If you enjoy upcycling and crafting then you are in for a real treat.

​And I do intend a pun since this super easy paper theater was crafted from a cardboard Snack Pack Pudding box. 

Let me show you how easy it was. 

Photo by Roger Bradshaw

​Whether you live in an apartment where container gardening is your only option or you have a large property that calls for the placement of many different containers, its certain that pots are a necessary part of growing things. 

Without flower pots, the exterior of our home would undoubtedly look a little...blah. 

But planting them up every Spring and Summer can be a lot of work and quite costly.

I love the classic, yet down to earth vibe that terra cotta brings to the home and garden, don't you? And how its roots to the ancient Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Greek worlds bring an aged look and wise tone to our exteriors. 

I'd love to include a variety of lime washed, embossed, and uniquely shaped terra cotta pots in my garden, but those beautiful pieces can get quite pricey. 

Come see some of the easy ways I'm still making this happen on a budget. 

I have so much fun decorating my daughter's bookshelf for holidays and seasons and this Valentine's Day vignette has been the best yet! 

Come take a look at the pieces I chose for this lovey dovey day and what they mean to this little girl. 

I've never been a big decorator for Valentine's Day. But this year I got into it. It all started with one thrifty vase and then I just went nuts with it. 

​Alright, I didn't exactly go over the top, but I did a lot more than I ever thought I would. 

 

A very warm and wintery welcome to you. 

Although it's freezing here, and the shimmering white blanket of snow outside my window doesn't look very warm, it still warms my heart to see. 

Just two days prior I had been wishing for a snow day with my kids. And even though a planned no school/snow make up day was on its way, my inner child yearned for that early morning notification that the falling snow would impede a safe journey to school. 

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Wouldn’t it be nice to create a self-care routine that keeps more money in your pocket, eliminates stress, and leaves you exuding elegance?

It is very possible and actually pretty easy. I’m sharing my own easy tips to help you refine your beauty routine for a more natural, clutter free, and budget friendly lifestyle.
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Gobble, gobble, gobble! Its that time of the year again. That time when we give extra thanks for our blessings and guiltlessly gorge ourselves on the most comforting foods known to man. 

And whether you're traveling to stay with family or just hanging out at home all month long, its always nice to have some easy Thanksgiving crafts for the kids to get into. 

These fun printable kits are all free and available to instantly download under each turkey's photo. 

There's just something elegant about homemade monster costumes for Halloween. It's a classic look with a hand made touch that adds high quality distinction. You can't beat the often friendlier price of making your own Halloween costumes either.

Last year I convinced my family to groan our way down the sidewalk wrapped in cloth that was supposed to take us peacefully to the other side, but instead left us with a hunger for candy. 

All jokes aside, I mummified these costumes myself and let me tell you how easy it was. Ahem... no sewing involved. 

Why have a plain bicycle basket when you can have one with joy inducing flowers on it?

Check out this quick and easy DIY I made for our daughter's bike per her request. It took just a few minutes to put together and it only cost $2.50! 

​Such charm this has added to her ride!

Our son is turning four this year and I was in no way surprised when he requested a trains  party theme. He is obsessed with trains.

And although he's still so young, when he chose a vintage looking train for his party theme my heart leapt with joy. I love decorating with a bit of vintage flair and am working to decorate his bedroom with a vintage trains theme. 

Most of the pieces I used to set the mood for his party will be used in his room functionally or decoratively and were all affordable and easy to put together. 

I am so thrilled with the way this vintage trains poster turned out. My intentions were to create a poster to be used as a disposable birthday party decoration for our son. As I've made a design board for his new bedroom, I could not have completed it without a very chic yet masculine vintage travel poster. 

So it made sense for the party to have one too. But my son loved it so much he wanted it in his room. So, I thought I would share because if you are in search of free or inexpensive art to decorate quickly, this DIY is pretty easy. And I even included a full size printable of this poster that I created just in case you want to have it professionally printed. 

It was community yard sale day when my husband arrived home with sweet and exciting words to fill my ears.  "There's a bookshelf down the street by the side of the road with a free sign on it," he said.

My eyes lit up like wildfire. I grabbed my keys and hopped in the car as quick as I could to acquire this new-to-me shelf that I had no idea of the condition of. 

Much to my pleasure when I evaluated the piece it was clear: it would do!

A kind neighbor recently gave my son a huge set of wooden train tracks that had belonged to her grandson.

​Some of the tracks had been stamped with a green ghost and this got me thinking. "What if we covered that up?"

This simple DIY is a great way to refresh used wooden train tracks. It's even great just for the heck of it because it really jazzes up play time.

My dream closet is huge. It's so big that there's a large table in the middle of it full of jewelry. There's a gorgeous round ottoman with fringe that I can sit on to put on my shoes. There's so much space in it that I can display purses, scarves, and dresses like its actually a boutique. 

Yes, that is my dream closet and the feeling that I was going for when I designed my real closet. We renovated our master closet to be an elegant space where we could maximize storage and still feel like a king and a queen.

We are quite happy with the way it turned out and even though it's not large enough for an ottoman, it feels amazing. 

Have you ever heard about Joules? I am falling in love with this British brand and wanted to share a bit about it with you. 

I recently placed my first order with Joules to get a pair of girl’s espadrille sneakers for my daughter. These boldly pink shoes with a colorfully embroidered hedgehog caught my daughter’s eye and she was in need of a casual shoe that matched her fun and unique personality.

They were super cute and on clearance for $17.95 (regularly $32.95) so I'm really excited to share with you how you can style the whole family here and not spend a fortune. Also, in this post I have a 20% off coupon for your first order at Julesusa.com. 
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There's a lot more online clothes shopping going on these days especially as more and more brick and mortar stores close.

There are a lot of benefits and conveniences to being able to shop online, but the pressure to get it right is on. Returns aren't fun and by mentally checking these tips every time you shop for clothes you can order with more intention to build a wardrobe that's truly you.

With that, you'll save time and money so there's more room for joy in your life.

When we bought our first home this year and I decided to start an herb garden on our beautiful deck, I knew I was going to go the extra mile to create a garden that I loved. I wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing and stylish.

In the past I've bought cheap flower pots with no real direction for design. In the end I had ended up with a collection of pieces that didn't work well together and felt lackluster. This time, I wanted our deck to be a natural and elegant space.

​It didn't take me long to put this together and overall I did it on a budget. It was so worth it to take the extra bit of time to plan a design because now I can't stop staring at my container herb garden, it brings me so much pleasure.