Friday Favorite - Amanda Talley Artwork

I have been a huge fan of Amanda Talley's artwork for years now. I was browsing her website this week, and found that she has fabrics and wallpaper. I leave you here to admire her work as I have for a long time now. 

Fabric Line - 

Wallpaper Line - 

Cheers to the weekend!

Thoughts for Thursday

Did you know that clearanced out tablecloths make for great curtain panels? I currently have Target tablecloths in my living room now, and found these today for $10. $10!! The designer in me knows that proper draperies are much better, more scale appropriate, and well, proper... but my budget does not currently allow for proper draperies, so this works for now, especially when I get the urge to redecorate, which is often!

This 1 tablecloth is 60x108, making it the perfect curtain width and length, especially since we never close them in the living room. 

I took the photos of each kid with Cy from my phone and made posters for our basement. I had been on the lookout for some kind of wall art for this space, and when I was showing Avery her photo with Cy after Gavin had gotten his I had this idea. Shutterfly can print up to 20x30, and that is what I did with this. They usually have great coupon codes and I took advantage of that. The frames are inexpensive ones from Target. They are also lightweight, so inevitably, when someone bumps into them and the fall, it won't be the end of the world, or the toes. The whole project was less than $100 for the posters and the frames, which I think is a great deal. 

As you can see, we are still on a puzzle kick. 

{Yes, after this photo, I took them down and adjusted Gavin's poster to sit in the frame to match Avery's}

I also received the CUTEST thank you card from my cousin's family for some design consultations I did for them on their new house. I've seen the progress shots, and it is coming along nicely. 

My heart is melting a bit. 

Happy Thursday!

Budget Friendly Guide to the Nordstrom Winter Sale

Nordstrom is one of my very favorite stores. Being in Des Moines, when Nordstrom Rack showed up on the retail scene last year, I did a little jump for joy. While I enjoy popping in from time to time, by wallet prefers that I don't too often. All too often though,I find myself browsing the Nordstrom website and looking at pretties and sometimes they find their way into my cart, and rarely will I even check out, but it does happen ;)

The winter sale is going on now, and here are some of my favorite budget friendly items! It's still holiday spending recovery time for me, but at these prices you can check out guilt free! Or you can get these as gifts for friends and family at really great prices. Either way :)

All Items are under $20!

BP Stud Earrings

$10.00

BP Pendant Necklace

$12.00

BP Neck Scarf

$12.00

BP Ball Cap

$12.50

Faux Leather Wallet

$13.00

Stemless Wine Glasses

$7.00 each

And if you are like me, you will buy next year's holiday gifts on sale now and hoard them in your basement, forget about them, buy something else, then find them again and hope you remember the next year to actually use or gift them {whew, that made me tired, and inspired to use a spreadsheet for gifts!}

Entertaining Tray

$8.00

Confetti Tumbler

$5.00

Cooking with an Instant Pot

I received an Amazon gift card for some freelance interior design consultations {yes, I do freelance, email me if you are interested, or comment below :)} and bought something on my Amazon wish list. The Instant Pot has been around for a while, and I am joining in with my love for this machine. 

The first recipe we tried was Skinny Taste Chicken Enchilada Soup, and it knocked it out of the park. It was so good, and so easy. 

I made a quick lunch on Sunday with some chicken drummies, BBQ rub, and some broth, and the meat just fell off the bone. 

Skinny Taste and Pinterest have been great for finding recipes to use this with, and it is just as easy to use as advertised. I am now on the lookout for more easy recipes, because making dinner with this after getting home from work and picking up the kids is going to be clutch. I am sure many of you can agree that quick and healthy meals on a weeknight make that evening routine so much easier on your sanity. Maybe saving that glass or 2 of wine for another night when needed?

HA!

Welcome Home Magazine - Des Moines February & March 2017

SO this was a fun little treat to a project I worked on last year. The home was featured in a local magazine as a feature. I adored this family, and enjoyed working with them immensely. 

I don't have any of the photos except what is in the magazine after they moved into the house, but my photos of the finished house without furnishings are pretty great too!

Bower Book Club

The Nightingale - This may be the best book I've read. I cannot say enough good things about it, and I could not put it down. I am thinking about a re-read again in the next few months.

Small Great Things - This is a wonderful book and another that I had a hard time putting down. I have loved almost every book by Jodi Picoult, and while some tug my heartstrings a bit more than others, her books are very well written, and thought provoking.

Commonwealth - Meh. I had a hard time getting into this book, or even seeing the point of this book. It was just not very interesting, and I kept waiting for something to happen, or a shoe to fall, so to speak, and then it just ended. Disappointing. 

The Hopefuls - meh. Although it ranks as a meh, I did somewhat enjoy it. I am very interested in DC politics and the social life that accompanies it, but this was another that was not as well written as I had hoped. I thought the main characters could have been fleshed out a bit more as to understand their personalities and why they do what they do. 

The Good Girl - Fantastic! Very, very good book. It was a bit suspense, and a bit mystery, but overall a page turner. I highly recommend this book. 

The Girl you left behind - Excellent! I first got into the author by reading her most famous book, Me Before You, and this is very different than that, and dare I say better? Although I did not sob at the end of it like I did for Me Before You, so there is that. 

Big Little Lies - Great! I first read What Alice Forgot by this author, and then promptly read almost all of her other books including the Husbands Secret and this one. I think Big Little Lies is her best to date. I am anxiously awaiting the HBO mini-series based on the book! Look at that cast! I have a feeling it is going to be good. No show or movie ever lives up the book. EVER. I can still enjoy it though!

Join me on goodreads to see what I am reading and what I think of each book. I have joined the reading challenge again this year, and am so far ahead of schedule, but we will see how spring and summer shake out when I am outside a lot with my family. 

GOODREADS

What I am digging...

Here is what I am digging this week. 

This new phone accessory. The brand name version is called a PopSocket, but I found this one to work well. I made the mistake of moving the position of it on my phone case, and had to use a drop of super glue to get it to stay, but overall I love it. 

Great for all those selfies I take... just kidding. But it does help to grip your phone. 

I am purging our home! Toys, clothes, etc. Nothing is safe. I have a bin of toys to donate, and bags of clothes to swap and donate as well. This is what our living room has looked like since Sunday. I need to sit down with some wine and trashy TV on in the background and just get it done. 

wish me luck!