When I see this inspiration board, I am reminded of what I want the coming weeks to feel like - I want them to be soft & kind, while also allowing for endurance & assertiveness. I want this new season to be like a warm embrace... and I dunno about you, but for me, the best hugs are both strong & delicate... like this palette.
Read MoreIf you know even a little bit of my shopping habits then you already know two of my favorite go to retailers for all the things are Target and Amazon…and if you don’t know my fav retailers, you can go ahead and download my list of fav retailers here.
I like to think I share equal parts of my heart for Target and Amazon — I am a literal card carrying Target REDcard holder and have been an Amazon Prime member for more years than I can remember. So when I heard the news that Target was coming out with Target Deal Days, I was instantly excited — deeper discounts than their usual deals? SIGN. ME. UP!
These new deal days are in DIRECT competition with Amazon’s Prime Day, also July 15th and 16th. Well played Target, well played.
While the word “competition” tends to denote something negative, I can’t think of anything better than this! So being the self-appointed shopping connoisseur that I am, I’m gonna simplify this for you so that you can get the most bang for your browsing buck for those two days of deals.
Read MoreDid you know that my plan for the laundry room was heavily inspired by what we'd originally planned to be the media room? It leads to the laundry room & was originally designed to be a lot of black on black, so I wanted to lighten it up a bit in the laundry room, while still carrying the darker hues into the space. But my do things change!
Read MoreWhen it comes to social causes and political matters, I do my best — by choice — to keep that off public radar. I prefer to keep those types of conversations at the dinner table or in my text messages, not on my timeline and certainly not on the blog. But earlier this week, a retailer I’d shopped for years — for myself and for clients — did something some really stopped me dead in my tracks and forced me to reevaluate my relationship with them.
Read MoreAnd yet here we are…
About halfway through the second quarter of the year and nearly 3 months into a global pandemic that has all but crippled our “normal” way of life. Now for me, I am thankful that COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order hasn’t too much impacted my day to day — changes have happened but nothing drastic — but I also couldn’t think about all the changes happening in nature that we can’t see… and possibly all the changes happening because we aren’t out in the world messing with things.
I remember reading about reports that indicated a decrease in air pollution across the world because factories were closed, cars weren’t on the road, and just overall how our being home was giving Mother Nature a much-needed reset of her home. Imagine that!
Living in the Pacific Northwest gave me a newfound appreciation for nature’s beauty, but specifically the colors in nature — I didn’t exactly always get the benefit of seeing a crayola assortment of trees and clear blue skies while living in Hell’s. Kitchen. While I’m sure this is problem the first spring for all of us, where we’re spending most of it in our homes, there is still so much beauty out there in the world to appreciate — and with any luck, that we’ll be able to enjoy before the season changes.
While, in general, I am pretty intentional when I am shopping. I try and myself to prevent buyer’s remorse, but a lot of times, when I am in an emotional tizzy, more often than not I get my relief from shopping. I comb through my wishlists and start adding to cart, or I take a drive to one of my fav retailers and take out my stress on my wallet.
We’re so conditioned to think Hygge is synonymous with winter, but that’s not the case.
I want to make sure my Hygge living transcends seasons & in addition to actual lifestyle hacks, purposeful decor is part of that transition.
In this haul, featuring items from Amazon, Joss & Main, and Target, I was very intentional about choosing items that illustrating Hygge decor -- textural and natural elements for a cozy, blissful home.
In my last refresh update, I shared how I used stylish storage solutions, budget-friendly DIY, and creative design to transform my boring, beige bathroom into something more spa-like, tranquil, and Hygge inspired.
I felt great to see that transformation start to take shape but here's the thing:
I was totally in love with the updates, especially considering how pragmatic & affordable they were, but I knew there was something I needed to tackle or I'd never be satisfied -- THE WALLS!
During the holidays I began working on refreshing our condo rental bathroom, to take it from dated & dull to feeling tranquil, spa-like, and Hygge inspired. While still a work in progress, check out my progress so far with stylish storage solutions, budget-friendly DIYs, and creative design.
Read MoreSo last month, one of the things that made me happy & made my favorites list was H&M's new fall kitchenware collection, Food & Friends. Even the dangone name sounds awesome, so in hidnsight, I shouldn't have expected anything less than epic happiness delivered to my door when I ordered some of the collection items.
When I first saw the launch email, the first thing that excited me about the collection was the palette -- woon tones, rich navy blues, and lots of gold ✨ it was like someone from H&M snuck into my home & decided to create a collection curated around my actual palette...
For a lot of people, the school of thought is that designing your kitchen means doing a full remodel and renovation and all the hoopla you see on HGTV.
Not.
True.
Not only are renovations costly, not everyone has that luxury -- for example, in a rental. I doubt your landlord would take to kindly to you deciding to knock down a wall. But whether you own or rent, there are a number of things you can do to turn up your kitchen. Some can be small purchases that you make and others can be larger cosmetic upgrades. Check out 3 of my favorite easy peasy kitchen upgrades.
This fall, Target decided to take a new approach to their home assortment -- being more intentional & curated -- and so when I saw the announcement of this new collection, my curiouslty was peaked. I like to shop Target for my own home & also for design projects because of the affordability & accessability, and over time I did start to notice a shift in the way they were showing up in the interior design space -- more designer collaborations, wider style assortments, and just a slew of new offerings constantly being churned out.
Whenever I'm in Target, I make a point of walking by the home section, even if what I'm there for as nothing to do with home, much to the chagrin of my husband. My local target has a fairly large home section smack in the middle of everything so that makes it easy, and one of the feature displays is this amazing teepee by Pillowfort. Every time I see it I get all the feels and I start imagining my daughter in her "big girl" room (and of course I start designing said room in my head, with this teepee).
