A Book Lover's Bridal Shower

 

Hello! So, I think it is safe to say that I officially took the entire month of November off on the blog. I've been spending my time kicking back, relaxing and soaking up a lot of me time. So much, in fact, that I couldn't be bothered with writing any posts. Ummmm, not! Let's just say that in reality November kicked my you know what. I was barely keeping my head above water with conferences, report cards, my sister's bridal shower, etc. And, since the blog was feeling like just one more thing on my never-ending to-do list I decided it needed to go by the wayside for the time being. With that said, though, I am so happy to be back! I do love this fun little hobby of mine and the fact that some of you take the time to read it is icing on the cake. So, I may be a few days late but I want to make sure that you know that I am beyond thankful for all of you!


As for the point of this post, I am excited to share the details of my sister's bridal shower that we threw for her a couple of weeks ago. This was my first time hosting a bridal shower and it was so much fun! My sister loves to read so I decided it would be fun to do a book-themed shower. Patricia approved and that was my cue to take the idea and run with it. Below are a few of the details of her special day.



I found the invitation at this Etsy shop. I was obsessed as soon as I saw it. What a perfect look for our book-themed shower. I mounted it on scrapbook paper to make it look a little more girly.

 

I set up one table with the cake, games, and prizes. I didn't get a closeup of the games so I will just explain. We played a matching game where the guests had to match book character couples. We also played a book quote game, which I will get to in a minute, and a game called Mr. Right that you may have heard of before.  

 

I made the banner myself by punching Patricia and Jake's initials out of book pages and added some scrapbook paper hearts. I purchased the burlap at Hobby Lobby and simply glued down the paper. This was such an easy way to personalize the shower for them.

 

 

Here is a close-up of the cake that I ordered from a local baker.

 

The other game was to read the quotes and guess what book they are from. As I was making it, I realized that it was pretty difficult. So, instead of the guests guessing; Patricia had to guess and we just had to predict how many she would know. Side note: The condition of my backyard is making me sigh. I'll have grass one day, right?

 

 

I decorated one of the tables with fresh flowers, Patricia and Jake's engagement photo, candles, burlap runner, and hearts that I punched out of book pages and scrapbook paper.

 

 

For the candle holders, I used a small mason jar that I wrapped with a piece of scrapbook paper and tied off with jute string.

 

 

Here is the guest of honor (on the left) enjoying her day with my grandma, mom, and Patricia's friend. Such a sweet picture! Oh, and in case you were wondering we served soups and salads for lunch.

 

 

I setup another table and finished it off with a stack of books, votives, hearts, and book quotes mounted on book pages. I didn't get a great picture of this table but you get the idea, right?

 

 

 

Finally, as a favor I made bookmarks. I found a stamp with the quote, "I love you to the moon and back." I cut cardstock to size and stamped each one and simply added a ribbon to finish it off. They were super easy to make.

 

 

I placed them on the table in the entryway table next to another stack of books.

 

 

 It was such an honor to plan and host this special day for my darling sister. I can't wait as we celebrate her wedding day in just a few short weeks!

Pin It

Filling the Empty Space One Wall at a Time

The space above our sofa in our living room has been sad and empty for months now. See? This gives you can idea of what we've been living with. I know you can't see the whole thing in this picture but that was one big, blank wall. I always imagined putting a large piece of art or a gallery wall of random things here.

 

In the end, though, I decided to keep things a little more personal with a few Instagram pics of the kids. I loved what Young House Love did above their couch in their old house.

Image via www.younghouselove.com

                
 I decided we needed our own Instagram gallery so off to Ikea I went to pick up the same Ribba frames that they used. Seeing the frames in real life was completely different than seeing them on a computer screen. They are huge at 20x20 inches! So, I decided that three frames would do the trick. I printed the pictures myself because I was too impatient to wait for prints to be made. I chose one of each of the kids and one of the both of them playing together. It is actually a super sweet picture of Audrey teaching Will how to do something. It is one of my favorites for sure! The prints turned out a lot better than I expected for an at-home job. The space inside the mat is 11x11 so I printed 8x8 pictures. I mounted the pictures on top of some fun, patterned gift wrap from Target's dollar section that I picked up awhile ago. Once framed, it was time to get them up on the wall.



Centered on the wall seemed like the best way to hang these. I wanted to keep them clear of the annoying vent thing that is on this wall but also high enough that Will can't reach them when standing on the couch. I used my painter's tape trick to make sure that they were evenly spaced and level.



It is so nice to have that empty space covered with our two favorite people. Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Pin It

The Chair

 

 

This week is all about our living room! We've made some good progress in here and I'm excited to share it with you. Is it done? Um, not quite. I'm okay with that, though, because I'm really starting to embrace the idea of slowly making a room our own. I've noticed that when I let ideas simmer for awhile, I usually end up changing my mind about things or coming to realizations that I probably wouldn't come to had I just thrown a room together in a day. One such realization had to do with our  new chair. Let me back up a second, though, and remind you of what our living room looked like the last time I showed it to you. Clearly, we were in need of some more seating.

 

Let me also show you the original mood board that inspired the look of this room.

 

So, originally, I was thinking navy blue for the chair. But after months of letting that idea simmer I had a change of heart. I still like navy blue and it would look good in the room but I was looking for something that could go the distance. Meaning, if I decide to completely redecorate down the road I don't want to have to decorate around a chair of a particular color. So, a neutral beige color was a must for me.

I began shopping around. I always tend to start with places that may be out of my price range just for inspiration. I found myself  drawn to Restoration Hardware's line of upholstered furniture especially their beige, traditional pieces with rustic, wooden legs. I am obsessed with the look of rustic wood right now. It ties in well with the whole industrial vibe that I'm trying to infuse throughout our home whenever I can. The regular price of this chair, though, is over $1000!

      

We couldn't deal with the price tag of the Restoration Hardware chair but I was on a mission to find something similar at a price that made sense to us. That was not an easy task. I looked just about everywhere online and numerous places in our area. That's when it happened...we walked into Homegoods and found the chair! It was everything I was looking for. Beige, rustic wood, and even the little wheely things on the legs. So fun, right!

           

Then, it was time for the fun part of dressing this bad boy up. I stole the ottoman from the master bathroom (because I have sat in that thing like maybe once to do my makeup) and added a pillow and throw, which I found at Marshalls. I'm not convinced that this pillow is the pillow because I feel like the color is competing with the ottoman but it was the perfect size at 20x20 inches and I couldn't resist the adorable bird. Being $12 on clearance didn't hurt either!

I'll be back later this week for more snippets of the living room and eventually a whole room view. I'm so excited to have found another high/low treasure with this chair. You can see more of my high/low finds here and here! Have you found any of your own lately? I am always on the lookout for a good bargain with a lot of style! Pin It

Entryway Reveal

 

I know that I promised to show you what has been going on in our living room and I will get to that very soon. I just couldn't wait any longer to show you the entryway. I hosted a baby shower for my friend, Kelly, this past weekend and that was the kick in the pants that I needed to do something in  this space. If twenty-some people were going to "enter" our house, then I wanted to be sure that our house was making a good first impression.

Let me remind you what the entryway looked like before. It was struggling for sure between the randomly placed art and furniture to the unfinished door.

And here is our entryway now!!!

I had been on the hunt for the perfect table for this space. After browsing tons of thrift shops and coming up empty-handed, I decided to look for something new. What is the next best thing to shopping at a Target store? It is shopping with my Target app! I found this industrial style table from the Too by Blu Dot collection and I was smitten. It is a perfectly slim table that fits just right. I love the simplicity of its clean lines. It was added to my cart before I could say free shipping.
   
                

I also stumbled across this pouf on clearance from the Threshold line -- in my virtual cart it went.
The rug was an amazing Home Goods find! I love the stripes and the awesome texture that it adds to the space!

All the other pieces that I used to style this area I already owned or I DIYed including the Sharpied pumpkin, the book page mirror that used to be in the bathroom of our old house, and the bowl that I made from a globe. If you remember, I used the other half of the globe for Will's light. To turn this half into a bowl I spray painted the inside gold and found a mini cake stand (that I flipped upside down) to place it on.

                                       

 

 

Candles, a bamboo plant, and a couple of books finished it off!

Oh, and doesn't the door look awesome? My amazing Dad painted it for us one day while we were at work. It looks so much better than the ugly, untouched door that we've been living with for months.

And that's our entryway in a nutshell! Here's a quick side-by-side before and after for ya. It feels so good to have another area in our new house feeling a little more like home
   

.

 

 

Pin It

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Fall!

Aren't you glad that I didn't say Christmas? I don't know about you but I prefer to live one season, one holiday at a time. It pains me to see all the stores decked out with Christmas decor already. Especially since I am just now getting around to adding some autumn touches to our home.

 

The other day, I took the kids to the park to go on a leaf/pine cone hunt.We spent that evening getting our craft on with our new found treasures. We decided to simply add some paint to the tips of the pine cones and to the veins of the leaves. We chose a color palette of gold, white, and mint green but Audrey insisted we add some pink, too.

 

 

Pretty, huh?

 

 

We didn't stop there! We tied the pine cones together with string and hung them on the front door, which by the way is finally painted! Thank you, Dad!!! 

 

 

I hot glued the leaves to the same string and hung them from the mantle in the living room.

 

 

I just love it! And, it was pretty much the easiest project ever!

 

 

As you can see, I added a few other fall touches to the fireplace area. I switched the photos in the frames from some summer pics to these. I can't believe how small Will looks in these pictures. It was just a year ago!

 

 

I also filled a decorative box with some dried plants that I picked up in Hobby Lobby's floral area.

 

 By far my favorite Fall-themed thing happening in our house right now is this white pumpkin that I Sharpied. Yes, I used a Sharpie marker to color each of those black triangles. I was so consumed by my coloring that I didn't even think to take pictures of the process. Just know that I went through about three markers doing this. So, I probably should have just painted them but, hey, you live and learn! If this area of our house seems unfamiliar to you, it's because I have a little revealing to catch up on. Stay tuned for that!

 

 

 

 I love this time of year and all these little touches really help bring the outdoors in. If you need me, you can find me curled up on the couch cuddling with the kids or with a cup coffee in hand especially now that cool weather has officially make its appearance around here.

 

 

 

Pin It

A Mantle Tweak

Consider this your official sneak peek into some exciting changes happening in our living room. My main goal has been to "cozy it up" in here but I plan to also "fall it up" a little bit, as well. I know we are well into October and most people have probably had their fall decor make an appearance long before now but that is just not how  I work, friends. With me, everything is last minute...

 

So, today I'm starting with a very small tweak to our mantle which, to me, makes our living room cozier and more fall-like all at once.Before we dive in, let me remind you what our mantle looked like before.

 

 

And, here is the after shot for ya. It's almost like one of those games in a kid's magazine where you have to figure out what has changed.

 

 

Well, time's up! It's the vase! I like the clear vase but when there weren't any flowers in it it pretty much faded into the wall. I decided I really wanted something more substantial and I stumbled across this wooden vase. Hello! It is made out of twigs. It was meant to be mine! I threw in a few faux flowers and wam bam my mantle has officially been tweaked!

 

One small step accomplished! I plan to continue tweaking the fireplace area along with a few other updates that I am working on. I will keep you posted along the way (or whenever I can carve out a spare second to type up a post)! Thank you for always coming back for more! How are you decorating for the fall season? Anyone tackling some Pinterest projects? Do tell!

Pin It

Have You Paid It Forward Lately?

Me? Well, notsomuch. But if you are like me, my friends, then don't worry because the perfect opportunity to do so is upon us. Tomorrow, October 9th, marks the beginning of the Third Annual Sophia's 40 Day Pay It Forward Challenge in honor of sweet little Sophia Jane Smallwood. To learn more about her story. Please watch this video:

Pin It

House Tour: Five Months In

 

Wow, we've been in our new place since May! It definitely feels like home now. I'm pretty sure we've mastered most of the light switches, become accustom to the sounds the house makes at night, and we've each found our favorite chill spots. It's getting to the point where we couldn't imagine calling any other place home. We truly love it here!

I got to thinking that the last time I showed you around the whole place was when the final coats of paint were drying and it was still an empty shell of a home. I think I've been delaying on doing an official house tour until there was a little less emptiness going on around here. Then, I realized that after five months it is what it is. We will add to the decor and tackle projects little bit by little bit. We will also go weeks without doing a single thing other than to just live here and enjoy our home. To be perfectly honest with you, that's mostly all we've been doing since late summer. My hope is that five more months from now most of these photos will be before photos. If I could just get school to calm down, I could give our place the attention it deserves. Until then, sit back, and enjoy the picture show!

Let's start with a room that you know well. Our playroom has definitely been shown the most love since we moved in. This room makes me smile! I still love watching the kids play here,.

 

Our dining area looks practically the same as it did when I first hared this area but I have switched out the lantern for a different centerpiece.

 

 

The kitchen is one of the rooms in our house that we have done practically nothing to. Other than add a few things to the counters, it looks practically the exact same as the day we moved in. I have some big plans for this room, though. A tile back splash is at the top of that list!

 

 

The future library is still affectionately known as the "empty room." I did manage to pick out a rug for this space. I found a steal of a deal on a natural jute rug from Rugs USA. Will's dancing bear loves the rug!

 

 

 

The foyer is just sad, so sad! Yikes! This is not what an entry should look like! I have been searching for the perfect table to put in place of the chest. Not really sure how the toy chest ended up there. Just did and I keep meaning to hang that picture in the master bathroom. It's been there so long I don't even see it anymore.

 

 

I have shared the living room before and it is actually in the process of getting a little TLC. I am so, so excited to share some updates in upcoming posts!

 

All of the bedrooms in our house need some help. It is so easy to put a bedroom on the back-burner because it is just so darn easy to close the door and forget all about it. Audrey loves her room the way it is but her mom thinks it could be so much better. I keep holding out for the perfect vintage desk/vanity.

 

 

 

 Will's room needs help, too! A lot of help! Just like Audrey, though, he is perfectly happy in his room just the way it is.

 

Our bedroom is barely worth sharing. I woud love to change up our bedroom furniture but we're just not making that a prioritiy right now. As you can see, we are also in desperate need of a plan to organize our office stuff.

 

Last but not least, here is the laundry room/mudroom. It's not bad in here but it could use a little more organization and a few more "pretty" moments.

 

Thanks for tagging along. My hope is that the next house tour includes a few more finished spaces. Time to get busy! Pin It