Ideas and a Blank Canvas

Blank Canvas

With moving right around the corner, my mind is abuzz, day dreaming of where I'm going to put what, what colors I'm going to put on the wall, and what items and pieces of furniture we still need to purchase one day.

Okay, so this is what we have to work with so far:

Our Pottery Barn rug in neutral shades and blues.

Our rug is from last spring, but this one, currently at Pottery Barn, is very similar in the colors. 

I'm super excited to potentially move to the house we are currently under contract with because we can finally place our rug on wooden floors!

We really want to replace our Ikea couch... which looks like this:

Our pillows are also from Pottery Barn. I would love something more textural, or floral, or something that "pop's" a little more. However, the hubs and I really could only both agree on stripes. 

We've spent an afternoon or two at furniture stores looking at sofas. I would like an upholstered couch, but Miguel leans more towards leather. I like leather couches, but we already have a dark leather chair, and I think the chair plus the couch would maybe be too much leather. We really like Thomasville. We think something like this may be a good compromise:

via

We can choose from a plethora of upholstery in our color range. This couch incorporates both leather and upholstery. The details may be too ornate though. 

The color of our leather chair is dark, like an espresso. In fact, this chair from Pottery Barn is similar to our chair, except ours has no arms and the feet are less detailed.

Via

Okay, so the look I really want to achieve is something like these images below. (I found these images all over the net by googling "gray and blue living rooms".

I like the light colors, the casual feel, and the soft look. However, our  coffee table and side tables are dark wood, in the espresso color range again. And this room has no dark furniture.

This room inspiration combines the dark wood furniture along with the light colors...  probably too much white for us though with our black dog. We've learned that lesson

via PB

via PB

The color schemes I would like to stick to are these:

If we choose to move further forward with the house we have under contract this is what the living room space looks like:

Living room

That doorway in the picture of the living room leads to the dining room.

Dining room

So I'm thinking I'll keep the living room walls a darker neutral color with pops of color in the drapes, rug, wall art, and throw pillows... maybe some new lamps eventually. These are just ideas... obviously I wouldn't combine these together... if I got patterned drapes, I'd stick to solid pillows... etc.

For wall art I want either abstract canvas art or framed geometric prints... I'm leaning toward framed art
via 

via PB

via PB

Not my favorite, but something with just a little bit of color with a pattern or a solid blue/gray
via

I really like this blue lamp from PB. I like the shape and the color. Just enough color. 

For the dining room I want to draw inspiration from the image below. I really like the wall color and have drapes like those already. I also really like the light fixture. It's a nice juxtaposition between a casual and formal space. We will need to do something with the current light fixture anyways. I think the color on the walls in the dining will also look nice when looking from the living space into the dining.

Oh goodness! I am getting so excited about having a home! There are so many projects to tackle! Can I win the lottery so I can do them all at once, please? But fixing up the living and dining shouldn't be too much work. We'll start with the simple things like changing light fixtures and polishing the original 1939 hardwood floors and then work our way up to new siding, new kitchen, and converting the whole upstairs into one master suite. And while I am very grateful for the hodgepodge of furniture given to us by families, I'm looking forward to one day having a cohesive look!

I would love thoughts, ideas, and suggestions! Seriously!

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

Yay! My "Wag more, bark less" auto magnet came in the mail today! I veered away from the 'traditional' white/blue design and, of course, got the pink! =)

Only problem is... this will now make 3 car magnets on the back of my car... is that tacky? Eh. I don't care. Support puppies!!!

My car is covered in pollen... and no matter what, it will continue to be covered until the fall. 

I purchased the new magnet for under $3 on-line, + about $4 in shipping. You can get one through the link below. 

Or, to purchase the Adopt A Golden Atlanta magnet visit the AGA website, click here. It costs $5 plus $1.50 for shipping... and proceeds go to help save orphaned doggies!

In a change of topic... I received an e-mail this afternoon about Dog Yoga. It's offered through the Savannah Yoga Room. I think I may go... I used to go to yoga and loved it. I'm curious how this works with dogs though! Haha! It costs $15 but 100% of the proceeds go to Save-A-Life, a non-profit animal welfare organization created to prevent over population of companion animals through low cost spaying and neutering. 

Steak Stir Fry

Being a newlywed is really fun. The first few weeks of being married I dug into our many new cookbooks we received as gifts. I experimented with various dishes. However, this wasn't so nice for our checkbook. So I made the switch to eating out, mostly at not healthy places. Well, eating out hasn't been so nice for my figure. So the past couple of weeks I've been making meals that are budget friendly and healthier than, say... pizza. One of our favorite meals to make in this fashion has been a variation on a stir fry. This recipe is inexpensive, easy, and quick to make. Some nights we make it with chicken, some with steak. The following is our steak stir fry, step by step. 

You will need:

- Strips of steak (We use a little over half a pound for two people)

- La Choy Stir Fry Marinate

- Yellow, red, and/or green bell peppers (as many or few as you like)

- 1 can of baby corn, drained and cut in half

- 1 Onion sliced and cut

- Shredded carrots

- About 4 - 5 oz of green beans

- Lime juice

- 3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

- Asian stir fry oil

Step 1: Start with strips of steak. We got these from Publix for under $3. Cut the steak strips in half and place them in a plastic bag. 

Step 2: Put La Choy Stir Fry marinate in the bag. La Choy is our favorite brand of stir fry and asian sauce because it is gluten free. 

Step 3: Place bag of marinated steak in the fridge for at least an hour, turning over at least once. I usually keep mine in the fridge for a couple of hours, mixing and turning the bag over a every hour or so.

Step 4: Prepare other ingredients... Cut up bell peppers, drain corn and cut, cut onion, garlic, and wash and snap off the ends of the beans. 

Step 5:  Heat up about 2 tbsp of oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat

Step 6: Add the garlic and the onions. Let cook for about 2 - 3 minutes.

Step 7: Add baby corn, bell peppers, green beans and carrots. 

Step 8: While the veggies are cooking in the wok, heat up 1 tbsp of stir fry oil in a skillet. Add contents from the bag of meat. Add lime juice. Cook meat to preference. 

Step 9: After the meat is cooked, remove it from the pan and place in the wok. Pour about 1/2 cup of La Choy Stir Fry marinate over veggies and meat and stir. 

Step 10: Pair with white rice. For a vegetarian stir fry I recommend using Quinoa. This is great stuff! It's packed full of protein and has no gluten! I have a wonderful black bean and quinoa recipe that I'll have to share in the future. 

Final Step: Plate and enjoy! To add another asian flair to your meal, try homemade fortune cookies! Click HERE