Valentine’s Day gives me reason to celebrate my inner girl and bring out the pink! Pink has been my favorite color for many, many years and I’m happy to say it’s my daughter’s favorite color, too. So in the spirit of Cupid’s holiday, I’ve put together a pink and white table setting. I’m joining fellow…
My son married his college girlfriend this past summer and I finally have photos to share with you! Will you indulge me while I relive the memory here on my blog? Their summer wedding was held at Makray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington, Illinois. The weather was perfect, the bride was beaming, and my son…
Do you think you could live in a tiny house? I mean, really tiny, like a few hundred square feet or less? I’m always amazed by people who choose to live in tiny houses. Yes, the homes are cute but I need a little bit of space. It might be fun to transport one of…
I think I mentioned in a recent post how much I love winter white. After the color of Christmas and before the vivid hues of spring and summer, I like to rest with a little white. Today I’m joining a few blogging friends to bring you creative tablescapes for parties or intimate family gatherings. I…
Valentine’s Day was always my favorite holiday classroom party back in grade school. Choosing Valentines from the shelves of boxes at the local five and dime store was always fun. Once home, signing my name to each one and tucking it into a small white envelope marked with each classmate’s name was a task I…
Our weird and unpredictable Chicago weather is up to old tricks again. Next week the temperature is supposed to climb as high as 55 degrees. This of course makes my craving for spring and greenery that much stronger. Since it’ll still be a good three months before we see any signs of green life outside, I thought I’d…
A couple days ago I shared a few winter decorating details in my family room. One of those details is a wood slice garland that I made. It was an exciting project for me because it’s the first time I’ve ever used a cordless drill to make something. Don’t laugh. It’s true. I’m not much…
Do you remember when you were a kid and used to make homemade Valentine’s Day cards to pass out at school? Such care was taken to glue little heart-shaped doilies, buttons, and ribbons in place to make beautiful cards for your friends. It was a proud moment to share these original works of art and…
I find myself craving two things when decorating my home this time of year. Natural elements and the color blue. I turn to blue after all the reds and greens typically used for Christmas. The desire for natural elements comes from not being able to enjoy them outdoors in our frozen world. So it’s no…
This past November was a special month because my beautiful grandbaby celebrated his very first birthday. My daughter Bridget chose a lumberjack party for his birthday celebration theme which was really cute. I meant to share the event with you all earlier, but then got busy with holiday planning. The party was held at a cute…
After taking down all the Christmas decorations, my house was looking cold and barren. I thought about what I could do to cozy things up and decided to create a winter mantel. Taryn at Design, Dining and Diapers was on the same wavelength. She organized a small group of bloggers to all share our winter…
Another year of decorating, entertaining, and cooking has come and gone. It’s always fun to look back on the year and see how much was accomplished. I’m joining my blogging friends to share our top ten projects, resulting in the best of 2016! I’d like to give a shout-out to Cami at Tidbits for organizing…
The holidays are over and you deserve a break after all the cooking, cleaning, decorating, and shopping. What better way to unwind and relax than with a luxurious soak in the tub? Rose bath salts make the experience even better, with their intoxicating fragrance and therapeutic benefits. You’ll find it’s easy to make your own…
Happy New Year! We’re starting 2017 off with a tour of a gorgeous traditional LEED Gold home. Not only is the interior beautiful, but this house is LEED-certified at the Gold level. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In order to be certified, a house or building needs to follow a variety…
Yesterday the photographer from American Farmhouse magazine was here to take pictures of my Christmas decorations. I have to admit, it feels a little odd having a stranger become so intimate with your home. Don’t get me wrong, he and his assistant were very nice and he even gave me some photography tips. But as the…
My favorite room in our circa 1875 farmhouse is the kitchen. I’ve never seen another kitchen that looks like it. Despite the fact that it doesn’t have a dishwasher or a garbage disposal, I appreciate its vintage charm. I’ve filled it with farmhouse kitchen decor; I can’t imagine it with an updated look. Not to mention,…
