Woodgrain tiles and industrial lights, be still my heart

(Note: While opinions are my own, this is a sponsored post, and may contain affiliate links)

The thing about buying a �fixer upper� that someone else is doing the fixing on� you�ve got to put a lot of trust into that fella.

Both Tate & I agreed, that since we were fans of the builders other homes in the area, we wouldn�t become those overbearing, nit-picky buyers who insist on choosing every single door know, window frame, and hardware accent.

That�s not to say a girl can�t dream though! Through this whole house-hunting process I�ve come to learn that, kitchens aside, one of the biggest �surprises� always ends up being the bathrooms.

Especially in flipped homes, they can range from traditional (think: penny tiles, porcelain claw foot tubs, etc) to super modern (floating vanities, bright chrome accessories, stark white finishes). 

My tastes always fall within the traditional, boho styles. Tate's more of a modern, simplistic kind of guy. I won't indulge you on how many tiffs stemmed from a potential home's bathroom these past few months! I've spent a lot of time perusing the internet for mixes of our styles, and was pleasantly surprised when I came across all the great products offered by the online company, PlumbTile

I'm anxiously awaiting finding out what our new bathrooms will look like... in the mean time, join me for a little day-dream'y walk down what I'd love to see when they hand us the keys...

1) I absolutely adore this new style of wood-look tiles that are popping up. As a self-proclaimed "tile-hater" these have definitely changed my mind on the topic... 

2) A sink that holds true to the antique style of the house, such as this one. Not to mention classic hardware to go with it!)

3) Minimalist accessories, such as this towel ring

4) A simple mirror, in an unexpected shape.

5) An industrial style light to add some edge to the space

6) A teak bathmat, for a little bit of nature.

I'd add some bright colored rugs and towels, a bold paint color on the walls, and a few plants to really complete the space. 

What about your dream bath? What do you want to wake up to every morning?

A house, and a home.

Have you ever realized how much more personal a home is versus a house? You 'house hunt', but it becomes your 'home sweet home'.  How is it that some freestanding structure becomes such a part of who we are as a person?

It's one of the oddest things, to tell someone you're contemplating selling your house. It's as if you're telling someone you're considering voluntarily becoming a paraplegic. There is so much shock and confusion.

Don't get me wrong, I love my home more than anything. I absolutely adore these four walls, the stair cases, the backyard, the little white fence. I love the paint colors I chose, the paint colors I painted over, the floors I stained, the things I furnished it will, the plants I planted. This house was my own. I hunted and hunted and fell in love and signed the papers five and a half years ago.

But to me, she's still just four walls. She made up the grounds for a lot of great memories, but she isn't the memories themselves. Everything filling this foundation are just additives to my life, they aren't my life itself.

Maybe it's because I am voluntarily selling my house. Maybe that is why it's so foreign.

All of this babbling is the long way of saying that Tate & I have started house-hunting. Yea, gasp, big step. It started as a hair-brained idea, as we were chatting longingly about exposed brick walls over a couple Moscow mules during one of our regular date nights. Our list of wishes and wants gracefully unfolded into a few peeks at local listings, a pre approval letter, and a call to our realtor.

I had forgotten how much I loved the house-hunting process. Stepping through front door after front door, never knowing what quirks you will find. Every house tells such a story itself, but it also provides such blank page and I can't help but start to fill those pages in my head with how our life together would unfold in each room.

Some have been total bunks from the get go, and some have sparked our interest. We already had our first minor heartbreak when we learned that a dream-inducing condo FULL of exposed-brick had received 3 offers just days after we looked at it.

All of this means that eventually it will be time to put my home on the market, to make that jump, and become an official downtown Indianapolis urbanite instead of just a suburban pretending to be hip. It's exciting, and also slightly terrifying. But mostly, it just feels right.

Here's to hoping this transition from home to house to home is everything we could have hoped for!

Been around the world (na, na, na)

Last year, post #PopGoesMyLung, when I was still bedrest-ridden at my parents, LT helped me out with a project I had had in mind for a while.

LT. Ha. There's a name we haven't heard in a while. I'll say his help on this was appreciated, and leave it at that. 

I found out the mileage, as a crow flies, to each passport stamp I've gotten and painted them on these pieces of deconstructed pallet. And then threw them in a box and they sat in my closet for 12 months.

My parents were over helping me do some yardwork when my mom brought it up. To be honest, I had sort of forgotten all about them. So we drug em out, laid em out, let my dad dig a post hole, and busted out the Makita. 

Less than an hour later, I have brand new yard art that I absolutely love. The only down fall is that I am already 4 signs behind, for the places I went in Australia!

I can only hope that my biggest problem in the future is needing a bigger pole because I've run out of room!

In avoidance of becoming the crazy cat woman.

I remember reading in a magazine once that you should always have at least one living thing in every room of your home.

13 cats seemed a little extravagant (closets not counted), and we all know I'm not ready to board the baby train to Duggar-ville, so plant life seemed like the most logical (and sane) alternative.

They also suggested fish, but I prefer my finned friends in the pescetarian sense.

All that aside, over the years I've slowly started flexing my green thumb. Most of the time, the green turns brown and eventually makes it way to a landfill, but I've managed to keep a whopping seven plants living thus far, and just acquired at least 5 more this weekend that I daintily moved into their new terra cotta homes. And by daintily I mean I dropped and shattered one pot, and repeatedly cussed out the cactus as I attempted to transplant it. I'm such a delicate ladylike specimen.

One day I'll have a blossoming home so glorious it'll join the ranks of these beauties. And maybe even a few still-living potted plants outside as well. Set your goals high, my friends.

All. The. Animals. (and an EasyCanvasPrints review)

Not long ago, while looking through some travel photos, someone jokingly asked if I 'must touch all the animals?!'

To which I just laughed.

And then got a little defensive. Because... well, yes, actually. I MUST touch all. the. animals.

[Mazatlan, Mexico]

[Puerta Vallarta, Mexico]

[San Juan, Puerto Rico]

[Mazatlan, Mexico]

Donkeys and parrots seem to be everywhere I go.

[Cabo San Lucas, Mexico]

A lizard here and there.

[Riviera Maya, Mexico]

A dolphin to swim around with.

[Dinosaur World, Kentucky]

Even a dinosaur on occasion. (Ok, ok you caught me - this one isn't real)

[Cancun, Mexico]

[Negril, Jamaica]

But sometimes you get real lucky and stumble upon a monkey who steals your bubblegum, or a lobster you get to kiss, or a koala who grabs your boob. And those are really the kind of moments you just laugh hysterically at for the rest of your life.

[Gold Coast, Australia]

Obviously, when I was contacted by Stephanie at Easycanvasprints.com about reviewing one of their products I jumped at the chance.

It was quite a toss-up of which animal encounter I wanted gracing my wall, naturally the excitement of canoodling the koala hadn't worn off just yet and he won.  Their website is super easy to use, and the quality is great. I love way it looks mixed into the gallery wall I have of all my travel photos!

I had always been hesitant of having my photos turned into canvas prints, as I feel they are generally more for babies or weddings or other significant life events. But I really am quite pleased with this one, it doesn't look out of place in the gallery wall, and the variation of the canvas and the framed prints adds some much needed variation!

(The fine print: I was given this canvas to review, but all of the opinions are my own!) 

Pretty new loo.

I've got an uncanny knack for never finishing stories on this ol blog.

Like the time three months ago I told you we completely tore up my bathroom

Fear not... I haven't been squatting in a bucket throughout the winter. That project actually came to completion and I have a functioning full bathroom again. I just did some other cool stuff, like go to Australia, and forgot to mention the "after" on here!

Shockingly, I have very few "before" photos to show you... this is the only one I could find (what, like you regularly photograph your throne room?)

This was shortly after closing on my house, I picked up a quart of a darker teal and called it a day.

Fast forward a few years.... I love it a LITTLE bit more now!

It just so much more inviting (can a bathroom be inviting? I kinda wanna hang out in there, even if I'm not using the facilities, little weird - eh?)

I still have plans to swap out the mirror for something else, and add more art to the walls, although I have THE hardest time settling on artwork for bathrooms. It's just such a weird place in my mind. Having actual photographs of people in restrooms freaks me out, and I absolutely hate the cliche seashell, ocean, or bath themed imagery. (Yea, that's a paint-by-number panda I scored at a local antique mall... I kind of adore him, the whole color scheme of my bathroom came from him to be honest)

On a whim, my dad and I decided to lay the (bargain!) floor on a diagonal.... best.decision.ever. I LOVE the little quirk it adds.

[ sink: home depot // faucet: overstock // flooring: local outlet (remnant) // rug, stool: TJ Maxx // basket, stool: antique ]

Going to Target for tennis balls: AKA the makings of a gallery wall

It started with an innocent trip to Target to pick up some new tennis balls so I could wash my pillows (I saw something on Pinterest and had been disgusted with myself that in my 26 years of living I've never once washed my pillows)

Naturally, in an effort to get the most cardio out of said trip, I HAD to push my cart around the entire perimeter of the store, and up and down every aisle.

Which is why I ended up in the picture frame aisle. The picture frame aisle full of little red signs from heaven. Known to most as clearance stickers.

And suddenly I HAD to touch them. And lay them out. And everyone walking past me that evening at Target was all 'what the hail is this weirdo doing sitting on the floor in aisle C7??'

Things got a LITTLE weird when people started asking me to point them in the direction of Draino and dog biscuits, but I realized I had a red shirt on and smiled and spouted off random aisles. I left Target with six or seven new frames, and headed around the corner to TJ Maxx to scope out their selection. Suddenly I was on a mission.  A mission that no longer involved tennis balls and clean bedding, since I completely forgot that at Target.

I used a few Christmas gift cards and walked out of the Maxx with two very full bags and headed home to play. Instead of going with all black frames, I picked up a mix of woods, metals, white ceramic and black frames to add a little more interest and make it look less catalog-y

I understand that some people are very organized and excellent planners and cut out templates and measure and use stud finders, yada yada yada. Meanwhile I grabbed a box of nails and a hammer and just started making holes.

Somehow it seemed to work out decently.

Now I have spent the past two weeks trying to decide what exactly I want to put INTO my frames.
(Does anyone else miss the days when they would put fake families in picture frames, at least that way my wall would LOOK like someone cared about me) 

It looks a little lot better than the ohsoboring bare wall that used to adorn my living room!