Happy Monday friends! Our hallway is looking festive for Halloween! I call this my shiplap trick or treat Halloween picture display. Try saying that three times fast. :)
My kids love seeing their past Halloween costumes! Every time they walk past these pictures they stop to look at them. :) I found the cute Trick or Treat letters here on Kristen’s fun blog and just put them up with blue painters tape. I also used blue painters tape to hold up the pictures. I got the cute pumpkin, bat and witch hat at the craft store.
Lots of fun memories on this little shiplap trick or treat Halloween picture display. :)
Another fun way to display Halloween pictures for your kids and family is across a fireplace mantel. I love putting together scrapbook albums for my kids, but a lot of times our pictures in those books get put away and not looked at often. Pulling out holiday pictures and using them as decor is such a fun way to enjoy them every year.
Plus it just makes you excited for the holiday! I can’t believe Halloween is already next week. It always sneaks up so quickly doesn’t it!? I still don’t have costumes for all of us.. ha. We are slackers this year!
But the hallway is looking festive! So we’ll just focus on that.
Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! And for keeping my little buddy so stylish all the time. :) (Affiliate links used.)
Couldn’t share clothes I’m loving for my girls without including my youngest sidekick and partner in crime. :) We spent a fun afternoon together last week! Ran a few errands.
And then had a yogurt date. The two of us have yogurt dates together all the time. It’s our thing because we like yogurt. And he likes gummy worms on top of his yogurt. And when I’m in a good mood (which is usually the case when I’m getting yogurt) he gets away with getting lots of them. :)
Army green and orange is a combo I love when it comes to clothes for my little buddy and this Peace tee is a favorite. So is that second grade smile. :)
We had a great chat about his upcoming field trip to the fire station (which convinced me he needed this darling shirt.. ordered!) and the nice girl he sits by at school and future playdates and future holidays and future yogurt outings. He talks non-stop and I just sit and smile and listen and take it all in. His laugh. The enthusiasm in his voice for the smallest things. The way he says “hanitizer” as one word instead of “hand sanitizer.” The gummy worm munching. I enjoy it all. Because second grade doesn’t last forever even though I wish that it would.
Then we went to the grocery store to pick out some more pumpkins. Because #thirdkid. This is the closest we are going to get to a pumpkin patch during this crazy busy month!
But he doesn’t seem to mind. He picked out a few little pumpkins for his bedroom. Just for fun.
Then we went in the store and got a treat for mom and dad too. Just for fun.
A few days after we decorated our porch he was wearing his Sharpest Tool in the Shed tee so I told him to smile for me for a picture for this post and this is the look I got. So anti-picture lately! This morning I was walking him into his school and I stopped to take a picture of him quick with my iPhone and when another student with her mom walked by Kole pointed at me and said to them “she takes way too many pictures… she is a blogger AND a mom.” Ha ha.. the girl’s mom and I had a good laugh.
Yup.. rough life buddy.. those two things make a deadly picture taking combo. Like it or not. ;)
His pose of choice. Because he lives with teenage girls.
Then I told him that if he’d give me one good smile (because it’s a tradition for mom to get a good picture of him on our Halloween porch each year) I’d let him water the plants.
And there’s my smile. :)
His favorite.
A win for both of us. :)
There are times however, that this child of mine is more than happy to ham it up for the camera.
I love that El is watching me with a look that says “how long are you going to let this go on?” Ha ha.. I’m easily amused. :)
I have more pictures of him dancing and acting silly than of anything else. LOVE this henley top! It’s just a handsome shirt. Looks so good on and it’s lightweight. Perfect for our “winters” and perfect to layer with a vest or jacket if we venture to colder winters. His blue Asics have been hands down our favorite shoe he’s had. He loves how comfortable they are and I love velcro for busy mornings. Plus they have held up amazingly well considering all they go through in a day! When he grows out of them I’m just going to buy another pair. Looks like they come in an orange too so we’re in business. :)
This colorblock stripe t-shirt is a lot like the henley. So soft, lightweight and I love the casual look. He was trying to explain chess to me in this picture. Again.
He has been taking a little after school class and learning how to play and loves it! The game isn’t quite as thrilling to me, but I’m trying. For him. :) He won this little cardboard set and plays it non stop with anyone who will play with him.
I see a real chess set in his future. If he keeps up his good behavior until Dec. 25th. :)
And last but not least my boys on their way to church last week. I can’t do a Nordstrom clothes post for boys and not mention our favorite white dress shirt EVER that I continually stock up on. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but if you need a white dress shirt for your son (or any boy in your life!) this smartcare wrinkle-free dress shirt is worth every penny! Toss it in the dryer and it comes out like it is pressed and ready to go! I hate to iron and seriously wish every shirt was just like this one. I also love the zip ties (stripe) and (solid) for my little buddy. Easy on and off. We’ll take it! (His shoes are Vans slip-ons.) Kole needs a new coat/jacket this year and so far this one is my favorite. I’m also in love with this shirt for him (great price!) and just can’t decide if I want the black or orange! And I stocked up on these for him – cutest patterns and they come in solids too.
Well! That about sums up what is in his closet and my on-line cart for my little buddy for Fall! So many fun things for kids from Nordstrom right now! It’s just a fun time of year, isn’t it!? And a fun season of life.
*Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and for helping me keep my middle school girls in style and feeling good about themselves! (affiliate links used)
My sweet Addison is doing a little modeling for me today to share a few cute things she has been wearing lately! Fall Fashion for girls! Although our Fall fashion might look a little different than yours since it has been over 80 degrees on the coast this week. (Sigh..) October is always one of our hottest months! And so sad and stressful with all of the fires. I don’t like to wish away this month, but we are definitely excited for some cooler temps. They usually come around in November.. after my kids have spent Halloween sweating in their costumes. :)
There’s my girl ready to go. :) First up.. we are loving this top and these high waist moto pants! The pants are stretchy and comfortable and they go with everything. My girls have them in black too and wear them all the time.
They have them for women too and are almost identical to this pair I bought and lived in last Fall. Very flattering! And did I mention that they are perfectly stretchy for Fall comfort food? ;)
So darling, amazing quality and only $32! El has it in navy.
These Zella tops are so cute and are 40% off! My girls wear them over dance clothes or to school. Zella has always been a favorite brand of mine so I love finding cutie Zella items for my girls! These pink sneakers are also so fun and Ad’s favorite shoe right now.
Ad really wanted this t-shirt dress and when we first saw it on-line I wasn’t sure. I know leopard prints are in, but to be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan.
But then it came and she put it on and it looked darling! Such a cute, casual fit and I love the blue. It will look good layered with leggings and a levi jacket when it gets cooler too. She won me over quickly with this dress.
Heading to play practice with a close friend in this cute sweatshirt dress! It’s hard to see in this pic but it has shimmery thread so even though it’s causal and comfy there’s a bit of glam. Another dress that was high on her list. I think she was hot the day she wore it, but was too excited to wear her new dress to care. Ad loves fashion like her mom. I’ve definitely had my fair share of days sweating in a scarf that I couldn’t wait just one more day to put on. ;)
I didn’t know yesterday was crazy hair day at school so when Ad walked downstairs for breakfast with her hair like this my brain was instantly racing.. ok.. how do I fix this situation without hurting feelings.. ha ha.. Total relief when she told me! Whew. ;) Her shirt is our favorite brand of Nordstrom tees! Sub Urban Riot. They always have darling tees with fun sayings on them. They are also really nice quality and a great fit for a tee. They hold up well after many many washings!
Good job on the crazy hair Ad. Next time tell your mom the day before. ;)
I know you’ve seen me in Sub Urban Riot tees a time or twenty. :) My favorite good vibes tee just came out in a sweatshirt! And I kinda want the Work Hard Be Nice tee like Ads along with Taco Tuesday because Kole loves the Lego movies and would dig that. ;)
A favorite past Sub Urban Riot Top El lived in. I’m only here for the snacks. Sounds about right. ;) Guess what’s crazy and so fun and also sad!? El is growing out of the “girls” section of clothes! I can’t even believe it. She can still wear some of it, but is starting to gravitate to things in my departments and fits in a lot of xs tops like I do. I thought this was so great and said “El! We can start sharing clothes! This will be so much fun!” But after the “oh wow.. mom.. really?” I got followed by a teen eye roll I’m thinking she isn’t as excited about this new development as I am. Ha ha..
Long gone are the days I had complete control and could put them in colorful, matching little dresses and do their hair! Sometimes I miss those days! This picture reminded me of a note I got from Ellie the day I did her hair in that side pony tail. I was in a hurry because we were going somewhere so I mixed up her regular pony tail and did a side pony tail (because I’m wild and crazy like that) and she HATED it. We didn’t have time to fix it so I said “leave it and we’ll take it out when we get home!” Then while I was doing Ad’s hair she slipped this note under the door for me…
I do not like the new hair style. I hate it. But I do love you mom.
That is an all time favorite. :)
Two nights ago I went to go to bed and laid down on another note. This time from Addison. She had snapped at me about something right before I dropped her off at play practice earlier that day and then immediately felt bad. She wrote me the sweetest note apologizing and said at the end “and I am sorry for having a teen moment.. it won’t happen again!”
Such a darling note but that last line just made me laugh out loud!
Oh my word sweet girl. It most certainly will happen again. Lots of “teen moments” will happen with both of you girls over the next 5-6 years. Let’s just hope I have the stamina to handle them all.
If they are always followed by sweet notes apologizing I’m pretty sure that I will.
:)
{POST SOURCES}
{Cute sweaters we are loving and can’t wait to wear when it cools down!}
Last Friday night Kole and I got serious. Serious about our front porch game. We were more than ready for some Halloween porch decor, but my little buddy sternly reminded me that we needed to clean the porch first. Ha. He gets so excited to clean the front porch! It’s one of his favorite things ever which cracks me up. He is definitely my child. :) Washing off the lanterns and pumpkins is his favorite chore, quickly followed by watering the plants and sweeping. What would I do without my little helper? I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun.. that’s for sure. :)
Ad joined us for part of the evening and while Kole and I sprayed and scrubbed, she let the tortoises out to do their nightly exercises. ;) I put this picture on IG stories one day and got so many questions about these little guys! For those asking.. yes – they are our pets. The girls each got one for Christmas years ago because when you have a child with severe fur/saliva animal allergies, reptiles are the answer. :) Yes – they are low maintenance pets which I love. They eat lettuce and vegetables and aside from the occasional outing in the yard, they chill in their cage in our garage. (We are able to keep them in the garage year round because of our mild weather.) The girls named them Coco and Spring. They get homemade Halloween costumes in October and their own mini Christmas stockings in December and are truly part of the family. As in I will NEVER be able to get rid of them. They will live in my garage feasting on lettuce FOREVER. Can you tell how excited that makes me?
Wait.. you came here to see my Halloween porch decor? Not to learn all about the daily habits of our pet tortoises? Just a slight detour… ;)
Here is my Halloween porch decor! And thanks to Kole, our pumpkins are sparkling while being displayed on the cleanest porch you’ve ever seen. ;)
I used the same things I’ve used in past years, but clumped everything together near the door this year.
I wrote the “Trick or Treat” chalkboard art last year too and just never erased it! Might as well use that baby again. :)
A few Cinderella pumpkins with a few bright orange pumpkins from the grocery store and we were in business! I usually use a little wooden stool to add some height.
My favorite part of our porch this year? The mini pumpkins in the greenery. :)
(The plant with the little white flowers is called “Bacopa” for those who have asked.)
My black lanterns are another favorite porch staple and look especially fun for Halloween. Without a speck of dust on them. ;) #thankskole
This view of the pumpkins just makes me smile. Pumpkins make everything better, don’t they?
Especially the mini white pumpkins. I adore them.
This is a picture of our Halloween porch decor last year. I kept it simple by the front door last year and spread things out next to our bench. (You can see better pics of it in this post.)
This year I moved the bench to our back yard so I just added our spider web to the porch window. He’s spooky enough to stand alone.
I can’t believe it’s already the middle of October!
This time of year needs to slow down! I love it and it always flies by too quickly. So much to do.. so little time..
**Honored to partner with Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery for this post! They provided our theatre room appliances for my honest review of my experience working with them over the years! They are a long time favorite of ours. :)
Sharing a theatre room progress update today! Things are moving along! Not as quickly as I’d like (hello summer project that is dragging into Fall and most likely won’t be done until winter..) but I do have some progress to share. We now have grey paint and appliances! It’s finally starting to come together. :) When we started working on this room it was a blank slate.
We have paint! I wanted to keep this room cohesive with the rest of our house so I used the same grey paint I chose for other rooms in our home (you can find all of my house paint colors here). So many of you have asked for more details on my paint since Frazee switched to Sherwin Williams and it’s all on my paint printable!
This room needed to be dark so we had the doors painted grey too.
Black paint behind where the screen will go! Yes it’s big. Yes my husband is excited. (This screen is his doing, not mine. It’s his only contribution to this space.) He’s so anxious to get this room finished before football season ends. And I have to admit, every time I think about sending him and the kids up to this room and having a quiet, clean kitchen and family room all to myself once in a while I get pretty excited too. ;) #theatreroomgoals
The wall above our counter space was blank so I decided to add some shiplap for a fun focal wall. Because.. shiplap. :) But the most exciting news for me at this stage!?
We now have appliances! As soon as the appliances were installed it felt like a real room to me! I get asked questions all the time about where I bought my appliances when we were building our house. I got every single appliance throughout my home (along with every single sink, faucet, bathtub and shower) from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery.
We worked with a lot of people and a lot of companies building our house and to be honest, there are quite a few I wouldn’t recommend! But the people at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery were honestly some of our favorite people to work with. I visited their showroom in Utah and two of their showrooms in California multiple times when I was picking everything out for our home and every time I visited someone was right there to answer questions and help me with anything I needed. They didn’t even kick me out of the store when I took hours examining and carefully selecting slow close toilet lids. Ha! (True story.. I hate the lids that slam.) Really though.. I spent a lot of time with these people when we were building and they were so kind and patient with me! They have a huge selection of amazing brands and products and their customer service is the best. I truly can’t say enough about what a great company they are to work with. Plus it was so nice to be able to get everything we needed for our kitchen and bathrooms in one place! They have become my go-to people for any and all kitchen/bathroom appliances, fixtures, etc. which is why I reached out to them to see if they wanted to collaborate on this post. I knew I was going to gush about them regardless. :)
The goal for our theatre room was to have a place to keep the essentials when movie watching.. drinks and popcorn. :) I designed this little counter area with a sink, mini fridge and microwave drawer. Aside from my husband’s movie and football marathons, this will mostly be a space for the kids – we want the teens to be at our house as much as possible! (#helicopterparents) So we went with a quartz countertop just like we did in our kitchen. I love quartz! It’s so durable.
Drawers for storage and all of the audio equipment will be stored in the tall cabinet on the right. They have it on a slider right now because they are still tweaking things.
Picking out appliances for this room was my favorite part of putting it together! I always get excited about the small details that make a space come to life.
I just wanted a simple white sink so I chose this beautiful Rohl undermount in white. When it was delivered and still in the box Kenny thought it was for sure going to be too big for our counter with the bridge faucet. He has such little faith! I just shook my head. Step aside babe. This isn’t my first rodeo… The sink is a perfect fit! Ha. :) (Although I have to admit that I made SO many mistakes like that when we were building.. it’s no surprise he worries..) ;)
I had a harder time picking out a mini fridge for this space because so many of them have wine storage! Kid space means wine storage isn’t necessary. ;) The lady from Ferguson who helped me this time around was so sweet and helpful and recommended the brand Uline. I did some research and decided on this fridge.
Here is a peek inside. Perfect for drinks and cold snacks! Adjustable shelves are always a must for me so that I can organize things exactly how I want them. :)
The microwave drawer was an easy choice for me. We have LOVED the Thermador microwave drawer in our kitchen so I picked up another one just like it for the Theatre room! We all know how to use it and it has been great for our family. I love microwave drawers! They are perfect for kids and I microwave a lot of things that need to be stirred.. so nice to reach down instead of up. Plus I’m short.. so there’s that. ;)
A few more pics I took of our progress in this room..
Still left to do: Get the carpet back in place and have it cleaned. Buy and install the sconces and cabinet hardware, get the fabric up on the walls (it’s being shipped tomorrow!), get the theatre screen installed (need the fabric up first), electricians need to finish lighting, painters will have minor touch-ups, and then.. THEN I will get to have the couch delivered and decorate. Can’t wait!
Excited to have a cozy spot for football, movie parties and relaxing with family and friends.
As well as a cozy spot to send everyone when I need some quiet time to relax myself. ;)
Happy Monday friends! Sharing a few recent things I’ve been wearing and loving for Fall! Do you live somewhere the leaves are turning? If so can I come and visit? :) This cowl neck soft jersey top is so cute and perfect for if you’re having that weather that can’t decide if it’s hot or cold. It’s long sleeved but light weight. Fitted but not tight.. really flattering! I keep reaching for it. Comes in this grey and also in black and burgundy. Also my favorite peep toe booties that I have in three colors and wear most days are 20% off! Woot woot! It’s a peep toe party! ;)
This white ruffle tee is another recent favorite. I love white for Fall! It’s a little thicker than most which makes me happy because it isn’t as see through. I struggle to find white tops that aren’t see through! Sleeves are darling and every time I wear it I get so many compliments on it.
I found this beautiful blouse for dressing up a bit! I was going to wear it in New York with this pencil skirt I’ve had for years and then ended up finding a dress instead, but I love and kept the blouse. It’s just so pretty. I love the flowing ruffle and the way the sleeves bell out just a bit at the bottom. So cute tucked in with a skirt. (And speaking of ruffles, how cute is this pencil skirt!? Wish list!)
No.. this isn’t a re-run pic. I just have a thing for black ruffle tees. Clearly. Ha. This one I’m wearing is really cute! It’s a flattering fit too and I love the material. I wear this tank under it (a favorite staple) because the sleeves dip a little low under the arm. Bonus.. it’s 40% off!
Couldn’t resist this Flare Sleeve Sweater! I packed it for our CO trip and never got a chance to wear it so I wore it last week and had to change at noon because it got too hot.. ha. :) But soon the temps will drop and I will be loving this!
Here’s a better look at the sleeves.. aren’t they fun!? It’s so slouchy and comfy and I love this color for Fall. Makes me want to head to a pumpkin patch. :) It also comes in a pretty blue and a soft pink.
K.. speaking of our anniversary trip I shared(by the way.. it was so fun to hear from so many of you after that post! Thank you!)… I mentioned that I tried on a lot of dresses before I found the two for my BHG event. Here are a few of the runners-up. Thought I’d share in case any of you need a new dress!
This Pencil Dress is simple but so cute – comes in 4 colors and has amazing reviews. I couldn’t get a pic of the back of it (and would have looked ridiculous trying!), but it has a gold zipper that goes all the way up the back (so you can unzip the bottom of it as high as you want). I really liked this dress. It was a final contender.
This Ruffle Sheath Dress is the same brand/style as the dress above but with ruffle sleeves. I almost wore this dress to the event because I love the color and sleeves so much. But it’s really fitted. Like I’d be in trouble if I ate pizza kind of fitted. :)
I tried going up a size but it fit the same way and was just too long. It wasn’t at all uncomfortable.. the material is really stretchy and comfortable. It just fits in a way that shows everything. One to wear with Spanx for sure! ;)
Another beautiful dress! Amazing material and a great fit. I loved the pattern.. but sometimes this much pattern scares me so I ended up returning it. :) Those were the three dresses that made it to the finals!
Rebecca Minkoff handbags are my favorite. I love these two bags so much and would buy one of them if I could decide between the two!
In other Fall Fashion news, my favorite scarf from last year is back in stock! I lived in this last Fall. Many of you already know that. :) Looks great with solid colored tops..
and is fun with stripes. (Similar striped tops here and here.)
This infinity scarf is also back in stock! An oldie but a goodie that I pull out as soon as the weather cools off.
My favorite new scarf for Fall? This one. By Rebecca Minkoff. I’m sensing a pattern. :) I just ordered it in the grey and the pink because.. you guessed it. I couldn’t choose which one! It comes in black too. I’m going to see which color goes with more of my tops and return one. Maybe. ;) Totally not practical for San Diego, but fun for our trips to Utah over the holidays.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep sweating in my Fall clothes during the day..
and then keep swimming with my kids to cool off at night.
Happy Friday friends! Made it to the weekend! YEA. Today I’m sharing my Fall kitchen decor although I have to warn you.. it’s pretty simple. Hence the title of this post – Simple Fall kitchen decor. I know.. so much creativity happening already. We better slow things down. ;)
One reason I keep my holiday kitchen decor so simple is because the kitchen can get so messy throughout the day – and full of other things. When you have meals and backpacks and mail and all sorts of randomness all over your counter there isn’t much room for pumpkins.
So I put my pumpkins up high. Just a few. Little things – to enjoy. ;) The white pumpkins are real, the orange pumpkins are these from PB (they look real!) and the wicker pumpkins are from Home Goods.
Baskets feel cozy and perfect for Fall, don’t they? They will always be one of my favorite things to decorate (and organize!) with. So much texture.
Mini white pumpkins in a wooden bowl? YES.
Mini white pumpkins in the butler’s pantry? YES again. :) We use our Barn Light Electric dishes a lot so I wasn’t quite ready to switch those out. My plant next to them amuses me. Regardless of where I put this plant in my house and regardless of how much I water and baby it, it seems to just do whatever it wants. So moody! One minute it’s happy and vibrant and full of life and the next minute it’s drooping and sad.
All real pumpkins on the mantel! With faux leaves around them (similar here). I use a mix of real and faux this time of year to decorate (just like I do with flowers) and I’ve found that if you do that everything starts to look real. It’s quite a trick. There I go with all that creativity again. ;)
Simple Fall kitchen decor.
I really love this time of year. It kind of feels like the calm before the storm, doesn’t it? Peaceful and serene, even though something is brewing just below the surface. ;) Don’t get me wrong. I love that storm. I look forward to it all year. The great big crazy Christmas storm.
But the calm before the storm is pretty nice too. Inviting and cozy. Like a lived in, well worn couch.
I’m soaking it up as much as possible. And hope that you are too.
Colorado to New York (Anniversary trip and what I wore!)
Earlier in September Kenny and I celebrated 20 years of marriage together. I know.. we’re so old. But happy. ;) (You can read my post on 10 ways we keep our marriage strong here.) Last year he asked me where I wanted to go to celebrate and said he’d take me anywhere. Spain? Ireland? Bora Bora? I chose Colorado. Ha. :) Two reasons why: 1) We are in such a busy stage of life with our kids right now that I really wanted a relaxing vacation vs. a go go go and see all you can type of vacation. I love exploring new places, but usually come home from trips like that craving a vacation after the vacation! 2) My only complaint about living in San Diego is that we don’t have a Fall. I love cool weather and Fall leaves and miss this beloved season so much! Because the trip would be at the end of September I wanted to be one with the leaves. :) Colorado sounded perfect. Then not long after I decided Colorado was my destination of choice I was chosen as a Better Homes and Gardens Style Maker for 2017 and invited to an event in New York during our vacation week. Very exciting and such an honor! So we decided our trip would start in Colorado and end in New York City.
As the trip grew near, that week we had planned to be gone was looking busier and busier for the kids. Then Kenny broke his ankle and had to have surgery. (Seriously!?) We thought about bagging it all together and then decided we were crazy. When is it a good time to go on vacation when you have three kids? There isn’t a good time! We just had to do it! RUN while we could and never look back! ;) My parents came to watch the kids (bless them!) and after 7 pages of notes and many discussions about who needed to be where when each day and ALL the things that go into daily life with kids we took off. With me yelling out the window as we pulled out.. “and don’t forget Kole has chess Tuesday.. and make sure you take this freeway to get the girls to school, but the other freeway on your way home to avoid traffic.. and Wed. El has to go to dance early… and Ad needs her inhaler for her class trip.. !!!” It’s hard to break away! But we did it. And we had a great trip. Here is a re-cap along with what I wore. Lots of pics so grab a snack!
(affiliate links used)
I couldn’t go to Colorado without visiting my sweet friend Shauna. Who is building a house right now and was in need of a major therapy session. ;) So we went straight from the airport to her beautiful home! Stunning kitchen right!? I loved seeing both homes and loved catching up with her. She teased me about bringing my winter coat but it felt freezing to me! I hardly took it off. :) I had lots of people asking on IG stories for a link to this coat. It was from last year and isn’t in stock anymore, but here are some coats that are similar! And so cute. Love the way this coat cinches in the back! (Necklace)
We also thought it was about time our husbands met. They were destined to be besties and just didn’t know it. ;) My sweater has cute ruffle sleeves you can’t see in this pic and I had on Shauna’s red Hunters because we had been at her lot before dinner. I felt like Christmas in my red and green which made me instantly happy. I think it’s time to buy my own red boots. :)
Similar ruffle sleeve sweaters:
After visiting Shauna we headed to our destination which was a darling town called Steamboat Springs. I snapped this picture out of my window while we were driving there. SO beautiful! Nothing like being in the mountains.
My close friend Gina and her husband also had their wedding anniversary in September so they met us there. Loved spending time with them! I have missed her so much since she moved from San Diego to Nebraska. I also loved wearing this favorite sweater. Perfect for this chilly but charming town!
Reunited and it feels so good. :)
Colorado didn’t disappoint! It was absolutely beautiful and we took full advantage by spending as much time outdoors as possible.
I had to text my dad pics of all the fly fishermen we saw along the rivers. He would have fit right in.
Love the mountains. Love him.
We also went on long drives through the most gorgeous scenery. Drives took the place of hikes because of my husbands foot situation. We improvised. :)
The day we took these pics it started snowing! So cold. But absolutely breathtaking! Gina and I didn’t plan on matching in stripes and pink.. but we didn’t complain either. :)
Steamboat honestly had some of the best restaurants! Or maybe everything just tastes better in the mountains. Probably a little of both. :)
Another picture I snapped with my phone out my window while we were driving. Isn’t it gorgeous!? I want to move to Steamboat Springs! And then move back to San Diego in November when this place is buried in 8 feet of snow. :)
Teeth were chattering in this pic!
We spent time all together, time alone as couples, and then Gina and I had a couple of afternoons of shopping and girl time. We soaked in all things Fall and laughed so hard every day. It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on and we all loved it so much we decided it needs to be a yearly tradition. I’m so glad we made this trip a priority even though it was hard to pull off. Parents need time to take a break from parenting every once in a while. :)
Grateful for the past 20 years. I can’t imagine growing up and growing old with anyone else. I tell him that all the time. Because it’s true. :)
We said good-bye to beautiful Colorado and our sweet friends and headed to NYC! The Stylemaker Event was held in Brooklyn and I think I tried on at least 15 dresses before I found the two I bought for the event! It’s always a little stressful figuring out what to wear to these things – dresses are hard for me! A lot of my blog friends love dressing up – I’d rather be in jeans and a cute sweater any day. :) But everyone always looks so amazing at events like this so I knew I needed to step it up. :) I loved this green dress the second I tried it on. The stretch fabric is so comfortable and the waist line is so flattering! It comes in 5 colors and I adore the green.
I was able to catch up with so many fun blogging friends and wasn’t able to get pics with everyone. The event flew by so quickly!
We had some great classes. One was on food styling which just made me laugh. Right up my alley. ;)
Now I’ll be able to style my kids’ peanut butter sandwiches and chicken nuggets like no one’s business. Ha. :) We were able to listen to some great speakers and then had an hour break to change for the evening part of the event.
Kenny caught up on work in our hotel room while I was at the event all day and enjoyed this beautiful view out of our room window. Made me not feel too bad for him! ;)
Evening wear! I seriously splurged on this dress. Like I spent more on this dress than I’ve ever spent on a dress before! I kept debating it back and forth because of the price but it was just hands down my favorite. Kenny told me to go ahead and splurge for our 20th.. and wondered what my issue was since I seem to have no problem dropping serious cash on a console table or rug.. ha. :) So I bought the dress! And will now wear it every other day.. to the grocery store and the park. ;) I really will wear this dress a lot because it’s an all time favorite. I love the fit, the colors, the flattering way it cinches high above the waist. It’s a keeper!
And these shoes! With the frayed fringe at the top! Love them. Beautiful neutrals that will go with any and everything.
A special dress for a special night. Loved being the pop of color between these two black and white beauties. They are my usual roomies at events like this so since I was rooming with Kenny this trip I stayed up all hours of the night talking and laughing with them in their room to stick with our usual blog event routine. :)
More late night fun with friends! It was such a treat to attend the Better Homes and Gardens Style Maker event.
The night time view from our hotel room. Stunning!
The hotel itself (1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge) was so modern and cool!
The day after the Better Homes and Gardens Event Kenny and I explored the city and walked the Brooklyn Bridge. Well.. I walked.
He scooted. :) He was seriously such a trooper this trip! I couldn’t believe how well he got around the city with that boot on. I was wishing I had my own scooter half of the time. :) We had a fun lunch in the city and then went back to the room to clean up for the last night of our trip.
Dinner with four of my friends and their husbands! We had the best time getting our husbands together this trip! They were all so much fun. Jen’s cute husband made a toast at dinner “to our blogging wives and our blogging lives…” Made us laugh. These guys definitely put up with a lot! Keepers for sure. :)
Kenny and I hugged our friends good-bye after dinner and headed straight to the show.. seeing Hamilton was our 20th anniversary gift to each other! We have both been dying to see it and it was as amazing as everyone says it is! We took this pic after the show and you can tell I had been crying, It was just SO good!
We came home Saturday to my two cute parents who were barely standing! My mom was cracking me up! Telling me over and over that I’m amazing and how do I do it because she and my dad tag teamed all week and could barely keep up and that I HAVE to stay alive because she could raise my kids if she had to but she really doesn’t have the energy and desire to be anything more than grandma and how do I keep my kitchen so clean all the time… Ha ha.. :) Needless to say they had a great week with lots of special bonding time with my kids but were worn out and ready to pass the baton back over to mom and dad. We were ready to take it back. :) So grateful that they were able to watch the kids! (Can’t thank you enough mom and dad!) We definitely needed the break.
Later the next day when they were back home in Utah my mom called to tell me that my dad wandered into their kitchen and said “I just keep feeling like I need to be picking someone up from somewhere..”
Hello friends! I am typing this post in the Denver airport right now. :) My husband and I have been on a trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and it has been a blast. SO cold here! But the Fall leaves are gorgeous. Now I’m heading to NYC for the Better Homes and Gardens Style Maker event. (Sharing updates on Instagram/Stories if you follow me there!) My sweet parents are holding down the fort taking care of my kids and getting them everywhere they need to be while I’m gone. Bless them! I dumped a lot on them this week and hope they are still standing when we get home. ;)
So excited to finally share pics of our new barn door TV cover! I first shared an update on this little project here and am happy to report that it is now one project checked off the list. Only 2,742 more projects to go. ;) When we were designing this outdoor space while we were building we were excited to have an outdoor TV for the kids in the summer and for when we have people over.
What I didn’t think through was that we would need to protect that TV from any wind, dust, etc. so we ended up with this not so cute gray plastic cover over our TV that I wasn’t very excited about. This is what you see out of all of our family room doors and windows and it was a bit of an eyesore. I knew some white barn doors (and a little shiplap!) would look so much better so I called our carpenter Chuck and we got to work designing barn doors to cover the TV.
Here’s the sad part of this story. When the barn door was half way finished and soon after I first shared this project with you, Chuck had an accident. He was working on a house in our area on an outside upstairs deck and he fell. From basically the roof to the ground. I was in shock when I got the news about his accident and I cried on and off for three days. He was hurt badly – in critical condition – broken bones and needed several surgeries. It was awful. Chuck feels like family to us so we were all devastated. Long story short (months later) he is doing so much better. Right now he is in a rehabilitation center healing and walking and getting back to himself. We are so grateful he is alive and will recover. Maybe not to 100% but pretty close which is a miracle after the fall he endured. SO so grateful.
Chuck introduced us to another carpenter he had worked with who picked up where he left off. He was so great to jump in and help us finish this project and our theatre room cabinets! I told him he had some pretty big shoes to fill. ;) When we originally discussed this TV cover, I wanted doors that would swing open to the side, but because of limited space Chuck thought we should go up with the door. Our new carpenter couldn’t quite figure out how Chuck was going to make the door slide up smoothly (Chuck figures things out as he goes along and I have no doubt he could have made it work!). But after discussing options, we decided to leave the shiplap and start from scratch with the doors. We came up with a way to have the doors open accordion style to the side and I’m thrilled with how they turned out! So! Without further rambling.. here are pics of our new barn door tv cover. YEA. :)
So much better than that plastic gray cover!
This pic above shows how they bend and open.
And this is what they look like open. We are still working on a way to attach them when they are open so they don’t swing if there is some wind..
and you can see that the left door is a touch higher on the bottom. He got a little carried away sanding and is fixing that too. Ha. :) But other than that we are done!
I ordered these pretty recycled glass jars a few months ago and had white hydrangeas on this table most of the summer. Love them. The jars and the white hydrangeas. :) (This glass jar is the large size.)
I feel like it was just what this space needed to finish it off!
My outdoor rug was two years old and looking a little faded from the sun. I was about to pull it out and start looking for something similar since this exact rug sold out, but I flipped it over and it looks like a brand new rug! I’ll link to similar options I was considering at the bottom of this post. Looks like I can wait another two years. :)
This project took on a life of its own and ended up taking a lot longer than I thought it would, but I’m so happy with how it turned out in the end. The barn door TV cover completed this space and it makes me smile every time I see it out of the french doors in my family room.
I can’t wait to have Chuck over to see it when he’s back in the swing of things.
:)
{SOURCES}
The outdoor furniture and poufs are from Restoration Hardware and I’ve linked to similar rugs/pillows that are on sale because ours have sold out. (affiliate links used)
It’s Fall friends! Well. In my house it is anyway. :) So excited to be sharing some of my fall decor with you today! I’ve been decorating up a storm and now instead of 20 folders full of pictures/projects to share with you all I have 25. I seriously need to get busy posting. Forget food. And showering. And sleep. And after school pick-up.
Well. I’ll still pick the kids up I guess. And take care of them in-between posts. ;)
Today I’m excited to be joining some of my favorite friends for a Fresh Ideas for Fall Home Tour! Wow. That was a lot of F’s. I’d tell you who the tour is featuring, but I think I’ll just let you just read that for now since I’ve never been good with tongue twisters. (Can you tell I’m up too late again?) If you are visiting from my talented friend Bree’s blog ZDesign hello and welcome! I have no doubt her Fall decor blew you away. She is one of my most favorite decorators ever! And a favorite friend. Love her. Ok.. on with the tour!
*affiliate links used (ALL ROOM SOURCES WILL BE LINKED AT THE END OF THE POST!)
To be honest when I started working on this post I was planning on sharing three decorated rooms with you. This is a “Home Tour” after all. But after some sorting and editing I decided I’d just share two rooms. After more sorting and editing (and giving myself a serious lecture about my excessive picture taking.. again) I ended up deciding to just share my family room. I know you all have busy lives and not enough time to go through a post that takes 30 minutes to read. Make that 45 minutes when I’m rambling because I’m tired.
Did you all know I ramble when I’m tired?
Moving on. With my tired rambling. And my now “Room Tour.”
This should be fun. :)
My family room decor this year is simple but all sorts of cozy. My favorite.
You all know I love switching around my console table. Just a few simple changes and Fall has arrived! I used my favorite faux turning leaf branches to decorate with a lot this year. They are back in stock and always sell out quick! I’ve had a lot of questions about them on Instagram. I usually use just two branches in large vases. Sometimes I use three, but usually that is too much because each stem is so bushy and full. They are beautiful and the colors add so much warmth. They are sitting in this Kora vase (medium) that I’ve had my eye on for a while and finally bought. I love pulling them out every Fall!
I kept my mantel simple too.
These Cinderella pumpkins are my absolute favorite! I get so excited when I see them popping up in grocery stores. I just placed them here and there on my mantel and added more of my turning leaf branches in-between them. Honestly one of my favorite Fall mantels and it took no time at all. Which is good because no time is about how much time I’ve had lately. ;)
Sometimes when I style my family room shelves they look a bit cluttered to me. I really wanted them streamlined this year so I kept them them pretty similar on each side. My favorite Vintage Wood Oval Trays on the top full of mini white pumpkins, my mom’s vintage books in the middle (that I’m still “borrowing” from her – thanks mom and maybe you want to just give them to me? :) and then on the bottom I added two favorite pictures of my little buddy at his first pumpkin patch.
He looks like a little cabbage patch doll in this picture! Which reminds me of another picture..
Oh my word.. I laughed so hard the day I walked around the corner and saw this sitting on my mom’s couch. Life with two older sisters! #poorkid #oneofthedolls
I wasn’t ready to say good-bye to white hydrangeas yet this year! I know they are more summer than Fall, but since San Diego is still hot and will be through October I decided I could get away with it. :) I added some acorns in a wooden bowl to bring us back to Fall.
I added another Cinderella pumpkin to my side table and then my favorite purchase of the year! How pretty are these Pheasant Pillows!? LOVE them. I bought two for this room and am going to order two more for my living room. I love them that much. They have all the fall colors in the design plus some blue which works great with my existing pillows. And remember my Bliss throw from the Nordstrom sale? My family’s new favorite – the kids love them too. (And I’ve loved hearing so many of you also love them!) I bought six of them to give as Christmas gift this year and this is the third color I’ve decided I need to keep! It’s the “Ginger/Mango” color – a burnt orange that is perfect for Fall. I have a feeling that come Christmas I’m going to be buying six more to give as gifts.
Maybe that’s why my husband wasn’t as excited as I was about my early Christmas gift shopping. Ha. :)
This pretty bird pillow is new too but I can’t find the link! Behind it is the Washed Velvet Pillow in “Ember.” A darker burnt orange color and so soft. PB has so many fun new pillows in for Fall! And I know. I needed more PB pillows like I need a hole in my head but when their seasonal pillows come out they get me every time. Plus you can just buy the pillow cover if you want and switch them all out. So easy and no body has to know.
Not that I’m hiding them from a certain someone. A certain someone who doesn’t agree that buying good seasonal decor is a true investment. He’s clearly confused.
And hasn’t visited PB in the Fall.
;)
So that’s it for the family room! Like I said, really simple this year, but enough Fall colors and pumpkins and books and cozy pillows and throws to really bring this beautiful season inside.
Ahhh.. I can smell my pumpkin spice candle just looking at these pictures! Most likely because it has been burning 24/7.
But still.
:)
ALL DECOR/ROOM SOURCES:
Make sure to check out my darling friend Tam’s blog CitrineLiving. Her seasonal decor is always stunning and timeless. Isn’t this living room gorgeous!? So fun to see everyone’s personal styles come out in these tours. I hope you enjoy getting Fall decorating ideas from the rest of my friends! I know they will all inspire us! I’ll be back with more soon. Lots more.
Mid week! We’re making it and on the down hill slope. I hope you’re all doing well today. :) I’m sharing a recent obsession I’ve been having lately! Not with cute notepads, planners and to-do lists.. although my obsession with all things stationary certainly isn’t ending.
I’ve been in love with Madewell accessories for a while now and wanted to share a few of my favorite jewelry pieces that I’m wearing over and over. They always have the cutest necklaces! The pink fringe necklace above recently sold out but this necklace is similar and so cute. Rose gold and pink are so in right now and while it’s a color that doesn’t look great on me, I love that I can still accessorize with it!
I’ve had these Madewell earrings for a while now and they are nice quality and go with everything so I’ve been looking at other pairs to order. My favorites are these halfmoon fringe earrings and the Stembend Ear Jackets (another beautiful go to pair that would work with anything). And how fun are these Friday Stud Earrings!? They are making me wish it was Friday right now. Those would be happy earrings to wear at the end of each week. :)
Can’t say enough about this Treasure Pendant Necklace! When I ordered it I thought it would be one necklace, but I was so excited when it came and I saw that it’s actually three separate necklaces.
Each of them has several places to latch in the back so they can be a variety of lengths (you can see that in the first pic of this post) and they are NICE quality. So beautiful and I love the various styles of the chains and gold.
I’ve been wearing them all together, different combinations of two and on their own! I love that I got so many new looks out of one necklace! This is the longest and the shortest together.
And just the middle on its own. So cute, right!? I love the shortest necklace on its own too!
This Friday, Saturday, Sunday necklace is also adorable. Wear them together or one on each day of the weekend! I have this in mind for a Christmas gift for someone. :)
I’ve worn it with so many different outfits! Just adds a little something to basics. :) This Medium Leather Transport Tote is another Madewell favorite. I’m always a sucker for a simple, good quality leather bag! This tote is such a perfect size for every day. Plenty of room, but not too big to use for a purse. I got it in “English Saddle” but it also comes in a tinted blush, maroon and black.
I love this bag with a good cardigan! I’ve been so excited to wear my cozy circle cardigan so I tried to wear it last week but by 11:00 in the morning I was sweating! Had to take it off and just wear the white tee. {Sigh}.. Fall – San Diego is ready for you to show up!
This is another recent favorite blouse that I LOVE this leather bag with! It just goes so well with everything. Perfect Fall staple. Madewell has a lot of great Fall bags.
This Madewell Canvas Tote is another bag I recently ordered. So fun and casual and a great price! This color is backordered so I am waiting patiently. :)
Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! And for carrying so many fun clothes for Fall! And especially for carrying Madewell accessories! Love them. :)
And while we’re talking fun Fall accessories.. at this very moment my countertop is full of mini white pumpkins from my grocery store. The groceries can wait! #timetodecorate #priorities Ha. :)
My husband is also currently modeling the latest and greatest must have Fall accessory. {Sigh} Those of you who follow me on Instagram know that he broke his ankle! A friend accidently dropped something very heavy on it and he ended up having to get surgery. On our 20th wedding anniversary!! {Sigh.. yet again} Needless to say we are celebrating at a later date. :) I have had my nurse hat on and last week was crazy to say the least taking care of him and the kids. But he is doing great now. Up and around on his crutches and he has a little scooter for the house. That my kids are zipping up and down our hallways on. ;) Thank goodness it was his left foot so he can still drive! And thank goodness he is a total trooper and the best patient I could ask for. He was laughing at something I said right before I took this picture so he’s looking extra cheery about his situation. Ha! I assure you that it hasn’t been all roses.
Friends! I’m so excited about today’s post! I’m finally sharing the rest of my organized bathroom with you all that includes how I organize my hair tools and my vanity bathroom drawers. If you missed my first post on my master bathroom organization (how I organize my towels and make-up) you can see it here. Today’s post (all about my vanity drawer organization) includes one of my favorite drawers in my house. YEA! Happy I’m finally getting around to sharing it with you all. :)
On one end of my master bathroom I designed a vanity. I’ll be honest. I have yet to sit at this vanity to get ready. I like to stand at my bathroom counter to get ready and I don’t know if that’s just from habit (I never had a vanity before this house!) or just because that’s me, but someday I might decide I like to sit down to get ready and if/when that happens, my vanity will be ready. :) For now, it’s a beautiful space to organize all of my jewelry (jewelry organization in this post) and a few other things I’m showing you today.
Ready to see the inside of these drawers? Let’s do it…
But wait. I’m not ready yet. ;) First I wanted to show you this picture. The past two years I have been traveling a lot more than my norm. Aside from our yearly family vacations and trips to grandma and grandpa’s house, I started traveling a lot for my blog. It has been so fun and a real growing experience for me, but also crazy to be continually packing and unpacking. I wanted to make getting ready for trips as easy as possible so I bought these cute little travel containers from Target, filled them full of my favorite every day products (I’ll share them at the bottom of this post) and then used my trusty label maker (on sale right now!) to label them all. Next I organized a little “travel drawer.”
The left side of my vanity is all dedicated to travel supplies. Mini containers with hair products, mini soaps and deodorant, toothbrush holder and a container for vitamins. Because I turned 40 this year. So now I’m old and need vitamins. :)
Mini toothpaste, floss, hairspray, extra contacts.. everything I need for a trip!
I have absolutely loved having everything for travel organized in this top left vanity drawer! It makes getting ready for a trip and unpacking from a trip SO easy. I especially love that I don’t ever have to wonder if I’m forgetting something. My make-up is all in this drawer and travel supplies are all here so I know I have everything I need.
The next drawer down (not pictured) holds extra travel supplies for when I run out (more soaps, etc.) and then the bottom vanity drawer..
holds all of my make-up/travel bags.
The drawer on the top right holds extra random things like an older Clarisonic (this is the new sonic I use now) and elastics for when I do my girls’ hair in this bathroom.
The next drawer below looks like two drawers but is actually just one really deep drawer. My fav!
I was so excited when we built our house to design a drawer just for my hair tools! I sketched a picture for my carpenter and he made this beauty happen for me.
Four spots for my hair tools (blow dryer, two sizes of curling irons, one flat iron) and then open spots for all of the cords.
Then we talked to the electricians and put a plug outlet in so that I can plug them all in inside the drawer if I’m sitting at the vanity to get ready. Which I don’t do yet. But might someday. ;)
Is that not organized perfection!? Makes my heart skip a beat every time I open it! The best part is that I can put my hair tools away while they are still hot. My counter stays clean and I don’t have to worry about little hands touching things that might burn them. Bonus. :) There is room in the open spaces for cords to add hair tool attachments or other hair supplies if I ever wanted to, but they just hold mostly cords for now.
The top two middle drawers are empty so that completes the tour of my organized hair tool and vanity bathroom drawers!
On a random note, and because we are talking about all things travel, I have to show you my new favorite luggage. I’ve been on the hunt for new luggage for about a year now and recently bought this Ambuer 2-Piece Spinner Luggage set. SO excited about it! It’s everything I was looking for. Lightweight, but durable. Easy to roll in an airport, unique color so it’s easy to spot at baggage claim (I ordered Rose Gold but the set comes in other fun colors too!).
And the inside! The large suitcase is HUGE and I love that there is a flap on the left side that zips up over your clothes and has space for shoes and extras. There is also another zipper pouch you can see on the right side of the suitcase. Organized luggage compartments galore! Makes me giddy. :)
The small travel size suitcase has the same shoe pockets and compartments.. just smaller. :) I just bought the 2-piece set, but you can also buy the 3-piece set if you wanted a bag in-between these two sizes. Had to share in case any of you are traveling a lot and looking for good new luggage too! This is one of the new favorite things I just added to my updated Favorites Page. Some of my recent Fall favorites (also on that page) are 40% off like this dress, these over the knee boots and these booties I’m especially in love with!
Organized travel drawers, organized hair tools, organized luggageand Fall favorites on sale! This post is making me really happy.
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