I was 17 before I saw the ocean for the first time. It was the summer before my senior year of high school and my grandfather took us on a holiday to Emerald Isle, North Carolina. I. was. smitten. I loved the beach. I loved lounging on the sand and playing in the waves. Part of our move to New Zealand was to be near our favourite beach in the world so that the girls could experience life by the water. We go to Mount Maunganui regularly (even now that it's winter). Even if the water is too cold, ... Read More
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Llamas in the Kitchen Gift Guide
This post contains sponsored content. I am a member of the Cost Plus World Market Tribe. Llamas are trending right now and who can complain?! They're cute, fluffy, and just make you smile. Cost Plus World Market has gone llama crazy and has everything from llama ornaments to a llama lamp! I've rounded up seven fun llama products from Cost Plus World Market that will be perfect for your kitchen or to gift to your favorite llama loving friend! To add to all of the llama fun, Cost Plus ... Read More
Metallic Stenciled Entry Wall
This post contains sponsored content. When we bought this house, we knew it was going to be a long process to fix it up to the point where we were completely happy. The bones of the house are good, but it hadn't been updated at all since it was built. It has the added burden of being one of the first houses built in our neighborhood, so it's quite different than most of our neighbors. The later houses mostly have double height entries, whereas ours doesn't (but it has another bedroom, so ... Read More
Whimsical Painted Kids Desk
This post contains sponsored content. I've been really enjoying letting the girls make some creative choices in their bedrooms. It isn't always easy for me to step back, but it's so fun to see the happy pieces they come up with when I do. We had a small desk sitting around that we decided would get more use in Madeline's room. The purple color didn't go with her room at all, so I let her choose what colors she wanted it painted. The November theme for The Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest was ... Read More
Pink and Blue Painted Nightstands
I've had super plain IKEA nightstands in Matilda's room since she switched to a twin bed. They've been on my list to paint for ages and I finally pulled them downstairs to get to work. Her room has a lot of pinks and blues, so I thought I would go with something super fun and paint them in a bright pink with some metallic blue accents. DecoArt had the perfect colors and it didn't take long at all to finish up her new Pink and Blue Painted Nightstands. Supplies: IKEA TARVA ... Read More
Kitchen Backsplash Update
This post contains sponsored content. Do you remember when we started our kitchen makeover? No? That's ok, it was last year! Four kids, busy jobs, travel, other projects...there are a lot of reasons it's taking this long, but we do have progress! I've started making my peace with how slowly we work (at least I'm trying to!), but I do have a Kitchen Backsplash Update to share with you and I'm really happy with it. We fell in love with the look of Glamour Grout last year. We used it in a ... Read More