30 Days of DIY (aka, Martha Stewart is my Hero)

March 6, 2015 Megan Hauver

I think Martha Stewart is one badass bitch. She has so many characteristics that are stereotypically feminine: she cooks, she sews, she gardens, she models, she plans parties. She may seem like the stereotypical homemaker, but she was a stockbroker, is also an author, has her own TV shows, and runs a multimillion dollar company. Oh, and she went to jail.

Sand&Sunshine

February 20, 2015 Megan Hauver

My family has been going to Hilton Head as long as I can remember. Some of my favorite memories were made there.

We played in a lot of holes, climbed on a lot of lifeguard stands, made a lot of pyraminds, and friended the snowball stand lady and Cappy the clown.

The past two years Josh & I have gone down to Hilton Head over President's Day weekend. In 2014, Baltimore was smothered with two feet of snow the day we were supposed to leave, and our flight was cancelled. Determined to escape the tundra, we rented a car, skidded through Richmond, and drove to Hilton Head.

This year, we made it to Hilton Head with only a few hours of flight delays. The island has changed so much since we were kids, and my favorite change is the beach club.

Josh and I sat on the deck and sipped on wine and snacked on tuna tacos by the fire pit.

After lunch, we walked down to the beach to enjoy the sun & sand.

This sweater was the perfect weight for this weather. The fabric is heavy, but the weave is open, making it warm and airy at the same time.

I can't wait to go back this summer and make more memories.

Valentine's Day

February 2, 2015 Megan Hauver

The first month of 2015 just flew by! I had been planning to do a Valentine's Day post, but it really snuck up on me.

Now February is here, and Valentine's Day is right around the corner. No matter who your valentine is, you want to give them something special. But with time flying by, it can be stressful trying to find the perfect present.

I've rounded up gifts for homebodies, busy bees, jetsetters, foodies, and the homesick honey to help find the perfect gift for your valentine!

For the Homebodies:

Wildfox Lace Robe ($138) - High Tea Pot & Teacups ($50 & $15) - Produce Candles ($20)

Austen Heller loafers ($195) - Chemex Glass Coffee Maker ($35) - Pendleton Merino Throw ($129)

For the Busy Bees:

Get it Done notepad ($8) - Bkr Bambi Heart Bottle ($35) - Empowered all-in-one Bag ($175)

This is Ground Mod Laptop ($575) - StickR TrackR ($25) - Stainless Steel Tumbler ($17)

For the Jetsetters:

This Is Ground Bandito Lifestyle Roll ($85) - Lo and Sons The OMG ($275)- Tory Burch Fit Bit Flex ($175)

Daniel Wellington Classic Exeter Watch ($195) - Ted Baker Messenger Bag ($365) - Bedphones ($60)

For the Foodies:

Cake Baking e-Class & Baking Kit ($20 & $95) - Iconic Cook Book set ($295) - Staub Mini Cocotte ($185)

Handblown Decanter ($225) - DIY Deluxe Hot Sauce Kit ($35) - Osetra Gueldenstaedtii Caviar ($200 / 50g)

For the Homesick Honeys:

The Wire, the complete series ($96) - Faidley's Crabcakes ($13.95 each) - Route 1 Apparel MD Flag Shorts ($35)

Dazed & Confused ($9)- Salt Lick BBQ Essential Grill Set ($60)- The Lone Stars Chubbies ($60)

Happy Valentines Day Darlings!

Neutral Living

January 25, 2015 Megan Hauver

When I moved out of my parents house after college, I was excited about two things: living by the avenue in Hampden and decorating my new bedroom. This bedroom was just going to be occupied by me, so I really embraced all things pink. My lamps, my sheets, my blankets, paintings, pillows, benches, all of it was pink.

We then learned that we were able to paint the walls. Since I was turning this room into my pink oasis, I painted my walls "tropical dream."

wall color - duvet cover - sheets - lamp - beside table - chevron bench - painting - alpaca throw - pillow - chair

But then my boyfriend and I decided to move in together and I realized that he may not appreciate pink as much as I did. I also realized that he needed a place to put his clothes, and my clothes were already spilling out of the closet.

We just moved into our new loft apartment, and the majority of the pink went into the mudroom/closet/proof that I have too many clothes.

The toughest part of neutralising the once-pink bedroom was my budget. I tired to go to pinterest for inspiration, but apparently I only pin things I could never afford.

The first thing we did when redesigning our bedroom was decide what was going to stay. Luckily, I hadn't gotten my navy duvet cover monogrammed yet (apparently people don't like it when everything in their house, including all the wine glasses and coffee mugs, have somebody else's monogram on it). We also kept the bronze bed that was passed down from my mom and the bronze side tables.

We also decided to swap mint for a darker emerald green to accent the navy and bronze items we were keeping.

On to the swap: I said good bye to my pink Southern Tide sheets for a navy striped sheet set from West Elm.

The hot pink blanket was moved to the living room in favor of a green cashmere throw.

The "get it girl" pillow was very appropriately moved to my "you have too many clothes" room. I have been eyeing this palm pillow from Society Social for a while, so I was very excited when we decided to go with green.

This is where it started to get hard. The best option was to get new lampshades, but the cords of the lamps are also hot pink. Instead of going from very pink to less pink, we opted for marble lamps from West Elm with brass accents.

One Kings Lane is my favorite place to get furnishings. I got this painting off the app in the summer, and I got the mirror that took its place from OKL too.

I use the chevron bench to store my sweaters in the summer and my bathing suits in the winter, so it made sense to move it with the rest of my clothes. A navy bench took its place at the end of my bed.

My mint chair is actually my desk chair, and we didn't have room for the desk in our new bedroom. We do have room for a chair and a small side table, and this striped chair (also from OKL) is perfect.

We can't paint the walls in our apartment, but if we ever can, I think this navy is dreamy. I'd love to do an accent wall with gray stripes. Dream catcher from Behr seems appropriate for the stripes.

Lastly, we got a few new things to fill empty space. We got more throw pillows for the bed (you can never have enough pillows and throw blankets) and a table for the striped chair. Our apartment is a loft, so we have very high ceilings and 8-ft windows. While that's great, it came at the cost of zero overhead lighting. They figured if nobody could reach the ceilings to change light bulbs, why bother installing it. We quickly found that lamps are your best friend, especially in the winter when the sun sets before I even leave work, This brass lamp from Pottery barn is the perfect lamp disguised as a tabletop accessory.

The final product is still coming together, but we will have a much less pink and much more neutral home.

accent wall - pillow bench - duvet cover - pillows (palm, stripes, caps, lumbar) - marble side table - chair - gold side table - wall color - cashmere throw - gold lamp - marble lamp - mirror - sheets

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Watch Out!

January 13, 2015 Megan Hauver

I was told some pretty crazy things in lower school.

"High school teachers won't accept assignments if they aren't in cursive." "You can't come into school until you have given a proper handshake." "Green and blue nails will never be acceptable."

Well, I'm pretty sure my high school teachers would've hated me if I turned in assignments that were handwritten in cursive instead of typed, and Essie has pages on their website dedicated to blue and green polish. Their handshake rule may have served me well, but it wasn't much fun as an eight year old.

Learning to tell time wasn't so fun either.

But time isn't a fun concept when you're young. It's all, time to go to go to bed and maybe when you're older (and no, a few minutes older doesn't count).

Now there are happy hours and time to go to bed (horray, sleep)! Both of which are important things that you don't want to be late for.

To celebrate all the things in life that you don't want to be late for, I've rounded up some of my favorite watches and trends to share with you!