When in doubt, add some circles!

The new coffee table arrived for the living room and I can't wait to show it to you! First though, the reason why I went with this particular table. 

Because I love adding wall treatments around our house, we have a lot of "hard" lines. A lot of squares and rectangles if you will. Plus you add in furniture, which for the most part is the same shape -- and you get a long of corners and not a lot of softness. 

Adding in some circles is the perfect cure for too many lines. :) I try to soften specific spaces that have a lot of horizontal or vertical lines with round items. Sometimes just a wreath will do the trick:

Glass pantry door in kitchen

Planked fireplace with marble surround

And round light fixtures go a long way to breaking up all the lines in a space: 

DIY bookcases in library

Sometimes something as simple as a round knob does the trick: 

Navy blue dresser

And one of my favorites is a round mirror!: 

Foyer mirror and console

DIY wood planked wall

Black dresser with brass hardware

So when we got the new sofa in the living room a couple weeks ago I knew I wanted to go round for the coffee table. We have round wood table that used to be in that room, but I love it so much we moved it to the family room. :) That's why the rectangle coffee table was out in the living room last time I shared it with you. 

I wanted something round to break up all the lines in this room, but couldn't find anything affordable. At first I wanted a solid round wood table, but the one I feel in love with was about $1300. Uhh, no. :) 

So I kept searching and wouldn't you know -- I found one I loved on Amazon. It's a Sauder glass and metal table: 

It's got a gold finish and I LOVE IT in this room. It only took a few minutes to put together: 

They also have a black metal version that's $20 cheaper too! 

I think it's lovely in here. The glass and metal keeps things light and bright: 

It also gives it a more grown up feel too. The table is also a little bigger than what we had before -- 36 inches across. This room can take the bigger size just fine. 

As you can see, I've added circles in other ways in this room as well: 

And of course, if all else fails, you can add some in softer shapes with accessories too. Something as simple as a round lampshade or planter helps to break things up: 

I've been sharing this room a lot so far this year -- it's such a light and bright space, and I'm just so thrilled with how it's come together over the past month. I have been working on another project so I'll show you that this week too! No more living room for awhile. ;)

As you can see, I decided to stick with the blue pillows in here for now -- they feel right for the spring and summer (a long way off I know). I think the other ones will work well for the second part of the year. 

I'll leave you with a shot from above with the new table. And a hello from Colby: 

Do you use round items to break up your decor? They go a long way to soften a room and give it a little more interest!

Affiliate links included for your convenience!

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The beautiful color trending this year (it's my favorite!)

Hello! Are you ready for the weekend? I'll be working on a fun project in the basement -- I hope to share it with you next week! 

I kind of can't believe it but it's true...I am ahead of the game with a decor trend. This NEVER happens. Usually I'll sit by and watch to see if I really like something -- for years -- and buy into some of them when they're not even trendy anymore. It's my thing. 

But THIS time I am right there in it and even though I don't find it "trendy" at all, the color BLUE is all the rage this spring. I think it will continue on throughout the year so if you are a blue lover, rejoice! We are cutting edge my friends! :) 

What I think is particularly funny is I used to say I'd NEVER add blue to our home. I disliked it very much. But minds can change and for years now I've been obsessed with it. You'll find various tones of blue in every room of our home. I also think it's funny that just in the past few weeks I've deliberately been adding in some different colors (that I'll show you soon) other than my beloved blue. I'm always missing the mark. 😂

But I could care less and could write a whole post just on trends. I say if you like them, use them. If you don't, DON'T. Who cares, it's your house! 

I've noticed blue in many places lately and had to share some of my favorite instances of it and how to use it well. I was at the fancy mall yesterday and was drooling at all of the pretty blues used in the Pottery Barn displays. You can see some beautiful ways to incorporate in their latest catalog: 

Blue is a chameleon. It looks clean and crisp with white, and can easily go nautical. But with the right touches it can also be both traditional like the photo above, and contemporary like below: 

It's all in how you style it. There's something wonderful about this color -- it's grounding like black but with the punch of color. At the same time it's very soothing and easy on the eyes: 

We visited the Indy Home Show last weekend and the model home this year (by Fischer Homes) was gorgeous as always. It had a slightly nautical feel but it went much more modern than I've seen before. There was blue everywhere, which I loved!:

The walls in the bedroom were navy blue grasscloth -- stunning! 

I was obsessed with the dark blue vent hood in the kitchen: 

So lovely against the white cabinets. What a great statement piece. 

The best part was this dark blue wall with chunky cedar shelves in the family room: 

I just LOVE a navy blue wall! (Check our our son's navy blue bedroom here!)

The decor stores at the fancy mall were filled with blue. This tablescape at Williams Sonoma really caught my eye:

So gorgeous! 

Blue is a beautiful color alone but works well with every color -- I honestly haven't seen a blue combo I didn't like. I always lean towards a more classic/traditional combination with white or neutrals, but this color really does work with anything. 

Do you use this color in your home? Are you ahead of the game for once like me? ;) I'm totally reveling in this happening once in my life, ha! 

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Pretty ways to organize everyday items

Hello there! Sorry for the late post today -- we thought we had a sick kiddo on our hands but after a doctor appointment all is well. :) 

I always feel like organizing this time of year and it last for a few months. The older I get, the less stuff we have and the longer we live here...I feel more and more organized. It's taken awhile! But organization doesn't always mean hiding things away into containers behind closed doors. The things we reach for the most can look good out in the open too! 

I thought I'd share a few examples of how I do that with items that fit seamlessly into our decor. It's easy to go overboard with tchotchkes so I chose to keep things out that I know we use every day. Like our commonly cooking utensils by the stove:  

I found this little container at HomeGoods -- it came with a lid. Of course we have a lot of other utensils in a drawer nearby too, but these are what we grab 90 percent of the time.

I first shared these jars with you seven years ago when I showed you how to make easy chalkboard labels for them:

I've since changed out the Cheerios (that we used to go through super quick at the time for the Bub, sniff!) for baking needs. We keep flour, sugar and powdered sugar in our containers. Our friends laugh that we keep that much powdered sugar but we use them to make our favorite margaritas. ;) 

My absolute favorite zone for cute organization in our kitchen is our wood and metal shelf -- this thing is our hub every day and I've been able to organize quite a few everyday items in a cute way: 

I keep our mail in the basket, cat and dog food (and treats!) in the white containers, odds and ends for the animals go in the copper bowl and our smaller office supply items go in the metal basket. I also keep our extra kitchen towels in the fabric bin at the top. 

This spot really does work overtime for us and I love that we can keep items that usually clutter up a kitchen stored away. 

I used to legit have a problem with magazines. For real, I would buy them constantly and hold onto them forever. Over the years I've moved past that and I can't even tell you how nice it is! ALL of our magazines go in this wood container (I think I got it from Target):

If you've seen my past posts about my beloved magazines you know this is pretty big for me. ;) I give myself this much space -- if it starts getting too full it's time to purge. I like having them out so I can actually see them and remind myself to look through them, but they aren't super obvious or laying on the coffee table. (And they help to hide the subwoofer a bit!)

I use trays all over the house to corral little items. I told you about the tray on our kitchen island here and how it's our little station with items we reach for every day. This one sits on the desk in our office and has all of the supplies we need day to day: 

That's one sad looking plant! 😆

I think my absolute favorite way to organize in our office/craft room is this DIY craft caddy I made a couple years ago using dollar store pails: 

We reach for that nearly every day! I don't mind having craft items out if they're organized and cute. I really think that is the stuff that makes a house a home. :)

For years now I've organized our son's markers, chalk and paints in this caddy I got on clearance and painted: 

I gotta say, adding the wheels on the bottom was a brilliant move. ;) It's so easy to wheel it to the kitchen table or wherever we need it. 

I think bathrooms are another room that have random stuff that has the potential to look cute. Our son's bathroom doesn't have much storage so I put all of his random stuff like brushes, washcloths and toothpaste in this small basket: 

And I keep my bath supplies looking cute on our tub with a small tray and simple glass containers: 

I think bath items look especially pretty behind glass -- cotton balls, soap and bath salts all look like decor while staying organized. I hope to add more of those when we redo our master bathroom someday. 

These are just a few ways I've done this around our house! If you reach for it every day it can look good while staying organized. Do you have a favorite way to store everyday items in a pretty way? I'd love to hear about them! My goal for our home is always to be super functional, but I promise you it can be both that and look good too. :)

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Our new sofa in the living room!

Well hello! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Ours was mostly very low key, other than some basketball. JUST the way I like it. :)

I'm SO excited to share our latest furniture purchase with you! We don't buy many larger pieces anymore -- what we have I love (for the most part) and have right where it works. Our floor plan doesn't allow for moving stuff around much so when I find a good spot for something it stays. Foreverrrrrr.

It was fun to add a little something new again! You may remember the slipcovered sofa we picked up a couple years ago for our living room:

I took a chance and moved things around in here back then and LOVED how it came together. It completely transformed the room.

You won't even believe where that sofa is from either. I'll give you a second to go look at the transformation of that room and the resources here. I'll wait. ;) 

OK so we really do like that sofa a lot. It was really inexpensive but plenty comfy. Many ask if it's the Ektorp from IKEA and it does look similar -- but I find it to be way comfier. (I think I'm the only person on Earth who doesn't care for the IKEA sofas.) 😬

But two things happened. I have to say, I'm not a "fancy room" kind of person. I want every room to be used and I don't want to worry about any of our furniture getting use. But I did find myself wanting something just a little bit fancier in here. Just a bit. 

AND our plan for the completed loft called for a sofa. That was the one thing missing when I finished it up last August. Since then we've found we really want to have a spot to sit and relax up there other than on the window seat or at the desk. 

SOOOO. I've been looking for the past few months at various places. Mostly online and HomeGoods. Although we did buy the slipcovered sofa online, I usually shy away from that. I need to sit on it in real life to see how it feels. One evening in December we were running around and I saw a new store called Urban Underpriced. I think they're just local (for you Indy folks, they are in the old Pier 1 store at Castleton). 

Anyway, I saw a sofa I loved and decided when the budget allowed I would go back to see if it was still there. I had to wait a little over a month and it was still there...but I found another one I liked even better. :) The original price was $799 but they were having a sale and I got it for $550! Considering our slipcovered sofa was only $50 cheaper, that's pretty incredible for the quality: 

There's a close up of the fabric. I LOVE it. It's very soft and I love the color so so much. As you know, we have many animals in this house and the dog has already found his new perch on the back of this one. They told me I can clean it myself with a mild soap if needed. 

(I will share the brand name of the sofa at the very bottom of the post with some other details, so check that out if you are interested!)

We don't use this sofa EVERY day so it doesn't get nearly as much use as our family room one. But man...it is SO comfy. I love it!! It's way deeper than the other one: 

(Coffee table makeover)

It actually measures just a couple inches shorter in length...but it looks so much bigger because of the depth. This size works so much better in here with the tall ceilings. 

I swear it's the size of a twin bed: 

(Free botanical prints)

We like our naps in this family (well, at least the adults) so comfy couches are very important around here. The first day we had it my husband took one and when he woke up he said "I LOVE the new couch." 

Nap approved. :) 

I am in love with the more modern feel -- I've determined over the years that I don't like big arms on sofas or chairs. I'm all about using as much space in a room as possible and they take up too much of it. I regret getting one with such big arms for our family room. But these are perfect: 

(DIY craftsman window trim)

And I like the more modern feel mixed with our traditional pieces. I am switching out the coffee table and when I do I'll show you (and explain why). Maybe even this week if all goes well. 

The old sofa is upstairs in the loft now and it's awesome to have one up there! This coffee table will go up too. We've lived in our home for almost 13 years and just in the past year I'm starting to feel like the rooms are filled just right. It takes time my friends! 

Now...the important question. It's all about the pillows -- I actually quite love the ones they sent with the sofa, which is very rare. Usually I don't use whatever comes with the couch. But when I put my old blue ones on there I think they look lovely on it too: 

(Blue dresser paint color)

Here's a rare aerial shot for you -- I love this angle! Here are the original pillows: 

And the new ones:  

I like them both for different reasons. As much as I love the new ones I'm leaning towards the original ones. The new pillows look really good up in our loft on the old sofa too! I'll let you know what I decide. Because these are the deep things that matter in life. ;)

I hope to share the coffee table change up soon!

P.S. The brand name of this sofa is Fusion and again, our store is called Urban Underpriced. (VERY cool store with great accessories, but they are expensive in relation to the furniture.) I found Fusion online and it looks like they have reps you can contact to find out a local store. Our sofa color is called Grassroots if that is what you are interested in and they had a loveseat that matched. It is 83 inches long by 41 deep. :)

OH and we've had the new rug since last year and I got it at HomeGoods. Our dog ruined the old one. :(

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The best online resources to improve your blog

Hello there my friends! It's almost the weekend, whoot! I hope your week has gone beautifully!

I used to share a lot of blogging tips and have stopped doing that as much over the years. I was reminded at a conference last year that SO MANY of you are interested in blogging or have already started one and the advice would be welcomed.

So I'm determined to be better about sharing again! I'll be going on my tenth year of blogging in just a few months and I still can hardly believe it. Truly the BEST, most amazing job I've ever had. I pinch myself every day. I still have SO much to learn as this business is constantly changing, but I do have a lot under my belt that I can share. :)

I'm sharing the six online resources I use nearly every day to run my business. They are so helpful for different reasons and I'll go into each. Most are free for the basic use!

1. PicMonkey for photo editing

I don't use anything fancy to edit my photos. I love photography and it was a hobby of mine before blogging, but I still haven't taken the time to learn Photoshop. It intimidates me, simple as that. :)

But photos are EVERYTHING on a blog...it doesn't matter what you're blogging about. You need visuals or it gets boring real fast. I used another program for years (you may see my refer to it in my earlier posts) but they went under. Thankfully PicMonkey came along to fill that need:

Their basic options are free (and there are a lot of them). If you want extras you can pay the upgrade and that's $33 a year. They are absolutely worth it for me. 

You can do a ton with this site -- brighten, sharpen, adjust color and resize your photos. 

You can also create your own printables! I love this site and find it offers plenty of editing options for my needs. Someday I may learn Photoshop...but maybe not. 

2. Tailwind for Pinterest

THIS is one I don't think I could live without. There are plenty of scheduling sites for Pinterest but this is the one I like the best. Tailwind is an incredible resource full of information and helpful tools for bloggers: 

Not only does it make it incredible easy to schedule your content on Pinterest for weeks and months out, it gives you access to the stats of your Pinterest account and how pins and boards are performing. 

The analytics are so interesting and you can see where it's best to spend your time on Pinterest. It also shows you the optimal times to pin for your specific account. I like the scheduling part the best because it means I don't have to be on the computer for hours every day: 

There are also "tribes" with groups of bloggers which make it super easy to pin similar content to yours -- which is important because people that follow your account want to see consistent content. 

Tailwind is free to those who want to just use the tribes but if you want all the bells and whistles it's $10 a month (if you pay for the year in advance). It is a tool I would hate to be without at this point and I can't recommend it enough. If you'd like to try it out, you can use my (affiliate) link here. 

I plan to go more in depth on this tool in a later post so I can show you all it does! 

3. Coscheduler for the best headlines

This is such a cool, FREE resource! You put in your post title and it will give you a score:

Before I said photos are everything and I take that back...titles are even more important because no one will find you if you don't have great titles! I still struggle with finding the best ones and this is so helpful. I don't use it every time but I should.

Here's a very basic title for today's post:

That's a pretty bad score. I consider anything below 70 to be poor. 

Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right combo of words but look what a difference it makes: 

You can see I'm still at 0 percent for a couple of them but it's a MUCH better score. If I play around with it more I'm sure I can get it higher. 

They offer a few other helpful tips for each title as well. This is a simple way to see how well search engines will view your blog titles. Such a cool free resource! 

4. Google Analytics for stats

I have to tell you, I don't look at this nearly as much as I should. But if you have a blog, (at least one you'd like to make a business out of) you absolutely need to at least have this code installed on your blog so you can see how it's performing.

Google Analytics is an absolute treasure trove of information:

You'll be able to see how many page views and visits you get every day, the unique views, the general areas of the world your readers are coming from, and most importantly, what posts are getting the most traction and who is sending you traffic. 

Knowing what posts are popular at any given time is helpful so you can make those the best they can be. You want those coming from searches and Pinterest to stay awhile and come back to your site...this gives you insight into if they are doing that. 

Make sure the code for Google Analytics is installed at the top of your site to get the best information. 

5. Photobucket for photo storage

I've used this for both personal and blog use for years. It's a free service for the most basic needs and that includes quite a bit of storage. I don't use it to host my blog photos but it's an option. I used to use it for all of the images for my blog design, but now it's more for free printables I've created: 

This is great because you can share full size photos or printables with readers without giving them full access to your account. (Using the codes they provide on the right of the image.) 

You can see my free Valentine printable here if you need a cute one for this upcoming holiday! :)

This service is free if you stay under a certain amount of photos. I have a TON on my personal account and I'm not even close to the limit. But there are upgrades available: 

If you have photos or images that you want to share in their full resolution, or you just need a place to house your photos off of your computer, this is a great option. 

6. Bit.ly for trackable links

This is another favorite FREE service. Sometimes it's helpful to see how many people click on your links -- for numerous reasons. This site allows you to add your post url into their site and then they give you a shorter link to use instead: 

I started using these years ago purely for Twitter -- to help stay under the character count limit. But I've found this valuable in so many ways since! You can see how well your links are performing and they are stored forever (you can search by keyword to find old ones). So you can pull your link from a post years ago and share it again. 

I find it's especially helpful when sharing posts on social media. You can also see how the link performs over time: 

I will create one bit link for Facebook and one (a mobile version on my phone) for Instagram. This way I can see how much traffic I'm getting from each site. If you work with brands this is a great way to show them how much traffic came from social media.

You can use your bit link within your posts (linking to old posts) as well to see the engagement. I don't do this but if you're curious it's interesting. 

They now offer the ability to edit your link to a more friendly version as well -- instead of numbers and letters I can change it to "TDCwhatever" and use words that describe the post. I think this is helpful to readers because I know I usually hesitate to click on a link if I can't see what it's talking about. :) 

The only problem with editing your link is that Instagram does not recognize them as a legitimate web address. I hope they fix this soon! 

Well there you go! My six favorite blogging resources that I use nearly every day. They not only help me organize and streamline my work but also give me helpful insight into how my readers respond to my content. 

Are you a blogger or have you considered creating one? If so you can check out my blogging posts with tons of tricks and tips over the past nine years.  I think I underestimate how many of you are blogging or are thinking about it! 

Have you used any of the tools I mentioned or do you have any you can't live without? I'd LOVE to hear about them! 

You can pin this image to save this post and refer to it later!: 

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