rustic + gray and white.

i am loving this image of gray and white tones with a touch of rustic elements.  exactly the colors and the vibe i am dreaming for our master bathroom.  which, is the next room in our home that will be getting a mini-makeover.

{image via pinterest}

inspired: wooden doormat

 {image via martha stewart}

when i saw this colorful wooden doormat here and here, i immediately pinned it as an upcoming project of mine. and so, over the weekend, i decided it was time to spruce up the entrance of our home and make my own wooden doormat.

my wooden slats were slightly longer than the directions called for so i asked jeff to drill 3 holes instead of just two into each piece. and, because i love white, i decided to paint mine white.  however, after painting it white, i did distress it a little with a darker glaze and some sandpaper.  from start to finish it only took me a few hours to complete and i absolutely love the way it turned out.

you can find the complete directions here if you'd like to make one too!

a happy monday.

how was your weekend? i was very excited to have my cousins here with us for the weekend.  they arrived late thursday night and it was a weekend of catching up and visiting with family we don't get to see that often.  it definitely was a treat to have them here and we wished the weekend didn't have to end.  but, they left very early this morning, before the kids even headed off to school.

so, i'm enjoying a quiet monday at home, catching up on housework, laundry and getting organized for the rest of the week ahead.

p.s. - the picture above are the first marks on the new chalkboard wall in my freshly painted office. when i walked in here this morning, it made me instantly happy!! hope your monday is a happy one too!!

hello monday.

today i'm just thinking, how much i love us...

and... how lucky i am to be so loved by an amazing husband and three sweet children. hope you are having a happy monday and perhaps are feeling very loved too.

pictures are from our front foyer. the i love us downloadable print can be found here.

good morning monday (and love).

how was your weekend? mostly, we stayed at home. and, i happily worked on a few (crafty) projects that have been on mind. sometimes, i see something i really, really like and i say "i can do that." and so, i do. usually incorporating some of my ideas and a little of me too.

like the paper wreath i saw on willows home and garden blog. loved it. and, had to do it. so, i tore out pages from an old paperback book and created my own version. slade and i crumpled the pages first and with glue, i attached them on a metal ring, which i had on hand from an old lamp shade. (i knew it would have a use someday!) after the ring was completely filled with pages, i hand-stamped a tag and then tied it to the wreath with twine. simple as that.

i hung it in my foyer among meaningful things i love. like the pictures of our little girls. or my longtime dream of going to paris someday. the first letter of our last name- my love for typography. and especially, a watercolor of the very first home jeff and i purchased together. it was the house we brought all three of our babies home to. thoughtfully painted and given to us by jeff's uncle who was the reason for our very first dance and meeting almost 11 years ago.


so much meaning (and love) on this foyer wall. it was the perfect place to hang my love wreath. just in time for valentines day.

p.s. the house number pillow on our bench reads "endroit de la joie", which means "place of the joy" in french. so perfect, since my home is my place of joy, a place i love.

silence at home.

rainy, gloomy and gray. i think it's the perfect day for silence and staying at home. it's very rare that i have these quiet moments alone. i do look forward to them every now and then. moments to think, to reflect and time to organize my thoughts. and then gratefully, i can welcome back all the noise and chatter that usually permeates through our home. it wouldn't be our home without it and i am so thankful for the busyness that usually surrounds me. but for now, there is silence here at home and i am enjoying these brief moments alone.

print available here.

i'm back.

image via here

the weekend was wonderful. the weather was a bit cooler and we enjoyed our weekend outdoors at home.

i loved waking up each morning with three smiley faces crawling into our bed and not having a schedule or a plan for the day. our days just fell into place. we enjoyed walks to the playground and playing outside. we made complete dinners on the grill and then when it became dark, we roasted marshmallows and made smores while sitting around the fire. i am loving that we are starting to see a glimpse of fall.

now, the kids are back in school, back to a scheduled day. and i'm back to my daily routine but rejuvenated by a wonderful weekend spent right here at home.

memories of home.

i've been thinking a lot lately about home. the way the sun shines brightly into our foyer during the day. and the way the streetlight shines into our bedroom at night. pictures of our children hung on the walls. memories. my kitchen. cooking. baking. sweetness fills the air. pizza night on fridays. and the warmth. our children's bedrooms. the comfort. and a true statement of their personalities. in the last few days, they have been saying how they miss them too. the slamming of the garage door and running down the upstairs hall. nightly rituals and our usual sundays. projects i started and ready to complete. projects i am anxious to begin. i do miss our home. thankful for the time away. but, we are ready to go home.

books by color.

I do not have a huge library of books, but I do have enough to fill a bookcase. And lately the shelves have been looking a bit boring. So today I decided to organize all of my hard-back books by color.

It definitely adds a splash of color and vibrancy to my neutral living room of cream, beige and black.
What do you think?