Here’s the deal. A photo shoot will be taking place at our house right after the new year. I know. What?! Who in the world would want to come take pictures of our house in the state that it’s in?

Our front door doesn’t work properly. The garage is completely dysfunctional and in disarray so we have resorted to entering/exiting through the mudroom’s french doors at the back of the house. There are some baseboards still missing in the hallway from our water leak scare. One full bathroom is gutted and awaiting finishes. The TV area above the mantel is open to the cinder block walls. All of the interior doors are installed but need paint and a few still need hardware. The laundry nook looks like we stuck the washer and dryer in a corner. And I haven’t done any real decorating other than Mabrey’s room which I wouldn’t consider finished. Don’t even get me started on the outside of the house.

Luckily, the photo shoot will only focus on three rooms of the house. But even those rooms need a ton of work before they’re camera worthy. With the holiday season in full swing, we’re in a rush to check off a bunch of projects on our to-do list. Nothing like a photo shoot to light a fire under your tush!

The good news is I’ll have a bunch of decor-related posts to share in 2013 but the bad news is you have to wait until 2013. And since I can’t postpone Christmas or the photo shoot, the blog is pretty much taking a back seat to everything else in my life. Which sucks. Because I really enjoy blogging. I write mental posts in my head all day long. I have 4,188 unpublished posts just sitting in my brain taking up space. In fact, that’s why I started this blog. To empty my brain. Oh, my brain is so heavy right now. My neck can barely support it. THE AGONY.

We’ve been fortunate to have a little financial help in the way of a photo shoot budget. The money is going towards projects and decor that we had planned on funding already. We’re not doing or buying anything that we wouldn’t have done or bought otherwise…just getting to it sooner than we had anticipated. This ‘recent purchases’ installment includes some of those photo shoot items AND some other random stuff. I won’t tell you which is which. Because I like surprises. Especially when I’m the one doing the surprising.

1 – Endless Topography 4 I found this amazing original artwork via the Aldas Project on etsy. The plan is to hang it in the kitchen. HH and I are stoked about incorporating some real art into this house. We were drawn to the colors and movement of this abstract piece.

2 – Seagrass runner This rug is for the hallway that leads back to the bathrooms and bedrooms. I wanted something durable and simple. Seagrass was the way to go.

3 – Navy linen I bought 7 yards of navy linen to DIY a slipcover for the petite sofa in the mudroom/dining room. I had an interesting conversation with the employee at the cutting table. Of course, they always ask what you’re planning on making with your purchase. I told her a slipcover. She said I was braver than she was then said she never sewed anything without a pattern. I told her I was the complete opposite. I have never sewn anything according to any pattern. Not because I’m a particularly expert sewer. It’s just that if I have a pattern then I see all the things I’m doing incorrectly. If I make it up as I go, there’s nothing to tell me I’m doing it wrong.

4 – Tulip side chair We actually bought four of these for the dining room. They’re modern, comfy, kid-friendly and easy to clean…everything we were looking for in a dining chair. They came with plain white seat cushions. I’ll recover them at some point.

5 – Moravian star mirror I found this gorge mirror on a whim while perusing a Joss & Main event last week. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted a pair to hang on either side of the TV above the mantel. They are just the right size and shape to work around HH’s boob speakers. I’ve decided the best way to deal with the orbs is to just decorate around them. We’ll see.

6 – Stainless steel containers I bought four 3-packs of these containers to organize our herbs and spices. When we moved in, I threw all of my cooking spices into the cabinet above the microwave. What was I thinking?! Obviously, I wasn’t. I have to get up on a stool every time I need my oregano. Which happens quite often. Because I love tomatoes. And nothing goes better with tomatoes than oregano. I’ll be editing my spices and what makes the cut will live in these round containers on the side of the fridge.

7 – Chevron runner Nate Berkus. Chevron. Dhurrie. ‘Nuf said. This handsome man lives in my kitchen now.

8 – Batik pillow cover Have you been over on etsy lately? Seriously. Is it just me or is etsy just getting better and better? I couldn’t get enough of this vintage Hmong textile cover. I added it to my favorites and visited it several times a day for a week or so until I decided to go for it. It’s one of those decor items that I would totally wear if it were in clothing form.

9 – Velvet pillow cover I have been wanting a velvet-covered something for a while now. I love the texture velvet brings to a room. The bright pop of chartreuse is unexpected and fun. I’m going to try pairing this velvet cover with the batik one on the leather couch in our family room. No matchy-matchy pillows here!

There it is. My bounty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some weekend warrioring to do. Yes. The weekend officially starts NOW. Go!

Click here to see who won this week’s giveaway.

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller for House*Tweaking