Today’s post is going to be short and sweet because we’re working on a bunch of loose ends around the house before we host Thanksgiving this week. Stuff like, a bit of touch up paint here and there in the dining room, officially recover the carport from our Home Depot Challenge (which is finished and we can’t wait to share with you once it’s posted over on HomeDepot.com!), grocery shopping, early table prepping, etc.

Earlier this week, our barstools arrived! I felt like a kid on Christmas. Seriously, we’ve been waiting so long to buy barstools because we couldn’t commit to a style. Now that’s we’ve completely committed to the modern/rustic/hint of quirky vintage look, it finally feels like everything is falling into place (in our heads anyway). I was so excited and anxious about the barstools that I left the room while Greg put them together and didn’t come back in the room until he was done. Is that weird? I’m sure it is, haha. Enough chat, here are the new pretty beauties…

We love them. Love, love. They are the perfect touch of warmth the kitchen needed. The dark metal legs tie in with the ORB hardware throughout the kitchen and helps make the whole look come together.

Since they are in the sunlight in this photo, they look kinda red (especially the one on the right). In person, they are a rich medium/dark brown – which we really love. They are also really comfortable. I was kind of hesitant about the solid wood seat because I wanted them to be comfortable enough for people to be able to sit and chat for hours on end. We could easily fit three stools under the ledge, but I think that would make things too crowded and busy. Two is perfect for us.

The shade for the kitchen window hasn’t come in yet. I have my fingers crossed hoping it will get here before Thanksgiving rolls around. BUT, just in time for Thanksgiving, we have comfy, stylish seating for people to chill out at during the cooking and baking festivities. Yay for semi-impulsive buying!

If you’re in the mood for a fun and yummy turkey-related “edible craft”, be sure to click on over to iHeart Organizing to check out my family’s Little Gobblers!

FYI We have a fun announcement and a giveaway we’re positive all of you will love coming up on Monday!

The other day (in this post), I gave myself 36 hours to make a decision and order counter stools for the kitchen. Well, I am very pleased to say… I did it. I actually did it!

Last night, we purchased two of these lovely Rustic Barstools from West Elm. Our local West Elm was closed a few years ago (boo!), so we had to order them online. When I clicked to order a “Set of 2″, it said “This item is on backorder until January 9, 2013″. Nooooooooo… We really wanted them in time for the holidays so I sat and pouted a bit but then got to thinking. If I purchased two of the single stools, it would only be $1 more. So, that’s what I did. Estimated shipping ended up being around November 8th. Much better than 2013.

I’m beyond excited about these stools. I cannot wait to actually see them in place. Until then, we’ll just have to enjoy this Photoshopped version…

Funny thing, I didn’t realize this until we already placed the order, but one of the product images for the dining chair version is staged in a kitchen that looks similar to ours…

Pretty similar, right?! Right down to the farmhouse sink. Obviously, we’ll post pictures of the barstools in our kitchen once we get them in. We’re still waiting for the blinds to come in. Hopefully it will be soon. Once those two things are crossed off the list, this turkey kitchen is DONE. About time, right? ; )

Alright, it’s about time we call this turkey DONE. The turkey being the kitchen. Now that we have artwork, lighting, and floating shelves, the last two things on the list of to-do’s are counter stools and a window treatment for over the sink. I’m still wanting to edit the accessories here and there, but that will come together when the two final to-do’s are in place.

There haven’t been many changes since we last talked about the kitchen (which was a while ago), except moving the mixer over to the left of the sink, adding the coffee station, and the addition of the red squirrel cookie jar.

I really like having the mixer over in the left corner of the kitchen because it’s out of the way, yet still easily accessible when I want to use it (admittedly, that hasn’t been very often, but I’m hoping to change that in the future). It also fills up the corner quite nicely. Since it looked kind of lonely sitting there all alone, I grouped it with a little faux Ikea plant and a candle. (I love having candles lit around the house at night or on rainy days. It makes everything so cozy.) Since fall is in the air, right now, we also have a tiny white pumpkin.

By moving the mixer, we now have room for a “coffee station”. After months of having the kitchen “sorta done”, we finally got around to buying a coffee maker. We love this coffee maker. Like, love love. It’s Cuisinart’s 12-cup drip brewer and hot water system. The hot water system is what sold us on this baby. We eat a lot of oatmeal around here   and Greg likes the occasional flashback-to-college Ramen noodles, so it comes in really handy. It was originally $120, but was on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond for $99. Then I had a 20% off coupon (which I collect in my office like a squirrel stocking up for winter because they let you use expired ones!) and that dropped the price down to $79. A good deal in my book. I talked more about the coffee station (and how I organized everything) in this post over on iHeart Organizing. (Love that blog!)

When I saw this cookie jar at Target, I’m pretty sure I let out an audible “Oooo”. I have a thing for squirrels. We have a lot of them in our area, and I have fun watching from time to time. My family teases me about it a lot, but I’m not a crazy “squirrel watcher” or anything. I just think they’re cute. When I first saw it, I already had a ton of stuff in my cart, and I was trying to be “good”. So, even though I loved it, I passed. I texted a photo of it to Greg later that day and said something to the effect of, “He needs to come home with us!” Without me knowing, Greg went by Target on his way home from work and picked it up along with the matching butter dish. He’s a keeper. So the squirrel cookie jar now sits on the small counter space next to the stove. If I want to clear off the counter for some reason, I just put it in the pantry but I love that it adds some color and personality all in one. I think it would be fun to switch out different cookie jars seasonally, too. I have an antique one from my mom waiting in the wings that I’d love to revamp down the road.

Now… for what’s left on our list. First, a window treatment for over the sink…

Greg and I both like the look of roman shades, so we started there. We didn’t want our window covering to take away from the light fixture. The light is super simple, so the shade needed to be equally simple. Also, neither of us wanted anything white (we have enough of that already). Taking those things into consideration, we wanted to go with something like this…

…but in a darker shade of brown. Image from here. I think it would bring in an interesting texture that could be translated as a smidge rustic (which we both like).

We looked around at Home Depot, Lowe’s and even WalMart, but couldn’t find the finish or color we were looking for. I finally found this shade at JC Penny (or “JCP” as they’re saying on the commercials now) and think it will do just the trick. The inside of dimensions of the window are an odd size (36″x35″), but luckily, they offer custom cut blinds for just a few dollars more. I ordered it last night, and if we like it, we’ll be grabbing a couple for the half bath and laundry room, as well. They should be here sometime week after next, and we’ll be waiting, drill in hand.

Next on the list… bar stools. Growing up, the kitchen island at my grandparents’ house was the place for family cooking, school projects and long chats. It was one of those spots where you’d start talking and realize, three hours later, you’ve been standing the entire time. With that in mind, I want our peninsula to be a comfy place to work on projects, eat a quick lunch or talk for hours with friends and family. We also want the bar stools to tie in with the rest of the kitchen yet go with the (future decorated) living room.

Just for fun, we brought in the chairs from my office to see what a little color would look like…

While we really like the pop of color, we don’t think it’s the right color to be popped. Since the kitchen is completely open to the living room, I’d constantly be needing to tie in the coral bar chairs. Oddly enough, even though these are “counter chairs” instead of “counter stools”, they are actually a pretty comfy height. Even so, we think we need to go with something a little more neutral. So, the hunt is on.

Here are the three counter stools on our “short list”…

1. Rustic Counter Stools from West Elm
Likes:  Rustic wood, dark metal that ties in with the hardware, deep 21″ seat
Dislikes: Too straight? No padding?
Price: $320 for 2

2. Vintage French Cane Counter Stool from Restoration Hardware
Likes: Very comfy, weathered wood, a lot of fabric choices
Dislikes: Too traditional? Too… “French Country”?
Price:  $239 for 1

3. French Bistro Counter Stool from World Market
Likes: Wood tones, looks nice from the back, least expensive of the three
Dislikes: Not so comfy looking?
Price: $139 for 1

I could easily marinate on these for two weeks, but I’m giving myself a deadline of 36 hours to make a decision and place an order. So, Thursday night, time to order some counter stools. Finally, right?!