It feels good to make a house a home. To make it pretty and cozy and welcoming. Several years ago, I was thinking about all of the things that go into making a house a home and it hit me that using the five senses is a good starting place! You’ve got sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Think about all of the things in your home right now that pertain to all of these. Are you ready to hear more about how to use the five senses to make your house a home? Let’s go!

First, let’s talk about sight! We all love to look at pretty things, right? Think about when you look around your home and how you take  in everything around you. The colors, photos, art, furniture, lighting, and all the other pretty decor. Your eyes move around the room and it brings a smile to your face. This dresser is the perfect shade of green and a lot of people ask for the paint color!

The sense of sight is your opportunity to bring in your favorite colors and items. Do you love flowers, vases, lamps? What is your style? Is it more modern, or traditional? Do you like signs that have your favorite sayings? What do you want to see when you look around? Bring those things into your home. I love all of the colors in this butterfly art from World Market.

Now let’s talk about our favorite sense of all. Taste! We all love good things to eat and drink. Think about your favorite recipes, snacks, and drinks. Think about sitting down at the dining room table and sharing a meal with people you love. Making a dish that has been passed down through your family. And by the way, this breakfast casserole is delicious!

Some foods that taste good can also sit out on the counter and look pretty too!

A soft blanket, a comfy couch, or a cushy pillow. These are all items that pertain to touch. There is nothing better than curling up on the couch with a favorite blanket to read a book, or watch tv. And who doesn’t love going to bed at night on a comfortable mattress with your favorite pillow. This throw blanket is one of my favorites to snuggle up with in our home.

You can bring in so many different materials to bring your sense of touch alive. There are leather chairs, linen couches, granite countertops, wood tables, cotton quilts, metal barstools, porcelain tiles, crystal glasses and so many other materials you can use around your home!

Smell is a wonderful thing (most of the time anyway, ha). Chocolate chip cookies baking, a vanilla candle burning, or even your favorite perfume you sprayed right before walking out the door, smell is an important part of making your house a home. I honestly think that your home’s smell is what helps you recognize your home the most. You always hear people talking about how everyone’s house has a smell.

Last, but not least, let’s talk about the sense of hearing. There are so many sounds you can hear in your home from your favorite music to your favorite people talking and laughing. One of my favorite sounds is the water feature in my office. It is so soothing and relaxing. Your home should be a calm and relaxing place for you to unwind at the end of the day. In fact, your home should be a relaxing place for you anytime of the day. Now go and use the five senses to make your house a home by filling it with things you love to see, taste, hear, touch, and smell!

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I used to hate the fall season because it meant summer was coming to an end. When I was younger, my mom would get excited when the weather cooled off and the leaves started changing colors. She would make chili, buy caramel apples, and decorate our house with pumpkins and pretty fall colors. I could not understand why she was so happy and loved fall so much! Fast forward thirty plus years and now I get it. Fall is great! Summer is still my favorite season by far, but fall is a close second. One of my favorite things about fall is decorating with different colors, textures, and floral stems. And using floral stems to decorate for fall is a simple and inexpensive way to make your home look beautiful and feel cozy.

There is a good variety of floral stems throughout our home that I have collected over the years. This dried wheat looking stem in our sitting room is a perfect example of a texture that screams fall. I love the mix of cream and black and I placed it in a clear glass jar. And can we talk about the bowl of pumpkins and pine cones? It adds a nice pop of color to this neutral space!

Here is another view of the sitting room. Doesn’t it make you want to curl up in the chair with a cup of coffee and a good book?

This is another example of a natural looking stem. It sits on the table in our foyer and I love how tall it is. The glass jar sits on the table year round, so it is really easy to add this stem to it for some texture. I found the cute wooden leaf charm a couple of years ago and thought it was a cute addition to the jar. And of course, the pumpkins add a nice pop of color.

How cute are these vases I found at Goodwill? I bought them in the summer and knew I would have a use for them one day. They are currently sitting on the kitchen island and I put a couple of small fall stems in each one. This is a great example of mixing different textures and colors for fall.

When decorating for fall you’ve gotta have some brown leaves, right? This is another glass jar that sits on a table in our dining area year round. It’s another easy way to add some fall decor to items that I use everyday! The pumpkin sitting on the book is even made up of flowers! See how fun it is to add different colors and textures around your home? The warmth makes your home feel so cozy!

Now it is time to bring in some color! How pretty is this golden color stem? And it looks so good with the blue vase! And, guess what? That vase sits on the mantle year round. Are you seeing a pattern here? It is so easy to use everyday items to decorate for fall. And, it makes it a lot easier to decorate as well.

The dining room is where I added the best pops of fall colors! I love these stems I found at Dollar Tree a couple of years ago and they look great with the sign from Hobby Lobby! And you already know that once upon a time I would never have that sign in my home. Ha! Ha! But it does look perfect sitting on this tray that sits on the dining room console year round. And have I mentioned how much I love pops of gold for fall decorating? It adds so much warmth to the room. If you would like more fall decorating ideas you can check out this blog post or this one. Thank you for stopping by!

Summer is a great time to decorate your front porch with flowers, plants, wreaths for your front door, and cute furniture! At least, that is what I used for my summer front porch refresh! I love the bright colors, the patterns, and ALL the flowers! It is such a nice change from the winter blahs.

Every year I have some fun and try different color schemes. This year I went with pink, green, and black. And, I always like to keep it simple and low maintenance. I don’t have a green thumb, so I want to be careful about how many plants and flowers I commit to taking care of!

I have always been a fan of green and black together. It is actually one of my favorite color combos. And then, add in a pop of pink and you have perfection! Here is a fun fact, apple green and fuchsia were the colors at my wedding. These colors are perfect for summer!

Not only did I choose pink and green for the flowers in the planters, but I also used it in the wreaths for the front doors. My sister-in-law makes wreaths and I told her my vision and she brought it to life. I think they look so good! What do you think?

Here is a closer look at one of the wreaths! Aren’t the different shades of pink so pretty with the green? My SIL did such a great job. I love the cheerfulness these add to the front doors. They are perfect to welcome our guests.

I’ve had the table and chairs for a few years now and they are from Target. The cute black and white pillows came from Walmart this year and I love the pattern. It keeps the look a little more modern. I topped the seating area off with a succulent in a black planter of course. Also, all of the planters I used are plastic and inexpensive.

Here is another photo with the lights on. I love that time of night when the sun is setting and turning on the lights makes it feel cozy. I hope this has inspired you to give your summer front porch a refresh. Keep it simple and fresh and have some fun with it!

The question I get asked the most is where do I shop for home decor? You all have asked where I get pillows, frames, artwork, and furniture. There is no quick answer to that question as I get the decor in our home from many different places. That being said, I thought it would be nice to go room by room and do several posts telling you all where my home decor is from. Today, I am starting in my office and I am going to give you ideas on how to decorate a bookshelf on a budget.

I had a lot of fun decorating my office; especially the cubby bookshelves. The main reason for that is because my office decor is one hundred percent me and my style! I love plants and color and books. I also love decor that has meaning. My favorite thing in my office is the butterfly wall art that hangs over the cubbies. It is from World Market and the colors are beautiful!

Ok, let’s move on to the shelves! I think books are great to use as decor. They are colorful and they also have meaning if you decorate with books that you love. I get a lot of my books from Amazon, yard sales, and Goodwill. A fun way to mix in decor is to use it as a bookend, or you can even sit it on top of the books. The cute flower and vase in the photo above were on clearance at Anthropologie. I found it on a shopping trip with my daughters and when I look at it I am reminded of that day.

Some of the best decor items come from Goodwill and yard sales. This milk glass bowl came from Goodwill and was less than three dollars. Always be on the lookout for unique items like this to use throughout your home.

Who loves plants? Plants are great to use as decor on a bookshelf. The fern and succulent above are both from Walmart and the planters are from Hobby Lobby. Plants add color and they bring a room to life. In my humble opinion, you cannot have too many plants!

Artwork is another great way to decorate your bookshelf. This piece belonged to my late aunt which makes it extra special. Plus, I love the beach, so that gives it even more meaning. You can also frame scrapbook paper, or pages from a photo book that you love.

Practical items are also great to use to decorate your shelves. This pen holder came from Hobby Lobby and I love the pop of color it adds. Plus, I don’t have room for it on my desk, so sitting it here is perfect. Shelves are a great place to hold practical items that you don’t have room for in other places.

Always be on the lookout for unique pieces whenever you are shopping. You never know when you might find the perfect item for your home. And remember, have fun with decorating and incorporate your style and what you love into your home!

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Do you have a green thumb? Don’t worry, I don’t either, but I love decorating with plants anyway. If you love nature it is a great way to bring the outdoors inside. Also, most plants are inexpensive, so they are perfect for decorating your home on a budget. Plants are also a great way to make a space come alive and freshen it up. Now, let’s take a little tour of all the plants I currently have in my home.

In my sitting area I have this pothos plant. It is probably the easiest plant to care for (in my humble opinion). You can forget to water it and it will be ok for a period of time. From what I can tell, they do love sunlight and grow very fast. The best part about this plant is you can take cuttings from the plant and root them in water. This is a great way to take one plant and create several others which is very budget friendly!

There are two plants sitting on the table in my foyer. The bigger plant is real and was bought on Amazon and the smaller plant is a faux plant and came from Michael’s. I was a little skeptical of buying a plant from Amazon and didn’t know how well it would do, but it has grown so much and looks great! If you have ever been skeptical of buying a plant online, give it a try. This one is so pretty and easy to care for.

This plant is the newest addition to the family and it is also my favorite. I have it sitting right next to my beach art because it is tropical and reminds me of warm and sunny weather. This plant is from Walmart and was very inexpensive. So far, it has done great and I love pot it came in also.

One of my other favorite plants is the Christmas cactus which is on the left. It blooms every year at Christmas and is beautiful! The other succulent that you see on the right is small and easy to take care of. I water it sparingly and also use some succulent food once a week and it has done really well.

I’m not sure what I like better in the above photo, the faux plant or the cute bicycle planter that it is sitting in. If you are looking to add some green to a space that doesn’t get a lot of light, then use a faux plant. And, in case you are wonder, the cute bicycle planter is from Target. You’re welcome!

And last, but certainly not least, is the faux fern that sits in the great room. Real ferns can be hard to keep alive, so I caved and bought this one from Target. I do love it and it is a great alternative to the real thing. I hope you enjoyed this tour of all of the plants in our home. Decorating with plants is an inexpensive and great way to decorate your home! Hop on over to Facebook or Instagram and let me know your favorite plant!

It’s only February, but I started my spring cleaning early and thought I would take you on a tour of my master bathroom. It is one room in our house that we haven’t decorated much since we moved in almost five years ago. Since it is a room that only my husband and I use and see, we decided to keep it simple with not a lot of fuss. This also makes it easier to keep clean and organized. I hope you enjoy this simple master bathroom tour!

The bathroom is actually pretty neutral with the tile being a cream color and the vanity being gray. I chose to keep all of the walls white since there is only one window and I wanted the room to feel open and bright.

I’ve shared this corner of the bathroom before, but it is actually getting ready to go undergo a simple makeover. And by that I mean I am sanding down the cabinet and giving it a fresh look. I love the extra storage this cabinet providers as it hold extra toiletries and first aid items. All of the artwork on the gallery wall came from Hobby Lobby and I love the pop of color that it adds to the space.

The artwork above the bathtub also came from Hobby Lobby and again, I love the pop of color it adds to the room as well. Also, if you are low on storage space a basket next to the tub, like the one I have here, is a great idea to hold bath towels.

The one window above the bathtub lets in a good amount of light and I love how bright it makes the room feel. The light fixtures above the vanity are some of my favorites we picked out when the house was being built.

One good thing about keeping the main pieces in the bathroom neutral is it will be easier to redecorate down the road. We can bring in different artwork, rugs, and towels and they will look good with what is already there. So, what do you think about our master bathroom? I would love to hear your thoughts over on Instagram or Facebook!

Hey there! I am back with more kitchen pantry organizing ideas that will help you get your kitchen in tip top shape! You can go back and check out part one here. The first post that I did focused on the upper half of my pantry which houses canned goods, pastas, condiments, etc. The bottom half of hour pantry hold chips, crackers, snacks, and other miscellaneous items.

The bottom cabinet is where we keep chips and crackers. I try to go through and clean it out regularly, so we don’t end up with a bunch of bags of half eaten chips. I also try to keep unopened bags in the back, so the opened bags get eaten first.

I used the same labels for the bottom half of the pantry as I did in the upper half. They are from Amazon and I really like how simple and clean they are!

Above the cabinet where the chips and crackers live is a drawer where we keep lunch items. Since the drawer is a pretty good size, I like to use small bins to keep like items together. This makes it easy to find what we are looking for when packing lunches. And by the way, I absolutely love using smaller bins in any drawer to keep smaller items together.

Right above the large drawer, are three smaller drawers that are perfect for holding smaller items. Each drawer holds a different category of items and I try really hard to keep it that way. This drawer holds items like bacon bits, sardines, tuna fish, etc.

Another of the smaller drawers holds packaged spices that will not fit in my spice rack. The third drawer (not pictured) holds granola bars and oatmeal packets.

And there you have it! I organized the pantry in a simple way that didn’t cost a lot of money and I hope it inspires you to do the same!

The best thing about fall is making your home warm, cozy, and inviting. You know you love a night where you can snuggle under a blanket, on the couch, with a fire going. And don’t forget the hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick. Here are six ways to make your home cozy for fall!

My number one item for making my home cozier for fall is a soft and pretty throw blanket. We have several in our home, but this one from Amazon is my favorite. It looks great in our sitting room and it is so soft. I love laying on the couch under this blanket watching a good movie.

A delicious smelling fall candle is the second item on my list. Whether it’s pumpkin, vanilla, apple, banana bread, or fireside, a good smelling candle is sure to have your home smelling good. And when your home smells good, it makes it a cozy place to hang out and curl up with a good book.

Speaking of books, they are the third item on my list. I love having books and magazines throughout my house. I like a mix of home decorating books, magazines, devotionals, and a best selling novel. I read more during the fall and winter months than any other time during the year.

This textured pillow is the fourth item on my list. I have shown y’all this one from Walmart multiple times and you always tell me how much you love it. I think textured pillows in warm colors just like this one are perfect for adding the right amount of cozy to your home.

Of course, a fall must have is a cute mug to drink your hot cider, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate out of. That is why it is the fifth item on my list. There are so many cute colors, patterns, and sizes of mugs to choose from. I love this pumpkin one from Home Goods and drink out of it almost daily during the fall.

Last on the list, are dried stems and  fall florals. I love to display these throughout my home during the fall and I think they really do make a space just a bit more cozy. I hope this list of six ways to make your home cozy for fall has inspired you to curl up on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of coffee this fall season.

I love fall and everything the season brings with it. Pumpkins, apples, hot cider, sweaters, hoodies, chilly mornings, bonfires, football, hayrides, hot chocolate, s’mores, leaves changing colors, mums, and so much more! I also love decorating for fall and want to share with you how to decorate a tray for fall.

This tray sits on the cabinet in my dining room and usually holds small jars and vases. Other than our dining room table, it is the only place in our dining room to decorate for fall. I used items I already had and will walk you through step by step on how I arranged them on the tray.

These are the items I used on the tray, and as I said before, I already had all of them. The three vases pictured sit on the tray year round. The pumpkin, florals, and the sign are decor items I used last year.

The first item I placed on the tray is the fall sign from Hobby Lobby. I used a plate stand from Dollar Tree to stand it on. I love the colors in the sign and think they are perfect for fall.

Next, I placed this white vase on the tray and will use it to hold the pretty fall florals.

Aren’t these all florals the best? I love the colors and the patterns and think they are perfect for fall and add a little something unexpected to this tray.

Of course, no fall decor is complete without a pumpkin! This one is cream and gold and I love that it is subtle.

Now it is time to glam the tray up with this pretty mirrored vase. I think it might be the prettiest item on the tray.

Here is the finished product! The last thing I added to the tray was the small gold jar that I spray painted gold a while back. It was a lot of fun decorating this tray and I hope it helped you learn how to decorate a tray for fall. Please go over to Facebook or Instagram and let me know what you think!