Making Lemonade

You know the old saying, "What do you do when life gives you lemons?" Well, my lemonade came in the form of a new mirror and some rearranging and painting. Before I get to the photos of my reinvented dining room, I want to thank everyone for their kind words and condolences over the death (or possibly just injury) of my pagoda mirror. A few of you mentioned having it fixed/repaired. I did check into that. One restoration guy quoted me three to five times what I paid for the mirror. So, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I have kept all the bits and pieces in a safe place when I decide to tackle that project. But, for the time being here is my alternative . . .

The mirror is one I've had my eye on for a long time at my friend Jennifer's shop, tag. It's actually a modern take on a pagoda form. Since it is a lot smaller in scale than my former mirror, I added some sconces on either side. 

I've had these sconces stashed in a closet for a while, and they were originally kind of a greige Restoration Hardware-looking finish (sorry, I was in too much of a hurry to take before photos). I decided to go with black and gold since the gold mirror has black flecks on it. I just spray painted them black then painted on details with gold leaf paint. All during the afternoon before the party Saturday night . . . nothing like the last minute.

Then, I just moved my white porcelain lamp with the black shade in from the other room to add more of the black and white combination. I also finally got around to hanging my creamy curtains from an estate sale.

Zoe had to get in the photo.

I tacked on some decorative trim which I will have properly sewn on soon, but this worked for the party . . . 

I also finally got around to getting a fiddle leaf fig tree . . .

Nothing like a party to get you motivated to spruce up your house. 

Well, that's it for now, but I will share photos of my new French doors/living room soon so stay tuned (if you follow me on Instagram you may have already seen them . . . I'm having a hard time getting a decent photo of them however). 

Decorating Disaster & Delight

Okay, so it's a lame title, but I've basically got some good news and some very bad news to share. First, the very bad news. I must warn you . . . those with a weak stomach might want to look away as this photo involves decorating carnage. I'll let the photos do the talking . . .

Yes, people, the pagoda mirror died a very unnatural death. And I don't think there's any way Humpty can be put back together again. Too many small broken pieces, too much weight (it weighs a ton, seriously). Like my beloved mirror, I'm broken. Heartbroken. If you have no idea what it used to look like, here's a reminder of the mirror in all its glory . . . 

So, what happened? I have no idea really. I was sitting in the adjoining living room when I heard the most ungodly noise and about jumped out of my skin. I looked up just in time to see the pagoda fly across the room and thud on my newly refinished floor leaving a gash and some white paint. My best guess is that when the floor guys took down the mirror while refinishing the floors and then re-hung it, it wasn't on the hanger very well allowing it to work its way out of the wall. The crash happened almost a week after they re-hung the mirror, but there's a pantry door on the hallway adjacent that is often opened and closed which I'm assuming jarred it loose. Tragic. The miraculous thing is that it didn't break the mirror portion or the glass table below. It scratched the hell out of my dining room table however and took out my lampshade (different lamp than pictured above):

So, of course this leaves a gaping hole on the wall just in time for my husband's 40th birthday party on Saturday. I need a placeholder at least for now. I've got some ideas brewing so stay tuned. 

And the good news? There's a great tag sale coming up hosted by two of my local blogging buddies, Chateau A GoGo and The Insane Domain! You must check it out if you live in or near the Nashville area (it's in Brentwood, specifically) because these ladies have great vintage finds. Here are the deets . . . 

Also, check out their blogs for previews of some of the items up for sale. You won't want to miss it!

A Guest Post & Chaos

Today you can find me over at Sadie + Stella where the ever-stylish Lindsay has asked me to share my favorite room with her readers (you can probably guess which one it is, and probably wish I would shut up about it). If you've never stopped by S+S, you're in for a treat. Lindsay is so cute and always blogs about the coolest stuff! So, go check out her blog and see some more little tidbits about the room I may not have shared before. In other news, our floors are done and some major painting is going on around here. Oh, and we're getting our new French doors today (hallelujah!). So, as you can imagine, it's a little chaotic and not really photo-worthy but here's a sneak peek of our floors . . .

Yay, no more orange floors! Just a nice warm brown. Ahh.

Oh, and here's another little glimpse of something that got painted. Can you spot the new detail?

I promise better reveal photos will be coming soon. Happy Thursday!

15 Years . . .

ago, I was here . . .

I swear I wasn't about to bolt. I know my facial expression looks like, "oh #@$!," but I seriously think I was just concerned that Matt was still in the back of the church and might see me before I walked down the aisle. I'm nothing if not traditional. Don't worry, he didn't see me. 

Ah, we were such babies, but I'm so glad we took the plunge. 

15 years later, and he's still the one I want to share my hopes and dreams with. Happy Anniversary, Matt. I love you so much!

In other news, we are spending our anniversary apart as my children, dogs and I had to escape from this . . . 

Romantic, right? Well, for me, there's nothing more romantic than new hardwood floors. Here they are in their naked state. Can't wait to see them upon our return!

Jackin' My Style

Have you ever seen something you own for sale on 1st Dibs or One Kings Lane and marvel at the prices they're selling for? I've had this happen to me a couple of times with both my Mastercraft credenza and my dolphin table. But just the other day, I was poking around OKL and saw a sale curated by Ivy and Vine and spied several pieces either very similar or exactly like pieces I own. I think this girl and I might have been separated at birth. Observe . . . the Ivy and Vine mirror:

Source: onekingslane.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

And, my mirror (just in creamy white instead of black):

Her dolphin table:

Source: onekingslane.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

And, mine:

This was when it was in our antique booth. I can't seem to get a good photo of it in my dark basement.  

Her marble horse bookends:

Source: ivyandvine.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Mine:

And her brass bamboo tray . . .

Source: onekingslane.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Mine . . . albeit a slightly different shape.

Okay, so you get the point. So, what's my point? I don't know really. I think mainly I'm still just surprised at the price point on these online sales. Of course, maybe she did pay a lot more for her stuff than I did for mine? The Greek Key mirror for instance is selling on Ivy and Vine right now for $995 (the OKL sale is over); I got mine for $40 at the flea market. I just find it interesting that people will pay oodles of money for a bamboo tray (I think hers was $275) when they can hit their local antique mall, flea market or estate sale and grab one for $10 like I did. 

My hardwood floors are getting refinished starting tomorrow, and I could not be more excited! Goodbye orange wood, hello brown. Stay tuned for updates next week!