Oatmeal

Can I take a minute...  

and introduce you...

to my favorite color...

 Oatmeal?

The sight of it...

makes everything alright...

Want a homemade oatmeal srub recipe?

You've come to the right place...

• Put some oatmeal in a bowl and add enough warm water to make a paste
• Gently rub into skin and exfoliate in a circular motion
• Let it stay on for about 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water and a splash of cold water
• Pat skin dry with a face cloth

**You can also try this with whole milk. The milk will soothe and clean your exfoliated skin even more**

Recipe from Natural-Homeremedies-For-Life

Some pictures from TOMS and Atlantic-Pacific Blog



Ashley

My sink console find!!!

I just wanted to share this because I was pretty proud of myself!!! I was looking in Pottery Barn(I have no right to be with the money we are spending now!), and my mouth was watering over their beautiful sink consoles... I really had my eye on what actually was one of the cheaper ones in the bunch(rare for me, I usually pick out the most expensive!), probably because what I was looking for  had to fit in our one and only bathroom of our new home! Well despite the fact that the one I liked is the cheapest in Pottery Barn, it still is too expensive for us! BUMMER...

...Until I was searching the internet, and what do ya know! I found one almost identical for about $200 less!!! That deserves a pat on the back!!! :)

Here is the one from Pottery Barn...

Here is the cheaper sink from SignatureHardware.com...

Amazing what marketing can do!!!

Thanks!

Sarah

Spring Cleaning

Spring is in the air, and although the warmer air makes me giddy, the dark, heavy colors and textiles in my house do not! As part of my spring cleaning, I like to re-decorate the house and incorporate lighter neutral colors to my pallet.

One area of my house that needed some serious sprucing and brightening up, is the back part of my living room. During the winter, with all of the incoming traffic from the backdoor (and with the lack of closet space in our 1940's house), it was necessary for us to make this area more like a mud room. As you can see below, we hung coat racks for heavy winter jackets and allotted much space for our winter boots and snow suits.

More coat racks on the wall running perpendicular:

My goal was this: to create a light, airy space that is welcoming and still practical. With this in mind, I got right to work; looking around my house for pieces of furniture that I could use in this space and searching through the latest Pottery Barn catalogs and various decorating blogs for ideas.

During the hunt, I found this old, damaged but sturdy butcher block table in my garage doing nothing but collecting dust.

Here's a closer look:

I wanted to stain this table at first, but after a talk with my husband, I realized that staining a butcher block table was not a very smart idea. Staining it would hinder me from being able to use it for its' main purpose someday. Instead, we decided to sand it, coffee stain it (a more natural process) and grease it up.

 Here are the step-by-step pics:

Table after being sanded:

A closer look:

After wiping the table clean, here it is being stained by black coffee:

 An application of Butcher Block Oil was the last step:

A close shot of the finished product:

With the table all done, it was time to do the fun part. Shopping and decorating!

Once again, here is the before shot:

After:

Perpendicular wall:

Picture frames- Christmas Tree Shop $3.99 each (they look just like the ones from The Organic Bloom)

 Lamp- Homegoods $29.99

 I love to collect white sea glass and stones, now I have a to display it:

 These baskets hide shoes, jackets, and other winter attire- Christmas Tree Shop $14.99-$25

I love how this space is now practical but still pretty. I was always ashamed of this area and now it's one of my favorite places of the house...all thanks to good ol' Spring cleaning!



Ashley

Spring Blooms

 above (my favorite) fresh cut Peonies

Now that Easter has come and gone, we can focus more on the other pretty aspects of Spring! Some of the simple ways to bring color in the home, is by bringing in nature's beauty in the form of pretty, colorful flowers! Whether you go in your garden and clip some flowers, or buy some pretty flowers at your local florist, a floral arrangement is the perfect accent that compliments any style of decor in your home... and they smell heavenly too!

Above are beautiful Ranunculas set in a pretty pitcher, photographs by Ciaobellaphotography on Etsy.

Fritillarias and Epimediums by Martha Stewart

Pretty Pink Tulips!

One of my Mother-in-law's arrangements for Easter

Beautifully fragrant Hyacinths

My other Mother-in-law's Easter gift to me!

I arranged them in a tin bucket and placed them on this pretty blue chair!

One of my first blooms this year!

Pink Heather!

I clipped a few and placed them in a vintage glass bottle!

The most affordable and fun way to incorporate beautiful flowers in the home on a regular basis, would be to plant your own! Research the types of flowers that bloom for each season, that way there will always be some type available in your garden! Remember, when you make something yourself, or in this case grow something yourself not only is it more affordable, but it is so much more rewarding!!!

Thanks!

Sarah

Milk glass

An inexpensive alternative to porcelain is milk glass, which is one of my all time favorite "vintage" objects to decorate with. Fenton and Westmoreland are two of the more popular brands. There are so many styles and colors to choose from: lattice, quilted, and scalloped edges, to name a few. The most common color is white, but there are a variety of colors as well... blue, yellow, pink and jadite green are only some. The uses also vary; so far, I've collected vases, lamps, and serverware, but there is everything from salt and pepper shakers to figurines. I prefer a beautiful vase with some pretty cut flowers...

Or moss...

Or aligned with a few other pieces... 

This lovely piece in blue is perfect to sit alone or to store fruit in...

A lamp next to an arm chair in my living room...

As you can see the ideas are endless... not only with milk glass, but many things from yesteryear! That is what makes what we do so much fun! So please enjoy, and remember, to be chic does not have to be costly, all that is required is some creativity.

Some of the photos courtesy of Southern Living Magazine, The following etsy shops: Vinca Vintage, Barkin Sands Vintage, The Vintage Parlor, and Flores Del Sol! The following blogs: Ruffled, and Steven Bruce Designs

Enjoy!

Sarah

Seeing Blue

Blue has always been one of my favorite colors; whether it be a dark navy or a cool, light shade of blue, I’ve always incorporated this color into my decorating. While I am all for choosing neutral paint colors for walls, I feel that any shade of blue can be a beautiful accent color used for...

Dining room hutches

China cabinets

Hanging dish holders

Key holders

Side tables

Living room accents

Fireplace mantels.
**A big Thank You to my sister, Holly, who let me photograph her beautiful house in Long Island (and chased Chris and Ella around the house so I could successfully take the pictures!!)

Have a great weekend!

Ashley