Hi there!
Question – how long is too long to go without decorating your new house/place? Reason I ask is because although Ben and I have unpacked 95% of our boxes, we have yet to decorate, uh, any room except the baby’s. We’re kind of waiting to see how our furniture situation shakes out before hanging big pieces, styling book cases, etc, which means the walls are still pretty much bare. Do we hang and decorate now then move pieces later when we decide on furniture, or do we just wait it out?
Since furniture buying will be a gradual process, I don’t want to find ourselves with still-empty walls a year from now, but at the same time I don’t want to hang things up then have to re-hang and fill holes later.
#firstworldproblems
One thing’s for sure is that the built-ins on either side of the mantle in the family room aren’t going anywhere, so I’m hoping to stop by a few of my favorite antique/restoration stores this weekend to pick up some cool/quirky accent pieces. I’m way too excited for this. Ben and I are also getting out for one final yeehaw tonight, including dining at a restaurant we’ve been meaning to visit for years. Not too long before it won’t be just the two of us anymore!
Well, wherever you are, and whatever you do I hope you have a fabulous weekend, and in the meantime please enjoy my favorite finds from around the web in this week’s Friday Favorites!
Click the light blue links to be taken to the original source.
Favorite munch: Monster Cookie Dough Popcorn. BISCOFF, people. There’s melted biscoff in here!
Favorite find: Tripod Floor Lamp. I’ve been seeing these tripod floor lamps everywhere lately. I just think they’re so cool, rustic, and artsy looking. This one from Pottery Barn is on sale right now too. Wohoo!
Favorite fresh: Kale, Apple & Pancetta Salad. Yep, all the things.
Favorite bite: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bugles. Salty bugles filled with creamy buckeye filling then dipped in chocolate. These would be perfect for tailgating this fall!
Favorite funny: Chick Lineup. I don’t know why but this made me laugh like crazy. I think it’s because the chick is trying so hard to not look guilty.
Favorite sweet: Peach Pecan Crumble Bars. The peaches I’ve been buying lately have been incredibly sweet. So sweet that I often can’t stop at just one. I know. Love these crumble-topped peach bars.
Favorite print. I think it’s nice to say pom-pom too. Whee – high kicks!
Favorite treat: Tangy Raspberry Fool. Raspberry puree layered with lemon-spiked homemade whipped cream. Simple, refreshing, and luscious.
Favorite tutorial: How to Achieve a Well-Styled Bookcase. Tons of great ideas here – and just in time for my little project!
Favorite sip: Watermelon-Lime Margaritas. Frozen watermelon “ice cubes.” That is all.
Favorite show: Naked and Afraid. Can we talk about the fact that Ben’s and my current favorite new show is called Naked and Afraid, on the Discovery Channel? 2 people, 1 remote location, 21 days, NAKED. And afraid. I can’t stop watching.
Favorite bite: Buffalo Chicken Waffle Fries. Ooo, these look good. It’s been far too long since I had anything buffalo-flavored!
Favorite lick: Oreo Pudding Pops. I finally got my popsicle molds (snagged some from my Mom who bought, like, 10 sets of 5 for the grand kids) and can’t WAIT to try this recipe out!
Have a good one! : )
Thanks to your posting my husband and I are totally addicted to Naked & Afraid – omg! It is the most ridiculous show, and we can’t stop watching!
Pom-pom! ;) I love that chick line-up- so cute!
I love this question, as myself having lived in a new house for about a month now. I was curious what was “normal”. I still have little on the walls myself, like you not wanting to make holes and have to refill them and all. I think you really can’t properly hang or decorate until the furniture is placed really. I have found that when I get a new thrift store piece of furniture, each weekend I will come home, work it around till I like it and then it seems to spur me on till I have lil spaces here and there and its slowly taking shape. Just today, I looked around and thought, ok, its getting there. I think it just takes time and you cannot rush it, ironically a well decorated home is a work of art and you know what they say, “the creative process is like giving birth”. It just happens naturally :) Enjoy your new house and your new mommyhood. Lots of good times ahead for ya! Congrats!
Love these favorites – those pudding pops! Those peach crumble bars! That popcorn! Ack. Now I want all the things!
I LOVE Naked and Afraid. My husband and I just discovered it the other day and we can’t stop watching. I still don’t understand why they’re naked, but it’s entertaining either way :)
Love the recipes you come up with! I don’t follow food blogs as a rule, because I’m all about the diy/décor; but yours? Gotta have my favorite food blogger! I’m going to give your mini vanilla scones a try ASAP! Okay, well, as soon as it cools off some! 90F+ 90%humidity and up does not a baker of me make!
Now on to the real concern here: holes in the walls. I have no clue what you’re taste/style is, but I’m gonna throw some Old School on ya! Have you considered picture railing? You hang it just below crown molding. It has a curve on the top of the molding which accommodates a hook. You connect fishing line/ribbon/twine/whatever you like to that hook, then to the picture you want to hang. It is completely old fashioned and completely brilliant! For those of us who are constantly changing pictures, or waiting on the furniture to ‘come together’ this is the perfect solution!
At least I love it and believe it’s just the way to go!
Best wishes and thanks so much for all your hard work.
(PS) As a Labor and Delivery RN, I would like to wish you the very best labor and the safest delivery ever!
I confess that I only fully decorated my place when it was my turn to host girl’s night! So bad!
I am dying over those buckeye bugels! They are now all I want to eat, so thank you. And once you decorate your bookshelf like that one in the picture, what do you do with all the rest of your books? Or am I the only one with a book hoarding problem?! lol
I would wait until you buy furniture to hang stuff on walls. Where you position furniture may influence where you want to put stuff on your walls. If you are buying new wall decor, personally I think it makes the most sense to pick out furniture color/fabrics/styles first, and THEN buy wall decor that coordinates.
I definitely agree with prior comments indicating not to rush yourself. I’ve lived in my current house for about three years, and I still constantly change things. I doubt that I will ever get to the point of feeling that it is perfect.
How do you save your recipes to the recipe box? I’m sure there is something I am missing. Love your blog!
Hey Lisa! You click the blue “save recipe” button that’s above the ingredient list on my recipes. I can email you a screen shot if that’s helpful too!
Thanks for the heads up on the charity. I won some granola- seemed like a great cause to donate to and the treats were a bonus :-) love your blog
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much for participating, Karin!
Am I the only one who doesn’t know what biscof is? Never heard of it before. Is it peanut butter? Recipe sounds yummy!
Me, neither, Jo!
It’s a spread made from biscoff cookies (the cookies you get on Delta flights!) Trader Joe’s makes something similar called “Cookie Butter”.
I’m a “do-er” and I wanted our house completely done immediately. In hindsight, I regret that decision because we ended up wasting money on some choices that I wouldn’t have made if we waited. BUUUT, with a new baby on the horizon you won’t have much spare time (trust me, we have a 2 month old).
I say do what you know you absolutely 100% for sure want before the baby gets here and decide the rest later!
Love those margaritas and those Oreo pops!
I’m going to check out that book case tutorial too :)
I totally understand how you feel! I moved into our house 2 months before my daughter was born so it definitely didn’t look “done” before she was born…not even when she turned one! But I did manage to put some pics up in places where there was already a nail or a hole for one from the previous owners or in our case we had a ledge that we could prop some pics up on and that made it look homier. Don’t feel pressured to have it all done. It doesn’t really matter. Just get ready for your little man!