Summer’s Over Celebration

Happy Friday loves! It’s been such a long week for me full of ups and downs but I wanted to share with you something pretty and creative to make you smile. Since summer is coming to a close, now is the perfect time to throw a little backyard party celebrating the end of the season. The best part is, all the summer stuff is on clearance!

For a summer gathering, you need splashes of color and little vintage touches. I love hydrangeas during this season. Especially white ones because they go with everything. I go to my local grocery store and can find a fairly large bouquet for about $15. They make the best centerpieces for a table! To add a vintage touch, use a wire basket to put them in during the party. Obviously, they can’t live without water for very long so keep them in a vase before guests arrive.

A really nice vintage touch to your tableware is drinks served in mason jars. I know, how Pinterest of me, right? Normally, I hate mason jars for events (especially weddings) but for little BBQs or outdoor things, I think it works. Serve up a fruity drink in these classic containers!

I also love vibrant colors during the summer and I think that they should be a part of our table settings! At Kohl’s, all of their summer table linens are starting to hit the clearance racks. Now is the time to stock up for next year and get at least one use out of them sometime soon.

One of the things that I keep going back to in all of my posts is the great stuff I can find at TJ Maxx. It’s a place I will shop at no matter how wealthy I am. I find so many neat things at great prices there. Just like many other stores, a lot of their summer stuff is on clearance now too so go take advantage of it! Host a little party this weekend and create a beautiful table setting from the fun, quirky things you can find on clearance.

Tell me what your end-of-the-season traditions are!

Trending: Marble Accessories

Happy Tuesday loves. Yesterday was hectic, which is why you didn’t hear much from me. I’m going away for a few weeks so I’m trying to get everything done and be on top of my game for when I’m out of town. Who knew it would be so difficult? You don’t realize how complicated your life is until you try to take some time away from it. Come to think of it, can you really ever take time away from life? I’m busy holding down a full time job while I search for another one because my contract ends in November. Job hunting is a full time job in and of itself! Enough about my little life, let’s talk about my latest love: marble.

 Not only are our homes being decked out in marble accents, so is the jewelry we wear. I’m seeing it more and more than I expected. I knew marble counter tops were trending, but I never guessed jewelry would try to get in on the trend. Not sure if I’ll be getting in on this trend or not. I’m certainly on board when it comes to counter tops though. Call me crazy, but there’s nothing I dislike more than the granite counter top trend that’s been going on for the last 8 years or so. What started out as a luxury has become generic. Marble is timeless and something we should embrace more of in the design of our homes.

Since we all don’t have the money to go out and replace our counters on a whim, there are a few things that we can add to our kitchens that are much cheaper and still achieve the marble look. The first thing on my shopping list is a marble cutting board. I’ve seen these at TJ Maxx many times for about $30 and they look really nice! Cake stands are another pretty thing to have sitting in your kitchen. I’m dying to get my hands on a marble vase to put peonies in too!

Another really beautiful thing that goes well with marble is accents of gold! Even if it’s just a faux gold finish, the look of it is so elegant. There’s honestly nothing I love more when it comes to kitchen design. It’s also a classic and can’t be dated to one specific time period. Anyone who’s ever walked into a kitchen that hasn’t been redesigned since the 1970s knows how tacky it looks now. Classics are classics for a reason. Embrace marble and gold!

Gift Guide for Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful mama! She’s the biggest encouragement to me and she’s worked so hard to make me into the girl I am today. I absolutely adore her and consider her one of my best friends. I really lucked out when I was born to her and my dad. Some people didn’t get half as lucky as I did!

For her Mother’s Day gift, I found some cute Sperry’s on sale. I got her hooked on those a few years ago. If I were a millionaire, I would have taken her to Paris but seeing as how I’m not I new shoes would be almost as good.

I’m writing this post predominantly for the gentlemen who may have come across it that’s panicking because he forgot today was Mother’s Day. Guys, click on the image above for details on each of the items I included in my Mother’s Day gift guide. Perfume, flowers, jewelry, candles, and stationary are some of my favorite gifts to give! Good luck gents!

Let Them Eat Cake!

On Wednesdays we eat cake! This is my own little spin on Marie Antoinette and Mean Girls. “On Wednesdays we wear pink” and “Let them eat cake” are iconic statements from two glamor girls lost in their own worlds. Frankly, if they weren’t so shallow, I might actually adore them. Macarons, cupcakes, pastries, and expensive champagne are all delicious reminders of the aristocratic society Marie embodied. Too bad it started the French Revolution. 

Why the Dinner Table is Important

One of the most important rooms in the home is the kitchen. The second most important is the dining room. In kitchens, we prepare our meals and enjoy chatting with members of the household who buzz through the area. It’s a meeting place. When our food is ready to be eaten, we (should) take it to our dining areas so we can peacefully enjoy our meal. The piece of furniture we use is the dining room table and it’s the single most important thing we have in our homes and too often it goes unused.

Baltimore Rioting

With recent rioting in Baltimore, I noticed that those who are being violent don’t go home for dinner. Why? It isn’t because they aren’t hungry; it’s because no one is waiting for them to come home and share a meal. I’m a firm believer that cultural change begins at the dinner table. If we expect people to behave like good citizens, then we need to encourage the activities that produce good citizens. Families who gather together over dinner are likely to have conversations that include moral elements and create a sense of belonging for each family member. The food they eat doesn’t matter, only the bonds they develop.

Many of these young rioters come from broken or even absent families. I think it’s likely that they’re out on the streets causing chaos because they want to feel like they’re apart of something. Humans have a deep need to be apart of a group. Does the Baltimore rioting create a group identity for young people to cling to? We certainly cannot assume that anyone who came from a broken family will cause problems. However, we should be aware that young people like those rioting who (likely) don’t have a stable home environment are at risk for being drug into such groups because they want to have an identity.

As a nation who wants to see peace and love prevail in the face of anger, we need to encourage families of all types to spend a few nights a week at the dinner table. Our world is shaped by the people in it. We must be the change we want to see.