Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Favorite Things

01.12.18

Gratitude and Favorite Things

Friends! It has been a slow week on the blog. For good reason. I’ve been cleaning. And organizing. And running my kids all over the city. And doing laundry. And cleaning some more. So basically the usual. Ha. But even more intensely this time! Because tomorrow morning I check into the hospital to get knee surgery. Major knee surgery on my left knee to fix an issue I’ve dealt with my whole life. I’ll spare you the gory details (I’ve dealt with years of gory knee details!) and just say that I’m happy and bummed about it all at the same time. So happy to finally be fixing this issue! (On my left knee.. I’ll have to get surgery on the right knee at some point too.) So bummed about the recovery. 10 days of not being able to bend my knee or drive and then a few weeks after that of being able to bend my knee, but no weight on it. So basically a month of crutches. :( Kenny is working from home and covering the kids the first week and then my parents are coming for the week after that. Then I’ll have a couple of weeks on crutches to fend for myself.. good times around here. ;)

So my house has gone from full on Christmas.

To full on disaster.

To organized and clean once again. Knowing that I won’t be able to really clean much for a month has put me into hyper overdrive and I have seriously made my house shine from top to bottom. (Favorite cleaning supplies and tips here.) Which is ridiculous because after two days of me being down it will be a complete disaster again. But oh well. I feel better knowing it’s clean. I have so many projects to share with you all! And the good news is that I’ll have plenty of time to share them. Blogging/computer work is basically all I can do for the next month.

So get ready to get tired of me. ;)

I do have a litte bit of Christmas cheer still lingering! I displayed our Christmas cards on my shiplap display wall and then put the overflow around my office door. I usually leave my Christmas cards up through February. They make me happy. :) (They are all attached with blue painters tape.)

Remember the little closet in my mudroom? (That I affectionately call my hobbit closet.) :)

You can see how it’s organized here. I use it to store pool stuff and luggage and I use a laundry basket to corral miscellaneous bags.

I added this bin just inside the closet door to hold things I need to return. A return bin! Such a simple thing but I’m loving it! I always have returns.. clothes I ordered that didn’t fit the girls, home decor that I brought home and didn’t love, etc. Now I have a place to put them all together (out of the way) so that when I’m running errands they are all in one spot and easy to grab before I head out the door. Thought I’d share that idea in case any of you would benefit from a return bin too!

Speaking of my mudroom, after I cleaned it all out for the new year I laid down this gorgeous new rug! So pretty. I love the deep blue and the pattern. Plus it’s so soft and was on sale! Nothing like a clean space with a new rug for the new year. :) (You can see how I organize my mudroom here. My Hunter boots are also on sale!)

Couple of other recent favorites..

I love these reclaimed wood shelves and they are such a great deal. I’m trying to figure out where I can put them!

During my crazier than usual cleaning spree this past week I realized it has been way too long since I bought new dishcloths. I did a little searching on-line and found these from Williams Sonoma. So cute right!? They come in lots of fun colors. I went straight for the black and white stripes and coral. But you knew that. :)

My mom gave me and my brother and sister these beautiful glass Gratitude Jars for Christmas. They were part of Oprah’s Favorite Things on Amazon (did you all see her round-up.. so many fun things!). They sold out fast but I thought I’d share them because you can obviously use any jar to do this with your family (I’ll link to some other options). We are all writing down one thing we are grateful for each day this year. It has been such a fun family activity! Kenny and I sometimes forget and the kids remind us. :) I’ve loved reading the sweet things they write down. I’m trying to decide if we’ll share some of them together once every month.. or maybe in November around Thanksgiving it would be fun to read them together? Still figuring out the details, but for now they are helping each of us focus on something GOOD every day. Love that. BEST gift mom!

Grateful for you. ;)

I’m also grateful for my fireplace this month because is has been chilly! I know.. not so chilly to some of you (low 60’s and we are in full on winter mode around here!) but regardless, I love getting my kids off to school and then coming home and putting on my favorite cardigan and turning on the fireplace. Sometimes I sit here with my computer and work until my back is burning. :)

For Christmas Kenny and I gave each other this 10 piece Stainless-Steel cookware set.

These pots and pans are SO beautiful. And SO intimidating. Ha! Seriously though.. I don’t dare use them! They are still sitting in my cupboards just looking shiny and gorgeous! I feel like I’ll start cooking with them and let them down.

Couple of things we’ve been eating on repeat.. made with our old pots and pans. My favorite Taco Salad.

And this White Bean Chili Soup. Perfect to eat next to the fireplace until your back burns.

And on a random side note since we’re talking food.. I’m loving this new to me microwave bacon! Seriously.. genius! I love bacon once in a while with eggs for breakfast but never make it because of the mess. Not with these babies! Pop a pouch in the microwave for 3 minutes and done! Perfect crispy bacon ready to eat. NO cooking. NO mess. I’m a fan.

I’m already really missing our mellow evenings over Christmas break. I loved just being home together as a family. My husband can get stir crazy during long vacations, but not me. Having my whole family home just hanging out together is my favorite thing. Kole got a chess set for Christmas and none of us can beat him. We’ve all given up trying. :)

{family room rug/Ugg slippers/black striped pillow}

The girls and I started watching Gilmore Girls over the break and they are loving it. I am too.. even better the second time around. :) We are also loving our new Ugg slippers. SO cozy and they are 40% off! We keep trying to squeeze in an episode each night in-between activities but life is busy once again! Although I don’t think that will be a challenge for me next month.

Bring on Netflix. And another ice pack. ;)

I’ve been getting lots of hair questions lately! Mostly about what shampoo/conditioner I use. I’ve tried SO many different brands and about a year ago I landed on my favorite. (Part of my shower for those of you who have asked to see it too.) ;)

I use Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo and the Hydrating Conditioner. They make my hair so shiny and smooth and I love the smell! So does my husband – double win. :) I’ve always loved Moroccanoil but never thought about trying their shampoo/conditioner until the girl who does my hair recommended it. I’ve been hooked ever since!

Speaking of hair care, my sweet husband surprised me with this Dyson hair dryer for Christmas. Crazy expensive hair dryer with amazing reviews. I was so excited! I thought it was going to revolutionize my life and take my usual 20 minutes of hair drying time down to 10. But you guys.. I don’t love it! It’s VERY lightweight which is so nice, but I don’t feel like it dries my hair that much faster. And it makes my hair feel a little straw like? I’m so sad! I really wanted to love it. Do any of you have it? Wondering if it’s just me because I’ve heard nothing but good things about this hair dryer. I think I’m going to return it. :(

But so sweet of him for thinking of my hair care needs. ;) Pic from our last trip to Utah with shade over Kenny’s face but I wanted to share this favorite sweater I love and keep wearing over and over so he has to take one for the team. ;)

I was twinning with my niece. Missing that sweet baby so much right now! She’s my favorite of ALL the favorites. :)

Well! I have to go. I think I’m going to walk up and down my stairs a few times since I won’t be able to do that for a month.

I’ll be back! A little out of it with LOTS to share.

Get ready for a party.

{SOURCES BELOW.. YOU CAN ALSO FIND ALL OF THESE THINGS AND MORE THAT I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW ON MY FAVORITES PAGE.} *affiliate links used

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Home Decor

01.06.18

Sunny Side Up 2017 Year Review

Happy weekend friends! We have been easing back into a routine ever so slowly around here. My kids have still been out of school this week so we are enjoying a nice mix of hanging out and relaxing plus getting on top of housework. Next week I will be ready to hit 2018 head on! For now.. we remember the past. :) I’m sharing a round-up of posts from 2017! It was such a great year. I hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane and click on any post you missed or want to re-read. I didn’t share every post, but I shared a lot of them so this round-up is LONG. Grab a snack and enjoy! I looked over some of the organizing posts again and they helped motivate me to tackle some new spaces!

If you have something you’d love to see me post about this year leave it in the comments and I’ll try to include it! Thanks again for all of your love and support this past year! So looking forward to sharing more with you in 2018. :)

We kicked the year off with some organizing.. of course! I shared FIVE FAVORITE THINGS THAT KEEP ME ORGANIZED. Some of my tried and true favorites!

Then I helped my girls whip their bathroom drawers into shape. GIRLS’ BATHROOM – ORGANIZED DRAWERS. I am having them do the same thing this weekend. They have kept them much cleaner than before but bathroom drawers often need a little re-fresh!

I shared Addison’s PINK AND AQUA BLUE PRETEEN GIRL’S BEDROOM. Then I totally spaced sharing El’s bedroom.. ha! Pics are still sitting in a folder so they are coming this year for sure. ;)

We got ready for February with some SIMPLE VALENTINE PARTY IDEAS. I also shared a few other ways I’ve made Valentine’s special for my family.

Then I shared my ORGANIZED DECOR CLOSET which felt so good to check off my list. It was such a disaster!

I kicked off February by sharing my DECORATED and ORGANIZED LAUNDRY ROOM (with COLOR!).

Then we got a little personal when I shared 10 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR MARRIAGE STRONG. My husband and I are far from perfect, but after 20 years of marriage we’ve definitely learned what works for us!

Clearly last year was the year of closets for me! This post on my ORGANIZED BLANKETS AND TOWELS showed how I organized this hall linen closet and my girls’ bathroom towel closet. Happy to say those two closets are still looking good!

I shared a few KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS FOR SPRING! I’m going to re-read that post because my kitchen is a blank slate right now just waiting for a few Spring touches. :)

In March I joined some blog friends for a fun Spring tour and shared pictures of our WHITE MASTER BATHROOM (READY FOR SPRING!).

Then I took off to LA for a few days for such a memorable trip! I had a blast with friends, won the award Best Design Blog for 2017 (did NOT see that one coming), and turned 40. I shared all the detains in my post DESIGN BLOGGER CONFERENCE (WHAT I WORE) AND HELLO 40! Thank you again to everyone who voted for me for that award btw.. it meant so much to me!

I shared my powder bathroom drawers and other fun Spring touches around my house. Posts like this are often my favorite. :) ORGANIZED BATHROOM DRAWERS AND SPRING DECOR.

Then I shared my process for sorting through my kids’ art/school work in the post KID’S SCHOOL WORK (WHAT TO SAVE AND WHAT TO TOSS).

A SIMPLE EASTER TABLESCAPE brightened our dining room.

Then I ended the month with some fashion favorites and a 40th birthday part my darling friends gave me! ONE SKIRT THREE WAYS, PURSE LOVE AND A BIRTHDAY TRADITION. The gift they gave me that night is an all time favorite. I cried a lot of tears!

I kicked off April with our MIRRORED CONSOLE TABLE (ALL GROWN UP!). I just put this beautiful artwork back on this table yesterday after taking down the Christmas decor. I still love it so much!

I get so many questions about the custom items in my home so I finally wrote a post with my designer/friend’s info! She’s the best. :) CUSTOM ITEMS IN MY HOME (HOW YOU CAN GET THEM TOO!)

Finally started decorating our guest room! I’m excited to show you my recent progress soon. GUEST ROOM (THE BEGINNING!)

HOW TO ORGANIZE EVERY SPACE IN YOUR HOUSE! After almost 10 years of blogging I finally took the time to round up all of my organizing inspiration so that everything is all in one post! Great place to start if you need some ideas for whipping your home into shape this year!

Nothing like Tory! This bag is still a favoirte. :) TORY BURCH FAVORITES WITH NORDSTROM

One of my favorite posts! 5 REASONS YOU CAN’T STAY ORGANIZED (AND HOW TO FIX IT!). The reason I know why you can’t keep your home organized is because I’ve been there too! These are the stumbling blocks I’ve dealt with over the years and how I’ve learned to work around them.

I spent the end of April at the Reward Style Conference in Dallas. Good times! I was happy I finally dared to go. ;) REWARD STYLE CONFERENCE (AND WHAT I WORE)

I kicked things off in May by sharing some new decor updates! POTTERY BARN SMALL SPACE COLLECTION (DECOR UPDATES!)

Along with recent FASHION AND FAVORITES!

GARAGE AND CLOSET ORGANIZATION. Oh man.. we SO need to wrap up our garage organization this year! The post above includes updates and pics of how I organized Kole’s clothes closet.

NAUTICAL INDUSTRIAL BOY’S BEDROOM (PROGRESS!) Loved sharing Kole’s bedroom with you all this year! Finishing it up with the small details is on my project to-do list for 2018!

FASHION FRIDAY (NEW FAVORITES FOR THE KIDS!) Fun new clothes for the kids! And this twist front cozy fleece pullover is so soft and still one of my favorites! Great reviews and comes in so many colors.

ROSES, GATES, SALES AND SURVIVAL! All sorts of randomness in this post!

I shared pictures of Kole’s NAUTICAL MODERN BOY’S BATHROOM! Fun giving you the official tour. :)

Lots of everyday life posts throughout the year! I’ll just link to this LIFE LATELY post in June because this pic I quickly snapped of my boys is one of my favorties. :)

It’s not often that I share recipes on my blog but this EASY CASHEW CHICKEN is so easy to make and a hit with my crew!

My living room got a little summer re-fresh! LIVING ROOM SUMMER DECOR

Then I shared what I was packing for an upcoming trip to Maui. FASHION AND WHAT I’M PACKING FOR MAUI

Things didn’t exactly work so well the first time I organized this space so I found a better solution for our medicine cabinet! Check the post to see the after. :) ORGANIZED MEDICINE CABINET (TAKE 2!)

I shared some pics of my kitchen drawers and cupboards and a few of my best tips for keeping your kitchen clean and organized. MY ORGANIZED KITCHEN (AND HOW TO KEEP YOUR KITCHEN CLEAN AND ORGANIZED TOO!)

Then we kept organizing our way through summer with pics of my ORGANIZED MASTER BATHROOM. Nothing like clean bathroom drawers!

We did some major damage at the NORDSTROM ANNIVERSARY SALE! The sweaters and clothes I bought last July have been on heavy rotation the past few months. I love that sale. Time to start saving for next summer. ;)

What!? It’s another recipe. Well would you look at that. ;) FETA AND TOMATO DIP (So good!)

We ended July with some DECOR UPDATES WITH BARN LIGHT ELECTRIC! Lamps for Kole’s room and some new every day dishes. Still working on manners at the breakfast table. ;)

Wrapped up the sale with NORDSTROM ANNIVERSARY SALE – FINAL FAVORITES! Lots of fun clothes and home decor I’m still loving.

BRING ON FALL! Fall is my favorite time of year to shop for clothes. Lots of fun fashion in this post!

I shared my SHIPLAP DISPLAY WALL FOR SUMMER.

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO SUMMER! Always a favorite post to wrap up months of chaos. :)

I kicked off the new school year by sharing A DAY IN MY LIFE! Not so glamorous but fun to document a full day! Thinking I need to do that once a year because those are the posts that will be really fun to read in 20 years. I hope things have slowed down by then. ;)

Then I shared more of my organized master bathroom! ORGANIZED HAIR TOOL AND BATHROOM DRAWERS

FAVORITE FALL ACCESSORIES. Still in love with all things Madewell!

FRESH IDEAS FOR FALL TOUR! Remembering this post makes me wish Fall was starting all over again!

Finally finished and shared our BARN DOOR TV COVER! It adds so much to our outdoor space. Another project I was happy to see finally checked off my list.

Then it was time for my husband and I to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with friends in Colorado. Followed by NY for the Better Homes and Gardens Event. Best trip! COLORADO TO NEW YORK (ANNIVERSARY TRIP AND WHAT I WORE!)

I gave my kitchen some SIMPLE FALL KITCHEN DECOR and geared up for pumpkin spice everything.

Shared some FASHION FRIDAY (ON A MONDAY!). :)

THEATRE ROOM WITH GREY PAINT AND APPLIANCES! It was so fun finally sharing a theatre room update with all of you! Hoping to completely finish this space in 2018. We are getting close!

Kole and I had our annual HALLOWEEN PORCH DECOR party. Best little helper. :)

Then I shared some favorite new clothes for the kids! Love Fall fashion. :) FALL FASHION FOR GIRLS and FALL FASHION FOR BOYS.

I got our hallway ready for Halloween with my SHIPLAP TRICK OR TREAT HALLOWEEN PICTURE DISPLAY!

And the mudroom. :) FALL MUDROOM DECOR AND A NEW RUG!

My husband did his first fashion post and shared some MENS FALL CLOTHES (GIFT IDEAS FOR THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE!). That was.. interesting. Ha! He’s a good sport. ;)

Then I shared our FALL LIVING ROOM DECOR to wrap up October!

I’ve wanted to make and share printables with all of you for a long time now! I was so excited to kick off November with some FREE CHRISTMAS PRINTABLES FOR ORGANIZED GIFT GIVING! I hope they were helpful to some of you! More printables to come. :)

FASHION FRIDAY! ON A SATURDAY. :) I seriously need a new title for those posts.. any ideas? ;)

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS DECOR! Man.. so bummed I had to put all of this away!

You know what was so funny? This picture above was my most liked picture on Instagram from last year. What!? Isn’t that funny!? I can’t figure out why. Is it my half decorated, messy room? The bad lighting? My stunning look in no make-up and sweats? Ha ha.. I’ll never understand social media! TAPERED COLLECTION – NEW FAVORITE TEES

OFFICE CHRISTMAS DECOR WITH THE CONTAINER STORE! One of my favorite posts this year. Because office Christmas decor is my favorite! And because anything to do with The Container Store just makes me so very happy. :)

I shared HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST! Lots of fun things I gave my family and friends this year. :)

Sharing my FROSTED CHRISTMAS TREE WITH BALSAM HILL was another highlight for 2017! Excited to finally share the rest of this room with you all. For real this year! ;)

I joined some fun bloggers to share our shortcuts when hosting. No baking? Sounds like my norm. :) This cheesecake recipe is a good one! FAKE IT, DON’T BAKE IT: STRESS FREE HOLIDAY HOSTING!

2017 FAVOITE THINGS! An annual favorite post of mine! ALL of my favorites from the year in one happy post. :)

THANKSGIVING AND CYBER SALES. Sales and pics of our time in Utah. Basically me and my new baby niece because all I did was hold her! Missing that little peanut.

My last post in November was pics of my MUDROOM DECKED FOR CHRISTMAS! Love that little tree.

Whew! I’m going to stop there and not share December posts because they are so recent (you can see them below this post on my blog!). I’m also putting the breaks on because this post has become a novel. Clearly it was a busy year! Thank you again for sharing it all with me and if you have something you’d love for me to blog about this year leave me a comment on this post! I’m so excited about a new year for Sunny Side Up. Good things in store! Always.

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Organization

01.03.18

Favorite cleaning supplies and tips for keeping your home clean and organized in the new year!

Happy January friends! I hope you all had a nice holiday! I completely unplugged this past week (hardly touched my computer and phone) and it felt so nice! A little technology detox is good for the soul isn’t it!? :) I was able to really be present with my family and re-charge. We made a quick trip to Utah to visit grandparents and cousins after Christmas and have been in total lounge mode ever since! Favorite pj’s have been on major rotation around here. :) I started taking down my Christmas decor a couple of days ago and I have to admit.. it makes me so depressed!

We’ve gone from festive and fun..

To a complete mess of dishes, Christmas toys and half taken down holiday decor. My post Christmas funk has taken over and for me there’s only one way out of it.

To clean.

And to organize.

You knew that was coming. :) My house always looks so empty after the holidays and while it totally depresses me to take down my Christmas decor, there really is something so refreshing about a fresh start and a clean slate. I have so many fun organizing posts coming and can’t wait to get started on my 2018 to-organize list! Making that list and cleaning my house always snaps me out of my post Christmas blues.

Using cleaning supplies I love helps with this cleaning, organizing, cheering myself up process immensely! :) I’ve shared my favorite cleaning supplies with you all before, but for those of you who don’t know, I order my supplies through Grove Collaborative and love it! All of their products are affordable, non toxic and safe for the environment. Plus they are pretty and look stylish in your home. Huge bonus for me! Grove simplifies shopping for cleaning supplies by delivering everything right to your door. Instead of spending a fortune on who knows what at Target, you can come home to all of your favorite healthy, affordable products sitting on your doorstep. I seriously hardly go to Target anymore! Kinda sad.. I love that store. But I’d always go for toilet paper and laundry stain remover and come home with new planners and notepads, a fun vase for the coffee table and clothes for the kids. Raise your hand if you know that story well. Ha! For this single reason my husband loves Grove too. ;)

Now is a great time to give Grove a try if you haven’t yet, because they’re offering a free New Year, New You Set with your first order of $20 to help you create your own healthy home care routine!

If you’re already a Grove customer (I know a lot of you have joined already and love it too!), click here to get a free set of Grove walnut scrubber sponges. They are my favorite! They work so well and are pretty so I don’t mind having them out next to my sink.

You can choose the scent you want (my favorite is Lavender) and how cute is this little cleaning caddy!?

Perfect to corral supplies. I’m going to keep one upstairs in my girls’ bathroom so that they’ll have everything they need to clean that space, and then keep another one downstairs for me to use when I’m sprucing up bathrooms or my kitchen. The best part for me about Grove is that I can customize what I’m getting each month. Once I had ordered enough to build up the cleaning supplies I use every day I started just ordering basic things we always need like toilet paper, paper towels and hand soap. They get delivered each month and when I’m running low on something else I just add it to my next order! So easy and having things like toilet paper delivered is the best – one less thing I have to think about!

If you feel like you are running on empty after the holidays (I love December but I always spend January recuperating!) creating a clean, organized environment in your home can really help you relax and breathe again. When my house is a jumbled mess so is my brain! It always amazes me how much better I feel after rolling up my sleeves and whipping my house into shape. I’ve shared some of these before, but I thought this time of year might be a good time for a little re-cap of some of my best cleaning/organizing tips! I need the reminders too. :)

1 – Start the new year off right by establishing a cleaning routine that works for you and your schedule. I have set days/times I clean my house and do laundry. My cleaning schedule changes as my kids’ activities and our schedule changes, but I always have a loose schedule in place so that things never get out of control. (Also consider hiring help if needed! With our jobs and kids’ schedules there is no way I could stay on top of this house alone. I have help with my deep cleaning – sometimes every week – sometimes every other week. Even paying someone to come and deep clean once a month if it works with your budget can make a huge difference.)

2 – Constantly get rid of things! Emphasis on the CONSTANTLY! Honestly.. I can’t stress this one enough! We always have a goodwill bag or two in progress in our garage. New things are constantly coming into your home so things you aren’t loving or using need to constantly head out! It’s so much easier to stay organized when you have less stuff. This is always a work in progress for me, but I feel like the past two years I have really created a good system and have no problem saying good-bye to things that at the end of the day are just clutter. Clutter can’t be organized! Clear the clutter from your home and you will stay organized! True story. :)

3 – Create a place for things you do keep. Everything in your home needs its own home! If you’re finding certain things are constantly being left out and creating a mess maybe it’s time to re-think where/how you’re storing them. Create a system that makes sense so that you’ll be able to easily put things away where they belong.

4 – Don’t procrastinate. Put things away where they go immediately. It always starts with one thing! You can have a perfectly clean living room but as soon as one person leaves their shoes on the rug, the next person tosses their papers on the coffee table and before you know it there is stuff EVERYWHERE. The new year is a perfect time to get your whole family on board for this one! We had a little pep talk about this very thing again a few days ago. (If you fix a snack.. put the food away and bring your dishes to the sink right after you eat!) I have my kids help remind each other and that works well too. Put things away where they go! Sounds so simple doesn’t it!? If only it was. But after years of ~~harping~~ gently reminding, my kids (and husband!) are getting much better at this one. ;)

5 – When cleaning, attack one room at a time and don’t lose focus! I tend to be a distracted person at heart. :) It’s really easy for me to start cleaning the kitchen and then go to put something away in my office. Then before I know it, I’m organizing a drawer in my office or answering e-mails instead of finishing the kitchen I started! I constantly remind myself to stick to ONE room at a time. That way if I only have 20 minutes to clean I at least get one or two spaces completely done instead of 4 spaces half way done. Which feels like I have nothing to show for my work! :)

6 – Clean your kitchen each evening before bed. I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen! It just starts my day off all wrong. I’m in the habit now of making sure my kitchen is spotless and dishes are all loaded before going to bed and I always thank myself in the morning!

7 – Involve your kids in the cleaning and organizing. My husband always teases me that I’m such a “delegator” and it’s true! I’m constantly assigning my kids to do things. But we all live in this house and mess it up and I truly believe that it shouldn’t just be me cleaning it up everyday! Make chore charts, assign weekly jobs, or just write a daily list. Whatever works for you and your family! My kids know that they are going to have to pick up their rooms/bathroom every night before they go to bed so they’ve learned the magic trick. Don’t let the room get messy in the first place! Of course they are kids.. and their rooms do get messy. But they never get out of control. My kids always pick up their toys and clothes quickly so that they won’t have to do a major cleaning that evening. Making sure everything in their room is clean each evening is part of their routine just like brushing their teeth and homework are. Establish good routines and start involving your kids in the housework as young as possible! It has paid off big time for me.

8 – Make cleaning fun! It really can be. :) I know cleaning is a chore and it can be stressful trying to keep up with all of the housework (it’s truly never ending!), but I always try to make my cleaning time each day as enjoyable as I possibly can. I use products I love. I turn on some good music or listen to a podcast. I light a candle. I zone out and let my mind wander. It can be so very therapeutic! And like I mentioned above.. it’s really the only thing that lifts my spirits after the holidays because I always get in a major funk when the party is over!

Here’s to a clean, organized, beautifully decorated home that you love in 2018! I hope that my future posts will help inspire just that! It’s a new year and I have exciting things planned for Sunny Side Up.

Bring it on.

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.22.17

Christmas Night Lights

We made it! Weekend before Christmas. I can’t believe it’s really here. I’m so excited to relax and spend time with my family this holiday season. After a few more late night wrapping sessions. ;) Today I’m joining a group of fun blog friends for our annual Night Lights Christmas Tour hosted by Rachel at Maison De Pax. If you are visiting today from Kristen’s fun blog Ella Claire hello and welcome! So happy to have you over! I hope you’ll kick off your shoes, get comfortable and stay awhile. Pj’s are a must at my house. :)

Come in come in!

I took too many pictures (old habits die hard) so I’ll try to keep the chit chat to a minimum! This is our formal living room and it’s the first room you see when you walk in the door. (Pics and all sources for this room are here.)

One picture from last year because I forgot to take one of my Christmas gallery wall this year!

This is our family room and you can find more pictures and sources here.

A favorite Christmas picture of my youngest a couple of years ago. :)

(Post on this rug here.)

Most people are dreaming of a white Christmas. All week my girls and I have been singing “we’re dreaming.. of a cloudy Christmas..” That’s about all we need here in southern Cal to feel the Christmas spirit. Some cloud cover and lights on the palm trees. Well.. that and air conditioning. For when it’s 70 degrees outside but we turn the fireplace on anyway.

I like my house at night best when it’s full of people.

Especially when the people are wearing Christmas pj’s. :)

This year I decorated a tree in my bedroom!

We have enjoyed the cozy lights in this space so much this month. I’m excited to share the rest of this room in the New Year!

Last year’s staircase. Some of my favorite night lights.

And last year’s dining room because I never got around to sharing this years! So many pictures.. not enough days. ;)

Addison’s bedroom. You can see more pics in my last post.

She did such a good job decorating her first tree. :)

Our mudroom is another space that feels extra cozy at night with the tree lights on.

I love seeing this little tree through the dutch door outside.

Christmas night lights are the best aren’t they!? In your home or in the community. They just make everything feel special.

I’m signing off for the weekend to spend some time with this crew! I’m so grateful for them and for everything about this season. I’m also incredibly grateful for all of you! For the continual love and support you show me and my blog. I’ve been blogging for 10 years now and this community feels like family. I can’t thank you all enough for that sweet friends. It truly means so much to me.

It’s a Wonderful Life! If you need me over the weekend I’ll be parked in front of this movie. With my best Christmas pajamas on of course. :)

Next stop on the tour is Aniko’s fun blog (Place of my Taste). Enjoy everyone! And Merry Christmas! XO

Be sure to visit all the gorgeous homes lit up for the holidays!

Maison de Pax | Thistlewood Farms | Love Grows Wild | The Turquoise Home | Kelley Nan

Nesting with Grace | Ella Claire | Sunny Side Up | Place of My Taste | House by Hoff

The Happy Housie | French Country Cottage | Nina Hendrick Design Co. | at HOME with the barkers | Just a Girl and Her Blog

Shabbyfufu | Zevy Joy | A Burst of Beautiful | Life on Virginia Street | Kelly Elko

Two Twenty One | Craftberry Bush | Making Home Base | Stylehouse Interiors | Bless’er House

The Wood Grain Cottage | Maison de Cinq | So Much Better With Age

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.20.17

Kitchen Messes, Bedroom Tree, and All Things SANTA

Ahh! 5 days until Christmas! I’m not ready. I am ready! But I’m also not ready. Anyone else feeling the same!? :) Another random picture dump today! I share a lot of clean kitchen pictures with you all so I thought I’d share a couple of pictures of what our kitchen looks like most weekends. Messy and full of kids. :)

This last weekend the girls had friends sleep over. They made slime and watched movies and jumped on the trampoline and built a fort. Kenny made everyone breakfast the next morning. Kole fled the scene in an attempt to get away from all of the giggling madness. I took pictures of the girls and the mess.

After breakfast everyone followed Kole’s lead and took off and it was just me and the disaster. Which I was fine with because at least I got out of cooking. :) I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

Ahhh.. back to clean. Like Christmas magic. It lasted all of 10 minutes.

A few years ago I bought 3 little Christmas trees for the kids’ rooms. They’ve left them empty and just enjoy the lights every year but this year Ad decorated hers. She did it all by herself with some leftover ornaments I had laying around plus a few old favorites. She used a blanket for a tree skirt. It turned out so cute!

Then she made snowflakes for her wall. :)

I thought she did such a cute job making her room festive for the holidays and am so proud of her decorating. :)

You can see Ad’s full room with sources in this post.

Her room looks especially pretty at night.

There’s just something about a room with a Christmas tree in it isn’t there? :)

Speaking of snowflakes.. :) Last year my girls’ created a winter wonderland on our staircase.

And we hung our Santa pictures on the closet door.

This year I hung our Santa pictures on the stair wall and the girls were going to surround them with snowflakes. But they got started and then burned out on the snowflake cutting.. ha! So we left it like this. With just a few happy snowflakes on the sides. :)

I was trying to make a Christmas tree out of the pictures. Not sure if you caught that.. because sometimes I can’t tell either, but that’s what I was going for.

On a sidenote.. this blank empty hall to the right of my stairs needs something doesn’t it? I have a few ideas. Add it to the list of 2018 projects!

These Santa pictures are my favorite. I see my kids growing up right in front of my eyes every time I look at them.

Of course we had to keep the tradition going. :) We always visit the Santa at our local mall. He was pretty cute with my kids this year and reminded El that even though she’s a teen now she isn’t too old to keep the tradition alive and get a picture with him. I had just been telling her the same thing on the drive over so we both shot each other a look when he said that. Santa knows ALL things. :)

Kole is so excited for Christmas and had a good chat with Santa about why sometimes things he wants like real snakes can’t happen. (What is it with my kids and snakes!?) Thank you again Santa! Whew.. he really had my back this year. :)

After our Santa picture Kenny met us at the mall and we did some serious divide and conquer shopping! Kids wanted to get something for each other and we had a few friend gifts to pick up. I love our mall! It’s outdoor and always so festive this time of year.

{J Crew Plaid Shirt/AG Jeans/Kiandra Uggs/Similar Uggs}

I was wearing this outfit again because it’s such a favorite. Every single thing I’m wearing is on sale! SO many cute things are on sale at Nordstrom right now. I couldn’t help order a few last minute sale items this morning because you can still get everything delivered by Christmas! YEA. Also for my local friends.. the Nordstrom at La Jolla UTC SCAL has a really cool 24/7 buy on-line pick up in store service that lasts from now until Christmas Eve. So convenient if you are still doing last minute shopping! You don’t even have to go in! You can just text from curbside and they will bring your things out to you. Not a bad way to shop. :) It’s available at other locations too so check here if you are interested in seeing about doing that at your local Nordstrom.

Kenny snapped a picture of us before we started shopping and then took this pic when we were done. Whew! Always a marathon shopping with kids! But everyone was still smiling so I’ll call the trip a success. Love these three. And my sweet husband who was balancing all the bags when he took this. Shopping with the kids, carrying all the bags AND taking pictures. Now that’s a good man. ;)

I’ll share a few things I love below that are marked down! Happy last minute shopping and wrapping and decorating and cleaning and baking and anything else you are up to getting ready for the big day! I’m off to go make Christmas Pretzel Hugs with my kids. :)

*Thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and for making last minute shopping so easy for us all! (Affiliate links used)

{FAVORITES ON SALE}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.17.17

Fashion Favs, Money tree, and other last minute gift ideas!

{Adidas Flashback sneaker/Adidas Swift Run Sneaker}

Hello friends! I hope you all had a nice weekend! If you like random today’s post is right up your alley. :) First on the agenda – a few recent fashion favs. (Then we’ll be talking last minute gift ideas!) My obsession with Adidas sneakers continues and with December busyness in full swing I find myself reaching for one of these two pairs of shoes most days.

Here’s what I wore last week..

{California Love Hoodie/similar Adidas Sweatshirt/Gray Zella High Waist Leggings/Adidas Swift Run Sneakers}

These high waist Zella leggings are marked down for such a great price and I love the strappy detail on the leg. Zella high waist leggings in general are my go-to for exercise or for days I’m just running errands or cleaning and want to be comfortable. Aside from being comfortable they are so slimming! Good self-esteem pants.. who doesn’t need more of those in their life? ;)

{Camo Hoodie/Zella High Waist Black Leggings/Adidas Flashback Sneaker}

I shared this cute camo hoodie on sale in my last fashion post – so cute! I especially love it with these Flashback sneakers. These sneakers are SO comfy. New favorites on repeat.

{Cowl Neck Tunic/Moto Leggings/Over the Knee Boots}

Apparently I like the black/green combo whether I’m dressing up or going casual. I know you all see it a lot around here! At least I’m predictable. :) I bought these cute moto leggings last year (they are on sale!) and love them with longer tops like this cowl neck tunic. This tunic has great reviews – it’s so comfy and soft. It runs big – I’m wearing my regular size and it’s a big baggy. Perfect for days you need to look more put together but still want to be comfortable. It’s hard to see in this pic but the cowl neck is so cute! Comes in lots of colors. I buy a lot of Caslon clothes because they are always a good mix of cute and comfortable. They have other fun things on sale like this long sleeve side tie tee and this tie front sweatshirt tunic. Love them both!

{Flare Cuff Sweater/Arrowstack Necklace (on sale!)/Side Ruffle Pencil Skirt/Similar Over the Knee Boots}

I shared this cute new sweater and skirt in my last fashion post (I shared the red skirt.. love it in black too!). There are so many different ways to wear them both. This was what I wore to church last week. My Arrowstack necklace (on sale!) looks so cute with this sweater because of the gold sleeves.

{Madewell Buffalo Check Shirt/Favorite jeans (on sale!)/Over the Knee boots/Tanner necklace/Tory Burch Bracelet}

I keep forgetting to share this Madewell Buffalo Check shirt I’ve had for a few months. I love it! Every time I wear it I get compliments on it. The best part is the back.. it buttons all the way down. Really cute with my favorite AG jeans. Btw.. so many of my cute friends ordered my favorite AG jeans when I shared they were on sale and are wearing and loving them! Makes me so happy. I hope if you tried them you love them too!

Ok.. I’ve been getting e-mails lately asking for a few more quick gift ideas.. especially for neighbors! Here are a few of my go to gifts! Candles always make a quick and easy friend/neighbor/teacher gift. If I’m doing a Christmas candle I usually give it out at Thanksgiving or early December so they can enjoy it thoughout the month, but if you’re giving it this week close to Christmas I’d buy something they will love year round like this pretty candle. It smells good and doubles as pretty coffee table decor. Another go to we give to friends/neighbors every year are our applesauce cookies. You can find the recipe HERE. They are SO good and will make your entire kitchen smell amazing. Perfect quick treat to take to a neighbor or to eat Christmas morning with orange juice. :)

Of course we’ll make our annual Christmas Pretzel Hugs again this year. We have friends who can’t wait for these every year – they make a great neighbor treat to deliver. Last week El said one evening..

“mom.. remember last year when I made Pretzel Hugs for my French class? Everyone loved them and wants me to bring them again for my class party.”

I said “oh fun.. ok.. when is the class party?”

“tomorrow.”

“Of course it is.”

KIDS!

I’ve mentioned it a time or 20 that throws are also a favorite friend/neighbor/teacher gift. Everyone loves and can use a good throw to decorate with or curl up with on the couch! The Bliss throws I’ve shared before that I’m giving as gifts this holiday season just went on sale again. :)

A cute planner always makes a fun gift! I gave planners to all of my girlfriends one year and wrote a little note about scheduling more girlfriend get-togethers in the New Year. I know there are still a lot of people who like to write out their schedule or to-do’s on paper in addition to digital calendars.. people like me. :) There are some cute planner options here.. I especially love this Kate Spade 17 month planner!

Another fun gift for friends/neighbors is simply framing a picture you have of a time you were all together. I added a chocolate bar to each of these framed pictures and gave them to friends one year.

And if you’re really in a bind and don’t want to give a gift card, Money Trees are a great solution! I was struggling with what to get my sister and brother and their spouses one year for Christmas. I knew they could all use money more than anything I could come up with, but I hated to not give a personalized gift. Enter the Money Tree! Makes the boring gift of cash a little less boring. :)

There are so many different ways to make these (pics are all over Pinterest if you need ideas!). I just kind of made mine up. I used sticks, green twine I had on hand and yellow paper for a star,

I broke one stick in half and doubled it up for the tree trunk and then wrapped two pieces of green twine at the top and then just criss crossed them the whole way down. You can see how I folded the money smaller at the top so that it looks like a Christmas tree. You can do this with any amount of money. It’s also a cute idea to use one or five dollar bills to put in kids’ stockings. :)

I put each of the money trees in a cute red sack and my family loved them!

I hope that gave you a few ideas if you are still working on gifts this week! I found a few more fun and unique friend/neighbor gifts on-line at Nordstrom that I’ll link to below. Isn’t it crazy how fast December flies by!? I’m so sad Christmas is already only a week away! I wish the holiday season lasted so much longer than it does.

Next year I might start decorating in September. ;)

*Thank you to Nordstrom for Sponsoring this post and for making my holiday shopping so easy this year! (Affiliate links used)

{POST SOURCES}

{OTHER FUN GIFT IDEAS}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.15.17

Christmas Kitchen and a house full of girls!

Well! This week was a total blur. Yours too? I’m going to assume so. December always is, isn’t it? The one month I want to SLOW down and last a long time and it always seems to fly faster than ever. Someone serioulsy needs to fix this! It’s going to have to be one of you because I have a lot of pictures to post. ;)

In my last Christmas home tour you saw a lot of my home decked for the holidays, but I still have a few spaces left to share! No room left behind when it comes to Christmas decor, remember? Today I’m bringing you into my kitchen! It’s Christmas ready. :)

It’s also pretty similar to how I usually decorate it for this time of year. I just doesn’t feel like Christmas at my house without my It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year sign over the stove. Ahhh tradition. :)

You all know that keeping my kitchen clean (or attempting to anyway!) is high on my priority list, so I usually keep holiday decor in this space pretty simple.

A small wreath on the pot filler and a Christmas bow tied around the wooden spoon holder.

Red popcorn bowls on the counter.. because Christmas movies are on heavy rotation this time of year which means so is the popcorn. :)

I always get asked where I get my greenery – usually at Home Depot but this year I was so happy to find some in a local grocery store. It usually lasts about 2 weeks so I put it up at the beginning of December and then switch it half way through the month. It makes a total mess when it comes down and every time I switch it out I think that I’m SO done with it for good! But then I put up the new greenery and fall in love all over again.

And end up going back the next year for more. :)

Fa la la la la.. one of my favorite finds last Christmas! It was from PB Kids (they always have the cutest banners!) but they didn’t bring it back this year. Sometime I need to take a picture to show you how I got it perfectly attached inside of those upper cabinets. You’ll think I’m SO tricky. Even more tricky than usual. ;)

Simple ornaments in a wooden bowl always look festive! And can we just talk about how I’ve kept this plant alive for over six months!? YES! You heard that. A total record for me. And can we just not talk about how it happens to be one of the easiest plants to keep alive ever because it hardly needs any water. Seriously we ALL need this plant in our lives! Don’t be surprised if you see one popping up in every room in my house this Spring.

My Santa Magnetic Advent Calendar has been such a fun addition! I love seeing it in my kitchen window every morning and moving the snowflake to remind me of how I have very little time left to accomplish A LOT more things. ;) It’s marked down.. half off right now!

I usually add a lot more to this shelf but decided to keep things simple there too. I added a deer and some candy canes and called it a day.

Speaking of deer..

These beauties needed a little extra something on this table so I put them inside of my new magnolia wreath. A fun, unexpected way to use a wreath that doesn’t involve any holes in the wall. ;) On a side note I stored my rug all folded up after Christmas last year and now it has bumps in it! I’m going to store it flat this year. Covered in Kenny’s law school books to flatten it out!

A little more Christmas cheer in the butler’s pantry. You can never have too many red stripes in my opinion. :) (Favorite dishes here.)

I always try to take room shots like this when my kids are in school because it’s SO hard to keep my house “photoshoot clean” with my family home, but I had to take these pictures last Saturday because my week was so busy. Addison was being so patient and then finally couldn’t wait one more minute and had to sneak something to eat.. ha! In case you’re thinking my kitchen always looks this clean let’s be reminded of what it has been known to look like in December..

I believe this was Christmas day a few years ago. At least it was a happy mess.

Kind of. ;)

{KITCHEN SOURCES} *Affiliate links used.

On Tuesday night this week I hosted our annual Christmas party for the Young Women in our church (girls ages 12-18). Having this party at my house every year is one of my favorite Christmas traditions! I got a lot of questions about what we do at this party after I posted a few minutes of the party on Instagram Stories so I’ll quickly explain our favorite activity!

{Team Santa/Red Flannel Plaid pj’s/other favorite Christmas pj’s here}

First of all.. we always wear Christmas pj’s. Because it’s at my house so.. of course we do. :)

After everyone chats and gets comfortable it’s time for our annual sock exchange! Every girls brings a pair of socks wrapped. They can be any kind of socks – really comfy, fuzzy socks, crazy unique socks, Christmas socks.. whatever! Then each girl gets assigned a number (#1 through however many girls are there). #1 goes first and picks a present and opens it and keeps the socks. #2 picks a present and opens it and can choose if she wants to keep her new socks or trade them for the socks #1 chose. Every girl from then on can choose if she wants to keep her new pair of socks or trade with someone else for their pair. One pair of socks can only be traded twice so once it has gone through two people it stays with its new owner for good.. is this making sense? Ha.. :) Anyway.. it’s always a fun because there are usually a few pairs of socks that everyone wants! The girls get laughing over the sock trading and who knows what else and it’s always a good time. Fun party activity if you are hosting a group of girls! I also think it would be fun to try a Favorite Things party with this crew. You can read more about how that party works (and see some fun gift ideas from our last Favorite Things party!) here.

Love them all so much! After the sock exchange we serve treats and hot chocolate and everyone spreads throughout my house to eat and chat. :)

Some years we have also also done service activities with the girls in addition to our annual sock exchange. One year we made baby blankets to take to a nearby women’s shelter.

And another year we wrote thank you letters to people serving our country and to people serving in our church. Always nice to make sure people feel appreciated for all they do.

El and some close friends. :)

This pic was from last year’s party. Having these sweet girls in my home just makes me happy! All of our December traditions do. Tomorrow is my girls last day of school! I’m kind of bummed Kole has one more week to go at his school. I get so excited to have my kids home so we can really start enjoying the holiday! Late night drives to look at Christmas lights, delivering gifts to neighbors, making our annual Christmas hugs, picture with Santa, visiting the nativity at the SD temple, hot chocolate station, wrapping wrapping wrapping, Christmas pj movie parties galore, gingerbread house decorating, late night chats in the hot tub, having friends over.. oh my word. We have a lot to fit in! I better sign off and get started.

I think I’ll start with the hot chocolate.

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.11.17

Christmas Home Tour (living and family room)

*Details on my cute red skirt and other recent favorite clothes in yesterday’s fashion post. And yes.. I’m using the same porch picture to kick off both posts because it was enough work getting my husband to snap one picture like this.. two was out of the question. ;) *Affiliate links used

Friends! It’s finally here! Our annual Decked and Styled Christmas Home Tour! I’m so excited to be joining a group of my close blog friends to share a peek inside of our homes decked for the holidays. Nothing like a Christmas home tour. :) If you are popping over from my friend Sarah’s blog (Life on Virginia Street) hello and welcome! So happy to have you here! I’m currently sitting in a pair of my favorite pj’s typing this post with a Christmas movie on and my candle burning in the background. Isn’t this time of year the absolute best!? I couldn’t love it more. :)

Today I’m sharing my entry, living room, family room and a re-cap of a few rooms I’ve already shared. I wanted to squeeze a few more rooms in this post, but you’d all be scrolling for an hour and since I know how busy we all are this time of year I decided to share the rest of my Christmas decor in other posts this week. So come back for more! My motto when decorating for Christmas is “no room left behind”.. ha! My husband teases me that I have so many Christmas trees up I’ll be adding one to our garage before long.

Hmm… come to think of it that space could use a little holiday cheer. Not a bad idea. :)

This is our front entry (details on this space here) and I kept it pretty simple this year. You might notice things I moved in for our table from other rooms in our house. :)

{Mirrored console/Similar lamp here or here/dough bowl (size small)/cheveron vase/similar flowers}

Some greenery, ornaments in a favorite dough bowl and red flowers. Easy Christmas cheer.

ENTRY SOURCES:

The lighting in our formal living room was so awful the day I took these pics! This shot turned out a bit yellow looking but despite that, I’m loving this room.

The pops of red just make me happy.

I kept our tree in this room similar to how I had it last year. The main new addition was this cute knit ivory garland. I love it so much! It adds instant coziness. :) I almost bought the knit ivory tree skirt to go with it (also so cute!) but then remembered I had a blanket with the same look so I just wrapped that around the bottom of the tree. :)

I became obsessed with these lit glitter birch trees and first shared them in this post about all of my favorite Christmas decor. I knew they would sell out fast! I added them to my mantel with some fresh greenery. They look especially cute with the lights turned on a night.

My large dough bowl was perfect to hold some of our Christmas books. My kids read on the couch in this room a lot because it’s away from the main busy loud areas of the house (kitchen, family room) so this was a perfect place for our books. Nice and quiet and a great spot to curl up next to the tree with a good book. Something I hope to be doing very soon. :)

These fabric reindeer are too cute. I’ve been buying one a year of the smaller deer for a few years and then was in PB a few weeks ago and they were marked down on their way out so I picked up several more. This one on my table is the larger deer and I just have one of him. He steals the show. ;)

I totally spaced taking a picture of this side of the room with my O Holy Night sign and the top of my Christmas gallery wall so a few of these pics are from last years’ tour since the gallery wall is the same. Just telling you in case you were wondering why my table decor changes in a few pics.

I’m all sorts of tricky like that. ;)

These are all PB Christmas pillows and you can find the throw here.

Another shot from last year of our Christmas gallery wall.

I was excited to have these favorite family pictures on display again. :)

LIVING ROOM SOURCES:

And now on to our family room!

If it looks the exact same as how I decorated it for Christmas last year, that’s because it is. :) My kids love tradition and so do I and this room has a lot of decor that holds special meaning for us all so we don’t mix things up too much in this space. (For those of you who are new to my blog, all of my paint colors are listed in this post and I wrote all about this Chunky and Wool Jute Rug (natural) that’s a long time favorite in this post. I tend to get a lot of questions about those two things so I’m throwing that out there early. ;)

Here are lots of pics of our annual family room Christmas decor that my kids help decorate every year. :)

FAMILY ROOM SOURCES:

I’ll share our kitchen decor next! :)

If you missed my office I decked it for the holidays and shared pictures of it here.

The girls and I decided we work much more efficiently in this space now that it’s ready for Christmas. :)

I also shared my mudroom Christmas decor in this post.

My favorite room in the house.

And for the first time I decorated a tree in my master bedroom! Next year I’ll share my Christmas decor in the rest of this space. I have to first share this room with you in January.. I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes. ;)

If you are still working on your gift list and are feeling the need to get organized with what you already have and who you still need to buy for, there is a place at the bottom of this post to sign up to get my free Christmas gift list printables! I have LOVED using these this year. Such a huge help keeping track of all the gifts I’m buying and wrapping this year. You can see how my kids and I are using them in this post.

And speaking of gifts, if you still need ideas you can check my annual FAVORITE THINGS post OR yesterday’s post where I shared some new fashion favorites for the holiday season. So many cute things I’m loving!

But let’s be honest. Most days I am just counting down until I can put on favorite pj’s. :)

Christmas cards are coming each day in the mail and I’m so excited for the shiplap wall in our hallway to be filled with favorite faces! One of my favorite things about December.

Thank you for touring with me today! I’ll be sharing more throughout the week. Wishing you all the HAPPIEST holiday season this year.

Next stop on our tour is my sweet friend Shana (The House of Silver Lining). She is building a new home so this is her last Christmas in the home she is sharing today. I remember our last Christmas before we finished building and moved into our current home four years ago. A bittersweet and special Christmas for sure. Also be sure to check out the rest of my friends’ blogs and their beautiful homes! I know each one of these girls personally and can promise you that aside from being so talented they are also kind, down to earth, wonderful people. I’m grateful for their friendship this holiday season and I’m so incredibly grateful for all of you!

But I’ll save the sap for a post on Christmas Eve because it’s late and I’m too lazy to grab a box of tissues. ;)

The House Of Silver Lining

Style House Interiors

Life On Virginia Street

SaveSave

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Fashion

12.10.17

December Fashion Favorites

Wait. Are you comfortable? Sitting in a cozy spot? Do you have at least 3 minutes to spare? (Although 10 would be better.) Is there a snack nearby? No? K.. I’ll wait. Go ahead. Get comfy and grab the pretzels (that’s what I’m munching on at the moment). Things have been busy and my fashion selfies are piling up! It’s time for a major picture dump of favorite things I’ve been wearing. SO many cute things you guys! And a lot of them are on sale! It’s a Christmas miracle. Well… not really.. but it’s December so we’re going with it. ;)

{Partnering with Nordstrom on this post! Affiliate links used.}

{Side Ruffle Skirt/similar Bell Sleeve Sweater/similar Boots/similar Necklace}

First up – I found the cutest skirt to wear this month! I’m so in love with this side ruffle pencil skirt. It has such a great fit.. not too clingy and I love the higher waist and length. It’s just comfortable and FUN. Perfect for holiday get togethers that aren’t formal, but you still want to dress up a bit for. I’m excited to wear it to church on Christmas Eve. :)

Cutest side ruffle right? I loved it so much I bought it in black too!

Part of my Christmas came a little early this year. I’ve mentioned before that everyone in our family always gets a new pair of shoes for Christmas. I’ve had the same pair of Uggs that I wear over and over since before Kole was born! They aren’t looking too hot as you can imagine (Kole is 7 1/2 – he always makes me add the 1/2) :) so it was time for a replacement pair. Or two replacement pairs. Even better. ;) There are so many fun new styles of Ugg boots in Nordstrom this year! I had a hard time choosing but went with these Dae Sunshine Boots and the Kiandra Boot. During this time of year I wear my older Uggs every single day. Most days I put them on in the morning to run my kids to school, then I’ll change into something else for the middle of the day when I’m leaving the house, then I put my Uggs back on in the evening when I’m playing taxi driver. These new Uggs are so cute that I don’t think I’ll want to change them mid day! I might never buy another pair of shoes again.

That would be a Christmas gift to my husband that isn’t really going to happen.. :)

Aren’t they cute in the back too! Love them. (And to my husband, thanks for the fun Christmas gift babe! I know you don’t know you got me these, but you did and I love them. You are SO good to me.) ;)

CUTE UGGS I’M LOVING:

This J Crew Buffalo Plaid Shirt is a newish favorite! I bought it just a few weeks ago and have already worn it about four times. I love button up shirts with my tanner bar necklace (an older long time favorite). So cute! Jeans are my all time favorite AG raw hem ankle skinny jeans that are still on sale and were re-stocked in all sizes! So if you missed them the first time they’re back! Such an amazing steal. I’m wearing them in every picture in this post.. they are my go-to every day jeans.

I actually just wore this J Crew shirt again tonight to a play and dinner with these two crazies. Kenny took El to a dance competition so the three of us had a fun date night. Clearly we need to work on our selfie skills since Kole is cut out and half of the picture is my hand.. ha!

This Metallic Trim Flare Cuff Sweater is another newish favorite. Just a bit of sparkle around the bell sleeves. So fun. Comes in lots of colors.

It’s a great sweater to wear with a scarf! This plaid scarf has been my favorite so far this season.

Bubble Sleeve Sweater – I love the green but it comes in other colors. It’s on the shorter side so I wear a tank under it. The sleeves are my favorite. These over the knee boots are still marked down!

Flare Sleeve Utility Jacket – you all know I love jackets like this!

Aren’t the sleeves fun? This looks so cute buttoned up or unbuttoned with a top under it. I’ve worn it a few times with graphic tees under it too and it’s a really cute combo!

This Cozy Ribbed Pullover is exactly like it looks and sounds – COZY! It’s the type of sweater you want to throw on every day when it’s cold outside. It’s warm and so soft. I have it in the cream color too. Love this!

Wore this Zigzag sweater a few weeks ago to see Cinderella with friends. I’ve had this sweater in black for years and it’s such a good fit (Vince Camuto sweaters always are!) so earlier in the Fall when it came back I bought it in the green. It’s on sale right now! (You can find Ad’s t-shirt dress here – it’s one of her favorites. And kids’ Uggs here – this new pair is darling isn’t it!?). :)

A cute striped Madewell tee I love and have worn a few times lately that’s probably not warm enough for most of you. ;) My Tory Burch bracelet is a favorite and a cute gift idea!

I couldn’t resist picking up this Lush Tunic for only $27! Dressy and longer and a fun change from the type of tops I usually wear. :)

I love it with these cute ball drop earrings. They are so cute, light weight and just $14!

Are we doing ok? I told you you’d need some pretzels! This post is a marathon, not a sprint. We must pace ourselves. ;) CUTEST camo Venice Hoodie and it’s 40% off! I was giddy when I found this!

Slouchy and comfortable – such a cute fit – I know it will be on heavy repeat! Want to know my favorite thing about sweatshirts like this? You can wear them all day..

and then switch your jeans and boots to a favorite pair of jogger pants and Ugg slippers and BAM.. comfort! In for the night. :) (My Ugg socks above sold out but these Ugg socks are so cute if you like wearing shorts or nightgowns!)

Speaking of being in for the night.. :) If I could be a pair of pj’s I would be these Flannel Girlfriend Make and Model PJ’s. Seriously. They don’t get any cuter or more comfortable!

My husband always teases me about my pajama obsession but commented that he likes these a few nights ago so aside from being crazy comfy, these are also husband approved. ;) There might be a few people on my Christmas list who are also get these pj’s soon! Cute for the holidays and also long after.

I’ve also been wearing this cute Merry Kissmas pj top a lot around the house this month. It comes in a set with shorts, but I don’t love the short shorts – maybe if I had the thighs for them? ;) – so when I buy a set like this I keep the top and give the shorts to Ellie. She loves PJ Salvage shorts so it’s a win win! I much prefer my favorite jogger pants. :)

And of course I’ve been living in my Team Santa sweatshirt I picked up in October. They have one that says Team Rudolph too! Love it. I honestly can’t think of much I love more than Christmas pj’s. They make me so very happy. Everything about this beloved time of year makes me happy. My girls are out of school in a week (Kole goes a few days longer) and I can’t wait to get my kids home so we can really start enjoying the season! I have a lot to get done this week before they’re out (hard to process all that needs to get done right?) but it will all get done.. it always does!

I hope you’re still with me! I know that post was a long one. Maybe you added some hot chocolate with your pretzels? That is sounding really good to me right about now. I’m off to make some. :) Come back on Monday for a Christmas home tour! Or at least part of one! We’ll see how much of my Christmas decor I can squeeze into one post. This post was good training so I think you can handle it.

Just bring a snack. :)

POST SOURCES – all things I’m loving this month:

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.08.17

Christmas porch, home updates, and an epic tale :)

Oh my word.. is it really Friday!? LIMPING to the finish line around here. What a week! December madness has definitely hit. But the house is decorated and it makes me so happy to come home from a busy day or evening to this Christmas porch. It just seems to say “welcome home.. come inside and put on your Christmas pj’s and enjoy the tree lights and rest.”

At least that’s what I imagine it tells me. :)

I usually clean and decorate our porch with Kole – it’s kind of our thing :) – but he has had activities in the afternoons and I wanted to get it done so I just did it quick by myself one morning. So earlier this week I picked up the kids from school and pulled into the garage and told Kole I decorated the porch for Christmas. He went running over to see it and came back and said “no defense mom (which always makes me smile because he says no “defense” instead of no “offense” – it’s so cute I never correct him..) – no defense mom, but the porch looks the same as last year and the year before that. I mean.. you added a couple of new things, but it’s pretty much the same. It’s nice, but I like it when you do something different and EPIC. The porch isn’t EPIC mom. I’ll help you next year.” Then he went skipping into the house. Oh my word.. that kid cracks me up! So friends.. today I start this post with a very boring, very un-EPIC Christmas porch. We’ll cross our fingers and hope for better next year. ;)

To be honest, I do use a lot of my Christmas decor the same way every year. Mostly because well.. I like it the way it is! It’s familiar and tradition and since it’s only up for a month or so I don’t get tired of it. Plus I just LOVE these little trees lit up at night so much that the thought of doing something instead of the trees bums me out. But! Like Kole noticed.. I did add a couple of minor new additions. :)

Santa hats on both of the trees, a few new presents (which have all of my cookbooks inside of them holding them down – they are getting more use this way than ever before)..

and my favorite new addition – this cute red and gray sled. I’ve always wanted a sled for the front porch and I’ve found a lot of them on-line, but nothing I liked as much as this. Plus it’s on sale right now! Personally I think it’s pretty epic.

But that’s just me. :)

And random.. when I decorate I don’t like things to be too symmetrical. That’s why I put two lanterns (and now a sled) on one side of my door and only one lantern on the other. I don’t know why, but when things are too symmetrical it bothers me. Little tidbit about me you didn’t care to know but I told you anyway. ;)

We have a lot of Christmas trees throughout the house this year all with different looks. Several people have asked me what we do with the special ornaments made by my kids. Sometimes they put them on the tree in our family room, but the past few years the kids have decorated a little tree in our stair landing with all of their homemade ornaments. The tree I used to have on our stairs bit the dust last year (wouldn’t stand up straight anymore!) so I replaced it with this cute Burlap Base Tree and I love the look of it (plus it’s also on sale)! This is an all kid tree so I try really hard to not move things around after they put them on. That can be difficult for me, but I don’t let myself touch it. :)

Kole added more decorations to the stairs by pulling out the nutcrackers. Then he played with that little nativity set on the right for an hour and then laid them all down to go to sleep and made me promise not to move them. Which is why they are in this picture and laying down. I can’t wake a sleeping nativity set.

These are the little Christmas touches throughout our home I love the most. :)

I also hung my kids’ little school gingerbread houses next to the fridge and have their Christmas art displayed in our office. Favorite Christmas decor. :)

A few more new updates throughout my home from Nordstrom! This cute wooden tree is the centerpiece on my dining room table this year. So cute.

And this throw! I know.. I have so many throws and love them all. I can’t help it! Throws (and pillows!) are a major weakness for me. But this faux fur throw is heavenly to curl up with and I love it draped over a chair!

I’m so excited to show you my progress in our guest bedroom in the New Year! Lots of bedroom posts are coming. :) But I couldn’t wait to show you all these Opal Tassel Lamps! Aren’t they stunning!? So funny.. after I got them unwrapped and plugged in I couldn’t stop walking by this room to look at them. I just love them so much. My husband was laughing at me… that lamps could make me that happy.. ha! But they really do. I love everything about them and because they are so neutral I think they would look good in any space around the house if I ever want to mix things up.

I got a few new Kate Spade Towels for my girls’ bathroom. These larger towels above sold out, but the hand towels I ordered in this same color pattern are still in stock. Nordstrom has a great selection of really nice towels and towels are an easy way to instantly spruce up a bathroom!

Last summer when I shared our powder bathroom decor I got so many questions about where I got the cute striped soap dispenser!

You can find it here. Also in the home department at Nordstrom. Can you tell it’s a happy spot I like to hang out in? :)

I wrapped up my favorite Bliss Plush Throws this week to give out as gifts! I shared these in my recent Favorite Things post because I think they make a perfect gift! Another Nordstrom Home department obsession.

Alright friends.. signing off! I have some cute clothes to share with you over the weekend and then Monday is Christmas Home Tour day! So I’ll be back soon! And trust me..

it’s going to be EPIC.

;)

Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! Your HOME department is a long time favorite. :)

{POST SOURCES}

{OTHER FUN GIFT IDEAS FROM NORDSTROM HOME.. so many of these things are on my wish list!}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Christmas

12.05.17

Eclipse Charger – say good-bye to messy cords!

*In collaboration with Native Union – all thoughts and opinions are my own! Affiliate links used.

If you were to ask me what our nightstands look like in our master bedroom right now at this very moment I would show you this picture above.

But then I would remember we’re all tight friends around here and I can be real. :) So truth.. the picture above is what the nightstand on my husband’s side of the bed really looks like most days. And it drives me CRAZY.

Does this mess of cords look familiar to anyone else!? Please tell me I’m not alone! We charge our two cell phones and our family iPad on this nightstand each night and the mess of cords has been a frustration for me for a long time now. I’ve thought of so many solutions (including drilling holes in the back of our dresser and hiding this mess in the drawer!) but just I haven’t done anything about it yet.

So when Native Union reached out and asked if I’d be interested in trying out their new Eclipse Charger I seriously couldn’t say yes fast enough! Someone had heard my frustration and found a solution! I was giddy when this box and three cords came in the mail.

First of all.. these cables. I couldn’t have designed something more perfect if I had dreamed about them! Black and white stripes? With a cute leather tie that holds it all together in a clean and organized fashion? YES. These are the little things in life that just make my day. :)

This Eclipse really is so cool you guys. I had it set up in minutes! You just plug it in, tap the top twice and it opens up. You string three cords through it and then tap to close the lid again. You can pull as much of the cord out as you want to charge your devices. There is a cool video HERE that shows you how easy it is to set up and use. You can even mount this on your wall if you wanted to!

Kole loves tapping it and watching it open and close. We did this for a long time the other day and I kept having to pause taking these photos so he could play with it. Open/close.. open/close. :) It also has a light at the bottom that comes on with one tap which is so nice for late at night or early morning.

And when everyone takes their devices and leaves for the day? This is what my nightstand looks like. For real. The Eclipse looks like simple decor. And there isn’t a cord in sight! THIS I can live with. :)

I loved it so much I tried using it for a few days in my office and now I want another one! This is another spot in my house that is usually full of cords because the girls and I sometimes charge our phones here after they get home from school.

Cords are hidden and out of sight! Such a happy well functioning little spot now. :)

The cord on the Eclipse also has a nice leather tie so you can easily wrap up and hide the cord. You can take the leather ties off and use the small cords in the Eclipse, but I just used our regular charging cables and plan to use the small cords when I travel.

Time to say good-bye to messy cords once and for all! I’m in! I think this Eclipse Charger would make a great holiday gift. It comes in different colors and styles and is so functional! It’s something I would have totally bought to give to me from me. :)

Fun Gift Ideas From Native Union:

Bedroom Sources:

I hope your week is off to a great start! I’m trying to wrap up my decorating this week and keep asking myself how I’m still working on it when I got started so early!? I’m blaming it on the week of travel for Thanksgiving (travel always throws me off and takes a while to catch up after!) but really I think it’s just because I love the decorating so much I don’t want it to end. Ha. :)

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

Fashion

12.03.17

Men’s Clothes – Gift Ideas for Him

*affiliate links used below

Friends. We’ve created a monster. You might remember in October when my husband was a good sport to help me with my first post for Nordstrom sharing his favorite Fall clothes. Per his usual sarcastic self, he titled himself “the new face of Nordstrom” and made my life slightly difficult as I attempted to take pics of him.

So when Nordstrom sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago asking if we were up for another men’s post I just shook my head and thought.. oh boy.. here we go again.. :)

I e-mailed my husband and this was our back and forth:

Me: “Guess who is the new face of Nordstrom.. ha. Are you up for another one? Or should I say.. am I up for another one?”

Him: “Let them know I’m in, and that I’m so dedicated to my art that I’ll go ahead and model their boxer briefs in this post. We can have a picture of me in the kitchen in my underwear taking cookies out of the oven. I think I might need to hurry and get a tattoo to increase my edgy appeal. And I need to shave my legs. Crap! Being the face of Nordstrom is a heavy burden to bare. Is it too early to buy a loft in New York City? I’m sure they’re going to need me there about once a month for future shoots.”

Yup. This is the kind of stuff I deal with on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter what question I ask.. I get responses like this back ALL DAY LONG. Like a few days ago when I sent him a text and asked “did you remember you’re picking up Addison from band today?” And he answered “who’s Addison?”

Oh my word. It’s exhausting. And the reason I love him. He’s totally annoying and keeps life interesting all at the same time. :)

So without further sarcasm from our model, (who will most definitely NOT be in the kitchen in his underwear taking cookies out of the oven) here are a few more of our favorites from the men’s departent at Nordstrom.

{Him: thermal tee/lace up sneakers (on sale!) — Me: similar Rails shirt/jeans/over the knee boots}

My mom snapped this pic of us over Thanksgiving break. My husband loves these Rail Notch neck thermal t-shirts. They are lightweight and casual.. fitted but not tight. He lives in them and right now they are on sale for under $20! Great every day staples.

Here is a better pic of the maroon and blue. He has most of the colors.

Apparently “the new face of Nordstrom” doesn’t have to shave. Even when his wife begs him to.. (sigh)

My nephew smushed my brother’s hat down seconds before this pic and clearly got a real kick out of himself. :) Kenny’s fleece zip hoodie is another favorite this time of year. So comfortable and it comes in 4 colors.

{Him: Slim fit check sport shirt/lace up sneakers — Me: Ribbed Pullover/Jeans/Boots}

Nordstrom has a great selection of men’s flannel shirts. We like the men’s flannel shirts that are slim fit and taper a bit at the bottom like this Trucker Check Sport shirt. Here are a few other recent favorites that may or may not be showing up under the tree..

Just home from picking up Addison wearing a favorite crewneck sweater .. looks like he remembered who she was after all. ;)

{Him: Robert Barakett long sleeve polo/Non-iron straight leg cotton pants/sneakers — Me: bell sleeve ribbed sweater (on sale!)/jeans/boots/sunglasses/similar purse}

I really like Robert Barakett shirts for Kenny for work. Really nice quality shirts. They can be pricey, but I watch for sales and right now there are good deals on some of them! El snapped this pic of us on Friday. We were touring high schools for her next year. I can’t even type that without wanting to cry! My baby is going to be in high school next year. I really don’t know how that is possible. Especially since Kenny and I just graduated high school a few years ago ourselves. Ha. :)

{Cotton Cashmere Pullover/Sperry Gold Cup Sneakers (his favorites on sale!)}

{Kenny’s colorblock sweater/shoes — Kole’s sweater (40% off!)/Chino pants/shoes}

A favorite recent picture of my boys in favorite Nordstrom sweaters. Love them. :) You can see more of our favorite men’s clothes in this post and find other fun gift ideas from Nordstrom for everyone on your list in this post.

Huge thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and for great clothes we love and live life in. Also a huge thanks to my babe and other half for being a good sport in his “new face of Nordstrom” adventures.

I’ve always tried to be a supportive wife so New York City.. here we come.

;)

{POST SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

Leave A Comment

{FAVORITES ON SALE}

POST SOURCES – all things I’m loving this month:

{POST SOURCES}

Shop my instagram