I'm a Shop Owner!

Ok, so I'm an etsy shop owner, but a shop owner nonetheless.

If you would like to purchase one of our Give Hope adoption fundraising t-shirts, visit our etsy shop.  100% of the proceeds will go toward brining our baby boy home. 

Here's a preview of what the shirts look like.

Here's the women's shirt.  It is a Bella brand fitted tee.  If you are looking for a non-fitted tee, try the unisex shirt.

Here's the unisex tee.  As you can see, the color is slightly more green.  This one is more of an army green.  The women's is more of a gray green.

Here's a close-up of the Give Hope logo designed by amazing sister-in-law!

Now that your're DYING to get your own Give Hope Africa tee, go visit our etsy shop by clicking the logo below.  Not only will you look super fashionable in these awesome shirts, you'll be supporting a good cause!

Feel free to e-mail me or send me a message through etsy if you have any questions! 

Float On: Part II

{In case you missed part 1 of Float On, check it out here.}

Just a refresher of what our empty white shelves looked like before.

And here's what they look like now!

I had so much fun pulling things from around the house to style the shelves. Most of the items were things we already owned (which is always nice on the wallet!).  Read below to see where each item came from.

Top shelf: White frame (IKEA) with cards (etsy and a beach shop years ago); green glass bottle (wine bottle with label removed with Goo Gone); shadowbox with wood and flower (Homegoods); starfish (local antique mall)

Middle shelf: large white plate (Homegoods); red books ("picked" from hubby's grandparents' house); driftwood ball (West Elm); antique clock ("picked from hubby's grandparents' house); white lace planter and plant (IKEA); mini glass bottles ("picked from hubby's grandparents' house); blue glass bottle (wine bottle with label removed with Goo Gone)

Bottom shelf: White frame (Target) with Barcelona print (from beautiful city of Barcelona); white unglazed vase and dried flowers (both from West Elm); 2 small white plates (Homegoods); gray and white striped tray (IKEA); 3 white mugs (Pottery Barn)

There they are in all of their glory!  Looking at the shelves from our couch in the living room makes me so happy.  I have had several sweet friends ask me for help decorating and organizing their homes.  If you are serious, I would love to take you up on that!  If you have either design questions or adoption questions, feel free to e-mail me.  You can find my e-mail address under the "Contact" tab.

You Break It, You Buy It

Friday morning my BFF Beth (my shopping buddy I mentioned last week here) and I decided to brave the Nashville flea market in the heat.  We were each on the hunt for a few specific items.  Pretty quickly I found this gem.  I was looking for a tall chair with a backrest for my classroom.  When I saw this red one, I knew it was just what I was looking for!  I thought about painting it just for a split second, and then realized that the pop of red would be perfect!

My friend is a great spotter and pretty quickly found 2 items I was looking for.  Last week I mentioned that I heart mirrors.  Well, I also heart old keys.  I've been wanting a large one for awhile now.   I thought that this large one for $5 was a steal!

I also have plans to use this lock and key for a piece of artwork for the hubby, so stay tuned.  It's gonna be great!

Later, we decided to head to some of the indoor buildings to cool off.  Did I mention it was HOT?!  If you live in Nashville or the southeast, you don't need me to tell you that!  As we were walking around, we spotted some milk glass that I wanted to take a look at.  I picked up the jar and before you know it...CRASH!  The lid fell off and broke another item in this lady's booth.  It was like it happened in slow motion.  I knew it was coming, but my reflexes were way too slow to stop it.

I instantly looked at the old woman whose booth we were in, hoping maybe she was hard of hearing and had missed the commotion.  No such luck.  Another kind lady rushed over with a broom and dustpan and helped us clean it up.  I was also hoping that this was in fact a sweet old lady (and not a crotchity one) who would not make a sweet young girl pay for her clumsiness.  No such luck here either.  She told me that she had intended to sell the milk glass jars as a pair for $50.  I was about to faint.  And the other item that I broke was $24.  Oh boy.   Now I'm really feeling sick.  But, she ended up working a deal with me and I paid $40 for both items that I broke. And she didn't make me pay for the other milk glass jar.

The good news is (yes, there's some good news) that I got to keep the milk glass jar that I broke.  I ended up only cracking the lid.  I can turn the lid around where you don't even see it.  So here's the damage...

And here's the beaut that got me in trouble in the first place.  She was worth it, right?

Later Beth and I had a good laugh about it.  Who didn't have a good laugh?  The hubby.  But, I assured him that he would find it funny one day.  We're still waiting on that day.  Have any of my Wayman Family Nesters experienced "You Break It, You Buy It?"

Friday Finds

{In case you've missed the previous Friday Finds installments check them out here, here and here.}

Pier One Love!  (Mirrors Addition)

Yesterday I was killing time on my way to our second homestudy meeting (read about our first here) so I strolled in to Pier One.  I found myself gravitating toward the mirrors.  I heart mirrors.  I'm sure some of you can relate.  Some of you are pillow addicts, others maybe chairs.  I am addicted to mirrors.  I just love a good mirror (Scroll down my "House Tour" tab under "Dining Room" to see one of my favorites that I snatched up at a garage sale for $10!)

I stumbled upon some real beauts while I was there, just wishing I could buy them and add them to the two that are just sitting in the closet in our office!  I WILL find a place for them one day.  They were too good of a deal to pass up!  

Here's just a few of my favorites from today...

This beauty would make a fabulous additon to any room in your house.  With inlaid mother of pearl, the lovely pattern reminds me of lace.  AND it's a bargain because it's on sale!

Round Shell Mirror

Now $239.99

Orig. $299.95

This gem needs to be snatched up by someone I know since I can't buy it!  It would look lovely in any room, but I can picture it in an elegant dining room.  This mother of pearl mirror has a beautiful iridescent glow to it.  Another bargain under $200!

Ivory Mother of Pearl mirror 

$199

I'm not sure what this one is officially called (I couldn't find it online), but it reminds me of the inlaid bone mirrors.  I'll call it the Embossed Geometric Mirror.  I like the fun, repeating pattern.  This would be a great more modern addition to a room that's feeling too traditional. 

Embossed Geometric Mirror

$150

Here's the Wisteria mirror that it reminds me of, but at a fraction of the cost!

This last one was my favorite of the day.  The picture I took doesn't do it justice!  At the beginning of this post I said I heart mirrors.  Well, I also heart gold.  So, put the two together and you get DOUBLE LOVE!  This mirror is called the "Sunflower Mosaic Mirror," but I think it actually thinks it looks more sparkly than mosaic.  This would really increase the "glam factor" of any room.  And everyone needs a little glam in their life!  I think I'm going to have regrets about this beauty.  Sniff sniff.  Maybe if the hubby reads this, he will feel sorry for me and snatch it up for me.  Wishful thinking. 

Sunflower Mosaic Mirror
$199.95

So there's your Friday steal!  3 of the 4 mirrors are under $200.  And we all know mirrors can be PRICEY! 

What are my Wayman Family Nesters' design addictions?  Pillows, chairs, mirros?  Tell me so I feel better about mine!

Float On

{Feel free to listen to Modest Mouse while you read this post.  After all, it is the inspiration for the title of this post!}

Now that I've got you happy and singing...

Remember this post when I mentioned our quick stop at IKEA in Atlanta and told you about all of my of my aweseome finds?  Well, last weekend I recruited the hubby to help me hang them.  And by "help," I really mean do all the work while I continually come to him to see if he needs me to do anything.

Here's a shot of our little dining nook before.  The wall has been bare since we moved in 3 years ago.  I thought that floating shelves would be the perfect way to break up all that green. 

Excuse the terrible photo.  This is a really old photo, but it gives you an idea of what the room looked like before we put in the French doors and changed out that atrocious light fixture.

Here's a shot of the hubby hard at work.  He's giving me the "You've got to be kidding me.  You're taking pictures of me working that will end up on your blog." face.

And here's the finished product! (And proof that we did it fact take down that skanky, ugly light fixture!)

Yes, I know this rug is too small for this table, but baby steps.  A new rug is not in the budget right now.



Stay tuned for Part II of this post as I show you how I styled those bare white shelves!

Seeing Stripes: Part II

{In case you missed part 1 of Seeing Stripes, check it out here.}

After striping our lovely hallway, I decided to hang a little art on that big bare wall.  Not too much of course.  I wouldn't want to take away from my beautiful stripes.  (Yes, I like them a little too much.  I know)

Here's a shot of the hallway wall before hanging the frames.

I wanted the wall to have an ecclectic feel.  I decided to use a mixture of open frames and what I'm referring to as "granny floral art."  I bought these frames from a couple different local antique stores.  I spray painted a couple of them to fit in with the brassy tones. 

The zinc "W" is from Anthropologie.  The map was a DIY project that I made for Christopher.  More about that later.

This little mirror from a local antique mall is my favorite.  I think it totally makes the space.

Ahhh, my little striped hallway is complete, for now.  I say for now because I might add little pieces here or there as they strike my fancy.  I've got my eye on a pair of antlers from Z Gallerie, so we'll see!  For me stripes=happiness.  : )

Friday Finds

Lulu Love!

On Monday my BFF Beth and I went on one of our regular summer lunch dates.  Now that she has her sweet son, Porter, it is even more fun.  He's just the happiest, cutest boy!  Check out her blog here if you want proof!

We decided to go to Downtown Franklin instead of our usual Bread and Company stop in Green Hills.  We went to several stores before grabbing lunch, but my favorite would have to be Lulu. 

{source}

About Lulu:

"Lulu is a casually elegant lifestyle store located in historic Franklin Tennessee. Wanting to bring unique and beautiful items to Franklin's envied Main Street, owner Teresa Ofman opened the doors of Lulu in June of 2009. Ofman named the store after her grandmother, playfully nick-named Lulu, in hopes of preserving her lovely feminine nature through her store.

Lulu offers an array of beautiful products from bed linens, to vintage inspired jewelry, Lulu strives to bring their customers the best. Lulu promises to always carry the prettiest, most lovely products for any occasion their customer might need."

If you live in the Franklin/Nashville/Brentwood area, come check out the adorable store in person.  If you don't, no worries, you can do some shopping on their website here.

Here are my amazing finds from our day out....

Aren't these pear candles adorable?  They were perfect for my anthropologie candlesticks that had plain ole' tealights on them.  I think they're cute next to our framed wedding invitation that a sweet old lady from our church painted the church where we got married.  One of my very favorite wedding gifts.

My friend Beth and both spotted this Union Jack pillow at the same time and said "We have to have this!'  But with a $78 price tag, there was no way we could buy it.  Then Beth saw the sign that said the London products were 50%.  Oh happy day!  We quickly snatched up the remaining two pillows!  I love this playful, femine version of the well-known Union Jack.

Here's my newest pillow addition!  She fits in nicely!  When the hubby got home he said "Another new pillow?"  Ah, he does not understand my pillow obsession.  Sigh. 

In keeping with the London theme, how great is this map of London?  At $4, I had to snatch up this map of one of my favorite places!  I have plans for this that involve a canvas and upholstery naills, so stay tuned...

Here's a close-up...

The last item I found was this sweet chippy white ceramic vase. At only $4, later I'll probably be wishing I had bought more!  They would make great centerpieces!

Here's a shot with a hydranga that I swiped from the vase in our bedroom. I kind of like it better empty because then you still see the pretty scalloped edge and the chipped paint.  


These are just the tip of the iceberg of all of the lovely items at Lulu, so go check it out!  Out of the items I found today, I would have to say that the Union Jack pillow is my favorite.  What's yours?

Happy Friday Wayman Family Nesters!

Look What Came In The Mail!

Our wonderful agency, Celebrate Children International, sent us our adoption toolbox yesterday.  The box contained all kinds of goodies for both the hubby and I and Hayes. 

The sweet monkey, children's books about adoption, and the t-shirt are for Hayes.  The shirt says, "special delivery from Ethiopia."  The hubby and I have tons of wonderful adoption books and materials to check out.  Such good stuff!

Thank you CCI!  This is such a wonderful and thoughtful gift to send each of your clients.  We're ready to do some more reading!

Seeing Stripes

I love stripes.  Like seriously, I'm obsessed.  You know it's pretty bad when your students point out that you wear stripes AT LEAST three days a week.  I love middle schoolers.  They notice everything!

I have had room stripe envy for some time now.  I somehow convinved the hubby that striping our hallway was a MUST!  Being the darling that he is, he dropped everything one weekend to help me. I am just the one who comes up with these grand plans.  He is the brains behind the operation.  Since I really had NO idea of where to start, I employed him to help me!

Here are a few awesome pictures of my stripe inspiration...

I first became smitten with stripes after seeing this bathroom from Young House Love.  I love the subtle tone on tone stripes.  I guess you could say it was love at first STRIPE!

These images from Abode Love were my favorite and my main source of inspiration!  Beautiful!

After seeing those photos, I decided the hallway was the room to stripe.   Here's a before shot of the hallway when we moved in...

Yikes!  Just look at that blue carpet and wallpaper.  Not to mention the eyesore of a fireplace in the middle of the dining room.  I don't really have a great shot of the hallway once we painted it gray, so this will have to do...

Step 1: Math Skills Required: Measuring- Measure the full length of your wall and divide that number by twice the number of stripes that you want to have minus one (ex: our wall is 90″ tall and we wanted seven horizontal stripes so we divided 90 by 15 (8 x 2 = 16 – 1 = 15) to get the thickness of each stripe. Ours came out to 6 inches.  You want an odd number of stripes so that the top and bottom are both the same color.
Step 2: Make Your Mark- Use a ruler to mark off every 6minches starting from the floor and working up to the ceiling
Step 3: Tape It Off- Grab some painter’s tape (We used Frog Tape) and connect your pencil markings to create taped off stripes (once the tape is in place rub it a few times so you know that it’s flush with the wall for cleaner lines). The main thing to remember is that the tape should go outside the marks for the stripes you’ll be painting but inside the marks in the negative space that you won’t be painting. Confused?  I know, that's why I had the hubby do it!

Step 4: Roll With It- Grab a good roller, some paint, and start rolling. Apply two even,thin coats of latex paint between the tape that’s further apart to create your stripes.
Step 5: Take it Off!- This is a VERY important step. It’s crucial that you remove every strip of tape as soon as you’re done with your second coat of paint while the paint is still wet.  Waiting to remove the tape until after the paint has fully dried will cause peeling and uneven lines that are less than crisp (which would make you want to cry after all that taping). As soon as your roller is down, start pulling that tape off the wall for a clean stripe that looks seamless and sleek.

There you have it!  Easy horizontal stripes, right?  The hallway has quickly become my favorite space in the house  It makes me so happy whenever I look at it!  Oh, and if you're wondering about our paint colors, our hallway was already Sterling by Behr.  For the stripe I chose Martha Stewart Precious Metals.
What about you, Wayman Family Nesters?  Stripes: love em' or hate em'?  And if you love em', what room in your house have you striped?