Southern College Girl + Ecletic/Rustic/DIY Style = A COOL Little Apartment

Well Hello there!  

Are you ready for a new year?

I was thinking about the MANY loose ends I had,

which made me think about drafts I had written but never posted here.

(I just hate when I do that)

Anyway, most of them were pretty silly but since I get a 

book of my blog posts every year,

there were a few that I wanted to be included in the book.

This first one is about how we turned my daughter's tiny loft apartment 

into a cool little sanctuary 

for her to live in, study, and hang out with friends.

I might ramble a bit at first but then we'll move on to mostly pictures, 

so hang in there:)

Yes, my baby left for college in August.  

(We won't talk about how difficult that was for moi;)

She is just 18 but transferred to the University of Alabama as a junior.

The school has grown so much that 

  freshmen are required to live on campus in the beautiful dorms but

pretty much everyone else gets some sort of apartment.

This actually worked well for her because as a Biology/Pre-Med major,

she has a pretty intense course load and wanted her own space 

to study whenever she needed to.

After a bit of searching,

 we found a small one bedroom/one bath loft style apartment.

It is in an older building downtown that was renovated into apartments...

"luxury" apartments.  Hmmm...well they are nice but I would say 

more rustic than luxurious.

However, the security, location and the type of tenant is definitely a cut above

your normal college student apt building, 

for which my husband and I are grateful! ;)

I really have to set this place up.

As I said, these are brand new apartments in an older building 

so they tried to make them new

and upgraded but leave many rustic touches from the old place.

And they did. lol

She has a very nice kitchen and bath with upscale appliances 

and a nice big snack bar.

The floors are concrete.  Yes, I said concrete.  

Like the stuff you would find UNDER

wood floors, but it is no problem as she had some cool rugs picked out.

Her ceilings are super high which makes it feel bigger and it has exposed

beams and stuff like in all loft apartments, which she and her friends think is cool:)

Now, the main wall in the apartment is VERY rough and old looking.

It has lots of "character!"  Seriously though, it is kinda cool because it used to be the wall

to the old Bama Theater from the 1800's 

and as it was a historical building they had to leave it alone.

One good thing...we didn't have to worry about putting holes in the wall

when we hung ALL her stuff!  They were already there! ;)

STYLE:  

Let's talk about style.  

We took the size of the apartment into consideration, 

and the look of it, plus the location and the fact that there are cold months 

in the winter.  We also wanted/needed to use some stuff we already had and 

mix it with a few new pieces.  

She is a chip off the ol block and likes a variety of styles...

she's a little bit boho and likes a casual surf style mixed 

with rustic charm and some western touches.  

Toss in some southern, country charm and it's a cozy little apartment:)

Easy, huh?  let's see.....

After a disastrous screw up by the moving company who didn't deliver her stuff

till AFTER we went home.  

The landlord let them in a week later and they pretty much dumped everything and left.  

 Let the unpacking begin!!!

YIKES!  Where did all this crap come from???

And to think the week we were there waiting for her things to be delivered,

we went shopping for MORE stuff.  

But then again, it was hard to resist the cool shops and vintage thrift boutiques

right outside her door in downtown Tuscaloosa!

Anyway, where do I start.

Okay, there were a few things that were our guidelines in decorating her apartment.

1.  Make good use of some of her favorite things from home

and from trips we've taken.

2.  Do as much DIY as possible.

3.  EVERYTHING had to be cozy, comfy, welcoming and meaningful.

Let's start with the DIY which is mainly in the living room..........

Like many people we are rustic decor fans and obsessed with 

pallets and crates and all the things they can be used for.

As you can see, we stained a TON of crates!  

Here are some of the projects.......

an amazing TV stand!

Remember I said one of our rules was to use her favorite things?

In the above photo, notice these things:

canvas pics of her dogs (diy), her vintage metal Ford sign (she likes ford trucks:), 

cowboy hats,Roll Tide banner (diy), family photos, books, 

Big Al the elephant embellished with jewels (diy........and Alabama mascot!)

 Snack and Soap dispenser crates.............

Crates for all her cowboy boots!!!

And with the remaining crates we made a little book shelf.  

(The bookshelf is not filled but you get the idea!)
Favorite and/or New things in the above photo:
"Wander" sign with wood letters from Urban Outfitters,
Alabama "A" made from metal scrap pieces found at a local shop
and a map of the U.S on wood planks from World Market.
We painted little wooden hearts gold and glued them to all the places she had been.
So that's kind of a DIY, right? :)

Next, she REALLY wanted a pallet coffee table on casters that she made HERSELF!
(To go with the sofa we donated from home:)

We scrounged around, found a pallet and got to work sanding, staining
 and attaching casters with a little help from her dad.

Not bad, right?  I'd take one in a heartbeat! :)
It was very easy to do if you're interested.
This photo: a lucky horseshoe from our Texas road trip, metal Amazing Grace cross and all sitting on top of her pride and joy........a cowhide rug.  She wanted lots of rugs and layered them around her apartment.


Also, notice the crate end table and as I said, our old sofa from home:) Also her favorite metal Beach sign from a flea market and a canvas with a horseshoe that has Nashville printed on it. (Another favorite place:)

finishing up with the living room, here are some of the other little touches she has on the wall.........

Her sweet friend that she bought at a local vintage shop:)

(Notice the twinkle lights, which are now strung ALL OVER the apartment!)

A chalkboard she hand lettered with one of her favorite verses and has a place up high on her wall so she sees it every time she walks in the door............

and a few other items............

 Next up, the coziest rustic/girly bedroom ever!

We got a room size white rug for a steal to go with the girly, white ruffled bedding.

The headboard is to die for, if I say so myself! 

It is a barn door headboard made by our new friend John who

lives in Auburn Alabama.  He made it, delivered it, set it up and helped us hang a few other

things in the apartment.  Check him out on etsy...........

Dixon and Dad.  He's a great guy who makes beautiful wood pieces!!!

 We found the CRIMSON chair at a store in Tuscaloosa called The attic and the lamp shade was embellished by us:)

My DIY piece in the bedroom is the bedside stand, which I hand stamped myself.

Everything has a meaning on it, from her favorite verses, to her favorite country singers,

RTR for roll tide roll, USA and more........

This is the view my sunshine has from her bed and another pic of the bedside stand, as well as her beloved guitar and an enlarged pic of our favorite horse from Texas!

 Every good college student needs a study area so here is hers.........

notice the old wall from the Bama Theatre?

Almost done! LOL

what would we do without mason jars?
Here are some we painted to use as a vanity set.............

Lastly, the Kitchen...........
Just your typical kitchen with cool throw rugs, four cow print snack bar chairs and
fun stuff from home and travels........

Vintage soda crates.........



And what better message to see every morning when getting your coffee...




Good Morning Gorgeous!

Above the door is a message for all to see.........

And she's off to her first day of class.......complete with a houndstooth bag which is
VERY Bama!

Just go down University Blvd and turn left at the stadium.............

 Good Luck, Bama Girl!!!!!

XOXOXOXO
Suzanne

Made With Love....Simple Ideas for Valentine's Day Gifts and Decorating

When my girls were younger,

we had barely put Christmas decorations away

before we started decorating for Valentine's Day.  

Hearts were everywhere, and we were already thinking of

what Valentines to make and what would be on our 

Pink and Red Menu for Valentine's Day.

The past few years we've kinda let it go.

Life just got more busy, you know?

Until a few days ago, when my 12 year old niece Macy

wrote to show us pictures of how she had decorated her room.

I think she did an AMAZING job!

She finished by asking how we were decorating this year.

Ummmmm..........well,  I wasn't sure if we were.

UNTIL that email from her.

Until I was inspired by a young girl's festive spirit.

So I went online and I walked around the house,

 looking for ideas.

I found a few things I had made and tweaked them a bit

to make them work for Valentine's Day, either as a

decoration or as a small gift.

See what you think........

1.  Candy hearts look adorable in a Mason Jar pedestal.  At least I think so.......
but then, I love these candies so I would think they look great in ANYTHING!
And these are really easy to make, using a mason jar, candlestick and E6000 glue.

2.  Painted Mason Jars and Milk Bottles hold anything you can think of,

and would be a beautiful way to hold flowers, candy or special messages.

3.  Bejeweled Mini Mason Jars.......Strips of lace or burlap glued around a jar, embellished with a jewel and/or flower.  These look cute gathered on a table top and make

AWESOME gift containers!  No wrapping necessary:)

4.  Heart Garland.......dollar store craft!  

5.  Heart Pencil Toppers........Again, the wire and pencils were bought at the dollar store.

Simply twist a piece of the wire into a heart shape and wrap on the pencil tops.

 

These heart toppers are also fabulous on a longer stick and used as bubble blowers!  

Thank you Macy!

Without the inspiration from you, we might've been lazy and let this Holiday slip by:)

A few other decorations I found were these:

A heart wreath.......paper hearts glued on a wreath or any round form.

 Pom Pom Monsters!

How cute are these?  Pretty dang cute if you ask me:)

Heart Rag Wreath!  Super cute and EASY!

Yarn wrapped letters or hearts.  This is such a simple project that

will be a real eye catcher!

Well, why NOT a heart tree?  

You could write little messages on them or leave as is.........

cute either way!

  Remember the heart garland I mentioned above?

You could tie them on branches outside.  Awesome!

Alrighty then, I think that's about it.

Check back soon.......I have other ideas to pass on but didn't want

 to bombard anyone:)

XOXO

Suzanne

Hey Dad...Can We Talk?

Well, here we are......another Father's Day without you.

Just so you know, it isn't the same.

Never will be.

You are in Heaven, with your Heavenly Father.

That is so incredibly comforting. 

But at times like this, it's still tough.

However, that's life, right?

I have to be grateful for the time we had.

For all you taught us.

Thank you for being such a wonderful Father.

For being such a wonderful example.

And now, there are a few things I wanted you to know.

Life has gone on......and it's time to catch up.

Catch up on the things you've missed in a few short years.

(and since I've neglected my blog, I'm going to fill y'all in here too.  

After all, this is my little online journal in a way and I've missed some BIG stuff:):)

But this is really for you Dad.......all the things I'd want to tell you if I could.

So here we go, in no particular order......

Mom

You would be SHOCKED to see Mom now.

Or maybe not.

She's a AMAZING!

And BEAUTIFUL!!

I can honestly say she has held it together better than I have on most days.

At least, that's how it seems.

She is STRONG when she needs to be.

Example A.  She drives herself everywhere.  Even in Winter:)

B.  She EVEN pumps her own gas.  FOR REAL!

C.  You should see how she has taken care of Aunt M.  You'd be so proud!!

D.  She pays the bills herself.  And she's pretty good at it:)

E.  She cooks dinner most nights.  Not a bowl of cereal like I would do if I were alone.

She sets the table and has a nice dinner.  You would love it.

F.  She coaxed Taylor through her first year away from home in Chicago.

(more on that next:)

G.  She flew to Florida ALONE!  And let my dogs crawl all over her:)

H.  She watches over others in the neighborhood.

(P.S. Psycho is gone, so life is quieter on the street;)

I.  Turns out, you weren't the only green thumb in the house.......

she does a pretty good job keeping your yard looking like the park you created;)

There's more.......but you know that, right?

Taylor

WOW...you won't believe this but little Tater Tot grew up.......

she graduated last year and moved all by herself to Chicago.

I know kids do this all the time, but this is sweet Taylor.

She was offered a chance to train with JOFFREY BALLET, and you know

how much she loved ballet.......and how awesome she was!

(Clara in the Nutcracker)

Dad, you would be so proud.  We sure are!  

However, she is now thinking she's had enough.  Maybe.  You know she danced since she was 3 years old.  She's 19 now.  

Still has to train a few more years to gain an entry level

position in a ballet company.  

That's okay........people do it all the time.

(SugarPlum Fairy in the Nutcracker)

But I think it's hitting her that this is for a job. Much different than dancing joyfully for your studio and hometown.   I think maybe the joy is leaving her a bit.

And for a girl who just wants to be happy and make others happy, that's a big deal.

She is a small town girl who loves dancing .........but the constant competition, 

the constant "audition" that comes with training to be a dancer is wearing thin.

You know her.  She will never cut somebody down to better herself.  Ever.

She is a sweet, likable young woman........still.......but she is not a 

"look at me" type of person.  Never has been, never will be.

Others first.......that's her.

She's truly a "good girl".

Wish you were here to tell her that it's okay to switch gears and be whatever she wants.

That she has already accomplished so much,  it would be understandable.  

That she has had the privilege of performing roles some only dream of.

Because she so wants to please us, I'm never sure what she's really thinking.

I know leaving is all part of growing up.

We are a close family, and I think that's a big part of it.

She was such a serious student,  at the studio all the time,

and gone every summer.   Her choice.

But I think she might be ready to find something else she loves too, 

a bit closer to home and family. 

To discover another side of herself.

I just want her to be sure.

Really sure.  Really, really sure.

If she does hang up those pointe shoes, 

I'm going to miss seeing her perform something terrible.

But I'll get over it:)  Anyway, stay tuned.  Who knows what the future holds:)

And as you know, this girl WILL land on her feet.

but i'm the mom.......of course I think that:)

Ahhhhhh.......You forgot to tell me it never gets easier being a parent:)

I have to tell you one more little story, and I know.......this is turning into a book.

Sorry!

While living in Chicago, there were many homeless people 

looking for handouts on the street.

With her big heart, it was tough for her not to give in and hand money to every single one.......

and there were MANY, as I said.

But she did something that even I didn't know about, until she got home.

All year, she put her spare change in a bag.

Dimes, Nickels, Pennies.

And on her last day in Chicago, she went down to the street and handed her ziplock of change

 to a certain homeless man she saw every day,

 who really did look down on his luck, but had a beautiful smile.

He seemed kind, never pushy, never "scary".  

So she gave him her bag of change and watched him smile bigger than ever, 

and through his tears said

"Thank you...God Bless You for your kindness."

You and I know he may have done something with that bag of coins

 that he didn't need to do. 

But maybe not.  Maybe our sweet girl gave him more than a bag of coins.

Maybe she gave him HOPE.

Now that is pretty much all you need to know about the 19 year old Taylor:)

Jordie

Where do I start with this girl!

You would be so proud of her too.  And amused.  

She still says and does what SHE wants.......and I learn from her every day too:)

She cracks me up daily.

Let's see.  She got into College 2 years early, just as she said she would.

She is majoring in Athletic Training, with a dual major in Physical Therapy.  Maybe:)  

She's gonna be awesome at it!

But a part of her is also still thinking of Marine Biology, to work with dolphins:)

I say, "Why Not"?  So who knows!

But let's just say if she could be an athletic trainer at the

  University of Alabama,

there would be no decision.

In fact, if she decides to go away to school, that's where she'll go.

She is a southern girl and the SEC is where it's at.  Sorry;)

No, not sorry.  ROLLTIDE! hahaha

But she's gonna miss the beach if she goes.  Really bad!

You might've thought I was a beach bum, but she has me beat:)

She loves anything that has a "board" in it's name.

Surfboard, Skim Board, Paddle Board...

And get this.  She somehow started a cookie business.  

SugarBelle's Cookies of Naples.  And guess what.  They're GOOD.

And Beautiful!!!

Decorated sugar cookies.......YUM!

She has a summer job at the Old Naples Surf Shop!

Talk about "meant to be":)

She has a very "cool" vibe and is perfect for this job.

I'm not done yet.

She still loves to play tennis.

And this week, her coach asked her to help

run a kids tennis camp a few days a week at the resort.

Talk about HAPPY!

Yes, she's doing what she does best.

Being Jordan!

She keeps me young........and exhausted;)

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Did I mention, she is also a good girl?

And that she wants a mini bulldog someday?

Her dad isn't on board with the idea yet, but what else is new?

We'll keep working on him:)

Jordan is kind and extremely friendly.

She talks to anyone and everyone.

She is 17.........and AWESOME!  You would be So proud!

PHIL

Well, if I have to admit it, he does a good job of taking care of me.

But I sure wish you were here to tell him retirement is awful.

Never do it.  That you hated it!

But you would never lie to him, I know:)  hahaha

He isn't retiring yet or anything.

But it's on the horizon.

(Okay, I can't think about that right now:)

Besides, I'm busy figuring out his next career.

He still loves working, you know.

  He needs challenges!

Then there is Golf.  

He REALLY loves hitting that little white ball in a little hole.

Don't ask me why.  But he does:)

When he goes to Flint, he takes Donna's Donuts to Mom and has coffee with her.

He likes her coffee...and he LOVES talking to her. Really.  

They talk politics, children, the weather.  Everything!

For Father's Day, he and the girls went out fishing today:)

Memories.  We all need to make memories!

P.S.  He absolutely LOVE his dogs.  Don't believe anything else!

Me:)

Well.......there's nothing much new to say Dad.

Like you, I would just rather not talk about myself.

Either someone likes me or they don't, isn't that right? 

 Best way to be.

I still love the beach and floating in the gulf.

But now I'm loaded with sunscreen.  

Too little too late, but I try.

I'm doing pretty good with the MS.

A few little things here and there but nothing major.

Most days;)

But as I get older, I would like to say that I really didn't need a disease

 to mess with my brain.

That's already going all by itself:)

Oh, and guess what?

I got a JEEP!

I've had some awesome cars, but this is the best.

The coolest. I love it!!!!!

We have such a blast with it:) 

And it carries our kayaks, so that's good.

 I just wish I had some rocky terrain to take it on!

I promise you one thing Dad.  I will never totally grow up.

How boring would that be!

Phil has resigned himself to this fact. 

hahaha...Oh, he loves it.  (You and I both know that;)

AND.......I still love football.  (Although i forgive you for making me go

to piano lessons instead of letting me play football outside:)

No, my life is still very much about being a Wife and Mom,

 and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm a pretty good fix-it person and I owe it all to you!

Not a day goes by that I don't think about you.

Sometimes I smile.  Sometimes I cry.

But don't feel too bad.  That's how I am with everything these days:)

I have two messages on my phone...the last two you left.  

One was from March, just checking in.

And one was from the night before your surgery. 

I have recorded them, emailed them and saved them every which way I can.  

But they are still on the phone in case I need to hear your voice right away.

It makes me sad yet makes me happy.......

and somehow reassures me when I need it most.

But even on bad days, I try to be as happy as I can.  

That's good, right?

Lastly, I need to tell you about my boys.

FREDDY & MAUI

Dad, you know how much I wanted a dog my whole life.

If nothing else, you have to admit I really did want one.

Now I have TWO!  And I'd have 20 if I could:)

I think I'm a good dog mom.

Maui is still Maui.........

Sweet, Silly, Goofy, Big, Maui.

The best dog you could ever have.

He loves to play outside and let me tell you, he is my nap buddy!:)

And we will get another Goldendoodle someday.

Now Freddy...that's another story:(

Freddy is getting older and not doing too well.

He sleeps alot.  A LOT

He doesn't have a long time with us.

And wouldn't you know, now he decides to get cuddlier and sweeter than ever!

This little guy loves me like no one else, I swear!

But someday soon, he's gonna come see you.

So please bundle him in your arms and give him all the hugs he needs.

Because he's gonna miss me........but not half as much as I'll miss him.

Take care of him for me, please.

Guess what?

Thats' it!!!!!!!  Hahaha

Long winded as always:)  But i had to get you all caught up.

And in the process, anyone else who's interested.

That is, if anyone had the time to read this long, rambling note.

If not, that's cool.  

it was for YOU from ME!

Because I miss you, And I love you.

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!!!!!

XOXOXOX

Suzy