TOP 5 : : design websites

I realize there are a gazillion design websites out there.  Trust me, I've spent hours getting lost in them {and enjoying every minute of it!}.  I thought I'd let you in on some of my faves...some of them may be familiar because I've referenced them before.  Hopefully, next time you are in need of a little inspiration, this list might help get you where you need to go just a bit quicker. ; )

1.  The Nesting Place.  The Nester {she chooses to go by this name to add a little security to her family life} was probably the first design blog I ever read.  She's a mom to 3 boys and you will fall in love with her ideas, her transparency, and her fun style.  She's the originator of the window "mistreatment" and the idea that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  Her family has gone from owning a beautiful home to becoming renters and she chronicles all about it here.

2.  Caitlin Wilson Design: Style Files.  This is the total opposite end of the spectrum.  This is a website I love to come for pure inspiration.  Caitlin is a high end designer [featured in many magazines} whose budgets are far beyond mine, but she has a great style and I love what she puts together.  Her husband's job has moved them oversees {from Dubai to China and they are on their way back to the US} so seeing what different parts of the world do to her style is interesting.  She also is working on her own line of pillows and possibly other textiles.

3.  Young House Love.  This site chronicles a fun, young couple {and their new baby girl} as they fix up an older home.  I love their tutorials and willingness to try something new and think outside the box.  They've done an amazing job with their place and I kinda think they may have missed their calling to be interior designers. : )

4. Decorpad.  Lots and lots and lots of pictures.  You can name a color or a room and there will be pages of pictures that people have submitted from the extravagant to the do-able.  This is a great place to start to help narrow down what you direction to go.

5. Emily A. Clark.  This is yet another mom-turned-interior designer, but I think she has a very achievable but polished style.  She'll take an ugly Craig's List find, add a little paint and transform it into the centerpiece of a room.  She also writes an occasional column for her local Goodwill blog with some great ideas as well.

This is definitely not a comprehensive list, but I would have to say that these are the 5 I hit the most when I need some ideas.  What are yours??  I'm always looking for new places to find some great inspiration and I'd love to hear what sites you can't get enough of!

**Don't forget to become a follower over here at my new site! : )

Summer yumminess

With the kids home for a couple months, am I the only who feels like our summer lunches can get a little boring...I mean peanut butter and honey, mac and cheese, and chili cheese quesadillas can get old pretty fast.  That's why I love finding things kick it up a notch.

The Pioneer Woman has forever changed my view of the grilled cheese.  She introduced this little baby into my life last year.

First time, I made it for dinner {just as the recipe instructed} on a hot evening and it went over well by all. It's all the comfort of grilled cheese with a whole lot more flavor....PW even calls it her favorite sandwich, if that tells you anything. ; )

RECIPE : 

• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise, to taste
• 1 whole Tomato
• 1 whole Red Onion, Small
• 2 slices Mild Cheddar
• 1 can (4 Oz.) Whole Green Chilies
• 2 slices Provolone
• 2 slices Rye Bread
• Butter

Mix the mustard and mayo and put on an inside piece  of the bread.  Layer all the veggies in between the provolone and butter the outsides.  {That's the short version, you can click over to her website once again for all the gorgeous pics.}

Since then, I'm not sure I've made it the same way twice....but it's always SO good.  We've even added ham to it and it's really good too....it makes the men in your life ok with having grilled cheese for dinner if you slap a piece of meat on it. :) I also almost like the diced green chilies better...partly because I always have them on hand and they also spread so easily.  If you have a can of Hatch green chilies...even better!  I've used all kinds of cheese and all kinds of bread....so don't be afraid if you don't have all the perfect ingredients, just put it together with what you have and like and I guarantee, you'll love it!

Happy summer cooking!

Weekend wrap-up and some sunny days ahead...

I was so excited Friday night to go pick up my girls from the airport....they'd been with their grandma and grandpa to a little place you may have heard of....

They had an amazing time and I was so excited to wake up Saturday morning and hear all about the big trip and finish up my project I started while they were gone {I'll be posting on it later}.  Instead, I woke up Saturday not feeling well and the weekend went downhill from there.  I've pretty much been in bed ever since.  Miserable.  Just miserable.  Moms definitely should not be allowed to get sick...can I get an AMEN?

So, in honor of me looking at my pretty tan walls for the last 3 days instead of soaking up the sun, here's a little bit of sunshine for you to enjoy?

{via} Definitely a nice spot for my coffee drinking

{via} love this yellow coral wallpaper

{via} Great windows, simplicity and touches of color

{via} A warm yellow with lots of al fresco dining, I can imagine

{via} Pretty sure I featured this before, but this yellow headboard may make this room

{via}Another warm yellow with some great ikat slipcovers

{via} LOVE this....the windows, the over stuffed ratan sofa, the paint

{via} Happiest laundry room ever....I bet my clothes would even look cleaner in here. : )

Well, hopefully these brightened your day.  I'm definitely hoping for a brighter day tomorrow. : )

Come and knock on my door...

Don't you LOVE a good front door on a house??  I'm one of those crazy people that could look at houses all day and sometimes you just see a door that makes the entire house and I love that.  I don't know if I'm gutsy enough to try some of these colors, but I love how this one little piece of the puzzle can just complete it when done well.  Some faves....

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The last one is all about the design, but most of the others the color is what drew me in.  Love all these and how they make their surroundings more beautiful...behind security, don't you think that may be the front door's most important job??

Mine currently is kind of a muted brick red....but looking at these has made me wish for something with a little more glass and pizzazz.  What about you....have y'all bravely taken this step before me??

Top 5 : : Poolside edition

I don't think I've ever spent as much time poolside as I have living in Texas.  Maybe it's because if you are going to be outside in the summer you'd better find something to help you stay cool or maybe because my husband's parents {and our gym and many friends} have a pool that we are in almost everyday.  Either way, I thought I'd share some of my poolside must-haves.

1.  This after-sun lotion....nothing else compares.  It's like $6 at Wal-Mart and it lasts all summer and then some.  I bathe myself in this stuff everytime we leave...and sometimes even during. {I'm a bit of a lotion freak}  It feels like you are giving your skin a big drink after drying it out in the sun and chlorine.  I cannot tell you how much I love this stuff. : )

2.  A great bag.  Especially if you have kids, this one makes such a difference.  Some places we go, we have to load up towels so that means you need a pretty good sized bag.  Having some great pockets is also super helpful {for membership cards, phone, watch, etc}.  Mine is canvas from the Gap {from about 5 years ago} and I love it, but there also some great wipe-able bags or lighter weight ones as well.  Some of my faves...

This one is from L.L. Bean for $37...Lands' End has some great ones too.  Great quality, classic look and look even better with a monogram! : )

Love the Calypso St. Barth collection at Target for this summer....this one is only $19.99.

This one is from Piperlime.  Not really in my price range right now, but great inspiration. :)

3.  Sunglasses.  I love a good pair of sunglasses...BUT if it's a nice pair, it is a broken/lost pair for me. So, I've started buying a couple great pairs from the Dollar Tree every summer.  They work great, look cute and of course, never get lost or broken.  ; )

4.  A swimsuit.  I know, duh.  I've developed quite a collection...different suits for different occasions.  There's the waterpark suit that doesn't not budge...ever.  There's the laying out suit...I'll leave that one there.  Then, I've got the ones that are cute and appropriate to wear with the fam or friends.  My faves in this category would probably be a strapless tankini...modest with no weird tanlines.  Love these...

Love this one from J. Crew.  Their selection is AMAZING!

Also J. Crew.  Love these colors.

Don't like the straps as much on this one, but Trina Turk has some amazing swimsuit prints....LOVE this!

I honestly usually get mine end of the season clearance.  There is still great selection and I'm paying $10 rather than $100. :)

5.  A great water bottle.  I inherited a Camelbak because my super-cool cousin who has everything that is cool for the outdoors, well, she left it in my car when we visited her in Wyoming.  I meant to send it...and that was 2 years ago.  : )  Hopefully we'll visit this summer and bring her a new one {since I've used the tar out of this one}.  I fill it up with ice {or even freeze it half-full} and it stay's cool for quite a bit.  It is indestructible and not possible for my little sweeties to backwash into it. : )

My sweet husband also bought me this one from Starbucks that I LOVE.  It is so cool...it is glass and has a silicone cover.  I love it...it definitely has the cool factor going too. ; )

 

I also have become addicted to this  Mio water enhancer.  LOVE it.  I've been drinking so much more water...usually this time of year my sweet tea consumption is ridiculous.  If you haven't tried it, they have so many different flavors, I bet you'll find one you love! : )

That's it.  That's my list.  What is on  your list for hanging out by the pool?  I'd love to hear yours...it may become one of must-have's too!

Tip Tuesday

My simple tip today comes from a whole bunch of friends who told me about it, and I finally decided to give it a try. 

TIP : Use your Iphone {or other type of phone or Ipod touch} to do your Bible reading.  There is an actual Bible app and it is awesome!  Not only are there a ton of different versions, but some of them are even audio.  This way you can keep up with it while you are in the carpool line, at the park or pool, or all the other places where you may have a few minutes but may not normally keep your Bible with you. 

I am currently doing the 90 day Bible using The Message version.  I love how this version makes things easier to understand {especially when reading through the Old Testament}.  I just plugged in my start day and the app maps it out for me...I'm scheduled to be done August 5!  I just try to catch up when I can...sometimes I'm a couple days behind and sometimes I'm a couple ahead.  I've even turned on the audio version and listened to it.

Maybe you have another way that works for you, but I just thought I'd let you know something that has helped me SO SO much!  I'd love to hear how you do it and what works for you.  I'm so ashamed to say that I've been a Christian for almost 25 years and never read the whole Bible through, but I am so excited to be able to do this {and it worked out great to fit in between our Bible Studies at church!}.

Precious girl's room with LOTS of inspiration!

A really good friend named Lydia I grew up with started a blog just a bit before I started mine...we'd kept in touch through Facebook {since she lives in Washington}, but since I got acquainted with her blog, I feel like I've gotten to know her all over again!  She has two sweet little girls and a husband who is serving our country in Afghanistan.  So thankful for the "glimpses" into her life that remind me to pray for her, because I don't know how she does it...and manages to pull off cute kids' parties, gardening projects and lots of fun projects in her house.

I wanted to show you her adorable oldest daughter Lily's room.  She and her husband are real DIY'ers {I think she has a sofa ready for him to build when he gets back!} and they did an amazing job on this room.  You can read all about it here.

Here is the before....I'm sure those built-ins signaled them of the potential of this room....

They transformed it into this fun and happy room...love this color scheme!

love the attention to detail...like the bunting over the window

love it's lived-in, accumulated-over-time look with all those great accessories

love the bright table set and the "advent" alphabet

love the vintage prints

Don't you love this space??  You can also read about her kids' play house {yes, her husband made it too...it's AMAZING!}, and her awesome kitchen {I want to hack everything in it}.  Go on over and check her out at Sophia & Rose....you won't be disappointed!  And Lydia {my birthday bud...our birthdays are a day a part}....thanks for letting me feature you and I am so excited that your sweet husband comes home in just a couple weeks...YAY!