It's the little things...

Friday night we had to break into our own home. Up until now we have had the freedom of dropping by and looking around whenever we want. As of Friday however, the doors and locks are properly installed! Thankfully we found an unlocked window (of course it was the one over the kitchen sink that is t-tiny and up way high) and I managed to hoist my caboose through the hole and unlock the door for my ACL torn husband. (Otherwise he would have been the one doing amateaur acrobats to get through the window instead of me flashing our poor neighbors with my skirt on).

ANYWAY, I am thankful for the added measure of security on the premises as we now have appliances! Don't want these little beauties to get stolen since they aren't even installed yet...

The backyard (if you can call it that) is screaming for hydrangea bushes and an herb garden.

It's the simple things in life that make me happy. Like...

a place to put our TP...

the floor plug having a cover...
and I am sooo looking forward to organizing our pantry!

Furniture Shopping at Ikea

Last weekend Ben and I took a vacation day to do some traveling/shopping/family visiting. We spent Friday shopping at Ikea in Atlanta so I could continue my never ending search for the perfect sofa.

These mirrors were in the window display at the entrance. I just bought an old brass mirror like this at our church yard sale for $5 with the intentions of painting it out in a fun color. Ben thought I was crazy, he couldn't see the potential...until Ikea made it cool and now he loves it! Why does he still doubt me?


I am looking forward to having a back yard and patio to grill and garden in! I love this fun white picnic table.

The Pottery Barn Outlet had this version for probably three times as much.

My favorite bedroom at Ikea was taped off so I didn't get a chance to go in this time...

I did find these chairs for $69 each! My mother is giving us a pedestal table she doesn't want anymore. I plan to paint it an antique white and mix it with black chairs. I love knowing that my kids will be eating at the same table I grew up eating on!

P.S. I also love the skirted cushion. The stripe reminds me of french ticking and really pulls it all together, don't ya think?

The very first room we saw when we entered the world of Ikea:

This is nothing like I have planned to do in my house, but I really loved it! I may change my direction entirely and end up with something like this if I can't find the sofa I have in my head in the near future.

What are those women doing in my living room?

This little nook sent me into inspiration overload. We plan to do a corner of bookcases and a chair in our Office/Craft room that will earily resemble this photo.

I am so NOT contempory in style WHATSOEVER. My husband however could live in a stainless steel box with all leather furniture and straight lines. He was loving the fact that I was actually seeing the beauty in some more modern pieces, like this desk. I like the fact that it is open underneath and will not take up as much visual space in our home office.

I also really like this concept - His and Her desks! I could craft while he accounts!

From Atlanta we headed to South Carolina to celebrate Mother's Day with Ben's mom. We had a great time and even snuck in a trip to the Pottery Barn Outlet while we were there. I didn't get any pics of the family visit. I guess I was too focused on furniture for the weekend (silly me). But it was great to spend time with the Grizzle side of our family and to pamper Mrs. Grizzle a little with some lunch and shopping on Mother's Day. I hope she knows how much she means to us and how much we miss and love her!

Another Living Room Option

Trying to decide which one I like better. I have always wanted a white couch, but is that really practical??? I am justifying it with the fact that it is a slipcover and I can wash it. I would also purchase a spare so I can switch them out while laundering.



Of course I still have this option...


WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE?????

16 Days and Counting

We stopped by the house Thursday night to take some final measurements before we left town for our furniture excursion in ATL. Things are still moving along quite nicely.

We have sidewalks out front and a driveway in the back.

Another mistake to add to the list - stair spindles should be wrought iron, not wood...

and there should be tile where these workers are laying linoleum.

We do have lights!

and electricity to go with them!

Tonight we stopped by to see if they had fixed any of the mistakes from last week.

and we had landscaping!

and floors!


This is one of my favorite things in the whole house...a floor plug!


And they were laying our tile but they had carpeted the stairs. Hardwood stairs were a major priority for me. I do not want to be vacuuming Marley's cat hair off of the stairs for the rest of my life (or the few years we live there)! So they will be fixing that. I forgot to get a pic of that mistake though.

They have moved our closing date up 2 more days to May 27. So, assuming they are able to finish AND fix their mistakes in the next couple of weeks, we will begin our transition to the new house!

Stay tuned for some pictures from our furniture search in Atlanta and our trip to South Carolina!

Design Boards

In order to help me get my ideas together for the rooms in our house, I have created design boards. Here are my top choices at the moment:

Living Room


Dining Room


Kitchen


Master Bedroom


Craft Room/Office


Man Room

My Favorite Things

1. Grain sacks and burlap. It is everywhere right now and I am loving it...the color, the texture and the price! Go here to see how to make your own grain sack art.



2. Bunting. I wish we were going to be in the house before Memorial Day so I could don my front porch with these little patriotic beauties:

3. Geese. We have a small pond by our house where many geese families "summer". I love the fact that they mate for life and the way they travel with their little goslings in tow. Precious.


4. Blue Bell Banana Pudding Ice Cream. Two of my favorite desserts combined into one!

5. Pet squirrel. I have a pet squirrel at my office. He lives in the woods outside my window. I leave him treats and he stops by for a daily snack. Sometimes he will get in my window sill to eat his latest yummy find as a way of thanking me for leaving it for him. I keep trying to get his picture when it happens. Maybe one day I will have one to post on here for your viewing pleasure.

6. Cook Yourself Thin. A new show on Lifetime that shows you how to make your favorite meals with less calories but NOT less flavor. I think I may have to get their book:

7. Sproost.com. This site will tell you your decorating style for real. Not just a fun quiz - but a true test of your design tastes.

8. DIY Projects. Looking forward to doing some more stuff for the new house. Inspirations found here, here , here and here.

9. Spring Cleaning. What better excuse is there for getting rid of "junk" than packing? My goal is to not bring anything into the new house that we don't use or love.

10. The Parking Lot Game. Availabe for iTouch and iPhone. Super fun and addicting game!

ABC's of JMWG (Jamie Michele Waugh Grizzle)

A - Age: 26…and that rounds down to 25 and not up to 30.

B - Bed size: Queen… looking for a King for the new house.

C - Chore you hate: Folding laundry and pumping gas.

D - Dog's name: don’t have one…but my cat's name is Marley. He's the best!

E - Essential start your day item: A kiss from my hubby. (Cheesy, but true.)

F - Favorite color: Blue & White (yes, I realize white is not actually a color)

G - Gold or Silver: both! Wedding rings are silver but I wear more gold accessories.

H - Height: 5' 2 ½”

I - Instruments you play: Does Guitar Hero count?

J - Job title: Ministry Assistant at Homewood Church of Christ and owner of The Paper Nest.

K - Kid(s): None yet…definitely looking forward to them though!

L - Living arrangements: currently live in Birmingham with my husband, Ben and our cat, Marley. Building a home in McCalla...coming June 2009.

M - Mom's name: Michele

N - Nicknames: James to my friends and “J” to my husband.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Nada…never even had a broken bone! (knock on wood)

P - Pet Peeve: Hmmm…I have more than I should. Bad drivers, ignorant people, people who interrupt and mouth noises. Is it that hard to chew with your mouth CLOSED?

Q - Quote from a movie: “You make $100 an hour and you have a safety pin holding your boot up?”

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Just one, but she is the best one there is!

T - Time you wake up: Between 6:30 - 7:15 AM

U- Underwear: It rhymes with wrong but is so Right! (too funny, Rachel!)

V - Vegetable you dislike: Celery.

W - Workout style: I like to watch people work out on the Biggest Loser, does that count?

X - X-rays you've had: just my suitcase at the airport.

Y - Yummy food you make: I love to cook anything and everything. Ben loves my spaghetti sauce the most – he’s an easy customer.

Z - Zoo favorite: Giraffe at the zoo, but I am definitely in love with the Beluga Whales at the aquarium.

Thanks for the tag Rach!