Ten June

Hot Momma Series: A Natural Skincare Routine

2013-05-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys. Just wanted to throw out a quick thank you for your support and love last week. My car accident was no fun, but I'm lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people (including you virtual peeps!). I really appreciate it. I'm feeling 100% and my car is in the shop making it's way to 100% as well. Thanks again for the love, y'all are the best!

Many, many weeks ago, I asked y'all to help me figure out a new makeup and skin care routine. And I'm fiiiinally back to report to you on the skin care side of things.

You guys gave SO much good advice, so thank you. I seriously sat down and took notes as I read through the comments... y'all know where it's at when it comes to beauty routines. You showed me and my teenager-worthy skin care routine up, that's for sure. I'm certainly glad I'm keeping up with my New Year's resolution to stay on the ball and step up my game in this department. Y'all have inspired me!

My problem is that I've (annoyingly) decided to narrow down my beauty options to mostly all-natural products free of certain things like parabens, phthalates and fragrances. I've mentioned it before, but I'm kind of on an all-natural kick lately and I'm trying to implement all-natural products throughout my life (like my all-natural DIY multi-surface cleaner!). And beauty products are no exception.

When I became pregnant last year, I tried to take some "no no" beauty products out of my regime, like anything with salicylic acid, etc. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to get a clean beauty routine going. See, HDawg does this adorable thing where he kisses me on my cheek. Except his version of a kiss is opening his mouth as wide as he can and plopping it on my cheek. I love it. Every time. The more slobbery, the better. But there's a problem with that... follow me. A few weeks ago, David gave me a kiss on my forehead right after I had washed my face. He immediately pulled away and looked like he had licked an ashtray or something. Apparently my face wash and lotion tasted like poison. I realized then that I had no clue what ingredients were in those products... for all I know, it could be poison. Okay, not literally, but you know what I mean. And my little HDawg was literally licking that stuff off my face every night. Hm.

I've done some research and found that a lot of the ingredients in beauty products are not the safest for us. In addition to making sure my face is lick-worthy for H, I want to pick up a regime that I can maintain for the rest of my life, whether I'm preggo in the future or I have more babies making out with my cheek or if I'm just trying to be healthy for myself. Sooooo, to make a long story even longer, I have decided to try and use mostly all-natural beauty products. Unfortunately, that means I had to rule out great products that you guys recommended like Retinol and most name brand aging products. Wah.

And, just for the record, I'm totally not judging anyone who would rather use traditional beauty products. Hey, I'm not totally opposed to those products myself. Just the other day, I dabbed on some of my old acne solution on a problem spot. I just figure that if all-natural, safer products are available that are better for me and my family, I'll try them.

Have you guys fallen asleep yet?

On to the product reviews.

To start, I took Julia's advice and I've started taking my makeup off with a hot (like, steaming hot) wash cloth. No extra makeup remover gunk, just good ol' hot water. It feels great after a long day, that's for sure.

Next up, I use a face cleanser to freshen up. I chose this Origins foaming cleanser for every day use.

To be honest, I'm not in love with it. It's a great cleanser, but it suds up a bunch (too much for my liking) and leaves a film on my face. I love that it's got antioxidants in it and that it's gentle enough for every day use, but I'm still on the hunt for another cleanser once I use this one up.

Every few days, I use St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub for a little extra pick-me-up scrub. I love this stuff. In fact, I would use it every day, but I have somewhat dry skin so I think this would be too harsh for me to use every day.

Just a note, many of you mentioned the Clairisonic Mia as a great face washing tool. I am totally obsessed, as I hear it's great. I'm saving my pennies and it's definitely on my wish list!

Origins anti-aging serum

This serum is silky-soft and lightweight, which is key in my book. I didn't want any heavy duty anti-aging products as I was afraid they would be too heavy and cause breakouts. This stuff rocks. Of course, it will take awhile for me to review whether or not it helps in the anti-aging category (check in with me in 20 years? will there still be blogs in 20 years?!), but it feels great. I layer it on after I wash my face.

After the serum, I use this Origins product around my eyes. It. Is. My. Favorite. Seriously. I literally can't speak good enough about it. Within a few days, I noticed that my eyes and the lines around my eyes were firmer, no joke. The bags/dark circles that have permanently set up shop under my eyes since I had HDawg have lightened up. My eyes generally seem less puffy. Even David, the guy who didn't notice when I got six inches cut off my hair, mentioned something about the difference. I love it!

Okay, now here's where I'm still having trouble. Moisturizer. Blah. I've tried three different brands over the last few weeks (Origins' A Perfect World, Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer and Kiehl's Ultra Moisturizer- the last two are not all-natural, paraben free, etc. by the way) and I'm still not happy. I've disliked them for various reasons (too heavy, too greasy, not natural). I'm ready to stop playing Goldilocks and find the right fit! I think my next try may be Korres (which some of you recommended in my last post) or bareMinerals. I'd really just love a natural lightweight oil-free daily moisturizer for normal to dry skin. Any suggestions?

Alright, well those are my two cents! I hope you find what I've learned so far to be helpful. And if you've got any more insight, bring it! The more I learn, the better. If you're looking for more skin care or make up advice (I will be doing a natural make up review soon!), check out the comments in this post. They're legit!

A Lot of Love

2013-05-17T08:04:00.001-04:00

Today, I'm finding myself filled with a lot of love.

Earlier this week, I was in a car accident. I’m okay, first of all. And thank the good Lord, I was alone in the car, heading to pick up HDawg from daycare. A lady decided to stop, entirely, in the middle of the 70 mph trafficked highway, directly in front of me. Somehow I was paying enough attention to go from 70 mph to zero mph quickly to avoid hitting her, but the fully loaded 18 wheeler tractor trailer truck behind me couldn’t slow down as quickly. The driver did slow down a lot, though, and his collision with my small SUV was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Besides a cut on my forehead and some bruises, I am okay. I walked away. Actually, I was even able to drive my car away, just to get it home. Amazing, right? I don’t think that too many people who are hit that hard by a tractor trailer truck can say that. I am blessed.

Needless to say, I’ve spent the better part of this week hugging David and HDawg extra tight and praising God for watching over me. Moments like this are always a special reminder to enjoy the small moments and spread your love as much as you can.

Today is actually an extra loving day, as it it’s mine and David’s five year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe that it’s been five years since I married this man. What a journey. If you don't know our story about how we met (hint: it was 25 years ago!), you can find it here.

Look at those two wild and crazy kids.This picture was circa 2006. I loved him then, sweaty and crazy on his friend's boat on the lake. I loved him when I was nine and he was the hottest kid at our elementary school. I loved him when I was sixteen and he let me borrow his letter jacket because I was cold in fifth period. I loved him the day we said I do, five years ago. I loved him the day he became a father last August. I even love him when he refuses to shut cabinet drawers and doors or leaves the contents of his pockets piled up in every nook and cranny of our house. I really do.

As he told me at our wedding... you were my first love and you'll be my last love. Happy anniversary, D!

Today, I'm filled with a lot of love. I hope you are too!

Happy Friday, friends.

Living Room Fireplace Mantel Decor (Layering Frames)

2013-05-14T12:37:00.001-04:00

The fireplace mantel at our rental house is whack. Well, that might be a little harsh. But it’s kind of hard to work with… mantel, it’s not me… it’s you. Seriously.

If you remember from the rental house living room tour, the brick fireplace is halfway painted so it’s a ~~ghetto~~ ~~shoddy~~ nice mix of tan and antiquey white paint. Furthermore (ten points to me for using that word in a sentence!), the mantel itself is really bulky and really high on the fireplace. It makes for all kinds of awkward decorating, which is why it’s probably taken me three months to decorate this thing.

But, ta-da, a decorated living room fireplace mantel.

I decided to use a layering effect to give some dimension to the mantel. Because of how oddly high it is, a lot of three-dimensional pieces (vases, bowls, etc.) looked weird up there. So I stuck with frames, but got some depth by layering them.

I mixed together white frames to brighten the space with dark wooden frames to ground the vignette. Most of the frames have family pictures in them (ie. lots of HDawg!) as well as some art mixed in. I think it works!

On the left side of the mantel is an Etsy art piece we used to have hanging in our master bedroom at the old house. I got the sunshine art from the Country Living Fair last year.

I printed out this iPhone photo of H and put it on some grass cloth wallpaper for unconventional matting. I love the texture it lends to the space.

On the right side of the mantel, I have cute baby pics and a framed vintage dictionary page stamped with the letter “R.” The page is actually from the R section of the dictionary, which is super cool. I picked it up at the Country Living Fair last year, as well. I’m pretty sure it cost a quarter or something. Love it!

Here’s the view from afar.

Wonky paint color and awkwardly placed mantel aside, I love how it’s looking today! What do you think? have you ever had to work with an awkward mantel like this before? Share your tricks!

It Was A Mother-Loving, Wedding Planning, Thrifting Kind of Weekend

2013-05-13T09:08:00.002-04:00

Hey hey hey, my friends. I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend. I know I did! A happy late Mother's Day to all of you amazing momma's out there. I'm always amazed by the strength of all of the wonderful women out there, especially mothers. Y'all rock! I hope you were celebrated.

And yes, I totally threw out a mother-lover reference... c'mon, any SNL/Andy Samberg/Justin Timberlake fans out there? Funniest. Skit. Ever. I'll let you find it instead of linking up to the clip since it's a little vulgar, but wow. It's hilarious. If this is wrong, I don't wanna be right. Let's all be mother-lovers, peeps.

I kicked off my weekend on Friday by thrifting with my friend Katelyn. As you know from this post, I'm on the hunt for some new nightstands. I may have some final contenders (although if you have any suggestions, they are still welcomed!), but these were a few options I ran into while shopping.

I didn’t actually buy either of these options (couldn’t haggle down the mid-century nightstands from $150 for the pair nor the curvy nightstand from $125!) but I have a good idea of a final solution. Can't wait to share!

I spent all day Saturday with my sister, Tori, who (as you know) recently got engaged. If you haven't read her engagement story, check it out. It's a good one! We (along with my mom, my other sister, Callie, and my friend Katelyn- who also happens to be Tori's planner and caterer!) visited Tori's venue and went dress shopping. It was such a perfect day! I'm totally in love with the rustic barn vibe that she's chosen for the ceremony and reception... this is going to be one pretty wedding!

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to spend the entire day with just me and my two favorite boys, David and HDawg. David let me sleep in and then surprised me with a picnic at the park. It literally couldn't have been a more beautiful day. It was heaven! I'm so lucky to be a momma to this sweet little bean.

I hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine. Have a great week!

Nightstand Furniture Shopping

2013-05-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

Three years ago, I was young. Three years ago, I was care free. Three years ago, I am pretty sure I had a lamp and an alarm clock on my nightstand. My nightstand most certainly did not house an iPhone, a baby monitor, a Kindle, a glass of water, a parenting book, a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick, a pacifier, a Sophie teething giraffe, a stack of four different magazines that I've only read two pages of and a pile of assorted breast pump parts. But now? Oh yes. That's currently what's on my night stand.

Needless to say, David and I have outgrown the adorable blue nightstands we created three years ago.

They are teeny tiny. We need more bedside counter space! So, lately, I've been eyeing a few potential suitors. If I can find the right pair, I'd really like to do a mismatched set. Maybe a more manly, industrial piece for David and a circular, curvy painted piece for me? Or maybe I'll just go with two matching pieces with a fun punch of color? Hm. The possibilities are endless.

Here are a few nightstands that I'm loving right now.

West Elm

via

Pottery Barn

via

Of course, momma's taste doesn't exactly match momma's budget. I need to get two (preferably solid wood) nightstands for pretty cheap... maybe I'll get lucky at a thrift store or on Craigslist?! A girl can dream. Hey, I may even DIY or makeover something. I've been known to do that a time or two ; )

Have you seen any totally awesome, quality, inexpensive, large (wow, I'm picky!) nightstands around lately? Hook me up with some counter space, please!

Rental House Kitchen Update: A Before & After Tour

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. I spent the last few days cuddled up with a sick little bean. HDawg woke up Friday morning with a slight fever and some congestion and has only gotten worse through the weekend : ( Although we went in Friday, we are heading back to the doctor tomorrow morning to get him checked out again and make sure it’s not anything more than just a bad cold!

Today, I wanted to pop in quickly to share the updated pictures of our rental house kitchen! The room was pretty much a blank slate when we first moved in. Luckily, the landlords had just done some work to the room, including adding new counter tops, tile and painted cabinets. Here was my to-do list for the room:

1. Dress up the walls. (maybe paint?)

2. Hang art.

3. Buy new decorative tea towels.

4. Add some storage racks to the walls.

5. Make a faux roman shade for the windows.

David and I decided not to paint the walls in this room, or any room in the rental house for that matter. Even though we have our landlord’s permission to paint, we decided that it wasn’t worth the effort and time in this temporary housing. Most of the rooms are painted the same neutral tan color that we love, so it’s really not a problem. And I have a few more temporary options in mind for some of the walls in the house… stay tuned : )

As you saw last week, I added DIY roman shades to the windows and door in the room. Check out the full no-sew tutorial on the curtains here. I’ve also added art and some additional storage to the space. But enough of the chit chatting, let’s see some after pictures, shall we?

Skeeeeeeeert. That means stop. Let’s throw out some crazy before pictures. These were taken on move-in weekend.

Aaaand back to now. Bam!

I added a gallery wall of fun prints and photos on the wall next to the refrigerator. I chose to use flat pieces taped to the wall with washi tape instead of frames just in case the fridge door hit the wall. Slash I hung frames up and the fridge door kept hitting the wall and knocking down the frames. Woops.

Our handy little Ikea island is still a highlight of the kitchen. It was such a good buy, not only for the extra counter space and the extra storage space, but just because it’s so dang cute.

As you can see, we don’t have a ton of counter space in the kitchen. Mostly, there’s space just around the sink. I’ve had to be very particular about what items I decide to store on the counter top, since it’s valuable real estate.

I keep this basket on the island to corral the junk… pens/pencils, scissors, trinkets, napkins, pacifiers… we don’t have enough room for a junk drawer, so this is it!

The key to counter-top storage is easy: keep it simple!

This corner is otherwise known as the “counter-space cluster mess.” We use these kitchen items every. single. day. Yes, we use two different coffee makers every day. We heart coffee in our house. We also use the toaster, knives and utensils every day, so we decided to keep them all on the counter. It looks kind of junky, but this is the only way we could figure out how to make it work! Originally, we had a thought to add storage to the wall above this counter, but couldn’t make it work with the configuration of the cabinet doors. Doh. Instead, I added some pretty plates David and I collected from trips to the Netherlands and Mexico.

I love the roman shade over the sink, it makes such a difference!

I think the small tweaks that I've made to the room really make a difference in the space, don't you?!

DIY All-Natural Non-Toxic Multi-Surface Cleaning Spray

2013-05-03T08:27:00.001-04:00

Wow. That's a lot of hyphens in that title. Am I right?

It's no secret that I've got a little bit of hippie in me. From my days as an undergrad at College of Charleston to my love of Dispatch to my affinity for wall tapestries (I seriously have to restrain myself to keep them out of my house to this day), one thing is clear: I'm a secret hippie.

So it’s no surprise that I am all about keeping harmful chemical junk out of my body and home. And you really don’t need to be a fake/secret hippie to feel this way. Don’t we all love surrounding ourselves and our loved ones with good-for-you things? Geez, there I go with the hyphens again.

A couple of months ago, when HDawg started sitting in his highchair, I realized that I didn’t have a good way to clean the chair after he ate. We use mostly “all natural” products around our house, but I’ve quickly learned that even when the label on the product says “green” or “natural,” it could still have some chemical junk in it. You have to be very careful to read the ingredients on that stuff!

It really bothered me that I was cleaning an item that HDawg basically licks three times a day with chemical-based substances. So I did a little research and found a recipe for this awesome DIY natural cleaner. Here’s the recipe breakdown.

R E C I P E :

1/2 gallon of water

1/2 cup of vinegar

1/4 cup of baking soda

Simply mix all ingredients and pour into a spray bottle for use.

At first, I was a little skeptical of how well this DIY cleaner would work. But after testing it, it proved itself. One morning after a banana smashing breakfast adventure, I tried to wipe down the chair with just water and a paper towel. It had been about thirty minutes since HDawg ate, so the food was a little… well, grounded to the highchair. [Ew, who does that?! ~~I do it all the time.~~ Not me.] The water didn’t budge the gross, dried food. But the DIY spray? One squirt and the mess wiped right up. Boo-yah.

After each time he eats, I spray the highchair down with the homemade spray and then every other day I spray the highchair down with Method Antibacterial Kitchen spray. It’s only something like 5% natural ingredients, but it has a great smell and important antibacterial power. I use pretty much the same routine on my kitchen counters. By using both types of sprays, I feel like it’s the best of both worlds.

I know some of you might disagree and say, Michelle, just use the regular old kitchen cleaner. We all grew up with it and we’re fine. I totally get that. But my thoughts are, if there’s a natural version available, that’s a better choice for my family. I’m actually reading Jessica Alba’s book, The Honest Life, right now. It’s such an eye-opener! I’m definitely taking it with a grain of salt, but it’s such good information about incorporating an all-natural approach in all elements of your life, including home, food, baby and beauty.

Speaking of beauty, I’ve been hard at work researching and testing some products that you guys recommended in this post. So far, I’ve got some great skin care tips and ideas (make-up is next!) that I plan to share with you next week. Get excited!

And for kicks, I have to include my favorite HDawg high chair picture, ev-er.

So tell me, do you guys use natural cleaners? Have any DIY recipes of your own to share?

A Spring-Inspired Rustic Farm House Tour

2013-05-01T08:18:00.003-04:00

I recently saw this beautiful Kentucky house tour over on Country Living and thought... wow, that home is perfection for spring. The wide-open doors and windows, the countryside flowers, all of the perfect alfresco entertaining spots... it screams spring!

Hopefully you're enjoying some spring weather in your neck of the woods. But if not, imagine yourself in the Kentucky countryside with this beautiful house tour!

You can learn more about the renovation and conversion of the old barn and farm outhouses into this beautiful home (and find a ton more inspiring photos!) in the Country Living article.

DIY Fakesies Roman Shade Curtain

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today I’m excited to share with y’all a fun tutorial for a fabric project I created with HGTV’s new fabric line. You can find out more about the fabric (and get a coupon for it!) right here.

Boom. A fakesies roman shade.

As you guys saw in the tour of my kitchen at our rental house, we’re working with a bright, neutral box. David and I decided not to paint the room, so I had to use my noggin when it came to figuring out a way to inject color into the space. One of my ideas was to add curtains to the window over the sink, the window over the stove and the door that leads outside. Lots of spaces that are the perfect candidates for… (drumroll please)… roman shades! Duh. You can read the title of this post.

Because I’m not a normal human, I decided to make my own curtains instead of buying some. I loosely followed Sherry’s tutorial on creating a faux roman shade.

Here are my quick four steps on how to create a fakesies roman shade curtain.

First step. Measure the fabric. Oy. If you remember my DIY black-out nursery curtain escapades, you’ll know that measuring fabric is literally my worst nightmare. Me and a tape measure and exact measurements don’t get along. I’m more of an approximate kind of girl, which doesn’t always work when it comes to sewing! Luckily, David’s grandfather passed on to me his grandmother’s sewing measuring board, so this thing makes my life a whoooole lot easier!

Measure your window and then add two inches to the width (for hemming) and about twelve inches to the length (two inches for hemming and ten inches for adding two five inch loops).

Step two. Hem them suckers. If you’re fancy, use your sewing machine. If you’re me, use hem tape. Hem all four sides of your fabric panel with a one inch hem.

Step three. Cut a 1x2 piece of wood to match the width of your hemmed panel. I picked up some wood at Home Depot and had it cut there. Easy peasy. Then I used heavy-duty double stick tape to attach the wood to the fabric. Hopefully that will hold… only time will tell. It’s still hanging now, so far, so good!

Step four. Pin your fabric back in five inch loops. I was pretty happy I was working with a geometric fabric because that made this step so much easier for me. But even with the ability to line up the patterned fabric to ensure it was matching as I pinned the fold, it was tough. So don’t get discouraged if this step takes you awhile. Them loops gotta be looking right? Right?!

And that’s it, friends. Pretty simple, right? Like Sherry, I didn’t see any need to sew the loops up. In fact, it kind of scared me that thread might pucker the fabric and mess up the whole look. You really can’t see the pins from the front of the curtain, so it works for me.

I attached the wooden piece to the wall with the same double-sided tape that I used to attach the wood to the fabric. Again, hopefully that holds. And hopefully it doesn’t peel the paint off the wall…! Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, shall we? : )

Before the roman shade…

…and after the roman shade.

As you can see, these pictures are a little wonky. It poured rain all day Sunday, so I never had a good opportunity to snap some daylight pictures of the new shade. And I need to show you the other roman shades that I created for the kitchen, as well as a few other tweaks I’ve made to the room. I'’ll get on that as soon as the weather clears up. Geez, doesn’t Mother Nature know she needs to cooperate when it comes time to get some blogging done?!

Have you ever made fakesies roman shades before? Any additional tips?!

HGTV Fabric: A Project Sneak Peek + A Fabric Coupon/Discount

2013-04-26T08:45:00.002-04:00

Hi friends! Happy Friday!

What do you have on the agenda for this weekend? It's supposed to be a beautiful one here in the A. I've got fun plans for a dinner date with one of my bestest girls, my favorite local festival with my boys and a brunch date with my girlfriends. Should be a fun weekend! I'm also excited to be finishing up a fun project this weekend with this adorbs fabric from HGTV's new fabric line.

I'll be sure to share more about the project on Monday, but if you are planning on doing any fabric shopping this weekend, HGTV and JoAnn's have been generous to share with all of you a discount on their new fabric line! You can use the coupon in store or online. Boom shaka laka!

Happy shopping! Have a great weekend.

Chevron Painted Bookshelf in the Nursery

2013-04-24T07:30:00.000-04:00

When I shared my chevron painted bookshelf DIY last week, the piece wasn't quite ready to style and prep for it's blog-worthy Glamor Shot photos. It actually wasn't allowed inside yet since I let the spray paint cure for almost a week. Guess what? Now it's inside and set up in HDawg's nursery!

The shelf sits along a blank wall in between his nightstand/dresser and crib.

I am still so in love with the rocking chair my grandmother passed down to him and I painted navy and white!

It's kind of funny because once I added his favorite books, puzzle, wooden blocks, wooden trucks and elephant ball popper toy (totally the formal name for that thing), you can't even really see the chevron stripe anymore! Ah, well. We all know it's there, right? ; )

[if not, the original post with naked bookshelf photos is here!]

Now that little man is crawling, I plan to anchor the shelf to the wall. In fact, David and I have a wholllle lot of baby proofing to do around our house. I promise to share our tips as we go!

I also realized, after looking at these pictures, that the books looked a little top-heavy on the top shelf. Rest assure, I already switched up the books and they're on the bottom shelf. You can see the new configuration in the background of this baby H action shot.

Nom, nom, wooden blocks.

So HDawg loves his new shelf! Do you?!

Avocado + Bacon Egg Bake Recipe

2013-04-23T07:58:00.003-04:00

Y'all. I might have found the world's easiest, best-est recipe.

If you follow my recipe board on Pinterest, you saw that I pinned this recipe a few days ago. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it! Even though it's probably best suited as a breakfast recipe, I decided to whip it up for supper last night. I mean, who doesn't love breakfast for supper?

I'm not sure why I'm surprised... combining three of my favorite food elements into one dish is clearly going to be a winner... but this dish is ah-maz-ing. And did I mention easy? Here's how easy it is!

INGREDIENTS

(for one serving)

-whole avocado

-two eggs

-two strips of bacon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Slice the avocado in half and remove the seed. Scoop out some of the avocado meat to create a "nest" on each half. Eat all of the yummy avocado you scooped out while you're standing there. Wait, that might just be me and my utter lack of self-control when it comes to food! : )

3. Crack an egg into each avocado nest. Some of the egg whites may overflow out of the avocado nest, so make sure you take this step after the avocados are already resting in a baking dish.

4. Chop up the bacon strips and sprinkle on top of the egg and avocado. I use regular, pre-cooked bacon instead of turkey bacon for a host of reasons (even though it's lower in fat, I'm not a big fan of how processed the turkey bacon meat is, even though it's clear regular bacon is horrible for you too!).

5. Bake the entire dish for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the consistency you'd like your egg cooked.

I served the dish up with some whole wheat toast and a dash or two of Tabasco sauce. Scrumptious! I love that this recipe uses fresh (minus the bacon!), whole food ingredients. No processed crap here!

Bon appetite!

Mirror + Jewelry Organization Station

2013-04-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

There's a new sheriff in town in my master bedroom.

Wait... that sounds all kinds of wrong. Get your minds out of the gutter!

There's a new decor-related sheriff in town in my master bedroom. Better?

Ta-da! A new full-length mirror. Shazam. Since we moved into our rental house, David and I haven't had a full-length mirror to use. The one we had in our old house's master bathroom was screwed into the wall, so we decided to leave it. Living without a full-length mirror basically meant that I had no clue if my shoes matched my outfit for the last two or so months. And it meant that I had nowhere to take selfie shots of my #ootd for Instagram. Totally kidding... kind of.

The mirror, which is from Kirkland's (you can find it here!), is black with a slightly rustic/worn sanded finish. We have so many light white pieces in our bedroom, I thought it was high time we brought in some black for some extra drama.

But, wait. There's more.

Oh yeah, this bad boy opens up to a jewelry armoire! This is kind of like ever renter/small-space-liver's dream, right?! When you live in a small space, combining function and decor is key. Especially with larger pieces like this, which take up a whole corner of a room. The key is to find furniture that meets more than one need in your life, like a side table with drawers or shelves for ample storage, a wall shelf that you can set items on top of and hang items below, a desk you can store items underneath. Decor pieces that can serve double-duty are almost necessary if you're a small-space dweller like me!

Clearly I don't have the world's most baller jewelry collection, but it's sooo nice to be able to see what accessories I'm working with. My jewelry organization approach before was to dump all of it in a basket and pick through it each morning. No bueno. I've found that I'm actually wearing more jewelry now that I can see all of my options!

And my previous jewelry dump-station basket is now the perfect resting spot for only the jewelry that I wear every day.

Whoever thought up this mirror + jewelry storage combo is the bomb.com. I love it!

And now for the obligatory "I'm-taking-pictures-of-a-mirror-so-here-I-am" shot.

And I literally have no clue why my husband's golf clubs are in my bedroom. No clue. Choose your battles.

Have you found any amazing double-duty functioning decor pieces lately?!

Psst! Thanks to all of you who have weighed in on my skin care/makeup questions. I am literally taking notes and hope to report back to y'all on my findings soon. If you haven't shared your two cents, please head over to the post and let me know what you think!

Hot Momma Series: I Need Makeup & Skin Care Advice!

2013-04-19T08:29:00.001-04:00

Hi friends! Happy Friday. As you know from my proclamation here, I've made it my personal quest in 2013 to better my personal appearance. That sounds totally superficial, but after spending 2012 growing and delivering a baby, I thought I'd treat my body to looking fab in 2013.

Yeah, that's just me being SUPER pregnant last August.

Sometimes it's not that easy to stick with this resolution. After all, HDawg prefers spit up on all of my clothes, isn't a big fan of waiting for me to get ready and generally prefers my hair like this.

But, when I can, I try to make an effort. So far, I've worked on sprucing up my hot momma fashion and I got a new hair style. Now I'm ready to up my game when it comes to makeup and skin care. There's just one problem. I totally suck at makeup and skin care. Like, I'm clueless. I realized the other day that I've been using the same Clinique foundation product that I started using when I was 15. Um, yeah. Time to update my makeup routine for this almost thirty year old!

Speaking of being almost thirty, I also need to work on my skincare routine. I have zero clue where to even begin at my age to treat and prevent aging on my skin.

Here is where you guys come in. I would love to do some research, test some products and come back to all of you with the results. And the inner hippie in me would really like to try and stay away from chemical-ridden products and stick with the more natural stuff that is out there. But where do I start? Do you have any ideas about products you've seen out there that you've been wanting to try? Any tips or suggestions about products you use religiously? Have you seen any blog posts or magazine articles lately that have inspired you or been informative about makeup or skin care? Please feel free to email me or leave some ideas or links in the comments if you've got any insight. I'd really appreciate if you could help me get started on this makeup and skin care journey!

The Little Things: New Bathroom Hand Towels

2013-04-18T11:16:00.000-04:00

Last week, I ran across this beautiful hand towel at Target. Of course, I snatched it up and threw it in my cart quicker than you can say boom-shacka-lacka. Yeah, I just said boom-shacka-lacka. So, I'd kind of forgotten about the hand towel since we were out of town in Hilton Head last weekend, but I found it yesterday and hung it up in our master bathroom. I totally dig the way it works with our new bath mat and shower curtain and the other master bathroom updates I shared here.

In the midst of another crazy busy week, it's the little things like this fabulous hand towel that make me smile.

What little things are inspiring you this week?

Chevron Painted Bookshelf Makeover

2013-04-17T08:13:00.001-04:00

What the whaaaat? Michelle actually did a home project? Yay-uh, you can virtually raise the roof with me, folks. I told you last week that I was feeling inspired to get creative. This girl don't play around- I've got a few fun projects up my sleeve! Including this chevron painted bookshelf that I just finished.

I can thank my friends over at Wayfair for lighting the fire under me for this project. They (along with the contest's sponsor, Hometalk) invited me to participate in a blogger DIY challenge. So fun, right? All I had to do was pick an item from Wayfair and then make it over according to one of the following themes: black and white, geometric pattern or rope. Even though the rest of the design world is kind of over it, I'm still totally in love with chevron and decided to use it as my geometric pattern.

Here's the basic wooden bookshelf before I got started.

I spray painted the shelf with a coat of glossy white and then used Frog Tape to tape chevron stripes along each shelf. At first, I tried to measure out the zig zags so that they were even, but ~~I can't do math~~ it never looked right. I didn't want the stripes to be too narrow. So I sort of winged it and ended up with some of the chevron stripes ending in the middle of the shelf instead of the top, if that makes sense. Works for me! I just cut the excess tape off with an Exacto knife.

Next up, I spray painted the entire shelf a fun spring green. I typically don't spray paint furniture, but it really is the easiest way to avoid major brush strokes. You just have to be sure to do maaaany (in my case, like 12) light coats of paint to avoid drips. And don't forget to spray in the cracks and crannies of whatever piece you're painting. Ha, I said cracks and crannies.

I chose the spring green because I want to use this shelf in HDawg's nursery. Annnd I just realized I haven't shown you guys pictures of that room in our new rental house yet! It looks substantially like his nursery at the old house, but with khaki colored walls instead of blue walls. I thought about painting the piece a firey orange-red like this, but the room really needs some cool tones since the khaki walls and yellow rug make things very warm-colored up in there. He's already got a ton of blue in the space, so green it was.

I expected the green spray paint to bleed under the tape a lot worse than it actually did. I even bought white paint to touch up the white chevron stripes just in case the bleed-through was bad. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that! Way to be, Frog Tape.

I'm going to let the bookshelf and it's snazzy new paint cure for awhile (5-7 days?) before I put it in baby H's nursery. I can't wait to see it loaded up with his books and toys!

Thanks again to Wayfair for asking me to participate in this challenge. It's been fun! If you want to check out more of the other blogger's projects, you can find them on this Pinterest board.

Whatcha think about my chevron bookshelf?! Have you made over any furniture lately?

A Weekend Getaway Beach Trip to the Lowcountry

2013-04-15T10:45:00.001-04:00

If you follow me on Instagram (@tenjuneblog), you'll know that David, HDawg and I snuck away on Thursday night to enjoy some R&R over the weekend in Hilton Head, South Carolina. As a College of Charleston grad and a previous Charleston resident, my heart belongs in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Combine my love of the beach with a desperate need for a vacation plus an adorable baby who was enamoured by the ocean and sand along with my hottie husband and I'd say I had a good time! To tell you the truth, I was in heaven!

The weather was slightly overcast on Friday morning, but we still enjoyed the beach anyways. HDawg loved crunching the sand between his toes.

Thank goodness, it quickly warmed up in just enough time for us to enjoy some sun and lunch by the pool. Fish tacos... get in mah belly.

Friday night we ate at an adorable restaurant fronting the marsh along the north side of the island. Did I mention how much I adore the Lowcountry? Beautiful.

HDawg was pretty thrilled for some summer-like weather so he could finally sport his mustache-print baby boat shoes. So fly.

The sun came out in full force on Saturday and we enjoyed every minute of it. H absolutely loved rolling around in his new beach tent and playing with his beach toys.

I know, he's beyond adorbs, right? He was the hit of Hilton Head beach, that's for sure : )

I had such an amazing weekend with my boys, it's hard to get back into the swing of things on this Monday morning. But if I close my eyes I can almost smell the sunscreen and picture fat baby feet kicking around in the sand...! So tell me, friends, what'd you do this weekend?!

Dreams Do Come True: My Sister's Engagement Story

2013-04-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was one of those bigger than life moments for my family. My little sister, Tori, got engaged to her boyfriend, Jason! Jason just so happens to be one of David's closest friends... he grew up with David and I and we've known him forever. Even though Tori and Jason had met through us a few times (they were both in our wedding!), things didn't get romantic until a mutual friend suggested they date. And the rest is history. These two goofy souls were made for each other!

And I'm really excited because Tori and Jason said I could share their engagement story with all of you! It's such a sweet story, so put your romantic game face on : )

A long time ago, Tori had a dream that she went to the Braves baseball game. Typically, Turner Field will pass out a bobble head, foam tomahawk or something fun like that to all of the patrons as a game souvenir. In Tori's dream, the stadium was passing out yellow roses (her favorite flower) as the game souvenir. As she walked through the stadium and everyone in the crowd held yellow roses, she was proposed to. Great dream, right?

Guess what? Jason made her dream come true. For realz.

When they walked in the stadium together, the usher handed Tori a bouquet of yellow roses with a note tied around it that said "dreams do come true!" My other sister, Callie, and I were secretly hiding and capturing every moment on video and film.

As Tori and Jason walked into the stadium, strangers held yellow roses. We had passed out about six dozen roses to strangers and asked that they just hold the roses as she walked by, but as soon as Tori walked in and they saw her with her bouquet of roses, the crowd each held up their yellow rose for her to see. I got chill bumps, y'all. It was amazing!

They also decided to pass her the roses as she walked by, which was so sweet. Then Tori (who still had no clue what was going on!) and Jason walked to a special room that he had reserved. My parents were standing in front of the room, waiting to give her a rose and a hug.

Tori and Jason then went into the room, where he proposed to her. We had it all decorated with more yellow roses and pictures of them. It was beautiful!

Both our family and Jason's family were all secretly at the game. As he proposed, we all sat outside the room and waited for her to come out. And prayed she said yes! Ha, only kidding. HDawg was so excited for his aunt Towwie, he fell asleep.

Don't worry... she said yes!

She was shocked, needless to say!

Look at this happy couple! :)

It was so fun to celebrate with all of our family. Here I am with my parents and sisters.

And here is the rest of the crew. I'm so excited these families are coming together!

Jason graciously bought the whole group great tickets to the game. Which the Braves won, by the way. I'm telling you, it was an awesome night!

You know how they say "you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family?" Well, we kind of did get to choose Jason! He's such a sweet, humble, God-loving, friendly guy. And he'll make a great husband for Tori! They are lucky to have each other. I am so excited for my little sister : )

You can expect to hear more about this wedding as we get to planning it. My sister has always wanted a fall wedding, so this shindig may be just around the corner!

Congratulations, Tori and Jason! We love y'all!

A Little Bit of Tuesday Loving

2013-04-09T08:33:00.002-04:00

Hi friends! Hope y'all are doing great this week. Spring has officially arrived here in Georgia, which means beautiful warm weather, gorgeous floral blooms and about an inch of nasty green-yellow pollen coating every surface outdoors. Love it.

Do you ever go through creative spurts? I definitely do. I think I go through waves of creativity. Sometimes, I'm all about the DIY and I basically wake up in the morning with a paint brush in my hand, ready to go. Other times, I get distracted and would rather relax with ~~a glass of wine and a Real Housewives episode~~ HDawg and David.

This week? I'm all about the creativity. And even though work is keeping me busy and I can't complete a bunch of projects myself, a girl can dream, right? This is where I give a hootie hoo to my girl, Pinterest, and all of you amazing bloggers out there who keep me on my creative toes every day. Check out some of the awesome stuff I've found out there lately!

free printable conversion chart from Shanty2Chic

kids art table/Ikea hack from Freckles Chick

simple meal planning from Julia at Pawleys Island Posh

(ps. I made these recipes... amazeballs!)

mudroom vignette from House*Tweaking

"Why I Started Blogging" interview with lots of fab bloggers at Michaela Noelle Designs

(she was sweet enough to include me!)

chalkboard recycling bins from Little Green Notebook

closet office makeover from Courtney with A Thoughtful Place

nephew's room makeover by Sherry Hart at Design Indulgence

vintage dresser revamp from Cassie at Primitive & Proper

Don't these amazing projects make you want to jump out of your seat and start DIYing?! I've got my inspired pants on, that's for sure : )

For more on what I'm loving these days, come follow me and my boards on here on Pinterest!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Mixing Patterns: A Tutorial

2013-04-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

via Little Green Notebook

What's leopard, floral and tribal printed all over? This amazing little vignette from the brilliant Jenny Komenda over at LGN, that's what.

In my opinion, mixing patterns is one of the toughest elements of interior design. But I recently decided to take the bull by the horns and draft up a little diddy on the subject. In fact, I laid out a step-by-step approach to mixing patterns in interior design. Hoo-ray!

Head on over here to Centsational Girl to check out my article.

Do you find pattern mixing as tough as I do?!

Rental Master Bathroom Updates

2013-04-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, I revealed our rental house's master bathroom. Ugly is as ugly does, right? I think Forrest Gump said that. Or maybe I made it up. Either way, our master bathroom space is not the prettiest! But I promised you that you wouldn't have to live with the ugly master bathroom for too long.

Ta da! A few updates and my previously neutral on neutral box is now lively with color.

Because there were sooo many shades of neutral going on in this room (bright white, ivory, tan, gray, dark brown, light brown... I could go on), I knew that all it needed was a major dose of color. So color, it got.

As renters, David and I decided not to paint the space, although we are allowed. I'm just not sure it's worth my time and energy to paint a space like this only to have to repaint in a year. So all of the small changes I've decided to make to the room are temporary and will be easy to undo.

Just a reminder, here's the before.

My first focus was to find a rug to cover up the ugly linoleum floor. I searched the bathroom departments of a few of my favorite decor stores without any luck. But then, as I was making my weekly stroll down the aisles of Tar-jay, I saw this rug. In. Love. It's not a bath mat, but it's a thick rug that absorbs water but dries out very quickly. And it's much longer/wider than most bath mats, so it's perfect for this space. The more ugly linoleum coverage, the better. Boo-yah.

Next up, I was on a shower curtain mission. Check out a few of my options (along with another rug option that I passed on- the green rug brought out green undertones in the neutral colors, no bueno).

I couldn't say no to the colorful floral curtain I ended up with, which is from World Market. It kind of pulled at my heart strings. In fact, I saw it online and knew it was the one for me. Yes, I call my shower curtain the one. We have a deep relationship like that. FYI, the second runner-up ikat curtain is from Target and the third runner-up paisley curtain is from World Market.

We've all heard to hang curtains "high and wide" and shower curtains are no exception.
I purchased a longer shower curtain rod so I could move the curtain higher and cover up some of the awkward white trim work that runs along the side of the shower. It makes such a difference!

BEFORE

AFTER

I also added a canvas print of a photo David and I took when we visited Puerto Rico a couple of years ago. I think the pretty blue sky brings a great pop of color to the space.

Over on the other side of the room, I knew my next focus had to be the area around the mirror. I added some glossy royal blue frames that I previously had on the wall in our old master bedroom. Because the medicine cabinet mirror is really tiny and out of proportion in this space, I tried to visually expand the cabinet by bringing your eye out towards the art on either side. Well that sounded fancy, didn't it? Hopefully that impressed you ; )

I love that you can see the colorful new shower curtain in the mirror. Beautimous.

I haven't done anything yet with the vanity (besides adding the bamboo plant- who puts live plants in the bathroom?! I was desperate for color!), but I've definitely got a few ideas. Wouldn't it be nice to take a paintbrush to it all?! Trust me, I've thought about it. If only we weren't renters! Some temporary fixes will just have to do... do I smell new knobs in my future? Mhhhm.

All in all, I think these minor changes make a big difference in the space. We've still got a long way to go before we're talking beautiful, but it's definitely a start!

Our Rental House: The Bathrooms

2013-04-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sooo, I've kind of been holding out on y'all. I've had so much fun sharing the photo tour of our new rental house that I forgot to mention the proverbial skeleton in the closet. This sweet house... well, let's just say that it's bathrooms are not it's strong point.

Actually, let's start with the guest bathroom. Besides some grout that needs to be replaced, it's actually super cute. Definitely not perfect, but cute. The black and white tiles are original, which I love.

As you can see, I used one of the shower curtain options you guys voted on when we made over our guest bathroom in our old house. It looks great in the room.

Momma loves me that black and white tiled floor.

And, um, then there's the master bathroom. Do I have to show you pictures? Ok, the only reasons that I'm showing you these pictures is because a) I've already done some fun things to spruce up the room and b) I know some of you out there have ~~heinous~~ outdated bathrooms and you can sympathize. Riiiiiight?

Thar she blows. Yup, it's a big. neutral. box. Actually, a tiny neutral box. Even worse! I didn't even edit those pictures, they're so bad. Let's keep the ugliness real, shall we?

What isn't to love about this room? The linoleum floors, the white walls, the brown on brown vanity. The bad lighting. The neutral on neutral on neutral. On neutral. It's all so lovely, yeah?

But seriously, this room needed some help, so I already dove in and started tackling my list. I think I have some pretty good ideas for turning the room around as a renter, without making any permanent changes. And you know I'll be back soon to share what I've done so far! I couldn't keep you hanging with this ugliness for too long.

And speaking of not leaving you hanging with ugly, remember that one time I lived at a house with a BEAUTIFUL master bathroom? While we're learning all about my new beige box bathroom, let's take a moment of silence to remember this renovated bathroom beauty. Sigh.

Want to see more of our new rental house? Check out our tours: kitchen, dining room, office, living room, laundry room/secret passageway and master bedroom.

Our Rental House: A Master Bedroom Tour

2013-03-28T20:41:00.002-04:00

Hey guess what? We sleep in our new rental house. I promise. You may think we don't because, even though I've shared our new kitchen, dining room, office, living room and laundry room (slash secret passageway!), I haven't shared a tour of our master bedroom yet. #badblogger

So here ya go. Our master bedroom. What do they say on MTV Cribs? "Welcome to where the magic happens...." Yeahhh, that.

Oh, wait. Let me start with an empty before photo.

And our "just started decorating but still have a loooong ways to go" after.

We pulled in the chevron rug from the play room space in our old living room. I wish we could scootch (that's a technical term) the rug all the way in front of the bed, but the thick wool pile prevents the bathroom door from opening if we position the rug that way. And don't think I didn't try that with David- "Babe, do we really need to open the bathroom door? The rug looks so much cuter here."

I sort of recreated our old mantel on our new Ikea dresser with the same large mirror and faux greenery. I also added my grandmother's milk glass lamp and the DIY lovey dovey sign language art I made for David. I think this little vignette is one of my favorites in our new house, so far!

Peace up, A Town down.

We've got some room to do something fun on this wall between the closet door and the bathroom door. If David ever gets his way, we'll have a TV there eventually. I'm not saying no... watching Real Housewives under the covers sounds great. I just forsee it being lots of Duck Dynasty, instead. Oy.

And I've already got an idea about what to do with this blank wall that sits opposite the dresser wall. Gallery wall, c'est possible?

Did I mention we have a big ol' closet? Well, not grandiose, but SO much more room than our old house, although we did our best organizing our old tiny closet and make it fancy schmancy (including my DIY curtains that replaced the old closet doors, loved those!).

I honestly think this our bedroom is one of my favorite rooms in the house, right now. It just feels so much more "us" than our old bedroom, which is kind of funny since it's barely decorated! The only thing we've got up is our favorite wedding photo that's been hanging above our bed since we were married. It's kind of disproportionate and tiny in this space, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And the rest of the decor? With time, little grasshopper.

TO DO LIST:

1. Hang art on the wall.

2. Add a full length mirror.

3. Add new throw pillows

4. Add roman shades or curtains to the windows.

5. Find furniture if we decided on a TV for the room.

6. Buy/make new nightstands.

A New Blog Find: Made By Joel

2013-03-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

I recently started reading Blog, Inc. (have y'all read it?!) and learned about a new blog from the book- Made By Joel. The blog is a chronicle of a man making toys for his children. I meannn, how cute is that? And since I love babies and all things DIY, it's totally up my alley. Check it.

He sorts his DIY tutorials by kids age, so it's totally easy to browse. Genius.

DIY sun ray infant toy

paper slot animal toys

animated father's day card

kids ride-on toy

modern dollhouse

There are soooo many cute ideas! And a lot of them are projects you can create with the kiddos, which is always a good time. Oh and he's got a great selection of free downloadable coloring pages.

I think I may have to download a few of those coloring pages and test them out ~~myself~~ with my nieces and nephew. Adults who color are weird, don't do that. ~~I kind of want to~~.

So, if you've got kids or know kids or have even just seen a kid at the grocery store, you've got to check out more of Joel's website. You'll be glad you did!

A Vintage Family Wedding

2013-03-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend, David, H and I celebrated the new marriage of my brother-in-law, Gregg, and his beautiful bride, Brooke. I know weddings are always fun, but this was SUCH an amazing occasion. It was also a very special one for us; apart from being his youngest brother, Gregg is also one of David's best friends. Celebrating him and his new wife meant so much to us!

The wedding was held at an urban farm nestled right in the middle of Atlanta. The venue was equipped with a beautiful historic house, pretty landscaping and roaming goats and chickens. Brooke planned an incredible party- the details of the event were awesome. And she looked beautiful. You know what? I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy.

The wedding party was just adorable. I loved the bridesmaids' mismatched red and blue dresses.

And the groomsmen looked fly, too!

Hey, these two look like... brothers!

My nieces were the flower girls and my nephew the ring bearer. Baby HDawg was walked in during the ceremony by David and got to "stand" up front with the other boys for a little while. The kiddos were so sweet!

David and I had so much fun celebrating with our family. We're lucky to have such great relatives. Check out how sweet HDawg's aunt and cousins were helping him get ready!

I mean, I couldn't stay away from that mini-suit and bowtie either! : )

Here are David and his three siblings with the bride (from left to right: oldest- Jamie, youngest- Greggory, the bride- Brooke, second oldest- Kelly, David).

We tried a few times to get a good family shot, but most of them turned out kind of awkward.

Our babysitter got sick, so sweet little H toughed out the ceremony with us all night. We spent a lot of the night in this pose since he was soooo tired. Reasonably so, he lasted from 1 PM to about 10 PM without a good nap! Don't worry, I danced to T.I. holding H like this. Whatchu know about that?

And for those of you who like to see the details in fun events like this....

And my most favorite detail, H's shoes! : )

A few of you already asked me on Instagram where I found HDawg's outfit. His suit is from here (the exact suit I bought isn't available anymore, but it's the Kid's World brand like those I linked to), shirt from The Children's Place, bow tie from Etsy (don't know the shop, Brooke bought for him) and shoes from Target. He sho was styling!

All in all, we had an amazing weekend celebrating my little brother-in-law and his new wife. They are the sweetest couple and I'm so proud to call them family.

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Nate, for letting me borrow most of these pictures!