Project 365: Week 8

I took a few really awesome photos this week and a few last minute not-so-wonderful ones.  Ah well. 

One of my faves is Kiernan standing on the back of a fire truck.  We went to a "Touch a Truck" festival and the boys had an amazing time.  I just love, love, love this photo of him, with his sunglasses, fire hat, balloon, and big grin.  Too cute for words.  

My other fave is the black and white photo of Brennan.  I noticed some awesome light coming in the dining room window and asked him to stand next to the window for me.  He informed me that he would not be smiling and would instead use his serious face.  Fine by me, sweet kiddo!  I took a whole slew of cute photos of him, but this was my favorite.  Enjoy!

May 9 - Fireman Kiernan.

May 10 - Frosting fingers.

May 11 - Real life.

May 12 - Tulips.

May 13 - Messing around with the macro.

May 14 - Sweet serious face.

May 15 - Coffee & a good book.

My Fave Home Decor Blogs {Part 2}.

Alright, round 2!  I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of my Fave Home Decor Blogs.  I have more eye candy for you today!

Beneath My Heart

Traci from Beneath My Heart seems like one of the sweetest people on earth.  Honestly, she's just someone that I can picture myself meeting for coffee and losing track of time with all of our chatter.  But beyond that, her house is just beautiful.  Traci's style is warm, welcoming, and comfortable.  She has a very talented handy hubby, and the two of them have transformed their home into a really beautiful space.

via Beneath My Heart

Traci is another fellow boy mom.  One thing I love about her style is that she has created some really awesome spaces for her boys that are really well styled, but also really practical for boys.  The spaces she creates aren't stuffy or over-styled, and they look like they can withstand ... boys.  :)  

via Beneath My Heart

Inspired by Charm

Have you stopped over at Inspired by Charm?  Because Michael's house is adorable.  No, really, adorable.  There is just so much to look at, and yet it's not overwhelming or cluttered in the least.  There's brass and animals and color and greenery and lots of gorgeous white trim, and it all works together beautifully!  

via Inspired by Charm

One of my very favorite parts of his home are the light fixtures.  They're so much fun, and modern without straying from the vintage charm of the house.  And this view from the entryway into Michael's dining room is just awesome.  There are cool tones and warm tones, modern touches with vintage touches, and neutrals with pops of color.  It makes me miss our old house a bit and almost wish that we'd had the guts to paint the wood trim.  Almost.  

via Inspired by Charm

IHeart Organizing

I love the idea of being organized.  I'm not very good at keeping things organized, but I want to be.  So when I first stumbled on Jen's blog I was so excited to find someone who could make organizing look easy.  But it turns out that Jen is not only a great organizer, but an awesome designer as well.  She and her hubby recently ripped out a bunch of walls in the main living space of their home and have been transforming it into an even more beautiful space than it was.  Take a peek at her newly revealed living space ...

via iHeart Organizing

Gorgeous, right?  Words cannot describe how much I love it.  The built-ins are classic, the room is mainly neutral, but with lots of pops of color.  It looks so cozy.  Jen is yet another fellow boy mom, and I have a major, major crush on her studio space.  There are just enough feminine touches in there to clearly see her stamp in there, and yet it isn't un-inviting to the men in her life.  So, so pretty!

via iHeart Organizing

Young House Love

Last, but definitely not least, is my very favorite in the history of ever, John & Sherry from Young House Love.  I put them last because they hung up their blogging hats and are no longer updating their blog.  I am not exaggerating when I say that the day they announced their blog hiatus was a supremely sad day.  

via Young House Love

There's something so fun and effortless about their style.  It's my favorite combo of light, bright, and airy with plenty of pops of color.  John & Sherry have redone 2 homes and a model house, and are currently working on their third home.  When you wander through the house tours on their blog, there is just endless amounts of awesome.  

via Young House Love

One thing I love about John & Sherry is that they put a lot of thought into their design choices.  They decorate in stages, by making small changes first that fit their budget and make the house a little more pleasant to live in.  And when they have lived in the home and have the budget, they progress into further remodel stages.  They also keep it real by keeping their kiddos in mind when planning their spaces.  The spaces that John & Sherry create are just wonderful.  I have no better words for it!  

via Young House Love

Welp, that's all I have for you for now!  Do yourself a favor and go scroll through a few of these blogs.  You can thank me later.  :D

My Fave Home Decor Blogs {Part 1}.

I love reading home decor and DIY blogs.  Like, realllllllly love.  There are a few that I stalk on the regular because I love them that much.  So I thought I'd make a list of my faves to share.  I think that finding my own style has become easier as I've narrowed in on my favorite bloggers.  There's a little something that I love about each one that jives with the style that I want for my own home.  I mean, there are plenty of design blogs that I love to peruse and find beautiful, but these are some of the bloggers that I would invite over to sip some coffee with and talk design with.  Alright, I suppose I've babbled on enough about my love for them, so here they are...

Bower Power

Oh, Katie.  Katie is my spirit animal.  I mean, I'm sure that a lot of people feel that way, judging from the popularity of her blog.  She's just so sweet and funny and relate-able!  And she's a fellow boy mom, so that helps too.  Did I mention that I adore her style as well?  Because I do!

via Bower Power

I love her kitchen.  LOVE, love.  It's just so pretty!  One of the things I love about Katie is that she keeps it real.  She's a busy mama of 3 little boys (soon to be 4) and she doesn't deny that life is stressful.  The first to admit that projects and life can overwhelm her, Katie is not afraid to admit that her laundry room has been a work-in-progress for, well, a long time.  I'm telling you, she's my kinda girl!If you don't read her blog, you should.

via Bower Power

The Inspired Room


Melissa from the Inspired Room has a way with words.  Reading her words makes you feel like you can do absolutely anything to your space to make it just lovely.  Her home looks beautiful and attainable.  I've had the pleasure of reading her latest book, Love the Home You Have, which is just endless amounts of inspiring and reassuring words, just like her blog.

via the Inspired Room

Beyond words though, Melissa's home is just beautiful.  Her design style is so light, airy, and effortless.  And yet it just makes sense.  There is nothing about her home that seems like it wouldn't work for your average family.  I could really gush on and on about for days, but I'll spare you.  Just go check out her blog!

via the Inspired Room

Sarah M Dorsey

Alright, so Sarah is nothing short of design genius.  Really.  Her style is funky and fun without being overwhelming.  Sarah was the 2013 winner of Creating with the Stars hosted by East Coast Creative. And she was insanely deserving of the title.  

via Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

What I love about Sarah is that she doesn't just design rooms and makeover pieces of furniture.  Sister creates beautiful things.  Browse through her blog and you'll find endless amounts of creative ideas - lights, wall art, things I can't even begin to describe!  I promise, you won't be disappointed.

via Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

The Handmade Home

Ashley and Jamin have a really unique style, and it's something that I so admire.  They have transformed their home into a space that works for their family, while being beautiful too.  I love their ability to mix colors without seeming too crazy and distracting.  Also?  I love, love, love that nest picture on their wall.  It's so cute.

via The Handmade Home

One thing I love about the rooms in Ashley and Jamin's home is their ability to make a room convey an emotion.  Their kitchen and home school room are fun and playful.  The master bedroom and bathroom are calm and relaxing.  They have talent, that's for sure.

via The Handmade Home

I have more favorites for you, but this has already turned into a long post, so I'm going to break it up and come back with more favorites later this week.  Enjoy!!!

Project 365: Week 7

May 2 - Sunset cell phone photo.

May 3 - Messing around with my macro lens.

May 4 - Pretty park.

May 5 - Silly face.

 May 6 - Boy mom = Boo Boos.

May 7 - Lunch.

May 8 - Quick, somebody freeze time!

Sometimes you just have to get out the paint brush.

I was in a bit of a funk this week, feeling overwhelmed with lots of things I should do, but didn't feel like doing any of them.  So?  I decided to pick myself up by doing something I wanted to do!  And that, my friends, was painting my bedroom.  

Remember the post when I was pining over beautiful navy bedrooms?  Well, I decided to take the first step.  I had a few gallons of paint in the basement that I bought when Sherwin-Williams had a big sale, and was just waiting to decide what colors to turn them into.  So the other day I loaded up the boys, took the paint to SW, and had it tinted to a color called Naval.   

While I finish up painting, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek at how pretty the color is!  I really, really love it already.  Can't wait to post photos when it's all done!

Project 365: Week 6

I was far, far from consistent this week.  The majority of my photos were taken with my phone because I simply didn't pick up my camera.  But a photo-a-day is a photo-a-day, right?  

April 25 - Switching up the dining room decor.

April 26 - Hanging out with Aunt Shell.
This is horrible quality, but it was the only photo I took all day long!

April 27 - The eggplant painting is coming along.

April 28 - Superheroes watching Superhero Squad.

April 29 - Even superheroes need sleep.

April 30 - Serious face.
Even with blurry cell phone pics, he makes me weak in the knees.

May 1 - Sure Cooper, make yourself right at home on my bed.  

Spring Refresh.

Spring!  It's here!  Can you believe it?!  Because I barely can.  I mean, here in Michigan spring means that it might be 60 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next, but hey, after the nasty winter we had, I'll take it.  

Spring always puts me in the mood to shake things up a bit.  I'm trying not to let myself start yet another project, but I can't help but brighten things up a bit.  The upstairs "hallway" is already a really bright space because it gets tons of light, but it was looking kinda drab and impersonal.  

I started by adding a couple of personalized wreaths on our bedroom doors.  Truthfully, I don't love them.  I think I might like them more if I painted the wreaths white and pulled the letters out front more.  Who knows!  Something for a later date.

I also took the time to finally hang a set of square shelves that I snagged from Target a few months ago.  I added a few fun things on the shelves, including a photo of Brian and I.  We have so few photos of us, and I just love this one, so outside our room seemed like the perfect spot.  

 

In the family room, I dusted off the shelves and all of the decor on them, and then started playing around with what might go where.  I tried to make sure that each shelf has a little bit of green on it, even though most of them are fake.  

I actually love fake plants!  Partially because I'm not very good at keeping things alive (other than children and pets of course) and partially because I can keep them in these little places that don't get much sunlight.  

After approximately 8 weeks of not seeing the top of my dining room table, I finally cleared it off.  Look at that shine!  A simple white tray holds a few pretty things -- nothing too fancy, just fresh.  Especially because things on this level seem to disappear quickly.  My boys like to rearrange things for me, hence the fact that the turtle was soon replaced with a wooden apple.

It's amazing how easily a few changes can freshen up a home.  Colors, flowers, photos ... or even just a clear table :D

Happy Spring!!