only the old stuff I like, so, still … !!! We’ve got some serious water issues in the wall, so they have to open up everything, which means no more mismatched tile and no more box around the tub. We’ll now have brand new walls, an exposed clawfoot tub AND real ceramic tile on the floor instead of the lame peel-n-stick stuff. And as much as I appreciate the idea of the current wall tile … that stuff is plastic. Just plastic concave plates glued to the wall. They pop out all of the time; there are sections that don’t match; there are other sections that have been painted over, and the vanity is covered in them (with the exception of the few places where they’ve fallen off and never been replaced).

Sooo … this is the plan:

The awesome tub, giant built-in medicine cabinet, adorable sink and lucite towel rack are staying (oh and the toilet – whatever). They’re stripping down the vanity and giving it a coat of paint, putting another coat of white paint on all of the trim and painting the walls in French Gray by Behr (this color is so great next to white and much, MUCH prettier in person). Then they’re ripping up the floor and putting in clean white tile with dark grout.

I’mma so excited!!!

And the absolute BEST part is that we’ll be gone for this entire job. I feel like taking a victory lap. That right there is called WINNING, people. By the way, I probably won’t be checking in while we’re vacationing, but I promise to miss you the entire time. xoxo

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March 19, 2013 · 1:23 pm

Custom Bridal Brain Explosion

Oh man, there is some good stuff happening around here lately.

Exhibit A:

veronica sheaffer custom_draping a muslin

And this is the just the muslin, you guys. In the stupidest polyester fabric ever. Wait until we make it in silk. Dyyyiiiing.

Exhibit B:

vintage french silk chantilly lace

This gorgeous, vintage, french chantilly lace will be used in another amazing gown. And yes, it’s peach. And yes, hearts will break. Mine already has, and all I did was buy the lace.

Exhibit C:

embroidered french silk lace

This other amazing, embroidered, french lace will be used in an Edwardian/early ‘twenties-style gown. I mean … YES.

And these are just the very tips of one very incredible iceberg. I have so many more GREAT things to show you. 2013, baby!

Also, literally … baby.

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March 14, 2013 · 12:49 pm

News!

Hey look – I have a new website.

What!

Which will include this soon:

veronica sheaffer shop the accessories

Double what!

I have to photograph everything first, but I’m pretty excited! I’ve tried this before, but always felt like things were a bit too clunky. Same goes for the old website. I want my whole life to be as clean and effortless as possible now, and I’m streamlining everything in my path. I’m also adding some special touches to the shopping process – like pretty little packages tied up in bows and fancy certificates of authentication – so you can brag to everyone that your goods are certifiably fancy. And I’ve added links directly to images on Pinterest, so you can now pin your favorite styles (something my web hosting service doesn’t provide automatically – weird). Anyway, I hope you like the new updates and you’ll tell all of your friends when the shop opens up! I’ll keep you updated as the goods roll out. xoxo

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March 12, 2013 · 10:15 am

Hidden Wall Outlet

Our internet was out all day yesterday. Waah. I was pretty relaxed about it until I wasn’t. And then poor Keith spent all night working on it. Poor us. Happily, everything is back up and running now. Lucky, EVERYONE. Haha

Anyway … my brother and I painted the dining room on Sunday, and it is soooo goooood. You’ll have to wait for pictures, because I have to change a few things and it’s too dark to take a picture now anyway, but you can take my word for it. I love it.

In the meantime, let me tell you about this nifty, little thing:

Hidden outlet behind artwork via My Hands Made It

I’ve complained to you before about the rando electrical outlet in the middle of this wall. It was ugly and stupid, albeit conveniently located for our coffee and toast equipment. I was tired of looking at it, so I took advantage of this genius’s idea and covered it with artwork mounted on hinges.

Hidden electrical outlet behind artwork via My Hands Made It

Now I, too, can call myself a genius. I thought maybe it would be too fussy for an outlet we use repeatedly throughout the day, but it’s actually kind of satisfying and so tidy. Keith has requested that all of our artwork be hung with hinges – it’s significantly more fun that way. We could hide things all over the place. Anyway, it’s pretty cool, and it makes our kitchen look WAY better. Yay!

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