You'll want to click on the photos to enlarge... They are too little in the post

This June has been a big giant sweaty mess in Georgia. I mean seriously. And the bugs are bad. But in spite of these handicaps, we've been doing our best to get out and water the new plants at least five days a week. But it's a losing battle for the annuals. I'm kind of OK with it. As long as the rose bushes and the regular bushes pull through, I'm happy.

For the inside of our house, I randomly decided to rearrange the living room over the weekend. I just couldn't take it in it's layout any more. I'm not really in love with the new layout either but I think it uses the totally weird dimensions of our living room better. It just makes it more obvious that we need different/new furniture. I figure if we live with the weird inadaquacies for a few months, we'll know better what we really want. Which is convenient, since we don't have any budget for anything. It's nice having a classed up exterior, but it definitely makes me way more intolerant of the inside. Like we are not doing it justice.


I realize these chairs AND the shelf are too little for this wall, but it's nice to be able to stand and look at the map without having to kneel on the couch. And I really love having my books out. You guys, I was an English major. These are like my babies. I attempted to color code them, but I know it's weak. The shelf was thrifted by my mom (have I paid you back for that yet?) and it's such a charming little piece. I think it could work in lots of places.
The credenza as it is now. The radio does work. I paid a little more than I wanted to for it, but it was $20 at Last Chance Thrift in Decatur. They have a few pseudo hipsters working there who know to mark up anything that looks mid-century. Jerks. The plant on the far right was on our back deck, but I wanted something for a little color. It's an asparagus fern, planted in a planter my friend Ariel made. It's lovely.
The rug is a flokati that my step-mom gave us. I thought it was vintage, but then I saw the Pier One tag underneath. Oh well. It's still extremely comfy on the feet. Over the weekend, I washed it with Woolite and brushed it with the cat brush for like an hour. A little ridiculous, but it made a big difference. We had it down in here for a while a few months back, and the dog puked on it in four places. She's so spiteful. She loves the rug. In the mornings, she is laying on the middle of it with the sides all rumpled up like she's been digging and rolling in it all night.
Ideally, I'd like to get upholstered chairs for this spot. Something low profile and small, but colorful. I'm loving this chair from CB2, but the price is pretty high. And it's a little big. I'd go for a loveseat, too, but again, it would have to be little. I'm always hesitant to get a loveseat that doesn't match a couch. Risky. I could go for this loveseat from Urban Outfitters, but I'm not digging the colors. It's a moot point because of budget constraints, but a girl can dream. In the lower left, you can see my darling little $3 thrifted magazine rack. I'd been wanting one for a while, and I love the shape and details of this one.
I changed out the dining room art from the vintage cook book/entertaining images to some Charlie Harper collages. My sister gave Roxanne this amazing flashcard/floor puzzle Charlie Harper set for her birthday, but her first time playing with them, they cut her finger pretty badly. After wiping the blood off, I decided to find another use for them. I fashioned these collages, which still look a little more holly hobby than I would love, but on a budget, I think they are cute. And the images are certainly fabulous.
I was trying to get the full room in here. What do you think? Did the couch work better in it's old home? I think this new formation is growing on me. It's nice to lay on the couch and look out the window. From here, I can see the house across from us that got the "mini-makeover" from Curb Appeal, and it's lovely.
With my mom's help on layout, and Justin and my step-dad's helpful moving abilities, we pulled the table out of the closet, and put in Roxanne's little table and Heyward Wakefield chairs. I think it's adorable in there. I just want to put a little light in.
Again, the kid closet. This is a thrifted table, but I think it's charming.
Slight close up of the radio. I can't figure out what year it was made. On the one hand, it looks sixties, but maybe it was a later model made to look vintage? I haven't had any luck searching it online. It's by Commodore. And it let's me lay around and listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR on Saturdays.
And here's the Charlie Harper collage as it relates to the rest of the room. This room is so hard to arrange you guys. But I like changing things up. This is normally the time in my living situation where I start looking for a new place to rent, and it's such a nice feeling to not be stir crazy and hating millions of things about our home. There's work to do, but I feel so much more settled here, and like I actually want to invest the time to get things right. The longest place we've lived in since getting married was about a year and a half. I hope to be here much longer...