*affiliate links used Still feeling the hearts over here! I put together an easy Valentine tablescape and then kind of laughed at myself because I have no plans to have anyone over. I just wanted hearts in every room! Come on in the formal dining room kids! Pizza for everyone at the fancy table tonight!
It’s actually not all that fancy but still festive and fun. :) I used my favorite red rimmed plates and was so excited to bust out the new gold flatware Kenny got me for Christmas! I just put the fork, spoon and knife all together on my striped napkins because.. kids.. pizza.. not too worried about proper etiquette around here.
I made LOTS of the little pink cards years ago when I was into scrapbooking and had time for things like card making. Ahh.. life at home with just my first baby. It was the best of times it was the worst of times. ;) I use them every year for Valentines to write little love notes to my kids. By the time they are all grown up I will have used my entire stash of cards. Maybe at that point I’ll have time to make homemade cards again and I can start all over. ;)
I think a rug with some color would be fun in this space but I just can’t quit my favorite wool/jute rug! Not only is it great for spills (it seriously hides everything) but I love having a neutral rug in my dining room. It makes it so easy to switch things up for different seasons.
This is a very similar tablescape I set up for a little Valentine brunch with my kids a few years ago.
Kole looks so young! Love that smile. He still had all of his baby teeth. Kids look so much older when they start losing their teeth don’t they!? That’s such a turning point and with each of my kids I teared up when their front teeth came out. End of an era!
This is our favorite Valentine snack! Popcorn, pretzel snaps and Valentine m&m’s. So simple and cute and delicious!
This is another simple idea for the kids.. heart shaped cheese. :)
Red fruit in heart bowls is another quick and easy way to make an after school snack on Valentine’s Day extra special.
I’ll be posting some fun things over the weekend, but if I don’t have a post up by Friday, I I hope you all have the best Valentine’s Day with your loved ones!
P.S.. If you still need a quick gift there are some fun things in my Valentine gift guide you can get here in a day! Amazon Prime.. talk about feeling the love! What did we used to do without it!? Plan and shop for things a week in advance? And then make cards by hand.
It was the best of times it was the worst of times.
My butler’s pantry shelf is one of my favorite spots to decorate! When I designed this kitchen I wanted some open shelving that could hold useful kitchen items, but that was also a spot I could decorate and use to add a touch of my personality to our home.
To be honest, when we first moved into this home my excitement over these “perfect shelves to decorate” wore off quickly. I really struggled styling this shelf! I struggled styling all of my shelves that first year in our home. Shelf styling is harder than it looks. Finding that perfect balance of colors and objects that blend well together, mixing textures and sizes, layering pieces, keeping it visually interesting without too much clutter. Ahh! It’s a lot to think about! Two things have been the most helpful to me when styling the shelves in my home. Number 1 is practice. Shelf styling is something that you have to play around and experiment with to get better at and the more you do it, the more you learn what type of look you love and what works best in your home.
Number 2 is the rule of threes. Maybe you’ve heard of this? If not I hope this is helpful! If you have I hope it’s a good reminder. :) The rule of threes is a popular concept in so many areas – business, productivity, survival and of course.. in design. I use the rule of threes ALL THE TIME throughout my home (especially when I style shelves) and most of the time I don’t even realize it until after I’ve done it! Objects grouped in threes really do flow and appeal to us visually.
You can see in my Valentine shelf decor above I’ve created five different groups of three. Three small striped bowls stacked on the top left. On the middle shelf I have a large group of three with the pink jar, wooden tray and XOXO plate. To the right is a large group of three with my stacked plates, a cake stand and some mugs with straws. The three mugs with straws are another group of three. Last I have a group of three items on the right side of my counter with a white cake stand, pink bowls and a red heart bowl holding candy. (Toss in some candy to really make your shelves stand out.) ;)
If you are struggling to decorate a spot in your home (shelves, coffee table, console table.. whatever!) try taking your items off and put some of them back in groups of three. Let me know if you’d like to see more examples of this in a future post! Like I mentioned, I do it all the time when I decorate. Even when I don’t realize I’m doing it. :)
A few more pics of my kitchen! I’ve really enjoyed all of the pink and red touches this year.
I’m on the hunt for new light fixtures to go over my islands that flow a little better with the pendant in my bay window. I won’t switch them out until I find “the ones” which according to my husband “will take years.” Ha. He’s right. I’m a slow decorator because I want to LOVE EVERY SINGLE THING in my home.
I can’t help it. If loving everything I bring into this home is wrong, I don’t want to be right. ;)
Really my husband should just be grateful I’ve kept HIM around in this home for so long if I’m as picky as he seems to think I am.
Happy early Valentine’s Day babe! My gift to you is one more year with me. Lucky guy! You are so very welcome.
Porch is feeling February festive! I kept my little faux Cyprus trees up that I used for my Christmas porch through January and was about to take them down but wasn’t quite ready to bring on the Spring flowers.
I wrapped a few around my little trees, added this cute HOME mat from Target, and then hung this glitter heart banner over my door (I added all of the hearts from the 2 banners onto one string). 15 minute decorating and bam.. we are feeling the love. :)
Sidenote worth noting: Wearing one of the cutest sweaters EVER in that porch pic. It’s slouchy and comfortable and hangs just right and has embroidered dots and the balloon sleeves are ahhh! So good. Cute with denim jeans, black jeans, pink jeans, any color jeans and I love it with a black or colored skirt too! It’s also fun with pink or red or heart earrings for this time of year. :) These are some fun V-day earring options I’ve had my eye on..
Ad and I spent the morning going through winter clothes to get ready for an upcoming ski/snow trip! The girls and I got new coats, snow boots and beanies for Christmas and we’ve been so excited to finally wear them. The two of us bundled up to go to the grocery store just to try them out.. ha. Not too far of a stretch since the grocery store near our house might as well be Alaska. We freeze every time we go! Thinking we need to just keep this gear in the back of the car and pull it out when it’s time to make a bread and popcorn run.
El took these pics and was in a hurry so Ad and I did what we usually do when she’s trying to rush us.. we took our time with lots of important and worthwhile poses.
Ellie loves the two of us so much. We like to remind her often how lucky she is to have us in her life. ;)
Speaking of El.. a little blast from the past with her cute Mail box delivery truck that grandpa helped her make so her Kindergarten class could deliver their Valentines to each other in style.
She also still loves making our Valentine pretzel hugs! (*Directions on how to make these are in my IG story highlights! Same as Christmas hugs but with a pink m&m instead of a green one.) :)
Such a quick and easy treat to give as Valentines to friends or to teachers.
I used to love going all out for Valentine’s Day with my kids’ boxes and treats for their classes. So fun to put together something special and personalized.
This year? Pre-made tiger box to the rescue! I was planning on helping Koke make a Valentine box last week but before I knew it it was Thursday morning. I told him at breakfast “let’s just see what’s on Amazon that we can order for your cards and we’ll make your box next week.” He said “mom! My Valentine party is TOMORROW!” Oh. My. Word. It was!! I had totally spaced that he is out of school this entire next week and his class Valentine party was on the 7th. I dropped him off at school, rearranged my schedule for the morning and headed straight to Target. I could not have been happier to find everything we needed including a pre-assembled box that took us all of 5 minutes to put together Thursday night! Phew. Cut it close on that one.
The best part was that Kole was as excited about his new Valentine box as I was. He loved the tiger and loved that it didn’t take long to make (come to find out he wasn’t all that excited to make a box from scratch anyway). My kids are growing up and even though I have moments when that makes me sad, most of the time.. I’m ok with it. Really ok with it actually. No more making Valentine boxes and cards from scratch anymore?
Mudroom is feeling festive! We are all hearts at our house and it’s adding extra cheer around here which was much needed after January. Why is January such a LONG month!? I don’t even have weather issues to complain about like a lot of you do, but man.. that month drags doesn’t it!? I always try to organize my way out any and all January funks. Apparently Valentine heart decor helps too. :)
If you’ve been with me a while you might remember our February tradition I started when my kids were little of writing little family love notes to each other in February. We each write things we love about each other on hearts throughout the month. (You can read more about how we do this and see some examples of what we write to each other in this post.) I found these fun hanging heart banners and they were perfect to hang on our mudroom lockers! So cute and easy. I’m thinking we’ll write our little love notes to each other on these paper hearts this year. :) If you don’t have mudroom locker doors this would be fun to do on bedroom doors too!
I added a few Christmas pillows that also work for Valentine’s Day on my little bench…
I’ve had these tri-colored hanging baskets for a while and am happy to finally have them displayed in their new home! Aren’t they fun!? It makes my day when I find organizing solutions that double as decor. These are perfect for organizing loose papers and books for the kids but I already have wall baskets for that in my office so I’m still deciding how best to use these. Rest assured I will come up with something! ;)
Just what I needed on in that little wall space by the dutch door. Sidenote if you’re new here.. I always get asked what the small door to the right of the baskets is for and I call that my hobbit door! It’s a small closet under our stairs that I use for storage. Mostly luggage and some pool stuff. :)
Feeling the love around here. I had to snap a pic with my cute 4th grader because he just got braces! Blue bands this time around. His smile makes me smile. :)
Wearing this cute pink sweater I found on Amazon for the 2nd time this week. I LOVE the sleeves! I don’t usually wear a lot of pink but it’s making me happy this month (and is a fun reminder that Spring is coming!) so I’m sticking with it.
Also here is a closer look at the pink puff sleeve sweater I was wearing in my last post. February Favorites!
Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? I’m so happy I decided to throw a few things together. It’s hard to not be happy in a house filled with pink and red hearts. :) I can’t wait to see what my kids write to each other on their hearts this month. I don’t know that we’ll ever top the love note Kole wrote to himself 4 years ago..
Ha! Don’t ever say my kids don’t have healthy self-esteems. Clearly traditions like this one are working. ;)
So yeah.. I went a little crazy around here decking the hall in pink and red and I’m not mad about it. :) I’ll post more decor details this week (and organizing progress is coming!) but first I want to share some fun Valentine’s Day favorites with you all! This beloved holiday is fast approaching so I’ve rounded up items I adore if you need a gift for a loved one. Everything in the collage below I either have or want. :) Speaking of things I adore.. my favorite puff sleeve sweater went on sale so I had to buy it in pink! I’m still obsessed with the green I wore through the holidays, but pink is working better for Spring. ;) Below are my favorites for Valentine’s Day and if you still need more gift ideas you can find some of my Amazon favorites here.
1 – Chanel Perfume – Smells so good! I love Chanel and I also love Flowerbomb. You can’t go wrong with either!
2 –Benchmark Signature Roses – I love that you can order flowers on Amazon! Makes it so easy to send a pretty Valentine bouquet to someone special.
3 – Heart Bowls – These watercolor heart bowls are beautiful to double for snacks and decor!
4 –Heart Necklace – Heart Ring – Such a beautiful set. I bought El the heart ring for Christmas and she has worn it every day since. A little reminder of how much her mom loves her. :) The necklace will be a fun future gift for my 16 year old. (She turned 16 in January and I still can’t get over that my baby is driving!)
5 –Pom Pom Beanie – I got me and my girls these cute beanies for Christmas and they are so cute! They come in lots of fun colors. We can’t wait to wear them on an upcoming ski trip!
6 –Myla Lace Chemise – A beautiful lace chemise that looks comfortable too! Had to throw this one in for my husband even though #19 is more my style. ;)
7 – Leather Tassel Keychain – Such a cute keychain. I’m kind of tassel obsessed lately! It comes in so many fun colors.
8 –Ceramic Heart 2-tier Server – I ordered this ceramic heart 2-tier server and it is absolutely adorable! Looks SO cute on my counter. It’s begging to hold some heart sugar cookies but I’ve tried making them before and ahhh.. they didn’t turn out so hot. No surprise there. I might attempt to make them again. Or more likely just buy some. :)
9 –XOXO Graphic Sweatshirt – Such a cute sweatshirt to wear all year but especially fun in February!
10 –Black Reserve Cleanser – I bought Kenny this body and hair cleanser for Christmas this year and he is really liking it! Men can be tough to shop for Valentine’s Day so this is a good gift suggestion if you are struggling with what to buy for your man. :)
11 –Travel Jewelry Organizer – Organization is on my mind 24/7! I’ve been having so much fun getting spaces in my home organized. This travel jewelry organizer is SO cute and a great price. Fun Valentine’s gift for someone who loves to travel.
12 –Heart Adult and Kid Apron – Aren’t these adorable!? Maybe I’ll have to attempt sugar cookies again just so the girls and I can wear these cute aprons!
13 –All American Sleep Shirt – Happy wife happy life. No truer words have ever been spoken. ;) CUTEST sleep shirt! I love wearing stuff like this around the house and especially after I shower while I blow dry my hair.
14 –Our Moments Couples – These conversation starters look like fun! I love this for a Valentine’s Day gift and am picking up a set. Would be fun to pull out on a date or a road trip and learn some fun new things about each other.
15 –Set of 3 Mixing Bowls – These are my favorite mixing bowls! I have them in yellow but I’m thinking red would be so fun for November through February!
16 –Swift Run Sneaker – Cutest pink shoes! I have these and love them. :)
17 –Marble Heart Board – You can’t go wrong with a marble cutting board and a marble heart cutting board is perfection for February.
18 –Leather Wallet – Another fun but practical gift idea for your man!
19 –Polka Dot Pajama Pants – I just bought the cutest polka dot sweater (I’ll share it on soon) and then fell in love with these cute pj pants too! Polka dots and tassels are both recent obsessions I guess. :)
20 –Quilted Shoulder Bag – I also ordered this cute pink purse (darling and such a great price). I have a feeling my girls will want to steal this one so I’ll be guarding it close!
I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been organizing 15-20 minutes each day and today I tackled my little powder bathroom! This space wasn’t bad, but the drawers were over stuffed with towels, under the sink was a hot mess and I had zero decor. Just a quick 20 minute refresh and now it’s ready for a new year! I couldn’t wait to pull out my favorite pink flower bath mat again (just went on sale this weekend!).
l added some of my favorite faux flowers just like I arranged them last summer. I’m still not tired of this look! Which is saying something since my decor usually only lasts about 2 months before I want to mix it up again. :) (More details on all of my favorite faux flowers in this post!)
Next I pulled out my new towels! I mentioned last summer that I was looking for some pretty pink towels to go with my flower bath mat and I could not be more in love with this set I got for Christmas! A little gift to me from me. :) You can buy these towels individually and they also come in blue and white. A bit of a splurge but wow.. they are absolutely gorgeous! Amazing quality and they add so much texture and style to this bathroom.
The fringe tassels! These towels are what I call a wise investment. My husband might disagree.. but he’s been wrong before. I’ll have to show him the fringe tassels to win him over because now I want a set in every bathroom in our house.
After adding some pretty Spring decor I vacuumed and wiped out all of the bathroom drawers.
I sorted through my towels and only kept my favorites. I washed them all and folded them nicely in the clean drawers. Good-bye Christmas towels! See you next year!
Then I cleaned out our little toothbrush drawer. New toothbrushes for 2020! I’ve shared this tip before but for those of you who are new, we keep a set of toothbrushes in this bathroom for mornings that my kids or husband are running late and need to brush their teeth quick on their way out the door. This bathroom is close to our garage door and it’s such a timer saver to not have to go back to the bedrooms on busy mornings! I also keep a brush in this space for mornings I’m pressed for time getting Kole ready and need to quickly brush his hair before school. It takes me all of 5 seconds to do his hair compared to his sisters who I used to spend FORVER getting ready each morning! I’m enjoying that little change. :) I just use a simple silverware tray to hold their toothbrushes and labeled their names for it with my label maker.
I wiped down under the sink too and got rid of things I didn’t need. I’m just storing toiler paper, soap and a few more favorite towels I use in this bathroom. I also washed the towels on the bottom shelf and wiped it down. Feels SO nice to have this room clean and organized! On a side note.. I was looking up the link to this flower bath mat for you all and can’t believe all of the cute new bath rugs and mats Anthro has in this year! Ahh! So many fun styles! I’ll link some I love below if you’re ready for a little bathroom re-fresh. So much color and personality! No excuse for boring bathrooms with these fun mats. :)
Sharing a few fun sweaters I’ve been wearing lately. I bought all of these sweaters a couple of months ago so most of them are on sale! I’m loving this Brushed Cable Pullover.
It comes in other colors but I’ve been loving this soft blue. Very January appropriate don’t you think? :) We are having one of the coldest winters we’ve had in southern Cal! Definitely putting all of my sweaters to good use this year.
Ok.. this sweater has been a stretch for me and is pushing me out of my comfort zone but I’m kind of loving it! I’ve never been a huge leopard fan, but I like the neck on this and it’s so warm. This exact sweater sold out but this style is so in right now. I found 5 similar sweaters that have their own fun look! Of course the camo print sweater is in my cart. We don’t want to go TOO far outside of our comfort zones now do we? :)
Of course for every “clean up and wear a cute sweater day” there is inevitably a “ponytail, joggers and hoodie day” that follows. Honestly this outfit has been on repeat more than any other for me since 2020 hit! You can’t beat a good pullover and these joggers are seriously SO good. I know I’ve shared them before. I have them in navy, charcoal and black (because when you love something this much you buy ALL the colors!). I wear them at least one or two days every single week. Perfect for days spent mostly at home or in the car which is my life these days! Love them.
Well that was a random post for you today! Spring bathroom decor, organized drawers, new towels, fun bath mats and favorite sweaters. What didn’t we cover?
Favorites for Organizing *affiliate links used below
Alright.. MAJOR organizing is going on at my house. I’m on such a roll! Feels good to be tackling spaces that have been driving me crazy for months. Are you on a roll too? Or still struggling to get started? Or is the real issue just finding the time to organize in the first place? Finding the time to prioritize getting your house in order can be a struggle. We all have busy schedules with so much going on. I’ve been organizing just 15-20 minutes a day and it really does make a difference! I’m sharing my small wins every day on IG stories and I hope it helps give you some ideas and motivation! If you want more motivation and tips my sweet blog friend Abby (who loves organizing as much as I do!) is having a free webinar this week called HOW TO GET ORGANIZED WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME. I can’t recommend Abby’s webinars and courses enough! She has a wealth of knowledge to share and is so down to earth and personable. You’ll definitely leave with more ideas, tips and motivation.
I’ll share some recent progress pics of the spaces in my home I’ve been tackling soon, but first I want to talk about some of my favorite products for organizing and how I use them in my home. Sometimes finding the perfect organizer makes all the difference and I hope the pictures in this post give you some new ideas for ways you can best utilize your spaces and make them work for you!
1 – Iris Clear Card Keeper – It felt so good to finally get all of my greeting cards organized and in one place! This is such an easy system and will give you a quick organizing win if you have cards all over your house. Round them up, give them some labeled categories and done!
I took this little card organization project one step further by creating a “mail/card zone” in one of my office drawers. Makes mailing a card, letter, small gift or package a breeze!
2 – Gray Woven Storage Bins – These grey woven baskets are some of my favorites because they look so good and can double as decor. They come in different sizes and I love the linen liners! (Plus they are on sale at the moment!)
I’ve been using these in my decor closet to corral random small items I use when I decorate.
3 – Emerit Paper Holder – Such a simple item to hold paper but it has been a favorite at our house for over 10 years! Lined paper, art paper, colored paper.. room for it all! When you find something that works you stick with it. I’m loyal that way. ;)
4 – Velvet Shirt Hangers/Velvet Suit & Pant Hangers – So excited about these felt hangers! I ordered them for my girls’ closets (the white for El and the pink for Ad). They both have rose gold tips and I love the little indents for dresses and tank tops. They are a great price and instantly gave their closets a major upgrade!
5 – Stackable Fridge Bins – I’ve loved these fridge bins! My fridge hasn’t been the most organized space this week so I’m just sharing a pic of my favorite bin.. the one I use for Coke Zeros. (Giving them up will be my goal for 2021.) ;) This saves so much space in my fridge! I use the other containers for things like yogurt and other random items.
6 – Stackable Baskets – I’ve had these stackable baskets for years and they have held both indoor toys and outdoor toys. They’ve also been in my garage holding things like soccer cleats and socks. They come in lots of colors and have been perfect for both large and small items.
They are currently living in my outdoor pool closet that I’m happy to report still looks (for the most part!) like this picture. Big win for me!
7 – Battery Organizer – I was so tired of random batteries in random drawers all over my house! I searched for a solution and was thrilled to find this battery organizer!
This lives in a drawer in my laundry room and finding a new battery when we need it has now become a piece of cake. :)
9 – Adjustable Dividers – Adjustable drawer dividers are definitely long time favorites! I especially love them in bedroom and bathroom drawers. They are perfect for dividing clothes (this pic is from Ad’s closet and underwear go in the middle slot).
They also work great to separate items in the bathroom like I did with random products on one side and my wash cloths on the other.
I use them in our pantry drawers too! Perfect to separate snacks because we wouldn’t want the popcorn mixing with the crackers. That would be tragic. ;)
10 – Seagrass Utility Baskets – These baskets are beautiful and I have them all over my house! Perfect for decor and organizing. Above is the larger square size..
and I used the smaller size on my bathroom tub shelves.
11 – Glass Meal Prep Containers – This is one item on the list that I don’t have but want! These meal prep containers look amazing for prepping healthy meals and snacks to take on the go!
12 – 2 Tier Industrial Style Paper Holder – Similar to the paper holders I have in my office that have become favorites for keeping all of my paper organized under control!
13 – Simple Houseware Shoe Holder – In our previous house we didn’t have a mudroom so I used these shoe holders for years to keep our shoes corralled and easy to grab on our way out the door! A great garage solution if you don’t have space in your home for shoes! My sister-in-law has some in her laundry room and that’s a great spot to put them too!
14 – 2 Tier Organizer with Baskets – Another item I don’t have but want! How perfect would this be under ALL the sinks!?
15 – Broom/Tool Holder – Broom/Tool holders come in so handy in closets or garages to hold well.. brooms and tools! Vertical space saving at its finest. :)
I’ve loved having tall cleaning items off of the floor in my stair closet!
I hope seeing how I use these organizers in my home was helpful! Let me know if you have a specific organizer you can’t live without! I’ve love to hear about it.
I may have mentioned before that organizing is a favorite topic of mine. ;)
{Favorite Faux Flowers, Plants and Vases – affiliate links used!}
Well! Not sure how we’re already at Thursday this week but here we are! Kenny has been out of town and Kole has been sick so I’m blaming my boys this week for the crickets chirping on the blog when I have so much to share with you all! Good thing they’re both worth it. ;) I got my Christmas decor organized and put away (no small feat!) and for those of you who have been asking for more details I gave a video tour of my small attic space off of our theatre room in IG stories. I saved it to highlights so if you head to my IG page and click on the top highlighted story titled “theatre” you’ll can see all the details about my theatre room, DVD organization and how I organize all of my Christmas decor in my attic. I hope it’s helpful. :)
Last year I gave my guest bedroom a little re-fresh and when I went to put everything back in its place this year after Christmas I was looking at the blue rug (which is honestly one of my favorites!) and I started thinking about how hidden it is in this room. It’s mostly tucked underneath the bed and aside from the few times we have company, nobody spends time in this room other Kole. (It’s my 9 year old’s favorite spot to watch TV and when he suddenly disappears I can usually find him under the covers in this room with his latest Netflix Pokemon show going.)
So I decided to move it into my dining room. And ahh.. I’m loving it this space so much! Isn’t the blue pretty!? I love how it ties in with the blue from our outdoor/pool furniture and adds some life to this space. Wondering about the books on my new/old rug? Those would be some of Kenny’s old law school books. They are PERFECT for smoothing out my rugs when there are bumps from having them in other spaces underneath things. Nice and thick and heavy. These books have saved my rugs countless times. Good old Contracts and Constitutional Law. Happy they are finally being put to good use. ;)
Speaking of adding life to our spaces.. I feel like that is what we are all CRAVING after the holiday decor comes down isn’t it!?
The BEST way to add some life to your home after the holidays (and always really!) is by adding flowers and plants throughout your home. Of course real plants and flowers are great and I always try to add a couple here and there, but with so many beautiful realistic faux options (and limited time to water and maintain plants!) I find myself using and loving faux options more and more.
I thought I’d share some of my favorite vases, plants and faux flowers and how I’ve used them in my home if you are looking for some fun ways to bring back some life and color into your spaces! At the end of this post I linked a round-up of old and new favorites I’ve found on-line. Some of them I may have kind of/sort of added to my own shopping cart while I was working on this post. Hazard of the job. That’s also a perk. :)
I also put together a small group of peonies in a clear vase on my island next to some real hydrangeas. That is one of my best flower tips! *Use a mix of real flowers with faux flowers and your faux items look even more real. Also clear vases like the two I linked above I use again and again.
Here is that same pretty clear vase holding real tulips. *A tip when buying vases – look for vases that taper smaller at the top because they require less faux flowers/branches.
It’s currently living in my theatre room and I love it in my striped pot on this counter so I’m ordering one more to keep downstairs.
You can’t go wrong with a great set of tall white faux flowers! I’ve had these for years and linked multiple very similar options below. These faux dogwood branches look very similar and are on sale!
They look good everywhere! These are some of the soft pink peonies in the smaller vase and my chevron vase is a long time favorite.
Faux trees are another great way to add some life to your home and make great Christmas tree replacements. :) I’m buying a new faux tree this year for my dining room and linked all of the options I’m considering right now below!
A great coffee table book is perfect to set next to a pretty vase and flowers on tables and shelves. Last Fall I bought Patina Farm for a fun coffee table book and I’ve loved looking through the beautiful, inspiring pictures.
I found Patina Living and just got it for Spring! Such a pretty coffee table book! (Cut Flower Garden and Peonies are two other favorite Spring coffee table books I love.)
The pops of hot pink in the book cover look so good next to these pretty peonies! I might have to move this arrangement next to the book on my coffee table.
Nothing is safe in one spot for long in this house. :)
Back in the swing of things! How did re-entry go for you? We’re still adjusting around here.
As you can see when you find me in this picture.. ha. I FNALLY finished putting Christmas decor away tonight. It only took me (and a friend) 3 days. Seriously WHY do I put so much up!? Well.. because I love it. Until it’s time to take it all down. ;) But it’s done! My house feels so bare and empty! Part of me is sad and the other part of me is happy. Clean.. less stuff. A fresh slate to play with. :)
Last week on IG stories I asked people what they struggle with when it comes to home organization. I got so many great answers but two of them seemed to pop up the most frequently. Where to START and how to KEEP things organized. I think we all struggle with those two things! In fact I was feeling overwhelmed with where to start when we got home from our trip. There are so many projects I want to tackle in 2020! Wondering where in the world to start when we have so much we want to do can keep us from doing much of anything. Whenever I feel overwhelmed with where to start I write a list. (Of course I do.) Getting ALL of our ideas/wishes for our homes out of our heads and on to paper is the best way to START. So I made us all a printable to help. (Of course I did. Clearly I’m not mixing things up TOO much in the new year.) ;)
I titled this printable HOME PROJECTS because I have some things I want to organize and some things I want to update/decorate. In a way this is a bit of a wish list so dream big! Walk through EVERY room in your house and think to yourself “if I could do anything to this space.. what would I do?”
I snapped this picture with my phone yesterday because I did that very thing! I walked though every room in my house and decided what I want to organize and what I want to update. I filled out two full pages and was laughing that I pretty much want to do some sort of updating to EVERY space in my house this year! Kole’s bedroom and our theatre room are the only two rooms that feel DONE (decorated and organized) at the moment because I tackled those spaces last year. :)
I only left us 5 spaces per room on this printable on purpose. I don’t want us to feel too overwhelmed with this list! So try to just pick your top 2-5 things you would love to do in each room in your home. Maybe they are ALL organizing items. Or maybe certain rooms are cleaned and just need to be updated with new paint, a new rug, some pictures on the wall.. whatever! WRITE IT ALL DOWN HERE. It really will take away a lot of that overwhelmed WHERE DO I EVEN START feeling.
Of course after you make your list you just have to START. Pick a room and pick one thing in that room to work on. Just START and once you’ve checked an item off of your list you’ll be motivated to keep going!
If you have bigger projects on your list this year my CURRENT PROJECTS Printable might be a better place for you to start.
This printable is helpful when you want to break big projects down into small, manageable, easy tasks and I use it all the time when I’m overwhelmed at the beginning of a project!
Last year I used this Monthly goal page to keep me on track each month.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2020 is off to a great start! We brought in the new year in Oahu and had one of our best family vacations to date. We went to every tourist attraction imaginable on that island (as you can see from our lovely pic at the Dole plantation), enjoyed some down time at the beach and pool and watched a lot of Star Wars. :) I completely unplugged from my phone and computer and am so grateful I made myself do that because now we’re home and I feel incredibly rejuvenated after a crazy December. Which of course means I am ready to ORGANIZE everything in sight! I’m seriously so excited to get my home in tip top shape and to take you all along for the ride. I have fun plans for 2020! But first.. Christmas decor. Ahhh! Tomorrow will be a busy day taking it all down. There is A LOT of Christmas still going on in my house at the moment so wish me luck with that little chore. By Tuesday I plan to be done putting away Christmas and organizing one of the many hot spots around here!
In the meantime.. here are a few fun January posts to get you excited about organizing with me! (Although I know some of you already are.. and that’s why I love you.) ;) Read these posts and pull out the black garbage/donate bags. It’s going to be a fun year around here!
And for those of you who are focusing on healthy eating in 2020 below is a post about my favorite healthy snacks. That I’ll be living on for the next month because along with unplugging from technology over the break I also unplugged from my treadmill. Ha. This week should be a fun one getting back into the swing of things. Wishing you all the best of luck with re-entry!
Popping in to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I’m so grateful for the friendship and support you’ve shown me this year. Your kind and encouraging words brighten every single day and I absolutely love this community!
Our family picture was on the front of our Christmas card and this was the back. Addison got her wish and Peaches made a Christmas card debut. Clearly this was a year of major acceptance and growth for me. Who knows what’s in store for 2020? Hopefully not more lizards. ;)
Regardless, I’m so happy to have you along for the ride. :)
Wishing you all the BEST holiday from our family to yours!
Christmas Living Room (and other pre-Christmas randomness!)
*affiliate links used
Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone! It’s quiet at my house.. I’m up with Kole and my girls are still sleeping. It’s pouring rain outside and after a month full of plans I’m so grateful for this quiet, cozy day at home with nothing on our agenda but wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies. Candle is burning, fireplace is on and the tree lights are beautiful. This might be my favorite day of the year. :)
We made pretzel hugs last week for my kids to give to all of their friends! Such a fun tradition. Now I need to get the leftovers out of my house because I seriously can’t stop eating them!
If you want to make some this week (perfect treat to make with the kids!) you can see how we make them in my IG story highlights. I also put up an IG TV video tour of the main floor of my home decorated for Christmas if you’re interested! You can tour it with me HERE (click on the pic of my black door) and living room pics and sources are below in this post!
Heading to church yesterday for the Christmas program! My favorite Sunday of the year. Ad and I saw each other laughed that we were both wearing black skirts and boots so we had to get a pic! My girls are both like me but in different ways. Ad is my mini me when it comes to fashion. And she’s always happy to take a picture. :)
I’ve been running around in this shirt all month. So cute for the holidays! Really for any day. I always get compliments on it! It’s cute out or tucked in, but lately I’ve been tying it in the front.
Speaking of fashion.. two of my favorite dresses are back in stock! I thought I’d share them again in case you need something fun for New Years Eve. Or just for winter months to come!
And another one! Both of these dresses are really comfortable and flattering. I always love the fit of Eliza J dresses! Here are a few more favorite dresses (and a jumpsuit I want!) for New Years and the winter months..
I took pics of my living room earlier this month and never got around to sharing them so here is a little Christmas tour of this room! All sources for this space are at the bottom of my post.
I wanted this tree to have a winter look and love how it turned out! Really simple with just beads, snowflakes, white yarn balls, silver ornaments and my favorite fa-la-la banners.
This room has brought me so much happiness because it’s full of red! Nothing like red for the holidays. My days of experimenting with neutral are over. ;)
I kept the shelves simple too with just old books and greenery and ornaments.
I’ve found that I need them to look cohesive and similar on each side or they start feeling too cluttered to me!
I also kept my mantel simple with just greenery and wooden candles. This beautiful garland sold out just like my other favorite faux garland this year and I’ve had so many questions about them! If you aren’t subscribed to my e-mail list yet do that HERE NOW! Next year I promise I’ll let you all know when all of the good greenery comes in before it sells out! I always put up an early post with my favorite Christmas decor in October so watch for that. You’ll want to be subscribed anyway because we are going to have FUN in 2020! Kicking off the new year with lots of organizing and I’m so excited about it. :)
Bottle brush trees, wooden beads and ornaments on a favorite tray. Add a little greenery and you have Christmas. :)
I hope you enjoyed the tour! And more importantly I hope you are enjoying these special days leading up to Christmas. :) I’ll pop back in again quickly tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas Eve!
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xoxo, Erin
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Still feeling the hearts over here! I put together an easy Valentine tablescape and then kind of laughed at myself because I have no plans to have anyone over. I just wanted hearts in every room! Come on in the formal dining room kids! Pizza for everyone at the fancy table tonight!
