My decor destination

Recently, I feel as if I've gotten my second wind in relation to decor. I've been moving pieces all around the apartment. Yay for finally finding enough strength and motivation to hop back on the decor train! In the above photo,  I moved the side table and books from the living room and the orchid from the kitchen. 

To finish the apartment, I need:

• a desk/workspace
• a dresser
• wall hangings in the living room
• wall hanging in the bedroom

I feel like there's an end in sight! That list is so tiny, it's unreal. Currently, with no workspace I've got my MacBook on the kitchen table. I've found the perfect inspiration post via Pinterest and I can not wait to make it come to life. I currently have my eyes on a dresser and with a few modifications, it'll be exactly what I need. I'm excited! What projects are you guys currently working on?! Leave a comment below and let me know!

xo,

Glenesse

curtain | side table | faux orchid | lamp -- TARGET

hammered chrome 5x7 picture frame -- ROSS

random hardback books -- THE DOLLAR TREE

Home update

This past weekend I made the 5 hour relocation from Killeen to Texarkana, Texas and moved into my new place. Now, I will admit: after living in a four bedroom house, apartment living does take some getting used too. I've already moved all the major furniture pieces so I'll continue to update the blog as I transform each room. So far, the dining area is about 90% finished. All we're missing is some wall art and a center piece.

Cant wait to continue!
xo,

Glenesse

An Apple a Day..

Updates are in order! First things, I've finished my first class since being back in school. Granted, it was Fine Art Appreciation, I got an A! It's a relief to know that I passed. Hopefully I can maintain a 4.0 GPA. In terms of work, time is winding down until I have to leave for Recruiter school. I took a Physical Training Test (timed push ups, sit ups & 2 mile run) and passed, so now I can reenlist and continue my career.

Now, about what this post is really about! My neighborhood is brown. Literally. All the houses are made of bricks in shades of browns and all the doors and garages vary from tan to brown. In true absoluteDoll fashion, it was my duty to change it! Here's what it looked like before:


Pretty much, it looked like every other house in the neighborhood. I made it my mission to have lush grash and better curb appeal. I planted flowers, fertilized the grass with Weed & Feed and watered it everyday. & after hours on Pinterest I decided to paint the front door. Picking a color is always the hardest, but I had an idea of the color I wanted so I settled on "Apple a Day" by Olympic. Its a self priming exterior paint. Originally, the siding, trim and door were all the same color. We taped off the hardware and painted directly over the existing paint.


Here's how that turned out:



Even though the door looked great, the house in general needed more. I had already decided to paint the garage door as well, and yesterday I took the plunge. I absolutely love the outcome! When I hit the corner I already know which house is mine and I'm elated. Here's the finished product:


Would you get a load of that grass! Who said you couldnt have green grass in Texas?! Although my water bill is $40 more, its well worth it. There are homes in my neighbood with in ground irrigation systems whose lawns are not nearly as nice! I'm so proud of it and so happy to share it with you guys! Hope you guys like!

xo,

Glenesse

But WHERE did it come from?!

As I make more decor themed posts some of you guys were wondering where I purchased this stuff. I thought this would be the perfect forum to address these questions. My major furniture pieces were purchased from the Rooms to Go here in Killeen, Texas. Furniture shopping can be a fun, yest stressful time. Starting out, I wanted to ensure while shopping that the personal touches brought into my home were mine. Family and friends are a great asset but who wants to be stuck with stuff that they really don't even like?! It does still benefit to get second opinions, however.

Although I love this sectional, if I knew what I know now at the time of purchase I would have a different piece of furniture in my home. This Cindy Crawford Home Dawson Sectional (seen here) as I said is a gorgeous piece, but the truth of the matter is it was just too big for my space! Not to be discouraged, I had to make it work, after all, it is a beautiful piece. To fix my problem, I just took out the corner piece and presto! A sectional that fits perfectly..
Because I have an open concept living space, my furniture had to be arranged in a way that would define what each space was. I knew I wanted a wooden table. With small children in the house I couldn't chance a glass top table. The cleaning would be horrendous and there's always a chance that it could break; plus, there's something about the look of a solid wood table that drew me in. I decided on the Merrydale Dining Room set (seen here). I swapped out my chair options and went with the slip arm chairs, upholstered back side chairs and had my leaf removed so that the table would hold 6 comfortably. I'm satisfied with this choice..



When I saw the picture below on Pinterest, I knew it was exactly what I needed for my entryway. The click thru link took me directly to the VITTSJÖ shelves product page on IKEA (found here) and although I was disappointed that delivery of 2 of these shelves would cost more than the items themselves I was happy to see that if I signed up for the IKEA Family (which is free, by the way) I'd receive an instant discount. Plus, IKEA is less than an hour away so we would just need to go to the store and purchase them in person. The IKEA Family discount does not apply to online purchases either, so that just added to the list of reasons why we'd need to pick them up in person. While walking threw the store, I also lucked up and found the exact storage bins from the picture so I was even more excited about my finished look.


So there you have it, all my big ticket purchases! Hope this was helpful and answered any questions you guys were having. If anything is still unanswered, feel free to comment below or email me (link in the sidebar). Stay fabulous, dolls!
xo,

Glenesse

#transformationtuesday

A few post ago, I mentioned that I had purchased a new house. With that comes the responsibilities of making that house a home! I've been working really hard to transform these four walls to a place of comfort and solitude for everyone with in them. I've spent the last month or so consuming myself with pillows and patterns and all kinds of decor & although I feel like this is a never ending process, I wanna show you guys where I am so far..

If you follow me on instaGram you'll remember this picture, appropriately captioned #blankcanvas. After almost a solid year of being glued to HGTV I knew I needed a "pop of color".


I've been fawning over shades of blue lately, so that's where I went with it. I absolutely adore the current chevron and lattice trends, so I know I wanted to incorporate that into my design as well.

Assortment of pillows from Wayfair. The grey accent pillow came with our  sectional.

"Scribble" lattice pattern by West Elm [96"]

Remember that lamp?! I painted that to incorporate color as well!

After piecing all that together, I'm happy to say I have a space I am happy with. This process is far from over and ever revolving, but for right now I get that warm and fuzzy when I look around. Isnt that what your home is supposed to do?! I am absolutely in love every time I walk thru the door!

Voila!

And just so you can see the full transformation, here's a comparison picture:


Have you guys been doing any makeovers?! I'd love to see them! Please comments links below if you have!
xo,

Glenesse

Light the Way to the Deals!

Now that I'm a home owner, I find myself fawning over more and more decor items. My Pinterest account [link in the sidebar] is now filled with more and more decor pins and I seem to be drawn to that part of any store I enter. There's something about feeling at peace when you walk thru your front door that appeals to me, and thanks to HGTV I cant get that out of my head! I know this process will take time but as anxious as I am, it has already begun!

Bethany Table Lamp Set | One Kings Lane | $249

I fell in love with the above lamps while browsing One Kings Lane and have since been trying to find something comparable. Lets be real, I'm a mom of a very stylish 2 year old. Could I really justify spending $249 on lamps?! Probably not. And so the journey began. I started searching the sites hoping to see something that would catch my eye and wouldn't you know it?! Target came thru for me! I'm so pleased to tell you that I got this replica lamps for $29.99! Who doesnt love a good deal?! My total cost for a set of 2 was $93.96, seeing as the bases and shades are sold separately. Shades were $16.99.

Total savings: $155.04!

Happy Hunting,

Glenesse