Let's get this cleanse started.

On a whim yesterday, I decided today would be a good day to start a cleanse. My reasons are random and not really pertinent. I've just always wanted to try one and heaven knows a few (or hundred) extra servings of fruits and veggies in my daily diet are needed. So here we are. One cup of green tea and half a breakfast smoothie in. (A certain munchkin bogarted the other half. It looks like I will now have to hide my liquid meals).

I went with the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox Cleanse. Here's the breakdown for those interested. Seems easy enough! But man, expensive!

I'll let you know how it goes. Have any of you ever done a cleanse before? How did it go? I'm a little nervous that I'm going to get all rage-y with hunger. Wish me luck!

 

Five on Friday {Sangria, Sewing & Sassypants}

1 // A girl I went to college with recently started a super cute Etsy store: Syd & Stitch. I LOVE the name and logo. Isn't it adorable!? Go check it out!

2 // Little Miss Independent. Sometimes I still can't believe she's mine. Her sassy-pants personality has come out in full force this past month. We have had more time-outs and trying moments than I can count. More "I can do it mySELF!" and "Evie can do it!" in a day than I care to hear in year. And all signs point to her getting this specific independent gene directly from me. I can remember saying the exact same things and my poor mom responding with "well who needs a mother?" And if I remember it? Well, that means this little 'phase' isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sigh. But I also love watching her discover that she can do something on her own. Seeing her jump off the ottoman over and over and over... noticing in amazement that she's put together a 24 piece, normal puzzle completely by herself... seeing her determined look as she tries for 5 minutes to buckle her sandals, trying not to care that we're going to be late. Because this independence that she has? It's confidence, pure and simple, and I couldn't be happier that she has it in spades already.

3 // House news! We are officially scheduled to close on both houses in two weeks! YIKES! I am SO super excited and SO super overwhelmed by that thought. The contract was signed on our current house this week, without a hitch. Which is a huge blessing and relief. But a part of me doesn't really think our new house will be done in two weeks. It's mostly there, but there are a number of small things that still need to be done: carpet, tub installation, lighting installation, front door, landscaping, possible countertop switch in the master (bleh), touch-ups, and more. Glad I'm not responsible for all of that! And let's be honest, having another week for me to pack this place up would be amazing.

4 // I feel like my entire house is covered in little tiny threads and fibers and fabric scraps. I'm finishing up some window seat cushions for a client and sewing and working with linen is no joke. SO wrinkly! I love it but I'm about to throw my iron through a window. Also, the maid needs to get on the vacuuming, stat.

5 // Girls Night! I'm heading to dinner with some friends tonight and it's long overdue. I really wish I had a fun new dress to wear and I'm contemplating mixing up some yummy sangria for pre-dinner drinks! YUM!

Have a great weekend!!

 

July 4th shenanigans

 

 

 Our 4th of July Weekend was nice and relaxing. We spent lots of time at the pool and with friends. We kicked off the holiday morning with a fun breakfast party at friend's house. They have a play set in their backyard and had a bouncy house set up, too. The kiddos had a blast. The rest of our day was spent pool side at my mother-in-law's house, relaxing and eating too much! I literally did not see one firework this year. :) Evie was in bed long before it was dark enough for the big displays to start, and I was happy to chill out on the couch after a fun, full day. Maybe next year!

New House: Paint Colors

(L-R) Gray Owl, Coventry Gray and Chelsea Gray

So this past weekend our new house got painted! Honestly, it was all a bit of a whirlwind last Friday, when I HAPPENED to call our builder to check in and see what was next on the books. That's when they let me know that a crew was there painting and would be done painting the whole house this weekend. SAY WHAT!?

Luckily I basically already knew what I wanted, but I still wanted to see some paint samples up on the walls before making the final decision. I had already decided to go with Benjamin Moore's Decorators White for the cabinets and trim, so by the time I got there they had already been painted. Then it was a mad dash to hold up swatches in each room and narrow it down to a few choices. They told us we could pick TWO colors for the entire house (interior). SHHHMMMM. That's not easy, in my opinion, but we all know I'll be painting rooms in no time. Also? We have tall, vaulted ceilings in a few rooms, so the color would flow all the way up... I didn't want some weird, dark color on our ceilings. In the end, since the builder is a friend of ours, we got to choose 3 interior colors. (All Benjamin Moore paint. He's my boyfriend of the paint world).

SO! What did I pick??

Shocker Alert! I went gray. :)

I really wanted to keep things light and airy in the main rooms and have lots of natural light bouncing around. Gray Owl was the winner for the family room, kitchen and basically 87% of the house:



 







The middle pic above reads as purple, but it's definitely not. I think that last picture represents the color the best. Also? I am LOVING the light (unfinished) floors in that last picture!! It's totally opposite of the dark floors we've been planning on this whole time, but light wood floors have seriously been growing on me lately...

For the master bedroom and Evie's room, I went with a deeper gray- Coventry Gray. I knew I definitely wanted a medium gray for Evie's room, so I just went with the same color for our room. 



 

 

And for our third color choice, I went with Beach Glass. I really wanted the powder bathroom to be something different and fun, but then when it came down to it, did it really make sense to have our third color be only in one small room? So I ended up having them paint the upstairs bathroom the same color. Since there are no windows in either of these bathrooms and no lights, it was hard to get a picture of this color. It's actually a really pretty, soft blue/green.

 

 

 

So there you have it! It is amazing how different and REAL the house looks now that it's been painted. And I just got word that they've started installing our countertops, so we'll be heading over there to check it all out in just a bit!

 

 

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Recent Client Projects {Lilac Row}

The past few months have kept me very busy with custom client projects. I have been loving it! My businesses (Lilac Row and coco & moss) are such amazing creative outlets for me. My ultimate dream/goal with them is to generate enough regular business to be profitable. :) It's a lot easier said than done, but I know we'll get there! Anyway, having someone come up with a project for you to execute, rather than dreaming them up on your own every day is really refreshing, creatively. It gives me a nice weekly balance of working on a "big" client project, coupled with all the little odds and ends projects I have half-completed at any point in time. I'm just really thankful.

Now, on to the pics!

BEFORE

AFTER

 

This awesome vintage hutch was a Craigslist find for a friend of mine. It was just what she was looking for to use as extra storage in their play/family room. (Sorry for the bad iphone pics!)

 

I also worked on some coordinating pillow covers and ruffled seat cushions for the same client. Her MIL had made the original seat cushions for their daughters' table and chairs, so I used one to make a pattern for the new cushions. I think they turned out so cute!

Next up was a fun project for a client's daughter's room. She already had a stack of fun Amy Butler fabrics and wanted a ruffled chair cover for a desk chair they already had. I also sewed a coordinating bench seat cover, but I can't find a picture anywhere!

 

And finally, I just finished refinishing another pair of Bergere chairs. After posting the first pair I made over on Facebook, a friend mentioned she would be interested if I ever came across another pair of similar chairs. She knew just what she wanted- something bright and fun!

BEFORE

AFTER

If you would like help refinishing and/or reupholstering a piece of furniture or have a sewing project to tackle, I would love to help! Contact me at thelilacrow {at} gmail {dot} com.