{One hit wonder}

is what this blog shall not be!

Hello & pardon my blog’s two month dry-spell. Obviously, a real rookie move. 

However, since we moved in, our weekends have been a little .c.r.a.z.y. || free time has been slim and any we’ve had, we probably did not spend wisely. You win some, you lose some, I guess. 

We have definitely become some of Bellevue’s biggest fans. 

we love it so much that we joined the Bellevue Civic Association and manage BCA’s social media accounts {be sure to follow us!}. We are officially adults.

I’m on a kick where I’m trying to get everyone we know to move here {just ask my friends}. This area is definitely a hidden gem and we’re pretty pumped about representing the #Northside. 

So, back to it: moving was pretty smooth but also exhausting and something I don’t want to do again {for a LONG time}. We wanted to keep moving costs down so we moved a lot of the small things ourselves for about a week & left the big items for the movers. By the way, if you ever need professional lovers movers {autocorrect humor}, we used All My Sons and could not have been more pleased. These men carried out huge pieces of furniture {with one arm} that would have taken six of me to carry. Worth. Every. Penny. 

{moving tip} If I could offer just one piece of advice about moving: if you haven’t used/needed/worn/touched/thought of an item in a year, SELL/DONATE IT. You’ll pick up what I’m putting down when you see the current conditions of our basement. But, you won’t see the {before pics} until I can partially redeem myself with {after pics} & I don’t know when I’ll work up the courage to tackle that project.  

Speaking of projects, I’m having to look at decorating/furnishing a house as multiple {and I mean, MULTIPLE} little projects. Each room is actually a project, with 10 sub projects. Math isn’t my forte but pretty sure that equates to .a.l.o.t. of projects. 

My family and husband can tell you that in my world: 

immediate gratification >>>>>>  delayed gratification

I just really wish my house could go from before —> after in 60 minutes like an episode on HGTV.

I can also be impulsive & indecisive which is quite frankly a {deadly} combo. Anyway, I am practicing that whole ‘patience is a virtue’ thing and trying to take it one project at a time. I’d give myself a C+ so far. 

Here are a few small projects we’ve done so far:    

{Front Door Makeover}

Painting the front door was the first thing I did {literally} before we even moved in. Nothing against the yellow, but we just weren’t feeling it. Funny thing is, we really weren’t sure about the blue at first either {and by ‘we’, I mean Chapin, and by ‘unsure’, I mean he hated it}

But then, we had some neighbors come by and introduce themselves and say they really liked the color {I told them they could be honest and they said they were} so naturally, I ran with it and the turquoise lives on.

Our next exterior project will be painting the shutters a glossy black. My world was rocked when it was pointed out to me that the shutters aren’t black, but rather a dark, dark green. Now, it’s all I can think about. 

 {Window Headboard}

Chapin calls our bedroom a “cocoon.” To say it is .c.o.z.y. would be an understatement.

I wanted to do something {different} for a headboard. I was initially looking for an old fire place mantel, but they are super hard to find  {in decent condition} and also pretty pricey. 

These windows were antique store finds and we used them as decor at our garden wedding. I didn’t know exactly how, but I knew I wanted to reuse them in our house in some fashion. It hit me one day that if I put two side by side, it would be the perfect width for a headboard.

So, one night, my sweet husband hung the windows and I’m a little in love with how the headboard turned out {and the fact that the total cost for a ‘new’ headboard was about $25}. Shoot me a message if you’re interested in a step by step tutorial!

Well, the sun is out for the first time all week & while I should be UNpacking {yes, there’s lots of that left} I’m thinking Willow and I will go on a stroll. 

Next up on the blog:

• formal living room decorating
• dining room table makeover with chalk paint

Hope y’all have a fantastic weekend!

all.the.best

Talya aka Herms

{One Week Countdown}

First, {thank you} to everyone for your kind words & feedback on my first post. I’m very e.x.c.i.t.e.d about this little project and greatly appreciate the support of my peoples!

Well, we are officially one week away from moving into the new digs! 

Feeling the pressure…. {kind of}. Actually, it hasn’t quite hit me yet. We just got back from visiting Mama Linda & Leo {Chapin’s parents} in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and I’m still in a state of euphoria from the amazing trip. I apologize to anyone who follows me on Instagram and/or Snapchat for the excessive picture uploads. {I’d want to punch me in the face too}. 

Ponte Vedra is basically a little slice of heaven….

Also would like to make a {public} thank you to my parents for taking care of our fur babies while we were away. I felt at ease because I received daily updates of what my dogs were up to….

….. this is pretty much all they were up to.

Okay, back to house stuff. We have been so lucky, and yes, I’ll say it, BLESSED to have worked with some wonderful people throughout this process. I’ve often heard {horror stories} about crazy sellers, dreadful inspection reports and other things going REALLY wrong during this process. Plus, if you base anything on E-V-E-R-Y HGTV show, something doomy & gloomy always has to take place so the end is gooshy great! BUT… {fingers crossed & knock on wood}, everything has been considerably smooth for us. 

We had our final walk-through last Sunday and walked in to find these goodies….    

The sellers wrote us an incredibly touching note {that may or may not have made me cry} welcoming us home and sharing all the special memories they’ve had in the house. As if that wasn’t sweet enough, they also left us gift cards to local cafés & shops!

THEN, the next day, our realtor {Elliott Gravitt | RE/MAX} surprised us at our closing with ANOTHER amazing gift…..

this totally did make me cry!

Speaking of our closing, we used Apex Title & Settlement Services as our closing attorney and worked with Linda Roland. Talk about {EFFICIENT}. Linda was a doll and was so very patient, informative & comforting throughout the entire experience. She always took time to explain the process to us {and by explain, I mean she totally dumbed it down for us so that a 3-year old could understand.} Chapin and I are OBVIOUS first-time home buyers! 

Well, this time next week we will be saying goodbye to {The Fan}  & hello to {Bellevue}! A few things you will definitely be hearing A.L.L about in the near future:

• Packing tips
• Exterior {front door} painting
• How hard moving is and how out of shape I am {just kidding. kind of}

I’ll end this post like I did the last…. I need to go pack! 

{But, Chapin and I also really need to catch up on Scandal….}

all.the.best,

Talya aka Herms

{ Hello from Home de la Herms }

{ You’ll have to excuse me } I’m writing this f.i.r.s.t e.v.e.r blog post full of bliss, nerves and too much coffee. I admittedly have no idea what I’m doing and commend you if your eyes manage to make it to the end of this post.

So, HI! This is pretty surreal; I never thought I’d have the energy, courage or wittiness to enter the gates of the {Bloggers’ world}, but here I am. And while I may not {ever} be #blessed with wittiness, I have finally, errr, put my big girl pants on, and feel one step closer to embracing something I have been passionate about for quite some time {HOME DECOR}.

I actually should be packing. My husband and I are moving into our {first home} in two weeks!

However, this is such a legit reason to stall on that whole situation. Yeah?

So, Home de la Herms, you say?
I have my best gal pals from college to thank for a ‘unique’ brand.  I am undoubtedly a {HoMe BoDy}. Always have been, always w i l l  b e! So, alas, the name ‘Herms’ became something I answer to more often than my birth name {Talya}.  In case it hasn’t clicked yet, ‘Herms’ is code for {hermit crab} Being a home body, I’ve always appreciated and worked tirelessly to create a stylish & inviting living space- i.e. this may be why I’m {slightly obsessed} with furniture & decor.

While I have no ‘formal’ training {unless you count being the biggest HGTV junkie….ever}, I’m kind of one of those people who would rather spend my paycheck on redecorating a room {for the fifth time that year} than new clothes. I am at the mercy of Home Goods, Etsy, e.v.e.r.y.s.i.n.g.l.e Antique Store in RVA, and Anthropologie. The Joss & Main iPad App….. #dangerous. And I may or may have not spent $200+ on house ‘necessities’ at Target yesterday.
Spring collections always get me.

My ‘style’ ranges; I love tribal {you can never have enough aztec & ikat prints}; I love romantic & will never, ever get sick of {shabby chic}. I love industrial and distressed [give me some beat up wood & metal and my heart is yours}. The older the furniture, the better. I have this thing for natural tones, but have recently been feeling brave & cheating with bright colors. The challenge I love most is tastefully mixing any & all of the above.

So, as I mentioned, my little fam, which consists of two pups {Walter & Willow} and my husband {Chapin}, is moving into a historical neighborhood of Richmond, VA, known as {Bellevue}.

Walter & Willow George | Willow is about 20 lbs heavier now and also 10x more hyper, so this is a one in a million chance shot that I like to pretend is every-day life.

Megan Garrison Photography

And there’s my hubby {from our wedding day}. He’s pretty much a s.t.u.d. m.u.f.f.i.n. He has also been extremely supportive of me pursuing this dream and told me “don’t hold back |  just do it”. Thanks, Mr. Nike. He’s a basketball coach; can ya tell?

SoOoOo… Where am I going with this?
My mom called me out in the middle of Home Goods yesterday and said “Do you realize that this is going to be the third home you’ve decorated in 2.5 years?” #GUILTY

She’s 100% accurate. After college, we moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee (right outside of Nashville) and lived in a cute, little condo on a golf course for a year while Chapin was working towards his Master’s degree; then we moved back to Richmond and lived in a townhouse in {The Fan} for a year and half; and now we’re approaching Move #3– third time’s a charm, right? Sure, I {tried} to re-use most of our furniture & decor, but each house inspired me in different ways and needed its own style. So, y.e.a.h, I totally did ‘re-do’ three homes in less than three years
{insert wide-eyed emoji here}.

At the very least, I would like to utilize this blog to document all our little DIY projects, from {kind-of broke} first time, home-buyers’ perspectives. My ‘spanish pipe-dream’ is to eventually be D.O.N.E. decorating my house {well, for a little while} & s.p.r.e.a.d  t.h.e  l.o.v.e.  and begin painting, refurbishing furniture & decor for others. After all, my mother-in-law and I have always talked about opening up our own shop!
But we shall see, right?  I’m trying to practice that whole {delayed gratification} thing.

So, thank you. Even if you may or may not have scratched your head | rolled your eyes | or  mentally confirmed I’m weird while reading this long-winded composition, thank you for at least entertaining the thought of this little endeavor of mine.

I guess I’ll go pack now…. but, maybe I’ll research Annie Sloan paint first.

all.the.best,

Talya aka Herms

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