Blog - at home with Ashley

How to get the perfect Instagram shot

my top 9 liked images in 2016

Hi guys, I am having an Instagram week over here. I started my Instagram account in September of 2015 from 0 followers and I took images with my iphone and was very proud of them. Early in my blogging adventure, I remember going to a blog conference (just 5 months after I started my blog) and a girl was looking at my images and telling me how good they were. It gave me such a boost of confidence! It was the first time I thought I might be able to actually do something with it.

I kept working on my Instagram and focused on getting better images. In the summer of 2016 my sister gave me her fancy camera as an investment in my little blog. It was beyond generous of her! Since then I have been using it and been trying to up the quality of my images. My Instagram audience has grown from a few thousand to over 49k in that time and I think some of that has to do with the images, right ;). I wanted to go over the equipment I use to get my images in case any of you are out there trying to do the same-

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15 Photo Shoot Styling Props for Instagram

One of my favorite things is to take pretty pictures. I love sharing these photos here and on Instagram. I thought I would share my 15 favorite photo shoot styling props for Instagram. These are items you can buy on a budget (from $5.99-$59.99) that will add that texture and depth to your image. I use these items over and over again-

trays

Lacquer Trays from West Elm– these come in a bunch of sizes and colors. I love the white and I have them in two sizes. I use them ALL of the time to corral items and create a nice white cohesive look in my feed. These are $34.

faux sheep rug

Ikea Faux Sheep Skin Rugs– I love these because they are SO cheap ($14.99) and they add texture and warmth to an image without adding busyness. They soften the image while again adding the white that I crave for my images. If you aren’t close to an Ikea or shopping online, Amazon has an amazing option for $18 with free shipping!

instax camera

Instax Camera– I take a few pictures with this camera, but mostly its a fun prop! It adds personality and works on a shelf or a flat lay. If you look through my feed you’ll probably notice it 30+ times. Totally worth the $55 (although I believe I received it as a Christmas gift).

letterboard

Letterboard– I use this ALL of the time. It’s the quickest way to get a custom message in a fun and current way. $35. Update- recently I’ve been using a white letterboard from Heidi Swapp that I love! It it a little more expensive at $55, but it adds the white and works better with my feed.

ukulele

Pink Ukulele– I taught myself how to play ukulele a few years ago, now it mostly is a fun poppy prop. I love to have a little pink, white, and or mint in all of my images and this checks the box for pink. Oh and Don loves it too 🙂 $34

gold stapler

Gold Stapler– whenever I post an image of my desk or a flat lay that at all has to do with desk items, this guy gets thrown in. Bonus points because I actually use it as a stapler 😉 $15.99

pretty books

Pretty Books– I like reading design books, but bonus points for them being pretty! You will see them on my desk, on a shelf, being used to create height in an image. Pretty books are my favorite! I have a whole blog post with a dictionary of pink books if that’s your color too. Shown in this image are domino $28, all in good taste $17, and absolutely beautiful things $20.

plant mister

Plant Mister– I like to have a lot of plants and flowers in my images. To keep the photo from being just about the plants, I make it a little more interesting and dynamic by adding in this plant mister. $10 Anthropologie has a gorgeous brass version for $28

watering can

Modern Watering Can– For Christmas and my birthday I like to request items that I can use to make my house (and pictures prettier). I just got this for Christmas and I am in love. It’s great functionally for watering plants, but it is also SO pretty. $22

cute mug

Cute Mug- I have a small collection of cute mugs with fun sayings or pretty sayings. I like to get my mugs from Target. This Hello Gorgeous mug is my latest favorite. $6 and pink and gold #love

gold flatware

Gold Flat Wear– adding gold is obviously important to my Instagram formula (gold, mint, pink and a lot of white). The gold flatwear from Target is $2 a piece. I guarantee that is the cheapest price you can find them for anywhere (I’ve looked 🙂 )

modern lamp

Lamp– A good lamp will not only light up your room, it will light up your images. But turn that lamp off to avoid yellow light in your image- haha! I love the Crosby Schoolhouse lamp from Target. Perfect in every way. $30- also available in black.

alarm clock

Alarm Clock– I have this bunny alarm clock from PB Teen and I love it so! I love a little whimsy in my images and it adds some nice pops of mint and gold. It’s $59.

drinks in glass bottles

Pretty Drinks– I love having drinks in glass container for props. Sorry to ruin the magic, but I don’t let anyone drink them and they sit on my shelf until the next time I need them- haha! I love Pellgrino, Perrier, and Dry Sparkling drinks. Go to your grocery store or World Market and buy the prettiest drink you can. And then never drink it ;). P.s. here’s the link to the bar cart– it is also a prop stylist’s dream. Here are all of the ways I’ve styled it. edit, here is a good alternative to the bar cart since it looks like its no longer available

pillows

Pillows– The perfect pillow will add texture and interest. I love these pink pillows from Etsy (again, they fulfil my need for pink in each IG image). I have a whole post on throw pillows I love here if you need a pillow in a different color. $16.99- they come in pink, mint, navy, green, or yellow. This is just a pillow cover- stuff with this $5 insert.

whimsical scissors

Gold Eiffel Tower Scissors– So this is the 16th prop I am suggesting, but I remembered it later and love it too much to exclude it! First of all, how cute are those scissors? Whimsy and gold in one functional item? Prop styling lottery 🙂 $5 and the least expensive item on this whole list. They also come shaped as a bird and Big Ben.

So there’s my roundup! As you are starting to collect props, just buy one thing here and there that you fall in love with. I started small and then for birthdays and Christmas asked for these items. I slowly acquired them and love having them to warm up my home. Little by little it is fun to build up a collection of beautiful items that will make your Instagram images really pop!

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A Christmas Miracle

I have a Christmas I remember most. I was 7 or 8 and we had some family members who were struggling. I have three sisters and we weren’t well off, but had the happiest childhood. Our parents came to us and explained that we were going to have a smaller Christmas so that another family could have presents they needed. We went shopping for them together and bought coats and presents and warm clothes. We wrapped everything up and watched from the car as my dad brought a big bag of gifts to their front door and secretly left them. The next day (Christmas) we were at a family party and were thrilled when they walked in with their new coats on! It is still one of my favorite Christmas memories! Giving to someone who needs it. There is no better feeling! So this year when I was chosen to work with Pampers to help a family in need I was THRILLED! Talk about a dream come true! Don’s still young, but I want him to know how great it is to give and that everyone can make the world a better place!

So Pampers was super generous and donated a gift card (and diapers, of course!) to a family with a young child. I reached out to my local food bank (who has a great sub for Santa program- you can choose one child and do one gift so even if you have a small budget you can give!) and they had a perfect family for me! I don’t want to give away any personal details about the family, but from the second I reached out to them they were kind and grateful. The family has 4 kids the youngest being 8 months old. I asked the mom what the kids needed- she was a little confused because the food pantry said they might be able to get one gift per child. But we wanted to do that and more! She gave me her kids names, ages, sizes, needs, wants, and what the whole family could use. [Read more…]

Our Floors are In!

Guys! Exciting news- our laminate floors are in! Before I show you the progress and after photos, I am going to flash back. We bought our house in 2009 and the carpets were kind of gross then. Add in 7 years, 2 puppies, and a baby and our floors were really gross! Let’s be honest they smelled and were super embarrassing when people came over. I avoided taking pictures with the carpet in them, which was a struggle. Earlier this year we got our tax return and saved a big chunk for new floors. But we were busy and it was a HUGE task so we put it off. In August we decided to go for it and bought the flooring. I talk all about how we picked it out and our budget here. We didn’t actually start demo on our home until early October when I came home to find the hall carpet torn out:

If I would have had my way, I would have torn out one section, finished it, and moved on to the next section. But my husband did all of the labor, so he did it his way. Which was tear EVERYTHING out and start from there. So our hall, living room, dining room, laundry closet, and kitchen were in construction mode for TWO MONTHS. It was insane. The first step was that the floors were super uneven so we had to level them with the subfloor.

Don quickly learned how to cover his ears when the saw was anywhere in sight- haha! My dad lent us two foldable saw horses and they were SO helpful to have! These are similar and we have since bought one because cutting on them is so much better than bending over and cutting on the floor.

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My Vanity Refresh

Hi Friends! I’ve shared a few pictures of my vanity before, but lately I have been growing tired of it. Mostly the grey wall and I’ve been wanting to add molding so it ties in with the wall behind the bed. I got the whim one weekend and painted the wall white and put up the molding. I’m sure my husband was surprised to come home to see that I started on another project when the rest of our house was a construction mess from the new floors… Sorry honey!

Then I got the idea that I should update the accessories a bit (the lamp was a gift for my sister 10+ years ago, but she hated it so I’ve had it- haha). I added lots of pink and gold, because it’s a girl vanity, so I can! It was totally worth it because look how cute my vanity is looking now! It was a small refresh, but I love it!

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Christmas Decorating Tips with Kids

Hi Friends! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Last week we finished the last of the installation of our new floors (I’ll have a post just on the process) just in time for Thanksgiving. We did a deep cleaning (there was saw dust everywhere) and moved the furniture back so I could decorate the tree.

ENTRY DECOR

So our house went from construction zone to Christmas heaven! I am so excited to be participating in my first ever Christmas Tour! If you are visiting from the tour- welcome! I am so excited to show you around my home. It is so cozy in here, I can’t even tell you! I did a little decorating in the entry (mostly because I didn’t want that glass tree broken ;))
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Babyproofing Checklist

Good morning! And to my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I wanted to do a post of babyproofing today. I remember when Don first started to be mobile my husband and I had a moment of anxiety- how are we going to make this place safe for him?! It was important for me to let Don freely roam while also keeping my style. Here are my tips and tricks with a babyproofing checklist.

an Image from when Don was just 6 months old and starting to scoot around!
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Stairs: Final Reveal (One Room Challenge!)

Today is the final reveal for our stairs for the One Room Challenge!!! Eeeep, this one was a nail biter! Before I get into that let’s backup with a before:

That is how it looked a year before. I go over the big DIY failure of my stairs here. Last December we tore out the wallpaper and it looked like this since then:

Sadly, I’m not kidding. My stairs looked SO bad for SO long before I decided to do anything about it. I painted, added in fancy molding, put up a gallery wall, sanded down the stairs and painted some more. Last Wednesday the runner that I picked out arrived. It was my dream rug from Annie Selke’s Dash & Albert. [Read more…]

Stairs- Tread and Runner

The biggest issue with my stairs has been what to do with the tread? Let me back up- a few years ago, my husband and I were SICK of the nasty carpet on our stairs. It was old and stained. We toured a bunch of nice homes for Utah’s Parade of Homes and got the idea to tear out the carpet, and wallpaper and paint the stairs. Well, it looked beautiful! And then I decided to put on a coat of polyurethane to protect the wallpaper and everything turned a gross color of yellow and started bubbling. It was a total loss. But we lived with it for a few years. In the winter little paw prints show up from the snow and the air holes hold in dirt. Pretty much, they were a mess!

So last December, I decided to take off the polyurethane on the sides, paint those white and add a stair runner down the middle. My husband wasn’t a big fan of that plan, so my stairs have sat half unfinished for almost a year (face palm).SO embarrassing, right?! Well, once we decided to put laminate flooring in our home at the top and the bottom of the stairs, we thought we should put it on the stairs too. The problem is that I couldn’t find an inexpensive way to do this. My flooring does have a coordinating stair tread:
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How to Pack for Babies and Toddlers (with free Printable!)

Hi Friends! I have exciting news- tomorrow we are off on a vacation to California! We have a house sitter looking after our dogs and home and we will hop on a plane bright and early in the morning! A big highlight of the trip will be taking Don to Disneyland for the first time. My sister who lives in Ohio will also be there with her kids. I am SO excited!!! Just everyone hope that Don is good on the flight. The last time Don flew he was 11 months and not walking yet (which I am guessing makes a difference). He was so good on the flight and I am hoping that we will be as lucky this time. He has his own seat, so that should help.

Now back to the subject at hand- how to pack for kids. I am one of those weird people who likes to pack. I think that anticipating a trip is part of the beauty of traveling. For this trip, we have decided to try to not check any baggage. That means that we have to be SUPER smart packers. For that I decided to try out the EZ Packing system. I went with the starter set that includes 4 pieces. I ended up using the 3 smaller pieces for Don’s bag and the largest one for my bag.

To start off with, I gathered all of Don’s things he would need for the trip. I packed for 6 days plus 3 backup outfits because #toddlers. In the very smallest packing cube, I put all of his shirts. I love that they are all compact and together. Plus they are in there nice and tight so they won’t wrinkle (you know, like when you shove clothes in your suitcase and they all shift around).

I put the rest of this clothes (shorts, pants, jumpers, jacket, bibs, hats) in the next size cube.

The next largest cube I reserved for swim items. We are planning on lots of pool swimming, so we wanted to bring Don’s hooded swim towel. Towels are SO bulky to pack, but it worked nicely to have this on the bottom, and then layer on top his swim trunks, rash guard, reusable swim diapers, sunglasses, a light blanket and toys. I was super amazed at how much fit in this cube!

Baby Lit Books available here (Amazon affiliate link)

I was pretty sure that we would have to buy diapers in California, but spoiler alert, I got enough to fit! They got packed wherever there was extra space. We are also bringing a diaper bag which will have activities for the plane, extra diapers, wipes, travel sized toiletries, fever medicine, binkies, treats, a sippy cup, and passport. I love that the cubes are transparent so that we can easily find what we packed. I love opening the suitcase and seeing organization! You know, instead of having everything fall out. In the future, I would buy more of the small bins for myself so each outfit could take up one cube- it would totally make my organization dreams come true!

In a normal suitcase, I’d suggest packing these so that the bins are in your bag vertically, but Don’s odd shaped suitcase only worked with the bins in there horizontally. It works great, but here is a video the illustrates how to pack vertically if you have the space:

And guess what?! My friends at EZ Packing wanted to offer you a 10% discount! Just use the code Ashley10 at checkout.

I have created a free baby/toddler packing list, just fill in the below information and it will be emailed right to you. I love having a list of everything to consider packing so that I don’t miss anything! I hope this is helpful for you too!

I will be on my Instagram documenting my trip, so follow me there if you aren’t already!

This post was sponsored by EZ Packing. All opinions are my own. I really love how beautifully organized this helped my and Don’s bag be. I would 100% recommend this set to anyone.

p.s. want a free course on how to style your accessories to look amazing? Click below to get your free ecourse!