Facelift Friday | French Country Ottoman

While thrifting a few months ago, I found a sweet end table. It was solid wood, in excellent condition and a fantastic deal. 

With it being shorter already, I thought it would be an excellent ottoman.

It was a bit outdated with it's oak finish and high gloss poly, but that was an easy fix.

I lightly white washed the end table and heavily sanded. I love the look that was achieved.

For the cushion, I covered a super thick piece of foam cut to size with the most lovely fabric I had on hand.

I am in love with the final product. This piece can be purchased at Old Time Antiques in Crestview.

Destination Organization | Finishing up with the master bath!

I had intended to finish with my master bath last week, but life got in the way. You know what? That is okay! I am guessing life may have gotten in the way for you too. We are all in this together.

Today I am offering one final task for the master bath: grouping your items together in like categories. That may look different for everyone. Here are some examples:

• Things needed on a daily basis (i.e. contact solution, deodorant, toothpaste & toothbrush, hair brush, etc)
• Make up
• First aid
• Medications
• Extras (when you have room to stock up on extra bottles of toiletries)
• Facial care
• Nail care (and LOTS of nail polish, if you are like me!)
• Travel items
• Cosmetic bags 
• Lotions & shower gels
• Essential oils & accessories
• Perfumes, body oils, body splash

Everyone has a different set up in their bathroom. We are fortunate to have quite a large linen closet in addition to three large drawers and under the counter space. I encourage you to organize your items in baskets, boxes, bags of your choosing and then place them where it makes most sense. Things my husband and I use on a daily basis are  kept in the drawers of our vanity for easy access. Thing we use less frequently are kept in the linen closet. 

You do NOT have to spend a lot of money on these containers. In fact, I'd be willing to bet a lot of you have quite a few containers in your home already that you could use. If not, take one for the team and make a quick trip to Walmart for super cheap, convenient white plastic baskets. They are perfect. If you want to spend a little more for prettier containers, I support you 100%. Having things organized in a visually pleasing manner will encourage you to keep it that way. 

 I will be posting pictures of my purged and organized bath by the end of the week. I would LOVE to see some of yours as well. 

Destination: Organization | Week One

When thinking through my upcoming process of organizing our home, I had a hard time deciding where to start. I tried to think about what areas affected our family most. My initial thought was to begin with the kitchen. It seems most of our day is spent there anyway. As the days passed however, I felt myself leaning towards the master bath.

Though it's true the master bath is not used by our entire family, it is the place my husband and I begin our day. The truth of family is that everyone can easily be affected by the emotions of the mom or dad. If one of us is supremely grouchy or frustrated, the negativity seeps out into the entire household. Now, I know having a well organized starting place is not going to guarantee chipper moods, but where else to start but the beginning?

Today's task is moderately easy. GET RID OF THINGS YOU DO NOT USE. I don't care if it's a $65 bottle of hair treatment or a bottle of perfume your great aunt gave to you. If you don't use it, it's a dust collector. I am not saying to throw everything away. Give that hair treatment to your best friend who's always at the beach. Donate the perfume to a women and children's shelter. Keeping things you don't use is selfishly keeping it from someone who could really use it. It's draining you and it's wasting space. You will be amazed how much lighter you feel when you finish this simple step. 

Destination: Organization

You may remember when I first started my blog there were weekly declutter posts. It felt good to declutter so often, but it became taxing to photograph and document my progress. In the two years that have passed, we have moved to another country and into a new home. We've been in our home for nearly one year and I am finding myself irritable due to the amount of stuff we have amassed. It is time for serious organization, friends. 

Enter Destination: Organization. This is going to be a lazy man's approach to organizing. You can follow along with me daily or pick and choose a few days here and there. It is summer after all. My personal goal is to be organized and clutter free by Labor Day. I want to enter the new school year feeling like I have a strong foundation underfoot. Let's face it, life runs so much more smooth when things are always where they are supposed to be. 

Facelift Fridays

Today I am introducing a new feature on the blog: Facelift Fridays. I love rescuing dilapidated pieces and turning them into a lovely treasure.{also, I like alliteration} It astonishes me that paint, some new hardware and lots of love can provide such a transformation.

A few weeks ago, I found two of these nightstands at a garage sale. I was able to see past the hunter green and dated custom painting. These tables have great bones and are of solid construction. Those qualities are most important when rescuing furniture. The facade can easily be fixed.

I painted the majority of the piece in creamy white chalk paint. It's no secret how I feel about whites, grays, and the whole range of neutral colors.

For the drawer and the laurel wreath, I used a soft gray chalk paint. 

Instead of a handle, there were only screws in the drawer. I added a basic cup handle in brushed bronze.

The difference is amazing.

 The end result is a super versatile, lovely table that can be used almost anywhere.

White Party | Monochromatic Entertaining on the Fly

I had the pleasure of hosting some fellow homeschool moms in my home this week for a night a fellowship. I had planned to do desserts, tea and coffee. When I searched for dessert recipes on Pinterest, I looked for "wintry" desserts. While there were no real winners in the recipe department, I noticed over and over people decorating with white and silver for winter tea gatherings. I was inspired. 

While my older two were in piano, I made a quick trip to the grocery store and bought pre-baked sugar cookies, already beautiful white cupcakes, some large pink and white marshmallows, white icing and white crystallized sugar. I searched for the pre-made white meringues, but they were out. I also grabbed two bunches of inexpensive white roses.

Most of my home decor  and accessories are already cream colored or white, so that part was easy. I just set all the store baked goodies up on the plates and trays I had. I mixed a little bit of milk and rose water with the vanilla icing and dipped half of the sugar cookies. I neglected to get a picture, but they were pretty. Not sure how they tasted. ;o)

As for those heart shaped marshmallows.... I set the pink ones aside and got to work with the white. This is super easy and super cute. Stick a lollipop stick into the bottom of a jumbo marshmallow. Dip it in water and shake off the excess.

Slowly roll the marshmallow in a bowl with crystallized sugar. 

Gently tap off the excess sugar and place in a tall container to let the sugar set. When they are all arranged together, it is a lovely accent piece. I am sure they are quite delicious as well. 

Everything I did with the white foods and decor can easily be done with any color of your choice. There is just something so chic about monochromatic decor. 

Settled in, but not settling.

As you probably all know by now, our family relocated to Florida last summer.

 It was a rocky start. There were many delays and mishaps and problems.

But when it was all said and done, we had gained a beautiful home that is just perfect for us.

Our entire family has enjoyed crafting and creating personal spaces that are just right.

Slowly, I've been making our home feel as if we've lived here forever. 

But, there are still so many things I want to do.

I hope you'll join me as I begin to share more about our new place.

Crazy Winter = Hazy Desktop

Well,  I'm back at it. The wheels have been spinning in my head for months on end and I think I am finally ready to jump back in feet first. Thank you to all of my friends who are still with me. Happy New Year! 

June Desktop

Friends, it's been so long. I'm not sure I remember how to blog... or how to decorate. This nomadic period in our lives has been fun, but we are ready for a home and a routine. I promise to be back to blogging very soon. In the meantime, enjoy the June desktop background. It features an image of the lovely white cliffs of Etretat, France. 

Click on the picture and save to your computer. Once saved, open and right click. Select "set as desktop background. Voila!

April Desktop | Better late than never?

We are currently smack dab in the middle of a transatlantic move. Things may be on hold here a while, but I greatly appreciate your patience. I plan to be back in a few weeks with lots of brand new home decor pictures and ideas as we set up in our new home in Florida!

Although super late, here is your free desktop for April. Happy Spring!