9.27.2013

Loving...Inspirational Quotes Edition

Friday!  Friday!  Friday!

This might be the happiest I've ever been for Friday!

Not only has this been an exhausting week, but also an emotional one.  Those of you that follow me on Instagram, know I've been having a tough time at school.  Quite honestly it's been taking a toll on me.  I'm in the process of writing a post about everything I've been dealing with, but for today, I thought I would share some inspirational quotes that have been particularly helpful in the last few days.











I've got nothing else to say...these words sum it up!

Have a great weekend!

9.20.2013

Loving...

As always TGIF...AND...what a week!

Yesterday I was at school almost 14 hours!  Immediately after dismissal we had interviews for 3 hours (one of our teachers has decided to resign so we're in the process of finding a new K teacher) and then that was followed by back to school night.  I am wiped out...probably will be asleep by 8:00 pm tonight!

That being said, I am really hoping you have had a better week than me!

On a happy note, here are some things I have been loving lately...

C. Wonder is a frequent flyer in these "Loving..." posts...pretty much everything they sell is just fabulous and I have to admit, I'm a little more than a bit obsessed with this piggy bank!

In this past post I mentioned Tory Burch boots.  Well friends, I tried them on recently and while they're gorgeous, I really prefer more of a tan color than dark brown.  Since Katie, of In the Pink posted these on Instagram, I have been smitten!  These are the replacement boots I have been searching for!  AND...on top of that, they are half the price of the TB pair, meaning I can buy them AND something else new for Fall without feeling guilty!

The fact that it's boot weather, also means it's sock weather!  Y'all...if you haven't bought a pair of J. Crew socks, you should!  They are the best...so comfy! These are just plain precious!


Bryce's mom brought a sample of this back from a recent trip to NY and it smells heavenly!  Bryce even exclaimed "What is that wonderful smell?" after coming upstairs when I first put it on!  It's available for pre-sale now and you are going to want to snag it up!

I love this buttondown!  The mix of classic blouse with fun cuffs and collar is right on the mark!

And finally, I'm going to diverge from my usual e-Card closer.  I'm going to be honest with you...it's been a really rough start to this school year.  I may go into it more in a personal post soon, but, things have been crazy, frustrating, and overwhelming to say the least.  I'm trying to stay positive and am really loving this quote as a reminder of why I teach.

What are you currently loving?

Have a great weekend!

9.17.2013

House Tour: Full Bath

Happy Tuesday readers!

Have a good weekend?

Mine was spent at the "rivah" for Bryce's cousin's wedding.  I am definitely having to readjust to school after a weekend that felt like summer...

For today's house tour post, I am sharing one of the easiest rooms I tackled in the house this summer-- the full/master bath!

This room makes me happy because it needed little work and with a trip to Home Goods costing less than $50 I was able to make some big changes in the space!

I'll start with my favorite spot in the room:

The biggest change that took place in this room was right here!  It previously was a storage space for a heap of magazines as well as Bryce's dopp kit.  A basket for just $9.99 solved all problems, thus enabling me to style the back of the toilet with my perfume, a favorite Tocca candle, a Michael's zebra tray, and a little blue and white trinket box.

This is how the space looks from the hallway!

Bryce's house was built in 1951, so it has the iconic tile of the era.  I am SO thankful that his is the black and white version and not the blue or pink versions we've all seen.  I actually really like the black and white and decided to use it as an inspiration for the space rather than something to overcome.  As you can see I pulled it in using the art work, towels, and zebra dish.  I also like having a few subtle pops of color in the space!


The walls are painted a light blue which may not be apparent in these photos.


This little basket solved so many problems in the space!

The back of the door holds my towel, body brush, and robes!

At first, I wasn't in love with this shower curtain which Bryce had picked out when he first got the house, but once the room came together, I decided it was perfect for the space.

A clean sink is a happy sink!
I used to store my makeup bag either on the towel rack pictured or the side of the sink...I can't tell you how many times it would tip into the sink, disastrous! Now it is kept in the linen closet!

Now for those of you who were wondering, here is the before...

Not bad, but definitely room for improvement...




What do ya think?

Storage solutions were definitely crucial for this small space.  I also wanted to keep the space as light and bright feeling as possible.

The only project I may have left in this room is sprucing up the medicine cabinet.  The one we have is perfectly functional and a good size, however, the frame for it is not in good shape.  I thought an easy fix would be to simply make a new frame and paint it black to continue the theme?  Thoughts?  

Sources:
Shower Curtain:  no idea (similar here)
Towels:  Home Goods (similar here)
Wastebasket:  World Market
Magazine Basket:  Home Goods (similar here)
Sine Print:  Eliza Askin
Toothbrush Cup:  Home Goods (similar here)
Zebra Tray:  Michael's (similar here)
Candle:  Tocca Colette
Horn Comb: a souvenir Bryce got in London (similar here)
Blue&White Trinket Box: Cotton Gin (similar here)
Dopp Kit: Orvis (similar here)

The next installment of the house tour will be a look at our dining room!

Have a great day!

9.12.2013

House Tour: Mudroom


Happy Thursday friends...what a week!

This was supposed to post yesterday, but, my scatterbrained self forgot to shift it from a draft to published post...SO, you are getting it today!

I decided I would do a House Tour series on the blog a while back.  As y'all know decorating is one of my greatest passions and on top of that, we've been working on lots of projects at Bryce's house and I wanted to have the chance to share them.  Initially I planned to wait for everything to be complete before posting, but projects have a way of taking longer than you expect and also leading to even more and bigger projects.  I thus realized that if I waited for the house to be "finished" this series would never happen.

I had also originally planned to do this in some semblance of order (i.e. start with the front of the house and gradually work my way in and then upstairs), BUT...the projects all seem to come together at their own pace so I'm just going to post rooms as I go!

So without further adieu, here is the first post in the Sundresses and Smiles House Tour Series!

I thought it would be appropriate to start with the mudroom since I posted my inspiration for our mudroom a few weeks ago here.

Our mudroom is just off the kitchen and prior to tackling the room, it had become a space not only for laundry, but also kitchen overflow.  It was so chocked full of stuff that it was barely functional and quite honestly a stressful room to be in.  Now our mudroom is clutter free and full of cheer!

Take a look, why don't ya!?

If you remember, this was my problem area in the last post.  The simple addition of a basket and fun cork board really brought style to an otherwise boring space!


I loved decorating this cork board!  I felt like a kid again as I pulled out my craft box and went to town!  
The quotes on the board say:  "A place for everything and everything in its place" (fitting for a mudroom, don't ya think?) and "make your reality a dream."  Additionally, I played with what to put on the shelf next to the cork board and thought the bunny I bought at Montpelier (post here) was perfect!

Y'all will also remember I was at a loss for what to do with this area.  I love the idea of some hooks and a bigger hamper still, but for the time being this is functional.  Our washer sometimes leaves a soapy residue that needs wiping (thus the towel) and this Scout bin is perfect to toss dirty dish towels and such in.

Directly across from the shelves is the washer and dryer.

The addition of my old nightstand a new rug made this area much nicer!

And now for the biggest project in this room...

A bar to hang clothes on!
Before our mudroom makeover, this space had nowhere to hang dry clothes.  Whenever I did laundry, I would hang clothes in doorways all over the house...it was a pain!  The solution was a copper tubing bar, hung using a curtain rod holder....thanks to Bryce!

I am smitten with the new knobs I got for the cabinets above the drying bar!

And of course, no mudroom is complete without some wellies!

Now for a look at the horrendous before (I'm slightly embarrassed to even share this...)

We rearranged the kitchen cabinets to fit all those baking supplies and now that rack is in the shed housing some of Bryce's hunting stuff...

A new rug, my nightstand, and reorganization of the cabinets was huge!

I'm feeling anxious just looking at this mess...

Needless to say, this space has come a long way!

The last remaining project for the room is a DIY burlap wreath for the door leading outside.  Those of you who follow me on Instagram, know this project was a huge failure by me and that I handed it over to Bryce.  Well, since then, we have run out of burlap and I haven't made it back to the store for more.  It is currently hanging on the door, unfinished.  I will have to post a picture of it, once it's complete...

Sources:
Corkboard: A.C. Moore
Bunny: Montpelier Gift Shop (similar Herend version here)
Basket:Home Goods (similar here)
Scout Bin: Shoulda Bin (ABC print no longer available)
Monogrammed Hand Towel: The Company Store
Rug: Marshall's (similar here)
Nighstand: My childhood nightstand, my dad and I painted it pink a few years ago.
Cabinet Knobs: World Market
Large Doormat: Pleasants Hardware
Boots: L.L. BeanHunter, and Le Chameau

The next installment of the house tour will be a look at our master/full bath!

Have a great day!

9.06.2013

Loving...

TGIF!!!

I am so glad Friday is here and can't wait to put on my PJs early tonight and just relax!  I am worn out from the first week of school!  I like my class so far this year, but am really missing all my babies from last year.  Every time I see one of them in the hall, I feel a tug at my heartstrings!  On top of that, the first few weeks of kindergarten are always the toughest.  Training the kiddos on classroom routines and structure takes lots of time and *patience*!

That being said the first thing I am loving right now is that the weekend is here!

And now for some other things I'm loving...

I think a Target trip is in order for this weekend to get this..perfect for the transition into fall!

How fun is this?

I am a little late to jump on this trend...BUT...I'm dying to get one of these for our sunroom!

If you teach...GO AND GET THIS BAG!
I've had mine since last year, but didn't start using it for teaching until this year...I will never switch back to another bag!  All the outside pockets are ahh-mazing and the bag is sturdy enough it doesn't tip!

And finally, in honor of getting through the first week of school, I'm loving this e-card:


Anything you especially love this week?

Have a GREAT weekend!