|

Get Inspired with Lilacs and Longhorns

Thanks for sharing!

Get Inspired Guest Series at Our Southern Home

 

Happy spring!!! Today I'd love to introduce you to my Texas friend, Julie! I've gotten to know Julie through several home tours that we've participated in together. I just love her style! I'm sure you will as well! XXOO Christy 

 

Hello My Southern Home readers!  My name is Julie and I blog at Lilacs & Longhorns.  I'm so happy to be guest-posting for Christy today!

Julie

cropped-new-header.png

First, let me tell you all that I adore Christy's blog and her beautiful home.  Can't you just tell that she's a warm wonderful person when you read her blog?  I just want to knock on her door and cozy up on her beautiful back porch with a cup of tea for a long girly chat.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  

Hopefully I can do that with her someday but instead while Christy is away, I'll be taking you on a tour of my home and telling you a little bit about me and my blog.

So, grab a cup of coffee or tea and we'll have a virtual get-together so we can get to know each other a little bit, okay?!  Let's do it!

When friends and family come to visit we usually come right in to the living room and get comfy.  

living room3

It's a big open room that's great for entertaining.  Come on in!  

living room_2

This is a great place to tell you that I started my blog in the fall of 2012.  It's my place to share my love of homes, decorating, DIY projects, yummy recipes, pretty gardens & flowers and my love of nesting and all things home.  I started blogging because I needed a creative outlet and I wanted to meet others who are just like me — always nesting and looking for ways to make our spaces our own.

Also on OSH!  Get Inspired with My Soulful Home

Last year, one of my most popular posts was about my dining room update.  I did a ton of DIY projects for that room.

dining room redo_2

The biggest project in the space was reupholstering the chairs.

I made both the slipcovers and did all the re-upholstery myself.  It was a huge job, but I absolutely love how they turned out.

dining room looking into foyer

I also updated my Craig's List china hutch as well as made over a grandfather clock.  I adore how both of them turned out.

Here is my little blue hutch at Christmas:

Christmas in hutch

It's painted with Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Old Violet and covered with clear wax.

The grandfather clock was made from a kit by my husband's grandparents. It was a honey oak and didn't look that fabulous.  Now, I love it and think it looks perfect in my dining room tucked in the corner.

 grandfather clock

I used Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Graphite and dark wax.  I also used some gold craft paint mixed with Annie Sloan clear wax for the little inset at the bottom.  I think I will probably paint over it though so the whole clock is graphite.  

The clock project is a perfect example of the type of challenges I've faced when decorating my home.   Many women can decorate their homes with no objections (other than financial) from their husbands.  I married a man who not only cared about each decorating decision, but he came with loads of furniture that he had inherited and didn't want to get rid of.  Talk about a big design challenge!  Since nesting and decorating are my passion, this was a big hurdle.  But, with each year of our marriage, he has let go a little more and I have figured out more ways to incorporate his masculine taste & Texas-y ranch style with my own.  I have blended his inherited pieces with newer things we've purchased together or things I brought in pre-marriage (we were in our 30s when we married so we both had plenty of our own things).

Also on OSH!  Get Inspired with Fresh Idea Studio

Our bedroom was probably the most difficult area for me to decorate.  I really wanted it to be a place that wasn't too girly but yet feminine enough for me.  

master bedroom peek wm

It's a work in progress but I'm happy with the comfortable space I've created for us so far.  It still needs some tweaking, but I find that I'm always, always tweaking our home!  Do you do that too?

chair and cowhide

The bed, by the way, was chosen by my husband on a whim at Costco!  Yep.  We needed a new bed and one day while shopping at Costco he saw this one and it was the last one.  It was a great price so he brought it home in our mini van and told me if I hated it he would take it back.  I couldn't imagine fitting it back in to the van and I thought it was a nice simple design so we kept it.  It's a good thing I like a collected look because that's exactly what we have!

Our current big project that has me totally consumed at the moment is our kitchen.  This is what it looks like today:

kitchen2_wm

As we speak, we are deep in the heart of planning an update.

Why?  Well, you can read the whole story here, but the bottom line is that it's just time to update a few things.  My ovens are on their last legs, the cabinetry needs to be refinished (we've been in the house 13 years and the finish is wearing in places), and we want to add some new lighting.  We're still working out the details and scope (costs can get out of control quickly!) but I will be blogging about all the changes as they happen.  I am ready for it all to be done today!  It's so hard to be patient!

Also on OSH!  Get Inspired with Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer

kitchen sink_wm

It's also time to get outdoors and dig in the dirt.  Are you all as ready for spring as I am?

viburnum

I'm so excited that my Snowball Viburnum is blooming and that we're finally getting some rain to green things up.  

I love a beautiful garden.  Do you?

You know what else I love?  Good home cooking.

easy and delicious salsa

My husband would love it if I made fresh salsa every day.  I do love fresh salsa, but, I really love comfort foods like pot roast and mashed potatoes, or, my favorite — pie.   My pecan pie is my husband's all-time favorite and is a holiday staple at our house.

pecan pie_1

What do you love?  Cooking, gardening, decorating?  I'd love to get to know you so we can chat about all things home.

And, to Christy, I hope you're having a wonderful time on your vacation and we all look forward to hearing from you when you get back!  Thanks so much for having me here today!

signature

 Thanks so much, Julie!! Isn't she a sweetie! So wish we weren't several states away!!! Her home is just full of warm and inviting creative style. I could so get comfy in that large family room! Please hop on over and visit Julie's blog! You will find so much inspiration…and some yummy recipes as well! XXOO ~Christy @ Our Southern Home

 

 

Buffer

Thanks for sharing!

Similar Posts

3 Comments

I love hearing from you!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.