I had a good shoe day..

There's something so wonderful and downright gratifying about receiving a compliment on your shoes.  No matter what's going on in my life, or how fat I feel on a particular day, I always feel beautiful and sassy when someone makes a comment about my shoes.  I had one of those days today, so thank you to the two sweet nurses that were in line behind me at Panera, and the sweet guy at the gas station (who happened to be wearing more make-up than I was) who exclaimed "Girl, those are fierce!"  No he didn't! 

And, to top all that off, I just saw a commercial for the next season of Rachel Zoe. What a wonderful day :)

xoxo

-sarah

Lord, help us...

Most houses have history, no matter how old or young, big or small, and the Greywalls house is no exception.  For the past couple days, we've had neighbors stopping by to give us the 411 on the crazies that lived in the house before, and now that we know the past, the inside of the house makes a little more sense. 

Evidently, a little old lady lived there once upon a time and planted a beautiful English garden.  She was an eccentric and collected antiques, like any little old lady should. Sadly, she passed away from cancer and her children took over the home, letting it go into disrepair. That is the nice version.  There is another version, but I am still presently conducting interviews.  I'll have to keep you up to date as the investigation goes on.

With that being said, that little old lady had very poor decorating taste, bless her sweet little heart.  Every inch of the flooring is covered pink tile that I have aptly named "Ten Year Old Pepto No.5".  There is not a piece of carpet or hardwood flooring to be found. 

And allegedly, there was quite a bit of horn tooting about the "$40,000 worth of drapes".  Perhaps they were purchased from Victoria Gotti's foreclosure a few years back?  Yikes...

My spray tan suddenly feels a little too dark.

This is just a tiny taste of the gobs and gobs of fabric that are holding the light hostage.  Every single window in the house has some sort of nauseating drape hanging above it and you can take your pic from the adornments, ranging from pearls to crystals. I call this style Mausoleum Chic.

Here are some pics of the kitchen, which will get a complete overhaul:

Isn't it great how the green knobs match the green drapes? And last but not least, these funeral home-esque light fixtures really bring it all together.

I'm exhausted from just looking at these photos! 

xoxo

-sarah

And it begins...

Yesterday was officially DAY 1 of the Greywalls reno (Mom's new house).  Anticipating the mess ahead of me, I decided to jog from my house to my mother's house to relieve the stress I knew I was about to endure. Too bad there was no water when I arrived, so I took Mom's wallet and her car and left immediately upon arrival.  Some things never change :)

Like I mentioned before, this house needs a lot of work.  A lot, friends.  Like, a full time second job, a lot of work...  It's been vacant for over a year, and quite frankly, it's gross.  I'm so thankful that we really don't have to clean it, since it's going to be completely gutted.  The wonderful thing is that both my mom and I have a vision, which, surprisingly, is the same, and it will be absolutely stunning when complete.  The neighborhood is the picture of perfection, and though it will probably take about a year to get this little diamond in the rough to fit in, it will be totally worth it in the end.

Below are the official "before" pics of the outside.  I'll have to break this into a few different posts, just because there is so much to show you!

These photos were taken about a month ago, before we had any rain.  Here in North Texas, it's rained for two weeks straight, so you can imagine the growth.  Thank God for the HOA who cares for the front yard, because the back yard is straight out of a gardener's worst nightmare.  Above, we plan to remove a couple trees, so you can at least see the house, and also remove the half moon of shrubs in the front and lay sod.  We're from the country, we like grass, and the dogs need somewhere to conduct their business.

What a charming walkway, huh? NO.  This backyard is huge for a patio home, because it's wide, not a typical shotgun patio home.  I can't tell you how overgrown this is right now, but to give you an idea, you can't see the pathway any longer.

Another terrifying view of the side yard.  See that crooked arched gate?  When we first found this little gem, Mr. Right scraped his arm on it.  He agonized over the painful death he would incur as a result of contracting tetanus, and eventually went to get a shot.  He lived, by the way.  We're so grateful... ;)

 

Evidently, the previous owners were running an illegal fruit stand from the back yard, because there are three of these enormous peach trees.  This is the largest one, and has probably doubled in size since I took this photo.  It's branches are laying on the roof now and there is fruit everywhere!  I mean everywhere... rotting, bugs, stinky, ugh.  There is no sunlight because of all these fruit trees.  We also have dates, if anyone is interested.  See those homemade trellises in the back?  There are 18 of them.  Awesome!

Oh look!  Raised flower beds full of grass!  In all seriousness, this was probably a beautiful backyard at some point in time, when all these different plants, flowers, and trees were cared for properly and in bloom.  Now, it's just a huge mess.  The space is big enough to have a patio, a small area for a garden, and a large area to sod so the dogs can run.  There are some beautiful plants back there to save including hostas, roses, morning glories, hydrangeas, and several crepe myrtles.  And just in case you tree huggers are concerned, our realtor has a couple acres and will be accepting the trees that we take out.

Did I mention that the gardener we've used for the past ten years just got deported?  A little cherry on top of this tasty little sundae!

I won't exhaust you any further until tomorrow :)  It gets even better when you go inside...

xoxo-

sarah

Congrats!!!

My mom finally closed on her new home today and I couldn't be happier for her!  It's been a difficult and lengthy process, as it often is when targeting homes in distress (i.e. short-sales and foreclosures) but when we are finished with the renovation, I'm sure it will be worth the wait.  It's not a complete tear down or anything, but it needs new floors, countertops, carpet, tile, sinks, faucets, paint, and fixtures.  Even with all this factored in, it still ended up being a great deal in a beautiful neighborhood and we are thrilled to have her so close.  Maybe we can start having kids now that we have a babysitter close by ;) j/k  Tons of before and after posts to come.  I'll show you some  photos of the house and the offensive drapes that we received as a closing gift tomorrow.

Congrats Mom!  Love you much!!!

xoxo
-sarah

Statement Necklaces

If one great staple has emerged from the last couple seasons, it's most definitely been the statement necklace.  Any time I feel like switching up my wardrobe, but don't have the money to buy something new, I just merchandize it up!  By adding a great bib to a LBD or a rows of pearls to a white collared shirt, you immediately create a classy and sophisticated look, without being too trendy.  Here are a few baubles on my list:

Roberta Freymann

Elie Tahari

Kenneth Jay Lane

Kate Spade

Forever 21

JC Penney

Olivia Palermo for Roberta Freymann

Juicy Couture

And the ultimate statement necklace of all time:

The Harry Winston Wreath

xoxo

-sarah