Happy October, friends! Despite the fact that it's supposed to hit 90 degrees here in Northern Virginia today, I have fall on the brain. Fall is my favorite season - football is back, the trees outside are turning the prettiest shades of orange and yellow, and everything just feels cozier. However, it can be a little harder to get into the fall spirit when the temperature is above 80 well into October. So I thought I'd share some easy tips on how to make your home feel like fall (even when it doesn't feel like it outside). Read on to...
Category: BLOG
BLOG, RECIPES
15 MINUTE SHRIMP & GRITS
Hi friends - it's been a minute! Since my last post almost two months ago (yikes) I've gotten married, traveled to Greece for the most incredible honeymoon, and settled into a new job. That's enough excuses for taking such a long hiatus from blogging, right? Anyways, my grand re-entrance to the blogosphere is coming in the form of one of my favorite simple recipes: shrimp and grits. Since moving to "the south," aka the DMV area, I've been delighted to see that the vast majority of brunch menus at the restaurants I frequent include shrimp and grits. However, I'm a...
BLOG, INTERIORS
A NEUTRAL PATIO DESIGN FOR SUMMER
Hi, friends - it's been a while! Between work and planning for my upcoming wedding, things have been a little crazy lately. This week feels like the first time in months that I've had time to breathe, so of course it felt like a good time to finally get back to blogging. Here in Northern Virginia, we've been lucky enough to have pretty consistent summer weather since April. But between a crazy work schedule and lots of rain, I feel like it took me longer than usual to get into summer mode. Yesterday was such a gorgeous day and it...
BLOG, INTERIORS
10 STEPS TO A MORE ORGANIZED CLOSET
If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm really passionate about organizing. I have a very vivid childhood memory of cleaning and organizing my friends' playroom when I was at their house, and even during my messy years as a young child I always made sure my dolls were in neat rows on my bookcase (even if the rest of my room looked like a tornado hit it). Over the last few years, my love of organizing has become much more aggressive and intense. I love organizing everything, but closets are my favorite. There's something about the organizational systems,...
BLOG, RECIPES
BALSAMIC PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES RECIPE
I didn't take a serious interest in cooking until probably my junior year of college. I had dabbled in it before, but that summer I tasked my dad with teaching me as many recipes as possible. Despite the fact that I've loved cooking ever since and have made home-cooked meals almost every night for the past three years, it was only recently that I started to venture into the world of creating my own recipes. I've always found it much easier to just follow a recipe, but I want to get to a point where I can just whip something...
BLOG, INTERIORS
DESIGNING ON A BUDGET 101: BEDROOM
When it comes to my home, my bedroom is my happy place. I've put a lot of work into making it a serene, relaxing, and functional but pretty space. There's a lot that goes into creating a bedroom that you truly love, and it can be more complicated when you're working with limited funds. But if I can do it, so can you! If you're new to the blog, the Designing on a Budget 101 series was created for people like me who want beautiful homes but have an extremely limited budget. I follow a lot of home decor blogs,...
BLOG, LIFESTYLE
THE BEST AFFORDABLE STATEMENT EARRINGS FOR SPRING
I do not consider myself a very "trendy" person. It honestly usually takes me at least a year to warm up to new trends, and even then, I'm hesitant to add trendy things to my wardrobe,. I typically opt for classic items that will stand the test of time. With that being said - statement earrings are my exception. I LOVE a good statement earring. They're fun, they can kick a boring outfit up a notch with barely any effort, and best of all - they don't require a huge investment, so if the trend fizzles, it's no big deal....
BLOG, LIFESTYLE
JUST FOR FUN FRIDAY: MY FRIDAY PLAYLIST
Happy Friday! Today was the first warm spring Friday of the year, and there's something about days like today that makes me want to cruise around the neighborhood with my windows down playing happy music. So I thought it would be fitting to share my favorite Friday Playlist on the blog today! These songs are all perfect for starting your day off on the right foot, staying motivated and positive throughout the workday, and driving around with the windows down and your music loud. They're the kind of songs that are catchy, upbeat, and instantly put you in a good...
BLOG, RECIPES
MY FAVORITE POTATO LEEK SOUP RECIPE
I don't know how it happened, but somehow I went 22 years without ever trying potato leek soup. The first time I ever had it was actually when Darian and I took our first trip to Disney together. It was on the menu at the Be Our Guest restaurant and it was SO GOOD. About a month ago (over 3 years after that trip) I was watching TV and someone made potato leek soup. It gave me the weirdest craving for that soup from Be Our Guest, so I browsed Pinterest until I found a recipe that looked perfect. I...
BLOG, INTERIORS
HOW TO STYLE A COFFEE TABLE
Happy Monday, friends! This weekend in my super exciting life, the highlight was the arrival of our new coffee table! We've had the same coffee table that I bought at a thrift store for $6 since we moved in together three years ago. I was almost sad to get rid of the old one because it was my first furniture DIY project. After I took it home, I coated it in white spray paint, got some 2x4s cut to size at Home Depot, and nailed them on and stained them gray myself. But between the fact that it didn't really...