1 Just Sold: 512 Valentine
>> Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A big congratulations to Temper on her new Hillcrest home!
-Eric
4 History Lesson: Living Room Coffee Table
>> Tuesday, March 30, 2010
1. Coffee Table: Snagged for just $25 bucks off of Craigslist, my biggest regret for this friend was not taking a before shot. A sad day for the Rehabilitation Station, but we live and learn.
2. Design Books: Most of these were picked up at TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning for a couple dollars each. Inexpensive and a fun read. Can’t go wrong there!
3. Coral: On a coral kick during our last stay in Mexico, all I wanted as a souvenir was this 12 lb beauty I found on the beach. Great idea until you realize you have to haul it home.
4. Flower/Candle Spot: In the winter, a tall candle warms us right up up, but this week camellias from my very own front yard man this post. I am pretty sure (maybe 92% sure)the vase came from an arrangement my sweet hubs brought home a while back.
5. Bowl & Filler: The stainless bowl came from Eric’s days of bachelorhood and the wicker balls from Pier 1. The cats love to get a hold of these guys.
That’s our coffee table in a nutshell. Looking back we probably only spent $60 max on the whole spread, including table. A pat on the back for the Wilkerson crew!
-Cara
3 Before & After: Music to Our Ears
>> Monday, March 29, 2010
You know we love a good before & after in this neck of the woods, so imagine our delight when we came across this stunner of a piano redo on Design Sponge…
Whether you’re a fan of the mustard color or not (we so are!) you have to admit that slapping on a few coats of paint was a great way to bring this piano that once hung in the shadows into the limelight.
-Cara
5 Gran Gear #1: Caboodle Flashback
I’m guessing that this find from Gran’s house was most likely used to store sewing gear…
…but really it just reminds me a little of an old school caboodle. Don’t you think?
-Cara
8 Road Trip
>> Sunday, March 28, 2010
We’ve broken a record! Sunday @ 6:26 pm is officially the latest first blog post of any day in Live the Home Life’s nearly one year old little life. Not a good record in my book, but a record nonetheless. Why so late on the posting, Mrs. Wilkerson? I’ll allow Gran to explain my absence…
We scooted our boots on down to Garland, Texas (right next door to Dallas) for a quick overnight trip. You see, a few months back my dear sweet Gran moved to Little Rock to be closer to her dear sweet family, but we needed to make one last trip down south to pick up a few more things from her house before she sells it and officially becomes an Arkansan.
As part of her downsizing efforts, Gran set aside a number of her belongings for we grandkids. The Rehabilitation Station was jumping for joy over the treasures found in Gran’s garage. I’ll fill you in later this week on what’s coming home to casa Wilkerson. You may be surprised by a few of the items I picked out…
-Cara
3 A Little Wilkerson Dialogue
>> Friday, March 26, 2010
While at lunch with my grandbaby obsessed Gran…
Cara: Gran, did I tell you that my friend Jessica is having a baby boy?
Gran: Oh! No you didn’t. I knew that she was having a baby, but I didn’t know it was a boy. How exciting!
Cara: Sure is!
Gran: Well their boy can marry your girl!
Cara: But Gran, we don’t have a girl.
Gran: (Raises her eyebrows and looks at me over the rim of her glasses)…but you will.
-Cara
1 hello blogger…
- Lemon Tree Creations: Adorable eggshell herb garden.
- House of Smith’s: Hanging ribbon towel tutorial. So cute that maybe I’ll dig that sewing machine out of the junk closet and give this one a try.
- At Home in Arkansas: How to enhance your garden with containers. My camellia must have really sent me into a green thumb rampage. I can’t get enough.
- Hostess with the Mostess: DIY modern spring centerpiece ideas.
-Cara
2 Starbucks Junkie
My favorite time of day by far is morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no early bird, but there is something about a fresh start that gets me going. A time to get a jump start on emails, plan the day ahead of me, make sure the blog is still up and running and most importantly have my first gigantic cup of coffee for the day—I’m getting an “Amen!” from Eric on this one. Starbuck’s junkie.
Eric’s Daily Coffee Breakdown…
7:30 AM—First cup: home brew of Ugly Mug organic
10:00 AM—Starbuck’s #1: Yesterday was free pastry day and I could hardly understand what E-Dub was screaming at me through all of his excitement on the other end of the phone.
1:15 PM—After lunch Starbucks: However he may mix it up a bit and get an iced tea if he is showing houses in the afternoon heat.
4:30 PM—last of the day, unless of course my hubs is showing more houses that night, then he will have at least 2 more Starbucks pit stops before the sun goes down.
-Cara
10 Greatest Before & After of All Time
>> Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Straight from the groomer, the greatest before & after of all time…
Doesn’t she look happy? Ralph kept trying to weasel into June’s after shot to show off his clean after-bath coat. I’ll oblige him…
Clean and loving life. There’s no better way for two best buds to be.
-Cara
PS—I know I’ve overloaded you with updates from the Wilkerson Zoo in the past few weeks, but in no way, shape or form do I apologize for being a fabulous pet parent who exploits her canine/feline children for the promotion of her small potatoes blog.
6 Because Butterflies Can Swim
Oh yes. Our pink hall bath before we moved in…
I won’t lie to you. Not much has changed in the two months since we’ve taken up residence at our construction site. That, my friends, is about to change. We aren’t quite ready to begin ripping out tile and demo-ing toilets, but there is one thing about this bathroom that has to go ASAP.
How do you feel about that wallpaper? Not a fan of the old fashioned floral print? We weren’t either. Especially when we realized that there was not a flower to be found in this wallpaper wonderland.
Oh no, we’ve got something better than pansies and dahlias. Cue the butterflies fluttering amongst coral and seashells…
Another wallpaper removal project coming up in T minus 8 hours and counting. Wish us luck. We all remember what happened last time…
-Cara
3 Late Bloomer
>> Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Last November when we made an offer on our construction site, I felt it was my duty to get to know the green friends around the property. Crape Myrtles, nice to meet you. Large evergreen in the back of the yard, how do you do. Abundant bush in the front covered in little buds, welcome to the family! I look forward to enjoying your blooms very soon. 
But the buds did not bloom. I started to worry. Does this little guy need something from me? Fancy fertilizer? A trim here and there?
Until last week when a glimmer of hope emerged. What I now have been told is a Camellia bush was starting to loosen up a little…
And to my surprise, look what was awake to greet me on this fine morning…
Maybe I’m not such a terrible plant parent after all. So long as said plants require little attention and are happy right where I found them.
-Cara
10 Flashback to Middle School
>> Monday, March 22, 2010
Oh dear, I’m having a major complex. A will-they-figure-out-that-I-am-a-big-fat-imposter complex.
Here’s the deal. Alycia with Casa Moxie flattered my socks off when she asked me to be one of 3 designers participating in her first ever Creative Challenge—Me? A designer?
Truth be told, I like a challenge. So I was totally on board, but sweating like the new kid in middle school each step of the way.
The first brave soul offering up their living room for redesign was Martha. A few before shots of Martha’s space…
Cozy and bursting with potential, Martha wanted a light & bright space fit for displaying her love of photography & entertaining family and friends. My mission was set and here’s what I whipped up…
Be sure to scoot on over to Casa Moxie to check out the other 2 design options for Martha’s room. I’ll just sit here and sweat it out hoping that my new friend Martha likes me…
-Cara
4 Reader Redo: Ashley’s Masterpiece
Inspired by our DIY wall art project which was inspired by Happy Together’s DIY wall art project, Ashley threw together a fantastic creation of her own! I was so excited to see this photo in my inbox…
…I literally followed the directions on your blog. I woke up
Saturday and was thinking that I needed to find something inexpensive
to hang in our office (Well...our office in the making). I used an old canvas and some spackling.
It was super easy! Awesome blog! Thanks so much for the info!…
Didn’t Ashley do a great job? I love the different shades of blue.
Have a furniture rehab, room redo or creative creation? Click here to send a photo our way! We can’t wait to see.
-Cara
2 Um, what are they?…
>> Sunday, March 21, 2010
Next up, our little June Bug. If you missed Ralph’s hereditary history you can check it out here, but today is all about Junie Pants…
Ignore the obvious need of a major haircut, this picture was a serious accomplishment since June’s usual position involves her face glued to the window scouting for squirrels…
So, what is she? Our best guess is this combo…
I know the schnauzer in that picture looks a little scary, but our June is a sweet girl, I promise.
What did Wikipedia have to say about these charming breeds?…
The original schnauzer was bred as a rat catcher, yard dog and guard dog. (Rat catcher? That explains all of the squirrel business.)
Jack Russell Terriers are not recommended for the condominium or apartment dweller unless the owner is ready to take on the daunting task of providing the dog with the necessary amount of exercise and stimulation (Boy, is that the truth! Click here to check out June’s exercise routine in action)
-Cara
5 Art Class
>> Saturday, March 20, 2010
Inspired by Happy Together’s recent DIY wall art project, I was feeling a little artsy this week. Even better, I had all of the supplies already hanging around the house. Well, except for the fancy canvas texture stuff that Jessica used. But like every good handygirl I had spackling and lots of it. Spackling would work right? I was willing to give it a shot…
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After slapping on a good coat of spackling (the fun pink kind that dries white) and waiting patiently like a responsible artist. By patiently I mean hovering over the canvas and jabbing my finger into the spackling every 10 minutes to see if it was ready…
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Then it was time for the fun part! I got to put my serious painting skills to work.
…and by serious painting skills, I mean randomly squirting paint all over the canvas. By far, the best part of my day!
Blend with a paint brush and throw in the towel! Easy as pie…
Not quite sure what we are going to do with this one, but it sure was fun!
-Cara
4 You mean you really read this mumbo jumbo?
>> Friday, March 19, 2010
You should know that I want to jump up and down and dance like a schoolgirl every time someone mentions that they read our blog. After I nearly strangle them with a hug and blush a shade of purple, 9 times out of 10 the next comment out of their mouth is “How do you keep up with it? It must be so time consuming.”
In fact we had one such comment just this very day. So, no day like today to get down to the nitty gritty…
First off, yes it is time consuming and rest assured that there are many days I find myself comfy on the couch wanting to stay as far away from my computer as possible. However, there are other days where the ideas flow like honey and I can think of nothing else I’d rather be doing.
I have found that there are a few tricks of the blogging trade that make blogging a bit easier to manage…
Write about what you love. This makes it super simple for us to cram real estate, our pets and our construction site down your throat daily.
Strike while the iron is hot. If a ton of ideas hit you at once, type until your fingers fall off. There will be dry spells, so it’s always a good idea to fill up your reserves for a slow day.
Take advantage of technology. Don’t leave home without your camera and don’t be afraid to use it. I’ve been known to whip out my camera in some pretty crazy places. The odd looks from passersby are just icing on the cake.
Procrastination is a blogger’s best friend. I’d much rather be typing away at my computer than cleaning up the after dinner dishes. Wouldn’t you?
I should end this little chat of ours with a disclaimer that I am by no means a pro at this. There are other blogs in the web-world that are far more advance and interesting than ours, but it means more to me than you know that all three of you guys show up each day to check in with we Wilkersons. We’re glad you’re here!
-Cara Read more...
3 Camo Marlo
We really didn’t intend to match our living room rug to Marlo’s luxurious fur coat. I will admit, poor gal has been accidentally stepped on quite few times since its purchase…
-Cara
7 Wannabe Beach Bum
>> Thursday, March 18, 2010
Just got a phone call from a past client that has been in Hawaii for the past month. Lucky goose. This has been on my laptop screen ever since…
This is a picture of Eric & I from our last beach vacation. What do you mean they look nothing like us? Stop laughing.
-Cara
4 Scary Monster
In the mood for a scary story? Alright, prepare for the horrifying sight behind this door…
Pretty scary with the shovel beside the old creaky door, right? I told you this was a scary story. Let’s take a peek inside…
Welcome to our laundry room. Don’t recall seeing this room on the before tour? You are not mistaken my friend. Never before has such scariness been featured on the LTHL. I think it is high time we crack into conquering this space…maybe this weekend. You in, E-Dub?
-Cara
4 Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
>> Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Head on over to His House; Her Help for more rooms (like the ones below) inspired by our friend St. Patty…
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-Cara
6 Um, what are they?…
…usually the first question that comes out of everyone’s mouth upon meeting our little canine companions—often accompanied by a tilt of the head and nervous giggle.
No worries, my friends. We know our babies weren’t meant to prance their paws at fancy dog shows, but let’s take a moment to explore what they really are bred to do…
Today we’ll focus on subject #1… 
Our incredibly sophisticated research (aka Google & cornering our vet who is clearly antisocial and uncomfortable in the same room with mammals other than the four legged kind) reveals that Ralph is—drum roll please…
Wikipedia had tons of info to share on these furry breeds, but basically this combo produces a fine specimen with the following characteristics…
Welsh folklore says the Corgi is the preferred mount of fairy warriors. (Great. Not only do I have to worry about fleas hitching a ride on Ralph’s back, but fairies as well?)
Because the Parson was bred to hunt, it can be difficult for them to live with some pets such as small rodents. (Small rodents? No worries there.)
That’s Ralph in a nutshell. We’ve gotta scoot now. All this Ralph talk is enough to wear a little guy out…
-Cara
5 Post of Note: oh brooke
>> Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Check out these fun (and printable!) thank you cards from oh brooke. Creative, free & ultra adorable…
Now scoot on over to Brooke’s blog to print out a stack for yourself!
-Cara
4 Mulch Madness
Daylight savings time and I definitely have a love-hate relationship.
Waking up a whole hour earlier is a killer, but on the flip side, at least I have a decent assistant…
Less sleep, not good, but longer evenings are the things winter dreams are made of. We could think of no better extended evening activity than finding a place to deposit the heaping pile of mulch still occupying the driveway.
Last weekend, we cleaned up the front flower beds a bit with a fresh sprinkling of mulch…
But, alas, the mulch mound looked practically the same size. Time to bring out the big guns. Cue the backyard. Large & desolate…
The plan was to build a flower bed across the entire back of the yard. We needed liner and lots of it. 120 feet of it to be exact. Luckily they come in 60 ft rolls at Home Depot for just $20 a pop. The instructions said to lay them in the sun to flatten them out of their coiled position. We didn’t ask any questions and it worked like a charm…
Next up, dig a trench. I skipped out on this task. Thanks, E-Dub. I didn’t hear too many curse words, so I assume everything worked out alright for him…
Once the liner was secure we went to town with the mulch. Not quite finished but I feel good enough about this one to go ahead and share with you fine folks…
Are you ready for the real before & after? Oh yes. Mulch mission accomplished…
-Cara
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