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Fashion
04.28.17

Reward Style Conference (and what I wore)

Happy Friday friends!  Have you all been doing your 20 minutes of organizing each day after reading my last post?  Yes?  No?  Kind of attempting but not really happening?  Ha!  I get it.  I pulled off 3 nights so far.  I was on a total roll until last night when Kole decided that he wasn’t tired when I put him to bed and needed a story.. or two or ten before he could sleep.  Probably time better spent anyway. ;)  I’m excited the weekend is finally here!  I’m still so sleep deprived from last weekend that I’m desperate for a morning to sleep in and catch up.  Today I’m sharing a few fun pics from the Reward Style conference I was at in Dallas last weekend.  It was held at the Cresent Hotel and everything was just beautiful!

(*affiliate links used)

{Brittany/me :)/Bree/Kelley/Elaine/Kris}
{Camo pants – 30% off right now/shirt/shoes/purse}

I have to say that this conference had me a bit intimidated!  It’s mostly the fashion blogger crowd and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I was invited to go last year but didn’t dare.  :)  I’m not exactly runway model fashion like a lot of these girls.  My style is more like running around chasing/driving kids all day fashion.  Ha!  ;)  This year some of my home blogging besties were also invited and we decided that we’d brave it together.. strength in numbers!  This was a pic of us when we all arrived at the hotel.  I was so excited to see my friends!  Wore my favorite camo pants for comfy traveling on the plane.   (They just went on sale btw!)

{yellow blouse/gingham skirt/sandals}

The first night there was a pool party hosted by Sole Society.  Sarah joined us all and we had a great time catching up!  Everyone at the conference was so nice.  Every time I go to one of these conferences I wonder why in the world they stress me out!   They always end up being a lot of fun and not at all intimidating.  Even the runway models with their personal photographers were nice.. mostly. ;)

{jeans/shoes}

Heading to dinner after the party!  After I changed into my favorite jeans.  Because I will hands down pick jeans over a dress if given an option!  EVERY time.

Three things I loved about this conference.. one was how gorgeous everything was.  The flowers at the hotel were just stunning and they had everything decorated so beautifully.  Spring is such a fun time to travel, isn’t it!?  I also loved how organized it was!  We got an agenda when we arrived and had been assigned certain classes based on recommendations for us.  Everything ran so smoothly!  I loved the way the conference was laid out.  Because I’m nerdy and pay attention to details like that.  When things are pretty and organized I’m a happy girl. ;)  It was also really fun to see all the clothes!  So many stylish girls in one place.  It was like a non stop fashion show.  One trend I noticed were the shoes!  Lots of cute wedge sandals with straps.  I’ve been eyeing this pair for summer but keep going back and forth because there are so many fun styles I love and want right now!

There were flowers and lights in all the trees.  It was especially beautiful at night all lit up!

Another fun party!  I didn’t buy a lot of new clothes for this conference (although I probably should have given I was at a  conference full of fashion bloggers!).  This black flutter sleeve top was the only new thing I wore.  It looks really cute tucked into a skirt like I’m wearing it or partially tucked into jeans.  I was so excited to see Megan!  We have been friends for a long time and have so much fun together.  She called me the day before the conference to catch up and I seriously could have talked to her for six hours straight!   All of these girls mean so much to me.  We met a lot of sweet girls that night including one of the Real Housewives of Dallas.  Who everyone knew except me!  Oops.  I don’t watch the Housewive shows.  A lot of my friends do and love them, but honestly all the arguing just gives me a headache!  And seems so ridiculous.  I can’t go there.  Am I getting old!?

Beautiful picnic lunch one afternoon with Banana Republic!

{Cargo pants/Rebecca Minkoff tee/shoes}

Every single time I wear these cargo pants people compliment them and ask me where they’re from.  Every time!  Some girls I kept passing in a store a couple of weeks ago said they were calling me “the girl with the cute pants”.. ha!  They are definitely favorites.  So comfy!  And perfect for a full day of sitting in classes at this conference.

Class time with Cassie!

And lunch with Topshop.

{Denim dress/shoes/purse – my denim dress is on sale this weekend with everything at BR!  Better pics of it in this post}

{Black lace dress/earrings/similar purse}

The last night we got all cleaned up for a fun party to finish off the conference.  We spent a few hours chatting with everyone at the party and then decided to call it a night and go back to the room to put on sweats, order food and have girl time.  We called an Uber, got in our car and were starting to drive away when we saw that the party was moving to another location for dancing.  Some girls wanted to still go back to the room but a few of us hopped out to head back to the party.

Oh my word.. best decision ever!  I seriously haven’t danced like that since my high school/college days!  It was so much fun.  And unlike most people at the party, I don’t drink so I was feeling especially proud of myself for getting down like I did without the help of alcohol.. ha! ;)  I’m always begging my husband to dance with me at parties and he never will so I loved being with so many fun friends to dance with!  If the DJ is playing “Salt-N-Pepa” and “House of Pain” and other music from my era.. I’m gonna dance.  TOO much fun.

We danced until about 1:00 am and closed the place down.  By that point we were seriously sweating and our feet were KILLING us so most of us had shoes off.  Megan was the only smart one to bring flats to put on.  It was such a fun way to end the trip!

{shirt/jeans}

Heading out to catch my plane home and I got a quick picture with Cyndi.  Another friend I’ve made through blogging who I absolutely adore!  Loved catching up with her last week.  We were so in sync with our coordinating striped shirts. :)

My whole crew was excited I was home but this little guy was the most excited to see me.  He came running at the airport and almost tipped me right over with his hug.  Best feeling EVER.  Love my little buddy.  #pleasedontgrowup

I love to travel but it’s always so good to be home. :)

Couple of fun favorites that are on sale this weekend!  My layered top is 40% off!  Sizes are going fast.

These favorite sweats are also on sale!  I have loved these so much I just ordered this pair.  Make and Model and PJ Salvage are hands down my favorite pj’s.  And I know pj’s.  ;)  The only thing I don’t love about this time change and the lighter evenings is that it’s a bit more embarrassing when I put on my pj’s for the night at 5:00 pm.  When it’s dark I feel like I can get away with it easier.  That doesn’t stop me from doing it of course..  :)

My favorite rug is also on sale!  PB has all of their rugs marked down this weekend and I’m debating between a couple from there and one from West Elm (also having a big sale on rugs) for my guest room.  I feel like I need to hurry and decide tomorrow to take advantage of the sales.  So excited about how the room is coming together!  I’m waiting for a few things to come in and then I’ll share another progress post.  {All of my family room sources are HERE}

My kitchen canisters are also on sale!  Love them.
My kitchen decor gets switched up monthly, but the canisters stay. :)  Most recent kitchen post HERE – I still need to finish my sources!  Always a work in progress around here.

Alright friends!  That’s it for this weekend.  I hope you have a good one!  We’ll chat again real soon. ;)

xoxo, Erin
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Organization
04.24.17

5 reasons you can’t stay organized (and how to fix it!)

Hello friends!  I’m back from Dallas and had such a fun trip!  I’ll share a few pics at some point.  As soon as I’m caught up on the cleaning and the laundry and my e-mails and my sleep and the 2,000 other to-do’s that got shoved to the side while I was away.  So basically those pics will pop up next year. ;)  Actually when it comes to the cleaning, I’m not too worried about recovery.  Even though I came home to a semi messy house (my husband did the best he could with all that was on his plate the past four days!) I have most of my rooms/spaces organized in a way that makes clean up pretty simple.  This hasn’t always been the case!  The first year in our new house I struggled with organization (despite my love for it!) but I think I’ve found my groove and am finally starting to feel mostly on top of things when it comes to keeping my home organized.  Today I’m talking about 5 reasons you can’t stay organized (and how to fix it!).  These are some of the stumbling blocks I’ve faced over the years when it comes to keeping my house organized and what I’ve learned about how to work around them.  See if any of these 5 things sound familiar to you too!

1-  We don’t prioritize organizing.  I’m busy.  You’re busy.  We’re all busy.  Well.. except my parents who are retired and absolutely loving life with no schedule.  But they were once very busy too and finally now deserve to chill a bit. ;)  Here is the point and something I know to be true – if we don’t prioritize getting organized, it won’t happen.  By prioritize I mean schedule the time for it.  Organizing a messy space takes time.  If there is an area of your home that is an unorganized mess, you have to look at your calendar and decide when you are going to fix it.  You might choose to block out a full day to knock the entire space out, or (since that isn’t possible for a lot of us), you can choose to spend 20 minutes every day for a week working on it.  Either way – schedule that time!  And don’t let anything else get in the way!  A quote by Jim Rohn I’ve always loved is “if you really want to do something, you will find a way.  If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”  No more excuses!  Look at your schedule this week and find some time to prioritize organizing.  This week I’m spending 20 minutes a day organizing.  I need to finish a few bathroom drawers and finish organizing some files in my office.  I’m doing this between 8 and 8:30 pm (after I’ve put Kole in bed and while my husband is picking up my girls from dance and other activities).  It’s on my calendar!  I’ve scheduled organizing like this before and it really works for me.  I pick a time that I know I won’t be distracted and put it on my calendar for Monday through Friday.  Often there is a day during the week that something comes up and I can’t do it, but I can usually stick to it for 4 out of 5 days.  Prioritize organizing and just START.

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

{GIRLS’ ORGANIZED BATHROOM DRAWERS}

2- We organize clutter.  Oh man.  Am I ever guilty of this one!  It took me years to really understand that in order to stay organized I need to constantly PURGE!  And then purge more than that. :)  You will never stay organized if you have too much stuff.  It just won’t happen.  I have purged more in the past 3 years that we’ve lived in our new house than I ever have before.  Let me tell you something about purging because I know that it can be hard – it gets easier the more you do it.  Try to be constantly mindful of things you aren’t using and don’t need any more and always have a black sack nearby to easily toss things into.  I always have a black Goodwill sack in my garage and when I come across something we don’t use/love/need, into the sack it goes.

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

Here is another example of organizing clutter.  Because I can be really good at it. ;)  Soon after we moved into our house I started organizing my office.  I gathered up all of our camera instructions and other miscellaneous manuals and put them in tidy little ziplock bags with labels.  So cute.  So perfectly organized.  Guess the last time I pulled out one of these tidy little labeled sacks and used these manuals?  Hasn’t happened.  Clutter!  These manuals are clutter.  Now maybe you have manuals that are important and that you need to keep but MOST things like this, you will never look at again.  If I have a question about my camera or one of my computer programs, I’ll look up the answer on-line!  These manuals are getting trashed.  Stop wasting your time organizing clutter so that you can spend that time organizing the things you truly need and use every day.

3- We gather too many tips/ideas.  Something else I’m completely guilty of doing!  Oh Pinterest.  I love you so much.  We all do.  But Pinterest can be a problem if all we are doing is pinning others’ organizing ideas and not implementing those ideas into our own homes.  Sound familiar?  Sometimes gathering tips and ideas completely backfires because it makes us feel overwhelmed and like our homes are so far from those beautiful, organized pictures that we shouldn’t even start.  Or we use the only free 20 minutes we had in an afternoon looking at ALL the pretty pictures instead of using that time to organize something in our own home.  Instead of gathering tips and ideas on Pinterest or looking at pretty pictures in magazines this week, use that time to organize a drawer or cupboard in your own home.  Inspiration is wonderful when it truly inspires us to act.  Time to stop gathering so many tips/ideas and start acting!  And when you’re done organizing that drawer and decide to head to Pinterest for a little more inspiration you can follow me here where I share lots of it.  Ha.  ;)

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

{ORGANZIED JEWELRY}

{MASTER BATHROOM SOURCES}

4- We don’t recognize and fix systems that aren’t working.  Sometimes it happens.  You spend precious time organizing a space only to find that weeks (sometimes days!) later it’s a mess again.  You straighten everything again but bam.. before you turn around it’s a mess.  A truly organized space is one that isn’t difficult to keep organized.  You’ve all seen the craft closet I organized in my office…

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

{ORGAIZED CRAFT/SCHOOL SUPPLIES}

My kids use this almost daily and it still looks just like this.  Maybe the papers at the top aren’t quite so straight, but other than that, it really does look the same.  No.. my kids aren’t unusually clean (I wish!).  This space is just easy to keep looking this way.  My kids grab the bin they need, make a mess with the things inside of it, then when they clean up, they simply put everything back in the bin.  Below is a space in my house that isn’t working so well for us.  Remember my organized medicine cabinet?

5 Reasons you can't stay organized (and how to fix them!)

Beautiful right?  I snapped a picture of it today..

5 Reasons You are Struggling to Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

Hmmm.. not quite the same. :)  I know this isn’t awful, but it certainly isn’t as tidy as it once was!  When I organized this cupboard the first time I didn’t allow room for anything other than what we had.  We’ve all been sick here and there over the past six months and have added a few more medications to the cupboard.  The system I originally set up isn’t really working anymore.  Instead of trying to squeeze things in the small containers and make it work, I need to come up with something better.  There have been lots of times that I’ve organized a space and realized later that it isn’t working for us.  I remember in our previous house organizing my girls’ toys in some bins stacked in their closet and I thought it was the perfect solution!  Right up until they were ready to play and couldn’t reach the top bins.  Ha!  It happens!  When it does, recognize that you need to re-think your space and try again.  You’ll know when you’ve struck organizing gold when your space is easy to keep looking nice.

p.s.  You can see my solution to this cabinet I came up with HERE!  Working like a charm. ;)

5- We let “perfection” get in the way.  This has been my BIGGEST stumbling block when it comes to organization – and really all other areas of my life.  I used to think “if I don’t have time to completely organize a space and make it picture perfect from top to bottom then why bother?”  So I would do nothing.  The problem is, there is never time to completely organize a space from top to bottom and with three kids, picture perfect isn’t going to happen either.  We can’t wait for circumstances to be perfect.  Don’t tell yourself that you’ll get organized “when you have time.”  And don’t focus on making everything picture perfect.  That’s a blogger’s job. ;)  (And trust me, once I’ve taken pictures of an organized space for my blog, life happens.  Those spaces stay organized, but they don’t always look picture perfect.)  Get over that idea of “perfection” and settle for good enough.  Jump in and spend what little time you have today purging and organizing and trust me, you will feel better.  You will also be inspired to spend a little bit of time organizing tomorrow.  And before you know it, your home will start feeling much more organized.  Bringing some much needed sanity back into your life.

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Organized (and how to fix them!)

{ORGANIZED CLOSET}

Do any of these issues sound familiar to you?  These are 5 reasons I’ve struggled at times with organization and I hope that by sharing them (along with how I’ve learned to fix things) I’ve helped you think about what you might need to work on to finally get organized.  It’s a nice feeling to know that even when my house is a mess, it won’t take long to pick it up and recover.  So get out your planner, schedule some time to organize, toss things you don’t need, stay off of Pinterest and stay focused on your goals.  Keep moving forward!  You’ve got this!  And so do I.

Our pep talk for the day is officially over.

:)

 

xoxo, Erin
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Fashion
04.19.17

Tory Burch Favorites with Nordstrom!

Is it just me or does it feel like it should be Friday by now?  Or at least Thursday!  But it’s not.  So happy Wednesday.  And counting down. ;)  My week is dragging but this post will be a fun mid-week pick me up.  I hope it is for you too!  The crew at Nordstrom asked me if I wanted to share some of my favorite Tory Burch items with you all and I don’t think you’ve seen anyone jump faster.  What a chore right? ;)  Most of you know I’m a huge Tory Burch fan and as you can see my friends love all things Tory too!  We all do don’t we?  What’s not to love about Tory Burch?  Maybe the prices. ;)  But seriously if I am going to splurge on something nice, quite often I turn to Tory.

I have been eyeing this Parker Leather Tote for months now.  When I got asked to do this post I knew it was sign!  It was meant to be mine.  I bought the bag and then that night when my husband came home from work I told him he has been working so hard lately that I really wanted to take a few things off of his plate..  “Babe.. I got myself a great gift for Mother’s Day this year so that you don’t even have to sweat it.  It’s perfect and I love it and you’re welcome.  I’m always thinking of you.”  He rolls his eyes at me, but secretly I think he does love not having to come up with a gift.  And I love my new bag so win win for everyone!  Mother’s Day just got good before it even started.  Now all I need are homemade cards from my 3 favorite little people and I’m set.  Sometimes we have to take matters into our own hands with these holidays, right girls? ;)

{J Crew Lace Bib Sweater/Jeans/Brown Bracelet/Navy Bracelet/Similar Shoes/Tory Burch Tote}

It really is such a gorgeous bag and it comes in lots of colors.  I used it a few days ago for the first time and loved how much I was able to fit inside of it.  Perfect for when I want to bring my planner and notebooks and extra stuff for the kids around with me.  The great thing about splurging on a nice Tory Burch bag is that it never goes out of style.  I have a Tory purse from about 10 years ago that I still use and get compliments on!

One of my friends at church last Sunday had her Tory tote with her so I snapped a picture of it.  This is a similar style but several years old.  She said it’s her favorite bag.  Classic!

Doesn’t she look beautiful in this skirt and head to toe pink!?  Wish I could pull off that color like she can!  So fun for Spring. {Thanks for modeling for us Vanessa! ;)}

You can see the cute lace in this pic on my new J Crew sweater (details in this post).  It’s perfect to wear with my two favorite Tory Burch bracelets.  My Tory Burch double wrap logo bracelet and my little navy Tory bracelet have become staples for me.  I bought the brown double wrap logo bracelet in LA with friends.  A little 40th b-day gift to myself. :)  There are SO many cute Tory Burch bracelets in stock right now!

 

 

I love that double wrap look so much that I’ve had this watch on my wish list for a while now too.  Just waiting for another holiday so I can make life easy for my husband again.  He’s so lucky to have me. ;)

Aside from Tory Burch bags and jewelry, I’ve also always LOVED Tory flip flops and sunglasses.  These cute flip flops are so comfortable and come in LOTS of fun colors and patterns.  A great price for Tory too.

{Swim suit/Black Romper/Tory Flip Flops}

K – let’s all ignore how white my legs are (time to bring out the spray tan!).  I really didn’t want to post this picture.  A little self conscious because I don’t love my legs/thighs, but I’m sacrificing myself to show you how cute the flip flops look on – ha!  All in the name of fashion!  Plus I’m 40 years old now so I’m trying to embrace all flaws and stop being so hard on myself… because that’s what mature 40 year olds do, right?  #workinprogress

I chose the Black Gemini Link patterned flip flops because my favorite swim suit and new romper that I plan on living in this summer are black.  Plus I wear a lot of black clothes in general so these will work with everything and be perfect to run around in on hot summer days.

Aren’t these other colors/patterns fun too!?  There are even more to styles to choose from on-line.

I also love the Tera Flip Flop.  They make me excited for summer!

You really can’t go wrong with Tory footwear.  A lot of my friends have these signature Tory Miller flip flops and love them.

I’ve been wearing Tory Burch sunglasses for years now and I always gravitate to them because aside from loving the look, they are such a great fit.  My face is narrow so I have a hard time finding sunglasses that don’t slide right off of my face.  Tory sunglasses always fit so well!  Snug but not tight.  These 55 mm square sunglasses are so cute!  They come in lots of different colors/patterns.  I have the dark tortoise and love them.

Pic of the back side.  I love the Tory sunglass cases too. :)

I snapped a few pics of my sunglasses in my car a few days ago while Kole and I were waiting to pick up the girls.

{Sunglasses/Black Tee}

My partner in crime wanted to join the selfie party.

Then he grabbed my phone and the next 20 pictures after this one were a blur of our heads and him laughing.  Never a dull moment with this one. :)

There are SO many fun new Tory Burch bags in for Spring!  Nordstrom always carries such a good selection of them.  They carry a good selection of all of my favorite brands which is why I shop there so much.  All in the name of making life easy for my husband of course.  Because I’m nice like that.

Speaking of Mother’s Day, I’ve been searching for a nice gift for my mom!  One of her favorite brands Nordstrom carries is Eileen Fisher.  Eileen Fisher clothes have a fun coastal, relaxed feel with clean lines and they are amazing quality.  I tried on this organic linen sweater and loved it!  It didn’t come home with me only because I had already splurged on my Tory Bag. :)  Here are a few things I’ve been debating for my mom..  mom – pick out your favorite! ;)


Thank you Nordstrom for sponsoring this post!  And for your amazing selection and customer service.  And for making my Tory Burch tote dreams come true.  My husband also sends his love. ;)

TORY BURCH FAVORITES:

In other random news I am off to pack because I’m flying to Texas tomorrow for a conference.  I’ve never been to Texas!  Crazy right?  I’m excited.  My husband will be managing life at home with the kids for the next few days.  I don’t know that he shares my excitement. ;)  My kids are obsessed with making slime at the moment.  I shared this picture on IG and Facebook and it sounds like a lot of your kids are doing the same.  Elmer’s Glue is a hot commodity right now.. ha!  So yeah.. say a prayer for Kenny.

He’ll need one. ;)

xoxo, Erin
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Organization
04.17.17

How to organize EVERY space in your house!

 How To Organize EVERY Space In Your House!

Did you all know that I started blogging in March of 2008?  That means I’ve been blogging for nine years.  NINE YEARS!  Do you all know how much organizing I’ve shared in nine years?  A lot.  I’ve also shared a lot of decorating, fashion, and complete nonsense in that amount of time.

But that’s beside the point. :)

Today I’m sharing a round up of all of my past organization posts!  Well.. most of them.  I’m sure I’ve missed a few.  Like I said, a lot of organizing has taken place in the past nine years.  But most of my past organizing posts are linked all together here.  Ideas on how to organize EVERY space in your house!  In the survey I sent out at the beginning of the year many of you asked for ideas on how to organize smaller spaces and believe me, I’ve been there!  I’ve broken things down into two categories – posts from our new/current home and then posts from our previous/older home (that was much smaller). I hope these past posts give you an organizing idea or two!  Or twenty. :)

I’ve also got a lot of current organizing projects in the works around here that I’m hoping to share soon so the fun continues!  For at least another nine years. ;)  Make sure to subscribe to my blog at the end of this post if you haven’t already so you don’t miss what’s coming.  I can’t promise less nonsense, but I can promise more organizing along with it. :)

{NEW HOUSE ORGANIZING POSTS}

 To see all of the spaces I’ve organized in our new home click {HERE}.

(You can also check out our home tour {here}, see past decorating posts {here}, and check out my latest favorites in fashion/home decor {here}.)

{OLD HOUSE ORGANIZING POSTS}

How To Organize EVERY Space in your house!

xoxo, Erin
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Fashion
04.16.17

Life lately, fashion, organization and everything in-between :)

Happy Easter Sunday friends!  Or happy day or two after if you’re reading this then. :)  This post was supposed to be up on my blog Thursday.  Then Friday.  Then Saturday.  Then at one point it was going to be two or three different posts.  At this moment in time I’m not even sure what it is.  A whole lot of randomness I guess!  Mostly pics from my i phone of what we’ve been up to with some organizing, fashion and favorites thrown in.  Kinda like a turkey sandwich.

That includes chicken and roast beef.  With popcorn on the side.

I must be hungry.

Moving on!

My little buddy has been home with me all week for his Spring Break.  I told him we could do anything he wanted thinking he’d pick Disneyland, the zoo, the beach, the park.  He said “really!?  Can we clean the front porch!?”  Ha ha.  Definitely my boy. :)  He loves to spray off my lanterns with the hose.

Give the plants a drink with a spray bottle.

And sweep the porch with the big broom.

I’d have to agree.. this beats Disneyland any day. ;)

(Front porch sources in this post.  Affiliate links used.)

{shirt/cargo pants}

Date night with my babe.

Pancakes (and grilled cheese) with these two while their sister was on a class camping trip.

She was missed. :)

My girls went with their dad to New York for four days over their Spring Break.  They had the best dad/daughter trip!  First time on a subway. :)

Rowing in Central Park.

They climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty and toured the 9-11 Memorial Museum.

And saw two Broadway plays.  Ad was so excited to dress up fancy.  El begged Kenny to let her wear leggings.  Clearly they get their way when dad’s in charge. ;)

What were Kole and I up to while they were gone?  Spring cleaning and the park.  Even better than Broadway right?  ;)

Our laundry room after a typical busy week.  Those hampers work so well when the clothes make their way inside of them.

Dance competition season is in full swing and has kept us hopping!  We had three weekends of competitions in a row.  I can apply El’s stage make-up in my sleep at this point!

It really has been so much fun spending time with my sweet girl who is growing up so quickly right in front of my eyes.  About a month ago she asked me if she could get some shoes like mine.  Huh?  What was that El?  Are you actually admitting that your mom is cool?  Apparently only when it comes to footwear.  Shoe source is in my header under “shop my favorites” in case you too want to be the envy of your teenagers. ;)

I have to show you all these cool garment bags we got to hold El’s costumes and accessories for any dance moms out there.  They are an organizer’s dream!   The suit case is from Rac n Roll and it has this cool rack that you put up to hold the costumes.

Then each of the bags have all these zippered compartments to hold all of the costume accessories.  I so love zippered compartments!  How can you not just smile when you see zippered compartments? :)

There is even a place to make a label for your costume.  And you thought it couldn’t get any better.  Me too!!  :)

Then I bought this fun organizer from The Container Store to hold all of her make-up and hair accessories.  She has had some fast costume changes when we are flying to get her ready so having everything organized is a must!

Aside from the make-up I’m also so proud of myself for perfecting these dutch braids.  I had to practice them so much you guys!  I watched a You Tube video about 20 times and then Ad let me practice over and over on her hair until I was fast enough to whip them out.  It’s the little accomplishments right?  :)

The best part is watching her dance.  The first time she got on stage to do her solo I was so nervous I seriously thought I might throw up.  My hands were sweaty and I felt light headed and Ad was sitting next to me telling me to get a grip!  Ha ha.. It’s easier now that she’s done it a few times. ;)  She has grown so much this year and is becoming such a beautiful dancer!  #proudmom

After with her dance coach and friends.  I’m not the only one who is proud.  My mom sent a text to me and Kenny asking how she did after her first competition and Kenny wrote back “it’s an odd sensation to have tears of pride come to your eyes while your little girl is doing a booty shake to a hip hop song.  That was me this weekend.”  Ha!  That about sums it up. :)

Playing downtown after a local competition.  Gaslamp Quarter is always a good time!

So is the Spaghetti Factory. :)  Love this crew!

Quick pic in a new shirt that to be honest cost way more than I like to spend on a shirt!  But my husband gets sick of me saying “I don’t have anything to wear!” when it’s time to dress up a bit for something because my closet is full of pajamas and tops like this.  He’s always encouraging me to buy more dressy tops and he picked this out for me.  So I’m trying to wear it for him.  And it is cute and flattering (you can find it here).  But in my opinion it’s not as cute and flattering as these.  ;)  On sale for $30!

I had a couple of helpers with this photoshoot…

I don’t know about all of you but I think she’s got the knee pop down. ;)

Off to see Peter Pan!  This family loves the theatre.  Kole wouldn’t let me touch his hair and when it comes to parenting I choose my battles wisely.  So does Mr. Penguin.  The two of us have things figured out and put up with a lot. ;)  (My purse and other outfit sources are in “shop my favorites.”)

Someone didn’t make it through the whole play.

Speaking of my favorite kind of clothes and much to my husband’s dismay, I found another casual top I’m in LOVE with! So cute.  So comfy!  So like everything else in my closet!   Gotta be me. ;)   Comes in navy and cream.

This next top is another favorite although Ad isn’t sold.  When I came across this pic on my phone I laughed out loud at her expression!  Not planned.  She cracks me up.

But this time I’m going to have to agree to disagree with her.  Isn’t this Rebecca Minkoff top darling!?  LOVE the cut out sleeves.  It’s the cold shoulder look without the cold shoulders. ;)

I’m also so in love with these BaubleBar earrings!  They come in fun, bright colors for Spring and I love that they aren’t heavy like some longer earrings are.  A birthday present that has become a favorite!

Wore them to lunch with my two favorite guys.

This striped V-neck is another recent go to!  I am actually getting better at passing up stripes.  Just not stripes for $24. :)

And in other fashion news, my beloved Hudson Camo skinny jeans are back!  Nordstrom hasn’t had these forever!  They have been a favorite go to for years now.  But most of you know that.  :)  These are the exact same pair only without the holes in them.  Supposed to be “ankle grazing” but on short people like me they are more like heel grazing. ;)  They work and fit cute either way!

And my last recent favorite find is this darling off the shoulder romper that I’m so exited to wear as a swim suit cover-up this summer!  I have my favorite swim suit on under it in this pic – I actually got to try it out around the pool last week because it has been so warm here!   This is perfect for the beach or to slip on over my suit on those summer days that I never get out of my suit. :)

I also like it with the shoulders up.  Either way it’s so cute and very flattering!

Can you tell I’m excited for this?  :)

{Easter Tablescape}

I’m also excited for tomorrow.  I love Easter Sunday!  So grateful for a day to celebrate our Savior and spend time with loved ones.

Well!  That might have been the longest random post I’ve ever written!  My turkey sandwich clearly included ALL the toppings.

With a pickle and chips on the side.

With the popcorn.  ;)

I’m going to sign off now.

:)

(You can find all clothes sources from this post and new favorites here!)

xoxo, Erin
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Home Decor
04.11.17

Guest Room (the beginning!)

Alright friends.  Guest room!  Let’s do this. :)  When I posted a reader survey at the beginning of 2017 most of you requested seeing more decorating/organizing progress posts.  This is definitely a progress post!  Small progress.. but progress none the less.  I’m working on a few spaces in our home this year and one of them is our guest bedroom.  A bit of background on this room…

When we first moved into the new house 3 1/2 years ago Kole was 3 years old.  Still so little and he was just getting used to sleeping in a bed.  (You can see his nursery from our previous house that doubled as my office/craft room here.)  Our guest room is located just down the hallway from our master bedroom so we moved him into the guest room to keep him close to us at night knowing that at some point when he was a bit older we would move him into his real bedroom and make this space a guest room.  These bunk beds were in my girls’ bedroom in our previous house so we put them in the guest room for Kole to sleep on temporarily.  We weren’t sure if he would be in this room one year or five.  It ended up being three. :)  I didn’t take a picture of what this room looked like before we started moving everything out, but it really wasn’t decorated much more than this.  Some dinosaur bedding and random toys.  A temporary happy space for Kole since he doesn’t seem to mind whether or not his room is coordinated. ;)

I took these pics when we were starting to move everything out of this room.  Still hanging on to the rocker from his nursery.  I need to get rid of it but am having a hard time letting go.  I rocked all three of my babies for countless hours in that chair.  It might have to hang around in the attic for a bit until I’m feeling stronger about parting with it. ;)

How is my baby 7!?

We cleared everything out of this room and brought in the guest bed (that was temporarily in Kole’s room).  Then we tackled the bookshelf last.

We got rid of over half of his books and just kept favorites.  Kole was a huge help with the purging as always. ;)

Good-bye bunk beds!  I had a hard time parting with those too, but they went to a good family so that made it easier. ;) You can see in this pic that the walls were a blank slate and I knew I wanted to do something fun for a focal wall when we turned this space into a guest room.  For quite a while I was planning on putting up some wall paper.

Then on a whim I decided I wanted to do a grid pattern with molding instead.  My carpenter and I sketched it out and two days later the wall was up!

 The next week I had it painted white.  I love the way it turned out!  It looks better in person (I snapped these pics so quickly and they aren’t great!)

I’ll take you on a quick tour of this room.  Lots of doors. :)  This guest room will be used by any guests who stay with us, but my parents will most likely use it the most and because of this my mom put in a request for a TV.  Ha!  She likes to stay up late watching the news in bed.  When we were designing the room I knew I had to fit a TV on this wall in-between the closet and bathroom door so we tried to make the space as big as we could!  As soon as the focal wall was finished we got a TV for my mom.  We’re hoping it bribes her to come down more often. ;)

Window on this wall.

And a blank wall opposite the window just waiting to be decorated! :)  (The doors across the hall open up to my organized decor closet I shared a couple of months ago.)

As soon as I take down the “art” Kole decorated with.  There’s quite a story that goes along with the two long pictures.  All sorts of ghosts and monsters and good guys and bad guys are in a major battle.  Add a print out of a donut, some snowflakes and his handprints and we have quite a masterpiece.  On second thought maybe the decorating on this wall is taken care of. ;)

There really isn’t much I need to do in this room and I’ve had a vision for what I want it to look like for a while now.  It should come together fairly quickly because I already have most of the furniture picked out.  In fact, the first of the new furniture just came last week!

These lacquered mint nightstands from Anthro were absolute LOVE at first sight!  The second I saw them I knew they would be perfect for this room.  Of course I’m a huge fan of mint everything, but I also love the gold hardware and that they have a bit of a filing cabinet vibe.  They make me think of organizing.. ha!  I know that’s so nerdy but it’s true.  You can see why they had to come home with me!

Also they are lined with flowered paper!  A fun surprise when they arrived.  Just when I thought I couldn’t love them more. :)

Obviously they don’t work so well with the old quilt this bed is currently sporting. ;)  Next update post should have some new bedding!

These are a few of the pillows that will go on the bed (also from Anthro).  Colorful and fun with touches of mint.  I’m so in love with this room already!  More progress coming soon!

And mom.. your Diet Coke with lemon will feel right at home on the new mint nightstands.  Plus the TV is waiting..

:)

GUEST ROOM SOURCES: (rug is from my master bedroom)

(Affiliate links used)

xoxo, Erin
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Fashion
04.07.17

Fashion Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!  We made it!  I’m not going to lie.  I feel like I’m limping across the finish line right about now.  What a week!  It has been non stop around here and I’m ready to come up for air.  I feel like we are way over scheduled this year, but I don’t know how to under schedule us.  A topic for another day!  As soon as I can pause long enough to write about it. ;)  Aren’t these flowers gorgeous!?  I snapped a picture of them at a stop light.  It was a long one. :)  Wild flowers are popping up all over San Diego right now and everything is absolutely beautiful.  So colorful and green because of all the rain we’ve had.  Nothing like Spring!

*Affiliate links used

{Metallic Tee/Jeans/Necklace (on sale right now!)/Purse/Shoes/Bagels – here and here}

On to a little fashion to end our week!  Did you all know that Nordstrom carries J Crew?  Such a happy discovery for me!  I do most of my shopping on-line these days and Nordstrom makes it so easy with their free shipping/returns that I’ll admit I get lazy and don’t look around at a lot of other stores.  I love that they carry so many brands and right now they have so many cute J Crew items!  This Metallic Linen Tee has quickly become a favorite go to for me.  You all know how much I love a good tee. :)  This top is comfy like a regular tee, but the metallic gold dresses it up a bit.

This picture doesn’t do it justice!  Such a cute tee.  My J Crew purse was a birthday present from a close friend – love it Katy :) – and it looks so cute with this top.  (This tee comes in silver too  and the purse also comes in a bright green and pink!)  My favorite necklace looks really good with it too and is on sale right now!

Another favorite J Crew find is this beautiful Fringe Dot skirt.  I love it with the metallic gold tee.  This neutral look was really speaking to me!  I can’t find the cream skirt on-line so it must have sold out!  I’ll add the link if it comes back in stock.  This skirt also comes in navy.  SO cute!  Wearing it with these shoes but in the summer this will look cute and casual with flip flops.  I love clothes I can easily dress up or down!

J Crew also has a great tee with longer short sleeves.  It’s fitted but not tight and comes in so many colors.  Love the mint!  And the green.. and the navy.. and maybe the charcoal. ;)  I’m a bit tee obsessed because I live in them – especially in the summer.  You know the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper?  How the Ants work hard all summer to store food for the winter?  That’s me in the Spring stocking up and storing all of the cute tees for the upcoming summer.  Kenny should be so proud of me for thinking ahead like that.  ;)

If you ever shop at J Crew you know that this Chambray denim shirt is one of their staples.  I’ve had it for a while and love it.  It has a really flattering fit and is so comfortable!  It runs big so size down!  I love how it’s fitted, but doesn’t pull in the chest like some button up shirts do.  Sometimes I wear it tucked into a skirt.. sometimes tied at the bottom.  I wore it last week with jeans and my new wedges.

The last time I was in Nordstrom I saw this darling outfit on the mannequin.  I was so excited because I already had the shirt!

And the purse!  (So cute in green too, right!?)

So really I had no choice but to get the skirt to complete the outfit. :)  This berry print skirt is darling!  So fun for this time of year!  It fits true to size but is a little long on me and I wish it came in petite for us shorties.  Those of you who have long legs will look amazing in this!  I’m keeping it anyway because I love the print so much.  Being 5″3 and a half (don’t forget the half) is rough sometimes. ;)

Two other J Crew finds.  I tried on this lace bib pullover and loved it in the navy.  It came home with me.  I tried it on in the white and didn’t like it as much.  For some reason the lace in the front looks better in the navy.  I also tried on these J Crew cargo pants and really liked them!  They didn’t come home with me though because I didn’t like them in the back.  Totally not the fault of the cargo pants.. more my fault for eating too much junk over the past month.  Ha!  Such a disappointment because they were cute in the front – a perfect length and so comfy.  I tried a bigger size but they were too big everywhere else.  This face is my “shoot.. time to get serious again and work off the bootie weight” face.  Baby Got Back was playing in my head.  You can tell I’m not impressed with myself.  ;)  #toomuchbirthdaycake

Here is a pic I took a few days later when I wore the lace bib pullover.

The lace detail in the front is darling!  Plus it’s light weight and perfect for this time of year.  I’m so happy Nordstrom is carrying J Crew!  They honestly have so many cute things in right now for Spring.  (I got this skirt too and love it!)  Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post!  With their great customer service, easy on-line ordering and wide range of brands and options they make it easy to love them.  (Too easy my husband will tell you.)  ;)

SOURCES:



I’ll leave you all with a few favorite pictures from this week.  Kole’s favorite part in Moana is when the crab sings “Shiny.”  Moms.. have you all seen this movie over 1,000 times too?  :)  He has made up his own “crab dance” and it is seriously hilarious!  After school if he gets all of his work/homework done he can turn on “Shiny.”  Then he does his crab dance while the music plays.

Highlight of my week.

:)

 

xoxo, Erin
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Home Decor
04.06.17

Custom items in my home (how you can get them too!)

Friends.. this post has been a long time coming!  I get questions daily (lots of them!) about who to contact about the custom items in my home.  So in an effort to make things easier for all of us, I’d like to introduce you to my close friend (and designer) Tritia!  Which sounds like “Trisha” and I tell you all that because when I first saw how she spells her name I wanted to pronounce it differently. :)  When my husband and I were nearing the end of our building process I was struggling with the paint color in El’s room.  Struggling because she wanted to paint it purple and I didn’t.. ha! ;)  Honestly I was just so burned out on making decisions in general at that point.  I mentioned to a friend that I was having a hard time finding a good purple for El’s room.  My friend had recently bought some custom items through a designer named Tritia (who specialized in kids’ spaces) and gave me her store address and information and suggested stoping by to see if she had any paint suggestions.  I went into Tritia’s store one afternoon with my hair pulled back, no make-up on, an “I haven’t slept in weeks” look written all over my face and a toddler on my hip who was having a complete meltdown.  We clicked instantly.. and when I say clicked I mean before I left her store we were sharing stories about our kids and laughing and crying together like we had been friends for years!  (We both laugh now about that day we met!  She is a mom too and had toddlers who also had complete meltdowns earlier that week.)  We’ve been close friends ever since, text and talk all the time and are decorating partners in crime. :)

Tritia’s assistant snapped these pics of us from a “meeting” we had last week.  I use the term meeting loosely because whenever we get together we honestly just spend most of the time talking and catching up.

And laughing.  We laugh A LOT when we are together.  This picture made me laugh!  It’s so us.  Don’t you love friends who you just laugh with?  Tritia is one of those friends. :)

At some point after all of the catching up and talking and laughing, we actually get to work.  Most of Tritia’s clients hire her to completely design a space for them on her own from start to finish.  I am a different type of client.  :)  I always know the direction I’m heading in a space, the look I want and I usually have several items picked out.  Tritia has helped me find certain items I’m looking for, bring things together in certain rooms and I have ordered LOTS of custom items through her.  Look at all of those fabrics behind us!  Options galore.

She has helped me with so many random things over the past few years!  She always has great ideas and suggestions and we love bouncing ideas off of each other and talking design.  Two heads are always better than one!

 

These are the custom items I’ve ordered through Tritia..  

Custom Floral Pillows

My girls’ custom headboards and pillows.. (This pic is from Addison’s room.. I still need to share pics of El’s room!)

Custom Barstools

My kitchen barstools.

Custom Barstools

(Full kitchen post)

My dining room bench and pillows.

My powder bathroom wallpaper.  (This wallpaper was love at first sight and I’m still crazy about it!)

My flowers change but the wallpaper stays. :)

All of my custom drapes and rods.

Family room drapes.

And my living room drapes.

Tritia has so many fabrics to choose from!  These are the custom fabrics I chose for my formal living room drapes and pillows.

I also chose the coral fabric for my laundry room window valence and had that made through Tritia.

These are some of the fabrics I chose for my master bedroom pillows and drapes.  Coming soon. :)

If you need a designer or would like to order something I have in my house OR choose your own custom items, I can’t recommend Tritia enough!  She is so great to work with and can help you on a large or small scale.  For example, you could even hire her just to help you find a new coffee table that works with the rest of your room design and is the right size.  Or to send you different furniture/fabric options for a room you’re putting together from scratch.  If you want something specific that I have in my house, just tell her the room it’s in and what it looks like and she’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.

Also make sure you tell her that I sent you!  She will take good care of you. :)

Tritia’s e-mail: [email protected]

I hope this is helpful for those of you who have asked or wondered about the custom items in my home!  To those of you who have ordered things through her already I’d love to see pictures!  :)

Enjoy your day friends!

xoxo, Erin
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Home Decor
04.02.17

Mirrored Console Table (all grown up!)

Ok.  I know I share console table decor a lot.  Maybe too much!   But this time I actually had a reason to re-decorate my console table instead of my usual reason.. which isn’t really a reason but more just a constant itch to switch things up. :)

(Affiliate links used)

My formal living room turned out a bit more on the elegant/sophisticated side and since my entry table and this living room are across from each other and the first things you see when you enter my home, I’ve been feeling for a while that my mirrored console table in my entry needed a grown up look to match.

So I gave it a grown up look to match. :)

The colors in my formal living room are navy, coral and a bit of teal so I went on a search (that lasted months!) to find the perfect focal point for this table that included those colors.  When I was on PB teen’s site one night looking for something for my daughter and came across this beautiful art from Minted I did a major happy dance!  To be honest I have a hard time finding art I love so I was beyond excited to not only find something I loved, but to also find something with colors that were my favorite and just what I needed!  Which is probably why I loved the art. :)

I knew I wanted to bring out navy to match my formal living room drapes so I also went on a hunt for the perfect lamp.  I found several fun options and really wanted this lamp from West Elm, but it was a bit tall for this space (I wanted the lamp shorter than the art) so I ended up going with this navy lamp from Houzz.  I also loved how the gold on the bottom of this lamp tied in with the gold in the art.

Whenever spaces start looking a bit cold to me I bring in wood!  Wood always warms things up.  I shopped my house and snatched this bowl from the shelf in my hallway so now I need something else to go there.  This is why my house will never be finished!  I’m always shopping one space to complete another. ;)  I already had the sea glass filler inside of it and it also matched the art perfectly!  Major advantage to using a lot of the same colors throughout your house when you decorate.  Everything works in multiple rooms. :)

These three vases completed the look!  Aren’t they beautiful!?   Target baby!  (Large/Medium/Small)

I’m loving this more sophisticated look for my mirrored console table.  And speaking of my mirrored console table, it’s back in stock!  It always sells out quickly so act fast if you want it!

Here’s a peek of what my console table looked like last year at this time.  All decked for Easter and I loved this look!  But I do feel like what I have going on now works so much better with my formal living room.  Although I do miss the candy that I kept in that little silver bunny.  Might have to toss some Easter candy in with the sea glass. ;)

Another thing I’m loving is having a lamp in this space.  It’s so nice to turn on late at night when the outside house lights are off.  I’m always walking back and forth past this entry in the evening and the lamp gives such a nice glow and lights everything up for me.  Always a bonus when the pretty decor is functional too. :)

So there you go!  My mirrored console table all grown up.  I’ll try to take a break from console decor posts for a while now.

But as you all know, I can’t make any promises.

:)

{All sources are below including a few additional similar options I considered when decorating my entry!}




xoxo, Erin
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Birthdays
03.28.17

One skirt three ways, purse love and a birthday tradition

{Moroccan Rug (one of my favorite rugs but it shed for a year!)/Coral Pillow (also comes in blue!)/Vince Camuto Gray Crossbody Purse with Tassles/Navy Saddlebag (see other color options below)/Gray Studded Purse/Black Pom Pom Purse/Navy Flap Clutch}

Sharing some recent favorites and how I’ve been wearing them lately!  You guys.  I’m going through a bit of a purse obsession lately.  I can’t really say why.  Maybe because I’m usually a “stick to one purse for two years” kind of girl and I’m ready to break out of that rut?  Maybe because my kids are finally old enough that I don’t need to constantly have a huge bag full of fishy crackers and crayons with me at all times?  Or maybe because it’s Spring!  And it’s sunny outside!  And there are DARLING new purses popping up everywhere.  My mom would tell you that it’s an obsession that started when I was a little girl because I always loved to organize purses.  I used to beg her to let me dump her purse out so that I could organize everything and I would always try to get her to buy new purses so that I could organize the new one for her and keep her old purse to organize for me.. ha!  :)  (You can see how I organize my purse in this post btw.)  Whatever the reason, lately I have loved having a few new purses in my rotation and switching them up here and there depending on what I’m wearing.

*affiliate links used

{Pillow is custom but this pillow is almost identical/Gray Vince Camuto Tassel Purse}

This is my latest new purse and I’m so in love!  I had a gift card to Nords for my b-day and since my husband got me the navy saddle bag purse (love that bag too!) I got this in the gray.  It’s a Vince Camuto (love that brand) and it comes in lots of colors.  On a side note.. this is a corner of my master bedroom and you guys it’s finally finished!  The last thing I was waiting on finally came last week.  I’m hoping to have pics up on the blog sometime in April.  YEA.  My pillow and bench seat in this pic are custom and because I get so many questions about my custom items I’ll also be writing a post with info. for you on that soon.

{Gingham Skirt/Navy Espadrilles}

Remember the cute gingham skirt I wore to the Design blog conference?  I have loved it so much!  Here are three different ways you can wear it.  One – with a white top like I’m wearing above.  I’ve had my top for a while but I found some cute white top options for Spring below!  All would look cute with this skirt or any skirt.. or jeans for that matter!  I have this one and just ordered this one. :)


{Necklace/Bracelet/Yellow Ruched Top/Gingham Skirt/Navy Espadrilles/Navy Clutch}

Two – I’ve also loved my gingham skirt with this beautiful yellow ruched top.  LOVING this feminine blouse for Spring!  You can’t wear yellow and not feel happy.. try it and you’ll see.  ;)

{Navy Saddle Bag in a smaller size}

This outfit looks cute with my navy clutch or my navy saddle bag purse.  (The saddle bag purses sold so quickly!  They still have the navy leather in a small or the distressed leather and mushroom in (both on sale!) and they also got in this cute new color for Spring.  Popular bag!

{AG jeans – currently my favorite brand!}

I also love this yellow top with jeans!  A great dressy casual look and so fun for Spring.

{Frill Sleeve Tee/Gingham Skirt}

Three – Ok.. a third way to wear this skirt is with a simple gray top.   This frill sleeve tee is so cute and only $15!  Comes in other fun colors too.

{Necklace/Bracelet/Frill Sleeve Tee/Gingham Skirt/Vince Camuto Tassel Cross Body Purse/Navy Espadrilles}

Here you can see how cute the Vince Camuto gray tassel bag looks with this outfit.

{Black Lace Dress/Pom Pom Purse/Necklace/Vince Camuto Strap Sandal}

This lace black dress is another recent favorite.  I needed something dressy and nice to wear to a work event with my husband and this dress fit the bill.  It’s conservative, but still really flattering.  I ordered it to try because it had such great reviews and I can see why.  Such nice, thick material that smooths and thins you out instead of showing every bump and lump. ;)  It also comes in navy and in a beautiful blush color that would be so fun for Spring!

It’s hard to tell in these pics, but it also has a really pretty lace detail on the front sides (you can see that better on-line).  And I love the lace sleeves.

It looks really cute with my black pom pom purse and my all time favorite ankle strap sandals.  This dress is one I know I’ll have and wear for years.

{Favorite Tee/Black Track Pants/Adidas Sneakers}

But since I can’t stay dressy for long.. (ha!) here are some casual favorites that have been on major repeat around here.  Loving these black track pants and they were just marked 40% off!  So comfy and I feel like I can run around in them all day and not look like I’m in sweat pants.  Even though I kind of am. :)  (If in-between sizes go down one.. these are an xs and still fit baggy.)

{Make and Model Lounge Pants}

And then my favorite new sweat pants that I’m living in around the house.  Make and model are a favorite brand for me because they are so soft and comfy but are also light weight.  Flannel pants only fly for a couple of months around here and then they are just too hot!  These are perfect.  They come in a fun coral and blue that I wanted but they were a bit more see through so I went with the gray.

Below are links to all of the new clothes and purses I shared!  You can also find them in my Header under “Shop My Favorites” and I’ve added a few new recent favorites there too.





{Pleated Shirt}

March is coming to an end and like all good things.. so are my 40th birthday celebrations. {sigh!} ;). Every year it has become a tradition celebrate my birthday with my San Diego besties at the same restaurant.  This year they spiced things up a bit. :)  When I got to the restaurant they were all already there and had the table decorated so darling with black balloons and other black decor.  They all cheered when I walked in and gave me this “40 looks good on me” banner, a crown and coral tulips.. my favorite.  A lovely Miss America look.. a bit past her prime… ;)

They took this pic off my blog, and wrote “Hi I’m Erin and I’m 40!”  They were all wearing them pinned to their shirts!  They also had on Happy Birhtday crowns..  I was cracking up.

We moved the balloons and party decor to snap this picture.  Oh my word.  I love these girls so much!  We laughed so hard and talked the night away like we do every year.

They completely spoiled me.  And they gave me darling gifts, but one gift topped them all.

They pulled out this sheet of “40 Things we Love About Erin” that they had all added quotes to and I couldn’t read it!  I started to.. got 2 sentences down and then started to bawl.  So Katy read it for me.  And I cried and we all laughed because some of them were hilarious but most of the reasons were the sweetest things.  I can’t tell you enough how much I love these girls.  We are all so close and if anything happened to me or my family, they would be there before I could turn around.  Having friends like that is the best gift ever.  I am so blessed to have them all in my life and I will treasure this list forever.  They all know how much I love a good list.

And this list tops them all. :)

We took our traditional group photo that we take in the same spot every year and I was so mad at myself for not remembering my good camera!  Cell phone quality this year and I can’t get the red eye out but oh well.. we got one to remember the night!  You can see I didn’t get the memo to wear black. ;)

And because it’s tradition.. a look back.  Here is some good fashion (and hair!) for you through the years.. ;)

{2009}

{2010}

weeks away from meeting Kole :)

 

{2011}

{2012}

{2013}

{2014}

{2015}

{2016}

{2017}

Love these girls.  And I’m totally embracing 40!  Bring it on!  I think this decade just might be my best yet.  A few more wrinkles sure, but I’m surrounded by lots of love.

And at the end of the day.. that’s really all that matters.

That and a great face cream.

;)

xoxo, Erin
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Holidays
03.27.17

Simple Easter Tablescape

Happy Monday friends!  Back at it.  We had a busy weekend in LA (at a dance competition for my oldest) and were up at 5:00 am two mornings in a row so I’m dragging big time!  The show “Dance Moms” was being filmed at the competition so that added some excitement (and televised drama) to our adventure.  Ha!

But that’s a story for another day. :)

Today I’m sharing a very simple Easter tablescape.  SO simple.  Like I threw this together in 15 minutes simple.  If you are hopping over from French Country Cottage welcome!  So happy to have you here.  Our friend Lory at Designthusiasm has rounded up another great group of bloggers to share Easter Entertaining ideas so there is lots of inspiration to come!

*affiliate links used

My dining room has felt like a bit of a blank slate lately and I’m still trying to decide which direction to take it.  I love my neutral rug in this space, but I do feel like if I keep it in this room I need to add more color to the walls, cabinets, something!  {Btw.. I still get e-mails daily about this rug.  It’s my all time favorite (I have it in my family room also) and you can find it here. You can also read all about it in this post.}  For now, a little seasonal table decorating cheered up this neutral space immensely. :)

My faux Spring branches and mercury eggs were hard to photograph with all of the light we get through these windows!  But they are so beautiful in person.  The eggs just sparkle in the light.  Makes me want to leave them up all year!

I just shopped my house for everything here – I know most of you have seen these items used before!

I added some colorful Spring bowls to match my bench pillows and then filled my favorite beloved lanterns with more eggs. Because you can never have too many eggs at Easter time.  Or too many boots in the Fall.

But that too is a story for another day. ;)

I also added a couple of friendly little bunnies.  Because I love them.  For the kids.

This simple Easter tablescape is making me so happy.

The only downside to having my table decked like this is that now I’m feeling some pressure to actually cook something for Easter dinner this year.

Or maybe take out Chinese food would add that pop of color I’m looking for in this room?

;)

Sources are pictured below!  If something was sold out I tried to find a similar item.  You can also shop my favorite clothes and home decor in the “shop my favorites” tab in my header.



Next up on the tour is Lory at Designthusiasm!  Also remember to check out the amazing line-up of bloggers below.  A new group will be sharing Easter entertaining ideas every day this week!  Lots of inspiration if you are hosting Easter dinner this year.  And remember.. you can still have a pretty table regardless of what you serve.  I’m always living proof of that. ;)

Holiday Entertaining Spring logo

Designthusiasm

Elegant Easter table decorations for a holiday brunch | designthusiasm.com

Maison de Pax

Maison de Pax Easter Tablescape

So Much Better With Age

somuchbetterwithage

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

garden furniture cedar hill farmhouse-9

Driven by Decor

French Country Cottage

French Country Cottage

Sunny Side Up

Easter Entertaining Sunny Side Up

Mondays’s Posts

Designthusiasm | Maison de Pax | So Much Better With Age | Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Driven by Decor | French Country Cottage | Sunny Side Up

Coming Tuesday:

Shabbyfufu | Zevy Joy | Randi Garrett Design
Life on Virginia Street | ZDesign at Home | Julie Blanner

Coming Wednesday:

Ella Claire | Bless’er House | Design Dining and Diapers
Kelley Nan | The Wood Grain Cottage | On Sutton Place

Coming Thursday:

StoneGable | Decor Gold Designs | CitrineLiving
Setting for Four | Sand and Sisal | French Garden House

Coming Friday:

Eleven Gables | My Soulful Home | Maison de Cinq
Finding Home Farms | Fashionable Hostess

xoxo, Erin
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Organization
03.22.17

Kids’ School Work (what to save and what to toss)

Talking about kids’ school work today!  What to save and what to toss.  I’ve been a bit scattered this week.  Attending too many random appointments and meetings.  Putting out one fire after another.  Hopping from one project to the next.  And doing a whole lot of organizing in-between.

So you could say it has been a typical week around here.  :)  I tore my office apart.. again.  And while I’m still trying to figure out what to do about my kids’ albums (that I never have time to work on!) I think I’ve finally figured out how I want to organize all of their artwork.  I’ve had a few systems in place that I’ve shared before, but lately I’ve been feeling like I need something better.  I’m excited to get everything organized and my new system in place!  And to have my family room floor back. ;)

When I posted my reader survey in January and ask you what some of your biggest organizing challenges were, one thing I heard over and over was the challenge of all things PAPER.  Especially all of the paper kids bring home from school.  It’s quite insane isn’t it?  The sheer amount of school work and art work that they produce and bring home.  It can definitely be overwhelming and I know it can often be hard to decide what to keep and what to toss so I thought I’d share my thought process when it comes to saving kids’ school work.

First – I don’t save a lot.  I really don’t.  Often I’ll set things aside in a pile that I think I want to save, but then when it’s time to go through the pile I usually only end up saving a small amount of what I set aside.  Because here’s the thing.  I have a box of school work that my mom saved for me from when I was in school.  I love it and I’m so glad I have it.  But the last time I looked through it was about 10 years ago.. maybe longer?  And I’m so grateful that she didn’t give me 10 boxes to store.  I want my kids to have a handful of special things from each school year that bring back fun memories.  I don’t want them to be burdened with too many papers that are a pain to store.

The school work I save usually falls into one of these categories:

1 – It has special meaning to me or my kids.  

2 – It shows their personality or growth.  

3 – It makes me smile and tugs at my heart when I see it.  

Here are some examples of things I saved and things I tossed..

{TOSS}

These are a couple of reports/projects El did in 4th grade.  They are informational (happy she learned a lot about the Wood Duck!) but they don’t hold any meaning so they were tossed.

{KEEP}

This is a report/project El wrote on La Jolla Cove that same year.  La Jolla Cove is a spot in San Diego we love to visit and spend time together as a family.  Aside from researching the area, El also wrote about times we’ve spent there and included lots of family pictures of us playing on the grass and watching the waves and the seals.  It will be so fun for her kids to someday see where their mom liked to play and hang out.  Keeper for sure!

p.s.  A fun spot to check out if you are ever visiting San Diego! :)

{TOSS}

I toss most miscellaneous school work.  Daily worksheets, tests, random school assignments.  We hang things like this up on bulletin boards in our kitchen pantry for a couple of weeks and then they get tossed.  I might save one test or quiz from a school year just so my kids have a sample of how they did in a certain subject, but that’s it.

{KEEP}

A few things I saved.  I’m a sucker for notes my kids write to each other so I saved Kole’s birthday letter to Addison.  She’ll appreciate that someday. :)  The top middle paper is a story Ad wrote about the first time my sister and I took her and her cousin Claire on Space Mountain at Disneyland.  It is hilarious!  A funny moment we all laugh about and she’ll want to remember.  I usually save things that have pictures of my kids on them at that stage (courage page on the top right).  ‘All About Me’ books that include lots of fun tidbits about my kids at that age are always saved.  And last but not least, I’m a sucker for hand drawn family pictures.  I don’t think I’ve tossed one yet.  I always look radiant in them. ;)

{TOSS}

Kids come home with a lot of art work.  It’s all precious and beautiful and so fun to display in our home for a while.  But after it has been displayed it usually gets tossed.  I know there are a lot of great apps out there that you can use to take pictures and save kids’ art digitally.  Personally I just don’t need to photograph and save it all.  If it’s something really special to my child or to me I save it (and I want the original!).  Everything else is just part of their learning process and gets recycled.  These are all examples of art that didn’t hold meaning for any of us and so it was all tossed.

{KEEP}

This is one art project that I did keep.  It is a self portrait El drew.  I love this so much.  From her short hair (I loved it that length!) to the freckles on her cheeks to the “more rainbows less rain” shirt she has on (her favorite shirt that year that she wore over and over) to all of the pandas in the background (she has had a major panda obsession for years).  It’s all just so HER at that stage of her little life.  Definitely one to save.

 

{TOSS}

More things that were tossed.  All great work that was displayed for a while, but nothing that holds any meaning or felt special to me or the kids.

 

{KEEP}

And a few more things that I kept.  A couple of Kindergarten math worksheets for Kole so he can see what his handwriting looked like in math that year.  A writing portfolio that holds all of the writing El did in 6th grade (I LOVE it when teachers compile things like this!).  And Kole’s preschool graduation hat.  I kept his hat for two reasons.  One because it has his handprints on it and I always save things with handprints!

And two because his Preschool graduation day was so meaningful for us.  I cried!  We realized when Kole was two years old that he had some delays and I worked incredibly hard for several years with him and a variety of therapists to get him where he needed to be.  He had amazing preschool teachers who we loved and were so grateful for.  They loved Kole and felt like family!  By the end of the year he was completely caught up and ready to start Kindergarten at grade level (an amazing accomplishment that his early therapists didn’t think was possible).  So yeah.. special day for our family and I will always treasure this picture and his cute little pre-school graduation hat. :)

So that’s it!  A little look into what I keep and what I toss when it comes to kids’ school work.  The paper struggle is real my friends!  You have to tackle it head on.  Deal with paper immediately.  Toss a lot more than you keep.  Figure out a way to organize and save what you hang on to.  I’ll be sharing my new system at some point to give you a few ideas!

Until then you can find me attending too many random appointments and meetings, putting out one fire after another, hopping from one project to the next..

and chipping away at the mess on my family room floor.

;)

xoxo, Erin
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