I could not have pulled everything together without the help from my two co-hosts–thank you Christy and Kelly! And thank you to my friend, Sally, for taking these amazing pictures. You captured my favorite details perfectly.

I kept meaning to get this post up sooner. The timing seems appropriate right now because Baby B was due yesterday and I have a feeling she will be gracing us with her presence any day now…any hour? Come on, Baby B!

I posted the invitations what seems to be a very long time ago. And now, here are the vintage-feminine details { almost completely inspired by Pinterest discoveries }:

Ross had to drink a LOT of Starbucks frappuccinos for the glass milk bottles to be a success. I had to use a LOT of Goo Gone, which during my first trimester become one of the scents I could not stand anymore! We will use these for many parties to come, I think!

Flowers were done by a local flower shop using blue Ball jars as the vase. It’s a fact that I am a horrible flower arranger.

Aside from the bowl of pita chips, the food was completely gluten-free and included some of K’s favorites. The cake balls were done by my co-hosts and were delicious. They followed this informative, but hilarious video tutorial.

K introduced me to white chocolate drizzled popcorn. It’s amazing. A dash of sea salt over the melted chocolate is essential.

Also on the menu: fruit salad drizzled with coconut balsamic vinegar, peppers and chips with hummus, and three different flavors of cake balls. Drinks included water with lemons and limes, decaf sweet iced tea, decaf coffee and Laura’s hot apple cider.

These amazing { and stackable } metal tins came from Ross’s mom. She was an invaluable resource for me as I planned this shower.

She let me borrow all of the old boxes, too. The antique pink dishes also came from her stash, but I get to keep those!

Don’t you just love a good baby bump?

Once plates were full of food, guests came down to the family room for some mama wisdom, a few games, and gift opening. Although, the shower was held at someone else’s house, I brought almost all of my throw pillows from home to add to the decor. I have many. The window frames were borrowed from a friend–thank you, Jenni!

I had my heart set on creating a fabric strip banner from the very beginning. Actually, it’s this photo that inspired the “sugar & spice” theme, too.

There were many other mamas of new babies at the shower. I love this picture. Little Allie { on the left } is awake here, but all three of them slept just like this for a long time!

Praying for you, K! You are going to rock your labor. Can’t wait to meet your sweet little girl!

And I’m back with my fabric pom pom reveal!

As I mentioned before, my inspiration came from these lovelies.

My supplies and method–mostly to avoid a massive amount of hot glue mess–differed slightly from the original tutorial, but the results were just about perfect:

Here’s how it went down:

Supplies:

• Fabric
• Straight pins (instead of hot glue)
• Fabric scissors
• Pen or marker
• Something circular to trace
• Styrofoam balls (instead of paper lanters)

{ Step 1: Trace circles onto fabric. }

{ Step 2: Cut out circles. By far, this is the most time consuming step in the process. }

{ Step 3: Take one circle, fold it in half…}

{ …and then in half again. Yes, this is very similar to this method. }

{ Step 4: Using a straight pin, secure folded piece of fabric to styrofoam ball. Burlap proved to be a little tricky since it has so many holes. I had to find a spot where the threads overlapped. Even still, it’s quite delicate! }

{ Step 5: Continue folding a pinning pieces of fabric. I chose to do mine in groups of 4 all over the styrofoam ball. }

I chose to do two more to create a group of three like my inspiration photo. Most things look better in groups of three anyway, right? The two other pom poms were made from a men’s XL dress shirt. Each ball took an entire shirt. The ivory one was originally white, but I dyed the fabric with tea bags first.

Thank you to Sherri, Katie, Ana and Erin for motivating me to get this project done.

I’m throwing myself in the ring for Katie and Sherri’s second Pinterest Challenge. K made me do it. But I’m totally thankful for the motivation because I’d much rather be doing than just pinning. The purpose of all this is to encourage people to get out there and start creating all of the things we love and pin on Pinterest. Two new hosts are joining Katie and Sherri this time around:  Ana of Ana-white.com and Erin of House of Earnest. Lovely, nice to meet you.

So, what shall I make?

I’ve been eyeing these fabric pom poms for months. And now I have a very good reason to make them. Stay tuned!

{ via }

You should make something, too! Visit Bower Power and Young House Love for instructions.

See you Wednesday!

A few months ago, my mom fell in love with a piece of art from Home Goods. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t go with anything in their house. I shared this thought with her, but she insisted on buying it. Since then, it has taken up residence in a closet…somewhere. I know how much my mom likes the piece of art and I know she’d love to update the master bedroom and bathroom at some point, but things like that always seem to take a back seat to other priorities (who can’t relate to that?). So, I thought it would be a fun inspiration piece to use for a design board. Maybe they’ll use it some day. If not, it was still fun (and somewhat of a challenge, to be honest) to create this for her.

My mom has mentioned that she’d like to repaint their whole house. Based on my own experience, I’m suggesting Benjamin Moore’s ever-popular Coastal Fog throughout, including in their bedroom and bathroom. If they wanted to do something fun and unique in their room, they could paint the ceiling a very light blue like Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light.

On to the board…

1. I actually saw this piece of art pop up on apartment therapy a few weeks after my mom purchased it. I immediately thought, “that is a LOT of flowers” and it may not be the best piece for my parent’s master bedroom afterall. But as I started clicking away to find more inspiration, everything started coming together. Ultimately, I think the piece of art would be best in their bathroom, above the bath tub.
2. I love this rug from West Elm and think it would be perfect in their bathroom in front of their double vanity. They’ve always had two small rugs, but there’s definitely space for a larger rug like this one. I think the mustard color would compliment the art nicely.
3. The mirror in the bathroom is one of those enormous rectangular ones that doesn’t have a frame. I saw something unique on pinterest a while ago where two of these Ikea mirrors were placed on top of the big mirror. Of course, I can’t find it now. I liked how it looked and thought it might be a solution to such an overwhelmingly large, and boring mirror.
4. A tray in between the two sinks is a must for color and organization. This one from Crate and Barrel would do the trick. Of course, it should be accompanied with a few other bathroom organizing must haves.
5. How cool. A wine rack for storing towels. They have the perfect place for this – in between two doors. This is something to keep an eye out for at stores like Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, etc.
6. White towels!
7. White bedding! Down comforter + white duvet + white sheets = perfection. With color being brought into the room by way of art and other fabrics, white bedding is easy on the eyes and easy to clean. They have a king-sized bed and have struggled to find king-sized pillows that they actually like. I’m not exaggerating when I say that they have eight king-sized pillows floating around the house that no one uses because they aren’t comfortable. They seem comfortable in the store, but fall short once they’re home. I think hotels have the right solution: 3-4 standard-sized pillows versus 2 king-sized pillows.
8. White curtains! I’ve always loved this look, but they are a bit pricey. My go-to curtains are these from Ikea. They are inexpensive and look lovely when hung. I prefer to cut off the tabs, hem the top and use ring clips instead. I think they would be perfect to create these fun ruffled curtain panels I found via pinterest.
9. A solid colored bedspread like this chocolate one from Ikea would be a good addition to the foot of the bed. It’s also handy for chilly nights.
10. A few 18×18 throw pillows in this Vintage Plumes fabric would add depth and interest to the bed. Ikea’s down pillow inserts are cheap and comfy!
11. My dad gave my mom a cushioned bench for her birthday a few years ago. Recovering the cushion in this Maze Work Brindle fabric would give it a nice face lift and be perfect at the foot of the bed or under the window. I think an additional throw pillow in this fabric would tie everything in.
12. Although I don’t think it needs to be this big, an upholstered headboard using this Vintage Blossom fabric would be sa-weet! The size and color would mimic the rug in the bathroom, too.
13. Cavallini paper and calendars are a great source for really cheap art. This Flora & Fauna calendar would be great to cut, mat and frame in a series. The bright colors would pair well with those of the piece of art in the bathroom.
14. And what shall you frame it with, Dear Liza, Dear Liza? My go-to frames are Ikea’s Ribba frames. I heart them as evidenced by the fact that they are all over our house.
15. An oversized, gold initial from Hobby Lobby on the wall or leaning on a dresser along with some framed family photos would add a bit of personalization to the room.
16. I love using trays to organize and group things. This tray from West Elm is a beauty and adds a bit of sophistication to the overall look of the room. One on each night stand would make the everything look like it’s supposed to be there even if it’s not. It also wouldn’t hurt to check out the selection of trays at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabric. I’ve been impressed with their Home Accent section lately.
17. Who doesn’t want a set of bird bookends? Details like this help tie the room together.
18. I think the biggest thing that this large room lacks is overhead lighting. A black chandelier like this one over the bed would look amazing and draw your eyes up to the faintly colored ceiling.

charm…energy…romantic…vintage…quirky…

These are just some of the words that Heather Bailey uses to describe her Freshcut collection of fabrics. I’m enchanted with all of them. I love how Heather Bailey designed these fabrics to ‘cross-pollinate’ with each other. She makes it so easy to pick multiple designs and make them work together. I may have a creative side, but I consider myself challenged when it comes to things like this. As much as I enjoy the eclectic look, I am so not eclectic. I just need to accept it. I try to make things match way too much.

As we embark on the purchase of our first house – a home we can actually paint…with colors…oh, imagine the possibilities! – I’m quickly shifting into domestic-goddess mode. Kitchen curtains, throw pillows…and so help me if we have a girl!

More to come!