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Life Lately On InstagramBotanical Art / Runner / Lights / Door: Ozark Shadows BM / Walls: Swan White Glidden

Hope you had a good “spring forward” weekend!  I have actually been having one of those busy weeks/months/weekends (all of the above) where everything was colliding and deadlines happened all at once.

I was out of town last weekend, so I spent this week and weekend mostly trying to catch up again. But, that’s what’s it is like sometimes when you own your own business. You can go away, but the work doesn’t! I just need to press through and get it all done and then I’ll love my job again. :) Ha! Honestly, though, I love my job even when it is a busy season.

Do any of you own your own businesses? Any bloggers? I’d love to hear what you do in the comments!

Many of you seemed to enjoy the post where we shared a variety of snapshots from our family’s Instagram accounts, so we thought we’d make it a semi-regular thing! I don’t want to promise that I’ll keep a schedule because in ten years of blogging I haven’t been able to keep up with a schedule very often, ha. But, I’m thinking semi-regularly on Sundays I’ll do a round up of our Instagrams and sometimes even other informal home and family updates that we haven’t shared anywhere else.

I want to keep you all in the loop. I feel like social media expectations have gotten a bit out of control lately, so I really like posting here best. :) You guys are my favorite.

I ordered new framed botanical art for our entry hall and I just love it! It brings in just enough green to interest to make our entry feel more complete. You can get a look in the top photo, I’ll show more soon.

Life Lately On InstagramMug Rack / Kitchen Details

Jack is all smiles about the new kitchen. He seriously loves it. I think he felt excluded from the kitchen when the contractors were here, so now he wants to be in there because he can. He’s a funny dog. Do you follow him on Facebook? You can find his adventures here.

Life Lately On InstagramCurtains / Quilt Lamp & Mirror: Ashley Home Store / Striped Pillows / Polka Dot Pom Pillow / Basket

My girls and I worked on a fun project this weekend for the launch of my new book Simple Decorating. Apparently Amazon has already released the book, but we’ll still have an official launch to celebrate closer to April 1st.

Life Lately On Instagram

On Fridays both of my girls come over to work with me and so all four doodles were at our house. They had a blast sprinting through the yard together, it was doodle heaven. But because our weather hasn’t been good, they got super muddy and every dog had to have a foot bath before they could come inside.

Life Lately On InstagramRattan Daybed  / It Is Well Sign / Cable Knit Rug / Leather Couch

 It was crazy around our house, but the dogs really love playing together!

Life Lately On InstagramWall sconce

I shared a little video this weekend on my Instagram story of my wood and glass diffuser that plays music. You might have seen it in my house before. This diffuser is amazing, it makes me feel like I’m at a spa every day. You can read about the products I use and why I recommend them and get a diffuser kit of your own here.

Life Lately On InstagramRattan Daybed / Velvet Charcoal Pillows / Other pillows mostly HomeGoods & Target

This is Lily’s spot every single day. I can’t blame her, I’d be there all day, too, if I could!

Life Lately On Instagram

The cutest measuring cup stopped us in our tracks in Anthropologie downtown last week. My girls each got one. I wish I got one, so it’s on my wish list now.

Public Service Announcement: I just discovered Anthropologie is also selling Rifle Paper Company oven mitts and aprons. YES.

Life Lately On Instagram

God paints such lovely skies and landscapes outside our window every day and every evening. It’s always different, always changing. It reminds me to pause and appreciate the beauty right in front of me!

Life Lately On InstagramPhoto from my daughter Kylee’s InstagramDoormat / Rifle Paper Co & Keds Shoes

We are working on giving you a peek of our side patio (the one outside of our kitchen Dutch door). It’s still not done yet, but this Friday on the blog I have a little post I’m doing with Birch Lane where you’ll see how the Dutch door and white brick looks from outside the kitchen. In case you’re wondering, I think it’s looking cute, even though it’s not all done :).

Once our weather is more cooperative I’ll be outside sipping coffee and planting pots out there every morning, I’m sure of it. Has spring arrived where you are yet?

Life Lately On InstagramPhoto from daughter Courtney’s Instagram / Sofa

So, Leo (Kylee’s pup and Bella’s “brother”) is getting bigger! He still hasn’t had his first puppy haircut so his hair is quite fluffy. Clearly he’s still as darling as ever, though.

Life Lately On InstagramStriped Bench

And speaking of darling, Jack has already claimed our new dining room bench for his own. Honestly, as you can probably tell, he makes himself at home all over the house.

So my goal for this week is to get back to giving more details about my kitchen! You guys had so many great questions and I’d love to answer them. Talk to you soon!

Life Lately On Instagram

You can follow along with our Instagrams below:

The Inspired Room // Dwell Well Collective // Jack the Goldendoodle // Doodles at Home // Kylee // Courtney

24 Comments

  1. Debbie

    Hi, Melissa. So many sweet pics and even sweeter happenings. Looks a lot like our home on any given weekend! We also have two young adult daughters and spending time with them is just THE best. I’m only brave enough to have one dog, a very sweet Airedale Terrier named Ellie. Your pups crack me up — SO much personality and cuteness! And the sunsets in our little corner of the world here in Virginia have just been stunning too as of late. Perhaps it has something to do with the unusually warm springlike weather we’ve been enjoying (she says even as a huge March snow storm is coming tomorrow! :( ) Anyway, just stopping by to say thank you for sharing your home and days with us. I am such a fan! You truly inspire me as I learn to love the home I have.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thank you so much, Debbie! I’m just so happy to have read your comment. When I read comments it really makes it all the more fun to share, I feel like I get to find out a little bit of your world, too! I hope you don’t get snow! YIKES! I’m ready for spring. Let’s get that show on the road! :) Thanks again.

  2. Linda

    Love seeing all the dogs!

  3. D.

    Too cute! The photo of Leo sprawled on the sofa like a stuffed animal is adorable. With the white corner of the pillow behind him, at first I thought he was wearing a party hat! When you mentioned the 4 pups having a footwashing before coming in – I was wishing for a photo of that too – sound like a “good time was had by all”. (all dogs, that is).

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Ha, well next time we will try to grab a phone and get a snapshot of that bathtub chaos. It was quite a sight! :) Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Julie

    Oh my gosh I love doodles – they look for all the world like teddy bears! My sister has one, and I don’t see her very often so seeing your doodles make me smile even more :-) We’ve had the worst heatwave since records began here in eastern Australia, but now it is Autumn and I can tell you that I am enjoying it even more so than spring at the moment! We don’t get snow (or frost) where I live, so autumn is a great time to plant in the garden – there’s lots of coffee sipping and pottering outside going on!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      It is always funny to me that we are on opposite seasons, autumn sounds like a dream to me right now, too. ENJOY IT FOR ME!

  5. Peggy

    Hi–love your blog! You make us all feel like we are sharing a cup of coffee in your new kitchen looking out at the view:) I am not a blogger, but work full time for a non-profit called the Academy of Science of St. Louis. I have the best job organizing hands on science field trips for teens, leading one of the largest science fairs in the nation (4,500 kids from over 200 schools), and have organized a yearly BioBlitz (since 2006) which studies the biodiversity in urban parks (cataloging over 1,000 species). At the end of the day, love reading your blog posts to get inspiration for my home which is a 1946 brick cottage (still need to tear out the pink and black tile!). Your blog has kept me company during sleepless nights when my son has been deployed to Afghanistan (twice). I stay away from the news and read your blog and your books!, click on links and keep the worry away – love your upbeat writing:)

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thank you, Peggy! I’m so glad you enjoy your visits here. That makes me happy!

  6. Heather

    Just wanted to let you know I love these kinds of posts!! Also super appreciate your Rifle Paper pot holders at Anthro tip–so cute and I’ve been looking for a new pot holder! Am going to pop over to U-Village to pick one up. That measuring cup is so tempting too :)

  7. Anna

    Hi Melissa! Just wanted to say that I love your blog, love your dogs, and love your home. :) It always looks so nice and relaxing, the perfect place to get away from the world. And I completely understand what you mean about your work waiting for you – I also own my own business so I spend what seems like all my time working on it in one form or another. Although it’s also nice being able to travel or take a “vacation” whenever I want to!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Oh yes, it sure is nice having that flexibility to come and go at will! I love having my own business. Even though it is sometimes a big responsibility, there is still so much freedom. :)

  8. Taste of France

    Anthropologie is brilliant at turning everyday items into little works of art/beauty. Because why not use a pretty painted ceramic measuring cup instead of an ugly plastic one?
    “Come as you are” is McDonald’s advertising slogan in France.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      I agree, why not use things of beauty? And that McDonald’s slogan made me laugh. Here in Seattle “Come As You Are” was an extremely popular song by the local band Nirvana!

  9. Lisa McCracken

    Hi Melissa! Your blog is truly my favorite and I look forward to every single post! It almost seems like you are interacting with us and not just writing words and descriptions. Does that make sense? Ha! Instagram is fun, but I will take a blog post over social media any day. So many blogs have gone by the wayside and it makes me sad. I love your style and your house is so simply beautiful and you are so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your journey with us and inviting us in to your home.

    P.s. I LOVE that you allow your dogs on the furniture! :)

  10. Susan

    Hi Melissa! Just wanted to vent about the company Rejuvenation. I loved your kitchen hardware so much, I was planning on copying them. So, I ordered one of each knob to see how they would look against my cabinets. When I went back to order more of the Lidos and Cowan, the company actually raised the price! And not by merely a couple of dollars! It feels like price gouging, and that really bothered me. Anyway, I absolutely love your new home. Thank you for sharing.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thanks. Hmm, maybe there was a sale on the hardware when you ordered? I looked up what I paid months ago and the price is still the same. I would call a local store or customer service and ask if they would honor the price you paid if you order more?

  11. Jo Jo

    Thanks so much for sharing your instagram pics here on your Blog! I’m in love with everything you’ve been doing in your home! It’s all so beautiful and pulled together nicely and you can see that you live authentically in it! Jack & Lilly ate precious as always and they seem to love living there too! I’m excited to see a sneak perk of your side patio area. I just purchased your new book the other day on Amazon…excited to read it and savor the pictures. As far as having spring weather in my area…We’ll, we had a very mild winter…really no snow to speak of. Whatever fell ( twice) all melted by the afternoon and we had lots of sunny 60and 70 degtree days. BUT this past week and our coming week it has been COLD ( 20’s & 30’s)! We’re finally getting winter weather just before Soring?!? What’s up with that? lol.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thanks so much for getting the new book, Jo Jo! Simple Decorating is actually the first one in a new series of tip-format books. We wanted to create a series of books at a lower price point and more compact size than the big coffee table book. My next tip book is on hospitality, it will be out in October. I’ll be sharing more about these books soon! Amazon released it early :).

      Oh dear on the late winter coming in to interrupt the arrival of spring! We’ve had some weird weather here in the NW. Even though it’s generally pretty mild here most of the time, I’m ready for spring. :)

  12. Ella

    My husband and I own a cabinetry company in Tampa, FL and I also work full time outside the home. A lot of people I know think working for yourself is so easy but although it has it’s perks it’s not as easy as they think. I really enjoy your blog, it’s one of my top two and I follow several. I was also excited to finally get to see your kitchen & family room and I look forward to seeing more of the outside of your cottage & I absolutely love seeing your family and pups. It’s like hearing from family who live on the other coast. (We have 2 dogs too, a whippet and greyhound, and they entertain us all the time and they get foot washings just about every day too and Barney, our whippet, has a Facebook page.)

  13. Pam C

    Whew. I just read your blog from day one. (over a few weeks!) I have really enjoyed it – your ideas, your encouraging words, your honesty… Your kitchen is just lovely and your family room is so warm & cozy! Thanks for a lovely blog I can escape to!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Wow, Pam! Thank you so much! That’s a lot of posts, 10 years worth. Ha :). Thank you for investing the time to read through it and stop by to let me know. I sure love blogging. The community that has followed along on my adventures (all along or just joining in!) is the best part for me :).

 

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