5 Life Lessons From My Mom

It's crazy you never know how much you need your mom until you become a mom yourself. Or maybe this was just the case for me. Becoming a mother 8 years ago opened my eyes up to just how much my mom did for me growing up. My mother was a single parent who was always there and available to me, she made parenting look easy. Looking back now, I still don't know how she did it. But she did! and she did it well! 

My mother has taught me so many things. Aside for that, I have learn so many things by just watching and observing her. The lessons I have learned can be applied to everyone and today I wanted to share a few of them:

Independence is Golden

My mom taught me how to be a go-getter, not only in her words but through her actions. Having independence is so important in life. At the end of the day we are responsible for our own life's journey. Independence is a huge part of life and being able to stand on your own two feet without help is invaluable. 

Kindness Rules
My mom has the biggest heart. She is known for her kind and loving spirit. I have always strived to have her same spirit. I have seen where others are willing to go above and beyond for my mom just off the strength of who she is. How amazing is that!

Help Out, Even When it's Inconvenient
It's easy to help others when it doesn't put much of a strain on ourselves. However, what about helping someone when it's not convenient? My mom is the queen of this...I mean super self-less! The help that she offers just means so much more because of this. She even takes it a step further by helping without expecting anything in return. She is the truest example of this.

 It's Not What You Say, it's How You Say It
How many times have you had to tell someone something that they may not be receptive to? I'm sure you can think back on a time of an uncomfortable conversation that you have had to have with a friend or family member. Knowing how to deliver these talks is my mom's specialty. She has always taught me to use the 'Love Sandwich' .... what's that you may ask...well, it's giving good news, followed by bad news, wrapped up with good news. Trust me it works. I love that my mom is sensitive enough to other's feelings that she puts effort into how she delivers news.

Once you Commit, Dedicate Yourself
You don't have to commit to do everything, but if you do commit to something, give it your all. My mom has taught and shown my that giving a 110% is a requirement. I have watched her sign up, pitch in and lend a hand all my life. She always done it with full effort and a smile on her face.

Now can you tell how awesome my mom is?? ...and today I will honor her with a few small gifts and her favorite meal. This table set up is for her and my mother in law.

Share with me, what are some life lessons you have learned from your mom?

Style Crush: W - Atlanta Buckhead

I'm back with another round of Style Crush and today I'm feature W Hotel in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA).

Over the weekend I spent time with one of my sisters for her birthday. It is our birthday tradition to get a room for our birthday and have a girl's night. We have been doing this for a few years now. It's a way for us to relive our college dorm room days. Sometimes we go out and sometimes we just sit around and talk to catch up.

I couldn't help but grab a couple snaps of the room we stayed in. I was super inspired by the decor and it gave me some ideas on some style challenges I have been facing.

One challenge I have been having is rugs,specifically, the best rugs to use with sectionals. I love the use of this round rug with the sectional.

I love how this rugs breaks up the boxy feel of the sectional. I will be on the lookout now for the perfect large round rug to fit my sectional. I think it's a great way to add a little interest.. I'm wondering why didn't I think of this in the first place.

One thing I'm switching around is my house if the use of gallery walls. I love a good gallery wall, but I think larger pieces are more my style. I love the use of this large print over the couch.

I'm not particularly in love with the print, but I do love the gold foil. Now let's talk about this gorgeous door.

I am in love with this door. I guess you would call it a modern barn door. Barn doors are all over the web now-a-days. I never thought it was quite for me until I saw this modern version. I love the frost glass with the white overlay. One problem we have is privacy on our back deck. I would love to update my sliding door with this treatment. It will still allow light in while giving privacy.

 Lastly, I have been considering converting my home office into a guest bedroom. I love how they added this workspace to the bedroom. This would be the perfect solution for me.

All in all, I loved the design of this suite. Lighting was an issue so I wasn't able to capture the best pictures or the ones that I wanted.

So what do you think of this space?  What design challenges do you find solutions in the places you visit?

Ready, Set, Organize: Build A Wall Command Center

Command Centers are all the rage now-a-days. I'm pretty late to the train but glad I finally got on board. About 8 months ago one of my friends gave me the suggestion of making a command center. I saw many on Pinterest that were super cute, I had a blank wall, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Over the past 6 months I have slowly been turning my hallway wall into a command center. What is a command center you may ask: Well the best I way I can explain it is that it's a go-to area for mail, calendar, to-go list, notes, memo, etc. Think of it as the business hub of your home.

Some things that were necessary for my command center was a calendar, pin board, mail area, and a clock. I wanted to stay on a small budget with this thing so I was careful in my planning and purchasing. To add a bit of jazz to this command center I used chalkboard paint as a background for the wall. This was my first time using it and I love it!

I painted the wall about 6 months ago and my daughter and her friends have had a good time drawing and writing on it. Here's how I addressed the area of my command center

Mailboxes:
Our kitchen counter is generally covered with mail. To address that I decided we would have a dedicated area for mail. I had some thrifted file folders on hand that I figured would be good to hold mail. I spray painted them bronze and turned them on their side. They were a dollar a piece..talk about bargain!

Calendar:
Although it is only 3 of us in the house, we have quite a busy schedule. Keeping up with dates can be somewhat of a challenge, so having a calendar is a must. Since this is a wall command center I knew it would need to be oversized. I purchased a desk calendar from Target for about $8 that fit perfectly.

Notes/Memo:
Our daughter gets a million little notes and reminders from school. I knew a pin board would be needed to keep all this together. I used small corkboard squares to gather all of the random notes we get. Another thing that is important is to just leave messages in general for each other. We don't always work the same schedule so leaving reminder messages on the board is a great way to quickly pass a reminder.


Clock:
Time management is a must in every house. The message board is right outside of the bathroom. We all tend to use the same shower, although we have more, we favor the water pressure and size of our daughter's bathroom. In the mornings, we easily lose track of time. Now we have a clock right where we need it! ....when I ran across this clock in Target's clearance section, I knew I have to have it! I love it! Can you tell?

Lastly, I added this bowl I found at Goodwill $3.00 to collect pens, pins, dry erase markers, chalk and anything else we need.

Putting this wall together was a blast! Loved-loved-loved doing it! Truth is, I am so unorganized that I need this in my life. It's a shame it took 6 months to get this done, this easily could be done over the weekend. But hey, it's done now!

Here is how it all looks together!

Now that is is all finished, we have been enjoying using it!