Ten June

{DIY} Vintage Varsity Restaurant Trash Art

2013-06-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Also known as that one time I framed trash and hung it on my wall.

This past weekend, we visited an Atlanta restaurant icon- the Varsity. The Varsity is a diner-style restaurant that's famous for its chili dogs, paper hats and servers who yell out whaddyahave???

Over the weekend, I was sitting at the Varsity enjoying my dessert (whaaaat? isn't a meal of two chili hotdogs and a plate of onion rings typically followed by a deep fried dessert?) when I realized how adorable my apple pie dessert packaging was. It was whimsical, vintage and sort of a sentimental/ special thing since David and I both grew up eating at the Varsity. Wouldn't it be cute to reprint this vintage logo and hang it as art? I thought to myself.

Then I said, self... why don't you just hang this wrapper as art? Trash... as art. Always fun to try new DIY things, right? Right? Riiiiight?

Don't worry, my sweet hubs stood in line for me and sweet-talked the server into giving us not just one, but TWO empty, clean (ie. not covered in fried pie grease) wrappers. And all of a sudden, peach and apple pie just became a whole lot cooler.

Ta da! Trash as art. Don't mind the ridic glares on the photos.

I simply hung the wrappers in Ikea Ribba white frames with some scrap denim fabric as backing. I found this scrap denim fabric in my stash. About a year ago when I was finishing up HDawg's nursery (crazy that was a year ago!), I had cut up this fabric to use as backing for the multi-colored fabric pennant in his room. Then I decided I was just way too pregnant to finish that sewing project, so the cut denim squares have been sitting in my fabric pile since then.

Anyways, I originally wished that I had full pieces of the denim to use as backing for the wrappers instead of the cut pieces... but I kind of like the rough, piecey look of the scraps. It adds to the vintage aspect, in my opinion.

I hung the prints in our dining room above HDawg's high chair. The pie wrappers clearly go by the kid who is cute as pie, duh. The new frames brighten up his little corner!

Here's a full room shot, ie. the current state of our dining room.

Yeah, it pretty much looks the same since the last time you saw it! We haven't even hung the big ol' chalkboard menu our friends passed down to us from their restaurant. We need to get on it!

Mom moment: forget flowers or fruit or anything pretty, my centerpiece = baby toys. #keepingitreal

I'm totally down with our new trashy art. You can't beat vintage + sentimental + free. I know you expect all kinds of ridiculous DIY projects from me, but I bet you never guessed I would hang trash on the wall, right?! I'm a baller like that.

Selling Our House: A Not So Exciting Update

2013-06-17T08:26:00.003-04:00

Hola! Hope y'all had a great weekend and had a chance to celebrate all of the fathers in your life. Between a visit to the lake, family dinners and the pool with friends, I'd say we had the perfect weekend!

Alright, so I'm here today with an update on selling our old house. Although, it's not really an update... we're still at status quo. Womp womp. I know, right? There's really not much to share, but so many of you are so sweet to check in to ask what's going on and whether or not we've sold the house, so I wanted to update y'all on the dealy-o.

Here's a quick timeline recap of our house selling journey:

February 2012: David accepts his dream job, which just so happens to be 75 miles away.

April 2012: After a few quick updates (like repainting the exterior, making over our guest bathroom and tidying up our laundry room), we put the house on the market. It was a tough decision to list the house, since we thought we'd be in the house for at least ten or fifteen years. But that 75 mile commute was pretty miserable already, although absolutely doable while we waited for the house to sell. We started showing the house (here are a few of my tips for showing) full speed ahead.

June 2012: We had the house under contract. The buyer was concerned about the age of the HVAC and heating system and backed out during the due diligence period. It is true that they are older units, but they are in perfect working order now so there is no current need to replace them. We were frustrated, but... oh, well.

July 2012: We took the house off the market since I was about to pop pregnant.

October 2012: We put the house back on the market with a new realtor. I somehow managed to keep the house clean and ready to show with a newborn. David was still driving 150 miles a day... with a newborn. And without a lot of help (friends or family) in the town we lived in, life was, uh, well, stressful.

December 2012: My best friend visited from New York, saw how chaotic our life was and suggested that we rent a small house in the city while we continued to sell the house. David would be closer to work, HDawg could start the corporate daycare (it would have been too far for him to make the drive with David every day and we really didn't want to lose our spot on the waiting list because it's an amazing program!) and we wouldn't have to worry about showings. Hmmm. We immediately started crunching the numbers and realized that, with gas savings, it would only be several hundred dollars more out of pocket each month.

January 2013: We furiously visited rental houses in Atlanta to see what was available.

February 2013: We found "the rental house." David and I started packing up our house and we moved at the end of the month.

March 2013: David and I quickly realized a few things: a) how much we love living in the city, b) how important it was to be closer to his work/HDawg's day care and c) how happy we were with the move!

April 2013: The house went under contract again. We had a very picky buyer who asked us to fix a bunch of things (some electrical work in the attic, etc.) and we obliged. Even after we shelled out the dough for her requested repairs, she backed out of the contract during the due diligence period, deciding that she wasn't interested in an older home at all. Sigh. David and I start to wonder if all buyers in this market really just want a brand new home? Why doesn't anyone else see the charm and character in our sixty year old home? Sure, investing in an older home means that you have to spend money to keep the older parts functioning, but by no means is our mostly renovated home a money pit. WHAT is going on?

May 2013: The house went under contract again. Third time's a charm, right? A wonderful couple with three small children fell in love with the home, old parts and all. They were pleased with the inspection, understood the long-term investments they may have to make in an older home and were excited to buy. This was it. And then their financing fell through. David and I were, seriously, heart-broken. We thought it was a match made in heaven, like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Clearly, it was not.

That gets you up to speed as to where we are today in this house selling saga. About a year-and-a-half on the market, three contracts and no sale. Which, yes, means a mortgage payment and a rent payment for us each month right now. I'm not going to lie, it's a tough situation to be in. Clearly, this is a hard financial decision. Obviously, David and I wouldn't put ourselves at risk financially, but the decision to move has crunched us a bit. It also doesn't help that we miss our beloved old home. It's crazy to us that it's sitting there, empty, with no pool parties this summer and no one enjoying that spa-like master bathroom. Thinking about it that way really makes us question our decision.

BUT.

I am 100% certain that moving to the city and renting while we continue to wait for the house to sell is the right decision for us. David is so happy at work. And without four hours in the car to and from work every day, he is so much happier at home. HDawg is so happy at his daycare. And I'm so happy going to work every day (PS. my commute is shorter, too!) knowing that my boys are in the right place. David's company is a blessing to us, that's for sure.

And aside from all of that work jazz, we love it in the city. We have monopolized on every festival, park and restaurant in the vicinity. We're so much closer to friends, family... it's amazing. Yesterday morning, David, HDawg and I met my brother-in-law for a sort of spur-of-the-moment run at Piedmont Park. It was incredible- the park, the family time, all of it. And I savor every minute of it.

For those of you wondering about why our house hasn't sold, your guess is as good as ours. We are certain it's priced right (it shows ALL the time), we have made repairs and updates to sell and we really think it's a beautiful house. I honestly think there are so few people in this market who are looking for an older home... people want a turn-key builder spec home because it's easy. Clearly, that's not our jam, but we just have to wait until the perfect buyer comes along who agrees.

Soooo, this is a super long post with no new news. Sorry about that. I just know that some of you out there are in the same boat, trying to sell in this tough buyers market and knowing that so many aspects of your life are on hold as a result. So I wanted to share what has worked for us. Hopefully I will be back with an update that our house has sold in the near future.

Until then, thank you for keeping us and our house selling process in your thoughts and prayers! We're just holding tight, knowing that there's a plan going on by the big man upstairs. One day it will all pay off and we just have to have faith in that!

My Living Room Built-In Bookshelves Are Styled... Almost

2013-06-13T07:52:00.002-04:00

Hi friends! Hope y'all are having a great week so far.

When we first moved into our rental house, I shared that I was having trouble decorating the built-in bookshelves in our living room. Besides the Expedit in our office, I've never had a big shelving unit to decorate. It's a little daunting, that's for sure. And since we're renters, we're left without options like painting or papering the back of the shelves.

After a couple of months of pulling inspiration from Pinterest, all of you and some of my favorite decor magazines, I decided last weekend that it was high time I stock up those empty shelves.

Here's what I've got so far. I can't say that I'm thrilled with it, but I know it's an evolving process depending on the season, my whim and whatever new decor I whip out. Want some detail shots?

I like this side of the built-in because the other side has an uneven shelf. My Type A self prefers the symmetry of the right side... ahh.

See what I mean? For some reason, it looks like they took a shelf out of the left side. It's wonky! And hard to decorate. Basically I had to pull a plant in to help fill up the space so it didn't look so awkward! If we weren't renters, I would permanently hang something in the back of this shelf instead of just leaning it up against the shelving. That would look super cute! But for us renters, it will just be Mr. Plant to the rescue.

I think I love the little chicken + mirror shelf the best. Simple and sweet. The mirror is a vintage piece passed down from David's grandfather. Don't you love it?! And before you think I've gone all country kitsch on you, we've got a personal thing for chickens around our house, so we tend to decorate with them here and there : )

I'm so in love with that rustic wooden vase I picked up from Target awhile back. I think it really contrasts well against the pretty floral china, don't you? At least that was the thought!

I tried to ground the unit with lots of pops of black, balanced throughout the shelves.

Like I said, I'm not in love with what I've done so far, but I know it's a start. I think I just need to keep adding junk to the shelves, don't you? Weigh in with any advice you have in the comments, por favor! Goodness knows I need it.

Nightstand Saga Update

2013-06-10T08:35:00.001-04:00

Awww, yeah. Momma finally got some new nightstands. As y'all know, I've been on the hunt for some new nightstands for our master bedroom. For the last three years, we've been using these little blue guys and, while I love them, they just aren't doing the trick functionally.

I've been searching high and low for awhile now and along the way, I've found some great thrifted pieces that I could make over. But nothing has really screamed out "I'm the one!" Yes, I clearly have high expectations of my nightstands... they must talk to me.

Finally, Pinterest got the best of me and I decided to join the rest of the world by attempting some Ikea Rast hacks. For $35 a pop for the dressers, plus paint and hardware, I can make over two solid wood nightstands for under $100... yeah, I'd say it's worth a shot.

The nightstands are up already and we are loving them so far. I mean, our previous nightstands held, like, a cup. Now I can put all kinds of mommy things (burp cloths, pacis, video monitor, etc.) up on the Rast and still have room for my gossip mags. Boo yah.

But here's the question now... what color should I paint these little beauties? Since we're in a rental house and would like to redo our master bedroom one we're in a permanent house, I think something neutral is the way to go. We could eventually repaint them something bright and colorful once we decided on a more permanent bedroom scheme.

There's the obvious blogger favorite- stain + white.

via

I've also thought about recreating our DIY master bathroom vanity from the old house with the Cement Gray paint and glass knobs.

I love this plain white version, but I'm not sure we're up for adding all of the trim like they did.

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I'm also contemplating a possible stain + paint patterned finish.

via

Or maybe I should just stick with all white and dress it up with some fun knobs?

So many options! What's your vote? Any suggestions?!

Look for Less: A Simple White House Beautiful Entryway

2013-06-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

I know, right? I am ga-ga over this simple, yet fabulous, House Beautiful entry vignette.
And guess whaaaaat? I've recreated this look on the cheap. Fo shizzle.

the source list:

West Elm lacquer tray / World Market basket / Nate Berkus for Target tortise shell / IKEA faux fig leaf plant / IKEA vase / IKEA white pot / West Elm wool dhurrie rug / abstract art by HangThisWearThat on Etsy / IKEA Lack shelf / IKEA Succulent

You can recreate the entire House Beautiful entry look for under $600. And about half of that is the art budget for the awesome abstract piece (created by my girl Chassity over at LLL!).

I pulled a classic white paint color- Benjamin Moore's Decorator's White- for the walls and trim. You could use the same color in an eggshell for the walls and spruce it up in a semi-gloss finish for the trim. Creates the perfect blank slate to decorate!

And, hello, a fake fig tree from Ikea? Perfect for those of us you with black thumbs.

I'm seriously psyched to recreate this awesome vignette in my house eventually. But first you have to get me to stop saying "psyched." I mean, c'mon, Michelle.

Check out some of my previous Look for Less posts for more inspiration.

Our Rental House: The Nursery Tour

2013-06-03T08:12:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks so much for your sweet, supporting words about my perspective on balancing life. I know it's a topic most of us struggle with, so I really enjoy sharing my experience with all of you!

Today I'm popping in to share some pictures of HDawg's nursery here in our rental house. Although it's one of the last rooms that I'm sharing pictures of from this house, it was actually one of the first rooms that we completely decorated when we moved in. I wanted baby H to feel right at home as quickly as possible. He made a great transition and didn't seem to bat an eye at his new surroundings!

I basically transplanted most of the furniture and design elements from his first nursery to the rental house. Even though I so, so miss his sweet baby blue walls, we decided not to repaint the walls of the rental house nursery. I think the khaki tan color (and yes, this is the color on the walls of the rest of the house!) will work for the temporary time being.

Okay, enough with the chatter. Onto some pictures!

I decided to keep the crib wall pretty simple for a few reasons. HDawg is all over the place now, pulling up and getting into everything. So I left it easy with a small family photo above the light switch (out of his reach entirely) and the mobile above the crib.

You can also see that we added a corner shelf (a kit from Home Depot) for his video monitor and noise maker. I was kind of over the crib skirt we used in the other house, so I left it off and simly shoved a basket of toys and some floor pillows (Ikea pillow covers) under the crib for easy access.

The wall next to the crib is the toy play area. I hung his quilt scrap/burlap banner from his old room (yes, yes, I blocked out his name again... sorry y'all!) above the new chevron book shelf I painted for him a few weeks ago. It still needs to be bolted to the wall with some furniture straps... actually, we need to get on a lot of baby-proofing around our house still! I also set up his sweet color-blocked rocking chair, which he loves to sit in. It's precious!

While I loved the family frame gallery wall in his old nursery, it wasn't realistic for us to put that many holes in the wall here in the rental house. So I created a new gallery wall above the dresser with some easier-to-hang (some pieces are up with just Command strips!) art.

My favorite pieces are the gentleman print I purchased from Etsy, his baby Toms shoes in the shadowbox and my DIY Atlanta art. He loves all of the colors in the gallery!

This room is actually a little bit bigger than his room at our old house, so we have a nice little rocking/reading cove on the other side of the room.

I hung his newborn Shutteryfly print above the chair. It makes me so happy to see itty bitty H newborn every day : ) I am still LOVING my DIY ottoman cover. Definitely the best sewing project I've ever done. Or maybe it's the DIY black out curtains? Either of them, especially in that sweet navy blue gingham print, are my favs!

Needless to say, I love the little bambino's room. We spend a lot of time in here so it was important to David and I that the room be cheerful and happy for little H to get his sleep and play on.

For more information and a full source list about most of the items in the room, head over here.

Babies + Business + Blogging: Balancing Life

2013-06-01T08:59:00.001-04:00

photo of my sweet family by Hugghins Photography

I get emails from y'all on a pretty regular basis asking me how in the world? I manage having a career, a baby, a husband, a blog, a house, etc. You guys ask me what advice? I have to help balance everything. How do I manage my time so well? Every time I get one of those emails, I laugh. And then proceed to write back furiously in all caps- UMMM, I PROMISE, I DON'T BALANCE IT ALL VERY WELL. ~~MOST~~ SOME DAYS I FEEL LIKE MY LIFE IS A HOT MESS! Seriously, though, I don't have it all together. But I do have perspective on balancing life, so I can certainly share that. I don't want anyone out there to think I have it all together... to my fellow crazy, hectic life livers- you are not alone!

Warning: this is a very lengthy, verbose post. Grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and your reading glasses, I've got a lot to say!

It is true, I have a lot on my plate. I am the mom of a nine month old. I'm also an attorney, a job which can be, at times, quite demanding. I'm very blessed that I have been gifted with a flexible schedule where I can sometimes work from home. But I'm still working about thirty to forty hours a week. And a lot of that happens to be night time hearings which means I miss seeing my little man to sleep. Luckily, HDawg has an amazing daycare at David's office. It literally makes my heart sing to drop him off and see him so happy with his teachers, school and classmates. And he's got an awesome daddy. David is a rockstar pops and manages little H at 200% effort when I'm not available. And sometimes not available = sitting on the couch watching Real Housewives. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Since my schedule can be flexible for work, I try to turn any free time I have into quality time with my family. My love language is most certainly "quality time," so it's important to me to have really good time with my little man. And with David. So if that means keeping H home with me in the morning and taking him to daycare late since I have a night time hearing, that's what I'll do. Anything to get those extra snuggles in. Unfortunately, that means that I'm oftentimes giving up my free time for house work, exercising or "me" time. See! I don't have it all figured out. It's really not cool that I don't make time for myself to exercise or relax. Those things are important!! So that's something I'm still working on. I need to learn how to get forty hours in the day, is what I really need. ; )

And for those of you without kids, it may be something else. I totally recognize that kids aren't the only thing that suck up your free time! I have so many friends who are managing crazy things like a demanding job, graduate school classes, acting as caretaker for sick loved ones... we all have a lot on our plate. Managing life can be hectic, right?!

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't mentioned blogging yet. Because it's my passion, a hobby I adore, I consider it "me" time. And, as I explained, that's been neglected lately. I love blogging. I really do. I miss blogging! I miss having time to read your blogs, to find new blogs, to blog myself... I truly do miss it so much. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not exactly up to speed on the el-bloggo lately. I've had to swallow a bitter pill and realize that, right now, I'm not able to produce five awesomesauce, original content posts a week. But that's ok. As I mentioned, I'm still learning how to adapt to fit personal time into my days as a new mom. And blogging is a huge part of that.

It also doesn't help that I've had to cool my jets on projects since we're in a rental house now. Don't worry, I have a few fun things in the works. But it's nothing like the major bathroom renovations and other big-time projects we did at our old house. Speaking of... I owe y'all an update on the old house, don't I? Soon, I promise.

So anyways, this is kind of a random post to let y'all know that a) I wish I could give you life balance advice, but I most certainly do not have the baby-business-blogging balance thing worked out. I'm certainly no super-hero! One of those things oftentimes has to suffer and since HDawg is the cutest thing that ever lived and I have to work to help put food on my family's table, it's usually my personal time (ie. blogging, projects, etc.) that oftentime suffers. Also, b) I hate that I've been so absent on the blog lately, but just bear with me. I am still here, still drooling over all things interior design, still clutching my list of DIY projects a mile wide... I'm just tackling them at a much slower pace.

To sum up this super long post, life is crazy hectic. But you know what the best part is? That life is crazy hectic. Seriously. How blessed are we to have all of these things going on in our life? The good and the bad. It's life! Every day, I try to remember to stop and thank God for all of the blessings he's given me. I'm thankful for my life, even if it's in the moment of a blow-out diaper while I'm on a conference call with a big client as Tucker is barking at the UPS guy ringing the door bell. I love it all. So maybe that's my advice... just take a little moment to yourself throughout your crazy day to remember to love all of your moments, even the crazy ones.

Hot Momma Fashion: Denim Denim Denim

2013-05-29T08:12:00.001-04:00

Let's start this Wednesday off with some trivia. Remember Super Mario Brothers? What are Mario and Luigi's overalls made of? Answer: Denim denim denim.

HA. I couldn't stop laughing when I heard that one. And yes, you say it to the tune of the background music from the video game... hoping that one translates online ; )

But today, I seriously am all about the denim. Since I've been all about focusing on revamping my skin care routine (which, by the way, I have an update I added to that post about a new moisturizer that I found and love!), I haven't done a fashion post lately. But when inspiration strikes... and sometimes in the form of denim jackets... it's time to share!

On the casual side of things, I have been obsessed with adding my F21 denim jacket (picked it up last month for $29!) to every outfit. It's a perfect pop of color and texture when layered over shorts, flowy skirts, maxi dresses... you name it.

I loved the denim jacket over this flowy skirt (also from F21) although it was not so cool that the skirt was completely see-through... a fact I noticed while out and about in public already. Woops.

You can even throw denim into the mix at work, like I did with this dark denim blazer.

And for proof that even the youngest of fashion icons look great in denim....

Those little denim overalls are actually vintage, passed down to H from David! How sweet is that?!

What do you think? Are you as big of a denim fan as I am lately? And, more importantly, do you have the Super Mario Brothers theme song in your head now? Denim denim denim.

It's Time to Break Out the White

2013-05-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hellooooo my lovely friends! I am THRILLED to say that we have officially started the summer season. Can I get a woot? After a whirlwind, crazy busy week at work last week (like, the craziest since I've been back from maternity leave!) I enjoyed a fabulous weekend entertaining and being entertained by friends and family, working around the house, catching up on my reading, enjoying a local festival and eating a ton of good food. Really doesn't get much better than that, huh?

Now that it's past Memorial Day, we're officially allowed to break out the white. And if my Pinterest boards are any inclination, I have got all things white on the brain.

via

Are you ready for more summer white or WHAT?! How was your Memorial Day weekend?

Living Room Gallery Wall Art

2013-05-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

Things are slowly but surely coming around at our new rental house. I guess after three months of living here, I guess I can stop calling it "new" since it’s not exactly new to us anymore, huh? Geez, time flies.

Last week, I shared the layered frame vignette I created on our awkward fireplace mantel in the living room. On the wall adjacent to our fireplace sits our sofa, opposite a wall with the TV. I wanted to create a fun gallery wall above the sofa, but decided to keep it simple to avoid putting too many holes in the wall. Our landlord has given us permission to hang things on the wall (in fact, they sweetly said, “make it your home!”) but to avoid having to repair holes later, David and I have been trying to put as few holes in the wall as we can by hanging less or using Command strips.

Above the sofa, I took the “hang less” approach. This little gallery wall consists of just three pieces, but it’s kind of like the little engine that could… they certainly pull their weight. I love it!

In this space, I hung my DIY rustic wall art sign. It’s seriously my absolute favorite DIY project that I’ve ever done. And it was so easy. And free! If you haven’t already, check out the tutorial for the sign here.

I hung a piece of art that my mother-in-law created when she was a young teenager. Isn’t the painting and the frame beautiful?! She passed away several years ago, so the painting is a sweet reminder of her. I also hung a piece of the gold-flecked bark that I picked up at the Country Living Fair. Remember when I used it for my rustic + glam golden Christmas mantel last year? Oh yeah, now it’s finally making an appearance year-round! My friend Katelyn also has some of the bark and framed hers in an open handmade wood frame that she painted cement gray. It looks amazing, I’ll have to get pictures and show you someday.

While I’d certainly love to hang ten million pieces above the sofa to create an eclectic, beautiful gallery wall, it’s just not practical at a rental house. So I took my best shot at creating a simple arrangement that works for this temporary phase of our lives. Hey, it’s waaaay better than where we started, right? You can see the "just moved in" living room tour here.

I'm coming along with my to-do list for the room.

TO DO:

~~1. Hang art.~~

2. Organize baby gear in room. (is this possible?!)

3. Decorate the built-in bookshelves.

~~4. Decorate the wonky mantel.~~

5. Add another rug to the entry area?

For more information about the sourcing of the items in my living room, check out these posts.

the sofa, slipper chairs and coffee table

oil rubbed bronze lamp makeover

the wool rug

And for a fun visit back to our old house, check out my formal living room makeover and our slate room/family room makeover.

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?

*UPDATE*

I have found a new moisturizer that I loooooove. It's Korres Wild Rose cream... it's natural, light, moisturizing and smells faintly of cinnamon and roses. I've been using it for about a week and I highly recommend it. My face has no more dry patches, which is awesome and says a lot more than most other moisturizers. I don't feel like it's too heavy under my makeup. I'm still waiting to see how my skin reacts in terms of bumps or blackheads (TMI), but so far, so good!

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

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. 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?