PORTHOLE CHALKBOARD

I could not decide what to put above the towel rack for the longest time. I wanted something to fit the theme, but not in an obvious way. I started searching online for different artwork, and came across a painting of a boat with a porthole, which then led to me searching real portholes. Funny how ideas come about.

GRAY & YELLOW RUSTIC WEDDING

Today is our 3 year wedding anniversary. Some days it feels like I blinked and 3 years have passed, others feel like we've already lived a lifetime together. What I have learned so far is that love is a precious thing. You have to work at it, you have to have patience for it, and you have to appreciate it everyday.

MOTHER'S DAY RECAP

James knew Mother's Day was going to be difficult for me this year. And honestly, I was worried I was going to spend the entire day sad and crying. But my day was anything but sad. In true James fashion, he planned the most thoughtful and out-of-the-park day I could have ever imagined.

TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFTS

It's teacher appreciation week and Joe's school sent out a theme for gifts for each day of the week. Today is "pamper your teacher" day and Joe wanted to give his teachers some fun summery nail polish. I found nail files that matched and came up with "I love you from my fingers to my toes!" to help tie it all together. Just a tiny little gesture to show how much they mean to us.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CARDS

Joe has some Irish in him, so he wanted to send St. Patrick's Day cards to his grandparents to let them know he's thinking about them! We've sent a lot of hand and footprints in the past, so Joe decided to decorate his card with his thumbprint instead. I can't believe how big his little fingers have gotten!

LITTLE VALENTINES

I received an email from Joe's daycare that all Valentine's are due on Friday. I didn't realize that was a thing for 1 year olds, but apparently it is. Of course I wasn't going to go out and buy the standard tear-apart Valentines, but I was pretty short on time. I decided to use things I had around the house to make homemade cards for his classmates.

BEE MINE?

Believe it or not, Valentines Day is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe because it's right after my birthday, or maybe because it's an excuse to be extra cheesy. I wanted to spread a little love and give Joe's new teachers a little something to let them know we appreciate them.

MERRY MAIL SIGN

Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit quicker than receiving holiday cards from friends and family near and far. I just absolutely love them! Last year, I taped all of our cards to the refrigerator (since we didn't have enough magnets) and it ended up looking pretty cluttered. So this year, I wanted to hang them someplace I could enjoy them throughout the whole season.

HALLOWEEN TREATS

With Halloween approaching, I wanted to give Joe's daycare teachers a little something special to show how much we appreciate them. I found these little Halloween dishes at Hobby Lobby, filled them with an assortment of candy and wrapped them in cellophane.

TO 30 YEARS!

My best friend's 30th birthday is right around the corner and I want to send her something extra special in the mail. We've been friends since Kindergarten and lived together for 6 years, so it's crazy to think about how many great memories over the past 30 years have been spent together. Now that I live in Nashville and she's in Chicago, it's been tough not having her here for every little get-together or Saturday night cocktail...but obviously distance won't stop us from still being best friends!

KISSES FROM JOE

With 2 sets of first-time grandparents, I wanted to make them feel extra special on their very first Grandparent's Day. And yes, there is such a thing as Grandparent's Day. It's always the first Sunday after Labor Day, and I didn't really hear about it until I met my husband.

DIY HERB GARDEN

I finally have the space to garden! It's exciting and scary all at the same time. I don't have a ton of knowledge other than what I know from helping my parents when I was younger. So I'll have to be patient with myself and learn as I go.

GENDER NEUTRAL NURSERY: POLKA DOTS & CHEVRON

I wanted to make our nursery comfortable and inviting because I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time in there over the next year. James and I decided early on that we wanted our first born's gender to be a surprise the day of delivery. But decorating a gender neutral nursery proved to be harder than I thought. Everything I ended up finding tended to lean boy or girl, so I decided to do a more generic sky theme and really play up patterns.