Summer Fun Series: Traci Zeller

Hey, y’all! It’s Traci all the way from North Carolina, and I am tickled to be posting at The Mustard Ceiling today. Elizabeth, thanks so much for including me on your super fun blog.

Ahhhhh, summer! What a fun series! I will admit that I was always the girl that cried on the last day of school … because I missed seeing my friends every day. Even as now as a mom, I got all sentimental on the last day of preschool – because so many of my boys’ friends are moving on to different schools next year. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, right?

Well, all that said – I do love the summer … and here are the top six things I love the most. (Yes, I had planned to do five … but I couldn’t narrow it down!)

(1) Sundresses

Nothing says summer to me more than a great sundress! From running after my children (twins Henry and Charlie) to keeping up with clients, a sundress lets me tackle summer in style … and stay as cool as I can in the North Carolina heat. Plus, it’s easy! Throw on a dress and some wedges and I am good to go. My favorite dress this summer was this Milly number that I got for Blogfest and have worn nonstop ever since.

(2) Afternoons at the pool

I try to slow my work schedule down in the summer so that I can spend more time with my boys, and one of their very favorite activities is to hit the pool! This year they both braved the water slides for the very first time … and now you’ll find me waiting at the bottom of the slide All. Day. Long.
r slides for the very first time … and now you’ll find me waiting at the bottom of the slide All. Day.

My sweet husband Mike is waiting at the bottom in this photo, which was one of the very first times that Charlie went down the slide.

(3) Sweet tea

Let’s be clear – I like sweet tea all year long. But somehow, when it is really hot outside, nothing quenches my thirst like a big – and I mean, big – glass of sweet tea. And don’t try to hand me tea with Splenda or Sweet ‘n Low. It is just not the same!

(4) Camp Grammy

As much as I adore my boys, I also crave some concentrated “me time” – when I can do what I want when I want without being responsible for two little people. I am soooo lucky because my parents take my boys, usually every summer, for two weeks. It’s what I call “Camp Grammy,” although it’s really Camp Grammy and Pop-Pop. The boys swim, fish, and do arts and crafts – and don’t miss home one bit. I get to lunch with girlfriends, shop, and yes, work …. without feeling guilty that I’m leaving the boys with their sitter (whom they do adore) or my husband (who craves a break, too).

Here they are headed down to the lake with their bubble guns in hand. Those gifts from Grammy and Pop Pop were a huge hit.

(5) Celebrations

Summer is time to celebrate in our house. Henry and Charlie’s birthday is at the end of April, which usually means their party is in May. My husband and I have our birthdays in June, along with our nephew Brady (who is the same age as my boys). July is my niece Jillian’s birthday and Independence Day. August is my father-in-law’s birthday. Of course, we also like to have friends over for impromptu get-togethers – especially before it gets too terribly hot outside. Basically, summer is one nonstop party!

You can probably tell from the favor buckets for Henry and Charlie’s birthday party that I enjoy both the planning and the implementation!

(6) Flowers

Aren’t summer flowers fantastic? From tulips to peonies to hydrangeas, I love them all … and I love that you can easily pick them from the yard or buy a bunch at the neighborhood grocery store.

There you have it – the best parts of summer in the Zeller house! Elizabeth, I hope you are having a great summer … and thank you again for having me here!

Top photo from Nordstrom; bottom photo from Sophie Dahy Designs. All others by Traci.

Thank you Traci for stopping by today to share your summer!
Head on over and check out more of Traci's fabulous blog here.

Have a terrific weekend! I'm having some summer fun of my own this weekend at
The Greenbrier Resort.

Have you heard of it?

This weekend is the Greenbrier Classic. The Greenbrier Classic is a PGA Golf Tournament hosted at The Greenbrier. I'm not much for golf, but I do love shopping around The Greenbrier and going to the great concerts...this year's line-up Tim McGraw, Black Eyed Peas and Keith Urban!

I'll be back next week with some pictures and more on The Greenbrier.

Guest Post: Rachel from Just a Touch of Gray

Today I would like to welcome Rachel from Just a Touch of Gray! I found her through Emily A. Clark the day she featured both of our projects on Blog Stalking: Great Reader Projects.

That day, I was blown away by the way Rachel and her husband's living room remodel turned out...drop dead gorgeous! The second time I stopped by Rachel was featuring the remodel of their master bathroom and from then on I was hooked.

I immediately emailed Rachel and asked her to stop by and share her blog with you, I'm so happy she said yes.

Take it away Rachel...

Hi all! I'm Rachel Gray from {Just a Touch of Gray} and I'm so excited to be here at The Mustard Ceiling! Just like Elizabeth, my hubs I purchased a brick ranch home. It was built in 1960 and we bought it from its original owners one year ago. Boy was it a fixer upper if I've ever seen one. It would be a major understatement saying it needed a little help. So, as my tag line reads, we've been dedicated to fix things up "one room at a time"

As soon as we could get our hands on those keys tools and paint brushes were a flyin'. We also had the hardwood floors refinished before moving in and replaced all the interior doors and trim. What a huge difference that made in itself! Then we decided to revamp the living room first. Our theory was that since it was the room we spend the most waking time in and the room we'd use when we had family and friends over it would be our first priority. This was the first time we furnished and decorated a room from scratch. And let me tell you... it was fun!

This is what we started with....

Very log cabin-esque, right? Yeah, not really what we were going for, but we saw the potential!

Here it is again after having the original red oak floors refinished...

And after a lot of love, this is what it looks like now...

It finally feels like us.

Then, it was on to the master bathroom. We wanted to make this bathroom remodel as cost effective as possible without giving up some of the features we knew we wanted. To keep costs down we covered the tile on the walls with beadboard {yep- right over the tile}, didn't do any rearranging {i.e. keep the toilet where it is, etc}, and kept the original 1960 blue tile floors. But we didn't compromise the fact that we were dying to get some marble into the house, and we didn't forget we had our eye on an over-mount sink for awhile now.

So with those thoughts in mind, we started with this...

Lived with it for awhile like this...

And finally turned it into this...

And much to our delight our tiny little bathroom was featured in the Sept 2011 issue of Cottages and Bungalows magazine!!! The issue just hit stores last week - we were so excited!

Hope you all enjoyed seeing some of our before and afters! I have posted more detail and more pictures over on my blog {here}. Check out my house tour tab too for before pics of all our rooms.

Thanks for having me, Elizabeth!

*Rachel*

Can you see WHY I am hooked on Just a Touch of Gray!?
Thanks again for stopping by today Rachel.

Country Roads, Take Me Home...and Skirted Table

As you're reading this I am on my way home to West Virginia!

I finished the table skirt project, but did not have time to write the tutorial.
Here are a few picts. and I'll post the tutorial another day.

See you when I hit WV!

Tell Me Tuesday...Bam or Slam!

Time for another BAM or SLAM this week!

Source

Last week was a unanimous SLAM!!

I'm not surprised. I posted the photo above to get your opinion on the mirror.

I ran across it while browsing through designer Tom Scheerer's portfolio. I honestly thought the mirror was one of the most hideous things I had ever seen and thought maybe I was missing something....so I thought it would be fun to get your opinions....not one person BAMMED it.

Hopefully, this week will be a little better.

I had an email from a reader asking if I would BAM or SLAM
chalkboard paint...so let's get this party started.

Are you a fan?

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

BAM or SLAM?!

Have you used chalkboard paint, if so what did you do with it?

Lovin'...

I am loving everything about Fran's, from Green Street, chic upstairs hallway...

the wide tone on tone stripes, the sweet vignette

and how fun is that large graphic piece of art?

Source

Source

Have you seen it?

If not, pop on over and read more about it here and here.

Happy Monday!

New Blog Designs and a New Project This Week

I hope you're weekend is fabulous so far!

I know mine is, my husband is home from training, so it's nice to finally spend some time with him before I leave :).

On Wednesday, I'm flying back to WV to spend a few weeks with my family and friends...I CANNOT WAIT!

I will still be blogging and designing from WV and have a few guests lined up to help me out while I'm gone.

Today,I wanted to pop in really fast to show off a couple new blog designs and a new project.

I try to make Saturday my blog design day, since this is mostly an interior design blog :)...but it's all design, right?

I'm in the process of creating a new blog/website for my design services. I am still undecided if it will host both blog and interior design services or if I will create a blog just blog design.

I am really having a blast designing blogs, it has become a such a passion of mine, and I'd like to thank the ladies who have asked me to help them personalize their blogs.

Here are a couple new ones this week:

Click on the blog for a live preview

Michelle contacted me to help her freshen up her design. She has an etsy shop, and recently had business cards printed. She asked me to work within the general design of her business card, but wanted me to have the creative freedom to bring a fresh design eye to her blog.

I used the existing header font, shape, chevron pattern and colors (lightening the colors a bit). She and I are so excited with how it turned out!

This one is HOT OFF THE PRESS. I just finished installing it yesterday afternoon.

Charisma, from This Posh House, contacted me to help her design a simple, whimsical look for her blog.

Here is the final design....

Thank you ladies for working with me on your new designs.

If you are interested in a fresh design for your blog, stop by my blog design services page for more information, or send me an email at themustardceiling@gmail.com.

Well, I'd better get back to work...you didn't think I'd leave for WV without a new project to share on Wednesday, did you?

This week it is a "simple" project...at least I hope so, I'm just starting so we'll see how it goes.

Source

I'm making a table skirt for my dining room side table to dress it up a little.

Wish me luck....

Have a terrific weekend!

Summer Fun Series: Katie from On the Banks of Squaw Creek

I’m Katie from On the Banks of Squaw Creek and I am honored to be posting on Elizabeth’s blog today! I normally blog about our life with two little boys, a turkey farm, and the renovation and decoration of our 100+ year old farmhouse.

Last Saturday, we spent the day at our town’s 54th annual Watermelon Day. Watermelon Day is a big deal in our town of 500, and here’s why:

1. Parade

The festivities start off with a parade full of 4-H floats, church floats, tractors and fire trucks. It seemed like every fire truck in the county was there. And there was PLENTY of candy to go around!

2. Family

My husband was at home, taking care of our livestock in the heat. But Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Staci filled in and helped me out. I love having our families so close and the boys love it, too!

3. Friends

One of the best things about living in a small town is the fact that everyone knows each other and is willing to help out.

We sat next to two of Adam’s friends from daycare, and they made sure he got plenty of candy.

When I needed to nurse Isaac, a woman from church opened her home across the street so I could go in the air conditioning.

The owner of the “beauty shop” on main street handed her key out to a couple of families with young children, so they could use the restrooms and cool off, too.

When Adam ran across the playground and I started yelling his name, another friend spotted him and let me know where he had gone.

4. Rides

Grandpa spent almost $10 on 50 cent rides. Obviously, a fun time for a 3 year old! The airplanes, swings and train are owned by the Lions Club and are a crowd favorite.

5. Watermelon!

All you can eat, free watermelon. It’s rolled off a truck from a local grocery store and cut as fast as possible by local volunteers, like my very own father in law. We all perfected our lean-over-so-it-doesn’t-drip-on-your-clothes stance while devouring at least 1/4 of a watermelon each.

Watermelon Day will be an important part of our summer as long as the Lions Club keeps putting it on. What about you? Is there a summer festival that you look forward to every year? If not, we’ll share ours with you. :)

Thank you Katie for stopping by today to share the watermelon festival with us! It sounds like the perfect way to spend a hot summer day.

To check out more of Katie's blog, On The Banks of Squaw Creek, click here.

If you're new around here,

come link up your blog at my mix and mingle party and join the fun click here!

Speaking of Pendants...

I have been loving the look of wicker pendants lately.

My love affair started with this gorgeous dining room in June's issue of House Beautiful.

Isn't this room perfection?

I am in love with the contrast of dark against light, and the natural textures of the woven
materials in the lighting and on the chairs...it is refined, yet casual all at the same time.

Source

My love affair has grown since I first saw the image above, so I started searching for more inspiration on pinterest and fell deeper and deeper...

Source

Source

Source

Source

Can you blame me?

So I went on the hunt and found some great options...



Recognize this from the photo above?

Ikea, Leran pendant, $39.99

Ikea, Boja pendant, $59.99

CSN stores, Royce pendant, $72.77

Source

Design Sponge even has a tutorial on how to DIY your own!

If only I had a place to put it....hmmm...


If you missed it Monday, I am hosting a mix and mingle linky party
on the blog this week. There are a lot of great blogs linked up... to join in the fun click here.


Now head on over and check out Michelle's blog, Chic Little Things.
I just finished the install on her new look last night.