www.DesignBuildLove.co (no “M”)

In case I didn’t get the message out to everyone… SO SORRY!… I’ve officially gone with a non-”.wordpress” website.  Also, it just got brought to my attention that some of my comments on other blogs are still being linked back to this account.  For that, I am soooo sorry for the confusion!  Please see me at my new website URL:

PLEASE STOP BY THE NEW SITE!!!

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Just a quick mini-post guys…

As you know from this post, we have been working on finalizing the style and colors of our Master Bedroom.  Well, in the meantime, I have also been “oogling” over nightstand lamps for about six months.  I’ve looked at a ton of different options, including the ones mentioned in my bedroom post, but when I ran into Target the other day for some basic household stuff, I saw this beauty, calling my name, AND with a sale tag!!!  Her curves were so round and voluptuous, and the glass so sleek and smooth- I COULDN’T RESIST, so I snagged them both!!!

Truth be told, I’d seen these lamps before, but they’d seemed to be a hot commodity because there was never more than one on the shelf at a time!  AND, I needed two of them!  So, I never really gave them much thought other than… “those are cute!”

So… since the room colors are partially undecided, I opted not to buy lamp shades just yet.  What do you guys think?

My only concern is that they are too clear.  LOL… sounds ridiculous, I know, but for how beautiful they are, I want them to stand out.  If we go with Design #1, I will likely buy eggplant colored shades; or if we go with Design #2, I will likely get either chocolate or light green lamp shades (pulling the colors from the accent pillows and the chair).

LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!!!

BEFORE

Yup, that’s right!  Northern California has been getting rocked by some crazy rain and wind storms over the last week and they are expected to continue through the next week.  This meant, with the ground fully saturated, our fences were primed to become victim to the winds.  NOW, enter over 12 hours of 50-60 mph winds, and we had a recipe for disaster.

The wind huffed, the wind puffed, and the wind blew our fence down- three sections of it anyways! Oh ya, and let’s not forget the 8ft., heavy duty umbrella that sat in a 50lb. rot iron base that somehow magically flew into the pool and landed upright as though to say… “HA HA!  Take that you stupid wind!”  Or, maybe it was just to taunt us, since it sits just far enough from the edge of the pool, that the only way to retrieve it is going to be actually diving in and swimming down to lift that massive base and heavy duty umbrella!  YIKES!  Not only is it super cold outside, but the water is only in the upper 30′s!  We haven’t built up the courage to do this just yet!  I’ll keep you guys posted when we do!

Anyways, home-ownership, while amazingly rewarding, does come with a few snags such as this.

So, here it went-

AFTER

JUST A TEMPORARY FIX

As I mentioned before, the ground being super saturated from many days of heavy rains was a key factor in us losing our fence, which means that that same saturated ground would be key in preventing us from being able to set new posts and rebuild the fence at this time.  Because of this, Eric had to come up with a quick, BUT safe solution (we have young kids and dogs next door) to secure the fence until the rain lets up and the ground is able to dry a bit.  To do this, we ran over to Lowe’s by our house and grabbed some supplies:

• 2×4 boards (any variety will work really)
• 3-inch outdoor/fence/deck screws

Supplies we already had and would need to use, included:

• power drill
• skill saw

Eric gave a quick call to our buddy Brandon, who swung over to lend a hand!  As soon as he arrived, the repairs started:

1. They quickly picked up and propped the fence back into place;



2. Secured the fallen fence to the still-standing posts with a couple of screws



3. Measured and cut 2×4 boards to the appropriate length to brace the fence (we wanted them long enough to brace between the fence and the concrete patio;
4. After the boards were cute, they put them into place and secured each one to the fence by screwing the boards into the fence posts at an angle;






5. After finishing one side, they repeated the process on the opposite side (neighbor’s yard), to ensure that the fence is equally sturdy on both sides!

That’s about it!  Thanks to our good buddy Brandon, the project went quickly and smoothly!  Gotta love great friends!!! 

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Alright guys, so the post for Friday this week is more of a call for design input!  I have two very different directions that we can take our master bedroom, and I am totally indecisive!  If you know me, then you know that the only thing that I’m usually indecisive about is FOOD, but that is only because I love so many different types of food, so much!  I guess the same can be said for the two different styles for our master bedroom too!

As you can see from our Home Tour, we didn’t have a picture of our master bedroom before, but the “gist” is that it was nasty, dingy, dirty walls, with an ugly brass and oak ceiling fan.  YUCK!  Since we bought the house, we’ve done a few, key things in the master bedroom that we’re both fairly settled on, and here they are:

• Painted the walls Bleached Denim blue by Behr (rich blue with grey undertones)
• Snagged an amazing West Elm cream velvet upholstered headboard in new condition off of Craigslist for a whopping $85 buckeroos!  YUP, seriously… the people just decided to go a different direction with their decor!  SCORE for us!
• Bought our bed set from Marshall’s- Cal King bed set that was silky and shimmery, but not easy to snag… YAY!
• Purchased five Ikea Malm dressers in black-brown, which we plan to dress up later with some custom treatments (two 3-drawer dressers serve as substantial nightstands, a 6-drawer dresser for me, and a 6-drawer chest for the hubby… ya, we have a lot of stuff!)

Other than that, that’s about it!  We’re not married to much else in the room.  So, have at it!

Design 1- more light and airy, to be accented with dark purple/eggplant lamps (like this) and drapes:

And, yes, that is the “Shopping Score” chair from here. 

Design 2- modern with a bit traditional, to be completed with chocolate drapes and green-clear lamps (like this):

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As many of you know, I started this blog as an outlet… Originally, it was just supposed to be “me” time to decompress from law school and work, but it has literally morphed into an insatiable passion!   While I am still in law school, working full time for a law firm, and trying to keep my blogging semi-limited to a hobby, I just have to say thank you to all of you for your love and support that has caused this blog to morph into that insatiable passion.  I honestly never imagined that so many people would be interested in anything I was saying or doing!  EEK!  I could just squeal with excitement!!!

So now, you may be asking yourself what’s prompting this odd post, and this is it:  Today I reached two milestones of my personal blogging experience, which includes a certain number of views and subscriptions.  I guess, in a way, the views and subscriptions have validated what I’m doing as fun and exciting not only for me, but for other people too!  And, I am sooooo glad!

I just really want to thank each and every reader, fellow blogger, family member, and friend that has joined me on this journey.  I say journey, and I know it’s only been a month and a half, but this is a journey for me since I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.  I have already learned so much and been incredibly inspired by all of you, that ideas are literally pouring out of me!!!  There’s just not enough time in the day!!!  (I guess we all feel that way though.)

So, as it stands now, I am going to continue to get at least one post per week up for you all, but more likely than not, you guys will have me so excited about projects that there will be a couple per week.  (Coming soon… a new logo and look overhaul for DBL- can’t wait to share!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!  I truly feel loved!

Just as a heads up, here are some upcoming projects that I’m really looking forward to (for a full list of projects, see here):

• Front yard cleanup: get rid of old shrubs and plant some new flowers (maybe even include a window box of flowers or two!)
• Finishing off the Master Bedroom
• 2nd Build-Out with Doug Tolson of Doug Tolson Construction
• Custom upholstered headboard for my Guest Bedroom

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU GUYS ARE HOPING TO DO/LEARN TO DO AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO ACCOMMODATE/HELP!!!