Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Fashion

10.03.17

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.

We took long walks in the mornings. Well.. three of us walked. (Favorite Zella leggings)

One of us scooted. :)

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.

(Jen @ Decor Gold/Haneen @ Haneens Haven/Brittany @ Addison’s Wonderland/me :)/Kris @ Driven by Decor/Bree @ ZDesign/Tamara @ Citrineliving)

So fun meeting some of my blogging besties at this event! Love them so much and we always have the best time together.

Me and Bree with Sarah @ Life on Virginia Street.

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!

I loved this Fall table display in the hallway that looks an awful lot like the console table and baskets in my family room! Maybe I need to add some fruit. :)

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.

This maroon pleated skirt is one of my favorite finds this season! I wore it with this bell sleeve tee and these comfortable over the knee boots that carried me all over the streets of NYC. :)

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..”

I know the feeling dad. I know it well.

{CLOTHES SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

09.27.17

Barn Door TV Cover

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)

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

09.21.17

Fresh Ideas for Fall Tour

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

Sorry. Got a little sidetracked there. :)

A fun pumpkin pillow and this beloved throw from PB make our reading chair nice and cozy.

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.

Huge thank you to my acorn pickers. ;) (You can read more about that little ongoing adventure here.)

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.

TAM

CITRINELIVING.COM

RANDI

RANDIGARRETTDESIGN.COM

KRIS

DRIVENBYDECOR.COM

JEN

DECORGOLDDESIGNS.COM

KELLEY

KELLEYNAN.COM

HANEEN

HANEENS-HAVEN.COM

BRITTANY

ADDISONSWONDERLAND.CO

BREE

ZDESIGNATHOME.COM

xoxo, Erin

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Fashion

09.13.17

Favorite Fall Accessories!

{Fringe necklace (similar), Treasure Pendent Necklace Set, Arrowstack Necklace, Madewell Earrings}

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. :)

{Slim Bell Sleeve Tee/Treasure Pendant Necklace Set/AG Jeans/Booties}

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.

{Corset Seam Tee/Treasure Pendant Necklace}

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. :)

{Scalloped Hem Sweater (just re-stocked!)/Arrowstack Necklace/Black Skinny Jeans/Black over the knee boots}

Then there’s my Arrowstack necklace that I first shared in this fashion post. Definitely a favorite. I was surprised at how heavy this necklace was when I got it! Nice quality. (Btw – this scalloped sweater was just re-stocked in all sizes! So cute!)

{J Crew Every day Chambray Shirt/Black Skinny Jeans/Black Boots/Arrowstack Necklace/Medium Leather Tote}

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.

{Barefoot Dreams Circle Cardigan/AG Jeans/Madewell Leather Tote/Similar Fringe Necklace/Booties}

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!

{Raven Choker Top/Madewell Leather Tote/AG Jeans/Booties}

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.

I’m just that funny. ;)

{All post sources are below!}

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

09.11.17

Organized Hair Tool and Bathroom Drawers

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. :)

*affiliate links used

{Master Bathroom Pictures and Sources Here}

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 luggage and Fall favorites on sale! This post is making me really happy.

I sincerely hope it does the same for you. :)

Post sources are all below! (You can find decor sources for my master bathroom here and sources for my favorite make-up here.)

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

09.06.17

A Day In My Life

Every year in January I put up a survey on my blog asking what you’d all love to see more of on Sunny Side Up and guess what the number one thing is that I always hear back? A regular day! Never what I’m expecting to hear, but I get it! It’s always fun to see how other people live and how they fit in all that they do. So friends, this is it. Today I’m sharing what a typical day in my life looks like. You can bet it will be beyond glamourous. ;) I’m joining my friends Amy and Christy at Magnolia Lane and a group of fun bloggers in this series so there will be lots of fun “day in the life” posts to check out! It’s always the best to get ideas and learn from each other.

I picked a day last week and documented the whole thing from start to finish. I used my cell phone for a lot of the pics during all times of the day (not just good lighting times) so this truly is real life in all of it’s grainy glory. Grab a snack! My days are long. ;) Here we go!

Our alarm goes off at 6:20 am and my husband has to roll me out of bed. I am a night owl and don’t like early mornings! He gets in the shower while I fumble my way upstairs to wake my girls. Ellie is usually up and going already, but Addison (pictured above with a blanket over her head) is like me and never wants to get out of bed. Sometimes I get back in bed with her and we both snooze for 10 more minutes until we nudge each other and convince ourselves that we have to get up. :)

Once my girls are both up and going I go back to my bedroom to put on my workout clothes and then I head to the kitchen to start making breakfast and packing lunches. El gets lunch at her school, but Ad and Kole still like to take a lunch despite my on-going efforts to convince them that school lunch is amazing and lunch from home is of the devil. Lunch packing. I am not a fan. I always have the kids set their lunch boxes and water bottles out on this counter the night before so I’m not searching for them the next morning and sometimes (if I’m on my A game) they get the packing started the night before with things that won’t go bad.

Then in the morning I finish them. I’m struggling this morning because Kole doesn’t want the leftover pasta I was planning on using so his lunch is looking rather pathetic with a cutie orange and animal crackers as the main dish, but it is what it is at this point! We need groceries. Kole usually wakes up on his own at some point while I’m making the food and then the girls and Kenny come in the kitchen and everyone (except me) eats breakfast. Then I help the girls round up their things and get out the door by 7:20. Most mornings (if my husband doesn’t have an early meeting) he takes the girls to their middle school on his way to work.

Kole’s school starts a little later this year and we have 45 minutes after breakfast before we have to leave so my new plan for this year is to get my workout done most mornings before I take him to school. I let him turn on his favorite Lego show and I sneak into my husband’s office. Kole is loving this new plan too. ;)

Last school year Kole’s school started at 8:00 so I went to an 8:15 class at Orange Theory after I dropped him off. (Do any of you workout at an OT? Crazy good workout!). But this year Kole is at a new school that starts at 8:30 so I can’t go to my class. I don’t want to take the 9:20 class because I have too much to get done during my kids’ school hours and can’t have exercise take up the whole morning, so over the summer we bought a new treadmill and my plan is to do a quick 30 minutes on it before I take Kole to school. I still may do an OT class once a week and I usually run with friends one morning a week, but this will be a quick something for most busy days. I’ve been decorating Kenny’s office and it was looking so good until I plopped a huge treadmill in there.. ha! Not my best decor accessory. ;) But it works! And he could care less.

After I exercise I finish helping Kole get ready and off to school we go! He has to wear a uniform this year – little polo shirts and tan shorts that he’s not a fan of, but I help him accessorize with fun shoes/backpack so we make it work. ;) I chat with moms/friends at his school after walking him in and then head back home.

This is the morning rush kitchen mess that is always waiting for me and even though I need to shower and have tons of work to do, I can’t do anything until I’ve cleaned my kitchen!

I put an egg on the stove and while it’s boiling I start cleaning. I know – one boiled egg is a lame breakfast! But I am never hungry in the mornings and would love to just skip breakfast all together if it weren’t for the whole “you have to eat breakfast.. it’s the most important meal of the day”.. spill. So I make myself eat an egg and call it good.

{Kitchen pictures and sources in this post}

I get the kitchen looking like this again. Ahhh. Much better!

Then I style a few things in my bay window because it has been empty and I want the house looking good for a party we are hosting over Labor Day weekend for 70+ people – my daughter’s dance team and families. (Which we had and it was so fun! Pics coming later.)

I add some lemons to a wooden bowl and a new plant.

Then I take this pic to share on Instagram at some point.

{Master Bathroom Pics and Sources}

Kitchen is clean so I head to my bathroom to get ready for the day. My bathroom wasn’t quite this clean but I forgot to take a pic of it. Although I will say that ever since I organized my bathroom drawers I have been doing a pretty good job putting things away immediately and keeping it clean! Definite improvement. :) I shower fast (and don’t wash my hair) and get ready.

(affiliate links used)

I wear my favorite jeans, go to booties, tassel earrings I’m loving right now and my recent favorite ruffle tee that has been on major repeat this month. This is the time I usually take my Fashion pics – right after I get ready and before I’ve wilted from the day’s activities. ;)

{Office pictures and sources}

Then it’s time to get to work! During the day I work at this window desk in my office/craft room. Lots of fun things help me stay organized!

I have multiple planners – which aren’t necessary but I’m a planner/notebook addict so there’s that. :) In one of them I have my blog content planned out for a month. I always get side tracked and never follow it exactly, but it’s a good outline to go by.

This is an older to-do list, but using it just to show you – I always have a running to-do list going (one for my blog and one for every day life) and then I highlight the top three things for each day. When they are done, I highlight three more and just keep going!

I also have a Visual to-do list in my office that I refer to for larger projects I’m working on. You can read more about that here. I have more desk organization coming in a post soon because this post is already too long!

At my desk I answer e-mails, make phone calls for the upcoming party and appointments for the kids I need to schedule, answer blog comments, etc. I am giving a fun gift to a friend at the party that involves everyone sending me e-mails so I spend some time working on that too.

Time for lunch so I make me a quick turkey sandwich with baked lays and strawberries. Typical lunch I’ve been eating for years!

Once in a while I mix it up and make me a salad instead of my turkey sandwich. And then I always add some sort of candy or treat after. Because I wouldn’t want to be too healthy. ;) I usually take my lunch back in my office and eat while I keep working.

At this point it’s 1:30 and good lighting so I head to my guest room and take pics for a progress post coming soon. (One of the things highlighted on my blog to-do list!)

Then at 2:00 I have the countertop guys scheduled to come and install the counter in our theatre room. (Progress on that space coming too!) I meet with them and get them started and end up staying upstairs with them to show them where to drill holes for the faucet, sprayer, etc. At 2:45 they are still working but I have to leave them to finish while I run to pick up my kids from school. My work day is over so anything I didn’t finish will be put off until late!

I pick up this cute boy and hear all about a fun Science gummy bear experiment he did in class and how they also read his favorite story Teacher from the Black Lagoon and how his new school is the best school ever (yea! #momwin) and can he please have some food immediately because his lunch didn’t fill him up (sigh #momfail).

After chatting about his day he does the usual and requests “Thriller” from his play list. A long time favorite song. Halloween – we are ready for ya. :)

We head to the girls’ school to pick them up. I quickly answer IG questions while I’m waiting in the carpool lane. Then when the girls come I drive straight to Addison’s play practice. She finished Alice in Wonderland on a Sunday and started a new play on Monday! I leave Kole with Ellie and take Ad in the building she has practice (that also conveniently has a little food shop) and buy her a smoothie for a snack because she won’t be home until 7:00.

She meets some friends that are also in this play and I snap a picture and give her a hug good-bye. They have 10 minutes to eat before practice starts!

I get in the car and El and Kole beg me to get them pancakes at our favorite bakery. We usually have to rush home for El to do homework before dance, but she assures me she finished most of it during ISPE (she gets a study period at school instead of taking PE because of all the dance she does outside of school – love that!). Plus she only has 2 hours of dance tonight instead of her usual 3-4 hours so pancakes it is! I never order me anything because there is always left overs. :) We have a good chat and I hear all about Ellie’s day at school. She is keeping the middle school drama at bay and I’m proud of her. While El and Kole are doing a word search I hurry and post something on Instagram.

Heading back home! I snapped a picture of the pic that has been on my car dashboard for years now. That’s how old my kids were when we bought our van! Babies. My husband is trying to get me to buy a new car, but I’m sentimental (about the van and this picture) and am not moving very fast on that one. :)

I notice our pretty tree blossoms on our side yard pulling into the house and stop to take a picture. I never regret taking a minute to appreciate the little things. :)

We walk into the house and El heads to her room. Kole changes out of his school clothes immediately – ha! Then he needs a little down time to play so I find myself with 30 minutes before I have to leave again to take El to dance. Kids are fed and happy and I have just enough time to fix this mudroom closet that has been driving me crazy! We let it get messy over the summer and I could barely open the door. I quickly pull everything out, decide I don’t want to use the stacked organizer on the side anymore because it’s taking up too much room, re-organize everything, and put it all back nice and neat.

Better!

I start a load of wash downstairs and run upstairs to check on El and see if she’s ready for dance. Then I start a load of towels in the kids’ laundry room before we head out the door.

Kole isn’t excited about getting back in the car (poor kid gets driven around a lot!) but he does it and we take El and drop her off. Her water bottle says “I can’t, I have dance.” Pretty much sums up her life right now. :) It’s getting close to 7:00 so we then drive to pick up Addison from her play practice. On our way home we stop at the grocery store to get a few things so Kole can have a better lunch experience and actually get full the next day. ;)

You can see he was thrilled about that decision. This kid just loves to go grocery shopping.

;)

Luckily his sister keeps him entertained and cheered him right up!

We get home and I unload all the groceries and get the kids taken care of and I’m getting tired. This is always the hardest part of the day for me. I’m just starting to wear down from all the go go go and I still have a lot to get done. It’s around 8:30 and I’m home for the night so I change into my favorite pj pants and pull my hair up in a top knot and immediately I feel better. :) This is how I look every single evening once I’m home for the night. Whether that starts at 8 or 10 or 6:30. Once I’m done running kids around, my pj’s are on and my hair is up. And yes – I recognize that my top knot is huge. I have super thick hair and in college I wore it like this for dance practice (college dance team) and my friends all called it “the mushroom.” Ha. :)

I head upstairs to get Kole in bed and toss the towels in the dryer.

Kole wants to read before his shower instead of after tonight. We read together every night before bed and are loving the Magic Treehouse series right now. We take turns reading and a lot of times I stop at a cliff hanger on purpose so he’ll want to keep reading in bed. I’m tricky like that. :) Reading, shower and prayers with Kole and then I’m back downstairs wondering how in the world my kitchen looks like this again when I had it spotless this morning…

The roses were a fun surprise left from a friend. I start picking up and realize that it’s 9:00 and I haven’t eaten dinner and am hungry. I forget my own dinner a lot because we are so busy in the evenings so then I start eating/snacking too late. It’s a problem!

Kenny had a dinner with clients so I heat up the rest of some fajitas we had left over for Addison and grab a Lean Cuisine for me. This Chicken and Broccoli and Pasta is a good one! You can probably tell by now that I’m not much of a foodie.. ha! Most definitely why I don’t love to cook. I’d rather just make a quick turkey sandwich and be done any day. :)

While my dinner is “cooking” in the microwave I clean the kitchen and load the dishes. Again.

{Organized Bathroom Drawers}

I kiss Addison and get her up to bed and then eat dinner. Then I head to my bathroom to take out my contacts because my eyes are hurting. I always take off my make-up at this time of night because I stay up late and am too tired when I finally make it to bed.

Kenny walks in the door with Ellie (thank goodness he always does the super late pick ups!). She wants something to eat and I want to cry because the kitchen is finally clean. But I make her some food anyway and we talk about dance.

Kenny brought in the mail so I sort through and toss most of it and then find this.. my Christmas porch was featured in an upcoming Country Living Christmas Magazine! I love fun mail. :) Aside from the feature thinking about Christmas instantly cheers me up! (Btw.. because a lot of you have been asking, my kitchen is supposed to be showing up in BHG in Spring of 2018! They are slow to get things published, but I will definitely let you all know when it’s out!)

Back to our day! Does it ever end? El needs help with some math before she goes to bed and that is ALL Kenny. I’ll keep helping Kole with his sight words. ;) It’s about 9:45 at this point and I am finally sitting down to start working again. This is when I write and post! When my kids are at school I keep up with e-mails, complete projects and photograph them, and run errands. All of the computer part of my blogging happens after my kids are in bed (which used to work out so well when the kids were little and all in bed by 8:00! Not the case anymore.) I get my second wind right about this time of night though so I’m good. I start editing pics and adding my watermark and writing. El finishes math and heads to bed. My husband and I offer each other a tired “oh hello babe.. how was your day” just before he crashes on the couch. I turn on the TV for company more than anything else and work on my blog until around midnight or 1:00 am. If I can get at least 5 hours of sleep I’m good to go. I always tell my husband to go to bed without me but he doesn’t like to. So he sleeps on the couch in his clothes until I’m done and then I wake him and we head to bed together. He’s out again before I get my teeth brushed. :)

Then at 6:20 am the alarm goes off and we do it all over again!

We are in a busy stage right now with our kids and our jobs and a lot of days I am just doing the best I can to keep my head above water! But we are happy and our kids are healthy and doing great. We have a wonderful life that I’m very grateful for and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Except maybe hire someone to make the school lunches. I’d change that little routine if I could.

;)

Be sure to check out my friends “day in the life” posts too! I can’t wait to take a break from my hectic day to read about theirs. :)

Amy from 11 Magnolia Lane

Megan from Honey We’re Home

Haneen from Haneen’s Haven

Julie from Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss

Mallory from Style Your Senses

Sam from Simply Organized

Jennifer from Dimples & Tangles

Amanda from Dixie Delights

Rebekah from A Blissful Nest

Christy from 11 Magnolia Lane

SaveSave

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

09.03.17

Saying Good-bye to Summer

Happy long weekend friends! I hope you’re having a good one! I’m sharing some random summer pictures I had on my camera and iPhone with you all today to wrap up summer 2017. Then we are full steam ahead with all things organization! And pumpkin spice everything.

Now THAT’S a fun combo. :)

Legos. My favorite summer centerpiece.

{Family Room Sources}

Half of the summer we had the tent set up in the family room. I was ok with it because you know.. stripes. :)

Cozy spot to watch morning cartoons. And afternoon cartoons for that matter.

Our pool swan joined us for dinner a time or two because the kids didn’t want to leave him outside in the hot sun. (Naturally)

Hands down my best tablescape to date.

Heading home from a cloudy evening at the beach.

{Laundry Room Post/Sources}

Seeing my kids’ swimsuits drying on our laundry room drying rack is always one of my summer favorites. :)

So is walking into a room and seeing this.

Again and again. Crazy how long they can hang like this.

Morning chores.

Our morning chores usually take WAY longer than they should. Not sure why…

;)

New flowers in our flower boxes!

Can’t get enough of this toothless smile.

I took these pictures at a summer wedding my girls were a part of.. waiting for the bride!

So happy for this beautiful girl and long time favorite babysitter. She saved me when we were building our house and feels like part of our family.

My girls got a little emotional. Happy for her, but also growing up and change is hard.

Such a special day that we were honored to be a part of.

Quick stop at In-N-Out to eat before Addie’s play! Wearing my recent favorite Ruffle Tee that I shared in this post. Kirk the dinosaur joined and was clearly ready for a cheeseburger. :)

Show time! So proud of our little Alice in Wonderland!

She was darling. #proudmom We had a crazy couple of weeks with lots of showings but it’s always worth watching her on stage. She loves it so much. And I love her. :)

So many of her darling friends came to see the play!

I had a hot date to most of the shows. El snapped this picture.

So then Kole insisted on taking a picture too. I think he has real potential for a career in photography.. you?

Summer of 2017! It was a good one.

xoxo, Erin

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Fashion

08.30.17

Bring on Fall!

Friends! I’ve missed you! Crickets on the blog lately because the past two weeks have been just short of insane around here wrapping up summer and starting a new school year. Plus with the situation going on in Texas and Louisiana right now it has been hard to focus on a lot else. I am so heartbroken to see the devastation taking place. We have had to evacuate our home in the past two different times because of California wild fires so I know all too well the feeling of panic that comes when your neck of the woods is in danger. To see what some of these people are going through.. words can’t describe. I have several friends who live in Texas and have had to evacuate. I’m so grateful they are safe and I’m so grateful for organizations who are taking donations so that we can feel like we are doing something to help. If you live in an area affected by the floods please know you are all in our constant thoughts and prayers!

I know I said my favorite organized drawer was coming (and it is!) but because of life and recent events I got completely behind on my blog schedule (seriously.. why did I even attempt a blog schedule during the summer!?) so now I need to play catch up first. That post is coming soon! Along with TONS of other organization! I’m really excited about everything I have to share with you all this Fall! Summer was light on computer time but heavy on project time – lots going on around here and I’m so excited to finally have a minute to breathe and post about it all!

{Porch sources are in this post – along with how the porch was decorated last year for Halloween!} *affilliate links used

My girls started school Monday! 6th and 8th grade. Middle School! I can’t believe it. One in a sweatshirt hoodie and one in a dress. Typical! :) (Btw.. Ad’s dress is so cute and on sale right now for just $24!) They were both so excited to see their friends and meet new people. I always give my kids the same advice continually throughout the school year… to never be afraid to ask questions and to look for the kids who are new or need a friend. Addison came home from the first day and said “mom.. I made sure to reach out and was really nice to the new girls and included everyone, but does your advice apply to boys too? (Nose crinkled up) Do I have to be nice to the annoying boys?” Ha ha.. I told her yes! You don’t have to invite them to sit with you at lunch, but you can still be nice. ;) I guess I should be grateful that she still feels this way about boys because I know all to well that her opinion of them will change before I’m ready for it!

Speaking of boys! My little buddy started 2nd grade today! I just dropped him off a few hours ago and while it feels wonderful to have a quiet house and a minute to catch up, I’m already missing him. I can’t wait to pick him up and hear about his first day. He chose his red shirt and couldn’t wait to wear the new shoes I let him pick out last week. He said after we bought them “mom these are my favorite shoes I’ve ever had.. can I sleep in them?” Ha! He loves them because they are velcro (this kid does NOT like to tie shoes) and he loves the shade of blue. Picture is with a buddy who is starting Kindergarten today. :)

I’m sharing a few new Fall favorites with you today from Nordstrom! (Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post!) I wanted to get this post up today before all of the organization/decor posts because I found some CUTE things and I know sizes will sell out fast if I wait!

{Sarah Print Wrap Top/Jeans/Booties/Necklace}

We are having a major heat wave right now! So typical San Diego. It gets HOT when things are cooling down everywhere else. This is a great transition to Fall top because it’s lightweight. Also very slimming because it ties just above your waist where most women are the thinnest! Plus it’s half off and just $21! (Btw.. for size reference because a lot of you ask, all of the tops in today’s post (except one) fit true to size and I’m wearing an XS.)

{Adidas Trefoil Jersey Tee/Jeans/Pink Adidas Sneakers}

Loving this simple Adidas Tee! It’s fitted and flattering and just perfect for every day running around. Nordstrom has so many cute new Adidas tops/sweatshirts in for Fall!

{V Strap Tee/Jeans/Booties/Tory Burch Leather Tote/Tory Burch double wrap logo bracelet}

This is another simple and fun tee I’ve been running around in. The V strap at the top is so cute! This is the one top in today’s post that doesn’t fit true to size. It runs BIG! I’m wearing an XXS and it’s still loose so order one size down! I’ve been using larger bags like my Tory Tote a lot lately because of all the school forms. SO many school forms! Paper organization was a huge summer priority for me.

Wore this top last week to school Open House. Favorite sunglasses because #notimeformakeup. But how cute is Kole’s smile!? He lost both of his front teeth this summer one right after the other. :)

{Ruffle Sleeve Blouse/Tassel Fringe Earrings/Jeans/Booties}

A new favorite dressy blouse that I love so much I ordered it in two colors! The sleeves are so pretty on this! It’s long so I like it best tucked in the front a bit or with a belt, but it would also look cute over leggings or tucked in all the way with a high waisted skirt. I’ve reached for this top so many times in just the past few weeks! It’s perfect for dressy/casual events.

{Puff Sleeve Sweater/Black Stretch Skinny Jeans/Booties}

Another “I want it to be Fall but it’s not quite cold enough for sweaters” sweater. :) Love the puff sleeves! I also ordered these black stretch skinny jeans and they are a great fit (and a great price!). They are a bit long so I’ll have to have them hemmed at the bottom (same old!) but SO comfortable. I’m excited about them!

{Good Vibes Tee/Black Stretch Skinny Jeans/Booties}

My new black jeans look especially cute with this beloved tee. Good Vibes and peace to all. ;)

{Scalloped Hem Sweater/Black Stretch Skinny Jeans/Madolee Over the Knee Boots}

This Scalloped Hem Sweater I haven’t worn yet but can’t wait to! So comfy and cute for Fall!

I especially love it with my Arrow Stack Necklace.

{Slim Bell Sleeve Tee/Necklace/Jeans/Booties}

This Slim Bell Sleeve Tee is another recent favorite! It’s fitted and slimming and a light weight knit material. I actually wear a black tank top (this one) under it. It’s not totally see through, but barely see through if that makes sense. :) Also comes in a beautiful burgundy color!

Took this picture so you can see the fun bell sleeves! LOVE this trend.

A simple black top like this is fun to dress up with jewelry! I either wear my Tassel Fringe earrings with it or a long gold necklace like the Arrow Stack necklace I shared above.

{Color Block Faux Leather Tote}

Brought out another favorite bag for this time of year! I actually just bought one identical for a friend’s birthday too. Such a great staple for just $50! I always get compliments on this bag. It looks a lot more expensive than it is!

It will hold ALL the back to school papers too. ;)

{Recent Kitchen Decor Post/Sources}

So I got off my computer and just took this picture. I made myself wait to bust out my new pumpkin spice candle until my kids went back to school and today they are officially back in school! YEA! Wait is over. My house smells heavenly right now! It’s a total disaster (haven’t even cleaned up the breakfast dishes yet) but it smells heavenly. #priorities :)

And yes. TWO candles for Fall. I kept smelling them both in the store to decide which one to get and the lady working there said “oh.. those are the same candle! Just different packaging.” I said “Ahh! That’s why I’m having such a hard time choosing which one! Ha! I’ll take them both. Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin is my favorite.” :)

Bring on Fall!

*All Post Sources are Below!

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

08.22.17

Shiplap Display Wall for Summer

Remember a while back when I created this shiplap display wall in my hallway?

It looked like this when it was all finished and I was so excited to have something fun to take up the wall space between our powder bathroom and my office.

In December I used it to display my Christmas cards.

Such a happy wall. :) This is making me excited for the holidays!

A lot of you have asked what I planned to display during the rest of the year so I wanted to share how this wall has looked all summer.

I’ve been using it to display some of the art that my kids brought home at the end of the school year.

Happy, colorful art.

Kole made the fun vine and animals at the top. He is obsessed with snakes and has been for years.

A couple of other pictures are his and the rest are the girls. I loved having a fun place to display artwork they were proud of. It has brightened the whole hallway and was perfect summer decor. :)

Eye of the Tiger for a centerpiece. ;) I took too many pictures of this wall I know. I’m picture happy and tend to get carried away. But that is something you already know too. :)

This is our last week of summer and then I will be taking this down because I have a fun idea for this shiplap display wall for the Fall. I thought I’d share it with you quick before I change it again! I can’t believe how quickly summer flew by. It always does but this one seemed especially busy and fast flying. We are doing lots of back to school prep this week and are shopping for a few school supplies today. I’m hoping we also have time to swing by the Container Store! I need something to finish up a project I’ve been working on. I’m so excited to have it done! And to share it with all of you.

Enjoy your day friends! I hope it’s a good one. :)

**Getting lots of questions on Instagram about this paint color! You can find info. on all of the paint colors in my house in THIS POST. Also for those of you asking for more info. because Frazee switched to Sherwin Williams, I am working on that and will have it up on the blog soon! Once my kids are in school. ;)

xoxo, Erin

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Fashion

08.18.17

Fashion Friday

{Summer wardrobe: This is the comfiest tee!/Zella Joggers/Pink Adidas Sneakers}

(Affiliate links used)

Happy weekend friends! This week was the best! It cooled off just a bit (it has been so humid here this summer) and there was a hint of Fall in the air. Made me excited for things to come. It also motivated me to get out of my joggers and to clean up. For a few days anyway. :) Here’s what I wore this week and a couple of things I’m excited to wear when it cools off even more. Fall Fashion is my favorite! Love this time of year.

{Sincerely Jules Ruffle Tee/Ex boyfriend Jeans/Block Heel Booties}

This Ruffle Tee is new in at Nordstrom and this picture doesn’t do it justice! It has such a cool vintage/washed look and is really flattering. These are the kinds of tops I reach for again and again because of the way they fit. Comfy and casual – fitted but not tight. I know these jeans and booties will be Fall staples this year!

{Twist Front Cozy Fleece Pullover/AG Jeans/Adidas Sneakers/Sunglasses/Rebecca Minkoff Purse}

I also wore my cozy twist front pullover this week – love this top! It’s the softest. I wear it all day and then keep it on with pj pants in the evening. :) This top just came out in so many fun new colors for Fall! Might have to get one more.

{Lace Up Sleeve Top/AG Jeans /Tory Burch Tote/Tory Burch Bracelet/Peep Toe Booties}

My girls had their back to school registration yesterday at their middle school and I wore this fun lace up sleeve top. The sleeves on this top are just SO cute and I love it in olive green for Fall. It was fun getting their schedules and locker combos and seeing friends at the school. My girls both have to have bottom lockers because they are too short to reach the top lockers. Ha! A little gift from their mom. ;) El is so sad to see summer end.. Addison can’t wait for school to start. :)

{Corset Seam Tee/Ex Boyfriend Jeans/Block Heel Booties}

Another great top to transition in from Summer to Fall!

Love this material. This corset top has the same look as the ruffle tee above. Faded black and just cool and casual. It was cute on the hanger but I really loved it most after I put it on. Such a good fit!

I also love it with a long layered necklace. I linked to a few cute layered necklaces below!

{Piper Two-Fer Tee/AG Jeans/Block Heel Booties}

I haven’t worn this top yet but I’m so excited to when it gets cooler! I LOVE shirts like this that look like they are layered but are really just one top. It’s such a cute striped turtle neck and the grey tee gives it a fun, casual look. I tried it on with booties but I think it would look cute more casual with sneakers too. Perfect for early Fall because it’s lightweight!

The sleeves also have the thumb cut out if you want to wear it longer over your hand. LOVE this top! Free People is a favorite brand of mine that Nordstrom carries and they have so many cute new things in for Fall! I’m excited to wear my favorite FP sweatshirt when it cools off again too!

{Good Vibes Sweatshirt/AG Jeans/Gray Chucks}

Another fun sweatshirt I’m excited to wear this Fall! Good Vibes always. :)

Some of my recent Fall favorites from the Nordstrom sale have been restocked! This Ruffle Trim Track Jacket sold out in a hot minute but is now back in all sizes.

So are my Good Vibes Jogger Pants and my Good Day Sunshine Sweatshirt! I’ve already got my money’s worth out of these pants. :) #livinginthem

A lot of my favorite Ruffle Sleeve Sweaters are back in stock too so check this post for links to them all!

Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! I would tell you all how Nordstrom is hands down my favorite place to shop for clothes because of their great selection of brands and amazing customer service, but you all already know that. ;) Links to my favorites from this post are below!

Ok.. friends. I have someone I want to introduce you to before I sign off!

Meet my new niece! Quincy Kate who came into the world yesterday – 6 lbs 8 oz. My brother and his wife are so excited to get a girl after having two cute little boys and we couldn’t be more excited at my house either! This little one completes our family and we are all so grateful to get her here. It’s killing me to not be there with my family right now! I was a hot mess of happy and sad tears yesterday! Counting down until I can visit and hold her. I’m sure I’ll be sharing more pics of her soon. This was taken soon after delivery. :) #proudaunt

Make sure to check back next week for other fun pictures coming! I’m so excited to show you all my favorite drawer in my house! You’ll see why soon. :) Favorite organized drawers. Fall fashion. New babies.

Life is good. :)

Enjoy your weekend friends!

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

08.15.17

This and That

Nearing the end of summer friends and I can honestly say that I’m completely exhausted. Ha! The best kind of exhausted but exhausted none the less. :) I know a lot of you are already headed back to school. (Here’s a fun post on back to school organization if you’re interested!) I hope the transition is going well! Two more weeks for us and this mom is hanging on by a very thin but mostly happy thread. ;) Here’s a picture dump of what’s on my camera and phone at the moment!

*affiliate links used

This kid. His outfit says it all. :) Love him. There is no rest with this one in my life, but his toothless smile makes up for it.

My little buddy is allergic to something in regular sunscreen – his skin breaks out and he gets the worst rashes from it. I’ve struggled with this problem for years and have seriously tried over 20 different sunscreens on him. I finally found something that works! Sharing this for any moms dealing with the same issue. This Burn-Out Eco-Sensitive sunscreen is amazing. Goes on so smooth and doesn’t bother his skin at all. (Hallelujah!) I initially found this at a health food store and then later found it here.

Ad lounging at the pool with friends. Rough life, right?

Plasma cars are still our favorite!

This girl has had a great summer hanging with friends, hanging with the family and working on her play. My little Alice debuts in Wonderland next weekend!

Back to school is going to be a rough transition for my girls. Ha! I am going to start getting them to bed earlier each night and waking them up a little bit earlier each morning next week. Wish me luck with that one. I’ll need it. :)

El has spent her summer dancing. She recently got back from a week long dance convention in Long Beach. I told her to pack before the trip and she said “I already did mom!” Her stuff was laid out so neatly. It made me smile so I took a picture. :) She’s such a little mini-me when it comes to organization.

Proud of her and her cute friends.

I snapped this at her dance studio a few days ago. She came home from her trip and has been there non-stop learning next year’s solo routines. Hardly a break from dance for this girl! And hardly a break from workout clothes for me. I’ve been living in Zella leggings and tanks this summer. I always have great intentions of getting dressed and ready after I exercise, but most days it’s suddenly 6 pm before I even realize I forgot to get dressed. Some days it’s 6 pm before I realize I forgot to exercise too. :) #summerproblems

{Ex boyfriend jeans/sandals}

I did clean up one day this month for a camp performance and dinner with friends. Snapped a picture to document the rare occasion. ;)

{Zella crop joggers/twist front tee/sandals}

If I do get dressed I’m wearing these joggers! Hands down my favorite summer staple. They sold out so quickly and have now been re-stocked. I have them in the green and black and just keep rotating the two with different summer tees. My girls tease me each time I put them on about wearing them yet again. They are just so light weight, flattering and comfy!

{Tie Front Pullover/Zella Leggings/Pink Adidas}

Something else I adore that was re-stocked is my favorite tie front pullover. Love this. They came out with it in a pink (so cute) and also now have this similar version. I can’t wait to wear it more this Fall! I just can’t wait for Fall period. I’ll take cool weather and all of the tie front pullovers please!

{Family Room Sources}

We’ve been doing some MAJOR paper organization at my house this past month. I tore my office apart last week. Again. Shared some pics on my IG stories of the mess. :) I’ve been trying to get all of my files and everything in order before school starts. Today I had my girls sort through some of their old work that was accumulating. We had a movie paper sorting party mid day. :) I can’t wait to have this project checked off my list!

{White Swedish Lace/Bloom Burst Backpack}

New backpacks for 6th and 8th grade! Did I really just say that!? El’s last year of middle school. My girls picked out their own and I love them both. Nothing like a new backpack full of new school supplies for day one. :) I’m going to see if I can stretch one more year out of Kole’s backpack, but it might only make it to Christmas.

The start of a new school year gets me so excited to plan ALL the things! My head is bursting with ideas and projects right now! Some I can’t wait to finish and show you all and some that I can’t wait to get started on. OneCanoeTwo came out with their new planners for 2018.. SO cute! They sent me this adorable version and now I’m itching to use it! I’ve loved using their planner from 2017 this year.

Remember the fun new lamps from Barn Light Electric that I shared in this post? Betty (who works there and is such a sweetheart) wrote a fun post about them on their blog if you want to check it out!

She also wrote a post about my new dishes. Love them! Love Betty. Love Barn Light Electric. :)

Remember when I shared my Summer Living Room re-fresh? I’ve been looking high and low for something to replace that square Spring sign because it just never looked right to me. Too many square shapes and not the right size.

So last week I took it down. And I love it with nothing there! Which made me think about how we sometimes overthink decorating (at least I know I do!). A lot of times when I don’t love the way something is styled, after playing with it forever I always end up taking off half of the “stuff.” And like magic.. it looks better. Breathing room is a good thing and quite often less is more. A little life tip I needed to hear myself today. ;)

Found the quartz I’m using for our theatre room! Man. What a project that space has turned out to be. It has occupied a lot more of my energy this summer than I planned on, but things are moving right along and I can’t wait to get it finished. We have one counter in the room (I’ll share another progress post at some point!) and I chose this slab of quartz called “Calcutta Vicenza.” Very similar look to marble but it will hold up great in a space that will often be used by teenagers. Mission accomplished!

Summer evenings outside are my favorite! My outside lights all click on and there is such a soft glow when the sun starts to set over the ocean. I can just smell it. The summer evenings and my neighbor’s BBQ. ;)

Then it gets dark and we all head inside to continue our Harry Potter Marathon. Ad is reading the books and is flying through them at record speed so that we can watch each movie after she finishes a book. I don’t think I’ll let Kole watch the last few (they get so dark and scary!) but he has loved the first few movies. And I love our time spent cozied up on this couch together.

Maybe I’m not so ready for summer to be over after all.

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

08.07.17

Summer kitchen decor

August! I can’t believe it’s already August. This summer is flying by so quickly.

I realized when I recently shared my summer shelf decor that I never shared pictures of my summer kitchen decor.

Either because we got busy. Or I forgot. Or I thought it wasn’t a huge enough transformation to share. Or the kitchen was too messy to take pictures.

Most likely all of the above. :)

I’ve been feeling a major pull towards “less is more” with my decorating this summer. Probably because there are so many other things filling up space in our home lately. The kids toys are out more than usual, there are pool towels drying on empty chairs, friends’ shoes fill up the mudroom, books and movies cover my console tables and slime is around every corner. (I’m SO over the slime!)

It’s crazy. And I love it. I really do enjoy a break from the hectic school schedule and having less structured, low key days with my kids and their friends. BUT. While I love summer, chaos can be hard for me. Too much stuff and clutter in my home is hard for me. So to keep my sanity the past two months I’ve really simplified my decor.

Less is more has actually become my motto when it comes to everything in my house. Even more than usual. Every day I find myself getting rid of more things we don’t need and putting away excess decor until I’m in the mood to have more of it out again.