Spilling the beans

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So for those of you who follow along on Instagram @homestylereport or personally know me some changes have been occurring this week.  It is not blog related.  I am NOT pregnant. And we are not moving.  This does however explain a bit more of my absence as of late.

I am changing jobs… and industries (from grocery to health care).  To be honest, this is a change I am terribly scared of.  I am leaving a team that I love.  I’ve never had the type of support in my professional life that I do now.  Most are near my age (also something I’ve never had) and have grown into friends.  My boss may even go down in history as the best boss I will have.  Tears have ben shed over the thought and realization that I am leaving this team.  But that’s what bars are for.  Happy hours!

Clearly there are things I wanted to change given the fact that I was even looking in the first place.  Most of those reasons I don’t really care to get into on such a public arena – again if you know me, you know. 

I will mention the pro’s of the new position.  My commute will be a third of what it is now (hey-o!), which was one of the main driving factors for the change.  The impact of my position will be felt locally in Cincinnati among those who need it the most.  This is something that I don’t even think was on my radar until we moved back to the area and I feel in love with it all over again.  I love the fact that I will be helping people with my work.  At the same time, there is now a life behind every number.  Will I be able to handle approaching data in the way?  It will be hard at times, to say the least but I know this is what’s best for me….and I’m freaking excited!!!!!!

I want to thank my awesome blog designer, Brittany, for posting this quote.  This came at the exact time I needed to read these words!

 

The DIY Nurse Styles Her Bookcase {Guest Post}

Things have been 10 kinds of crazy around my house between the kitchen, work, the roof, and some other big news I’ll be sharing soon.  I’ve been talking to Caroline for months about bloggy stuff and possibly doing a guest post and it couldn’t have come at a better time, for me or her – poor girl just had her wisdom teeth taken out!  Take it away Caroline and thank you for your help!

Hi! Jenn was nice enough to offer her blog up to me today for a little guest post. I had my wisdom teeth out this weekend and she was sweet enough to come to my rescue with a post for my blog, so check her out over there while you’re at it.

I wanted to share a little update in our living room. It’s been awhile since I shared an update with our glassed bookshelves. I originally wrote this piece where you can find all the details on where I bought most of my art pictured above the bookcases. And the last time I shared the bookcases was at Christmastime, so needless to say, things have since changed.    
 
Since the cabinets are dark due to all that wood, I wrapped all of my books to help lighten up the scene a bit as well as an attempt in making all three pieces a bit more cohesive. I used a simple white craft/wrapping paper I picked up at Target and was pretty haphazard with it. Here’s the first cabinet: 


 
 
 
I try to think of my bookcases as layers and stack books accordingly. An object on top of the horizontal books is obviously a favorite technique along with some layered in frames. All of the frames either hold colorful greeting cards [cheap or free!] or some other goodies. For instance, the pink and chartreuse ink blot was a card from a set I found at ZGallerie. I had been looking for something just like it for over a year. I have more and can’t wait to use them around the house. I think they’re the perfect twist of fun and color.

And I’m in love with the gold… star? Not sure what to call it- and I don’t see it online anymore. I had seen it on a reader reveal on Young House Love and rushed out to get it at Pier 1 the next day. That’s what started my obsession with gold. Dum Dum Dum. 

As for the second bookcase, it has come a long way! I was looking for a long basket to fill the bottom for forever. I loved this one from Pottery Barn but refused to spend that kinda dough. $200? For a basket?! I like to spend money, but not that much!



It was proving impossible to find a tall and narrow basket on the cheap until I stumbled across these TJMaxx babies. After a year of having the measurements in and out of my purse, I couldn’t find the dimensions but took them home regardless. It was a perfect fit. Basket destiny, if you will. And for $13 a basket, there may have been a lot of squealing and giggling. Tell me I’m not alone in that department!


 

The top shelf is a stationary part so we made sure all the other shelves aligned with it on either side. On it are the very few vinyl records I own with a chartreuse basket on top from Ikea. You may notice that color popping up a lot. We used it in our wedding along with navy and craft brown. And now it’s taking over with coral in our living room and I adore it. I get all kinds of proud and happy when I use color since my initial instinct is always to jump for gray or cream. Yay for pushing boundaries!



This is another easy piece of art. ZGallerie strikes again. This time, it was a book of quotes which weren’t only super sweet but had the perfect colors. For $15, I knew I would be able to get my money’s worth between the bookcases, hallway gallery, and future bedroom collage. There’s just something forbidden about ripping a book up ;] Don’t tell my mum [she’s a teacher].  
All of our fake plants are from Ikea. I used to loathe fake plants. I didn’t get it. They all looked Über faux to me and I couldn’t get over it. After a year of killing plants and getting taunted for it, I’ve since embraced their plastic beings. Ikea has some pretty realistic plastic flora, especially when you park it behind glass and squint a little. I’ve learned to live with it and the snide remarks have become limited.

The next shelf houses all of our electronics. We had to drill a hole in the back but I love having it all behind closed doors. Hello no dusting!! The bottom houses our dvd’s we keep in cases [saved space] and doggy toys on the left. Charlie comes running whenever we open the door!

 
 
Again, the top shelf houses another quote from ZGallerie’s book. The large shell vase is a Target clearance find that I spray painted gold. Nothing is safe these days from gold spray paint. I have a problem and I’m not ashamed. In fact, I may or may not have spray painted something gold today… 

The little basket is another leftover from Ikea with an Ikea plant sitting it. That doesn’t need to be watered. Because it’s faux and I’m not embarrassed faux-sho.

I couldn’t resist… 

I hope you enjoyed my easy little “makeover” and if you’d like to know more about me, hop on over to my blog and say hello! And thank you Jenn for helping a girl out!

I seriously love how this girl styles everything!  Thanks so much for sharing Caroline!  On top of having great taste this.girl.can.cook!  Her recipes make me drool!  Maybe once our kitchen is finished I’ll try my hand at a few!  Today I’ll be over at The DIY Nurse sharing some art that’s going in our new kitchen, come check it out!

You can also find Caroline on Facebook, Pinterest, or follow her on Instagram @thediynurse

Happy Mother’s Day Mom

I find it funny that today’s topic happens to coincide with Mother’s Day.  As I’ve gotten older and moved away from home the period of my life that I cherish and miss the most was when it was just my mom and me.  I saw my dad regularly growing up but since they divorced when I was young, I lived with my mom most of the time. 

My mom and I made the best team and our two bedroom condo was my fort.  I was far from a girly girl but she was okay with that.  She encouraged that because it’s who I was.  She mastered the skill of sniffing out the nearest hospital no matter where we were because my adventures usually ended up with a broken bone or stitches.  Even after seeing her baby cut up or hurt she still let me be me.

She found a way to make everything special and memorable.  We would have camp outs in the living on your pull out couch.  We spent a night at a museum sleeping in the dinosaur exhibit – we didn’t break it, it was part of a kids program.  Summers were full of pool time and hitting up the local water park.  In the winter we did some serious sledding an made igloos if we had enough snow.  They were really more like snow caves but you get the point.

She was an active mom, not that I gave her much of a choice but she was always right there.  Any time I needed her.  The time I stuck gum up my nose she was there, with her little pinky to pick it out.  If I needed help pulling a loose tooth she would do it, mainly because it killed her to see my pry it out with a pencil. 

Forgive me if these memories are a bit fragmented.  Maybe one day I’ll fill them in a bit more.  For now they are just some of my favorites.  The ones that stand out as I’m trying to gracefully put words to my thoughts and feelings.  They are from a time when life was carefree and I had all of the love in the world. 

I couldn’t imagine having a better childhood.  Both of my parents worked so hard for me.  Today I want to thank my mother, the most amazing person I’ve ever known.  I still have so much to learn from you.  You’re my favorite and I love you so much.