What I Learned in 2018 | Strength

Wow, you guys. I have not touched this blog in over three years. It seems so strange that this little piece of my heart has just been floating around on the internet untouched for so long. So much has transpired during that time and I have learned a lot about myself. One thing I've learned is how my heart longs to be creative. And I love having this outlet to share with you.

This post won't have a lot to do with home decor or DIY, but come back tomorrow for a fun Valentine's Day project!

Today I just want to get my feet wet in the blogging world again.... you know, see if I still know how to do this thing.

In  2018 I turned 40. That is a big milestone - one I was actually excited to reach. I feel like a bonafide adult now. It was a year of self reflection and I feel I learned a lot about myself. Because of that journey, my list will mostly be things I learned about myself. Maybe you can relate?

 I am strong.
Yes, this is a bold statement. It's one I have mulled around in my head for quite some time, but have never said outloud. I don't know if it's women in general or just my personality type, but I have had a hard time admitting that I am strong. In 2017,  I started really building my physical strength and that has been an incredible journey. But I was strong long before I had muscles. I think if we all take a look deep inside ourselves and reflect on our lives, we will realize what has been dealt our way takes an incredible amount of strength to deal with. For me, sometimes being a homeschooling mom takes all of my strength. Holding up our home and taking care of our family while my husband is literally across the world requires strength for sure. Moving every one to three years is not for the weak. And losing my dad quickly to cancer while my husband was in Afghanistan and I had a one year old at home definitely took every iota of strength in me. I know there are many people out there who face much more difficult things every single day of there lives. But I think it is important for all of to stop an recognize that we have a mountain of strength inside us.



*When I started this post, I had intended for it to be a list: one post and done. But I got to writing about the first thing on my list and discovered I have a lot to say. So, I decided to make this a series of posts.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I know it's not a super huge holiday, but it's fun. I put up just a few touches of decor around our common living areas that I'd like to share. If I was on the ball, I would have shared this post a week or two ago to inspire you. Alas, I am quite the procrastinator. {I like to think most creative people are.} Hope this inspires you for next year!

ABCs of Decorating | H

ABCs of Decorating | G

Life moves. Plain and simple, it just does.

Facelift Friday | Telephone Table

Today's facelift is one that took me completely by surprise. We've had this telephone table for years. We picked it up at least eight years ago on clearance at Hobby Lobby. It's always been a great foyer, hallway or bathroom piece. It's tall, neutral and not too deep. In my opinion, accent furniture doesn't get any more versatile than this. 

The ABCs of Decorating | F

F is for Fresh flowers.

Client Review | Dining Room Decor via Text

Dining Room Décor via Text Messages

{Today's post is guest written by my lovely little sister. She and her family moved into a new, larger home last summer to accommodate their growing family. As it was quite larger than their previous home, they had several rooms they needed to design from scratch. I've had fun sharing the experience with her via text throughout that time. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she has amazingly classic taste!! I asked her if she would mind sharing the client's point of view in a guest post and happily, she agreed! I hope you enjoy it! xo, robyn}  



For a year and a half the only thing in our dining room was a table. I decided that was long enough, and it was time to finish the room.

The ABCs of Decorating | E

E, oh E, what could E be??? Quite honestly, I didn't have to think about E too long because it is something I do often.... And you should too.

Facelift Friday

Giving new life to a mass produced end table.

Settled in, but not settling.

As you probably all know by now, our family relocated to Florida last summer.

 It was a rocky start. There were many delays and mishaps and problems.

But when it was all said and done, we had gained a beautiful home that is just perfect for us.

Our entire family has enjoyed crafting and creating personal spaces that are just right.

Slowly, I've been making our home feel as if we've lived here forever. 

But, there are still so many things I want to do.

I hope you'll join me as I begin to share more about our new place.

Super Simple Valentine's Day Treats

I've stumbled across multiple versions of this on pinterest. I'm not quite sure where the original idea came from, but I love it. The treats are visually pleasing and unbelievably easy to create. My kids had a blast making them and they assure me they were delicious, though they were a little sweet for my liking.

Here is all you will need:
One bag Wilson candy melts in color of your choice
One bag of jumbo marshmallows
Lollipop sticks
Sprinkles galore

These can be suited for any occasion and I am sure we will have a repeat performance at some point in the near future.

 

I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory.

Pierce the marshmallows with the lollipop sticks.

I poked holes in a box so we would have a place to let the marshmallow pops cool off.

Melt candy according to package directions.

Swirl marshmallows through pretty melted candy.

Decorate to your heart's content.

Place in prepared box to cool off.

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Naptime Project | Recovering the old chair.

Recently, we moved a desk out of our bedroom to the family/dining area. We didn't move the chair because we just pull one from the table as we need it. And as you will shortly see, it was quite an eyesore.

Here is our lovely chair before the makeover. This chair was picked up curbside after a morning of garage sale-ing with my dearest friend in Grand Forks. I covered in a sunbrella red cabana stripe fabric. We intended to use it in the school/playroom in Newport, so I thought something water resistant would be smart. It was a good fit at the time.

We've moved twice since Newport and the red striped chair has found it's way into the master bedroom. While it was tucked under the cream colored desk, I didn't mind the red stripes. But with with the displacement of the desk, this is how it appeared daily in our cream/flax/brown bedroom. No, thanks.

Enter the woolworth faux suede blanket. I had a hard time cutting this, but I resolved that we have too many throws and we are moving to the deep south.

 

I basically mimicked the shape of the seat.

 

 

And then I got to hot gluing with a lovely helper.

 

 

My little napper woke up and I'd say he approved of the new choice in fabric.

 

 

My not so little one also approved.

 

 

Here it is completed in it's new home. I love how it fits right in with the rest of our decor.

 

 

 

One last look.

Have a wonderful Monday!

 

Happy to be sharing at Today's Creative Blog!

Valentine's Day Decor | String Hearts

 

I originally found this idea via Pinterest. It led me to Camilla's lovely blog, Family Chic. There you can find the directions to these simple, yet quite lovely hearts.

 

 

I swapped out the bright colors Camilla chose for something a little closer to my decor style. I picked up white and flax colored yarn at a local store. I didn't have the floral wire Camilla used, so I used a medium gauge craft wire to shape the hearts. After some trial and error, I realized I needed to wrap the wire heart with a layer of yarn before weaving the web around them. This kept the yarn webs taught with no slipping.

 

I love this project. It was simple enough to do with my children and they add a special touch to our living area. 

Our Homes, Past and Present | Troy, Illinois

In the next couple of weeks I hope to share with you all several photos of our homes in the years past. We have been very fortunate to live in some beautiful places with wonderful people. Our adventure isn't over yet! We will be heading back to the States within the year!

Our very first home was an apartment in northwest San Antonio. Did digital cameras exist back then? They may have, but we did not own one. Our second home was in Edmond, Oklahoma and we loved it. It was our first house. We had amazing next door neighbors, a wonderful church and amazing friends. Digital cameras had been invented during this time, but we still did not own one. I hope to dig up some pictures soon.

The third place we lived together was in Troy, Illinois: right outside of St. Louis. It was one of my favorite houses. Our neighbors there were incredibly warm and friendly.

Looking through my pictures, I can't believe how much my decorating style has changed. We sure loved red!

We finished the basement to add a family room and a guest bedroom. Love the color palette in the guest room.(Minus the red, of course.)  Whew! That is a bright green in the family room.

I think in hindsight, Kate's nursery is my favorite. Obviously, that is due to the very soft color palette and the large amounts of vanilla coloring. It was so relaxing to me then as a mom of a newborn and a nearly 3 year old. It still invokes feelings of relaxation in me today.

Claire's room is a very, very close second. She also had a very soft color palette with very light shades of rose and aqua. 

 

                          

 Oh, that bed. Our basement flooded in Rhode Island and I was more worried about my bed than my wedding dress. True story. Love it so. I haven't gotten to use it in nearly FOUR years. It wouldn't fit up our turning staircases in Rhode Island, so it lived in the basement. When we found out we were moving to Germany, we decided to leave it in storage. It was a good thing as it would never have fit in our bedroom in Simmozheim!

 Loved our back porch and yard. We ate outside very, very often!

 Our house backed up to a farm. We had a lovely view of rows and rows of corn. We loved it there.