Ocal Ham Beque

I am often told I have a talent for finding the cutest mugs! It’s hard to resist one when I see it. Selecting my morning mug or asking my guests which one they want is a long standing tradition around our house. Since I’m often asked where the mugs are from I wanted to share an updated round up today of some of my new and long time favorites!

Cheers to cozy fall drinks in cute mugs!

Sources: 1. Floral Stoneware Mugs // 2. Blue and White Striped Mugs // 3. Homebody Mug // 4. Botanical Mugs // 5. Blue and White Pattern Mug // 6. Blue and White Smaller Mugs // 7. Blue and White Set of 4 Mugs

These botanical mugs (dark green and brown) were love at first sight recently…they made me think of fall!

I adore these striped mugs and the pretty saucers, too.

Calling all HomeBodies! This homebody mug is my own cozy mug that I don’t share with others haha.

These mugs are my newest set. They are a really nice heavy stoneware. They come in a set of six, three colors (they’d make a great gift too if you get a set and split them up!). Each color is beautiful, I love choosing which color I’m in the mood for. I’m excited to have a set of these beauties for fall family gatherings.

Love the hand painted designs on these blue and white mugs! They come in a set of 4 with varying patterns.

How We Make Our Coffee in a Stovetop Espresso Maker

12+ Practical & Pretty Kitchen Items I Love

A Lovely Life: Making Pour Over Coffee with a Copper Kettle

My Favorite Coffee Making Tools, Milk Frother, Favorite Coffee Beans, Tea and More

Get Inspired by More Fall Nesting Posts!

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like playing around with floor plans and considering all (and I do mean aaaalllllllllll) of the possibilities, these next few weeks may drive you absolutely crazy. You may want to check out for a while and check back in a few weeks to see if I’m past this phase and have moved on to actually implementing a plan.

Because right now, all I can do is think about the possibilities. My brain will not stop. I wake up in the morning thinking about possibilities. I consider them all day as I’m working. My mom and I talked about them at lunch yesterday. I talked about them with friends last night. I go to bed at night thinking about them.

I get so excited about trying out different layouts and thinking about the different suggestions that people give me. And y’all gave me a whole lot to think about on Monday’s post. And there was one suggestion in particular that caught my attention, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. The suggestion was to move the guest bathroom into the pantry area.

I’m sure at some point, someone else probably suggested this, and I dismissed it immediately because, again, that floor is a concrete slab foundation. So doing anything in there that requires plumbing will be cost more, take longer, and be a big disruption to our lives. So it’s very possible that someone mentioned it before, and I wrote it off without any thought. I can’t even explain why I’ll write off a suggestion over and over again, and then it takes that one last time of someone suggesting it, and I decide to consider it. No one can explain how my mind works, least of all me. 😀

But when I read this suggestion, I decided to try it out. I wasn’t even sure what problems (if any) that change would solve, but the idea intrigued me, so I gave it a go. I decided immediately that it would have to be a full bathroom. If someone ever needed to stay with Matt, I could have a sleeper sofa in the TV room, but I would hate for them to have to use our bathroom. So this guest bathroom would need to have a shower.

Also, it would need to be accessible via the kitchen because I don’t want so many doorways in the TV room. I need at least one solid, uninterrupted wall. Plus, it’s just weird for guests to have to use a bathroom that’s accessible through a door right there in the area where people are gathered. You usually want it to be removed from the main room a little bit, at least. That’s why they’re usually off of a hallway.

So if I did this, it would look something like this. Don’t pay too much attentino to the arrangement of the actual bathroom. I didn’t give that much thought yet. But the general placement of the bathroom would look like this.

So my question is this. How weird is it to have a guest bathroom off of the kitchen? I know I’ve seen it before, but they’re mainly powder bathrooms. And even at that, I don’t know how common that is. So you tell me. Is it strange to have a bathroom off of a kitchen?

I’ve just never lived in a home with a bathroom off of the kitchen, so I’m not sure how I feel about that. What I do love about that idea is that it gets all of the “public” areas of the house over on one side. It makes sense to have the guest bathroom closer to the TV room, the dining room, and the kitchen. And I also love that with the bathroom moved, I would have these areas freed up to arrange how I need them to be arranged.

The areas I’m trying to work into this floor plan are (1) guest bathroom, (2) laundry room, (3) lots of closet space, (4) a workout area. And what I love about the idea of moving the guest bathroom out of its current location and moving it closer to the other “public” areas of the house is that it would basically make all of this area in pink the master suite. None of this would be “public” anymore. This entire end of the house would be master suite for me to arrange in the way that best suits us. That would leave the laundry room, lots of closet space, and a workout area that I’d need to fit into these areas.

And if it helps, I could even possibly take the wall down between the current hallway and hallway bathroom to make a more open area in the master suite entrance.

I’m just brainstorming here, so I don’t know if that’s possible. I’d have to get up into the attic and see if that’s a load-bearing wall. I kind of think it is, so I don’t know what would have to be done in order to open that up completely. But it sure would make a nice workout area. And it would make sense to have it there as part of the master suite.

But my main question for today is about the placement of the guest bathroom off of the kitchen. Again, I know I’ve seen powder baths off of kitchens before. Do you think that’s strange? Have you had a house with that arrangement before? Tell me your thoughts on that.

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

While my intention was always to have an upholstered seat cushion made for our dining bench, I didn’t want to rush into it! It’s expensive to have a custom cover made so I wanted to give myself some time to decide what fabric to use. Meanwhile, I found a much simpler and more affordable DIY no sew bench cushion solution that has worked out great. Today I am finally sharing it with you!

Last year, late one evening, my daughter Courtney and I made our DIY no sew bench cushion with this foam and this tool. I took a few photos (even though it was dark out!) so you can see what the foam and the tool looks like.

The foam I used doesn’t have flame retardants in it, which is important especially if you plan to sleep on your foam cushion. I see they now offer custom sizes too so I may get a new foam so I don’t have to use two pieces.

By the way, I will list more sources from this room the end of the post.

This knife made it easy to cut the foam.

All you have to do is order the foam size you need (from that link you can find many custom sizes from this same company), use the tool to cut it to fit (or use a saw if you have one that will work). Our bench is shallower than the foam so we first just laid it out where it needed to go and then used a pen and ruler to figure out where to cut it.

It didn’t have to be cut perfectly as long as it was fairly straight and fit into the spot we have for the cushion. We used two pieces to make it fit all the way across since our bench is very long, but like I said now they have longer pieces available so two wouldn’t be necessary.

Then you can toss a throw or whatever size blanket you need over it!

I’ve been telling you about these washable plaid blankets that I’ve recently fallen in love with — I got two more because I realized they would be the most perfect cozy fall “cover” for my dining bench! They come in other pretty colors, too (see them all here).

This bench seat hack was actually my parents’ idea — I think it was brilliant! I looked for a pre-made cushion, too, but the length we needed was too long for most ready-made options. The beauty of cutting your own foam is that you can make it whatever size you need!

My blankets haven’t been washed yet but when they are the creases will come out. I couldn’t wait to try them here! I used two throws.

I just tucked some of the edges in the back and sides. Our dining bench has a ledge / lip on it to keep the cushion from falling off so we could tuck the blanket in on the front too, but I think it is easier to just leave the throw hanging over the edge. We have drawers so as long as we don’t let it hang down too far it easy to open drawers.

You can change up the look for a new season with any quilt or blanket (be sure to get a narrow one if your bench is shallower like mine). I usually use these patterned reversible washable blankets!

I love the weight, colors and pattern of these wool blankets! So cozy!

You all know I’m usually not too excited about or skilled with DIY’s, but trust me. This one was easy enough for even someone like me. I was motivated to finish the bench in our dining room so we could actually use it (isn’t that the point of what we do at home?) but the savings and quick fix of this option made it worth trying before investing in a custom seat. I’m so glad we did.

Another benefit of this idea is with washable blankets you aren’t worried about people (or little grande babes!) actually sitting on the bench to eat. If they spill, no problem! You can just toss the blanket in the wash.

Even if I do eventually get my custom cushion, I will likely want to cover it with a blanket anyway so I realized I might as well start with something like this! Honestly I’m not a high end fancy pants gal who must have perfect everything, so anything casual and practical but still charming like this makes it feel like our home.

We have another bench in our living room which we use for seating (and changing babies LOL) every time our family comes over. This one already had a custom cushion and cover on it, but I still use throws to give it different looks. Right now this cushion is “wrapped” with this thin reversible blanket and the plaid is of course just laying over top as an accent. I just think it’s fun to be able to change the look of it so easily and affordably.

Now that I’ve lived with our DIY dining bench cushion for almost a year now, I might wait a couple more years on a custom bench seat!

Foam for bench

Cutting tool for bench

Bamboo Shades (see more details and close up photo of color in this post)

Plaid Blanket

Patterned Rug (Ocean/Gold color)

Blue and White Pot on Table

Braided Placemats on Table

Patterned Pillow on Dining Bench

Striped Shams on Dining Bench

Jute Wrapped Chandelier with Shades (lots of shade options)

Rattan Dining Chairs – Similar mine were from here but out of stock

Favorite Home & Garden Coffee Table Books on shelves

Blue Striped Slipcovers (Downey Blue fabric)

Parsons Dining Chairs

Brass Wall Sconce

Living Room Rug

Find more sources from my home here in My Shop!

UPDATE, MONDAY 8/26/24: Just a note to let y’all know that I won’t be on the blog this week. I don’t want anyone to worry that something is wrong with Matt or anything. We’re fine. 🙂 I just need to step away for a few days and get some things in order without being tied to a computer each morning. Work on the gym (soon-to-be bedroom) floor is starting next Monday, so I need to get that room cleared out and find a place for everything. And then the work on my workshop should start possibly the following week (my permit was finally approved!), so I need to do some random things to get ready for that, like cut away tree branches so that their truck can get to our back yard easily. Anyway, it’ll be a busy week away from the computer to get ready for some pretty exciting things that are coming up. So I’ll be back here a week from now. Hope y’all have a great week!

It’s been a while since I shared with y’all about the quote we got for a whole house generator. We wanted to go with the Generac brand, and the quote (including the cost of the generator, the installation, and a couple of electrical issues that would need to be brought up to code for the installation to pass inspection) came to just over $21,000.

Of course, we weren’t thrilled with that price, but we were going to make it work if that was the best option. So we were going to take time to mull it over and make sure that it was really the right decision.

But then, just a couple of weeks after we got that quote, Hurrican Beryl hit Houston. I was checking in regularly with my friend who lives in a suburb of Houston to make sure that she and her family were staying safe. They were fine, but they were left without electricity for a few days. Prior to that, my friend had told her husband that she absolutely wanted a whole house standby generator. There was no question about it, and she was willing to pay any price for it. She didn’t care how much it cost just as long as she as their family of four, including two teenage boys, wouldn’t be left without electricity for days on end.

Then Beryl hit, and they were left without electricity. But do you know who else was left without electricity? About half of the people in their subdivision who had whole house standby generators. She was shocked, and so was I when she told me about it. They live in a very nice subdivision in a Houston suburb. These are people who paid the thousands of dollars to have the whole house standby generator installed, and who have the annual maintenance plan to make sure the generator is ready in case of emergency. And then when they actually needed them in the aftermath of a hurricane, half of them were left with malfunctioning generators and no electricity.

Ever since then, she and I (and her husband) have been coming up with new plans, exchanging ideas, and sharing various products that we might find useful if the need arises again in the future. Here’s the plan that Matt and I have decided on instead of a whole house standby generator.

First up, we bought a Jackery. A Jackery is a solar-powered generator, and the company has all different sizes for various purposes. They have everything from big whole house generators to small portable generators that you can take camping. After doing a lot of comparing, we ended up selecting the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus. We purchased it during Amazong Prime days, and it was 50% off, even though we didn’t purchase it on Amazon. We purchased it through the Jackery website. Here’s what it looks like…

We selected this one because it’s the second largest one they have, and they’re expandable, meaning that if we find we need more, longer-lasting power, we can add more stackable battery packs to it. This one came with two of these solar chargers. You can see how huge it is compared to the music room settee.

I also really like that a Jackery can be charging while it’s being used, just as long as the power coming in is greater than the power going out. And the display on the front of the generator keeps track of that so you can see exactly what’s coming in and going out.

I wanted this because I like the idea of having a generator that can be safely used inside the house. It doesn’t produce any kind of exhaust, so it doesn’t have to stay outside. So this is a good backup to have.

I searched and researched generators for days before deciding on this one. The factors that pushed me towards this one were (1) the customer ratings (a 4.8 star rating out of 2779 customer reviews), and (2) that it’s a tri-fuel generator. For now, we will keep gasoline on hand in case we need it. But in the very near future (as in, hopefully this month, but definitely before this winter), we are going to have a plumber come out and install a natural gas hookup line so that we can use that to power the generator if and when we need it.

I feel relieved to have made this decision. I think we’ll have what we’ll need, and it didn’t cost anywhere near $21,000. That main thing is that in an emergency, we need to be able to heat or cool (depending on the time of year) one room in our house so that Matt can be comfortable. As long as we can close the bedroom door and have a portable air condition or portable space heater keeping that one room comfortable for him, as well as some power for a lamp or two, and maybe a laptop computer, and our refrigerator, we can last for days.

I am still considering purchasing this small Honda generator just to have a small backup generator on hand.

My Houston friend said that her sister (who also had no electricity because of the hurricane) used this Honda generator to power a portable air conditioner, and it worked great. She was especially impressed with it because it’s very quiet compared to the big noisy gas-powered generators. So that’s still on my list to purchase. But for now, I at least have the peace of mind knowing that we can get through a few days without electricity with what we have. There won’t be any more frantic scrambling to get Matt to my mom’s house or somewhere else before the extreme heat (or cold) starts to affect him.

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

This post is in partnership with Wayfair

Can you believe September is just two weeks away now? I always look forward to fall nesting. Even though I feel so sad without our sweet Jack here, as I wrote in my books A Lovely Life and Dwelling, bringing beauty into our home and life can be therapeutic.

So, I pulled myself together and took my own advice this week. I practiced what I know to be true.

My husband is still planning to return to painting our door and porch next week, but I wanted to do something simple to bring a touch of fall inside. I found everything I needed at Wayfair.

With a small or awkward space it can be a little challenging to find affordable pieces that are pretty, fit the dimensions of the room and serve needs of the family. Wayfair has lots of smaller scale cottage style furnishings and accessories, so that made it much easier.

The colors in this rug felt like just the right touch to add a layer of coziness and it came in this smaller size (3’6 x 5’6). I love that the colors of the rug bring our palette together. It sets the tone for our style and color palette at the front door.

This half round table adds style and makes our small entry functional. I’ve wanted to find a table similar to the one we had but with the lower shelf and a deeper drawer. This one is just what I was hoping to find! The color is so lovely and cottagey, too.

This lamp with the adorable scalloped shade is tall and narrow, and it leaves room for the rattan storage boxes or whatever we’d want to put here. When you have a small rounded surface, it can be hard to make it functional, but these woven boxes work great!

And finally, the wreath adds a welcoming touch of fall. It’s really cute — I love how the color plays so nicely against the door and with the furniture in here, too.

Now when we walk in this room it feels like a warm gentle hug. A cozy reminder of all the love and beauty that makes our home our sanctuary in all seasons. I have a few more ideas for this space, but it’s a start.

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post about Jack. I am reading each one and taking every word to heart — you are a blessing to me and to our family.

Lamp with Scalloped Shade (lots of color options and two sizes, mine here is the taller)

Demilune Half Round Table

Wood Lidded Boxes

Fall Wreath

Floral Rug

Book Stack

Rug Pad