The Window Garden

Hey Everyone I'm Back!!! It has been way to long since I have posted last, and oh how I have missed it!  So much has happened over the past few months.  We moved back home to Utah for good! It felt like we were never going to make it home, but now when I look back on it all, the time really did just fly by! A month after we moved home, The Hubs had to leave back to Texas to work for the summer :(  Can i just tell you how grateful I was to be back around family and friends!  I do not know how I would've taken raising a 2 year old and being 9 months pregnant on my own without all of their help!

Then on May 8th we welcomed our perfect little baby girl, Halle McKinley.

I like to think that she is the best thing we've cooked up in a long time!

Two weeks after she was born, The Hubs had to return back to Texas to work till August. Gosh, I thought I had my hands full before the baby was born!  It has been a whole new ball game with 2 little girls and no Hubs to help out!!! But Halle has been such a good baby so far and Lily, my 2 year old, has adapted much better to the new baby then I thought she would.  So, as you can see I just haven't had any extra time for this little blog of mine!

Anyways, I would like to share my dads newest product with all of you fellow foodies!  He came up with the wonderful idea to build something, that you could put in most 32-48inch interior windows in your home, that you could grow your herbs, flowers, or house plants on year round.  Its called The Window Garden. 

 Its the perfect item for those of you who love to cook with fresh herbs year round!  I love it because in our situtaion where we have moved from apartment to apartment in the past with my husbands job, we didn't even have an outdoor space that we could plant our own herbs or flowers in to enjoy. So The Window Garden has been so nice to have for that very reason alone.  Here it is pictured in my Aunts home and I think it's not only practical but it looks so cute to!  If you are interested in purchasing a Window Garden for yourself or someone that you know, CLICK HERE and start your indoor garden today!

New Apartment

Did I mention that we move ALOT?  Well, we thought for sure this time around that we would be in the same place for at least a year.  Well, we were almost right.  We will be staying in Houston for another year, but we have to move to a different apartment.  Which at first, I will be honest, I was SO mad that we had to move again!!!  We had just moved a ton of our belongings from our house back in Utah, and the thought of having to pack up all that stuff again just made me sick!

But on the plus side, we got to pick out our new apartment.  My husbands company houses us during the summertime, and don't get me wrong, we have always been spoiled with our apartments!  Great locations, and they are always very nice and very clean.  But this time around we got to choose, and boy was it fun!  We decided to go with something a bit more on the modern side which usually is not our style.  We just figured that we would try out the whole modern feel and see if its what we would like in our future house one day.  

So, since this job is normally just a summertime job, our company provides all of the furniture too, but since we are going to be here longer, we are going to need some new furniture which means SHOPPING!  We really only need a couch and a dining set and some fun accessories.  So, here are a few things I found.  Let me know what you think.  

Couch!  Image via Young House Love

We are thinking either this style 

Or this one? Couch from Ikea

Loving this modern Dining Set! Perfect for smaller spaces. Found at Ikea 

Love all these prints. We're just not sure what colors we want yet? Image found here

Love the bold colors and print. Image via Target

In love with Chevron Print. I'm just not sure if it's  to popular now?  Image found here.

Love everything about this rug! Image via Shades of Light

When we move in September, and get somewhat settled, I will post pictures of what we decided to go with!  Let me know what your thoughts are and what rug is your favorite?

HomeGoods Happy :)

So I thought I would share another great find with you all.  I have had my eye on one of these Robert Abbey Lamps for a few years now but just could not bring myself to spend $200 on one Table Lamp.

So when I stopped by the local HomeGoods, I was so happy when I saw this lamp (pictured below) on clearance for only a whopping $22!  Whohoo! It needs a new lampshade (which I can get one for pretty cheap) but you can imagine my excitement since I have been wanting one for 2 years and came across one for a fraction of the price!  I originally wanted one in the Egg Blue color (shown above) but the one I purchased matched my bedspread perfectly!  I think it was meant to be :)

Dresser Inspiration

This is by far my favorite so far! I love the yellow against the Gray wall. (Photo Found Here)

Yesterday I was out and about running some errands when I passed by a thrift store and some amazing deal caught my eye!  So, let me rewind for a second.  Before The Hubs and I moved to Texas we sold our main dresser, and donated the other one to a garage sale for a fundraiser. So needless to say, we are in need of a dresser.  

Even though where we are living right now, The Hubs company provides furniture for us, I always have my eyes open for a good deal.  And lets just say, man did I get a deal today or what!  I got a 9 drawer dresser, a tall boy dresser with 6 large drawers, and an adorable matching nightstand all for a whopping $125.00 including delivery!  These dressers are made by Thomasville and are in great condition!  They have great detail and I think will look amazing once I can decide on a color and maybe some fresh new knobs.

I sadly didn't grab any photos before I posted this, but here are some Inspiration Photos that I found on the web. Let me know what you guys think and what your favorite ones are.

Love this shiny color from Restoration Hardware

LOVE this Turquoise color! (Image from The Little Green Notebook)

Love the Black with the silver handles. Looks great with the Chevron rug also. (This is a lot like the style of the tall boy dresser that I scored)(Image via House of Turquoise)

I really love the powder pink hue of this dresser. Perfect for a little girls room. (Image also House of Turquoise)

Wondering if I should just stain both pieces a dark espresso finish like this one? (image via Walmart)

What do you guys think? Which one is your favorite?  Since they were such a good deal I'm feeling maybe do something fun and bold? Or should I just stay safe and do something classy?

Sarah's House

Have you all seen the show "Sarah's House" on HGTV? Well it just happens to be one of my very favorite shows and she is one of my very favorite designers! 

I wish so bad that I could afford to purchase and live in one of her beautiful amazing homes that she renovates and designs!  I guess I would have to move to Canada in order to do that, but hey, if I was able to move into one of those beauties I would do it in a heartbeat!

Here a few photos that I could find, from a bunch of her different renovations. Keep in mind that these are all from different renovations but something in all of these rooms just calls out to me.

Love the marble counters, the silver pendant lamp, and LOVE the sunburst mirror!

I love how light and airy this room is.

Love this Kitchen! This is in her Summer House. Seriously AMAZING!

Great use of space!

Fun little girls room

LOVE this Dresser!

Im not usually a red fan, but I love the color she used here. I love the tack board, it's my favorite part.

All Photos via HGTV.com

Seriously, check out her show! I wish they would've had more photos from more of her renovations, but these were all the ones that I could find. She really has done some amazing designs. Check em out.

Rental: Kids Room Design Ideas

With my husbands job, it requires us to leave our home back in Utah and move somewhere for 6 months out of the year (sometimes even longer).  I have quickly come to realize that there are good and bad things with all this "lovely" moving that we get to do.

The Good:

1. See many new places all over the country.

2. Meet lots of fun new people.

3. Well you should all know by now that I LOVE to eat; we love finding and trying new yummy local restaurants.

4. I will be honest and it may even sound weird, but I LOVE the grocery stores in all of the states that we have lived in so far! They are so much nicer than the selection we have back home (I know I'm weird, but I love when I find a new grocery store with a great produce department like this one that's right around the corner from us now)

The Bad:

1. We have to leave all of our friends and family back home :(  (well most of them)

2. Packing, Packing, Packing!

3. The drive to our location. (it was fun the 1st couple of years but now that we have a little one, not as much fun as it used to be. Poor thing hates being in the car)

4. I hate that I can't paint the walls however I want! I know that may be a dumb reason but that's what I love so much about having my home back in Utah. I can do what I want to it!  This is what leads me to my post today.

I am wanting to put my own stamp on things here cause we will be here for about a year this time; and I have been kind of stumped on my little girls room. I would love to paint the walls a fun color but I just can't, so I found some cute ideas on the web that I think just might help make the room "POP" a little!

You can make a room "Pop" just by using some fun bed linens like these(image via Layla Grayce)

These chalk vinyl prints are so fun and cute; easily removable

How cute is this vinyl growth chart; also easily removable

This is a great way to add color to a room without having to paint.  Upholster your own headboard (great tutorial here) in a fun color  and  use a bold window treatment like the one pictured here.  (image via HGTV)

As soon as I get started on her room I will share some pictures with you all!  Hopefully some of these ideas can help some of you that may be in the same predicament as we are! Happy Friday, and hope you all have an amazing weekend!

New Wall Collage

 Since we have been here in Texas we haven't purchased any new decorations really but have just played around with what we already have. Here is a photo of what it looked like in our home back in Utah and what our new wall collage looks like...

(Before)

I know its not a huge change, but I personally like it better now with the contrast of the gold accents with the white frames. All of the frames, letter, and mirror together were under $70. Not to bad for a whole wall if you ask me!

Cute Pillows

With the move and all, I've been trying to think of some new fun items to go in the new place to make it feel like home, and I came across these darling pillows here and fell in love! Such a cute idea! Think I may just need to order me a Houston one, or maybe even a Utah one to remind me of home. Who knows maybe I'll go crazy and order me one of each.

I will take 1 pink bed please!

Seriously I would've never thought that I would want or even dream up the idea that I would want a hot pink bed till I landed my eyes on this beauty! I love that even though its HOT PINK, the room isn't screaming "too girly" at all. I wonder if I could talk the hubs into this one...

Guest Bedroom/Office

(Photo courtesy of HGTV.com)

I don't know if you remember my post about how much I adore stripes right now,  I know its kind of a major trend right now, but Oh how I sure do love them! I have been wanting to paint a wall of stripes somewhere in my house for sometime now and I think I have narrowed it down to my guest bedroom/office. I think I will paint one accent wall in stripes and the other walls just a neutral tone. When I came across this photo (pictured above) it was like it was meant to be! These are the exact colors I have been wanting to do and Um hello, I LOVE sunburst mirrors!  I also want to paint my existing desk white (till I can afford this one) and have a spot in the room that looks like the photo below but with a more neutral paint color. Well, while the hubs is away this week I am going to try and tackle this project by myself! Wish me luck cause I am going to need it (especially with a 1 1/2 year old to take care of too)

(photo courtesy of HGTV.com)

DIY yourself Curtains

So I am definitely going to try and attempt to make curtains like these for my living room. Notice how i used the word Attempt, i am definitely a beginner at sewing but am really excited to try these. The nice thing about this tutorial is that you use a King size flat sheet and you don't have to pay and arm and a leg for designer fabric.  Jenny over at The Little Green Notebook, was the one that posted about Pams lovely DIY project and she gave lots of examples of very affordable options to use for your curtains. You can check out those options here.  As soon as I get around to trying these out, I will definitely post an update with the finished project. Hopefully in the next week or so.

If any of you have ever made curtains yourself I would love to see pictures of them! Hope your having a wonderful week!

Wall Photo Tip

I had wanted to do a wall of frames for a really long time in my house and never had really gotten around to doing so cause I thought it would be such a pain to hang all the pictures. But little to my dismay it was quite easy. All i did was purchase some frames that i liked (had to spray paint a few to match) then I layed the frames on the floor in a bunch of different configurations, snapping pictures along the way to help me remember the ones I liked and how to remember how to hang them and "Voila!" It was that easy! Here are a few more pictures of Walls adorned in frames I really like.

(via Pottery Barn)

(via West Elm)

Ottoman

We have been looking for an ottoman/coffee table for our living room forever. We've wanted something that is soft cause with a little one running around tripping and falling all the time, we figured something with soft edges would be the smartest choice for us. I came across this ottoman at Urban Home.  Can I just say how much I love Urban Home.  Everything is so hip and modern and sooooo affordable! Like this bed. Can you believe only $699 for a cal-king bed that is tufted!  If only it came in a regular king size....

Madly in Love with Stripes

Love the boldness of the black against the white 

Um, I will take a wall just like this please!!! Found here 

These are the colors I am thinking of doing in my house.  (via younghouselove)

So like the title states, I am madly in love with stripes. I have a bold striped yellow rug in my living room right now and you can probably bet that my 16 month old daughter is wearing some now. Love them! I have been wanting to paint stripes somewhere in my house and I am narrowing my decision down to my office or an accent wall somewhere in my home. I came across these amazing photos of stripes and its making me wish I had some right now.

Sun-burst Mirrors

So I have somewhat had an obsession with sun burst mirrors lately. I have been looking for one to either hang in my entryway, above my bed, or in my kitchen. I would gladly take one in every room, but lets be honest that would be a bit much! I have been loving the one pictured above and just adoring this one here. However since neither of these are in the budget right now I decided to hit up the local TjMaxx and Ross stores (it's hard not to go into one of these stores and not come out with something cute and affordable) and I came across three little beauties. I was debating whether or not to give them a few coats of silver spray paint or to just leave them gold, but once I hung them on the wall I decided the gold worked just perfect in the room. So gold they are! And can I just say I love them and for only $14 you really can't go wrong! So when my husband finishes painting the ceiling and the lighting is a bit better I will post a picture of my darling and oh-so-inexpensive little mirrors.