Little bits of home pt. 2

 So truth be told I've been a bit reluctant to share pictures of my home here for a few different reasons. One of the main reasons is because it's always felt like it wasn't ready or good enough. It's really easy to look at other people's homes on pinterest or on their blogs and compare them to your own.

 My living room isn't really planned in anyway, a lot of the furniture is handed down, inexpensive things we've added over the years, and a whole lot of thrifted items. I've always felt that it was sort of a modge podge of items and nothing really went together. Over time we've learned to embrace the eclectic look and have added a few items to make things feel somewhat cohesive.

 I'm pretty happy with how we have things right now but this living room is the result of a lot of work. I've been on a spring cleaning fling right now and my goal with every room in our apartment has been to clean out, and simplify. I've been getting rid of a lot of things that we've been holding on to, and it's felt really good to get rid of all the excess junk.

 

 Right now I have been trying to embrace mismatched bohemian patterns, fun textures, and natural elements. I'm hoping to add some indoor plants soon, but overall I'm happy with the direction our home decor is taking. Simplifying things really made things feel more open and bright.

I love spring cleaning and organizing, can you tell? I've already reorganized my closet, a coat closet, and the kitchen cabinets and I'm not even sure it's really spring yet.

 

Anyway, thanks for letting me share a few bits of my living room and the decoration/simplifying progress I've been making. I really love home decor (it's something I got from my mom) and I'm constantly rearranging things and pinning inspiration so it's been fun to share a little bit of my own living room even if it's still a work in progress.

-Reagan

Around Here...

 February has been somewhat of a blur. It has gone by so incredibly fast. I have mostly been busy working but I've fit in a lot of thrifting and time with my husband and pets. Mostly I've been getting myself ready for spring. I'm big on spring cleaning and this year I'm trying to make organization a priority.

1. Zane when it "snowed". This dog loves cold weather. He could run outside in it for hours and he'd be one happy pup.

2. Our newest favorite breakfast pastry. 

3. My growing bottle cap collection. I've been trying to focus on adding soda bottle caps lately. I've already have two more that aren't pictured here.

4. A sneak peek at a diy shoe upgrade.

5. My favorite tea at the moment, Chai Green Tea.  SO good!

6. My two boys together. This is a rare photo.

7. So many good things here, BW, Aztec Print, Olive colored pants, and Mocs. Just too good.

8. Close up of a pillow my grandma gave me. The little rounds were sewed by my Great Grandma, and then attached to the pillow by my grandma. It is just so special to me, and so beautiful too.

I hope you're all having a good February so far, it's insane that it's already almost over.

-Reagan

Matchy-Matchy

I'm not sure where most people stand with wearing matching accessories but I've always been sort of drawn to it. It's a really easy way to make an outfit feel cohesive. It's a trick I've used in my wardrobe for years. I usually stick to matching neutrals but more and more lately I've been liking color.

 I got these mint sunglasses while shopping with my sister a few weeks ago from Papaya, and was delighted to find that they match this mint belt I thrifted ages ago. Gotta love happy accidents!

I decided to wear this dress I thrifted along with my new maroon cardigan from JCP.

 To balance out all the color I went with my black leggings from Target and black ankle boots from JCP. Yeah more matching.

How do you feel about matching your accessories?

-Reagan

Meet My Pets

 So I realized recently that I refer to my pets pretty often and I don't know that I've ever really introduced them properly. I have both a dog and a cat. People wonder all the time how they get along, and the truth is they pretty much really like each other. If anything our cat, Murray bosses our dog, Zane around. They snuggle with each other, and even share a water bowl. They act like brothers for the most part.

 This is Zane. He is a rescue from a San Antonio pet shelter. My husband got him in January of 2009. He is a mixed breed identified by the shelter as staffordshire terrier mix. He has a brindle coat with white markings on his paws and in a arrowhead shape on his chest. This guy is a gentle giant. He is my teddy bear. His favorite things are ice, his stuffed Mickey Mouse, and playing fetch.

 He loves being around people and playing in backyards when we visit family. He still thinks he fits in my lap, and is a little camera shy. :)

 I honestly never liked dogs until I moved in with Anthony and met Zane. This guy has so much personality and is just so cute and sweet. He won me over pretty quickly. 

Having Zane has also proved to me that adopting a dog from a shelter is the only way to go. If we ever get another dog it will definitely be a rescue as well.

 This, of course, is Murray. He is a short haired orange and white tabby. He is approximately a year old. I had tried to convince my husband to get us a cat for a really long time. He had pretty much made up his mind that a cat wasn't for him. He didn't want to deal with a cat that sprayed and then of course we couldn't guarantee that Zane could co-exist with a cat happily.

 Then one day he told me that one of his coworkers had a cat that had just had a kittens. I had always wanted an orange cat so we asked if there was an orange kitten and we were given Murray a few days later.

 He is one feisty cat. He loves playing with Zane and trying to hunt him as well. He enjoys sitting on the window sill and meowing at any bugs or birds he sees. He also loves ice.

He's really good at fall asleep is strange positions.

I spend a lot of my time with these two and since I talk about them here frequently I figured I need to fill you all in on my terrible two ;)

Thanks for indulging this proud pet parent!

-Reagan

Around here

 For us November has been about trying to slow things down and enjoy every moment. These past few months seem to really fly by, and it would be foolish to think November would be any different. It's really easy to get caught up in holiday preparations this month, in fact, you pretty much have to get caught up in holiday preparation if you want to get anything accomplished before the holidays roll around. After all we are already nearly two weeks into November! How did that happen?

 Now I have no issue with people having to have a busy November, these things are simply unavoidable. There is just a lot going on right now. My main goal is to just savor those little everyday moments that make this time of year so special. I have made it one of my goals before 2014 begins to take more everyday photos in an effort to document what really can make the holiday season so memorable. Like delicious and warm homemade dinners and apple cider on cold nights :)

 

 I remember taking this picture thinking how fall in Texas must be so different than everywhere else right now. All the trees and grass are pretty much green. I've only spotted a few sporting fall foliage. 

It's definitely something we miss out on down here.

  Two more moments that I wanted to be sure to capture. These two are a huge part of enjoying everyday. Murray is about to experience his second holiday season, and Zane is nearing his fifth birthday. In my opinion the above pictures feature two of the best cuddlers in existence which comes in handy this time of year!

Until Next Time,

-Reagan

Instagram Update

Sorry for the long, unannounced hiatus! The holidays are always a hectic time, a sadly HN had to take the back burner. I did have a wonderful holiday season and have had a really amazing start to 2013 so far. I don't like to make official goals or resolutions at the beginning of the year, but I am determined to create more, cook more, and just enjoy life more. I am determined to make every year better than the last. I've been brainstorming new diy projects and recipes, as well as trying to figure out what 2013 holds for this little blog here. I hope to share a lot more photography, thrifting, crafting, baking and of course a little personal style. Not that I plan on changing everything!

Anyway, I've let myself ramble enough. Without further ado, my December 2012/ January 2013 Instagram update as the title of this post promised:

I promise it won't be another month and a half till i post this next time, and that it won't be entirely comprised of instagram photos. Bear with me though, it may be a little slow starting out as i usually schedule posts, and I don't have any scheduled at this time. Like i said however, i have a lot of ideas that i'm super excited to share with you! -R!