The dining room in the lake house above is one of my favorites in Lauren Leiss’s book Habitat, but when it was published in the Washingtonian last month it took my breath away all over again. Every time I look at it, I’m reminded that beautiful does not equal stuff. Every wall doesn’t have to have something on it. A styled room doesn’t have to mean a rug and something leaning and a gallery wall and a basket and candle going. Which is kind of me to a T. I love cozy, casual interiors that feel personal, but I also love the simplicity of the photo above. The takeaway for me? I think every home and every room could benefit from a place for pause whether that be a blank wall, floor, counter or even a simply made bed without 100 throw pillows on it.

Speaking of, a friend of ours started an instagram account called Gray Sorbet. Just like actual sorbet is a palate cleanser, the account is a visual palate cleanser shading from 0-255 . I’ve been following for a few weeks and I’m always surprised how welcoming it is to enjoy the pause before moving onto another image in my feed. You can follow him here and let me know how you like it!

This is the most realistic faux Fiddle Leaf Fig tree I’ve ever seen! And considering the real ones, that we’ll all kill in 3 months, still costs $100-$150, the price is pretty appealing. This 48″ branch version, perfect to stick in a pretty vase, for under $40 would do the trick, too.

Would you host a “crappy dinner party?” (Around here, we call them ‘casual’ but whatevs.)

West Elm is having their Friends+Family sale right now which means everything (including sale items!) is an additional 20% off with the code BESTIES. And since they are having a huge (up to 50% off) rug sale already, and you can stack the 20% off coupon…there are deals to be had!

13 design rules you should just start ignoring right now. 

After being in the vault for seven years (before both of our girls were born), Disney finally released Beauty and the Beast and I scooped it up on Amazon so fast. I can’t wait for family movie night this weekend and watching our girls watch one of my favorites for the first time.

If you listen to our podcast, you know Chris and I have been working on our closets. It’s been a process for me, but I’ve now donated or got rid of 75% of my clothes. It’s liberating, but also a little hard, even if I haven’t worn pieces in years and never see myself wearing that pink cardigan again. The fun part now is making a mood board for my new closet–the clothes part. I know I like neutrals, classic pieces and a mockneck and I won’t apologize for it.

This entry! Geeeeeez.

The weather turned fast this year in our little corner of the world and we’re coming to the realization that some of the outdoor projects we hoped to get done will probably have to wait until Spring. This is especially disheartening for poor Chris who has visited his new Saber Grill in the garage every day for the last month. We had plans to build it into an outdoor kitchen, but the summer slipped away from us. Next year, Chris. Next year, grill.

Hope you all have a great weekend. We already have such a fun lineup of posts for next week–see you then!