Faux Roman Shades

A couple months ago, I stumbled across a tutorial for faux Roman shades.

These seemed like a perfect idea for our front door window and powder room window, since both are unusual sizes and would require custom blinds to cover.

I picked up the cheap vinyl mini blinds, and then selected my fabrics from Hobby Lobby. You will notice in the pictures that I made two sets of these - a cream and turquoise for the bathroom, and cream and black for the front door.

The hardest part of this project was all of the measuring required! I had to measure several times just to make sure I didn't mess it all up.

In the end, I am pretty pleased with the way these turned out. Each window treatment cost less than $25. I may end up switching them out for something a little more permanent and durable in the next couple years, especially if I get my hands on a sewing machine. But these get the job done and add some nice color to these rooms.

 

Finally, I added the finishing touch with some valances hanging over each of the shades to finish off the look. 

A Little Bit of Life

I started this blog, and then I feel like I have already neglected it! The last several weeks have been full of snowy and icy weather during the Atlanta Snowpocalypse 2014. But between the unusually snowy weather and unexpected days off from school, I have been enjoying life in the suburbs.

Here is what I have been up to these last few weeks.

To celebrate the 100th day of school, my students put fractions from 0/100 to 100/100 in order on a pennant number line. Then they made designs using a 100 chart. This lesson is also the first that I have posted to Teachers Pay Teachers in order to make a little extra money on the side. Here's to hoping that I can supplement my teacher's income a little with some of my classroom ideas.

In preparation for the Academy Awards that are coming up in March, Dustin and I have been trying to watch as many of the nominees as we can. So far we have seen Gravity, American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, The Butler, and Captain Phillips. We did the same thing last year and had a lot of fun checking them off the list!

I am so honored to be a bridesmaid in my friend, Calli's wedding. Her bridal shower was a couple weeks ago and I set up the welcome table for everyone to sign in and leave advice for the happy bride.

Our friends Brittany and Michael hosted a Super Bowl party at their house. We had a great time and I came super-close to winning the contest of guessing the winner and score of the game.

This last weekend was Calli's bachelorette party. We went out for dinner and drinks, and I got to treat myself to some delicious sushi - yum!

And right now, I am in the midst of at least three days in a row off school due to the crazy amount of snow and ice we are getting here in Georgia. Here are some photos of the miniature snowman I made and my selfie after playing in the snow - before it all became coated in a thin layer of ice!

Then this morning, I pulled out all the stops and made a huge breakfast for Dustin and my brother, Brian, who decided to hang out here at our house while we wait out this winter weather. I was so excited to use my little piggy chalkboard I picked up from Michaels this weekend.

I have been spending the rest of the day catching up on the laundry and tidying up the house. I'm hoping that I can get some other posts in the works here to show y'all some of the projects I have been working on around here.

Dining Room Tour

     The first room in our house that is basically finished is the dining room - which came in handy when we hosted Christmas Eve dinner and had nearly twenty people to seat! Here is a tiny little panorama view taken on my iPhone camera.

     We were so excited to get started on the house, we installed the curtain panels before our furniture arrived, along with setting up our new wine table. The table and chairs that was a tight fit in our North Carolina apartment now feels just great in this room. We took the bookshelves that used to be in our family room, and have filled the shelves with wedding items, some collectibles from our travels, and Dustin's Marine Corps plaques and photos.

Window to the front of the house

Bookshelf 1 - with wedding sand, a centerpiece from our wedding, and cake serving set

Bookshelf 2 - with lots of special souvenirs, Precious Moment figurines from hubby, and some USMC stuff

Guest platter from our wedding and this artwork I fell in LOVE with from Pier One

Empty House Tour

     I am just itching with excitement to start posting some of the progress we have been making in making our house into home. Before I post any finished projects, I thought I would rewind and give you a mini tour of the house. These pictures come from our first day getting the keys. We were ecstatic and just could not wait to get all of our boxes and furniture moved into our place!

First, the curb view.


Empty entry view


Dining room


Powder room


Kitchen


Family room


Family room windows


View from family room to kitchen


Master bedroom


Master bathroom



    We neglected to take "before" photos of the other rooms, so we are missing the three other bedrooms and the other bathroom upstairs.

     On Day 5 of home ownership, we received all of our household goods. After five months in storage as we were between places, it felt amazing to have all of our "stuff" back. And then we were lost in a sea of cardboard boxes for the next several days!

Welcome!

     New year, new house, new blog! It seemed only natural, now that the hubby and I are settled back in Georgia, for us to make a new blog to reflect these big changes.

     Today marks six weeks since we moved into our first home! These six weeks have seemed to absolutely fly by, and we have kept very busy. Here are some of the numbers behind these six weeks in our home.

17 - the largest dinner party we have hosted (Dustin's side of the family for Christmas Eve)
11 - sets of blinds installed
8 - strands of lights and garland decorating our house for Christmas
7 - dinner (or brunch) parties we have hosted since moving in
4 - trips to Lowe's made in one day in order to install kitchen cabinet hardware

     And we have had far too many trips to Lowe's and Home Depot to count. Those stores are quickly becoming our favorites!

     Even with all the late night trips to get hardware to finish a project that is always more difficult than it appears, I wouldn't change a thing about our decision to move into our house! Dustin and I have loved diving into these projects, and we are becoming a great team. So, as our "Honey Do" list continues to grow, it just means that we have more opportunities to make this house "ours" and to make some great memories along the way.

     I look forward to using this blog to share our home improvement projects, snapshots of daily life, recipes, and anything else to keep you "Catching up with the Colwells". Thanks for visiting!