DIY
Wow with Wallpaper!
When I use to think of how to decorate my home, getting a wow with wallpaper was not in my top ideas. In fact, I am not sure if it would have even made my top 10 decorating ideas. However, it is good to admit when you are wrong and I was wrong.
Rifle Paper Co. Pomegranate wallpaper added to our half bathroom. Inspiration
After viewing beautiful examples of wallpaper displays, I was convinced I needed to incorporate this texture into our home remodel. Being new to this scene, a little bit will go a long way. We incorporated a beautiful Rifle Paper Co. print titled Pomegranate. I selected two areas of the home to showcase this gorgeous print: our half bathroom and our laundry room.
There are a few accounts on Instragram that provide ample inspiration of the traditional usage of wallpaper within the home.
Garden & Grace is such an inspirational account. A local construction company first peeked my interest in this feature with the following beautiful space:
Twin Construction, Inc. delivers taste and style consistently in their projects. Tools
Now to the application! My husband and I knew we would be hanging the wallpaper ourselves so I had to take some YouTube crash courses on how to hang it. DIY projects are not new to us, we have been DIYing our homes our entire married life. You can read about one of our recent projects here.
I viewed the following YouTube video before beginning.
Wallpapering is definitely a two person job. My husband and I tackled our half bathroom first but by the time we transitioned to our laundry room, it became a lot easier to install. The wallpaper seems to be a focal point to draw the eye and make smaller spaces seem larger.
Our Laundry Room For our these projects we used a large framing square to guide cuts, a flat surface to spread wallpaper on and make cuts, a razor edge, paint roller to roll on adhesive, Roman adhesive (shown below *as an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on viable links), and a plastic straight edge paddle to smooth out any bubbles or creases.
If the idea of hanging wallpaper seems overwhelming, start with peel and stick wallpaper. There is a lot of room for error with peel and stick. I will caution against using pre-pasted wallpaper. I have read of nightmarish experiences using a pre-pasted finish. The glue can become too much to handle. Truly, it does not take much to wow with wallpaper. Let me know if you give it a try!
School Supply Shopping
Are you a spender or a saver? A tightwad or a spendthrift? For me, I find myself wanting to find the best deal on anything I can. To pay full price for anything just about kills me. School supplies is an area that agitates me. I want to get the best deal on items that are needed for the classroom. Waste and excess are two words I do not want to hear when getting ready for going back to school and have me looking for deals when school supply shopping. Planning for the routine and needs of school gets me thinking of other areas of our home that need preparation such as meal planning. A good refresher course for how to meal plan can be found here.
Purchasing Options
To acquire your school items, you have a few options. You may shop for each school supply on your own or order the school supply list from your school. Many schools are now crafting school supply lists then shipping them directly to the homes that have pre-ordered.
The benefit of ordering your school supplies from your local school is you do not have to go out and buy your items on your own time. One potential drawback is the overall cost of supplies tend to be higher on the pre-order list.
The down side of taking the time to shop for your own supplies is you are spending your precious time hunting down the best deals. Another option when searching for your own deals is completing a pick up order from Walmart or Target. You can order what you need then drive by and pick it up without having to go in the store.
Price Comparisons
I have wanted to know for a long time exactly how expensive school supplies are. Typically, I run into whatever store of my choice and throw in school supplies last minute with no knowledge of the cost until checkout.
This year, I did a price comparison between Walmart and Target on school supply prices. I will list the supplies I was shopping for and the price comparisons.
Item Walmart Target 1.5″ Avery Binder $7.64 $7.69 5 tab/poly dividers $3.33 $4.49 Wide Ruled Marble Composition Notebook $.50 $.55 #2 Dixon Ticonderoga Pencils 12 count $6.42 $2.99 Plastic Pocket folders with brads $.50 $.50 Crayola 12 count Erasable Colored Pencils $14.99 $3.99 Fisker 5″ scissors $1.47 $1.49 Elmer’s gluesticks .77 ounce $.52 $1.06 Comparison of prices between Walmart and Target For this week, Target has some great prices and selection so I purchased most of my school supplies from there. I was able to find binders cheaper than the Avery binder pricing. The Target brand binders were $4.69 each. Also, the price for the erasable pencils from Walmart seems just too high but that was the only price I could find online for that particular item. It was just too high compared to the Target price and I am hopeful that I simply made an error in looking up that item.
Ways to Save
Money tight in your household? Frustrated with buying the same supplies each year then getting them back at the end of the school year? Create a space to house all school supplies then at the beginning of each year, shop your stock pile first before you head out to the store. Below is a post from my friend JeriKay about a beautiful piece of furniture she has designated to house all her school supplies.
At times we have reused the plastic, pocketed folders with brads year after year. And with the use of pencil boxes and/or pouches, we have held on to crayons and colored pencils that are barely used. Shopping weekly sales in the days and weeks leading up to a new school year is another way to save money on school supplies.
If holding onto leftover supplies and hunting down the best deals is not worth your time, I totally understand! Do what works best for you and your family. School supply pre-orders may be just the option for you! Whichever you chose, may your school year be filled with peace, learning, and fun!
Let me know in the comments how you shop for school supplies. I would love to hear from you!
Styling My Master Bathroom
Styling my master bathroom is a task I have taken time to think about and I enjoy creating an inviting space. Since moving into our home (you can read about our recent move here), I have been extremely excited for creating a home filled with spaces we will both love and enjoy. Due to much time spent in a master bathroom getting ready for each day, I wanted ours to have features we would use and like.
What to Consider
When styling your master bathroom, what features are a must and what are luxuries? Do you need only a shower? What is the size of your space? Do you want a tub/shower combo, a stand-alone tub, or a huge shower? Taking the time to ask yourself what you want out of your bathroom then researching what you can afford, will help avoid headaches down the road.
For our bathroom, my husband wanted a large, tiled shower with glass walls. I wanted a wonderful, freestanding soaking tub – we both planned for these items. Likewise, we both knew we wanted a double vanity. The selection of sconces and beveled mirrors as well as the color of the walls and trim and the design and pattern of tile, were decisions my husband gladly turned over to me. I happily accepted these decision making tasks 🙂
Where to Shop
The internet can be a wonderful tool when shopping for items, materials, and decor for your bathroom. While oftentimes good deals can be found online, sometimes just plain old word-of-mouth helps you locate the best materials for your bathroom.
For our bathroom, we pulled items from a variety of locations. Our sconces came from Home Depot, our double vanity came from Lowe’s, our beveled mirrors came from Amazon, and our tub came from Wayfair. (*As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission off any viable links.*)
How to Decorate
Now that all of our key items are in our bathroom, now it is time to decorate. In addition to a woven basket, a small table stand, and a couple of plants, I am going to hang a few prints in our bathroom. Viewing pins on Pinterest and posts on Instagram as well as creating a mood board, get my creative juices flowing when it comes to decorating my own bathroom. In the right sideboard of this blog is my latest mood board for a master bathroom that I posted to LiketoKnow.it Follow my LiketoKnow.it account as well as my Instagram account to see how I place decorative touches in our master bathroom.
Weigh in! Tell me what are your must-have items in your master bathroom. What did you splurge on? What did you save on? I hope this post gives you a moment to pause and think about how to style your own space. I would love to hear from you! Let me know your thoughts 🙂
The double vanity of our Master Bathroom. Getting Ready for Vacation!
Lots of preparation goes into being ready for vacation. This summer my family will visit Rosemary Beach, a beach community located on the beautiful 30a highway of Florida. Read along to pick up ideas that may assist you in getting ready for vacation.
Make a Packing List
A packing list is a guide for me to ensure I do not leave anything important behind when heading out on vacation. Items included vary from clothing to toiletries to beach supplies to kitchen aids. When a family is gone for a week or longer, there is a lot to pack for said trip!
Not only do I keep a running list nearby in order for me to jot down items when I think about them, I like to also draw on the experience and expertise of other mamas who have been there, done that. Here is a blog post of a packing list I pinned from Pinterest.
The Folding Lady is also one of my favorite influencers to follow and check in with regarding how to get all my family’s items neatly and efficiently into our suitcases.
Bring Products that will Help You
Any mama or person in charge of packing for an entire family will have an idea of what products make your trip easier. For me, individual laundry bags like these help my kids keep up with their dirty laundry. When it is time to wash clothes, I simply consolidate the laundry bags and wash as needed. The bags can also be used to hold clean and folded laundry for me to return to each kids’ room.
Vacation is always a fun time to buy a few new things for the beach! We found a cute patriotic swimsuit from Target for my daughter.
You can check it out here!While I have yet to try them, I have heard a lot of people rave about packing cubes to use for organizing clothing and toiletries for trips. Here is a best seller on Amazon.
Travel size toiletry bottles are helpful as well as a variety of product bags. Rolling luggage is a plus on vacation. The ease of rolling your case along side of you allows you the space to carry other items in your arms or stack on top of your luggage. Our daughter got this set a couple of years ago. She gets a lot of use out of them. Truth be told Jeff and I need a new set for ourselves.
*As an Amazon Associate, I will earn from commissionable links. *
Create a Meal Plan
While I would love to share with you all the fun activities to do and places to eat while on 30a, I am going to save that post for the future. You can read up on our last year’s trip here. For this post, I simply want to focus on the preparation of vacay readiness.
Taking the time to think, dream, and discuss what food you want on your trip will help you save time and money while you are away. We have stayed at many beach houses over the years and when all the family is together, there is never a shortage of starving kiddos (at least they all think they are starving). Having a rough idea of what foods to bring, what foods to buy, and what nights you are eating out, makes for a smoother vacation experience.
While we have some favorite places to eat (The Donut Hole), we have some new places we are going to try out as well this year. My goal is to blog about everything we will do in an upcoming post.
For this preparation, you will need to make another list as well ( I love lists!). How many nights do you want to eat out? What special occasions are taking place while you are away?(birthdays, holidays, anniversaries?) Take this time to determine if any of your party has food allergies. Also, what are some favorite meals? For me, when I head to the beach, I want fresh, local shrimp. We have a funny but not-so-funny-at-the-moment story of the time my husband went to Publix and bought shrimp instead of going to the fresh seafood market while we were at the beach. Who knew Publix shrimp could cause such an uproar? 😉
Being ready for vacation will actually assist you in enjoying your vacation once you arrive at your destination. Hopefully, this post has given you ideas to implement as you prepare for any upcoming trips. Enjoy!
How to Clean
That’s quite the bold statement to just throw out there as a blog title. In fact, that directive has taken me YEARS to try and master. Even now, I am uncertain if mastery is the level I have obtained. However, here I am willing to share what I have learned over the past nearly 20 years and teach you how to clean.
The Helms House kitchen Cleaning Experience
As far as cleaning experience goes, my concept of cleaning and level of action taken has evolved over time. When I think back to my childhood, I can remember having specific chores to do: sweep out the garage and dust the furniture. Beyond those two tasks, I can not think of any structured cleaning I had to do. It is my understanding that my mother did it all. Fast forward twenty years and how to clean my home has been a task that lands squarely on my shoulders.
Key Influencers
The feelings of “how do I clean?” are still vivid in my memory from when I was a newlywed with a new-to-me home. I would come in from work and the house would be a wreck and I would think, “what do I do?”, “where do I start?” I believe it was my sister (she is five years older than me) that introduced me to The Fly Lady. Going from chaos to a set routine was like water to the dehydrated.
Learning how to clean helps keep your home in tiptop shape. Slight Evolution
While FlyLady got me on a routine, the need for consistent deep cleaning continued to perplex me. My next cleaning “influencer” that inspired me was/is (she is currently a big inspiration to me) Toni Hammersley with A Bowl Full of Lemons. Toni has a gift for taking any task and placing it into a step 1, 2, 3 format. Personally, I love a listed format of what to do. Her home, business, and books are some of the most beautiful areas and items to view.
My final step in the construction of my cleaning routine came from a pin I pinned from Pinterest. From the site The Simply Organized Home, I found a cleaning routine that I could tweak and implement in my daily chores.
Toni Hammersley from A Bowl Full of Lemons does a wonderful job of outlining how to clean and organize your home. Current Cleaning Routine
Nowadays, I typically spend 2 hours and 15 minutes a day on my house and laundry. Creating a timely routine keeps my home running smoothly. Roughly 30 minutes a day is spent on throwing a load of laundry in the wash then taking the previous day’s laundry out, folding and putting it away.
After laundry is tackled, I spend time cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, and focusing on a specific “zone” for the day. Zones for me are set areas of my home that I can rotate out cleaning and deep cleaning. Currently, I have designated 22 zones for my home. These range from the front porch to the master bedroom to the stairwell to the launch pad. Curious as to what a launch pad is? You can check mine out here. Each day I spend 15 minutes either picking up in a zone or deep cleaning a zone. This method helps keep my entire home in an orderly manner.
Resourceful Guide
To help you form your own cleaning routine, I have crafted a version of my daily cleaning routine. Subscribe to my blog and you will receive my daily outline for how to maintain your home. Comment below if you have subscribed. Tell me how you like the cleaning routine!
I Bleached My Furniture!
I bleached my furniture! Who does that? Shouldn’t bleach be avoided at all cost? Well, I had an idea and I carried it out this week. While social media has its flaws, one thing I love about it…inspiration is to be found in spades. With the typing of a specific hashtag on Instagram or a few keywords on Pinterest, you can find quick, how-to’s.
Some Inspiration for Bleached Furniture
Run, don’t walk, to follow @vintageporch if you do not already. She is amazing and funny! Her feed is filled with beautiful pieces that I would like recreate for my home. A quick search of #bleachedfurniture can turn up some beauties like this or this .
Steps to Bleach Your Furniture
Outlining steps to bleach furniture has actually been a work in progress for me. Not knowing what exactly I’m doing leads me to try a variety of steps. At the beginning of this week, I simply took a paint brush and standard bleach and brushed it onto my desk. While it did lighten the furniture a bit, it was not the light color I desired.
Applying a coat of bleach. Once my desk, the furniture item I bleached, was dry, I sanded the entire desk lightly then wiped it with a clean cloth. After wiping with a clean cloth, I applied another coat of bleach and allowed it to dry in the sun. Again, the desk was lighter but still not the look I am trying to achieve. You know what they say, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”
The image on the left is after one coat of bleach. The image on the right is after sanding and a second coat of bleach. I believe after using acetone to strip down my furniture, I applied three different coats of bleach to the desk and sanding between coats. Once the final coat of bleach was dried, I washed the entire piece with water. My final step, I put a coat of clear wax on the desk in order to seal it. As with my chairs I painted last week, I used the Waverly Clear Wax sealer to give a final coat to my desk.
This is a great how-to video to watch for using bleach to change your furniture. My Philosophy
I have jokingly told other women my spiritual gift is to make them feel better about themselves – meaning, I usually do not do a task to perfection or there is room for improvement. My philosophy with my home decor is, “use what you have or get creative with a frugal project”. I share this to concede there are better pieces of bleached furniture out there. However, as this is my first attempt at bleaching furniture, I am proud of my progress.
My desk after three applications of bleach, without clear wax. The Results for Bleached Furniture
Well, learning as you go has its own set of pros and cons. Cons are: it is time consuming to figure out what you are doing. The pros are: you are learning a skill you will not easily forget. After working a little each day on this desk, I am excited to show you the results. This desk will be used to hold our daily mail and bills.
The final result – with a coat of clear wax on it. Now, what type of chair/stool should I use at this desk? Let me know in the comments. I’m thinking some type of stool would be nice. What are your thoughts? You can see how I previously styled this space here. There was a small end table between the chairs; however, now I have this desk in the space.
3 Easy Steps to a Furniture Refresh with Chalk Paint
Three easy steps to a furniture refresh with chalk paint sounds too good to be true. In fact, for years I have had friends talk to me about this paint but I thought “who has the time?” and “that will take too long”. I am glad to share I was wrong on both counts. Putting my style on a set of chairs was as easy as 1, 2, 3. Rolling up my sleeves and giving DIY projects a try are becoming more of a habit for me. Check out my first shared DIY here then read on for my easy steps to a furniture refresh.
Step 1. Clean your furniture
Our area has a few community Facebook groups. Thankfully, a set of four chairs was placed up for grabs in one of these sites. Four matching chairs for free? I’m on it! (Actually, my husband went and picked them up – he’s the best!) Borrowing from my wonderful cleaning mentor, GoCleanCo, I placed one teaspoon of Tide into two cups of hot water and scrubbed down each chair. Cleaning and drying your furniture helps paint to stay on it.
The original look of my freebie chairs. Step 2. Paint with Chalk Paint
After cleaning your furniture, paint with chalk paint. Again, I have been told about the joys of chalk paint but until this week, I was a skeptic. It IS amazing. My neighbor gifted me the remaining portions of her Chalky Chics. At my neighbor’s recommendation, I ordered the chalk paint and wax brush set below. (*as an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from any valid Amazon links*)
Using the larger brush, two coats of paint was applied. Drying time for chalk paint is relatively quick. I was able to paint all four chairs within an afternoon.
The photo on the left is after one coat of chalk paint. The photo on the right is after two coats of chalk paint. Step 3. Wax
With the smaller, wax brush, apply quick strokes of clear wax to your furniture. The beauty of chalk paint is it’s design is to be shabby chic – meaning perfection is not the desired result. I love the charm of some natural “distressing” to the furniture. I purchased a chalk paint clear wax coat from Walmart for only $6.54! What a deal! The wax helps seal in the paint and prevents it from flaking or scratching off in the future. For the brand I used, waiting 24 hours to buff the wax with a lint free cloth was recommended.
The products I used. The Result
I am so pleased with my “new” furniture. My sunroom work station had a mismatch of chairs. Now, I have a beautiful set of black chairs that make the room so inviting. Who knows? Maybe I will get more work done!
What do you think? Have you used chalk paint before? What are your thoughts? If you have yet to use it, I strongly encourage you to join in the fun! For around $25 I got a beautiful new space!
All four chairs around my farm table in the sunroom. Tackling the Garage
Tackling the garage was a little more intense than I envisioned. While I have visions of a space similar to the one below, alas, my reality looks much different. An entirely new magazine-worthy space is not what I have but, I did clear out the clutter, implement a system I can use, and clean up our garage. Just as I tell my kids, focus on “progress not perfection”.
Start in a circle
I love following GoCleanCo ‘s feed. She gives an abundance of cleaning motivation. Feeling overwhelmed at the task of the garage, I reminded myself of Sarah’s advice, “move in a circle”. Beginning by moving in a circle helps keep you on track. I began in a circle in the garage and quickly realized I would need to narrow down my task. Therefore, I chose the storage room as my main focus.
Our garage like many others I am sure, houses not only my car, but our camper, camping gear, bikes, Jeff’s tools, tool boxes, toys, my children’s keepsakes, and seasonal decor. The main portion of our garage holds items that I would classify as “Jeff’s”. The storage room built within our garage I can easily identify as mainly “my stuff”.
A progress shot. Pulling all the items out in order to sort and clean. Pull Everything Out
After I swept and cleaned what I could in the garage, I started working in a circle inside the storage room: pulling out one storage container at a time. Being able to go through each container allows me to see what needs to be culled and tossed and what items I still use. Identifying labels on the fronts of each container helps to easily identify what I need when I go into the storage room throughout the year.
Organize Like Items
Once you have worked in a circle, pulled all items out, then organize like items. I had no clue how much Christmas decor I had. My fall decor was lost amongst all the Christmas. There are three main categories within my storage room: Christmas decor, fall decor, and keepsakes. (See how I recently decorated my home for fall here.) Once the front of each tote was labeled (I had to skip the stack right next to the wall due large Christmas decorations. When Jeff helps me get all Christmas decor down this year, new labels and totes will be assigned to this stack), I placed them in stacks together with labels facing out. One problem I had been running into was my labeling was on top of the totes. I had no way of knowing what was inside unless I took everything down from its stack – so time consuming!
Totes are neatly stacked with labels on the front. What I’ve Learned
From my garage experience, I believe my take away is: there is always some cleaning and/or decluttering to be done in your home. While I would love to be able to have all matching storage totes as seen below, I am super pumped that I was able to go through three boxes that I had yet to unpack from our last year’s move. Cleaning out this garage space brings peace to my mind. The ability to walk into this room and easily identify what tote holds what I need is a huge win in my book. Maybe future garage projects will include swapping out mismatched totes with matching ones.
Now to decide, how much Christmas decor is too much Christmas decor???
How about you? Do you clean out your garage regularly? What tips have you found helpful? Let me know if my life lessons in tackling the garage have been beneficial to you! Including some posts from women who have organized their garages like professionals hopefully provides some inspiration for you to tackle your garage!
What to Do and Bring When Camping
Growing up, I believe I remember camping exactly one time, maybe two. Trips as a child were often only to visit extended family not for the pure enjoyment of travel. Fast forward to married life and a husband who loves to camp. By association, I am loving it too. We have camped in tents, pop ups, fifth wheels, and bumper-pull campers. Currently, we own a pop up camper. To fully appreciate camping, there is some preparation that needs to take place. Follow along in this post to gain knowledge on what to do and bring when camping.
Camper
After selling our last camper, we have camped mainly in tents. Due to our desire to be outdoors but not totally roughing it, we purchased a pop up camper towards the end of last fall. With all the quick-fix and easy application materials available in today’s market, camper renovations are wildly popular. This Instagram feed is full of camper reno inspiration! To join in the fun, I have given our camper a little refresh. In order to fully appreciate it, you need to view the original look of our camper. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with our camper and it was maintained by the previous owners in near perfect condition. Aesthetic changes were all that was needed for it to truly become ours.
The overall appeal was low when we originally purchased our pop up camper
.Our camper can sleep six comfortably. One pop out side holds a king size bed, the other pop out side holds a full size bed, the dining table converts to a twin bed, and the L-shape couch converts to a twin size bed. Since we do most of our cooking and hanging out outside our camper, once we updated the look, we keep all its beds ready for sleeping.
Now, for what activities we like to participate in while camping, places we like to go, and what products I believe make camping more enjoyable, read on. I’ll intermingle pictures of our updated camper throughout.
Our camper looking from the full size bed towards the king size bed. Activities
On our most recent camping trip, we went tubing at Big Wills Creek Campground. Any type of outdoor activities multiply the fun of camping. Fortunately, our campsite was situated next to the creek and made for an easy commute from camper to tubing trail. Other activities we enjoy while camping are: sitting around the campfire, riding bikes, making s’mores, playing card games, and hiking nature trails. When visiting a campground, check out their website or their front office. Plenty of activities on site or nearby will be advertised. Many campgrounds include playgrounds, community activities, and nature programs available to participate in.
The left side view of our camper. Campgrounds
In addition to Big Wills Creek, we have visited several campgrounds nearby that do not require long hours on the road. Our longest road trip to go camping thus far has been to Grayton Beach State Park. The good news of owning a camper? Air conditioning! I’m uncertain I would camp anywhere without a little air conditioning running in the background (and a heater in the winter). Grayton Beach has some of the best trails to go biking due to its connection to all 30A communities.
Tannehill State Park is another favorite campground of mine as well as Guntersville State Park. While Tannehill has a beautiful creek and a cool trade day once a month, plenty of deer can be seen typically at Lake Guntersville. Obviously, Alabama campgrounds are what I am most familiar with; however, your vehicle can take you anywhere you want to camp.
Looking to the right of our front door of the camper. What to Bring
Time and experience has helped me accumulate a nice little “Must-Have” list for camping. I am all too happy to share my knowledge with you. Here are nine items that I feel make our camping experience a little more enjoyable. These items are linked in my LiketoKnow.it link included in the right sidebar.
Must-Have List for Camping
- Solo Stove – Jeff received this for his Father’s Day gift this year and I must say, I am loving it! It is light weight, easy to get a fire going, and once it is cooled off and emptied, it can be carried in its own carrying case. Perfect for a cozy campfire or some impromptu s’mores.
- Shoe Rack – Camping attracts a lot of dirt and debris inside a camper. To reduce the amount of dirt, I do not let my crew wear shoes inside the camper. Instead, shoes are housed neatly on a two-tier shoe rack.
- Outdoor Rug – Isn’t it rough to step out of your camper onto the ground with no shoes on? Good question! Me and my crew do not have to experience a rough or dirty ground when we come out of the camper and put our shoes on because we have a nice outdoor rug placed in front of our door.
- Mini Fridge – Some people say this item is cheating on camping and if that is true, I am totally okay with it. Jeff picked up a mini fridge at Bargain Hunt and at first I thought that was crazy because we have a tiny one inside the camper. Boy, was I wrong! This mini fridge has been amazing. Jeff simply plugs it up and sets it right outside our camper. It has been the biggest help with meal prep and storage.
- Stringed Lights – You know how amazing it is at Christmas time when you can drive around and see all the beautiful lights on display? I’m telling you, you can experience the same thing in a campground. Each camper, RV, and tent seems to have its own calling card when it comes to outdoor lights. We like to string one set of our lights inside our pop up tent where we house our table and another strand of lights around the awning of our camper. I’ve linked up an extra long set so you might want to get a shorter length but I think the long string looks better.
- Folding Table – A totable, folding table comes in handy while camping. We mainly use ours to house our microwave, toaster, and coffee maker. Hey, we never said we were roughing it while camping!
- Mini Keurig – As mentioned above, we place a coffee maker on our folding table. Jeff purchased a mini-Keurig for me when I was teaching a couple of years ago. Now that I am back at home with the kids, we use the mini-Keurig on our camping trips. I love it!
- Plastic Totes with lids – Storage totes are a huge help while camping. I like to use the ones that have a lock on the sides. We place storage totes under our camper in order to clear up space inside the camper. Non-pantry items such as ziplock bags, citronella candles, marshmallow skewers, tablecloths, aluminum foil, and so on are stored in one tote, another tote holds pantry items that we do not want racoons or other critters getting into, and another tote holds extra bedding. Thankfully, our camper has storage under all the seating areas to hold cooking utensils, small appliances, pots, and pans.
- Wedding Tent – Why my husband and I call our outside tent a wedding tent is beyond me. Maybe it’s because it looks like one of those tents you would see at an outdoor wedding. Jeff sets up this pop up tent right beside our camper and we call it our “living room.” It holds our folding table, small appliances, and camp chairs for us to sit around and hang out.
- ****BONUS**** I did not list this item on my LiketoKnow.it link but one item that Jeff purchased this year that has been a game changer for the middle aged woman that I am is… a portable potty. This may sound unpleasant; however, a portable toilet keeps you from trekking across a campground in the middle of the night to find a bath house.
Check out my LiketoKnow.it link in the right sidebar. If you have never attempted to camp, I hope this blog post has peaked your interest. If you are already a camper then I hope I have given you some ideas on how to improve your camping experience. Did I miss anything? Is there another facet of camping you would like to know more about, comment below. I would love to hear from you! And if you would like to read more about our travels, check out my blog post here for our recent trip to 30A!
5 Ways to Add Touches of Fall to Your Home
Changes in the seasons is such an exciting time. The anticipation of what a new season brings welcomes joy into my heart and home. Now fall just happens to be my absolute FAVORITE season of all. I love the weather, the color, the activities that fall brings. While my taste and aesthetic has changed as I’ve aged, my love for this season has not. I want to share with you five ways to add touches of fall to your home.
1. Select a Color Theme
Taking the time to peruse Pinterest or Instagram will give you a wealth of examples on fall scenery and décor. Notice what your eye is drawn to. Do you prefer yellows to oranges? Do you like additions of color or is a neutral palette (check out this stunning fall display) more your style? Decide what you like then implement those colors in your home.
As I age, I am learning to not be sidetracked by anything that catches my eye (i.e. signs that have the word “fall” in it) and am cultivating decorative pieces that keep in the color scheme or theme of my home. With that being said, I am not made of money! I cannot run out and buy all new items that hit the shelves. Learning what items I need to get rid of and what I need to make due with until I can purchase something new, has been a great decorating lesson. Pausing to consider which colors I am drawn to and keeping those few colors in mind that I truly enjoy, helps me pump the brakes on trends that may quickly go out of style. For example, last year, blush was a big color used for fall. This year I am not seeing that color as much. Admittedly, I have collected more pieces that include the color burnt orange than I realized. Now I am focusing my future purchases on more subtle fall colors.
2.Determine Which Areas of Your Home to Decorate
Your budget may come into play when determining which areas of your home you want to decorate. Budget may not be an issue; however, selecting high traffic areas to decorate will prevent your home from looking like the fall season has thrown up in it. Not the best visual but hopefully you get my point. By taking the time to think about what areas of your home you want to decorate, you can be intentional about the items you love that are placed on display. In my home, I decorate the foyer, living room, and den with a few signs mixed in the kitchen and dining room. If you only have enough decorating items for one or two spaces, then make them count! Select the areas of your home that will be seen the most. You want people to enjoy the beauty of your fall décor.
3. Use Symmetry
Decorating a space such as a mantle or a console table, requires a little bit of math. Let me explain. Decide where you want the eye to travel. Do you want an equal, balanced look? Symmetrical placement of lamps, pumpkins, or candles can keep a balanced look. What if you want the eye to be drawn to one side? Asymmetrical placement will do the trick. For example, on the console table below, the height of the arrangements trend to the right. Check out this space filled with fall décor inspiration. In that Instagram example, notice how the heights of the floral arrangements and candles give a balanced look.
4. The Power of 3’s
Have several canisters but not certain what to do with them? Cluster them in groups of three. The power of 3’s has a strong appeal in decorating. Different items can become cohesive simply by grouping together by 3’s. In the image below, objects with a similar color scheme look better clustered together in a group of 3. When looking for inspiration, see if you notice groups of 3’s.
5. Use a Variety of Texture
A variety of textures in your décor, draws in the eye. Texture breaks up any monotony that a monochromatic palette might create. Texture in decorating invokes emotion. An invitation of coziness and atmosphere can be created through the powerful display of textures. Blankets, architectural pieces, natural elements such as wood, all add texture to your space.
With September underway, now is the perfect time to plan and start decorating your home for fall. Take the time to incorporate these 5 ways to add touches of fall to your home! Which tip will you use? For more information and happenings in The Helms House, check out my home page.
