Some of my favorite things during the month of January.
Read MoreHow to Paint a Dresser: IKEA Tarva Makeover
As you know from following along with the progress on our house, we decided to repurpose the master suite into a family room, meaning we’d take one of the smaller bedrooms for ourselves. This was only going to work comfortably if we could fit a dresser in here, because despite the closet in this room being a decent size, it’s a tad tight for two people’s wardrobes. After measuring out the rug and bed placement, we concluded that the ideal dresser depth for this room would be 16″ or less. With most standard dressers hovering around 20-22″ and dipping to 18″ at best, this was a challenging quest.
I searched for months looking not only for that shallow depth, but something that had enough width and number of drawers to still be useful for the amount of storage it could provide while also not being ugly. We landed on the IKEA TARVA, coming in at a svelte 15 3/4″ depth with great bones similar to our previous MALM dresser that I still love so much but it’s too big for this room. The reason I didn’t initially end my search here was because the TARVA only comes in an untreated wood intended for DIY customization and truthfully, with the stress of the move and work going on in our house the thought of spending days working on this felt like it was going to kill me. Being unable to find an alternative with these perfect dimensions or resist the affordable price however, I called off the search and accepted the task to make the TARVA our own. Here’s how I gave it a makeover.
Read MoreOur Bedroom Refresh
This post is sponsored by Annie Selke.
Our bedroom is set up! No more fishing our clothes out from boxes or walking into those boxes when we get out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom! Calling it a refresh because you’ll recognize a lot of the things in here that were from our previous bedroom, and overall we’ve maintained the minimal design that we already loved . All we needed were a few changes to make it work for this room layout, and I’ve partnered with Annie Selke for some simple updates from their wide range of rugs and bedding that made it all cozier.
Read MoreVietnamese Iced Coffee Recipe with a Pour Over Method
This post is sponsored by OXO.
The first time I tried Vietnamese coffee was a sip from a friend’s cup and I remember asking her with wide open eyes, “WHAT IS THIS?!” It’s like drinking coffee candy. The coffee is strong and rich in flavor and perfectly balanced with sweetened condensed milk. I would’ve guessed there was more to it, but it’s that simple and hits different than your regular coffee with milk and sugar. It’s very easy to make at home and I’m partnering with OXO to show you how!
Read MoreDIY Dried Orange Slice Ornaments
These are a long established and very traditional Christmas decor item but I’m just now really getting to know them. Dried orange slices caught my attention while I was perusing a shop that had a small Christmas tree adorned with them. I wouldn’t have guessed on my own that they’d look so festive for this season but they do! Maybe it’s how they complement Christmas greens in color, and it’s definitely how they look almost transparent like stained glass and have an intriguing glow when they catch the light. I thought they’d be a really nice and fresh detail to add to an arrangement on our dining table, and it conveniently turned out that they are terribly easy to make. So easy that I wondered if it was even worth dedicating a blog post to it because the instructions are slice, bake, and hang, you’re done.
Read MoreOur Holiday Living Room (Or Sitting Room!) Reveal
This post is sponsored by Crate and Barrel.
A few exciting things going on here!!! First, this is the FIRST space in our house to be completely set up and to no longer be littered with cardboard boxes from the move. Second, our tree is up and it’s kicking off all the touches of Christmas I’ve been so eagerly looking forward to incorporating into our home. Last and certainly the biggest, this is a dream partnership with a brand I’ve loved for so long, the store I can’t resist roaming during every trip to the mall since my high school years while dreaming of what our future house would be like, and now in the present day knew would align with the vision I had for this room. I’m so excited to share with you about some of the beautiful pieces Crate and Barrel offers, not only in furniture but also Christmas decor, and to take you with me through the process of how I style and choose pieces for a space.
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