Friday Fashion Fix: LOFT love

As much as I loved being pregnant, I am happy to have a waist again and to be able to hit up some of my favorite stores for some shopping.

Recently, I popped into LOFT and was ooh-ing and ahh-ing all over the place.
Here are some things from the store that I am loving:

Wallpaper Floral Maxi Dress

Floral Print Spaghetti Strap Romper

Paisley Lace Top

Seersucker bustier dress

Scallop Cotton Eyelet Tee

Eyelet stripe softened shirt

Never ever pay full price at LOFT!
They always have some kind of sale going on or about to start.
Right now for example, dresses are 40% off!

Also, LOFT now has a collection called Lou & Grey.
The style is simple, easy, and relaxed. Just how life should be in the summer, right?

Striped Chambray Dress

Stripe Tee Dress

Sunset Sweater

Chambray engineer shirt

Hint of lace sweatshirt

Linen Blush Moto Jacket

Have a great weekend!
- Caitlin

The big 3-0!

I'm taking a break from blogging today to celebrate turning 30 with a manicure, some shopping, a sushi date with Chris, and a cocktail! 

Oh, and of course some snuggle time with baby Charlie.

I'll be back on Friday :)

'Til then...

- Caitlin

Monogram it.

What is it about a monogram that makes something instantly cuter?
I purchased these ones below from Jane.com for about five bucks with the plan to add them to a few different things.
The deal has since ended but similar ones can be found here, here, and here on Etsy.

It was so easy to do.
Peel and stick. That's it.

I added them to this glass coaster:

...this small dish:

...and this large vase:

Here's the vase on my nightstand:

I'm using the small dish in my closet to hold my wedding rings.

And the coaster is on this side table in our bedroom for my water glass:

It was a good thing I only had three of the decals because I easily could have gotten carried away and stuck them on practically everything around the house!

They can be added to a coffee mug, lap top, cell phone case, picture frame, bumper, etc.

Endless possibilities.

Happy Monday :)

- Caitlin

Elephants for Erin

If you follow The Picket Fence Projects on Instagram, you might remember me sharing this centerpiece from my husband's cousin's baby shower:

So cute, right?

Well, my sister-in-law helped put it together and gave me a bunch of the extra elephants (which came from this Etsy shop) for a little project I wanted to make for his cousin Erin.

I arranged the elephants in a pyramid facing different directions and just taped them down.

As for the background, I used one of my free Farrow & Ball wallpaper samples that I posted about before here.

Here it is framed:

Erin is expecting a baby boy very soon and I think this elephant art will fit in with nursery's decor based on some things she's registered for:

RH Baby & Child

RH Baby & Child

RH Baby & Child

Isn't Restoration Hardware's baby line so sweet?

Have a great weekend!
- Caitlin

One line a day...

Our first week with baby Charlie flew by!
Everyone says it will go by fast so I want to cherish and remember every moment because I know I'll blink and soon he will be walking running through the house.

So, I've been using this memory book, Mom's One Line A Day, to record each day's exciting happenings (Charlie slept for 5 hours straight last night, we had our first lunch out as a family, turns out dad is better at changing diapers than mom, etc).

The memory book, which can be purchased here, is unique in that it only has space for you to write a sentence or two down a day (which is perfect for me because a. I don't really like to write and b. it's a manageable amount to record versus writing paragraphs each day).

It is also a five year memory book so that you can look back at one particular date over the course of several years and see how things have changed.

Speaking of Charlie...

This kid sleeps a lot (not complaining) so I was happy to be able to snap a picture with his eyes open!

Oh, and if you're not a mom, but like the idea of the 5 year memory book, they sell this one as well.

A quick thank you to Jenn from Clean & Scentsible for choosing our DIY bookshelves as one of her 11 DIY home projects picks from May's Inspiration Exchange!

Have a great day :)

- Caitlin

My most recent mantel makeover

Sitting on the living room couch a lot lately feeding baby Charlie has caused me to stare at our mantel and realize how overdue it was for a change.

So while the little one was napping, I freshened it up with a quick makeover using things I already had. 

I know, I know. "Sleep when the baby sleeps." 

I couldn't help myself though.

Here's what I came up with:

I wanted to keep the mantel simple and neutral (obviously!) with a hint of summer.

To the right, I put some peonies from my mother-in-law in a Pottery Barn vase we used as centerpieces at our wedding. 

The conch shell is one of my hints of summer.

The "S" book is from Anthropologie and can be found here.

On the left side, I have this silver Target lantern and sprig of greens cut from outside in a Pottery Barn vase also used at our wedding.

I pulled these summery books from our built-ins to raise the height of the vase.

And here's one more hint of summer. This coral was originally in our bathroom.

I love rotating things in our home and seeing how they take on an entirely new look in a different space.

To see other looks our mantel has boasted since living here, you can visit here, here, here, and here.

Thank you to Kristen from Ella Claire for choosing our nursery progress as one of her favorites from the May link party!

- Caitlin

A trip to the general store

I love a small business success story and Brook Farm General Store, originally a Brooklyn-based husband and wife shop, has an inspiring one that you can read about here.

My husband stumbled upon their website when he spotted their rosewood anchor pocket knife and once he shared it with me, I was immediately drawn to their aesthetic and classic but cool home decor and accessories.

Below are some of my picks from their website:

(starting at the top, from left to right)

1. mini dust pan and brush 2. linen napkin 3. beach sign 4. recycled whiskey glass

5. rosewood folding knife 6. cotton wash cloth

7. enamel tumbler 8. WC sign 9. cotton duck shower curtain 10. cotton baby blanket
11. arrow sign 12. porcelain ice cream cone 13. stainless steel straws 14. number plates

Time to fill up my shopping cart!

A quick thank you to Emily A. Clark for choosing baby Charlie's nursery as one of her Saturday 6!
- Caitlin