Book Club: chapter 1

{via flickr}

So far so good on our read. I did my morning pages everyday even though sometimes that was the last thing I wanted to do. Other days it all poured out. Normally I wrote about my daily life. No wonderful book ideas or poems poured out. Oh well, maybe next week. As for my artists date, does working on the garden and yard count? Although, I did get together with fabulous friends and we did discuss the book. Bonus points for me, ha!

How did you do? Check out more here.

Outfit to Room...

{ via Heidi Merrick}

Outfit to home office...

{via Pottery Barn}

Every office needs a desk. This one would sit facing out from the wall.

{via Modern Dose}

A special chair to sit in.

{via Velocity}

A soft rug for under foot.

{via Hudson}

A fabulous pendant for maximum desk space.

{via West Elm}

Simple ways to keep organized.

{via Wall Blank}

A stunning piece of art to hang behind the desk would make anyone happy especially one as beautiful as this.


You can still e.mail me your outfit. Have a wonderful weekend!

Buy Me Please








While stalking our real estate guide I came across this stunning home. I love the barn door, the way the kitchen could seat the whole neighborhood, the black ceiling in the dining room, and all that lovely lighting. I personally love a one level home, but with a railing like that I could possibly reconsider. Now may I borrow $1.8 million please?

Etsy love




These feel more like a piece of art. Are they not so stunning? They are from the Etsy store of Sarah Seven. I really am quite smitten with her designs. She also has a new blog that is full of extra eye candy.

Book Club: the Intro

This past week I read the intro to The Artist's Way. So far so good, but I am going to have to be realistic and say a 2 hour art date by myself will be quite a stretch. We are a creative family so am thinking they will not hinder my new artistic ways, but instead benefit from it. As for the 3 pages of journal writing a day, well I did go out to buy a new journal at Anthropologie today. I think it looks like a piece of art in itself. Oh, and yes I do believe she probably meant 3 note book size pages, but I am going to be realistic and stick with my pretty journal.

It's not to late to join. We will be reading the first chapter this week. To keep up with what is going on be sure to visit Wide Open Spaces. Happy reading!

A Garden Wedding

This is one of the most amazing weddings I have ever been to. It was not only stunning, but the people involved are very dear to me and my husband. My husband had the pleasure of marrying them almost 1 year ago. The bride even lived with us for a bit when I first had Ellie almost 4 years ago. The wedding was held in the gardens of the brides home in Mississippi. The whole design was based on the beauty of nature. I am so excited that she is allowing me to share it with you...




{The pergola was especially built for the wedding by the brides uncle, oh and my hubby is the tall one.}





{This cake was for the grandparents 50th anniversary}



{Their engagement pics were done by the lovely Audrey Hannah out in Colorado where the couple currently reside.}

I absolutely love how this was truly a family affair. It really can not get any more lovely than this.

{photography done by Liberty Powers and Kelsey Freeman, family of the bride}

On Being a Mom


I was tagged by the lovely Emily over at Wide Open Spaces. The topic: Motherhood. How could I resist?

The question: What are five things you love about being a mom?

1. Being able to have my babies at all is amazing enough. (See yesterday's post)

2. Although I do not love it when my kiddos are sick I do love being the one who helps them feel better. I love being able to hold them tight and give them sweet kisses that only a mama can. I love this time especially since it is one of the only times they let me hold them for long periods of time.

3. Being a mom has actually helped me become more creative. I sew dresses and skirts for my daughter, create shirts for my son, we color, we paint, we simply create.

4. I love being able to watch them grow and learn from the day they were born. To see my two become the best of friends. To see their minds turn. I learn a lot about keeping it simple from them.

5. Being a mom allowed me to see how much Jesus truly loves us. My love does not hinder even when we are in melt down mode. I do not love them any less no matter what they do. I now know a Jesus who forever loves me simply because He allowed me to be a mom. Now that's an awesome feeling to have.

Passing it on:

La La Lovely

Pink Wallpaper

Sweetie Pie Pumpkin Noodle

Perfect Sentiment

{only play along if you like, you won't hurt my feelings}

Thank You Jesus


Words can not describe how grateful I am to have Jesus in my life. If it were not for him I would not be who I am today. My favorite example, I am not suppose to be able to have children easily if not at all. I now have two and they are amazing. A miracle? It must be. To be honest, being able to birth a child in it's self is quite a miracle, whew. I thank you Jesus for dying and rising again so I could live the life I do, in the good and hard times. I thank you for the promise of something even greater when I die. That is hard to imagine, but I can not wait to dance with you. I love Jesus and I really hope you do to. Loving Him changed my life.

Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Outfit to Room...

This lovely outfit was sent to me by the very sweet lady of Head Over Heels. I thought it would be perfect for Good Friday, because it seems to me that this lovely lady already has her Easter bonnet on.

Outfit to dining room (for Easter dinner)...

{via here}
Feminine dishes to sit a top...

{via Sundance}
a more industrial table.
Pretty chairs to sit on.

{via Pieces}
A dainty chandelier would illuminate it all quite nicely.

{via Hermitage}
Of course, a lovely wallpaper to round it all off.

Be sure to e.mail your outfit to me if you haven't already.

Color in a Home







I have adored this home ever since I saw it in House Beautiful awhile back. I am sure you have seen it around before, but I really cannot get over the wonderful use of color. I love how it all feels very light and serene even with the use of some dark color. Now if only I could pull a look like this off in my own home.

A Cake Stand

Last week I had the privileged of getting to meet 4 other Birmingham design blogger's for dinner. I had an absolute blast and really can't get over how adorable and gorgeous they all are. Who was I so lucky to meet? Marianne from Haven and Home, Jennifer from The Newlywed Diaries, Brooke from Blueprint Bliss, and the new to me Jessica from Under a Green Roof. Well, over the weekend I began to scour Jessica's blog and came across the most lovely cake stand...

{via Wisteria}

I love that's it wood, sigh*. I only wish it wasn't so expensive.

{via Crate and Barrel}

I also became smitten with these when I saw them in the Crate and Barrel catalog. I love the ruffle detail and I could buy both for less than the price of the wooden one. I really do just love a pretty cake stand.

* I was lucky enough to do a guest post over at Blog Goggles today. Check it out if you would like. It's all about my signature style or lack of, ha!

Shopping Hiatus: 12 weeks down

This officially marks the end of my shopping hiatus. I hope to continue with the mind set of "do I really need it?". As for this past week, I did well. Over the weekend hubby and I took the kiddos to an air show. We walked for miles, ate horrible food, and had the very best time. On the creative end of things I decided to re-cover our benches in the dining area. They were starting to look worn and I wanted something fresh...



Yes, I did have to buy the fabric, but it is from a local business that is going out of business so I got it less than $10 a yard and I only needed a couple. At first I thought it may turn out too traditional, but with the green trim I added I think it turned out more youthful.


The best part of my week was that I won this letterpress print from Angela of SeeSaw Designs. I absolutely adore it! I did buy the frame, but I used a gift card I had. To get your own print be sure to visit here. I also love their blog. Really she and her team just rock.


Okay, so I also bought the two crewel pillows on sale from Pottery Barn and used up the rest of the gift card plus $10. Whew!


Oh, okay maybe I should change my week from well to decent. I fell head over heels for this lamp that I found at Home Goods. I found a slight crack in it so they brought the price down to $29.99. This came out of my own pocket, oops. The funny thing is all the above has been up since Thursday and the hubby still has not noticed.

Book Club

{image via here}

I am so excited to be starting The Artist's Way. I am even more excited with everyone who has decided to join in. Emily from Wide Open Spaces has begun to compile a list of names and has done an awesome introductory. I am thrilled that she has decided to start this sort of book club. Be sure to check it out and get your name on her list so we can stay connected throughout the journey. We are starting off with reading the introduction, Spiritual Electricity (the basic principles), and basic tools. Now to get reading.

My Garden

So it's a bit cold today, kind of odd since it's been in the 70's lately, oh well. As soon as it warms back up I am going to work on my garden. I have a dear friend who has a passion for gardening and she has offered to get mine in tip top shape. I could not be more excited. The kiddos and I spend so much time in the yard that I really just want it to be enchanting. Hubby actually started it for me last year for a Mother's Day gift. I am hoping it will be done by this Mother's Day. I believe our actual yard is made up of more weeds than grass so after trying to fix it ourselves for the past couple years we have finally decided to call in some help. Besides having a beautiful yard and garden I also want to make the outside more like an extra room. We already have a dining area, but I also want to add a lounge area. These are my ideas...

{via here}

I would like to replace the current light fixture to something a bit more substantial.

{image via here}

I really like the first, but the second is much cheaper. This is not they exact one I was thinking of, but close. I've seen it in Lowe's, but I could not find it online.

{via here}

I would love two chaise lounges. This is the best price I've seen, but it will add up since I do want two. I may have to go a cheaper route though. I will have to see.

{via here}

I want to purchase a bunch of terracotta pots in various sizes to frame out the patio area. I then will plant them with flowers, strawberries, and a few herbs.


{via Sprout Home}

I would also love to add a bird feeder or two. The kiddos love to watch the birds that stop to visit in the yard and I know would be smitten with the idea of the birds actually visiting for awhile.

{via West Elm}

To top it all off a few throw pillows will add the coziness I am looking for.

Oh, and if anyone has any cheaper ideas for the chaise lounges I would love to hear it. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.


Book Club


Emily from Wide Open Spaces has decided to start a sort of book club. I absolutely adore her blog and was super excited when she asked if I would be interested in reading the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I honestly never heard of it before, but the lady at the book store went on and on about it when I asked for help. So I thought I would extend the invite to all of you. I bought mine at a local book store and I think Emily said she got her's off of Amazon.com for only $4. Considering we all use our creative selves by blogging and in our daily lives I thought it would be a great way to hopefully stretch ourselves a bit. It all begins Monday, sorry for the short notice. I do hope you decide to join along. Just let me know if you do!

Outfit to Room...

This absolutely fabulous and unique outfit came from the lovely lady over at Absolutely Not Martha. I must say this one was slightly more challenging from the start.


This outfit as a nursery...


{via Design Public}

A crib and changing table in one is great for small spaces.

{via Etsy}

To hang over the crib.


A metal pendant gives a touch of the unexpected for a nursery.


{via Monte}

Every mama should have a glider that can one day move into another room.


A lovely rug made out of these carpet tiles will make a soft spot for baby to play.

Don't forget you can e.mail me your outfit to twoellie@gmail.com (you can just click my side button too).