pretty things

I love everything going on in this picture above. A long time ago I pinned the monogrammed "D" pillow and found this picture with it. The pillow is Luxury Monograms (luxurymonograms.com). I also love the gold sunburst mirror. I found a Martha Stewart Living one at Home Deport for under $40 that I think I may have to go back and get. I believe the black and white rug is Ikea.

This is another one of my favorite images that I have pinned. Everything about this room is cozy and clean to me and I want to jump into this photo and live here! Ironically it also shows some gorgeous monogramming. I also spy a J Crew panama hat that I own myself and am slightly obsessed with. The Audubon bird prints are what make the room in my opinion. Someone I follow on instagram (saramuellerdesigns.com) recently posted that she came across two Audubon prints at Homegoods.

Clutches like these K.slademade (www.kslademade.com) ones above are becoming more popular. A lot of people are loving Clare Vivier's which I love too, but I like the tassel on the K.slademade.

snapshots around the house

 

The trip to go get mums for the front porch happened today which was followed by a trip to get the first pumpkin spice latte of the season. Gosh, I love fall!

i officially joined the club

This club, that is.

I don't really pin any of all the creative ideas and do-it-yourself's that are all over Pinterest. I'm more into pinning anything that makes me happy or inspires me instead of collecting tons of DIY ideas. I do use the Pinterest search engine every now and then though if I'm interested in looking for something specific. Like window valances.

I was just going to have one made. I even went to a fabric store on Saturday to put in my order. Then, today I started getting curious if there might be some easy way for me to make it myself. Because that would be much quicker than waiting on someone else to sew one. So I typed in "window valances" into the search option.

I knew I found a winner when all that was needed was fabric, a hot glue-gun, straight pins and a polystyrene panel from Lowes {6 panels for $10!}. I went by Lowes on my way home and got the Perma foam panels and ran by the dollar store for a bunch of straight pins. I followed this tutorial and it literally took me under 30 minutes before I had a window valance on my window.

Notice the fabric? I've had it a while. The only thing I did different from the tutorial is that instead of nailing or straight pinning the valance to the window molding, I just made sure the two sides I hot-glued to the panel were tight enough for me to just slide the panel over the molding. So simple.

liking pink lately

I've never considered myself a girl that loves pink. It's never been my favorite color, but I have been liking it a lot lately. In fact, most everything I find myself admiring these days involves pink.

luxurymonograms.com

Carlisle likes pink too!

 Bee Eadie {Atlantic-Pacific}  can do no wrong and is probably the reason why I'm loving pink so much.  I'm kind of obsessed with her hot pink pom-pom shawl.

gift wrapping 

 More pink on Bee.

pink + mercury glass

 dahlia placemats + pink + Haviland china

it's looking like Christmas around here

black and white and...

 pink all over

 neutral all over

 fur all over

 turquoise all over

pregnancy chic all over

fall + instagram

The combination of cooler weather and football is always an anticipated arrival. There are many other things I love that come with the transition into fall: wardrobe change, updated seasonal decorations, Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes, no more re-runs...new episodes of favorite shows and then new shows introduced, windows down and sunroof open on drives, pumpkin patches popping up, the cinnamon smell at Fresh Market, pleasant porch time spent drinking coffee in the morning or a Blue Moon after work...and the list goes on.

 

Meant to be

How cute are these velvet-y plush pumpkins..I found them over at Nesting Place and it was an opportunity to win a whole assortment of them, so I registered along with 1,500 other people who love them too. After ooohing and aaahing over them, I took a closer look and noticed the white ruffle bowl they were sitting in. They are from Pier 1 and I have two of them in our house...

 

I think it's definitely a sign I need those pumpkins.  My bowls are sitting here empty just waiting to be spiced up for fall. All I need is a little some major luck to win the giveaway.

owl umbrella stand

Are you familiar with the owl umbrella stand? I'm not a huge owl-lover but I don't think you have to be one to like the owl umbrella stand. I've come across it a few times on design-inspired blogs and it is a stand out. But pricey. Check out this price tag. Let's get real, for an owl umbrella holder, I still wouldn't even pay this.

Enter random trip to T.J. Maxx today and I end up with one for $12.99.

 It's sitting by the front door. This one is lacking a few inches in height, but I'm not convinced those inches are worth $90.