I’ve been a long time fan of the simple and utterly lovely design that Pinhole Press brings to the table of personalized cards and gifts. I love so many of their Holiday card designs that we just couldn’t settle on one! This JOY card design caught my eye. But I’m also really fond of this Red Accordion design.
Fires are crackling, lights are twinkling, and before you know it, turkeys will be roasting and shiny paper will be peeled away, revealing thoughtful gifts and curiosities. All that to say, it’s that time of year in which friends and family come together, and chances are – to put it quite bluntly! – they’ll need a warm place to stay.
Our calendar is already filling up with out-of-towners, which has been a great push to get our spare room up to snuff! We’ve been working on gathering all the guest room essentials, browsing inspiration photos and hard at work installing shelves, closet systems and whimsical wallpaper. Along the way, we’ve been focusing on all those things that make your guest room a warm and welcoming place to stay, and I’d like to share some of those checklist items with you, too.
Over the course of this summer, Scott and I have hustled to make our front porch a place we love to hang out; a second living room, if you will. The patio was a huge selling point for us, and what started as a drab and poorly constructed space was slowly transformed into a welcoming, bright and cheery lounge. But what’s the perfect space for an afternoon drink if you can’t share it with your friends? We knew we’d want to host a lot more gatherings with our most recent project, and at the same time, our crew has voted our front porch as the official gathering spot as the summer winds down. Hosting a casual dinner – whether it’s for 4 or 10! – shouldn’t be stressful, so we put that to the test and came up with 5 ways to host an effortless picnic with friends.
Read More “5 Ways to Host an Effortless Picnic with Friends”
Since Scott and I purchased our big, bad fixer upper of a house last summer (we can hardly believe it’s been one year!), it’s easy to get caught up in one large project after another. Every now and then, we remind ourselves that it’s okay to slow down and mix in a few smaller projects – projects that give your whole mood a lift, brighten your home, and most importantly, do so with minimal amount of time and investment. Today, I’d like to share one of those projects!
For almost 6 years, Scott and I lived in a less than 700 square foot condo. Last summer, we doubled our square footage when we moved into a house down the street, and to say that our cleaning routine has shifted would be an understatement! (Not to mention, we’ve been renovating room-by-room ever since, causing quite the dust storm on the daily.)
During this transition, our little family grew from a three pet household to four, and between juggling full-time jobs and everyday life, we’re often asked how we’re able to keep things looking clutter-free and feeling fresh while keeping pet fur at bay. Here are five tips and shortcuts that work for us, allowing us to live our lives and not be a slave to the chore list.
I don’t know about you, but occasionally I get a little fed up with the Internet. Yes, I marvel at how the answer to every question under the sun is always at my fingertips. And I would literally be lost without my iPhone as I check for directions every time I’m going somewhere new. But every so often, I just want to shut it all off and go incognito.
I’ve tried doing a “digital detox” a couple of different times with mixed success. Hurricane Sandy interrupted my first attempt. I was visiting my sister on the West coast and broke my no-phone rule to check on friends and attempt to reschedule my flight home. My second attempt was a weeklong break from social media this past winter, which was harder than I thought.
There are a few things I’ve learned about shooting interiors since I started blogging. It’s different than photographing people. In a way, I think photographing interiors is easier…you can take your sweet time setting up the shot and don’t have to rush to try to capture a certain look or moment before it’s gone. But interiors can be hard too! So I wanted to share my top 10 tips for photographing interiors.
Call me old fashioned, but, in my opinion, there’s almost never a wrong time for a hostess gift. That doesn’t mean I always have my act together enough to bring one (sorry, friends), but I do think they are an important social grace that’s been slowly fading away.
Read More “When to Bring a Hostess Gift (Plus 5 Foolproof Ideas!)”
When the temperature starts to heat up, the last thing that I want to do is turn on the oven and bake something. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to eat dessert. So, I keep a few no-bake recipes in my back pocket for when I need something sweet to bring to a summer party or BBQ.
Even though many of your friends will have seen digital photos of your baby within hours after the birth, there’s something special about being able to send your friends a photo of your baby that they will hang up on the fridge and see every day. To make it quick and easy to create your birth announcement, we’ve gathered our best tips for what to include on your birth announcements.
