NEW BLOG!

I've started a new blog, finally. We all know that I am not-so-good at updating this one, so why not get another one? ;)

I'm still going to keep this blog, but I'm just going to use it for just Nicholas and I, and our absolutely thrilling lives. Just kidding. Well, we're pretty boring. But I digress. I'm trying to start a new business (albeit a small one) from the ground up. So my new blog will be about how I have decorated my house on a shoe-string budget. I've sewed, sanded, painted, sprayed, and built almost everything in the house now. I spend every free waking moment in Goodwill(s), thrift stores, yard sales, auctions, and perusing Craigslist. I re-purpose ugly furniture and sell it for a profit. I collect vintage pieces to sell in my Etsy shop. So why not make a blog about it?

So I'd like to officially announce my new blog: BurlapandLaceBlog@blogspot.com

So, please, visit!

-Shannon

Fall is here!

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Eliot

My lame English major self loves that quote, because I think it's so very true...I love Fall! I took some pictures of the Fall decorations that I've put up around the house (I don't know why the contrast on the pictures is all jacked up).

My fall mantle

The cornucopia I made- for just $6...holler!

My mom gave me these urns to put on the front porch, but they were a grayish concrete color, so I spray painted them brown! Love how they turned out.

The wreath I made!

Look at that little adorable face :)

Etsy Page!

I am the proud new owner of an etsy shop, along with my fabulous momma! I have picked up several vintage items along the way, and I also make a few custom items as well. My mom makes these awesome cake plates out of antique candle sticks and plates! They are GORG. I make burlap table runners (I wanted one for myself, and it turned out pretty well so I made more!), burlap pillows with French prints on them (Can you tell I like Burlap? And these are HUGELY popular right now!), flower headbands, chalkboard nametags, vintage re-purposed plates turned jewelry holders, and several other things that I mostly knocked off from Pottery Barn (hey, no one wants to pay that much anyway). Because I have been on a HUGE shabby chic kick lately, we decided to name the shop Burlap and Lace.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of some things I have listed now. More to come!

http://www.burlapandlace.etsy.com/ >check it out!

Wedding Pictures

Since I never got around to uploading some wedding pictures to the blog (I put them all on facebook), I decided to post the link to the magazine that featured our wedding for a quick over-view. Photos courtesy of Jeff Cooke, the best photographer a girl could ever ask for!

Here's the link:

http://sensationalweddingvendors.ca/blog/?p=1624

House Pics

So, after putting off this whole blog thing for a veeeeery long time, I have decided that it is finally time to post some pictures of some things Nick and I have done around the house. For those of you who don't know, Nick and I purchased a forclosed house last August (we have been homeowners for almost a year now- scary!) with the intention of finding a great deal and fixing it up to sell it in a few years. The home we chose is in Charlotte, in a great little neighborhood, and for a great price (almost $60,000 below tax value). We have been doing everything in the house ourselves, from installing new countertops, painting, installing new appliances, extending the patio, and next up: hardwood floors. Here are a few pics of some of the things we've done so far!

The only picture I have of the house on this computer is from this past winter when it snowed!

Countertops before we painted and installed the new dishwasher

New countertops and backsplash, and a not-so-new stove...We're replacing that next!

I had looked all over for a painting JUST like this and couldn't find it. I decided I was going to try to paint it myself, ala my favorite HGTV designer David Bromstead. Then one night, while shopping at HomeGoods as usual, we found this!

We went to Nick's old church for an auction they were holding to raise money for the church choir tour, and we weren't really expecting to buy anything. Local businesses and church members donate items to be auctioned off for the youth group. We saw this brand new ottoman and knew we had to have it. Knowing it was for a good cause, we won it with a bid of $100. When we got home, we saw the Pottery Barn tags and stickers on it. I LOVE Pottery Barn, so I looked it up on the website and saw that they still sell it for $899. I can't believe we got it for 90% off!

We saw this shelf at IKEA and immediately knew we wanted it for a TV stand. The only problem was the fact that we are cheap, and didn't want to pay the $100 for it. So, we looked on Craigslist and found this one for $30! The man was moving and had gotten tons of responses for it, but we were the first to respond to his ad, so it's ours! Persistence pays off :) We bought the baskets at IKEA, and if you look closely, you can see Kitty in her home (aka, a cardboard box).

This chandelier used to be brass and hideous. We tried to make it a little prettier by spray painting it brushed nickel (while it was still hanging from the ceiling- Nick's idea, not mine) and adding some shades for the bulbs.

We have another cabinet, identical to this one, on either side of the window in the dining room. We found these on Craigslist (of course) in the free section. They were white and falling apart; we fixed them, painted them, installed new knobs, and put a lightbulb in, and voila! Two new china cabinets to hold all of those wine glasses we got at the wedding ;)

We installed the chair rail and crown molding in the dining room ourselves. We also (after two tries) picked out a color that I liked. We are looking for a large, round, silver mirror to hang where the clock it, but we can't find one anywhere...

Nick surprised me with the dining room table that he bought on clearance (it had been a display) for $49! We searched for a while and found barstools to match on Craigslist for less than $150.

We got the SS dishwasher brand new at Home Depot for $149 because it was a discontinued model. The original price was $650! We had to install it ourselves, but it was worth it. We also installed the granite tile countertops, the ceramic tile backsplash, and the new sink and gooseneck faucet ourselves as well.

This table was given to Nick before he started college. He used it in his apartment for three years, and I hated it. We painted the legs and the chairs (they used to be white), and stained the top to match other wood used in the kitchen.

The kitchen with the new SS fridge that we bought on Craigslist for $300. The next thing on the to-do list: getting rid of the awful linoleum floors and replacing them with ceramic tile!

PROCRASTINATION....is easy :(

Hello! I have terrible at updating this blog lately, things have been a blur! WE'RE MARRIED! And finally all moved in to our new house (pics to come soon!) and back in to the swing of things. We are both working, spending time with our families, and working ono making our little house cute! Home reno's are my new thing; I don't think I've ever been to Lowe's more in my life than I have in the past two months. Anyways, just wanted to post something to say that we will be putting pics up soon of the wedding, honeymoon, house, and holidays! So much to catch up on :)

Lately...

We had plenty of weddings to go to this summer, including tow of Nick's cousins, and one of his good friends, who also happens to be in our wedding. Nick's cousin Emily was married in June in Camden, SC, and his cousin Kaitlan was married on the fourth of July in High Point, NC. This is a picture from her beautiful reception!


My mom made a wonderful birthday dinner, and the love of my life, Sarah, came home from Africa just in time to eat some wonderful home cooked food. My mom made a cake that looked like presents stacked on top of each other, and this is the picture after I blew out the candles. She's so Martha Stewart sometimes. :)

I celebrated my birthday on August 11, and Nick took me to a show at Blumethal Performing Arts center called Shear Madness. It is absolutely the funniest thing I have ever seen, and we had great seats, as you can tell by the picture! It was almost like a dinner theater, and our table was right in front. In the show, they cast interacts with the audience, and Nick got picked on ;) It was so funny and a wonderful birthday present!

I can't believe the summer is almos over, and we have three weeks until the wedding! Ahh!