Making the Change
NEW
Refining Style
Since I have begun my new journey on living a life of simplicity, I have also begun refining my style. At times I feel all over the place and I am trying hard not to waste and buy smartly. I want pieces and a home that we can grow with and me not tire of in a few sort months or even years. After much evaluation I think I came down to what I am when concerning my home. I think designer Kristen Panitch nailed me right on the head with her gorgeous designs. Her spaces look easy to live in, welcoming, traditional, with a bit of boho here and there. The textures, patterns. and the layering of all her spaces feel like home to me. This is the direction I am slowly going in. I can't wait to share my home soon!
Her goal for every space they design speaks volumes to me... to create homes that will reflect and evolve with our clients’ lifestyle, tastes, passions, and dreams... That is so what I want and am striving towards.
SPRING
Yesterday I had high hopes of taking the kiddos to the zoo. When we arrived there wasn't any parking spots. Yes, you heard me right. It was insane. So in my frantic desire to do something fun with the kiddos without going mad I went to the Botanical Gardens a street away. They ran and explored. We had a blast. I visited the shop Leaf n Petal while there and fell head over heels for the decoupaged wallpaper. The colors were quite gorgeous to say the least. Such an inspiring day it ended up being. Today we are getting up a bit earlier and trying for the zoo once again. Fingers crossed.
*images taken on iphone4
KJ's 4th Birthday Party
KJ's birthday party was a hit, but I must be honest and state that the idea was NOT all mine. He wanted superhero and as I searched online for ideas I came across this party and KJ was smitten with it. I simply down scaled it quite a bit. This party was on the smaller side and KJ made the guest list. We had fun.
KJ picked all the foods for the dessert table. He wanted a cake, m&m's and twizzlers. I added the oreo truffle pops from bakerella.
The cake that we made was adorned with this print out I found on One Charming Party. I thought it was still superhero-y without being a straight out superhero.
A friend of mine loaned us her bouncy house. It ended up being a cold night so we blew it up in our bedroom. It's still there. Ha.
I made the building out of boxes and a plastic red tablecloth I had. I simply drew on the facade. The shirts the kiddos and I made for all the little guests. They are the same ones we made for Sally's boys.
The water bottle labels and banner I ordered from Anders Ruff on etsy. They were also the inspiration for the whole party which I mentioned before.
I made coloring sheets for all the kiddos. Not sure why I haven't done this before. They were so much fun and gave the all the kiddos something else to do.
Here is the birthday boy happy as can be. Still can't believe he is four. I adore him and I am so happy he felt special.
JAPAN
{image via mlive.com}
*I will post KJ's party this week, hopefully sooner than later, but for now I am going to just enjoy some time with my family.
Loving Color
This week I have had a dreadful cold that I just can't seem to shake. This has also been one crazy busy week and the two aren't playing quite well with each other. Monday I had some time to sit and do a bit of blog reading and I came across Live Like You. She is a designer who adores color, reusing what you have, and seems to have a heart of gold. Her home is much more bold than I normally gravitate to, but I must say I am smitten. Even my kiddos sat in awe while we went page to page. They seem to love color too, my bad...
Doesn't it just scream joy? I really do adore it. Tomorrow is KJ's birthday party and I am not ready. I am signing off early and will be back next week. I so recommend reading through Live Like Love. It really does inspire. Have a great weekend!
FOUR
Today my little man turns 4. My baby is not quite so babyish anymore. Bitter sweet. Love seeing his personality shining through, he happens to have a lot of it. Friday we are having his party. He wanted superhero, so these are the invites I came up with. He LOVES them. I LOVE him.
Little Reminders
{via House Beautiful photo: Jose Picayo}
BLUE
There are certain colors I seem to gravitate towards. Blue happens to be one of them. I adore every shade and am excited to be working it into my neutral home this year.
{Bodie and Fou via poppytalk }
The working shutters of the Bodie and Fou french home has me head over heels. There is a local home that is like this, I want to live there, I hope it comes up for sale once we are ready to buy. I simply adore it.
She looks lovely in blue. Love her dark brows and pretty freckles showing through. Now if only I could actually read Les Composantes. Thier images inspire me so.
{Lonny design by lulu powers}
I am sure you all have already seen this image, but it is one that I can not get enough of. I hope to recreate it one day. So pretty.
This is me, please excuse my awkward arm. The Mr. was testing light for this past weekends wedding and maybe I had an itch? Who knows, but I wanted to share my new favorite shirt. Oh, and a belt would have made this outfit so much cuter, but I forgot it at home.
An Organized Life: Laundry Room
My laundry room is nothing special. It is in an awkward space between the garage and entry. It's extremely tight, but at the same time better than just having a laundry closet. The room only contains things that actually have to do with laundry and sewing. The rug tiles are Flor that I got for a dollar a piece years ago hence why they don't match. I would love to upgrade them to these also by flor.
Again I used Emerson Made's idea of using cookie jars for everything. This makes me happy and keeps certain things in constant reach which I love.
I bought this large jar at a local antique shop for a steal. It is the perfect place to store a few bolts and wrapping paper.
Above the washer and dryer I keep all my fabrics that I have reduced like crazy.
I do laundry a couple times a week. As soon as the dryer is done I immediately fold and hang everything in this little room except for the socks, they get put into a basket and get sorted only once a week. I follow up by putting all the regular laundry away. I then put whatever was in the wash into the dryer. Then repeat till it's all done. It seems to be the only system that works for me.
See nothing special, but it was part of my getting organized and simplifying task so I thought I would share.
A T-Shirt Swap
I was so excited when Sally suggested doing a t-shirt swap with our little ones over Twitter. We actually became twitter friends before being blog friends, which I feel is so rare. She is a wonderful mother and if I could have a touch of her creativity I would be in pure bliss. I can not wait for the day when we get to meet in person, but for now building community from afar is quite wonderful. We did a simple freezer paper stencil. Sally put together a wonderful tutorial. The kiddos had a blast making them and KJ and I came up with the design. He is in superhero mode lately.
Can you believe I spaced taking an after picture. Oh well, I plan to make more of them for KJ's upcoming birthday party so I will be sure to get a photo then. You can see the gorgeous shirts Sally, J, and j made for Ellie and KJ. They LOVE them. Oh, and Sally's packaging put mine to shame. She really can do it all. Can you tell I am feeling quite inspired?
Getting out of my PJ's
Last week I mostly stayed home, simply because KJ was so sick and the Mr's work schedule kept him away and busy. This tends to lend itself to me not wanting to get out of my pj's. As I was about to head out the door to pick up Ellie from school I decided to do the next best thing to pj's and put on my boyfriend jeans. I have had them so long that the holes naturally occurred.
The pink lip thing is new too. My face has been breaking out like crazy and my eyes have been swelling. I am blaming it on the mascara and bad eating habits lately. Lipstick does not affect me though, so that is all I have been wearing. The Mr. likes it.
I thought my outfit could instantly become a little more special with the Coach wedges. Are they not gorgeous? I am also sure the Mr. wouldn't mind me leaving them out if he could have a man office that resembled this. It would add the feminine touch that every room needs.
Outfit:
jacket: J.Crew
top: J.Crew
jeans: AG
shoes: Toms
purse: Cynthia Rowley found at T.J. Maxx
sunglasses: Fred Flare
lipstick: Cover Girl in Darling Cherie
Room:
horns: High Street Market
green boxes: Kelley Street Vintage
book shelf: West Elm
chair: Lee Industries
rug: Jayson Home & Garden
The French Market
The French Market is having a dock sale tomorrow, March 2nd. It is going to be huge. For more information and additional photos go to Mrs. French.
For the Love of a House
I try to be somewhat original on this little blog of mine, but sometimes that can be hard. As design blogs become more popular being original can sometimes feel next to impossible. I was feeling slightly uninspired so I picked up my camera and started shooting. Slowly and surely I began feeling inspired again, by own home. Now that's fun and rare. Maybe my simplicity goals are actually working. Here is a glimpse into what makes me happy in my own home...
The color green reminds me of spring. Spending time outside, having picnics, and fresh air.
My 30th birthday party dress stays out. I adore it and it reminds me all my fabulous friends and family. Happy memories. The piano was a gift. Can't wait till the kiddos learn how to play sweet melodies.
My new lamps look extra lovely wearing my jewelry. This nook in the bedroom has changed dozens of times since we moved in and I was never happy with it. Finally, while gaining simplicity and not wanting to buy anything new till I was 100% sure I would love it, I stuck a chair that I had for years there and well, I am smitten with it.
We have been doing so many art projects that I decided to stop putting the brushes away. Ellie then started hanging her art on the wall. I rather like how it looks. I think we will continue to do it until the whole wall is full. Makes me happy.
An old star burst clock that I "borrowed" from my parents against the greige walls makes for a lovely combo. The antlers in the guest/kiddos bath adds a little whimsy. I like whimsy and apparently jumped on board with a few trends over the years. ha.
My garden is starting to grow back. Love seeing the sedum peeking through drinking up the sun. Spring time is on its way.
Can you see a trend? My own home makes me happy. I am so excited. Isn't that the way it should be? Oh, and no it still isn't our forever house, but it is my house and I think she can be pretty.
Sing It
This song by Adele has me dancing at my desk. The whole album rocks, really.
*Also my about page has been updated!
An Organized Life: The Blog
In my attempt for an organized and simple life I decided that it must extend to all parts of my life not just my home. As you have noticed the blog has been going through a bit of a make over. I tried to keep the same basic feel, but just tidy up a bit. I still need to add my must reads, but that is going to take awhile and time is not what I currently have much of. It will get done though. I also added an about page, but am having a hard time writing it so I thought I would open up to you all. If you have any questions about me then I would love to hear them! It will become more of a faq's page of sorts. You can email me or ask away in the comment section. Of course if this does not work then I will take another route. Ha.
*Yes, I so just snuck/sneaked in another Disney pic. No worries though, next week I will back to my design obsessed self.
A Crazy Day + New Lamps
Sorry for the missed post yesterday. We had quite an eventful Tuesday and not in a good way. That morning we got a phone call from my husbands coordinator at work, her husband was in a motorcycle accident. Praise God he is doing quite well. A true miracle really. The Mr. spent the day at the hospital with them. During this time KJ quickly became ill. Never seen him so sick, I was quite scared to be honest. His fever reached 103 and we (dr and I) had a hard time getting it to go down. He wasn't alert and kept on falling asleep. When he did speak he just kept repeating that he was burning. He ended up having strep. Had no idea it could get so bad. A few other things thrown in and wow, it made for quite a day.
I am sure you are ready for me to get back to design so here are a pair of lamps that I got at Scott's in Atlanta. I didn't purchase the shades, but it's on my to do list. I will share as soon as I do. They are in the master and make me quite happy.
For more design related posts you can come see me on Mrs. French. I have a new one up and I am quite smitten with the inspiration image.
A Short Recap
If you follow me on twitter then I am sure you got tired of me talking about our vacation to Disney World. It was the first time for all of us and we had a blast. Although I do wish I started training for the trip in advance. I simply had no idea. Here is a short recap of our trip...
KJ's Favorite part was getting to meet Buzz Lightyear. "To infinity and beyond" has now become part of his daily speech. He really can fit it into any circumstance. It's a hoot.
Ellie's favorite part was doing the princess experience in the castle. We surprised her. They decked her out like a princess head to toe. She then got to meet a bunch of princesses and she was in high heaven.
My favorite part was getting to spend some much needed time with the Mr. Oh, and the food was amazing too. I am now in need of a detox. This friend is going to help me.
An Organized Life: The Kitchen
Here is my kitchen. Since I learned how to cook last year I quickly realized that our kitchen was a mess. Not necessarily looks wise, but in how it functioned. Here is how it works for us now...
We have two fruit bowls so it keeps access easy for the kiddos and I. Actually seeing the fruit out makes us want to eat it more.
The large basket keeps all our bread at easy access and the small one keeps all our bars like granola, lara, etc bars within reach. I like having all our wooden cutting boards out in plain view, but I keep the plastic meat cutting board hidden away.
This is my baking drawer. It has all my specialty flours and sugars. I keep our all purpose, bread flours and sugar in jars on the counter.
This is an example of inside our cabinets. Everything is neatly lined up and yes we use chinet recycled plates for when we are on the fly.
A few of my favorite cooking books stay out all the time. The rest are kept in a cabinet. I do need to take the time and write down all my favorite recipes on recipe cards instead of having loose sheets of paper tucked everywhere.
The basket is a new addition that I adore. I needed a space for all my table linens and went back and forth with the idea of getting a low cupboard. The only problem with that is that one of our current pieces would have to go in order to accommodate one. I then came across this basket at World Market and new it would be perfect.
The barstools are not new, but the slipcovers are. They were a blue that didn't quite blend into my neutral color scheme and I really wanted a natural linen. I decided before hiring out that I would try to make them myself. The first two went well and the third was a whole other story, but I got it done after much frustration. They are NOT perfect by any means, but they are good enough for me.
*To see a full view of my kitchen you can go here.