Wish List | What I Want for My 30th Birthday

1. See by Chole | 2. Flats | 3. Brushes | 4. Mug | 5. Necklace | 6. Handbag | 7. Bakeware Set

July is my Birth Month! Yippee!  This year is my 30th…. not sure how I feel about that yet.

If the world were perfect, the above it what I’d want for my birthday!  Now, some of this is really extravagant ($350 bakeware set??), but a girl can dream, right?

1. See by Chloe perfume – I gave this a sniff when I was at Sephora the other day, and it smells so beautiful!  The perfect hint of floral without knocking your head off.

2. C. Wonder Flats – so apparently the cute whale ones are sold out online, BUT I spied them in the window when I strolled past our C. Wonder store at our mall.  I may have to go back and pick them up as a Happy Birthday present to myself 🙂

3. Real Techniques Core Collection Brush Set – I’ve heard great things about the Real Techniques brushes.  I’m not a makeup brush user, but I’m trying to be.  These are reasonably prices and I hear they are great quality!

4. Royal Albert Friendship Green Vintage Mug – Isn’t that mug adorable?  It’s the kind of mug I’d have on display in my tea cupboard.  Right next to my commemorative Will & Kate Royal Wedding mug.  (Yes, I own one… don’t judge)

5. Baublebar Peacock Chandelier Collar Necklace – Every time I go on to Baublebar’s website, I see this necklace, put it in my shopping cart, but never purchase it.  I don’t know why! It’s a good price, and it hot pink.

6. Kate Spade Holly Street Ashton – This mint color is just adorable, and I love a top handle bag.

7. Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Non Stick 15 Piece Bakeware Set – So this is a bit much.  It’s a $350 bakeware set… but I’m in desperate need of new bakeware, and this is the best.  (Husband, if you’re reading this, maybe just the cake pans to start??)

So I wish…. I dream…. I don’t need any of this, but it’s fun!

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Summer Nautical | Style & Home

2nd Day skinny leg jeans / Seychelles wedding party shoes / C Wonder twist bow ring / Sperry Top Sider anchor charm bracelet / Quote wall art / Nautical home decor / Signature Housewares stoneware mug / Puji nautical home decor / Scotch & Soda striped boat neck tee

 

I’ve mentioned before about my dislike of summer.  The hot weather, the clothes…. bleh.  BUT thankfully, summer does bring one of my favorite things – stripes and nautical-themed accessories!  This is what I’m craving right now!

I have been wanting to get a pair of pink jeans or trousers for quite a while now! I just know it would pair perfectly with the hundreds of stripes I own (it’s a sickness, really).  I’d love to add that striped shirt to the collection!

Thankfully, I can also find nautical items everywhere!  The jewelry is especially calling my name.  I’m not a huge ring wearer (besides my wedding rings), but aren’t those knot rings so sweet?

What’s your favorite summer trend?

Quick Home Organization | Refrigerator

I have “little piles” around the house.  You know what I mean?  There are disorganized areas that bug me.  I could rattle them off – office desk, laundry room counter, husband’s under sink cabinet in our bathroom…. blah blah blah.

I tackled one on the list a few days ago – the top of our refrigerator!  I was inspired by my friend Vanessa over at Mamma’s Happy Hive.  If you haven’t visited her blog, do!  She highlights fun Montessori-inspired activities for her sweet boy Little Bee and has amazing organization tips!

Vanessa shared this post about ideas for organizing her kitchen, and she mentioned putting baskets on top of her refrigerator to hide stuff.

I literally DOL (that’s Duh Out Loud, in case you’re not in the know).

I have a problem with clutter on top of my refrigerator.  1) We don’t have a pantry inside our kitchen, which means I’m always looking for a place to stash perishables.  And 2) my husband likes quick access to tortilla chips.  So we’ve been keeping miscellaneous food items up there for a while.  I was also storing some random eating-related items that Elizabeth hadn’t quite grown into yet.

It was a mess.

I went to Home Goods for a wander (bad idea – Home Goods is like Target for me.  I just can’t wander in there.  My car trunk will get full…) and I came across a large basket, perfect for the top of the refrigerator!  It’s large and deep, which means I won’t be able to see the tops of packages.  The basket also had this fun plaque detailing.  It looked like it might be a chalkboard slate, but it’s not.  Oh well.  It may be a pain to haul down, but it’s pretty!  Hey, for $16.99, I can put up with anything!

Once I got home, I took everything down and sorted through it.  What needed to stay up on the refrigerator?  What needed a home elsewhere?It was clear the food items should stay up on the refrigerator (quick access to chips!), but the baby things needed homes elsewhere.  Once I got that sorted, the food went into the basket, and the basket went up to its new home up on the refrigerator.

And it looks great!

Much better, right?

Husband has already complained it restricts his access to the tortilla chips.  I get it.  You have to haul down this basket any time you need something from there, but hey!  I’d rather do that than stare at the jumble.

Ready for a before/after?  Ta-da!

Any recent Quick Home Organization projects at your house?  Did you blog about it?  Share a link with me in the comments!  I’d love to stop by and visit!

Staging a Coffee Table – A Work in Progress

Welcome to my sunroom!  It’s a cheerful room at the back of our house, with windows on three walls.  I love this room!  (I haven’t taken down the boxwood wreaths/ribbon from Christmas yet… sigh)  Ick, sorry the below picture is so dark!  It’s a catch-22 taking pictures in a room with a ton of windows!  Take pictures on a dreary day, and you may have a dark picture.  Take it on a sunny day, and you’ll get tons of glare!

We had been borrowing our cute mahogany coffee table from our living room to use in the sunroom, since we spent so much time in there.  But it meant that any time we used our living room, there was no place to stick a hot drink!  Horrible!  So I knew we needed a coffee table for the sunroom.  I wanted a more casual table, and settled on a rattan chest from Wayfair (currently not available, but a similar look can be found here).

When it arrived, I’ll admit… I didn’t love it.  I liked it, but didn’t oooo and aaaaahhh like I had seeing it on the website.  And can you blame me?  The rattan color was a close match to our jute rug.  The table was shorter than our other coffee table, so, even though I measured it before purchasing, it felt dinky in person.

See what I mean?  Blah and boring……. I actually felt guilty about the purchase!!

Festive Fall Raffia Wreath

Can you believe it’s already November?  Fall is my favorite season.  Our house has been decorated inside since Labor Day, but I have been a tad slow getting our front step/door finished.  I bought a few mums, and they are thriving.  But the front door has been naked!!

So, it is time to make a wreath!  I made this Raffia Wreath from the Stone Gable blog last year.  It was really easy and looked so festive when it was done! It transitioned nicely from early fall all the way through Thanksgiving!  I didn’t end up saving it because I was concerned the raffia wouldn’t hold up well in storage.  But this year I think I’ll try saving it.