Swap out harsh, chemical-laden products with these solutions made with naturally derived ingredients. Many of the personal care products you use daily could also have hidden chemicals or harsh dyes and fragrances. Read the labels on everything to see where you can make improvements. I personally use Think Dirty App to check all of my products or I check them on EWG. Tip- I use google to search for items I want to check on EWG (their website can be tricky) just type in google "top dish soap on EWG"! Most of Young Livings Products aren't on EWG, so I just read the ... Read More
Teenager Boys Room Makeover- Grown-Up Style
On Monday we shared that we had picked a winner of our local makeover giveaway. Kevin and I decided to give Luke, an awesome teenager boy (13) a much needed room makeover. Luke's mom had written us an email telling us how deserving Luke was of a room makeover (after we had asked for submissions to our blog subscribers). His brother has special needs and often gets the most attention and time from his parents. Luke loves his brother and is very patient (I saw it with my own eyes). They are an amazing family. From Rachel (Lukes mom) - "Luke could absolutely use a “lift”. Our younger son Pat ... Read More
Wayfair Labor Day Sale and our New Lamps
We did some lamp shuffling and evaluating of our lamps functionality this month. Real serious stuff. We live in a 1950's cape with hardly zero overhead lights, so lamps are essential. And finding the right floor lamp is even more essential. Our lamp situation has been bothering me….you know what I am talking about. They are fine lamps. But not great for the space. Some lights you need to offer direct, task type light or some you need to brighten up an entire room. When we made-over my friend Sarah's living room, she really needed a floor lamp (she lives in an older home too). While we were i ... Read More
Back to School Homework Desk Spaces
Sometimes all it takes to get motivated is a cute new space to create and work in!! Who's with me? Last Spring when I made a desk space for my girls, they spent countless hours there coloring, writing notes and being creative! So worth the small investment of time and money it took to create it for them. Sometimes you just need a dedicated space! Especially when the task isn't one you are looking forward to (homework, bills, etc). Today I have three desk looks to inspire you to create or revamp a work space in your home, too! Whether you have a lot of space, or feel like you don't ... Read More
Kitchen Shelf Styling- DIY Open Shelves with Affordable Decor
While we were making over Luke's room, (that I talked about on the blog Monday) I wandered around to the rest of the home (naturally) and noticed how great their kitchen was! They recently made it over in April, with all Ikea cabinets. It looked great. But the dining space was just missing the finishing touches. They had built-in an awesome sideboard, but Rachel (homeowner) hadn't decorated it at all, it was empty. As soon as I saw it I knew shelves would be PERFECT in the dining space. I had literally styled the shelves in my head in the 2 minutes of her showing me the space. Rachel had ... Read More
Local Makeover Winner- See the Design Plan and Who Won!
As you know, I opened up a design room makeover to locals and there were SO MANY amazing entries! I really wanted to pick everyone and come hang out with your neat families. However, when I read this entry, I just KNEW that this was the one I should pick. It is for a teenager boys room (13 year old, Luke). With school starting I thought he could really use a makeover to get his things all organized and ready for the new school year. We have to prepare for success, and having a room set-up to serve us and our big goals is key. I do want to say Kevin and I are planning on ... Read More
What It’s Like to Be in a Magazine-Top Ten Questions ANSWERED
It was so exciting to be contacted by Better Homes and Gardens to be featured in their small space decorating magazine!! I shared some of the behind the scenes process in my stories the day the crew was here, but I had so many questions from you all, that I thought it deserved a whole blog post. Questions ranged from- Do you get paid to have your home featured? How did the magazine find you? How can YOU get featured?? I am here to answer all those questions for you. I even reached out to one of the best stylists, who was also my advocate and got me in my first magazine! Heather ... Read More
Intermittent Fasting-Why and How I Do It
About 6 months ago I started Intermittent Fasting. I naturally wasn't eating breakfast anyway with the busy mornings we have, so when I discovered more about the science behind "feeding and fasting" periods for the body. I thought I would be more intentional with the way I approached my daily eating window. I am passionate about healthy eating and exercise. I really like to feel good and have energy, plus I am slightly competitive, so Cross Fit has been something I have loved for many years. I have written more about my exercise routine here and what I eat here. I thought I ... Read More
Living Room Affordable Cozy Makeover
Our good friends, Sarah and Joe have a cape, but very different than ours. They have the traditional stairs by the front door leading to the second floor, like we do, but off to the right they have a really large living room. It is a great space, that I have secretly had the itch to fix it up for her for awhile! Now, I bet you are thinking that you are never going to invite me over. Or the opposite, you want me to come in hopes that I rearrange your furniture in my head, then eventually follow through and do it in real life. I don't judge ANYONE for their home. But I can't help myself ... Read More
Shiplap Fireplace and DIY Mantle (Ditched the Old Traditional)
A lot of you wanted the step by step tutorial on this DIY shiplap fireplace makeover that Kevin and our friend Joe did (in Joe's home). It turned out really amazing. They did such a good job. I had a basic vision of taking the existing fireplace mantle completely off, (it was very traditional and really too small for the space) and coming up with something that we could DIY. It had to not take too much time and not cost a ton of money. Sounds like a simple request right? "I don't want this to take too much time or money!" haha! Famous last words. In our home we added an electric ... Read More
