Tag: shopping haul

Nesting

Spring Porch Decor // March & April

Lauren

The number one reason I fell in love with this house was because of the porch. I love the idea of sitting out on the porch on a warm summer morning or a cool fall evening to just relax, read, or chat with my husband. I would love to spend more time out there to meet my neighbors and just soak in some outdoors. Making a porch a place to actually spend time takes some time, but ours is starting to come along.

Last summer, I strung up some bright colored paper lantern lights that have just become a year-round staple and for Christmas, Jeremiah built me a porch swing. 😀 The swing still needs to be sanded, stained, and probably painted, but it’s out there and almost ready for use. Once it’s up, I’m pretty sure my time on the porch will quadruple!! Last year, I also found a used wooden console table with heart cutouts that I painted and stuck between our door and one of the windows. So slowly, but surely the porch is coming along!

When we first bought the house I was gung-ho on decorating every inch of the places for the changing seasons and holidays, but not going to lie, that has slowed down. With Hazel getting older and more mobile, I was just too exhausted to care. Now my thing is just decorating the front porch for seasons and holidays. It’s less stressful and a bit more fun! This will be my first year taking a stab at decorating for spring.

I’ve been loving keeping all my notes and ideas and lists in my Google Drive, so I started a folder for porch decor and got a document started to keep track of all my spring decor ideas and items I thought might look cute out there. For budget reasons, this will be a thing that gets more and better every year, so this year is pretty minimal, but I like it still!

The Stuff

Hobby Lobby

Etsy

Future Decor Ideas

I have so many ideas for how I can add to the porch for springtime. I love the idea of some kind of wreath – there are so many cute options out there from traditional wreaths to umbrella wreaths. I’d also like to include flowers – lots and lots of flowers – specifically tulips, roses, and baby’s breath. And then of course finding cute pillows for the swing for when it is up and ready!

Nesting

House Item Haul #3 // Christmas Edition

Lauren

Growing up decorating for Christmas was never much fun for me, because it was always my mom’s decorations and she was very particular. Then I moved out and lived in multiple small spaces, so I never had much room to decorate. So needless-to-stay decorating for Christmas has never been very high on my list.

My mom bought me my first Christmas tree my senior year of college – it was a mini white tree and bright colored ornaments – my kind of Christmas decor. I decorated and displayed it on my time and my terms and it so much fun. When Jeremiah and I got married we lived in a small apartment and I just didn’t have much space to decorate, so I got him a mini green tree and traditional colored ornaments and we displayed his and hers mini trees, stockings, and lights. So this year I have been chomping at the bit to turn our new home into a happy Christmas wonderland… and that I did!

Hobby Lobby
  • ‘O Holy Night’ Wooden Sign
  • ‘For Unto Us’ Wooden Sign
  • Package of Vase Filler
  • Days Before Christmas Sign
  • Pom Pom Garland
  • Shimmering Mini String Lights
  • Wooden Nativity Scene
  • Angel Tree Topper
  • Doormat
  • Stocking
Michaels
  • Red Lantern
  • Merry & Bright Decorative Plaque
HomeGoods
  • Wooden ‘Happy Holidays’ Snow Globe Decoration
  • Christmas Dish Towels
  • Placemats
  • Tree Skirt
Target
  • Ornaments
  • C9 String Lights
  • Tree Stand
  • Tree Mat
  • Throw Pillow
  • Ceramic House Decoration
  • Stockings
  • Doormat
Amazon
  • Pillowcases
Walmart
  • Fabric Tree Decoration
  • Pom Pom Garland
At Home
  • Bottle Brush Trees
  • ‘Oh What Fun’ Garland
  • Tree of Tinsel Decoration
  • Throw Pillow

I opted out of attaching links to these items, because that is quite time consuming, but also because I want this to be inspirational and encouraging in your own home decorating endeavours. Walking down aisle after aisle and creating your own vision is half the fun. I hope you have as much shopping as I did. Happy Hunting! 🙂

Nesting

House Item Haul #2 // Fall Edition

Lauren

Before buying a home, I never really decorated much. I put what we owned on the walls in a way I liked, but that was pretty much it. At Christmas, I would hang some lights and our stockings, but not much else. With a house I feel like the possibilities are endless! Over the summer, I kept picking up fall items here and there and then when it was finally fall and I got it all out, I realized I had gone a bit crazy, but I LOVE IT! It feels like me and it makes me so so happy not to stare at the same stuff all year long.

Hobby Lobby and Marshalls were definitely my two favorite stores to buy stuff, but you can’t link to their stuff… but if you are shopping, keep in mind that they have some great selections and some options to get really creative and make your decor your own! Some of my decor was repurposed… the flowers on the mantel were leftover from creating my wreath, the pumpkins on the fireplace were leftover from a family event I hosted, and the frame was actually used in our wedding!

Hobby Lobby
  • Outdoor Wooden Plaque
  • Decorative Pumpkins
  • Leaf Garland
  • Wooden Crates
  • Wreath + Fake Flowers
  • Fall Canvas

Hobby Lobby is always a hit for me, especially because of the endless sales. The only downside is knowing that a lot of other people will probably have the same decor. The upside is a lot of their items can be altered to fit your own personal style. I used Hobby Lobby decor for my mantel and for the front porch. Creating my own wreath was one of the highlights of this season. There was a bit of a learning curve, but once I figured it out, it was incredible. I love seeing my own creativity every time I pass by my house – I actually purposely drive around front just so I can look at it. 😀

Amazon

I am not an Amazon fanatic like a lot of other people, but it has served me well with pillowcases and curtains. I try to find stuff in store before turning to Amazon, but I do like their typical fast shipping and reliable reviews!

Etsy

Etsy is extremely pricey, but I like the more unique items you can find on there. Doormats have become my absolute new favorite thing and this doormat is just so so cute for this season, I couldn’t pass it up. No lie, I have a few others already saved that I want to purchase for seasons to come.

Marshalls
  • Dish Towels
  • Placemats
  • Mini Cake Pan

Marshalls was the biggest surprise for me! I didn’t expect them to have such a large selection, but they did, and I gave in to it. I bought way more dish towels than one family needs, but I smile every time I pull a new one out. I will be going back near Christmas to see if they have any other hidden gems I can splurge on.

Tuesday Morning
  • Mini Pumpkin Bowls

Tuesday Morning had a small selection, but I was extremely unimpressed with what they had and the prices. I grabbed these two tiny pumpkin shaped bowls, but I have yet to figure out a spot or purpose for them.

I know a lot of people are really into minimalism right now which is great and I am all about not owning a ton of crap you don’t use or care about, but if having bins of decor makes you happy, then I say go for it. I have never been that person before, but right now I am really enjoying expressing myself through decorating my home and am looking forward to what I will do for the upcoming holidays and seasons!

Nesting

House Item Haul #1

Lauren

Becoming a homeowner and moving into our first house has been extremely exciting not just for the convenience of our new lifestyle (with a baby) and the growing up (also with a baby), but also for all of the creativity that I have had swirling around inside of me. Ever since I was a kid, I would lay awake at night dreaming up living spaces and how I would furnish and decorate them. I’m no interior designer or Pinterest queen, but I do enjoy making my spaces feel like me! With an apartment, you are limited on what you can do, but with a house… your property is your only limit.

Over the past few months I have been gathering inspiration to make our home feel cozy and like us. I have so many boards and lists and documents trying to make my vision a reality. Obviously we came into the house with stuff, but I have slowly been gathering needed items as well as replacing some of our old items. I can’t wait to share every room in the house with you once they are completed, but for now, I wanted to tell you about some of the items I have gathered.

Target

I have been trying to make our kitchen come alive and give our hall bathroom a personality. Our kitchen has a bit of a picnic theme if you will with a bit of plaid and Independence Day colors. We ordered some red curtains to hang above our sliding back door in the kitchen to tie in a few of the red pieces we have throughout the kitchen. I snagged a discounted summer doormat with an adorable popsicle design on it that I am using inside right in front of the back door. The hall bathroom which will essentially be our kid(s) bathroom was looking real drab, but I am giving it a face lift with a bunch of color! So far I have painted the walls, put up a fantastic shower curtain full of color, and added a couple rugs and it is already looking so much better!

Dirt Cheap

// for those who don’t live in one of the few states with a Dirt Cheap, it is a store that sells Target’s unsold/seasonal items at discounted prices… a thrift store for new items. //

  • Shower Curtain
  • Quilt
  • Throw Pillows
  • Curtains
  • Tablecloth
  • Curtain Rods

So I just discovered Dirt Cheap about a month ago and – oh my gosh! – it is fabulous!! If you have the time and dedication to really dig, you can find some serious treasures here. Ever since we got married our bedroom has had no theme or color scheme to it and it drives me crazy! So one of my goals in the house is to give us a room that kind of goes together. Since moving, our bedroom was pretty bare-boned. A bed, a chest of drawers, and our laundry sorter. We have had this grey and white plaid comforter and whatever sheets we can find… well not anymore! I found this yellow quilt (that I am absolutely in love with) originally $60 for $25! I got some white linen sheets + pillowcases, paired it with the yellow quilt and the aqua pillowcases we already had and boom! already a place I want to spend time in. In addition to the quilt, I also found a yellow throw pillow and a light coral throw pillow that give the bed that oomph it so desperately needed!

The other stuff was just kind of random items I grabbed for different rooms: updated shower curtain for the master bath, cafe curtains for above the kitchen sink + curtain rods + tablecloth for the kitchen, and an oversized throw pillow for the living room.

Amazon
  • Pillow Covers

I love throw pillows, because they just give a room so much depth and personality. I normally just find pillows and use them as-is, but I don’t enjoy the design of the ones I have, so I decided to look into pillow cases. I ordered a few different colors and designs to update the living room and try and pull all of the colors in there together + make it cozy and inviting.

Bath & Body Works

Over the past couple of years, I started getting into candles. I really like how a candle gives a room a warm glow plus makes it smell clean and/or yummy. I have been trying to light candles in the different rooms, because it makes me smile. We had burned out most of our candles, so I got us some updated scents for the living room, hall bathroom, master bedroom + bathroom. This trip, I left with watermelon lemonade, cactus blossom, and midnight blue citrus (my new favorite!). As for soap, I like the smell and feel of B & B Works foaming soap, so I grabbed some for the three sinks; watermelon lemonade, cactus blossom, fresh lemonade, sunshine and lemons, and raspberry tangerine.