our house

updating our old fence on a budget

07.18.19

this post is in partnership with ace hardware

when we redid our backyard three years ago, we put off replacing the dingy old fence that totally didn’t belong whatsoever, but was functioning just fine. it always stood out as the only eyesore and it was always on my list to fix someday, but my neighbors on the other side of the fence didn’t want to replace it since it is in fine condition (and is much less ugly on their side since we’re on the backside of it).

but when we updated our backyard recently and replaced all the cactus with softer toddler-friendly plants, we started spending so much more time outside and the ugly fence started bothering me more and more. so i made some calls to fence companies and realized i could reface it instead of replace it!

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interiors / tips

how to choose the perfect white paint

06.26.19

this post is in partnership with
easycare ULTRA PREMIUM PAINT BY TRUE VALUE

a question i am asked so frequently is about how to choose white paint and what colors are on our walls, you’d think white paint is white paint, but it can be a really tricky decision! i struggle choosing any paint, but white can be the most challenging because it’s such there are so many different shades of it.

for our newly renovated master bathroom, i went with EasyCare Paint’s Coconut Water in a satin finish. we painted our house prior to moving in and way prior to having arlo, so now that he’s here, i really appreciate using a paint that is low VOC (and certified by the asthma and allergy foundation because it minimizes irritants and pollutants in the air!)

, especially in a less ventilated space like the bathroom. and the scent of the paint was actually so mild– unlike that intense smell of paint that we’re all used to.

i am really happy with the color we chose because i wanted a shade that blended with our plaster shower, but it’s not always as simple as matching your white paint to an element of the room, sometimes it’s way more complicated! so here is my advice that will hopefully help you a bit… Read More

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interiors

the coolest plugs i’ve ever seen

06.24.19

this post is in partnership with legrand

another bathroom tease leading up to the big reveal and one of my absolute fave elements of the room is the pop-out plugs we used from the adorne collection by legrand!

they are totally incognito until we need them, and blend in so seamlessly with the rest of the space. we don’t use plugs in the bathroom frequently because our toothbrushes are battery powered, and i’m not super versed in giving myself blow outs, so the plugs are mostly there just in case. which is why i am so stoked to have them hidden the rest of the time! (btw the popouts aren’t GFCI, so we added GFCI boxes into the back of the vanity!)

OBSESSED! you don’t even notice a plug is there. it’s definitely one of the first features i show people when i give them the tour haha. Read More

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baby / entertaining

arlo’s second birthday party : theme + look!

06.17.19

omg his party snuck up on me on this year, i definitely did not spend as much time or energy on planning as i did last year when i basically started a month into his life. i have to say, when you’re nursing a baby and laying under him asleep for hours a day you find more time to spend on pinterest! i also considered not even doing a birthday party this year, but since we really don’t entertain much, i think it’s a fun reason to get everyone together and be creative.

as you probably know if you follow along on instagram stories, arlo’s favorite movie has been mamma mia 2 for 32 weeks now (i know this because i have footage of the first time he saw it and sat for an entire movie for the first time ever). lately he has actually preferred the first movie instead, but we have clocked hundreds of hours watching the movies and i pretty much know every line of dialogue by now. it seems only natural that it would be the theme of his party (he also likes elmo but we can do that next year if he still does lol)

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pretty everything / roundup

pretty everything : standing + table fans

06.12.19

actually had a reader write and ask if i had a recommendation for an attractive fan, and since there’s a legit heatwave happening in LA right now– i figured it was a great time to do a roundup! sadly in general, there aren’t a ton of modern fan options, but i sifted through the minefield of cheap plastic fans and found some pretty good ones!

the fancier fans definitely come with fancier price tags, but it’s for sure one of those things that you wouldn’t be replacing annually like you might with the cheap fans, so i think it’s worth the extra expense if you can swing it.

also! some of these are smaller desktop fans which i almost excluded, but i think they can be super helpful if you stick them on your nightstands during bed etc, so just make sure if you’re purchasing one you’re looking at the size :)

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interiors

my faves from flower home by drew barrymore

05.30.19

this post is in partnership with walmart

i realized i haven’t actually EVER shared a finished tour of the studio. we spent months and a BUNCH of money fixing it up, but i never ended up getting it actually furnished or clean enough to really use properly (didn’t help that i never invested in AC or a wifi router!) now that arlo is older and we spend more time outside, i have finally decided to fix it up and start using this amazing space we are so lucky to have!

i have a lot to do, some furniture to remove, a lot of cobweb cleaning, and a ton of stuff to purge and organize, but of course the fun part will be making it pretty — so for now i just started with a couple of pieces from drew barrymore’s new flower home collection at walmart.  Read More

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baby / diy / interiors

a modern outdoor kids playhouse makeover

05.28.19

this post is in partnership with ace hardware

so excited to finally share arlo’s outdoor playhouse with you guys! i wasn’t actually 100% set on having a playhouse, but i wanted to have something for him in the backyard now that we’ve removed the cactus and made it more toddler-friendly. whenever we are at the kids museum, he seems to enjoy the little houses most so i thought he would probably love a playhouse and gid rationalized that we can he do playground stuff at the playground.

i looked for any pre-fab houses that were attractive as they came, but all the best looking ones i could find were built custom and i just knew that wasn’t a realistic option for us. maybe if gid were a carpenter, but he’s not so i’d rather just spend less than $500 to buy one. i didn’t love the look of any as is, so i found one with the best “bones” and knew paint would transform it into an actual attractive element of the yard. i worked with ace hardware’s paint studio and i’m so happy with how it turned out.

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