savannah

a little tour of savannah through my camera lens.

we explored the city last weekend with our traveling buddies and had a grande ole time doing it.



♥. b-real

cruising

looking for a way to add a little vintage charm to your bike? check out how i repurposed this wine crate into a basket for my bike.

p.s. i can't take full credit for this awesome idea....jose bought me the wine crate for my bike a few years ago...i would say it was a combined creative effort :)

our friends asked us to join them in savannah this weekend for a little get away. i hope to take some great pictures of the city...will report back next week. hope you have a beautiful weekend!

♥. b-real

the vanity

i posted before & after pictures of my bathroom renovation two months ago but wanted to come back and create a post that focused on the vanity i refinished. so far this re-purposed piece of furniture has been a great fit. i spent several months searching for a piece that was the right size, height and had room for storage. as soon as i laid eyes on her i knew she would make the perfect vanity. i was drawn to the detailing of the apron and spindle legs. she has a romantic vintage feel with clean modern accessories.

before.



after.

i would like to give a big hug to papernstitch and design*sponge for showcasing my newly renovated bathroom....thank you so much.

i hope you all have a great weekend!

♥. b-real

red hott

thought i would show off my new red hott spectacles. xo.

♥. b-real

memorial day

despite my feelings on war i will always have the utmost respect for past and present military soldiers, my grandfather being one of them. this memorial day meant something extra special to me. we went to visit my grandfather's grave site for the first time since he was laid to rest 7 months ago. i got to share this memorable trip with my grandmother and family.

my grandpa wesche gave'em hell and i am sure he is doing the same now ♥.

♥. b-real

oh my garden!

last year jose and i built a raised garden and since then i've have been enjoying the tastiest veggies and herbs around. between my organic vendor at the farmers market and my garden i'm starting to become a veggie snob. i no longer like the taste of store bought fruits and vegetables.

i built this fancy trellis all by myself. this is my first time growing cucumbers...they are a little tricky. i still have a lot of learning to do and many different plants i want to try.

tomatoes galore.

i've been enjoying the herb garden too. i've been making my own salad dressing from the herbs in the garden all spring and lots of herb infused water. the warmer weather always gets me inspired to get creative in the kitchen.

are any of my blogger friends growing a garden? if so, what are growing?

♥. b-real

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