Hello Pottery Barn Outlet

Good morning!  I only recently learned that Pottery Barn Outlets exist. How I did not know this sooner is very upsetting!  When I found out that there was one located just an hour and half away from Charlotte, I immediately knew I HAD to go!  Last week my parents came from Idaho for a visit and it worked out perfectly to go last Tuesday. Richie had the day off, My dad and Richie wanted to visit Battle of the Cowpens (only 12 miles from the Outlet), and I had my mom there to help coax the boys into taking us. Perfect!

 

I love that my mom captured this photo.

If you haven't been to a PB Outlet, they are set up more like a warehouse and not at all like a regular PB store.  I was fine with this, as I flip through the catalogs so often that I know exactly what their items look like in a house setting. 

It took great self control for me to not bring home everything in the store.   I'm Serious!  Some items were 20% off, similar to the sales I see online, but other items were as low as 70% off.  Richie and I ended up purchasing this 9x12 rug for our home in Idaho.  I have had my eyes on it for months!  The regular price on it is $850 but because this one had been returned we were able to snag it for $350 (this included taxes, and the shipping fee to have it sent to Idaho).  Needless to say, we left pretty darn proud of our "great deal!"

 

I'm off to bake a pumpkin pie!  I have this troubling idea in my head that every good housewife should know how to bake the perfect piecrust just like my grandmother did.  We all have our quirks right? 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Xoxo,

 

Whitney

A Quick Trip to Idaho

I blinked and somehow the calendar flipped to November 7th! I flew home to Idaho last week for a much to short visit.  I'm not sure why I thought four days would be enough to visit all my friends, visit with family, spend time at our new house, and actually enjoy being in Boise.  Needless to say, it wasn't!  I was able to do a few things I really wanted to achieve, like picking out paint colors for the inside and outside of our house.  My mom and I also tried to cram in a little shopping and a lunch date with my aunt and cousins.  These two were top priority! And I was able to visit a few dear friends over coffee, although to be honest, I didn't get to visit with half the people I was dying to see.  Fortunately, I was able to grab a few photos.

People ask me all the time why I love Idaho.  This picture pretty much sums up the answer.  I was driving to meet a friend early one morning and literally pulled over on the side of the road to grab a photo of the sunrise.

This is my parent's Yorkie, Bentley.  Otherwise known as my little brother.

  This photo better depicts his every day life.

This one is blurry of my uncle & Bentley, but it was far to precious not to share. 

My beautiful mom and I taking a tour of my new house.

 My adorable very much in love parents, who I absolutely adore!

 This has quickly become my new stomping ground when I'm in Boise.  They have yummy treats, great coffee, and an amazing view of the foothills.

 
I wished I would have taken more photos to share but as I said before time was of the essence!

Xoxo,

Whitney

A Glimpse Inside Our Charlotte Home

I absolutely adore the apartment building that Richie and I live in.  It is right in the heart of the city, close to multiple parks, and most importantly I feel safe living here. I thought you might like a tour of our tiny home here in the city.

So, without further ado, welcome to our Charlotte home!

 Did you notice this adorable face in the last picture?  Look closely.

Thanks for taking a peek.

Xoxo,

Whitney

DIY Stamped Art

Our entry hallway has been an ongoing project since we moved into our apartment last October. It was white, boring, and sterile.  I knew that I wanted to do something fun with the space but wasn’t quite sure what.  I purchased four large gallery frames from Pottery Barn this spring and stashed them in the closet until I knew for sure what I wanted to do with them.  Then in August when I was back in Idaho, I was reading Better Homes and Garden and saw a great DIY using vegetables as stamps for art on canvas.  Ding! Ding! This was it! The inspiration I had been waiting for. 

While Richie was in Arizona this weekend, I turned on Revenge, grabbed a glass of wine, and got to work.

I purchased a few colors of acrylic paint, foam paintbrushes, and some canvas paper at Michaels; then ran to the grocery store for an acorn squash and a sweet potato.   My recommendation for any DIY project is do not set your heart on what you want it to look like in the end. Trust me, art projects very rarely come out exactly the way you have envisioned them, at least for me they don’t. Try to just have fun and not criticize your work before it’s complete.

First I laid out lots of newspaper.  Unfortunately for Richie, all we had laying around was his new Barron’s magazine that came in the mail that day.  Sorry Honey! Don’t worry I laid it out to dry and put it back together for you when I was all done.  It’s just more festive now.  Then I laid out all of my supplies on the table. 

We didn’t have and paper plates so I used tinfoil for my paint.  I began by painting each piece of canvas paper, using my large sponge brush, with one coat of paint.

While I was letting that dry, I cut my squash and sweet potato into the designs I wanted.  After my first coat had dried, about 15 minutes, I painted my veggies with my small sponge brush and pressed them down onto the canvas paper like stamps, waiting about 15 minutes between each coat. 

When all four were the way I wanted them to look complete, I positioned them into my frames and hung them on the wall.

Here is a look at how they turned out.

Overall, this project took about 1-2 hours start to finish and cost about $15 (plus the cost of the frames).  I am so happy with the ways these turned out!  They have not only brightened up our entry but have become a symbol that we are home each time we walk through the door.

Xoxo,

Whitney

Household Management Notebook

 A few weeks ago I took this photo of my desk area, mostly to hold myself accountable for its terrible state.  It was a disaster! I use this desk in our bedroom for just about everything under the sun (blogging, paying bills, reading magazines, sewing, couponing, and crafting).  

 

It was such a mess, I decided I had to find a new way to organize it!  And so...our household notebook was born. 

 

I ventured over to Staples and quickly discovered that Martha Stewart has an entire section full of fun things for a binder such as this.  That Martha sure knows what she is doing!  I purchased some cute tabs and a clear pocket from her line.  I ended up using all 8 tabs and labeled them: Schedule and Goals, 2-Dos, Blog, Meals, Bible Verses, Our Home, Vacations,  and Holidays and Parties.  These are the categories I found to be the most useful for our household but you can alter these to fit your own.

 

 

 

 

I found tons of great free pintables online to use for each category. 

I ended up using ones from I Heart Organizing and The Project Girl.

 

I also filled my binder with lots of college ruled paper for my daily to-do lists.  I like to right down my to-dos for the next day each night before bed.  It keeps me organized and holds me accountable to my goals each day.

 

 

 Thank goodness for this nifty little binder.  My desk is, once again, my happy place!

 

I hope that I have inspired you to get organized!

 

Xoxo,

 

Whitney

 

 

Dining Room Decisions

As you may remember from this post, I have been slightly obsessed preoccupied with our formal dining room in the new house.  Well, we finally took the plunge and made a decision on some furniture for the room.  Our love for this picture continued to grow, so after many trips to the Ethan Allen store in Pineville, NC we ended up ordering the entire ensemble. It was a VERY large decision for this household!

We found a great deal on the four Chrystiane side chairs in the color (959-Sand with white glaze).  Someone had ordered them and then changed their mind once the chairs arrived which lead to us getting a great deal on them during the warehouse clearance event.  We LOVE a great deal!

Lilly and Bentley have given their approval

We ordered 2 Cassatt arm chairs in the same color and fabric as the Chrystiane chairs to go on each end of the table and the Avery Large Extension Table in the color  (312-Mushroom with white glaze).  I loved the way the table in the picture above is a slightly different color than the chairs, so that is the way I ordered our set.  I found out through calling the 1-800 number that the furniture in the picture is actually all the same color but looks different due to the lighting.

Last two photos via: Ethan Allen website

I can’t wait to see how it looks in our new home when we get back to Idaho! 

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo,

Whitney

A Place to Come Together

I have been obsessed with decorating our formal dining room since the moment I first laid eyes on our new home.  I have so many ideas that I can't even narrow down exactly how I want it to look but here are a few thoughts...

 

 

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I bet you are wondering, why the formal dining room has caught my attention first...

Well, to me it's the most important room in the house!

Six o'clock!  Come hail or high water, that was dinner time at my house growing up. My mom was a homemaker and my dad farmed for a living.  He has always been extremely hardworking and my mom learned early on in their marriage that if she wanted him home for dinner a rule would have to be set.  It didn't matter what you were doing, the family met in the kitchen at 6 o'clock, and my mom had a home cooked meal on the table. It was our time to visit about our day and spend time as a family.  As an adult, I look back and cherish every single one of those meals.  I have even made it a rule in our household that when dinner time arrives we turn off the television and eat at the table.  Even though it is just Richie and I for now, it is a nice way to spend time together.  

I didn't go in search of a house with a formal dining room.  It didn't even cross my mind but I find myself dreaming about all of the Sunday dinners and holidays we will spend in that room.  I want it to feel cozy and warm so that each person who sits at our table wants to stay and eat for days.

Xoxo,

Whitney
 

Home Sweet Home

We bought a house!

I can't wait to share with you all of the ideas I have for our new home.

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Xoxo,

Whitney