Parents' Visit & Curtain Ideas

Hi everyone,

So sorry for the delay in posts. My parents came to town this past weekend, and we had a fabulous time! We took them to the Mall of America and through Minneapolis and St. Paul - we even walked around the city's signature Walker Art Center, home of the famous spoon and cherry sculpture. We also ate REALLY well - we had Mexican on Cinco de Mayo (of course), amazing chicken and veggies by Mr. G's mom on Friday, steak and potatoes on Saturday, and a yummy turkey burger lunch on Mother's Day with fresh apples and grilled corn on the cob. SO good!

Also, as a housewarming gift to us, my parents have offered to pay for our much-needed window treatments. We did a lot of shopping over the weekend, but I still have a lot more to do. So far, we only got curtains for the kitchen, but we've priced a lot of things. I know the color scheme I want for all the windows, but from here it's picking the right curtain/shade. At first, I wanted all bamboo Roman shades, but now I think only the guest room will have them. In the living room, I have the challenge of finding something for a window and a large glass sliding door that are right next to each other. I'm thinking I want one white sheer curtain and one thicker grey curtain (preferably to cover the door), but I'm having trouble deciding what to get.

Here are the curtains I got for the kitchen (from IKEA, of course):

IKEA Birgit curtains

I'm very excited about these! I think they will look great next to my colorful tiles. :) Speaking of which, I finally found something to hang my tiles on! They are black plate hangers I got from Bed Bath and Beyond, and they're perfect! I have a lot of black accents in my kitchen anyway, plus now I don't have to attach anything to the tiles or worry about them falling off shelves... Success!

I was also hoping to get my shades from IKEA, but they only make one size, and they're too small even with two panels. :( I do love their shades, though, and they have amazing prices. Here are a couple of my favorites:

IKEA Anno Stra curtain

IKEA Anno Ljuv curtain

In place of IKEA shades, I think I have decided on some from Home Depot to put in our guest bedroom. 

The bamboo will go nicely with my green comforter from Urban Outfitters.

Urban Outfitters is actually one of my favorite places to look for decor inspiration. The only downside is that their stuff is usually expensive and not always practical. Nevertheless, I am in love with their curtains, and maybe some will show up in our house after all. Here are my favorites by Urban that will serve as my inspiration, if nothing else:

Urban Outfitters Drawstring Ruched Balloon Shade

Urban Outfitters Flounce Ruffle Stripe Curtain

In place of the balloon shade from Urban, I found this great balloon shade at Target that seems to be more sheer, which I would prefer, and the plus side is I don't have to mess with drawstrings. I also love this gray scroll curtain from Target to cover the sliding glass door. 

So many choices! I never thought it would be this hard to pick out curtains... If you have any suggestions, let me know!

I'll post pics of everything once I hang them up, and I'll also post the recipes soon for the desserts I made for our family gathering on Friday - dulce de leche cupcakes and berry custard pie. :)

<3 Mrs. G