livin' with less::settling into our new digs

in an attempt to add some more 'me' to our little home i asked for some scripture prints from this fabulous etsy shop for christmas. it is time to replace some of our wedding pics & stuff we used to stage the houses with some new stuff. i mean it's been 6 1/2 years of marriage, almost 5 years with kids & we have no pictures of our kids framed or hung. i'd like to think it's because we were de-personalizing the house getting it ready to sell, but really it's cause i'm horrible at committing to decisions & getting stuff printed.

it may also be the fact that i like to just put things off. i'm used to having friends that would come over  & kick my butt into gear. sadly, those friends all 1000 miles away now. and as much i wish they were here...to help, to visit, to settle me into this new casa...i'm regaining my independence from the tight grasp of my babies-who are no longer teeny tiny babes. i can actually accomplish some tasks during the day. the {twins} are old enough now to be distracted by the tv or toys or brothers which means i can do some work. and while there are dishes piling up in my sink, i really need to do something fun. something creative. plus, i'm helping work on one of my goals for this year. score!

don't mind the scattering of toys...its totally normal.

so there was this big, long, empty wall in the middle of our living room just begging for some attention. we had tried a couple different furniture pieces in this space, but it is the major thoroughfare in our house so it ended up being more in the way than anything else. so stuff on the walls was the only way to go. i wanted it to be a collection of us...our little family of 6.



but there's this little...catch...there isn't a lot of money to work with. ya know, especially with the move & all.

• i took old pictures out of frames i wanted to re-use.
• i grabbed a can of black spray paint which we had in the garage to make sure all the frames were the same color. it helps visually to unify the mismatched frames. see you didn't even notice they weren't all the same style!
• i also found a pack of photo paper and figured it was time that i committed to getting some stuff printed.
• the only money i spent was on a few new frames that were required in specific quantity & size.
• and i dug through boxes of stuff to find the non-picture items to hang up. they all had previous lives somewhere else & i think they represent us pretty well. i love to use things that hold special meaning to us, gives it an even more cozy/ homey feeling i think. 

and i present to you...my finished work-in-progress product

here's what i used:

mirror: came from {matt}s childhood bedroom

pictures: i chose recent shots from the past 6 months or so & plan to add some of our classic shots later

scripture prints: from here or here

the antlers: shot by {matt}s grandfather

the R: from my dad who works for a company that makes letters for signs

ukele: well, my husband is a musician after all. you could say it was just laying around.

pewter cross: we got it on a trip to mexico

clock: no real story there. every home needs a good clock right?!

it feels good to decorate...get my creative juices flowing.

it makes a house, whether you own or rent, feel more like a home.

and it totally does feel so much cozier in here. 

i'll try to get some pictures of the other finished rooms up soon. 

and eventually a whole house tour for those of you who have asked. keep your pants on!