urban facelift - dos

jose enter another emerging design professionals competition. this one was for a project called the urban facelift.  here is a summary of what the project is all about - "the purpose of the urban facelift project is to inspire property owners, business owners and the overall community by showing a building’s possibilities as seen through the eyes of the designer. the facelifts were originally presented as down and dirty four to five hours design charettes that offer a design freedom not usually possible with client interaction. the urban facelift project gives the designer unlimited freedom to push the proverbial design envelope. buildings are transformed into whatever the designer can imagine".

you might remember me posting this edp competition he won last year.

this year he did not win but i of course thought his design was the best! he has some mad skills and i can't wait for the day when we can design a home together. below is a before & after photo of his entry. if you are curious here are the other entries (there were a few different buildings they could choose from).

hope all my blogger buds are having a wonderful week.

♥. b-real

the cat's meow

we (me and my co-worker kris) entered a design competition called cocktail couture. this year the theme was 1920's and we had to design a hat or purse or both. we were given a bag filled with manufacturer materials and required to use one of each. the materials ranged from carpet to wallcovering...so you have to get pretty creative in figuring out how to use each piece. we were also allowed three embellishments.

after all entries are in and votes have been tallied they throw a fabulous party to announce the winners and raffle off each design. well this year we WON people's choice.....pretty awesome right!!

below are some pictures of the cat's meow.

♥. b-real

bunny love

hope everyone had a wonderful easter. my sunday was a fun filled day with lots of family time.

my mom made my nieces a bunny for their easter baskets. this bunny she did first and changed the pattern because my dad told her the ears looked funny. i loved him more then the one they got so, i stole him! i mean really he is too cute! i couldn't pass up those hott pink dipped ears!

p.s. he has a hot pink bunny tail too.

♥.

earth day

happy earth day!

everyday should be earth day. mother nature is a beautiful thing. i hope you treat the earth with the respect it deserves.

via: ffffound - artist: andreas fischer

♥. b-real

bathroom renovation

can i get a hell yeah for finally posting pics! it only took me forever to figure out how to take pictures of this tiny space. luckily, my friend brandi came over and saved the day. her camera give us a wider angle and her artistic eye was a huge bonus. i still think the space looks better in person but it is what it is.

 before / during construction

when i moved in i left the bathroom as it was even the shower curtain was in the house when i moved in. i just didn't see the point of putting money into it until i had the opportunity to redo the entire space. well, i got my chance when i found out i had a major leak that caused me to hire a contractor to gut the bathroom. luckily i have connections in the construction world! they repaired all the damage from the leak and installed the tile. jose and i did the rest ourselves. we painted, installed the base, i refinished the vanity, plumbing plus all other finishing details. we did not kill each other but we did come close! the water also leaked into the hallway and closet behind the bath so there is still work to be done that we will attempt to do ourselves.    

after

i really wanted a long rectangular mirror to expand across the entire space but could not find one i liked or could afford. so in lieu of this i used an assortment of mirrors and painted this stripe that aligns with the tile mosaic in the shower. i do believe i like this option much better!

check out my tord boontje light fixture! i just realized i don't have a full shot of it in this post:(

i re-purposed this piece of furniture. it was white and in my living room. it was just the right size and functions great as a towel rack.

i used a porcelain 24x24 tile + a glass mosaic accent that aligns with the wall of the tub for the floor. on the wall i used the same porcelain cut to 12x24 and inlaid the glass mosaic as an accent to create a band around the space.

get naked baby! i couldn't resisted....tasty suite has some awesome decals!

the light is one of my favorite details in the space. i now can say i have a tord boontje piece! the flowers are delicately made out of metal. not knowing when i order this thing, i would have to assemble myself. it came shipped flat and i had to twist and connect the piece to make the shape i wanted....it took me quite a few tries.

i'm not a huge fan of the seashell look because i live in florida and they are every where. but when i found these on the beach i was drawn to them because they were not perfect. i like the deteriorating look and the colors were to pretty not to display somewhere in my house.

the cute little round rug over there in the corner was handmade by my mom! i love it!

i got a pair of old white jcpenny curtains for less than a dollar. i liked the ruffles...they remind me of something you would have found in a little girl's room in the 90's. i tea stained them....the color was exactly what i was hoping for! the tie back is from my shower curtain. the shower curtain was made from a set of drapes. to finish off the tie back i sewed a few shiny jewels on.

and the center piece of the bathroom....the vanity. here is a before picture. i had a lot of fun with this piece. it took me quite a few months to find just the right piece of furniture. it fits great in the space and has plenty of storage. it was originally a gold color and it just so was happens that color is an accent in the bathroom. so, when sanding down/distressing i allowed bits of the gold to shine through. i made sure to coat this baby several times to protect the wood top from water and wear. i went with a white porcelain vessel sink, a satin nickel faucet and white porcelain knobs to finish the piece off.

hope you all have a beautiful easter weekend!

♥.

spring trippin'

this spring has been full of a variety of fun mini vacations. i would like to share with you some of my very special memories through my camera lens. 

thumbs up to one of my favorite trips! we rented a house boat with our friends and their two beautiful girls. we cruised around the suwannee river and chilled out for a long weekend with no worries.

dc wasn't on my list of must see places but when our friends asked us to join them for a weekend get away we said why not. dc was a whirlwind of a trip and definitely takes more then a weekend to explore. now that i've been i can't wait to go back and see more but only if its warm :) oh and we had some of the best food ever in dc....yummy! and everyone we met was super nice. oh, and cherry blossoms were gorgeous.

right after the dc trip i headed to orlando with my friend jenny for a little girl time to celebrate her bday. we stayed at this beautiful bed & breakfast. my favorite part of the trip was relaxing on the front porch watching the sun go down with a nice glass of wine in hand. now, maybe 3 years ago i would have said going out and dancing to all hours of the night was my favorite part.....u know what this mean, I'M GETTING OLD and very much loving it!

♥. b-real

100th

happy friday!

guess what, this is my 100th post on b-real....happy! pretty cool, right? welp, that's all i got for you today. hope you have a great weekend! 

♥. b-real

displaying memories

although i keep my fondest memories close to my heart, i have a tendency to collect the things that help make those memories even more special. such as my very first love letter, my cross country and track ribbons, concert tickets….you name it i’m sure i still have it. i even have my strawberry shortcake doll from the 80's, my very first blankie (that has been everywhere with me, it has even been to Italy) cute little hair pins i use to wear (and still do) and even the jewelry i had as a little girl. these are the things i could never part with, they have made me who i am today.

when i first moved into my home, jose, that was "just my friend" at the time, came over to hang out. after a few cocktails i had a brilliant idea to pull out my memory box to share with him all the things i’ve collected throughout the years. i will never forget that night. he was so enamored by all this stuff i've collected. we started talking and talking and at some point that evening we came up with the idea to start a memory wall. three years later i’ve finally filled that memory wall with recent memories. it was intended to be ever changing but now that it is filled i don’t want to remove what i’ve added. maybe i will start another one on a different wall in my dining room! but before i do, i would like to share with you some of my very special memories and how i currently have them displayed.

the artwork is made up of little things that jose has made me, places i've been or anything i've done that was memorable.

aww, i love this picture that jose sketched of the very first dinner i had at my house. i invited one of my best friends ashley and jose over for dinner. jose gave this to me the next day....he remember every detail of that evening. this was before i painted the table pink!

so, to make yourself a memory wall all you need is two drawer pulls, wire and clips to attached your memories to the wire. and then you have yourself an original piece of artwork!

i haven't been posting as much or keeping up with my blogger friends like i want to because i've been having so much fun! :) spring is here and i've been working in the yard, planting a garden, going to the beach and went on a couple weekend trips. so much to do with little time to do it all! if i get a chance this week i will share with you pictures from the trips. and i'm going out of town again this weekend....just a little overnight trip for a friends bday. so, i've been busy busy but promise i will post pics of my bathroom soon! it's done and lookin' all awesome and stuff just waiting for me to take some photos. hope you have a beautiful week!

♥. b-real

treasure hunting

today is a beautiful day! i'm in a super happy mood and it's friday!

i would like to share with you some of the awesomeness i've found during my recent treasure hunting adventures. oh the joys of treasure hunting. i have become addicted in these past few years. i have found tons of vintage linens, household items, furniture and some great fashion accessories that i have been collecting to hopefully start a little side project...maybe make a little money and save for bigger and better things that i know will come my way. i have lots of ideas and dreams, oh do i dream. but dreaming is what keeps us alive, right? i dream that one day i will break the chains of my mundane 9-5 job and be surrounded by everything i love...i can visualize that cute little place that makes me happy like it was right here in front of me. i want to wake up in the morning excited about the workday. but, i do believe that for now my rountine job as an interior design is giving me the tools i need for future endeavors and leading me on a path to greatness. or so that's what i am telling myself :)

these are a few of my favorite finds that i don't think i could ever part with. see now that is a problem, i find a lot that i can't part with! willy the brass whale is so cute sitting on my fire place, my anne ophelia dowden's 1969 print signed by her in 1970, this little lamb makes a perfect planter and my childhood favorite strawberry shortcake - tin from 1981 (i still have my strawberry shortcake doll from the 80's!). welp, i hope you think they are as cute as i do.

you know so i've been told that sometimes on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one.

♥. b-real

spring in full bloom

this spring, pull your weeds and plant good seeds.

 i don't feel like my new year starts until spring. it warms my heart.

♥.

crochet it

i've got to take a few minutes to give a shout out to my mom, she is awesome! she has been crocheting since forever. i remember her sipping on her tea in the evening hours crocheting away in front of the tv. as i've gotten older and have grown to appreciate her talent i now put in a nice little request and wahla, she whips something together. she surprised me with these two pieces.

my new cow-neck scarf...it's perfect and i love the color. the broach was my great grandmothers and goes quite well.

the table runner she made. she knows me well, i love me some white.

p.s. she is now making me a round rug for my bathroom. i can't wait to see it finished.

hope you have a glorious weekend. i will be working in the yard, the weather is going to be perfect here in florida.

♥.

happy love love day

lip locking and loads of love letters = happy valentine's day!

i'm starting a new tradition this year. instead of sending out a xmas card each year i will be sending out a valentine's day card instead. below is the first of many more to come.

i whipped this banner together from stuff i had laying around the house. last year i made this one. i guess this will be a new tradition too. i enjoy making them for jose....he loves them (at least i think he does, he better or else).

the black n' white photos below are snow drawings/love notes that jose sent me when he was in snowshoe last week. thought i would add those in because they were so cute. 

it is a little hard to see the all the details in the banner but the little letters on the pink yarn spell out "becky ♥ jose and ♥ hyatt". 

have a beautiful love day.

♥.

rockin' it

we are fast approaching my favorite holiday.....valentine's day! it's really hard to go wrong when love and super cuteness is involved.

 my gears are always spinning with new creative ideas...this one was fun times for sure! don't dare think i would limit wearing these heart tights to just v-day :)

rockin' my heart tights and favorite boots!

have a wonderful weekend. i hope you get crafty for v-day, handmade is always more thoughtful then store bought. i've been working on some cute stuff for jose, can't wait to share with you on monday.

ps. as i am writing this post one of my favorite songs came on by florence + the machine, rabbit heart..ooolala.....perfect song for this pic.

♥.

peeky peek

well, i'm happy to report that the vanity is coming along nicely and i am digging it! here is a peek of the finished piece of furniture that will soon be turned into a vanity for my bathroom. this weekend i hope to install the faucet and sink. i guess, i better be super sweet to jose because he will be doing most of the work:)

♥.

bathroom beauties

since i’m in the middle of a bathroom renovation it only seems fitting to post some of my favorite bathroom images. some vintage, a few modern and always a touch of Oolala. i’ve never been ultra modern or overly vintage/antique, i love a good mix and heart each of these images for different reasons. mixing modern and vintage can be a challenge, one that i love and can’t imagination life without :). clean modern lines combined with soft romantic one of a kind anything is right where i want to be.

images from left to right.

image 1 – classic architectural features always make a room. the chandelier is awesome and that yellow dress makes the picture for sure. image 2 – do i really need to tell you why this is one of my favorites? i could lick that wallcovering it looks so good and i heart the frameless antique mirrors. image 3 – digging this modern bathroom. image 4 – my fav. fun and colorful. ahhh, that clawfoot shower i would die for. image 5 – a little rustic is always fitting. image 6 – perfectly put together. liking that vanity. image 7 – can’t go wrong with a clawfoot tub plus all the fun girly prints are perfect. image 8 – mmmm, white on white! i like that mirror, very unique.

i'm counting down the hours until my weekend starts. i hope you all have a beautiful one. xo.

♥.