Idea Stores

Posted on March 15, 2013 by April

Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve really missed blogging these past couple of weeks, and I haven’t even been all that busy. Just lazy I suppose, at work there is not much time to blog, plus I really don’t know how ethical it is to use company time to do such things. Then when home time comes around, all I want to do is sit on the couch and attempt to watch TV, but instead I wake up 2 hours later to find the local news filling my head with current headlines. Let’s just say I’m tired.

But a couple of weeks ago I was able to drag myself off the couch, and visit a couple of my favorite “idea” stores. You know those kinds of stores where the merchandise is too pricey (at least for this cheapskate) to actually purchase anything, but instead steal their ideas and buy something similar at your favorite thrift or discount store.

Well, Potty Barn and Anthropologie are my idea stores. And here’s what I found:

I really don’t know what I like best about Anthropologie, the gorgeous smells or scrumptuous eye candy.

I love this table, I don’t know if it was truly old, but those wheels are awesome.

These quilts had me at, “Hey, I’m 100% cotton!” My favorite is the white ruffled one second from the bottom.

Have I mentioned all the eye candy that Anthropologie has to offer?

I loved this corner gallery. It might look odd in a main living area, but perhaps it would work in a bedroom?

And these weird little glass balls. I thought they were a light fixture at first, but I still like them. They bring a little shine into a space.

Aren’t these bright lamps the coolest?

Oh, and they had owls!

Lots of owls…

And not just owls, they also offered weenie dogs that would hold letters for you. I thought about buying this for my sister, but alas, $30 was too steep for my tight little wallet.

This chair is so cute, I could see one of my thrifted chairs getting this treatment.

All I need now is a cute euro pillow. And some time away from the couch.

After indulging in all the eye candy that Anthropologie offered it was time to see what Pottery Barn had in store for me.

I love their table settings at the Barn of Pottery. They’re a little too busy for my everyday life, but still fun to gaze upon. I did however, get some ideas for my own Easter table.

A bunny holding colorful plates anyone?

How about a cheese dome displaying pretty Easter eggs?

Or cute bunny napkins?

I also noticed a trend in both stores:

Colored and textured glassware. Which I’m completely on board with, evidenced by my favorite colorful glasses purchases from one of my favorite thrift stores. You can read more about those here.

Normally, when visiting my idea stores, I just come away with ideas. But this time, I actually purchased something. My very first purchase from Anthropologie. It was like a little present to me and from me.

All wrapped up with pretty tape! But what lay beyond that pretty tape?

Why, a yummy candle. I can’t remember what flavor it is, but I snatched it from the clearance section for $15. Now, every time I light my gifted to me candle, I pretend I’m walking around one of my favorite idea stores. Of course, then I wake up and realize I just fell asleep on the couch again.

Pretty Pics from Pinterest: DIY Valentine Wreaths

Posted on January 25, 2013 by April

It’s finally Friday!!! Can I get a WOOT WOOT?!

I trust you have all made it safely and happily to the end of the week, or the beginning of your week depending on what your schedule entails. Even when Friday’s weren’t the actual start to my weekend, they were always somehow happier than the rest of the week. There’s a certain jovial air about this day that we call Friday isn’t there?

Anyways, with it being Friday, and I being lazy and not wanting to edit pictures for a post, I thought I’d share some pretty images I found while in the time warp that is Pinterest. Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, I thought it might be fun to look at some hearty crafts, particularly heart wreaths. I love to keep some type of seasonal wreath on my door, (ya know because I like everything to be dressed, I don’t want any indecent doors around my house), and I’ve been looking for that perfect Valentine wreath. So, here’s a few crafty wreaths I’ve found around the interwebs.

Ali Lily Blog

Etsy Shop: The September Tree similar wreath

Have a safe, happy and crafty weekend!!!

Pretty Pics from Pinterest: Sunrooms

Posted on September 7, 2012 by April

Hello Friday!! This week sure felt a lot longer than 4 days, maybe it was that extra long weekend that threw me for a loop, but things have really been a little weird this week. I just couldn’t get back into the swing of things, but it’s Friday now so I’ll worry about getting back into the swing of things on Monday! With it being Friday, that means it’s time for my weekly Pretty Pics from Pinterest post, this week we’ll be oogling some pretty sunrooms. I’ve been working on a little sunroom make over at my house, our sunroom has sort of been a catch all for the stuff we couldn’t let go of, but didn’t really know what to do with. That sort of sounds like the rest of the house doesn’t it?

Anyways, I’ve decided it’s high time that the sun room become a room that we can actually use. Our house is pretty small, about 950 sq ft excluding the sun room. So, we really need that extra hanging out space that the sun room provides. I’ve gotten the room fairly well cleaned out there are just a few things left to do. This weekend I have made a promise with myself to finally finish it, or at least put some curtains up. With that in mind I’ve been hitting up Pinterest for some finishing off design ideas for this sunny little room.

By the way, if you are on Pinterest and would like to follow me, I am April@theyellowcasa.wordpress.com, I still don’t know how to put a Pinterest button on my little blog. Maybe I need to own my domain? Does anyone know how to get those snazzy Facebook and Pinterest buttons??

Anywho, on with the eye candy! As always, if you are interested in seeing the original source of these pretty pics click on the photo or the link provided below the photo to be taken to the original website.

Pinterest via Jenna Sue Design

I love the colors she used in this room, and that coffee table is awesome, her how to can be found here. Also, those floors are a cool idea as they are wood look tile. I toyed with the idea of putting those throughout our house, but threw the idea out when I priced out how much that would cost for the whole house. Instead we went with vinyl plank floors, you can read more about my floors here.

Pinterest via Hooked on Houses

Julia at Hooked on Houses has such a sweet sun room, it looks like the kinda place you could curl up and read a book in. I am really loving the green and yellow she used in this room.

Pinterest via Young House Love

How could I not include John and Sherry’s sun room, they are the rock stars of home blogs and DIY renovations, if you haven’t heard of them you definitely need to check them out. So, I am sharing their room because I loved their floor embellishments and window treatments. I may have to utilize their curtain concept for my sun room, soft yet still allows the light in and the view to be seen.

There ya have it, three gorgeous sun rooms, if that doesn’t give me motivation to finally get my sunny room functional I don’t know what will.

Have a happy weekend everyone!!!

Pretty Pics From Pinterest: Outdoor Dinner Parties

Posted on August 31, 2012 by April

Well, we made it to Friday, the weekend has arrived! Aren’t you excited? I can’t wait to eat waffles and ignore the growing fur bunnies under my couch. (We don’t grow dust bunnies, we grow fur bunnies. If you have a dog that sheds profusely then you’ll totally understand the fur bunnies.). As I had mentioned in my previous post, it’s a three day weekend!! (!!!!) Which gives me an extra day to eat those yummy waffles and watch the persistent fur bunnies grow under the couch. With Labor Day weekend upon us, it kind of feels like summer is coming to an end, even though summer doesn’t officially end until September 22. Doesn’t it feel like fall is rushing in and stealing summer from us? Maybe it’s just the warm weather girl in me, but I’m always a little sad to see summertime come to a close. I love fall and spring and can tolerate winter, but summer seems to be the season I mourn the most when those transitional times come upon us every few months. Although, I’m the type that gets sad when her food is over, so maybe I just have some attachment issues.

Anywho, back to the point of this post, the end of summer. This summer I didn’t have any get togethers, mainly because the last get together we had at the house was so stressful I wasn’t sure if I could put myself through all that trauma again. Trauma you ask, from a party you ask? Let’s just say it involved the police pounding on my door at 6am and a fire truck. (You can read about that drama here and here)

Since I chose not to put myself threw the ringer this year, I wanted to spy on a few outdoor parties from Pinterest. I love Pinterest, it gives me blogging material for Fridays! 😀 If you are curious about the original source of these pretty pics, click on the picture or the link below the picture and you’ll be taken to the original website.

Via Pinterest Via Houzz

Via Pinterest via Lavender and Ash

Via Pinterest via Desire to Inspire

Via Pinterest via Real Simple

Via Pinterest via Martha Stewart Living

Via Pinterest via Country Living

Via Pinterest via Design Your Revolution

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!!

Home Goals for 2012

Posted on January 26, 2012 by April

I had planned on participating in a linky party that the Nester hosted, two weeks ago. Obviously, I missed the party, but I liked the concept. So, even though I missed the deadline I still wanted to talk about the topic that Nester brought up. You see, Nester prompted this question, who are you trying to please this year? Of course this was in regards to the home, and could be discussed in other areas of life. But here, today, I wanted to talk about my home goals for 2012. I’m posting them, so that I can remember them and reference them, these goals are not specific they are more general in nature. I have found that making specific goals is just too constricting. Maybe it’s the free spirit in me that avoids structure, much like I avoid a well structured sentence. Anywho, here are my general home goals for 2012:

Home Goals for 2012

1. Have nothing in my home that is not beautiful or useful.

That means:

A. If it ain’t useful get rid of it. If it ain’t pretty let someone else have it.

B. Find a place for the things that have been deemed both beautiful and useful.

This goes along with the popular William Morris qoute:

“Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.”

2. Be realistic when it comes to DIY and other home projects.

That means:

A. Remember that I am only one woman with limited time, budget, and often times energy. I must remember there is a difference between slapping paint on the walls and rewiring the kitchen.

B. Sometimes that mysterious fuzzy green thing that threatens me every time I open the fridge takes precedence over rearranging the living room.

3. Be content with the home I have.

That means:

A. If we were able to buy a bigger and better home it would still need expensive repairs and updates. It would also get dirty and cluttered just like our current home. Sometimes, bigger does not mean better, it just means a bigger space to make bigger messes.

B. Our home is perfect the way it is, because it is ours. It is the home I share with my beloved Bubba, our dogs, and anyone else who is willing to brush dog fur off their jeans after a visit.

4. Make our home comfortable for us.

That means:

A. My design choices do not need to meet the standards of top interior designers. These choices only need to make myself and my family feel happy and welcome in our home.

B. Upgrades made to our home should make us comfortable,physically, fiscally, and mentally.

There you have it, my 2012 home manifesto. We’ll see how well I remember these goals and apply them throughout the year. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Have you set h0me goals for yourself? Looking ahead in the coming year to any changes?

Happy 2012

Posted on January 1, 2012 by April

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.”

Isaiah 43:18

Happy New Year!

Image Via Junk Garden

Virtual Transformations

Posted on December 21, 2011 by April

On a recent trip to a nearby thrift store I spied with my little eye, some treasures that needed just a little polishing. Unfortunately, I have neither the time, room, or a way of moving such treasures. So, instead of bringing home these jewels in the rough, I took some photos to share with you.

First up is a pair of chairs, I practically swooned.

I apologize for the quality of the photo, I had to use my point shoot as the big camera was a little conspicuous. Plus, florescent lights aren’t forgiving on anyone.

These chairs may not look so nice to the naked eye, but you’ve got have vision. They could be turned into this:

Via Pinterest Via Flickr (don’t you hate when you find the perfect picture, but can’t find the original link?)

Or they could be re-created into this $500 West Elm Chair:

Via West Elm

Or you could use a bold pattern to make them a statement piece, like this Target chair for $400:

Via Target

The chairs I am swooning were a cool $15.99 a pop:

Now that I’ve shopped around, these lovelies may have to come home with me.

During the same shopping excursion I found this curvy girl:

She needs some work, but nothing a little bit of stripping and paint couldn’t fix.

Especially with dove tailing like this.

And with such beautiful lines. At $129 she’s not a cheap date, not an expensive one, but considering the April hours it would take to make her pretty, I just couldn’t justify the purchase. But if I could have talked myself into this beauty, she could be turned into something like this:

Via Oh Dee Doh

No, there’s no bun, but these vintage dressers do make cute changing tables.

Via Dwellings by Devore

Or this beauty, the lines are a bit more simple, but you get the idea:

Via Little Green Notebook

Aww yes, nothing like virtually transforming a vintage treasure into something even more beautiful.

Treasure of Being

Posted on October 21, 2011 by April

I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts in 31 days. The topic is always something they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. If you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, or you’re just curious about what everyone else is writing about, please visit The Nester, Jen, Melissa, Sandy, Darcy, Emily, and Emily. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

Here we are on day 10 of what should be day 21 of 31 days. Obviously, 31 Days of blogging is certainly not in this little blogger, in fact, I sort of feel like I’m counting down the days in confinment. So, this maybe the last 31 Days series you’ll see on this blog. But if I ever conquer my poor time management skills and suddenly become Miss Organizing McOrganizer you might see a come back!

However, this week, my poor time management skills and disorganization have reared their ugly heads. They have left me feeling uninspired, uninspired to take needed photos of my old junk and uninspired to write interesting and heart stopping content (HAR-HAR). Or maybe it’s the fall air and the changing of leaves going on outside that’s got me distracted. Either way, I promise, next week you’ll find plenty of inspired posts with lots of pictures taken by moi. But in the mean time, I’ve found some really sweet vintage fall themes to share with you. Hope you enjoy these visual treasures as much as I have!

*via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Sometimes, a treasure isn’t something you posses, it’s something to be experienced. This weekend, I plan on experiencing treasures, that doesn’t mean I won’t be popping into Goodwill or my favorite thrift stores. But it does mean, that I’ll be stopping and enjoying the treasure of living the life that the sweet Lord has blessed me with.

What treasures will you be enjoying this weekend? The treasure of spending time with family? Of enjoying the wondrous works of God? Or the treasure of just being?

*I could not locate an original source, if you know where these photos originated please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due!

Milky Way Glass

Posted on October 19, 2011 by April

Yesterday I talked about all the creative ways others have displayed their vintage camera collections. Apparently I’ve got a theme going this week, because today I’d like to talk about how to display milk glass collections. As you know (and if you don’t you’re about to find out) I have a very extensive collection of milk glass items. It varies from baking pans and mixing bowls to vases and candy dishes. But if it’s milk glass and it’s not in a form of milk glass that I already own, you know I’ll be cradling that item in my arm all the way to the register like Peyton Manning does with a football running to make a touch down. (Is that football reference correct? It sounded right to me, besides that who doesn’t enjoy a good Manning reference?)

Here is a very small glimpse into my collection of milk glass…

The red bookcase Bubba bought at a yard sale for $5 several years ago. Apparently, the older gentleman he bought it from had made it in an afternoon and didn’t really care for the way it turned out. I liked it enough to use it in my last college apartment, my first career apartment, and finally to display it in my first non-rental home. It wasn’t until a co-worker of mine mentioned using a shelf to display all of my beloved milk glass that I thought to use this little book case on top of my “buffet”. (We call it a buffet, but it’s actually just a spare base cabinet that a previous owner had awkwardly placed in a corner of the kitchen. There are so many things I’d love to change about my little house. But that’s another post for another time.)

The bookcase is really very cute, but it doesn’t hold all of my collection, I’ve got milk glass in all corners of our home. On top of the TV, on all the end tables, the dining table, actually, any flat surface that is clear from the wrath that is Goldie’s tail. Many a vase and other glass collectible has fallen victim to this happy tail.

So, off I went to the interwebs for some further inspiration, here’s what I found…

via Apartment Therapy

via Country Home

via Design Sponge

via Better Homes and Gardens

via 320 Sycamore Blog

I especially love the curtains in that last picture. Oh what I’d give to have a window above my sink! But I do like the idea of displaying milk glass higher to draw the eyes up.

Such grand ideas, but for now my vases will be waiting patiently atop the T.V. or end table or dining table until I can decide where and in which way to display my milky treasures.

Do the shutterbug

Posted on October 18, 2011 by April

My 31 days of treasures experiment have accidentally been put on hold the past week due illness and travel with spotty internet service. It’s my fault, I had planned on writing posts ahead of time to automatically post while I was out. But being the great organizer that I am (HAR-HAR) that did not come to fruition. So here we are, a week after my last post, please accept my sincerest apology as I try to resume our regularly scheduled blogging.

While perusing the aisles of Goodwill yesterday, I came upon a cute little piece of photography history, a Canon AE-1, with it’s original 50 mm lens. But at 19.99 and with a sticky film trigger (I don’t know the proper terminology for this peice, but essentially it’s a lever you push that snaps back into place. It moves the film from frame to frame right before you hit the shutter button. If you know the right terminology for this piece, please share!), it just didn’t make the cut. Since, I was a dummy and didn’t have a camera with me I’m having a borrow a picture I found on the interwebs.

via Pinterest via kenrockwell.com

After admiring this camera, it got me to wondering about vintage camera collections. This is something I’ve considered, but with such a small house and so many other collections of my treasures, space is at a premium. But in case I ever do decide to start a vintage camera collection, that is after I’ve “edited” down some of my other collections, I thought it might be fun to share how others are displaying their shutter buggery goodness.

via Pinterest via Design Sponge

This would be cute in an entry way or hallway. Somewhere where it can be fully appreciated.

via Pinterest via Mint Design Blog

Here’s an idea that would certainly be great for sharing the history behind your collectibles. Plus you’d know if someone had moved any of your treasures!

via Pinterest via Design Sponge

Or you could simply place them with other sentimental items.

via Pinterest via Fossil

Honestly, I’m not really loving the idea of hanging these snappy puppies up on the wall. It would be much more fun to be able to handle them and give them a closer look. But it is a good idea if you are low on shelf space and still want to display your vintage cameras.

via Pinterst via Unplugged

After seeing all these great ideas, maybe I should start editing down some of my other collections to start a new collection.

Semi-Seasonal

Category Archives: Inspiration

Idea Stores

Pretty Pics from Pinterest: DIY Valentine Wreaths

Pretty Pics from Pinterest: Sunrooms

Pretty Pics From Pinterest: Outdoor Dinner Parties

Home Goals for 2012

Happy 2012

Virtual Transformations

Treasure of Being

Milky Way Glass

Do the shutterbug

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