Working with Havertys: Our New Living Room!

Gaaahhhh! I can't even believe this is real life, y'all! The time has come and I am SO pumped to show you this post. Havertys Furniture has literally been a dream to work with, and it is thanks to them that our new living room is as gorgeous as it is. There was a LOT of time and effort in making this happen, and if you missed the shopping post, you may want to jet back and read that.

 December will mark my husband and I's ninth year of marriage. We have been really blessed to have some beautiful second hand pieces, but this is the first time we've been able to design a room AND fill it with coordinating furniture at the same time. For the last couple of years I have dreamt of owning a blue couch. I'm not exactly sure why? And trust me, a lot of people ask, ha! I think it may have been some design ladies I follow on Instagram that sparked the idea in me? But really, from the old raggedy brown sectional that has suffered through five pets and two kids, I mainly knew I wanted something brighter and more classic [and more appealing to photograph, duh.]

Ta DA! There's our new living room! Okay, okay you know I'm kidding. Not funny? It's been a long day, y'all. Anyway, that couch has served us very well over the last MANY years, but let's face it: its' squeaky springs and slunk in seating just really isn't ideal for hosting company [or for a main living space period.] The minute we walked into this house, we knew we wanted the sectional to go upstairs in the GIANT third bedroom [aka, our new family room.] The console felt WAY too small for the grand living room wall, and speaking of the wall; IT made our 50-inch TV feel TINY. The rug is just old, and while I think it's still beautiful, I've really wanted something that blended with the space better.  

Havertys was really gracious to send their H designer Macey over TO our house, and she helped us set things up. I said it in the last post, but Macey seriously is such a gem. AND she has a beautiful eye for design! [If you're local and go the Hurstbourne location, ask for her!]

I told another H designer recently that this space has made me feel like a grownup. My friends have all asked, "Do you love your new furniture?" and I tell everyone that frankly, I just can't believe it's all OURS.

SEE THE BLUE COUCH!?!?!? When the delivery guys brought it, I almost cried. Legit. Speaking of, I wish I had THOSE photos to show you; the ones of everything being delivered and arranged? I TOOK them, but made a huge mistake and formatted the card without backing them up. Huge nightmare for a professional photographer and while I did everything to try to get them back, I'm out of luck. You'll just have to take my word for it that Havertys delivery team is as great as all the other departments! Friendly, professional, protective of our home and the furniture pieces, and FAST. 

The console is one of my favorite pieces, it is elegant and classy, and I LOVE the classic distressed white finish because it goes so well with the house. We went with the matching cocktail table, and one of the things we appreciate the most is all the newfound storage that is had with both pieces. I had no idea that having matching furniture would feel SO good, but oh my goodness, guys...my heart! 

Obviously the pets (much like our kids) aren't having a difficult time adjusting to the new furniture, but don't get me started on that...I swear Sammy [the fat black cat in the swivel chair] watched the delivery guys the entire time and then went all manic mode sprinting from piece to piece when they left! No way, Jose! I'm determined to keep these beauties at that--BEAUTIFUL! But from time to time I do allow him to take a cat nap there ;) Our old golden girl Elsa loves the plush rug as much as we do, never in my life have I stepped on a more comfortable area rug.

I have now spent all of my nights editing my photos and writing blog posts from this gorgeous velvet sofa, or else you can find me in the giant overstuffed chair you also see in above photos. We moved to this house at the end of July and it's safe to say that it finally feels like HOME SWEET HOME. 

Thank you so much, Havertys Furniture, for taking care of us and making our furniture dreams come true. Really though, it goes above the furniture aspect for me...this was a team of people who GRACIOUSLY handled my mistakes and mishaps, who laughed with me, planned with me, and who got things DONE. A lot of people have had questions about the types of companies I work with and what I feature here on this blog. Guys, I won't try to sell you something that I don't believe in, and I mean that. And it's because of great companies like this one that I get to DO what I do. 

If you have any questions about items that you see here, don't hesitate to ask! And let's all give Havertys some love in the comments below and tell them how amazing they are! 

Working with Havertys: Let the Shopping Begin!

The time has finally come! I get to share my incredible experience with Havertys and I'm starting with the basics--SHOPPING! I have a LOT of positive things to say, so I guess lucky for me, (and y'all!) I will be spreading these Havertys Furniture posts out throughout the course of the month. Really guys, I am so pumped to share this with you today, I have been itching to show you all the pictures and to tell you just how in love with this brand I honest to God am. 

We moved into our brand new house this past July, and there is quite a bit of extra space here (thank you, Lord!) One of the perks and selling features, was that there is a large bonus room on the second floor, and we knew the second we walked in that we wanted to use it as the family room. Our [very old] sectional would fit perfect, and it would function both as a family room and my office, very much a win win for this mama! Well, if we moved all our furniture, then we would be left with absolutely NOTHING in the main living room, which is a wonderful great room on the first floor. I decided to take a leap and send my look book to Havertys, in an effort to partner with them to help decorate our new house. I have always been a huge fan of their furniture, and I really wanted new pieces that would not only LOOK amazing, but last for a long time. 

As you can imagine, when I began to hear back and the e-mails began to trickle in, I was ELATED. We brainstormed what this would look like, had several phone conferences, and through this all, I have met THE best women (and people!) within Havertys. After hanging up from our first phone call, I said to my husband, "Okay, I love them all already."

Okay though, let's get to the fun [for you] stuff, shall we? The first part of this process was to go TO our local Havertys to get an idea of what we wanted design and comfort wise. My husband came with me, and we had a great Saturday morning shopping and planning. 

The H Designer, Macey, met us there, as well as the store manager. They were so kind to allow us to come a little bit before their doors officially opened, and I can't sing high enough praises about how helpful they were. Right away, I clicked with Macey; she was genuine, funny, and knew WAY more than we did about all things furniture. We had to figure out what was the most practical for us, since we do have two very young kids and FIVE pets, and she was the perfect help. 

Macey talked us through which fabrics would clean the easiest, and described the differences between styles of furniture; such as contemporary, modern, mid-century, etc. One of my design dreams has been to have a navy blue sofa, so she had a few different samples pulled for us based on what I had told the ladies at Havertys. We went and sat on numerous sofas, and I realized as much as I LOVE mid-century modern, a sofa such as that is really not practical for our family at this time. We wanted a sofa that is extra comfortable--you know the type, one where we could spend Saturday mornings lounging on, and one that would not be too difficult to clean. 

Havertys helped with putting together a look book for us, based on the design of our living room, and thank God for that because honestly I didn't really know where to begin prior to all of this. We picked the sofa pretty quickly; all that would need to be changed was the color of fabric [Can you tell based on any of this what color or style I chose? Wink, wink!] We gave some dimensions to Macey and she helped us choose two arm chairs based on the size of those numbers. It was so cool to watch her work and tweak things in her software--and it was especially cool knowing that it was OUR living room she was helping design!! 

One of my non-negotiable's design wise, was creating a living space where the TV was NOT above the fireplace. The way our house was built, it's very obvious that the TV was 'supposed' to go above the mantle, but both my husband and I agreed that wasn't what we wanted. It was a little tricky to configure the space where a console would be against the wall, but Macey made it happen! After we had all of our pieces picked out, the last thing we needed to do was choose colors and fabrics. It was so much looking at all the different swatches, and even MORE fun when I found one that would compliment the pillows I previously bought (that I was kind of building the rest of colors around!) 

It feels incredibly surreal to sit back and think about the many different pieces that went into making all of this a possibility. Coordinating between the local store manager, H designer, childcare on our end so we didn't have our rugrats running ramped through this very nice store, the e-mails, phone calls, gah! There has been SO much poured into making this dream a reality, and I really can't thank Havertys enough. Louisville and surrounding areas, if you haven't yet BEEN to the store on Hurstbourne, you need to change that. They have furniture pieces for every single person, and beautiful sets for all your home needs. And if you didn't know, there are over 120 retail stores throughout sixteen states, and you can ALWAYS purchase online. 

So many of my friends have told me that they have something from Havertys, and whenever I told someone that we were working with them, the feedback was always positive. "Oh I LOVE their furniture!" was the most common response I had, and seriously, I couldn't agree more. 

**If you want to see what we chose, you will just have to stay tuned! There will be another blog post SOON announcing the big reveal, and even after that, I don't think I will ever be quiet about the goodness of this company. And I would love to hear from y'all--what is your dream furniture piece? Anyone else obsessed with bold sofa colors these days?! Leave a comment below and give Havertys some love! And to my friends AT Havertys, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for working with me and helping my design dreams come true!**

Princess Reese and Her Fourth Birthday Party

Every time I scroll through these photos my heart just kinda flops. Four years ago, I gave birth for the last time. The waiting was painful, because I was always an anxious pregnant person. For over a week, I was at 3cm dilated, and I thought surely she would be earlier than her brother (who was born five days before his due date.) Finally, when I decided to give up on all the natural methods of inducing labor, well, she came (three days before HER due date!) In five short hours from start to finish, Reese Elisabeth-Morgan was welcomed into this world and I'm sitting here today wondering HOW? How was it that long ago? How did she go from newborn to baby to toddler to KID, so fast?! 

Well y'all, this weekend we threw her a party, and it was a great one to say the least. Her actual birthday is this coming week, on the 14th, so you better believe I'm holding tightly to these last few days of her being THREE! 

Over the last year she has fallen in love with the Classic Disney princesses, so this year, that's what she verbalized wanting party wise. Last year, she had a Frozen themed celebration, and she was very clear that she wanted ALL the princesses for this one. We are so grateful to Proflowers to providing her with gifted bouquets, they were (and still are) absolutely stunning. The Day Lillies have made our home smell like heaven, oh my goodness! And we're also thankful for Sharis Berries for the complimentary strawberries, miniature birthday cake, cake pops and delicious cookies! As a blogger, I am most grateful for the lasting relationships that are built, and by far, those companies are two of my absolute favorite. 

Nords Bakery has done our cakes EVERY single birthday for both Pierson and Reese, and this one did not disappoint. Raspberry filled vanilla; our favorite!! And a Kroger Bakery win for the cupcakes. They threw in the princess ring cupcake toppers and the kids were in LOVE. We are so grateful for both bakeries for being prompt and doing such a great job with all that I envisioned for Reese's big day. 

Reese was so well celebrated and loved by all who came; though I missed my blood relatives immensely. My big brother Sean and his wife Beth, my parents, and my oldest brother Nathan--I am so grateful for my husband's family (who most of are local and able to come!) but you can't help missing your own mama and siblings right? :) Her friends from church are so good and sweet to her, and her cousins of course; we are very blessed by all! 

My mom sent her a Belle dress and when I opened it in the mail I literally almost cried. It is GORGEOUS. I decided to surprise Reese with it, and after everyone ate the desserts, I told her to come with me. I led her to my closet and asked if she saw anything that may be a surprise for her, and she shrieked, grabbing her face, "OH MY WORD!!!!!!" To say she was elated is an understatement. I dressed her in the beautiful gown and together we made our way to the family and friends waiting for her to open her gifts. 

She was so thankful for ALL the presents, and with each one opened she exclaimed all the squeals and giddy banter with those sitting around her. Really I can't express enough how thankful I am for the friends in our lives, and for everyone who came to shower our baby girl with love and memories! 

Last but not last least; it was time for the big surprise. Kent Bikes reached out to me about a month ago and offered to gift us with some bikes in their line, and I couldn't resist. The rest are coming a little later, but Reese received hers before her big party. We decided to assemble it and to have that be her very last present of the days. She got a bike last year for her third birthday but she's grown SO fast, that we knew it was time to get her a taller one. When I saw Pinkalicious being an option, I couldn't resist! Reese has SO many Pinkalicious books and even I am obsessed with her character. Thank you, Kent Bikes, for such an amazing moment we were able to capture. We can't wait to ride together as a family soon! 

Do you think she's animated enough? Ha ha ha!!! This girl, I tell ya! The life of the party, the most expressive and articulate three (almost four)-year old I know... there's never a dull moment.

Some current favorites of Reese's: 

-Her gray blanket, that she's had literally forever 
-Her bitty babies, Lizzie and Toby, both original American Girls of mine
-Drawing stick people with straight ("smiley") faces
-You are My Sunshine (still, from day one) 
-She adores all the cousins, but Idina, the middle kiddo of Asa's brother, is who she claims as her "best friend..." even though sweet Deena is four years older! 
-Princesses, clearly 
-Going to preschool; she's excelling and thriving by leaps and bounds!! 
-A BOY, named Mark (currently in her class, omg) who she refers to as her boyfriend? Oh heaven help me! We don't make it a huge deal however, since she currently goes to a Christian academy and I'm convinced every single tiny human in her class is wonderful 
-Cuddling
-Queso; YES...QUESO (that's our girl!!) 
-Going out to eat at restaurants (in particular, Chilis. Thanks, Uncle Clayton!!) 
-Dancing and singing and dancing and singing; I'm pretty sure she's half Troll
-Clothes shopping (YAAAAAAS! We will have so much fun!!!!!!) 
-Her dad's homemade 'Alfie Pasta' and all things pasta in particular (yup, she's mine!) 

Reese Elisabeth, we are so proud of you. There aren't enough words in this blog post or anywhere that can express my love to you. God knew what He was doing when He scared the heck out of me with you, and I am so glad that He did. You're a natural born leader, one tough cookies, and you have THE best laugh. You can make anyone smile, and you're an excellent friend. You're intelligent, brave, courageous and fierce. YOU, dear, are my princess, and the greatest one at that. Happy fourth birthday (officially in a few days), thank you for being YOU. While yes, I partially mourn the days of your babyhood, I also can't wait to see the good you will continue to do for this world. 

xoxox, 
Mama

Gather: There is Always Room at Our Table

Moment of truth: as I photographed this space and scanned through the photos I was taking, the thought, "This is MY dining room???" went through my head. Y'all, I am in love. When I first walked through here, I was a little hesitant and doubted whether our eight foot farmhouse table would FIT. We've had this table for almost a year now, and it's one of our dearest household possessions. I don't know about you, but for us, the table is where memories are made. 

One of my favorite author's, Jen Hatmaker, said in her book For the Love, "Instead of waiting for community, provide it, and you’ll end up with it anyway.” If there is one thing my husband and I strive for, it IS community. We have had led small groups for years, hosted the past three Thanksgivings, and have people over for dinner weekly. The table is where our kids eat all of their meals, it's where we recap our full and busy days, it's the place that we laugh and come together. 

Well, my husband and I have been the king and queen of hand-me-downs and vintage furniture. When we got married (ahem, almost nine years ago!) we were blessed to have parents and friends who gifted us with pieces they no longer needed. But the last few years, and especially once we received this gorgeous table, we really longed for better seating. Seating that would actually match the space, and that looked like it FIT. 

When my friends at Walker Edison Furniture gave me the green light on collaborating for these chairs, I almost cried. Literally. I mean SERIOUSLY...what more perfect chair could GO with this table?!?! The dark wood and white seat backs are almost exact, it's like they were made for each other. See for yourself, just how amazing the dining room looks thanks to these beauties. 

Thank God for a beautiful new house, with an abundance of natural light, white trim throughout, and for a gorgeous place where I look forward to hosting SO MANY meals with friends and families. We are having so much fun decorating and styling this home, but I'm 99% sure that the dining room is complete. 

We are big on loving people. On helping others feel welcome. Inviting individuals in to our mess, because frankly, as pretty as this room looks, that doesn't mean we have it all together. Here is where the goodness happens. Around my husband's home cooked meals, fresh flowers (most days), and often on chairs that have remnants of our children's messy fingers. There is always room at our table, and it's with a very special thanks to Walker Edison Furniture, that I am even more excited to gather here.