Recipe: Almond Joys

We had the pleasure of enjoying lunch last Sunday with sweet friends. The husband is the chef in the family and he served up the best tacos I may have ever eaten. Seriously. Amazing. For dessert he served a homemade version of Aaron's most favorite candy, Almond Joys. They were delightful!

He sent us home with the leftovers which I am slightly bitter about because I keep finding myself eating them.

He used a recipe from Mommy's Kitchen and they are called Almost Almond Joys.

I hope you try the recipe! If you do, make sure to let me know how they turn out!

Easter Party!

Our church hosted a little Easter party on Easter weekend that was so adorable and so much fun that I just had to show you some of the sweet details.

We set up a little photo booth to take pictures with the Easter bunny. I love our little family picture above despite our lack of coordinating outfits. ha. Please note that we have just about every pattern represented between the 4 of us. :)

Asher was not into the Easter bunny.  

 

{Decor}

I had a lot of fun coming up with table decor for this little party. I used candy that was leftover from stuffing the eggs to fill mason jars, tied coordinating ribbon around and added a peep on a stick. Super cute and edible! I added the little signs with bags so the guests could make their own treat bag to take home with them.

{Activities}

We had an Easter egg hunt for all the little ones. Of course Asher with his enormous sweet tooth was loving every minute!

I set up a basket making station as well for everyone to have a way to gather all their eggs during the egg hunt (just in case someone forgot to bring a basket.) Paper bags plus ribbon, paint and glitter is always a fun time! 

We had a bubble station complete with diy bubble wands made out of pipe cleaners!

Also, on the tables were coloring books and cups of crayons for the little ones to enjoy. My theory is that you can never have too many options for children when it comes to keeping them entertained!

There was a bouncy house and of course we had games! We set up tents, banners, and supplies leftover from our huge church Easter event last year. The little ones loved it!

So much fun!

Weekend Wardrobe: Black Maxi

 I spent all day Friday either in bed or on the couch. I was laid out with the most painful sinus infection. Imagine someone hitting your face with a baseball bat. Over and over. I have a pretty high pain tolerance which is often to my demise because when you couple that with my distaste for the cost of any medical treatment the only time I end up in the doctors office (except for pregnancy check-ups) it is typically too late for a quick healing. Thus, my Friday wardrobe consisted of pajamas and a comfy blanket pretty much all day.

On Saturday I pulled my sick self out of bed at dawn because of course we should all have yard sales when we are that sick. haha. I had been waiting about 4 months for the community yard sale so that I could unload a ton of stuff in our garage from our recent move. I refused to not have the yard sale, I had waited so patiently. My sweet husband joined me which meant the world to me since I know his disdain for that early wake up time on his one day to sleep past 6:30/7am. The end result was totally worth the pain because did in fact unload almost everything and made a few bucks in the process. However, after the clean-up I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, in pajamas. :)

Sunday I was feeling a bit better and decided that putting on something cute might make myself feel even better. So I donned the outfit below. Thanks to my sweet husband, again, who bought me a solid black maxi skirt, I now have something that is both cute and super comfy to wear for the remainder of this pregnancy!

I paired the black maxi skirt with a green scoop neck sleeveless top, gold accessories and black wedges.

What did you do this weekend? I hope it was fun and relaxing!

Sneak Peak: AadenSage Collection

This Sunday marks the 1 year anniversary of a dear friend's baby Nathan going to meet Jesus.

Tonight our small group bible study will celebrate his little life with cupcakes and books given in his memory. We will pray over this sweet friend and ask God to provide sweet peace and everlasting joy.

When we celebrated Aaden's first birthday a friend suggested we give books dedicated to him. I keep these books in a special place and when we pull them out to read, we have a special opportunity to remind our boys about their brother in heaven, about Jesus, about eternity. 

Below you can see a little peak at one of the AadenSage collection. I pray this little gift is a blessing to my friend.

 

We love this book. We bought this for Aaden's 2nd birthday and I can never read the end without weeping.

"And God wants me to make sure you know about heaven. It's a wonderful place.
There are no tears there.
No monsters.
No mean people.

You never have to say 'good-bye,'
or 'good night,' 
or 'I'm hungry.'
You never get cold or sick or afraid.

In heaven you are so close to God that He will hug you, just like I hug you. 
It's going to be wonderful. I will be there, too. I promise. 
We will be there together, forever. 
Remember that...
just in case you ever wonder."


~Max Lucado

Inside Real Homes: Nate (Part 2)

Yesterday I posted Part 1 of Nate's home featuring his open concept living and dining room. 

The next space I tackled was the kitchen area that included a large space he wanted to turn into a study area. His kitchen already had great features with upgraded maple cabinets, dark granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. The overall look of the kitchen before I even touched it was already a masculine one. Since the kitchen and study area are only separated from the living/dining room by a half wall it was important to continue the feel from that space into this space.

Welcome to

Nate's House

{The Kitchen}

 

Nate already had the eat-in kitchen table and chairs which were a dark espresso wood with clean lines. I found bar stools that had the same color and same clean lines to add to the bar area. And I added the same espresso curtains with stainless steel rods that we used in the living room to the two large windows in the kitchen.

 

  

I used Nate's existing desk but added a new chair that coordinated with the bar stools. I definitely wish I had a before photo of the chair that he used to have... :) I framed another antique map which did two things for this room: 1) carried the look from the living/dining room through to this study area, and 2) created a perfect focal point above the desk that filled the wall area exactly. I staged the desk a small accent lamp and another stack of old books from a thrift store.

 

In the study area we added two leather club chairs that we found for a great price on overstock.com. The color and feel of the chairs are perfect. They are masculine and comfortable with great lines. I found a gem of a side table at a discount store. I need a detailed shot of it, but trust me, it's amazing. It has an industrial, vintage feel and is wonderfully unique which is a nice quality to find when you are decorating on a budget because at times your space can easily become too matchy-matchy. We also added a dark espresso area rug, inexpensive coffee table, a throw (to soften the chairs a bit) and an accent lamp (it's all about the lighting.)

 

On the wall we framed and hung more antique maps. Again, the wall was large and in order to create a focal point and to fill that space for relatively no money, this was a perfect solution that turned out amazing. Nate had an old calendar featuring beautiful maps that we simply had matted and framed. We used a total of 9 and later he added two larger ones on either side of the collection for an even bigger impact.

This space turned out really great. I could definitely see myself spending many a morning in those chairs drinking my coffee and reading my Bible. 

On the same level as the living/dining room and the kitchen/study area is a guest bathroom.

Welcome to:

{The Guest Bathroom}

In the tiny space I wanted to add a bit of color, so I painted the walls a beautiful gray (Granite Boulder from Behr) and added hand towels in a darker slate gray with a dark red one as well. I think art even in the tiniest and seemingly unimportant of spaces is vital. So I found this beautiful painting on at a discount home store thought it was perfect. It has a vintage beach feel while not being overly beachy. I added stainless steel accessories by the pedestal sink and a really yummy smelling candle (a necessity in a house of men. :))

A friend once told me that guest baths are like throw pillows, an accent to the rest of the living space.

Best advice ever on decorating bathrooms. 

What do you think? How do you decorate your bathrooms?

Inside Real Homes: Nate (Part 1)

Months ago. Literally. I hinted at a new kind of project I had taken on. 

However, posting about said new project took months since the actual completion of the project took a little longer than anticipated.

I love home decorating and styling.

Love.

I am the girl that when given 'fun' money from our family budget will 9 out of 10 times spend it on our home. It's my favorite. Even over clothes. (Although, tiny little pink things seem to be giving this habit a run for it's money.)

So when a friend moved down to Florida last July and bought his first place, he offered me the job of decorating his house. I said 'YES!' of course and jumped at the opportunity. His only real request was that I design the home in such a way that created a cohesive and put together look; he wanted it to be comfortable but with style and purpose.

He purchased a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood and asked me to design the living spaces that included a living room, dining room as well as a library/study area, a guest bath, and his master suite.

I learned many things about myself during this process. The biggest thing I learned was that no matter how amazing the end product was (and it is rather amazing! too bad I don't have before photos!) and how much I love this hobby, I cannot delve into interior design during this season of my life. I can relatively easy run my graphic design business and shop from home in my cute little office with little ones running around me. If I need to stop to play blocks or fix lunch or read a book or rock and sing lullabies that works without any real delay. But attempting day long shopping trips, hauling furniture up multiple flights of stairs, painting bathrooms, or even making little diy projects in an environment not my own is not conducive to a mommy of little ones. So, for now this hobby will stay just that, a hobby. 

Over the next few days I will be showing you rooms from Nate's home and will be adding a 'Inside Real Homes' decorating feature on this blog. I have a plethora of rooms to show you from our new house we just moved into in January. And I heard from a bird that a friend of mine who is an amazing decorator is moving in the next few months as well. I am positive she will give me plenty to post about! I am excited to incorporate my love for decorating in a way that still works for me at this time in my life. 

Note: all photography, with the exception of one or two, is by my sweet friend Kortni of Kortni Marie Photography. She not only photographed the entire home for me when the makeover was over but was also my design assistant giving me that extra design insight (and set of hands!) when I really needed to get this project completed. Thank you Kortni!

So, without further ado, welcome to:

Nate's House

{Living Room}

Working with a budget and his existing furniture the goal was to create a cohesive look. He went through a number of my decorating magazines marking his favorite rooms and every one of them were neutral, airy palettes. That look worked very well with his home that has perfect lighting all throughout the day making it a naturally airy space. We left the wall color as it fit nicely into that neutral palette and added pops of deep espresso and white.

Nate has a love for old maps so I used a portion of his collection here in the living room above the sofa. Framing the maps and then hanging them as a collection was an inexpensive way to fill up such a large wall and give a focal point as soon as enter the living room.

 

Little details like large green plants (per his request!) and accent lamps add character. For the smaller lamps I stacked them on old books found at thrift stores to give height to the lamp as well as bring in more vintage details, which he was drawn to as well. 

{Dining Room}

The living and dining room are an open concept so everything needed to work together. (This photo was taken before the dining room was made complete with a little diy project you will see below.) I found this table and chairs at an overstock, scratch & dent furniture warehouse. It was perfect for his home. It has great lines and the bulk adds to the masculine feel while the chairs still allow it to be comfortable and casual.

I scored the mirror (obsessed! and wish it were mine) from TJ Maxx. It looks like it's made out of driftwood. So perfect for this space. Another antique map brings cohesion to this side of the room.

 

I needed a large focal point on this wall but it needed to work with the framed map collection above the couch. It took me some time to figure out exactly what I wanted to put here. In a perfect world with an endless budget I would have loved a buffet here. But a buffet for a single guy seems kind of like pointless spending. So, my next option was to create something massive to fill this space. I decided to do my very own stick artwork. A few of my friends have created art very similar to this and I thought it would be the perfect solution. It has this wonderful natural element that ties into the dining room chairs, the shape filled the empty space providing a great focal point, the color worked perfectly with the collection of maps in the living room and the nature of the art creates movement forcing your eye to move across the room ensuring there are no competing elements in the space. Just beautifully balanced pieces that work seamlessly together.

So, what do you think of Nate's Living and Dining Room? 

I plan to reveal his library/study and guest bathroom tomorrow!

Weekend Wardrobe: Easter Weekend

 

I hope your Easter weekend was amazing!

Our church had a little Easter party on Saturday that was so much fun! I will be posting more about that this week. I needed to wear something comfy (but cute!) since I knew I would be running around the entire day so I chose maternity skinny jeans with a fitted (show off that belly!) green striped tank. I added green rosette earrings, a white bangle, and coral strappy sandals for a spring casual look. 

For Easter Sunday, my sweet husband bought me a new white dress that was adorable. It wasn't maternity but you can get away with non-maternity dresses at 32 weeks pregnant if they have an empire waist-line. The dress was pretty and feminine with its light-weight eyelet fabric. I wanted to make it a bit more grown-up so I added a black skinny belt, gold accessories, and black wedges.

More importantly our church's Easter service was amazing! 

And God was glorified as we celebrated Jesus' resurrection and our subsequent salvation.

How was your Easter weekend?!