Our New DIY Mailbox

We kind of took a little break from fixing up our home for a variety of reasons. We have SO MANY projects still left to do but no time and let's be honest no money left to do them. We are STILL currently waiting for our kitchen remodel to begin. We are waiting on my husband's cousins to start building our kitchen but they've been busy busy recently and so all we can do is wait. 
Well a couple weeks ago we decided to tackle on a project to get our DIY juices flowing and to distract us from the kitchen remodel or lack of. By WE I mean my husband cause he's the builder around here and I'm just the decorator. He builds, I make stuff pretty looking. We make a good team I think. 
The mailbox was one of those things on our list and one of the least expensive ones so a new mailbox was built. Here is what our mailbox looked before...

We went on pinterest and found these two as our inspiration. The left one is from this etsy shop and the right one I couldn't find a source for. We loved this style because it matches our house number sign that my husband recently made. 

I'm not writing a tutorial from this DIY because we don't have any actual plans. My husband just looked at these inspiration photos and built it on his own. I am however sharing progress photos for those of you who want to give it a shot. I hope they will help somehow. My husband worked on this thing almost every afternoon after work. It took about two weeks because it was raining and it gets dark our early now so we raced against the sun set. 

and here is what it looked like for a few days before staining and installing the house numbers...

We stained it the same color as our house numbers sign and used the same modern numbers. I love how it came out and it matches perfectly with our house numbers. 

Our Annual Thanksgiving Photos

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Little Skye Boutique, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #embracechildhood  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Every year for Thanksgiving we get together as a family and take family pictures before eating our Thanksgiving dinner. This is our third time having them professionally done since my sister is a photographer. We used to just take iphone pics but then a couple of years ago my sister decided to go all out and shoot our family pictures with a tripod. I love looking back at our photos! This is a tradition I would love to keep going.

I am the oldest of my sisters and the only one with kids. Hopefully that will change in the next couple of years! ;) My youngest sister (Wendy) is married and lives in Houston so it is nice to have her and her husband over during this time of year. My sister Kendy is the middle child and an awesome photographer! She takes all of our family photos like the most recent fall photos I shared on instagram of my three kiddos.

It's usually just our side of the family that gets together for Thanksgiving but this year we had my in-laws visiting and join us for Thanksgiving. It was perfect because my kids got to spend time with both my parents and my husband's as well. 

I am such a planner that I plan our outfits weeks before Thansgiving! I always start with my kids outfits because kids clothes are the cutest! This year Sarah got to wear a beautiful Paper Wings Clothing top from Little Skye Kids’ Boutique Clothing and she absolutely loved it! She got compliments from everyone on her super cute top. It made for the perfect Thanksgiving outfit and she was comfortable in it all afternoon. You can see the beautiful detail in her top in this photo with her Tia Wendy. She loves my little sister! :)

Little Skye Kids’ Boutique Clothing is a Kids’ boutique that sells beautiful clothing for kids of all ages. If you've got a family photo shoot coming up and have no idea what to choose for your kiddos, make sure to check them out! All Paper Wings for Little Skye and Blu Pony Vintage for Little Skye purchases through 12/15/2015 receive Free Shipping & a $25 gift card valid on future purchases for every $100 spent when you use code BLGLS2015. Now that's a good deal!
Are you having a family photoshoot this Holiday season?  Do you plan your outfits ahead of time like me or are you a last minute person?

Curly Hair Don't Care - Celebrating You!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Dove Hair, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #LoveYourCurls #pmgdove http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
"We all want what we don't have." There's so much truth in this saying and almost always it is applied to material things but when it comes to women it's also a beauty issue. Straight haired girls want luscious curls and curly haired ladies want sleek and straight dos. 

That saying definitely applies to me and my curly hair. I didn't always have curly hair. In fact my hair was pretty straight as a child but throughout the years my hair has gone from straight, to wavy to funky curls. I don't hate them but I definitely don't love them or feel comfortable enough to wear them out of the house. So most days I tuck my curls into a "mom bun" and on days I have time I straighten it and wear my hair down. Many are actually surprised to find my hair is not in fact straight but curly. 
Straight hair seems the be the "one size fits all" hair type for women so when it comes to emojis, straight haired emojis are what we tend to use. I was so excited when Dove Hair introduced the Dove #LoveYourCurls Emojis for us curly haired girls. They've made a way for us to accurately express ourselves when texting family and friends. I don't know about you but I love using emojis and memes when texting so to be able to use emojis you can identify with is just great! I've always admired Dove Hair and their support of women being who they are. They encouraged me to not only embrace my curls but also celebrate them!

So last week I decided to wear my curls out to lunch with my sister and she shot some photos of me and my curly locks. It felt so good to not have to "fix" my hair to go out. I let my hair air dry and at first I felt kind of weird because I'm not used to wearing my hair down without it being straight but as the day went on my curly hair grew on me. I loved the whole experience so much, I plan to wear my curls out more often. I feel that the more often I do, the more I will learn to love my curls.

So many times we get caught up in what we wish we had and don't really embrace who we are and how God made us. I still like my hair straight but I don't completely hate my curls anymore. This mini shoot was a great reminder for me to be thankful for who I am and how God made me.

Do you have curly hair? Download the Dove Love Your Curls Emojis in the App Store and Google Play Store to show you #LoveYourCurls! 

DIY Easy Thanksgiving Banner

I wasn't planning on writing a post but I thought I would share how I made my gold Thanksgiving banner. So please excuse the iphone photos on this post. I usually use my camera but like I said this is a quick unplanned post. 
Target had a similar banner that said GIVE THANKS and I was going to buy it last time but my sister convinced me we could make it ourselves. I am glad she did because I love my banner even more than Target's. Here is what I used to create my Thanksgiving banner.

The gold metallic poster board is from Hobby Lobby and were on sale at 2 for $1. The stencils are from Target. You will also need some string and a hole puncher. You basically trace your letters on to the poster board and cut them out. Then you hole punch the tops and string them. It's that easy!

I feel like making a bunch more of these! So easy to make and it looks great! So if you need some quick easy Thanksgiving decor try this cute banner! :)

Simple + Modern - My Top Uncommon Goods Picks

Throughout the past year I've developed a love for simple, clean, modern design. I want my home to feel clean, open, and not cluttered at all. The less clutter the bigger and cleaner a room looks. That is my motto and my style as of now. So naturally I am drawn to mid century modern. Lots of wood tones, lots of clean lines. It just seems to fit our new home so well. 
So today I want to share how to keep things simple with your home decor. I want to show you some of my favorite decor items for both home/office and kitchen. I'm especially excited to share some of my favorite kitchen decor items because hopefully soon (I know I've been saying that for a while now) we will begin our kitchen remodel. 
All of my decor picks are from Uncommon Goods. Uncommon Goods is not just another online shop selling pretty things. They take pride in their business from taking care of their employees to making sure each and every one of their products are top quality, eco friendly, and unique. They work closely with artists to provide quality products for your home and your loved ones. I'm focusing on their home decor today but you should really check out all of their products, they have something for everyone! 
As you can see I love natural elements such as wood. I also have an obsession with globes and this one would be perfect for any home office! I like to keep things simple with my home decor by using natural elements and clean lines. Baskets are perfect to hold all of your clutter yet they can perfectly blend into any room. I actually do not mind patterned pillows, I like to add color with my pillows as you can see I did in our master bedroom. 

ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN / EIGHT 

My kitchen picks include things every kitchen should have with a modern touch! I've included lots of wood tones into my kitchen picks as well. I have a love for white dishes! I used to own a green dish set back when I first got married and I look back and think "what was I thinking?". White is timeless and makes everything look organized and put together. 

ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN / EIGHT / NINE

My style may not be yours and that is ok! The most important thing is to take pride in your home. Let your home reflect your own personal style down to your salt and pepper shakers. 

Fun & Easy Way to Grow Your Kids Faith

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Lifetree, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #growkidsfaith  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

I've shared the importance of praying with your kids on my blog before. Praying with them before school is one of the things I look forward to each morning. This year I started doing a short devotional with them as well. I make sure to wake up 15 minutes earlier so we have time to do a devotional and pray in the car each morning before dropping them off to school. This time for me has been precious! Listening to them ask questions and talk about Jesus is so wonderful but I still felt like it wasn't enough. I've been wanting to do an activity type of devotional with the kids in the afternoons for some time now but after dinner, homework, and bath time, I was left with no energy to come up with anything.
Then I found out about the Buddy Box Subscription Program. I'm sure you've heard of subscription boxes by now, they seem to be super popular nowadays. I myself love them! I've subscribed to a couple different ones. This one, however, is for your kiddos. It's not just a fun little box it's meant to grow your kids faith through hands on activities, crafts, songs, and bible study.

Buddy Box is a monthly care package for kids' faith that gets them excited about growing their relationship with the best buddy of all - JESUS! We went outside on a beautiful day and spent the afternoon learning more about Jesus and how he can help us face our fears.

All three of my kids had so much fun not only going through their box but doing each and every activity. Even though they are all different ages they all enjoyed the activities the same. The box is very well planned! Every month they feature a buddy and a theme. The buddy this month was a bat and the theme was facing your fears. The box includes a magazine with instructions for crafts, activities, and a bible story. 

We read about Jesus walking on water and got to do a hands on activity with clay and water as well... 

I was SUPER impressed with the way these boxes are planned. They really plan every single detail out and everything in the box just flows with the theme so well! 

It really makes things SO MUCH easier for parents. No need to think up or look up ways to talk about faith with your kids. This little box has it all and it's all planned out for you. Two of my favorite things were praying to God over our fears and releasing them by using the spinning disc toy.

Another activity I loved was decorating a pillow that could be used when you are afraid. The kids decorated it with encouraging messages and drawings to remind them that God is with them.

I loved watching them enjoy their box and listening them talk about their fears and how God can help them. We ALL loved the box so much we are ordering another for November! I'm pretty sure we will be monthly subscribers from now on. 

You can try Buddy Box too for just $15 by using Promo Code: BUDDYBOX by October 23rd! Invest in your kids and grow their faith! This is one purchase you won't regret! We can't wait for our November box!

Master Bedroom Details

First of all THANK YOU ALL so much for your sweet comments on our master bedroom! In case you missed it, you can find our master bedroom reveal here. Today I am sharing all of the sources of our bedroom. 

ONE // The wall color is the same throughout the house. We decided to do something light because it makes everything looks so much brighter and cleaner and since we did dark floors I wanted that contrast. We chose Tear Drop from Pittsburg Paints. It's a very soft almost white gray. 

TWO // Our floors are also ones we chose for almost our entire house. They are wood grain tile. We LOVE our floors, they look great and we don't have to worry about spills or scratches. We purchased them at Home Depot: MARAZZI-Montagna-Saddle

THREE // I spoke more about our awesome HUNTER fans on this post. We love our fans! The Windemere fan is modern and clean and just goes perfectly with our new master bedroom.
FOUR // Ah our bed! LOVE our bed! We purchased our bed from West Elm using a coupon we received in the mail when we first moved in. It is absolutely gorgeous in person and I finally feel like a grown up sleeping in an actual bed and not a mattress on box springs.
FIVE // Levi is currently in our bedroom. We turned his crib into a toddler bed. We plan on moving him to Joshua's room eventually so I will have to find a way to use up this space once he moves in with Josh. His crib is this one from IKEA. 

SIX // Our curtains are from West Elm. They were on sale and we needed quite a few panels for our entire bedroom so we went with these and they just blend in nicely with everything else.
SEVEN // We received this beautiful african gazelle print courtesy of Minted. I loved it ever since I saw it on their website. I purchased the frame from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon. 
EIGHT // I made this pillow cover using fabric I purchased from Hobby Lobby. I bought the insert from IKEA.
NINE // These pillows are from TJ Maxx. 
TEN // This art is a DIY that I shared on the blog here. 
ELEVEN // Our bedding is from IKEA. It is a duvet set. I purchased the insert at Target. 
TWELVE  // This mid century nightstand came as a set along with the dresser and we purchased them off of a lady on craigslist.
THIRTEEN // Since we only had one nightstand we needed another so I decided to try the whole mix matched nightstand thing and I purchased this one from Target. 

FOURTEEN // This is a DIY I shared on my blog here. 
FIFTEEN // These are all thrifted items. I shared a little more about the globe on my instagram. You can find my thrifted finds using #cinsarahthrifted on instagram. 
SIXTEEN // I purchased this plant at Home Depot and I couldn't find a cute planter for it so I grabbed the kids bathroom trash can and it was the perfect match.
SEVENTEEN // This is a craigslist find. It was my birthday present from my husband :)
EIGHTEEN // The chair is an old goodwill find and the pillow cover is another DIY I shared on my blog here. 

NINETEEN // These frames are from Target and the artwork is another DIY you can find here. 
TWENTY // This desk is made out of boards from our old dining table and the legs are from IKEA. 
TWENTY-ONE // This chair I found at Ross.
TWENTY-TWO //  This lamp is a Target clearance find.
TWENTY-THREE // My MOST FAVORITE DIY is this! My husband built this bookshelf inspired by West Elm and you can find the post here. 
Thank you all again! If I missed anything feel free to leave me a comment. Our next remodel is our kitchen!! So excited to get started on that one and to share our progress with you. Follow me on instagram to keep up to date and watch our progress. 

Master Bedroom Reveal

Finally our last bedroom reveal in our new home. This is one we put the most work and money into because it is a big room with tons of space and a little office nook to the side. We love our new large master bedroom and vaulted ceilings. The ceilings and our new Hunter fan were just meant to be. I only want to share before and after photos today and I will have another follow up post with all of the details later this week because that will take some time to put together and all I want right now is to show you the results. I'm pretty sure that's what you want to see too. So here are the before and afters!

The BIGGEST changes in our room are the ceiling, floors, and walls. We had all of our popcorn removed from the ceilings, retextured ceilings and walls, and got new wood grain tile flooring. Levi is currently in our room but we plan to move him in with Josh soon. 

I love that we have this space next to our bedroom which we have turned into our office nook. As you can see we've still got a couple minor details to finish like wall plugs and the closet doors but all in good time.

and here are a few more photos...a

Make sure to check back later this week for a more detailed post with sources. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will reply either below your comment or on my next post.