Oh this is a happy day. I can finally say that my front entry is complete! I say finally because for the last five years that we’ve been living in our new home I have been hunting for the perfect bench for my front entry and it’s finally here!
To be honest my new navy bench is not exactly what I pictured and a little modern for my taste with its tall straight sides. But I’ll take it! And celebrate the fact that I’m done with my never ending hunt for a bench for this spot.
Two reasons I’ve struggled to find a bench for this entry: 1) I knew I wanted a navy bench. That narrowed the search pretty quickly right off the bat. :) 2) I had to find something narrow. Most benches are a lot deeper than this bench and would have come out too far past my front door. It was a narrow spot to work with! I had the color and style in my head and the exact dimensions I needed and NOTHING I found fit the bill.
Except this one. :) It’s the Adela Shelter Banquette from Horchow and when I first saw it on-line I decided it was so close! The perfect color and size, but too modern for me. But I kept going back to look at it and after a few weeks it sort of grew on me! Then one Saturday I went to look at it again and it was marked down on sale. I decided it was a sign and I was meant to buy it! I think also knowing that if I didn’t jump on it I would most likely be looking for the “perfect” bench for another 5 years helped close the deal. I asked Kenny if I could pull the trigger and he was like “for the love.. please just buy something and have it done and stop talking about finding a bench for that spot!”
Ha! My strategy that I didn’t even know was a strategy. I patted myself on the back for that one and plan to use it in the future. I call it the “talk about it enough that you drive your husband crazy and get exactly what you want” strategy. Look for my book coming out with details next Spring.
That pretty much sums up my Easter decor this year. I know.. you’re all so impressed. I’m taking Pinterest by storm with this one.
If you have more energy for Easter decor than I apparently do this year (or are in charge of Easter dinner) there are a few fun ideas in this Easter Tablescape post. I hung my eggs on my faux flowers for a centerpiece. I would actually love to put together a new Easter tablescape this year, but I still need to finish decorating my dining room!
I had it decked for the holidays, but after the Christmas decor was put away I was left with a blank slate that I’m still working on. I ordered this Sunken Treasure Canvas to go over my navy table..
(SO gorgeous!) and am patiently waiting for it to come. I’ve had my eye on it for a long time!
For now I’m celebrating my new bench! I added this favorite throw to it after I took these pics and it looks so good! Makes me want to order another one but it would be my 3rd. Ha. Seriously.. it’s the throw that looks good everywhere! I’m also debating this textured blush throw as another option. One piece of furniture/decor at a time and at one point I’m going to have this house completely decorated!
Just in time to pick a room and start all over again. ;)
I was taking pics of this space when Addison got home from school. A friend brought her home (I have quite the carpool situation worked out this year so that I can get my kids home from their 3 different schools every day). She walked in the front door, tossed her dirty backpack, binder and water bottle on my brand new bench, sat down and gave me this look. Rough day at middle school Ad? I snapped a quick pic and said “well.. my new bench is officially broken in.”
Spring Porch Update! (and favorite Spring dresses)
Happy Wednesday everyone! We are mid week on Spring Break #2 at our house. 3 kids in 3 different schools = 3 separate Spring Breaks and let me tell you.. productivity is at an all time LOW around here. You should all be very impressed that this post is even happening right now. I sure am. ;) I’ve actually been loving some time with each of my kids home and it has felt like summer thanks to some surprisingly hot weather the past 2 days. Makes me excited for things to come! The sunshine and warm temps inspired a little porch re-fresh! I cleaned and swept my porch and then found the cutest new outdoor rug. I still love my black and white striped rug but was ready for a change.
(Lots of fun sources and options are at the end of this post! Affiliate links used.)
Of course still stripes though.. I’m not ready for a change that wild and crazy. Ha. :)
I found this cute rug on Amazon and it’s plastic! I was a little skeptical ordering it, but was so happy when it arrived! Really nice quality and it will be so easy to keep clean. I added my hello mat and knew I needed a pop of yellow flowers. I looked all over for the perfect flowers and after not finding what I wanted I decided I would go to the nursery and then plant some in pots myself. Two days later I was shopping for groceries and these pretty yellow plants were in front of my local grocery store! In pots and everything. SCORE.
(Sorry babe.. I forgot dinner.. cute yellow plants took up all of the room in my grocery cart and sort of distracted me..)
Another fun score? This Daisy Cotton Shirtdress. So cute for Spring! I’m in love and it was just marked 40% off!
Here’s a closer look. The puff sleeves are my favorite! It runs a little long so I’m wearing a size 2 petite (I’m 5’3 and 1/2.. don’t forget the half). The regular 2 about went to my ankles. ;) I’ll link shoes and accessories below (I found SO many cute similar purses and shoes and earrings!) I’ve been doing some on-line shopping to get ready for a fun upcoming trip and can’t believe all of the cute new things out for Spring. (Btw.. this dress is part of Julia’s Gal Meets Glam dress collection and I love everything she does! Really simple, modest, flattering dresses.)
I got this cute Promenade dress from Anthropologie and it looks like the green is sold out, but it also comes in a pretty blue! So comfortable and green is one of my favorite colors to wear every Spring.
These Orchid Earrings I mentioned in my Floral Favorites post are so good you guys! I’m in love! They are lightweight and so pretty. The perfect pop of pink with almost every outfit!
While we’re talking green dresses from Anthro.. this Nova Knit Dress is another long time favorite dress of mine that’s back in stock! Comfy and casual.. and green. I’m nothing if not predictable. :) I love pulling this out every Spring.
Another fun dress I’m loving that I also shared earlier in my Floral Favorites post is this Flutter Sleeve Dress. This dress is a little out of my comfort zone because I tend to gravitate toward solid colors, but I just love how feminine and pretty it is for this time of year! Sorry the lighting is so bad! I was wearing it to an evening event when I snapped these 2 pics.
I love the way it’s short in the front and long in the back.. really slimming from the side too!
Nothing like a new dress and a new front porch rug to welcome Spring is there!?
I think not. :)
{PORCH SOURCES/FAVORITE OUTDOOR RUGS}
{DRESSES}
{SIMILAR PURSES}
..loving every one of these!
{SIMILAR JEWELRY}
.. also loving pink/gold earrings and layered necklaces these days!
*This post is sponsored by Pottery Barn and affiliate links are used, but as always all product selections and opinions are my own!
Hello hello friends! I’m sharing some organizing favorites from Pottery Barn with you all today! Organizing? Pottery Barn? This post is a favorite and I haven’t even written it yet. :)
Whether we’re going on a trip for Spring Break or planning something fun for the summer I’m always thinking about travel this time of year. I’m excited to share a few of my favorite travel accessories with you! This travel jewelry portfolio has quickly become my best friend. So pretty and it comes in several colors.
But the magic happens on the inside. I love that it has a place for everything! The top snaps are ring rolls but I don’t wear a lot of rings so I use them to hold my wedding ring, bracelets and larger hoop earrings. The next zipper pouch is perfect for other bracelets or my watch.
Then it has a bottom earring holder for smaller earrings/studs.
I put my longer earrings in the long pocket on the left side.
But my favorite part is the far right! I used to put all of my jewelry together in a small make-up bag when I traveled and I hated how my necklaces always got so tangled. This zipper compartment that holds necklaces is so nice and honestly why I bought this! I can stack multiple necklaces in each snap and it keeps them separated. Love that! Then the whole thing folds up nice and flat and is easy to pack.
I also love these cute Lakshmi cosmetic pouches. They are so soft and I love the colors/pattern. Easy to toss in your bag! I use this larger pouch for all of my labeled travel toiletries.
The smaller pouch is perfect for make-up. I always keep my make-up with me in my carry on when I’m on the plane because if there is ever a luggage mix up or delay at least I’ll have my mascara! #priorities
My husband and I also both love this black Tech Portfolio. Perfect to hold the iPad and all other travel accessories.
I like using the top slots for my driver’s license and main credit card when I travel so that they are easy to access. And of course the iPad is ready for my son on the plane when the whole family is traveling. Enjoy Kole. Mom is reading a magazine and then taking a nap. I miss when my kids were babies, but I do not miss traveling with my kids when they were babies. :)
I can’t write an organizing post with items from PB and not talk about baskets. They are my #1 favorite thing organize with! And Pottery Barn baskets are my favorite. I recently bought this set of Moroccan Woven Baskets and love them! You can see two of them in this picture above (one by my chair and the small basket on my shelf).
The large basket is by my fireplace.
The larger two baskets in this set are perfect for blankets and books, but if you have small children they would also be perfect for corralling toys. I had toys stashed in baskets all over my house when my kids were younger! Easy clean-up. :)
I use them to hold our winter accessories! Perfect spot for them because we don’t have much and only use them once or twice a year. The basket above my locker and my husband’s is holding our ski pants. :)
But my favorite baskets for organizing are hands down PB’s Savannah Utility baskets. LOVE these. I have them all over our house! I use the larger size in my bathroom built-ins to hold toiletry items we don’t use as often.
Then I have the smaller size on display on the shelf above my bathtub.
This set is empty but that’s what I love about these baskets. They look great as decor too and work with any color scheme.
I’ve shared this before but they are also the baskets I use in my pantry. :) I used this small size for a while and then upgraded to the Savannah Lidded Baskets because they are deeper (a rectangle fit) and I can fit more food! I just keep the lids off and in a separate cupboard if I ever want to use the the baskets a different way.
Another favorite organizing solution of mine has always been wall organization! Pinboards especially are my favorite and we have them throughout my home and one in each of my kids’ rooms.
I bought these pin boards from Pottery Barn for my pantry soon after we moved into our house and have loved having a place to display my kids’ school/art work, thank you notes, wedding invitations, baby announcements, etc. Having a set place for miscellaneous paper items like this helps keep my kitchen counters and fridge clear and clean!
The PB linen pinboard in my bedroom is another favorite place I display special pictures and cards from my kids. Items like this are so nice to enjoy when they are grouped together and displayed vs. a pile of clutter sitting on the nightstand.
This has nothing to do with organizing but while we’re talking all things Pottery Barn I recently ordered this Shouldered Clear Glass Vase and couldn’t love it more. Aren’t these tulips so beautiful in it!? I keep moving it around my house to different rooms and it looks good in so many spots! I love vases that are narrow at the top like this because they are easier to fill.
I shared a picture on Instagram tonight and a lot of people mentioned putting a penny in the bottom of the vase to keep the tulips standing straight! Such a great tip! I’m excited to try it. But I have to say that I always love it when tulips start to droop and spill over the sides of the vase. Perfect imperfection. :) I’m obsessed with bright pink at the moment and have sprinkled these raspberry faux peonies all over my home too.
I’m ready for Spring! Sunshine on my face, flowers throughout my home, and of course.. LOTS of organizing.
Bring it on. :)
{PB ORGANIZING FAVORITES} *all of these items are on sale right now!
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! We lucked out with perfect party weather and Kole’s 9th birthday party was a hit! When I asked him what he wanted for a birthday party this year he said he really wanted everyone to come over to our house to jump and could we please get a bouncy house.
So that’s exactly what we did. :) This boy of mine still loves to jump which makes me happy because I know our bouncy house days are numbered!
He didn’t want a specific party theme like Star Wars or anything so we decided to just decorate everything with the colors that were in the bouncy house he picked out. This colorful castle was the winner because it had a slide. :)
Pops of blue, yellow, red and green!
We had an extra table so we just used it for gifts. We always have our kids open gifts later after the party which I love because we can take our time and I can jot down info. for thank you cards. Funny to remember how different that is from when I was young and half of the party was all about opening presents! How do you do it with your kids? I don’t think I’ve been to a party where gifts were opened in years! I’m wondering if that’s a San Diego thing or just the way everyone does it now?
We set out three tables for food.. a blue table, a red table..
and a yellow table. Then we used the opposite colors of plates on each to stand out. I loved that my yellow and red flowers all started blooming so pretty just in time for the party and I had blue pillows on the lounge chairs! Not planned to coordinate with the party decor, but I’ll take it. :)
I can’t take all of the credit for this cute party. My darling friend Vanessa was a huge help! She is a close friend of mine and I hired her this year as an “assistant.” I’ve mentioned before that my 3 kids are in 3 different schools this year and we have a hectic after school schedule every day. My husband’s job keeps him busy so it didn’t take long for me to see heading into this school year that if I wanted to keep my blog alive and be the kind of mom I want to be I was going to need some help. Or give up sleep completely. I can go on about 5 hours a night but giving up more than that just wasn’t an option. ;) She was so excited to work with me and it has been a blast! Every week is different and it’s usually just a few hours here and there but I’ve loved having her help with things like taking pics I need to be in (so nice to not have to wait for the weekend when Kenny is home!), some of the administrative blog stuff that I get buried in, or last week.. party planning and then heading to the store to get ALL things colorful for Kole’s party. Plus it’s just more fun to do things like this with a friend. :) I laughed that we both showed up in green and yellow coordinating with the party decor. Kenny showed up in camo.. he obviously didn’t get the memo. Ha.
I’ve never been a huge fan of goodie bags after a party. We all do it – I’ve given them out after my kids’ parties for years, but I sometimes feel like they are a waste of money because the kids chew the gum and maybe use the pencil, but a lot of times they just get trashed! So we decided to give each of the kids a ball when they left (you can see them in a cooler off to the left of this table.) Kole is always bouncing a ball around so it seemed like a fun and practical gift for this age for about the same price as a goodie bag. The kids played with them at the party and then each got to pick one to take home after! A fun party favor and it worked with the colorful polka dot theme we had going on.
Vanessa painted simple crate boxes and then we used gumballs in a mason jar with a polka dot ribbon and colorful balloons as table centerpieces. She also found this cute dog that all of the kids signed with a pen for my party boy to keep and remember who came to his party. :)
Then I about broke my neck hanging colorful lanterns from the back porch light over the food table. But priorities.
I can’t believe my baby is 9!
Costco run for all of the food! Flowers were for me. :)
Vanessa also painted the cute KOLE letters and then I put a picture of him in a frame on top of another crate. We got pizza and then I just served easy snacks. We also added gum balls in cute bowls everywhere because.. why not? :)
All finished setting up!
I love this smile. It’s his fake smile that says “humor mom for 5 more minutes with these stupid pictures and then I get to finally have fun with my friends.” I know that smile well because his dad does it all the time too.
They’ll thank me someday. I just know it.
We also added a cute banner up on the balcony! With painters tape. But you already knew that.
Every time I share pics of our yard I get questions about our umbrellas. They are the older model of these Cantilever Umbrellas and I honestly can’t say enough good things about them. A splurge but they are worth every penny! So easy to adjust to the sun and they’ve held up great. (I’ll link to backyard sources and similar items below.)
Oh yeah.. friends are starting to arrive. It’s party time. :)
This party was so easy after set up because the kids just jumped and swam and played in the yard!
I didn’t take as many pics when all of the kids were here because I was monitoring the pool, bounce house and trampoline making sure everyone was safe. Boys stress me out! Their “play” always feels like a broken limb will happen at any moment.
Happy Birthday Kole! You’ve got great friends who love you so much.
Happy Weekend everyone! This will be a quick post because it’s late and I still have a few things to get ready for Kole’s birthday party tomorrow! Sometimes it’s so difficult getting things done when the kids are awake isn’t it!? I just had to give up on trying earlier today and then get everyone in bed so I could focus (Kenny too.. he fell asleep on the couch.. ha). At 10 pm I was finally able to start checking things off of my to-do list! Getting more sleep is a major goal for me this year. Actually achieving that goal feels about as realistic as getting things done when the kids are awake.
;)
Starting with old favorites! I’m sharing 2 past posts that I hope will be helpful to read for the first time.. or the second. :) How I organize my jewelry AND tips on what to toss and what to save when it comes to ALL the papers kids bring home from school.
What do these 2 posts have to do with each other? Absolutely nothing. I just like them both. :)
For new favorites this week I’m so excited about the Serena & Lily Spring Design Event! You guys! Eekkk! I’ve been waiting for this sale! Right now through Monday Serena & Lily has 20% off of EVERYTHING in their store! I love S&L but their products are pricey so I aways wait for sales like this to shop for my home. I ordered some new pillows for my living room and can’t wait to get them here! (Especially excited about this one.)
A couple of favorites in my home from S&L are my guest room bed and my Malibu Chandelier. To be honest I sometimes want to move them into my own bedroom I love them so much! I’m linking some favorite S&L products below! I love pretty much everything in their store. If you are shopping the sale on-line be sure to use the code INSPO to get the sale price when you check out.
Ok.. back to my balloons. :) I’ll share some peeks of Kole’s party on IG stories if you want to pop in and see what we’re up to! I can’t believe that by the end of this month my baby will be 9! This S&L sale came at a dangerous time. Retail therapy is always my go to when I’m sad about my kids getting older. SOS! Ha.
Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good week so far! It is POURING rain right now as I type this but our week started off with warm temps and sunshine. Just a taste of Spring and it felt so good! We are throwing a birthday party for Kole this weekend in our backyard so I’m hoping that we get our Spring weather back for the weekend. If not I’ll be coming up with a way to keep twentyish 9 year olds entertained inside my house. So fun right? Prayers would be appreciated. ;)
I’ve been on a hunt for new shoes for Spring/Summer and seriously you guys.. I’m in love with all of the fun sandals that are popping up this year! There are so many cute and comfortable slide options. Perfect shoes for the park, the pool, the beach, running errands or chasing kids! You can dress them up with a skirt or keep them casual with cut-offs. If you like a sandal with a heel this cute wedge was so popular last year and they have it back in lots of new colors (I just ordered them in navy!). I’m really torn on which slides to order and just can’t choose between all of the fun options below. These are my 9 favorite sandals that are under $90! Great deals on CUTE shoes and every pair comes in a variety of color options. Bring on the sun! I’m so ready for painted toes, comfy sandals and warm cars. (Isn’t it the best feeling getting into a warm car when you’ve been in a cold building? My favorite.) :)
p.s. Let me know what you think of a new 9 under $90 series! I’m kind of excited about it. Maybe a post like this every week or two? I have SO many fun ideas and good deals on favorite things to share!
(All sandals are linked below! Affiliate links are used.)
(*For newcomers (hello and welcome!) I designed this office when we built our house and the dutch door and table were both custom made. The counters are all quartz (Caeserstone – Organic White). The room is 15 1/2 by 12 feet and you can download my house paint colors here. All other office sources will be shared at the end of the post! Affiliate links used.)
I’m back! Back with the rest of my office organization. I know you’ve all been on pins and needles just waiting for part 2. ;)
Make sure to check out how I organized the first half of my office if you missed it! Today we’re moving on to the cupboards and drawers on the right side of the room so settle in with some popcorn (or another preferred snack although I highly recommend popcorn) and here we go!
We ended the first part of the tour with this cupboard of half finished projects that I finally got organized and under control.
Here’s a look inside this section of lower cupboards and drawers..
Ok. Before you decide that I’m a crazy hoarder let me tell you that this putting together this cupboard is quite possibly the smartest thing I’ve ever done to save my sanity and time. These are toys/gifts for kids. Some of them are gifts my own kids have received for birthdays and I’ve stashed them in here for a rainy day. Some are gifts I’ve bought. A couple of years ago both of my girls were participating in “secret sister” gift exchanges. Ad for volleyball and El for dance. Every time Ad had a volleyball game or El had a dance competition we were shopping for a little gift for a friend on the team. Add that to the 3-6 birthday parties my 3 school-aged kids were going to each month and I felt like I was constantly having to shop for gifts. I finally realized what a time suck it was becoming for me and got on-line and ordered a bunch of small gifts/toys. Then I went to the grocery store and stocked up on candy, small gift cards, cute gift bags and tissue. I put all of the wrapping supplies in our wrapping cupboard and all of the gifts in this cupboard and from then on every time one of the kids needed a gift for someone I told them to head to the office, pick something out and wrap it up! LIFE SAVER.
To be honest we now politely decline some of the “secret friend” activities (my kids don’t mind at all!) and we only attend birthday parties for close friends. It was just getting to be too much between the 3 kids and now that my girls are older and both so busy our family time on the weekend has to be prioritized or it doesn’t happen!
But when the kids DO need a gift.. we are ready. ;)
This top drawer used to hold files for all of my “inspiration” pages that I had torn out of magazines. Decorating, organizing, home design. I had a lot of torn out magazine pages! After the holidays I dumped everything from this drawer out on to my floor and was planning on going through them to categorize/organize/file them all, but then I decided that I really didn’t need them anymore. How often was I looking at my torn out magazine pages for inspiration? They had been sitting in this drawer untouched for years. Time to simplify! And recycle. So this drawer is currently empty. :)
Below the empty drawer is what’s left of my six years of teaching Elementary School. I’ve recycled SO many things over the years and this is all I’m still hanging onto. I’ve used a lot of my teaching materials with all 3 of my kids and these are things I still use or might use in the future with Kole. He has always loved and played with the sack puppets. :)
Time for the cute little cubbies above the computer! When I was designing this office I sketched out these 5 little drawers above the computer mostly to break things up and add some interest. I didn’t really need them for storage and knew that drawers at that height weren’t practical anyway. I just liked the way they looked.
So I decided to make the three middle “drawers” one pull down cubby and then have just one drawer on each side. The side drawers are empty.
In the middle cubby I have these three baskets that hold computer screen cleaners, putty I use when I decorate, felt I use under furniture, and then of course.. more painters tape. :)
The cupboards above the little drawers hold books! I’ve gone through our crazy book stash multiple times and just can’t part with these yet. Although it looks like we have two copies of Wonder (not sure how that happened) so I might need to Marie Kondo this book situation yet again. ;)
Below the computer are two drawers full of organized school supplies.
One thing I allow myself to hoard just a tad. Along with cute notepads.
And kids’ extra birthday gifts.
And throw pillows.
And peep toe booties.
Alright alright.. so I’m an organized hoarder. Always room for improvement right?
When I’m ready and want to. ;)
Honestly though.. these types of drawers just make my day! If I’m feeling down I can just open a drawer of perfectly lined up paperclips and bam. Instant pick me up.
On to the next little section of cupboards! These open cupboards at the top used to be a hot mess! Kind of a dumping ground for all the things. I cleaned them out and got rid of everything I wasn’t loving/using and now they are almost empty. I have NO plans to fill them up anytime soon.
The wooden crates below I’ve shared before. They hold more school supplies (told you they are a weakness!), command strips for hanging pictures, and camera manuals/computer programs I still use from time to time.
The lower drawers hold paper files. Important papers for each of my kids and then things like medical forms, receipts, etc. I still want to hang on to for a while.
They also hold some of my older sentimental keepsakes.
Getting our paper under control was a HUGE project that I tackled last summer and I wrote a post all about it HERE if you missed it. All of our finance/tax papers are in my husband’s office and I need to organize them better at some point but that involves his help which is why it hasn’t happened yet. For some reason he doesn’t get as excited as I do about spending a weekend sorting, categorizing and organizing paper.
He’s a mystery to me.
;)
Next to the paper files is the drawer that holds my camera equipment/label maker drawer. The only thing missing when I took this pic was my main Canon camera. Because I was using it to take the pictures. :)
The drawer underneath my camera holds our printer. Nice to have it tucked out of the way!
Moving along to the tall cabinet on the right! I shared this cabinet years ago because it was one of the first spaces I organized in our new home when we moved in.
My building books/notes/paint samples are on the top with paper and all of our craft supplies underneath.
This space has worked so well for us and has stayed organized through the years. I straightened the paper for this picture but that’s it! My kids know where everything is and they know where things go when it’s time to clean up. I used to have something similar in a smaller kitchen cupboard in our previous house so think outside of the box if you need a craft set up for your kids and are short on space!
The only difference in this cupboard now compared to 5 years ago when we moved in is that these colorful files used to hold coloring and activity books and now they hold Algebra and Biology books. I miss all things My Little Pony but love this stage with my kids too. :) Circle of life!
Although I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Algebra. Or Biology. My husband covers all Math/Science homework and I cover all English/Reading/History/creative project based homework. Together we make a pretty smart student.. ha.
So that’s it for all of the organized drawers and cupboards in my office! Those grey boxes on the counter have my girls’ names on them and are a place they can put papers (drawings, stories, etc.) they might want to keep that I file through later to put in their school boxes. (I’ll share their school boxes at some point too! They are still a work in progress.)
We also have the white file organizer on the wall with each of my 3 kids’ names where we set school papers they are currently working on, test notes they are currently studying, etc.
That’s it my friends! How I’ve organized the entire office. I so hope you enjoyed the tour! Regardless of what your office space looks like right now (for years my “office” was in a small closet under our stairs!) I hope this post gives you a few ideas of how you can organize different things and create a space that works well for you and your family.
Having a set location for items that everyone knows about is key!
So is having lots of cute notepads.
And school supplies.
And throw pillows.
And peep toe booties.
But organize them well and get rid of everything else.
Happy weekend everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who sent sweet birthday wishes and participated in the giveaway. Winner is Mary Beth @mbmessner! And Pottery Barn it is. :) Mary Beth I’ll be in touch!
My family and friends made my birthday special with lunch and dinner and I spent the afternoon with Kenny donating blood. A new tradition I’m so excited about! Some of you might remember that a massive blood transfusion saved my life after a scary experience about 10 days after I gave birth to Kole (I wrote more about it the year after it happened here). I decided that every year on my birthday (or during the month of March if I can’t make it happen on my birthday) I’m going to give blood. A little way of saying thanks because I’m so grateful to still be here today. :) I also think we need to continue the birthday giveaway because that was fun! I wish I could send every one of you a $300 gift card!
We closed the restaurant down again this year! Love my friends and birthdays are the best. :)
Sharing a fun new find with you all today! I’m obsessed with these Elsie Rattan bowls from Anthro! Honestly this basket/bowl looks so good everywhere I put it! I’ve been moving it around and finally decided to use it as a fruit bowl. :)
Aren’t the handles so much fun!? I love the style and texture it adds to my kitchen.
I bought both sizes (the fruit bowl is the largest) and I’ll show you what I’m doing with the smaller bowl when I figure that out! It will look great somewhere. :)
I have the small size here. So happy about all of the great faux plant options coming out this Spring because I love having plants in my home but I only have the time and talent to keep one.. maybe two alive. Ha. #truth
Here are a few other new finds I’m loving this weekend:
For my old favorite I’m sharing a post from last year that will help motivate us all to start some spring cleaning! March/April are perfect months to get our homes clean and organized and freshened up for spring so that when the sunshine comes we can all be outside enjoying it!
Happy Friday everyone! Pausing on all things office quickly to share some floral favorites with you today! We’ve had a colder than normal winter here in San Diego with so much rain but today the sunshine came out and it was 70 degrees! It felt amazing and made me so excited for spring and summer. I’m ready to bust out all things floral! I recently bought this cute navy floral top (I already had the white and loved it last spring) and was excited for a day warm enough to finally wear it. The same cute pattern comes in a dress too! I was looking on-line for other fun floral patterns (getting ready for Spring Break) and found so many cute options that I thought I’d share them with you today. The hard part is choosing which items to order.. I want everything in this collage! What’s your favorite? If I could only pick one thing it would be the Coach sandals.. no wait.. the earrings! No.. the watch.. OR the Caitlin Wilson pillows. But I want the dresses too! Floral patterns are too much fun this time of year. Better just get one of each. ;)
I’ll be popping back in quickly this weekend with a new post and to announce the winner of my birthday giveaway so check back! (Thank you for all of the sweet birthday wishes!) More office organization is on its way too. ;)
Come in come in! I’m so excited to take you all on a tour of my organized office! I’ve shared a few organized spots in this room in past posts, but I wanted to have one post that included my ENTIRE office and how every single drawer and cupboard are organized.
Because I finally got every single drawer and cupboard organized. ;)
(*For newcomers (hello and welcome!) I designed this office when we built our house and the dutch door and table were both custom made. The counters are all quartz (Caeserstone – Organic White). The room is 15 1/2 by 12 feet and you can download my house paint colors here. All other office sources will be shared at the end of the post! Affiliate links used.)
I started sorting through pictures for this post and realized that if I put ALL of the pictures I wanted to share of every single organized drawer and cupboard in my office in one post I would blow up the internet. Ha. So I’ve divided my tour into 2 posts and today I’m sharing my organized office part 1! Anyone else giddy about today’s topic?
Just me?
I can live with that. :)
When you come into the room you’ll see my Visual Planning Board on the left side of the wall. I wrote more details about how this board keeps me organized in this post. (I’ve been loving it!) I also hung baskets on the side of my chalkboard to hold random items like clipboards, notepads, etc. Quick, easy access items!
I designed this desk space in the back of the room for my work space (the kids use the large computer) and most mornings you can find me here in this chair with my planner and laptop happily blogging away. Or managing other not as fun tasks. :) Popcorn is always close.
In the far left corner I have these wooden file boxes for all of my paper. I’ve loved this system. Now I know exactly where to put things I’m working on for work and home and I have a spot for urgent to-do’s that I sort through and take care of every day. (One of my best tips for paper control is to create some sort of “urgent” file/folder/drawer in your home that you always set important papers and then go through it daily so that urgent things don’t slip through the cracks!)
Inside the cupboard right below my wooden file boxes I added three large pull out drawers.
None of our previous homes/apartments had office spaces and I was always scratching my head about what to do with my kids’ large art work that I wanted to save. These pull out drawers have been a dream! Although I have to tell you that I made a mistake when we were building and didn’t make them quite deep enough. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but the large poster boards in the bottom drawer are tilted up resting on the back of the drawer because it’s too short! Not a big deal because it all still fits but one of those “oops” moments when we were building our house. We had many!
Next to the cupboard with the pull out drawers are these 3 desk drawers.
All of my office supplies are in the top drawer. I use these clear organizers in all of my office drawers and love them!
The drawer below my office supplies holds my many notepads! This drawer is a favorite. :) I actually did a major purge session after the holidays and got rid of over half of them so I’m quite proud of this drawer at the moment. (Cute notepads are a weakness!)
The bottom drawer I fondly titled my “mail station.” I have all of my greeting cards and envelopes and packing tape and stamps in this drawer and I can’t tell you how happy this spot makes me! Now mailing a thank you/birthday card or gift is so easy!
This clear card keeper holds all of my greeting cards organized by category and you can see more details about it in this post.
I think the mail station did it. Cue the angels! Do you hear them singing?
I was starting to wonder when they might show up. ;)
Happiest drawers in the house. :)
I like to keep these two thin desk drawers mostly empty so I have a place to stash things I’m working on. They usually just hold my planner (when it’s not in use) and post-it notes for my visual display board and then of course.. painter’s tape. If you know me well you know how much I use and love my blue painter’s tape. Works for everything! :)
Moving over to the right side of the room!
In the cupboards to the right of my desk drawers I have more pull outs. The top holds my paper cutters.
I designed the bottom drawer to hold 12×12 paper. If you followed me in my early blogging days you know I was really into scrapbooking so I designed this space to hold supplies. The girls and I are hoping to do a little scrapbooking again this summer! My albums definitely won’t be as elaborate as they once were, but I still love playing with pictures and paper and preserving memories.
My kids have used a lot of my scrapbook paper and supplies for school projects so even though I don’t scrapbook as much as I used to it has been so nice having a place to keep things like this organized.
When I realized I was going to have this extra space in the corner of my office I decided to add another tall cupboard for storage. (Clearly I was coming from a home with little storage because I felt the need to go cupboard crazy in this house!) The small cupboard on the very top is currently empty.
The tall cupboard below it I designed to hold wrapping paper and supplies. Wrapping paper on the left..
The next cupboard used to be a hot mess of old half done projects and craft supplies! I spent some time after the holidays this year finally getting things organized. It took hours and I said good-bye to a lot of things I was hanging on to!
Then used my label maker and these clear bins to organize the things I wanted to keep and finish. Getting this cupboard under control was one of those projects I was thrilled to check off of my list!
That’s the first half of my organized office! Pop back in soon to see part 2!
I’ll bring the singing angels. You bring the popcorn.
Growing up I adored my Aunt Gwen (actually she was my great Aunt.. my mom’s Aunt Gwen). Every year on her birthday she would take our family to dinner and we could order whatever we wanted and she would pay. Dinner on her birthday was the first time I ever ordered Prime Rib and I loved it! I still think of her every time I eat Prime Rib. Then she would give all of the kids in her extended family (and there were a lot of kids!) each a $2 bill. On HER birthday. My cousins and I would all get so excited for Aunt Gwen’s special day which was a treat to everyone. So I’m channeling my sweet Aunt Gwen today and giving all day long! Starting with all of you – my blog family. :) I absolutely love this community and can’t thank you all enough for your continued support. It means more to me than you’ll ever know! You all make every day a sunny day. Thank you!
So! A fun giveaway for one of you! This blog is focused on home decor, organization and fashion.. my three favorite things. While I like to shop at lots of places, you all know that I tend to gravitate to 3 main stores. Pottery Barn for decor, The Container Store for organizing, and Nordstrom for fashion so for my birthday I’m giving away a $300 gift card to one of those stores! Winner gets to choose which of those 3 stores you want the giftcard to. You can freshen up your home with some new decor, finally organize that trouble spot for good, or get some cute new clothes for Spring! Or I can send you a $100 gift card to each of the three stores.. totally up to you!
3 – In today’s giveaway post on Instagram tell me what you would use the gift card for and then tag two friends who you think would also enjoy my blog/IG.
If you are already a blog subscriber and you already follow me on IG you just have to leave a comment on today’s IG post and tag two friends and you’re set! I’ll announce the winner here on my blog and in the original IG giveaway post on Friday. Make sure to check back to see if you won! I’m choosing the winner Friday because of course I’m going to be milking this birthday for all it’s worth and make sure it stretches out through the entire week.
What else would you expect from someone turning the ripe old age of 24?
:)
Good luck and thank you again for hanging out with me here!
So! I know I said my next post would be an organizing post.. and that’s coming! Surprise.. I took too many pictures and it’s taking me a while to go through them all. I’m nothing if not predictable. :) But I wanted to pop in quickly today to share some monthly to-do lists and calendar pages that are in my printable library! And to talk all things to-do lists because lists are my favorite. Along with throw pillows, peep toe booties and cherry ice chapstick.
It’s the little things. :)
I think we all know the power of a good brain dump. If you don’t, it’s definitely time to give one a try! Getting everything out of your head and onto paper is the BEST feeling. You mind is free to dream up all sorts of things when it isn’t bogged down with the mundane to-do’s of every day life.
I designed these simple monthly to-do list pages to use for brain dumps. I’ve tried using apps on my phone for lists like this and while they work and are fine for a few days, I always end up going back to a good old pen and paper list. These pages are perfect for a beginning of the month brain dump! Write down ALL the things without worrying about when or how you’ll do them or what’s most important. When you feel overwhelmed with where to start, just get it all out of your head and on paper.
Once I’ve written my list I prioritize what needs to be done by highlighting three things that are the most important each day. When one item is done I check it off and then highlight another item. This picture is of an older to-do list. I love that the new monthly to-do list printable has boxes to check off next to each item! Such power in checking off a box. :)
If it’s a large project I’m working on, I use my Current Project sheet to break things down into small steps.
Visual to-do lists (like this one I recently shared) are another great way to get things out of your head and to keep track of projects.
Another to-do list option is this favorite printable that helps with time blocking your day and prioritizing your top three items to get done.
In the summer when our schedule is less structured I love this day/week/month to-do list. Clearly I need to add sticky notes to the favorites list next to my cherry ice chapstick. :)
Sometimes I love using a blank calendar page to brain dump and keep track of specific things! We use our phones for our family activity calendar (there are too many things going on to write down every day) but I love having blank calendar pages for things like planning summer camps or family trips or for planning blog content.
There are so many different ways to plan your day and to make to-do and project lists. I hope I’ve shared some options if you are in a rut and need some motivation! For me, mixing up my to-do list and trying something new always motivates me and helps with my productivity when I’m in a rut.
You can probably tell by my many list making options that I tend to get in ruts often. Ha. ;)
I should have had these monthly to-do and calendar pages up at the beginning of the year, but I figure better late than never right? I’m happy to kick things off with March this time around. And yes.. I know they are a little on the “overly cute” side with the pictures representing each month, but the school teacher in me couldn’t help myself. ;)
(If you are already a Sunny Side Up subscriber just enter your info. again to get the printables.. it won’t add you twice! Also, if you sign up and don’t get an e-mail soon after check your junk mail! Once in a while it lands there first.)
xoxo, Erin
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Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! We lucked out with perfect party weather and Kole’s 9th birthday party was a hit! When I asked him what he wanted for a birthday party this year he said he really wanted everyone to come over to our house to jump and could we please get a bouncy house.
In the far left corner I have 
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