Be Back Soon!

The summer is on its last legs and the kids are almost ready to go back to school. I know some moms have already sent their kids to the first day of school, but here we don't start until the day after Labor Day. I am off to enjoy these last couple of weeks with my kids, while spending some time here...

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Bring on the chocolate!! Follow me on Instagram @ famlovehome to keep up on the latest.

Simple Ways to Update any Room (Part 3)

It's time for Part 3 of the "Simple Ways to Update any Room" series inspired by House Beautiful. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you've missed those.

Just a reminder again to please pin from the original source.

• Conquer your fear of flower arranging. Anybody can arrange one type of flower in one color, cut short. Buy twice as many as you think you should — too much of a good thing always works with flowers. Put any extra stems in small glasses. 

Just spend a few minutes searching on pinterest for flower arrangements and you'll be overloaded with beautiful arrangements and fillers. Here's just a few:

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• Take a white garden bench and paint it the color of your favorite flower.

You can't go wrong with whatever color you choose in this aspect. Mother nature has a way of coming up with the most beautiful, vibrant colors so no matter what your favorite flower is, your bench is sure to come out lovely. And if white happens to be your favorite color flower, then go for it!

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• Put a real rug, not a bathroom rug, in front of your bathroom sink. It will hold up just fine.

I never even thought about this, but I think it's a great idea and apparently very popular! I can't say for certain that the rugs in the images below are not "bathroom" rugs, but I can most definitely say that they'd all go well in other rooms of a house.

Source (Traditional Bathroom design by Atlanta General Contractor Dresser Homes)

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• Take a wallpaper you've always secretly wanted — but were afraid the pattern was overwhelming. Paper only the wall behind your bed, like a headboard.

This is a great way to get some wallpaper up in a cost-efficient way since you're only putting it on one wall. Then you don't have to feel so bad splurging on a pattern you love!

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• Open that coffee table book! Instead of displaying the cover, open it wide to your favorite page and let it really take over your coffee table.

There are some beautiful coffee table books out there with exceptional photography. I know there's a big trend to cut out pages from books and frame them in a grouping (check out part 1 of this series), but there is something to be said for leaving things as-is and keeping a coffee table book as simply a coffee table book. By leaving books open, it encourages us to flip through them so this is a perfect idea for family photobooks as well.

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What was your favorite tip? Are you inspired to apply any of these to your home? I'm loving the rug in the bathroom idea - what a great way to add some new color and texture!

 

Linking up:
Serenity Now | It's Overflowing | Beneath My Heart

Home Goods Window Shopping

I recently had a little time to kill and found myself browsing the aisles of Home Goods. Just thought I'd share some of the eye-candy and goodies that I found. Unfortunately, nothing came home with me that day...

First, check out the basket aisles!

They have every size, shape, color and style that you can imagine!

They also carry a nice selection of wire bins and baskets which are all the rage now. The prices were very reasonable and most under $20.

Moving on to furniture, they had this great storage table that would great in an entryway for gloves, scarves, hats and all winter paraphernalia as well as sunglasses, sunscreen, beach gear and all summer stuff. Or you could give each family member his/her own basket. Not to mention the standard keys, phones, and chargers in the solid drawers.

I love this bathroom cabinet, but unfortunately our current bathrooms are too small to fit anything like this. The top knob is for a shelf that pulls out for extra storage.

 

I then strolled through the kids' section and I knew my little guy would LOVE this stool, but we had a little incident several months back involving him and a similar stool that ended up with him in the hospital with stitches so I left it right where I found it!

The lighting section did not disappoint either! This gorgeous desk lamp was only $40 and I can see it fitting in with so many different decor styles because it's so classic.

This lantern also caught my eye. It's something you'd typically expect to be for candles, but this was a real lamp and at only $24.99 it's a steal.

No visit to Home Goods is ever complete without checking out the chairs. They always have great statement chairs. I would totally get these two as end chairs for our dining room. I love the colors, pattern and nail-head trim.

And how about this pink lovely? Perfect in a tween or teen's bedroom as a desk chair or just for reading!

Can't leave Home Goods without taking a picture of the infamous broken ceramic dog from YHL! :-)

This was an easy DIY wall art project that I saw. It was simply a framed piece of fabric, but at $50 it was definitely something that's cheaper to make yourself.

This giant spoon was pretty neat but without the matching fork and knife it was looking kind of lonely. It would make a great statement piece in a kitchen or dining room, though.

Another great DIY project I noticed was this weekly-chalkboard-hook. It's a great command station or organizational piece, but I imagine this can be DIYed very easily.

And I will leave you off with this:

I love the shape, color and trim and I hope to DIY one of these in the near future. Stay tuned and happy shopping!

Linking up here:
It's Just Called Spicy | The 36th Avenue |

It's that time of year...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear. All opinions are 100% mine.
Alright guys, it’s that time of year – Back to School! For us moms it’s a bittersweet feeling. While we are trying to savor every last moment of the kids home with us and wondering how they are already that big, some of us are probably a little excited to go back to our regular routine of when school is in session. Getting to that point is always an adventure though. Between the school supplies and clothing (uniforms for us!) there is always a ton of shopping to be done. Well here’s a little time saver that I bet you’ll appreciate.

Check out the amazing Back to School sale that Famous Footwear has going on now: not only do you get 15% off your purchase, but it's also BOGO (buy one, get one half off)! Click here to get your BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon and if you decide to become a member of their Rewards Program, you'll get 20% off! The Rewards Program is a no brainer for many reasons:
1. It's FREE!
2. You earn points for each dollar you spend that add up to certificates up to $100 a year. Did someone just say free shoes?
3. Get a discount just for signing up.
4. Get other various discounts and perks only offered to members of this special program.

Now let's get down to what we really care about - the shoes! Famous Footwear carries tons of top brands at a fraction of the price of department stores - Converse, Nike, Vans, Skechers, Timberland, Steve Madden, Clark's, Crocs, I could go on and on. All brands that your toddler, kid, tween, teen and up will love.

Not only do they carry tons of great brands, but the ease of shopping there really can't be beat. You can shop for the whole family at once because they carry men's, women's, and children's shoes. That's one more thing you can easily cross of your to-do list! If there's a shoe you want but the size is unavailable, they will have it sent to your home. And get this, you can order online and have them shipped right to your local store for no charge. Shoe shopping in your jammies - what could be better? So download your BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon and start shopping because this great sale is ending next Saturday, August 18.

My Love is like a Red, Red Rose

My birthday was just the other week and my hubby was so sweet to surprise me with a bouquet of roses sent to my office! I got them on Thursday and brought them home with me since I don't work on Fridays and I wanted to enjoy them all weekend.

Aren't they gorgeous??

I then had some fun taking pictures and playing around with my camera and different aperture settings.

I thought that a few of these blown up could make a beautiful arrangement on a wall in a girl's room, guest room, or even a bathroom. What do you think?

Simple Ways to Update any Room (Part 2)

Welcome back to Part 2 of the "Simply Ways to Update any Room" Series. (If you missed part 1, check it out here.)

 

Just a reminder again to please pin from the original source.

• Add a long bench to the end of your bed — it will look much more finished.

Oh, I really want to do this in our bedroom, I just haven't found the perfect one yet. One day... There are so many different charming ways to to this and not only does it look great, it is also super functional - both for putting on your shoes and also great storage. Upholstered benches are always a soft addition to a room, but rustic ones can also add a certain cottagey or industrial element to your bedroom. There is an easy DIY project that you can do to create something like this - take an old coffee table (or a thrifted one) and add some foam and fabric to create your own bench.

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• Replace half your family photos with new pictures. Gather them from all around your house and group them in one place where you'll really enjoy them. 

Gallery walls are all the rage now. Whether you do a symmetrical grid style or a random arrangement, across a straight wall or along a stairway, hung right on the wall or resting on shelves, grouping photos is definitely a great way to add a personal touch to any room.

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• Buy a big pretty tray — try lacquer. Take all the things on your coffee table and arrange them on the tray for a whole new pulled-together look. 

This is another idea that I really need to find a way to incorporate into my house. We don't have a coffee table in the living room now because with little kids around all the time, I find that it's just an accident waiting to happen, but I'd love to get a pretty tray for my jewelry and other little nick-knacks that I have on my bedroom dresser. Somehow, when you coral a bunch of items and put them on a tray, it always ends up looking more put together. This is also a great way to organize small items on a kitchen counter.

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• Pull apart a set of twin beds and bedside table. Rearrange them in an L-shape, head to head, with the bedside table in the corner. 

There are surprisingly very few pictures of this concept online (that aren't from PB's website), even though this is really a brilliant idea. Putting the beds in a corner frees up tons of floor space which is perfect for a children's room. Ana White has plans for this on her awesome site so check out the link below if you are considering putting this idea into action.

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• Buy flowers for your bedside table instead of your living room. Just a few buds in a small vase. Just for you. 

You don't need to tell me twice to do this! Fresh flowers immediately improve the feeling of any room so don't reserve them for common areas. Put them in your bedroom (or even the bathroom!) for an instant pick-me-up.

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What do you think of these ideas? Are you ready to add any of them to your home?

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House of Hepworths | It's Just Called Spicy | At the Picket Fence | Home Stories A2Z | Today's Creative Blog | Not Just a Housewife |