ROOM TOUR: LEAH’S MASTER CLOSET

My closet is finished!! I pretty much want to live the rest of my life in here, guys. Bye forever! The Home Edit organized and beautified my closet, nay, my life. I thought I had it organized really well before. Guess what? I didn’t. Joanna and Clea’s brains just work differently. They’ve revolutionized the business of home organizing, and I feel so fortunate to have them in my life! Do yourself a favor and check out their blog and instagram for daily inspiration. PS they’re also amazing human beings and friends, so there’s that. 
To top it all off, Chasing Paper so graciously gave us their gorgeous peel and stick wallpaper which gave the room a glamorous pop! I highly recommend Chasing Paper for an accent wall (though dreaming about papering my whole powder room in this print!!). Applying the paper was easy peasy. Sure, you have to work carefully, but the paper is VERY forgiving. If you mess up, simply peel off the panel and just reapply it. I did this multiple times with the same panel, and it 100% held up. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly. It’s awesome if you’re in a rental or if you just change your mind a lot! It peels right off and doesn’t damage the paint underneath.
All photos by The Home Edit.
Scroll down for links!
 This antique mirror was Jeffrey’s Grandmother’s. It was the inspiration for all of the gold details.
The shoe wall, you guys, the shoe wall! The Home Edit labeled each box simply with “heels” “sandals” etc. Because if they had labeled by brand, the whole closet would say “Target”.
I found THIS jewelry box at Target to display my Nana’s charm bracelet from high school. Special little details!
That large drawer on the bottom is actually a tilt out laundry hamper! Yes please.
Joanna and Clea found out that I was a jewelry hoarder. They slimmed everything down and organized the crap out of me. Drawer organization on their favorites page.
 I love that they found my Nana’s old glasses and displayed them alongside all of my keepsake/antique jewelry.
Organizing shirts by color = instant style
Jeffrey gets one little corner…. ha! He has zero clothes! I need to work on this.
So so so happy with my closet! Thank you The Home Edit and Chasing Paper!!
LINKS IN PINK
Organization and styling: The Home Edit
Wallpaper: Chasing Paper
Closet installation: Closets by Design
Chandelier: Joss and Main
Jewelry displays: Target
Clothing hangers: Joy Mangano
Storage solutions: The Home Edit Favorites
Mirror: Antique
Painters: CertaPro
All photos by The Home Edit
xo
– L

ROOM TOUR: ARI’S MODERN BIG BOY ROOM

You know when your kid gets to an age where all of a sudden they have super strong opinions on what their room should look like? Ari is 5 now and wanted rainbows and gold painted all over the walls with Harry Potter posters. This was not going to fly. BUT I think I pulled off a combination of rainbows, Harry Potter, and my love of black and white modern style. Now we’re both happy!! Scroll down for all sources and a free printable of the modern rainbow poster. 
Besides decoration ideas, the BIG problem to tackle was organization and storage. This is where Land of Nod came in big time! Jenni and I both fell in love with the acrylic bookcase! It’s just so clean and pretty and perfect for treasures. The Home Edit came over and styled with special books and toys to look like… you guessed it… a rainbow!
Land of Nod also came in clutch with these soft bins perfect for the abnormal amount of stuffed animals my son collects. I absolutely LOVE that they are soft. One or two actually live on my son’s bed so that he can sleep with all of his stuffed buddies without them constantly falling off the bed. 
I designed this abstract rainbow poster and have it for you as a FREE download! Yippee! I sent the file into Kinkos/FedEx and had them print it in an 18×24″ frame ready size. Scroll down for the link to download.
This might seem crazy, but I really wanted to make an art installation out of books. Ari loves books (and so do I!) but his old book shelf cubbies were getting a little crazy looking. I saw blogger, Freckles Chick‘s book shelves she used for her daughter’s room and knew that was the solution. I bought the 3.5″ deep shelves and installed them in rows. 6 of the 36″ and 3 of the 24″ shelves. Each row had one long, one short, one long to make three 96″ shelves. Then of course The Home Edit styled it for Ari so it looked like yet another rainbow!!
Our family is a BIT Harry Potter obsessed. Okay a lot obsessed. Luckily, we’ve passed our obsession to Ari. We came up with a “magic spell” to put him to sleep… and it really works! Dixie & Twine graciously made this “FALLIO ASLEEPO” sparkly banner for above his bed!  
SOURCES:
“A” wall letter – Ebay
“a” red letter – vintage
Gumball machine – vintage (my husband’s!)
Matchbox car holder – vintage printers box
Black paint – Behr Broadway
White paint – Behr pure white
FALLIO ASLEEPO!
-L

TURN YOUR KID’S ARTWORK INTO ART

A perfect art project for Teacher’s Appreciation Day or Mother’s Day. By simply taping the edges of fold-over notes, it creates a clean border for the chaos within. Then write your sweet note inside and send! Or make a few and bundle them together with twine and give as custom stationery. Step-by-step tutorial below.
WHAT YOU NEED:
acrylic or oil paints
paint brushes
masking tape or painters tape
foldover notes or cardstock
willing children
STEP 1:
Line up all notecards so that the sides are touching
STEP 2: 
Put one piece of tape down in between two cards just to save yourself time and supplies. Tape ALL edges down so that you have a tape border around each card.
STEP 3:
Have your kids fill each card with paint edge to edge. I like to choose the paint colors myself so that they turn out sort of nice no matter what! Start with warm tones, then cool, then have them finish with a clean skinny brush for a metallic paint. 
STEP 4:
Carefully peel off the tape and voila! A nice clean boarder that looks pretty enough to gift!
xo

TEACHER OF WILD ONES (FREE PRINTABLE)

Show your kiddo’s teacher some love with this free printable coffee mug! And throw in a gift card to Starbucks… because that’s what they really want! This is perfect for my preschool-aged kids. Trust me, they really are wild ones.
Scroll down for the link to download and to purchase the coffee mugs.
Simply print out the free download on cardstock, cut along the lines, and insert into the inner layer of the coffee mug (it just screws off really easily). It would be fun to have glitter or confetti in there too. Or you have your kiddo color the paper or put a photo in there… the options are endless.
For another free printable for teachers, click HERE!
Treat yo teachers!
xo

DALMATION WALL STENCIL | BEFORE & AFTER

      We recently purchased a fixer upper of our own, and have big plans for it. However, we are having to start small. One thing we did not have that I felt was an immediate need was a place to hang our jackets and bags and put our shoes. Our laundry room is the room we enter into from our garage, so I decided to make a small utility wall in there. The entire room is getting a makeover… new floors, cabinets, countertop, light fixture…. the works. Until then, I just needed a space to hang all of the crap that would make its way onto our sofa and living room floor. No Bueno!
    
 I recently became obsessed with all things dalmatian, and wondered how I could incorporate this print into my home. I just wanted that one scene stealing wall in my home. I toyed with doing removable wallpaper, but truthfully, it was a bit pricey for a laundry room. Also, what if I want something different in the future? I just didn’t want to deal with removing wallpaper. With stencils, you can use paint and just paint right over it and even use the stencil on a different wall if you want. The more research I did, I felt confident that I could handle doing a stencil… on my own….for the first time. Well, I was at least going to try. 
     
I came across the amazing stencils from Gypsy Mint, and fell. in. love! They were kind enough to send me their dalmatian pattern to try, and I could NOT wait to get it up on my wall. The best part was that they let me customize my stencil. They have such great designs ready for purchase, but customizing is their specialty, and it allowed me to get my stencil just the way I wanted it. I also really love this one for a little kids’ room as well as this one. They are just all so good friends!
 First, I had to pick the colors that I wanted to use. White is not just white, and black is not just black guys. I wanted a specific warm white with a softer black shade. I ended up going with BM’s White Dove and Space Black. Space Black actually looks like a true navy when it is put up against something black, but on the wall…. it is “black” and perfect! This was my wall before ( kind of). I may have gotten a little paint happy before snapping this photo. It was just a dark grey room with no windows that needed some serious brightening. 
The stencil comes with clear cut instructions on how to transform a wall in no time. I altered those instructions a tad so that I could work with what I had on hand rather than buying more supplies. For instance, I used painter’s tape to hold my stencil up rather than spray adhesive. It worked just fine. There was a little bleeding here and there, but I am such a perfectionist, that I was planning on doing touching up afterwards anyway. The stencil was extremely sturdy and such great quality!! I was really impressed!
From left to right: I placed my stencil in the center of my wall as instructed. Then, I got the paint on my mini roller. I used a mini roller cover for a roller handle I already owned. I used a knit roller, NOT a foam roller. I rolled over the stencil after getting as much excess paint off as possible. I didn’t want it to bleed underneath the stencil. It is really really important to go slow and not get impatient. SO. HARD for me. I left the stencil on while the first (very thin) layer dried enough for me to add a second coat. Then, I removed the stencil and just laid it down until I was ready to place it in the next space. The great thing about this pattern is that you can’t really mess up! There are arrows on the stencil to help you with placement, but if there were spaces that had less spots, I just went back and added them at the end. I did the edges of the wall very last. I got as many full stencil coverings as possible first. 
Here is what this tiny little Gypsy Mint box allowed me to create in my own home. I am obsessed with it, and it is by far my favorite thing to look at around my house. I can’t thank them enough!

For our coat hooks, we simply took 2 1×4 planks, stained them with our stain of choice, and after searching, purchasing, hating, returning, and searching some more for the perfect brass hooks…. Target saves me. Have you guys seen their new brass hardware? Sigh…. I love you Target!! I cannot wait to reveal the entire room with you guys here in the next few weeks. Sad to say, I spend a lot of time doing laundry. An efficient room that is pretty to look at is just a must!
Sources:
Stencil – be sure and check these ladies out! | Basket | Brass Hooks | Mirror  

MOTHER OF DRAGONS (FREE PRINTABLE)

Even if you don’t watch Game of Thrones (ummm ya need to get on that btw) you’ll understand the meaning of “Mother of Dragons”!! Here’s a little 5×7″ print for yourself for Mother’s Day. Just a reminder of what a tough job you have, and what an amazing job you’re doing! Scroll down for the free download…
This is my office slash hoarding print gallery wall!
Mother of Dragons black and white print HERE
Mother of Dragons green print HERE
Yo Momma card HERE
Grammar card HERE
Gilmore Girls card HERE
Happy Mother’s Day to yourself!
xo

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE TOFFEE BARK

You know when you’re eating something and every time you take a bite, you have to say how good it is? Even if you’re by yourself? Ooooooor is that just me? I think this crack chocolate salted toffee cracker will have you doing just that. Crunchy, rich, and sweet with a touch of salty. Since Passover starts Friday, we made ours with matzo, but you could certainly use Ritz crackers or Saltines.
Scroll down for the super simple recipe.
Rich bittersweet chocolate topped with fleur de sel
 
Sprinkles by Fancy Sprinkles!
This is the best baking investment you can make. I sprinkle this on every chocolate dessert I bake.
RECIPE
CHOCOLATE SALTED TOFFEE CRACK(ERS)
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
fleur de sel (or course sea salt)
6 sheets of matzo or your fav crackers
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
toppings – fleur de sel, toasted almonds, sprinkles, candy, peanut butter chips… the list goes on!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Cover tray with matzo, edge to edge.
3. Melt butter and sugar in a pan over medium heat til boiling. Boil 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and a large pinch of sea salt
4. Immediately pour over matzo and spread with an offset spatula. This will turn into a sea of bubbling toffee so it will sort of spread out naturally- don’t stress if it’s not perfect.
5. Bake 10 or so minutes until toffee is bubbly and brown. Watch or it will burn!
6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Cover loosely with foil. After 5 minutes remove foil and spread the now-melted chocolate chips evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with your fav toppings.
7. Put the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes until chocolate is hardened. Break into pieces and keep in a ziplock bag in the freezer. This will keep it from getting all melty… and hide it from view…
-L

YO MOMMA! MOTHER’S DAY CARD (FREE PRINTABLE)

Let the “yo momma” jokes begin! We’re keeping this one sweet though… 
This is totally our moms!! Starting a business and having that fear of “what if no one likes what I’m doing??” and mom is always there to the rescue on instagram and blog posts! Ha! Thank goodness for moms, right?! 
Happy Mother’s Day!
xo

RECIPE: DONUT CAKE

 This cake may look insane and tricky, but it’s the EASIEST cake you could make! Decadent? Yes. Delicious? Yes. Difficult? NOT AT ALL!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Buy a store bought cake or make one from a box… normally I’d say absolutely not, but when you’re going to cover it with donuts, you might as well. I made this one with an angel food cake box mix since that’s my mom’s fav and it was her birthday!
2. Buy plain or glazed donuts in regular and mini sizes from the store. Donut holes would have been really cute, but they didn’t have any that day. The minis were from a Hostess bag!
3. Make the glaze (recipe below). I divided the glaze up into three bowls and tinted them with food coloring
4. Pour the glaze just on top of the cake and let the sides drip down. Top with sprinkles and let dry.
5. Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze and top with sprinkles and let dry.
6. Pile up the donuts on top of the cake and secure with tooth picks. That’s it.
GLAZE RECIPE:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp butter, very soft
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbps hot milk
Mix all together. If the glaze is too thick to be drippy, add a little more milk. If it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar. Divide the glaze into three bowls with a little more glaze in the color you’ll use for the cake. The glaze dries pretty quickly so make sure to cover with saran wrap pressed to the top if you make ahead of time.

This is a great glaze for frosting sugar cookies too!

This would be so yummy with a chocolate ganache or caramel or peanut butter… yum the list goes on!
ENJOY!
-L

OUR FAVORITE WEDGES

Are you guys drooling over the selection of platforms and wedges out right now like we are? It seems like every time we browse the web or check IG, there is a pair calling our name. To be honest, when the seasons change and it is time to up your shoe game, it is often hard to splurge on trendy pieces that we just can’t see ourselves wearing in everyday “mom world”. What we love about wedges and platforms is that, unlike a heel, you could actually wear these out for a few errands with the kids, a lunch date with your girlfriend, or even a date night with your guy! It is a win win for us! We even love the idea of pairing the Teva platform sandal with your favorite workout leggings after the gym just to take your style up a notch. 
Here are some practical AND affordable pairs that we are swooooooning over….
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