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Our “must haves” day isn’t so much about a particular item as it is an experience, and that experience is one we like to do quite frequently!  It’s a shopping day in downtown Franklin.  While it is right down the street, sometimes it is hard to carve out time to shop this fabulous little strip, but when we do it’s well worth the trip.  We recently went and enjoyed a great girls day in Franklin and shopped our old favorites, alongside some new gems we fell in love with.  Take a look at the finds we uncovered and let us know when you will be taking a day to enjoy all this little town has to offer!

This is one of our favorite new shops on Main!  We’ve visited the old location, but now its on the main drag so it’s super convenient to other fabulous shops.  Since the Shops on Main closed, we felt the diverse gift shop was lacking on Main Street, but fear no more, go visit The Tin Cottage!

How cute are these adorable candles made by Paddywax? Made right here in Nashville you can find these at the Tin Cottage.

Another fun find if you like to have your favorite herbs on hand.  Loving these self watering Eco-Planters at Tin Cottage.

We couldn’t stop laughing at these hilarious cards!!  Next time you want something unique to give, stop in the Tin Cottage and pick out a few of these.

Our next stop was White’s Mercantile where you can always find uniquely Nashville items.  This is a great stop for out of town guests, and locals alike, who want to bring home a little taste of Nashville!

Nothing says Tennessee like the GooGoo cluster!!!

We must have been hungry because this wall of Tennessee goodies definitely caught our eye.

 

Next stop… The Iron Gate.  This is an oldie but goodie, and we love to pop in whenever we are shopping on Main.  Check out this amazing acrylic and gold bar cart we found.  For $375 this is definitely a must have!!

Another fav for years is PD’s.  While off the beaten path from Main Street we always stop in here to see what new deals and steals we can uncover.  The prices here can’t be beat and you are always sure to find something you must have!!!

Finish off your shopping day by stopping in Gray’s on Main for a fabulous lunch and delicious cocktail.  The atmosphere in here is just as great as the food!!

 

We hope we’ve inspired you to take a day to visit the shops and restaurants in downtown Franklin.  Let us know if you find a new fav along the way!!!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and if you are like us, you are still trying to play catch up from the holidays, so this special day often gets overlooked!  Hopefully you’ll find today’s post helpful as we have found some fairly easy ideas you can pull off last minute and incorporate a little Valentine’s Day flair in your home.  Check out a few of these pictures we have posted to our Pinterest board and then head on over there to find even more inspiration on how to pull off a flawless Valentine’s Day look!

 

This was going to be our post this past Wednesday but we have been super busy lately and didn’t get around to posting.  So we thought why not make it into a Must Haves Friday post!!??

 

 

These fun containers are truly must haves in our pantries because we really need some organization there, particularly when it comes to all the food we purchase with growing boys in our families.  How often do you find you open a bag of chips and it goes stale or dumps out all over the shelves?  Sure you can use a little chip clip, but OXO containers are so much more streamlined and they keep your open food fresher longer!

Find a set of 5 for $49 at Bed Bath & Beyond.  Don’t forget to use a coupon!!!

Now let’s talk about the coffee situation.  It’s usually hot mess once the bag is opened up and there are coffee grinds falling out all over the place in our already crowded pantries.

 

These fabulous, clear glass containers, are pretty easy to find online.

Here are some from Amazon.

Add some amazing custom labels to make your pantry super organized.  Here are some similar to ours on Etsy.

So why not take this weekend and while you’re watching the Super Bowl, or not watching the game just the commercials….organize your pantry with some of these must have containers to make it look picture perfect….  and keep your food fresh and organized!!

 

Which of these ideas is your favorite?

So as you all know, we are focusing this month on getting our homes, and lives, organized!  Once you start getting things decluttered, you may noticed some deep cleaning is in order.  After the guests from the holidays have long gone, you might see some dirt and stains have been left behind on your floors.  We have hardwoods throughout the house, but if you don’t, or you have super light colored area rugs like we do, you may spot a few stains popping out here or there.  Well never fear, we have just the solution for you!  Don’t spend hundreds of dollars to have those carpets professionally cleaned, just rent a handy steam cleaner from your neighborhood Kroger!

We rented this steam cleaner the other day for just $34.99 and let us tell you, it’s so worth it!  For a super affordable price you can keep this cleaner for 24 hours and steam clean until your hearts desire. You can clean carpets, upholstered furniture, car mats, you name it, and get rid of those deep set stains.  However, there are some downsides to this do it yourself cleaning project.

 

A) You have to buy the solution….. not a bad inconvenience but it is extra money and a step you may not realize you needed…..

B) The steam cleaner is a little heavy and awkward to put into your car.  Make sure you have a big trunk to put it in and see if the sweet people who work at Kroger will help you get it in your car.

C) You can only keep it for 24 hours.  We would literally steam clean anything that sits still long enough, so for us it was hard to give it up the next day.

After all that we still feel like this is such a good deal it is totally worth it to go rent one again.  Just go up to the customer service desk at Kroger, give them your ID, and they will get the steam cleaner out for you.  It’s really simple to use, and if you are clean fanatics like us, you might actually have fun!!  If your carpets need a good deep clean, go try one for yourself.  Your floors will thank you!

Would you try steam cleaning yourself?

 

This month we are really focusing on getting our homes in order after the chaos of the holidays, and one easy way to do this is by purchasing a label maker.  We received one of these for Christmas and we have already been putting it to good use!  You may already have one yourself, but if you don’t, we would highly suggest this one…

 

You can find this on Amazon for just $29.99!

 

This label maker, from Brother, is super affordable and easy to use!  You can truly label anything that sits still long enough….  we know we have!!  So check out some of the ways we have used this must have tool, and get to labeling in your home.  You won’t believe all the ways you will use it!

 

Do you have spray bottles lying around you’ve placed a cleaner in?  Label them with these waterproof stickers to avoid using the wrong product!

 

What about extra hotel toiletries you ‘ve collected on your travels.  If you have an empty drawer, place them in containers and label them so they are easy to find for those out of town house guests.

 

Work from home or just need to organize your home office?  Labeling folders makes them look neat and keeps you from looking through endless stacks of papers.

 

Like the look of the glass spice bottles but want to have certain favorite spices displayed?  Label the bottles for an attractive and easy to access spice rack.

 

There are so many different ways to use this tool.  From labeling kids’ sippy cups and clothing, to labeling light switches in a new or rental home, you will find countless ways to use this around the house.  Once you have one, you will wonder how you lived without it!

Do you like to have things labeled in your home?

We all are guilty of it….. throw this sweater there, or stuff that toy there… it’s shoved in a closet so no one will know.  As you know, not being able to find things or see what all you have can be frustrating and stressful at times.  During the holidays it can be so busy that you seldom have time to keep things tidied up around the home, but don’t worry, we are going to focus our next several posts on how to help you get the order back in your home.  This is particularly important if you are looking to sell this spring or in the next several months.  So settle in and let’s get to purging these unwanted items so we can have our space back, and maybe even make a little money along the way!!!

 

Do you have a closet that looks like this????

Keep hangers and safety pins in an extra closet so you are able to hang up any unwanted clothing items you plan on selling.  Move the clothes to another closet, straight from yours, or the kids, closets instead of placing them in bins.  This keeps the closets neat, the clothes unwrinkled and saves you a step before you sell them!

 

Use bins and baskets you can easily label to keep less used items organized on the top shelves.  That way everything has a place and you can find these items when you need them!!

 

Spend some time going through old Christmas or winter decorations you’ve used in the past but maybe didn’t this year.  Styles change, and if you switched things out, don’t repack your unused items.  Sell or donate them!

For all you moms, consignment sale season is right around the corner.  Now that the kids are back in school, it’s a perfect time to go through and purge all those old toys you are ready to get out of the house.  Just make sure your kids don’t see you or you may wind up getting rid of nothing!

 

Organizing a closet is not a quick task, so spend some time during the day or on a weekend to really achieve a clean, organized space. The weather is cold, everyone is dieting, so now’s the perfect time to hole up and get to organizing.  You will thank yourself come spring!

 

What needs organizing in your home?

 

 

With the new year comes new design inspiration and there’s no better way to get this inspiration than looking at the Pantone color for 2019. This year’s color of the year is Living Coral. What is a Pantone color you may ask??? Well it’s a “proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric, and plastics.” (Via Wikipedia) Otherwise it’s the hot color of the year across all the industries! Here’s some ideas on how you might incorporate this eye popping color into your home decor this year.

The official Pantone swatch

 

Probably the most non committal way to add a little pop of this fabulous color…. Florals!!! Place a few faux florals in a vase on your coffee table or in your kitchen and it will instantly add gorgeous color to any room.

 

Another easy way to incorporate coral color is by placing a few pillows and throws around the house.  Comfy and pretty!!

 

Want to go big???  Try out this bold look in your home by using the paint color, or a coral colored wallpaper on the walls to make a big statement.

To see more of our living coral inspiration and for sources on all the photos, check out our Pinterest board here.

What do you think of the Pantone color of 2019?

 

Our must-have‘s Friday post today is all about fairy lights!  These tiny, twinkling little strands of light can add big impact when placed throughout your house this season! We love to use these lights year round, but there are certain places during the Christmas season you can really use them throughout your house to add warmth and sparkle to your decor. Pick these lights up at any craft store, as well as Target, Home Depot etc. and you will get big use out of them this season and throughout the year. We’re also including a quick DIY for making fairy light ornaments.  So check out some of our favorite ways to use these lights and pick some up for yourself. Trust us you’ll be glad you did!

 

Throw some in a bowl with some greenery and pretty ornaments.  Just cover up the battery case with some light colored ribbon!

Drap some over a headboard to give the room instant Christmas charm.  As a bonus, when placed in a child’s room, there is added light at night to fall asleep to!

 

When added to a kid’s Christmas tree, there is no electrical cords to worry about if you use a battery operated strand!

 

We spotted these gorgeous Christmas ornaments strung with fairy lights in a high end store and they were quite pricey.  Of course, we decided immediately to try to recreate the look ourselves.  Here’s a quick tutorial on how we pulled this look off and you can too for a fraction of the price!

We bought this box, (super banged up we might add!!), of glass ornaments from Joann’s for just a few dollars.

Pulled out the tops and pushed the fairy lights down into the ball.

 

Replace the tops and leave equal amounts of lights in between each ornament.  So easy and inexpensive!!!

We placed these on our white Christmas tree, but the possibilities are endless on where you can use these throughout your home!

Fairy lights….. must haves for Christmas and throughout the year!!

How will you use fairy lights this season???

 

It’s about time to start wrapping all the gifts and goodies we have purchased so far, and just like your tree, it’s nice to have your packages stand out as well. With so many options for pretty and unique wrapping paper, you can truly make your gifts a work of art. Raid the sales at local crafts stores to stock up on greenery and ornaments to adorn your packages and really get creative this season. They may just wind up looking so pretty your friends and families won’t want to open them. If you haven’t already purchased your paper check out some of these ideas we found on Pinterest and see if you might find some inspiration on how to make your packages stand out this season!!

Color pop with these blush hues.

Gold dipped paper feathers…..yes please!!!!

Recycle old fabrics lying around to save money and paper!

We Southerners go crazy for anything monogrammed!!!

Speaking of monograms, find these letter ornaments at any craft store to make the gift more personalized.

You know we love some good greenery!!  Clip some from your yard to make these gifts look and smell amazing!!!

Last but not least, in order to have a beautiful gift, you need to know how to tie a proper bow and why not take a lesson from the experts….. Tiffany’s!

We also have to give a shout out to our moms for teaching us, as little girls, how to wrap amazing gifts!! If you weren’t taught this it’s never too late.  For how to’s on all of these ideas and more, check out our Pinterest board here.

Which of these gorgeous gift ideas is your fav???