EGGS

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If I am being totally honest, I must admit that I have been missing yummy eggs! Cuyler and I have been following a Vegan diet at home now for over 30 days. Overall, we have been beyond thrilled! It is amazing how quickly your pallet can change and suddenly so many of the things that you used to eat seem completely unappetizing. Simplifying our diet has made us feel strong and full of energy!

There are a few things that I occasionally miss, however, eggs and cheese being at the top of the list. I could care less about meat, and that has been going on for some time, but eggs and cheese are two things I loved until the day I stopped eating them.

Lucky for me we are allowing ourselves a little wiggle room. Fearful of becoming 'those people' we have decided to follow our strict diet at home, but be flexible when out to eat or at a friends house. This makes us Flexitarians.

So, if I come to your house anytime soon and your struggling to decide what to make........a block of cheese and a dozen eggs sound heavenly to me!

For now I will try my hardest to stop thinking about all the lovely egg dishes I never made and focus on painting and hiding them. Above are some oh-so-pretty Easter Egg ideas that are just a tad fancier then the standard fizzling dye tablet that stains everything.

Carson has been asking lots of questions about the Easter Bunny, her biggest concern being that he doesn't have a proper name?! I have picked up tons of goodies to stuff in her basket and am most excited about a new Jellycats Bunny, (They make the best stuffies!), a vintage balloon animal making kit, some stickers and an Eco Egg Dye kit! Cuyler is headed to the Masters on Sunday and so it will be just the girls, painting eggs and taking loads of pictures.

Happy Easter!

Custom Coach DIY

This is my very first designer handbag folks, a Coach cross-body bag circa 1989.

I was insanely proud of it when I got it. Of course I haven't carried it forever, but I have never been able to let it go. I got it for Christmas in middle school, and I seriously freaked out! I guess I haven't had the heart to give it away and Coach leather really seems to hold up, so it looks almost as good as the Christmas morning I opened the box.

Fast forward a hundred years and here I am still holding on to it, never carrying it. Somehow I got this idea about painting old handbags to freshen them up. I think I am being influenced by all the neon and neutrals stuff out there.

Off to the craft store I went. In the end I chickened out on the fluorescent colors I had in my mind. Gold seemed like a much safer choice, plus it will go with so much more. I love gold! I already owned the stencils and they ended up being the perfect size, I wanted something big.

I am super excited about how it turned out! I think it will look amazing with chunky sweaters and boots and fits just what I need running in and out of Carson's school and the grocery and such.

If you don't have an old bag that will work, check out Ebay. I'm sure there are tons of great old leather bags, I found a bunch of old Coach ones that would work great (here, here, and here) I plan on finding just the right little purse for my Carson and adding her initials, she will love it. Maybe I will save it for Christmas.

What do you think? Easy and cheap project, let me know if you try it out.

all supplies: Hobby Lobby, (go with paint pens, makes it super easy and fast drying)

Anatomy of a Room (volume four)

Framed Letters: DIY, frames- Ikea painted. fabric- Joannes. letters- Michaels. Animals: gifts.

Glider/Recliner: Storytime Series- Lone Star Baby. Rug: World Market. Floor Lamp & Shade- Ikea. Curtains and Rods- World Market.

Bookshelf: thrifted. Lamps and Baskets: Target. Shades: Ikea. Picture Frames: Pier One. Photos: Cuyler and Scooter. Stephanie and Papaw.

Books: mixed, mostly gifted.

Boots: Hunter, Zappos.

C for Carson.

ABC Flashcards: collaged, gift from Marmee, Land Of Nod.

Picture Frames: Target and antique. Photos: Cuyler and Grand Marmee, Stephanie and Memaw. Drawers: thrifted and painted, replaced nobs all from Home Depot. Nightlight-Offi, Fawn and Forest . Bed and Bedding: Ikea. (This bed is amazing! Its affordable and adjustable. We started out with it shorter then this making it an easy transition out of the crib, and it extends to full twin bed for later.)

Basket and Storage Boxes (under bed) Ikea. Books: Sandy Springs Library.

Armiore: vintage. Crosses: mixed and gifted. Hamper: Container Store.

Lovely little Spring dresses.

Beach hat and summer shoes.

Pretty twirly skirts.

My sweet Carson's original nursery.

So here is my little girls room. I can not believe that she is not a baby anymore!

Carson's room has a great mix of furniture, prints, and patterns. Instead of buying a matching coordinating set of furniture, I repurposed a few pieces we already owned and found some great new textiles. The striped rug was the inspiration for the whole color scheme in the nursery, and later for her 'big girl,' bedding.

I wanted to come up with something special and original for above the crib. The initials are still one of my favorite parts of the room! I am currently working on a new piece for above the bed and dresser. (hopefully I will be posting about it soon!)

When we moved into the new house we painted all the bedrooms this lovely shade of gray. It's another Behr paint from Home Depot, called Ash. I love shades of gray with brown! I think it goes so well with all of Carson's things!

The best part of Carson's room is that there are no toys thrown around! I love that her room is full of sunshine and books and pretty dresses and nothing else! I think that the playroom, and the separation of the toys, really allows her to rest and relax in her room without distraction. Carson is a huge reader! I know this sounds silly at her age, but it is true. She literally sits up and reads to her animals every night. I love that her room is a special and magical place for her!

Chalkboard DIY

About a year ago I saw a sneak peek on Design Sponge with the most charming home! (They have endless inspiration on that site...check it out!) My favorite image was of the giant chalkboard in the bedroom. I loved that it was floor to ceiling! When it comes to art and photographs, the bigger the better!

I have wanted to do the project ever since. I stalled only because I knew it would be another heavy piece to move from Texas, but now that we are settled..... I finally get my chalkboard. Sadly, I could not find the picture on Design Sponge, as their archives are endless, so I did my best to guess how they created it. It was a fun and relatively easy project!


I love the natural patterns of wood! My favorite part of this chalkboard is that the letters remain the natural wood material, unpainted. It makes it feel more organic to me, more special then the standard stencils or painted letters you see everywhere.


So I started with a large piece of wood, from the Depot. Obviously you can choose to make this project on any scale you like. I got a 4X8 piece of 3/4" wood in the lumber department and had them cut a foot off. FYI they have lots of different sizes in the pre-cut project section. I purchased two cans of chalkboard spray paint and then headed to Hobby Lobby for the vinyl adhesive letters. I chose 6" letters, the largest that they sold, and used the tools that I had at home to measure and decide on placement.

Basic Instruction:
Carefully place all the letters. Spray two coats of the chalkboard paint. Use something sharp to lift corners of the letters and peel. Its that easy!

I decided to put my chalkboard on a wall in my dining room. I love the idea of using it when I entertain, writing menus and wine selections. The options seem endless! In fact, just after we finished eating tonight Cuyler had fun writing what we had for dinner.......and the fun begins.

Let me know what you think, if you have a great project idea to offer, or if you up and decide to do this project yourself.

Have a great weekend!