Nursery Wall Prints

 Thanks to my amazing husband we finally have wall prints in Ellie's room! I had three quotes that all dealt with night time that I wanted to hang in her room. They are quotes from Harry Potter, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Throne of Glass.  Before we even got pregnant I knew I wanted a night sky theme in the nursery and wanted to feature one of my favorite quotes so I went ahead and found two others that I love as well. 

At first I was attempting to make these with my Cricut, but it was frustrating and I kept ripping the paper. So I made some Photoshop prints and Tim printed them out for me at work which was so sweet.

First up is a Harry Potter quote which I placed along the back wall of the nursery.

This was the last quote I decided on and I think it's so sweet and perfect for a nursery.

Next up over the dresser I have my all-time favorite quote from A Court of Thorns and Roses.

How perfect is that? Side note: if you haven't read this series by Sarah J Maas get on it...it's incredible!

The last quote is above the changing table and bookshelf and is from the Throne of Glass series. 

I just love having these up, they make me so happy! I hope my little girl loves to read as much as I do. I plan on reading to her from day one and hopefully I can pass along my love of reading to her!

New Rugs!

Hi everyone! Today I thought I would share two quick decor updates that have arrived the last few weeks. Both are rugs but I think they are making a world of difference. 

We had a white and gray runner in our hallway from the My Texas House collection and I absolutely loved it. I really did think that it fit perfectly in the hallway and I am a huge fan of that collection...however with my two dogs the white was quickly turning darker and darker. If we had a second floor where the dogs wouldn't immediately run over the rug with their dirty feet. 

I was slightly disappointed to have to pick out a darker rug, but I ended up finding a pretty blue rug on Wayfair. 

For some reason it looks super small in this picture but it is the same size as the previous rug. 

I like that it's darker and definitely hides dog foot prints and the blue is very pretty but I do kind of miss my white rug!

The second rug that came in is the rug for Ellie's nursery! 

I really wanted a pink rug but nothing too intense. I think the light pink goes well with the starry sky wall paper and the neutral furniture. These pictures making the walls look darker than they actually are. 

I have quite a bit to still do in this room but I can't wait to share all the projects as we complete them! 

The girls were so proud that they helped me pull the old rug out and put the new one down. 

I love this picture of the girls! This shows how nice the rug looks with the white crib too. 

If you're looking for me I'll be over on Pinterest looking for more ideas for the nursery :)

Christmas Decor 2020

I totally meant to have this post up last week, but my computer has been so weird and I've been having a hard time loading pictures from my phone to my computer, so I think I've finally managed to get everything in the post and can now officially share my Christmas decor for this year!

I found this pretty wreath at Christmas Tree Shop a few weeks ago when I went shopping with my mom. I didn't know it when I bought it, but this totally set off my decorating style for this year. My living room is completely a woodland theme and I LOVE IT. I never really thought about it as I collected my decor but it is a woodland theme and I think it looks so pretty. I am pretty obsessed with it and think I will continue collecting items for this theme as the years go on. 

Last year I placed Christmas ornaments inside this vase but so far I have left it empty. I may find something to put inside but for now I'm enjoying the simplicity here on the kitchen counter. 

I still love this little bear I've had for years and here is one of my mini flocked trees.

My mom bought us this snowman set of salt and pepper shakers last year at Christmas and they are very cute. I'm not sure we will actually use them for salt and pepper but they look cute sitting on my counter!

Just like last year I put my garland on the top of my kitchen cabinets and decorated it with picks and flowers from Walmart. I didn't put the lit garland up there this year it's just very plain and it really brings some more Christmas cheer to the kitchen. 

I have a few sets of Christmas dish towels but here is one set hung up on the stove. I have a slight problem with collecting dish towels so I am not allowed to shop for them anymore. We have a whole drawer full and that's only because I donated a ton when they didn't all fit in one drawer. 

I love this little reindeer! I bought him last year and I think he's just the cutest. 

This is the only area where my living room is not woodland theme. This little elf was in my grandparents house growing up and my grandma let me take him home with me. I always smile when I pull him out. 

Same Christmas pillows as last year, I might need some more Christmas pillows....

I love my little houses that I picked up in the Target dollar spot! They were $5 for the set and I just love how they look with my little flocked trees. 

This reindeer is new this year too. He came from Christmas Tree Shop and was a total impulse buy. I cannot say no to cute animals. 

More garland on these kitchen cabinets.

Here is the snowman cookie jar that my mom bought us last year, he matches the salt and pepper shakers and doesn't hold anything but looks super cute on the counter!

I initially brought up the Christmas tree I bought last year (and had in our office last year) but it looked so huge and ridiculous in our small living room I decided to get a small pencil tree. This one was $79 from Walmart and I of course went with a flocked tree. I absolutely love it and it allows us to have Christmas spirit but still have our living room be mostly useable. 

Someday we will be able to fit a huge tree in our living room, but right now it's really not a possibility. The tree skirt is new as well and is also from Walmart. 

It is a very small tree but right now while it's just the two three of us we really don't need anything huge. 

Sophie doesn't really care about the tree...or any of the decorations. That was a little shocking to me, but I am thrilled that she is living everything alone.

Are you all decorated for Christmas? I need to do my outside decorating, but I am pleased with the inside so far!

Outdoor Christmas Decor Inspiration

 I know, I know. Halloween was less than a week ago and not everyone is ready to jump into Christmas. I am totally ready however and am starting to gather inspiration for decor. I want to get everything ordered that I need and make sure I am ready to go.

Last year I decorated pretty minimally outside and used some cheap pre-lit garlands on our handrails and the same on our mailbox. This year I want it to look a little nicer since I have had time to think about what I want. I know I didn't do much for Halloween and truly want to make up for it with my Christmas decor.

Here's what I'm thinking...

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I would like to get some nicer pre-lit garland to put on our new fence. I think it will look so nice against the white! I just need to find garland that looks nice, is pre-lit with a battery pack, and doesn't cost a million dollars. Let me know if you find anything!

                    

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We have a very small area to work with at our front door. It's very narrow and we can't place too much on the steps or we won't be able to use the front door. I bought a wreath a few weeks back that I will be putting up. I am also trying to think of decor I can place along our walkway since that is a new feature this year.  Someday our boxwoods will be large enough to wrap lights around, but right now they are still tiny and would look silly. 

I'm also thinking about doing either just lights or a lit garland to frame the doorway, that is something we could definitely incorporate.

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I am planning on decorating our mailbox again this year but I'm hopeful I can make it look a little nicer this year! I have something similar to what is in the picture above that my mom bought for us. Last year I wrapped a garland around the base on my mailbox but it didn't match at all. I still want to use the top part but will be on the lookout for other ideas for the base. 

What do you do to decorate for Christmas outside? I am wishing I put in window boxes this summer because they would look so nice! I will definitely continue to scour pinterest for decor ideas but it's hard when most of the pictures are huge houses with big front porches! I keep dreaming up my big house that we will build someday! I will keep on wishing for it, and my big front porch!!

Fall Decorating!

Well it's officially September and you know what that means.... time for fall decorating!

This past Saturday was rainy and gross so it was the perfect day to haul my fall decor out of the basement and get it set up. I know it seems a little early but this year I was more than ready to change things up in our home since I am home pretty much 24/7 lately! Last fall was our first fall in our home and I didn't buy anything new decor-wise since I had to be so careful about what I had out with a new puppy. After I pulled out my one bin of decor I realized I had a ton of dish towels so I went through and decluttered what I didn't need anymore. Then I realized I don't really have that much decor. I know I don't have a huge space to decorate but I am going to try to start collecting some more decor. 

To see previous years fall decor:

• Fall 2018 Apartment Fall Decor
• Fall 2017 Apartment Fall Decor
• Fall 2016 Apartment Fall Decor

I unfortunately didn't do a post last year on fall decor. I think things were so hectic with moving and getting Sophie!

Here's what my decor looks like so far this year...

 

On the bathroom shelf I placed this small Hocus Pocus pumpkin which I got at The Christmas Tree Shop years ago. I didn't want to do anything too crazy in the bathroom but putting one small little pumpkin brings a tiny bit of fall to this little room.

I know I didn't use this sign last year but I thought that placing it on the kitchen counter was just too perfect. Hopefully we can keep the kitchen counter clear so this is on display all fall. Does your kitchen counter become a collection area??

These towels look SUPER wrinkled but I had just pulled them from the dryer. These are my favorite fall dish towels and I believe they came from the Target dollar spot a few years ago. I only kept a few fall dish towels because my dish towel drawer is overflowing!

The leaves candle from Bath and Body works is my absolute favorite. It smells amazing and I need to place a Bath and Body Works order to restock! I only have one back up right now and that is not enough with how much I love this candle! 

This half wall between the kitchen and the living room is both fun and challenging to decorate. I love that I can do things like this with the leaf garland but I don't always know what to do with it the rest of the year. Do you have any challenging spots to decorate in your home? 

The table by our front door always is super simple because Sophie knocks into it sometimes. I am risking my Mickey Halloween pumpkin here, fingers crossed it makes it through! This little leaf tray is something I found a few years ago (I can't remember where...) but I love little trays and having them around my home!

I placed this glass pumpkin that my mom gave me for my birthday last year (I think from HomeGoods?), more leaf garland, and my little witch on the tv stand.  

Not fall decor related but I pulled this picture of Tim and I from our wedding out of the guest room and placed it out here. Since we got married in the fall I think it is definitely appropriate and I may keep it out here full time. I am still loving my fiddle leaf fig and despite getting a bit dusty it's still going strong!

I plan on decorating outside in a few weeks once the pumpkins become available. Do you have plans for outdoor fall decorating? I am definitely grabbing some mums, I'm thinking of white and a deep wine color. I will also be grabbing a ton of white pumpkins if I can find them and then maybe some mini orange pumpkins for the walkway. I will definitely share pictures once it's completed!

Let me know what you are doing for fall decor this year and what your favorite places to shop decor are!

Decor Updates

Good morning and Happy New Year! I can't believe we are in 2020!! 

Today I want to share two little decor updates with you guys. On Sunday I took down Christmas and I'm slowly working on finishing decorating the house. 

We had our neighbors pop over to say hi on Sunday and they said they wanted to wait to introduce themselves until we had settled in and I kept thinking OMG I am not settled in. We have SO much left to do, there are a million things I need to do in this house. I know the house will never be "done" but I wanted to make a little dent in my to-do list (which I will share with you soon).

One of the things I decided to do was hang this sign over our side door. My mom bought this for us this Christmas and I really wanted to hang it up right away. I knew if I didn't it would end up in the office with all the other wall hangings we haven't done anything with yet. 

Ignore the chair that is still in this picture. Short people like me have to stand on chairs to hang up everything.  If you can see the little hole at the top I did originally have it hanging a little higher but I didn't like the height so I redid it. This is what happens when Tim doesn't do it for me :)

I think this little section of the house can be considered done now. I love my Magnolia Home wreath, my Home RI sign, and my Charlestown sign all in this back corner. One corner down, all the other corners to go.

Another new addition is this rug I recently purchased from Wayfair.

We finally have a rug in our living room, yay! Sophie is thrilled to have a soft floor to lay on besides her bed. I think we may replace our coffee table for something smaller. I love this table but I think the room would look so much better with a smaller table here.

What do you guys think? I'm also thinking maybe a white table would be nice. It might look better than the dark wood. We also need to remove Sophie's old bed which is only being used as a toy bin right now.

Here you can get a better look at the pattern. I love how it looks light and subtle and fits perfectly in our living room. Now I just need to find rugs for our bedroom, the guest room, the office, and two small ones for inside the front and side doors. 

Like I said, I have a long to do list! :)

Have a great day!

New Etsy Wall Art by Hawkinscreations

Happy Monday again! This is the last full week before Christmas you guys! Can you believe it? We are celebrating "Christmas Eve" with my family next Sunday, less than a week away. It just seems like it crept up on us so quickly. 

Today I want to share a sign I ordered off Etsy because even though you wouldn't be able to get one before Christmas as a gift, I think it's absolutely adorable and you could order one for anyone for anytime of year! I think this would make a fantastic wedding gift, or a housewarming present or just a nice gift for yourself (which is what I did)

I've been wanting one of these signs for quite some time and am glad that I finally just ordered one. I ordered it from a really cute shop on Etsy too. Hawkinscreations has so many different signs to choose from and I chose the family name sign but there are a ton of options you can pick from.

Our third little family member checking out the new sign.

On Saturday I finally got it hung up in our kitchen. I'm not quite sure what else I'm going to put on this wall but I'm thinking of maybe adding some shelves? I'm not totally sure so if you have any ideas please share!

It does look a little lonely here but it's so nice to not just have a blank wall!

I want to know what you think I should do with this wall. It's in my kitchen and I'm thinking maybe a shelf on either side of the sign, slightly below and having seasonal decor there?

Have a great day everybody!

Our Simple Christmas Decor 2019

Good morning! Today we are talking about our simple Christmas decor for 2019! Since adding Sophie our golden doodle puppy to the family this fall we've had to be very careful what we leave out. I want to keep our decor fairly simple because I have to corral it on our counter when we leave her home alone so it doesn't get destroyed. She is very interested in everything as puppies always are! 

Let's start outside...

The former owners left a garden flag and stand so I thought I would buy flags as an easy way to decorate outdoors for the holidays. I love this little truck with the Christmas tree in the back. I purchased this right on Amazon and it was only $10. There are a ton of different garden flags on Amazon so if you are looking for an easy way to decorate outside this is it! 

This pre-lit garland was also purchased on Amazon and was $25 each. I purchased a few of these and although they don't look the most natural during the day I really like how it looks at night.

I pulled out our decorative pillows. The two bigger ones I believe are from HomeGoods and the small teal one was in the dollar bins at Target a few years back.

This table has been pretty much empty with Sophie around but she doesn't seem to bother this Keep Calm and Wait for Santa sign. 

This little tree came from Target last year in after Christmas sales. 

Here is the start of our garland, you'll see the finished product in a moment.

Here's my Harry Potter POP advent calendar that Brittni gave me as a Christmas gift this year! Follow along on Instagram (balancingonmytoes) to see what's behind each door!

I decorated this plug in garland from Walmart with picks and poinsettias from Walmart. Next year I will put a battery operated garland up there. 

This side has one of the battery operated garlands from Amazon that I shared earlier.

Our tree is set up in our extremely messy office! We can't trust Sophie with it while we aren't home. I ordered this on Michaels when trees were majorly discounted! I had to fluff the branches up a bit but it's a really well made tree and I love how it looks!

Just a good girl and her first Christmas tree!

These little bottle brush trees came from Walmart this year and they are something small that I think look great on our ledge between the kitchen and living room. 

Here are pictures of our completed garland!

I added a garland around the window to block the cord a little bit and I think it turned out very festive.

It's so fun to decorate a new house, but I am ready to come up with even more ideas next year when we can have a bit more out! ( I hope)

Tell me about and show me your Christmas decorations! I want to know what you are doing to decorate your house.