Our very first Spring edition of the Pinterest Challenge has arrived! Get excited! Turn yourself into a cat!
That was weird.
I’m not even a full fledged cat person. Or am I? 
Okay. So considering this is a post that is just like the other three we do each year to announce the Pinterest Challenge, I figured it was time for a little weird. Plus…there is just no possible way to compete with the cuteness of the last announcement of the Pinterest Challenge.
BUT for the sake of those who are new and need an explanation, I will go ahead and do just that. Those of you who know what’s up can just enjoy me zombie-fied….
(hollah walking dead!)
Here’s how it’s gonna work….
The Pinterest Challenge is really REALLY simple. Basically it’s just a call to action. We all pin-pin…so now it’s time to DO DO. (wait that sounds wrong. unless you gotta.) Here’s some of the details on what we are doing…
- Pick your Pinspiration project. Do your own spin. Blog about it. Celebrate!
- In your blog post, we ask pretty please for everyone to share the link love! Link to the Pinterest item, the ORIGINAL source of the inspiration photo on Pinterest, and it would be soo nice if you also linked to the four Pinterest Challenge hosts below (you have no idea how much we appreciate the linkage love too!)
- Linky Party at the Bower House! Each host has the option to linky party – so if you blogged about your project, link up with us too so that we can all see your completed projects and we can share it to our readers.
- Have fun! No matter what the project is – it can be small, big, super-sized, seasonal, decorative, cooking, crafty – anything goes…just as long as it “Pinned then Spinned” you can consider us fans!
And now to introduce you to the other beautiful non-zombie cohosts…
- Emily from Sparkle meets Pop
- Renee from Red Bird Blue
- Sherry from Young House Love
So go get doing! And like always, Pinterest doesn’t know me. The zombie or cat version either. Although I am sure they would be interested in sponsoring me once they see this:
C’mon Pinterest. Everybody loves James Cameron.
Neytima out.
p.s. turn yourself into a cat here. a zombie here. and an oversized blue avatar here.
*************UPDATE: Oops! Forgot to put the date! We will come back in one week on Wednesday May 8th to share our final projects! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
When we lived in our old house, we bought some of our favorite things from a gem of a store in Chattanooga called Southeastern Salvage. Our old tv console was a Southeastern Salvage item…as was our antique’s ships wheel. Every time we visit family and friends we go and stroll around inside pretending that we could afford it all and fill our house with goodies. I get so excited to share little shopping adventures with you…this is one of those times…except it isn’t like Goodwill where the prices are rock-bottom. Southeastern Salvage has manageable prices but I like to think that their items are above average. Think Restoration Hardware goods at clearance outlet prices.
Jeremy and I are dreaming of the day when we buy more leather. I need more hide in my life. These spectacular leather chairs came in at $988 which is no small chunk of change but they look like they will last a lifetime.
I was drawn to the industrial furniture like this island/cart. At $500 it doesn’t come off as cheap but you would be hardpressed to DIY this sucker.
Another wheeled option would be this two-tier cart. Perfect for extra storage and would clean up in a snap!
Oh and the tables! The tables are our absolute favorite. Every now and again they will have a new shipment and we lay down our upper halves on each one. I’m not kidding.
I love love love this chunky legged table – it was marked down to $1200 but the Restoration Hardware version was over $2K so it is definitely a savings if this was the look you loved.
This time I was crazy about this one. It has no seams on the top which is AMAZING for eliminating those crumbs that get stuck in the cracks of wood tables and it was just rustic enough to speak to the country girl in me. Plus it was the perfect matte gray brown…
I loved this tall bar height table with metal legs but I just don’t have a spot for it. The price was $400 which I think is fair.
I was also obsessed with these chairs. If they had a set of six I would have carried them home on my back.
Jer and I also considered these gray chairs for the dining room…I love the straight legs and the perfect sloping arms.
There was also matching settee…which would look amazing at the end of a bed…(I drooled all over that tufted ottoman too!)
And the matching bed with tufted headboard. So swanky
The store also carries a bunch of different stuff…like these colorful and intricate console tables…
and a variety of mirrors like this little stacked crosscut wood one (which I think would be amazing to DIY!)…
and this driftwood one that was so huge they didn’t have a spot to hang it.
One of my favorites was this round framed one. Even more than the mirror I love the reflection. Apparently Weston just smiles at anyone passing by…
We like to walk the entire store…including the art aisles…these $29 frames were about three feet high which is a decent deal if you like the art because it comes ready to hang.
And these ship prints in the warm wood frames were my jam. It took everything in me not to take two home…
The variety extended beyond butterflies…
to fish…and chalkboard frames. The big ones were only $39 which is about how much all the materials would cost you.
Or maybe masks are your thing? Well, you and Jim Carey could find one here…
We explored the vast number of rugs….(which something to note…if you see a good deal for something you love…buy it now! Last time I was there I was thisclose to buying a cowhide rug for under $100 and now they are back up to $189 and didn’t have the color I liked…so lesson learned!)
This visit they had a bunch of options…
these runners were colorful and under $100…
And these oversized runners were a rare find…I loved the worn bits. Most just said Turkish rugs…so it definitely required some digging.
In the lighting section, we looked for something to go in Weston’s future room…no luck this time but I wouldn’t be surprised if next time was the winner.
I loved this one for over a kitchen peninsula…
Jeremy liked this barrel inspired version…
This one was close to coming home with us…but we had limited room so I decided to pass.
Over near the lighting they had a bunch of natural wood furniture…I especially liked this stump coffee table. Soo textural and cool. Definitely a one-of-a-kind piece.
I didn’t snap a lot of the outdoor furniture (probably because we aren’t looking since we got a bunch of outdoor stuff last year!) but this hanging egg chair was too cool to not photograph.
If I could get married all over again, I would fill the forest with these lanterns and then walk down my foggy pinestraw lined aisle to my boyfriend. It would be amazing.
Southeastern Salvage also has a bunch of random stuff…like hardware, petrified stone sinks, doors, tile and carpet.
And onyx eggs. I regret not grabbing a couple. I don’t know why but I want some. My mom has some of these. It must be in my blood.
The boys both fell asleep in the stroller and buggy respectively….so we had plenty of time to discuss whether we really wanted to splurge on a table.
This one is the one in question….the solid top one that could fit eight.
In the end, Jeremy said that even though it would be possible to build, it’s not probable that he would have the time to do another table (he built the gigantic outdoor one and I think Jer thrives on variety)…
We also got this pillow cover and a ceiling medallion for a little craft project I have planned. Oh and Jeremy found a car mat. It was random. But useful.
So that was our little shopping adventure….what have yall been buying lately? Any dining room tables or ethnic masks or industrial stuff?
For the last several years, I was obsessively, maniacly taking photos. I’ve chilled a bit. No longer do I constantly take photos at family events. No doubt, I am still the one with the camera on hand. But the sheer number of photos is no longer beyond huge. Maybe it will be again one day but I’ve slowed down…savored the moments a little more without the help of a lens. It’s a nice change. It’s a refreshing breeze of new air. It’s thrilling to be in the action instead of just capturing the action. And with all that said, sometimes when I see an image later on my computer screen, it reminds me of why I take pictures. There might be that photo that literally takes your breath away. For me this was one of them…
(yes, Weston’s eyes are officially blue. I am beyond thrilled.)
this was another…
Both were taken at Jeremy’s hometown when we went to visit for Will’s birthday. It was such a fun weekend. Nothing compares to spending time with family. Well…maybe matching shirts and navy and white stripes with barefoot tootsies.
We actually did four birthday celebrations for Will. One with our Chattanooga family…one with my family….one with friends…and one just our little family. He now thinks that every time we have a meal that it requires candles and a song and special treats. I may have to rethink our birthday celebration situation.
Grammy did a Thomas train cake for Will. He loved it. Oh heck…we all did…it’s cake afterall
We also got to see some cousins and their cute little baby girls. It gave me the baby fever all over again. I love my boys but ohmygarshthemgirls….I just know in my heart of hearts that I am meant to have a baby girl one day.
Weston’s face cracks me up here. I think he was smelling something. Let’s not name who…because they are ladies
Weston got some Grammy time…
while I snuck outside and snapped a few of this pretty girl and her mama…
Okay…so this one is straight outta the camera….I feel like it might be one of those ones that people look at later on and say that she looks exactly the same even after she grows up. Do you have one of those? I think I have a few that I look just mini…and less wrinkly.
Will got to spend the entire time with his cousin Asher. This kid is hilarious and so cute it kills me. He’s the closest thing to Will in our family in age so this was really a treat.
Will and Asher will definitely be doing this photo again in years to come. I will force them. And if that fails, I will bribe with a new car. Of course, a mother’s definition of new is “new-to-you” or may or may not include Matchbox makes and models :)
The funnest part of the trip to the home enthusiast in me was visiting one of our favorite stores – Southeastern Salvage. We have always bought furniture there because it is uh-mazing with reasonable prices. We planned on only getting our window-shop on but in the end, we splurged on a new dining room table that we pined over. haha. punny More on that later.
So that’s my Chattanooga recap. I have another of our trip to Pittsburgh…just a ton of photos of go through…
oh and in other news….today we signed a contract to get our house repainted….I may be freaking out with happiness. Sometime in early summer it is happening and I am gonna be diving into paint decks pronto to find a color that I will hopefully love for years and years to come
