One of Many

I love the idea of using a screen room divider as a headboard. This one is rather stunning...


I also think it could make a good DIY project. I would love to recreate this one...


Today I am over on Mrs. French sharing another use for screens. Of course a gorgeous antique one would make quite the statement.

{image 1 western interiors magazine via Material Girls, Image 2 via Martha Stewart}

This & That

This is what I wore to a reunion of sorts. Later I changed into my Toms for church. It is comfortable...


That is the room I would like to be if I were one. I think we could be comfortable together...

{image via House Beautiful}

ME
Top: Gap
Pants: J. Crew
Shoes: Nine West

ELLIE
Sweater, Top, and Socks: Crewcuts
Leggings: Gap
Skirt: Right Bank Babies bought from Mini Social.

KJ
Top: Crewcuts
Jeans and Shoes: Gap
Hat: Auburn Tigers

SMITTEN

Happy Valentine's Day! I know for some this leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, but I think Valentine's Day is to be shared with those you love and well, I am pretty smitten with all of you.




Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

* I will be a bit MIA this week. If you follow me on twitter then you know why. Posts will resume as usual though. oh happy day!

An Organized Life: The Office

I thought I would share the office space/keeping room first since it was the hardest to clean out. In the beginning I had this space, plus a cabinet in the kitchen and the bottom of the pantry which adjoin this room. My goal was to whittle it all down to this small area and I did it! Oh, and did I mention it was hard?


This space is what keeps Kellen Jacob Photography, our home, and everything else going. It HAS to be organized. Each ikea magazine file holds paper, office supplies, mini albums, etc. I am hoping to buy a label maker to take this all to a whole new organized level. The drawers house my array of stationary. The binders are from Rusell and Hazel and I adore them. I also managed to move the printer off the shelves into a spot where it is less obvious. Did you notice the jar full of ribbon? I so adopted this idea from Emerson Made. Makes the ordinary so much more special and if I can see it then I am more likely to use it.


This is my new/old filing system. Old as in I have had it for awhile and new as in it is now working for me. I have a file for everything. Things to file, KJP, taxes, school, ideas, and even a file for things I have no idea what to do with. This new system will hopefully keep things from piling up on my desk when I am being too lazy to file it in the pretty little binders. We are also planning on getting a fire safe box to keep important documents and things of sentimental value.


I didn't show a full room view just because I am awaiting our new sofa and that will still be a few more weeks. The fabrics on top of the bench are one's that I plan to incorporate into the room. I am going to try to do a bit of color this year. Hope it works out.


You know how I am trying to not shop for too many new clothes this year? Well, a purse isn't technically considered clothing. I am still trying to decide whether to keep it or not. It's Cynthia Rowley and I bought it at TJ Maxx. I think she is really pretty and I did use my own spending money so it didn't come out of our main account which is the whole goal anyway. Do I NEED a new purse, no, but it has been well over year since I got my last one.  SIMPLICITY.

*Scratch the last part. I pre-post. I kept the purse. I LOVE it.

Baskets


I adore this image. Have for quite some time. It seems I am drawn to images that have a lovely basket within. I love the practicality of them and the simple and somewhat raw design. Today I am sharing my passion for baskets in my own home by sharing a few of my favorites on Veranda Interiors. Melissa has become quite the blog friend and I have enjoyed seeing her journey of building a new home, which will be stunning I am sure. Hope to see you there!

7 Things

I have been awarded the Stylish Blogger award, many times over so I thought it was about time that I played along. So sorry that it has taken me this long. I honestly can not remember who all awarded me so please, pretty please, email me and I will be sure to link you. I really do appreciate it. So here are my 7 things. Some fluff and some that have been life changing, if you only have time to read one please skip ahead to #7...

1. I LOVE to cook. If you have been reading for awhile then you will know this is a new thing. I had no idea how to actually cook until last year. I was the one who could mess up mac and cheese out of box, now we don't eat out of boxes. It was a resolution of sorts for me to learn, so I did.


2. My family. Well, what can I say I am passionately in love with them.

3. I was born in Venezuela. My mom was in an exchange program to Colombia in college, loved the country and stayed, met my papa, married, and moved to Venezuela. I was delivered by a man who may have had too many drinks and I was just over 4 pounds. About 3 months later we moved back to the US.


4. Photography was a hobby for the Mr. and I and it has become a full blown business the last couple of years. We are grateful to those who took a chance on us in the beginning. It is most definitely a blessing many times over.

5. I have a cleaning lady that comes every other week. There I said it. I used to be embarrassed by it, but now I embrace it. This past year I had a surgery that kept me from doing much, so the Mr. hired a lady to help around the house. After I got the go ahead to resume my daily routine the Mr. said I could keep her services, so I did graciously. Wow, glad to get that off my chest.


6. Gardening is my form of therapy. Love getting my hands dirty and seeing the miracles that this land can produce. I hope and pray that all my flowers come back this year, it has been quite a rough winter.

7. This one has been a life changer for me lately. My only hope is that I can convey my thoughts properly. Pastor Billy Hornsby, who happens to be our Pastor's wife and Ellie's teachers dad, has fallen ill. He went from sick to critical much too quickly. It is cancer. I have known him for quite sometime since my husband is on staff at this church. He is the President and founder of ARC and has been changing lives for years. He and his family lived over seas sharing the love of Jesus. He is an author. He builds leaders. I can go on and on. The part of his life that I admire most though is that no matter what he has done he has remained humble and that is rare. He truly just loves Jesus, his family, and helping people. He has built his life around it. He is ready to go home if that is what Jesus has for him. We of course are praying for him to stay a bit longer.

{This is Ellie's class and a few middle schooler's praying for Pastor Billy, She is the one holding on tight looking up at him.}

What has changed my life I suppose is just seeing the peace that he has with leaving this earth to go to Heaven. Believers can say they will be ready, but are we ever that ready? He knows he has done good here and will leave this earth without what ifs. A crazy amount of people from all over have flown in to see him. He is leaving a legacy based on loving others. Isn't that what life should be all about? When it is my time I too want to go out knowing that I did my very best for my savior, that I was a great wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend, and helped others that I have yet to know. That I loved others with passion, not with how they fit into my life, but how can I fit into theirs.  That my family know at all times that they are number one. Of course, me and the Mr. will fight, but I want him to forever know that I love him, really love him. That my babies never feel that they come second to what I am doing at that moment, aka blogging, cleaning, sewing, etc. That I will drop everything for a friend in need without hesitation. That I will drop everything for a stranger in need without hesitation.  Since coming to know Christ nine years ago I have said that loving people would be my passion, I have had my ups and downs in this category, and now I have gotten too comfortable in my life and need to go back. Need to go back to the place where I feel for people. Happy and sad people. Not pity that's something different, but love. A simple love.

*Pastor Billy spoke this past week during service for a few. If you would like to listen go here and fast forward to 30:38 although the whole message is good too. He also spoke here before he became critical.

Thank you! Live Love Small, Real Estate Style, Creative Outpour,  Constant in Chaos, Style for Living, Lona De Anna, A Dance with Grace which was actually awarded to Mrs French, Desire Design Delight

An Organized Life: Purging

Ever since announcing last week that I was going to simplify my home, well I have been on a mad dash to get it done. I know myself and know that if I don't do it immediately then it won't get done. Hence last years failure. I cleaned out every closet, laundry room, every drawer, and basket, etc. I quickly became thankful that I have a smaller home. Now on to some embarrassing photos...


Okay remember way back when Domino folded? Well, the week before it folded I decided to purge about half of my pile. Regretted it ever since and have been hoarding magazines ever since. I get an obscene amount every month. It's my favorite way to relax. I didn't get rid of all of them but I did whittle it down to a smallish pile of favorites. Now double the pile above and you will get the idea of what made its way to the recycling center. Now I plan to only keep my absolute favorites and with issues that only have a few features I like then I will scan them into the computer.


This X2 is what I cleaned out of my closet and the kiddos. The Mr. still needs to go through his, but he has been extremely busy so it will have to wait. As for toys the kiddos got to keep their top 3 favorites. Not top 3 toys, but top three activities. Ellie choose her doll houses, dress up clothes, and kitchen gear. KJ choose all his cars and trucks, legos, and a marble maze thing. I also let him keep his dress up clothes. Of course I kept the books they read and art supplies.

Now each room had roughly this much trash. So embarrassed, but it's the truth. It wasn't all wrappers and such, but things that were not in good enough condition to give away.

I must say I feel FREE!!! Everything has a spot and nothing extra. I even have empty drawers, cabinets, and such. I still have the garage to do, but that will only happen when it gets warmer and when the Mr. isn't quite so busy. From here on out I will be sharing my newly organized spaces. So excited!

TWO ELLIE


Changing up the blog a bit since I had a bit of a snafu the other day. Still not done, so please bear with me. Just trying to streamline a bit. Oh, and I do realize this photo of Michelle Williams has nothing to do with, well anything. I think it's pretty though.

Credits:
Angeleno Magazine
Photographer: Tony Duran

OOPS

It seems I shouldn't mess with my html late at night while waiting for the Mr. to come home. I was thinking about doing a little makeover anyway so I guess that just became a go.

Boots + A Room

I have had many request to bring back my 'what I wore' posts. Now that I am dwindling down my wardrobe to only what I LOVE and trying not to shop much for a year, well I am thinking they would get quite boring very fast. Today is different though. I got these fabulous boots and I never want to take them off! They feel like slippers and make the upcoming rainy season a little more exciting. I got them from Monika's new shop Splendid Willow Avenue. Love her and her new shop. She has impeccable taste.  Oh, and yes I am one of those that wears shades when it is dreary and rainy out. Bright natural light hurts my eyes. ha.


and if I were a room I would like to be this one for today. I think we would look smashing together in my little get up...

 
 boots: Ilse Jacobsen
sweater: J.Crew
leggings: J. Crew
gray tee: Target

PRETTY


Still one of my favorite images from Cottage Living. The whole home was rather lovely. I needed a simple dose of pretty for today. I have been working daily on organizing and purging our home of non essentials. I will share my embarrassing progress later this week. Today I am still working away. Feeling completely grateful for having a smaller home right about now, whew.

An Organized Life: Master Closet

My first stride into living a simple life means starting the year with a good purge. I decided to start in the closets. I removed around 50 items from my closet that I have not worn this past year. I also did this last year, yikes. I won't even mention how many pieces I took out of Ellie and KJ's closets. Let's just say they dress well. I plan to do this twice a year. My closet isn't anything special. Long and narrow. I get the bottom and the Mr. gets the top on one side. The other side is just big enough for a few shoe shelves that aren't even full anymore do to the purge, yay!


I hang all my clothes by type then color. It just makes me happy. Oh, and yes we have plastic hangers of all colors. So ugly, I know, but they are cheap. I would love to one day do all wooden hangers, but for now I will just try to make them all cohesive in all white.

This year I am going to try to buy only a few new items. I would love to say none, but that's not really realistic for me. My number one want right now is the perfect white v-neck tee that you can't see through. I think it is a staple that can go with just about anything. Let me know if you have a good source.

{image via House Beautiful}

This closet somewhat reminds me of my own although mine is not quite as pretty, but every post needs a pretty picture right?

An Organized Life: Being Transparent

I know you have heard me say before that my word for the year is SIMPLICITY. Did I happen to mention it was also my word for last year? Although I do believe I made huge strides last year I feel as if this year I have some room for improvement on my journey to live a simple life. I am going to share weekly what I have done to get closer to my SIMPLICITY goal. This week there will be two posts instead of one because I figured you all do not want to read a novel.

{via The Polished Pebble old home- LOVE}

What I love about blogging is finding others who share the same goals. The sweet lady over on Lavender and Lilies is also going through some great ideas to simplify on her blog. I am borrowing quite a few for myself such as "only buy it if you love it". She is talking about wardrobe, but I could easily apply this to all areas of my life.

 {via here via the nest}

Emerson Made who was just featured in the nest might just be the posterchild of being organized and living simply. I love how she said "keep only what you need, and keep it in plain sight. No hidden junk". This one may be harder to obtain, but I am willing to try.

 {part of Emma's assessment}

Emma took photos of her own home and evaluated what it is she liked and what needed changing. I love how she said "I feel like I have a road map now of what to tackle next and where to direct my money and energy". I too am adopting this idea. I feel as if I seem to make the same mistakes over and over in my home. There are countless times that I have bought things and quickly regretted them. I am hoping having a well mapped plan will keep me from making unnecessary purchase.


Seleta's 2011 words for her year resonated with me too. I really could just copy her list word for word, but I guess that would be cheating. The one that spoke to me most was to be more "playful". I find myself getting too serious at times and I am afraid that robs moments with my husband and kiddos that should just be fun. I analyze everything which is odd since I am quite laid back on the outside. Oh, and by the way I completely failed at this while doing this blog post. Got frustrated with the kiddos, ugh.

 This year the Mr. and I also talked about our future and what would benefit us most as a family. Well, to make a long story short we are going to try to be even smarter with the money God has blessed us with. We already take living debt free quite seriously. Our only main debt is the house. So we are going to try to dwindle that down in a five year plan. This means my not forever house is going to become my long term house and my love of spending will HAVE to be smarter, not much extra to play with.  I know in the long term this will be quite good for our family financially, but to be honest it will be hard because you all know that I dream of a move, but we are blessed with what we have so I am going to find joy in it.

Like I said a novel...