24 Shades Of Grey

Get  your mind out of the gutter.  I’m just talking about paint shades.  Sheesh.  But did you hear Charlie Hunnam backed out of role of Christian Grey? I can't wait to see who's cast next for the steamy role!  Although, let's be honest...it's going to be quite the feat to see how they're going to pull off this movie without...umm, shall we say a VERY adult rating?!  Anyway, let's move along, folks...

After giving Holden’s room a brighter look, I figured I better keep up the momentum and tackle Sebastian’s very similar room as well before the weather got too cold and opening up the windows wasn’t an option to air it out.  Here is his room before:

Here are some more before shots:

For The Love Of Pinterest

Ah yes...Pinterest....the site that somehow manages to be both genius and hated at the same time.  It's genius for the obvious reason of collecting seemingly endless inspiration sources and eye candy on a multitude of tops.  But on the other hand, it sometimes makes you feel like you have to keep up with the Joneses and create these elaborately decorated and planned out ____ (you fill in the blank).   #guilty :)  For those times when you're feeling like some of the pinned ideas are a wee bit over the top, sometimes all you need is a simple ten minute craft to make you feel #likeaboss.

I chose to jazz up a 50 cent (what ever happened to that guy, btw?) vase I found at Restore for our half bathroom.  I wanted a small little ditty for the corner of the vanity top - it was just pretty blank up in there:

A Case Of The Blues - Part 2

Ice Anne is back.  With my brand new invention... 

And by new invention I really mean REinvention of Holden’s room.  Same thing, no??  (Sidebar: I may or may not have made a home video in my younger years of me rapping to Ice Ice Baby.  PLEASE let that tape be destroyed somewhere!)

When we last left off, Phase 1 wrapped up with the removal of the cornice boards, the 6” oak shelving, nail/screw hole patching, and priming.  Things were looking up, but we still had a way to go.  

A Case Of The Blues - Part 1

One of the pitfalls of three of the four bedrooms in our house is the lack of overhead ceiling lighting.  For whatever reason the builders just never included it in their plans and they were never added after the fact.  (I’m guessing because they aren’t cheap to add through a pro – we’re talking about $300 per room!)  This results in both boys’ rooms and the guest room always having a bit of unintentional mood lighting going on because they’re currently only lit by one small 60 watt table top lamp. 

Why you ask?

Put On Your Face, Girlfriend

Back in May I decided with this new house I finally needed a proper makeup vanity to get primped at.  Until this point, I always sat in front of a floor length mirror and did my thang.  I’m pretty minimalist with my makeup (we’re talking less than 10 minutes) and my curled hair is done in fewer than 20.  Given the relatively short time, it wasn’t a big deal to pop a squat and git ‘er done.  But now with our more spacious master bedroom, a makeup vanity sounded like a nice upgrade from not only a comfort perspective, but also from an aesthetics perspective because we needed more furniture in the room to balance things out.

I Was Framed!

It’s amazing how artwork (regardless of style, price, etc.) can transform a space from stark and cold to warm and homey.  Even if you do absolutely nothing else than hang a few pieces of art, you somehow achieve that warm-and-fuzzy-let’s-curl-up-next-to-the-fireplace feeling.

Looking into foyer from kitchen

For the longest time, our foyer was very vanilla…right down to the cream colored walls.  Well, we finally have a bit of warmth, thanks to the addition of a mini gallery wall.

Mama Had A Baby In A Baby Carriage

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.
Sucking her thumb, peeing her pants, and tryin’ to do the hula dance!

Ah yes, good ol' playground songs.  The carriage I’m referring to today won’t be occupied by any babies any time soon…well, unless you’re Cinderella perhaps.  But I do want to share some new carriage art I made that’s pretty fun and whimsical. Actually, I just jazzed up a sweet find I scored at Restore the other day for $2.50.  Yes, $2.50.  Can you GO wrong?!

I actually picked up three different finds while on my Restore run.  Two framed pictures and a mini glass vase all for $4.50.  You’ll notice the price tags indicate twice as much, but much to my luck, it was 50% off décor that day. I seriously love that place.

Let's Hear It For the Boys’ {Bath Vanity}

Don’t get me wrong…I absolutely love our new house, but when it comes to bathroom vanities, I feel like the builders of our home definitely scored some bulk pricing.  Three of the four bathrooms have the exact same style vanity.  The fourth bath is different because it was added later down the line when the basement was finished.  And based on what we know about the house, it was done by different owners. 



With so many vanities the same (even down to the hardware and hinges), it was feeling a bit Groundhog’s Day sometimes.  I paint one…awesome…cheers for breathing new life into it.  And then I turn the corner and BAM!  There’s another one giving me the stink eye.  So hop aboard the vanity facelift train…we’re taking off again!

Bricking Bad

Yup, we’re big Breaking Bad fans over here.  Can you believe it’s ending soon?!  I love me some Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.  Anyway, while we're certainly not playing host to a meth cook lab, we are the proud owners of a lovely brick gas fireplace.



But the brick...it was bad.  Well, let me clarify - it actually wasn't bad at all, but that didn't go along with this post's title, so just roll with it.  It was just a very traditional red infused brick.  And just stuck out too much with our decor so it made the hit list.

Old MacDonald's Farm

In honor of the lovely Labor Day holiday, I thought I'd lay off the usual house talk for a brief moment because for us, long holiday weekends are all about relaxing and spending time with friends and family.  Translation: no laboring for us.      

That said, last weekend we put down the tools and paint brushes and squeaked in a really fun family outing.  We hit up Green Meadows Petting Farm which I highly recommend for anyone with little ones.  Here’s a little ditty about how and why we made the 40 minute trip to explore the farm.

Shed Some Light On The Subject, Won't You?

Riddle me this, Batman.  How do you upgrade your half bath light fixture without actually forking over the cash to replace the entire unit?  Well, I’m no Batman; but here are a couple of quick and easy tasks we did to breathe new life into ours to avoid replacement.  



This is sort of a Phase 1 fix until we can save our pennies for something different.  Plus, I just haven’t found one that knocks my socks off.  Well, at least not one at a reasonable price.

You're So Vain

…I bet you think this post is about you.  Well, vanity, you would be correct.



When we left off last in the half bath, the walls had a fresh coat of paint, some new art, and a new towel ring.  But the poor oak vanity was looking a bit unloved.  

Pillow Fight

One of the virtues I had to constantly remind myself as we prepared to move into the new house was patience.  It was really hard not going out to every local retailer and stocking up on all sorts of fun décor finds to decorate the new house. 

River Rock-ing Out

When we were searching for a new home, one of the things I honed in on was the half bathroom.  Admittedly, it’s not something that would've been a deal breaker or anything, but I definitely did have a few preferences in mind on what I’d love.  So when we first viewed our house, I was really pleased with what I saw.  The size and placement were just about perfect.  Too small makes you feel squeezed in, too large makes it feel like a waste of space, and wrong placement within the home’s layout can just make it feel straight up awkward if it’s not private enough.

Here's another 'before' shots we took during our inspection visit (with the previous owners’ items):

Organization Nation

Put on your thinking caps, everyone.  It’s time for a speed round of Jeopardy.  Ready….GO! 

Clue:  It’s put to the back burner constantly, yet highly sought after.  



Question: What is closet organization?  

Color Me Badd

Remember the old school R&B group Color Me Badd?  I feel like their name has inspired this post.  Sidebar: I was mildly surprised to know they’re still together and trying to get back on the scene.  Who knew?  I’m all for a good comeback story, but I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed.

So what’s something else that’s sailed off into the sunset never to be seen again?  The boys’ bathroom paint job, that’s what.  This is the story of a lovely lady of how a bathroom’s color went from BADD to rad (or something like that).

My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard

Well, hellooooo internet.  Ah, yes, the inaugural post on the new blog.  So here we are...  It’s sort of like that first date awkwardness.  Does he like me?  Do I like him?  Or maybe we’re just not that into each other and someone will fake an illness to cut the date short.  Well, allow me to make the first move. (...with my son, Holden...he's my wing man apparently.)  ;)

As the name and description suggest, Home Happy is our little slice of the internet where we can chat about all things home, family, and any other randomness that sparks my creativity.  So while it’s definitely an overstatement that my milkshake will get you here, perhaps my craziness will keep you.  Between two toddler boys, a husband, a new house, working full time, managing this blog, running our household, and updating the house, things are a bit chaotic at times.  But it’s my chaos and I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in with our first project.