I can't get enough of all the marble accents I'm seeing lately.  When I first started dreaming of decorating our new home I had visions of marble and metallic dancing in my head.  In reality my choices have been surprisingly traditional but I'm determined to incorporate a few fancy marble accents.  I love that you can find real marble objects at affordable prices.  Here are some of my favorite marble finds for...wait for it... UNDER $25. In fact prices start at just $7.

I should be too embarrassed to share that photo but I'm all about keepin it real up in here. The problem?  Too many kids. Too many toys. And secondary to that- too much pink. It turns out the easiest way to clean a playroom is by getting rid of half its contents.  Who knew?  I got rid of a bunch of the toy clutter and distributed other items to the kids' rooms and the loft.  The result is much more manageable. I also replaced the pink and green bins with black and white ones. A new color scheme was born out of the black and white bins with natural shelving along with the girls' humongous pastel and wooden dollhouse. Here's my plan:

{click image to enlarge}

Natural wood + pastel + black and white work with what we already have while making it a less girly. (You're welcome Dax).  I was tempted to go with a vintage vibe in the playroom but in reality their toys are not vintage. Or even pretty for that matter. I decided a slightly modern look would suit their bright and garish belongings best. Plus it's fairly affordable (click links to see prices). My goal is always to balance pretty with practical. Speaking of practical, here is how I dealt with the toy clutter:

1. Purge- I took out almost half of what was in the space.
2. Redistribute- My goal was zero toys in their rooms but it wasn't feasible.  Any toys I didn't donate, I relocated.  I moved most of the pretend play items like the kitchen, high chair, etc to the loft and moved "calm" toys like dress up and blocks to their rooms.
3. Display- putting toys on shelves instead of in bins helped it feel more orderly which is counter-intuitive.  And since Dax is so little it helps him easily grab his favorite toys.

This plan is totally fluid. There's a lot to do in the house so the playroom is not a priority.  Oh and guess who just got a ridiculously expensive dentist prognosis?!  Yay me. Regardless of timetable, drawing up plans for every space helps me to be more intentional with decorating our home. And bonus: It makes me feel like I'm doing something when I can't really afford to do something.  Is my honesty refreshing?  So there you have it!


Oh and if you liked this one, you might like these posts: Small Space Toy Storage Solution + DIY Toy Labels. Affordable Toy Storage Options. Genevieve's Toddler Room + Room for Toys.

I can't believe I made it this long before throwing a Frozen party. I'm not typically a fan of character parties but this one was such fun.  Since I was having it at a venue I made sure to use budget friendly Frozen Party ideas incorporating the colors and winter themed decor.  Here's how it turned out!

Since the party would be at jumpin beans, I set up a mock party to grab some photos. I loved using place settings (something I've never done since I typically host at home).
  Frozen wrapping paper from the Dollar Tree + Packing tape made for easy water bottle labels.

At the end of the year, I like to determine the top 10 posts of the year. It's also nice to see the projects I've completed and touching (and sometimes funny) to look at the personal posts I've shared.  Here are the top 10 posts based on page views and sorted by least to most read:

10. Anti-Aging Hair Tips From a Celebrity Stylist + My Most Embarrassing Problem.
I'm glad you all like sponsored posts because I plan to do more of them in 2016. Let's get paid shall we?

9. We Bought a House! And Other Things That Have Been Keeping Me From Blogging. Whenever there's a lull, I like to post a little update. It's a glimpse into real non-bloggy life.

8. How to Have a Marriage That Can Survive Newborns.  Being vulnerable is scary.  Giving marriage advice? Even scarier. When I read this back over it sounds harsh! Oops.

7. DIY Arrow tutorial. Sort of. Dax's nursery is a reader's favorite and this little tutorial is one of the few DIYs in his room.

6. Kitchen Planning in a New Construction Home. It's so fun to blog about home stuff.  With little time and little budget, my progress will be painfully slow, but I'm excited to share it. Expect more "progress" posts than big reveal type posts.  Spoiler alert: The kitchen.  I love it! I can't wait to share it with you.

5. Head & Shoulders Moisture Care Review plus a Date Night Look. Update: I still use Head & Shoulders. Not more than 20 minutes ago I decided to grab a new supply since I'm battling dandruff again (TMI?).  The product works. And I've already been paid so this is all me. wink.

4. No Sew Felt Crown Tutorial. Thanks to this one being featured in a round up on Sew Mama Sew, it made the top 10!

3. 10 Things NOT to Say to Me During the Final Weeks of Pregnancy. This was a funny post I wrote while pregnant, then shared much later. Read it and laugh.

2. Small Space Toy Storage, Easy DIY Toy Labels + a Glimpse at a Shared Kids' Room. I love this one.  It's a realistic solution to a problem many of us face. Now that we have a playroom I have to reconfigure but the labels are working well for us.

1. How to Paint Mason Jars Without Chalk Paint. By a landslide this was number 1.  It's a random tutorial shared as a result of this mini shower I co-hosted. I'm happy that people found value in it.

I was surprised to see zero parties but then again I'm not sure I blogged any this year! This list is a fun variety of topics and I like that it's a bit of home + projects + real life thrown in.  It goes perfectly with the direction I'm taking this blog.  Stay tuned for fun changes in 2016 included a new look, more focus, and a new NAME!  I'm excited! Come along for the journey friends! You can find me on twitter here, Facebook here, Instagram here, bloglovin here, or subscribe by email on the top right of the blog.