When Life Gives You Lemons

When I received the new issue of HGTV Magazine in the mail, the first thing I noticed was the lemon wreath featured on the cover. Great, I thought. Perhaps there’s a tutorial inside about making the wreath. Unfortunately all there was was a price tag of over $100 to buy it on Etsy. 

Love the wreath, but not the price!

 
I decided I could make my own wreath to brighten up our front door and entryway. I searched for a few styles online and decided on a more simplified design. I picked out a grapevine wreath, a small bunch of lemons on sticks and some greenery along with a sheer aqua ribbon at the craft store.
  
Here’s how I put it all together:

1. I played around with the placement of the lemons and greens until I was satisfied then snipped off some length and hot glued each piece onto the wreath.

  
2. I cut the ribbon and made a bow to add in around the lemon and greens cluster.

  
3. I used another small loop of ribbon to tie around the top of the wreath to hang from door. 

  
I think it will look great with our new blue door (pics to come!)
Easy to make and the materials cost less than $20! What have you recently been inspired to create?

A Pineapple for Me

One of the biggest trends in fashion and home I’m seeing right now is the use of pineapples. Everything from t-shirts and dresses, tabletop decor, art prints and more have colorful pineapples all over them. And this is one trend I can get behind because I’ve loved pineapples for quite a while.

Don’t get me wrong, obviously they’re delicious to eat (I think I ate one per week during my last pregnancy!), but they’re also a really fun and summery way to liven up an outfit or home space.  I remember my grandparents had a small brass pineapple on a side table in their living room, which is where I guess my love first started. When The Husband and I visited Charleston, SC two summers ago, I learned that the pineapple is a symbol of welcoming which is why the motif can be seen at so many home entrances all over the city.

I liked this idea so much that I added a cute pineapple print into my living room’s gallery wall and I really like how it turned out. So, if you want to feel fun and festive, might I suggest adding some pineapples into your life! Here are a few items that I’m currently loving.

Dress, Gold & white figurine, Swimsuit, Candle

 

*Bonus points if you get the title’s reference 🙂

 

Nursery Reveal

When we bought our house, the room that has since become H’s nursery was painted a garish shade of blue with sad, depressing fabric shades falling off of the windows. I knew that whatever the room ended up being, it would not look that way for long.

When we found out we were having another baby, I knew I wanted to keep the walls a neutral color for either a boy or girl. We decided to go with Benjamin Moore’s Alaskan Husky. With that being said, I wanted to introduce bright pops of primary colors to liven up the space. I found some great prints on Etsy to create a gallery wall. Babyish things are not really my style so I wanted items that could grow with H.

I knew I wanted a very soft and fluffy rug so ended up with a Moroccan shag that has a navy blue trellis pattern. We moved the sofa that was in M’s room (it’s great for middle of the night feedings), added in a gray dresser and a bookshelf from Safavieh and the room was complete.

I’m really happy with how the space turned out and I hope H can enjoy it for years to come!

 

Starting to Come Together

Well, things are finally getting done around the house. We’ve been here for about six weeks now and though there are still some boxes left to unpack (I know, I know), we have been making good progress with projects even though it may not feel that way in my mind.

The husband and I spent the better part of a 4-day weekend painting, painting and more painting! We tackled Lady M’s room first since she was staying with my parents during that time and we wanted it ready for her when she returned. We stuck with the same color from her old room b/c I liked it so much – Behr’s Smoked Oyster. I’d say it’s a huge improvement over the bright yet very dark blue! And the new rug really helps to transform the room already.

The horrible wall color (and equally horrible light fixture!)

Moroccan shag rug

We then transformed (another) blue room into a dark maroon (Behr’s Cherry Cola) office space. I think the color is warm and rich and makes the space feel cozy. We decided on a light gray for the living and dining rooms (Benjamin Moore’s Alaskan Husky) and painted a dark purple accent wall in the dining room – which I think turned out great! (Photos of all to come)

Our new wood flooring has finally been installed in the master bedroom after the installation of a new sub-floor and subsequent drying and acclimation. Now all we need to do is paint and move our furniture back in so I can finally feel like a normal homeowner and not someone roughing it. I feel like I’ve been camping for weeks!

I can’t wait for all of the little decorative touches to start coming together to really help turn this house into our home. For now, here are a few pieces I’m thinking of adding to Lady M’s new room. What do you think?

I {Heart} You

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching so I thought I’d share some of the heart-themed items I’m coveting this year. I’m a sucker for hearts, so it’s not just Valentine’s Day that is swaying me. Here are some of my current favorites:

Clockwise from top left: Etsy shop Hipandclavicle, Old Navy, Baublebar, ShopbyMonika_Rifle Paper, ShopbyMonika_Ban.Do, ShopbyMonika_BKR Water Bottle