Florida Living and Coastal Decor
Since I've received lots of inquiries regarding my dining chairs, I'm writing this to tell you everything you need to know about IKEA's HENRIKSDAL slipcovered dining chairs. In my opinion, the best thing about IKEA is that they have produced some very affordable products that are incredibly similar to other popular brands on the market but without the much higher price tags.
Since we just passed the third anniversary of our engagement, and it IS the month of love, I thought I'd share one of the most special and romantic memories I have. So, told through my eyes and through our photos, here's the story of our "Pink Palace" proposal.
I'll come right out and say it...I'm not much of a "pink" kind of girl when it comes to home decor. BUT, I'll make an exception for Valentine's Day! Whether you're on trend with blush and pink accents in your home or prefer neutrals and blues like me, I hope these pretty pink accents will get you inspired to create a fun and easy Valentine's Day bar cart or drink station! Besides, don't all the best beach sunsets come in hues of pink? ;)
Recently, I have had the honor of guest-blogging for Kim of Sand & Sisal! If you’re popping over from her blog, you may have seen this post. If so, thank you so much for visiting! You can click here to peruse the rest of my blog posts. Also, I hope you’ll subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates on new posts in the future!
For those of you unfamiliar with Kim, she is one of the first coastal decor bloggers I found via Pinterest years ago. She’s inspired me with many a beachy craft, so I thought it would be perfect to share one of my own! I hope you’ll find some inspiration here, too!
Today I'm sharing with you the one, rather simple, thing I did last year that completely changed how I decorate! It all started with a New Year's resolution...
Last year I took down all of my Christmas decor on New Year's Day, which is pretty typical for me. I had been thinking more and more about how my home needed some life. Finally, I vowed to start using real greenery in my home decor!
Confession: I've never actually decorated for NYE before. There are only 6 days between Christmas and New Year's Eve, which is not much time to prepare if you're planning to host a party or even if you just want to get a little festive before you head out to watch the ball drop! So, this year when I decided to style up my bar cart, I went looking for some cute NYE decor and was shocked to find that none of the stores I checked had any!
With such a busy start to the holiday season, I thought it made more sense to break up my Christmas Home Tour into two parts! Previously, I showed you my Foyer, Dining Room and Living Room when I joined a group of talented bloggers for our Cheerful Christmas Home Tour! If you haven't seen in yet, you can check it out here! Today, I'll be showing you around a few more rooms, so come on in for Part Two!
One thing I absolutely love about the holiday season is changing up the entire ambiance of my home. If you've followed along on Instagram this year, you know I love my tropical, beachy vibes with fresh palms everywhere I can put them. And why not? After all, I live in Florida! But for Christmas, I'm all about abandoning the blue accents you'll find in the summer months and replacing them with all things bling! Silver and gold are my go-to accents and I love things that sparkle with the glow of the Christmas lights and candles!
This is the first time I've ever channeled my inner "Martha Stewart" for Christmas, but in keeping with my 2017 New Year's resolution, I decided to add fresh greenery for Christmas too! Instead of palms or magnolias, I stepped out to the front yard and gave our twirly pine trees a little trim! I didn't hack off any large branches - I just snipped off the ends in about 5-8 inch lengths and stuffed them all in a bag to bring inside.
Christmas has quickly become my favorite holiday to decorate for. which is why I'm super excited to be hosting this Cheerful Christmas Home Tour along side of some very talented bloggers, who will also be sharing their homes with you! There's something about sparkling lights casting a warm glow on everything that makes the house feel cozy and more inviting than ever! I can't wait to show you around!
If you caught my post a few weeks back, you know that I finallyyy found the perfect bar cart to DIY. You can see the transformation from dark and drab to bright and beautiful, here. Although I've already decorated quite a few rooms for Christmas, I decided to keep just a bit of Thanksgiving decor throughout my home since we are hosting dinner this year at our house!
I accidentally decided I would turn my throw pillows into "presents" when I laid some ribbon down on my sofa and realized I did an impeccable job of picking out my latest lumbar pillow from HomeGoods. I just knew that clearance find had "holidays" written all over it!
One of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas decorating is putting up the Christmas tree, or trees - plural - now that I've bought more than one! Up until two years ago, I didn't own a single tree that I was proud of. My artificial tree was as basic as it gets and I didn't put a lot of effort into my seasonal decor until my husband and I purchased our first home together.
When I first became aware of Starfish Project, I was intrigued by their beautiful and unique pieces of jewelry. But once I read their story and realized the purpose behind Starfish Project, I was moved by the amazing impact one company has had, and continues to have, on women and girls who have never truly experienced freedom of choice, or sometimes, even love.
Aren't we all glad to live in a world where there are Octobers? ;) This quote finally resonates with me, as the days are still warm and the beach is still calling my name. I want to reflect that light and warmth of October in Northeast Florida throughout my home, including my newly DIY'd bar cart! You can see how I completely transformed the look of it here.
Bar cart, bar cart, everyone wants a bar cart! Including me! I've looked for over a year at all kinds of fabulous carts - brass, glass, bamboo, wooden, metal, two-tiered, round, square, you name it! Through all those choices, I had my heart set on a vintage bamboo cart. But have you seen those price tags!? Even the informed sellers of Craigslist knew they had a rare gem that could easily be refurbished, and the price tag was proof of that knowledge.
I hope you're ready to be amazed! I'm totally running the risk of sounding like an infomercial here, but SERIOUSLY, you're not going to believe some of these price slashes! This is what gets me excited and why I NEVER pay full price for anything, because I know I can get it on sale, if I'm just patient enough. Finally, the time has come to reap the rewards of patience, friends, and I'm so glad you're here to join me! Now, let's start shopping (and saving)!
Never had I dreamed of welcoming fall with such open arms! But here I am, a Florida resident, loving the heck out of my sweet, Southern fall! I believe the key to this phenomenon lies within the "Florida resident" part of that sentence. You see, I am from Michigan, where it could require a snowsuit to go trick-or-treating, and where October seems to have the last of the sunshine you'll see until April. There are certainly plenty of folks up north that love fall, I have just never been one of them! So back to the "Florida resident" part again...
While I didn't want to do a full bathroom remodel, I did want to get rid of the brown wood cabinet stain that seemed to darken our guest bathroom. Since I was feeling lazy, er, efficient, I decided to try out chalk paint on the cabinets in hopes of skipping the whole sanding step that wasn't very appealing to me. I'm happy to report that it worked and I haven't seen a single scratch or chip in the year since it's been painted!
If you follow me on Instagram, you're probably already privy to my need for always getting the best deal ever. So, you may notice this is a recurring theme with each of my blog posts, as well. Since I really enjoy online window shopping (is that a thing?), I'm already aware of what certain items are priced at, from high end stores to bargain shops. Knowing what a "good deal" actually is, is key to getting one. Secondly, patience is most definitely a virtue, especially when it comes to decorating on a budget. I should also mention that this "budget" I keep referencing is usually all in my head.
