My favorites on a Friday! Come see what we are loving and using in our home this season!
*The bottom of this post contains any applicable shoppable links or you can find them throughout the post.
1. The Frame TV. One of our favorite items we've loved since having the addition is the Samsung Frame TV. It was a big splurge for the new space but oh so worth it to not have to look at the black screen all the time! One of my friends actually thought it was art when she saw it. *The credit goes to Bill on this one!
The best part about having this tv is picking out the instant downloadable art to display in it! Etsy shops have so many great options. Here's the link to the winter pack of 20 we bought for $8 on sale (great for printing and framing as well).
2. Rub N Buff. Do you see the brass sconces above the windows in the picture above? The chandelier we bought over the dining room table needed to coordinate with them (I tried to go all gold or brass on the chandelier but couldn't convince Bill) so Rub N Buff to the rescue! If you've never used this product before, it's similar to gold spray paint in that it's a metallic color used on metal, but you don't have to worry about over spray and can just add it to certain parts of an item. See below. The Antique Gold color is almost an exact match to the sconces above the windows!
This tiny tube is the magical stuff I speak of and can be found at Michaels, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Amazon, etc.;)
3. DIY Lamp Bases. I finally got around to giving some thrifted lamp bases the "stone effect" with some layers of homemade chalk paint and dabbing with paper towels.
BEFORE: These two lamps weren't too bad before and were definitely the right size and shape, but I knew that I'd like them better after the "paper towel" dabbing treatment. The gray one below someone had already started painting when I picked it up at Goodwill, haha!
And here's a close up of what they look like AFTER:
This is an easy and quick trash to treasure DIY that anyone can do! You might have some lamps in your house that are dated or that you'd like to give a facelift to... let me know if you'd like more specifics on this process. Here are the two lamp shades I grabbed at $20 each.
4. Valentine's Day. For almost every holiday, big or small, we like get the kids books to add to our little Catholic library. I could spend hours and thousands of dollars at our local book store every time I'm there, haha; but this last week, they each just got a couple things... here are a few:
And one of our favorite small companies, Shining Light Dolls, recently released some new plush dolls. They are so, so adorable - just look at Mother Teresa! (I'm waiting to get the new ones for their Easter baskets).
5. Homemade Body Scrub. The winter is hard on my dry skin but I still love to tub it up every night! Here's what I use to exfoliate and moisturize all winter (and summer) long -
Sugar.
White, brown, coconut... any kind of sugar or coffee even!
Light tasting olive oil.
It has a milder smell than regular.
Lemon juice or a couple drops of essential oils.
The batch this week has peppermint, wintergreen and vanilla oils in it! Yum!
I use about 1.5 parts sugar to 1 part oil but it's just whatever consistency you like. This helps by heels and knees so much, haha, and the smells are spa-like!
6. New Sarah Williams Home Logo and Motto. All roads lead to home.
Lastly, I decided that the time spent here in this community of building home needs to be more intentional for me and whoever shares in it. Bill and I have been talking to the kids a lot and praying on the fact that we were made for something more than this life (sometimes we are easily reminded when we look at the state of our culture and society), and that our end goal isn't here on earth.
I think the reason so many of us are drawn to making our homes beautiful havens for our family and friends is because we hope it reflects a tiny piece of the kingdom of heaven - that the beauty reflected in our homes and families points toward our eternal home in heaven. May all our roads lead to Home... this, my friends, is my prayer for us all!
"Our hearts are restless until they rest in you." - St. Augustine"
Happy Feast of our Lady of Lourdes and I'll see you soon with some more favorites!
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