The Recent Stuff...

Hey there friends, and happy Wednesday! So much going on this week that I barely have time to keep up with everything, but here goes nothing...

My boss called me Monday morning to give me some fantastic news! My promotion had been approved and so I am now a Marketing Coordinator III {fancy, huh?}...so excited and thankful that I have a boss that constantly watches over our marketing team and always tries to take care of us! Working my way up the corporate ladder, slowly but surely. Now here's to hoping I can talk Jeff into letting me get a little "celebratory gift".

I got crafty the other night and painted our pumpkins finally! Paired with our fall mums, I think our front door is quite welcoming for a Happy Fall Yall ;).  And here is the inside of our formal living room...the mantle all decked out for Halloween! {yes, I used candy corn as filler for our candles, and I may have snuck a few pieces for myself--no judgment}

Bell Buckle was so much fun last weekend...we had a blast walking around, partaking in lots of tasty food, and I even managed to snag a few good bargains--2 new scarves for my already overflowing stash, homemade banana nut bread, and I bought my first Christmas present of the year for Jeff--I think it's safe to call that a successful day!

Gorgeous weather...Mom and Me

Best parents

As for the rest of this week, I have been up in arms trying to get everything in order for the party this weekend--last night, I finished food signs/labels and worked on party favors, and tonight I'll start my seemingly endless food prep for the festivities...so much to tackle before friends and family join us on Saturday.

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday...Igoing to get lots accomplished today so I can give into my favorite guilty pleasure tonight...Revenge! Take that, and pair it with hot chocolate and you have a perfect fall evening ;)

Happy Thursday to You

Ahhhh!! Work is finally picking back up these days and I couldn't be happier...I can hardly focus without a full plate and I have a feeling there are others out there like me. I missed "What I Love" Wednesday, so I thought I would do my own loves today instead: 

Gap has a huge sale online ...dear heavens, I love their maternity clothes so
I stocked up on some new pieces {including this adorable dress} for
fall/winter, including some corduroys--yippee!!

I got Annie the Acura back yesterday...bless her heart, she got a little bumper "tap"
a few weeks ago and she's been getting fixed--carpooling with the
hubs was fun and all, but I wanted my ride back ;)

House renovation is coming along REALLY well...the built-ins for the nursery closet
have begun, the downstairs bathroom now has a shower door, bookcases are
being constructed for the family room to accomodate major storage, and I
can't wait to show off the progess very soon

The Bell Buckle Craft Fair is THIS weekend...Mom and I look forward to this every year and I cannot wait--the weather is supposed to be gorgeous and I have a feeling we'll be carting home some new purchases and gifts once all is said and done

A little more than 2 months until we'll be jetting off to NYC with our friends for our holiday trip...we're venturing to the Big Apple the weekend before Christmas and we have a jam-packed agenda. The Lion King on Broadway, dinners at the 48 Lounge and Angelo's & Maxie's already booked, loads of fantastic shopping and touristy attractions since our friends have never been...oh bring on the fun now please!

Our Home...The Before and After Tour

Ask and you shall receive! I had loads of comments and messages asking for a home tour of our little cottage...a lot has changed since the 1.5 years ago we moved in--my how time flies! Though my before and afters aren't as drastic as hoards of homeowner DIYers out there, it's crazy to see just how many little details {and a lot of paint} go a very long way. Check out how our house looked when we bought it here.
Note: The before pictures are when we bought the house in January 2010 and the after pictures are as of September 2011.

Our master bedroom...my favorite place

 My side of the bed...bookshelf with some of my favorites--coffee table books from our travels, my seashell jewelry box from my grandparents when I was little, and countless books and pictures

 Jeff's favorite...the TV ;)

 Every girl MUST have a full length mirror in her room!

 The master bathroom...still work to be done, mostly art on the walls

 Le toilet...obviously nothing glamorous

 The kitchen and dining room...my favorite room and I'm obsessed with the paint color

 The buffet...cocktail concoctions galore! {for everyone, but me right now}

 My refrigerator...I should've taken a picture to let
you see how organized it is--OCD people!

The foyer into the house...the armoire is one of my favorite pieces!!

 The oppostite side of the entryway looking into the formal living room

 Formal living room...

 Where Jeff spends most of his time...the downstairs family/man room

 I've started my fall decorating...little pieces here and there, but more to come!

 The little crafting nook {or food area for football season eating}...and yes, those are the moss letters from our wedding! I just had to use them somewhere

 The main level guest bathroom

 The upstairs full bathroom

 The small guest bedroom

 {notice the painting that needs to be hung ASAP!}

 Larger guest bedroom...see all the closet storage that has now been moved
to make way for the contractors starting this week!!

And the office AKA the new nursery! This room is in for the biggest transformation and I am really excited about it...different paint and new furniture, addition of beadboard to the bottom half of the walls, built-in bookcase and custom closet design--can't wait to show off lots of before, during, and after pictures!

It may not be the perfect home, but it's the perfect home for us and we couldn't love it anymore...it's got our personalities wrapped into it and suits our lifestyle perfectly--even better, it's great for entertaining, too! Much more work to be done in the coming years, but I hope you enjoyed the fun little tour and showed you a bit more into our home and overall style.
And P.S. though I know some of you will ask where certain items are from, before you email or comment, to be honest...it may just be easier to check the pages of the Pottery Barn catalog and website first ;)

We Should be on TV

Now that Jeff and I seem to be spending all of our free time working on our home, I think the people at HGTV should give us our own television show… from having to redo our downstairs because of the flood, painting some rooms 2 times because I had a slight change of heart {sorry babe!}, and all the other messes we have gotten ourselves into—this would be a must-watch for sure.

I have to admit, my name is Natasha and I am a home décor/design junkie… I will sit and watch House Hunters, My First Place, Color Splash, Moving Up, Divine Design, and all the other reality shows for hours on end—there are some fantastic and helpful ideas on there and so easy you can DIY, too!

This weekend, we are tackling our 2 guest bedrooms since we’ll be having out-of-town guests stay with us the weekend of our engagement party. I am happy to report that this bed will finally make its debut in one of our rooms and I already have this bedding ensemble to go with it…

Valencia II Sleigh Bed from PB

Pine Cone Hill Bedding via Layla Grace (but I scored it for MUCH less at Homegoods!)

I wanted to keep it neutral so I can throw in splashes of color with décor, art, flowers, and accessories, but I can’t wait to see the finished product. We ended up using Benjamin Moore’s Hush paint color to cover the walls {shown below}, and we still have lots to get accomplished, but it’s coming along!

For our other guest bedroom, we are going more with a cottage/relaxed theme, as I am using my childhood furniture that goes perfectly—we spray painted the white wicker last weekend just to give it a fresh coat and make it pop, and I decided to switch out the first bedding I bought for something with a bit more color…

Sienna Paisley Bedding

We painted this another shade by Benjamin Moore, Ocean Air, and as soon as you walk into the room, you feel happy and relaxed--it is just so calming! I am also going to attempt to make a DIY upholstered headboard, so fingers crossed that works out. I have had a few friends do it before and theirs turned out beautifully, so I am tackling the challenge myself.

Sounds like an exciting weekend doesn't it?? In between, I'll be taking advantage of the TN tax-free weekend-- I know you're uber jealous--haha!! Wow, how my life has changed... I just have so much to accomplish before someone's wedding festivities kick off next week--yes, Meg, I can see you glowing as you're reading this knowing how much fun we're going to have celebrating you and Aaron--hehe! Love you!

And one final note: seems like all my posts these days belong to either wedding, working out/diet/fitness, or home decor--I apologize friends... hope I'm not becoming lame on you, I promise to return to fashion, fun, football, and other exciting things ASAP!

Work in Progress...

I cannot imagine how I forgot to fill you in on a good little detail that just happened to be delivered to my house Sunday afternoon... ladies and gentlemen, I give you the couch:
{that I only had to wait 2.5 months for}

And yes, I know it's white... I can't imagine what drugs I was on when we ordered it, but I don't care ONE SINGLE BIT. It's what I have always wanted, and this is why we have a chocolate brown couch downstairs to use for TV time--haha! To each his own, right?? We still have a lot to do in this room... next on the list will be new pillows to bring in some color {harvest yellow, brown, khaki, and ivory}, a new coffee table and side table, an armoire to be used as a coat closet, 2 chairs {1 upholstered and 1 leather}, and accents here and there just to complete the room--can't wait to show more progress soon!! 

Oh, and I just happened to stumble across the neatest blog ever {thanks Jenn Wade!}--it's called How About Orange and it has everything you can imagine for personalizing your home, fun DIY projects, and anything and everything in between... check it out and then be sure to visit the Ethan Allen website to figure out 'What's Your Decorating Style?'

Apparently, I am all things Glamour--this is what they had to say: "The verdict is in—your style is Glamour. Glamour is the penthouse with a view, the Old Hollywood mansion, the home of the connoisseur. A knowing marriage of fashion with sumptuous comfort. A fearless blending of Art Déco, Chippendale, and Modern. Glamour is shamelessly smart, elegant, and timeless."
I like it =)

Summer Parties

You can guarantee that if our house was completely finished, I would be hosting party after party at our place this summer... there is nothing like entertaining your closes friends and family, and summer is the perfect time to host any kind of party--while searching online for some possible shower ideas for friends, I came across some adorable party ideas from my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE party planning website--The Party Dress... not only do theyr feature the fun details of every party and how to tie everything together, but they give you the resources and websites to make any party your very own... love it! 

Patio Party via The Party Dress

Backyard Burger Bash via The Party Dress

Blue and White Porch Party via The Party Dress

Farmhouse Brunch via The Party Dress

Tequila Tasting Party via The Party Dress

Home Sweet Home Housewarming Party via The Party Dress

Stargazing Picnic Party via The Party Dress

Cocktails and Croquet Party via The Party Dress

Ok, so which party would you pick to host and why?? I am totally obsessed with Home Sweet Housewarming idea because we're hoping to have one sooner or later once we actually get the rooms semi-complete and I think it's fun to show all your hard work and your brand new abode!