The Real Star of the Blog...

Those of you who follow me on Instagram {@retroranchreno} know who the real star of this blog is.  Yup, I'm talking about this guy...

PERNY!!

If you want to know more about him, and see more of that furry face, head over to Julia's blog, Cuckoo 4 Design.  She started an amazing series a few weeks ago, and I'm so honored to be guest posting for it!

Happy Friday, everyone! :)

A Confession.

This Christmas season has been a total whirlwind for me.  Our weekdays and weekends have been jam packed, leaving little time for certain items on my to-do list.  One of those things that still isn't done...our Christmas cards.  I mean, I completed part of the job.  I personalized a design from Minted, placed my order and it arrived on our doorstep Tuesday.  Now I need to find the time to address and send them out. People may get our cards on Christmas, or even the day after, but I am determined to get them out.  You hear me?  D-e-t-e-r-m-i-n-e-d.

Ahhhh, now that I've got that off my chest, I'll leave you with some time to browse Minted's fabulous website.  It's seriously amazing.  {I was not compensated to endorse Minted.  They have absolutely no idea who I am.  I just love their stuff and wanted to share with you guys!!}

PS-Perny really needs to pull his weight around our household.  Maybe I should teach him how to address cards so he can help me out instead of doing this all day, every day....

He's lucky he's cute. ;)

Anyone else feeling overwhelmed with to-do lists lately?! Tis' the season!!

Hey Girl.

As much as I really wanted to give hubby the "Hey Girl" treatment, I'm not so sure he'd appreciate it.  Lucky for him, I had another volunteer who was ready and willing. ;)

I'm linking up to these awesome ladies who are hosting this fabulous Hey Girl Link Party.  Check 'em out! :)

-Kelly at View Along the Way
-Michelle at Decor and the Dog
-Chelsea at Two Twenty One
-Ashley at Domestic Imperfection
-Bliss at Bliss Ranch

Full Disclosure

Anyone else hate seeing a bloggy home only when it's perfectly staged and ready for pictures?!?!  No?  Oh, that's only me?  Well, either way...I decided from the get-go I was going to share it all with you guys.  The good.  The bad.  And the ugly.

Well now is the time when I share yet another peak at the very ugly. 

Our house has been looking like this for about a week now.  I'd like to refer to it as "chaotic craft chic". 

All of this clutter has been driving me C-R-A-Z-Y.  I can only imagine how nuts it's driving my hubby, but at least he knows it's like this because progress is being made on several projects.  Things always look worse before they look better right? :)

Oh, and in case you are wondering where we eat our meals since I have taken over the dining room table AND the breakfast bar...we eat on the couch and use our "leather" ottoman as a table.  Classy, huh?  Yup, in the midst of all the felt, glue guns, scissors, paint, brushes, extension cords, magazines and other normal stuff that you find on people's couches...we snuggle up for a cozy meal.

Thankfully, Perny found a sliiiiiver of couch that was un-junked-up {made tha adjective up, clearly} so he could relax.

Ohhhhhh, cleaning day can't come soon enough!!  Happy Fridayyyyyyy! :)

Shower Glass & Birthday Wishes...

Our main bath wasn't the only place that received some special treatment over the past couple weeks!  Several weeks ago our master bath finally became a true bathroom...when the shower glass was installed.  And shame on me for not sharing the install pictures with you all!!  I don't know how I let that slip!

So here we go.  Our shower went from this...

To this!  {Yes, the blue tape is from the installers.  It needed to remain on the glass for 24 hours.}

L-O-V-E!!!!  Even though our master bath isn't the biggest space, it feels so open and airy due to our frameless shower.  When I designed our bathroom, I was quite nervous about how much our custom glass would cost, but it totally helps to make the space and was one of our smartest splurges!!

There is still so much to do for this space in the way of decor and personal touches.  {Realistically, that needs to happen to every room in our entire house...so baby steps people haha.}  I even want to add a piece of cabinetry in the corner next to the shower.  I found one that goes with our vanity, but it's very pricey {between $489-$500...yikes}!

Most likely, I will be hunting around for a similar cabinet that costs MUCH less, but hopefully looks just as great.

And I can't end this post without announcing that it is someone special's birthday today!  This little guy is the big 0-5 today!

I can't wait to treat this cute fluff ball to some kitty-like birthday cake {aka - tuna...his favorite}!

JCPenney to the Rescue!

Like most people, me and the hubby are on a major budget.  This definitely makes buying certain pieces of furniture very difficult.  I was convinced I would find a TV console for us on Craigslist, but nothing I came across seemed to fit the bill.  This was probably due to the fact that I fell in love with this piece from Crate and Barrel.

The Pearson 72" Media Console

The console was everything I wanted...dark finish...mix of wood and metal...large enough to fit a big ole' TV for our great room...low, sleek and simple design.  I was sold!  Key word there being "was"...because a few seconds later I laid eyes on the hefty $1,399.00 price tag.  Clearly that pretty thing was never coming home to our house...so my Internet search for the perfect TV console continued.

As luck would have it, I was hunting around Pinterest and happened upon a TV stand that looked somewhat similar to the C&B one I was obsessed with.  I clicked on the picture and, surprisingly, I was taken to the JCPenney site.  It turns out that the piece was originally $999.00, on sale for $199.80, plus I used a promo code to take an additional $39.96 off the price!  Unfortunately, shipping the 165lb. box was a little pricey and cost almost $100, but it was well worth it...because overall, with shipping and tax included, I purchased an awesome console for just $274.81!!

Here is the proof is you don't believe me.  {Don't mind my blacked out order number and addresses.}

I tried super hard to find the original pin on Pinterest so I could link back.  I even tried to find the console on the jcp.com site, but it is no longer available and therefore, has disappeared from the web.  That means that the only pictures I can share with you are the ones I took of our beloved console in our very own casa. 

And if I do say so myself, I think I love this piece even more than the C&B one I originally fell for {and not just because of the uhhh-mazing price tag}!

When I pulled one of the drawers out to show that they extend all the way for easy access, Perny had to, of course, hop in it and investigate.

So what do you think?  Was it worth the $274.81 price tag?!?!