What's In Store: HomeGoods and Tuesday Morning

Thanksgiving is almost here, and I know you're probably busy getting ready for it. Perhaps you're feeling a bit overwhelmed or stressed out?

Maybe a little virtual retail therapy will help? I thought so :)


Here are a few things that caught my eye at HomeGoods the other day.

You will notice I photographed quite a few blue and white objects, as I was shopping with my mom's dining room in mind.

These tufted storage ottomans were available in red and brown, too.

That black and gold mirror was calling my name. I had to ignore him as part of my 12 step program for mirror addiction.

This was a pretty substantial ginger jar. I came home with two smaller ones. They don't have a large selection of them, but I've scored 4 in the past two weeks.

Sorry about the blurry iPhone pics. I'm sure someone must have been shoving me in the back with a cart when I snapped this one.

Another sleek, hip mirror.

These little ottomans looked fresh and fun.

If you need a plaid blanket, this is the time to get one. I searched for months when I needed one for my son's tween room. Now they are everywhere. So it goes.

Lest you think I only shop at HomeGoods, I also hit the local Tuesday Morning yesterday. I find it to be very hit-or-miss, but I have found a couple of items there lately that I am totally digging.

I didn't take a picture, but I bought two seagrass doormats for seven bucks each. Score!

Also, I was surprised and delighted to see these..

Kantha quilts for $39.99.

I've been searching high and low for a kantha, but sadly, central Indiana is not an international shopping mecca. It's hard to find vintage ethnic textiles. Who woulda thunk that Tuesday Morning would be so cutting edge?

I liked the pattern of these dog beds. I didn't get one though. Last time I brought home a new dog bed, Lucky peed all over it. This is my life, people.


Well, I hope that little shopping trip calmed your nerves. Now you can get back to your Thanksgiving preparations.

Hang in there! We'll be in a food coma soon enough :)

House Tour: Kitchen

I was on such a roll for awhile with my House Tour posts. I'd taken you through the foyer, the living room, the dining room, the sunroom and the family room.

Then I sort of pooped out. And, I've been feeling guilty and like a bad blogger.

So, today I'm alleviating my guilt and resurrecting the House Tour series with the next room, the kitchen.

This is how the kitchen looked when we bought our home six years ago...

It would have been a deal breaker if we didn't totally love the house.

At the time, we were living in a house where we had just made over the kitchen into a light, airy space with new appliances and granite countertops. So, dark wood, 20 year old appliances and floral wallpaper wasn't exactly on my wish list.

But I had fallen hard for this house, and knew that a few cosmetic changes would make a world of difference.


Here's what the kitchen looks like today...

I've written about our kitchen before, as it is a perfect example of the power of paint. The only changes we made to this room were removing the wallpaper and painting.

The walls were painted Sherwin Williams "Comfort Gray," and the wood trim was painted white to match the trim in the rest of the house.

We still have the dark wood cabinets, 20 year old appliances, and the barstools the previous owners left here :)


I've added a few accessories. I framed some of my favorite pics from my trip to Germany and France. I like to look at them while I'm cooking, and they serve a purpose of hiding wires… unless of course you're zooming in on them at eye-level to take a picture. Then they're not hiding the wires too well :)

I love having a table lamp on the kitchen counter. I picked this one up at Target. Our kitchen has about 800 canned lights, which is helpful for seeing what's on the stove or landing small aircraft, but sometimes I just want a soft light. If you don't have a lamp in your kitchen, I highly recommend it.

Maybe I'm strange, but the soft glow of lamplight makes me happy.

Our old farmhouse table stands up to all kinds of abuse. We've had it for more than 10 years, and it may have been the wisest investment ever. The kids have added lots of "character" to it over the years. If it ever starts looking too beat up, I lightly sand it and apply a little wax to the top and we're good to go for a few more years.

A new light fixture is on my wish list. I've never really been crazy about this one, but it hasn't been a priority.

We removed the carpet from the back stairway and stained the treads. We also painted the handrail black.

See that dinosaur in the island?...

Can't lie and say I love the stovetop. But, I have to say the Corian countertops have been a breeze to care for, and the simple white stands the test of time.

So, there's the kitchen for ya! A remodel will take place at some point in the future, but for now, it works for us. Even if it does take 30 minutes to boil a pot of water.

Thanks for coming along on the tour. I'll try to get the next room posted soon.

If you missed the other rooms in the House Tour, you can click on the links below:

Family Room
Sunroom
Dining Room
Living Room
Foyer

Have a super fab weekend!!