JoaS

With only about two weeks left before Maggie arrives, I thought I'd share some photos of the completely finished nursery! It took quite some time to launder and organize all the clothes and blankets. We were simply blown away by the generosity of our community, friends, and family. We are more than set with baby gear and little Margaret Elizabeth should not want for attention or love, that's for sure. Leftover shower decor makes for pretty cute nursery decor, if you ask me. The OG Margaret Elizabeth (my 93 year old great aunt) gifted Maggie this beautiful silver rattle with her name engraved on each end. I know it will be a cherished keepsake. Every child also needs a globe, in my opinion, to dream about and discover faraway places. This one happened to be Michael's as a child. My brother painstakingly hand cut each of the letters to make this beautiful pennant banner for our baby shower, and I promised we would keep it forever! It looks fantastic and...

There are so many celebrations going on right now: back to school, off to college, birthdays, anniversaries. We are heading into Fall and the holiday season will be upon us before we know it. Not to mention, it's Labor Day weekend and there are so many sales going on and many great deals to be enjoyed. I am someone who loves to get an early start on holiday gifts, and thought I would go ahead and share my thoughts on gift giving. Gifts is my second love language and I love thinking about the perfect gift for a certain person and the best way to stretch my limited resources or funds the furthest. One way I love to "give far" is to support small businesses . As a small business owner myself , I know just how much every single purchase means to the person behind the shop. It's one more drop in the bucket that fuels the dream, and it is particularly encouraging to those who sell their handmade wares. It's another vote of confidence for their craft and talent. Not...

First and foremost, I feel the distinct need to cover Fall decor, since that is on the brain at present. I just need those cooler temps to roll on in so can stop feeling like a fool with my cozy candles lit when it's 100 degrees outside. Anyway, here's a lovely picture of our fireplace to inspire cool thoughts: The truck in the first photo and the pumpkins in the lower left hand corner of the above photo are both new from Hobby Lobby this year. Pretty much everything else you see pictured above or below came from my mom, Michael's, or Marshall's over the last decade or so. I usually root through and get rid of old cheap decor and buy only one or two new things a year--one always being a seasonally scented candle (on which Michael and I both have to agree). The pumpkin banner is actually from Amazon, and it was under $10! This year's seasonally scented candle is this Rose and Currant candle in the most beautiful ruby jewel tone and smells divine. ...

Redecorating, or decorating your home for the first time, can get very expensive very quickly. As a newlywed, I made the mistake of going crazy in Marshall's or IKEA and spending way too much on things we didn't even really need or appreciate. I just wanted our new home and life to come together quickly and perfectly. That approach really just leads to a lot of frustration and lack of funds for other things like vacations, date night, or gifts - things that actually contribute to your marriage in a more meaningful and long-term way. So over the years I have found that when I'm feeling the itch to redecorate my husband and I very much enjoy just locking ourselves in the house for a weekend and rearranging furniture or displaying things that hold a lot of meaning to one or both of us that maybe hadn't previously been visible to enjoy every day. Above, you'll see our wedding cake topper, our favorite wedding photo, and my grandparents' phone that h...