One Room, Three Ways!

Now I LOVE a good challenge, especially when it comes to design, actually RE-design.

I have a large quantity of blogs that I "Follow", and some of my favorites came together for this challenge. You can see the beginning of it HERE. 

Thanks Jen, for putting this together, what fun!!

So here is my room that I re-designed 3 ways:

This is where we LIVE. everyday.

So, for this challenge, and to make this process painless,

I kept all the main characters the same. Our sofas (which are sooooo comfy), our TV armoire, our bookcase, and the whatcha-ma-call-it hanging on the vaulted wall. (don't judge, it was .25 cents at a garage sale!) At least there aren't 5 deerheads hanging there like there USED to be. ;) Just ONE!

So here is my RE-design #1:

I took down most of the family portraits we had on this bookshelf, and restyled it. I am liking this look, but will probably put back all my pictures.......

These are vintage oil paintings I have picked up recently, and love that they look good together!

And this lamp from Target is a fun whimsy addition to this room.

Truth be told, I "borrowed" some things from my daughter's room,( sorry Sis, everything has been put back, I promise) this papasan chair and the print above the shelves....and SOME of the pillows!

I layered a rug that was being used in the front room over our jute rug. This helps in bringing some much needed color to our floor. 

Even though I am totally completely smitten with this iron window, I actually picked it up for a friend that I am helping with the interior design of her new home. (If you are reading this JH, isn't it gorgeous??)

I had so much fun doing this....and why not?? It did not cost me a dime! Just shopped around my own home and found things that went together. It really does put a new perspective on your rooms.

Now for the REALLY hard part,  how do I explain to  Baileyhusband that the dishes, laundry, and yard work didn't get done today? :) 

Oh well.....PLEASE come back tomorrow and see this room done a different way. I just got done looking at all the pictures of all 3 ways, and I don't know which look is my favorite!?

~Kim

If you are coming over from the Linky party: please see my other 2 "Ways":

Click HERE for #2.
And Click HERE for #3.

An UNplanned day!

Sometimes its the unplanned days that are the very best!

This past week, we had an unexpected baseball game cancellation. And so we had family time....to work with our cows! Honestly, these are our favorite days....

And yes, this is our Miniature Hereford bull, Hawkeye. He is a yearling bull, and oh so very tame. So Daddy thought it would be fun for the boys to "Ride a Bull". No bucking or running, Hawkeye is too sweet for that! 

Well, Good Evening to you too, Hawkeye! I know you are so excited for the fresh grass!

These pictures, which were impromptu....were taken with the Baileyhusband's little ol cell phone. Sorry for the poor quality! 

And I want to share with you another photo I found on his little ol cell phone! I know some husbands would have pictures of things that wouldn't be wife-worthy....yet, this one made me laugh......

The man DOES like big butts, he is oh so very proud of these! IF you are a cow person, you know that this is what the judges (at cow shows) look for. 

I have seen this on a sweatshirt and am seriously considering purchasing one for my dear man. 

Hopefully, this summer, we will have many of these unplanned days....and hopefully, I will have my good camera with me! :)

~Kim

an OUTHOUSE

This is MINE: 

                                                              Yes, it is an outhouse! 

I was lucky enough (ie CRAZY enough) to have won this at an auction this past weekend!

These photos were taken with my phone, at it's current owner's home.

Soon, Baileyhusband and his trusty machines will be bringing it home, to IRISHMAN ACRES! 

I am in negotiations as to WHERE to place it......and of course, I will keep you all posted on it's progress :)

Isn't it so cute? It is a REAL hole in one....once actually "used" in a small town nearby. 

Don't know yet if I will make the Baileykids use it, or just use it for storage :)

I'll keep ya posted on that one too! 

~Kim

SUMMER is here!

This is a FIRST for me.....

I am home this summer.....ALL summer!

Let the fun, fantastic projects, and flip flops commence!

My mind doesn't even know where to begin....I'm kind of A.D.D. and think about painting my bookcases in our front room, then I change to planning a overhaul of our storage room, then want to re-do our landscaping in our walk-out.....then think about taking the kids on all the field-trips I have planned for the summer. Oh, then I need to finish some flower plantings on our porch, but REALLY need to powerwash our deck.....

Maybe I will just sit and rest.....all this "thinking and planning" exhausts me!

Our Spring/Summer (for now) mantel

A new Antique oil painting I recently acquired.... #inLOVE

I have been busy summer-fying our home....room by room. 

I am excited to have this time to spend on my blog, and hopefully get some projects completed, photographed, and shared this ENTIRE summer!! Each room and outdoor space will be getting some attention, and I will be updating our tabs for the "home tour and farm tour".

I hope you can follow along as my family and I have so much to share about our home and farm for the next few months, lots of projects!!

I will be sharing more on my Facebook page, you can like here.

And of course, I am always perusing Pinterest, you can follow me here.

Here is to a FANTASTICLY FUN SUNSHINY SUMMER!
~Kim

Back porch dreaming....

IS IT REALLY MAY????

Well, someone better tell that to Mother Nature.....

because as of right now, I am looking at my freshly manicured lawn, budding trees, perennial gardens, and nicely swept front porch......

ALL COVERED WITH SNOW!!!

I am even too upset to take a picture. Making "history" this way, is not my idea of fun!

So while it is a winter wonderland outside, 

I am trying to keep my mind on the warm summer months (if we ever have them!)

I am taking my back porch inspiration from this:

via Pinterest

and these:

via Pure Style Home blog

via Pinterest

I have also been doing some shopping via our wonderful WWW

 and have purchased some of these pillows from Pottery Barn:

This is my starting off point, here is an image from last summer:

I am not going to purchase any more furniture, just using what we have, maybe doing some DIY projects and making this fit more with the inside of our home. 

Here are some images of things I'm interested in adding:

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pottery Barn

Our back porch/ deck area is actually made up of 3 different zones. 

1.The upper portion, which is enclosed with railing. 

2. The open, larger area, which I have had trouble getting the right look for. 

Don't you like our ornamental turkeys? These are no longer at Irishman Acres, 

but thought I'd show you how the deck looked last summer! :)

3. And our brick patio, which has our fire-pit.  Which you can see off of our deck:

Hard for me to totally plan it from the looks outside today! But these pictures are helping! 

Maybe when my new pillows arrive from Pottery Barn....or I dig out my outdoor rugs....or actually am ABLE to plant some of my flowers I have hidden in our garage, I will finally be able to put this winter in the past!

Like I said......*dreaming*.....

~Kim

Being married to a DIRT DIGGER.....

Well, being married to a "dirt man" does have it's advantages when it comes to certain yard work....

 and crazy ideas that certain wives may have....

Like when it comes to the relocation of a chicken coup because it is blocking the view of our barn. 

Daddy brings in the BIG GUNS....and carefully lifts and carries it to it's new location.....

Now the chicken coup will have prime real estate next to our garden/ feed shed. 

And believe me, it's getting a cute little make-over with a rock path and possibly window boxes?!

But sometimes, being married to a dirt digger is a MESS....having access to such machines, can be dangerous on our yard! 

This time he used his mini-excavator. And to quote Baileyhusband, "It's like digging with a spoon". 

He is digging a water line to our cow pasture, so no more running a hose clear from our house over to the water trough.....really not fun to do in the dead of winter!! So even though my yard is quite a mess for the time being, eventually it will be worth it. 

But no more fun watching this:

I feel a little lazy just watching him do all the hard work, but since these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, I have done TONS of yard work and spring cleanup....and even got to mow this past weekend! YIPPEE! Yes, I LOVE MOWING! Especially since it is too cold for snakes still! :)

 

Loving spring around here, can't wait to get my inner gardener goddess out of hybernation, 

I've got my lists made for the nursery.....

~Kim

Where I've Been....

I know....

It's been a LONG time since I have been on my blog.

I've been reading all of my favorite blogs everyday, just not been posting any here.

I wanted to ease back into it slowly...

and fill all of you in on where I've been and what we've been up to.

As mentioned on my post about the blogger's Midwest Meet-up, I did go to the Chicago area over Spring Break and was fortunate enough to meet some amazing "new friends" from blog-land. But the unfortunate thing is....ready for this?....I did not take ONE SINGLE PICTURE!!! What?!?!? Here we were all bloggers and all I seemed to have taken pics of were the little shop we met at! 

I want to thank the lovely Jennifer Rizzo for making this meeting a reality....and her post is alot more informative than mine! Now I will show some pics that I did take......

See the large globe in the picture above? Yep, it came home with me! 

Thanks to my friend KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms for talking me into it...

The shop, called Room 363, which has it's own blog you can find here, is stuffed FULL of beautiful finds and inspiration! It is in an old house and each room has it's own look and style, I will definitely be stopping back in on my next visit to Chicago.

And speaking of Chicago.....I took my daughters with me on this little Field Trip to the awesome Windy City, and while there we did some MORE shopping on the Magnificent Mile (aka Michigan Ave.)

Even though this cowhide chair is a little too modern for our home, I would proudly own it....seriously THEE MOST COMFORTABLE thing ever!!!

Some time with my girls is all this mama needed! And a little vacation from reality is never a bad idea! :)

We were there on St. Patty's Day, and Chicago dyes the river green! 

Nice welcome for us Irishman Acres gals! 

My only regret was that we didn't stay longer, another couple days would have been nice!

Oh well, there is always next year! 

Now back to all the other things I've been doing.......laundry, dishes, running kids to practices, working at my day-time "real" job, and reading.....and not just the home decor magazines and catalogs....I have finally rediscovered my love of reading REAL books!!! 

We have also been busy doing not-so-fun projects around the farm.....

more on that another day! 

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

~Kim