Summertime means...

...Hydrangeas in the bathroom! I'm so glad my Hydrangea is blooming this year after the pruning it got last year caused it not to flower that summer. The best thing about Hydrangeas is that the blooms can last quite a while in water. What's your favorite summer bloom to bring indoors?

Two Spots Around the House.

There are a couple of spots around the house that are making me smile lately. I'm in the process of seriously decorating on a strict budget (finally, after we've been in this house for 5 years), so things are still being switched up. There is a bookcase on the way from Target next week that will help to get things more settled and organized in our small living space (we have this particular bookcase in the 5 shelf already and we are really pleased with them). We're also hoping to get a hand-me-down day bed from my parent's this Spring that is destined for the girls' room.

Did you ever have a suitcase like this when you were little? My mom dug this out of the attic for me; it was one of my favorite things when I was growing up. Right now it is sitting on top of a wee dresser my mom was getting rid of. The dresser needs a bit of work, but it's clean and functional for now. 

The suitcase stays open and stores the girls' play jewelry and dress up crowns. I always smile when I see it.  

The other spot that I'm loving is the new-ish shelf above my desk. The driftwood photo hanger probably won't be staying there permanently, as it is too high above eye level. Red Riding Hood and the Wolf are about to go in storage while they wait for their new home, but I've enjoyed their company for a couple of weeks. See that snow globe? That's the only thing I have ever purchased form Sax Fifth Avenue. 

What spots in your home make you smile?

A Little Bit of Sewing for the House.

The last couple of years have found me busily sewing for my business, and that resulted in a serious lack of creating for our home. No more! We were finally in a place where we could begin to paint our living space, and that really inspired me to make our home as much of a cozy nest as I could. It's very slow going with three kids, the business, and homeschooling, but we're getting there. A couple of weeks ago I dusted off my sewing machine and stitched up a couple of pillow covers and some new curtains for our bedroom! I did the work over the course of a couple of days. It didn't take long, but the impact seems huge to me. 

I had enough fabric left from the curtains to make a cover for one of our blah-brown couch pillows. Using a nice coordinating houndstooth fabric I covered another of the pillows. I think the pop of black and white is a nice contrast for my quilt (seen in the background)! There are two more throw pillows left uncovered at this point, but I think I may fancy them up for a reading nook I'm working on.

I also dig the mix and match patterns in the bedroom.

Black and white is a great neutral, and it's so easy to add some pattern into a space using them. I'm really looking to do some sort of DIY wooden headboard eventually. I'm hoping a rustic headboard will bring some masculinity to the space. In the meantime that floral garland is taking up some of the ginormous white space above our bed.

What home improvement or decorating projects are you working on?