Blog - at home with Ashley

The Best Sources for Pink Wallpaper

Want to know my two favorite things? Pink and wallpaper! Add them together, and I’m in heaven! I’ve never used as much wallpaper as I have in this house. And guess what? It adds SO much! Wallpaper is the perfect starting point for designing a room. You can choose colors from the paper and then everything is pulled together.

So I went to my favorite sites that carry wallpaper and pulled my favorite pink options. If you’re in the market for pink wallpaper, I guarantee you’ll find some good choices! Ready to see the best sources for pink wallpaper?!

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The History of Pink

Hi friends! You might have noticed that one of my favorite colors to decorate with is pink. I actually get a lot of questions about it. Although looking into it, the meaning of pink has changed a lot over time. So, I thought it would be fun to dive into the history of pink.
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She Shed Exterior + Plant Stand

Since February, I’ve been working of my she shed. It’s been a labor of love! Parts have dragged on though. For example, the outside of my shed was really unfortunate looking for a long, long time. Back in March, it was way worries though! (psst, make sure to wait for the vintage plant stand tutorial at the end of this post! )

Old siding that used to be covered in painted plywood that was rotting. We had to take that all off to add on French doors (a $100 Habitat for Humanity find). Then, for a long time, it was covered in fresh plywood.

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Bird Cage Transformation

A few weeks ago, I went vintage shopping and found the cutest bird cage. I live in a town with amazing antique opportunities- I LOVE it! There’s always good finds. I’ve been on the look out for a bird cage to use a decoration, so I was thrilled when I spotted one for $85!!!

In Victorian times, many people had a bird as a pet. Wooden cages were used to house the bird. These were decorative and used in the parlor as ornamentation in addition to housing the bird.

My antique store usually has a few. If you’re on the look out, I bet you can find one! Here’s a few I spotted on Etsy. There are some great options!

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The Most Affordable Places to Buy Rugs

I’m a huge rug fan! They really pull a room together while adding softness, texture, color, and pattern. Rugs are a great way to express yourself and designate a living zone. Over the years, I’ve found some of the most affordable places to buy rugs that I want to share with you!

When I was first married, I bought a 5’x8′ flat weave gray damask rug to go over our shag carpet. This was my first rug buying experience and it was a fail! The rug wouldn’t stay down and was too tiny for the space. But I loved the color and a few years later, I tried again.

I’ve learned a lot since then! Now I can recommend the correct rug size and give you tips for finding the perfect rug online (how to find the right style, color, and material). If you love pink rugs, I have a great round up of my favorites here.

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How to Seal a Wood Pergola

When we first moved into our house a year ago, the backyard was such a mess, it was hard to envision it ever being a place we’d want to hang out! But over the past few months we’ve made small updates that led to big updates like our concrete pad being poured. After that, the pergola went up.

The only problem? The pergola needed a top coat. At first I was going to paint it white, but I came to realize that the space needs some warmth so I wanted to keep the wood. Want to hear the products I used and the process? Here’s how to seal a wood pergola. [Read more…]

5 Ways to Prep your Home for Back to School

My son starts back at school in a few weeks. We’ve been so busy working on projects around our house, pausing to organize and prep for back to school is a necessity (I’ll show you why in a second- it’s not pretty)! I thought I’d share some tips on how to prep your home fo back to school!

For the first time, Don will have preschool 5 days a week. He starts bright and early each morning so I wanted to make sure we have a good foundation in place to make mornings run as smooth as possible. [Read more…]

DIY Picnic Basket

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how we designed our dining room to be the best spot for Don to eat. Ever since he transitioned from a high chair, we’ve struggled with convincing him that he needs to eat. Sigh!

As a mom with an interior design background, I turn to good design for the solution to some of my troubles. The next thing I decided to try- new dishes. Here’s what I figure, maybe a set that is designed just for him would help him enjoy meal time a little more.

dishes designed for kids

The tableware I decided to go with is Munchkin’s Color me Hungry set. It comes in four colors (green, blue, pink, and purple) so I could get a color Don loves. They are the perfect size for toddlers and come with a grippy undersize so they stay on the table. Which is perfect since Don feeds himself.

The set comes in a really cute box that doubles as a fun coloring activity. When we got ours in the mail the box made Don so excited to open it up! He immediately felt like this was just for him.

The set includes a flat and divided plate and a bowl. They are super thick and look like they’ll be really durable. They are deep too which helps kids easily scoop up food without it landing on the table. I really love the divided plates since they keep food separated with the deep sloping sides.

Another thing I love is the training cup with lid. It’s exactly designed like the water bottles my husband and I use so he feels grown up using it! The press-fit lid reduces messes while teaching him to use a big kid cup. Such a win win!

Lastly, the set includes a toddler utensil set. I love these because they look like what an adult would have with the stainless steel tops. Plus they’re designed to fit little mouths and hands. The handles are easy to grip and safe for kids to cut with.

We’ve loved having this set in our home! It is hands down, Don’s favorite. And it’ll make a great gift too if you have any little kids in your life. This tableware set is top rated on Amazon and I can see why- it’s perfectly designed for kids!

how to make a DIY picnic basket

I thought it’d be fun to make a little picnic basket that hold’s the Munchkin Color me Hungry dish set! You can customize it for adults too.

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. P.s. I’m trying to build that page up, so if you’d subscribe, I’d really appreciate that!

SUPPLIES

Munchkin Color me Hungry dish set
Basket
1/4 yard fabric of choice
Tab closure with buckle
Swivel Snap Hook (for handle)
Empty Cereal Box (any cardboard will do)
1/4″ Braided Elastic
1″ Woven Strap Tape
Hot glue gun
Needle and thread
Scissors

step 1

Start by making the handle. For this, I sewed woven strap tape onto two swivel snap hooks. Then I simply attached the snap hooks onto the basket. I just opened them up and connected them to the fibers of the basket.

step 2

Next, I hot glued the tab closure onto the basket. If you want, you can go back with needle and thread to further secure.

step 3

And now, it’s time to create the liner. For this step, I cut a used cereal box to fit in the top and the bottom of the basket.

Then I used my fabric and wrapped it over the cardboard and hot glued it onto the cardboard. I used dinosaur fabric because I am making a mini basket for my son, but classic gingham would be adorable!

step 4

Finally, it’s time to add on the elastic for this DIY picnic basket! To do that, I cut my elastic to size and then glued it onto the liner. Again, you can reinforce with needle and string, but just the glue has held up great fo me. I put my Munchkin Color me Hungry dish set in the bottom of the basket so I could put napkins and food on top of it. Plus, this felt a little more secure.

after

And now you have your very own DIY picnic basket! This easy craft is great for a gift, or for enjoying with kids. I made mine a smaller size just for my son, but you could go bigger and do an adult version too.

I surprised Don with his new basket with a little picnic in our yard. He loved it! Honestly, we both did. Is there anything better than a summer picnic?!

Thanks for reading along! If you have any questions on the basket or the Munchkin Color me Hungry dish set, just ask in the comments!

This post is sponsored by Munchkin– all opinions are mine own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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How To Paint a Stock Tank Pool

When I was a kid, my favorite way to spend a sunny summer day was in the water. Running through the sprinklers, a kiddies pool, the water park- anything to cool off and have fun! Turns out, that’s still what I want to do! And how I want to spend summer with my son! But instead of a kiddie pool, how about an actual metal pool that I can re-use year after year?

At the beginning of the summer, I spotted my first stock tank pool online and fell in love. A stock tank is a metal round (or oval) trough for drinking water for livestock. For years, they’ve been used for backyard swimming pools (sometimes they’re called “red neck hot tubs”). Lately, they’ve become popular since they can be customized to match a house and really add to a backyard while still being affordable.

After getting my family on board with this project, we drove to our local farming supply store to find our new pool! Note, you can check inventory online for CAL Ranch and Tractor Supply if you have those in your area (they both carry stock tank pools). Of course, when I got it home, I couldn’t wait to make it mine (instead of galvanized) Here’s how I did that and how to paint a stock pool! [Read more…]

DIY Bucket Ottoman

A few days ago I revealed my sister’s one day budget living room makeover. Your feedback has been so kind- thank you! One of my favorite parts of it are the DIYs I added in the space. I had two- the diy bucket ottoman and a super easy to make rainbow planter. Ready to learn how to make those?! [Read more…]

dishes designed for kids

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