Spring Is Here!

Celebrate warmer weather with hot new hues, bright bouquets and airy style! Let these photos get you in the mood for the best time of year!

A Beautiful Spring Table Setting

Source: HGTV

Skip the florist and go straight to your backyard! There are tons of beautiful flowers that will make a perfect bouquet. Add some natural elements such as bird's nests and butterflies and you've got a spring party waiting to happen! Key tip: light, bright colors! Learn how to make those adorable tissue pom-poms here.

Tangerine Tango: Spring's Hottest New Hue

Source: HGTV

Add a splash of Pantone's Color of the Year 2012 in your Spring decor! Simply adding accent pillows, picture frames, or a simple area rug can definetely brighten up a boring space! Key tip: Keep it simple, sister!

Fashion Trends for Spring

laurenconrad.com

This came straight from one of my favorite blogs, FabSugar. "You can't really think of Spring without thinking of florals — and in addition to wearing the print on dresses and tops." I'm a huge fan of florals and chiffon. I like to browse through LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's every so often and grab all of her floral prints! Affordable and amazing.

Spring is on it's way! How are you going to get ready??







The Little Things Make Life Simpler

If you find a way to make life easier you should share it! We’re all looking for ways to down size without getting rid of anything. Because nobody like to throw stuff away! ;)

Today has been one of the few and far between off days I’ve had in a long time. I chose to spend it organizing my closet and boy, am I satisfied. First I’d like to admit I have way too many clothes. Most of them I hardly ever wear and yet I don’t get rid of them. I’m not a huge fan of Goodwill only because I feel it isn’t fair that they only give 10% of proceeds to actually helping people so I opt for either taking them to Plato’s closet or finding friends who might want to look through them. After all of that, I’ll give them way. I at least try to make a little extra cash first.

I have a very awkward closet. It’s sort of in the shape of an “L.” The corner of the “L” gets lost and I can’t reach any of the clothing that’s been pushed back there so I decided to use that space to hang jackets and dressy blazers that I need sometimes but not all the time. I then proceeded to color coordinate my entire closet, which was a waste of time, but I am a little obsessive compulsive.

On the short side of the “L” are my jeans and pants which weigh so much that the bar is bowing. I knew I had to find a way to fix that, either by adding a new bar under it to relieve some of the weight, or find a new way to hang them.

I have a lot of folding clothes also and my dresser drawers were being stuffed to the max so I knew that I needed to make a trip to Wally World to find some bins. There, I bought one of the three drawer plastic storage containers and some hangers. The point of this entire blog was to rave about these 6 tier metal hangers I bought. They have clips on either side and I figured I could quite possibly hang my jeans on them. And this was the result.

Before

After

Amazing!

I am amazed at the space these hangers brought. 12 jeans fit perfectly on 2 hangers; its mind boggling. I have more than 12 pairs of pants so I must grab a few more packs of these hangers because they are my new found love. They’d be great for skirts, sleeveless shirts, and those shirts you love so much but they fall off the hanger as soon as you put them on it. They are metal so they’re extra sturdy and the rubber clips help hold up the jeans. BEST INVENTION EVER. (They’ve probably been around a long time and I just didn’t know it.) So go on out and get you some. You won’t regret it.

I grabbed some other little weird hangers with felt on them and used them to hang belts and scarves. Another, great idea.

Not sure why it wouldn't flip.

I organized my tank tops, exercise clothes, pjs, and shorts in to the plastic storage containers and needless to say I am so excited about my newly CONTROLLED closet. I don’t know how long it will stay being clean but at least I have places to put things!

How’s your closet looking?

Who Wants To Learn...

...in a classroom that looks like this?

Most of us are used to this kind of environment. It's a very common layout for today's school systems.

Growing up I was blessed enough to have a separate playroom for all my toys. Something you didn't know about me: I love to play school. My mother bought me all kinds of stuff for my classroom. I had a whiteboard, an overhead projector, real school books with worksheets, borders for my bulletin board, and more. I even had things that had my name on them: Miss. Osborn's class. My friends would come over and we'd all play school, after we'd get home from real school. It was crazy! We loved it! I was destined to become a teacher. I had a change of heart and chose design but it would be really cool if I got into designing school systems. They would be the most colorful and fun rooms! Here are some really awesome schools that I have found all over the world. Notice they all have a few things in common.

 

As you can tell the main theme of design is keeping the structural elements natural if not all white and bringing color through the accents and furniture. And by color, I mean lots of bright colors! Another key element is all the natural daylight. Children are more apt to learn better and stay awake in an environment like the ones above. Locking a child into a room with hardly any windows is not the best learning experience. More daylight = better worker productivity = better grades. That goes for middle and high school kids as well. I would love to go back to school if I could spend my day in one of these schools. Most kids flip out when they have to go to school because it's a new place that's scary and mom isn't there. But if schools were designed with a fun and inviting atmosphere it would make it more easier to transition the child into school when they're young.

Think back when you were at school. What did the classroom environment feel like? Did you enjoy going to school? Was it easy to stay awake and engage in the conversation? If any of the answers were "no" think about the look and feel of the room. Daylight? Fun colors? White walls? There are so many things that go into making a place easy and enjoyable to work in including HVAC. Schools, especially, need to be able to function and be aesthetically pleasing for children to learn in.

That's it for today! I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Meet My New Niece

I have been a little busy getting ready for the birth of my sister's first baby girl. She was born Feb. 23 at 2:02 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 19" long. So you can imagine out teeny tiny she must be! Her name is Evalee Anne and she is so precious. Everything went great and mom, dad, and baby are doing just fine. They are planning on coming home from the hospital Sunday at noon. Here are few pictures of my new niece. I am a blessed aunt!

This is the fourth baby I have been blessed to aunt, the second girl.

So tiny.. you just don't even know.

The bigger the bow, the better!

Pretty blue eyes!! :)

I couldn't resist! She's even cute when she's screaming!

Roll Tide!

My favorite.

The happy family!

She's a sleeper, that's for sure! But when her pretty blue eyes are open, they are so sweet. I can't wait to watch her grow up and see her little personality shine. We think she's going to be a gymnist because she loves to throw her little legs up in the air!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

James 1:17

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

12 Pink Rooms You'll Love

Growing up, I always loved the color pink. A part of me, as I got older, felt as though it was more of a little girl's color and I slowly began to grow out of it. Don't get me wrong, I still like the color but I don't really own anything in the color pink! I was doing some research on the color pink and I found that:

• Pink is essentially a light red and is usually associated with love and romance.
• Pink is thought to have a calming effect. One shade known as "drunk-tank pink" is sometimes used in prisons to calm inmates. Sports teams sometimes paint the opposing teams locker room pink to keep the players passive and less energetic. 
• While pink's calming effect has been demonstrated, researchers of color psychology have found that this effect only occurs during the initial exposure to the color. When used in prisons, inmates often become even more agitated once they become accustomed to the color.

So that led me to look up some successful interiors that used soft pink to give a calming, soothing feel. A few of my favorite pink rooms were:

In some of the spaces the color brings an antique patina that is beyond amazing. The last picture, of the little girl's room, is exactly what I would have killed for as a child. Without knowing anything about this color, it automatically made me feel relaxed, and, in a weird way, sickly. Myabe because I'm currently down with a terrible cold!

Today, as an adult, I can't get away from bright, hot pink interiors. It just looks so fabulous in certain spaces and adds a funky, play feel. In some spaces, hot pink is great as just an accent color up against pure white walls. You could simply add some throw pillows or recover some on chairs just add a little pink in your life! In other spaces, like kicthens, I am a sucker for hot pink cabinets. These are some of my favorite hot pink rooms:

I will visit this Barbie house one day!

How do you feel about the color pink? Does it make you feel more calm and relaxed or does it make you feel playful and loud? Even if you're like my sister and hate the color pink, you have to admit some of the rooms, if not all, are fabulous - in both shades!

Valentine's Blues



I hope everyone had a great day full of love and laughter. I enjoyed my day, some what, spending it with my grandparents and my mother. I woke up feeling extremely ill but I had an exam to take at 10:00 am. I pulled myself out of bed and fought with my sore throat and headache just so I could make it to class. After the exam, I asked to be excused so I could go to the doctor. There, I sat for over an hour waiting to find out what I infection I had. The resident that was examining me decided at the last minute that she wanted to draw some blood. I'd never had this procedure done before, not even for blood drives, so needless to say I was a tad bit nervous. It hurt.. a lot. But it determined that I had walking pneumonia. The doc then proceeded to give me a steroid shot and antibiotic shot in both hips along with take home meds and cough syrup. Can you guess how I spent my day? Sleeping... I'm still a little sore in my arm and hips and my throat hasn't completely healed up yet but I'm hoping to be feeling better by morning. I can't afford to miss anymore school or work so this bug as got to go!

My boyfriend and I opted for spending V-Day this weekend hopefully stuffing our face with Japanese steak and chicken (my favorite!) and exchanging gifts. I can't wait to give him his goodies that have been on my dresser calling my name for about two weeks now!! Valentine's Day is just another day that should really be celebrated every day. You should give your sweetheart gifts and love throughout the whole year, not just on one day! But, it's a great excuse for CHOCOLATE, and I wont pass that up! My daddy surprised my mom and I with both a dozen roses and a big box of candy to "share..." I'm not sure how you're supposed to share chocolate but it was very nice of him!

I'll probably watch a few sappy love stories in and out of sleeping for the rest of the night and eat, eat, eat all my candy and then pass out!

I hope everyone felt loved and apprecaited today because even if you didn't have a date, you are loved so very much by the Greatest love of all - Jesus! He's is truest, most purest form there is! Don't forget that!

 

Shopping Small

I am a HUGE supporter of local/small shops. I love designer clothing and accessories more than anything. I'd rather pay double for a shirt at a boutique than get caught with someone wearing the exact same thing. There's a few clothing store around town that have some of the cutest clothing. And what's great about them, they only trade one of every size, so chances are nobody will have the same thing as you! I love it! A couple of boutiques in the 280/Homewood area are:

Forever Young - Hwy 280 - by Books A Million: From babies to young adults they sell what I like to call shabby chic clothing, which I adore! They also have baby - toddler clothing along with shoes and accessories. Here's a dress that I bought:

This dress is totally my favorite thing in my closet. I wore it to the Rascal Flatts concert this past weekend and I got so many compliments. Two things I can't live without: lace and pearls! I love it!!

The prices run fairly cheap - if a waitress can afford it, it's pretty good! They always have great sales too! I haven't found something that was way over my price range, yet.

a.k.a girl stuff - Homewood - in the Soho area: I love this little shop because they get some of the craziest and adorable things in. From magic boxers to high class clothing. They have lots of collegiate themed stuff such as Alabama/Auburn lounge wear and undies. The handmade jewelry they have is absolutely stunning and they also sell Bride/Groom and Bachelorette things. They also have fun books and decor. I mostly shop there for the fun gifts they have to offer; it's definitely a place for a special present that they'll never forget!

The prices for accessories/decor are cheap, but they clothing is a little high. Very cute stuff, if you can afford it!

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If you're in the area and have a little time, stop in at two of my favorite places. You wont regret it...!

Stay Warm!