My childhood is filled with memories of pushing dirt over new seeds in my mother’s garden or trailing behind my grandmother with a basket of garden green beans in Michigan. When I finally got a place of my own, it was an upstairs apartment in the city. I wasn’t ambitious enough to grow more than a houseplant. Now that I have a yard of my own I h... Read More

What’s the best parenting advice someone gave you? Perhaps you read a book or heard someone speak on the subject and it gave you a fresh perspective. Read More

When I was a college student, I burned through my meager paychecks pretty quickly. The primary offenders were fancy chai tea lattes and fast food. Why did these little “treats” of mine do so much damage? Read More

Back in the day, we decluttered our house with a garage sale, right? Sometimes we’d post items in the local paper or join a consignment sale. Those options are still available, but with the birth of the Internet came new ideas like Craigslist and eBay. Today, thanks to smartphones, apps are now the most versatile and diverse vehicles for selling... Read More

What is it about spring that makes us want to dive in and purge our closets? It could be something in our hard-wiring, like an echo of that New Year’s resolution spirit. Or it could be the promise of that springtime sunshine on our face that gets us up and moving. Read More

Schedules are jam-packed and larger quantities of time can be much harder to come by these days. But you don’t have to sacrifice quality time! Spending a ton of money or planning extravagant vacations isn’t necessary for creating lasting memories and stronger bonds with your kids. Start by scheduling out family fun nights at home. Be sure to mar... Read More

What if you owned a piece of furniture that adapted to every stage of your life? I wish my vacuum cleaner did that. My husband and I spent a tiny investment in our first vacuum cleaner for our small apartment. Now, we live in a two-story house and our seven-year-old vacuum won’t let us forget it. Read More

Let's be honest, it can be difficult to get kids to eat healthy and as parents we need quick and affordable solutions. Here are two truly simple and delicious recipes that my kids (and husband) devour every time. Read More

I’m so excited to share with you another room reveal in our home! I’m always a sucker for a good before & after transformation. And this room was a fun, whimsical space we created for the kid’s playroom. This is a bedroom we have upstairs that I intentionally declared a playroom. It’s further away from the kid’s jack-and-jill bedrooms. Yep, I’m ... Read More

My book club has the coolest tradition. When we gather to discuss our latest fiction reading, we bring snacks that tie in with themes from the book. One of our members has celiac disease, so I’ve gotten to try several gluten-free party favorites and would like to share them with you. Read More

I remember preparing for parenthood, looking at my living space, and feeling overwhelmed by it all. Caring for a child was huge. How would I ever be ready? As I researched baby-proofing techniques, I felt even more out of my depth. So, what did I do? I over prepared. In hindsight, I realize I burned up a lot of time and resources by doing so. Fo... Read More

For the first three years of motherhood, I was either pregnant, recovering from a delivery, or convincing myself that chasing toddlers was my workout. Guess what’s a great way to gain weight and never have energy? Using toddler chasing as your sole method of fitness. Turns out, I needed some guidance and a little more intentionality. Since we’re... Read More

Potty training is such a mystery before you have children, isn’t it? When I look at a graduating class of seniors, I think to myself, “They figured out how to manage their bodily functions. Odds are I can teach my own kids how to properly use a toilet before they leave for college.” (OK, so we start a bit earlier than that.) In case you’re in th... Read More

Do you remember experiencing a deep sense of gratitude as a child? I can remember Christmas in our little house. My three brothers and I knew we only had a few wrapped bundles under the tree. Dinner was either a homemade casserole or chili. The TV spent most of the day collecting dust as we read the Christmas story together, opened presents, and... Read More

You finally have the furniture of your dreams. Its hue matches perfectly with the accent decor you’ve chosen. Not to mention how well it brings out that natural wood floor underneath. Joanna Gaines would be proud. Just as you recline your head and sigh, you hear a sound. Your darling toddler has just snuck in from the kitchen and overturned her ... Read More

We touch our phones 2,617 a day. Crazy, right? A study from the dscout research team revealed this shocking average. Mankind is more connected than ever, and yet, families can grow more distant due to these screens. That’s why we’ve put together our list of seven screen-free activities for families. Read More

Holiday prep is in full swing, the seasons have changed; and if you’re like me, you’re wanting to hibernate all winter but need to keep your kids busy, get Christmas gifts completed, and want to make some precious family memories all at the same time. A solution? Read More

I’m a mom of two young children. The living room is the epicenter of our life, whether it’s pillow forts, book club, or “laundry-folding + Parks & Rec reruns” day. That’s why I want to introduce you to one of my buds who’s stuck with me through all of it: The Home Reserve ottoman. Read More

Confession: I had no idea what superfoods were until I became a mom. The day I realized my infant was staring at my plate like a hungry wolf cub, I realized it was time to research healthy baby food. That journey introduced me to so many power foods I could make from home to help my daughter’s development. Over time, I woke up and smelled the co... Read More

Let me tell you one thing about having kids that they didn’t tell you. They – will – ruin – everything. It’s just Murphy’s Law of being a parent. Everything you once kept nice, will now be turned upside down, on it’s head, with peanut butter handprints the size of a toddler plastered all over it like a preschool Mother’s Day project. Read More

New pets have a way of brightening up your home the minute they enter it. This new partnership also comes with some new house rules that may or may not be followed. For example, table legs aren’t chew toys, toilets aren’t drinking fountains, and house plants aren’t restrooms. To ease this sometimes rocky transition with your new pet, we’ve put t... Read More

For decades, the dinner table has symbolized coming together. It stands for family, friendship, quality time, and provision. However, the generation gap, the busyness of life, and the power of screens are waging war on that nuclear family tradition. What can parents do when conversation is replaced with disconnected silence? To answer that quest... Read More

One day, I attended one of those direct sales parties, mainly to support my friend. At the time, I really wasn’t interested in the product line-up; however, the presenter did share a statistic that stayed with me for days. I later found it in this report from The Huffington Post. Research from the Toronto Indoor Air Conference reports that women... Read More

If money is tight, perhaps you’re getting out of debt, or you’ve just been traveling a lot, then maybe a staycation is right for you. What is a staycation? According to the Urban Dictionary, a staycation is “a vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer.” You take a break from life without le... Read More

A “playdate”, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is “a play session for small children arranged in advance by their parents.” Sounds so simple, right? It doesn’t feel that way when the whole event is resting on your shoulders. Many moms have been in your shoes. In fact, I recently took to social media and asked the pros for their favorite hacks t... Read More

"Thank you to Home Reserve for providing the sectional and Well Woven for providing the rug for this playroom makeover reveal.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting brands that I love!" Read More

If your furniture ever became a chew toy for your pet, you know how quickly those little accidents add up. Let’s take a look at some steps you can take today to stop your pet from ruining your furniture. Read More

Have you considered ordering furniture online, but you’re leery about the unknowns? It’s hard to plunk down a chunk of money on a product you’ve never seen. Therefore, we’re going to help you understand as much about assembling your Home Reserve furniture as possible before you even click “Shop.” Read More

Ditching clutter could cut 40 percent of your housework, according to a study published by the National Soap & Detergent Association. Can you imagine what that would be like? No matter the living space, clutter can be a very real problem. That’s why we’ve put together some great ways you can begin to downsize your clutter today. Read More

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When you move into a new home, it can be a challenge to maximize the potential in each room. Some spaces may just be smaller. Well, there’s still some handy tricks of the trade that can help. Here are several methods that will make your small room look more spacious. Read More

After becoming a mom, my view on healthy living shifted as dramatically as an actor’s workout schedule for an action movie. Why? Because I wanted what was best for my kids. For example: Healthy snacks [Link to “3 Delicious Snack Recipes That Use Super Foods”] made from scratch, less harmful chemicals in products, getting plenty of sleep, etc. It... Read More

Ever experience too much busy? I’ve started nicknaming it “bad busy.” It’s that moment when you realize your schedule resembles the lineup for the Olympic Games. Finding ways to carve out family time when life gets “bad busy” becomes as easy as chasing a dropped receipt on a windy day. Read More

Home Reserve is the proud home of "Renewable Furniture". But what does that mean, exactly? We’re going to take a look in today’s article and unpack why Home Reserve’s renewable furniture can help you protect the environment, save money, and love your living space for years to come. Read More

I have always enjoyed having an orderly and pretty home, its the creative and type A-ish person in me. I like things to look beautiful but I thrive when there is a place for everything, can anyone else relate? So when we found out that we were expecting baby number two I knew that this room had to function as more than a play-room. I needed this... Read More

Food. It’s by far the trickiest category in our budget. When life gets busy or kids come along, prepping healthy meals from scratch can fall by the wayside. That’s why I’ve assembled a master list of the many freezer meals out there on the web. These meals are great for: Read More