August Fields

spring shelves. some bloggy and reader love and thanks.

while the snow is still flying outside, the springtime decor has sprung inside.  
i have been eyeing these cafe shelves for some time and i really really like the idea of having two shelves to change out the decor for the season.  sometimes thinking about decorating an entire room seems overwhelming in my mind and in reality two completely decorated shelves can make a better design statement.
here is what i chose for our spring shelves (everything was from shopping around our house except the owl and little tiny lamb, both from hobby lobby)
“be filled with joy” print by katie daisy.

and now for some fellow bloggy love!  this is a corner of our front foyer.  the micah 6:8 canvas is from the ever talented dee of red letter words. this particular scripture brings me back to my childhood and as a young girl memorizing micah 6:8.  it all seems so simple.  to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  but life happens and it can all suddenly seem so complex.  having Scripture hidden in your heart truly is a treasure and i need more of it.

i also think it is so important to mark your homes with God’s word.  we use index cards and handwriting assignments taped to the walls with Bible verses but dee’s artwork sure makes a pretty display of such strong truth.  and right in the entryway, to set the tone, to welcome, to remind us all.

and do you see the a. dor. able. michigan pillow??!!!  yes, i am THAT excited about it.  This was sent to me by a fellow michigander, Jill of Cora Anne Designs …..

too cute, i know i know.  and the back is navy and white chevron.  ahhh.  chevron just makes me happy.  and this pillow is quality work.  please, go visit jill’s blog, they are renovating a lake house right now and its super cute.

blogging has connected me with so many people from so many parts of the world and from so many different walks of life.  the idea that people take the time to read my blog is humbling, and that many of you take the time to email me fills me with sincere THANKS.

thank you for reading.  thanks for encouraging me through comments and emails.

fact:  just last week i was having a doozy of a day.  grey skies outside, not motivated, and not feeling like i was accomplishing….well, anything.  i open up my email to find one that began like this

“I want you to know that your blog has been such a tremendous inspiration and encouragement to my wife and me……..”

this gentleman went on to share their home building experience and thanked me for sharing my faith and life.  wow.  

thank you.

he (as well as all of you have emailed such kind words) was such an inspiration to ME.

to take the TIME to say THANK YOU.  to you guys, to people around me.  do you even know how many thank you notes i have written in my head?  i’m great about thank you notes for gifts but just random notes of encouragement, of thanks…..so many times i just let it slip by.

i’m going to try to be more faithful to say thank you.  do write a note of encouragement.  because i KNOW how much its appreciated!

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christmas cheer.

merry christmas august field readers!  we’ve been busy decking the halls, celebrating, and preparing our hearts during this advent season.
it’s december and we still don’t have any snow.  this mild weather did give me plenty of time to put up our outdoor decorations.  and we actually put two whole strands of lights up outside!  i will admit, it is pretty at night, but really, the only way that will happen again is if we have mild weather.
so welcome……come on in! 
do you follow me on instagram??? (see sidebar for link) ————–>  i posted about by dumpster diving at lowes to turn out these front urns!  
i post almost daily on instagram so come join me 🙂
and my mom let me use some of her ginormous ornaments to give it some color.  
the sunroom received cheery and bright colors this year!  this is where we have Bible time in the mornings and the kids have their cute little tree up in here.
for a fun daily countdown to christmas i purchased the lego calendar for the first time.  i scored it on amazon earlier in the year when it was one of their daily lightning deals.
dubs got to open the first day.  its so fun! 🙂

for our advent calendar we’re doing the jesse tree for the third year.  usually as family devotions before bed.  the branches hold each day’s picture.

the music room is FILLED with christmas MUSIC this time of year and i LOVE it!  the three big kids are continuing on in lessons and let me tell you that the years of simple chords and single-note-plunking is soooooo worth it.

i’ve got gorgeous melodies and anthems filling our home.

 and finally…..the family room!  i’ve waited a whole year to put this sign up!!

its from tara at between you and me  and i LOVE it!  actually there are about 5 other ones i really love too.

shimmery tree trio.  i’ve always loved all things ‘sparkly’.  so these cute little trees from target (last year) fit the bill.

i’ll leave you with a few night time pictures.  i really like the house at night with all the trees lit up and yummy candles going.  its definitely a most wonderful time of the year!!

the nursery.

i finally found some time to snap a few pictures of the nursery!  
the furniture stayed the same from the last baby and we just layered some new colors and decorations.

jeremiah 1:5 is little A’s life verse.  
the kids and i had enjoyed a cool summer day creating this painting.  they are so excited that i actually hung it on the wall as a focal point!  i think they did great 🙂

the crib bedding is from miss polly’s piece goods on etsy.  carolyn was so great to work with and i am very happy with the way it turned out.

the musical cradle was mine when i was a baby and the wooden helicopter was a gift from our small group at church.  little A’s name is carved in on the other side.

my dad was my decorating hero during the pregnancy.  he came over and hung several items on walls for me!  including everything in the nursery.

we just had little A’s black and white pictures taken and we’ll be adding them to the gallery wall soon.

basement family room

i am so excited to add some pizazz to our basement family room space!

all with the help of the amazing darlene from fieldstone hill.  i have mentioned darlene before when i joined  her list of ‘master designers’.  (you can click on the logo to the right to read more about that)

here is our basement family room now:

its where we can watch movies together.  have large groups playing games and socializing.

its where i walk on the treadmill and my husband runs on the treadmill.

it is very functional but has not really had too much thought put into the decor.  these couches are 12 years old (still love them!) and and the tables, lamps, etc. all came with us from the move.

its almost been two years since we’ve moved so we were ready to call upon darlene for some help!

i was put on her wait list…………  and it was worth the wait!

this is what she came up with!!  along with a sketch (to scale) of exactly where to put my furniture, and a complete source list, with links, of what accessories to purchase, where to purchase them and where to put them in the room.

i’m chipping away at it.  i’ve ordered some prints to hang on the front of the bookshelves (i’ve saved pictures of this idea but never thought to do it!), purchased the paint color for the back of the bookshelves (doesn’t that look awesome?!) and ordered up the rug.

once i gave darlene all the measurements she needed (room, furniture windows etc.) she was ON IT!  i really appreciated the promptness and attention she gave me.  thank you so much darlene!

having someone help me come up with a complete look like this has been SO helpful!  i really enjoy design and doing this myself, but working with darlene was a huge treat.

adding a little gold.

i am really appreciating the “mixing metals” trend in decor that is taking hold.

no need to do just silver or just gold or just black.  mix it up!

i found this table at a local consignment shop this past summer… okay, look past
the gorgeous faux ivy and look at the shape of that topper!  and twisted wood legs?  yes please.

sans children, i folded the seats down and piled that baby into the back of my car.

along with a couple of other goodies.

hello gorgeous.  this was such an easy and inexpensive solution.  i spray painted the legs a gray
color that i found at lowes (so sorry i don’t remember the exact color).

i first sprayed a gray primer.  then two coats of the gray.

gray and gold?  yup.  it can work.