Rustic Baby Shower for Jack

In honor of my baby love Jack's 6-month-birthday today, I wanted to share some pictures of his baby shower last year. My mom and I went for a rustic theme, naturally. Everything in my life, whether it be design or decor, tends to incorporate the elements of an old barn. I can't help it! It's what I love.

For my sister's shower I had mason jars filled with fresh flowers EVERYWHERE. If you are ever at a loss of how to spruce up an empty space, flowers are your best friend. I used reclaimed wood pieces and vintage blocks and shoes to make the centerpieces which gave the party a very natural, earthy vibe.

Take a look at what else we did:

Pillow Project

I told you back in this post that I was on a mad hunt for pillows. It grew into a pretty ridiculous obsession (just ask Jared) and I was starting to get incredibly overwhelmed. Everything I liked was so ridiculously expensive. And given the fact that I change my mind a lot, I just couldn't justify spending more than $20 on a pillow cover. 

I gave Jo-Ann's fabric department a once over a few weeks ago but couldn't find anything I liked. I went back last week, however, with a new mindset and started putting some stuff together. This is what I came up with. The grey southwestern fabric is SO soft and the pattern on the blue pillows remind me of this Hmong pillow I have been coveting.

With a couple of coupons, my total for all the fabric came to about $7 per pillow! Can't beat that. And my mom made them for me because I couldn't sew to save my life. They grow on me everyday and this way I won't feel bad if get the urge to change them out again because I didn't spend a fortune! Winning.

Have I Told You Lately?

Have I told you lately...

that my mom and I went to Home Depot and got some beautiful flowers for the front of the house? I've been looking for a whiskey or wine barrel to fill with flowers and put by the front door. We found the next best thing and I love it! More pics to come soon.

Outdoor Lounge Space

I joke with Jared that I'm the interior designer and he's the landscape architect. I know my place and he knows his. I recently went creeping into his territory, however, when I made this nice little lounge outside the back of our house. You see, the way our property is laid out we always enter the house through the back door (just because of where the driveway is). Call me weird, but I wanted to see something pretty as I walked from my car, not just a wall of house.

I ended up getting this bench at Vintage Revivals - the same place we had our table custom made, and the rest kind of fell into place from there. I wanted pillows (Pottery Barn) to camouflage the metal windows and the rug adds color and character. The antique milk crate is filled with fake foliage because this area is covered and doesn't get too much sun. And bonus, I shopped it at my mom's so it was free!

Here are some other pics of the lounge...

Wish List: Wood Beamed Ceilings



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I've always been really drawn to loft-style architecture. I love all of the exposed fixtures. While our house doesn't exactly represent this style I still want to incorporate one of my favorite elements into the living room: wood beams. I originally thought you needed sloped ceilings to pull this look off but I was wrong! I've found all sorts of inspiration for traditional flat ceilings.

Take a look:

Have I Told You Lately?

Have I told you lately...

that our tomato plant is producing the cutest little babies? I don't eat tomatoes unless they are in the form of ketchup but Jared loves them. I just use them for decoration.

Currently Stalking : Little Attic

I'm still on a mad hunt for pillows, as explained in this post. The problem is, I change my mind SO MUCH. Pillows set the mood for the entire room so how am I supposed to decide what I want if my own mood keeps changing? I've narrowed it down to one thing: color. I want lots of color. I'm still super in love with these hmong pillows, however, I was scoping out Etsy the other day and came across this beautiful little shop: Little Attic. Her pillows are gorgeous and include practically every color under the sun. This means I can mix, match and add other pillows until my heart's content. Or until I change my mind again.

Take a look at some of her beauties for sale right now...

The Great Farmhouse Table

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I think in my past life I lived on a ranch. Which would explain why I am not at all outdoorsy in this life! I have a weird fascination with bull skeleton heads, horseshoes and anything comprised of reclaimed wood. 

I knew before we even moved into our house that I wanted a farmhouse dining table. I love that they are bulky and distressed and no two are the same, unless they're from Pottery Barn. I started looking for inspiration on Pinterest (see above) and then I started calling around to some independent carpenters in San Diego to price out what we wanted. Mind you, we weren't looking for anything too intricate; just a six foot table with two benches. I almost went into a diabetic coma when I started getting quotes back and they were averaging $1,300.00! 

Even though the tables were beautiful I couldn't justify spending that much money so I went to the next best thing: Craigslist! I ended up finding some stuff at this shop in Ocean Beach called Vintage Revivals. Jared and I headed down there one Saturday and met with the husband and wife owners to discuss our ideas. Their prices are incredibly reasonable for the custom work and it was ready in two weeks! Here it is...

Have I Told You Lately?

Have I told you lately...

that Jared sprained his ankle on New Year's Eve? Yep. He fell off his bike riding these bad boys. He's such an active guy so the sedentary lifestyle he's forced to adapt to while his leg heals does not make for a happy boy. He's been self-medicating with Ibuprofen and wine. 

Ridiculously Easy Egg Casserole

Back in this post I talked about the fact that I cannot eat a lot of carbs in the morning. My blood sugar goes insane.  I cannot so much as look at a bagel between the hours of 7:00 am and 11:00 am. I needed something for breakfast that would fill me up, keep my blood sugar stable and not be loaded with fat. Enter the egg casserole. This is the simplest and easiest thing to make and it's actually super tasty. I make one casserole on Sunday night, cover it with aluminum foil, put it in the fridge and it lasts me through the entire work week.

Here's what you need and how to make it:

First To Arrive In '85

Happy Birthday to the best big sister in the whole world! I would be a second child mess without you and I love you with all my heart.