Quick Mantel Makeover

This summer, I am craving simplicity. Usually, my mantel is covered with flowers or pictures or vases and candles, or all of the above, but I have recently been drawn to less cluttered and clean mantels.

Specifically, this one from Coastal Living kept speaking to me.

So last night, well my husband was at his last class for his MBA (yay honey!) I passed the time by rearranging my mantel with things from around the house and a 'natural bouquet' I bought from Homegoods earlier that day for $6.99. Here is the mantel before:

O! Gross! My mirror was d-i-r-t-y! Here is another shot after a little windex:

And my first attempt at re-styling:

But I wasn't really feeling it. So a few more tries, and this is the final result:

Peaceful and summery right? By the way, the artwork is by an amazing photographer, Sean Ruttkay and is printed on metal so you can actually hang his work outdoors. I have three of his works (they usually hang in our bedroom) and love them so much. Visit his website here for more info.

What a Wonderful Time of Year

Don't you love when you can walk outside, pick a handful of hydrangeas and set them in a room as decoration? (If they are not in your yard, try the local florist or grocery store flower shop). You only need 3 or 4 to make a big statement- automatically adding class and elegance to any spot!














Images from theknot.com, House Beautiful, Domino, Coastal Living and Southern Accents.

It Is Never Too Early for Fooball Season

If you are a true Southern Lady, then you have a football team to cheer for year around. An NFL team or European Soccer Team does not count. A true southerner has a college team that they follow, not only during the season, but really all year long. My team is Auburn. My alma mater. The loviest village on the plains. The Heart of Dixie. The Home of Bo Jackson... you get the point- it is awesome.

As a true fan, I look forward to the spring evaulation of how our team will be in the fall. And lucky me, that preview is in. I will not bore you will the details, but to sum it up: Auburn is awesome, all other teams are not. To prove it, you can read an unbiased opinion here.

On that note, in the past 8 years (yowsa!) that I have been loyal to Auburn, the color combination of orange and blue has become a ridiculous passion of mine. Baby boy owns several orange and blue outfits and I have a separate folder in my saved pictures of rooms which are subcounsciously celebrating Auburn's spirit. Here are some of my faves:















War Eagle!

*Images from Domino, Southern Living, Southern Accents, Coastal Living, Traditional Home, House Beautiful and via Censational Girl.

Inspired By: A Rose

This rose to be exact:







Have you ever seen such a thing? She lives at Renyolda Gardens and I can't believe I hadn't noticed her before, but I am so glad I did this time. And of naturally, the color combo did not escape my mind and I was able to find several pieces of inpiration to go with it...

Perfect striped slipcovers. What a great what to change things up. Also, please check out the chandelier. Where can I get one?

In my next house, I will wallpaper the bathroom. With big, bold colors and pattern. Don't tell my husband (sorry honey if you are reading this).

From one of my new favorite blogs, Paris Hotel Boutique Journal. Yes please, I will take them all.


Mixed patterning and a big gold mirror? Perfection. If I had any sense (or money) when I was in college, my living room would have looked this way.

Love the little seating area in this room. Plus, it encompasses my passion for white, with a punch of color!

And perfect for summer, the classic Navajo sandal

*Images from House Beautiful, Paris Hotel Boutique Journal, Southern Accents and Jack Rogers.

The Conversation Room

Over the weekend, I mentioned that my mom and I are working on her 'conversation/cocktail room' aka formal living room. I am a big believer that there should be a room in a house that is comfy, TV-less and arranged in a circle where people can enjoy each other and have real conversations. While I am a fan of technology and short, quick convos via text, email and gchat, I think it is also imperative that we take time to look at the person sitting across from us and enjoy the real art of conversation. Formal living rooms have gotten a bad reputation for being the untouchable room, but the following examples show how this room can be a little fancier than the den, but still very usable.

From HB- I love the color combination of this room. The brown walls are unexpected at first, but then you can see the blue and brown geometric rug anchoring the room. Formal and fun!



Also from HB, this room is light and airy. I just want to make a martini and chat about life with my friends.



How comfy do those chairs look? This would be a great set up for a room that is a bit smaller and maybe doesn't have room for a couch. Very intimate! (Coastal Living)



Finally, with its clean lines and minimal decoration, this Architectural Digest gem is ready for a distraction free cocktail hour.

My Latest Obession

Recently, I have been helping my mom re-decorate her living room. What is fun about helping my mom re-do things in her house is that she A) as the most beautiful house to work with and B) she is open to updated idea while keep her own sense of style.

So long story short, our idea for her living room is to do a blue, cream and gold color palate and make it a room for conversation and cocktails (an idea that is so important and so unfortunately overlooked by many new builders). A warm cream wall and similarly colored couch currently anchor the room, but as I started looking for accent pillows/bench/chair fabric, there is one pattern that kept crossing my path:









PS- How much do you love the blue leopard print in the corner with the fabric above??

So now I am waiting to see what she likes best, but there will be an awesome 'before and after' coming soon!

*Images from Calico Corners

An Asymmetrical Dilemma

I love symmetry. Everything in my house is positioned in a way that lines up perfectly with what is around it. My husband often laughs because I will get up from the couch to fix a crooked picture, or even worse, rearrange my magazine stack. But lately, I have been coming across several examples of rooms where the picture is not hung in the middle and the left doesn't match the right. I'm intrigued but still can't decide if I like it. Tell me what you think!

Off centered from the fire place: simple style or out of place?



Big piece of art all the way to one side rather than in the middle? And yet, the whole display is so purposeful. Is my house cool enough for something like this?



Looks symmetrical..until you see that little guy who snuck in the bottom corner. Genius? Or off? I just can't make up my mind!



Images from Sunset Magazine, Coastal Living and Southern Living.

This Room is Pretty

And that's all I've got.