What do you see? (An Entryway Revamp)

I've always been fascinated with homes; more specifically, other peoples home's.  My husband was previously a real estate agent, and when he was licensed - and before kids - I could honestly spend countless hours browsing the MLS.  (It probably comes as no surprise to you, then, that I'm so fond of "visiting" the homes of bloggers.) 

 

Of course I would spend some time looking in the upper end of the price ranges for each community; but it was never the most expensive / perfect homes that really drew me in and kept me coming back for more.  It was pictures like this one that I loved to come across:

What do you see when you look at this entryway?  Yellow walls, an awkward wood staircase and bad tile / linoleum?  Or, are you like me?  All I can see, when looking at this picture, is replacing the wood spindles and hand rail with black iron (not to mention bringing the walls down a notch with white/cream paint):

 

Instagram Junkie

We are back from a family beach vacation and I'm almost back into a good routine.  Until I have more time to share recent projects and posts I've been working on, I thought I would share some of my recent Instagram photos and invite you to follow along at #dawnmreeves, or by clicking here.

I'm an Instagram junkie - I will blame it on my new camera...I love taking and looking at lots of pictures.  It's even more fun sharing them and finding new inspiration from others picture's, as well. 

I will soon start to share house projects I'm working on along with some of my other favorite images from the week.  Here is a sampling of my favorite April photos:

Easily Incorporate Thrift Finds Into Your Home

It has been some time since I've shared my thrift finds with you.  When I do thrift, I usually look for items that won't require too much work out of me.  Honestly, I was not given the "paint" gene and while I can envision a transformation in my head, I can't carry it out (well) in reality.  I've bought a few items here or there that require some work and a paint brush and they are still sitting in my basement!  Maybe one day.

So, if you are interested in stopping at your local Goodwill, thrift store, or estate sale, here are a few pictures to serve as inspiration!  My finds are typically pretty easy to incorporate right into your home.

These books I found at the Goodwill this week:

All 14 books of this set of "Little Journey's to the Homes of the Great", circa 1928, happened to be gathering dust in a bin.  For some time, I've looked for older books that had time worn pages to them.  In my mind, I was going to cover them with linen to get the Restoration Hardware-esq look of the books they have in stores, but this set happens to be perfectly neutral.  Still, at $1.79 a book I just wasn't sure I wanted to buy all 14 of them. 

Bedroom Updates and a New Love

It's been another slow blogging week, but I've been getting ready for a trip with the kids and working on some projects to share with you for the upcoming Outdoor Extravaganza.  Hopefully you will have some great outdoor projects to link up!

But today, I thought I'd share a few bedroom updates.  I've been moving through the house changing out the decor of the rooms from winter to spring.  In the case of my bedroom, however, I decided to make like mother nature and skip from winter to summer (spring still hasn't arrived here in Chicagoland):

Kitchen Garden Planning and Outdoor Extravaganza

Outside, it's in the thirties and we're experiencing flurries.  Just a day ago, we were ambushed with 7 inches of rain overnight!  We woke up to find a pond in our backyard!  For a few hours, the lines between our yard and our neighbors actual pond were blurred.  I thought the boys and I might go fishing should any of his little fishies cross property lines...  Lucky for the fish, our "pond" dried up pretty quickly and lucky for us, we didn't get any water in our basement.

A Polka Dot Party!

This past weekend we celebrated my niece's second birthday!  I brought my camera along to snap a few pictures; I knew my sister-in-law, Kathleen, would have a fun theme with special touches for her daughter's birthday and she was kind enough to let me share them with all of you!  The birthday invitation set the theme of a colorful polka dot party:

For Boston

To all the families and friends impacted by yesterday's events:

You are in our hearts and prayers.

Daydreaming About an Oceanside Resort

My husband and I tried to fit in several of our "dream" vacations before we had children.   I shared a small look into one of those trips - to Italy - here.  However, we never checked the box on my California dream vacation: coastal towns filled with gorgeous gardens and ocean vistas, sprawling wineries high up on beautiful mountain ranges, and let's face it, lots of good food and fine wine.  Ok, I've fooled no one, any wine will do really. ;)  

So, you can imagine my excitement when I learned that my husband was awarded the opportunity to spend several nights in Santa Barbara, CA, a quaint coastal town.  My husband's company awarded their top salesman with a four night stay at The Four Seasons Biltmore resort.  It was gorgeous!  I suppose that is an upside to having a salesman husband: great perks when you exceed sales goal.   Let's not talk about what happens if you fail to hit your goal.... ;)

A peak into the Four Season's resort lobby:

Guest Posting at Pottery Barn: Inside & Out

Hi Everyone!  I'm back from a wonderful trip to Santa Barbara and Napa and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things.  I will be back shortly to share pictures from several beautiful resorts and wineries we visited while we were away.  Until then, I wrote a guest post for Pottery Barn's blog: Inside & Out.  They've featured updates I made to our entryway for spring:

I'd love for you to stop by and see the full post, here.

Where I've Been Lately...

It's been quiet around here, yes, but here is a look at the reason why. I wanted to quickly share a few photos. Also, you can follow me on Instagram to see more. I think the link is on my blog?!?!? I'll look into that. Sorry for the drive by nature of this post....