Blog - at home with Ashley

Grocery Store Flower Experiment

I’m a flower lover. I think they are the perfect luxury- they aren’t too expensive, and when you have them, your home feels prettier, more inviting, and looked after and loved. Pretty much, I always have fresh flowers in my house.

flower quality

There’s all sorts of ways to buy your flowers- grocery store, from a flower shop, or you can buy a flower subscription service from a company like Enjoy Flowers. But is there a quality difference? I decided to buy a bouquet of similar flowers from both the grocery store and through the mail (I used Enjoy Flowers) and did what I call- the Grocery Store Flower Experiment! [Read more…]

How to Style your Home

Good morning friends! One of my goals with writing this blog is to encourage everyone that is it possible to have the home of your dreams! Today I am going to show you how to style four areas in your house. Arranging your accessories in a pleasing way is a really easy and affordable way to make your home look pretty in minutes! I will share with you the easy to follow formulas with videos that I’ve learned as a professional Interior Designer. I am so excited about this post and teamed up with Extra Space Storage to bring it to you. Here we go!

coffee table

How to style your coffee table…

Your goal with your coffee table is to have a decorated and practical space.

-Start with a stack of books. These should add a nice pop of color and be a reflection of your personality.

-Remember to add some height with a hurricane, candle stick, or greenary.

-A tray is the perfect coffee table accessory because it can corral decorations and remote controls.

-Adding in a quirky item (like a brass ram!) keeps your table from being too serious.

-A magnifying glass is perfect on your stack of books. A match box and a candle are another great set of functional additions for your coffee table.

Dining Room Plans

Happy weekend! I’ve had a few non home decor related posts lately, so I am excited to report that I’m back with a makeover plan!

the dining room

Last month we finished our kitchen and it’s no secret that I am in love with how it turned out! Right next to our kitchen is our little dining room. Since they are so close together, the dining room benefited from the kitchen updates with things like crown molding, white paint on the walls, and a bead board ceiling. Last fall, the floors were changed from tile to wood. So it’s safe to say that this room is a perfect blank slate! Here is how it is looking right this minute:

before

[Read more…]

What To Do when your House Tests Positive for Meth

this it the weirdest graphic I’ve even made. I didn’t want to search for “meth icons” so I just made it pretty- lol!

Last week, I shared the cute historic home that we’re under contract for. The house is perfect for our family- under budget, the right amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, lots of character, in a good neighborhood, big backyard. and tons of potential. But its old (built in 1905) so we paid a ton of money to get it inspected and tested for everything in the hopes that we’d know what we were getting ourselves into.

The test results started rolling in- everything looked great! The sewer, lead, radon- they all came back looking good. Sure, there were cosmetic issues, but the house was safe! So I posted about the home and figured I’d just have to wait 2 weeks and we could move in. And then a big test result came in- the house tested positive for meth. Yikes, right?! I definitely freaked out when I got that email. [Read more…]

At Home on Instagram Challenge

Hello, my name is Ashley and I’m addicted to Instagram- haha! Here’s a little overview with my relationship with Instagram. I started my account in September of 2015 with 0 followers and worked really, really hard to get my following up. In May of 2016 I’d grown my account to 3000 followers and now I have over 83k followers!

Here’s what I love about Instagram-

You can find people who love the things you love! I’ve found such good friends through the app. You can share glimpses into your life with people around the globe. Its fun to experiment with different looks and mediums! You can change out your signature colors! It’s fun and easy to try out new things.

how to grow your following?

[Read more…]

How to Save up an Emergency Fund

Hi friends! If you are new around here, once in awhile I like to talk about finances. A few years ago my family was in over $40k in debt! Paying off our debt was life changing and I am passionate about helping others to do the same so once in awhile I like to share some money tips. We worked really hard and skimped to pay every penny of that off. If you’re interested, here’s the post where I talked about how we did it (one of my most popular posts to date!).

Once our debt was all paid off, it was time to save for our emergency fund. We are following Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and here’s what he suggests:

baby steps

So steps one and two were done, but we were tired. We were super strict with our paying off debt years and sent every extra penny towards towards debt that we needed a break. We took a year off and guys, it was niiiice having some extra money! Honestly, that probably wasn’t the smartest move, but it’s what we did and it felt right during that time in our lives. Then something changed. Instead of it being about the money and not wanting to just sit on it, we got a big why and we saw our emergency fund as launching pad for a bigger life we want to live. So here’s some changes we took that put our savings into overdrive that would work for anyone: [Read more…]

Home Trend- Marble

I love talking about and embracing home trends! A little bit of the trend here and there can give you a fresh feeling in your home without needing to break the bank. Today I’ll let you in on some tips for using the home trend- marble. Here’s the thing about marble- it’s usually an expensive countertop material. But now that it’s a popular look, you can find it in affordable applications on everything from notebook covers to lamps.

My favorite ways to bring marble into your home

Marbled napkins– I love the choices of colors (let’s be honest- I want that pink one ASAP!) and how fun would they be in any kitchen?!
Flatware– For just the hint of marble, this flatware set is so fun! Plus you can’t get more functional that a fork with your favorite trend.
Marbled notebooks– If you are at all timid about trying this trend, start with a notebook. It’ll add the pattern and your notes will look so cute.
Wallhanging– I’m kind of obsessed with this wall hanging! It’s subtle and the perfect pink color. The wood frame warms it up. Yes please!
Marbled throw– K, how fun is this one?! Say yes to snuggles and marble- haha! This throw would add so much texture to a pain sofa and the colors are beautiful.
Brass lamp– I feel like this lamp is a piece that could go in anyone’s home. The warm brass with the white marble is stunning. And simple. Aka perfect.
Coffee Table– I know that this coffee table isn’t for everyone, but I want it! Again, brass and marble are bff’s and add the fun floral shape, it’s beyond pretty!
Marble Cheeseboard– at first glance, this cheeseboard is simple, but there’s the brass flourish detail that makes it interesting and luxe. Plus, if you have a cheeseboard, you get to eat cheese- that’s called a win win!

custom marble iphone case

So now that you clearly know my love of marble, I wanted to show you a few accessories that I have and love! First up is my custom iPhone case. I love pink something fierce and combine that with marble, well I couldn’t think of a better look. [Read more…]

How to Keep your House Cozy in the Summer

Have you heard of the Danish term Hygge? I’ve recently been hearing about it a lot and love the idea of it. Basically, it is the Danish ritual of enjoying life’s simple pleasures such as friends, family, and graciousness. In Denmark, the winters are long and dark so they embrace hygge as a way to enjoy life, even in the months when they are stuck inside. Now, some tips on how to keep your home cozy in the summer:

how to keep your home cozy in the summer

As I’ve been cleaning up our home after the big kitchen renovation, I’ve been trying to make it cozy or hygge and thought I’d pass on my best tips for doing so.

bring outside in

The beauty of summer is that flowers are fresh so cut some out of your garden and bring them inside! What I love about flowers is they are a simple pleasure- they are beautiful, the smell amazing, and they add color and literally life to your home.

Once a week I stop by either Trader Joe’s or the wholesale flower market and grab a bunch of my favorite in season flower. Flowers are cheapest when then are actually growing outside, so this is an easy way to treat yourself on a budget!

I have a small tip, when you bring home flowers from the store, they come in a plastic sleeve. When you are ready to cut your flowers to place them in a vase, cut the plastic sleeve in half. Then lay the flowers on the plastic and use it as a mini tarp. When you cut off the stems, they will fall on the sleeve. Then, when your flowers are in the vase, you just scoop up the plastic and you have a super quick clean up! The alternative is stems all over your counter top, sink, on the floor- not that I’ve ever done that 😉

[Read more…]

Deck Refresh

Last year we did a full deck reno- completely redoing the flooring, painting, putting up lights, redoing the furniture. This year, we just needed to do a deck refresh after a long winter. The truth is that I wasn’t 100% happy with how everything looked and there were a few projects I wanted to tackle.

The awesome and hard part of working on a house is that it is never done. Above all, I love that I am free to let a space evolve with my needs and taste as time goes on! So if you ever have a room that’s supposed to be “done”, but you don’t love it, this is my permission that it’s ok to go back and perfect things until you like them.

overview

After working on our kitchen, I was ready for a long break from house projects, but our deck was so sad that I decided to commit one weekend to revamping it. Our deck is right off our living room and overlooks the condos in our complex. There is a big tree that blocks most of other condos and we have a pretty view of the Great Salt Lake. During the warmer months we love to hang out here at night! It’s our only outdoor space so we try to get the most out of it. Here’s a picture of last year’s deck project-

rug

I tried hard to love the rug we used last year, but the color was all wrong and just too bright for me. I’ve had my heart set on the Mohave indoor/outdoor rug from Target, but it’s been sold out for months. Finally, I checked the website and saw 2 available and I bought one SO fast! I just love the colors and vibe of this rug. It has a little yellow that brings in the color of the siding and the mint and pink really pull the whole deck together. It even has grey that pulls in the color of the deck carpet.

[Read more…]

How to Organize Letterboard Letters

how to organize letterboard letters

Good morning friends! My new favorite item to use to decorate my house with is the white letterboard by Heidi Swapp. I love using it with my favorite quote (or silly saying) to give personality to my home. The possibilities are endless!

The down side to the letterboard is the letters. When you buy the letters, they are in a clear box so you have to sort through each letter to find what you need. It takes forever and isn’t fun! Sometimes you have to go through the letters multiple times which can make you crazy! I was determined to come up with a solution so I could have my cute letterboard and be organized! [Read more…]