Inspired By | Baskets as Wall Art

One of the design trends I've really liked lately are baskets as wall art. I've lucked out - they are abundant at my local thrift store (so much so I've been buying extra in hopes I can list some for sale in the near future!)

I'm using them in my new laundry room and these are some of the images that helped me create a layout that I liked (I also used a trivet and a placement). I like more shallow style baskets for my walls but the possibilities are endless!

If you're not the thrifting type, a great source singles or sets are on Etsy.  I have two similar pocket baskets (great for little potted plants!) and I love something like this for a statement. 

The Science of Sleep

This post isn't scientific at all actually. It's just anecdotal evidence. Life is so much better with sleep. Yesterday I got a nap. Today was my morning to sleep in. I feel like a different human. For parents of young kids so much sleep is sacrificed for free time or hell, just getting our babies to sleep so they're not total monsters. That first year is so tough. I haven't slept through the night in at least 14 months. But it's slowly getting better and better and praise be for a hour or two to just curl up alone and sink into a deep sleep.  

It also doesn't hurt that the sun is shining and I let myself have coffee versus tea (may regret that) but currently sitting at my dining table alone to just look outside, write and make lists and the current silence and last nights' rest are making me glow.  

And on somewhat of a side tangent - I've been feeling so loved by the comments and DMs y'all have been sending me related to my new style of content. I know not every post is going to be earth shattering or ground breaking but knowing there are other folks out there going through the same things is really uplifting. It's possible to feel incredibly grateful and massively frustrated at the same time (see also: the side effects of the full moon on children). And to know you're not alone - that's one of the best parts of all. Looking forward to the week ahead! I've got thrifting, plant shopping, clean eating and hiking on my mind. What are you up to? Cya tomorrow! 

The Best Thing I've Ever Done for Myself

Ever feel like you have so much you want to say and you're not exactly sure where to start? I've got this web of ideas that I want to dive into and it could get kind of tangled, but it's worth a shot, right?

I'm pretty sure the best and most kind thing I've ever done for myself was quitting What I Wore. I debated it for years and there were a few reasons I kept on doing it - I was making great money to support my family while Adam started his own business, I was (and still am) kind of vain and liked looking at photos of myself, and I also liked building friendships from people around the world. Probably in that order if I'm being honest. 

Well after Bea was born I kind of lost my steam. I didn't feel great about the way I looked and my sponsorship offers stopped coming in (read: ground to a fucking halt!)  I wasn't super active on pitching any either. After a while I gave posting outfit photos another try, but with two children to look after, getting "ready" each day and dragging them somewhere to shoot photos (and often feeling really bad about how I looked in them) just made me miserable. Then we decided to sell our house so keeping it clean and ready to show at a moment's notice just meant my plate was overfull. You know what happens next - we move and have a new house to deal with and "deal" is the wrong word because moving here is also in my top five best things I've ever done for myself. This place is magical and I love being here with my partner and kids so much.

Anyway, I wasn't making money, I didn't feel good about my appearance and I just didn't like the direction I was going in (or the direction of the fashion blogging world for that matter). It just felt (and still feels) so freaking salesy! It went from creative and resourceful to one big commercial. I mean, I did it too, so I'm not shaming the players, I'm hating the game. 

So before I wrote that last post (a gift to myself for my 35th birthday), I mentally just let WIW go. I didn't feel dread when it had been two days without a post. I didn't even open my laptop for days at a time. I started to feel really good and I knew it was time put that little blog to bed. I cannot tell you how many mornings I would be frustrated to tears because I'd gotten up early to shower and put together some new outfit and then it didn't photograph well and it felt such a massive waste of time. 

Fast forward to now. This is the part I want to put to words and I'm not sure if I can do it properly. I feel so light! I feel so free! And I feel more beautiful - inside and out - than I have in a very long time. It's so much bigger than downsizing my wardrobe to a sweatshirt and jeans. It's really not about the clothes at all. Someday I might care about that again. But for now, clothes are just things I wear to do other things I love. Sometimes it's a cute dress, sometimes it's my work jeans. I can still feel good even if there's no photo to prove what a good outfit it is/was. #picoritdidnthappen 

So lately I've just been radiating joy. Most days. I still have times when I'm knee deep in another tantrum or sick of changing poop diapers and just OVER IT. But more often than not, I'm frustrated little things. Things I can deal with. Not frustrated with myself, my online "brand" (ugggghhhh), the game or the judgment. 

I don't want this to come across as an anti blogger or anti shopping kind of sentiment. I still like blogs. Well... let me take that back. I like some people I've found online and I've realized I don't have to follow folks who bring out my jealous side (my fault, not hers!) or my insecurities (again - that's all on me!) As for shopping, cue the Macklemore and find me at the thrift shop. I still like collecting things. Now they're 99 cent baskets instead of J.Crew new arrivals, but whatever. The shift has been really good for me. Maybe the best shift of all is just letting myself be ME, like I have in those instastories or in these rambling posts. 

And I think the gratitude I've been feeling for this new mindset is just attracting even more goodness. In a material way, I'm finding things left and right (be they in the garage, attic or at the thrift store).  My marriage has improved so much. And as Oprah would say - I feel more fully present in the deeper world around me. That's why giving up my old job was the best thing I've ever done for myself.

---

Have a great weekend, friends! I just saw some daffodils blooming on campus and I can rally around that! Spring is coming! 

Inspired By | Modern Farmhouse Laundry Room

I am so close to completing my laundry/mudroom makeover I can almost taste it! We enter and exit primarily through the back of our home and needed a design update to flow with the rest of our home (which you can see here if you want!).

For those of you who are new around here - we live in a farmhouse built in the 40s with a major addition put on in the mid sixties. In true farmhouse style, rooms have been added on or spaces made larger and I suspect our laundry/mudroom used to be a porch of some sort before it was finished. 

When I started planning for making over this home, my catchall was "Midcentury Modern Farmhouse" (Here's my huge Pinterest board of the same name) And when I say farmhouse, I mean more of the bones of the space and less in the way of decor (probably no chicken wire in my future!) I've also found myself really doing a lot with bohemian style too - lots of wooden vessels, baskets and houseplants. So for this laundry space, I wanted to set the tone for the whole house and pull together everything I love!

These photos are a great example of what I've been inspired by!

1. Shiplap | Thanks to Jo Jo and Fixer Upper, shiplap has become a popular texture and makes perfect sense for a farm style entry room. I can't wait to show you what my dad and I installed! I have become pretty decent at the miter saw and at swinging a hammer too! And I felt like a boss at the lumber yard loading up my pallet and picking the best wood. 

2. Open Wooden Shelves |  In our last home we did open shelving in our kitchen remodel and I loved it. Adam has a technique for making the boards super smooth and for laundry organization it just makes perfect sense to have your cleaning supplies right by the machines. For this house we've been able to upcycle all of our open shelves and that fits in really nicely into my Make, Do & Mend mission. More on that when I show the final space! 

3. Plants! | This is kind of an aside, but I feel that my seasonal depression has been mitigated by how many houseplants I have hanging out with me (now up to over 20 #plantgang!) My laundry space has two huge 70" windows so there's a lot of opportunity for growing! 

4. Bright White | Nothing say so clean and so fresh (Cue Outkast) like bright white walls in a laundry space. I used to feel like white walls screamed RENTAL! but after years of doing so much color I really like them. And white black and wooden accents they just look so pretty. 

So that's kind of a hint to how the space will come together. I am 85% complete right now and just waiting on a delivery to finish up and then photograph (and a nice sunny day!) Guys - I'm pumped! I've found a lot of joy in my home projects and can't wait to share!