Monday, July 14, 2014

THE NEW MAIEDAE SITE IS HERE!!

This is an extremely exciting day, because today is the day we launch the brand NEW Maiedae site! It's been quiet on this blog for a little while now and that's because Jenny and I have been putting all of our extra time into our brand new space, getting it prepared for today! :D

So head on over to the new site to check out the blog and ALL things Maiedae. Don't forget to subscribe to us on Bloglovin and change your RSS feeds so you don't miss a thing!

What happens to this space? I will be keeping this blog up for now as an archive. You can still access all of my old posts if you want. I'm also planning to continue posting regularly on my YouTube channel, so to get updates make sure you subscribe to my channel here, you can also get glimpses of my daily life and family by following me on Instagram here. :)

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this blog over the past 4 years. It has seriously meant so much to me and has been such a journey of growth. Some of you have been with me since the very beginning and some of you are new friends and I'm extremely grateful for all of you! I hope you enjoy the new site as much as we have enjoyed putting it together! It's a little bittersweet saying goodbye to this space, it's been with me through so much but I'm incredibly happy to have records of so many incredible moments since 2010. This blog will always mean so much to me. :)

Lots and lots of love! Sincerely,
Savannah

Saturday, June 21, 2014

LIPSTICK ADDICT

Sharing some of my favorite lip products in this fun "Lipstick Addict" tag video!



PRODUCTS MENTIONED
Visit my Luvocracy Collection to view and purchase products mentioned in this video.

TAG QUESTIONS
1. Favorite Balm/Treatment?
2. Best eye-catching red?
3. Best luxury & best drugstore?
4. Bes MAC lipstick?
5. The most disappointing?
6. Lip liner - yes or no?
7. Best gloss?
8. Something extra!

Proudly a partner of the Pushpin TV Network. Like their Facebook page here for more videos on fashion, beauty, DIY, and cooking! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here! 

Thursday, June 19, 2014

SCENES FROM FATHERS DAY

We loved celebrating Father's Day with all of the special fathers in our lives. We had a delicious meal with my family and Jon's family. I have always loved that our families get along so well and feel like one big happy family when we are all together. It's such a special time when we can all get together! -- Jon is such a natural father and it's amazing watching him father Soren. Soren is crazy about Jon and so am I. ;)

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL TAG

Sharing some of my favorite and not-so-favorite clothing items in my closet! If you've done this tag, please leave a comment below with your link so I can check it out!



PRODUCTS MENTIONED
* Gap // T-Shirt, Jeans & Hat
* Anthropologie // Leah Goren Dress
* Target // Sandals
* American Eagle // Oversized Cardi
* Seamly.co // Wrapped Cardi

TAG QUESTIONS
1. What is the oldest item in your closet?
2. What is the newest?
3. What is the most expensive?
4. Cheapest/most affordable item that you wear/use a lot!
5. What was the biggest bargain?
6. What was the biggest waste of money?
BONUS - Show us your three favorite items right now!

Proudly a partner of the Pushpin TV Network. Like their Facebook page here for more videos on fashion, beauty, DIY, and cooking! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here! 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

4 MOMS BREEZE GIVEAWAY!

I am forever thankful that Soren is no longer waking up 3-4 times each night to nurse. Like I've mentioned before...newborns are SO cute, squishy, and little but they are LOTS of work. Soren is about 4.5 months and I have been loving this age so much. I can hardly get enough of his giggles and it makes me laugh a little when he rolls onto his stomach and gets a little fussy that he can't roll back. Some of my favorite times with Soren are our occasional nap-times together and our bedtime routine. I love these special memories with him and it makes me unbelievably joyful knowing he is part of our family and there are many more memories to make!

Currently, Soren still sleeps in our room. I'm planning to phase him out to his nursery crib soon, so send prayers and good mommy vibes my way! We have been using the Breeze from 4moms ever since Soren was born. It comes with a bassinet piece you can hook onto the top when they're itty-bitty and once they're bigger, they can sleep and play in it without the bassinet. We've also used the Breeze when we traveled to the mountains this past week AND when we were living in the basement after the AC in our house broke. Yikes! But no worries, our AC is back in business and we are comfortably living in our home again. Forever thankful for air conditioning in the humid-hot that is Georgia.


I am a hardcore 4moms believer. We have absolutely loved the products we've used so far, and being a tinsy bit of a design snob, I especially appreciate the simple aesthetic and color choices. The Breeze is especially my favorite because it's literally a one-step setup, so easy. Ain't nobody got time to fuss around with a playard! You can check this video to see it in action. Also, it comes with a travel bag that is actually easy to use and fits in our sedan trunk perfectly. I can't believe how much stuff we had to pack for Soren during our trip to the mountains, so that fact that this folds up to a modest size is a huge plus!


GIVEAWAY TIME
The amazing people over at 4moms are offering one of my readers the chance to win a Breeze of their own! This giveaway will run via rafflecopter and is open to US and Canadian residents only. One winner will be selected at random and chosen within the week. The winner will be contacted via email once they have been selected. :) Best wishes!! *Mommy high-five!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by 4moms. All thoughts and opinions are my honest feedback based on personal experience. I give 4moms a "mommy thumbs up" and truly love their products. Thank you so much for entering!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

OUR TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS

On Saturday we got back from a week in the mountains. Jon and I were celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary with Zach and Leah who were also celebrating their 4 year anniversary! We are definitely the "stay-cation" type, so the idea of staying in a cabin for a week, cooking our own food, relaxing, and taking it easy was right up our alley!

We drove up to North Georgia and rented one of those amazing vacation rentals (which is the best!) We also brought Soren along, which was a new adventure. This was our first big trip with him and he did really well! We had one little melt-down on the way to Zach and Leah's but he mostly napped during the rest of the drive and was great at the cabin. Going out and about with him more makes me so much more confident in taking him places!

I've been trying to really unplug a lot lately and that's just what I did on our vacation. I left my phone and computer in our room for the most part and just checked a few things here and there or used my phone to read books from my kindle app. It was just what I needed and so wonderful. I get into such a bad habit of checking my phone for the sake of checking it and wasting precious time. I'm trying to learn to just look at it during certain times of the work day and essentially putting it away after work and on the weekends. My heart is to be "all there" for my family and enjoy all of these moments. :)

To sum it up, it was such a laid back getaway and just what we needed!!

PS - Also, thank you all SO much for your incredible words of encouragement and support about our announcement yesterday. We have been so excited about this new journey and we can hardly wait to launch the site in July! 

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

MAIEDAE'S EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hello, beautiful friends! We are SO excited to be finally sharing something special with you that has been in the works since last year. We've been waiting and hinting at an exciting Maiedae announcement here and there but are finally able to make it official and share this journey and exciting news with you, our amazing readers!!

As you know, Maiedae got its start back in 2010. We started out as a small, handmade shop and over the years grew into a full-time graphic design business while also maintaining our own personal blogs. In late 2013, after the excitement of realizing we were going to be able to share our pregnancy/motherhood journeys together, we got to chatting about Maiedae and how we envisioned it after starting our families. From the very beginning, Maiedae was created with the hope and dream that we could be at home with our families and continue to do what we are passionate about AND work together! So far that dream has been a reality and now with this new journey in our business it will bring that dream into a reality even more. SO, what's this big announcement? :)

In mid-July we will be launching a brand-spankin-new Maiedae site!! I don't know if you realize but we currently have SIX different Maiedae related sites. It's a little crazy. What's so exciting about this new site is that you will be able to access everything Maiedae in ONE single space. Blog, Maiedae Mixer, Shop, Graphic Design...everything and more! This means more incredible content, updates about everything Maiedae related, and information about graphic design all in one location! With this new site launch we will also be re-branding Maiedae with a new look so everything will be cohesive and work together beautifully. We are SO excited, can you tell? ;)

One of the biggest changes of this new launch will be the blog. We will no longer be posting on our current blogs. Although they will still remain available for their archives! Instead, we will be running our Maiedae blog together! -- This is something we've thought about and discussed over and over again and feel such a total peace and excitement about! Although it most certainly will be bittersweet to leave this space and start a whole new adventure, we are feeling so inspired and excited about this new journey, and we are so excited to share this journey with YOU!

What will the new blog be like? After many coffee date conversations and holding our little ones while sitting on the living room floor, we felt like the most appropriate thing to blog about would be what we know and what our lives are involved in on a day-to-day basis. Our blog will be filled with inspiration, hands-on projects, tips and tools to inspire a balanced and honest life for you, your family and your home. We will be exploring and sharing our adventures in motherhood, fashion, baby, home, beauty, wellness and living a creative lifestyle. Each topic will be brimming with DIYs, honest advice, reviews, fun tips, our experiences and beautiful photographs. We have pages and pages and pages of ideas and we can hardly wait to get started!

Please join us for our exciting new site launch and adventure in mid-July! We will be hosting an insane launch week giveaway with tons of discounts and prizes to celebrate! :D As well, we want to sincerely thank you for being such an amazing support and encouragement to us. Maiedae has been such a huge passion of ours for going on four years and we are so excited to see what this new adventure brings. THANK YOU for being part of Maiedae, you are truly the best and so amazing! We hope you'll join us on this new journey in July!

Lots of love,
Savannah & Jenny

PS - We realize this is a new, big, and exciting change. If you have any questions related to our new site please feel free to leave them in the comment section below! We would be happy to reply! In the meantime, we will continue to post on our current blogs until the launch of the new site in July. :)

Monday, June 09, 2014

THE WEEKLY

Hello, friends! I'm back from my trip to the mountains! I decided to really un-plug during my time away and just focus on my family, resting, reading, napping, drawing...it was so wonderful. I have really started craving and loving my "un-plugged" time. I'm trying to train myself to not get so uptight about my inbox or "keeping up" with various social networks. I love being part of this community, staying inspired, and sharing my life, but taking time to step away each day--and sometimes a week here and there--is so wonderful! I love soaking in this time with my family and friends. :)

Jenny just started working again after being on maternity leave for a month. I'm so excited to have her back and stoked about working together again! -- Also, we have an EXCITING announcement about Maiedae coming tomorrow! I can hardly wait to share! I've also got a really fun giveaway coming up this weekend too! Yeah! :)

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Maiedae Mixer tickets are NOW on sale!! Are you a creative woman? Do you run a blog, site, business or just love meeting new people? We would love to see you there! Limited tickets available! 2// Our view at the cabin. 3// We went on vacation with Zach and Leah and they brought their new little bird, Dovi. He was so sweet! 4// Our nighttime routine with Soren is my very favorite.


Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Love these homemade baby food recipes.
* Such a helpful chart for baby development and milestones!
* Perfect trendy and simple nail art.
* Oh my, yum!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Our AC is broken! We are getting it fixed this week, and I'm itching to do some more home improvements and work in our yard. I'm also trying to learn about plants so I can keep them alive in our home and garden. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* I've been seriously thinking about going super short with my hair...I can't decide!
* I love running a home budget.
* I really want to learn more about essential oils.

Question of the Week:
What is one new thing you really want to learn more about? Also, what is your favorite non-fiction book?

Saturday, May 31, 2014

MAY BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE FAVORITES!

Time for my May favorites!! --- We're heading out soon for a vacation in the mountains. I can hardly wait! Happy weekend, friends! Hope it's been a wonderful month for you! -- PS...Maiedae Mixer tickets go on sale TOMORROW! Ahh! 



PRODUCTS MENTIONED
* Products mentioned can be found and purchased on my Luvocracy Collection! Check it out.

Proudly a partner of the Pushpin TV Network. Like their Facebook page here for more videos on fashion, beauty, DIY, and cooking! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here! 

Thursday, May 29, 2014

THE WEEKLY

Lately I've been reading "The Honest Life" and I'm loving it SO much. It's re-ignited my passion for whole, "honest" living in all aspects of my life...beauty, food, health, home, fashion, baby. I love educating myself on product ingredients and feeling confident in what I'm using on myself, on my family and in my home. I just love it! I've been thinking a lot lately about how to incorporate this more into my videos and blog. :)

ALSO, between some awesome upcoming Maiedae projects, additional work and family things, I have been busy, busy! -- With that said I'm going to be taking it easy on this here blog for a couple weeks, temporarily. I'll be sharing my weekly videos, some updates and maybe a few home progress reports but I won't be posting daily. I need a little "summer break" and want to spend some time re-focusing and getting ready for something SUPER exciting at the end of this summer AND our Maiedae Mixer in September! Psst - Tickets go on sale in THREE days! I seriously can't wait. :)

Snapshots of the Week: 1// New little clothes for Soren! 2// Buddy cuddles. 3// Reading and re-reading The Honest Life. 4// Those eyebrows and little lips! I die.


Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Don't forget to get your Maiedae Mixer ticket this Sunday!!
* Love this (new to me) blog! No More Dirty Looks.
* I must try this baby legging DIY, too cute. Any recommended online shops to purchase cute fabric?
* One article of clothing you can wear 30 different ways?! Yes!

Inspiring Me this Week:
Getting my closet/style back together. I've definitely let fashion fall at the wayside since having a little one. To be honest, I'm in a little bit of a fashion dilemma/rut. I need to figure out my closet and new pieces I want to invest in. I also think I might be ready for a hair change? Maybe a different red? Maybe a shorter cut?? We'll see!

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* My hair is giant when I brush it out.
* I love watching documentaries on volcanoes and tornadoes.
* Bad dreams usually put me in a funky mood.

Question of the Week:
Do you have a favorite all-natural, organic company that you love?! Please share!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

SUBSCRIPTION BOX HAUL - REVIEW & UNBOXING!

I am a HUGE fan of subscription box services. I've been a faithful subscriber to both Popsugar and Ipsy since last year and am now exploring a few new (to me) options. For this video I collected 7 different boxes throughout the month of May to unbox and share with you! I had a really hard time not opening them right away and waiting to record this video. ;) I hope you enjoy!



SUBSCRIPTION BOXES MENTIONED
Naturebox - Get 50% off your first box! Definitely worth trying.
Citrus Lane - Also get 50% off your first box. Yes! And there is a multiple month saving option!
Popsugar Must-Have Box - $40 per month, also has a multiple month saving option.
Ipsy - Take the quiz and review the products you receive in your "glam room" to get products that fit you better. :)
Julep Maven - You can get your first box free, but note that you have to call in order to cancel your service if you don't want it automatically renewed month after month.
Birchbox
Sample Society

On top of already loving Popsugar and Ipsy, I think my new all-time favorites are Citrus Lane and Naturebox. What are some of your favorite subscription services? Any you recommend I should try?

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

SOREN AT 4 MONTHS

Soren has many nicknames at this point in his life. I have a tendency to use an excessive amount of nicknames before finding "the one" that really sticks. Soren has been...butter, baby-do, muppet, little bear, pudding, lovie...I'm sure there are a few food and animal related names I'm missing. ;)


Today my little muppet is 4 months old! These 4 months have been incredible, challenging, beautiful, magic, tiring, emotional...everything. I never knew I would love being a mom as much as I do. I love it so, so much. Soren is over twice his birth weight now and is filling in with a little chunk and rolls. I can hardly stop squeezing his little legs. He smiles SO much, giggles, drools like CRAZY, loves noming on his hands, flirts, coos softly, squeals with delight, loves being with his mommy and daddy, sleeps during car rides, can roll onto his side, doesn't love tummy-time, gets really quiet during bath-time...is one of my very favorites.

Cheers to 4 months baby butter!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

2014 MAIEDAE MIXER SWAG CALL AND ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Guys! The second annual Maiedae Mixer is THIS September! We are SO excited and have been busy behind the scenes planning and putting together some fun things for this year's event. Last year truly was amazing and it was so wonderful to meet so many of you and have an event to celebrate and meet new people. A few things to note and be excited about for this year:

1. This year's Mixer will be held in the downtown Atlanta area! We will be announcing the venue SOON and we think you'll really love it...it's beautiful and perfect for the Mixer!

2. The event will be on Saturday, September 20th 6:00PM-9:00PM. Be sure to mark your calendars!

3. We will only be selling 80 tickets, so be sure to get yours! Tickets go on sale June 1st at 12:00PM EST. :) - Tickets are $125 and include an amazing swag bag, delicious food and drinks, Smilebooth, crafting time, your name entered to win some amazing prizes and an incredible evening to meet new people and dress up! We have a few more surprises in store and we can't wait to announce them soon!

Check out the Mixer site for more details!

SWAG & RAFFLE CONTRIBUTOR CALL!
Do you make handmade goods or run a shop? We would love to work with you for this year's Mixer! We will be putting together a beautiful swag bag for each attendee and we want to feature beautiful handmade items and goodies from your shop! -- We also have an opportunity for you to contribute to our raffled prizes that we will be giving away throughout the night. Contributors will be highlighted at the event AND on our "Friends & Resources" page of our site. Interested? Contact me at savannah@maiedae.com for more information!

Monday, May 19, 2014

THE WEEKLY

Sorry it's been so quite around here lately! Between the excitement of Jenny having her little one, planning the Maiedae Mixer, and some super exciting projects coming up this summer, things have been a little busy, busy...resulting in a slow blog. :) But don't worry, I've got some super exciting plans/posts coming up this summer so just hang in there with me! We'll be back into the swing of things soon. Promise! -- In the meantime, you can still expect weekly videos and updates. Yay! You can also follow me on Instagram for daily updates! (@savannahmaiedae)

On a personal note, I've been having a lot of fun being with Soren and watching him grow SO much. He'll be 4 months this Wednesday and it's blowing my mind! We've been enjoying taking him out and about more and seeing him smile and giggle. It's just the best. :) We have an anniversary vacation planed for June and I'm really looking forward to taking him with us and enjoying some time off and away with my family and some of our friends. Can't wait!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// I've been taking the Blog Life e-course by ABM and I LOVE it. I highly recommend it to any beginner or seasoned blogger. 2// Celebrating Mother's Day with the family. 3// Buddy is growing in stature and cuteness! 4// Celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary last week!


Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Love this DIY Car Kit. Kinda love organization baskets like this, like a lot.
* These Indoor S'mores are not helping my sweet-tooth issues.
* Speaking of food, I like this Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge, so cool!

Inspiring Me this Week:
I've been making a conscious effort to make more time to read lately. It's been so nice to fill some of my spare time with quiet reading time and finally get to some of the books I've had stacked on my nightstand!

3 Things About Your Truly:
* I am SO much more thirsty since having Soren!
* I really love shopping and browsing lately; grocery shopping, baby necessities shopping, beauty shopping...you name it. It's been nice to have some "mommy" time and get out by myself here and there.
* The only magazine I currently subscribe to is HGTV Magazine. :)

Question of the Week (comment with your answer below!):
What are your favorite types of blog posts to read when sitting down to catch up on your favorite blogs? What do you love about them?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

BEAUTY HAUL: MAC SEPHORA & SIGMA

Had a wonderful shopping trip with my sister recently and wanted to share some of the products I picked up and am SUPER excited about! ALSO: Please excuse the poor focus, I had some technical difficulties and had the focus thrown off, boo! Thanks for watching, friends!



PRODUCTS MENTIONED
All products mentioned can be seen and purchased on my Luvocracy collection! Check it out!

Proudly a partner of the Pushpin TV Network. Like their Facebook page here for more videos on fashion, beauty, DIY, and cooking! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here! 

Monday, May 12, 2014

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND

It was so special being able to celebrate my very first Mother's Day. We didn't plan much but we spent a lot of time as a family and it was my very favorite. We went to a baseball game to see my sister perform the National Anthem. I got to see my best friend, Jenny, be a mommy for the first time and see little Rowan in the hospital. Visited Stone Mountain park and had a picnic (we have a season pass and have been loving our walks and time there this year)! ON Mother's Day we went to church, afterward we met up with my parents, siblings, significant others, and Jon's parents to celebrate over brunch at a quaint little restaurant in Grayson.


Jon and I spent the rest of the day together with Soren, going out, watching shows...it turned out to be such a relaxing day. Leading up to Mother's Day I wasn't quite sure what type of traditions we would consider or what we should do to celebrate both Mother's Day and Father's Day. It's kind of crazy getting to the point where it's time to make your own traditions around your family. -- Jon and I decided after a successful first Mother's Day that we would make it a tradition of keeping it simple and make it a family day. I can hardly wait to celebrate Jon in June. :)

On a side note, I saw some beautiful posts honoring mothers on Instagram yesterday. Many of them recognizing and sending love to mommies who had their little ones taken away too soon, women who ache to be mommies, women who have lost their mommies. All of the beautiful moms. I wanted to second those sentiments and send celebration and love to all of you. What a beautiful time to recognize all of the women in our lives. Happy (belated) Mother's Day.

Thursday, May 08, 2014

ASK SAV! ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS

A few weeks ago I posted a photo on Instagram asking you to submit questions for me to answer! I loved all of your questions and had so much fun putting this video together for you. :) I tried to answer as many as possible and was even inspired to make separate videos/blog posts out of some of your questions, so thank you!! It's a little on the longer side but I've got some fun old photos of my
hair and of Jon and me that you won't want to miss. ;)



AWESOME THINGS MENTIONED
* Blog Life E-Course - A Beautiful Mess // http://tinyurl.com/n3e245f
* My Favorite Red Lipstick Picks // http://tinyurl.com/l58maww
* Faux Nose Ring Shop on Etsy // http://tinyurl.com/mxgk46u
* Blogilates YouTube Channel // http://tinyurl.com/p2wpk3h
* Crazy Sexy Diet // http://tinyurl.com/ly75e5d
* Jaclyn Hill // http://tinyurl.com/nzsjmkx
* Missglamorazzi // http://tinyurl.com/mzg7kzt
* Grav3yardgirl // http://tinyurl.com/k699hne
* Arden Rose // http://tinyurl.com/oqgqap3
* Essie Button // http://tinyurl.com/n6n24sc

Thanks again for all of your questions!! You are awesome! I hope you have a fantastic rest of your week and an amazing weekend. Lots of love!

Monday, May 05, 2014

THE WEEKLY

Uh, what happened to the weekend? Since Thursday, Jon and I have been spending a ton of time working on our house. We've been here for 8 months and have made great progress, at least in our eyes. It's nowhere near finished, but rooms are becoming more and more functional and our home is feeling like ours more and more everyday.

We did some more painting, made a "quick" trip to Ikea for some furniture. Moved lots of furniture around, organized, and we're still working on some decorating and putting things away. My studio space is nearly done and I LOVE it. It's looking so professional, clean, and like a place I am really going to enjoy working in. Can't wait to show you soon!

I also got to spend some time with Jenny on Friday. It was so good to see her and enjoy her pregnant belly. :) As of today she is 4 days past her due date and we are all on pins and needles waiting to meet little Rowan. I'm so excited!!

Snapshots of the Week: 1// Shopping trips with my sister are the best. 2// Spent some time scouting locations for this year's Maiedae Mixer in September! It's seriously going to be incredible this year. I can hardly wait! -- We'll start selling tickets soon. Be sure to mark your calendar for September 20th! Atlanta will be the place to be! ;) 3// Reading to Soren. Love being a mommy. 4// New rug for my studio! From IKEA. :)


Favorite Posts/Pins/Articles:
* Have I been living under a rock? I'm SO loving the Evernote app and am fully addicted to it after having my friend show me the ropes. Jon and I are using it for everything now.
* I've been taking the Blog Life e-course lately from ABM and it's amazing!! Worth every penny. I just love those girls. They are so incredibly inspirational.
* Oh my yum! Making this asap!
* Just got my first makeup brushes from Sigma and I LOVE them.
* Tips on "Making it Through the Last Month of Pregnancy" from Jenny. I very much needed this when I was in my last weeks with Soren.

Inspiring Me this Week:
Jenny and I have a super awesome, exciting announcement about Maiedae coming up in the next few weeks and we are SO excited. It's been giving us such a jolt of inspiration and has been in the works since 2013. We can hardly wait to see everything come together. :)

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* Now that I'm no longer pregnant, my sweet-tooth is gone and I'm all about the savory snacks!
* I'm a plant killer. I cannot keep anything alive, even cactus and succulents. :(
* I feel so fulfilled and pumped after getting house projects done.

Thursday, May 01, 2014

LIVING ROOM PROGRESS

In my last living room progress post, I shared our fireplace makeover with you! That labor-of-love project made such a huge difference in the space. From the beginning, this room has been deemed the most "dingy" room in the house and needed the most paint work BUT it was also the room with the most character. Although we knew we had a lot to do, and still have a lot left! Jon and I are SO excited to see this room complete. It already feels SO different from when we first moved in!


The above photos are from the home listing.

So, our next major project for this room after the fireplace was to paint ALL of the wood trim, doors and windows. We also wanted to replace door knobs, light switches and outlet plates since we had a variety of gold, black, brown and beige going on before. ;) Not cute.

Since having a baby makes projects a little more tricky to knock out in a few full days, we spread this project over a couple weekends. Here is a little list of what we did to the space:

* Caulk and spackle everything. There were so many cracks between the walls, trim and windows, it made everything look so sloppy. After spending almost a day working on this it made a huge difference!

* Prime, prime, prime! We had to do two coats of primer on all of the trim, with very careful attention to the wall of windows. We used Kilz Primer and it worked really well! This is the same primer we used for the fireplace.

* After spending a lot of time priming, we put two coats of semi-gloss bright white paint over all of the trim, windows, and doors. We decided to do two coats just to make sure we got everything and that there would be absolutely no wood showing through. We also figured that if we were going to take on this major project that we would do our best to do it right! ;)

* And finally, we prepped everything and painted the walls a beautiful grey color to really make that trim pop. We were very much done with the dingy green tone that was in there previously.

We are SO pleased with the final results! We still have a lot of work to do in this space, but the major project is done! We have so many excited plans for our home this year and I can hardly wait to share them with you. :)


LEFT TO DO IN THE LIVING ROOM
* Replace the odd patch of carpet with something new, and get rid of the scary transition strip, or "toe ripper" as I like to call it.
* Paint the built-in with a fresh coat of white paint and possibly paint the backing a different color.
* Purchase some furniture pieces and get this room decorated!
* Mount TV.
* Hang some beautiful pictures.
* Replace the "boob" light on the ceiling beam.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

APRIL BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE FAVORITES

It's that time of the month!! I have lots of exciting beauty and lifestyle favorites to share with you today plus a special surprise giveaway at the end of the video! What have you been loving lately??



PRODUCTS MENTIONED & OTHER FUN LINKS
* Products mentioned can be found and purchased on my Luvocracy collection! Check it out!
* Check-out these awesome small businesses: Coveted Things, Seamly.co & Field Study.
* Subscribe to Ashley's channel here!


GIVEAWAY
Enter the Field Study giveaway via my Instagram account and win this adorable charcoal and white striped bag and matching cosmetic clutch! @savannahmaiedae

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Thursday, April 24, 2014

FAVORITE THINGS GIVEAWAY: SHOP BAN.DO!

Time for another Favorite Things giveaway! This month I've given away some fun goodies from Shop Ban.do's new collection! Their stuff is seriously the cutest and absolutely perfect for spring! One winner will win everything pictured! Check out the details on how to win below. :)

GIVEAWAY TIME! This giveaway is run via Rafflecopter. One winner will be selected at random and announced with a week. The winner will recieve a HOORAY canvas tote bag, Dottie Sip Sip tumbler, Carryall Duo in Chit Chat and Frills and a Flash Bobbi set in Gold and Turquoise! Giveaway open to US and Canada residents only. This giveaway is sponsored by the following amazing ladies! Sophie of Onetenzeroseven, Erica of To the Sea, Juliann of Mint for Hue, Amber of Under the Oklahoma Sky and Lauren of Love Lola!


To enter, use the Rafflecopter entry below. There is one required entry and several bonus entry options! Best wishes and thank you for entering! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway