Our First Christmas Tree

I've always grown up with a fake tree since my Mom is allergic, and I am too since we are all allergic to everything, but we love Christmas so much that I couldn't settle for a fake this year! We woke up Sunday morning and headed to Tanners Farm to pick out our first Christmas tree in our first home. After much thought, Joe picked out this one, which I instantly fell in love with! 

With some added lights and ornaments, the tree turned into an absolute beauty! And fit in our space perfectly. I couldn't been more happy with our choice. 

I had to include these awesome Christmas wine glasses that I found a Pier One. Of course, I had to drink some wine while I decorated the tree! 

A full shot of our living room for the holidays! 

Is it weird if you keep up Christmas decorations all year long? They make me so happy! :)

Chalk Paint

In addition to inheriting my coffee and side tables, I also inherited an end table! Which we desperately need. (Every morning I wake up to the sound of the remote or my boyfriend's cellphone flying off the bed and I pray that it isn't my phone or the iPad). So I decided to paint our side table. However, instead of your usual latex paint, I painted using chalk paint. I don't know if you've heard about it, but its a growing sensation, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of the learning process. 

I absolutely LOVE this table now. It has that very vintage, cottage look that I've been desperately trying to recreate with an extremely tight budget. This paint happened to be a little pricey (but hey, it was  Christmas present to myself!) I couldn't be more happy with my decision to use chalk paint. It was easier to apply, and I could paint indoors since it's very eco-friendly. Did I mention I am am in LOVE? Well, I will be posting more DIY crafts and updates to my home. Stay tuned! ;)

First Experience Painting Furniture

After my great-grandmother died, I inherited some of her less than shabby furniture. It was semi-outdated. Well, yeah, it was outdated. So I took some paint, and gave the table a little makeover! And yes, I took some before and after pictures! 

This is the coffee table. It has a nice frame, so I painted this table and the side table using plain black latex paint that I got at Lowe's for around $15. I put down a tarp, because I've already managed to get paint over the hardwood floors. Let's just say that isn't a fun cleaning process. I washed off the table using cleaner, and primed using Kilz Primer that I also found at Lowe's. However, if you give it a slight  sanding, the paint should adhere without the primer. Since it was my first experience painting furniture, I decided to prime anyway! After several light coats, I was amazed at what looked to be a new piece of furniture! 

So if you ever run into some thrifty furniture finds at your local thrift store or garage sale, don't be afraid  to throw some paint on it to give it a completely updated look! 

My Craft Room

Okay, so most of you know I moved into my first home about three months ago! Everything has been coming together, so I've finally taken the time to post about one of my favorite rooms in the house! All of my life I've been crafting, so it will come as no surprise that one of the first things I wanted was a craft room/office (well, maybe a big closet too, but that will come in time ;) Hopefully sooner than later! Anyway, of course I forgot to take a before picture (I am new to this whole blogging, homeownership thing so I promise more before and after pictures in due time) However, I posted some pictures of my updated craft room. I am planning on adding some things and fixing some things up, but with my budget and Christmas time, this is about as good as it is going to get for now! Stay updated for some future craft projects!