Hey! I actually have one of these!

Last week, Melissa from The Inspired Room decided to do a linky party featuring Gallery Walls.  Normally, I enjoy looking at everyone else's posts during most linky parties, but this time I thought to myself  "Hey! I actually sort-of have one of those!"  I'm glad that I'm getting to participate this time!

My gallery wall is in my Master Bedroom.  Other than our stacked-rock fireplace wall, this gallery wall was one of the longest-to-complete projects ever!  You can read all about the drama here.  Even though we put a TON of time and effort in completing this wall, it has turned out to be one one of my favorite things in this house!

We love the look so much, we don't even want to buy a headboard because we are scared it will interfere with the photos.

This isn't the only gallery wall we want.  Ever since we built this house, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what to put on the large-ish wall behind our tub in the master bathroom:

Yes, that's a television.  No, we didn't put a television in our bathroom to be "fancy".  Marty leaves the house very early in the mornings and he works outside, so it is very important for him to have access to the weather forecast.  It's also been great for letting Jameson watch movies while he "swims" in the tub....haha!  

Anyway, that television, as small as it is, poses a huge problem when it comes to decorating that space!  I didn't have a clue where to even start, so I went to my favorite source of inspiration....blogs!  It was on one of these searches that I found this photo:

From HERE

I instantly fell in love with the look and just knew that's what I wanted to do!

I found a HUGE frame for a very inexpensive price at Garden Ridge, but unfortunately found out it was TOO huge, thanks to the television, once we got home with it.  So, on my next trip to Birmingham, I picked up the next smaller-sized frame.  It's a perfect fit, but for now, this is where it is....

Just propped up in the bottom of the tub until I can find all the other frames I want to go with it.

I do have one other little frame (seen propped up in the window) that I may use, but until I find what I'm looking for, I hope nobody needs to use the tub!

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I hope you enjoyed my gallery wall and be sure to visit Melissa's linky party at the Inspired Room for tons of other gorgeous gallery walls!

Nothing like a little {decorating} disappointment!

Last week (or was it two weeks ago?), I did a post about wanting to change around my Master Bedroom for the warmer months.  I found this comforter set at TJ Maxx that was a beautiful shade of sky blue:

They only had a queen size and I needed a king, so I started looking for it online.  After a few weeks of searching, I found the exact set, except a king, on Ebay.  It cost a little more than the one at TJ Maxx, but it was a larger size.  I ordered it and couldn't wait for it to come in!

Well, it came the Friday of my Scott Antique Market weekend, so I really didn't have a chance to do anything but open it up and grab a pillow sham to take with me for matching purposes.  I have been super-busy this week, so I wasn't able to get everything out until yesterday.

When I pulled the comforter out of the bag, I immediately noticed something was wrong...

It had already been washed!

There were wrinkles ALL OVER IT, and lumps where the inside stuffing had been moved around.  I also realized the quality wasn't what I expected.  Instead of a "designer comforter", it looked more like an inexpensive duvet cover.  Of course, the Ebay listing has the dreaded "All Sales Final" on it, and it would cost about half-as-much as it cost to send it back.

I was SO UPSET!

So, I decided to go ahead and wash it again (who knows what kind of cooties were on that thing) and make up the bed with it, just to see how it would look.

You should have seen me and Jameson trying to move that king-sized mattress by ourselves....video gold, I'm telling ya!

After messing with everything all day long, here is what I ended up with...

 

You see ALL those wrinkles?

And, if the comforter situation wasn't bad enough, the curtains that I found that I was so SO excited about....

 Are WAAAAAY too short!  Not only are they short, they are thin and translucent....blocking ZERO sunlight coming through the door.

However, there is ONE good thing about the comforter,

It is soft...really, really soft.  So soft, as a matter of fact, it reminds me of my old, faithful comforter that has been confined inside a duvet cover to keep it from falling apart.

So, last night, hubby and I decided to try it out....

We both slept like babies.

**sigh**

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Tomorrow is {un}officially National Take A Risk Day over at the Nesting Place and I thought I would share this unsuccessful risk I decided to take!  A lot of the time, risks work out, but unfortunately, it didn't for us this time.  But it doesn't deter me from trying again!

Have you ever been in the mood for a seasonal change?

Until I started reading blogs a few years ago, it never occurred to me that some people actually changed their decor with each season.  I mean, I know about putting decorations up for holidays, but I mean actually changing pillows, furniture, and bedding for each season.  I don't think I will ever have enough "disposable" income to change my furniture for the seasons, but lately, I've wanted to change things up for the warmer weather.

The main room I've been wanting to change is my Master Bedroom.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my master bedroom!  I love every single thing about it (except for lack of actual grown-up furniture...haha), but lately, I've just wanted to lighten it up for the warmer months.

I've looked through a lot of comforter sets, and surprisingly, I've been drawn to the one color that I swore I wouldn't put in this house....

BLUE!

In our old house, every single stinkin' room had some sort of country blue in it (except for the Barney purple Master....long story..haha).  When we built this house, I was determined not to have a single sliver of blue in this house.  Then, while I was decorating the dining room for Christmas, I was just drawn to a gorgeous shade of icy blue to coordinate with my brown toile.  I made a few ornaments, and I LOVED the way the colors just naturally went together!

Once I decided on the colors, the hunt was on for just the right comforter set.

I thought it would be a piece of cake, but I quickly realized most blues that are paired with browns, have a greenish-tint to them.  I tried that route in my dining room with some store-bought ornaments, and it's definitely not the look I wanted.  I want a true, light blue color....with no hint of green in it.

After months and months of looking, I finally found a set that I LOVED at TJ Maxx.

Above photo from here

Unfortunately, they only had ONE and it was a QUEEN, and we definitely have to have a KING to cover my big ol' booty.  So, I looked and looked and looked without any leads.  I found some that were similar, but once I added sheets, a dust ruffle, pillow shams, bed skirt....they all cost a small fortune!  I would much rather save on the bedding and spend money on some actual furniture one day.  Plus, who knows what they actually looked like in person.  I had seen this particular bedding in person and I knew the color was exactly what I was looking for. 

Then, just on a whim, this weekend I started looking around on Ebay, and there she was!  My bedding in a KING!  The price was a little more than at TJ Maxx, but it is a bigger size, so I expected to pay a more.  I still wasn't sure if I wanted to splurge on something like this, but Marty encouraged me to bid on it.  So, I just put in a minimum bid, fully not expecting to win it.

BUT I DID!

I am getting really excited about it now!  I can't wait until it comes in and I can see if this beautiful blue is really what I've been wanting.

I will definitely keep you updated!

My blankie has a first name, it's H-O-L-E-Y

I have a confession to make.

I don't always make my bed in the morning.

And since I'm being honest here....

Actually, I rarely make my bed at all.

For example, if you were to just unexpectedly show up at my house any given day, my bed would not look like this:

It would look more like this:

**gasp**

I know, I know....some of you out there are probably freaking out right now, and deleting me from your blog lists.

Please don't! I'm trying to do better!

HONEST!

I took the first step in making my bed looking more presentable today.

First, some backstory.

You see that ugly peach, cream, yellow and green comforter in the second picture? I bought that thing about 20 years ago to use in my then "updated" bedroom.

I bought the comforter set, the curtains, the wallpaper, the pillows.....everything to completely change the look of my master bedroom. I wanted to get rid of the old "country" decor I had, and update the room into the 90's!

Well, I used the curtains and the comforter set, but the wallpaper remained in a drawer until we moved here two years ago.

Yes, I was a slacker even then.

I loved that comforter. I slept under it every single night.

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

We just used that comforter, nothing else.

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Another confession, I don't use a top sheet either.

Never have.

**gasp**

And there goes the rest of you!

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Anyway, when the peach and green decor of the early 90's made way for the "Barney purple" bedroom of the late 90's....

(You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it....

Let's just say, the paint started out as "eggplant", and ended up the color of Barney.)

I couldn't bear to part with my comforter.

It was so soft and comfy and just smelled good.

So, we just kept sleeping under it, and covered it up with the new "pretty" comforter.

When we actually made the bed, that is.

This continued, year after year.

We would get a pretty new comforter set, but continue to sleep under that old, ugly 1990's comforter.

When we moved into this house, and got yet another beautiful new comforter set, we still continued sleeping under "old faithful".

Much to my hubby's dismay.

He thought that once we moved here, the old comforter would be banished to the back of the closet, or better yet, the garbage.

WRONG!

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Well, up until about 6 months ago, "Old Faithful" had held up pretty well.

Sure, she was worn and faded, but there wasn't a single hole in her.

She kept us warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Then I started noticing a thin spot here, and a thin spot there.

THEN, I noticed stuffing.

OH NO!

My most favorite blankie ever is starting to come apart!

I mean, how dare a comforter that has been washed at least once, and sometimes two or three times a week for the past 20 years start to come apart?

What poor workmanship!

So, I started thinking about ways I could save my precious cover.

I thought about patching and sewing all of the worn areas, but I quickly realized that would only be a temporary fix.

Then I decided to try to make a cover for it out of two flat sheets.

You know, since we never use those...lol.

But, I don't sew very well, and I hated to bother my mother by asking her to help me.

So, I started looking into duvet covers.

It's a great idea, however, attractive duvets can be really pricey!

I mean, I don't mind paying a little more money for something that is going to last, but since I was only trying out this idea, I hated to spend a ton of money for something if we ended up hating it.

So, I just kept looking for sales, and on eBay for the perfect one.

THEN, during a chance run-to-the-bathroom visit to Ross (for Jameson, not me), I came across this:

TAH DAH!

"Old Faithful" has a purdy new dress!

It's not a "perfect" match to our current bedroom decor, but for $18.99, it's pretty dang close!

It washed very well, and didn't shrink at all.

It also came with two pillow shams and three pillows!

WHAT A BARGAIN!

This is NOT replacing our current GORGEOUS comforter set, it is just what we will be using to sleep under every night.

Any time we know company is coming over, we will still use our "good" set to make the bed.

But this way, we can still wash it once or twice a week, and save the wear and tear of our old comforter, and protect our new comforter as well.

Now in the mornings, when we throw this cover over the bed, our bed will at least look "sort-of" made.

Hey, it's a start!

Show Us Where You Live Fridays: Master Bedrooms!

Well, here is another fun week brought to you by Kelly Stamps from Kelly's Korner with Show Us Where You Live Fridays!

This week's theme is MASTER BEDROOMS!

I will just start this post by saying that I {heart} my Master Bedroom! It is the ONE room in this house that is technically "complete" as far as the building process goes. ALL of the moldings, trim, shoe moulding, paint, flooring, everything is done.

When we were choosing the plans for our house, hubby had a couple of specific requests for our Master Bedroom:

1. Be separate from all the other bedrooms
2. Be on the same side of the house as the garage.

Hubby works for a utility company and often works very odd hours. With the Master being "away" from the rest of the house, he hoped it would cut down on the noise of him coming in and out in the middle of the night. The thing that he didn't count on is his obsessive nature to check on the kids about 1000 times at night while they are sleeping, especially when leaving for work or coming home from work. Now, he just has to march ALLLLLLL the way through the house with his heavy work boots on....lol!

So, with that back story out of the way, here are pictures of our Master Bedroom!

I made the "art" behind the bed. It is nothing more than Styrofoam, scrapbook paper, and ribbon. It looked great, but does not hold up to moisture that well.... I will share a more about that a little later. The lamps and mirrors are from Kirkland's, and the bedside tables are from Target. We are definitely on a BUDGET with this house!


The comforter set and curtains, believe it or not, came from Wal-Mart. I saw this set in a magazine insert WAAAAAAY before we started building the house. I think the week we were approved for the loan, I went out and bought this set. I had a tough time finding the curtains, but with some searching, I eventually found just enough. I LOVE this set! It looks SOOOO expensive but cost very little!

This is an updated picture of the curtain over the french door.

I found the chair at a local discount furniture store. It only cost $70.00 new! It is really comfortable and I love that it is a little bit "funky!"


This is a great shot of our floors. They are Brazilian Walnut. A pain in the bootie to lay, but they look fantastic!

Updated photo with scrapbook paper art that I did here.

A view of the lights and ceiling. After living with the lights for a while, I think we definitely need a larger light fixture...but as everything else, that will have to wait a while longer.

Trust me...you don't wanna go in there.....


We don't have anything on this wall yet. I am waiting for hubby to finally paint our dresser and move it here.

I will probably be waiting a LOOOOOOONG time.

OK, like I said earlier, the "art" that I made that was above the bed (yes, I said WAS), looked really good when we first put them up....but after a year of LONG, HOT showers with the vent not on, and the bathroom door left open, it started taking a toll on the scrapbook paper, and the adhesive we had used to hold them up.

First, it started to look like this:


Nothing like getting hit in the face in the middle of the night by a piece of Styrofoam to make the heart race!

THEN, one day I came in and found THIS:


I knew at that time they had to GO!

But what could I put there now?

So, I dug into my inspiration file and found THIS picture:



I just LOVE the look of the mat-less picture frames!

The only problem with them was the cost....most were around $20.00 EACH! When you need a large number of frames, that is NOT an option when you are on a TIGHT BUDGET! So, I kept looking around, and eventually found these at Wal-Mart:


They are only $4.00 EACH!! Now THAT'S a bargain!!

Instead of putting florals in my frames, I decided I would really like black and white photos of my kids. So, I quickly picked and printed 12 of my most favorite pictures. I got them framed and decided what order I wanted them in, and......


That's as far as it has gotten!

UGH!

I have been patiently waiting for dear, sweet hubby to hang them for me, but he's still not gotten around to it. We even picked out very specific wall anchors to use to hang them, but that box is still unopened.

**sigh**

I was REALLY hoping to have them up by today's post, but for now, I guess we will all have to use our IMAGINATION.

****EDITED TO ADD.... I actually finished the frameless picture frame project! Go to THIS POST to see!!****

Well, that's my Master Bedroom!

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed my little tour and I hope you will come back again soon!

And now, head on back to Kelly's Korner and look at all of the other WONDERFUL and GORGEOUS bedrooms!!