The Florida Girl

𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 • 𝕞𝕠𝕞 • 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕣 • 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟

Archives for February 2020

St. Paddy’s Patio Party

There’s nothing like a St. Paddy’s patio picnic, right? A girl, her unicorn bestie, cookies, rainbows, and flowers. Yes, please!

This precious handmade Cuddle + Kind Zoe the unicorn doll was gifted to us for Hendrix’s St. Paddy’s day basket. I let her have a little sneak peek and enjoy some afternoon sweets…because I am a cool mom 🙂

With every single purchase of a Cuddle + Kind doll, your purchase helps feed 10 meals to children in need!

I knew the exact theme and direction I wanted to go as soon as I saw these Party Darling pink magical star plates! All the star eyes! Her shop is full of all the best party goods, tableware, and decor!

One of my favorite details is The Party Darling magical rainbow fringe cocktail napkins! I mean, can you can any cuter?

And no party is complete without getting sweet-faced & sugar-lipped, am I right? These custom mini Confetti Confection St. Paddy’s day sugar cookies were the sweetest treat! I always have 100% confidence I can communicate a concept to her and she will knock the design & color of the cookies out of the park!

What do you do after your tummy is full…get cozy and cuddle up for a nap! This Happy Go Lucky Wishing Elephant shirt was the perfect addition to our St. Paddy’s Day Basket and patio party!

Somewhere over the rainbow

We are all lollipops, gumdrops, rainbows, and donuts over here! It’s that magical time of year – St. Patrick’s Day. I will be honest, I am NOT much for this holiday and have never really celebrated it until having my daughter. That being said, you will not be seeing the traditional shamrocks, leprechauns, and green beer here (sorry if that’s what you were expecting). I am all about a non-traditional theme and we are going all out with rainbows this year!

All the heart eyes for this gorgeous fringe backdrop, compliments of Glam Fete! Our heads are in the balloon clouds thanks to Blue Lime Events, and our tummies are full of delicious cookies thanks to Confetti Confections!

Hendrix’s adorable tutu was gifted to us from the incredible I Love Plum. They have the most gorgeous tutus, loungewear, and accessories!

Nothing says magic like Lucky Charms marshmallows! You know I HAD to pick them out and serve them! Not to mention, they make the best decor! Look at those magically delicious colors!

It’s all in the details

These Rustica custom barn doors are breathing life into our space, but it wasn’t always like this! See the transformation!

In June 2016 my husband and I purchased this quaint little home in Delray Beach, Florida. We were super excited because it was pretty much turn-key. The previous owner’s did an amazing job at creating a clean, crisp home ready for someone to come and bring it life. It was very “basic”, in modern-day terms (as shown below).

As a kitchen and bath designer, I immediately started making decisions to add unique character and special details to change this builder-grade home to a custom home. One of our initial projects was the master bedroom. We added molding to the main wall, installed pendant lights over our side tables, painted a fresh light and bright color, and modern furnishings!

Shortly after we moved, my mom made the best decision and decided to move in with us because we found out we were expecting our first child. Not only did the news of us expecting & mom moving in turn our world upside down, we got even crazier and decided to completely remodel our home and add on a mother-in-law suite. Out we moved for 6 months. Let the construction commence.

Things were looking so good! New floors, fresh paint, and custom details like these built-ins and dark trim!

I must say though, I hated the “plain-jane” way our bedroom transitioned to our closest & master bathroom area. In addition, the room craved much-need light. I have always loved barn doors and was searching for a space in our home I could implement them. At first glance, this area wasn’t a candidate, but after much thought and tons of research online, I found the perfect solution, Rustica. They make the most gorgeous barn doors. Our space is very specific. It required bi-parting doors since the adjacent wall space wasn’t going to allow a typical single barn door.

Our space would also require some construction, but I was determined to have a Rustica Modern Cottage French Barn Door. I reached out to them and their customer service was amazing! They answered every single question I had and helped me plan the perfect door for our space.

As a designer, I could see the entire design and space complete in my head, but my hubby and mom needed a visual, hence this little sketch below. It became the perfect tool and helped us all fall in love even faster! That being said, we ordered away!

Five short weeks later, our custom Rustica double-sided bi-parting metal barn doors arrived! In the meantime, my contractor and his crew built down a header for the track to mount to. I painted and prepared the space so as soon as the door arrived it could be installed. I wasted zero time. My contractor came right away and here she is in all her glory!

The best part, as stated above, we chose to do double-sided mirrored doors so that when the doors were closed we could use them as our dressing mirrors from the closet/bathroom side of the room.

The Rustica doors reflect so much light and bring so much character to our space. The black metal frame ties in our trim, interiors doors, and industrial farmhouse accents. Not to mention, they are the best try-on & selfie mirrors ever!

I will just leave these gorgeous photos here and we can all bask in the beautiful Rustica doors together!

Nothing but love

Ok, let’s be clear about this right up front… we are expecting baby #2 and we couldn’t be more elated and feel any more blessed! It was our second time experiencing the IVF (In-vitro-fertilization) process. It was another extensive journey – emotionally, physically & financially, and we wouldn’t change it for the world! It is not a light subject, but, I’m not going to lie, this blog post is to be light-hearted and fun… mainly to share our adorable announcement pictures! I hope you LOVE them as much as we do! (I mean, how could you NOT share these pictures with the world?)

So, the image below is the final one that made the social media baby announcement “cut”…and it sure is cute! So many friends love it and said, “Oh my! You got the cutest picture! What a great way to announce!” It really was the best shot of them all! But, what so many people don’t see is the shit show behind the scenes! LOL Cue the next few pictures for a glimpse into reality! 🙂

oh happy day party shop mylar heart balloons

oh happy day party shop 6″ mini balloons

oh happy day party shop mini heart balloon bundles

vans girls herringbone sk8 hightop

asos midi pink tulle skirt

asos maxi pink tulle skirt

amazon maxi pink tulle skirt

amazon 2″ self-adhesive stickers

First, here is a test shot of the space, testing for lighting, etc… so glamorous I tell you. Did I mention we live in Florida, and have a 2-year-old. This is important because it happened to be 52 degrees this day, and we had to shoot at 7:45 am because my husband had to be at work at 9:00 am. Yeah, fun, not!

I also failed to mention there was 10-12 mile per hour wind gusts this day. Why me? Have you noticed yet, I am pregnant, with a 2-year-old…and super hormonal & emotional. I only had this one time to get “the” shot and the balloons were flying everywhere. I tried taping them together a bit… it didn’t help.

This beautiful pink tulle skirt was the skirt I wore for the photoshoot of my daughter Hendrix’s nursery over 2 years ago. It was huge on my 14-week belly, but I love it soooooo, here’s my hubby clamping it back on.

Here is that little 2-year old I spoke of! She was warm and cozy in the stroller and when we got her out thinking she would stand and take a cute picture in her sweet tutu, that was a big fat no. She slowly warmed up to at least a nice family photo (and a kiss). I will take it! LOL

All in all, it was a magical cold morning and all of my baby announcement dreams came true! From our family to yours, we wish you the best in your trying to conceive. It is a journey that can be very emotional, trying, and stressful…if you let it. Stay hopeful and positive.