You can make an inviting, harvest themed front porch that's decorated for the season on a budget. The trick to decorating on a budget is to think outside of the box with items you already own. Think about the season and use mother nature for your palette. Mums and pumpkins will brighten up any fall porch! Don't go out and buy items without shopping around your house first! Find the items you bought the previous season, and don't be afraid to add some interesting elements like baskets or … [Read more...]
Give Me All the Pumpkins
I love pumpkins! In fact, I may have a slight pumpkin obsession. Crazy pumpkin lady… yep, that’s me! My hubby didn’t realize my crazy love of pumpkins until our first year of marriage. Which is when I picked up several pumpkins each time I went to the store. Big pumpkins, little pumpkins, gnarly green pumpkins, white pumpkins, heirloom Cinderella pumpkins, baby boos….give me alllll the pumpkins! We recently took a trip to Burnette Farms Market, and we picked up a ton of fun and … [Read more...]
Neutral Painted Pumpkins + a Tip
Since I love pumpkins and a good project, I decided to paint some cheap-o pumpkins and make them pretty! Plastic pumpkins look very realistic these days, but I wanted a neutral color palette for my pumpkins. The dollar store and Walmart have great inexpensive foam craft pumpkins. You can use any color paint that you have to keep the costs down on this project. I went with a neutral color scheme to match my home décor. This project did not cost much, and only took a few hours to … [Read more...]
How to Make Mini Succulent Tea Cups
I picked up a gold vintage china set a few weeks ago...it was $10 bucks! I repeat ten bucks! It wasn't the full set, but I knew I had to have it. Did I have a place for it or a plan? Nope! My plan is always "buy now, figure it out later." Surely I'm not the only one with this kind of plan? Right? That same weekend, I also picked up some succulents, and I was looking for cute flower pots to plant them in. I decided it would look super cute if I planted the succulents in one of my … [Read more...]
How to Choose a Color Scheme for Your Home
Picking out a color scheme for your entire home can be tricky! I remember being so overwhelmed at all the paint color swatches.. I mean, how many shades of blues and greys could there possibly be? Ummm... way to many! I knew I wanted our home to be light and bright with soothing shades of greys, blues and whites. I searched Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration, and I continuously pinned Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey and Sherwin Williams Sea Salt for paint colors. When I discovered … [Read more...]
Making a House Our Home
After we lost our historic fixer-upper, we had to find a home fast! That’s how we ended up with our 1980s builder-grade home. This house is not my dream home. When we closed, I wasn’t excited about the house. Let’s get real, the poop brown walls probably had something to do with the feeling! However, Jon promised me we could paint and make improvements to the house–whatever I wanted! I couldn’t wait to pull up my sleeves and get started on my plans. There were a ton of things I wanted to … [Read more...]
The House that Got Away
I lost my dream house… You see, my heart wanted a historic home. I’m an old-house nerd and I have always been fascinated by historic homes. I love the architecture and the grandeur an old home boasts. The stories a historic home could tell of the generations before, that’s my favorite thing to dream up! A soldier kissing his wife when he returned home safely from war. The newlyweds of just one week saying goodbye on the porch before he left for war. A baby being born in the master bedroom. … [Read more...]
Welcome to The Southern Oaks!
Hey y’all, welcome to The Southern Oaks! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by. Let’s be friends, k?! My name is Ashlee, and I was born and raised in Sweet Home Alabama–where the tea is sweet, and football reigns supreme. My husband is from Chicago, and the military brought him down South. We met and got engaged six months later! Classic meet-cute story, right?! We have a rescue cat named Louella Mae and since we don't have any children, she is spoiled rotten! Grab a glass of sweet tea, and … [Read more...]