master redo ~ white wednesday

i am joining in on white wednesday over at Faded*Charm today to show off my master redo.  i used cloud white (benjamin moore) on the walls.  it was just the color i was looking for...white yet warm.  and i used glass of milk (martha stewart) for the trim.
on with the photos shall we?

i played around with moving my bed.  but think it just works best on this wall so that we can both have bedside tables. 

i love the tree branch above the bed.  i wanted something besides a large picture, collage, ect.  so free always works for me.  tucked in a few photos just because.

shouldn't every bed have a coffee bag pillow on it? 

bedside tables unmatched on purpose.  they were both brown before so i just painted the bases and left the tops. 

a super bright and sunny day here today so this photo has quite a glare.  but wanted you to see this side of the room.  this old shoe rack (a garage sale steal at $30!) has always been in my garage.  i use it when i have shows to display my trays.  not sure that i love it here, but at least it is out of the garage.  now her function is to hold books and seems like she's a clothes rack at times too.

a few pretties up on top.  love the large basket that i scored last week for $3.

another view, this one looking into the master bath.

my all time favorite cabinet.  purchased when we lived overseas.  it holds all sorts of things.

i originally was playing around with some lovely fabric for the curtains, but they just seemed to dark.  so i went with white and i think it's ok for now.  come winter though i may have to switch out for something a little cozier.  a grayish velvet maybe?

so that's it.  so glad to have this project to this stage.  love that it is bright,white and oh so clean.  i think it's one of the reasons i am always painting. . . it's the best way to get everything super clean!

now to get some easter decorations out!

oh and if you're new here today for white wednesday please leave me a comment so that i can 'meet' you.  AND if you're feeling crazy today. . . add yourself as a follower! 

for love of the vintage bus rollsign

come june i will have happily been on the same bus for 15 years. 
i have been loving the vintage bus rollsigns that are seen all over these days.
with them being a bit pricey for my taste,
i decided to create my own.
and at the same time, make it a little more personal.

mr. traybella and i are both from kansas city.
we were married on the greek island of santorini.
i realize that our wedding date isn't a destination, but i wanted some numbers on this roll and like i said, i made this a little more personal.
then we lived in brookside, a cute little neighborhood in kansas city.
moved to dhahran, saudi arabia for 6 years.
and reside now in leawood.
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i love how this turned out.
i created it using my new print shop program.
i think the original font to these bus signs is 'helvetica' but i didn't have that font {and was having trouble finding/downloading one} so i just used one that looked appealing to me. 
then i sent it off to snapfish and had a poster (16x20) made.  easy peasy inexpensive personal ART!

i love a surprise

what a week!  mr. traybella was across the pond last week for business.  which is why i was able to stay up {really} late some nights and get my master bedroom redo complete.  i will have the finished photos posted on wednesday linking up to white wednesday.  it feels so good to have that room done...and might i add beautiful . . . in my opinion anyway.

mr. traybella also brought home surprises with him!
he doesn't always do this, so when he does, it is really a treat.
oh how i love beautifully wrapped packages...

he said i was hard to shop for. 
and that the street he was on was all expensive and fancy . . . with beautiful model like looking girls all over the place.
he was in milan, italy.
i have no doubt that the women are beautiful there...but stick to shopping for your wife will ya!  ;)

he picked this out for me.
all by himself.
and . . . i love it!
but mostly, i love having him back home.
sleeping in our redone master bedroom with me. 
have a great day!

getting closer to finished

still plugging away,
but making some progress.

i am planning to show all the final photos of this project next wednesday by linking up to white wednesday.

stay tuned....

a big shout out

i am throwing out a big THANK YOU to joy at savvy city farmer!
she has kindly featured my wee blog as her scf blog of the month.
her blog is AMAZING please go over and check it out.

{photo from savvy city farmer blog}
thank you so much joy. . . you made my day!

late night decorating

i finally found some inspiration

 and some energy

and i am pulling some late nights . . .

 stay tuned!

look what i found

remember my post from yesterday?
well today i was digging through some old magazines. look what i found in an old country home magazine . . .




that is the exact same piece i found just a few days ago.
strange timing isn't? {pun intended}

occupational hazard

i love that i can hunt for things, put them in a sale and make someone happy.

my mantra is that i only buy what i would put into my own home.

because of that, i am able to quickly move through a garage sale or thrift store.

but occasionally it causes what i call occupational hazard.

take this small wood piece.  i am not sure what its original purpose was, but with the round water mark on the top of it, i assumed it was used to hold a plant.  so i brought it home, sanded it down, restained it and oh my goodness does it look so pretty on a buffet.  i'm calling it a wood cake stand because i think a cake would look prominently beautiful sitting on top of this (a cake on a plate that is).  so now i want to keep it. 

i also found this lovely white platter.  love the scallop edge on it and again want to keep it for myself. 

at this rate, i will have nothing for my upcoming sale.  and a house full of fabulous finds.

like i said . . . occupational hazard. cest la vie! 

too much of a good thing

such beautiful weather here today.

we were outside most of the day.

raking leaves in the garden.

playing basketball.

running.

laughing.

i in my garden boots, the boys in bare feet.

and when we came in to fix dinner.

someone just couldn't make it.

he fell asleep on the couch.

is there such thing as too much of a good thing?

i think {hope} he's out for the night.

good night sweet thing.

let's do it again tomorrow!

thrifting . . . with grandma

we spent this last weekend in iowa visiting grandparents.
i asked grandma if there were any thrift stores nearby that she knew of.
i told her that i like to scour them for items to resell.
she knew of one.
i suggested that mr. traybella stay at home with the boys (3, 7, and 93 year old grandpa) and she could come with me.
she quickly said "let's go!"

we couldn't get out of the house fast enough, she was ready to go!

i realized on the way to the thrift store that this outing wasn't about what i was going to find but more about grandma. it was so fun having her point out all the farm houses. she knows who lives in almost everyone of them.

she cares for grandpa on a daily basis, all by herself.

she's 92 but i bet you would guess her more to be in her 70's. she is quick, witty and beautiful. she does everything on her own still, including entertaining us with style.

she rarely, if ever, leaves grandpa so an hour or so out was pure joy for her. we had so much fun!
i found these two bowls. i had intentions of flipping them, but think i may hang onto them as a memory of thrifting . . . with grandma.

spring buds

"if you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom". ~ audra foveo
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i had a lovely friend over for coffee this week. she surprised me with these quince branches she cut from her garden. they are just starting to bloom and they look so beautiful.
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rain showers tonight after a beautiful 60 something degree day. aaahhh . . . my favorite time of year.

forgive me for i have sinned

i gave up sweets for lent.

i did good for say . . um . . ahem . . the first 3 days.
and then
i googled 'the best ever chocolate chip cookie recipe'
and i found this recipe.

and i made these cookies
for this little guy . . . really.
but then i had to try the new recipe


and oh my goodness THIS just might be THE best chocolate chip cookie i have ever had.
so i ate more.
and then made more.

i made some with no chocolate chips, because that is the way my kids like them.
and so the others, made with chips,
some went to mr. traybellas office,
some to a neighbor.
and i am sure you can guess where the others went.
needless to say that after i collect the tax info mr. traybella is requesting i will be spending the rest of the day . . .
on the treadmill.

scrap bin garland

i am adding these photos to my blog today with windows flung wide open and the outside temperature at 50. a sunny beautiful day and so i decided to celebrate by making this easy spring garland.

i just dug through my fabric scrap bin and pulled out a few different fabrics. quickly cut them into rectangles and stitched them onto a ribbon.

garlands are a staple around our house when it is someones birthday. i love the festive party flare they provide. hang them anywhere and they are sure to let someone know that something is being celebrated.

i added a ruffle {because aren't they all the rage right now?} to the burlap rectangle and i love the rough texture of the burlap with the sweetness of the ruffle. if you do not sew you could also just glue the ribbon to the fabric with some fabric glue.

this little project took me just a mere 40 minutes from start to finish. any combination of fabric or shape would work for these easy garlands. how cute will this be for easter celebrations, a garden party or even a beautiful rustic wedding?!

i love this one hanging in the kitchen. i think i will leave it here and celebrate the nice weather we are supposed to have all through the weekend (minus a few rain showers).

mandatory outside play until dark and maybe even have to fire up the Bar-B.

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sunshine, fresh air in the house, and celebrations that spring is near. life is good.

something different

first let me apologize for the horrible photos today. the sun is out (squeal!) and it made for a horrible reflection on the window. but i will take the sun!

sometimes i get tired of a wreath on my front door. so instead i often opt for a picture. i am sure the sun will fade this, but i paid just a few bucks at a garage sale for it. it may even look aged once the sun does its job on it. so if you're tired of your front door . . . try something different.

i also found this today peeking out at me in the garden. it won't be long!

the big four O

sunny skies all day today and the temps reached the BIG four O!
it seems like it has been a long time since we have seen 40 degrees.
.

i feel a fever coming on . . . spring fever!

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"in spring time love is carried on the breeze.
watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head". ~ emma racine defleur

in need of a stripper?

i did a little stripping this weekend.
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not THAT kind of stripping you silly girls . . .
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THIS kind of stripping . . .

and if you have a stripping project on your list i recommend this brand. it was amazing! safe for indoor use too so i didn't have to lug my piece to the garage. in 45 minutes it had done its job and 4 layers of paint came off in one scrape. super easy! AND it smells like citrus.
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this was my project . . .


my island in the kitchen. i was just tired of the top being painted black, so i stripped it to the bare wood, threw on some stain and a sealer and i love it.

now my only thing is that i think i want to paint the base of it white. but at times i still like it black. i can't decide. decisions decisions.

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will you please help me? what would you choose? keep it black or paint it white (to match my cabinets). please leave me a comment with your vote.
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