N&N's Nashville Homestead House Tour

So I had about a two week hiatus from the blog because I just got back from an awesome stay in Nashville!

I was lucky enough to tag along for a fence build that my husband’s business had scheduled for friends. On Easter Sunday, we packed up the truck and headed south. 

We not only had the honor of working for amazing people, but we were given the opportunity to experience the wonderful hospitality of their Nashville Homestead.  We really had the best accommodations that Nashville has to offer! 

Nicole has not only inspired me in the way that I style my home, but she has also challenged me to live more open-handed with our home. They are such a blessing to anyone in need of community or just a good meal as they generously share their home with family, friends, musicians, and even a few strangers. 

I am so grateful that Nicole allowed me to post a home tour and I hope their home inspires you as much as it has me.  

The living room is the first room you enter:

Maybe it's the mix of family heirlooms and the many handmade details that makes their home seem familiar and welcoming...

I love the decorative mirror placed above the bar that was a hand-me-down from Nicole's grandmother:

A handmade coat rack, a jewel-toned shade and a portrait of their Vizsla, Baxter line the hallway leading into the dining room:

The most important room is to the right of the front door - the dining room. We shared many tasty meals here including baked oatmeal, french toast, chicken & avocado enchiladas, lamb meatballs and spaghetti, etc, etc. 

The dining room displays Nicole's collection of vintage table cloths and handmade chicken wire frames.

The two downstairs guest rooms share the same charm as the living room and dining room:

Vintage games are hung on the wall:

The chicken coop and hammock can be seen through the window:

We stayed in the other guest room across the hall which stows more of Nicole's grandmother's beautiful dressers:

This cute basket holds the extra guest towels:

The history of the house is felt in the basement where the laundry room, wine cellar and studio can be found:

 I love the stone walls!

Last but not least, we spent a lot of our time outside. This may seem obvious since we were building a fence, but we also went outside for the deck, the hammock, the bonfire and the chickens!

Oh and check out their new fence by Creative Professional Remodeling and our great volunteers:

Needless to say, we had a great time and can't wait to visit Nashville again!

Easy DIY Bride to Be Banner

Photo Credit: Elisha Maria Coleman at Love Life Images

I had the honor of being in charge of decorations for a couple of my dearest friends' bridal showers. My BFF Carrie loved the banner I made so much that she used it on her wedding day!

The best part about this banner is that it is super easy to make and can be tailored to match wedding colors or party themes. 

Carrie's wedding colors were navy and yellow.  I found the Recollections Everyday Moments Paper Pad from Michael's for her banner. 

Here are the tools that you will need to make this banner:

1. A good pair of scissors
2. A hole punch
3. Adhesive Letters (I purchased these glitters letters from Michael's)
4. A pencil
5. A ruler
6. Scrapbook paper
7. Ribbon or rope (I used 1/2" ribbon)

The first step is to select your piece of paper:

I cut my paper to 11" long and 8" wide:

Mark a point 3" from the bottom and 4" from the side:

Use your ruler to trace to this point from both corners:

Cut out this area:

To make the hole punch, punch a hole 1" from each side (about 6" apart):

Now you can use this "flag" to trace and cut the rest of your "flags."

Once you have made all of your "flags," position and apply your adhesive letters. Some stick better than others. You may want to use hot glue if the letters aren't sticking:

Thread the ribbon through the holes. I used a navy and white striped 1/2" ribbon for my banner:

Another option is to use clothes pins like I did for my cousin's baby shower:

Here is the end result for Carrie's banner:

I added decorative hearts in between the words. Any shape would do so get creative and have fun with it!

Photo Credit: Elisha Maria Coleman at Love Life Images

Last Minute Wedding DIY's

In the last week leading up to our wedding, I practically lived at Michael's. There always seemed to be some last minute need for the tables, the favors, the ceremony, etc, etc. I had been working full time until this point so a lot of the reception details and decorations needed attention. I'm so grateful to the girlfriends who helped me out big time with this hefty task!

Being someone who loves the details, it was hard for me to give up the idea that I wasn't going to have the ideal "Pinterest" wedding.  I had to learn to choose what I really had time and energy to work on, to ask for help with what I couldn't do alone, and to just let everything else go.

That being said, here are a few of the DIY details I DID make time for:

1. Table Numbers - or Table Cities in our case. While Geoff and I were determining the seating chart, he informed me that he didn't want table numbers. He didn't like the idea of "ranking" friends and family. We decided to do table cities instead.  The cities we chose all had a special meaning or history to us.

I had wanted to use postcards, but we did not have time to order them. So, I made my own "table cities" using scrapbook paper. It was a bit tedious to do for 20 or so tables, but I think it was worth it:

I took the idea from artwork on Etsy by Bright Wall Vintage here.

2. A last minute "crisis" we ran into was the moment we found out that our catering included the "plastic ware and paper plates package." Ahhh!  I couldn't believe that after all the money we were spending that now we were going to be eating with plastic knives and forks?! After I calmed down, I tried to find a solution that I could feel better about. I found little brown bags, cute navy and white striped paper napkins, and an adorable stamp at (you guessed it) Michael's. My friends and I quickly worked on wrapping it all up into an adorable cutlery package. Crisis averted.

3. For the escort cards, we wanted to tie in Geoff's work as a contractor and my love of art. We decided on paint swatches and paint cans. The paint swatches also doubled as bookmarks. Geoff found the paint cans at The Home Depot, I bought the alphabet stickers at Michael's, Sherwin Williams gave us the stack of paint swatches, and Geoff built the stand.

Photo Credit: Keri Harrison Photography

4. My friend Isabel made these amazing bottles for Communion:

Photo Credit: Keri Harrison Photography

5. The remaining crafting included signs to direct traffic to our site:

In the end, the details didn't really matter. We lucked out with such a beautiful site, a beautiful day and the casual feel of everything (including the plastic knives and forks) made everyone relaxed and ready to party. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding or reception. I wish I could re-live it again!

Spring is Here!

There's something so wonderful about this time of year. Everything seems new, warm and joyful.

Two years ago today I was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge with my boyfriend. It was my first trip to NYC and the trip was coming to an end. The entire trip had been cold and rainy, but April 2, 2012 was a gorgeous Spring day.

We decided to walk the bridge over to Brooklyn where he had made reservations at The River Cafe (highly recommended if you are ever in Brooklyn). By the time we walked back to Manhattan, I was engaged!

Needless to say -  this time of year presents multiple reasons to celebrate in our household!

So as we bid a long farewell to this past winter, I am ready to bring in the new. Anyone else have projects and crafting on their minds??

I can't wait to post about what I will do with these tiny planters that I picked up at Salvation Army for 49 cents a piece:

The Before & After photos of my busted desk:

and finally planting this season's veggies in our DIY greenhouse:

Now I'm off to grill lunch outside. Yayyyyyy!