Rhapsody in Rooms

A Colorful & Creative Life

My Momma Told Me To Shop Around

This past week when my mom was visiting we definitely had some fun hitting up some stores, throwing ideas around, and buying some pretty great stuff for the house. She has a great eye, and I definitely think I got my decorating itch (and sweet tooth as I mentioned in this dessert post) from her. Our big trip together was to IKEA. I was so excited to go with mom because she had never been. Gasp! It was great to bring a newbie through the winding ways of IKEA. I definitely wanted to document some of my favorite “rooms” they stage because they always have such fun ideas.

Of course it started with lunch in the IKEA cafeteria, which came to costing nothing since they were hosting a special buy a certain amount and get your meal deducted from your purchase. Hurray! Oh, and the salmon lasagna was amazing!

I loved this room’s funky fresh feel. The wallpaper was a fun, bold statement, and I like the yellow, purple, and blue shades they used together. I almost bought that black shelf too, but came up with something better!

I love this idea of wrapping fabric around a frame. It’s so pretty it doesn’t even need a picture!

Oh my, you know I am a sucker for maps (as seen here with buying our huge map for a deal). I think this one is so cool because it is HUGE but also because they used the clocks to put the different time zones. I would have this in an office, stat.

My mom and I both fell hard for these clear chairs. We did a seat test for quite some time as we oohed and ahhed over their oh-so-prettiness and their comfort. Who knew plastic could be so comfy?!

Oh the library room, the library room. One day (maybe) I will have one. Sigh. Did I mention I love library rooms?

Here’s a sneak peek of what hopped off their shelves and into our cart. I won’t do a full show of our purchases since you will see them in their revealed posts. Well, all except for the cinnamon buns. They are happy in their new home in my belly – and you don’t want to see that. Mmmm delicious.

On another day of her visit we decided to hit up one of my favorite local antique stores: Peddler Antiques. It was a place that Mom had shopped in when she lived here and bought some beautiful items. Alas, no purchases were made here (well, except some tin Christmas coasters for Eric, that lucky dog) but I did find some pretty great stuff that is worth a share.

Here are some adorable trivets that I thought would be way cuter as art on the wall. But at $12 a piece, I thought they were a little pricey for that purpose. They were only about 2-3 inches wide. [HA! I just saw the stink bug photo bomb! Ick! But it helps show their true size cause that bug looks GIANT!]

You know me, I like to find the odd things as well as the beautiful things. More and more I want items that are unique and conversation starters. This piece would fit! Or be fun for a kids room. It is a musical bank, which I assume means that it plays music when you drop a coin into it. What a great motivator to help teach kids how to save!

Is it weird that I fell in love with this brass unicorn? I almost walked away with it but thought that I had one too many brass knick-knacks. Isn’t it fun?!

This piece was just beautiful. A teal buffet. Ooo-la-la. My kind of piece, although I would rather refinish one myself instead of finding one already refinished, but this would be a good inspiration piece.

This piece almost came home with me as well. It is a star/lantern which I love! But I couldn’t think of a place for it to go, so it stayed. I try not to bring in superfluous items into the house that I don’t instantly know where they would go or love so much I can’t let go.

Finally, this little picture pairing was just so sweet. Being so influenced by Gone with the Wind growing up, I still love items that remind me of that book/movie and time period. These were small (maybe 3×5), delicate, and lovely prints. Although at round $40 I thought they were too much. Although I am enjoying gazing at them in this picture!

That concludes my little picture tour of the shops that Mom and I visited while she was here. We had so much fun just poking around and talking about all the ideas that came to us. Inspiration is all around. Stay tuned for the projects that are to come from my various IKEA buys. Hurray!

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Make Your Own Artwork | Rappsody in Rooms

[…] my mom and I went to Ikea, we found some great frames that were just dying to be filled. Here is what I did with the oh-so […]ReplyCancel
Artwork on a Shelf | Rappsody in Rooms

[…] would liven up the room more, perhaps bringing in some of the colors in the memory board. Then, my mom and I visited Ikea and plans changed, like they tend to do in that store with so many opportunities for creativity […]ReplyCancel

Sweet Potato Pie

Behold, I baked a pie (and crust) from scratch. The biggest achievement? It doesn’t have chocolate! WOW! I almost never, ever make desserts that don’t have chocolate. A sweet potato pie though, that had me interested. Since my mom was coming to visit, I thought it would be a good time to try something new. Also, we have a pretty extreme sweet tooth, so I thought adding in a healthier type of dessert might balance all the chocolate I knew we were going to consume. And man, is this good! Always having been a fan of the sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving, I knew I was going to like this.

Ingredients

1 pound of sweet potatoes
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 9 inch crust

Directions

1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into medium-sized chunks. Boil until they become soft enough to mash (30ish minutes).

2. Beat sweet potatoes in a mixer until smooth. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Side note: In these pictures I made my own crust. However, as it was my first crust and I sort of rushed through it, I wasn’t thrilled with it. Therefore, I am not going to share the recipe I used for it. When I perfect it, then I will share. Either use your own recipe or buy one!

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My Momma Told Me To Shop Around | Rappsody in Rooms

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Organize Your Home in One Hour

Organization. It’s something that we are all gunning for at one level or the other. It makes life simpler and easier to manage. Quicker too. For me, it’s kind of like a high. Organization gets me all excited. My heart beats a little faster and even in the midst of the chaos during an organizational project, the sight of piles getting organized gets me pumped to just keep going. So this weekend when I began an organizational project, I was more than a little gleeful. This project successfully organized the entire house in under an hour.

Woah. Organize the house in under an hour. Am I Superwoman? Maybe. That’s beside the point. I organized the entire house into one bright green binder. Yup, I made myself a house organization binder to organize all those paint colors, manuals, and other various house related materials.

I started with a binder, dividers, plastic holders, pretty paper, and tape.

I got the binder from Target and the oh-so-pretty dividers from Staples. My first step was putting the dividers into the binder and labeling each with a room in the house. Since these dividers didn’t have the slide-in tabs, I decided to use my newly purchased washi tape ($1.20 Target clearance!) to make pretty (and removable) labels.

My categories were:

Living room
Kitchen
Mego Cave
Bedroom #1
Bedroom #2
Hall Bath
Master Bedroom
Master Bath
Basement
Outdoors/Misc.

Now I may add more later, but this is what suits my needs right now. Then, it was time to prettify this project. Why? Because I think everything should add to the beauty in our lives. I splurged for the pretty dividers but couldn’t find a pretty binder that was big enough (or cheap enough in all honesty). So instead I found the $1 section at Target that had lots of pretty rolls of patterned wrapping paper. I of course scooped up a few with this project in mind (and a few others). I thought instead of buying a patterned binder, I would just insert a pattern into the clear plastic front of the binder. That way I could change it up anyway I wanted! All I did was cut the paper to fit and slide ‘er in. I am quite in love that I can see the bright green still peeking around the pattern.

Then I found myself up to my ears in manuals, warranties, service orders, etc. This is our manual drawer exploding.

I categorized them all into their appropriate rooms and slid them into a sleeve. Wow, they really ballooned my binder. This works for now but if I find myself running out of space in the binder, they may find themselves in a filing cabinet. I’ll see how it works out.

Another thing I did was collect all my wayward paint chips, separate them by color, and put them in a sleeve in the “Misc.” section. These are always floating around the house, making all sorts of clutter, but I always like to bring them out when a new project is on the horizon, so I thought it would be good to put them in the book.

Speaking of paint, one of the main reasons I made this book was to organize my paint colors. Each room got a paint sheet where I detailed the paint colors for each item. I also plan on painting a swatch to slide in there so I can always take it out and to the store with me, if needed.

I also decided that I wanted to keep track of when we change the air filters and put RidX down the septic system, so I made a little template to slide into the front pockets of the binders to keep track of the dates.

The last step was to put it in its new home. I decided to slide it into a shelf on the bookcase in the Mego Cave so I can easily reach it. I think it looks pretty there all the while being functional too!

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you organize the house in under an hour. Wammo. Shazaam. Because it feels that good.

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Paula@SweetPea

I need to do this, stat! We inherited binders like this for our home but didn’t keep up with them. There are drawers full of manuels, etc. in our basement that I should go through and either put in a binder or recycle if we no longer have that appliance. I love the idea of adding paint chips to the binder, too. Thanks so much for sharing this great idea with this week’s Throwback Thursday party.ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  Thanks Paula! Yes, it takes some time and organizing (and looking at manuals trying to remember when you even owned something like that) but it is SO helpful. Organizing always has a way of making me feel better. 🙂ReplyCancel
Angela

I started a management binder a few years ago but never followed through with it. I have been working on gathering the motivation to start/finish it. It’s just sitting on the shelf, every time I get frustrated because I can’t find some household info I think- “darn it, this is the kind of thing I would have in there” 🙂ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  You can do it Angela!! I’ll be your cheering squad. Just sit down with a movie or show and it will make it much more enjoyable! Just think about all the time you will save in the future too! I also recommend picking bright colors and pretty patterns. Making something beautiful always helps me keep going!ReplyCancel
Alli

Thanks for sharing such helpful information. You had me at “one hour.” So glad you linked up at Throwback Thursday!ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  Thanks Alli! It really can be done in one hour!ReplyCancel
Julie

Could you just pop round and tidy me up? I dream of being tidy and manage tiny pockets of organisation but the rest is pretty much winging it! You are so encouraging, I think I could manage this – and organise my house/life one tiny step at a time!ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  If you were local I would definitely do that Julie! I know you could definitely manage this! Just take it one step at a time. It can feel overwhelming if you look at a whole house but it you do one closet, drawer, and room at a time you will get there!ReplyCancel
Denyse @ Glitter, Glue & Paint

I love the idea of home organizational binders. I have one for blogging and I’d be lost without it. Thanks for sharing at Throwback Thursday.

xoxo
DenyseReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  Home organizational binders are the best Denyse! I definitely think I need to make one for blogging. It’s such a good idea. Now I just have a notebook with all my scribbles.ReplyCancel
Betty819

Megan, You sure are creative: just found your blog via Pinterest this am. I want to sit down and study some of your projects more thoroughly because some really are drawing my attention. Thank You for sharing your creative talents. I do family genealogy and have all sorts of 3 ring binders, about 40 of them; some I purchased, some were given to me, some I have purchased at a Thrift shop for a small amount. Some are held together with gray duct tape..so I plan to replace them. It would look neater if I bought all new ones and replace them so they’ll all be the same color but that can be expensive unless I catch a great sale. They are not all the same thickness either. I keep them inside bedroom and office closets on shelves. Why does everything take so much time and money to replace it or improve it?ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  Hi Betty! Thanks so much for visiting my blog! So glad to have you! It sounds like you have a ton of binders! Have you thought about buying them in bulk from a home improvement store? Sometimes you can get a discount that way. But I would also scour the back-to-school sales out now too. I bet you could score some pretty great deals on binders!ReplyCancel
Betty819

Megan,
My problem is lack of storage but you’re right; now would be a good time to hit the office supplies places for notebooks. Went to Staples yesterday for printer cartridges and it was a madhouse. Best time to go there is first thing in the morning when they have just opened..like 7 or 8 am..ReplyCancel
- Megan
  
  Ohh yes, lack of storage can be a bummer. Great tip on when to go to the office supply stores. It definitely pays to be the early bird!ReplyCancel

Antiquing: It’s All Downhill From Here

Take this title literally, because we visited a ski slope way up a mountain and then took a spontaneous visit to an antique store at the bottom of the mountain this weekend. Since Eric was off of work this Saturday (yay!) we took advantage of having a whole weekend together and went off on a little adventure. Even though Spring officially started this past week, we have had a pretty cold winter thus far so we thought it would be fun to go up to the ski slope that is about 45 minutes away to wave goodbye to winter (or so we thought). I have been up to Wintergreen lots before, yet never during the winter so I had never seen it snowy up there. It sure was beautiful!

The above picture was from the lookout but we got right on the slopes. Here Eric is scoping out the snow boarder’s moves, reminiscing on his high school days when he and his buddies would be on the slopes almost every night.

After we had enough of the slopes, we headed back down the mountain. Not done with our adventure, we spontaneously decided to turn left instead of right when we reached the highway. Left meant more adventures and right meant home. Left we went and headed to an antique store that we always pass on our way to Charlottesville but have never gone in. But Saturday was the day!

Isn’t that such a pretty, eye-catching building with its bright yellow exterior and crisp white trim? Its contents were pretty great too, even the ceiling, which was a white tin that was gorgeous!

Look at all that beautiful antique wooden furniture. Unfortunately this is most definitely an antique store and not a thrift store, so prices were high. However looking was free.

What an amazing boat, right?! I caught Eric staring at it like a little boy. Adorable. Then he caught me in here, staring all glaze-y eyed at all these glass pieces.

There are always a few funny items that catch my eye for their oddities and charm. Here are a few.

I also loved these framed play bills and the ceiling details here.

Wouldn’t this look sweet in a little girl’s room? It also had a cool old curling iron. #girlglee

These German containers were the only items that I contemplated really buying. I thought they were so cool and were a nice twist on the regular ole “Flour”, “Sugar”, etc. jars.

These barbers on bottles were random, which made me like them lots!

I liked this corner that brought in some Peacock flair with a little bit of Indian. It was fun!

These bright red chairs with some Asian writing caught my eye. Wouldn’t they be great to head a dining room table?

So that was our little Saturday day trip adventure full of slopes and antiques. We thought we were bidding farewell to winter by driving up a mountain to see snow, but I guess we brought it home with us as we actually got quite a doozy of a snowstorm today. Check out the view from the window Sunday afternoon!

Also, my mom is coming to visit for a few days this week (hurray!!). I will try to stay on regular schedule with the blogs but if I am a little MIA this week it is because my mom and I are either out shopping for household items, talking a mile a minute, or watching a movie! Happy Monday!

Inspiring Japanese Spaces

Hi all and happy Friday! Today I thought I would do some dreaming here on the blog by sharing some amazing spaces in Japan. This little dream blog will hopefully accomplish two things. First, it introduces interior design ideas from a country known for being super funky yet very minimalist. An intriguing combination. The second goal of this post is to provide inspiration and motivation for Eric and me to hang in there as we squirrel pennies away for our vacation to Japan. Looking at pictures upon pictures of this beautiful country with its innovative ideas will definitely accomplish these two items. Here we go!

Let’s start with some of the crazy architecture. It seems that as a small country with a large population, they have really learned how to use every nook and cranny. These buildings show the ingenuity in using every last square inch (well, I guess it’s not inches there), even in places where you didn’t think you could add something, like this nook carport.

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