Home By Heidi

2019 Summer Shopping Guide

2019-06-03T21:46:00.000-06:00

Summer 2019 is Officially HERE!!!

I wanted to share my Summer Shopping Guide before the lazy days at the pool or your
next BBQ begins :)
I hand-picked all the items and own pretty much everything on this list.
I am a lover of quality and I am pretty particular about the items I share with you all!
ENJOY!

To Shop These Styles Click to Next Page

Fruit Inspired Bedroom

2019-05-16T22:33:00.005-06:00

This was such a fun room to create!!! I love when I get the chance to work with lots of color!

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments and emails concerning the details of this room! I did a video of the space on Instagram stories under the title "Beddys" for even more info.

I thought it would be easier to share where I purchased everything by following all the links below!

If you have any questions, just email or DM me through Instagram

Black Gingham Bedding.... Beddys Bedding! If you haven't heard of Beddy's, check out their Shop!!! use HOMEBYHEIDI20 for 20% off your order.

To Shop This Room Click to Next Page

Spring Refresh Decorating

2019-05-13T16:29:00.002-06:00

I Love to do a REFRESH of my space every Spring!

After a long winter, by just adding brighter pops of colors in the home, it can make such a huge difference.

This year, I decided to use yellow to compliment the consistent blues I love to use.

Sun Shine Yellow is such a bright and happy color and super on trend this season! Switching out pillows each season is a fun and simple thing, and it makes a huge impact :)

I have loved our neutral sectional and neutral grey Pottery Barn rug. Plus the darling Rattan round coffee table has been amazing! So easy to live around and very heavy duty!

Having a neutral backdrop of furniture and rugs to work with, make it VERY easy to change from season to season, and everything Looks Great with it.

I’ve owned my rug for the past 5 years and it still looks as good as new! Even with 4 Kids :)

Beddys Bedding

2019-05-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

This room was a really FUN bedroom to design. Since we are renting and I knew this space is going to be temporary, I felt like I had to freedom to go crazy with anything I wanted to do and add fun pops of color. Sometimes rentals don’t have as much space as you need with a family of 6, so we needed to turn this space into a bedroom/playroom.
We added a daybed for our daughter, while still allowing for the other kids to use it as a sofa to watch TV and play video games. Knowing that lot of little bodies would be in this space, I needed to add bedding that would hold up to the wear and tear and STILL BE CUTE!

Beddy’s Bedding was the PERFECT solution and exactly what I needed!

The theme of the room was inspired by The famous actress Carmen Miranda for my main inspiration for the room. Its funny the places you can get inspiration from sometimes (haha)

Beddys is an ALL-IN-ONE bedding system. You have everything you need for a bed all attached in one easy step.
The Best part of the entire bedding system is that the bedding zips up!

Even my 6 year old can do it. This bedding is honestly a Mom's dream come true! #LIFECHANGING

Check out all the darling and functional bedding at Beddys

Also use HOMEBYHEIDI20 for 20% off your order

Football Room Reveal

2019-01-15T21:51:00.002-07:00

Finally, I am sharing my Football Room Reveal! This has been a long time coming . . . like a few years:) Seriously, I cannot believe how fast time flies by, and the last year has been the quickest, yet longest time of my life. This was a REALLY fun room to do!

At first, I was a bit unsure what direction I wanted to go. Normally when you think football you think of a brown leather ball. But I wanted to go with something totally out of the box, a fresh take on a football look. So the gray and blue color scheme was just perfect. I put my creative juices to task and from there it all came together.

There are so many great elements about this room that I didn't want to pass over or forget to share with everyone so here it is...

The room is in the basement. We finished it on our own a few years after moving into our home.

My husband (AKA the handyman) framed, sheet rocked, and also did the finishing trim work. He did such a good job. We used shiplap planks, in an X pattern, using reclaimed wood that we rescued from an old barn being torn down. It was fun to breath life into them again.

When I set out to design, I love to focus on the details of a space. It really is in the details that makes all the difference in a finished room.

The Lighting:
Lighting is a huge part of the details for me, including finish work and elements that really add a fun and personalized touch.

In the boys room, I added some of my favorite industrial lights. These sconces I found at Lowes for less than $30. HINT: they are really outdoor lights, but who says you can't bring the outdoors in ;)

The Vinyl:

I custom measured the space and had a resource on Etsy customize the yard lines and names for me.

The Vintage Football Pictures:

This was a bit more challenging, but after searching on pretty much every stock photo option online, we finally found some High Res pictures that we could blow up. Our local print company worked with us to mount and texturize them. They are one of my favorite elements of the room. My sons' Great Grandpa Oliver was a Football Star during this vintage football era. My husband really enjoyed seeing a bit of his grandpa reflected in the space.

The Wall:

My inspiration for this wall came from an old Pottery Barn Magazine I had kept.

Truth... I still own a copy of one of the first Pottery Barn kids magazine that came out. I think at this point it's about 17-years-old :)

This wall took a lot of planning and measuring and taping off. But I think it was well worth the time and effort it took.

B and GAME are galvanized metal letters

18- Wood Numbers painted blue

The remaining items on the wall mural are vinyl and paint.

If you are wanting to add this to your space, please email me. I still have all the measurements and wall mural details if you want to do this for your space :)

During the design process of this project, I collected fun football decor in some of the most random places. Among them was this football statuette, it was found in a salvage store of all places.

Amazing the fun stuff you can find when on the hunt for a deal!

Shop This Room

links below

Holiday Home Tour 2018

2018-11-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

Once again, I am honored to be a part of the

Holiday Homes Tour 2018

Hosted by Magnolia Lane and Evolution of Style.

Lynch Creek Farm Wreath

2018-11-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

I couldn't end The Holiday Home Tour without giving a HUGE shout out to Lynch Creek Farm
and this AMAZING 26"Red Elegance Wreath.

In my front room, I have a Winter Wonderland woodsy feel, but in the rest of my home I couldn't leave out the Traditional RED, White and Green that I LOVE so much! Decorating with these colors make me feel like Christmas has truly arrived. I incorporated these festive colors in my kitchen and front entry. I added the beautiful Lynch Creek Farm Wreath to a red and white buffalo check board. I think it adds a fun, whimsical feeling like I just stepped right onto Candy Cane Lane!

The fresh pine smell makes it all that more magical!!!

Lynch Creek Farm Wreath

Home For The Holidays by Tree Classics

2018-11-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

We LOVE Christmas around our Home. We look forward to it all year long! I have to admit that decorating the tree is my favorite part of the whole season. Opening up all the boxes of ornaments and ribbon makes me so happy. If you follow me on Instagram you have already seen a sneak peek of my Christmas Tree this year!!!
This year I am thrilled to partner up with TREE CLASSICS

This post is sponsored in collaboration with Tree Classics but all thoughts are 100% mine.
I have always love the look of flocked trees. And this year I wanted a regal and classy feel, I knew by picking an all white Christmas Tree it would create the soft magical feel I going for. I really focused on playing off all the white and silver but then adding just a touch of black and green to make it POP! This Gorgeous Christmas Tree is a

9 foot Pre-lite

Flocked White Fir Deluxe

I am a 100% fan of faux trees for Christmas, but I still want the Look and feel of a REAL tree. This AMAZING Flocked Fir has a mix of two different style of branches which gives it that realistic look. It is even more gorgeous in person.

Putting up the tree was so EASY! It only took me about 10 minutes. The flocking was NOT messy which is very important to me. I LOVE this tree so much!

Tree Classics also offer gorgeous ornaments. Look how pretty

this silver final is! It is from Tree Classics Winter White Collection.

I am so in Love the with the sparkle it adds to my tree.

Tree Classics is having a Home For The Holidays GIVEAWAY! So be sure to check out their Facebook page for more details!

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website

Family Pictures 2018

2018-11-15T10:20:00.003-07:00

Tis the Season for Family Pictures! :)

When your ALL TIME FAVORITE photographer Jeanna Hayes comes to town,

you jump at the chance! :) We got our family pictures taken this past summer and I am so glad we did. With this upcoming holiday season upon us. It is nice to have one big thing checked off the list!

I thought it would be fun and helpful to share some of my favorite tips on how to style a family photoshoot!

Here are a few suggestions for your upcoming family pictures:

#1- Pick a color scheme...this is HUGE! This doesn't mean you have to be all matchy-matchy. If the colors are in the same family (pun intended), as far as tones go, it will look good:) Pick 1-3 colors to make the pictures flow and it doesn't get too busy for the eye.

#2- Pick a theme...I know what you are thinking! A Theme? YES! ;) Do you want a feeling of fresh and airy like in the spring, or more drama with darker colors like in the autumn and winter. Think about the season you are photographing in and do what feels organic.

In my photoshoot, I chose to go with an early summer/spring feeling. It's also fun to add some props! I used flowers and peaches as a fun accent that would highlight and add to the character of the pictures.

#3- Don't overthink the location...choose somewhere that is easy to get to and that will be easy for your family. Any good photographer can take a simple location, and with a bit of creativity, make it look incredible! We took ours in a park in Las Vegas. In Vegas, big beautiful trees are rare, but you would never know it with the amazing skills Jeanna has!

#4- Be Natural. Just relax and interact with your family the way you would naturally do. The camera doesn't lie. If you feel tense it will show in the pictures. Just enjoy yourself and let the photographer do their job. You will end up with some really beautiful candid shots.

#5- Just Breath- Let kids be kids :) "Perfection," when it comes to family pictures, is not achievable. But I promise, even with kids not smiling and their clothes and hair get a bit on the wild side, you will get pictures you will treasure forever :)

Hope that helps! I can't wait to see all you beautiful people and your Christmas Cards this Holiday Season. Below are links to where I found a lot of my clothing. Amazon to the rescue for the majority of items.

Halloween 2018

2018-11-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I would play catch up on Halloween before moving on to Christmas. I am loving decorating our new home/rental. So much natural light and perfect spot for our family as we transition forward into our new town.

A lot of my Halloween Decor Came from Krumpet Home Decor & Grey Dot Co

I seriously love everything These two shops have. Such darling stuff!

Grey Dot Co Signs

LOVE THEM!!!

Peach Pie

2018-08-31T19:55:00.004-06:00

It's that time of Year again!

-PEACH SEASON-

And for me, That means PEACH PIE!

My entire family looks forward to this time of year and the traditional Peach Pies I whip up for them!

I must say...these pies are SUPER yummy and they have a reputation among all our family and friends!

So today I am going to share the recipe and some of the different ways you can custom the pie to what you and your family like BEST!!!

So here you go! :)

...Ingredients...

6-8 Fresh Peaches (Utah peaches are my FAVORITE)

Filling

1 Cube of Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Heavy whip Cream

1 to 1 1/2 cups of Powdered Sugar (to taste)

whip the heavy whip cream, then add sugar and softened cream cheese

Glaze

Half box-Peach Jello

2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Pre mix water and corn starch in pot, then cook over heat until thick. add sugar and Jello, stir over heat,

turn to low, then set aside

Crust

24 squares of Graham crackers (crushed)

1/3 cup of butter (melted)

1/2 cup of sugar

I like to crush my graham crackers in my Vitamix (blender)

then in a bowl add the crumbs, sugar and butter. Blend well.
Press into an ungreased pie plate.

If you want, you can buy a premade graham crust or a Nilla wafer crust. If you want a different tasting kind of crust, you can make or buy a butter crust. My favorite is the Marie Calendars frozen crust! But I do have to say that the homemade Graham crust can't be beat!

Assemble

Add the filling inside the crust,

place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Peel and slice peaches, combine glaze to peaches

Add peach mixture to the top of the pie and then return to fridge until ready to serve!

Delicious!!!

Autumn is my most favorite time of year, so I want to wish

EVERYONE a Happy Fall :)

Photography- Jeanna Hayes ( Here and Here)

Shop Below

Amazon Prime Day

2018-07-16T14:28:00.002-06:00

Honestly, I’m not sure how our Mom's raised kids without Amazon Prime?!?

I swear I have been saved so many times because of Amazon Prime!  When I or my kids need something, and I don't want to waste HOURS driving around from store to store to find it, I just jump online and MAGICALLY with one click of a button, it arrives on my door step! MY FRONT DOOR! Technology is AMAZING!!!

Summer is CRAZY, we are traveling a lot and I didn't get time to really jump into tracking down all my Amazon favorites for Prime Day.  But I thought it would be fun to share my shopping in "real time" and share the last few items I have purchased on Amazon that I LOVE...really Love!

I am a SUPER picky about the things I buy so these suggestions are coming from a professional shopper. At least that is what my husband calls me.  (haha)

Most of these items are super random. But trust me, you will thank me later!

Tweezers- These are by far the best! This is coming from a girl that has to pluck daily.

King Bed Skirt- This one is my Favorite find! It has Pom-Poms on the edge, the fabric is heavy and not see through. So, So happy with it!

Mattress Cover- Super great quality, so soft and it adds a lot of extra comfort!

Pillow Inserts- I am beyond particular with my pillow inserts and these are GOOD! Really Good!

BB cream- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! This BB cream is better than the expensive department store creams. TRUST me, I have tried them all!

Command Hooks- Love these in my closet! They are perfect for organizing necklaces. Love them!

Pearl earrings- Love the large size of these, they are light and don't weigh down the ear. Love them!

Boy Dress Socks- I love a boy dressed up in his Sunday best with a really great tie and great socks. These are a staple in our home. It’s all in the details, right?

Moving Update

2018-07-13T23:16:00.004-06:00

Moving has been one of the most stressful, emotional, and exciting adventure of my life.

I thought moving across town when we lived in Idaho had its changes.

But, moving 8 hours away to a new State, WOW.. I had no idea!!!

We have been in our new home / rental for a week and a half now. Things are coming along GREAT, slow but good! Thus far I have unpacked the kitchen, pantry, entry, game room and laundry room. Lots of Pictures coming Soon

I am trying to finish off my room, the boys room, and my daughters room is on the list for today.

Here is a picture of my daughters Bedding thus far. I am trying to hold back not go

ALL OUT with decorating, as we are not sure how long we will be here. I know it will be at least 6 months. So, I am making it as comfortable and cute as I can without buying new things, adding a lot of holes in the wall, and spending money on items that are temporary.

Lets see how creative I can get ( wink)

Master Bedroom Update

2018-04-04T23:33:00.001-06:00

I adore bedding!
I love soft fabrics, puffy pillows and a great color scheme. I also love falling into a comfy, perfectly designed bed at night.

This past week we made the switch from a Queen bed to a King. I am in heaven!

I am also LOVING the look of our new Master Bedroom Bedding.

White Quilt-HERE

Blue Blanket-HERE

Old and New & Decorating a Rental

2018-02-04T21:17:00.006-07:00

This past year has been a whirlwind of emotions for our family! Back in July, we sold our home of 12 years. It's crazy how attached you can become, both physically and emotionally.
Brett and I literally poured blood, sweat and tears into the walls of our home.

The greatest shock is looking at photos when we moved in, and then the day we moved out. It seems that all the measuring and wood cutting really made our house a home, and that was just the part Brett was in charge of ;)

So many styles and trends changed over the course of 12 years. When we first built our home Red, Yellow and Black was the THING to do. That quickly switched to beige, and beige turned to grays and blues. I am excited to see what comes next!

Before and After of our old home

Lets fast forward to now! We are planning around 10-12 months to build this next house, and that doesn't include the last few months it has taken to design a floor plan. In the meantime, we are happy and that is what's most important. In truth it, has been super nice to not stress over the house or yard as I did before. I don't stress over moldings or carpet and I think I've even become more relaxed about decorating. Having my life more simplified and all my decor in storage, has been a mini vacation for me:) I'm able to save all my creative juices for other fun design endeavors.

Going from a home you LOVE to a rental is not easy on the emotions or nerves. But, I knew we would be in this place for awhile because custom building takes a long time!

When we started to shop for a rental, I wanted a place my kids would be happy in. I wanted it to feel cozy and as much like home as possible. We REALLY lucked out and found a great place. A
5 bedroom 3 bath house with a large basement and storage room. It was in the neighborhood we wanted, the school district that my kids have friends in, and the BEST part is this rental is bigger than our old home. Each of my kids have their own rooms, plus it has a large yard with a tramp for them to play in. So there is lots of room for them and for me ;)

Here are some pictures taken the day we moved in!

Here is what I did with the space. I didn't buy anything new, just put together old pieces I had from our old home. I think it turned out pretty nice considering I didn't buy anything new:)

Over the next few months, I will be sharing a Rental Series. I will talk about tips and tricks on making a rental cute and functional without spending a ton of money or changing the paint or adding trim or any other element that you have the freedom to change in a home you own.

This journey has been fun for me to grow and work outside of my comfort zone.

So watch for upcoming posts!!!

Also if you don't already follow me on Pinterest... head on over

CLICK HERE

Home By Heidi was nominated and added on Pinterest for

"Top Pinterest Ideas for Home and Garden Design"

#happydance

Decorating Christmas Trees

2017-12-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Each Christmas season, I love the challenge of decorating a Christmas Tree!

I always like to try new and different things every Holiday. Today, I am going to share all the fun colors and themes I have tried over the years. Hopefully it will give a bit of inspiration for everyone when you start to decorate your own tree :)

I always start with extra large and colorful bulbs as my foundation. It offers balance, size and interest :) personally my favorite kind of decorated trees are more of a collection of interesting ornaments that don't necessarily repeat each other. I like to see something unique as I peek at every branch.

This is why I LOVE to collect interesting things year after year.

After years of trying all sorts of different looks, in the end...I've decided I am going to stay with the traditional Reds, Whites and Silvers as seen in this year's

Better Homes and Garden magazine. To me it feels the most like Christmas and is true to who I am and the style I want to represent.

This tree is full of all the things I personally love. If you grab a copy of the

BHG Christmas Ideas Magazine 2017 be sure and read the article. It's a super fun read! The writer is so witty and she is a pro at creative wording. It was a lot of fun to be interviewed.

If you click on the trees' names below, it will take you to each tree:

I also wrote a blog post last year of all my trees in a lot more detail SEE HERE

Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Tree 2016

Sugar Plum Dreams Christmas Tree

Vintage Inspired Tree 2017 (Treetopia) Peppermint Dreams Tree 2016

Treetopia Design Council 2015- Silver & Gold Red and Birch Star Christmas Tree 2015

Green & Gold Tree 2014 Candy Cane Tree 2014 Boys Christmas Tree 2016

Home By Heidi-Design Collection Shop

2017-12-13T20:10:00.002-07:00

I am THRILLED to finally announce my NEW Online Store

It's been a long time coming, and I know I am a bit late for the month of December, but I say better late then never. And good things come to those who wait. ;)

Over the next few months, I will be prepping my shop for the upcoming

Spring/Summer collection. So Watch for that! In the meantime, grab some Christmas decor pieces for this season or be super prepared for next Christmas! Make sure you have what you need on hand:)

The few items I am selling, are things I personal Love and have featured in my home. Heidi Approved for sure!!! Most of the decor, like the Big round Bulbs and Snow Balls and Striped Stockings, were featured on My Better Homes and Gardens tree.

And let's not forget the Birch Sticks, my personal favorite decor piece. See them styled HERE!

Go ahead and Shop away...I just know you will LOVE everything you see!!!

Here is a Sneak Peek!

www.shophomebyheidi.com

Christmas Advent Calendar

2017-12-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

This is a NEW Tradition for our family! I have been wanting an advent calendar for sometime now, but I wanted something special knowing that once I presented it to my kids, it would become an instant tradition like it or not! ;)

I have been shopping for an advent calendar for years, I wanted the perfect one... I did find one at Pottery Barn, but I never could bring myself to spend the almost $200

So when I found this advent, and I knew it was the one. found HERE and HERE
It was the right price and the buckets were big enough to be creative. I mentioned it to Brett that I wanted it, but then life got busy and I kept meaning to grab it. I was beyond EXCITED when my husband surprised me by walking in the door with it one day! He knows the way to my heart... or maybe he just LOVES Christmas ( A LOT ) haha

I was excited to get to work... I have always loved all the fun tags, clips, bows and stockings at the Target dollar spot, but I never wanted to buy them just to buy them, but NOW I had a reason!

So off to Target I went. I found everything I needed to make the board festive without spending a ton of money. Pretty much everything I bought was under a dollar or two.

My son and husband both have December Birthdays, so I made sure and put something special in the bucket on their special day!!! I am looking forward to coming up with different color themes with this advent calendar as the years go by!

I hope this calendar gives you inspiration for your own traditions!

Merry Christmas!!!

12 Days of Holiday Homes 2017

2017-12-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to be a part of the 2017

Last year, our winter season was such a whirlwind! I had the privilege of having

Better Homes and Gardens travel out to my home in Idaho and photograph our home for their

2017 Christmas Ideas Magazine.

I was limited on what pictures I could share until the magazine hit newsstands this year. It has been an amazing experience seeing the publication come to life...one for the bucket list!

This year, I am excited to FINALLY share all my personal pictures I took while preparing my house for the photo shoot! Hope you love them as much as I do!

I want to send out a HUGE Thank You to Lynch Creek Farms for sponsoring this post!

Last year, Lynch Creek Farm filled my home with fresh, evergreen filler and thick amazing garlands. When it showed up on my door step, I could smell the freshness through the box! The quality is top notch! All season long, I felt like I lived in a magical pine forest!

Fresh Greenery really is a special Holiday treat.

This year, we get to have the wondrous scent of pine grace our home again with this amazing

Lynch Creek Farms Wreath!

I am so happy to announce that I am giving away

One 26" Red Elegance Wreath to one lucky person!

Head on over to my Instagram page for more details

Click Here

12 Days of Holiday Homes Tour

To see all the official pictures from Better Homes and Gardens

Click Here

2017 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

2017-11-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

To say that having Better Homes and Gardens, coming to my little space in the world, was MIND BLOWING doesn't even start to explain how fun the experience was! It was so fun, but so much work at the same time. BHG contacted me early Fall 2016 and wanted to come photograph my home in the month of December, so once Halloween was over the Christmas Decor was up and I started brainstorming how to perfect every corner of my home.

I have never worried so much on the placement of each ornament, pine sprig, or table setting as I did for this photo shoot. I really felt the pressure and I have to admit at times I felt like my style and my ability to decorate wouldn't be good enough for Better Homes and Gardens, but once the BHG team walked in my door, they couldn't say enough good and made me feel at ease within just a few moments:)

We originally had scheduled to shoot the 2nd week in December, but we had a scheduled trip to Disneyland for my husband's 40th Birthday, (he really is a big kid at heart) and the time frame wasn't working out for the both of us, so BHG rescheduled for after the holidays, actually it wasn't until the end of January! By the time the photo shoot wrapped, I found myself taking down my Decor around Valentine's Day. haha! I laugh now, but I have to say that was the longest Christmas Season of my life! During the same time, my husband was also launching his brand new Children's Christmas Book. We were traveling and doing book signings, it was crazy!

To say our Christmas was "busy" was a huge under statement, though I wouldn't take any of it back.

Introducing the Book...

This story is darling! The book was featured in the Better Homes and Gardens article. It was fun that they included something of my husband's in the magazine. The book centers around a very sweet message of Love and Service, The entire book rhymes so it's really fun to read.

I am just not saying this because I am the wife of the author, (wink) but as a mom recommending a book to another mom, it's a great story to share with kids and to encourage them to believe in the reason for the season! It also just won Gold Medal for the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards! I'm so proud of my hubby!

Check it out HERE and HERE

(The book keeps selling out on Amazon, but we have plenty available on the main website)

Now back to the main story . . . The day the BHG team showed up at my door, we discussed the order in which they would photograph my home and they immediately set to work! For some reason I thought it would be a pretty fast shoot and that they just show up and take a few pictures and be done, but, BOY, was I wrong!

It was a full day of shooting 9-5 for 3 straight days! The entire house was filled with lights and equipment. The front door of my house stayed open, even in the dead of winter because of the intense heat the lighting was putting out. And to top it all off, we had a TERRIBLE winter storm at the sme time! Let me tell you. . . it was such an adventure!

My kids were in school all day, which definitely helped because the last thing I felt I could mange was cooking and cleaning while keeping everything looking juuuuuust right:)

My amazing parents offered to let us stay the 3 nights at their place. Thank goodness they only live down the road:)

Before a single picture was taken, each space in my home was analyzed and shifted just a bit to get the "perfect" picture. What I quickly realized was "real life" decorating doesn't always translate in magazine pictures, meaning, what most of us might do to decorate and live in, doesn't work as well in a picture that goes on a 8x10" magazine page:)

I was totally ok with letting them do whatever they wanted. I was just happy that they loved everything and didn't change too much! The biggest surprise I found was rugs and pillows didn't photograph as nicely as they look in real life, so my front rug and some pillows had to be switched around to get the perfect picture. The overall design, of each pic, was to make every item look equally great instead of having one or two items "pop" as we do in everyday decorating. I loved watching professionals in action. I learned so much during the process!

I am so very proud of how the article turned out and love each and every picture! I have to say the Cocoa Tray and Front Room shot are my FAVORITE! These pictures are very much me and I put a lot of heart into them. I also am planning on sharing some of my personal pictures in an upcoming Holiday Tour, So Watch for that!!!

Here are some behind-the-scenes pics of what a magazine shoot looks like:

Here is the magic that they created

Peppermint Tree 2016

2017-11-25T14:18:00.002-07:00

I didn't get the chance to share my 2016 Peppermint Tree last year, so I thought this season, I would share the pictures I have of this fun tree! I can't believe I only ended up with
4 good pictures (sniff)

Our Christmas season was Super Crazy with the launch of my husband's new Children's Christmas book "The 12 Hats of Christmas" SEE HERE

and also with Better Homes and Gardens article. This tree isn't complicated to decorate. I only focused on red and white bulbs with a few red stripe ornaments that look like peppermints. I also added a fun red and white felt garland I bought from @greydotco.com

The Flocked Tree is one of my favorites and its from Treetopia

Our Family Tradition

2017-11-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start the season off right by sharing one of our Family Traditions. I shared this a few years ago, but it keeps popping up as a favorite on the search engines . . . so I thought I would share it again:)

I designed this card for my kids when they were little. We have followed this gift guide every year! It really does help me as a Mom and also Santa as well;-) Santa brings one gift and it's always the WANT gift, and parents bring the rest. Another reason I love it is my kids have to really think about what they want and need, which really narrows down the selection process . . . sooooooooo helpful!

It also seems to keep our family focused on the true meaning of Christmas and not always thinking about the laundry list of presents. As a family, it also sometimes leaves a little extra funds for a Christmas memory, like a Christmas trip or a fun family surprise! ;)

CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOAD

Holiday Wreath

2017-11-19T20:28:00.001-07:00

A Blast From the Past for sure! But I thought it would be fun to share my How To Video on how to create the perfect Christmas Wreath!

Enjoy!

Click Here

Thanksgiving Tablescape Ideas

2017-11-18T22:55:00.004-07:00

With Thanksgiving upon us, I thought it would be fun to reminisce on my past Thanksgiving tables I've styled over the years. Maybe old pictures will inspire new ideas:)

Thanksgiving is such a great excuse to bring out your BEST and go all out on your table.

I here a lot of people tell me that they HATE centerpieces because they are "always in the way" or "it's just so awkward and we can't see each other across the table," etc. etc. So here's my take on this . . .

First - don't be afraid to Go ALL OUT on your centerpiece! I figure that company will come, see the beautiful table, feel the holiday spirit and beauty of the space (mission accomplished), and once you start placing the food, the center piece is moved off the table and the festivity begins!

Second - I like to repeat items season after season. My natural woven placements were an awesome investment, as well as several table runners and other fabric placements that I have collected over the years. Don't worry about repeat decor - if you find something you like, use it again. Just repurpose your decor in different ways each year. I also like to check out the Target dollar spot for inexpensive finds to add charm to my tables.

A few weeks ago, I taught a class on Tablescapes, at the Pinners Conference in Salt lake City, Utah.

I gave the class members a list of my "must haves" to start their collection of items that makes pulling together a tablescape easy and effortless, which is what it's all about! We want the holidays to be FUN! If you're killing yourself off by spending countless hours on decorating, you might be missing out on other things. Don't get me wrong, I DO spend a lot of time on decorating, but I'm also here to tell you that it gets easier and quicker the more you dive into it. Trust me;)

For all those who weren't able to attend, I wanted to share how to get started on a tablescape.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Harvest Inspired

Neutral and Blue

Christmas Tree 2017

2017-11-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to be teaming up with Treetopia Today! As most of you know, Christmas is definitely a Favorite around here. This Year, Christmas is going to be a bit different for us. Instead of a full home to decorate, we are decking the halls in a smaller space. This past summer, we sold our beautiful home of 11 years. We plan to start building our new home this coming spring! We are pretty excited to be moving forward on home that we hope to be in a very long time!

In the meantime, we were blessed enough to find a super cute and extremely nice rental home. The front room is small, but so cozy. We had just enough space in the corner, between the sofa and TV armoire for the Slim Cut Tree from Treetopia. There is just enough space in the front room to gather around the tree and watch a Christmas Hallmark show as a family:)

Today, I am excited to share my Christmas Tree! I wanted to try a new look and color scheme that I haven't ever tried before. Being in a rental, the majority of my Christmas decor is all boxed away, so I thought it would be fun to take the opportunity to let my creative juices fly. I picked the colors aqua and red for a fun vintage Christmas theme. I have to say I LOVE IT!!! I only had a few Christmas items to work with, that weren't boxed up, but I somehow managed to create a really fun tree that my entire family is thrilled with!

I only had to purchase a few "new" items, which were very affordable: a few aqua colored ball ornaments, Making Spirits Bright signs from Michaels 50% off sale, and a spool of ribbon I found in the clearance section.

ok...Let's now talk about this AMAZING Flocked Tree! When I saw this online I instantly fell in love! This tree is 100% white flocked. A lot of flocked trees have a bit of green showing through on the branches, but this one is PURE white and I LOVE it!!!

Here is the Tree in all its Christmas Glory.

All week Treetopia is sharing fun trees in small spaces from a slew of bloggers like Designed Decor, Tried and True, Simplified Bee, and Mom Home Guide.

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