Easy Hostess Gift Idea

Happy happy Friday!  I hope you have fun plans for the weekend.  🙂

Just popping in with a quick and easy gift idea.  The time for impromptu get-togethers and outdoor dinner parties are upon us, as is Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, July 4th, etc.  I never like to go to someone’s house empty-handed, whether that means bringing a bottle of wine, a side dish/dessert, or a little gift acknowledging my appreciation for someone else’s effort.

We had Easter at my in-laws’ house this year and I wanted to bring a little something for my mom-in-law!

Gift

I purchased the succulent from Home Depot, and these little bucket tins are everywhere these days.  😉  Check the Dollar Spot at Target and I guarantee you you’ll find a few, and in different colors, too.  I just transferred the succulent to the tin, then found some fun ribbon I liked in my stash and hot glued a dot in the back, and a dot on either side, then tied a knot.  The bunny “tag” is actually a banner (that has made an appearance here and here) that I have been using throughout the season for little gifts like this.  I still have one banner tucked away in my Spring bin for future use, but I figured I could spare one in the name of simple crafting!  😉  I just cut around the bunny in an imperfect oval shape and made a little hole by poking my scissors through the burlap, then tied it on.  Super easy.

I hope you have the best weekend.  It really is the little things, isn’t it?!  🙂  I’ll see you back here next week!

Sweet Salvage: Color Story

Hey, guys!  Last Friday I got to take a little break in my day and head over to Sweet Salvage for their Color Story event.  I’ve written about Sweet Salvage a couple of times (here, and here) but essentially it is a once a month vintage market that is only open for four days.  The displays are amazing, there is always a theme, and there is always TONS of inspiration.

I try to go to all of these events, I’m just bad at snapping pictures of them always!  😉  This particular market was all about color stories, so the antiques were arranged in themes of color.  There was plenty of Spring inspiration and even a little bit of Summer thrown in for good measure.

I think my two biggest inspirational takeaways from this market are 1) Using trophy urns as a way to house greenery, beads, or layer with glass domes and 2) Using antlers mixed with Spring decor — greenery, antlers, zinc pots… it turns out, they’re not just for Fall!  (See how I used an antler with some Summer decor here!).

The pictures are quick iPhone snaps, but enjoy the inspiration — there is a lot to love.  🙂

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Blue and White Foreva

Mark D. Sikes… the king of blue and white.  If you’re on Pinterest actively pinning interior design inspiration, chances are you have seen one or more of his designs.  His work is utter blue and white perfection.

There’s something about a blue and white color combination that I have always been drawn to.  For me personally, I am really inspired by Asian-influenced blue and white antiques or replicas.  I have been infusing some of these accents into our living room, so I wanted to share.

Former Side Table

It all really started with this side table.  I like it — and it does have some Asian influence, as it is sort of a faux-gilded bamboo style.  But I was walking through HomeGoods one evening and saw a blue and white garden stool on deep, dark, dirty discount.  I committed the cardinal sin of shopping at HomeGoods and left without the stool…you know, the one that was on major sale…and then proceeded to think about it for the next two days.

I asked Grey what he thought about adding a little blue and white to the space, and he was all for it.  So after staying up for half the night praying that by some stroke of luck the stool I wanted was still there, I woke up bright and early the next day and got to HomeGoods when they opened.

I had a mirror that I was going to be returning (too small), so armed with that, I walked down the clearance furniture aisle…

And you guys, the stool was still there.  And it had been further marked down… From $50, to $30.  !!!!!

Garden Stool Top

Garden Stool Vignette

I love it with the zebra rug.  So.  Much.  It just has a really casual vibe that I appreciate in this space.  Plus it doubles as seating.  The other table is still in that spot in the background — it’s not bugging me there, and I don’t really know what to put on it at this point, but it’s fine for now.

Blue and White Living Room

That orchid is pretty epic and my husband picked it out at Trader Joe’s.  The pot that it is in is one that I bought from an antique shop ages ago.  It’s what started this whole blue and white thing for me!

Cachepot with Lid

This cachepot was another steal from HomeGoods…I think I paid $12 for it.  It has a cute lid, or…

Cachepot with Flowers

It looks especially pretty with hydrangeas.  🙂

All of these blue and white shenanigans prompted some rearranging (my favorite!)…

Lamp in Kitchen

I moved the living room lamp into the kitchen, which I am super excited about because I have always loved the look of soft lamp lighting on a buffet.  This piece of furniture was a Walmart find and stores a bunch of stuff — all of my husband’s pipe accessories and tobaccos, plus all of my Spode dishes.  It’s so nice to eat in here and have just the lamp and the chandelier on while it’s dusk and we’re having dinner.

Lamp in Living Room

This space needed a lamp, so I brought this one out of my office and I really like it.  I feel like it adds just a touch of masculinity that the living room needed after adding the feminine touches of blue and white!

Are you loving blue and white as much as I am?

Easter Lunch

Last weekend was so busy, but we spent so much time with family, which made it great.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We spent ours with my in-laws this year and although the holiday has passed, I have to show you the lunch that my mom-in-law put on for all of us — there is so much inspiration to share!  🙂

Tables View

There were quite a few people at the lunch, and also included were two kiddos, so plenty of seating was needed.  This is one of the covered areas of their outdoor space, and there is usually some nest seating here.  My in-laws changed the ‘room’ around to accommodate two tables, and have the lounge seating nearby the dining tables for extended hanging out.  Isn’t that farmhouse table amazing?

Long Table Place Setting

This was what the place setting looked like for the long table.  I love that my mom-in-law used these paper plates as chargers, and had white heavy-duty plastic plates up at the buffet line for food.  The ‘silverware’ is also plastic, but it fooled me until I picked it up.  😉  Some of the placemats were ruffled, like this one, and others were made out of the same material but were flat.  And how cute is the napkin and napkin ring?  Those napkin rings make an appearance each Easter, and she tucked in a couple of sticks, plus the flower, which has a sticky back.

Long Table Centerpiece

The centerpiece was amazing for this table.  A moss runner started the layering process, and then more moss was added for even more texture.  Eggs, the sticky flowers, bunnies, birds nests, moss-covered sticks, an egg crate, and a birdcage with roses cut from the backyard created this gorgeous Springy centerpiece.

Round Table

This was the other dining table that guests could use out on the patio.  I really liked the rug layered underneath!  Made it feel nice and cozy.  😉

Round Table Place Setting

I love this place setting, too — different napkins, a gingham bow, green ribbon, and a sticky flower.  🙂

Round Table Centerpiece

Aren’t those lettuce “leaves” cool?  I love them paired with the flower in the center.  Cute little egg cups and a porcelain bunny, plus matching gingham ribbon complete the centerpiece.

Fireplace Decor

Food 1

The meal that we had was Greek-inspired, so there was lamb, pita, hummus, cucumber salad, orzo salad, tzatziki, olives…  And then there was also ham, potato salad, and coleslaw.  Some of the food had little labels listing what the dishes were, and the stands for the labels were tiny faux wood tree stumps — ridiculously cute!

Drink Station

There was also a drink station, with a large tub of glass water bottles, ice bucket, cups and faux bois straws, iced tea, and my favorite thing — stickers so that we could put our initials on our cup to keep track of it.

Dessert Table

Mini Cheesecakes

Inside there was a dessert table FILLED with treats.  Jordan almonds, M&M’s, peanut butter eggs, carrot cake, and mini cheesecakes.  No one could choose so we all pretty much had a little bit of everything.  😉

Grey and Me

My mom-in-law seriously outdid herself.  It was such a beautiful day surrounded by all the people we love, and she really made it extra special with all of the time that she took to make it so amazing.  I hope you had a beautiful Easter, too!

What We’ve Been Eating

Last month, I shared what recipes we tried and enjoyed.  I am no food photographer but I am a good cook!  😉 We’ve been trying to eat healthfully on most occasions (but that doesn’t mean there isn’t the occasional Sonic drive-thru/pizza night — gotta live a little!) and these recipes are making that easier because, well, they’re good!  We don’t do non-fat, we don’t do diet-y, and we don’t sacrifice flavor for low-cal.  There’s so much good food out there and we’re just trying to all-in-all make wise choices so we feel good.  I’m at the point where I don’t care about the number on the scale, I just want to feel nourished and healthy.

Homemade Sauce

Quick 5-Ingredient Tomato Sauce

Since we’re doing the low-/no-carb thing, spaghetti squash has become our jam.  This tomato sauce is absolutely incredible — and it is very quick to come together.  I squeezed in about a tablespoon of tomato paste to make it a little bit richer.

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Spaghetti Squash with Bacon, Spinach, and Goat Cheese

Another great spaghetti squash recipe that was super satisfying.  I used turkey bacon in lieu of regular bacon.

Jicama Tacos

Jicama Shrimp Tacos

I think this is brilliant — using thinly-sliced jicama as your “tortilla” for shrimp tacos.  This was a really quick recipe but I only used the shrimp portion from the how-to.  I made this mango salsa and added four avocados to it, plus doubled the lime juice.  It’s my go-to guacamole recipe now.

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Baked Salmon with Parmesan Herb Crust

I really have never met a salmon recipe that I didn’t like, so this was a win for me.  It’s tasty and very quick to throw together.  My husband wasn’t crazy about it.  He doesn’t love salmon (or fish at all, really) so while he thought it was good, it’s probably something that I will make for just me next time.

Kebabs

Speaking of my husband, he has become The Grill Master.  😉 He made these steak kebabs for us last week and they were so good.  The marinade is (in order of quantity) soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and onion powder.  We had made a version of these a couple of weeks back from a recipe from a blogger, and they were crazy salty.  Not good.  His version is so much better.  He put mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini on the skewers, too, and he makes a separate batch of marinade to brush on top of the kebabs while he’s grilling them.

Random Salad

This was just a random salad that I threw together that ended up being really good, so I thought I’d share.  Chopped spinach, quartered cucumbers, one bell pepper, a little bit of red onion, chopped fresh dill (the most luxurious herb!), crushed red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, one squeezed lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Something I always do when making salads — while you’re preparing, throw a bowl in the freezer so that you have an ice cold bowl when the salad is ready.  It’s one of those things that I always do and it just makes every salad that much better.

To follow along with the recipes that we are trying and loving, check out this Pinterest board!

What recipes are you loving lately?

Bedroom Update: Side Tables & Bedding

Last week was exciting on the delivery front.  Our crazy new rug came and then came the side tables for our bedroom!

Boxed Side Tables

We obviously quickly unwrapped them and then set them up in the bedroom.

Just Unwrapped Side Tables

They’re really pretty and perfect for the space.  I didn’t realize until these were in the room how much the sides of the bed definitely need that negative space.  So far they are a little bit difficult to keep perfectly clean (Shiba Inu during shedding season + Arizona DUST!) but I’m not worried about it.  I dusted them on Saturday and gave them a wipe-down.  Nothing in our house is super fussy so I’ll just clean these as-needed/once a week.

Our bed isn’t due to arrive until this week (hopefully!) but we decided to run over to HomeGoods to see if there were any pillows that we liked.  I wrote about our initial design plan for the bedroom last week, but the pillows we picked out are not nearly what I had written about in the post.  My sweet husband said he was a little bit confused by the post, because he didn’t think I liked pastels!  😉 I do, but we decided to go a different route with the fabrics.

Pillows

We bought a white duvet cover that is really light and soft — we have been loving sleeping underneath it.  I’m really excited to see these pillows with the headboard behind them.

Pillow Close Up

Lamps

We found these lamps while selecting the bedding and they are the perfect size — and heavy, too!  I like that they sort of mimic the gold dots on the pillows.  At the top of each there is a round crystal finial.

Side Tables

These definitely still have yet to be styled, and that will be a really fun adventure.

Bedroom

We’ve got a long way to go, but we are loving how this room is shaping up!  🙂

Walk On the Wild Side

I have just a liiiitle living room update for ya today, but I’m here to tell you that this small addition makes the room.  I was chatting with my mom-in-law at the brunch we hosted at our house a couple of weekends ago and I was telling her that the missing piece for our living room was the hide rug that I wanted to layer on top of the existing natural fiber rug.  She asked me what color I was thinking, and I told her a beige-y neutral.  At which point she looked at me and said… What about zebra?

Immediately I realized that a zebra rug was what this room needed to fully come together.  I am so excited because it totally adds that splash of personality that this room was craving.

Zebra Rug 1

Zebra Rug 2

The rug that we ended up purchasing was just a little more than $100.  I will say that when it was delivered and we unwrapped it, it smelled SO BAD.  Like farm animal.  There’s no other way to put it.  I checked the reviews to see if anyone else experienced this but no one else reported it so I have no idea.  After a few hours, the rug aired out and all was fine.

I’m really excited to start adding some blue and white pieces for the Summertime soon — and I may or may not have picked up a little something to start that off over the weekend.  😉

Rug Source

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