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    modern menorahs

    been meaning to do this post forever! most menorahs are pretty tradish and boring — but when i started looking i found some really cool, beautiful menorahs!

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  • our dining nook

    i only just recently updated the dining nook a bit, but i wasn’t super happy with it and recently decided i’m going to redo some spaces in my house since i’m never moving at this point and i might as well love my house now! so a very easy corner to do first was the dining nook.

    all that i changed out was the accessories and i left the furniture as is, but somehow it feels like a whole new space! and so much more my current taste than it was.

    the striped bolster pillows made the biggest difference, i was so excited when they went on sale recently and that they were so long i wouldn’t need to get anything custom made but they would really make the space feel a little more designed.

    i changed out the wall art and the light as well — the light has actually never really been centered over the table and i finally had it fixed and i’m just so happy with the changes!

    i still want to get roman shades here and i think that will warm up the space so much more, but i was too excited to not share the room now! someday i’ll have my dream formal dining actual room instead of nook, but for now — i’m really happy.

    and for those who are new here, i have more info about how i did the built-ins with ikea dressers in this old post. (wow this corner has come a long way since then!)

    i will say that if i had to do it again, i would use the wider drawers versus the smaller ones, they’d hold a lot more large platters and just be a lot more useful i think.

    table (similar) / chair dupe / pendant light
    striped bolster pillows / cushions (similar)
    wall mounted candle holder / beeswax candles
    wall art / olive tree / flowers / placemats (similar)


    shop the room

  • cute holiday finds from anthro


    soooo many special pieces in the holiday collection from anthropologie this year. i’m obsessed with the star napkins and the brass mistletoe.

  • cute holiday finds from target


    so much cute stuff at target right now! i know it’s early but i’m always afraid of things selling out.
    just click on the product directly to shop.

  • our dining nook, the new plan

    so as i said yesterday, i’m going to be making some changes to my house in an effort to love where i live NOW and finally update it to reflect my current taste more.

    first up is the dining nook, i know i only just recently fixed up this corner — but i decided it would be an easy space to start with, and an easy space to transform with just a few new elements.

    in the last phase, i changed up the table, got cushions made and brought in some new accessories — but i think it could be CUTER.

    i’m keeping the table, chairs, cushions (although they are FILTTTTHY already, but i guess i should probably just attempt to wash them) but i’ve decided to change up the rest of the accessories as well. i just think change might feel really exciting right now! i didn’t even realize that the wood wall hanging has been there for like, 6 years? more? yes it’s time for a change.

    our table

    a lot of people warned me about switching to a round table, and while it does make table-clothing more challenging and we do have less surface space overall, i could not be happier with it. it just fits the corner so much better. (although i can’t wait to have a big table again someday!)

    our chairs

    we’ve had our chairs for years now and they’re very in need of cane repair, but i’m keeping them for now. they’re classic and never go out of style and they were the same chairs we had during my childhood so they’re nostalgic for me!

    ps — here’s a less expensive 2 pack

    bolster pillows

    these were sort of the inspiration for everything, something that would make our existing built-ins look a little more special, but not having a bunch of throw pillows that has never felt right to me here. these bolster pillows are so long and perfect for my nook!

    rattan pendant light

    the light we have there right now is still beautiful to me, but it feels heavy and like it doesn’t really fit the vibe i’m going for.

    roman shades

    i haven’t gotten these ordered yet, but after putting linen roman shades in izzys room, i realized that the whole house is missing them. they add so much softness and make a room feel so much more put together.

    new art

    i’ve been obsessed with this print for so long now, and i had it pinned for my future dream house. it reminds me so much of martha’s vineyard! but i’m not going to live in the future and now maybe having this will make it feel slightly like i’m in my happy place.

    wall mounted candle holder

    this already arrived and it looks soooo good. they’re very trendy right now and i’m very into it.

    that’s it for this room! i’m soooo excited about this makeover, i hope you like it too! i’ll share real life progress when it happens.

  • loving where i live, now

    ok wow this is a long time coming, but i have some big news today. big news for our house anyway haha. i’ve decided that i’m going to fix up our house and make it my style, today.

    there was a big chain of events that went down that caused me to stop caring about our house — here’s how it went:

    1. after so many years of young adulthood and serial redecorating, i realized that i loved beige the most and if i decorated with more neutral pieces, i’d find myself craving redecorating less. i made our house very neutral and i felt at peace. and i was so proud of myself for keeping furniture for longer periods of time than i ever had before!
    2. the pandemic happened. we never left our house and i realized i wanted a new house. we started the process of house hunting and it was really hard, because the inventory was insanely limited and i didn’t want to settle for a house that didn’t have all the things we were looking for in our budget, when we were also perfectly comfortable in our existing house. (in retrospect was i too picky? perhaps, but i can’t think of a single house that we saw that i would have ended up being happy in)
    3. i had my first miscarriage and that began a long challenging journey that basically consumed everything in my entire life. i was in such a dark place and feels like i lost my passion for anything besides having a baby.
    4. then i decided i wanted to move again. i would save inspiration and ideas to secret dream house pinterest boards and have so much planned for my future home. why would i bother making changes to my house when we’re gonna move?! (i did add grass and do izzy’s nursery but still felt this way) my style has changed and evolved over the years and looking around my house… a lot of it isn’t even my taste anymore. i’m not even into boho!!!!
    5. interest rates skyrocketed and house prices never went down, and it became apparent we aren’t moving right now.
    6. i had an epiphany (and also my bff telling me) that i should just redecorate my house to my taste now and stop living in limbo. i should enjoy where i live NOW. my house used to be my thing! i shared it all the time and was more of a home account than anything else. i’ve let it become so unimportant to me and that makes me sad when i take a step back! BUT NOT ANYMORE.

    so suddenly i became OBSESSED with redoing the entire house. i have mood boards and pinterest boards and full shopping carts all over the internet, so i need to chill out a bit, but i’m going to make my house a place i want to be again. i am bored just looking at it at this point.

    i talked recently on instagram about feeling like i’m in a rut, with my creativity, my career, i guess all of it. i think that this will really help.

    first up, we’re gonna do the dining nook!

    … yes you heard me right. yes i just did the dining nook, but i’m going to do it better this time.

    and i should say, i’m not doing any major reno projects, this is mostly just changing out things to better suit my taste now.

    come back tomorrow and i’ll share the plan!!

    and ps, yes i still want to move. and i am still considering a big move, but i think right now this will bring me joy and i hope you too.

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    toys my 6 year old actually wants

    this post is in partnership with walmart

    arlo is now at the age where curating aesthetic toys is totally ancient history. all he wants now are all the cliche boy toys, no wood here. but i still get pretty excited when i find him a toy i know he’s gonna freak out about. and because i’ve probably gotta play with them too, they should at least be fun!

    walmart not only has so many good toys from all the major toy brands, but every single one of these toys was delivered SAME DAY to my house! i was actually not expecting it, so i had to find hiding places all over my house right away (iykyk). walmart is always super reliable for having the lowest prices, and i checked on some of these “hot toys” priced elsewhere and was super happy that i spent less.

    they also released a toy catalog from walmart this year!! arlo finds nothing more exciting than scouring through a toy catalog. but i found these all on my own (pretty much). here’s what i ended up getting for him for christmas and hanukkah this year (and i want you to know i used my own money on these!) :

    the jurassic park animatronic puppet— i mean i feel like this toy was designed for arlo specifically lol. plus he lovesss baby blue so i ended up getting that one.

    lego dreamzzz turtle van — we LOVE the lego dreamzzz sets, they are so weird and fun.

    teenage mutant ninja turtles mutant mayhem pizza fire delivery van — i mean, it’s a van that shoots pizza. of course he wants this thing.

    spider-man super web slinger role-play toy— this one is more of a gamble because he’s not as into spiderman as the other stuff, but he LOVES dressing up and role playing of all kinds, pretty sure he’s going to be obsessed with this.

    i have honestly NEVER felt this confident about his gifts, i guess this age is kind of cool because you really, really know your kids and what they’re gonna like at this point.


    i scoured walmart for more toy options for 5-7 year olds both boys and girls below (there are probably more boy toys because that’s my world right now, but i tried!)

  • our spooky porch

    we went harder in the front yard than we have ever this year– because every year older that arlo becomes the more he wants our house to look like spooky houses we go visit haha.

    ghosts

    these diy glowing ghosts are living outside and totally setting the spooky vibe with their lit eyes.

    skeleton

    it’s sold out AGAIN at the moment, but keep checking– i’ll be sure to update on instagram when it’s back like i always do.

    bats

    these might not stay up outside, but so far they have. i’m assuming the sticky backing they came with works best on glass.

    fog machine

    this also totally sets the vibe. it’s annoying that you have to do it manually, but anything under $50 will be that way. ours comes with a remote that changes the color too.

    flickering lightbulb

    this is super effective, i can’t believe i’ve never gotten one of these before! i swapped out our normal bulb and replaced with this one and it looks like a spooky candle is lighting our porch.

    pumpkins

    i got a bunch of the beigey fairytale pumpkins from vons, but they also have them at trader joes. i linked to some faux ones below as well, we haven’t carved pumpkins yet this year!

  • the best things on sale for prime day

    there’s another prime day happening today and tomorrow, so i thought you should know about some of my favorite deals happening. 

    i love stocking up on essentials during sale events like these– so i’ll probably be grabbing puffs for izzy, a bottle of bioderma, non-sexy things like that. 

    there are also plenty of sexy sale finds like the frame tv, my gold flatware, the viral eufy hand vac and lots loooots more… here are a few roundups of things on sale but there is lots more to shop over on my storefront.

    prime day favorite home finds

    prime day favorite kid finds

    some of my favorite things on sale

    i’ll be adding to my storefront as i see new sales, so make sure to keep checking there!

    shop my storefront here

  • my fave things this month : september


    ok a little late this month, but i was very busy putting izzy’s birthday party together. here are things i used and loved the most in september.

    wide brim crochet hat

    i’d been looking for a wider brim hat for a while that wasn’t hundreds of dollars, and i found this one that’s made to order and you can customize how wide you want it! i’m very happy with it.

    zit stickas

    i’ve been breaking out a little more than usual this month and stealing these from gid. THEY ARE AMAZING. they’re zit stickers that have microdarts in the patch. i don’t love that the packaging feels wasteful and they’re super expensive per sticker, but these things really work on the giant honkers.

    my tiny crossbody woven bag

    i’ve been loving this little purse, because i can also just throw it into my gym or diaper bag so i don’t have to transfer my stuff back and forth all the time.

    dae hair oil

    i got this to use after showers before air drying my hair, and my hair already feels way more hydrated and shinier!!

    ribbed button front vest

    i am obsessed with this vest — it’s super comfortable, flattering and i feel like i can dress it up and down easily. it looks good with all my soft pants too which i can’t say for every top i own! it’s just so cute i highly recommend it!

    my phone strap

    this thing is so good compared to using all the popsockets and loops and all the things that hurt my fingers. it’s way more comfortable, i can hold my phone securely with it, i can use tripods and phone mounts and wireless chargers all without having to remove it. big fan!

    plaid quilted jacket

    very into this jacket i got recently, it’s lightweight and the perfect boxy cropped length for me (i sized down and got an XS)

    izzy’s play tent

    i got this for izzy’s bday party and both kids love playing in here so much.

    miami muse body spray skull

    ok so i still haven’t found THE scent, but i got this at the mall recently and, as a millennial, i am loving dousing myself like i used to– totally 1999 love spell vibes. it smells really good and it’s inexpensive! for now, i’m enjoying it.