I am totally obsessing over this home. I'm so excited about today's post! So, my friend Marie and I have known each other for a very long time. I recently met up with her at her new home to go for an evening walk and was blown away by her design expertise! I told her I HAD to do a post on her (mostly) wallet savvy shopping techniques. I refrained from taking pictures that day since it was my first time in her home, but promised I would be back later in the week to stalk her. :) (oh and I brought the wrong lens and I am terrible at using my camera anyway so I apologize for the dark photos.)

her home from the street

front door/entry way. large mirror from antiques store

her cat demoed her candle holders but you get the idea. entry table: tj maxx homegoods

this photo does not do this room justice. she mixed pieces from antiques stores, tj maxx, living spaces, target etc.

gorgeous venetian mirror from an antiques store. every room needs some bling!

chairs: homegoods (don't mind my tacky stroller in the background...)

i love how she pairs new furniture with antique pieces. it makes the room so interesting!

adorable bird cage from antiques store. rug from home depot! where else?

loooove the molding against the dove gray walls

such a cozy office!

beautiful office...bad photo :( i love how she used an old antique dining table for the desk. great idea to put a small chest underneath for storage! such a clean look!

a cozy family room with an open concept kitchen. her home has great built ins in which she stores her yarn (she's crafty!) B is lucky to own a few of her knit caps :)

i'll be teaching these to B...

i love the color of this piece!

lots of kitchen storage! i think white kitchen cabinets are such a great look.

I die over that chandelier. and such a gorgeous island! benches from target!!!

canary yellow bedding! so stunning.

her dresser was an antique find along with the fancy mirror

i like how the canary yellow is in the bedding and the painting as well

Her cat Huck was such a ham. :)

I'm convinced that if you splurge on a couple of main pieces in a room then it really helps everything else look like a million bucks. Marie invested in mirrors, lighting fixtures, and curtains but strategically mixed in lower cost pieces too. To me this is the epitome of a good designer. She sees potential in everything!

Marie is an incredibly brave, strong, and wise woman of God. This is her below with her boyfriend Brandon who passed away about eight months after this photo was taken (almost two years ago). He tripped one evening, hitting his head so hard that he went into a coma and never came out. And while I could go on about how horrible it was to lose him, it was amazing to see how God used him to reach out to so many people who didn't follow Him. Marie has already been through more than most people will ever go through and yet she is still one of my favorite people to spend time with. She's generous, warm, witty, and unpretentious. I love her! Thanks again for letting me intrude on your home. I'm totally obsessed. :)

PS B has her 4 month check up today. Praying for a healthy baby! Also, she has been sleeping through the night for about a week now! Shut up, I know right??!?!

I've been hearing a lot about Jessica Alba's new baby line called The Honest Company. Before Blair came I was all about cloth diapers and wanted to do my part in not adding to the landfills. Well then baby came five weeks early and the time that I thought I had to research cloth diapers went out the window. During the newborn phase I realized cloth diapers weren't a reasonable choice since newborns poop so much. But now that Blair is older I see them being more feasible. And while they are pretty pricey upfront, I hear that they save you more in the long run.

So I looked up The Honest Company and while these diapers aren't reusable, the are very environment friendly and don't have any toxins in them. They also have the cutest diaper prints ever! However, at 80 dollars a month I'm wondering how cost effective they are... I'm going to give them a go for a month while I research more options, especially cloth diapers.

 

 

Pretty cute huh? So do you use cloth diapers? If so, which ones do you prefer?

 

A couple of weeks ago I broke our soap dispenser in the kitchen. M said I could go with him to Home Depot to pick out a new one. Of course we came home with a whole new faucet (which I kept calling a "sink" by mistake) and I love it! Our kitchen really needed it. Here is the old one...

so ugly!

 And here is our new faucet...

so pretty! 

It really helps our kitchen look nicer. We still have to replace that little nub on the right (I think it lets the air escape or something?) but this is a vast improvement from where we were. Our next huge project is to have someone paint our oak cabinets a creamy white. I think this will help make the kitchen less monotone. Right now the tile matches the cabinets which match the walls. But I think we will be waiting a while before that gets done. Time and money is all it takes! ;)

Last weekend we made some much needed improvements to our front and back yard! Here are our before and after photos...

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

After

after

We are still waiting for some spots on the front lawn to fill in with new grass. We also ran out of bark for the planters and need to get some more at home depot butnwe are pretty pleased with the results! I was too lazy to find the original before picture from the backyard but just pretend it started off with weeds. We planted all new sod and now I'm not afraid to walk in the grass barefoot. :)

Yesterday I went to Newport beach with B and my friend Rikki on a whim. I am the least spontaneous person you will ever meet so this was a big step for me, especially with a baby! We had a great time though and B was such a good girl. We may have a repeat beach day on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to it!

 

Me and Rikki

My little meatball

Happy in her cabana

This is what I'm talking about! Asleep in the shade while mommy gets her tan on. :) enjoy your Monday! I have a yard reveal for tomorrow! Pretty excited!

Today my parents have been married for 38 years!!! Can you believe it?! Especially in this day and age they are a rare commodity. What's their secret, you ask? I'm still trying to figure it out. :) My Dad is hard working and a great provider and my Mom has the patience of a saint. And while their relationship isn't perfect (whose is?) at the end of the day they still love and respect each other and care more about the other person than themselves.

Mom and Dad on their wedding day

and now with their new granddaughter!

Thanks for being such a great example to your kids. We are so blessed to have a strong, intact family. We love you and have fun celebrating at the beach this weekend!

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to write this post but after a week of not seeing our cat, Stan, it seems the writing is on the wall. We have had our sweet cat, Stan, for about four years now and love him dearly. He was the kind of cat that acted like a dog. He would sleep on our bed ( in between us if we let him) or on Matt's chest/lap, go on evening walks with us, and follow us around the house from room to room. When we moved he wasn't thrilled but eventually made the adjustment to our new home and life with baby.

The last time we saw Stan was late Wednesday night. He wasn't around for breakfast and by the time dinner rolled around we still hadn't seen him. We do have coyotes in our neighborhood ( the thought of this sickens me) but we had them in our old neighborhood too. He showed up on our porch four years ago as a stray and we wonder if he decided to move on again but think this is unlikely. We're just super upset about it. I try to just imagine that he decided to move on to another family because anything else makes me break down. The thought of anything hurting him breaks my heart. I feel like a terrible pet mommy. I keep thinking "what if". What if we had let him sleep inside that night? What if we had put him in the garage? What if we forced him to wear his collar?

So I dedicate this post to sweet Stan. We will never have a cat as charming and handsome as you.

Stan's last picture taken the day before he disappeared

Helping M do some work

Taking over Bella's bed

Taking over our bed...

Until we meet again, Stan! I really think our pets go to heaven. :)

Ok so my blog friend Natasha over at Schue Love is about to have a baby any day now! She was due yesterday and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of her little man. She lives in Lake Tahoe (so jeal!) with her sweet hubby and golden retriever. I went gaga over her maternity photo shoot and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy and make sure to check out the rest of her maternity pics at her blog, Schue Love.

Also make sure you check out her amazingly adorable nursery here. It looks straight out of a magazine! I am obsessed! Hope you enjoy her blog as much as I do. :) Happy Wednesday!