Farmhouse Master Inspiration

 I'm not sure why but our Master Bedroom has always been at the bottom of my list.  Maybe because I haven't really been that inspired or figured since we had a matching bedroom set all I really needed were some nice linens.  That is SO NOT the case.  Turns out I stopped liking our furniture several years ago and just felt like the whole room was so dark.  For the past year (or maybe longer) I've been pinning ideas for a lighter and more Farmhouse inspired look.

 

I am so excited to get started on our room!!  We finally replaced the old carpet from 1989 with some wood laminate and it's all just spiraled from there.  We loved how much brighter the room was with a fresh coat of paint and our heavy furniture out of the way.  So we have decided to redecorate our Master!!

If you follow me on Instagram (@lifewithkidsblog) then you've seen some sneak peeks.  I already had some things for the room from when my mom passed away and I am so excited to get them out of the garage and to start incorporating them into our home!!

First lets start with the bedframe.  We got a king size of this bed and I love it.  It was relatively easy to put together and anchors our room while still keeping it light and airy.  I am also obsessed with the bedding (in white) I picked out and cannot wait for it to arrive.

I've been going back and forth with our dresser.  I was hoping to use a piece of furniture that belonged to my mom but its just not the right size for our room...plus our TV would be hanging from the ceiling!! So I decided to go with the Hemnes since they have it on sale right now (as long as it's still in stock in my store) I mean you can't beat a large dresser for under $200!   I also have some curtains from IKEA that continue with my white and light theme!

Our bed tables will not be matching.  Currently we have a black iron table (I had it in Ellie's nursery and then we moved it into our room) that used to be my moms and then I will be bringing in another wood and glass table (similar but much more vintage) that was also my moms for the other side.  Our lamps are similar to these, but were also my moms.  I'm sure you've spotted them in some of my previous posts. 

I also have this awesomely large mirror (similar) that my mom had hanging on the wall above the couch in our family room growing up.  It's been chilling in our garage for about a year now and I cannot wait to bring it in.  I just have to figure out a way to hang it so that it doesn't come crashing down...it is heavy y'all. 

And then my most challenging thing is to find a rug.  I was thinking about another jute rug but I don't want that in our room.  I'm leaning more towards a vintage style rug and am hoping to find one that is green toned and won't break the bank...wish me luck!  But I might have to settle for something in the blue tones like this one.

Once all those major pieces are in place then I can work on the details. Like photos, frames, and little decor pieces.  I'm so excited!!

Where does decorating the Master Bedroom fall on your list??

♥ Ashley 

Erin go Bragh - Home Decor

Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve!!

If you know me then you know I love to decorate for all the holidays and being that I am a St. Patrick's Day babe means that I have an affinity for all things green and have acquired quite to St. Pats collection over the years.  Green is such a great color all year round but it really lightens things up and reminds me of Spring this time of year.

I have gotten pretty picky with my decor over the years and actually didn't put out all that I have this year because I don't love all of it.  So what you see are the pieces that made the cut ;)

In the living room I am loving my new jute rug!! I adore how it has defined the space (and brightened it up a bit) and the nubs in the weave are like a foot massage when I walk on it.  I have some touches of green in blankets, plants, and a few St. Pats Shamrock decor.

I grew up with this Philodendron.  Rumor has it that my mom had it in our very first house which means this plant is older than me!! Of course that story comes from my Dad so his details could be a bit off.  My dad recently sold his house and he wasn't able to bring this plant with him to his new place (plus he's been traveling 90% of the time since he retired) so I gladly brought it into our space.  It seems to be doing well in our home and I can't believe that it is over 30 years old!!

Up on the mantle I have this cute little leprechaun and a four leaf clover I received for my birthday from my cousin years ago.  Oh and that bow you see there....that was a gift to Ellie from a violinist in Ireland that we met at the VAT House Bar in Temple Bar, Dublin back in 2014.

On the other side I have some fresh greenery in the cutest milk jar and some wooden shamrocks I picked up probably at Michaels.

I tend to have touches of green throughout my house anyways so this holiday is perfect for me.  I green frame from IKEA and super cute pillows I picked up a few years ago from JoAnn's.

And then I have these cute little Irish girl and boy figurines along with a Wee Forest Folk mouse that my mom got for me when I was super young.

The girl's table is even decorated (and take a look at that FARMER'S MARKET sign, I found it a few weeks ago and am totes smitten) with a shamrock plant and some cute coasters I picked up at the Dollar Tree.

Michaels has a ton of great seasonal decor for super cheap, I love the hat and pot o' gold flower picks.

Over in the dining room I have some more bits of green, like a shamrock teapot I found at HomeGoods, Ellie's holiday canvases and then my moms vintage green china set.  The crystal shamrock mugs were a staple on my birthday growing up and I remember my mom serving me green milk for breakfast in bed in them.  The green glasses are also vintage that were given to me years ago for my birthday as well...good thing I have embraced my inner Irish ;)

Also on the table I have some green glassy baby's and I love how the chargers bring in a rustic charm to the otherwise super fancy table.  This year I brought in some potted Hyacinths for the table and love them on the wood slice.  Flowers are my love language.

over on the shelf I have my green cake stand, a super cute vintage wall hanging and my green tree.  Oh and a cute little leprechaun chilling out.

I toned down the ornaments this year on my every season tree and picked my favorites...another favorite of mine is the arrow with hanging shamrock.  I got that for my birthday a few years ago and have loved it ever since!

And what is a holiday without some chalk art?  I like to switch it up each year and this year is pretty fun.  You will notice that the horse shoe has 7 clovers...that is because years ago my horse shoe-er told me that she always put in 7 nails for good luck.

The bathroom got a small touch of St. Patrick's Day as well with a door hanging (Michaels) and some artwork I did...in an attempt to try to paint something without flowers, I think it turned out pretty good!!

The magnets are from the Dollar Tree and get used on the daily...such a fun touch for the girls. And then Ellie made the cutest calendar this month at school...it might be my favorite one to date!!

Do you decorate for the holidays?

♥ Ashley

previous years decor
2016
2015
2012

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving 

from the four of us!

♥ Ashley 

A Patchin' Weekend

Last weekend we celebrated the first weekend of October with a trip to a local farm stand that is full of pumpkins.  Ellie had a blast, Finnley was in good spirits and despite runny noses and a sore throat (on my end) we had the best time!!

I don't know what it is about pumpkins but they just speak to me.  Not only are they festive for Halloween, but they are also indicative of the fall season.  I love decorating with pumpkins, eating pumpkins and drinking them too!  Ellie had so much fun digging into their guts last year that I'm sure she'll be a fan this year and I have hopes of getting a giant one so that I can hollow it out and stick Finnley inside...because honestly is there anything cuter than a babe in a pumpkin??

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers" it just couldn't be any truer.

Ellie had the best time telling Finnley all about pumpkins, halloween and everything orange.  But more than that Ellie had the best time running around the stand checking out the tractors, pumpkins and all things fall.  While Finnley was an incredibly good sport and let me set her down on all sorts of pumpkins to take pictures.

That baby profile though!!!

warty pumpkins are some of my favorite

but the green and white ones sure are special

while I'm not sure if anything can beat a Cinderella pumpkin

could possibly be the fairytale pumpkins though! I just want them all!!

meanwhile Thomas was busy following Ellie around and she wreaked havoc had a blast!!

And then trying to reign her in and get a picture of the two of them with the tractor and my favorite pumpkins was a challenge for sure...at least one of them is looking!!

Seriously it was so much fun and I kind of want to go to another one this weekend...even if it is raining....

♥ Ashley

previous visits

2013, 2014-1, 2014-2, 2015

Day in the Life - with two!!!

I really can't believe that I'm writing a DITL post with Two Babes!!! Eek it just makes me so happy!

The Day: Tuesday May 3rd

Ages: Ellie 2 years (almost 3) Finnley 3 weeks

6:45 I wake up and Ellie is in my bed watching Disney Jr. I grab a cup of coffee, go change Finnley's diaper and make bottle and feed her. She takes it down quickly and falls back asleep. I get on my phone and check some blogs while trying to keep my neck safe from Ellie.  She has recently enjoyed giving hugs on our backs while wrapping her arms around our necks (like a piggy back) and squeezing, it's less than comfortable. 

our bedroom

Ellie's bedroom

Finnley's bedroom

living room

7:45 I guess it's finally time to get out of bed, I open the curtains and turn on the crystals. Ellie wants to help feed animals so I told her we have to sit on the potty first. But she pooped so we have to change that and then she said she still wants to go on the potty, she pees!! We get ready with our boots and head on out to the farm!  Finnley is still sleeping...bless that girl!

Ragtime

my little farm girl!

Ellie got the barn door open and Pal snuck in...so I had to kick him out and get the door closed.

our sweet baby goats Delilah and Stella

7:50 we go out on the farm to feed the animals.  I decided since Finnley was still sleeping and had made the executive decision that Ellie's pj's could now become farm clothes for the day, I go into Ragtime's paddock finish scooping her manure...its been a process but so much easier to accomplish if I keep it up, while Ellie plays on the farm gathering sticks, harassing Pal and climbing on the hay bales in the barn.

8:30 I finish up with my chores so we go into the back yard and Ellie plays on the swing set while I clean myself up (a quick 2 minute shower and Finnley is still sleeping - bless her!) I finish my coffee ... it's cold but I'm too lazy to warm it up, and grab some muffins for breakfast. Ellie wants bubbles, so why not?  She has so much fun learning how to blow the bubbles and is starting to figure it out...sometimes she sticks the wand into her mouth...toddlers!!  We eat our muffins (Oatmeal Applesauce with Cinnamon Sugar...SO GOOD) and just enjoy how nice it is outside...is it summer??? haha

8:55 we go back inside to get ready to go, we have some errands to run. I tell Ellie it's time to go on the potty and she pees hooray! Then I get her cleaned and washed up and dressed. Finnley finally wakes up and I finish putting my hair in a braid and then get her a bottle and feed her. Then get her dressed and start getting everything packed up for us to head out.

9:40 we are finally ready to go! I wasn't in a huge hurry but that took a bit longer than I was hoping it would, something I need to work on I guess. We get in the car and head to the doctor's office to drop off some paperwork for our doc to fill out for Finnley's adoption, Ellie enjoys looking at the fish and playing with the toys for the 5 minutes we are in the office and is a little upset that we have to leave so quickly!! We jump back in the car to go to a nursery so I can get some plants for my MOPs group, our last meeting of the year is this week and I wanted to get my table something.  I decided that I would get them all a strawberry plant...I hope they like it.  I was planning on heading down to one of my favorite nurseries but there is one right by our doctors so I decided to just stop there and make life a little easier/quicker for our jaunt out of the house.  I wish I remembered to get a picture of our wagon full of plants and babes!

10:40 we arrive back at home. Finnley is acting a bit tired again so I put her in her crib and open her blinds so I can see her and Ellie plays outside in the gravel path while I transfer the strawberries into a variety of pots I have.  I also got a new rosemary plant...hopefully I can keep this one alive for longer than 9 months!!! I replant it into a pot and Ellie is so excited to use the "bucket" it came in in the garden!  My sweet girl.  Finnley is a bit restless so I guess she didn't really want to sleep... 

11:30 we head into the backyard and Ellie swings on the swing set, is constantly getting "stuck" and needs help. In between helping Ellie and getting Finnley settled I start making our lunch.  Left over fajitas for me with a fried egg and Ellie has some applesauce, chippy's (doritos) turkey meat and an egg "Oh I love eggs mama!!" Then we eat and enjoy the beautiful weather!  It's not easy eating while feeding a babe let me tell you!!

12:30 we finish up our lunch and I get Ellie cleaned up and finally get her in her room for nap (after another successful trip to the potty)! Finnley is still hungry so I give her the rest of her bottle and that seems to satisfy her so we do a diaper change.  Ellie is making some noise so I go in and tell her she needs to lay down and go to sleep.

1:15 both girls finally down for naps, I let Finnley sleep on the couch in the boppy. I do some farm work and weeding in the garden, finish watching a show (Sleepy Hollow) and kill my first rat...I'll spare you the details but somehow I have made it 17 years without having to kill one until this point and I am still shaking!! I assist one of our neighbors who's taking all of manure composted manure for their garden and catch up on blogs and snapchat inbetween opening gates. Finnley is comfortable in her boppy so I take real shower to shave my legs...it's the little things you guys!!  I also just hang out on the couch for some of the time just looking and watching my sweet babe, thank you Jesus she is here with us!!

4:20 the girls are both up (Ellie probably woke up some time before this but was quietly playing in her bed...so I just left her) so I make Finnley a bottle and bring milk into Ellie's bed and we hang out for a few minutes.  These are the moments that are so special and Ellie really loves this time together.  

4:30 Thomas gets home so I get all my stuff together and head out to my hair appointment and he gets his first time alone with both girls!!!  The transition of bringing Finnley home has been pretty seamless, I am sure because Ellie is used to me being with babies, but she has been having a little bit of a harder time sharing Thomas.  They have some fun though and Ellie gets to learn how to share Dada...a lesson that will be important in her life.

5:15 I finally arrive to my appointment and get caught up with my friend/stylist and get my hair started. Y'all we didn't take a before pic...but I have greys for days and I "joke" around that my roots look like an 80 year old woman and I am pretty serious about it.  I have had grey hair since I was 16 so I have embraced it but now instead of it being localized to one section of my hair its all over and its embarrassing.  Thankfully my stylist is a miracle worker and until I start having some growout you would have no idea!!!  Also I wish I could get my hair to curl like this at home...she taught me how to do it but I confessed that maybe the reason I have such a hard time is that I use an $8 conair...its the tools that make it y'all and I need to think about investing in quality products!

8:00 my hair is done so I head home. I'm starving so I decide to stop at kfc for my dinner, a $5 fillup with chicken tenders is my favorite!

8:45 I arrive home and Ellie was in her highchair eating ice cream and Finnley is chilling on the couch with Thomas.  Now that I'm home Thomas heads out for evening farm chores and I eat my dinner but Ellie wants some chicken and mashed potatoes so I have to share. I am so happy that she is finally starting to have an appetite and eating more foods!!  Thomas gets back in from chores and we start watching a show together, Real Housewives of BH.

 9:15 It's time for Ellie to go to bed. We finish watching real housewives, I play on snapchat for a bit (follow along @Alifeonthefarm) and then I  go to bed. 

10:15 my lights are out. 

This was a pretty great day and I am looking forward to a lifetime more like this!  I just feel so incredily blessed to get to be a mom to not only 1 sweet babe but to 2 beautiful daughters!!! 

♥ Ashley