A Lot of Love

Today, I'm finding myself filled with a lot of love.

Earlier this week, I was in a car accident. I’m okay, first of all. And thank the good Lord, I was alone in the car, heading to pick up HDawg from daycare. A lady decided to stop, entirely, in the middle of the 70 mph trafficked highway, directly in front of me. Somehow I was paying enough attention to go from 70 mph to zero mph quickly to avoid hitting her, but the fully loaded 18 wheeler tractor trailer truck behind me couldn’t slow down as quickly. The driver did slow down a lot, though, and his collision with my small SUV was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Besides a cut on my forehead and some bruises, I am okay. I walked away. Actually, I was even able to drive my car away, just to get it home. Amazing, right? I don’t think that too many people who are hit that hard by a tractor trailer truck can say that. I am blessed.

Needless to say, I’ve spent the better part of this week hugging David and HDawg extra tight and praising God for watching over me. Moments like this are always a special reminder to enjoy the small moments and spread your love as much as you can.

Today is actually an extra loving day, as it it’s mine and David’s five year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe that it’s been five years since I married this man. What a journey. If you don't know our story about how we met (hint: it was 25 years ago!), you can find it here.

Look at those two wild and crazy kids.This picture was circa 2006. I loved him then, sweaty and crazy on his friend's boat on the lake. I loved him when I was nine and he was the hottest kid at our elementary school. I loved him when I was sixteen and he let me borrow his letter jacket because I was cold in fifth period. I loved him the day we said I do, five years ago. I loved him the day he became a father last August. I even love him when he refuses to shut cabinet drawers and doors or leaves the contents of his pockets piled up in every nook and cranny of our house. I really do.

As he told me at our wedding... you were my first love and you'll be my last love. Happy anniversary, D!

Today, I'm filled with a lot of love. I hope you are too!

Happy Friday, friends.

Living Room Fireplace Mantel Decor (Layering Frames)

The fireplace mantel at our rental house is whack. Well, that might be a little harsh. But it’s kind of hard to work with… mantel, it’s not me… it’s you. Seriously.

If you remember from the rental house living room tour, the brick fireplace is halfway painted so it’s a ghetto shoddy nice mix of tan and antiquey white paint. Furthermore (ten points to me for using that word in a sentence!), the mantel itself is really bulky and really high on the fireplace. It makes for all kinds of awkward decorating, which is why it’s probably taken me three months to decorate this thing.

But, ta-da, a decorated living room fireplace mantel.

I decided to use a layering effect to give some dimension to the mantel. Because of how oddly high it is, a lot of three-dimensional pieces (vases, bowls, etc.) looked weird up there. So I stuck with frames, but got some depth by layering them.

I mixed together white frames to brighten the space with dark wooden frames to ground the vignette. Most of the frames have family pictures in them (ie. lots of HDawg!) as well as some art mixed in. I think it works!

On the left side of the mantel is an Etsy art piece we used to have hanging in our master bedroom at the old house. I got the sunshine art from the Country Living Fair last year.

 

I printed out this iPhone photo of H and put it on some grass cloth wallpaper for unconventional matting. I love the texture it lends to the space.

On the right side of the mantel, I have cute baby pics and a framed vintage dictionary page stamped with the letter “R.” The page is actually from the R section of the dictionary, which is super cool. I picked it up at the Country Living Fair last year, as well. I’m pretty sure it cost a quarter or something. Love it!

Here’s the view from afar.

Wonky paint color and awkwardly placed mantel aside, I love how it’s looking today! What do you think? have you ever had to work with an awkward mantel like this before? Share your tricks!

It Was A Mother-Loving, Wedding Planning, Thrifting Kind of Weekend

Hey hey hey, my friends. I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend. I know I did! A happy late Mother's Day to all of you amazing momma's out there. I'm always amazed by the strength of all of the wonderful women out there, especially mothers. Y'all rock! I hope you were celebrated.

And yes, I totally threw out a mother-lover reference... c'mon, any SNL/Andy Samberg/Justin Timberlake fans out there? Funniest. Skit. Ever. I'll let you find it instead of linking up to the clip since it's a little vulgar, but wow. It's hilarious. If this is wrong, I don't wanna be right. Let's all be mother-lovers, peeps.

I kicked off my weekend on Friday by thrifting with my friend Katelyn. As you know from this post, I'm on the hunt for some new nightstands. I may have some final contenders (although if you have any suggestions, they are still welcomed!), but these were a few options I ran into while shopping.

 

I didn’t actually buy either of these options (couldn’t haggle down the mid-century nightstands from $150 for the pair nor the curvy nightstand from $125!) but I have a good idea of a final solution. Can't wait to share!

I spent all day Saturday with my sister, Tori, who (as you know) recently got engaged. If you haven't read her engagement story, check it out. It's a good one! We (along with my mom, my other sister, Callie, and my friend Katelyn- who also happens to be Tori's planner and caterer!) visited Tori's venue and went dress shopping. It was such a perfect day! I'm totally in love with the rustic barn vibe that she's chosen for the ceremony and reception... this is going to be one pretty wedding!

 

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to spend the entire day with just me and my two favorite boys, David and HDawg. David let me sleep in and then surprised me with a picnic at the park. It literally couldn't have been a more beautiful day. It was heaven! I'm so lucky to be a momma to this sweet little bean.

 

I hope your weekend was as wonderful as mine. Have a great week!

Nightstand Furniture Shopping

Three years ago, I was young. Three years ago, I was care free. Three years ago, I am pretty sure I had a lamp and an alarm clock on my nightstand. My nightstand most certainly did not house an iPhone, a baby monitor, a Kindle, a glass of water, a parenting book, a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick, a pacifier, a Sophie teething giraffe, a stack of four different magazines that I've only read two pages of and a pile of assorted breast pump parts. But now? Oh yes. That's currently what's on my night stand.

Needless to say, David and I have outgrown the adorable blue nightstands we created three years ago.

They are teeny tiny. We need more bedside counter space! So, lately, I've been eyeing a few potential suitors. If I can find the right pair, I'd really like to do a mismatched set. Maybe a more manly, industrial piece for David and a circular, curvy painted piece for me? Or maybe I'll just go with two matching pieces with a fun punch of color? Hm. The possibilities are endless.

Here are a few nightstands that I'm loving right now.

West Elm

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Pottery Barn

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Of course, momma's taste doesn't exactly match momma's budget. I need to get two (preferably solid wood) nightstands for pretty cheap... maybe I'll get lucky at a thrift store or on Craigslist?! A girl can dream. Hey, I may even DIY or makeover something. I've been known to do that a time or two ; )

Have you seen any totally awesome, quality, inexpensive, large (wow, I'm picky!) nightstands around lately? Hook me up with some counter space, please!

Rental House Kitchen Update: A Before & After Tour

Hi friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. I spent the last few days cuddled up with a sick little bean. HDawg woke up Friday morning with a slight fever and some congestion and has only gotten worse through the weekend : ( Although we went in Friday, we are heading back to the doctor tomorrow morning to get him checked out again and make sure it’s not anything more than just a bad cold!

Today, I wanted to pop in quickly to share the updated pictures of our rental house kitchen! The room was pretty much a blank slate when we first moved in. Luckily, the landlords had just done some work to the room, including adding new counter tops, tile and painted cabinets. Here was my to-do list for the room:

1. Dress up the walls. (maybe paint?)

2. Hang art.

3. Buy new decorative tea towels.

4. Add some storage racks to the walls.

5. Make a faux roman shade for the windows.

David and I decided not to paint the walls in this room, or any room in the rental house for that matter. Even though we have our landlord’s permission to paint, we decided that it wasn’t worth the effort and time in this temporary housing. Most of the rooms are painted the same neutral tan color that we love, so it’s really not a problem. And I have a few more temporary options in mind for some of the walls in the house… stay tuned : )

As you saw last week, I added DIY roman shades to the windows and door in the room. Check out the full no-sew tutorial on the curtains here. I’ve also added art and some additional storage to the space. But enough of the chit chatting, let’s see some after pictures, shall we?
 

Skeeeeeeeert. That means stop. Let’s throw out some crazy before pictures. These were taken on move-in weekend.
 

Aaaand back to now. Bam!
 

I added a gallery wall of fun prints and photos on the wall next to the refrigerator. I chose to use flat pieces taped to the wall with washi tape instead of frames just in case the fridge door hit the wall. Slash I hung frames up and the fridge door kept hitting the wall and knocking down the frames. Woops.
 

Our handy little Ikea island is still a highlight of the kitchen. It was such a good buy, not only for the extra counter space and the extra storage space, but just because it’s so dang cute.
 

As you can see, we don’t have a ton of counter space in the kitchen. Mostly, there’s space just around the sink. I’ve had to be very particular about what items I decide to store on the counter top, since it’s valuable real estate.
 

I keep this basket on the island to corral the junk… pens/pencils, scissors, trinkets, napkins, pacifiers… we don’t have enough room for a junk drawer, so this is it!
 

The key to counter-top storage is easy: keep it simple!
 

 

 

This corner is otherwise known as the “counter-space cluster mess.” We use these kitchen items every. single. day. Yes, we use two different coffee makers every day. We heart coffee in our house. We also use the toaster, knives and utensils every day, so we decided to keep them all on the counter. It looks kind of junky, but this is the only way we could figure out how to make it work! Originally, we had a thought to add storage to the wall above this counter, but couldn’t make it work with the configuration of the cabinet doors. Doh. Instead, I added some pretty plates David and I collected from trips to the Netherlands and Mexico.
 

I love the roman shade over the sink, it makes such a difference!
 

I think the small tweaks that I've made to the room really make a difference in the space, don't you?!

DIY All-Natural Non-Toxic Multi-Surface Cleaning Spray

Wow. That's a lot of hyphens in that title. Am I right?

It's no secret that I've got a little bit of hippie in me. From my days as an undergrad at College of Charleston to my love of Dispatch to my affinity for wall tapestries (I seriously have to restrain myself to keep them out of my house to this day), one thing is clear: I'm a secret hippie.

So it’s no surprise that I am all about keeping harmful chemical junk out of my body and home. And you really don’t need to be a fake/secret hippie to feel this way. Don’t we all love surrounding ourselves and our loved ones with good-for-you things? Geez, there I go with the hyphens again.  

A couple of months ago, when HDawg started sitting in his highchair, I realized that I didn’t have a good way to clean the chair after he ate. We use mostly “all natural” products around our house, but I’ve quickly learned that even when the label on the product says “green” or “natural,” it could still have some chemical junk in it. You have to be very careful to read the ingredients on that stuff!

It really bothered me that I was cleaning an item that HDawg basically licks three times a day with chemical-based substances. So I did a little research and found a recipe for this awesome DIY natural cleaner. Here’s the recipe breakdown.

R E C I P E :

1/2 gallon of water

1/2 cup of vinegar

1/4 cup of baking soda

Simply mix all ingredients and pour into a spray bottle for use.

At first, I was a little skeptical of how well this DIY cleaner would work. But after testing it, it proved itself. One morning after a banana smashing breakfast adventure, I tried to wipe down the chair with just water and a paper towel. It had been about thirty minutes since HDawg ate, so the food was a little… well, grounded to the highchair. [Ew, who does that?! I do it all the time. Not me.] The water didn’t budge the gross, dried food. But the DIY spray? One squirt and the mess wiped right up. Boo-yah.

After each time he eats, I spray the highchair down with the homemade spray and then every other day I spray the highchair down with Method Antibacterial Kitchen spray. It’s only something like 5% natural ingredients, but it has a great smell and important antibacterial power. I use pretty much the same routine on my kitchen counters. By using both types of sprays, I feel like it’s the best of both worlds.

I know some of you might disagree and say, Michelle, just use the regular old kitchen cleaner. We all grew up with it and we’re fine. I totally get that. But my thoughts are, if there’s a natural version available, that’s a better choice for my family. I’m actually reading Jessica Alba’s book, The Honest Life, right now. It’s such an eye-opener! I’m definitely taking it with a grain of salt, but it’s such good information about incorporating an all-natural approach in all elements of your life, including home, food, baby and beauty.

Speaking of beauty, I’ve been hard at work researching and testing some products that you guys recommended in this post. So far, I’ve got some great skin care tips and ideas (make-up is next!) that I plan to share with you next week. Get excited!

And for kicks, I have to include my favorite HDawg high chair picture, ev-er.

So tell me, do you guys use natural cleaners? Have any DIY recipes of your own to share?