Decorating an Entryway on a Budget

When we moved into our house we thought we would get it decorated and stocked with nice furniture within a few years.  Well, seven years later, aside from some new paint on the walls, it looks exactly the same.  No hardwood floors, no master bedroom set, no new kitchen table or couch, etc. Life happens, money happens, and before you know it, time has passed.  We have recently hit a rut with our home and are ready to get the ball rolling on making it look how we always wanted it.  But, we have to start small.

One of the smallest areas in our house is the one that drives me the most crazy.  It is the first thing you see when you enter the house, the last thing you see when you leave, and well...you always see it.  It's our entryway!  A small space of ugly tile flooring with the front door and the garage door.  I have always hated having the garage entrance there; it belongs in the kitchen.  With two swinging doors we have one small space to actually decorate.  Up until now this space either housed hand-me-down faux leather ottomans, or a small table.  I have tried to change it up dozens of times with different pieces throughout the house, but I could never get it right. 

When I set out to re-decorate this space, I knew I wanted three things:

1- a bench

2- a place for shoes

3- wall hooks

A few months ago as I was wandering Michael's looking for Valentine's decor, I found these wonderful metal baskets.  They screamed Magnolia to me, and they were Buy 1 Get 1 Free.  Of course I bought them.  They sat on the floor in my entryway for nearly two months while I tried to decide how I was going to incorporate them into the space.  

Finally, while strolling through Target one weekday with my baby, I went down the wrong aisle looking for closet organization and found this gem of a bench. I looked the mix of wood with wire, plus it was the perfect size for my space, holds shoes, AND within my budget. 

A few more trips to Target and a month later; to return and exchange things as I tried to make the space look perfect, I was ready to decorate.  

In the end I decided to use only one of the hanging baskets, with a family photo, and command center.  I didn't exactly get a row of hooks; but who wants ugly jackets hanging there anyway?  

The piece de la resistance; this beautiful rug.  It ties in the grey from the walls, the teal from the door, and the coral and yellow touches from the rest of the house.  

It's not perfect but it's a million times better than it was before.  

DIY Valentine's Photo Shoot

Since my baby is still in his first year of life, I want to capture every moment of it, especially his 'firsts.'  I take a picture of every new food he eats, new face he makes, new outfit...everything. So of course, I wanted to capture his first Valentine's Day. 

While doing my weekly scan of my Pinterest feed I found an adorable photo of a baby sitting on newspaper, butt-naked, wearing angel wings, with hearts hanging all around him.  LOL.  I immediately took inspiration from it.  

The first thing I did was go on a newspaper hunt.  We don't subscribe to the newspaper so the free local city paper had to be stretched to do the trick.  With the help of my mother-in-law I covered a large piece of cardboard with newspaper and wedged it between the kitchen table and two chairs.  Then I covered the tabletop with newspaper.  

Next step was to string some hearts up.  I enlisted the help of my MIL for this one; all of my hearts looked like butts.  I attached the cut-out hearts to string, using clothespins, and strung it across the top of the newspapered-covered cardboard.  

Finally, I put baby boy into his outfit, a clean diaper, and propped him up on the table.  Don't worry, we watched him like a hawk.  I kept one arm on his feet most of the time so I could catch him if he started to wobble.  He isn't crawling yet, but he is a wobbly little one so I wanted to make sure he was safe and didn't bump his head.  

He immediately grabbed the newspaper he was sitting on and started playing with it; hence the heart cut-out he 'eating' in all the photos.  

It was so much fun taking pictures of my little guy.  Hmmmm, what will I do for Easter?  

Magnolia at the Silos

Do you watch HGTV?  I do and I love it.  It's such a great channel to have on in the background on a weekend afternoon when you are doing housework.  Every show makes home remodeling seem like a breeze, while in reality that isn't possible for most homeowners.  The channel always has me thinking back to my days as an interior design major in college.  I miss the design world quite a lot, so HGTV is where I go to get my design fix. 

I love two shows on HGTV, Property Brothers and Fixer Upper.  I first got hooked on Fixer Upper because the couple intrigued me.  The show is hosted by Chip & Joanna Gaines (and their adorable little family).  They are a hilarious married couple who live on a farm in Waco, Texas and flip homes in the area.  Aside from their fun personalities, I first found the show appealing because Waco is only an hour drive from where I live. 

I love their decorating style, Modern Farmhouse.  Antique farmhouse elements come together with modern touches and cool colors in nearly all of their projects.  Every time I watch the show I find myself lusting over multiple design elements; if not the entire makeover. 

When I found out that The Gaine's were opening a new design store, Magnolia at the Silos, I knew a mini road-trip was in my future.  I set the date on my calendar for the grand opening and counted down. 

The grand opening was a two day event.  I planned on heading down the first day to snag all the good stuff before it was sold out.  Unfortunately we had severe thunderstorms in the area with flooding that day so we did have to postpone our trip to the second day; we knew it would be crazy busy.

Bright and early on Saturday, October 31st I set out to Waco with my mother-in-law and sweet baby boy; it was his first mini road-trip. 

After an hour and a half drive from Fort Worth we arrived at The Silos at the perfect time.  We lucked out with a parking spot close-by and made it into the building before the rope went -up and a long line formed outside The Silos.  The place was so crowded they had to control how many people were in the building at a given time. 

At first sight we were surprised by the crowds, how were we going to get through the building with the stroller?  Then we were slightly disappointed at how small the actual shop was.  But, we found our groove and started strolling through the aisles.  I loved everything in the store but of course I had to pick and choose what I could buy for my home. 

In the end I walked away very happy with a framed chalkboard, magazine bin, milk jug centerpiece, white vase, and comfy t-shirt. 

After a half-hour in line waiting to pay, we were excited to get our things dropped off at the car so we could go back to The Silos for the outdoor farmers market and food truck lunch.  But, just as we were headed back there, it started to rain.  Afraid that my little dude would get wet and cold we decided to not stay and didn't get to enjoy that part.

Magnolia at the Silos is a great shop for cozy home accessories at a great price and I can't wait to drive to Waco to shop again.  Maybe they will have some new things before Christmas?!?! 

Shop online here. 

My Market List

I find making shopping lists rather annoying.  On a ripped piece of paper or a napkin from my glove-box, I create shopping lists with no organization in sight.  I almost always forget something on my list or get to the check-out line and realize I didn't cross something off my list that is back at the front of the store. 

I've seen adorable shopping list notepads on-line and in stores, but I just can't bring myself to spend money on them.  

My solution... a DIY list.  

I created my own 'Market List' with categories in the order in which I walk most grocery stores.  It was so easy to make, even easier to print on my home computer, and fabulous when shopping for the week's groceries in a crowded market.  

The best part is, being the nerd that I am, I can print my lists in any color of card stock I want. For now I am using sunshine yellow because of summer.  :)

Click the link to download my 'Market List' to print at home (or copy the picture to your desktop and open in word or adobe).  Be sure to tag me on instagram (#sundaychampagne) to show-off how you use the list.  

Happy Shopping!