Reader Nursery

I love when readers send me pictures of their rooms and recently I opened my mailbox to find a gem. Of course I am always looking for nursery inspiration these days but to have one this cute delivered right to me was such a treat! The owners did almost the whole thing by themselves with LOTS of paint and it really paid off. Thank you Angie, I know Evie is loving her new home!!!!

Inexpensive Botanical Wall Art

Isn't it so nice to have a long weekend?  The extra time with my hubby and baby around all together at home was so nice.  And James has started becoming such a ham (loves to laugh and make you laugh too) that it's great to be able to share these moments with Jimmy, instead of just soaking them in by myself when I'm alone with James.  It's that glance we give each other like, "How could this baby be so impossibly cute?" and happy!

Aside from marveling at that cuteness, I did manage to complete a project that I'd been wanting to do for a while- add some art to our pitifully empty bedroom walls!  

I love botanical prints and decided to do a grouping of 4 on the wall adjacent to our bed.  I found a book of botanical art (The Botanical Palette) for $22 (after my discount card and coupon) at Barnes & Noble and bought 4 frames (16x20 with 8x10 mat) from Aaron Brothers (again with a coupon- never shop there without one!)  They even scanned the coupon from my phone:)

To save even more money, you can print botanical art at home from your computer like my friend Courtney {A Thoughtful Place} did.  I wasn't as patient with the website she used and I think my printer is out of colored ink!  Also, she found great frames at WalMart.  Gotta love that!



For our botanicals, I kept the color palette in the purple family, but there were so many gorgeous photographs to choose from in the book.

I liked them so much, I added two smaller versions to our master bathroom!

Now we have a nice reflection from Jimmy's mirror and something pretty for me to look at when I leave my closet!

How pretty!

Adding art to the walls is really making a difference in how our home looks.  I love the fruit botanical art too and was considering adding some to the dining room or mudroom, but thought it might be overkill!



Want to share your sources for art?  It's such a personal preference thing, but I'd love to hear what you think.

Memorial Day

I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who is serving or has served our country so unselfishly, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I debated posting this video since it is not the typical content you come to a blog for, but I think it is a great reminder for today.

Quiet Time

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecclesiastes 11:5

Let's Go Outside

While catching up on my pile of catalogs I was loving all the new options in outdoor furniture, so many great options these days.

Above images Ballard Designs and below West Elm.

Also, spotted this at World Market, it could add happiness to any patio.

I would love to spend some time on any of these catching up on my magazine pile next. Have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend!

Help- Can You Indentify This Wallpaper?

By any chance does anyone know the source of this wallpaper seen in an Spring West Elm ad?

Any help would be appreciated!!!

Spring Cleaning & Organizing {Kitchen Drawers}

Of all the rooms in our house, the kitchen is the one I probably spend the most time keeping tidy and organized.  It's the most-used room in the house and gets the dirtiest the fastest.  I love when it looks like the picture below, but of course, that's not most of the time.

Today, I'm sharing a peek inside our kitchen drawers, 3 of which are dedicated solely to James' evolving feeding needs.  We are blessed to have a lot of kitchen storage, so I'm able to organize things how I like.   But, even with an abundance of storage, I don't have a lot of "extras" in that we try to have just enough of what we need.  That's the first rule of organizing, Edit! and don't have too much stuff! :)

The drawers in the L of our counter hold the things I need quickest access to, like James' bibs and washcloths, his utensils, and silverware.

Then the two far right drawers hold paper things like my grocery list, pens, envelops, stamps, calculator, and the tape measure I'm always reaching for.  It's also where I keep my camera charger, photo adapter and fan remote since I like to have those things in easy reach.

The drawers by our sink/stove hold the larger cooking utensils, extra knives, and since the drawers are nice and deep, they also contain James' cups.  The bottom drawer is James' drawer that has things he can play with.

We also have a drawer for all the baking tools:)

And finally, the top drawer of the island is for plastic baggies, foil, and my measuring cups and spoons, since I prepare our meals on the island.  The middle drawer holds all our tupperware.  I bought two sets of Rubbermaid tupperware and now I don't have any mismatched pieces.  Love that!

You can order it here.

If you're having trouble keeping your drawers organized, I think it feels good to at least have a clean kitchen sink.  I aim for that each night, since it feels so much better to wake up to:) 

For more Spring cleaning & organizing, go here and here!  

Love The One You're With-Paula of Two Ellie

Today I am so excited to have not only a talented blogger guest posting but also a dear friend! Paula is such a genuine person and that comes across not only on her blog, Two Ellie, but also in her house! You have already seen her kitchen on H&H here, and now we get to see another part...
I am so excited that Marianne asked me, Paula of Two Ellie, to share in her series "Love The One You Are With". As I have shared with her countless times on one of our coffee or lunch dates that our home is simply not my dream home. It was purchased as a home we were only going to stay in for two years and then we were going to buy "the one", but of course times changed and now we have been in this house for over 4 years. Ha. Needless to say this series is perfect for me. I had to learn to make this home into "The One I Love". The living room was the room that gave me some trouble. It has a funny layout within the open floor plan. From the entry you walk into this space. The fireplace is in the corner, the kitchen is to the left, the door to right is the master, and the sunroom now dining room is directly behind. There aren't many walls to work with so everything kind of has to float. A standard sofa felt funny in this room. Made it to angular for my taste so when the Mr. and I came across this sofa from Rowe I was smitten. We got a killer deal on this piece so the fabric is not exactly what I would have chosen, but saving over a grand made up for that. This room has evolved over years. The always constant is my antique coffee table. It was my first big home purchase when I was in college. The pillows on the chairs are not really mine. They are from Tracery. Doug was kind enough to let me borrow them when I was shooting my home for a local magazine. My pillows were on back order and I needed something to fill the space. To be honest if I hadn't already bought the others these would have had to of stayed home with me!So this was the room that gave me the most trouble, but I must say it's now one of my favorite spaces. It is perfect for movie watching, greeting clients, and just enjoying family. It holds so many pieces that are dear to me. It also makes for a great pass through for the kiddos when they are riding their scooters indoors. I must say I am now content and this is now home for however long that may be. It truly became the one I love.

Thank you Paula, I can say with first hand knowledge your home is so warm and inviting and full of personal touches!

Spring Cleaning & Organizing Paper Clutter}

Paper clutter!  One of the worst enemies of a productive and otherwise clutter-free household.  It drives me crazy how quickly the mail piles up in our house!  I have started making a point to address the mail each day, instead of waiting until it's out of control.

Now, as soon as the mail comes in, I toss the trash, set aside the bills, and sort the magazines until I have a chance to read them.

I like to keep magazines by my bed so I can read before going to sleep.  Also, I can never read a magazine while James is awake.  (The basket is from West Elm).

As for the rest of the paper clutter in our home, it's nothing a few file organizers and my trusty labeler can't handle!

My principles for organizing the paper clutter are really simple.  It's just hard to get going sometimes, especially if its gotten really out of hand.

Don't run out and buy any new organizing supplies until you've sorted through things so that you can better see what you need.  You can go buy the pretty organizers later- think of it as your reward for all that hard work!

1. Gather all the papers into one large surface area 


2. Sort into piles, putting like categories together


3. Break the categories into subcategories for filing 


4. Create labels! 

Here's my process put into action with a few major categories in our house:

Here's the whole big mess before I sorted through it.

Then I sorted and put post-it notes on top in anticipation for labeling.

And finally, using a file from The Container Store, I made labels for each section.

Is it just me but are coupons all the rage these days?  I'm obsessed with Extreme Couponing- in the same way I'm fascinated by the Real Housewives.  I don't want to be them, but it's fun to watch.  I do like to save money though, but have been terrible at using coupons, despite my best efforts.  It seems I'd checkout and the in the car on the way home remember I had a coupon or the one I wanted to use was expired, but now I'm determined to be more organized with my coupons.  

This goes for all those discount codes the retailers offer too.  Since those "30% off" or "save $50 for every $100" deals comes along every month, I don't buy clothes without them at places like Express, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor Loft.

I got a mini accordion file at The Container Store for receipts, coupons, and gift certificates.  I keep the coupons I need for the week in the very back so I can find them easily.  And I edit the folder every few weeks and trash the expired coupons or the receipts I no longer need.  Long-term receipts I need to hold on to (like furniture or electronics) are moved to our household file drawer.

The file isn't tiny, but it fits easily in my purse, so I keep it with me all the time.

I created a file for documents pertaining to James before he was even born, but the papers still pile up as he grows.  If I'm not ready to file things away yet, I'll at least put everything in a basket together so that it's contained until I can get to it.  

Then I just sort it into his files, which I currently keep on his bathroom counter.

This file is from Target, but I added a piece of scrapbook paper to the inside and some stickers to make it more fun.

I hope sharing how we deal with some of the paper in our house helps you in your own home!