Thursday, March 17, 2011

A NEW PURPOSE IN LIFE...YOU WROUGHT TO BE PROUD.

In May, Clay & I will have lived in our house for two years! Wow, it's crazy to think two years have already gone by....Today I am posting one of our first home projects - an old wrought iron trellis above the planter in our entry way.

Side note: <<Our house was built in 1957 and apparently planters were a big hit back then. For those of you who can't picture "the planter" I am referring to, I found a picture of our entry way before we moved in. Take a look at the right hand side of the photo...the white wrought iron trellis is above the brick half wall and the planter is located inside the half wall.>>

{view of entry way with trellis & planter}

I knew when we moved in our house the old & dated wrought iron trellis would have to go. I didn't want to throw it away and I didn't exactly have a gameplan, but knew it could be given a face lift and a new purpose somewhere else in our house. After removing the trellis, it sat outside in our backyard for months...here is the proof.

{the trellis removed}

In the meantime, I started collecting an assortment of letters for our guest room. Once I accumulated enough letters, I began brainstorming the best way to hang them on the wall...and then I remembered the rusted wrought iron trellis in our backyard! With the help of some paint and some hefty duty nails (for hanging), I present the new and improved wrought iron trellis. No longer above the half wall in our entry way, it is now hanging in our guest room as a neat vintage frame which houses all of the letters I found!

{ the old wrought iron trellis with a new purpose}

Moral of the story: never throw anything away because almost everything has hidden potiential - with a little imagination and some paint, an old (or ugly) piece can always get a new look!

Friday, March 11, 2011

WINE A LITTLE MORE.

I am deviating from my normal design related entries to share A Breath of Fresh Erin vacation.....

My incredibly sweet & thoughtful husband surprised me for our 3 year anniversary with a trip to Napa Valley. Didn't see that one coming...I was completely surprised. I have to give Clay props for being so sneaky. He secretly requested time off at my work and everyone in the office knew besides me. Can't believe I didn't have a clue. So to my husband, family, friends and co-workers: Job well done. You are all great secret keepers!



I loved Napa Valley. We stayed at the AVIA Napa located in downtown Napa. It was decorated beautifully. As you all probably know, I love decorating so I immediately started taking pictures of the lobby as soon as we entered the hotel. Please check out their photo gallery to appreciate their decor!

We drank lots of good wine and learned lots about wine on our trip. We visited several wonderful wineries - Robert Mondavi, Castello Di Amorosa, Raymond and Schraumsberg to name a few.

Wine Tour at Robert Mondavi.


Neat set-up outside of Raymond Winery. 


Castello di Amorosa Winery.
(same castle filmed for Jake's season of the Bachelor)


Sparkling Wine Tasting at Schraumsberg.


Did you know that California produces 90% of the wine in the U.S.? and that Napa Valley produces ONLY 4% of that! A very surprising number if you ask me since Napa Valley is so well known for their wine.

 A few highlights of our trip:
>> First time to eat an IN-N-OUT Burger. Oh so delicious.
>> We saw a peacock spread its feathers at Castello di Amorosa.
>> Tried fresh oysters for the very first time...still deciding how I feel about them.
>> Met the dog who was the centerfold in Winery Dogs of Napa Valley at Trahan Winery.
>> Drove across the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.



We hope to visit Napa Valley again in the future, but in the meantime we will continue to drink all the delicious wine we brought back! :0)