Spring Has Sprung

Well hello there! I hope this finds you doing well. Are you all set for Easter? I can hardly believe the end of March is upon us...can you? This year sure is flying by! I thought before March is over, I would post since I'm trying to post at least once per month. Life has been pretty busy here on Willie Mae Lane. I was on spring break from school last week and was hoping to have some time to rest but I was so busy catching up on everything that I didn't really get to do much resting. Oh well...summer break is in sight! I'm not complaining in the least. Life is wonderful and I am so very blessed. 

Let me share some of my life with you.....

The first Saturday in March was spent meeting with the photographer for Miranda & Slade's wedding and touring the venue we ended up choosing. It's called the Hilliard Mansion. It's a really pretty place....here is the gazebo where the ceremony will take place. 

The next day, we drove to Ocala to see my mother-in-law and take her out for her birthday. She doesn't live near us now so we had to wait to celebrate with her over the weekend. Both of my kids and Slade also went and we had a wonderful day. 

The next weekend, my sister and I spent the day thrifting and shopping together. It had been a while since we had done that. We had a great time and I found some good deals. Unfortunately I did not take any photos that trip which is very unusual for me. 

My spring break began on Friday the 16th and I had to get an oil change and met the hubby for lunch on that day. The next day, Saint Patrick's Day, we went wedding dress shopping and Miranda picked her dress! So exciting! My mom, sister, and nieces came along for the fun.  After we finished dress shopping, we had a delicious lunch and then we all went strawberry picking. It was so fun...and beautiful!

We came home with strawberries, flowers, and I bought a jar of honey too. 

The following day, I went back to Gainesville to help with Miranda and Slade's engagement photo shoot. They wanted Bell in some of the photos and needed someone to keep up with her the rest of the time. Joey went with me and after we finished, we had a nice seafood dinner out. The pictures turned out beautifully...here are a few of my favorites.

Their photographer does beautiful work. He took dozens of photos and sent them in color and black and white. It was hard to pick just a few favorites to share. 

I spent most of spring break piddling around the house. My teacher bestie, Kaycee came over on Monday and we did a little planning ahead for school. Tuesday morning I met my friends for breakfast and then came home and worked around the house. Wednesday, I called Mama and my Aunt Loretta to see if they were up for a thrifting day and they were. We spent the day in Lake City thrifting and having a nice lunch. I found a few treasures...

The sweet little mushroom found a home on the porch.

I love all of these pieces. I don't do much thrifting these days but it is fun to go every now and then.

Joey took off Thursday and Friday so we could work on our bedroom closet. I'm happy to say we finished it! I love how it turned out. Here is a before shot...the rod used to hang across the back wall of the closet. 

We gave it a new layout and it works so much better now.  The rods are now to the left.

And the right are the two Ikea Kallax shelf units we used to create "built-ins". I love how this turned out! The space in between is used to hang my dresses. We elevated the shelves and I have room underneath for some of my shoes.  

This is taken from the door like the before picture.

The opening in the wall used to be closed off. It was dead space above our hot water heater. As soon as I discovered this space a couple years ago, I knew I would put it to good use when we redid our closet. It is such a nice little space...it holds my huge suitcase as well as a shelf with other bags and things. I am going to cover it with a curtain but haven't found fabric that I love yet. I will update when I do though.

While we're in the bedroom...let me share the pieces I bought to go above our nightstands. I really love how they look!

Last weekend, I spent Saturday with the same group of ladies as the previous Saturday, wedding dress shopping again only this time it was with my nephew's fiance. It was another fun day and she found her dress too. Their wedding is in December and Miranda's is in February so there will be lots of wedding talk &b planning this year. :)

Sunday found me at home piddling and preparing to go back to work. I spent a good portion of the day reupholstering two chairs and an ottoman. I also spray painted a vintage metal shelf that belonged to my Granny Willie Mae. I had been using it in my closet but since it was no longer needed in there, I am using it in my living room. I was going to use it on the porch and it may eventually end up out there but for now I am loving it in my living room. It goes with the boho feel I am into right now. Actually I feel like I have always loved boho...even before it had a name. :) To me it's just a mish mash of everything I love...all styles, different colors, textures, patterns, sentimental items mixed with new and thrifted and things from the past. Nothing really goes together but it looks like it was made to if that makes sense. Anywho...it's what makes me happy and that's what counts....right? Here are a few pictures of my living room refresh with the two chairs, ottoman, and the shelf.

I've had fun adding houseplants to my decor recently too. I love the life they bring to a room.

Here's a shot of the spring buffet. I love that it looks like the cow is sniffing the flowers. :)

And speaking of flowers, they are so beautiful this spring. 

I've been enjoying them indoors and out. I have seen some pretty ones on my walks too. 

And my friends...that brings us to this week. I went back to work Monday and let me tell you, it's been a loooong week! It's always rough getting back in the swing of things after a few days off.  But...it has been a good week. I am thankful tomorrow is Friday though. I'm looking forward to hopefully a little downtime on Saturday. The past several weekends have been packed. All good stuff, but I am tired. I hope you all have a lovely Friday and Easter weekend. 

Until next time.....

Farmhouse Glam Master Bedroom Remodel

Hello my friends and Happy 2018! 

I have missed you all so much. I have had so little time to blog or visit blogs over the past few months. I'm so grateful for Instagram so I am able to keep up with some of you there. It is so much easier for me to scroll through IG when I have a few minutes here and there. I am going to try my best to get back to blogging at least 1-2 times per month. It's one of my 2018 goals. We shall see...:)

I know many of you have seen my bedroom remodel on Instagram but I wanted to share some more pictures here for those who have not seen it. This is one of the many reasons I have been so busy the last few months. Well, this and my bathroom remodel and life in general. I'll share pictures of it soon. We still have a few things to finish in both rooms, but they are both about 90% complete. 

In the months leading up to the remodel, I knew I wanted to keep the colors neutral and use different textures and metals. My vision turned out even better than I had imagined. Come on in for a tour. My room is not very large but I tried to maximize the space by using smaller scaled furniture pieces. We covered the walls in tongue and groove wood and stained three of the four walls white and one dark. We also put new laminate flooring in that we aready had to match the rest of our home. We hope to upgrade to hardwood some day.

 I reused the curtains I already had as well as the duvet and pillows on the bed. There was nothing wrong with them and I still enjoy them. They fit the color scheme so I saved money by keeping them. I love my new headboard and foot board. I found it on Wayfair for a great deal and it had excellent reviews. I have loved these types of beds my whole life. My granny had one when I was a kid and I just love the old fashioned look. It goes well with my eclectic farmhouse style. 

I purchased our furniture pieces at Ikea. I love their furniture and feel it is great quality for the price. I also like the smaller scale. Most of the dressers and nightstands I looked at at other places were really large and just seemed too overpowering for the room. The Hemnes collection at Ikea fit the bill perfectly. I scored free shipping during a special they had a couple months ago and got a couple pieces on sale. I was able to purchase the dresser, two nightstands, and the glass front bookcase as well as a few small items for the same cost as a dresser at another store. 

We have mounted the tv on the wall above the dresser since I took this photo and we are adding something on either side that I will share soon. I have a pretty new perfume tray on one side...

and a few other pretties on the other. I already had most of the decor I used. The wax warmer on the left was an unexpected Christmas gift and happened to work perfectly with my decor in here. I love that it has a timer as well and will turn off after 3, 6, or 9 hours depending on where I set it. I like the warm glow it gives as well as the heavenly scent.

I am hoping to purchase the cathedral window mirrors on Decor Steals when they have them back in stock again. I want two to hang over out nightstands.

This piece is my favorite! Of course you know I love a bookcase! This one is a beauty. The two boxes on top hold accessories for my wax warmer and my essential oils.

Let's have a look inside....

here are the top two shelves...

the middle...

ans the bottom two. The baskets are basically empty. They are designed to fit this bookcase so I purchased two for extra storage as we need it.

I especially like this pretty glass box I bought on clearance at Hobby Lobby about a year ago. It holds most of my bookmark collection. That pretty wooden one on top was a sweet Christmas gift.

In the evening, my timer tea lights come on and adorn the bookcase and other areas with small points of light. It gives the room such a soft, warm glow.

Here's another angle. 

I reused this wall art I created a few years ago. I still love it.

I purchased this piece on clearance from Hobby Lobby last year and have just been saving it for the remodel. It's pretty large and I love it!

I love the simplicity of the nightstands. They are the perfect size. I found the wicker jug at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $10 just after Christmas. I love it! 

I bought matching lamps on clearance at Lowe's a couple months ago for $10 each and then bought the shades at Target. The nail head trim was a perfect match for the base of the lamp. It was a match made in heaven. The little plant and basket holder are from Ikea. I love their artificial plants and they are so affordable.  

I didn't take a picture of the hubby's nightstand but his has the same lamp and a diffuser. We diffuse lavender oil at night to help him sleep. Actually you can see the diffuser in the photo below. This is an evening shot with the lights on over our bed. They are pretty even when they are off. They look like the were half dipped in mercury. They are a shiny silver color. I bought them on clearance at Michael's before Christmas. 

This picture is making me want to go to bed. :)

It's evening as I type this post. It's been a busy week at school and I am tired. Tomorrow is Friday though so I can make it! It has been pretty miserable the past few weeks. We have had some really cold weather. It was 22 degrees when I left for work this morning...brrr! I am so ready for it to warm up. I don't know how some of you do it! Anywho, I have lots of things to share with you as time allows. I appreciate your dedication so much and thank you for visiting. I'm going to try to catch up with you all soon. Have a lovely Friday and weekend.

Until next time.....