Scenes from around the house

I thought I'd give you some updates on what's been happening around our house.   First up, I finally bit the bullet and after years of wanting a lantern pendant in our home, I bought one.

My husband and I hung it up in our dining room (no easy feat because it is SO heavy).  You should've seen us.  It was a sight for sore eyes.  It has yet to crash to the ground or burn our house down, so I guess we did it right?!?!

The walls in our dining room have yet to be painted (please ignore the color) and the dining table and chairs have yet to be purchased.  See……I'm trying to take it slow and only buy the items I know I want in my house forever.  But, as you can see below we hung the lantern.

I plan on keeping the bookcase in the background.  I picked those peonies from my garden.  They just bloomed.

In our dining room, we have a tre ceiling and I am not a fan.  Why can't they just make the whole ceiling the same height??   But, regardless, the square of the lantern fixture works really well with the tre ceiling.  Something about square on square.  It is easy on the eye and symmetrical.  I couldn't get a good enough shot to show you, but you just have to trust me.

Next up, I picked up my daughter's window treatment.  It's a beauty.  A london shade done in a buffalo check.  I LOVE it.

I know this picture doesn't do it justice, but until I have it hung on the wall, I won't be able to get a good picture.  Can I just say I might add buffalo check in every room of our house?  I love it that much.

Next, I've been playing around in our guest room with the new duvet and pillow covers I bought from Ikea.  I've yet to decide on color of bed skirt, shams (scalloped or flanged), coverlet, etc.  But, here is a a picture prior to having all those decisions made.

You can see here the desk area in the guest room.  Still working on that too. 

Lastly, my handy husband and I have been working on a little project.  I am really excited about this one because it'll save me the frustration of a continually messy entry.  I'm not going to say too much right now, but it'll add much needed functionality to our home.

I HOPE to post before and after pictures of this little project after Memorial Day.

So, that is what I've been up to these days.  It probably doesn't seem like a lot, but I am really happy how things are progressing!