Quoted.

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
~ Unknown Author

Adoration: Domino Magazine

By far and wide, one of my favorite magazines is Domino. It is always full of fun decor and blissful interiors. My only gripe is that the items they feature are often very pricey and I'm all about stretching my dollar. I love that Domino features many different looks for the home. They are slightly partial to the eclectic hippie-chic but who doesn't love that. But what brings me to this post is this month's featured interior of J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons home. I would kill for her charcoal painted bedroom. I love saturated, and unexpected colors- even though I just had my bathroom painted a light, airy color. So when I saw her bedroom on the cover, I almost kissed the magazine cover, gross, I know. But I couldn't help it. 

For your enjoyment:

{Images courtsey of DominoMag.com}

Check out Domino's page to see a video tour of the Lyons' home.

Work It, Spin It

On our constant quest for more gym time, Mr. Grubbs and I have taken up a spin class twice a week. It is 45 mins of pedaling my behind and thighs away, followed by lots of sweat, and finally a huge sense of accomplishment for actually surviving the entire class. The only down side is the seats- they are extremely uncomfortable. So one on of my many, many trips to the Holy Land, a.k.a Target, I picked up one of these puppies and my bum is forever grateful.

{Schwinn Gel Seat Cover, $16.99}

Look out thighs, you're on the outs!

3 Down, 7 to Go!

I finished my 3rd Grad school course today!! I have 7 classes left, 2/3 to go, 12 months till I have a M.S. in Education. No, I'm not counting. 

Sundays...

The weekends are the highlights of my week. I love sleeping in with no alarm clock, having breakfast with the husband and wearing jeans and t-shirts. Although today was a busy one. I started early with a warm cup of hot chocolate to wake me up to type a Grad school paper. Then Mr. Grubbs woke up and we had a very late breakfast together. After my belly was bursting with biscuits and gravy I started work on the porch. Sadly I still have lots to do, but I know it will be worth it when my deck is beautifully chocolate brown! We finished the day at Mom and Dad's for dinner and some Steelers football. 

Only 6 more days until the next Sunday!

Status: Porch

My projects have been pretty dormant for the past week. While I was in Pittsburgh Mr. Grubbs was AMAZINGLY wonderful and tried to work on staining the deck for me. I only had the front section of the railing done and he got another section done for me before he couldn't take it anymore. Disclaimer: he is NOT a painter. In our first house, we repainted almost everything, even though it was a rental. We were painting our bedroom a fresh coat of white when Mr. Grubbs kicked the whole bucket of paint over onto the hardwood floors! It was awful so he hasn't had a brush since. Needless to say, I still have lots to do to get it done. I'll be working on it today for as long as I can before Sunday dinner at Mom's.

Here is what the stain looks like. It is a deep rich brown, I adore it!

Revealed! My new Bathroom

My newly re-designed bathroom has the spa feel that I desperately wanted. With the light brown/gray paint, quilted shower curtain, and chocolate brown accents, it is everything I wanted. All it needs is a new art piece. I'm still brainstorming on that one, but here it is:

{The Vanity}

{Close Up of the orchid I put together.}

{The beautiful quilted shower curtain, very luxurious}

{Ikea framed mirrors that I painted and hung to bring some light into the potty nook}

I'm so happy with the way it turned out. It is much lighter and brighter than before. When the painting is done I'll let you know.

Pittsburgh, PA

I thought since we would be back in PA I would take some photos. I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania then moved to Georgia when I was almost 3 years old. I don't have any memory of living there, but I have plenty of memories from visiting since we've moved- we always went back for Christmas until the snow got too bad. My mother and father were both raised there with my mother's family still residing in PA. My father and his family relocated us here to the warm south for the family business. I have always thought of Pittsburgh as a cold, dark and old place. Everything seems so behind the times compared to Atlanta, where there is always something new going on.

The drive to Pittsburgh (yes we always drive, 12 hours in case we were wondering) is VERY boring until you get to the Fort Pitt Tunnel. 

When you drive through you are passing into a large mountain that completely conceals downtown Pittsburgh. As you approach it you only see mountains. 

Then as it opens up, the city of Pittsburgh immediately greets you.

You can see the new and improved Heinz Field- home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And PNC Park, home of the Pirates.

We lived in a small town called...

And this is the house my mom grew up in. The house we were raised in is just up and around the bend.

The best thing about Pittsburgh lives in this shack. THE WORLD'S GREATEST PIZZA!!! Seriously, it is, just accept the fact that any pizza you have ever had pales in comparison. 

I like visiting PA but lately we only go there if something bad has happened, so I wouldn't mind not going back for a long time. But it was my home and where family is so I guess it will always be a part of me.

Beautiful Things

{Image courtesy of Desire to Inspire}

Not only is this room gorgeous with its neutrals, textures and cool blue accents, it features an adorable mini-dach just like my little one. Puppies, they get me every time.

Surviving.

Sorry for the delay in the blogging. I unfortunately had to make the long trip to Pittsburgh to attend Grandma's funeral. She succumbed to lung cancer on Friday evening. We laid her to rest on Tuesday morning to be with Pap-our Grandfather. It was a long, emotional, and exhausting time. Mom is doing well, I think she is finding comfort in the fact that Grandma and Pap are finally back together. Before my Pap's passing last Thanksgiving, they had 63 wonderful years of marriage together, so it was difficult for her to find the strength to live when he passed. I'm only 2 1/2 years into my marriage and could not even begin to imagine the strength I would need to carry on without Mr. Grubbs.

It was nice to see family, not often seen, and reflect on our childhood there before we moved south. I took some pictures along the 12 hour drive and will post soon. I just wanted you to know we are fine, just fine.

Simple, White Cooking

I love classics, not traditional. Many people mistake these as synonyms, but they are quite different. Classics are timeless, eternally appealing, never changing. Traditional is boring, an easy fix, and never original. The white kitchen is a classic to me. I am a saturated color person, but there is something so beautiful about a clean, and classic white kitchen. I love stainless accents, and bold fixtures and furniture to make the classic more modern. I found these lovelies on Domino's site.

{Photo credits: Domino Magazine}

Quoted.

Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back.
- Anonymous

Update: Pittsburgh Front

I wish that every time the phone rang there was only good news on the other end. But unfortunately it is not, nor probably ever will be, the case. The latest is that the hospice that Grandma was going to go to was horrible so she is back at my Aunt E's house with my mom. Things are currently at a stand still, which is better than a digression I guess. It has just been an exhausting week. School is busy and a little stressful on top of all that. When it rains, it pours. I really need to invest in a new umbrella...

Lots Going On...

It seems like busy is the norm round here lately. There is always something to do, paint, clean, organize, etc. I guess it is all in stride when you are OCD about cleaning, and organizing everything. Step 1- I have a problem! Just to let you in on a few happenings:

1. The master bath is painted and I am finishing up on some accessories. I have painted some mirrors that will go in a grouping over the toliet. And I have a painting to do to go next to our towel hooks. 

2. Front porch staining is in progress. Yesterday I pressure washed the whole porch for a good clean slate. I started the staining today and got the front of half the railing done. I couldn't have imagined it would be as hard as it is. Here is a before shot of our porch from the front of the house:

{Yes, Doc is guarding the porch, Keep Out!}

That's it so far. I hope that after these projects are done, I can take a vacation for a bit, but I'm sure that I'll come up with something to do! Stay tuned...

Tony's Birthday

On Sunday we celebrated Tony's birthday early. It is actually the 15th but we decided to wrap family dinner and birthday celebrations into one day. It was bittersweet though, because Mom is still in PA with Grandma so she couldn't be with us. We went to Ippolito's for some delicious Italian food. 

Tony really likes the rolls.

We ate sooo much that we went into a food coma!

Then we went back to Tony and Ashley's and had some cheesecake for dessert and Tony opened his present from all of us- A new iPod Touch- very cool!! It was a nice and relaxing day. Hanging with the family always is.

Busy Bees

It was a VERY busy day at our home on Saturday. Lots o work going down. First my mother-in-law came to fulfill my brithday, painted bathroom present bright and early at 8am. Then Mr. Grubbs hung his handmade gate to keep our little Doc on the porch. All while I was planting fresh pansies in planters for winter color. Much was happening, but I managed to catch Mr. Grubbs in the act:

{Putting in the brackets}

{The Finished Product!}

{Doc isn't as happy as I am about the new gate...}

Pictures of the new bathroom still to come!

Rave: My new Favorite Blog

{credit: Kris's Color Stripes}

I stumbled upon Kris and her wonderful swatches from one of my favorite design blogs. She takes images and creates color swatches of the different hues that are present. It is wonderfully simple and visually appealing. I love her so much I just bought her 2009 calendar from Etsy. Please visit her and enjoy her wonderful colors!

Update: Pittsburgh Front

{It's the Pitts...}

My lovely mother is still away in Pittsburgh with my Aunt E and Grandma. The latest report from the nurse is that Grandma's heart is going strong! She is much weaker now, she is hardly able to get out of bed but she still has a little fight in her. It is so hard to see someone you love hurt, so I can't imagine how my mom is coping, but she is. I can't wait for her to be home. We miss you!

WOW, Really?

Sometimes I wonder how people don't get hurt more often. All I can say about these pictures is, I had to take for the shear purpose of documentation. To document the unbelievable things that people do. Enjoy:

{Is it really necessary to use a segway to blow leaves?? FYI I live on a single street, takes 5 mins to walk the length of the street.}

{Someone thinks a lot of themselves.}

Football Weekends

My GA Dawgs had the weekend off, so we had to play our own football. Mr. Grubbs plays flag football with my brother and several other friends on Sundays. Unfortunately because I am currently in graduate school, I often spend my Sunday afternoons typing papers. But this week I actually did my work early and was able to get out and mingle, so we made the flag football game this weekend a family venture- yes that means, Mr. Grubbs, Doc and I. 

First we had to haul our buns up to Lawrenceville to the field. It was a long car ride for Doc, who decided to ride shotgun with Mr. Grubbs. 

Then the boys had to stretch and warm up.

While the game was on, Doc was hamming it up on the picnic table. 

Our friend Casey brought her little one, Bella. I think Doc had the hots for her, how could he not?

Doc grew quite tired of showing off for Bella and napped until the end of the game.

The team celebrating their first win! 

{Yes you read their team name correctly, unfortunately. Boys...}

Maybe I'll be responsible and do my work to go to the next one too!