Blog - The Lilypad Cottage

October 10, 2019 By Kelly 20 Comments

Pool House Exterior Plans

I’m a day late with my post this week, but I’ve been a busy little bee meeting with contractors, picking out windows, and looking at pool tile. If you follow me on Instagram you know that we have big plans to finally fix up our pool and our pool house this winter/spring and I’m so excited!

If you are new around here the previous owners of this property built a 20 x 40 underground pool across the street in the ’50s along with a two stall garage/pool house. It was one of the things that really drew us to this property because it had so many potential fun projects! Here’s what the space looks like after we fixed it up, minus eleventy-billion pool floats and squirt guns.

The pool house was in rough shape when we first bought this property and we have been slowly fixing it up over the last 2 years. Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane with the original look of the pool house.

BEFORE –

The first step was putting a new roof on it since the old one was falling apart and leaky.

Then the Mr. and I painted and added these grids to the doors by gluing wood lattice to the windows and adding gate hardware. The two of us also put the new fence in at that point too.

Last summer we added a driveway which is the least glamorous thing to spend money on, but it has been great for family basketball games and extra parking.

We also planted hydrangeas, vinca vine, and hostas. Oh and we stained the fence which was probably my least favorite project of all time to complete! I feel you on this one Tom Sawyer…

Now we are going to tackle the rotting wood siding and the plexiglass windows that are mostly broken and won’t stay closed. These windows are so odd I didn’t even know they made windows out of plexiglass and I’m not sure they actually do, as they seem to be sort of an odd DIY mish/mash situation from the 1950’s. Last winter, we ended up with 6 inches of snow in the upstairs section during the polar vortex when all the windows blew open and we didn’t know it for a few days. Needless to say, we would like to avoid that mess again, so new functional windows will be a nice addition!

Here is the pool house in its current state from inside the fence by the pool (pretty dramatic change from the above “before” photo with just paint, shutters, and landscaping!) –

And here is my little kindergarten sketch (if you’ve been following for a while you may remember these from the planning stages of our house and now I’m blessing your eyes with my handiwork yet again) of what our plans are. It’s not exactly to scale but it gives you the idea.

We are going to replace the wood siding on the top section with the same vinyl shake that is on our house. The coat of paint we added only camouflaged the rotting wood, and 2 years later, it’s in really bad shape. We are going to replace all of the windows and add a set of french doors (with windows on the sides) with a little Juliet balcony that’s about 18 inches deep off the top.

Here’s what the space currently looks like upstairs, bahaha yikes – it’s my kid’s playroom/slime factory/old furniture graveyard at the moment.

If you remember we want to make it into a bunk room/hang out spot with a tv and a table for board games, foosball table, etc. This will serve as our guest space, but also be sort of a fun kid hang out when they need a break from the sun and the pool. That’s why we went with french doors – we wanted to be able to open it up and have it feel like an indoor/outdoor space.

Here’s what I have tentatively planned for the other end of the room. We are going to get rid of the 3 small windows and replace it with 2 larger windows to make room for a tv wall. I’d like to add built-in double beds on both sides of the room with a seating area in between.

Let’s take a peek inside to talk about plans down here – welcome to our current very scary before pics. We really haven’t touched this space since we bought it. Behind that picket fence stall situation is actually a bathroom complete with pink toilet, it doesn’t currently flush properly, so we don’t use it at all right now. I especially enjoy the half drop-ceiling vibe happening in here. This room also has these odd built-in cubbies that we would like to replace with more functional storage lockers.

Phase 1 of this project will be building out a new safer staircase to access the upper level and framing out this room into 3 separate rooms. A bathroom, a pool equipment room, and then this entry room to access the stairs and towel storage, etc..

Enjoy another one of my fancy drawings…

I mentioned the pool was built in the ’50s and it’s starting to fall apart as well. A huge section of the tile fell off this past summer so we have to have it completely retiled and a new coating of marcite put on. That ended up being a bit of a surprise cost, but this will last us the next 25 years so it’s worth doing it right. Unfortunately, that cut into our budget for the pool house, so we are going to tackle it in phases. Phase 1 will be new windows, siding, and framing this space. Phase 2 where we complete the bathroom. add flooring, and do the interior of the bunk room, will have to wait while we save up a bit more.

I’m really excited to at least get the ball rolling over here and have everything look nice and finished on the exterior to match our newly resurfaced pool for the summer season. We are ordering windows at the end of the week, so look for more progress posts on this project in the next couple of months!

October 4, 2019 By Kelly 52 Comments

A Day in the Life…

A few weeks back, I asked you all to submit any questions for a little “ask Kelly” blog post series, and one I got several emails about was wondering what the day in the life of a work from home mom/blogger looks like. This may only be interesting to those 12 people who emailed me to ask, but here goes with a rushed iphone photo/run-on sentence version of my typical day!

6:10 alarm goes off, Charlie takes this as his opportunity to sit on my chest, lick my face, and request a tummy rub by smacking me in the face repeatedly with his paws.

6:15 stumble downstairs in my bathrobe and wake both kids up (you are welcome for not providing any photographic evidence of this event, it’s not pretty)

6:20 wake my daughter up again, and again at 6:22, and 6:25… she is not a morning person – there is a lot of indiscernable mumbling and bumping around.

6:30 pack lunches, make coffee, remind everyone to grab homework/gym clothes/instruments/library books.

View from the bus stop.

6:50 kiss the Mr. and run out the door for the bus. Drive the 6 minutes to the bus stop in my bathrobe, as one does, (we live too far out from our school and this is as close as the bus gets). Chat, pray, and enjoy the sunrise in the car with my kids while we wait. I love these few minutes of quiet with them in the morning…unless they are fighting, in which case, I can’t push them out the car fast enough. A non-negotiable for my kids though – they have to hold my hands and pray with me before they head out for the day…even if they aren’t speaking to me that day. For such totally fair reasons like when I won’t let them wear shorts to school during the polar vortex… If it’s an especially crabby morning, I make everyone say one thing they are looking forward to that day (insert tween eye rolls here). I know, I’m a fun mom – haha, I think they secretly like it ;)

7:10 back home and I drink my first cup of coffee (bless you caffeine) while I make the bed/empty the dishwasher/do a general 20 minute pick up of the main level/with the Today Show on in the background. I’m a huge neatfreak and having a tidy house is one of the things that keeps me sane working from home. I cannot concentrate on emails if I’m looking at a big pile of laundry to fold.

Charlie typically messes my pillows up as soon as I make the bed, it’s a “fun” game we play.

8:00 think about working out and answer emails from brands/PR companies/readers/school moms etc…

8:30 still thinking about that workout and cruise through Instagram answering comments and dm’s. I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment and interact with me, so I really try to answer most everyone back!

8:45 ok fine, I’m going to do that workout, ugh. I usually walk Charlie around the lake (about 3 miles) and do a 20 minute Tone It Up workout on the app or a 45-minute HIIT workout if the weather is bad.

Someone is mighty pleased with his muddy paws, oh the joys of rainy day walks when you live in the country.

9:30 I toss Charlie in the bath, then I shower and get ready for the day while I listen to a podcast (I like Armchair Expert and This American Life).

10:15 – 12:30 either work on a project for the blog, shoot the project, edit photos, write a blog post, conference call with a brand, etc… It’s a little different every day, which I like.

Writing a blog post with my social media intern Charlie.

12:30 lunch break! I usually make a quick salad or I do turkey with mustard, lettuce, and cucumbers on this Traders Joes Crispbread with a LaCroix. I check in with Instagram messages while I eat. Then I sneak a few dark chocolate peanut butter cups to get me through the afternoon.

1:00 Back to working on whatever blog project is due that day. I love working from the living room especially on sunny days.

3:00 try to post an Instagram post/stories/Facebook post. Usually spending way too much time trying to come up with an interesting caption.

3:15-3:45 take a break from the computer and finish up any household stuff, run the vacuum, etc.

3:45 drive to the bus stop and then sneak in some reading to slow my brain down while I wait for the bus. I always, always have a book on my kindle app or a book thrown in my bag. Right now, it’s Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I’ve had it in my pile of books all summer and I’m finally getting to it.

4:15 back home with my kiddos. Time for a snack, homework help (unless it’s math which I save for the Mr.) and sorting school papers and lunchboxes. I also attempt to get any info from my kids about their day during all this besides “It was fine.” I ask annoying questions like “who did you play with at recess, what was the best part of the day, how did your test go, etc…” insert more eye rolls. Again do these kids not realize how fun I am??? ;)

The breakfast nook is a fave homework spot and Charlie loves having his kids home at the end of the day.

The Mr. LOVES it when I save math for him since they changed how to do it from when we were kids! I snuck this shot when they were dividing decimals last week. Insert maniacal laugh…

4:45 make dinner/attempt to feed kids/argue about vegetables/make sure Charlie isn’t eating all their chicken from under the table/elicit at least 3 eye-rolls from my tween/break up she’s looking at me type fights between my kids/talk them into just 3 more bites/remind them to put their dishes in the dishwasher…remind them again…

Chicken fajitas, one of the dinners I make that everyone likes.

5:05 drive to volleyball 25 minutes away while singing too loud and off-key, sometimes accompanied by car dancing.

5:30 drive to soccer in the opposite direction listen to my chatterbox son recite weird animal facts (this kid lives for random trivia look for him on Jeopardy someday). I consequently know more about meerkats than I ever thought possible (did you know they were voted 2nd cutest animal in 2017, no? Well now you do, you’re welcome).

7:00 drive back to volleyball 25 minutes and listen to a podcast for a little moment of mom zen

7:30 drive back to soccer 25 minutes (unless the Mr. is home on time to grab him). Just accept the fact that I will live in my car for the rest of my life and think about adding some nice throw pillows or a candle to make it cozier. Also, contemplate picking up a side-gig as an uber driver while I trek all over town…

Getting to bed typically involves some sort of wrestling match during teeth brushing. I’m refereeing :)

8:00 convince my kids they need to shower/argue the merit of cleanliness vs smelliness. Hang out with each of them in their rooms. The Mr. hangs out with the other kid and then we swap. This is our time to touch base and check in with them about their day. I love this time in our busy day to snuggle up with them and pray. They then do their reading (so happy I have two little bookworms) or finish any homework in their rooms for the night. Theoretically in their rooms for the night that is, as I usually catch one of them sneaking snacks in the pantry around 9ish.

My little guy loves to read.

8:30 pour a much needed glass of wine and eat dinner with the Mr./hear about his day/talk his ear off (a hazard of working from home by myself sometimes the Mr. is the only actual grown up I see and converse with all day)

9:00 finish any blog post miscellaneous stuff/answer Instagram comments and dm’s while the Mr. ensures he gets in a full 16 hours of work for the day by finishing up work on his computer…

9:30 watch a show with the Mr. (either Schitts Creek or Mindhunter right now)

10:15 get ready for bed/wash my face/apply approximately 30 lotions and potions to try to pretend I’m eternally 29

10:30 read a book until 11:30 while the Mr. snores away

11:30 finally my too-busy brain is exhausted enough to shut off for the night and I sleep!

PHEW!

Tuesday and Thursday nights are our blessedly slower nights with no activities and then we eat dinner all together at 6:45 when the Mr. gets home. I LOVE these nights where we can hang out longer in the kitchen and have more time to kick the soccer ball or bump the volleyball around the backyard with my kids. I’m pretty intentional about trying not to overschedule our kids and keep them to one activity per season, but it gets harder when they hit middle school for sure!

Backyard soccer time

Charlie is usually fishing while we play in the backyard.

Mondays – I get groceries/run any errands in the morning – Trader Joe’s at 8am on a Monday is my happy place.

Fridays – I’m done working on the blog for the week by 12:00 and spend the afternoon cleaning the house/kitchen etc…

Saturdays – besides soccer and activities my kids do chores and it’s laundry day. Everybody helps out with the laundry situation and we get it done all in one day. Wash, dry, fold and put away so I don’t have to think about it again for another week.

Sundays – we go to church and brunch and try to relax and hang out and usually do a movie or family game night.

Also, I realize that this was supposed to be about my day and basically Charlie has snuck into every single shot, what else is new! :)

Throw in ortho appointments, room mom stuff, coffee with a friend, and that’s my little life in a nutshell!

October 2, 2019 By Kelly 29 Comments

White Nightstands – Tween Girl Bedroom Progress

Now that the house is good and fall-ified, and before the Christmas crazy hits (I know, I don’t even want to think about that yet – yikes!), I thought it would be a good time to revisit the progress I’m making in my daughter’s room. Her new nightstands arrived and I love them! These are a great budget friendly option. I will warn you that you have to put them together (think IKEA, but with better instructions). It only took me an hour to get them both up an running. They aren’t super high-quality solid wood pieces, but I do really like them for the price point. The brass details on them are so fun, and the deep drawers are just what my daughter needed to ~~hide snacks and other contraband~~ store books.

I added these fun brass lamps from Target. I love the juxtaposition of the old school granny-chic floral wallpaper and the curvy lines of the bed with the modern vibe of the lamps and nightstands.

We swapped out the beach prints in her white frames for these fun line drawings. I have big plans to hang them yet, but I chickened out on putting holes in the wallpaper on my own. My very precise way of hanging art – eyeballing it, grabbing whatever is handy from the kitchen (usually a meat mallet or serving spoon) and putting 3 or 4 holes in the wall until I get it right – didn’t seem like the way to go when I was dealing with wallpaper. So, I will wait for the math wizard (aka the Mr.) to use a tape measure, level and all that good and proper stuff this weekend. Anyone else out there routinely use kitchen utensils instead of the hammer they can’t find to hang a picture, or is it just me?

On the other end of the room, I gave her dresser a little makeover. It was white and we felt like this side of the room needed more color with the freshly painted white walls. My daughter picked out this super pale pink tone that we both loved.

This dresser was a $30 thrift store find from a few years back that had rope pull handles. The pulls were adorable but so impractical – they would pull completely out every few weeks.

I had to find hardware that would cover up the huge holes the rope pulls left behind. I found some cheap cup pull hardware on amazon that did the trick. The only downside is they ended up being super bright shiny gold – not the look I was going for. So, I gave them a few coats of spray paint to fix them up. I used Satin Bronze by Rustoleum.

BEFORE:

AFTER: I still need to figure out pillows and everything in her chair as I just sort of tossed some stuff in here for a photo. I’m also working on art for above the dresser too!

This dresser is approximately a million years old, so nothing was straight or flush, which made putting new hardware on challenging, but I think it turned out pretty cute!

I’m still on the hunt for art above the dresser, a few more accessories, and her bedding which has been back-ordered until November. I’m also still debating on what kind of rug to put in here. Oh, and I’m planning on recovering that polka dot bolster pillow on her bed too! Hopefully, I’ll be sharing a completed room next month sometime when I figure it all out.

SOURCE LIST: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

Wall Color – Extra White by Sherwin Williams

Pink paint – Just Peachy by Benjamin Moore

Wallpaper – find it here

Bed – it’s been discontinued

Nightstands – find them here

Lamps – find them here

Peacock jewelry holder – find it here

Plush lavender blanket – find it here

White throw pillows – find them here

Line drawing art – find it here

September 26, 2019 By Kelly 16 Comments

White Kitchen and Bar Stool Update

One of the questions I get asked the most is how certain things are holding up in our house. From our couches to our kitchen table to certain paint sheens – you all want the scoop! I’m always happy to give my opinion (just ask my kid’s, ha!), and by far one of the most received requests I’ve gotten lately is how our bar stools from Serena and Lily are holding up. With good reason since you may remember my kids destroyed the last ones we had… in less than 9 months.

Serena and Lily just sent me a few new products to share, so now seemed like a great time to revisit their Riviera bar stools and take a spin around the kitchen.

First up, let’s talk about these bar stools – the quality is SO good! Our kitchen is the hangout spot in our house for sure, and these stools take a beating from my kids. They lean on them, tilt on them, knock them over, and they are still kicking!

Our island is usually homework central while I cook and try to answer questions (except the math ones, I leave those to the Mr. as I would like the children to actually pass their classes), so these most definitely get used every day.

They look so much more delicate and fragile than they are in real life. The best part is they wipe down really easy too. I still can’t talk about the tomato soup incident of 2019 (too soon, too soon), but let’s just say they came out completely unscathed.

They added the perfect pop of deeper blue to coincide with our navy breakfast nook chairs.

I love the addition of this Bedford tray on our island. The detailing on it is gorgeous, and I love having a tray corraling everything so it’s easy to move when I’m cooking.

I usually keep fresh cut flowers from the yard in here. but I snagged these on a Trader Joe’s run this week instead. I used a combo of white stock, wax flowers, and seeded eucalyptus for a pretty wildflower look.

You may notice I swapped out the rug situation in here too. It’s so nice having a longer runner in here vs the tiny one I had by the sink. This is an indoor/outdoor rug that is supposed to be really durable and able to be hosed off. I will report back on how it holds up when we inevitably spill on it, but I love the texture it adds to our space!

A good kitchen step stool was the thing that was missing from my life that I didn’t know I needed. My little guy usually hops up on the counters to grab stuff, but now he just grabs this cute stool and everything is so much easier to access. I even use it to reach my tippity top cabinets near the ceiling. Bonus – this has made his chore of emptying the dishwasher much easier too.

I would definitely buy these bar stools again. Serena and Lily pieces can be an investment, but the quality never disappoints me! I’ll link all of my fave Serena and Lily pieces below and I included a full source list at the end!

SOURCES: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

Cabinet color – Extra White by Sherwin Williams

Island – Blustery Sky by Sherwin Williams

Countertops – Misterio quartz by Vicostone

Bar stools – find them here

Tray – find it here

Step Stool – find it here

Rug Runner – find it here

Table – find it here (I painted mine white)

kitchen Chairs – find them here

Glass Vase – Hobby Lobby

Cabinet Hardware – find it here

Pantry wallpaper – find it here

Light fixtures – find them here

September 25, 2019 By Kelly 28 Comments

Cabbage and Kale Fall Front Porch Decor

It’s fall front porch time again! I get so excited to swap out my window boxes and planters every year, and this year was no exception. I’m teaming up once again with a bunch of my fave bloggers in the Seasons of Home Tour hosted by the fabulous Kristen from Ella Claire & Co. Everyone is sharing how they added fall touches to their porches or patios, and I can’t wait to check out all their fun ideas. But first, I’ll share what I got up to this year!

Also, Charlie says hi ;)

For like one second, I was going to go with orange mums out here this year, but what brought me back to my fave color pallet were my transplanted hydrangeas. They are still pretty shades of pink and purple and the thought of adding orange and yellow into the mix gave me visions of my Rainbow Brite doll from back in the day. My 6-year-old self would have been all about that color scheme!

I took a little vote on Instagram whether I should try a new color scheme or stick with my tried and true – the majority said to go with purples, so hopefully you will forgive me over here too for avoiding orange again this year.

I did, however, stray from my typical mum-stravaganza! Our local nursery had the most gorgeous kale and cabbage, so I tried my hand filling my large planters with them.

I left my summer vinca vine in there for some trailing greens, although I did trim it back a lot. That stuff takes over!

Here’s how it looks from the road. Unfortunately, I feel like this is one of those things that doesn’t photograph as pretty as it looks in person. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was nuts the 3 days in a row I was standing on a kitchen stool in the yard trying to shoot this at different times of the day to better capture it.

Of course, the window boxes got the fall treatment too!

Let’s pretend I remembered to wash the dirt off the house after planting these whoops!

I left the same vinca vine in here as well. Here’s a tip for getting them to look like they are really full and spilling out – I looked for cabbage and kale that were kind of growing out of their pots tilting on their sides. They were already leaning out if their containers, rather than straight-up – if that makes sense? So you can really see how pretty the centers are.

I love the mix of colors vs the all mum flower boxes I did last year. This is a mix of Flowering Kale, Purple Fountain Grass, and Celosia. They are all pretty hardy and being close to the house should help protect them from frost, but I may cover them at night if we get a super cold snap. Also, I should mention I bought 2 purple fountain grass and split them in half to put in my planters and window boxes. If you are able to find smaller ones you could skip that.

I’m also happy to report these have been here a few weeks now and still look great! I did water them a lot through the random week of 80’s (not complaining as it could be snowing!) we had last week. I’ll be honest, I’m not the best with mums, a lot of them looked bad after a week or two last year, so I love that these seem like they will last me the season.

It’s fun to drive up to the house and see the pretty fall colors. Oh and I should add that pumpkins will eventually make their appearance out here too. I’ve decided to wait a while this year and not provide a pumpkin buffet for the entire tribe of neighborhood squirrels. Sorry dudes!

If you are new here, I just used my same pillow covers from last year. I sewed covers and put them on those long body pillows to get that extra-long lumbar look for cheap!

Now we are just anxiously awaiting all the trees to take their turn switching over to fall here in MI. Be sure to check out all the amazing bloggers participating in the tour below – happy first week of fall!

Ella Claire & Co. | Rooms for Rent | The Lilypad Cottage | Maison de Pax

Maison de Cinq | Boxwood Avenue | City Farmhouse | Craftberry Bush

Zevy Joy | French Country Cottage | Jennifer Rizzo | Home Stories A to Z

My 100 Year Old Home | Kindred Vintage | My Sweet Savannah

September 20, 2019 By Kelly 18 Comments

Easy Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Fall always puts me in a baking mood. I think it’s the fact that I mostly grill our dinners all summer long, so I miss just puttering around my kitchen. I’m ready for soups, crockpot recipes, and pumpkin everything (minus lattes) this time of year! This week alone, I’ve made two batches of applesauce, a cheesecake and another batch of these easy pumpkin butterscotch muffins. This is one of those fake-out super easy recipes that looks like you went through a lot of effort, but it could not be more simple.

I’ve made a zillion different iterations of this recipe, but this is by far my kid’s favorite. You start with just two ingredients – a can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie, just good ole pureed pumpkin) and a spice cake mix. You could just stop there and mix those two together and pop them in the oven. Which I’ve done and they are simple and delicious. But my kids love it when I add in a cup of butterscotch chips! Again, you could just stop there too if you are in a hurry, but why not whip up a quick crumb topping to add another little layer of sweetness? Easy Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Just mix butter, flour, sugar, and a little pumpkin spice and crumble over top. I love the homemade vibe it gives them and it looks like you went through a lot of effort. Perfect to bring to neighbors, church or just eat two with your morning coffee…not saying I did that or anything…

5.0 from 4 reviews

Save Print

Easy Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Recipe type: Dessert Muffin

Cuisine: Fall Recipe

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 box spice cake mix
1 cup butterscotch chips
CRUMB TOPPING
2 tablespoons softened butter
6 tablespoons flour
¼ C sugar
½ tsp pumpkin spice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375
Mix pumpkin puree and cake mix in a bowl.
Mix well.
Add butterscotch chips.
Put in a greased cupcake tin or use cupcake liners.
Top with crumb topping.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I’ve mixed in walnuts or pecans into these easy pumpkin butterscotch muffins too and they are delicious – like I said, you could make then a zillion ways! Happy weekend!

You can check out more of my recipes here on the recipe page!

September 18, 2019 By Kelly 22 Comments

Simple Fall Home Decor

I’m normally breaking out my boots and sweaters, ready to embrace my inner pumpkin spice latte this time of year (although ew, not really a PSL fan – anyone else out there with me?). However, I’ve been a little slow to hop on the hayride this year – summer just felt way too short with the Mr. gone. Alas, the leaves are already changing in Michigan, so it’s time to reluctantly get with the program and share a few simple fall home decor updates I’ve added to the living room.

To get in the mood, I made homemade applesauce and pumpkin muffins with butterscotch chips to channel some autumnal vibes. Then, I hit the backyard with my scissors. I love cutting some of the beach grasses from our yard to bring the fall indoors.

This Karl Forester is from out by the pool. I tucked a few bunches of it into these new vases that I snagged at Target to fall-ify our mantel.

I mentioned Juniper Print Shop in my Friday Feels post last week, and here is the print I downloaded from their site. The subtle golden fall colors are so pretty, and it was only $20. I put it in a frame that I already had, and it’s really changed the look of the mantel.

In that same post last week, I shared the green and oatmeal-colored Target pillows that hopped in my cart.

This green checked one over here might have just followed me home too…

I love how they mix in with the other pillows I used for summer. You don’t need to swap everything around each season, just adding a fresh pillow or two can really update a space. You can even shop your home instead of the store. I added this big knit blanket that was tucked away in the linen closet. It used to be on our bed a few years ago and now we all fight over snuggling up in this corner.

I love my big planter of jade that normally sits on the coffee table but I swapped it out for a vase filled with some more beach grass. I’m not sure what this stuff is called, but it grows along a marshy spot on the lake, so I snipped a few. It’s so feathery and pretty. The jade found a new home on the dining table for now.

I bought these pretty candlesticks at a local store called Stoffer Home this spring, and they are the perfect touch of coziness on our sofa table.

Other than playing musical pillows and snipping some free stuff from the yard, this is as fall as I’m getting on the inside this year! It feels good to simplify, but still have things feeling fresh for the new season.

My window boxes and front porch are up next as well as a few more batches of applesauce!

SOURCE LIST: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

Wall color – Extra White by Sherwin Williams

Couch – Maiden Home Sullivan Sectional in Oyster

Chairs – Maiden Home Leroy Chairs in Denim Tweed

Rug – find it here

Floors – BuildDirect

Coffee table – find it here

Stone – J&N Stone Quartz color Price

Sofa Table – vintage find

Candle Sticks – Stoffer Home

Blanket – Restoration Hardware

Green Velvet Pillow – find it here

Blue Pillow – Find it here

Blue Pillow with green tassles – find it here

Oatmeal pillow – find it here

Green checked pillow – find it here

Vases – find it here

Art print – Juniper Print Shop

White stone vase – find it here

End table – find it here

Mirror – find it here

Light Fixture – find it here

September 13, 2019 By Kelly 28 Comments

Friday Feels – Fall Finds

Welcome to another Friday Feels where I share what I’m “feeling” this week. This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.

WOW! It’s been a while since I’ve had a moment to do a Friday feels! Today, I’m sharing a random mish mash of things :)

First up, I’m creeping into fall over here, and I found a few affordable cozy pillow options at Target (I was there to “grocery shop” and went home with these beauties, but what else is new). These will be making an appearance in a mini fall home tour I’m working on for next week. I’ll link a few faves below.

I’m also still out in my yard every week clipping all the free things growing. I’ve moved on from branches and hydrangeas to beach grass. It’s perfect for some free fall vibes.

Next up, there are a few blogger run small shops I’ve been loving. Chris loves Julia has the cutest clothing line – Propertee. I have the Homebody sweatshirt and hat. The sweatshirt is perfect for cozy fall weekends at home, and the hat is great for covering up “day-four-without-washing-it” hair.

I also love Jenny Komenda’s Juniper Print Shop I used the ferris wheel prints from her shop for my daughter’s room in the past, but I just printed off new art for my mantel to transition into fall as well – I’ll be sharing that next week! They are $20 for a download. It’s such an affordable way to get great art for your home.

I’m on the hunt for a few pieces for my daughter’s room makeover that I blogged about earlier this week. She really needs more storage in her room for all her books, glasses, etc… and I found these super cute nightstands from Wayfair. At $125-ish a piece, they are at a great pricepoint for a nice sized nightstand with a deep drawer. There are a few fun color options as well! My trusty UPS guy is supposed to drop them off next week, so I’ll keep you posted!

Ok next, and I’ve talked about these before, but I’m still obsessed with them – Rifle Paper Company Planners. Make fun of me all you want (the Mr. regularly does) with your spiffy electronic phone calendars and notifications. My brain needs good old fashioned pen and paper to remember stuff. I love making lists and seeing my schedule a few weeks out easily. You will have to pry my paper planner from my cold dead fingers before I make the switch to an e-calendar.

I’ve had one for each of the last four years, and it’s the perfect size to stick in your handbag and pretty enough to leave out on your desk or nightstand. I love all the little details inside, and they come with fun stickers for special events and reminders. Plus, the collection from past years look great on your bookshelves when you are done with them. They are on sale right now, and you can find yours here.

Also, I’m toying with adding a new monthly blog post answering any questions you all may have. A little “Ask Kelly” column. I get a lot of emails and messages with different questions, and I thought it may be fun to share some on the blog??? From design, blogging, organizing, daily-life, or just whatever you may be wondering. So, let me know if that’s something you would want to see, and if so – you can leave questions in the comments, dm me on instagram, or email me too!

OH! And a quick housekeeping item. Over the summer, I updated the shop our home page so now you can easily shop by room. I tried to include links to everything I could with notes about what I couldn’t link (flea market finds, or local items, etc.), so if you are looking for something check there! If you click a link and it doesn’t take you to the specific product page that means it’s currently out of stock or sold out, so check back.

Happy weekend!

September 11, 2019 By Kelly 44 Comments

Tween Girl Floral Wallpaper Bedroom Progress

Last week I made a few updates in my son’s room and today we are heading across the family room to my daughter’s side of the basement. This is one of those “if you give a mouse a cookie” moments, except if you give a blogger a hole in the wall, she will redecorate an entire room! :) Tween Girl Floral Wallpaper

If you remember my daughter’s room, it looked like this with that cute swinging chair below.

Well, we went almost 2 years without incident until my daughter decided to sit on top of the chair ala Miley Cyrus in the wrecking ball music video. Thankfully, she was fully clothed at the time, but she did indeed come in like a wrecking ball…taking out a good chunk of her wall in the process.

It sat there for about 6 months until I finally decided to tackle patching it (I used a mesh patch and spackle to cover it up, sanding and priming as well), but of course, I was out of the Topsail paint color. That all somehow rolled into painting her room a new color. “And while we were at, we might as well add some wallpaper, right mom?”

“Oh and remember you have your old queen bedframe, couldn’t I have that in my room now too?”

Chip off the old block this one :) Also, envision her sprawling her tiny 4 ft 8” body out on her twin bed trying to convice me that she is basically Shaquille O’neil trapped in a twin bed and can’t possibly be cramped in it one more night.

So, here we are redoing her room. I thought I would take you along for the ride rather than just showing you the finished product. A little real life progress, rather than the magic of HGTV poof the room is done overnight! I mean, it did take me 6 months to patch a hole in the wall, but I’m hoping to move faster than that on the rest of the project.

This is what we have accomplished so far –

I patched the wall (no small feat, I’m not sure I’ve ever patched such a large hole), and it looks good as new!

I painted all the walls Extra White by Sherwin Williams (the same color in most of our house). She really wanted white walls with bright accessories, which I’m totally on board with becuase it makes it easy to swap things out as she ages.

I hung this fun wallpaper from Anthropologie that she fell in love with (I’m really letting her steer the ship this time). I haven’t hung wallpaper in FOREVER, and I’m pretty proud of myself for tackling it again. The Mr. and I last hung wallpaper together in 2006 and decided it would be better for our marriage if we never, ever, did that again, so I was on my own. In true Kelly fashion, I calculated wrong (math is not my strong suit) and ran out of wallpaper. Thankfully, I realized this and left the missing bit for where the bed would go. Shove the bed up against the wall and no one ever needs to know! ;)

I put our old bed frame in here and ordered a new duvet cover that hasn’t arrived yet. For now, I raided my pillow closet and found this duvet, pillows, and quilt I had leftover from a campaign I worked a few years back. The joys of being a blogger – I have no shortage of extra pillows about.

We are off to a good start! We have plans to do a little makeover to her dresser, add some new nightstands, a rug, lamps, art work, and the new bedding too.

She is thrilled to have a bigger bed and it actually feels cleaner in here which I love becuase there isn’t as much floor space to fill up with dirty clothes and craft supplies. We shall see how long that lasts…

Charlie certainly approves having a larger napping spot during homework time in the afternoons!

SOURCE LIST: (contains affiliate links, which means I get a small comission if you buy from my links at no extra cost to you)

Wall Color: Extra White by Sherwin Williams

Wallpaper – Find it here

Pillows – TJ Maxx

Hanging Chair – Find it here

Quilt – Vera Bradley

Bed – it’s been discontinued, I can’t find a link for it anywhere

Flooring – Armstrong Laminate Forestry White Washed

Tween Girl Floral Wallpaper

September 4, 2019 By Kelly 20 Comments

Rustic Homework Desk

Summer is officially over and my kids are back to school. Well, they went back last week already, but I needed a week to get my house back in order. With the Mr. at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program, it was a long summer of single parenting with a lot of Lord of the Flies shenanigans happening. For instance, someone spilled an entire bottle of honey in the back of the pantry and just rearranged some things to cover it up rather than actually cleaning it up. Clearly, I wasn’t spending enough time hiding out from my kids in there with my glass of wine and trusty bag of chocolate chips, as it took me several weeks to notice. Or I just ordered pizza too frequently. Either way, the house is back in order (mostly), the kids are back in school, and the Mr. is back home safe and sound with us!

Which means that I’m ready to get back to work here on the blog. I have a few fun projects happening in various stages, but I thought I would dip my toe back in the blogging water with a fun little DIY project I just completed.

I’ve been working on a few changes in my kids’ rooms and I did a little desk switcheroo from one to the other as my daughter’s room is getting an overhaul (wallpapering is on my agenda this week). She has been trying to convince us that at 11 she has outgrown her twin size bed (although our 8-year-old is almost bigger than her, her nickname around here is Mighty Mite, so trust me when I say she is just fine in the twin), and when we got a new bed for our master last winter I promised we would move the old one down to her room eventually.

With that, I realized it would be a bit crowded with her desk in there, so we decided to add it to my son’s room instead. The teal legs and fuzzy ball chair weren’t exactly my little guy’s taste. Here’s what it looked like in my daughter’s room.

I broke out the spray paint and gave the legs a new coat of matte black. I also sanded down the top and stained it a darker color to match the world traveler/pirate vibe in his room better. It was also a little too big for the space. It hit the door trim to his bathroom, so I dusted off my power tools and used my circular saw to cut the sides down by an inch on each side.

Now, it looks like it was made for this little corner. I also added this great leather desk chair. It’s adjustable so it’s a little higher for his 8-year-old self, but I know with a classic piece like this that it will grow with him. He was so cute plopping his feet up on the desk proclaiming to be ‘just like dad at work.” Apparently, he has grand visions of the Mr. hanging out all day on the phone with his feet up.

I have had this sailboat print for a long time that Melissa Lyons sent me, and I hung onto it until I had the perfect spot for it. It fits in so well in his room.

I added a few more world traveler type accessories and it really feels more grown up in here. We designed this pirate room together when he was 5 to be easily flexible to swap items out as he grows. I’m happy to report with just these few updates it really feels more like an 8-year-old space. He used to have a locker here (see below) that was so fun, but he really didn’t store anything in it. This feels like a much better use of his room and he has spent a lot of time drawing and designing inventions here already!

Oh and here is a little sneak peek into his bathroom. I haven’t really shared this on the blog before. I’ve been hunting for some wallpaper or tile or something to finish this space off since we moved in, and I haven’t figured it out yet. Stay tuned!

Oh and I always get questions about where all my kids’ stuff is or how their rooms stay organized. One thing we planned out with their rooms being in the basement was they could have nice large walk in closets to shove all the toys and everything into. Here is a snap of his semi-organized closet.

Thanks again for being patient with me taking the summer slow over here on the blog. It was great to just soak up the time with my kids and enjoy, but it feels great to getting back into the routine again!

You can read more about my son’s room here.

And more about my daughter’s room here.

SOURCE LIST: (Contains affiliate links)

Walls – Functional Gray by Sherwin Williams

Floors – Armstrong Forestry Mix white washed laminate

Rug – old from West Elm here is similar one

Bed – garage sale find, similar one here

Bedspread – Serena and Lily, they don’t carry the exact one but this is similar

Shelf – DIY

Desk – Hobby Lobby

Leather Chair – find it here

Hourglass – find it here

Globe – flea market find

Wander pillow – find it here

Star pillow – DIY

Octopus – find it here

Black extendable lamp – find it here

Navy desk lamp – find it here

Light fixture – find it here

Sailboat print – Melissa Lyon Art

Nightstand – HomeGoods find, similar here

Pool House Exterior Plans

A Day in the Life…

White Nightstands – Tween Girl Bedroom Progress

White Kitchen and Bar Stool Update

Cabbage and Kale Fall Front Porch Decor

Easy Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Simple Fall Home Decor

Friday Feels – Fall Finds

Tween Girl Floral Wallpaper Bedroom Progress

Rustic Homework Desk

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