New Living Room Photos and a Mantel Update

Hey there!  Long time no hear, right?

Y’all I’ve missed blogging so much, but the past few months have just flown by. This semester on campus has been a busy one. I’m taking 3 graduate classes, teaching 5 days a week (College Algebra, wahoo!), and tutoring in the math department to fulfill my assistantship requirements.

In the meantime, somehow (I’m really not quite sure how, actually) I’ve managed to sell almost $2 million in real estate this year. My next closing on November 1 will put me over the $2 million mark, which I honestly thought was an unattainable goal for a fairly new realtor in this housing market. I’m feeling blessed but a little overwhelmed and am trying to spend every free minute I have with Stephen and our friends and families.

Needless to say, the ol’ Heardmont blog has gotten a bit dusty. I’ve decided I need to check in here more often – not necessarily regularly – but as often as possible to share the projects we’ve had time to tackle this fall.

Today you get a peek at some updated living room photos I snapped earlier this week. The before photo below is actually really out of date, but it’s probably the most recent one you’ve seen here.

Here’s how our living room is looking these days. Notable changes include mantel rearranging and, oh yeah, new floors.  Yes, I’m still talking about the floors.

(Sorry for the crazy lighting – I wasn’t able to wait until a different time of day to take these pictures.)

I took down the old gold mirror and wreath from the mantel and added a larger square wood-framed mirror in its place.  Funny story, that mirror was actually attached to an old vanity I bought over two years ago – back when I was seriously thinking about refinishing furniture as a side business.

About 6 months ago when we were cleaning out the garage and I realized I would probably never get around to refinishing that vanity, I decided to keep the mirror and donate the vanity to a local thrift shop.  All in all, the mirror ended up costing us about 60 bucks and floor space in our garage for a year and a half.  I sure am glad I finally found a spot to use it!

We had to borrow that gold and white Ikea rug from our bedroom when our ottoman and couch kept slipping around on the new floors.  I’m still on the hunt for a new, larger rug for this room.  I think I’ve found the one, but I need 100% Heardmont consensus before pulling the trigger.

The new painting on the mantel is a scene from Paris that my mom and I actually found at a starving artists’ show in Springfield, MO about 10 years ago.  Funny how much more I appreciate this painting after our trip last year.

Our Ikea bookcases are still going strong at the back of our living room.  I took an hour or so last weekend to dust and rearrange them a bit.  I still love playing around with accessories on those shelves!

Here’s a shelf that’s all about the mister (the top one, obviously)…

… and here are a few that are a little more “me.”

You might remember that little red desk I updated in the spring.  It found a home in the back corner of our living room and is now my homework desk.

Usually I’m littering the top of that desk with eraser shavings, but sometimes my math actually turns out pretty.  Like this…

If you were to stand at my desk and look back towards the rest of the room, this would be the view.

Here’s a close up of that pair of chairs next to the fireplace.  We picked up that awesome 70s end table at a new shop that just opened in Fayetteville – 410 Vintage.

I think our little blanket basket is a new addition to the room since the last time you saw it, too.  Just tossing all our throw blankets in one place at the end of the night makes the living room feel so much tidier!

So that’s what been going on at this end of the house these days.  What do you think of the updates?

Well I have to say, it feels good to be back!  Not to be a tease, but as soon as I get a chance to take the photos, we have more projects to share (guest bathroom makeover ring any bells?)!

Hope to see y’all again soon!