Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Home Decor

01.15.20

Favorite Faux Flowers, Plants and Vases

{Favorite Faux Flowers, Plants and Vases – affiliate links used!}

Well! Not sure how we’re already at Thursday this week but here we are! Kenny has been out of town and Kole has been sick so I’m blaming my boys this week for the crickets chirping on the blog when I have so much to share with you all! Good thing they’re both worth it. ;) I got my Christmas decor organized and put away (no small feat!) and for those of you who have been asking for more details I gave a video tour of my small attic space off of our theatre room in IG stories. I saved it to highlights so if you head to my IG page and click on the top highlighted story titled “theatre” you’ll can see all the details about my theatre room, DVD organization and how I organize all of my Christmas decor in my attic. I hope it’s helpful. :)

Last year I gave my guest bedroom a little re-fresh and when I went to put everything back in its place this year after Christmas I was looking at the blue rug (which is honestly one of my favorites!) and I started thinking about how hidden it is in this room. It’s mostly tucked underneath the bed and aside from the few times we have company, nobody spends time in this room other Kole. (It’s my 9 year old’s favorite spot to watch TV and when he suddenly disappears I can usually find him under the covers in this room with his latest Netflix Pokemon show going.)

{Inhale/Exhale Prints}

I don’t think Kole notices my beautiful blue rug much either.

{Distressed Arabesque Blue Rug}

So I decided to move it into my dining room. And ahh.. I’m loving it this space so much! Isn’t the blue pretty!? I love how it ties in with the blue from our outdoor/pool furniture and adds some life to this space. Wondering about the books on my new/old rug? Those would be some of Kenny’s old law school books. They are PERFECT for smoothing out my rugs when there are bumps from having them in other spaces underneath things. Nice and thick and heavy. These books have saved my rugs countless times. Good old Contracts and Constitutional Law. Happy they are finally being put to good use. ;)

Speaking of adding life to our spaces.. I feel like that is what we are all CRAVING after the holiday decor comes down isn’t it!?

{Loving this beautiful new white vase! Similar white flowers here (on sale!) and here/faux pink peonies}

The BEST way to add some life to your home after the holidays (and always really!) is by adding flowers and plants throughout your home. Of course real plants and flowers are great and I always try to add a couple here and there, but with so many beautiful realistic faux options (and limited time to water and maintain plants!) I find myself using and loving faux options more and more.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite vases, plants and faux flowers and how I’ve used them in my home if you are looking for some fun ways to bring back some life and color into your spaces! At the end of this post I linked a round-up of old and new favorites I’ve found on-line. Some of them I may have kind of/sort of added to my own shopping cart while I was working on this post. Hazard of the job. That’s also a perk. :)

Last Spring I fell hard for these beautiful faux pink peony bundles. Closest I’ve seen to the real deal and they are beautiful in small groupings on their own OR put together with other bundles to create a fuller look like I did by my kitchen sink. They come in white and light pink too. I have all colors but the bright pink are my favorite because they add such a fun pop of color for Spring! I also love these cute little faux basil drop-ins next to them and my stripe hand towel is on major mark down right now!

{Butler’s pantry sources}

You can see on my butler’s pantry shelf how I just used one peony bundle in a smaller vase last Spring.

{shouldered clear glass vase (on sale!)/pink peonies/clear jar options}

I also put together a small group of peonies in a clear vase on my island next to some real hydrangeas. That is one of my best flower tips! *Use a mix of real flowers with faux flowers and your faux items look even more real. Also clear vases like the two I linked above I use again and again.

Here is that same pretty clear vase holding real tulips. *A tip when buying vases – look for vases that taper smaller at the top because they require less faux flowers/branches.

{faux potted boston fern / kangaroo paw fern / fiddle head fern}

Three of my favorite faux plants!

The fiddle head fern houseplants are so cute for Spring/Summer! I used them above my range last Spring…

and placed others in random spots around my house. They look so real and I love the light shade of green that seems to say “time for a new beginning!”

{charging station}

The kangaroo potted fern also has such a realistic look to it and has been all over my house.

{theatre room and all sources}

It’s currently living in my theatre room and I love it in my striped pot on this counter so I’m ordering one more to keep downstairs.

You can’t go wrong with a great set of tall white faux flowers! I’ve had these for years and linked multiple very similar options below. These faux dogwood branches look very similar and are on sale!

They look good everywhere! These are some of the soft pink peonies in the smaller vase and my chevron vase is a long time favorite.

{faux tree/basket}

Faux trees are another great way to add some life to your home and make great Christmas tree replacements. :) I’m buying a new faux tree this year for my dining room and linked all of the options I’m considering right now below!

A great coffee table book is perfect to set next to a pretty vase and flowers on tables and shelves. Last Fall I bought Patina Farm for a fun coffee table book and I’ve loved looking through the beautiful, inspiring pictures.

I found Patina Living and just got it for Spring! Such a pretty coffee table book! (Cut Flower Garden and Peonies are two other favorite Spring coffee table books I love.)

The pops of hot pink in the book cover look so good next to these pretty peonies! I might have to move this arrangement next to the book on my coffee table.

Nothing is safe in one spot for long in this house. :)

{FAVORITE VASES}

{FAVORITE FAUX FLOWERS & PLANTS}

{FAVORITE FAUX TREES}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Organization

01.08.20

Organization.. how to START

Back in the swing of things! How did re-entry go for you? We’re still adjusting around here.

As you can see when you find me in this picture.. ha. I FNALLY finished putting Christmas decor away tonight. It only took me (and a friend) 3 days. Seriously WHY do I put so much up!? Well.. because I love it. Until it’s time to take it all down. ;) But it’s done! My house feels so bare and empty! Part of me is sad and the other part of me is happy. Clean.. less stuff. A fresh slate to play with. :)

Last week on IG stories I asked people what they struggle with when it comes to home organization. I got so many great answers but two of them seemed to pop up the most frequently. Where to START and how to KEEP things organized. I think we all struggle with those two things! In fact I was feeling overwhelmed with where to start when we got home from our trip. There are so many projects I want to tackle in 2020! Wondering where in the world to start when we have so much we want to do can keep us from doing much of anything. Whenever I feel overwhelmed with where to start I write a list. (Of course I do.) Getting ALL of our ideas/wishes for our homes out of our heads and on to paper is the best way to START. So I made us all a printable to help. (Of course I did. Clearly I’m not mixing things up TOO much in the new year.) ;)

I titled this printable HOME PROJECTS because I have some things I want to organize and some things I want to update/decorate. In a way this is a bit of a wish list so dream big! Walk through EVERY room in your house and think to yourself “if I could do anything to this space.. what would I do?”

I snapped this picture with my phone yesterday because I did that very thing! I walked though every room in my house and decided what I want to organize and what I want to update. I filled out two full pages and was laughing that I pretty much want to do some sort of updating to EVERY space in my house this year! Kole’s bedroom and our theatre room are the only two rooms that feel DONE (decorated and organized) at the moment because I tackled those spaces last year. :)

I only left us 5 spaces per room on this printable on purpose. I don’t want us to feel too overwhelmed with this list! So try to just pick your top 2-5 things you would love to do in each room in your home. Maybe they are ALL organizing items. Or maybe certain rooms are cleaned and just need to be updated with new paint, a new rug, some pictures on the wall.. whatever! WRITE IT ALL DOWN HERE. It really will take away a lot of that overwhelmed WHERE DO I EVEN START feeling.

{YOU CAN GET MY HOME PROJECTS PRINTABLE HERE ALONG WITH ACCESS TO ALL OF THE OTHER PRINTABLES IN MY LIBRARY!}

Of course after you make your list you just have to START. Pick a room and pick one thing in that room to work on. Just START and once you’ve checked an item off of your list you’ll be motivated to keep going!

If you have bigger projects on your list this year my CURRENT PROJECTS Printable might be a better place for you to start.

This printable is helpful when you want to break big projects down into small, manageable, easy tasks and I use it all the time when I’m overwhelmed at the beginning of a project!

Last year I used this Monthly goal page to keep me on track each month.

And this Daily Habits tracker is a great way to help establish new habits. You can read more about these last two printables in this post and download all of these printables HERE.

I hope my printables are helpful for you this year! It’s time to knock some things off of our lists!

As soon as I get the energy to move off of my couch and sweep up the lingering glitter all over my floor.

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Organization

01.05.20

Happy 2020 – let’s get organized!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2020 is off to a great start! We brought in the new year in Oahu and had one of our best family vacations to date. We went to every tourist attraction imaginable on that island (as you can see from our lovely pic at the Dole plantation), enjoyed some down time at the beach and pool and watched a lot of Star Wars. :) I completely unplugged from my phone and computer and am so grateful I made myself do that because now we’re home and I feel incredibly rejuvenated after a crazy December. Which of course means I am ready to ORGANIZE everything in sight! I’m seriously so excited to get my home in tip top shape and to take you all along for the ride. I have fun plans for 2020! But first.. Christmas decor. Ahhh! Tomorrow will be a busy day taking it all down. There is A LOT of Christmas still going on in my house at the moment so wish me luck with that little chore. By Tuesday I plan to be done putting away Christmas and organizing one of the many hot spots around here!

In the meantime.. here are a few fun January posts to get you excited about organizing with me! (Although I know some of you already are.. and that’s why I love you.) ;) Read these posts and pull out the black garbage/donate bags. It’s going to be a fun year around here!

{ORGANIZING THOUGHTS AND TIPS FOR THE NEW YEAR}

{5 REASONS YOU CAN’T STAY ORGANIZED (and how to fix it!)}

And for those of you who are focusing on healthy eating in 2020 below is a post about my favorite healthy snacks. That I’ll be living on for the next month because along with unplugging from technology over the break I also unplugged from my treadmill. Ha. This week should be a fun one getting back into the swing of things. Wishing you all the best of luck with re-entry!

{5 HEALTHY SNACK IDEAS}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.25.19

Merry Christmas!

Popping in to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I’m so grateful for the friendship and support you’ve shown me this year. Your kind and encouraging words brighten every single day and I absolutely love this community!

Our family picture was on the front of our Christmas card and this was the back. Addison got her wish and Peaches made a Christmas card debut. Clearly this was a year of major acceptance and growth for me. Who knows what’s in store for 2020? Hopefully not more lizards. ;)

Regardless, I’m so happy to have you along for the ride. :)

Wishing you all the BEST holiday from our family to yours!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Home Decor

12.23.19

Christmas Living Room (and other pre-Christmas randomness!)

*affiliate links used

Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone! It’s quiet at my house.. I’m up with Kole and my girls are still sleeping. It’s pouring rain outside and after a month full of plans I’m so grateful for this quiet, cozy day at home with nothing on our agenda but wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies. Candle is burning, fireplace is on and the tree lights are beautiful. This might be my favorite day of the year. :)

We made pretzel hugs last week for my kids to give to all of their friends! Such a fun tradition. Now I need to get the leftovers out of my house because I seriously can’t stop eating them!

If you want to make some this week (perfect treat to make with the kids!) you can see how we make them in my IG story highlights. I also put up an IG TV video tour of the main floor of my home decorated for Christmas if you’re interested! You can tour it with me HERE (click on the pic of my black door) and living room pics and sources are below in this post!

(1901 Print Shirt/similar black skirt/similar black over the knee boots/similar Tory Burch purse/all porch sources you can find HERE)

Heading to church yesterday for the Christmas program! My favorite Sunday of the year. Ad and I saw each other laughed that we were both wearing black skirts and boots so we had to get a pic! My girls are both like me but in different ways. Ad is my mini me when it comes to fashion. And she’s always happy to take a picture. :)

(1901 Print Shirt/AG jeans/similar earrings/booties)

I’ve been running around in this shirt all month. So cute for the holidays! Really for any day. I always get compliments on it! It’s cute out or tucked in, but lately I’ve been tying it in the front.

(Bell Sleeve Fit and Flare Dress)

Speaking of fashion.. two of my favorite dresses are back in stock! I thought I’d share them again in case you need something fun for New Years Eve. Or just for winter months to come!

Last Christmas heading to a holiday party.

(Velvet Sheath Cocktail Dress)

And another one! Both of these dresses are really comfortable and flattering. I always love the fit of Eliza J dresses! Here are a few more favorite dresses (and a jumpsuit I want!) for New Years and the winter months..

I took pics of my living room earlier this month and never got around to sharing them so here is a little Christmas tour of this room! All sources for this space are at the bottom of my post.

I wanted this tree to have a winter look and love how it turned out! Really simple with just beads, snowflakes, white yarn balls, silver ornaments and my favorite fa-la-la banners.

This room has brought me so much happiness because it’s full of red! Nothing like red for the holidays. My days of experimenting with neutral are over. ;)

I kept the shelves simple too with just old books and greenery and ornaments.

I’ve found that I need them to look cohesive and similar on each side or they start feeling too cluttered to me!

I also kept my mantel simple with just greenery and wooden candles. This beautiful garland sold out just like my other favorite faux garland this year and I’ve had so many questions about them! If you aren’t subscribed to my e-mail list yet do that HERE NOW! Next year I promise I’ll let you all know when all of the good greenery comes in before it sells out! I always put up an early post with my favorite Christmas decor in October so watch for that. You’ll want to be subscribed anyway because we are going to have FUN in 2020! Kicking off the new year with lots of organizing and I’m so excited about it. :)

Bottle brush trees, wooden beads and ornaments on a favorite tray. Add a little greenery and you have Christmas. :)

I hope you enjoyed the tour! And more importantly I hope you are enjoying these special days leading up to Christmas. :) I’ll pop back in again quickly tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas Eve!

{POST SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Home Decor

12.20.19

Girl’s Bedroom Christmas Decor

*This post is sponsored by Hayneedle and affiliate links are used. All opinions and product selections are my own!

It’s the weekend before Christmas! Honestly this is my favorite weekend of the entire year. Most of the craziness of December is behind us and other than a scheduled wrapping session each evening (while my husband sleeps on the couch) and a few things on our agenda, I plan on finally relaxing. Christmas pjs are ON and it’s time to drink all the hot chocolate and watch all the movies next to the lights of the Christmas tree. The BEST. I hope you are able to do the same!

Today I’ve partnered with Hayneedle to share some fun holiday touches I added to Addison’s bedroom! Girls bedrooms are so much fun to decorate for Christmas aren’t they!? It didn’t take much to turn her room into a winter wonderland. :) Hayneedle has so many beautiful options when it comes to holiday home decor and a lot of it is on sale right now! This really is the best time to buy holiday decor. I always pick up a few fun things this time of year on sale to use the following year. It’s so much fun pulling something new out of storage when it’s time to decorate for Christmas!

This “Tis the Season” print is my all time favorite. It goes so beautifully with the blue paint in this room and just adds some holiday sparkle! It would look so pretty on a fireplace mantel too (already thinking of fun ways I can use it in the future!). I also added two snowball garlands over her bed. (Love these! They come in a set of 4 and would be so cute on a Christmas tree too!)

Addison loves this Belham glam floor mirror and uses it every day when she gets ready for school so I didn’t do much to this corner of her room other than add a few sparkly trees.

My very favorite part of her Christmas bedroom?

This adorable slim flocked Christmas tree. I’m so in love! It’s the perfect shape and the flocking looks like real snow! It had amazing reviews on-line so I had a feeling it would be a keeper, but it honestly exceeded all of my expectations. It’s on sale right now (comes in lots of sizes!) and I’m debating getting another one for my mudroom for next year. Addison loves this tree so much I don’t think I’ll be moving it into a different room! I also got this pretty velvety glitter snowflake Christmas tree skirt and this Kurt Adler Lighted Star Tree Topper that I’m obsessed with. Then I added simple pink, silver and blue ball ornaments and done! Such a cute little tree!

Ok.. the holiday art selection at Hayneedle is just too much fun. Isn’t this snowflake print beautiful!? I couldn’t decide between this print and the “Tis the Season” print I put over her bed so I finally just decided they were both meant to be in her room. My husband has always loved my decision making skills. ;) I also added this beautiful faux Pine and Eucalyptus garland to her desk.

My favorite part about this print is that I can keep it up through February! It’s so fun for the winter months. I love holiday decor that doesn’t have to come down right away.

I also added these simple Icicle Lights above her french doors and windows. I’m sure you know exactly how I attached them. ;)

They make her room so magical at night!

Just a few simple holiday items have made her room beyond cozy. She loves it! We both do.

Tis The Season! I hope we’re all able to slow down and feel the magic this year. :)

{POST SOURCES} and a few other Hayneedle favorites!

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Favorite Things

12.18.19

Best Holiday Gifts from Amazon!

Ok.. true confession coming from someone who works incredibly hard at planning and preparing for the holiday season early so that December feels less stressful. *See holiday planner post if you don’t believe me. ;) This December has been a little stressful! We honestly have just had too much going on the past few weeks and even though I was prepared for some of the holiday madness, too much is just too much. I’ve learned a good lesson! Aside from getting a jump start on all the things that need to happen during this time of year I also need to be more careful with our calendar and what we say yes to (although a big part of it is just the busy stage we are in with our kids!). Anyone else feeling some burn out this month? It will all get done though right!? It always does. I’m so excited to get my kids out of school Friday so we can slow down and enjoy some time together.

Because of our over scheduled December I am still finishing buying my gifts this year! I’m usually so much more prepared with my shopping by this time in December. I bought some things early (gifts for teachers, friends, neighbors and a few things for my family) but then I got busy and all of the sudden Christmas is a week away and I’m realizing there is much work to be done before Santa arrives! Anyone else scrambling with me in the gift giving department!? Seriously thank goodness for Amazon. How did we ever live without it!? Last night I searched high and low for some of the best sellers on Amazon to finish my holiday shopping. I found so many great products to try! Of course a few things ended up in my cart to me from me, but I’ve been pretty good this year so I don’t think Santa will mind much. :)

Here are my favorites of some of the best holiday gifts from Amazon! These are all SO good you guys! I hope this helps wrap up any last minute shopping you need to do too! As much as I truly love to be prepared, the fact is that sometimes I just work best under pressure. ;)

*affiliate links used

1- Kipozi Flat Iron Straightener – So many great reviews on this straight iron! Excited to try it!

2- Womens Winter Scarf – CUTE and an easy gift for any female on your list!

3- Yeti Stainless Steel Tumbler – I have heard non-stop amazing things about this tumbler!

4- Adidas Running Shoe – A great running shoe for a great price. Comes in so many cute color options too!

5- Scalp Massager – I got one of these at our annual Favorite Things party a couple of years back and still LOVE it! Seriously the best way to massage your head! Addison and I take turns with it all the time.. feels so good! Trust me.. you’ll love it. A great stocking stuffer!

6- Dash Rapid Egg Cooker – One of my husband’s favorite things is his egg cooker! This one is so good.. we bought it for my dad too!

7- Whole 30 Book – I’m excited to read this in January! Attempting to make better food choices with the rest of the world. ;)

8- Mens V-Neck Sweater – You can’t go wrong with a good V-neck sweater. Great reviews and comes in lots of colors!

9- Wet Brush – My girls LOVE their wet brushes! Perfect for combing out hair right after the shower.

10- Dyson Cordless Vacuum Cleaner – My friend has this and says it seriously changed her life! I love my hand held dyson and this vacuum has one attached that comes off of the handle so you’re really getting two vacuums! Great reviews and a great price for a Dyson.

11- USB C Charger – Check out the reviews on this! Major power. Perfect stocking stuffer for my cell phone loving teens! And their IG loving mom. ;)

12- Kindle Paperwhite – My dad’s favorite! A Kindle always makes a great gift!

13- Bed Sheet Set – These sheets have AMAZING reviews! I’m so excited to try them. Such a great price and so many color options too!

14 – Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer – Ok.. do any of you have this!? Over 15,000 people are raving about it! And so many say it’s great for thick hair. I will let you know if I love it because Santa is definitely giving this to me and my girls to try!

15- Makeup Brushes – I can’t resist a great set of makeup brushes and these sound so good for the price! Another easy gift for any female on your list.

16- Lavish Lash Growth Serum – I don’t think you can find a good lash serum for less! I haven’t tried this before, but after reading the reviews on this one I’m so tempted! I’d love to hear your experience with this if any of you have tried it or something similar!

17- Hyaluronic Acid Serum – A number one best seller for skin! Perfect stocking stuffer or gift for any girl who loves skin care.

18- Collagen Facial Mask Sheet – Excited to try these with my girls! They come in such a large pack.. perfect to distribute as gifts for friends/family. You get a mask and you get a mask and you get a mask! ;)

19- Sherpa Fleece Blanket – How cute is this fuzzy fleece blanket!? I love the pattern and it comes in so many cute colors. I’ve always loved giving nice throws for gifts and after reading the reviews I can tell this would be a hit!

20- Knit Tunic Blouse – This top always pops up when I’m looking for clothes on Amazon. It’s definitely a best seller and so cute! Endless color options too. Easy gift!

One more week until Christmas!! We’ve got this!

Right? ;)

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.17.19

Kitchen Window and Powder Bathroom Christmas Decor

{Kitchen Rug/Hicks Pendant/Jeweled Snowflake Ornaments/Light Up Birch Trees/Similar Bowl/Similar Vase/Similar Pick/Similar Towel/Ornaments}

*Garland is real!

Happy Tuesday! One more week until Christmas Eve! Can you even believe that!? It alway sneaks up way too quickly. I still have so many decorated spaces I didn’t get around to sharing on the blog this year. I don’t know if my kitchen post will make it up in time or not so I at least wanted to share my fun window decor!

It’s my favorite spot in the house at the moment.. especially at night! I had this window decorated a different way for Christmas and then was laying in bed last week and randomly remembered I never put my new snowflake ornaments on my tree. They are so large and pretty! I was laying there thinking about where to put them since my tree was done and this window popped into my head! I had a vision of the snowflakes hanging.. then I saw the garland.. and then my favorite birch trees all lit up. I was so excited I woke up the next morning rambling to Kenny.. “Morning babe! Do you think I could hammer some nails in the ceiling of our kitchen bay window and not destroy it? Snowflakes! We need hanging snowflakes!” Pretty sure he pretended he didn’t hear me. If he would have decided to acknowledge me he would have given me his standard lecture about “needs” vs. “wants.”

But who on earth has time for that when we NEED snowflakes hanging in our window!?

Small white nails on a little ledge at the top of my bay window did the trick! And it turned out just like I pictured it in my head that night. Now my Christmas decor is complete. :) It’s so cozy at night! I might leave it up through January. The snowflakes will especially work through winter.

(favorite bathroom rug)

Another fun little spot in my home at the moment is my powder bathroom. I love adding simple Christmas cheer to small rooms because just a few items have a big impact!

I added some festive Christmas towels to my wooden ladder. These towels are from a couple of years ago but I linked some cute options below.

Then I just placed some pretty faux red flowers in a long time favorite vase and bought some red berry foam soap.

Done and done. So simple.

So ready for Santa. :)

If you still need a few fun gift ideas check back tomorrow! I ordered so many quick and inexpensive last minute things tonight and will share them along with more holiday decor. Now I have GOT to get wrapping so I’m not up until 4 am Christmas Eve. Anyone else ever had holidays like that? Good thing I love watching It’s a Wonderful Life.

Over and over and over again. :)

{POST SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Home Decor

12.15.19

Christmas Hallway Decor and Gifts for Boys!

*affiliate links used

I’m so happy to announce that my hair is clean. I repeat.. my hair is now washed and clean. Let us rejoice! Feeling much more like myself today. ;) I’m sharing a few pics of our stair hallway decked for the holidays! Then at the end of this post I have my gift ideas for BOYS. So sorry for the delay on that one for those of you who have asked about it. I had it ready to go with my other gift guides and somehow it never made an appearance on the blog. Sometimes things get lost in the shuffle around here. :)

I decided to mix things up on my shiplap board and display my kids’ pics with Santa this year. I added some garland to the top of my board by attaching two command hooks on the top ledge in the corners to secure it in place.

Then I added some berry picks on the ends and attached my wooden bead garland to the greenery. (My wooden bead garland is 40% off right now!)

This is supposed to be in the shape of a Christmas tree in case you can’t tell. I didn’t have quite enough for 5 on the bottom row so I made the last three the trunk. ;) I love these pictures. My babies grow up in them and I remember special things about each year they were taken.

I usually display these on my hallway door attached to burlap ribbon.

The ribbon is attached to the back of my door with painter’s tape. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But who cares when the tricks work well. ;)

Since I usually use this board for our Christmas cards..

I decided to keep our Christmas cards close and jut attach them to this hallway door. When it’s full I’ll add the rest to the other side of the door in our mudroom. I’ve loved having them on this door because we are in and out of it so many times a day. A good spot for some holiday cheer. :)

To the left of our Santa pics is this fun hallway shelf.

I added some holiday touches with random things I had left over from decorating other rooms! You can see all of my favorite coffee table books that are on this shelf in my 2019 Favorite Things post. Can you see which book I love so much I have a duplicate? :)

This hallway is a happy spot in my home at the moment! I haven’t had time to decorate my staircase (bummer!) and am thinking at this point I probably won’t. With one week left with my kids in school I need to make sure we are Christmas ready! I want to have my gifts bought and (mostly) wrapped by Friday so that I can just enjoy my family during those few days leading up to Christmas. So on that note.. here are some fun ideas for BOYS on your list! Kole wrote a sweet note to Santa and asked for the Lego Worlds XBOX game and that was it! He isn’t giving old Santa much to go on this year (unlike his two sisters who have thrown out PLETNY of ideas.. ha). So below are a few things he already has and loves, a few things I know he’ll like, and a few things my friends are getting their boys. I hope it’s helpful! You can see a round-up of some my other gift guides in THIS POST if you still need a few ideas for anyone on your list.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

1 – Lego Star Wars/Lego Worlds Xbox One – Kole’s Christmas wish this year!

2 – Propel Star Wars Battle Drone – Drones like this are always fun gifts. I love that it’s something my husband and son can play with together.

3 – Light-Up Tracing Pad – I can’t ever get Kole to just draw or color these days, but if it’s something like this it will keep his interest! Hopefully buying me some solitude. ;) This is a cute similar option for girls!

4 – Volcom Hooded Sweatshirt – Volcom Zip Hooded Sweatshirt

5 – Hooded Plush Robe – Kole’s all time favorite robe you’ve heard about many times. :)

6 – Apple AirPods – What all the teens want.. boys and girls! I kind of want some myself this year. Ellie got them last year for Christmas and has absolutely loved them.

7 – Percy Jackson 5 Book Box Set – We haven’t read these yet but they have rave reviews and my friend’s boys love them so a fun gift for Kole this year! Some other book series he has loved include Dog Man, Geronimo Stilton, Roald Dahl, and lately he has been reading his sister’s old favorites.. the I Survived series of books.

8 – Pizza On Earth Sweatshirt – Love this.

9 – Lego Star Wars – Can you tell we’re going through a Lego Star Wars phase? :)

10 – NightMatch Light Up Basketball – Perfect for night games in the yard or at the court!

11 – Adidas Shorts – Kole’s favorite! He also loves Nike Athletic shorts and I always get him a few pairs of each every December because he grows out of them so fast!

12 – Adidas Shirts – To go with his shorts. Aren’t boys easy when it comes to clothes? Now he’s dressed for another year.. ha!

13 – Echo Dot for Kids – I totally used the wrong pic for this collage! So ignore that. :) Debating this Echo Dot for Kole so he can listen to music and books. Do any of you have this? Love it?

14 – Air Hockey Table – I think all three of my kids would love this one!

15 – Foosball Table – This is the Foosball table we gave Kole for his birthday and have in our playroom. It has been a HUGE hit with the whole family! We love to play (usually Kenny and Kole vs. me and Addison) and one of these days Ad and I are going to take them. We just need to sneak in some extra practices when the boys aren’t around. ;) It’s great for when Kole has friends over too. A kid magnet!

{Other Gift Guides are linked HERE}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas1

12.13.19

Christmas Dining Room Decor

It’s definitely December! The calendar is crazy and the fact that I’m on my 6th day of dry shampoo is the not so fun evidence. Are you hanging in there this month? Every morning/afternoon/evening this week has been so jam packed with holiday events and to-do’s. So much fun but I can always tell when I have too much going on because my brain starts to get fuzzy. I’ll walk into a room to get something and forget what I was going to get. My kids will say something to me and I’m looking at them and nodding but I have no clue what I’m nodding about. Plus I talk to myself. A lot. I do that on a regular basis anyway, but I tend to do it more often and louder when I’m in overwhelm mode. Please tell me you can relate to this! Am I the only one who’s already hitting slight burn out before we’re even half way through the month!?

I need some peanut butter and chocolate chips.

And a shower that’s longer than 3 minutes so I can wash my hair. My car is filthy. Maybe I’ll just run us both through the car wash tomorrow.

It might help with the fuzziness.

On Tuesday night I hosted our annual sock exchange for all of the sweet girls ages 12-18 in our church. This picture is actually from last year’s party because I was so awful this year at documenting! I was too busy whipping out hot chocolate and talking to all of these sweet girls and I never took a picture. We all look pretty much the same one year later. :)

*affiliate links used

{Aiden Wall Mirrors/Chunky Wool Jute Rug/Similar Wingback Chair here and here/Similar Wooden Dining Chairs/Similar Farmhouse Table here and here/Similar Pendants/Eucalyptus Wreaths/Red Striped Ribbon}

I did manage to get some pictures of my dining room earlier that day. You guys! I seriously have SO many pictures of my house decorated for Christmas just sitting on my computer that I haven’t shared yet! I haven’t had two seconds to post them so get ready for major picture overload coming this next week!

If you remember my Christmas dining room decor from last year I kept things very similar.

{Similar Plaid Reindeer}

The only difference is that I decorated my tree different and instead of using candles on the table for a centerpiece I used reindeer instead. I think the reindeer add a happy element to the table. Reindeer and snowflakes.. two favorites for me when it comes to Christmas decor. :)

This was my table last year with the candles. Side note.. I finally found some HEART SANTA pillows that are similar to mine! So cute. I usually don’t love hearts on things but these pillows are an exception. Long time favorites I get excited to pull out every year!

{Stripe Napkins/Red Rimmed Plates/Wooden Chargers/Stocking Flatware/Similar Merry & Bright Plates}

I still love this place setting.. especially the cute flatware stockings!

Of course I kept our Hot Cocoa station the same. My kids’ favorite tradition. Addison and Kole have had hot chocolate every night this month! I’m trying to hold out until at least the 20th because my dirty hair is bad enough at this point.. I don’t need an extra 5 pounds to go with it. ;)

Still obsessed with these Pine, Berry & Eucalyptus wreaths. I’m surprised they are still in stock!

This was my little dining room tree last year.

And this is what it’s looking like this year. The only things I used again was the tree skirt and red berries. A lot of these items are from my family room tree last year. Reindeer and snowflakes and my long time favorite Santa hat tree topper (similar here).

I decorated four trees in my home this year and this little tree in my dining room is hands down my personal favorite. :)

I love this room at night. It’s so warm and inviting. Almost makes me want to cook something just to eat it in here. ;)

Planning to enjoy lots of fun meals in this space with loved ones over the next two weeks!

Home cooked or not. :)

{DINING ROOM SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Fashion

12.07.19

Favorite Christmas Pajamas!

*affiliate links used below

{Me and some close besties a couple of years ago. :) Most of us are wearing PJ Salvage pajamas in this pic!}

Happy weekend! I’m sharing some of our recent beloved Christmas pajamas with you all today.. one of my favorite things! I pretty much live in my Christmas pjs from October through February every year. As soon as it starts getting dark earlier I get excited to pull them out. Cute, comfortable, warm and they remind me of the magic of the season.. what could be better? :)

{Gone Napping Top/Gone Napping Lounge Pants/Ugg Slippers}

My most worn recent pair of pjs actually aren’t Christmas related, but they are SO comfortable I had to share! My GONE NAPPING pjs have doubled for me for clothes more than I want to admit the past two months. They have been perfect for days when I’m just working from home and then running kids around.

I also hear they’re ideal for ladder climbing and hall decking. Word on the street.. or should I say mantel..

K. I’ll stop now. Can you tell I’m up too late with this post again?

These striped thermals are also so incredibly soft and have become go-to’s for me. They also come in red!

{Stripe Thermal Pajamas/Ugg Pom Pom Fleece Lined Socks}

These cute pj’s come in a set and I was surprised at how flattering and stretchy the pants are! I was also surprised that I really liked the cheetah print. I ordered them thinking I’d probably end up returning them but nope. Keepers for sure! They come in lots of patterns including a fun pink camo. This cute set would make a great gift and so would my pom pom fleece lined socks! I’ve given them as gifts for 2 years in a row and my family and friends have loved them. So many cute new colors are out this year too.

{Barefoot Dreams Blanket}

Same set I was wearing to kick off my 2019 Favorite Things!

{Loosey Goosey Pajamas in Candy Cane Stripe 2019/Butter Socks}

Oh these pjs! So soft! More on the thin side and not as fuzzy as some which I love because sometimes fleece pjs get hot for me when I’m cleaning! This is a new to me brand and I love them. The only thing I will say is that the length runs on the short side! Which I also love. Because remember I’m 5’3 and a half (don’t forget the half). Usually pj pants this style are in a puddle on the floor by my ankles so I love that these pants are the perfect length. But if you’re ordering an xs and are taller than me they might be too short. Just something to keep in mind! They come in so many cute patterns. I love the Christmas multi stripe too!

{Jersey and Fleece Pajamas/Butter Socks}

Another fun festive pair of Christmas pjs! Ok. Cute factor I give these pjs 5 stars (SO cute right!?). Comfy factor I give them a 4. Only because the pants aren’t quite as comfortable as all of the above pjs pants. The pants don’t feel like fleece – not a lot of stretch in them. But they still fit cute for me and like I said.. I love the look. I’ll definitely wear them around the house and would sleep in the top, but I wouldn’t sleep in the bottoms. If you’re looking for soft as butter pjs to sleep in too.. any of the above pjs fit that bill!

This cute pair of striped pj’s must have sold out because I can’t find them on-line anymore! The Loosey Goosey multi stripe is similar!

{Cozy Nice Top – comes in “NAUGHTY” and other options too!}

The full on bold red and green stripes were a bit much for me on this pair – hard to believe there can be TOO much Christmas cheer, but whoa.. sometimes there can. ;) I like it better with just the striped pants and this cute cozy top.

Because I’m nice like that.

SO many cute Christmas sock options too! The perfect accessories to your holiday pjs. :)

{Sunday Funday Pajamas}

I asked my wing man to model his recent favorite pjs and he was immediately on board.

{Winter Print Pj Set}

Maybe a little too on board! He said right before I took this pic “mom this one is for the ladies!” Ha! Oh. My. Word. He’s just like his father. We’re in serious trouble. What do you think ladies?

{Two-Piece Pajamas}

The 3 pairs I shared are his recent favorites! Truth be told I tend to spoil this one when it comes to things like Christmas pajamas for 2 reasons. 1 – He usually sleeps in his clothes! He lives in shorts and a top and doesn’t like to be hot and this time of year (because of the holidays and cooler temps) is the only time I can get him to wear pjs. (His beloved robe is the only exception because it’s so soft. I ordered him this pair for Christmas to wear in the Spring!) And 2 – He’s my youngest and there is just something about kids in pjs. It’s my favorite and one thing I miss about having babies/little kids is bath and pajama time. I loved getting my kids all shiny and clean and putting them in cozy pjs and being home for the night! I have the best memories of our evening routine when my kids were little. My girls would put on Christmas nightgowns and dance around their room waiting for daddy to come home from work while 2 year old Kole would run around in the cutest footed pjs pulling their toys out of drawers. My 3 kids weren’t the only ones anxiously waiting for daddy to come home each night! I was always exhausted by that time of day but I still remember loving pajama time before bed.

When Kole turned to look at the little houses on the tree (his favorite this year!) I had an instant flashback.

{These beloved Santa pjs are back in stock! Some of our all time favorites. :)}

It feels like I took this sweet picture last week! My baby is growing up.

{Fitted Santa pj set}

And yet.. he still acts pretty much the same. I’m sure this one was also “for the ladies.” Ha! Love my little ham.

{Chunky Wool & Jute Rug}

Christmas Pajamas. The best! I rounded up my favorites for everyone in the family below. Wishing you a cozy weekend with plenty of pj time. :)

{FAVORITE PAJAMAS}

For HER:

For HIM:

For GIRLS:

For BOYS:

For BABIES:

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.04.19

Family Room Christmas Decor

*affiliate links used

I’m so excited to share my family room Christmas decor with you all today! This room was my favorite to decorate this year just because I mixed things up from what I’ve done in previous years. All sources will be linked at the end of this post!

(cozy neutral snowflake Christmas tree sources are linked in this post – my cute knit tree skirt is on sale! And you can find my jeweled snowflake tree topper here.) :)

The neutral tree was a stretch for me and I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, but now that I have some other pops of red in this room.. phew! It’s Christmas again and I can breathe. Really enjoying the tree now. :)

(long wooden bowls/light up house/fa-la-la bowl/gold and white bowl/reindeer/similar tree/similar small wreath)

I had fun styling these shelves on my entertainment center. The cutting boards and little wreath made a fun backdrop!

The shelves are almost identical aside from different but similar bowls and cutting boards. It was a little “let’s use what we have around here and be done” challenge I gave myself. Good times. :)

And then there’s the garland. The garland!

Getting the garland up on this entertainment center was no easy task! I had my friend over for back up support and she took this pic. I thought that the top of my entertainment center was a big flat piece of wood, but no.. it’s just the thin top of the crown and then the wide shelf is lower so there was nothing to attach the garland to! I kinda sorta got two pieces to stay (one on each side) and I really wanted to add one more piece on top to give the garland more of a full look.

That wasn’t in the cards. Every time I tried to add one more piece of garland the whole thing came crashing down! I tried attaching it with small command hooks and even my go to painter’s tape, but nothing was working so this garland is attached with.. drumroll please.. nothing! Ha. The middle part looks a little off but when I tried to fix it everything started slipping again so I finally just had to tell the perfectionist side of myself that it’s better to have it up and “off” than not up at all! I do love how much it warms up all of the white and adds such a cozy Christmas feeling to the room.

Last night I was laying in bed awake (going through my to-do list in my head like I always do) and I heard a loud sound. Everyone was asleep but me and I immediately sat up in bed and gasped out loud “MY GARLAND!” Kenny mumbled a “huh?” and then started snoring again while I ran out into my dark family room and flipped on the lights just certain that the whole thing had tumbled to the ground. But it was still there! Hanging ever so imperfectly just like I’d left it. The fireplace garland was in tact too.. and the garland around my front door. The loud noise must have been our ice maker or something but the whole thing just made me laugh. I’ve got so much garland attached to things throughout my home! It’s all hanging by a thread and it’s making me feel like I’m hanging by a thread because at any minute something is going to come crashing down.

(gold lamp/stripe chair/similar red throw/fur throw/favorite basket/knit pillow/brass candle holders/ivory candles)

But I’ll enjoy it all before it does!

(my recent favorite pjs – top & bottoms/similar wreath/faux garland option)

Don’t mind me.. just swinging from the rafters around here. ;) I always talk about how this large fireplace is and what a challenge it is to decorate. I’m 5’3 and 1/2 (don’t forget the half) so this gives you a better look at the scale of this thing. Like I said.. it’s big. :) I first tried attaching my wreath with thick red ribbon but that was a fail! This whole room was quite a bit of trial and error.

(Details on how I attached my fireplace garland in this post.)

I ended up attaching it with some jute string and then I just added a red ribbon to the wreath because again.. it’s Christmas and I needed my red fix. :)

All of the climbing and risking my life paid off because.. Christmas decor! I love it. I really don’t think I could love anything more. Well.. maybe my family. And AG jeans and cherry ice chapstick. But that’s about it. Christmas decor is a solid #4. ;)

(table lamp/light up holiday house/Christmas tree sign/bark fur tree/mirror tray/candle/similar console/similar baskets)

Console table is looking nice and cozy with my cute LED holiday house and a favorite Christmas tree sign.

(cable knit throw/home pillow)

(plaid throw pillow/knit pillow/similar snowflake pillow/similar pom pom throw)

Plus I found the cutest plaid and knit pillows at Target and love them! They are LARGE and were such a great price. The knit pillows will be fun for January too.