Creating Your Nest: Part Two

I hope that you all are enjoying your Summer! And if you haven't read the first part to this series, you definitely want to! There is a lot of good stuff in the first post that you don't want to miss!

I first posted this series two years ago and thought it would be fun to repost again, because it did so well the first time and some of you may have missed it! Today's topic is based on one simple concept,

Life.

Without having anyone in a room there can still be so much life! There are many different ways of adding life to a room but my top two are:

#1 Photos
#2 Plants/Flowers

Remember we want our home to tell our story and what better way to do that, then to have photos around of our actual lives. I love pictures. They tell so much and people love looking at them. Why do you think people spend so much time on Instagram! Plus you can get so creative with how you display your photos!

My second choice for creating life in a room is to bring in plants or flowers. Now, nobody said they have to be real. I understand, by definition when you are talking about life, you would think that means real plants, not fake, but sometimes caring for plants can be so very hard! In my opinion, as long as they are green, colorful, and pretty, I say fake is ok. I actually have a mixture of fake and real in my house. I love to grab a fresh bouquet of flowers whenever I run to the market and I have a set of beautiful ferns in my dining room. I also have fake succulents on my fireplace and in my kitchen. They all look beautiful and add so much life to each room.

Take a look at some of the pictures below. I have plants/flowers and photos in almost every room of my house! I also love to bring in green plants from my own yard! We have a pine tree behind our house that I cut branches off of and use as part of my Christmas decor! Having plants in your home during the Winter months can also make your home feel more alive, especially since mostly everything outside dies during this time.

And the most important part, is to make sure you have fun. You can always rearrange, rearrange, and then rearrange some more, until you find the right spot for each item. Many Blessings!

Simply Yours,

Creating Your Nest: Part One

Exactly two years ago, I wrote a series called, Creating Your Nest. It was a four part series, where I talked all about decorating your home (nest). I gave lots of tips and style techniques, I shared the paint colors we used and tips for selecting paint for your home. After reading through all of these posts, I decided that I wanted to share each one again with you! There is so much good stuff in this series that I just had to repost again!!

Here is what I shared with you in the first part of this series!! Enjoy!!

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I first want to say that I am not an expert at home design. I never took any classes on interior design or decorating. I feel that I have gotten better over the years and have gained experience though lots of trial and error. I love to watch home design shows and I follow a lot of bloggers who are into home design and DIY decor, so I get a lot of inspiration from them.

I truly just have a passion for creating, decorating, and organizing. I love pretty things and I get so excited when a room comes together to tell a story. It takes time and I still move things around from room to room till I find the right spot for each piece. I rearrange constantly, not from discontent but rather, a fresh new look to love! It is so much fun to repurpose old things into something new that serve a purpose instead of just throwing stuff away.

I am so grateful for this gift that God has blessed me with and I am so happy to share a few of my ideas and tips with you! The ultimate goal is to create your nest (home), that you love, that also tells your story.

The first area that I want to talk about is the feel of your home. If you could choose one or two words that you want to describe your home, what would they be? Comforting, welcoming, safe, loving, peaceful, or maybe fun? It's totally up to you. Think about what you want others and your family to feel when they come to your home. Remember, you want your home to tell your story.

The second part of creating the feel of your home, is what colors you choose for your walls. You would be surprised how much a coat of paint can do for a room. For me, a fresh coat of paint is easy and not too expensive if you are looking for one way to quickly redo a room or maybe freshen it up a little.

Now, here is where some people may disagree with me, and that's fine. Remember I am not an expert, this is just my opinion. When choosing colors for your walls, you want to stay on the light side, especially if the room you are painting doesn't have a lot of light. Here are just a few of reasons why you should choose lighter, more neutral shades of paint for your walls.

1. It makes the room brighter
2. It makes the room look bigger
3. You can get more creative with your decor choices
4. You have more options for furniture because neutral colors match almost anything

I am not saying dark colors are bad all together, but in my opinion, you don't want to paint an entire room something that is really dark. Why not do an accent wall in another color, or maybe choose a dark floor to offset the lighter walls. You can always bring in color through your decor as well. I just think that lighter, neutral colors are a better choice when painting most of the walls/rooms in your house. Most of the time, the words that you want to have describe your home, go hand in hand with the colors you choose for your walls (What colors do you think of when you think, peaceful, serene, comforting?).

For me, when we moved into this home, choosing our paint colors was the most important part to creating and decorating my nest. It sets the tone for everything else you are going to do.

Check out a few of my favorite paint colors below. They can be used in any room of the house!

1. Stonington Gray ~ Benjamin Moore
2. Revere Pewter ~ Benjamin Moore
3. Wickham Gray ~ Benjamin Moore
4. Muskoka Trail ~ Benjamin Moore
5. Alabaster ~ Sherwin Williams
6. On the Rocks ~ Sherwin Williams
7. Egret White ~ Sherwin Williams
8. Fleeting Green ~ Sherwin Williams

Muskoka Trail Above Chair Rail/ Revere Pewter is Below

Stonington Gray

Revere Pewter

Most importantly try not to get stressed about it! It can be overwhelming. My advice, buy a bunch of samples to see what you like best. Maybe, buy some floor samples as well, to get a feel for how each room will look, but make sure you have fun! Many Blessings!

Creating Your Nest: Part 2
Creating Your Nest: Part 3
Creating Your Nest: Part 4

Simply Yours,

One Day at a Time: Do What You Can

For the first three months of this pregnancy, I didn't do much. I had no energy, I was nauseous twenty four-seven, and some days I couldn't even get out of bed. I literally only did what was absolutely necessary. Thank God for my husband and other friends and family.

Now that I am in my second trimester, and almost into my third, I am feeling much better and have more energy. I still only do what I can each day, because I still have days when I am exhausted and I still get nauseous on occasion, but I am so grateful that I am able to do more.

Maybe you feel the same way that I do, and maybe you are not even pregnant. I know that there were plenty of days when I wasn't pregnant that I was so exhausted and didn't feel like doing much. I wanted to share with you a few things that work for me, to help my days run smother and don't leave me feeling super drained and disappointed at the end.

For me the most important part of my day is my quiet time, when I first wake up. I spend about a half an hour reading my Bible and praying, with a cup of coffee, of course. Maybe if you aren't a spiritual person, then you can just take some time for yourself when you first wake up. I have some friends who do the same.

After my quiet time, I go for a walk. I only started to do this about a month ago, when I started to have more energy, but it has really helped to lift my mood and I have less back pain, surprisingly!! I guess Newton's Law is true. A body in motion, stays in motion, even if its only for a short period of time each day. I didn't want to be that pregnant person who just laid around all the time, I needed to get moving!

The rest of my day I just do what I can! At the beginning of the week I pick one big thing to get done and three smaller things to get done, and I look to see which days I think would be best to accomplish these tasks. Sometimes, it may take me two days to complete a big task, so I don't overload my schedule with too much each week. I also want to make sure that I have time in my day for my little one and my husband! I found that by doing things this way, I am not as stressed and I actually get more stuff done.

Believe me when I say, I know what it is like to have a mile long to-do list, and feel like you will never get it done. I used to try to do too much each day, and I would get disappointed and stressed out when I couldn't get it all done. This second pregnancy has taught me a lot. God has really showed me what it is that I really need to get done, and what stuff can wait. I created a sign over my bed with this verse and it has become my daily motto.

"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in You I trust, make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:8

Happy Monday and many blessings this week!

Simply Yours,