Happy November friends! Let’s get this party started! I spent Friday and Saturday taking down most of my Fall decor. Good-bye sweet bats! Enjoy that all important meeting. ;)
Then it was time. Finally time! Time to turn on my Christmas music, light my favorite Fir candle and bring all of the REALLY fun stuff out. :) I was pulling out new Christmas items and old favorites I’m using to decorate with this year and thought I’d snap a few pictures of the new items you’ll see popping up in my decor this year. Some of these items are selling out and some are on sale this weekend so I wanted to get this up fast for you! I know a lot of people like to hold off Christmas decorating until after Thanksgiving, but I feel like more and more people are decorating early this year! Have any of you noticed that? Especially with Thanksgiving falling so late in November. I’ve been decorating for Christmas right after Halloween my whole married life (20+ years) so I’m happy to see it’s starting to become more common.
Makes me feel a little less crazy. ;)
Anyone else getting an early start? Here are a few items I’m really excited about this year that won’t last long!
Ok.. you guys! This faux cedar garland is honestly the closest I’ve seen to the real deal! I’m using it in several spots this year. I got mine at Nordstrom and it sold out crazy fast, but I found the exact same garland at Anthro! I have a feeling it won’t last long there either so don’t hesitate if you want it. I would recommend at least two for most fireplace mantels, tables, etc. It’s 6 feet long but always looks best having some hanging down over each of the sides. :) The cute OH DEER mat I also bought at Nordstrom sold out too! Like yesterday. But I found it on Amazon for you guys so all is well. For a few days anyway. ;) I’m using more white on my family room tree this year and picked up some of these adorable snowy house ornaments. Two styles have sold out but one is still in stock! Also this adorable house that lights up is back in stock (I used it on my living room mantel last year).
A few of my favorite trees! This Pre-Lit Alpine tree is small but the branches are so realistic! I’m also so excited to use these Pre-lit Snowy Pine Trees. They are just beautiful all lit up. And last but not least, these Light Up Birch Trees are on sale this weekend! I bought them a few years ago when they first came out and loved them so much that I picked up a few more last year. I have fun plans for them again.. they are favorites for sure!
So those are new favorites you’ll see in my home this year! I know most of these items will be gone in a week so I thought I’d give you all a sneak peek now. :)
And I’m going to use this pretty Mercury Garland in a few new spots too. I ordered more after using it last year because it was so beautiful!
Also I had so many of you sending messages and e-mails about how bummed you were that my new red plaid rug sold out! I had a feeling it wouldn’t last long! I did some digging and found it on-line in two other stores. You can also order it here at Birch Lane, or here at Wayfair.
I was going to share this pic in my next post but this beautiful Puff Sleeve sweater I’m loving is also selling out in some sizes and it’s so cute for the holidays! It comes in lots of colors but you all knew I’d snag the green. :) I told you I’m especially obsessed with all things bobble knit at the moment! The sleeves are so fun and it’s honestly so comfortable and warm and just a great fit. Trust me on this one. You’ll love this sweater! I know you will. :)
Happy holiday decorating, planning, shopping or whatever it is you’re doing to prepare for the next two months! I’ll be jumping back to all things Thanksgiving at some point but for now.. Michael Bublé and I are glued at the hip. (Sorry Kenny.. I’ll be back into you after the holidays.) ;)
p.s. If you haven’t snagged my FREE Holiday Planner now is a great time! Get organized and on top of things this month so that you can enjoy a stress free December. I’m so happy to hear that it has been helpful to some of you! You can download it HERE.
*This post is sponsored by Walmart and affiliate links are used. All opinions and product selections are my own!
You guys! Our house is so seasonally confused right now. Ha! I have pumpkins and bats up in my kitchen, Christmas starting in our mudroom/family room and Summer decor still lingering in our powder bathroom/living room. Ellie is having friends over for Halloween and I’m a little worried that they might walk in and think they’ve entered the Twilight Zone. Either that or they won’t even notice because.. teens. ;)
So I know it’s Halloween week but ahhhh! I’m so excited about today’s post! Walmart has released some new holiday items this year that are honestly so perfect! Cute and cozy and such amazing quality for the price! I ordered quite a few things on-line to check out thinking I would just keep a few items but I can’t send anything back! I was playing around with all of the fun pillows and throws I ordered and decided I’d let you help me choose. And if you say keep it all.. well.. I’ll have no choice but to oblige. :) Below I’ve styled my mudroom bench three different ways. Each of these combos would be so cute over any chair or couch or bench for the holidays!
Combo #1! K.. this Modern Braided Fur Blanket is honestly a dream! So soft and cozy! I’m definitely keeping this, but it will be parked on my couch corner where I sit every night. I’ve already claimed it as my companion during all Hallmark Christmas movies this year.
Is this making anyone else so beyond ready for all that is to come!? I can hear Michael Bublé in the background. He’s singing It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and my fresh pine candle is burning and the house is clean and decorated and I’m sitting next to the lights of my Christmas tree humming along without a care in the world. Well.. there are cares, but in this fantasy I’m choosing to ignore them. :)
Combo #2! Isn’t this Red and White Snowflake blanket adorable!? One of my trees might be heading in a snowflake direction (I’ll share more details on it soon!) so I HAD to have this blanket! I love the ice-skates and people skiing and red tassels on it too.
Combo #3 – This Kniteed Burgandy Blanket is a Christmas staple. Perfect throw that looks great over any couch, chair, bench or at the bottom of a bed. It has a beautiful texture and the long tassels could not be more perfect. In my humble opinion. :)
This combo might be my favorite! Because stripes. But no wait.. I love #1! And #2.
Ok. You’ve all convinced me. I’m keeping it all.
Your work here is done. ;)
Honestly though I’ve saved the best for last. Want to see something else I’m LOVING and so excited about for the holidays this year!?
How much fun is this beautiful Plaid Area Rug!? LOVE the pattern. LOVE the traditional Christmas colors. And I LOVE that it’s honestly one of the softest rugs in my home. It laid flat so nicely (no turned up corners!) and my kids have all each commented multiple times about how soft it is and can we please keep it up all year because they like it so much better than the rug I usually have in this space. Ha. I might have to move to a year long red color scheme because we will all be so sad to take it down after Christmas! I haven’t styled my table yet (I mean.. let’s at least go trick-or-treating and take the bats down first) ;) but this cute green fir tree is working until I get around to it and will make a fun new addition to a console table or mantel at some point. YEA! I have so many fun ideas and can’t wait to start implementing them all! I told Kenny to get ready for the marathon I train for all year. Christmas decorating baby! BRING IT ON. ;)
Now back to rounding up all things Halloween. I know I’ve got the accessories for Kole’s costume somewhere. Are they next to the Spring tulips in my living room? The mums and pumpkins on my porch? Or the Christmas throws in the mudroom?
We made it to Friday! Hands down my favorite day of the week. I love the anticipation of the weekend. So much possibility! Knowing it’s coming is often even better than when it’s actually here. ;) We have some really fun plans this weekend though so I’m especially excited to be finishing up a busy week. More on that later! Today I’m sharing a few things we’ve been up to around the house this week.
Kole is especially excited about our wall this year because I added some bats. Yes.. Halloween decor INSIDE our house. Who would have thought. ;) Truth be told I was feeling a little guilty because I went with a Fall themed porch this year instead of the Happy Halloween porch Kole looks forward to so I added the bats in an attempt to make up for it. #momoftheyear #attempt3,548
If you knew what I was going to say bless you for being such a loyal reader. ;)
The bats were such a huge hit with my little buddy that I told him he could help me add more to the kitchen. As you can see bat folding requires some pretty deep concentration. Ha.
The two of us may have gone a little bat crazy.
They are basically all over my kitchen at the moment. Across the fridge and freezer..
up the cabinets..
all over the range hood..
and up more cabinets to the right of it.
Kole is in 7th heaven and wants to leave them up through Christmas.
But I have a feeling that on Nov. 1st they’ll have to fly off to their cave for an urgent bat meeting. If they miss it they could lose their wings and that would be tragic.
#momoftheyearisoverrated
In other news I’m finally prioritizing Ellie’s bedroom re-fresh! I mentioned forever ago that we were planning on updating her room and I’ve ordered a few things for it already, but until now it wasn’t on my urgent to-do list. There are always so many other urgent to-do’s swirling around, but she turns 16 in January and I really want it finished before her 16th birthday so it’s time to make it priority #1 around here! When we moved into our new home (6 years ago this month!) she begged me for purple walls. I wanted to paint them grey, but gave her the purple of her dreams and she has loved her bright, colorful bedroom.
It makes me both happy and sad that now she’s over the purple and wants her room painted grey. Happy because hello.. I’m all about grey paint. :) But sad because she’s growing up. I had a moment moving her pandas and other stuffed animals out of her room knowing that most of them wouldn’t be going back. A huge lump swelled up in my throat and my eyes filled with water so quickly I suddenly couldn’t see out of them. It’s hard! I really do love each stage with my kids, but it’s difficult saying a final good-bye to the end of an era and that’s exactly how this room re-fresh for my oldest daughter feels to me.
Maybe deep down that’s why I’ve been putting it off this year.
Seeing grey paint samples up on her wall the next day cheered me up immensely (have I mentioned before that I love grey paint?). ;) I put up some of our main grey (my number one favorite paint throughout our home – you can download the formula for it HERE) and then I also put up the same color at 50% and then at 25%. El and I both wanted a light grey for her room, but the 25% was a little too light because her room gets SO much sunlight with full french doors and windows on one entire wall. The 50% was the winner! (Hard to really see the true colors in this lousy cell phone pic I snapped quick!)
My painters put up the first coat today and it looks so good! This cell pic also looks a little darker than it is in person. The paint is exactly what we wanted.. a beautiful, soft grey. I’ll share the room on my blog when it’s finished (along with pics of her room before) and I’ll be sharing progress along the way on IG stories if you want to follow along!
We moved everything from El’s room into our playroom so that’s a fun mess at the moment! To add to the chaos I also started pulling out Christmas stuff today! Oh yes.. I’m going there. ;) I have a holiday post I’m sharing soon and need to get started on it so out came the boxes. You could say we’ve seen cleaner days at my house! The chaos in my home pretty much matches the chaos going on inside my head with so many projects looming.
But it’s all fun chaos. So bring it on. :)
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
(*If you’re starting to think about Christmas decor too you can see all of my past Christmas posts rounded up HERE. I also just updated my favorites page with Fall favorites and Christmas items I’m using to decorate with this year HERE.)
Last weekend I made a trip to Carmel by the Sea to meet my friend Gina. She used to live in San Diego but moved a few years ago and we were missing each other and wanted a get together to catch up! This was my first time visiting Carmel and I can’t believe I haven’t been there before. A quick one hour flight from San Diego and it was the cutest little beach town! I took a few pics with my phone to share with you all..
You can walk everywhere in the main area of Carmel by the Sea and it’s honestly the most charming, quaint little town!
All of the shops and restaurants and buildings look like they are straight out of a picture book.
I was in cottage heaven and felt like I was walking around a Hallmark movie set!
If there is fudge nearby.. I will find it. :)
But my favorite? The shops with all things Christmas!
So much fun. The restaurants were amazing too. Beautiful outdoor dining where you can just eat and linger and talk.
Even the doors were adorable and I wish I would have taken more pics and captured it all even better but I honestly wanted to just live in the moment exploring such a fun new place and catching up with a close friend.
Our room was just like the city.. cozy and quaint and Gina and I were so excited to head back to our room both nights we were there to just talk and catch up and to plan! Yes.. you heard me right. We are so nerdy that way, but it’s honestly one thing I love the most about Gina. She is just like me and gets so excited about the same geeky things I do. Before she moved we loved getting together to plan. (I wrote a post all about one of our planning sessions here.) Kenny was teasing me before I left for my trip when I was talking to her on the phone saying sarcastically.. “are you two planning your time to plan?”
Why yes.. yes we are. :)
We pulled out our planners and I spread out on the floor and she spread out on the couch and we were so productive! These are a few things we stayed up late discussing..
– our favorite planners/ways to plan (we both love our lists!)
– podcasts we love listening to, book we’ve read and loved, people we love following on IG
– systems to stay on top of laundry and housework
– routines we can set up that make things more efficient and easier at home (talked about things we each get “stuck” on and how to improve them)
– morning routines and how to make ours better
– how to make better use of the time we have to work on our business stuff so that we can be more present when our kids are home
– things we are doing now that can be deleted, done better or faster or turned over to someone else
Anyway.. you get the picture! We seriously have the best conversations and crack up through them all because the funny thing is how we love to make lists and brainstorm ideas and make grand plans but the execution of it all seems to be the problem for both of us. I sent her a text Monday morning after our trip that basically said “Well I’m off to a great start! Kenny had to suddenly leave out of town, El got sick and is staying home from school and I ate Doritos that I found in the car for breakfast on my way driving Ad and Kole to school because we all had such a crazy morning. Day one: morning routine out the window.”
Ha! Life. But I’m happy to say that I regrouped and today went much smoother. :)
Honestly I feel so much better after this weekend for two reasons. One.. it’s always so good to step out of your routine (even if it’s just for one night!) and have a change of scenery and do something fun with a friend. I can’t stress the importance of this enough! It always makes such a huge difference for me with my overall happiness and mood. And two.. talking with someone else about your challenges/struggles/plans/systems/dreams can make a world of difference. Hearing advice from someone who isn’t in the thick of the day to day like you are is so refreshing and can make you see things in a new light. We both walked away from the trip with so many fun new ideas to implement and feeling so good after spending time laughing, shopping, eating out and planning together. It’s just nice to take a break and have fun isn’t it? Life is too short to not enjoy it along the way.
I would love to hear what you’re working on or planning or struggling with or wanting more info. on in the comments! I always love sharing things that are working for me around here if you’re interested.
Good-bye beautiful Carmel! Two days with you was just what the Dr. ordered. :)
Happy Monday everyone! It’s a new week and I’m excited to share some fun things I’ve been wearing lately with you all! Fall is hands down my favorite clothes season and always has been because I love nothing more than a great pair of jeans, a cute sweater and stylish boots.
This Dolman Sleeve sweater is beautiful! A new favorite that I’ve seriously worn twice a week since I got it. Really soft, comes in lots of colors and I love the neckline. It’s not a super long sweater, so I like it best with these high waisted jeans. (These jeans are SO flattering btw if you need a good pair of dark jeans and they are on sale at the moment!)
Ok you guys.. CUTEST block stripe cardigan and I found it on Amazon for such a steal! It looks just like the Madewell cardigans that are close to $100. (Like this cardigan that I also love. The more expensive Madewell cardis are a tad softer and drape a little better, but not a huge difference for the price.) This one from Amazon comes in lots of color combos too. Really excited about it. :)
This Colorblock Crewneck Sweater is so cute for Fall. My friends were teasing me for getting it because I just cleaned out my closet and gave them all a bunch of clothes and 80% of my tops were green! Ha. I can’t help it. I love green clothes.
Exhibit C. More green. Ok.. enough evidence to last a life time. ;) But if I was FORCED to pick a favorite of my new sweaters so far this Fall the Coziest Yarn Colorblock Sweater would be the winner. SO soft, SO comfy and I love the casual look of the grey sleeves. (It comes in one other color combo too.) If I had to name a sweater Erin it would be this one. We are in love and plan to stay close for quite a while. :)
I’m also loving this black structured top! It comes in at the waist and is so flattering but isn’t at all too tight or fitted. Really cute sleeves too. It has been so great having this lighter pair of jeans in my wardrobe. Most of my jeans are a dark wash but these cute Paige jeans look so much better with my black and navy tees/sweaters.
Another recent Amazon find I’ve been loving is this fleece hoodie sweatshirt. It’s so warm and soft and looks great with leggings or jeans. I love wearing it to take my kids to school in the morning, throwing it on over my workout clothes, or just wearing it when I’m not in the mood to get that cleaned up. Which if I’m being honest is most days around here. :)
And last but certainly not least is this cute Game Day sweatshirt. So fun to put on for weekend football! Which is going 24/7 at our house this time of year. My husband is so happy when football is on that it puts all of us in a good mood and makes me love weekends in the Fall even more. This sweatshirt is especially great because it’s team neutral. I tend to change my mind pretty easily about who I’m rooting for because I just don’t care that much analyze each team so thourougly so this sweatshirt is right up my alley. ;)
You bring me stylish sweaters and boots, cozy home decor, cool weather, productive days, pumpkin spice candles, and one happy husband. You help me enjoy the little things and I couldn’t love you more.
Hello everyone! I was so happy to hear yesterday that my Christmas Inspiration post was helpful to some of you! Even if you have no plans to decorate for Christmas soon it’s always nice to start getting ideas early. I’ve found that planning ahead is the key to enjoying the busy holiday months! And that thought my friends, is a perfect way to transition us into today’s post. Because I’m tricky like that. ;)
My 2019 HOLIDAY PLANNER is here! Last year I designed a holiday planner to help guide us through Oct/Nov/Dec keeping us on top of things and organized. It’s near impossible to sip hot chocolate by the Christmas tree and enjoy your family when you’ve hit December 15th and still have a stressful to-do list a mile long. That’s not fun for anyone! (I know because I’ve had several years like that!) My Holiday Planner is full of pages that will help you plan ahead and stay organized throughout the holidays.
I spent some time last month thinking about how to say thank you this year to all of you for reading my blog and supporting me and all I do here. Stopping by to read my blog posts, liking my IG/FB posts, leaving kind comments, shopping through my links, sending thoughtful e-mails and DM’s.. none of it goes unnoticed and I am so incredibly grateful for this community. I thought about doing a fun giveaway (and still might!) but the bummer with a giveaway is that I can only really thank a handful of select winners. I decided that the one gift I can give that will really be helpful to each one of you (or as many of you who want it!) is to give you each a copy of my holiday planner. Last year I charged $12 for it and it was so fun creating a product and watching it take off, but this year I just want to give it to each of you for free to say THANK YOU! A huge thank you for your friendship and support. I can’t quite be Oprah and say “You get a car! And you get a car! And you get a car!!!” But I can come close and say “You get a planner! And you get a planner! And you get a planner!!!”
Yeah.. ok. That doesn’t come even a little bit close. Ha! But it was fun trying. ;)
So enjoy this planner at no cost this year and I hope it serves you as well as it has served me! All you need to do to get the full PDF to the planner is to enter your name and e-mail by clicking above. This will get you into my printable library that includes my Holiday Planner along with other great resources to help you stay organized. (And yes.. you could totally sign up and get the free planner and then unsubscribe, but I hope you won’t! I hope the e-mails you’ll get when a new blog post is up are equally as fun and helpful to you.) :)
Here are the planner details so you know what’s included!
This holiday planner is over 30 pages in a printable PDF. The pages are 8.5 x 11.
Included in this planner:
October/November/December monthly calendars (both vertical and horizontal options)
October/November/December to-do lists (I’ll be printing out multiple copies of these!)
Week at a Glance (LOVE this! I laid out exactly what we should be working on each week so that we can fit everything in BEFORE December!)
The Nice List (Organized shopping for your kids)
Shopping by Group Guide (So excited about these pages too! They make shopping for everyone on your list a breeze!)
Holiday Menu Plan (Because we have to cook.. ) ;)
Holiday Baking
Party Planning
Decor Planning (can’t wait!)
Holiday Self Care/Fashion and Beauty
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Shopping Page
It’s a Wonderful Life (make the holidays meaningful!)
Wrapping Up the Holidays
If you’re interested in seeing how I organize my planner you can read more about it in the post below..
I so hope this planner is helpful to you this year! The “week at a glance” (my favorite!) starts today! Obviously not everything I suggest in this planner will apply to you. I have one friend who just used and loved the party planning and baking pages. Another friend last year especially loved and used the calendar pages and to-do lists. A third friend was so excited about the shopping by group guide and the suggestions for ways her family could make the holidays more meaningful. I use it all! :) Take what applies and make this baby work for you!
Thanks again for your friendship and support! Wishing you all the happiest (and most organized!) holiday season yet. :)
Ok.. DON’T HATE ME! I know I know.. it’s so not time for Christmas yet. BUT. It’s coming. :) You all know that every October about half way through the month I share my favorite Christmas decor because by the time I get my home decorated and start sharing pictures some of the fun new items are already sold out. This weekend there are some major Columbus day sales going on so I wanted to get this up quick if you want to shop the sales! Also, even if you wait until the first of December to decorate and don’t buy anything new, it’s fun to get Christmas decorating ideas and start planning ahead. Planning ahead is my favorite! It keeps me slightly sane during some pretty insane months. :) Speaking of planning ahead I have something else fun I’m sharing with you all tomorrow so come back and say hi!
I’ve rounded up all of my Christmas posts from last year that share how I decorated my trees and my home! Click on each link below the pictures to get some inspiration and ideas! Also at the bottom of this post I’ll link to all of my favorite Christmas decor that I’ll be using in my home this year. Some new things were delivered today that I’m so excited about! Oh my word.. does this post make you all as excited as it makes me!? I’m seriously giddy just typing this and thinking about decorating for Christmas this year. TOO much fun. Happy early Christmas prep everyone! I’ll be back to all things pumpkin spice next week. :)
*This post is sponsored by Walmart and affiliate links are used. All opinions and product selections are my own!
Sharing some fun updates I recently made to my entry! The Fall decorating continues and will keep on keepin’ on right up until it’s time to pull out my Christmas trees. All 3,000 of them. Ha. Oh my word.. that thought made me excited! Anyone else? I’m not ready to put away the pumpkins just yet but good things are coming. :)
I wanted to mix it up and try a more casual look in my entry for Fall so I moved the mirrored console table that I usually have here into my bedroom and switched it with this simple wood console table. So fun mixing things up! It made both spaces feel new to me again and totally reminded me of the time I moved my bunk beds to the opposite wall of my bedroom when I was 11 years old. I broke the top bunk attempting to move it and it almost landed on my little sister. My parents were not impressed and we slept on mattresses on the floor for a LONG time before we got new beds. My little sister wasn’t all that impressed either. Ha! So yeah. I’ve been switching furniture around for 30 plus years now. A fun little game I like to play. The only difference is that now I have a strong husband to help me with my switching furniture game so things usually stay in one piece. Although I can’t say that he’s all that impressed with my game either. Crazy family.
This table is bit small for this space and maybe a little too casual, so I doubt it will live here forever, but so fun for a while just for a change! The best part for me about this set up is my new Paneled Wall Mirror from Walmart! It’s large and beautiful and I’ve wanted it for a while now but didn’t have a great spot for it. I finally found a fun spot in my hallway and I might end up hanging it at some point, but for Fall (and maybe Christmas?) I’m trying it in my entry. The squares play off of the square pattern on my floor and I loved styling some fun Fall accessories around it!
A cute white vase and some gold glitter pumpkins.
And I love these lamps! They came as a set (such a great price) and I’m so happy with how tall they are. I found the gold geo object at Walmart too but can’t find it on-line.
Bench got a little Fall touch-up too with my favorite navy plaid pillows and this throw. (Same throw I have on my porch! Perfect color for Fall.)
I used these cute navy plaid pillows in my dining room during the Spring/Summer too. So cute for any season!
This picture made me laugh when I saw it. Oops. That’s the tricky part about photographing mirrors and glass. Hard to not get yourself in the shot!
I put this beautiful, large wicker basket under the table to hold some pillows for added color and to hide the lamp cords! Simple decorating trick. I learned that one when I was 11 years old too. Probably during the time I was grounded for breaking our bunk beds.
I love that when people come to our front door they are greeted by our porch and this entry. All the Fall feels without even going too far into the house! I hope it makes everyone feel warm and welcome. Fall decor has a way of doing that doesn’t it? The best.
Almost as good as my 3,000 Christmas trees. ;)
I rounded up some additional favorite items from Walmart below if you’re looking for fun ideas for Fall or just stylish, affordable basics! Happy decorating. :)
Bringing some cozy Fall vibes your way today! I spruced up our family room a few weeks ago and we’ve been loving the changes.
*affiliate links used
This beautiful Fall print was my inspiration this year. I ended up taking the glass frame off of it (the reflection of our french doors was driving me crazy!) and the colors are so bright and vivid. Just stunning! It reminds me of our time in Virginia and I’m going to be bummed when it’s time to take it down!
You all know that I struggle decorating this fireplace mantle because it’s so big. I found this large ceramic vase and filled it with my favorite faux Fall leaves. Then I just layered some of my cutting boards on the right! I needed something with some height and love the warmth the different shades of wood bring into the room. Fun for a change!
It wouldn’t be Fall without a dough bowl full of pumpkins somewhere right? I turned my fireplace on for these pics and kept checking my pumpkins to make sure they weren’t wilting! Planning on moving this fun display when/if we actually get to use our fireplace this Fall. ;)
This room is making me so happy this year. The warm colors and touches of gold.. isn’t Fall decor comfortable and inviting? It’s my favorite. Until Christmas decor comes around and then that’s my favorite. And Spring in the Spring..
and my husband thinks I’m picky? What does he know.. ;)
Here’s a fun Fall decorating idea.. toss some wheat (I got mine at the craft store) in a glass jar and tie some wooden beads around the top. So simple and perfect for a side table, coffee table, centerpiece, etc.
More pics of this space because I took too many. But you already knew that. :)
I hope you enjoyed my touches of Fall in the family room! This room has been a mess all weekend so these pics are inspiring me to whip things back in shape tomorrow. Does anyone else feel like your home gets turned upside down and shaken around during the weekend? Monday is always a major “put things back together” day for me after the kids go back to school.
Happy October! My front porch is ready for Fall and I’m so excited to share it with you all today!
I decided to mix it up a little this year and create more of a Fall themed porch instead of my usual Halloween look and I’m loving the change!
I couldn’t pass up these beautiful purple and white mums. Aren’t they stunning!? They still have so many blossoms that haven’t opened up yet so I’m excited to watch them grow with even more beautiful flowers. That is if I can keep them alive! Please send all of your mum tips! The last few I bought didn’t last and I clearly watered them too much or not enough or gave them too much sun or not enough sun.. SOS! I’m hoping I can get these to last through Halloween.. that’s not too much to ask is it? Usually when it comes to me and real plants one month is WAY too much to ask.
I stacked a couple of wooden crates on each side of my porch to add some height. Then I just played around with the flowers and pumpkins until I was happy with the arrangement. SO easy.
The wheat was a fun addition this year too! I picked the plants and a few of the pumpkins up at Home Depot this morning and had it put together in no time. My porch is a little deceiving because it’s larger than it looks in pictures. This was so much stuff my car was loaded! But it takes a lot to fill in the sides of my porch.
Sorry kids.. no room for you and your friends today. ;)
I had two rolling crates filled with items and the lady at Home Depot was like “oh are you decorating for an event!?”“Um sure..! A Fall event on my porch. Come on over.” Ha ha.. no doubt she thought I was crazy.
I didn’t end up using the bales of hay. When I’m decorating something I always buy anything I love and might use and then play with things and return items if needed.
My favorite part of this look is the new rug and mat. I wanted a change from my usual black and white stripe rug but I wasn’t quite ready to give up the stripes. (See.. I’m all about change! When it’s safe and small and similar to my tried and true. Ha.) I went on an on-line rug hunt a couple of weeks ago and was so happy when I found this cute tan and white stripe jute rug. It comes in so many fun sizes. Score! I seriously LOVE it for Fall.
The mat is from this cute Etsy shop. I reached out to Christina and she was so sweet to send it my way! She has so many fun styles of Fall mats to choose from! I looked at a lot of Fall door mats on-line and this style of Hey There Pumpkin was my favorite. :)
I kept our rocking chair area really simple because it’s narrow and my husband loves sitting on these chairs after he runs to cool off. I kept one empty for him and just added a long time favorite pillow and a simple orange throw on the other chair. (Just got the orange throw in the mail and it’s a perfect red/orange color for Fall.. I’m getting one for my entry too!)
Just for fun because I have similar pictures I thought I’d compare this year’s Fall porch to last years. So here’s the left side of my porch NOW..
and THEN.
Right side NOW..
and THEN.
Kind of fun to see the difference isn’t it!? Which look do you prefer?
I’m loving the soft, pretty colors this year, but one thing I like better about last year’s porch is that I have more height with the taller trees and the banner above my door.
I feel like this year’s look needs a wreath on the door! I tried a few wreaths I have but none of them were the right fit. I’d love to have something with dark green leaves and a purple ribbon. Wouldn’t that be pretty!? If you see something like that let me know. If I can’t find one I might have to get crafty. Almost as dangerous for me as keeping real plants alive. ;)
I hope your October is off to a good start! Full of beautiful weather, changing leaves, boots, sweaters, pumpkin everything and healthy mums.
Happy weekend everyone! My home is officially ready to welcome Fall and it feels so cozy! I’m sad that September is already coming to an end. The early Fall and holiday months are my favorite and they always go by way too quickly!
(If you have questions about sources they are all linked at the end of my post!) *affiliate links used
I had so much fun adding some touches of gold to my home this year! I’m a long time lover of all things silver (always will be) but I’m really liking the look of mixed metals lately and gold feels so cozy for Fall doesn’t it!? And candles! I love having candles around my home this time of year when it starts getting dark earlier. These flameless wax candles have a timer so it’s nice to have added light in the kitchen with no effort!
Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice. One of my favorite Fall finds! These dishtowels have a little sparkle to them and are way too cute for drying dishes. Which is why I picked up two for me and extras for friends. :)
I love them almost as much as my gold thankful trivet. This I actually have been using in the kitchen! It’s so beautiful as decor and then perfect to lay flat for hot pans/plates. You know.. for my super complicated Fall meals. Like Ramen Noodles and Taco Soup. (I’d add a wink emoji but that implies that I’m joking and.. I’m not.) Ha.
Every year I think I’ll find a new sign or something else to put over my stove for Fall, but I just can’t quit my Enjoy the Little Things sign. It always feels especially appropriate this time of year. Plus it just goes great with pumpkins. :) The orange pumpkins are from this long time favorite set and the small white pumpkins are real. I shared this fun Eucalyptus garland and wreath earlier (found the matching set at two different stores!) and I love the cozy vibe the greenery brought into the room.
A couple of real pumpkins in the fruit basket! This basket it larger than it looks and so are these pumpkins! I added the eucalyptus swag to cozy up the counter too.
Did you notice the new addition to my kitchen!? I fell so hard for these Hicks Pendants I put in my upstairs hallway that I decided to bring one into the kitchen too! Ahhh! So excited about it. I’m LOVING the navy with my kitchen rugs. It’s sitting a little low and I was going to move it up, but it has to be moved up two links and I feel like that’s too short! So still debating placement, but I’m so in love with this light. Of course now I want to switch out my 4 island pendants to something gold to match better! (I love silver hardware with gold pendants.) And if I switch out all of my pendants.. of course I’m going to need some barstools with a little gold to match them better..
I’m thinking of writing a sequel to the book “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” titled “If you Give Erin a new Kitchen Pendant.” Ha. ;)
For now.. I’m just enjoying a fun new touch of gold and navy. :)
My olive branches work so well with all of the Eucalyptus I brought in this year and these gold candle holders are beautiful! I can’t wait to use them for holiday table settings this year.
My glass cabinets got a fun update for Fall too! I decided to keep things really simple with our every day Cambria dishes and then I just bought a set of these cute pumpkin salad plates to display. I love the pumpkin plates so much that I’m thinking of picking up 4 more so I can use them in the dining room to entertain too. And how happy is this stack of 3 pumpkins? It’s pretty hard to not have a good day when pumpkins greet you at your kitchen window. :)
I kept our nook table centerpiece really simple because we’re constantly moving it to eat! Just some faux apple branches in a vase sitting on a cutting board. I shopped my house for this one.
My butler pantry shelves were so fun to style this year too. I just used warm woods and whites and golds. Plus another Eucalyptus swag because.. why not? :) I had these shelf lights on the evening right after I finished decorating and Ellie walked into the kitchen and saw it and said “Mom! I LOVE this shelf! Please don’t get tired of it and change it in two days!” Ha! She knows me well. She’s so busy with school and friends and dance that she usually doesn’t comment much about anything else. I was thrilled she noticed and liked the shelf so much.
So just for her I’m going to leave it up for two weeks instead of one. ;)
Some of these items are sold out, but I’ll link everything I can at the bottom of my post! This gold linen pumpkin is beautiful lit up at night with a candle in it! I use one of my timer candles for it.
I really need to take some pictures of the kitchen at night. It’s so beautiful and cozy when the candles are lit and it smells heavenly!
Bring on the cooler temps! We are so ready for cozy evenings at home. :)
Hello everyone! I hope your week is off to a good start! Our air felt a touch cooler this morning taking my kids to school and it made me want to bust out my favorite cardigans. My house is decked for Fall and I’m so excited to share pictures soon! I took way too many (of course) and need some time to sort through them all so I thought we’d chat more about the theatre room while I’m working on them! Theatre room organization to be exact. :) I also wanted to answer the questions I got about this space so I’ll do that at the end of this post!
If you missed my theatre room reveal post that took me WAY too long to finally share (ha) you can catch up here. I shared all of the room sources in that post too if you have any questions about decor!
If you’ve been following along you know that this room was empty when we first built our home and moved in, but we knew that we might want to turn this space into a theatre room someday so we had the wall next to the entrance door plumbed so that we could later add a sink and fridge if we wanted to. I had it plumbed for shiplap too. ;)
I designed these built-ins to hold miscellaneous items I knew we’d want in this space so let’s take a look inside these drawers.. starting with the left side and moving to the right.
We’ve only used the mini fridge for drinks so far! We try to use reusable water bottles in our home as much as possible but when lots of kids are over that gets a little tricky so in the theatre room we keep these water bottles stocked. And Coke Zero for adults.. my drink of choice. That I’m trying to cut back on! I used to be so good at drinking water all day, but this fun stage of having teenagers has caused a lot of leaning on diet drinks. Send help.
Or more Coke Zeros. ;)
Next to the fridge is our micro drawer (that I LOVE and talked about more in this post.) I use the drawer below it to hold paper plates, cups, a few popcorn bowls and popcorn.
Now time to check out the three drawers to the right of the micro drawer. My favorite!
We have everything programed to be on one remote that sits on the counter but of course have 15 extra remotes that control various individual things that no-one but my husband understands how to use. I tossed in a couple of plastic bins I had on hand to hold them along with random video game controls and then put some extra DVD sleeves on the side.
Below that are all of our DVD’s! Remember when I shared my favorite solution for DVD organization and did the happiest dance ever for FINALLY having them contained and organized in a user friendly set up? Such a good day! I designed these drawers to fit them all. I have to say though.. if you are holding on to old DVD’s you aren’t using anymore the best way to organize them is to just get rid of them! Always pass on anything you aren’t using. My kids still use and love our DVD’s. Even with Netflix and all the easy ways to download and watch movies my kids still have so many childhood favorite DVD’s that they pull out from time to time. We use them when friends come over, when we travel, for family movie nights, etc. For us it was worth investing in a good system to hold and organize everything.
The middle drawer holds all of our main DVD’s A-Z.
The bottom drawer holds Xbox games and some DVD series that I kept in their original cases.
This drawer also holds our “special” DVDs. One section for all of our Christmas movies (can you believe it will be time to pull those out before we turn around!?), the kids’ school performances and some Barbie movies my girls grew up with and weren’t ready to stay good-bye to. SO nice having all of this tucked away and easy for the kids to use when friends come over.
Ok.. tall cabinet on the right! I’m a huge fan of hiding ALL of the messy TV compartments so I designed this tall cabinet to do just that! It looks like it has two doors..
But the whole thing actually opens up as one. (I did this in my kitchen in a couple of spots I’ll have to share too.. places where it looks like I have multiple drawers but it’s actually just one tall cabinet. Great way to get the visual/design exactly how you want even when you need a different set up for storage.)
It’s so nice having ALL of the equipment here together! This also holds all of our playroom TV equipment. If you’ve seen that room and wondered where all of the cords and DVD player/X box, etc. live for that room.. it’s also inside of this cabinet.
Ok.. that wraps up the tour of my theatre room built-ins! Why did that quick tour make me so happy? Most likely because it included organization and popcorn. My two greatest loves together in one spot. Plus Coke Zero. But I’m quitting that.
Tomorrow. :)
Here are answers to a few questions some of you had about the theatre room!
Where do people set their drinks/popcorn?
I went back and forth on having a coffee table in this room and someday might add one, but for now.. my kids just use the floor too much! This is where all the kids sleep when we have sleepovers and during movies we always have kids laying on the floor (which is also why a really soft rug was a priority!). But that means there isn’t a great spot to set food and drinks so for now the kids just hold their popcorn bowl or have it on the couch/floor and set their drinks on the counter above the fridge. I really try to not stress about this room. We designed it with kids in mind and I know there will be spills. I bought easy to care for couch fabric and I have kids take their shoes off, but I really want people to feel comfortable and relaxed in this room and not worry about messes or spills.
We have this opening behind our couch where our window pops out (I just snapped this with my phone quick to show you) and I’m on the hunt for a console table that fits this space so that when you’re sitting on the couch you can also set your drink behind you.
What is the size of the room? What is the distance from the couch to the screen?
Our theatre room is 15 1/2 x 23 feet. If you include the pop out for the window which is 2 1/2 feet deep, it’s 18 x 23 feet deep. It is about 12 feet from the couch to the screen.
Can you share details on your black out blind?
It’s a Hunter Douglass black out blind. Most of our window coverings are plantation shutters so when we first moved into our house and had all of those installed we put in this black out blind thinking we would probably end up making this space some sort of TV room. To be honest, I wish we would have just waited on a widow covering for this space because when I was designing the room (and researching theatre rooms more) I was wishing I would have put in a different window covering that we could open and close with a remote control. We could still add that later, but we’d have to cut into the fabric next to our window (where our electricians prepped the wall to make it work) so I doubt we ever will!
Can you share details on the screen/sound system/projector you chose?
This is definitely more of my husband’s area of expertise and he picked all of this out, but this is what I do know..
The receiver is Integra. The projector we chose is a high end Sony. And we use the Savant Smart Home system to control it all. The Savant remote controls everything, but we can also control everything with our cell phones. It’s so easy to use! I can be downstairs and quickly turn everything on for kids heading upstairs.
What did you use for sound insulation?
We added acoustic panels in-between our fabric and walls to enhance the sound. Our fabric installer also installed our acoustic panels and I remember the day he came and talked to me about two different types. He had one that he recommended so I just told him to go with that! Sorry that’s not more help!
Where did you get your drawer hardware?
I matched our theatre room hardware with what I used for a lot of drawers/cabinets throughout our home. All of the drawer/cabinet hardware in my home is from Restoration Hardware and (because I get this question so much) all of my door hardware is from Emtek.
Are the bean bags working?
They are! My kids love using these beanbags and always pull them out when friends are over. I think they are a great option for extra seating for kids.
Did you consider a popcorn machine?
I did! I actually almost bought one to give our kids last year for Christmas when I was working on this room, but then decided to wait and see if we had space for one. The microwave popcorn usually works great, but every once in a while we have a lot of kids over and I wish I had one because it takes longer to pop smaller bags for lots of people. Something we might add in the future! I’ve seen some that are smaller and sit on the the counter which is probably what I would buy if we decide to get one.
What were some of the trials you mentioned when you were working on this room?
Oh my word.. like I said, I could write an entire post on this alone. (I’ll try to keep this semi short!) When I first started this room I got several bids from theatre room contractors who would take over and do the entire project for me. I knew what I wanted design wise, but obviously there is so much complexity in a home theatre room between the electronics, lighting, sound.. I didn’t want to have to manage everything and I knew I didn’t have time to manage everything. But the bids all came back SO high. Crazy high! And I knew I could do it for a lot less so I talked to Chuck (my carpenter and bff who’s now part of the family) and we decided we could do it on our own. I would design it and pay him to do all of the wood work and manage everything else with contacts we both had through building. We started off great with Chuck taking off with my vision and managing everything and then.. Chuck had an accident and fell off of a two story home he was working on and ended up in the hospital in critical condition. Some of you might remember me mentioning this in a post. DEVASTATING. We were worried sick about him and obviously the theatre room came to a screeching halt. We were so grateful to learn he was going to be ok but eventually realized that he couldn’t finish the job so guess who became the new general contractor? Me. With NO theatre room experience, three busy kids to take care of and a my own little blog business I run. Which to my surprise has become more than a full time job in and of itself. ;)
I did the best I could picking up where Chuck left off but there were some communication issues with me thinking he had done things he hadn’t yet. (One example was that we moved the crown molding down to add lighting around the ceiling and I thought he had explained it all to the electricians but he hadn’t so things weren’t wired correctly, etc.) We had a lot of issues with installing the sound system. They got everything hooked up and then we’d turn on the TV and the screen would be off or the voices were off or the sound was off or the remote was turning on the wrong thing. Our installers were good to work with, but we had to have them back SO many times to fix things. It just always took so much time out of my day to deal with that I had to space out appointments so that pushed everything back further. We had issues with the fabric. The first order didn’t come with enough. I went to order more and it was sold out! (Panic set in because I had already bought so much!) Then it came back in stock but was backordered so we had to wait for it. Then when it finally came in I set up a meeting with the fabric installer and the screen installer so that they could get placement right (the fabric was so expensive that I had ordered just enough to sit inside each side of the screen instead of filling the entire wall). I went over measurements with them individually (size of screen and how far the fabric had to come in to be covered).. then they met together to go over meausrements.. Then I called them after they had met just to make sure we were all on the same page with placement. (I communicated it all so well because after building a home I knew this was the type of thing that could get messed up!) And they got it wrong! Even after all of that communication and double checking! Our fabric guy installed the fabric, the screen guy installed the screen and there was a small space between the screen and fabric on the right side. AHHHH. This is the stuff you deal with so much when you’re building or remodeling. In the big scheme of things obviously these are first world problems that you are grateful to have, but they are the frustrating details that make projects always take longer than you think they will. Mistakes like this happen so often when you’re building or remodeling and can cause you time and money and stress. They are the reason some couples don’t survive building a home together!
Anyway.. my fabric guy blamed the screen guy and the screen guy blamed the fabric guy and guess who ended up paying for a whole wall of new fabric. Yours truly. Good times. :) My fabric guy was so sweet to work with and felt so bad that he did give me a discount on installation. There were more little hiccups like this that popped up right and left which is why when I finally got to the fun part of the project (decorating) I was so burned out I didn’t want to find the perfect rug. I just wanted to close the door and forget about the room altogether! (Anyone else know that feeling?)
What are your tips for putting together a room like this?
Hire someone to do it all for you. And if you don’t take my advice and decide to take in on by yourself.. don’t call me for back up. Ha.
Really at the end of the day it all came together and the issues were all things that could be worked out. We are so grateful for this space and I love how it turned out even though it took so much longer to put together than I anticipated. I’m just grateful that Chuck is ok and that I survived being a theatre room general contractor. Something I can say I’ve done but hope to never do again. ;)
{THEATRE ROOM SOURCES}
xoxo, Erin
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