Lovely Living Room

The light in our living room is so lovely. I recently moved these World Market curtains from our master bedroom down to the living room and I love it. Why didn't I do this years before? The couch is still holding strong (which says a lot when there are at least 6 people using it every day) on year 3. The vintage quilt is a staple. It is totally falling apart and I need to mend it...but...whatever. The pillows are from World Market and TJ Maxx and maybe a few other places that now slip my mind? All in all, this is a cozy spot.

A New Rug

Well, not super new (I bought this back in early November).  I had looked long and hard for a new rug for our living room and came up empty handed for months.

Finally, I was walking through our local Target and discovered this beauty:

It fits our room perfectly.  You know how you are looking for a new rug/couch/lamp/etc. and at the end of the day you don't know what you want but that when you find the EXACT thing you will know it? That is this rug.

AND...my husband likes it as much as I do.  Win Win all around.

Living Room Tour - My Living Room

Here is a peek of my living room...

Hanging on the wall here is a large turquoise necklace necklace from Israel that I picked up an estate sale last summer. It is gorgeous; I never tire of looking at it. It hangs on a piece of Indian tile and a hook.

The comfiest couch ever...we all spend a lot of time right here. Crashed in front of a very large TV (which I did not take a picture of - after all,it's just a big black box...).

Views of our mantle. We have a number of different treasures displayed up here; framed pictures of course but also a Christus, a beautiful clay nativity we bought near the orphanage our children lived in in Ethiopia, a silver spraypainted ivy garland that I made (still not sure if I like it or not) that is woven in and out of various said treasures, and a number of other things we brought back from our travels in Ethiopia last year. I love looking at our mantle when I walk through the room.

We finally got our toddlers to stop rearranging the photos and trinkets on this green table in the main living area. It only took 6 months :) The beautiful lamp us from my mom; I grew up with it at home and she relented and gave it to me.

I made this garland; it hangs on an opening between the kitchen/dining area and the living room.

And finally, this is a view standing in the main living area looking towards the foyer at our photo wall and shoe cubby area.

That's my living room!

DIY: Tea Towel to Pillow Cover

I've had this tea towel from Australia for years. I think (although I'm not certain) that I inherited it from my very dear late grandmother. I have a LARGE collection of tea towels that I use everyday, most of them vintage, so it's no surprise that this one finally started to rip.

But I was in love with the colors and more importantly, the fact that it said 'Melbourne' on it. When I was 12 I visited Melbourne with my immediate family to visit our large extended family. Just seeing the word 'Melbourne' brings back such sweet, happy memories of that trip and my family.

So...

I turned my special tea towel into a pillow cover backed with some blue and white seersucker fabric. It came together in 30 minutes. Even if you aren't a seamstress, you yes YOU can sew a pillow cover. Trust me on this.

Now it sits happily on our couch. I'm sure that it is enjoying its new life there much more than sopping up water and mess in the kitchen.