My Favorite House

Today I am going to share pictures of my favorite home on the Cavalcade of Homes.  When I read the description that said, "Decorated by a world-class decorator," I knew it was a must-see!

I didn't snap a picture of the outside, but this is the Ainsley model built by M/I Homes.

The decorator added molding on the tall wall above the dining room, to break up some of the wall in the entry way.

As you walk in, the study is on the right.  There is a bar inside the study.

I love the nail head trim used as wainscoting.

Here is a shot of the built-ins in the office.  It looks like they customized some wall cabinets.

The dining room is on the left as you walk in.

Below is a quick shot of the powder room.

I really like the white kitchen cabinets & the oven hood, which is a decorative one for a normal sized stove top.

This is a little bar or butlers pantry between the kitchen & the dining room.

More built-ins in the breakfast area...

The family room is just off the kitchen.  It has a great ceiling, beautiful fireplace, & of course, more built-ins!

I'm hoping to get some couches like this for my family room in the not-so-near future!

There was a craft room on the other side of the family room.  I wish I had something like this, rather than my formal living room!

These cubbies were near the door to the garage & the laundry room.

 Here is the laundry room.

The master bedroom was bright & cheerful.

The guest bedroom...

The boy's bedroom...

The girl's bedroom...

So, do you agree that this home was pretty awesome?  I wish something like this were available when we built our home.  I love the idea of a craft room & a butlers pantry.

Cavalcade Continued

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend!  Thanks to those of you reading this who have served or who have had family members serve in the armed forces!  I truly appreciate your service to this country.

Now, onto my scheduled post...

Last weekend, we toured eight houses in the local Cavalcade of Homes.  Today I am going to show you some pictures of the $2,350,000 house we toured.

This is the East Hampton model built by Walker Homes.  Of course, I love the mix of stone & brick.  This house looks so layered & beautiful.

This is the coffee bar in the master bedroom.  You can see how the top column pulls out for storage.  The drawers under the counter are refigerated. 

{Quick picture of the master bedroom}

This den is just off the kitchen.  Notice the floor is a mixture of tile & wood.

{Kitchen}

 Zeke is showing off the large laundry room below.  One side features upper cabinets with a sink.

On the other side, there is more cabinetry & also some slots for organizing paperwork.

These cubbies are located just outside the laundry room, next to the garage.

I really like all the built-ins in the upstairs loft.  It makes me wish I had a space like this.

Beautiful windows brighten up this otherwise dark stairwell.

This is the living room.  There are so many beautiful details, from the ceiling, to the built-ins, & the fireplace.

I wish I would have gotten a few more pictures.  The formal study had some gorgeous wood details.  The basement & the upstairs bedrooms were unfurnished, so I didn't take any pictures of them.

So, what do you think?  Would you pay 2.3 million dollars for this home?

Cavalcade of Homes

Last weekend, my husband & I went to the Cavalcade of Homes in our area.  This year, there were 24 houses on the tour in different suburbs around the big city.  After looking at the program online, we decided to look at eight of those houses.  We had a great time looking at the houses & dreaming up some projects for our own house.  I thought today I would show you some of the best rooms on the tour.

The first home is the Langdon M model, built by Drees Homes.

I personally prefer white kitchens, but thought I would include this washed out picture of dark cabinets, for those of you that like the wood tones!

 I thought this girls room was cute, with the black chair rail about two-thirds up the wall & the flowers that mimic the ones from the curtains & bedding.  I really like the stripes below the chair rail too.

Here is the bar in the basement.  I like the wainscoting around the bar opening in this area.

I thought this was a pretty nice theater room.  Maybe someday...

This was the basement bathroom.  I decided to include it for the unique wall paper & shower curtain.

The next house was built by The B.O.L.D. company.  It is a custom built home for a family that is moving in this week.  I didn't take any pictures inside, since it wasn't furnished, but I snapped a few of the exterior.

I usually don't like pole lamps (despite the fact that we have one!) but I really do love the way these line the driveway.

I thought the exterior was really pretty.  I love the use of the stone & bricks.

I thought the master bedroom in this house (The Gilley by Homewood Builders) was pretty.  I really like the pillows on the bed.  Wonder where they came from?

Well, that concludes the tour for today.  I'll share pictures from some of the other houses in the next week or two, & I promise, they get better!

Does your city hold a Cavalcade of Homes?  If so, I definitely recommend checking it out.  Most of the time, these are free & are a way for builders to get there work shown to the public.  The local home builders association also hosts Home A Rama & a Tour of Remodeled Homes which are always fun too!

Teacher Gifts

Hopefully next week I will have a post about what I am making for Zeke's teacher this year, but today, I thought I would share some of the gifts we made for his teachers a few years ago.

For teacher appreciation week, we made a pencil container.  We made it by using an opened can (I covered the sharp edges from the opening with duct tape) & some pencils that were cut slightly longer than the can.  I just glued them on & put a ribbon around them.

{Pencil Holder}

Here is how we wrapped it up to give it to the teacher:

For the last day of school, we made her a personalized Post-It notepad.  I took a bunch of Post-It notes from the Dollar Tree & attached them together.  I had Zeke write a short thank you note on the top page.  Then, I penciled in some words & had Zeke trace over them with a marker.  I tied colorful ribbon around it & inserted some pens.

{Personalized Post-Its}

{Ready to wrap}

{Ready for the teacher!}

We actually gave these to his teacher last year too, but I am going to try something different this year.  You'll have to come back next week to see if it turned out!

Birth Announcements

After nearly three months, I finally made & sent Evalyse's birth announcements.  At this point, I'm pretty sure all my friends & family know she's here, but at least they now have a cute picture!  Anyway, I thought it turned out well, so I'm sharing it with you!

The picture was taken by my EXTREMELY talented friend Lisa Hezlep.  I used PicMonkey to create the border & add the text.  

Hope you enjoyed!  Have a wonderful week!

Mother's Day Gifts & More

The past few weeks have been absolutely crazy around here!  First, there was the yard sale, which took more time & made more of a mess than I could have imagined.  It took me an extra week just to get the garage & house back to normal!  Then, I spent hours working on teacher appreciation gifts for the kids' teachers.  I'm bummed because they turned out so cute & in all the madness I totally forgot to photograph them so I could show them to you!  This past week was my son's school carnival & lots of Mother's Day festivities.

{Pony rides are always a favorite with Elie!}

{And of course the boy loves the dunking booth!}

{Mother's Day 2012}

This week, I have finally been writing "thank you" notes for all the baby gifts we recieved before & after Evalyse was born.  It's about time, right?  I also made her baby announcement & sent it out!  I am feeling so productive!  Now, if I could just get the nursery finished!  Hopefully next week!  (I feel like I've said that before...)

Anyway, back to Mother's Day.  Since my kids were born, we have been making gifts for both Mother's Day & Father's Day.  There have been stepping stones, bird feeders, flower pots, linen sprays, & this year, we made dish towels.

I purchased some flour sack towels from Wal-Mart for about $2 for two.  After ironing out the wrinkles, I folded them in thirds.  I traced each of my kid's hand prints & used some cute fabric & Steam & Seam to attach the hand prints to the towels.  I also ironed on some hearts & finished the towels with decorative ruffle ribbon.  I thought they turned out pretty cute!

{Handprint Towels}

 {Ruffled bottom}

{Sorry for the blurry picture & dirty stove...I didn't realize it was blurry & I no longer have these in my posession!}

Did your kids make anything for Mother's Day this year?  I will forever cherish the homemade gifts my kids have given me!  This year, Zeke wrote me a letter which read something like this...

Dear Mom,

Hi.  My name is Zeke...

Totally cracked me up!  After all, I did give him that name!