This & That | Living Room Refresh

Hi friends! ? How was your weekend?  We’re actually on Day 4 of a long weekend here, so James is home from school and we are supposed to be getting torrential rain, so it’ll just be a quiet day inside for us.  That’s fine with me since over the weekend we had a birthday bash for Jordan, celebrating that special ONE YEAR milestone!  Isn’t that such a big one?!  It’s like, “Hallelujah, we survived!!  Our baby is happy and healthy and we didn’t kill her or each other! Praise the Lord!”  
Lots of you popped over to my IG to wish Jordan a happy birthday and we couldn’t appreciate you more!  You’ve been with us since she was born, so it feels wonderful to share this day with y’all!
Chalk Art via my friend Kristara | Similar Chalkboard 
I want to do a proper birthday party recap for you with all the photos and sources and everything, but it will take a little time to get it all together.  But I couldn’t leave you hanging without giving you at least a little preview of Jordan in her adorable Birthday Girl outfit!
I was all set to wear my floral party dress, but it was so hot (the pic above was pre-party), that I ended up wearing the flowy floral pants and black tank you saw me trying on in the last Dressing Room post. It was perfect and I was totally comfortable in that, sitting on the floor while Jordan opened presents and not having to worry about my dress riding up.
Jordan loved all of her gifts (if you need something for a one year-old, My Pal Violet, a cash register, and vacuum were all big hits with her) and man, how cute is this little canvas tote?!
We really had such a good time celebrating Jordan with a small party at the house with just immediate family.  I did spend a lot of time and energy preparing and decorating for the party, but I wanted to make it extra special for her.  She sure loved all the attention and getting to see her cousins and grandparents.  Not to mention eating cake!!  That was so funny and she was totally giggling eating it!  If you guys watch my InstaStories, you know I could watch Jordan eat all day!
Truthfully, I’ve been so focused on Jordan and her birthday that I haven’t given my own (it’s today!) a thought!  I have a feeling it will be like that from here on out with her birthday just two days before mine and then James’ right around the corner!
And, I realized when sharing that living room snap from above that I haven’t updated you on the changes to our living room over the last year.  I’m planning to do a Spring home tour post soon, but while I get that together, I figured I could share now how we’ve refreshed the room by changing up a couple things.
RUG || If you follow me on Instastories, you’ve already seen our living room a bunch, and I’ve responded to lots of questions about our new rug.  We got the rug when Jordan was a few months old so we could have a more padded surface for her to lay and crawl on.  We just layered it over our existing sisal rug (old from Crate & Barrel) and it added a pretty dose of blue and tan pattern to the floor.  It’s super soft and the colors are nice and muted, but it is a synthetic rug- which also makes it much less expensive than a natural fiber rug.
LAMPS || One of our old mercury glass lamps shattered into a million pieces one day when I accidentally bumped it with my phone, so I need to replace those lamps.  I guess I hit it at just the right angle to make it break, but it was a mess!  I’m crazy for the new blue lamps we found to replace them.  I love the shape, color and open cutouts.  They are big in scale at 29 inches, which fit our space really well.  Small lamps get lost in this room.
OTTOMAN || The ottoman was a purchase made in effort to try to get something safer for Jordan.  We had an upholstered ottoman in here before, but the legs and underneath part were metal and I was afraid she’d get hurt on them.  She was always crawling under it since there was no bottom and bumping her head.  This ottoman is soft wood and no accidents!  I will say that it looks very different in person than on the screen because the wooden part is almost black instead of the brown pictured.  They grey upholstery part also leans on the deep grey/navy blue side.  It wasn’t what I expected when I ordered it, but it seems to go pretty well with our color scheme so we kept it.
ROUND END TABLES || I can already tell you that the pretty round wooden end tables didn’t work out for us.  I ordered one to see how it would look in this room and it was just too small and short.  I actually need/prefer a taller end table on “my” side of the couch (the chaise side) because with the short end table we have there now, Jordan has pulled my coffee down several times when I wasn’t looking.  Of course, you can’t leave anything like that laying around with a curious mobile baby in the house, but I wish she just couldn’t reach it.
Even when we put this round table in that spot (when our Christmas tree was in its place), she can still reach things on the end!
WING CHAIR ||  This wing chair was just brought down from the master bedroom at Christmas to make room for a tree and it’s still here.  I like that it provides extra seating in the room and also hides some toys stashed behind it sometimes!  It’s not a chair that gets a ton of use, but looks great in the space and is nice and tall.
PILLOWS ||  As much as I love neutrals and a monochromatic room, I’m also drawn to some pattern and the color blue, so we added some high-quality, large (22×22 inch) throw pillows and I love how they look here.  Leopard Velvet Pillow | Buffalo Check Pillow | Betwixt Indigo Blue Pillow And these aren’t just for show or, “don’t touch the pillows!”  We do lounge on them and James has built many a pillow fort with them.
BASKETS || With Jordan accumulating more toys, we had to get two baskets to corral everything.  It makes for easy clean up and they add a dose of texture that compliments the sisal rug.
What do you think of the changes??  I feel like they coordinate really well with the updated breakfast room.  I’ll show you how everything looks in real life as soon as I get the photos taken and post written!
On the style front, I saw that Nordstrom’s Winter Sale (save up to 40%!) is live with some fantastic deals! These amazing peep toe booties are finally on sale 40% off, making them under $90! They are still available in most sizes, so scoop them up before they sell out!  I loved mine so much I bought them in both black and brown and have worn them a ton (still going strong!).  The v-cut out in front elongates your leg and the heel gives you a lot of height, but I still find them very comfortable.  They run big though, so size down a 1/2 size.  

 

The v-neck slouchy sweater is the same one you saw in the Styling Leopard Heels post and it’s also on sale 40% off!  It’s a great staple piece that also comes in olive and rust, and I like to layer a white tee or tank under mine.  It also runs big, I’m in XS (loose fit), but size down for a slimmer fit. 
My very favorite high-heel pump is on sale.  I have them in several colors- the black and tan are no-brainers, but I also love the perforated pink!  They are so comfy, and feminine and classic pointy toe pump.  Your legs will look killer in these!
If you like turtlenecks, this one is a nice, thin and stretchy one that is perfect for layering or wearing alone.  It’s 40% off and comes in regular and petite, in 4 colors.  The neck part doesn’t choke you and there isn’t too much neck fabric- it slouches well too, which I like.

Bootcut Jeans (0P) | Black Turtleneck (XSP) | Leopard Clutch | Necklace | Tassel Earrings | Similar Sunglasses $12 | Leopard Skinny BeltThis rib knit pullover (40% off) has already been reached for on repeat since I got it.  It’s just a basic ribbed long sleeve top, but it’s got lots of stretch and goes with everything! It’s not too heavy either.

And this cutest ruffle hem sweater is also marked down!
My blue Rebecca Minkoff bag is price matched in a the “sand” color– looks like a beautiful, buttery neutral beige.
And last but not least, I’m sort of drooling over these Michael Kors platform sandals in tan “luggage leather”!  They have every size but mine! ?
I can’t wait to share ALL the birthday details with you soon- I’m still getting over the shock that my baby is already ONE year old! #makeitstop!!
 
Hope y’all have a great Monday! 
__________________

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

16 Comments

  1. Happy Birthday, Megan! Hope it's a great day! Love seeing your living room refresh. You've inspired me to get my room finished since we got a new sofa at Christmas!

  2. We had so much fun following along on IG. We couldn't stop laughing about the cake video…that giggle was infectious. You did a beautiful job with her party Megan. Gorgeous, yet understated. At that age, it's really more about celebrating mom and dad and the fact that you made it through the first year, but it was clear that Jordan had a wonderful time as well. And James…OMG…that sweet boy. Picking to wear the suit coat all on his own. Dying laughing over him rummaging through the kitchen drawers for a tie (and thinking, "Megan is probably dying over the drawers being exposed" LOL).
    Love all the changes to the living room too. We are loving having our media center and fireplace surround back white, but with it came lots of changes!
    Put your feet up today, you deserve it.

  3. Happy Birthday to you and Jordan!!! My son as born on my birthday and my daughter was born one day after. I feel like if I'm too busy to celebrate mine it just means I don't get older right????

  4. Happy Birthday!! Your children's birthdays are also a celebration for you and you deserve it:) My husband and 2 daughters have birthdays in August and I feel like it's almost another Christmas with all the gifts and celebrations.

  5. Happy Happy Birthday, Megan!!! I hope you have had a wonderful day! Loved seeing the little snippets of Jordan's birthday party on your Insta Stories. It looks like it turned out perfectly! She's just adorable! Here's to a great year ahead 🙂

  6. Happy Birthday! My name is Megan too and my birthday is the same day as yours! And I think we might even have been born the same year (1976?). Too funny! Hope you got to celebrate and have a fun day!

  7. OMG, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the pink doll in the picture with your baby and her stroller! My daughter received the exact same doll for her first Christmas, and has cherished 'Dolly' ever since. Your picture brought tears to my eyes – my daughter will be 13 years old next month!!

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