Roman-ish Shades

When I last showed you my living room windows they looked like this:

I had just put up the new curtain panels that I altered and I still needed to replace those ugly faded wooden blinds.  Thanks to a trip to Ikea last weeked while en route to my parents for Easter, the windows now look like this:

I had been researching cordless Roman shade options and all of them were pretty pricey, but while we were in Ikea we found these and decided to get them.  They are kinda like Roman shades, but not quite, hence the Roman-ish in the title.  They are Emmie Roll-up blinds.  Basically they roll up from the bottom and you secure them in place with two velcro loops through button holes.  They are easy enough to roll up and down and I love that there are no cords so that Bear is safe.  They are not black out curtains by any means, but when they are unrolled and the curtains are closed as well it works well enough for our needs in the living room.  Above all I love how they freshen up the space.

Speaking of fresh, it totally feels like spring here!  Even if it has gotten colder, I am feeling the "spring cleaning" bug and we've got a bunch of projects in the works.  The kitchen counter tops are coming on Friday!  So exciting!  I will be getting a new skill set this week as I decided that we should remove the old counter tops ourselves.  So be looking for a post on how to remove counter tops and un-install as sink coming soon, as I will be sure to pass on the details of that adventure!  There's also weeding and mulching still going on outside, an elliptical being put together (we're on step 15, only 4 steps to go!), a back splash tiling to be done once the counter top is in, laminate flooring waiting to be installed, a Roman shade to be made for the kitchen window... and the list goes on.  Hopefully I'll be able to take some breaks here and there to share.  Happy spring!