Finished- My 2012 Word of the Year.

(source)

Layla's Word of the Year really got me thinking about what I want 2012 to be like and what one word would sum that up. For me it's "finished," particularly as it relates to the saying above which I stole from a friend's Pinterest board. It means finishing our house, inside and out and being able to enjoy the results of our hard work.

I obsess obsessively. We waited for months after we were ready to remodel our kitchen because I could not decide what color to stain the cabinets. Once I did decide, I still needed to pick the counter tops, which took me an embarrassing long time. And then, I changed my mind. And then I changed it again.

We're still working on the kitchen, but we FINISHED! the master bath and made the vanity below from an old sideboard. Here's a teaser...if you'd like to check out the whole process, you can click here:

 I think I obsess because I want our home to be perfect. But the imperfections in our 1920's home are precisely the reasons why it is the perfect house for us. This year, "finished" is going to be better than "perfect."

Linking with the lettered cottage...check it out!

Inexpensive Dining Room Decor

Here she is:

Our dining room is so simple, but it really sums up my taste and my husbands'. When we first married, everything was easily identifiable as "his" or "hers" but we seem to blending it into "ours" a bit better these days. We still need a centerpiece or maybe some linens, but that will come.

Here's what we spent and where we got it...

Light fixture: $20 from Lowe's. It was a display model and was being sold as they changed out their stock. It also came with all the bulbs- CFLs for the up lights and a terrific LED for the down light. Our Lowe's store almost always has clearance light fixtures. If you can butter up an associate who can tell you when the displays will be changed, so much the better.

Wall Hanging: Housewarming gift from a family member. No idea what it cost, just know that it came from an antiques dealer in Dallas' Design District.

Table and Benches: From Walmart, believe it or not. They're part of BHG's collection. They're now sold with chairs and the entire bundle is about $270. You can check it out here. I think we paid about $100 for the table and $60 for each bench, so about $220 all in. My only complaint is that the stain on the table top seems to scratch easily, but for the price, I'm very pleased.

Rug: $30 from Ross. It was in with a whole heap off stuff, but the zebra just caught my eye. It's a tapestry style rug, so it's very thin.

Curtain Rod: Target Home Collection. We paid $24.99 and they're leftovers from our old house.


Curtains: Linen panels from Ikea. I don't think they still make them, but I think we only spent about $30 for the pair.

Total: $325.00

If you have any ideas for a table topper, I would love to hear them! Big thanks to No Minimalist Here for the link!

Great Discount on Paint and Stain

Got projects? Who doesn't?! Sherwin Williams is offering $10 off on a purchase of $50 or more! The only thing better than crossing a project off the list is doing it inexpensively.

Go here to print your coupon.