boden maxi dresses

Boden has some gorgeous maxi dresses right now. I always love the look of a maxi dress, but for some reason I do not buy them very often. They seem to be 'in' for spring and summer and I am loving these from Boden. 

real life closet upgrade

When your husband tells you that he wants to upgrade your closet, you do not argue with him. Our closet was a pretty nice standard walk-in closet with typical builder-grade wire racks. We probably could have done a better job keeping it organized, but honestly, to keep some things organized, you need the right tools. You do have to get rid of the things you do not use, but we really did that when we moved and it still was not working for us. Our goal was to add more hanging storage, shoe storage as well as have a place for sweaters and other seasonal clothing items. We saw that Closets by Design was having some good deals in January so we contacted them for an initial design and quote. They were great to work with and we are so pleased with how it turned out. 

I am embarrassed to show you the 'before' situation, but this is real life folks. 

We painted the closet the same color as our bathroom which is Olympus White - Sherwin Williams. It is hard to get good pictures of a closet with no natural light, but this will at least give you an idea. There are so many different options, but we chose the most basic design. 

Tada! 

I decided to add a small ottoman for storage and to stand on to reach the upper shelf. It is a great place to store my handbags. 

I know it sounds crazy, but when my home is organized, I feel more at ease. I know for sure it will not always be completely organized, but this small improvement has made such a huge difference! 

primary

I am always on the hunt for simple kids clothes. And I am finding that as they get older, the clothes get less cute. It is so hard to find any clothes without logos, slogans or sequins so I am happy to have found the clothing line primary. They have so many different color options!  Happy spring shopping! 

inside our front door

I decided to paint the inside of our front door this weekend. I had been contemplating it for a while. I felt like our entry needed something else. I added neutral curtains to the front door because, as you can see, there is no privacy. The natural light is great, but at night and in the early morning, I do not want to worry about unexpected visitors seeing the craziness that can occur behind these doors:)  

Our dining room, which is  located to the left of front door, is painted a dark navy so I knew I wanted something that contrasted with the navy so I steered clear of anything blue. I chose Benjamin Moore Mopboard black. It is a soft shade of black which is what I was going for. I will say that the color probably looks softer on a wood door rather than on our metal door. I had to prime, then paint it at least 3 times to cover the whole door, but it still turned out great.  The power of paint never ceases to amaze me. It truly defines the space and adds a nice pop of contrast! 

Here are two 'before' pictures because who doesn't love a Before and After! 

After

Our house is always an ever-changing, work in progress, but I feel like this little space is starting to feel more complete. 

jcrew stripes

It is feeling more like spring rather than winter here in the Carolinas. I am not complaining though. All of the stores already have their spring clothes out and I am enjoying seeing them. Stripes are my favorite and I am eyeing these three pieces from J.CREW. I still am a little unsure about the bodysuit, although it makes perfect sense. I know I get so tired of trying to keep shirts tucked in so this would be a perfect solution! It might make going to the restroom a little tricky:)  

Stripes forever! Happy Weekend Friends! 

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meet roddy

In case you are wondering where the pheasant landed, well here he is! He landed right in our entryway. I must say, what a beautiful bird it is! Roddy has been a great addition to the family. He doesn't talk or make messes so I love him already:). And the kids tell him goodnight each night. 

With the right mix of decor, I do think taxidermy (in small doses) can add a nice touch! 

10 ways to pray for someone

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Our Pastor challenged us in January to do something in 2017 that will matter for eternity. Setting house goals, health and fitness goals and other goals are all good, but eventually all those things will fade away.  My most important goal for 2017 is to pray for one specific person. Obviously, I will be praying for so many people throughout the year, but this one person is someone that I am not sure where they stand with their salvation.  I think we all go through seasons of life where, if we love Jesus, we feel led to reach out and pray for someone specifically. I have talked to my sister and my husband about this for the past few months, that I truly feel that the Holy Spirit has placed one specific person in mind for me to be a light to. To be honest, I've sort of tried to forget about it, but the name will not leave my head and I would be completely disobeying if I do not at least begin planting seeds. And I do not think it was a coincidence that our Pastor spoke directly on this subject. I encourage you to do the same. Pick someone to pray for this year. Do not beat them over the head with the Bible. Let's start by praying and building a relationship and let God work. What a different world we would be living in if we all would pray for and support one another.  Below is what our Pastor emailed to our church and I thought it was such a great resource and starting point for me. 




Below are 10 ways to pray for your friend(s) as developed by Neil Cole and included in his book Cultivating a Life for God: Multiplying Disciples Through Life Transformation Groups.

1.   I pray, Lord, that you draw _____ to Yourself (John 6:44).

2.   I pray that _____ seeks to know You (Acts 17:27).

3.   I pray that _____ hears and believes the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).

4.   I ask You to prevent Satan from blinding _____ to the truth (2 Cor. 4:4, 2 Tim. 2:25-26).

5.   Holy Spirit, I ask You to convict ______ of his/her sin and reveal his/her need for Christ's redemption.

6.   I ask You to send someone who will share the Gospel with _____ (Matt. 9:37-38).

7.   I also ask that You give me (and/or my fellow disciple) the opportunity, the courage, and the right words to share the truth with _____ (Col. 4:3-6; Eph. 6:19-20).

8.   Lord, I pray that _____ turns from his/her sin (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10).

9.   Lord, I pray that _____ would put all of his/her trust in Christ (John 1:12; 5:24).

10. Lord, I pray that _____ will confess Christ as Lord of his/her life, take root and grow in his/her faith, and bear much fruit for Your glory (Rom. 10:9-10; Col. 2:6-7; Luke 8:15).

why i've been pinning pheasant taxidermy

A little over a month ago, my husband informed me that he was having a pheasant stuffed that he shot on a hunting trip with his brother. At first, I was not very excited about this. Taxidermy has always seemed very masculine and something you only see in a man cave or mountain lodge. The more I looked on Pinterest though, I have opened up (just ever so slightly:) to it! Pheasant taxidermy still adds a masculine touch, but I like the use of them in the images below. I do like for homes to be a reflection of the people living in them and this is something Paul enjoys so I agreed to having just one inside our home. If any more birds come our way, they will have to stay in the garage:)

Follow me on Pinterest. All images are pinned on my page.