A New Look

I realized recently it was time for a new look here on the blog...I was craving something fresh, clean and streamlined. I also know how my tastes tend to change {sometimes quickly!} so I went with this design that was affordable, yet chic and fresh. I wanted a design that would show off my posts rather than the all the other things going on around it and I am really happy with it so far. I am still tweaking things and doing a little bit of re-organization to get it just right where I want it.

I thought this was a decent time to re-introduce myself again and give you a little peek into my background. I am married to Stephen- my best friend and true love...we have one sweet, adorable son, Weeks who is 2.5 years old {how is that possible!} and we also have two dogs: Dixie, a puggle, and Tucker, our golden retriever. We live on the coast of North Carolina and are one year into a fixer upper home that was in desperate need of renovating. I mostly blog about our home projects, interior design, recipes that I love, our family, fashion and anything that inspires me! You will notice on my sidebar those categories are tabbed for easy access. Blogs and interests and life just changes over time and this is no exception. After years of blogging I'm still really trying to figure out where I fit in! Anything else you all want to see on here? What do you think about the new design?

So Fresh and So Clean

I've been working with Laura from Our Life in the Queen City to revamp and give my page a fresh look. It's about time I buckled down and chose a design that is truly unique and fitting to me. She has done an amazing job on my header, right? Laura and I started talking before Weeks was even born- she has been a patient woman helping me with the design. Of course, now I want my whole page face lifted so expect that coming soon! 

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Hope y'all have a wonderful day- xo.

DIY Holiday Swag

Today I'm excited to share a DIY Christmas project that I did to dress up the window in my kitchen. You may remember some Christmas Inspiration that I posted here, {this one is originally from Good Housekeeping}well I decided to make this swag myself. Right before we headed back home after Thanksgiving, my mom and I raided their yard for evergreen branches of magnolia leaves, cryptomeria, another that looks very similar to holly, and a few more from my own yard. Here is what I came up with.

Here is how I did it. I promise it was easy and if I can do it, then you can too!

I started by taking the longest branches, cryptomeria {the one that looks like short pine needles}, and bundling them together. I added a few short magnolia branch clippings on top of this. When I first started, I used a piece of twine hoping that would tie it all together. I quickly realized I would need florist wire, so I went out and bought some of that and it made it so much easier. I kept the jute underneath for more reinforcement. 

Then, I attached some shorter, smaller clippings at the top. After I had the greenery in place, I strung four ornaments onto the same wire and attached it to the wire on the greenery. I left some give in the wire so I could move the ornments around slightly to where I wanted them. As you can see, I started out with a turquoise ribbon but decided later that a simple red was what I wanted.

At this point, I liked how it looked! I used the jute already on the swag to make a small loop that would allow me to hang it. I used a Command Hook on the glass of the window, which will be nice when it comes down later in December. Another tip: Assemble and hang your swag without worrying about the branches looking even on each side. You can always clip branches here and there if one side looks longer/wider than another.

I think it looks pretty good for being totally free, with the exception of the florist wire! It is a great way to bring fresh greenery into your home, in a modern way and unexpected place. So far, it has been up  for one week and the greenery still looks nice and fresh! I also found a great holiday party to link this up to here, with tons of holiday copycat ideas. Very inspiring for the holidays!

Ps- Did you notice my zebra rug? I absolutely LOVE it. 

And....did you notice the new look for my blog? I am loving it. Lindsey from Sweet Simplicity worked some magic in just a little less than a week. How fabulous! I majored in fashion, so design is very important to me...and I am one happy girl right now. Happy Birthday Present: to me-from me! 

Hope y'all are having a fabulous weekend!! xo

Check out this project here: