Five Things for the Fourth

Five Things inspired by the 4th of July's red, white and blue...

{Lounge on the beach with this turkish towel.  This color is Cherry Pie.  Perfect for the 4th right?}

{Make your party festive with these easy tear-off napkins from Anthropologie.}  

{Hang a grouping of these picnic votives from a backyard tree for a soft night glow.}  

{Ditch the typical burger for these turkey pesto sliders.}  

{Enjoy refreshing sips like this red and white strawberry sangria.  Add blackberries for a blue garnish.}

Happy early 4th of July everyone!

Mom's Eat-In Area Final Reveal

This week I've been working on updating one of the upstairs bathrooms in my mom's house.  And while I was painting away, I realized that I had never shared the final outcome of the last update, the kitchen eating area, in her home.  This is what it looked like the last time I showed you guys.  Much better than the wallpaper room shown here but still a work in progress.

And this is what it looks like today...

I turned the table sideways to make room for this beautiful piece my mom inherited from my grandfather.

I'm kind of obsessed with all of its beautiful details.

On top of the piece is a collection of family heirlooms that have been in storage up until now.

A collection of antique racing trophies find a home near an old photo taken of me and my sister during a horse riding adventure when we were younger.

The horse theme is carried over into the grouping of art on the left wall.

The top three pieces in the grouping are custom artwork of my grandfather's old home and land in New York.

The right wall features an oil painting that previously lived above the mantel in my mom's living room.

I'm very pleased with how the space has turned out and love all of the personal items that were brought out of storage and are now rightly on display.  It's now a cozy space I'd love to sit, eat and relax awhile.   Here is the final before and after of the room.  It's come a loooong way :)

Before:

After:

 

I'll have some before and afters of the bathroom coming up soon!

Score!

I took a long overdue trip up here to Birmingham last Friday.  The timing worked out perfectly since Debby was about to rear her ugly head in the gulf, and what was supposed to be a long weekend trip, has turned into a week-long stay.   And I must say, it's been a quite productive trip so far.  I'm excited to share with you guys what I've been up to since I've been here but until then, I thought I'd show you one of my scores on a recent shopping excursion.

I've been looking for a milk bottle carrier for a long time now.  I've been searching on Etsy, Ebay, decor sites, etc. to no avail.  I could never find what I was looking for...until Saturday!  Me and my friend Bekah stopped into a consignment/antique store to check out some furniture and while purusing the booths, I stumbled upon this guy.

His $26.00 price tag had me at "hello"--Pottery Barn is currently selling a galvanized bottle carrier for $29.50 and that doesn't even include bottles.  Plus, I love that mine is the real deal and not a replication.  I can't wait to fill this guy with some pretty summer flowers.  Hooray for great finds!

Beach Chic Office Design Board

When I think of people who work from home, I think of the beautiful office spaces they can create for themselves.  I often try to imagine what my dream office would entail, and the latest vision is of a crisp, clean space with lots of pretty things to inspire me...a nod to the classic with a twist on the coastal.  Yeah, I think I'd be pretty happy here.

Sources:

Kinik Rug

Parsons Desk

Brass Lamp

Settee

Office Chair

Rattan Chair

Curtains

Coffee Table

Chandelier

Mirror

I did it!

Luckily, not all of the ideas I pin on Pinterest fall into the "I'll never actually do this" file.  It can be a little difficult to conquer every idea/tip when you have nearly 2,500 of them.  Yet, I keep pinning away.  I'm sure you all understand.

But today I am pleased to announce that I just successfully completed one idea I saw on the site--drawer organization, more specifically, my workout clothes drawer.

Jon and I have yet to move down the extra dresser that's been sitting in my mom's garage so we're currently functioning off of one dresser and one closet between the two of us.  As a result, half of what once was my own old dresser is now full of half of Jon's clothes.  Two drawers for myself=crowded and completely unorganized mayhem.

Thankfully, something I saw on Pinterest came to my rescue.  The other day, I saw a pin that featured a lady's drawer with all of her shirts folded tightly and stacked vertically instead of horizontally.  Why haven't I thought of this?!  It's like a filing cabinet of clothes!  So simple and so genius.  It looked like it would be a great solution for my haphazard workout clothes drawer so I gave it a shot.

Here was my drawer before:

And here is the after...

Ahh doesn't that look so much better?  Now I can actually see all of the contents without having to search through lopsided piles.  And look!  There's even a little space to spare!  
Thank you, Pinterest!

Look for Less-Pottery Barn vs. Ikea

I bought an Hemnes dresser from Ikea 5 years ago when I moved across the country and got my own first place, and I've had it ever since.  It has survived three moves, lived in four different houses and still looks great!

I was flipping through the PB catalog a few weeks ago when I saw one that looked a lot like mine.  And as you may have guessed, its pricetag was a lot heftier though.  Here are the comparisons:

Pottery Barn Farmhouse Extra-Wide Dresser-$1,499.00

Ikea Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser-$299.00

Differences:

$1200 in price

6-drawer vs. 8-drawer

color (espresso vs. black-brown )

Similaries:

Shape

Dimensions

Style

Not a bad steal, huh?

Goodies

Some more birthday goodies came in the mail...Thank you sweet friends!

Looks Familiar

Did any of you catch Emily from Cupackes and Cashmere on the Today Show this morning?  One of the things she spoke about was how to create a rustic table look for summer.  It looked so similar to the tables I did for my May weddings that I had to share.  Take a gander...

Today Show table...

Table from Brynnan's wedding...

Table from Laura's wedding...

You know what they say about great minds :)

Blessings and the Big 2-8

It's that time again, time to celebrate my birthday!  I'm already feeling very loved today, and it's not even noon.  Even with the hubby being out of country, I don't feel alone thanks to all of the sweet cards, messages and gifts from friends and family.  I'm thankful to be celebrating another year of life and to look back on all of the blessings I've received over the past 28 years.  It's truly a great day!

Here I am back in the day celebrating my 3rd birthday with my Rainbow Brite cake.  I LOVED her as a child.  Now, 25 years later, my hair is less curly (thanks to Chi) and I've grown a bit, but life is still good.  Look at my sis trying to help me blow out the candles.  She's always been there for me.

Speaking of my sis, I went to visit her and her family this weekend to celebrate the Baptisms of my nephews.  It was a wonderful moment to witness.  Here's Mer and her cute little family.  Cohen wore the same Christening gown that Mer and I wore when we were Christened.  It's been passed down in the family for over 100 years.

I also got the pleasure of celebrating my birthday with my family this weekend--such a treat since we all live hours apart.  Meredith surprised me with a replica of the cake I mentioned on my post here.  And Cooper and Michael worked on a big domino surprise for me that had a handmade birthday sign from Cooper at the end.  It was all so thoughtful!

Posing with my b'day sign after the grand finale.  

Cooper with the domino creation before the show began and a closeup my b'day sign. :)

It's just a hunch, but I think 28 is going to be a great year.  Especially for me because I have a thing for even numbers :)

Five Things Friday-Part 11

This layered mantel.

Amanda Peet's staircase.  

These spinach dip mini bread bowls

This outift.

This bedroom. And mirror.  And pillows.

Happy weekend!

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4-unknown, 5

Southern White Wedding

I was trying to hold out for some of the professional photos before I showed you more up close details of my Georgia wedding, but I just can't wait anymore so you'll have to deal with mine :)  Enjoy!

Aisle arrangements were designed with daisies, white roses, tulips, orchids and assorted greenery.

Custom designed programs by HoH

The bride's bouquet was made of jumbo white hydrangeas, regular white hydrangeas and white May peonies.  It reminds me of a ball of rainbows.

Bridesmaids carried a single white hydrangea tied with a strip of burlap.

Find your seat.  Moss mat how to shown here.

The ballroom at The Country Club of the South.

Table numbers were burned onto wooden plaques.

Custom moss Mr. and Mrs. chair labels.

Notice the DIY burlap runners first mentioned here?

Fireplace installation.

The finished look with the table all set.

Congrats again, Laura and Kyle!