Decorating Inspirations: White Living Room Furniture

I have become obsessed with the color white.  Yep, it's true. I'm just more attracted to something if it's white. Particularly white furniture; although, I know with a dog and a cat white furniture is not practical or even feasible in my house. Even if I had slipcovers, the slipcovers would have to be washed at least every other day!!!!

Source: architectsforlife.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Still, when you look at this room, it is really hard to resist having white in the room. I fell in love with this room as soon as I saw it. It blends that feeling of being formal and relaxed so beautifully. But I also know that Jasper would have his black fur all over that beautiful rug and chair!!! Still...I can dream about this room being part of my home.

Pretty Pink Pinterest Pins

I thought I'd share some of my favorite Pretty Pink Pinterest Pins. These are some of the things that inspire me. Of course, as far as I'm concerned, there is no color more lovely than pink. I love that pink can be soft and bold all at the same time.

Source: chintzlovingbookworm.tumblr.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Source: cozycanadiancottage.blogspot.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Thursday's Quote #3

Source: lovemadebymere.blogspot.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Thursday's Quote #2

Source: google.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Enhance

Every year, Layla at The Lettered Cottage chooses a word of the year. It's a word she uses as inspiration for the year...kind of like a New Year's Resolution, but a lot easier to keep.  This year she's hosting a Word of Year Link Party, and I'm linking up to it!

Let me tell you this... choosing a word for the year is NOT easy. I started out with Thrive, but that didn't seem right. It's a good word, and I see some people have chosen it for their word of the year... Then I thought, well, I've been having some health issues...maybe my word should be healthy. No...that didn't fit how I was feeling either. I didn't want my focus to be limited to healthy things...

So I went onto dictionary.com and looked up the word Thrive on the thesaurus, and clicked on the word Flourish, which lead me to Enhance.

Ahhhhh....yes... that's my word.  Enhance.  It felt right.

So I clicked back over to the dictionary to find out the definition, and this is what I found. Dictionary.com listed this as the definition of Enhance:

en·hance

   [en-hans, -hahns]  Show IPA

verb (used with object), -hanced, -hanc·ing.

1.

to raise to a higher degree; intensify; magnify: The candelight enhanced her beauty.

2.

to raise the value or price of: Rarity enhances the worth of old coins.

Perfect!!!!


Do you know why I like it so much? It's because it doesn't just focus on me or on one part of my life. Enhance encompasses so much more...


Enhance my life...
Enhance my home...
Enhance my enjoyment...
Enhance my friendships...
Enhance my relationship...

It doesn't mean I have to do anything drastic, even something small can make anything better.

What to do with our Bathroom... Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Yesterday I hinted a bit that I want to do something in my bathroom. And I've also hinted over and over about how small our bathroom is... well, it's 5'x7'4", and in that space there is a sink, toilet and standard sized bathtub... so as you can imagine, there is not a lot of space.

Here's some pictures of what it looks like now. I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures. There is no natural light and the room is so small that it's hard to get good angles of anything.

On this side, I want to replace the towel bar with two brushed nickle towel bars that I already have. The new bars will be a little higher, and the smaller bar will be centered above the longer one.  I also want to put up a chair rail and use the paintable beadboard wallpaper below it. I just don't know if I want to have it at chair rail height or higher. I'm kind of thinking higher.

I still love this shower curtain, so I want to keep that. Although, I might get a lighter weight one for the summer  for a lighter, informal look and just use this one in the winter for a warmer more formal look. I want to paint the oak cabinet above the toilet white with the same product I used on the kitchen cabinets. The towel bar above the toilet will be removed, because we never use that towel. Instead I want to put a shelf there, centered between the bottom of the cabinet and the top of the toilet. 

I'd like to take the medicine cabinet above the sink down and replace it with a mirror with a simple white frame and a small shelf below it. The faucet also needs to be replaced. Ideally, I like to replace the countertop and sink with a vessel sink, but I don't think Jim will go for that. 

In this area, I want to replace the mirror or even just paint it white. I'd like to cut out the dry wall between two joists and put in some built-in shelves. I also have some nice robe hooks to put on either side of the shelves.

This is my inspiration. The paint color is what we have in our bathroom now. The chair rail and beadboard is exactly what I have in mind, as are the mirrors... But I really think this idea would really work.

Source: houzz.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

I like the dark color in the picture. It's the same as we already have in our bathroom, but I haven't really decided what color to paint. I'm thinking about something lighter, perhaps in the greenish/gray family that would pull in the color from the shower curtain. All the trim and wallpaper would be white.

I also really like the color in this bathroom... I just have a feeling this would work better in our bathroom.

Source: getgreenhome.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Right now I'm not planning on painting the sink base, because I think I'll pull in the same theme from the kitchen, but I might change my mind once all the other changes are made.

What do you think? Do you think any of these ideas would work for our small bathroom now that you've seen it? Any storage ideas?

This post is linked to Debbiedoos!

Shared Moments Monday! Linky Party #2

Update:  Unfortunately, due to a lack of interest, this is the last Linky Party I will be hosting.  I cannot justify the monthly fee for hosting it when there isn't more participation.  I'm sorry that it didn't work out, but maybe sometime in the future I will try hosting another linky party.  I'm disappointed, but not discouraged.

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It's PARTY TIME! Yep! I'm hosting another Linky Party, and I hope all of you will join in on the fun!

I've been relatively unproductive with my list of projects that I want to get done. One of my high priority projects is my bathroom. It is small (are you starting to detect a trend here...everything in my house is small!), and it lacks storage space (another trend), but I've seen a lot of cute ideas online that I think could really make a difference in our little bathroom.

It's never going to look like this...well, unless I can convince Jim to agree to a HUGE addition on the house!  But wouldn't it be lovely if it could look like this? (yes, you just heard a heavy sigh...and it was me, so don't be alarmed.)

Source: conspicuousstyle.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

No...I have some more modest ideas in mind for our bathroom, but nothing that's set in stone. So if you have any ideas, PLEASE share them!

But onto the PARTY!  I want to hear about your accomplishments! Link them up and give me some motivation to do some of my own projects!!!

As before, pretty much anything goes...
1. Link up something you're proud of, something you've completed or are working on, something your family or children did, something you got a good deal on, something you're planning...anything. Just please don't link to a store or etsy shop.
2. Link directly to your post, and not just to your blog or website.  Oh! and please don't link to a store or etsy shop.
3. If you don't already follow Small Moments, please become a follower of my blog.
4. Check out a couple of the other links and share the love. Everyone likes to have people visit their blogs and leave nice comments.
5. Grab a button from the buttons page and post it on your blog somewhere, or add a link to the party in your post. That way others can find the party and join the fun!



Happy Linking!!!!

If you need someone to order Avon from, I can help you out. Check out my Avon website.

I'm an AVON Lady!

Yep! It's true. I have become an AVON Lady, and so far it's been great! 

You might ask me why I decided to sell Avon... Well, it's not a terribly interesting story. I simply decided that I needed to find a way to make some money, but I still wanted the freedom that I've become accustomed to. I also needed something that would allow me the ability to not work when my Lupus flares up. So I looked into the possibilities of selling Avon.

I have a friend from high school who sells it, so I asked her a lot of questions, and she loves it. Then I did some research online about it. What I came up with was Avon is well-known and well-respected brand. I don't have to do it full time. I can work it around my schedule and my health. So I decided to go for it.

I'm currently working on my second campaign... For those who don't know, Avon comes out with a new catalog ever two weeks, and the call each two-week period a campaign. Our current campaign ends in three days. And I think I'm doing pretty well. Granted, I don't have a ton of customers, but I have more this campaign than I did last campaign. I feel really good about it.

What I like about it is I don't have to do any high pressured sales. People who are familiar with Avon, like the Avon products, and people who aren't familiar with Avon are always willing to look at a catalog.

For those of you who remember your mom using Avon--this is NOT your mom's Avon any more!  Surprisingly, their products are as good as some of the expensive department store brands.

Anyway, I have an Avon website, that I'd love for you to visit. The great thing about my website is you don't have to worry about what campaign it is or when I'm going to place the order, because you can place your order yourself and it will be delivered right to your door within days. No sales person will come to your door, and you don't have to live in Michigan to order from me!

Please take a few minutes and check out my website. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

http://www.youravon.com/loribethclark

I'd love to be your AVON Lady!

Thursday's Quote #1

Source: paloma81.blogspot.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Block Party!!! Come on over to my place!!!!

Okay... I kind of stole that idea from another blogger. I'm not really having a party at my blog, but I'm linked up on a new Block Party!



Here's how to get in on the fun!

1. Follow Off the Deep End.
2. Follow at least 3 other blogs that are linked in the Mr. Linky on this post.
3. Let the blogs you follow know that you're following them.
4. Let the owners of the blogs know that you let their blogs know that you're following them. (I'll admit, this one kind of confuses me....)
5. Tweet it all over the internet and hashtag it up using #OTDEHop.
6. Link up on Off the Deep End - it can be anything, your blog, your twitter, your Facebook, your Pinterest, etc. They're not picky.

Shared Moments Linky Party Featured Link!

I apologize for not having a linky party this week. I have not been feeling well, but I will have one next Monday.

Thank you to everyone who joined in to last week's party. There were eight links shared, and they were all fantastic! It was really hard to choose which one to feature.  I cannot imagine how hard it is going to be once this linky party catches on!

Oonafey's pillow tutorial was the most popular link. Can you believe she made this pillow out of a napkin! I have a habit of picking up single napkins that catch my eye at places like TJMaxx and Marshall's, now I have something to do with all of them! I'm going to make some pillows!

Oonafey was one of my first followers, and she is so creative. A while ago, she bought a house on her own, and she's been busy making all kinds of changes...Go ahead and stop over to Oonafey's Little Pink House. You'll feel right at home, and you'll be amazed by what she's done!

Decorating Inspirations: Pantries

I some times get jealous of all the storage space that a lot of you seem to have. We have a small little house and a tiny pantry, but it serves it's purpose. I'm able to fit quite a bit of food in it--not as much as I'd like, but enough to cook a good dinner without having to run to the store every evening.  

Our pantry without the curtain.

Our pantry hidden behind a curtain.

As you can see, it's not very big and it's right out in the open. That's why I've added a curtain to hide it. I thought about a door, but the hallway is narrow there, and it would be hard to put the pet dishes there with a door.  These pictures were taken before we moved the refrigerator.  Of course if you have any suggestions on how to make it more efficient and pretty, PLEASE share them!

Here are some pantries that I cannot help but drool over!!

I love the door they used on this little pantry. This is something that I imagine having on my pantry. It appears to be a screen door, but of course, that would require making sure that everything in the pantry was always neat and orderly. It would be hard for Tia and Jasper to get to their food though...I wonder if it's possible to get a shorter one that wouldn't go all the way to the floor.  Notice the fork they used as a door handle! Isn't that adorable!

Okay! I love this one!!! It's white and has so much storage space. This picture is where I got the idea of adding chalkboard to the inside of my cupboard doors. Don't you just love all the white pitchers? Everything is so pretty and orderly.

This one always makes me smile when I see it. The yellow decorative shelves...look at the detail. I could imagine being very happy getting the supplies for dinner out of this pantry. It has an old-time feeling to it that makes it feel very welcoming and vintage.

This one appears to be a cabinet that was converted into a pantry. This would be a great alternative for someone who doesn't have space for a built-in pantry. It would also add a lot of charm and character to a kitchen. Does anyone else think that cat looks a little nervous?

Look at all the stuff they were able to fit in this pantry! I love the wallpaper hung on the back of the shelves. It adds a lot of interest and gives it a feminine feel. (I just noticed where the cookbooks are...I'd never be able to reach them way up there, and I know I wouldn't be able to get my KitchenAid mixer down from there!)

There is one thing I noticed about all of these pantries...none of them seems to have anything stored in it's original packaging. That's probably the secret to having a pretty pantry.  I don't know how practical that is though... 

Does anyone else put everything into alternate storage containers?  

What my purse says about me...

I took a quiz to find out what my handbag says about. I think it's surprisingly accurate...well...except maybe for the part about being a low maintenance person. I'm pretty sure if you asked Jim, he'd tell you that I'm definitely a high maintenance person... Although, now that I think about it, for the most part maybe I am low maintenance and it's really only a few things about me that would be considered high maintenance...

Anyway, take the quiz yourself and let me know if your results are as accurate as mine were!

What Your Handbag Says About You

You tend to be relaxed throughout the day. You are naturally at peace. You are a low maintenance person. You can adapt to a variety of situations. You are open and comfortable with who you are. You don't hide anything. You are an organized and together person. You are competent and successful. You are practical and down to earth. You tend to be a rather reserved and quiet person. You are a very unique and special person. There's no one else who is anything like you.

What Does Your Handbag Say About You?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

Shared Moments Monday! Linky Party #1

Since it's a new year, I thought this was the perfect time to start a new weekly feature. I'm hosting a Linky Party, and YOU ARE INVITED!  Yep! That's right! You can post anything that you're proud of, anything you want to share with everyone. The only thing I ask is that you not post to a storefront, such as Etsy. 

Here are the guideline!

1. If you aren't already, please become a follower of Small Moments.
2. Link up anything made special moments...something that you're proud of a craft, DIY, recipe, tablescape, decorating, before and after...basically anything... Small moments mean different things to different people, so let's see those moments!
3. If you don't have something from your own blog to link to, feel free to share something on someone else's blog that inspired you. Just put the word "visit" in the description, so everyone knows it's for someone else.
4. Please no etsy shops and giveaways.
5. Link to the specific post, not your main blog.
6. Please grab the Shared Moments Monday button below or on my button page, and link back to me somewhere on your blog.
7. Please click on a couple of the links before you and leave some love. That way you make a Small Moment for someone else, and that's always nice.

This is so exciting!  I get to see everything that all of you have been doing!  

Linking up to Linky Parties is a great way to build traffic to your blog. So if you're new to blogging, jump right in and link up something from your blog, then visit some of the others who have linked up and leave some comments. This is way everyone gets to see new things and meet new people.