The Florida Girl

𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 • 𝕞𝕠𝕞 • 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕣 • 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟

Pop, Bang, Boom!

This summer feels super invigorating and the crafting game is going strong. Maybe because it’s the first year where my daughter Hendrix is becoming more aware and excited about the holidays.

Here is a simple little craft you can do for Father’s Day, a birthday, and or 4th of July! Or combine any of them!

Supplies for bomb pop garland:
scissors
single hole punch
twine or rope for stringing and hanging
paper cutter (or cut free-hand with scissors)
red, white & blue strips of paper approx 5-1/2″ long x 1-1/2″ wide
(*I used slightly muted down colors to go with my Instagram feed)
hot glue gun or glue sticks
wood popsicle sticks

Directions for bomb pop garland:
cut strips of the red, white & blue paper
hot glue all 3 together 
roll and hot glue the edge of the red, white, & blue paper into a roll
hole punch on each side at top of red color strip
hot glue popsicle sticks – (*repeat for as many times as you would like the length of garland)
string with twine or rope you have
hang in the desired location

Additional Supplies (if adding the finger paint portrait ornament):
7″ wood star ornament from dollar tree
various paint colors
twine to glue to the edge of the star

Directions for star portrait:
use kid’s hands in whatever color paint to make a shirt & jeans
use fingers to paint a round face w/ ears
use a thumbprint to make hands
use a thumbprint to make shoes/feet
use 3 fingers to make hair
wait several hours for the paint to completely dry *(I used a blowdryer to speed up the process)
use a sharpie to add face & tie details
hang alone or add with bomb pop garland

Not only is this little bomb pop garland/banner the perfect decor piece, but it also makes for adorable accessories for flat lays! Check out all these little goodies! Baby girl is sure to be a firecracker in this adorable white iloveplum tutu, sunnies, bows, and sandals!

Lighten Up

Welcome to the heart of our home – our kitchen! Not only is it my favorite room, it literally is in the middle of the house. We recently completed a full home renovation in order to add a suite on for my mom, who moved in with us over 3 years ago after my dad passed away. I am super proud of how the space turned out. There was just one (well, maybe 3) little things wrong with it…

Those 3 little things were the tiny black island pendant lights! During the renovation we were moving so quickly and selecting materials so fast (oh, and did I mention bleeding money?). When my contractor needed all the lighting on site we mad a very rash decision and tried to be budget conscious and selected the black pendants. I never really was happy and always felt they were wrong for the space, but sometimes you just go with the flow and against your gut.

As a designer, a woman (and one who is 8-1/2 months pregnant at that) I reserve the right to change my mind, and, in this case, I definitely changed my mind! I knew 3 pendants would technically fit… but had a feeling as 2 were hung that as the magic number and sweet spot.

I have worked with and specified Kichler Lighting for many of my clients’ projects in the past so when it came time to picking the proper pendant lights for my space, I knew I was going to select from their line. When I saw the Kichler Elias White convertible pendants I instantly knew they were the ones.

I still had hubby hold the third one up, and ultimately hang it in place, BUT two pendants were the perfect quantity & scale!

Scale is the size of one object in relation to the other objects in a design  and those old black pendants were just not cutting it – AT ALL! Out with the wrong and in with the new, and right.

The softness of the white pan-inspired shape of the shade and the subtle gold interior finish coordinate and accentuate all of the existing gold hardware and plumbing perfectly!

I am so happy with the overall farmhouse modern feel these beautiful new Kichler pendants have brought to our home!

Ladies love brunch

Am I right or am I right…ladies love brunch? If you saw my Ain’t Life Peachy post, you’ll know I have been preparing for this day for a few weeks now! I don’t mess around! If you have been wondering what simple things I put together to make a huge impact, here is how it all turned out!

Outfit Details:
You can find my crop top HERE and my skirt HERE

The most important item at brunch is the food, duh! Check out this spread of biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, ombré pancakes, fresh fruit, and bacon! All the basics and a little touch of “extra” with the ombré pancakes…but they sure do add a punch (and help keep up the peachy theme)!

A few drops of red food coloring and voila, you have ombré pancakes! It makes such a huge impact. I am sure there is a natural food color you can use like beets or even blueberries or raspberries, but for time sake I just used red food coloring.

The second most important brunch item for me is FLOWERS! Trader Joe’s has some of the most economical stems by far! Do yourself a favor and run there now! If you are not feeling creative they have some prearranged bouquets too. I love creating floral arrangements so I purchase a ton of different flowers (not only are they the best-priced flowers around they have some of the more unique stems too) like these peonies and ranunculus.

Check out my “We are here for the fun” Blog post to see some of my must-have neutral houseware items for serving a party!

Last, but certainly not least on my list of must-haves for brunch is a good cocktail (or mocktail in this case). I have been posting new mocktail recipes on Instagram every day around lunchtime. I even have a few story highlight reels where I have saved them all. One of my favorite recipes lately was a blackberry pineapple lemonade drink. I knew it would be perfect for brunch.

Oh, and I can’t forget laughs! Every good brunch is to be filled with your favorite friends and family, which ultimately will create the belly laughs!

We’re here for the fun

Have you ever tried searching for neutral & masculine party decor on Pinterest or Google? Well, I have, and there really isn’t much out there! Typically when I plan an event or party it is filled with colors and themes that coordinate with my home decor and my Instagram feed. If you follow me on Instagram you will know my feed is known for pops of pink and teal most days! I was struggling with how to throw a casual birthday party for my hubby all while giving him all of his favorite things (and have it fit in with my typical aesthetic). I figured out a genius idea, well, so I thought anyways… all neutral with pops of black & whites and then his girls would be dolled up in pink! I think we nailed it! How about you?

The key was keeping things super casual, very neutral, and mostly minimal. Guys don’t need (or want for that matter) a lot of fuss, am I right? We covered our dining room table with brown craft paper and a great black and white striped paper for a little extra pop. It’s a excellent pallet in order to add accessories or treats in any color and have it work for any occasion.

I always get all of the best items from The Party Darling! She has all the perfect decor, tableware & accessories for all things party & holiday! Here is a list of all the goodies I used for this party! 

Cups 
 Plates 
Napkins 
Flatware Set 
YAY balloon - Gold 
15" Gold Orb Balloon 
15" Silver Orb Balloon 
Paper party fans

I love a good neutral pallet. Some of my favorite tableware and home accessories are linked here as well! 

White bowls
Black bowls
Wood Lazy Susan
Gray Marble Lazy Susan
Wood & Metal Rack (similar)
White Cake Stand
Wood & Marble Cutting Board
Gold Flatware
White Rectangular Serving Platter
White Swoop Serving Bowl
White Dinner Plate
Square Snack Bowl
Ice Cream Scoop
Brown Craft Paper Roll
White Craft Paper Roll
Black and White Paper Roll

Cheers & Happy Birthday to my main squeeze and the one who makes all my dreams come true! Here’s to the next one!

Ain’t life peachy

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and even though the country is mostly on lock-down from the Coronavirus, I wouldn’t let this holiday go by without doing even something small…and pretty! I am starting with a little bar cart set up to prepare for the at-home brunch we shall have the day of!

If you couldn’t tell from the title, the color scheme and theme is “just peachy”. Peach was a great start but I had to throw in some soft blush and pale lavender too, because, why not? Well, really, I was inspired to add those colors after Grace Rose Farm so generously gifted me two dozen gorgeous organic heirloom roses! These roses are seriously some of the most fragrant flowers I have ever smelled, not to mention, look how beautifully they fluff up and bloom!

You may be thinking “Eeeeeek, I don’t have a cute bar cart like that!” Don’t worry… you can always set something like this up on the kitchen counter, a dining table or a console table! PS, IF you ARE looking for an amazing bar cart and happen to like this one, here is the link to mine shown here! (Check out these alternate options here & here).

Most all of the adorable tableware and accessories are from, the one and only, Target! I absolutely love shopping in the bullseye section (AKA the dollar spot). I snag things there all the time! You never know when you want to do a little impromptu brunch or party. I have linked the party goods here! Check out the plates, napkins, cups, silverware, water pitcher & cakestand! Additional napkins here and here as well as the peachy plates!

One of my favorite home accessories is this 18″ wide Rettle Kraft Paper Roller. I recently purchased the decorative accessory shelf and a roll of white paper to keep things light and airy and to coordinate with my new White GE Cafe Refrigerator (which has been my dream since completing our home remodel!) Next on the purchase list is the matching Oven–Microwave combo and Dishwasher.

The only thing left to do now is planning the brunch menu, come up with a signature cocktail (for mom), and a mocktail recipe for my 6-month pregnant self! Stay tuned for that blog, coming soon!

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!

Pop-Colored Nutcracker Christmas

Grab a cup of hot cocoa or coffee and enjoy our home tour featuring the most joyous pop-color themed Nutcracker holiday decor. To say I was elated to be a part of this year’s Design Council 2019: Holiday Style Stars with Treetopia is a bit of an understatement! Christmas is not only my favorite holiday, but it’s also the birth month to my daughter, Hendrix. She is the color in our life, so it is only fitting we decorate and prep for her second birthday that’s fast approaching. Last year I specifically wanted to have her party be Berry Sweet (but not holiday-themed). This year, we changed gears and it is gun-ho Sugarplum fairyland!

This year Treetopia is hosting their 8th Secret Santa Giveaway where one winner AND their friend will each win 1 Treetopia tree of their choice! The giveaway runs from Nov 17-28, 2019. Be sure to enter HERE!

These gorgeous Treetopia Frozen Fir Flocked Artifical Christmas Trees were gifted to us and are the perfect showstoppers and canvases for our pop-color Nutcracker theme.

And, as if it couldn’t get any sweeter, Treetopia sent us the coordinating Winter White Artificial Christmas Wreath and Garland. I automatically knew I wanted to hang the garland over the chalkboard at the coffee/hot cocoa bar, and it is perfect!

These gorgeous shots are just the tip of the winter wonderland iceberg. Stay tuned for more details to be revealed in the upcoming birthday blog post.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the other creative Holiday Style Stars to see how they implemented other fun Treetopia products and accessories!

I am already scoping out the Treetopia website for other fun colored trees for future projects!

Colorful Christmas Trees

Green Christmas Trees

Wreaths and Garlands

Celebrate the Details

I wanted to write a quick blog post to share all the little but mighty & meaningful details from Hendrix’s “One Is Berry Sweet” 1st Birthday. I can’t believe it took me almost a year to finally get this blog post out. SMH. In fairness, I did cover a few details from it in my “2019, I am coming for you” blog post. Perhaps I am also just finally getting to it because I have been consumed with wrapping up details of the Halloween Boo Crew party we are about to host and are just starting to plan her 2nd birthday, so parties are fresh on my mind? Who knows. Either way, I hope you enjoy and get some creative inspo for your next event or party!

How ironic was it that my jammies matched the color theme? My coffee bar chalkboard is one of my favorite ways to add a personal touch to my events. Here I am erasing away and the party hasn’t even started. I accidentally wrote in her birth weight and height, not her measurements from one year old. Whoops!

Now, that’s better and more like it! This “milestone” chalk art was a great way for me to document several of her favorite things & accomplishments from her first year.

While were are here, can we just appreciate the photos of all of the sweets below? All which were made from scratch by her Nana and, yours truly. The mini homemade apple pies are my grandma’s secret family recipe & were given as the party favor for our guests, along with the cupcakes.

My husband and I had a red velvet wedding cake and there is a ton of meaning to that flavor so we wanted to have it for Hendrix’s birthday (not to mention they were the perfect color & coordinated with her berry theme).

This gorgeous cake came out of a bunch of chaos, and I love it. It was my first time making a “naked” cake and I’d say it came out stunning, wouldn’t you? The addition of fresh flowers and berries added the perfect dainty feminine touch I was looking for.

The elegant paper plates (yes they are paper) came from one of my favorite tableware sources, Sophistiplate. I knew I wanted to set the table for the party but didn’t want to be trapped for hours doing dishes afterwards. After-all, isn’t brunch best when you can pig out and then veg on the couch?

One of, if not my favorite, decorative accessories for a party is flowers. I know they may not be the cheapest and you may not feel like you have the “know-how” to arrange them, but I promise you, Pinterest is your friend and is great for inspiration. I always choose monochromatic tones and use LOTS of greenery to enhance the arrangements. I also love to use different styles of vases and vary the height of them to add dimension.

Sweet touches like printable gift bag tags, banners, and welcome signs are a great way to keep a cohesive theme going throughout the party space. Check out these relatively generic gift bags that I added tags to. In addition, I enlarged a version of the birthday invitation and mounted it in an acrylic standing frame on the favor table, which doubled as a welcome table in the foyer.

You might have thought after hearing how much I love flowers that they were they way to my heart (and although very close) food is really the way! Ha! In order to hold the guests over until brunch, we served a simple charcuterie board filled with tons of delicious cheeses, fresh meat, & scrumptious fruit.

A mimosa and juice bar is never a good idea at brunch (said no one ever)! We had several bottles of champagne for the guests to chose from… even a non-alcoholic version from Ready to Pop. Add fresh fruit, a few different juice types, some flowers, balloons, and decor and you’ll have the perfect setup that will draw everyone in and keep them coming back for more!

Cake time! Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Hendrix. Happy Birthday to you!

I used our Rettel Craft Paper Roller as a big family birthday card. Each person signed her a wish and we are saving it for her to read one day.

One of my best tips of advice is get all of the kids and “necessary” (aka the pictures you want to look relatively put together and pretty) out of the way BEFORE the party starts. As seen here… I am still in my jammies trying to get Hendrix to smile, and failing miserably.

Eventually she warmed up some and we got some pretty cute pictures I’d say! This girl melts and warms my heart all in one!

Balloon garlands are probably one of the most economical decorative accessory you can get to make the biggest impact for photos. They are brilliant for backdrops!

Photography: Crystal Swass of Blue Anchor Love Photography

Party Styling & Decor: Yours Truly @the_floridagirl

Sweets: Nana and Moi

Custom Gift Bag Tags, Birthday Invitations, Floral Signs, “One is Sweet” Banner, “Eat”, “Drink”, “Be Sweet” Banners, and Floral Signs: Shauna @stayinghomesawyer

Let’s chalk it up!

Quick little back story on me. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I was nearly about to graduate when my hubby and I decided to build a home in Orlando. It wasn’t until then that I found my passion for design. Once we started making the finish selections for our home I started to really feel confident and an had an “itch” to go back to school and follow my heart to explore the right side of my brain. So I did. I have been a nationally certified Kitchen & Bath Designer for almost 15 years. Please note, I am also a Martha Stewart crafting wannabe and dreamer so this space makes for the perfect outlet for all of my creative juices (or coffee) to flow! My love (aka need) for coffee and our realization that we needed more storage in the home inspired this coffee bar space. It was once our dining room and is now what I call our reading coffee parlour. Yeah, I am fancy. It’s basically our coffee bar and library! LOL

I tried so hard to find the first two chalkboard designs I drew when we built this space and I am missing those two. The very first one said “Welcome Home” and the second was an “F” for our last name with a simple twig leaf looking wreath around it. Soon after, Fall rolled in and this was my first big attempt at a more intricate design. I will say, I never imagined I could get this detailed but it was fun. I get most of my inspiration from Pinterest. I seriously try not to duplicate anyone’s exact design, but rather use a few parts of several designs to create one new look!

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year and one of my favorite holidays. Especially now that my daughter’s birthday is so close! This was my first chalk art with color! It makes such a huge impact. It was also the first time I used white to shade on top of the color to create lots of dimension! This is one of my favorite boards!

Next up, love month! I can’t remember if I left up the Christmas drawing until February but I wouldn’t doubt it! I am that much of a procrastinator! I have always loved the phrase “I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck” so that is what inspired this love bird chalk art!

My second love behind coffee is flowers! Spring and flowers go hand in hand so that is what inspired this drawing! Another vibrant and colorful one in the books!

Now that I am going down the calendar of chalkboard art, I realize I am also missing a summer drawing I did. It was a super cool palm tree and ocean wave! Wow, I wish that picture would wash up somewhere because I loved that one! My hubby even got in on this design and helped add texture to the palm leaves! Trees are his thaaaaaang! He grew up trimming huge trees with his dad!

On to Florida Fall again! This year it was allllll about pumpkins. This design was also another new one for me! I practiced layering and creating lots of design elements that peeked in and out of each other and lots of shading for dimension again! Lots!

After Fall comes that special time of year! December! I squeezed in this holiday board until our HUGE celebration…

Our daughter, Hendrix, turned one! This little creation was special for her and deserves some extra sweet love!

I am for sure this time that her birthday design remained on the board until the next big event I threw! That would be the Galentine’s Day brunch I hosted for my closest girlfriends! It was a day full of love, sweets and lots of pink. If you want to see a time-lapse video of this little creation head to my @the_floridagirl Instagram highlight reel called “time-lapse” to see this and a few other cool drawings!

That’s it for now. It has been some time since the February Galentine’s Day design but have been super busy! I am gearing up for Hendrix’s Boo Crew Halloween event in a few weeks so check back for more details on what was drawn! Also, check out the “Spooktacular Fun” blog post for some cute Halloween decor ideas that will go into that party!