Llamas

There's a llama craze out there and I have officially jumped on that bandwagon.   It all started with an email I got from Pier One.   I had just had the guest bathroom walls painted a warm gray and was in the midst of brainstorming ideas for a color/theme for this hall bath.   That's when the email from Pier One popped into my inbox.     I instantly fell in love.  The tassels, the embroidery, the Llama!

I ordered it immediately and when it arrived I yanked it out of the package and draped it over the navy blue towels I had just bought from Costco.

Seriously, how cute is this towel??

I was so in love with it that I said to myself "self, what would go well with a llama towel?".   "How about a llama print for the opposite wall?", I said.   And thus the llama print I got from Esty!  Is it not simply adorable?   It's an 8x5 print that I downloaded and printed and the put into an 11x14 frame that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I added the white mat to give it a more custom look.   I think it looks great!  

I found the shower curtain at Target about two years ago.  Navy blue is one of my favorite colors so when I saw this I knew immediately that it would look great in the hall bathroom.   I don't know if it can be described as a moroccan pattern but that's what I see when I look at it.    It's lovely. 

I've said this before but I really love how just a few additions can really bring a room to life.    The navy towels are from Costco ($4.99 for full bath towel), the navy bath rug is from Ikea (less than $10), the potted plant from Home Depot and a white towel with a navy trim from Target.   Everything else I had on hand.

BTW, I'm almost done with Christmas shopping and I already mailed out my Christmas cards.    It's a great start to the most wonderful time of the year!

Thanksgiving 2017

And just like that, it's the eve of Thanksgiving.   It feels like I just took down the Halloween stuff and now I'm going to be taking down the Thanksgiving stuff and putting up the Christmas stuff.  Lots of stuff movement going on.  That's the haps around here.

Notice the chevron pillows again?  Yep, I found these in my linen closet.   I can't remember when I bought chevron pillow covers but I know I had them on out on the couch at one point.   I found them to be the perfect compliment to the 'thankful' pillow that I found at Target.   

I thought putting the pumpkins in a basket was a cute idea.  Sweetheart said he liked it better when they were just gathered around the plant.   He said it felt more like a pumpkin patch.   

And well because you know I love my wreaths:

I'll be honest, laziness kicked in right after Halloween and I went simple.   And by simple, I mean I just grabbed some pumpkins and scattered them about:

Pumpkins and pinecones was all I needed:

I picked up this cute Snake plant at Home Depot a few days ago.  I found the perfect spot for it in the hallway.   I just noticed the top book is misplaced...but that's okay.  It makes it that much more fun.

And as I'm going around snapping pictures of the pumpkins I walked by the mirror and was all "hey there groovy chick.....".   Holiday comedy.

The long Thanksgiving weekend is going to be a whirlwind.   My sister and cousin and aunt will be here for shopping and movie watching.  We are gong to have SO MUCH FUN!

Let me not forget to mention how very thankful and grateful I am for my many blessings.    Cheers to you and yours this holiday weekend.   Be safe and be blessed!

Halloween

My favorite time of the year!   It's fall in Arizona which means we are out of the 100 degree temperatures and into the low 90's!   Pumpkins and football and cooler weather = happiness!    It also means Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!

When we painted the interior walls last year I moved the entrance way table from this wall and added a mirror and bench.   Now it's is my go-to place to hang a banner.   I'm not gonna lie, I like banners almost as much as I like wreaths. 

Pumpkins.  Banners.  Pillows.   I love how just a few items can make such a festive statement.




And that  black and white chevron pillow?   It sets my heart aflutter.  It's actually a pillow cover with a flower clip that I found at Hobby Lobby.   Years ago I started buying pillow covers instead of buying all new pillows because storage was becoming an issue.  That and I was getting side-eye from Sweetheart every time a new pillow came into the house.   The Happy Halloween pillow is from the Dollar Spot at Target.

And talk about setting my heart aflutter.   I don't know why I have an obsession with wreaths.   Maybe because they dress up a door and have a way of saying "welcome to our home"!

I'm not really the Queen of Halloween......

Polka dots are also one of my favs.   I love this darling coffin with the white polka dots and the orange ribbon.  It's a great color combo.

Didn't I tell you I loved banners?

Remember the entrance way table that I mentioned moving from the wall by the front door?  Well I re-purposed it and now it's a desk in the living room corner.   And the mirror behind it is a recent addition.  We had it our bedroom (before that it hung over our sectional in the living room) but we recently bought a media center for the bedroom and the mirror had to go.   We didn't want to get rid of it but it's a beast and really heavy so we were looking for a place where we could just lean it.    I've seen plenty of  Pinterest inspired rooms where a large mirror is placed behind a table so we tried it.   And we liked it.      

That "beware" sign has to be about 10 years old but still adorable.   

And those little colorful, glittered pumpkins....love them!   They are from Target and when I first saw them I had to have them. 

Hobby Lobby faux flowers and  pumpkin with a message finishes off the decor.

Happy Halloween all!

Independence Day

The 4th of July already!  Can you believe it?  I was at Hobby Lobby this weekend and they had the Thanksgiving decor out and are working through getting all their Christmas stuff out.   I called my BFF as soon as I saw it and was like....what the heck???   Of course after the initial shock of realizing that Christmas is only six months away, we immediately checked our calendars and made a date to go and check out the holiday decor.   Yep, we are excited to say the least!

I found the RW&B banner at Target.   At first I was super excited but when I opened it and saw that it had various shapes and styles, I wasn't too stoked.   But I decided to hang it up anyway.   I'm still eh about it but it's there until July 5th.    The stripped pillow is also from Target.   Isn't it darling? 

Here's a closeup of that darling pillow.  Don't you love the red tassels?  Oh and I found the US shaped hanging board in the Target dollar spot.  That was a good find!

That red pillow is my Valentine's Day pillow doing double duty.  The opposite side has a big white heart on it.   It makes an appearance at Christmas too....

And hey, here's that US board!   Not my most creative work but what the heck.   I bought some ribbon from Joanne's, wrapped it around the wreath, hung the US board and called it good. 

It's cute, yes?  

We are looking forward to a relaxing 4th of July long weekend.   It will be hot here but it will be great!    Happy 4th of July! 

New Things

I got a new washing machine for Valentine's Day and I am super EXCITED about it.   I know what you're thinking:  who gets excited over a new washing machine?  And for Valentine's Day nonetheless?  Well, this girl does!

It didn't start off as a Valentines day gift but the weekend before the special holiday our old washing machines decided it was retiring.  It gave us no notice either.   She just quit.   So we went looking for a new machine and it so happened most stores were having  President's Day sales.   We found a great deal on a Samsung Activewash with the built in sink.   You know like the one in the Kristen Bell/Dax Shepard commercials?  Yes, that one.   It's really awesome.  It was delivered the day before Valentine's Day and so I claimed it as my gift.  Sweetheart was on the fence, I could tell.   Was I really excited about the appliance as a gift for this holiday or was it a set up?  I assured him it was the BEST gift ever!  So he went with it.  

Is it right to get so giddy about the built in sink??

You can use the sink for treating or pre-washing or in this case, I just needed this one thing washed.  It's a delicate so I soaked it, used the ridged sides of the sink to gently scrub, then rinsed it.  When I was done I lifted the sink and the water fell into the tub and then the machine automatically drained the tub.  BEST gift ever. 

And speaking of best gifts ever....

She's parked all by herself at the Outlet Mall......I love that I found a shaded spot with no other cars around for her first day out!   I

It's my early anniversary gift.   It's a 2017 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring.   It's loaded with a push button start, leather seats with seat warmers, dual A/C (great for our road trips), moon roof, a navigation -system, bluetooth hands-free phone & audio, Sirius XM radio, steering wheel mounted controls, lane departure warning and so much more!   It is SO fun to drive!  I just love it!  

Valentine's Day

I feel like I was sidelined last year when it came to decorating for the different holidays.  I have always decorated for every holiday, big or small.  But last year my main rooms were in limbo because I couldn't decide on a paint color and nearly the entire year went by without any type of decor because I had grey paint samples on virtually every wall.

But this year, I'm back in business!    


  

Just about everything comes from the dollar section at Target.   The heart shaped board, the "love" card, and the white container with a gold heart on the lid.  I actually bought two white and one red because they are so darn cute.  I placed unscented candles in them and light them in the evening when we watch TV.   I love the soft glow of candlelight.  It's so romantic, yes?



Here's the red one.  The "xoxo" also from the dollar section:



And this pillow is actually a place mat:




It started out like this:




The pom-pom garland is also from Target:



The faux flowers are from Joanne's.  Everything else is a Target find:



Up next:  Easter!!!    Happy Valentine's Day wishes!! xoxoxoxo

Kate Spade Agenda

I love my iPhone, my iPad and my iMac.   Like can't-live-without-them type of love.  But when it comes to calendars and keeping schedules, I love putting pen to paper.   My new favorite is this Kate Spade Cameron Street Agenda.   It has a zip around closure and it is just the right size to fit in my handbag.



I actually ordered this late last year and I was just so excited when I was able to start using it.    I love the hot pink color.  I almost ordered the black one but I decided to move out of my comfort zone and add a hint of color this year.



The agenda has a tab for each month:




A monthly calendar:



and a weekly calendar:



And it has eight slots for business cards or even credit cards:




It fits in my bag:



Without adding bulk:



It's the perfect agenda!