autumn home decor ♥

We are soaking up the last little bits of fall around these parts - even though a major snow storm is expected tonignt. i don't quite feel ready for winter, but who ever really is? :)

i share a lot about my home on instagram, but i thought it might be nice to have it all one place here on my blog - thankyou to everyone who has followed me on here over the years, i appreciate you all ♥ i've also shared about how over the past year or more, i have been simplifying how i decorate and scaling waaaay back on the amount of seasonal stuff i keep and store.

i've designated specific spaces in our home for holiday/seasonal decorations and i try to keep to those same spots to avoid over-buying (we all have those in-store "this is so cute but i don't have a place for it but i will figure it out when i get home and i love it so much so i will buy it" moments) and to keep it simple! I used to love having things & more things to decorate with, but as i get older i'm finding that less is more - and that "less" is so much more appealing... of course i love to decorate our home, of course i love to make our home cozy & comfortable & inviting with beautiful things ♥ but i discovered that the "managing & organizing" all of that stuff was weighing me down and controlling me! i wanted to be rid of the burden of having to always go though & reorganize storage spaces over and overrrrrrr again. 

so by keeping it simple and only applying seasonal changes to a few standard areas in our home, holiday decorating mainly, became a joy as opposed to something that i dreaded or felt like "i had to do" 

here is a short list of the areas on the lower level of our home

 that i decorate & swap/add things seasonally to :

entryway wreath

entryway bench

kitchen table

kitchen wreath

kitchen frame

pantry doors

living room end table

living room faux mantle

i like to add a wreath to the open shelves in our kitchen during the holidays 

(just for fall & Christmas) throughout the rest of the year there is nothing on it.

our kitchen is the most lived in area of our home - our table and island are always occupied and the open cabinets are stocked with things we use on a DAILY basis as opposed to stuff that just looks cute but has no function - the best thing i've discovered/learned throughout this whole process is that when i'm looking for ways to make the spaces in my home work functionally - functional can also look pretty & nice! ...for example, do you need new kitchen towels? look for some that you love and would be pretty to have out on display in a simple wire basket - on a counter or behind your kitchen sink - and all the while freeing up some space in your kitchen drawers :)

the doors to our pantry are white and hold two small wreaths or hangings very nicely.

i find those easy to swap seasonally with minimal storage - i have a few designated shelves in our basement for the wreaths i have - i store them in large white garbage bags that have the cinch pull tie things - i stack them on top of each other with a piece of cardboard in between for the ones i'm worried about getting crush or squished.

when it comes to frames i always buy white - they match and hold anything & everything

and they make whatever is in the frame stand out and pop.

 this frame from hobby lobby is on some corner shelves in our kitchen - there are several pieces of artwork stored in the frame - i swap them out for every holiday or just when it's nice to have a bit of a change.

my husband built this faux mantle for me a few years ago - the collection of white pitchers & laura ingalls wilder home wood sign always stays - the flowers & foliage for every season changes! spring flowers - small American flags for summer - fall sunflowers & white billy balls/wire snowflakes for Christmas. having a consistent neutral base to start with makes seasonal decorating so much easier.

i also like to change this small wreath in our living room 

along with a knick knack or two on the table below it 

this year i found the light up acorns at bed bath & beyond on clearance for only $1

when i saw them i visualized in my decorating head :) right where i wanted them to be.

i didn't have to think about where i would put them even if i didn't have the space 

or decide to just buy them because they were on clearance for a dollar then figure out what to do with them later.

remember just because something is on clearance doesn't mean you need it. 

one dolla is more expensive then no dollas :)

they were the only seasonal decor i purchased for fall this year (apart for some yarn to make the yarn wreath in the picture above) and i'm so glad i did! they fit in with my simple white theme and add a bit of twinkle to our nights in the living room ♥

how has your seasonal decorating changed over the years? are you overwhelmed and dread dragging the Christmas tree out or are you a pro at keeping it simple? i'd love to hear & learn from you all in the comments below & i hope this helps give new perspective on simple everyday ways to manage your home ♥ much love to you

autumn basket wreath

Fall is in full swing here in upstate NY - the leaves are on fire and the weather is chilly in the evenings

it's one of my favorite times of year here where we live. Life has been so busy and full with field hockey & volleyball games, senior year activities & a new teenage driver with her own car & new job (yes. tell me about it.) but I've been sharing on instagram about how i have been trying to simplify my holiday/seasonal decorating methods by choosing few but meaningful pieces to spread throughout our home while still keeping it cozy ...

I was searching for some simple fall inspiration to replace the lemon wreaths on our pantry doors,

when i stumbled on these $3 tobacco baskets in the target dollar section

with some wool pumpkins i had leftover & wire florals i found on clearance for $2 at Joanns -

i layered all three together with some hot glue

i used command hooks to hang them on our pantry doors

and my fall decorating is now complete :)

If you pick these baskets up to make your own, 

you can fill it with any combination of things for any season or holiday - 

changing it up for Christmas would be so easy.

With life being as busy as it has been, I've been doing lots of reflecting in my down time ... on how this season we're in feels alot like fall too - our girls are getting older and will soon have their own lives apart from us - like everything we've done as parents up to this point is now a culmination of how they will choose to live out life and the paths they choose to take - it's a strange scary feeling - like something is coming to a close and it's almost time to let go. I don't handle lack of control very well that's for  sure...

 As a mother you spend so much time watering, grooming, teaching, protecting, guiding and then just like that their true colors, personalities & individual choices are out on full display -from all the little + big somethings to the end results - like the trees and their leaves outside my window.  

... but as always and as hard as it is to do most days, I am trusting in God to fill in the gaps i left and taking comfort in the absolute knowledge that He's holding on to them much tighter then i ever could. 

what season of life are you in friends? tell me in the comments below

i'd love to hear your stories too. ♥

bathroom remodel ♥

hello friends.

i posted a few pictures of our bathroom remodel a while back on Instagram 

and i promised i would post in more detail about the project here on the blog, 

with some source info & a few before pictures too ♥

(even though i always forget to take those until it's too late #bloggerprobs)

we moved into this house almost 13 ago after leaving a small starter house that we had lived in for a couple years ... when we got here the house had been updated in some ways but in a lot of ways i knew it would take a while before we made this house our home. 

over the years we've been through every room in the house updating, tweaking, renovating ... except for the main bathroom upstairs - it had been one of the last things on the list because we knew it would be a big job as well as a pain to tear apart because it's the only shower in the house.

my husband & my dad did most of the work installing a new window, shower/tub, vanity, sink & toilet - and we purchased everything right at home depot.

vanity top source

vanity source

the old tub & shower unit was original to the house (almost 40 yrs) and needed to be torn out completely - new drywall had to be installed behind it as well because of water damage

shower unit source

tub source

all the hardware for the sink & shower was from Home Depot as well

we opted for a separate tub & shower instead of a single unit mainly because we wanted the bigger/deeper tub since my girls love to take bubble baths (and by bubble baths i mean sitting in the tub for an hour reading books & watching 5 minute crafts until i yell time to get out) 

(the other day one of them asked me if i would bring a snack up to them cause they were getting hungry....???? um. no.)

the aqua rolling cart was from ikea a few years back, but i think they still carry it and i know i've also seen a similar version of it at Michaels as well. i'm using it to store hand towels, washcloths and some shower supplies that are handy to have nearby but not in the shower 

(razors, shaving cream, shower comb... you get the idea :) 

the shower curtian (which i love) was from world market ... i purchased it probably three years ago and was holding onto it for when we remodeled. i can't seem to find it anywhere on the interwebs so i'm thinking it's been discontinued :(

i've had a lot of questions about the flooring we chose - it was a grayish wood colored waterproof laminate safe for bathrooms, and yes, we went right over the existing tile, added new molding and it worked like a charm. we considered tearing the tile out but it was level and undamaged so we decided against the extra work & mess!

thinking the wall behind the toilet is looking kinda bare

got my eye on this adhesive wall paper from target but we'll see :)

the window in our bathroom was fairly large (not a typical bath size window) so when we replaced it, i knew i would want to keep it open as much as possible since it lets so much natural light into the bath & upstairs hallway - i shopped for weeks to find panels that i liked but they were either room darkening, too long or too short. so when i saw this simple white shower curtain it dawned on me to cut it right up the middle in half and i would have two panels that were the perfect size. i also bought a cloth shower curtain liner (did the same thing by cutting it in half) and hung it behind the white curtain on the same hooks for another layer of privacy (i hemmed the raw edges i cut with stitch witchery and the iron:)

the green clock was on clearance and target & the canvases are from at Home

we have one storage space/closet on the upper lever and it's in the bathroom behind the door - not ideal but we make it work - it's an open space with no doors so i try to keep it organized and a bit styled since it's all out in the open - the metal caddy holds products we use on daily basis and are within easy reach (plus it looks pretty :) the baskets house towels, products, toilet paper, kleenex etc.

the large white framed mirror is from Lowes

i forgot to take a picture of the old vanity and mirror before it was ripped out but it was just an average builders grade bathroom setup, nothing special 

i think the previous color was called lettuce leaf green ... yikes.

and the dreaded boob light ... who's idea was it to install those lights in every house in america? :)

it honestly feel like i'm in a hotel bathroom everytime i go in there ♥ it's clean lined & simple with a little bit of color here & there - such a huge difference! if i missed anything or if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me in the comments, i'll do my best to answer. :)