Secrets to a Relaxing Beach House (Without the Beach)

I'm a summer girl. My birthday is in August (next week!!), the days are long, temperatures are hot, and the grass is green. So many good memories come from summertime. Growing up my friends and I loved boating and I still go any chance I get. There's something to be said about basking in the sun and the wind in your hair. With boating outings happening less and less these days, I like to bring the beach to my home. OK, not literally. But summer is on its way out (how is that even possible??) so I like to cherish the days and make my home feel like a summer retreat, beach or not.

With just a few key elements, your home will feel like a relaxing getaway!

Bright White
White walls, bedding, and furniture create the perfect foundation for cool blues and warm wood finishes for a cohesive look.

Raw Wood Elements
The casual and rustic elements of raw wood chairs, tables, and floors add the organic, weathered feel you'd find outdoors.

Shades of Blue
Incorporate a range of blues in your textiles, decor, and furniture, but balance out the cool colors with warm wood accents.

Woven Designs
Rattan, seagrass rugs, woven blinds and furniture add a casual beach chic aesthetic.

Stripes
The versatile stripe is effortlessly beachy and preppy in everything from rugs to pillows and wallpaper to window treatments.

I've been tediously working on my blog redesign for about three months perfecting a new logo, colors, layout, and more so you have the best experience here at H&H. I'm happy to (finally) announce the full blog reveal will be August 1st at a whole new website, so come back here Friday to check out the new bells and whistles.

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The Best Conversation Starter

My inbox is flooded with e-mail subscriptions. I love getting mail, and with so many talented business women/entrepreneurs/creatives out there with newsletters, I always subscribe so I don't miss a thing. I get everything from marketing tips to networking advice to how to manage finances. While emails do take time to filter through (right now I have about 40 unread!), I always come away with a little nugget of new information. The other day I was reading Kate Northrup's e-mail where she shared a story about her and a friend at a launch party. Kate's friend came up to her with the best conversation starter I've heard yet, "What are you most excited about right now?" We've all been to events where the very first question out of everyone's mouth is, "What do you do?" Though an important networking question (let's be honest),  I love the idea of starting a conversation with something a little more personal, less business. You know, so you can actually get to know the person. You might even catch the person off guard (in a good way)!

As I was reading Kate's e-mail, I started thinking about what's going on in my life that I'm most excited about. This summer has been such an experience. I'm glad I had the chance to live in California and experience a fast-paced big city. Visiting is fun, but you never get the chance to fully immerse yourself in a city until you've stayed for a couple months. While I've adjusted quite easily, I do miss a few things about home. Ample parking being one of them. In August my boyfriend is finally making his way out West and visiting for the first time. I'm excited for a fun trip to Lake Tahoe and hanging out like we're used to. What are you most excited about right now?

Try asking someone next time you strike up a conversation!

The new LPF Magazine is out and I'm in it (along with some other blogger friends :)) The issue is full of fun summer ideas, an inspiring weight loss story, and my tips for decorating on a budget. Read it here.

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My California Home

I promised a tour of my home here in California, so here it is! I played around with YouTube and thought I could pull off a really cool video of the space without ever working with video before. I failed. Miserably. Those YouTube beauty gurus sure know what they're doing! You guys, it's hard stuff to make a video that isn't blurry and horribly edited and I admire anyone that can do it (tell me your secrets!) I'm so impressed with 14 year olds that have it figured out. So, I saved you from a blurry video and I'm sharing bright, pretty photos instead.

Obsession

Do you look at Tumblr? I know I'm wayyy behind the times here, but I'm now just getting lost in the incredible Tumblr world. I don't know what it is, but there are thousands of Tumblrs out there with the most amazing photography. I like using it as inspiration. What are your favorite Tumblr accounts?

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is a full day of shooting for Apartment 34 -- I always learn the best styling tips!

Image via

Decorating with Branches

One of my jobs as a kid was picking up branches. We lived on a farm with a grove of trees, so every spring we had to pick up branches off the ground so we could mow the lawn. Though the job was tedious and I always dreaded it, my dad offered us one cent for each branch we picked up as an incentive. It sounded like a great deal at the time, considering how many branches were strew around.

I love the feeling of natural elements inside a home.

Domino Nails Summer Style

I have always loved magazines. When I was in 7th grade I subscribed to Lucky magazine when it first came out. Mostly because my older sister read it, so naturally that meant I should to. Turned out I loved the magazine and currently am a happy subscriber. These days I have less free time to sit down and read my favorites, but this past weekend I picked up the summer Domino issue. You must g`o get your pretty little hands on an issue NOW.

Transition

Today was my first week as the marketing intern at Apartment 34 and I am still pinching myself that I get to work with such amazingly talented people! It was a great work week with fun people and I'm so excited for upcoming projects and just learning the ropes. Refinery29 showed a sneak peek of Apartment 34's office this week, so if you haven't already you can check out where I'm spending time this summer :) And yes, it is just as gorgeous in person as it is in photos. Erin, the founder of Apartment 34, has mastered the modern design and I'm so obsessed with her clean and airy aesthetic.

Living Room Progress

Today is the day! I'm flying to San Francisco today and starting my summer adventure there working on an exiting beauty app. Stay tuned for app updates in the coming months. I can't wait to share it with you all and get your feedback! We already have a jam-packed schedule starting the moment I get to SF which is exciting jumping right in! This weekend I'll be in LA for the Generation Beauty Event by Ipsy meeting tons of beauty bloggers (hello Michelle Phan!) and networking. Follow along on Instagram and Twitter for tons of photos. But before I fly out, I want to give you a look at the living room progress in my house in Iowa. I won't get to decorate the house for a few months while I'm gone, so I was running around like crazy trying to finish the main projects.

Style to Steal: Wallpaper in Bathrooms

You all know I love me some wallpaper. I can't get enough of it, really. There are so many fun prints and colors that just make me happy, but I will admit, sometimes wallpaper is too busy. Too bright, too obnoxious, too much to look at all the time. That doesn't mean I don't like it, I just wouldn't want to look at it for 8 hours every day. You know what I mean? It goes with the saying, everything in moderation. Ice cream is one of my favorite desserts, but I certainly don't eat it every day (although I probably would if I was 10 years old again.)

That's the beauty of putting wallpaper in bathrooms. It's a small enough space so it does not cost fortunes, and it's separate from the house so you aren't looking at it for hours on end. Imagine wallpapering the biggest wall in your living room. That would be overwhelming for me and guests, and I would probably tire of it much more quickly. 

Let's look at some inspiration shall we...

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Style to Steal: Leather Accessories

Leather is the epitome of modern simplicity. I especially love leather in homes. It has an almost rugged appeal, yet it's earthy and sophisticated. You really can't go wrong. Often times thought of as masculine, I find it incredibly versatile and yes, acceptable for a bachelorette pad too.

Pencil Cup Because one can never have too many desk organizers

Magazine Rack A sleek way to hide my stacks of magazines

Vanity Container Beautiful, simple and nice to look at when I'm getting ready in the bathroom

Pink Desk Accessory Set A productive day starts with an organized desk

Pouf You can't mention the word leather and not include a pouf. This one is actually a set of two for only $60!

Handle DIY For kitchen cabinets, cutting boards, doors...

Tray Everyone needs a catchall leather tray atop a dresser

Pillow Cover For my future living room, when it isn't full of pink

Homepolish

Part of my duty as a blogger is to share awesome stuff with you. Stuff I am excited about and think you would be equally as excited too. The other day I was catching up on my daily reads and came across the Design*Sponge podcast on Amanda Gorski, an interior designer in New York. First of all, I love the podcasts Grace puts together. They are so in-depth and are great learning opportunities for those breaking into the entrepreneurial world, interested in learning about design businesses, and so much more.

Anyway, Amanda is a young interior designer with a fresh perspective and great taste. I'm totally obsessed with her work. She works as one of 90+ designers for Homepolish. Homepolish is an interior design company that is completely changing how design services are traditionally available to consumers. They have eliminated markups and hidden fees and charge an hourly rate, making design services available for all budgets and projects. One of the coolest features of Homepolish is the huge variety of designers available. Type in your zip code and locate designers in your area to choose from based on your style. Right now Homepolish is available in 10 cities and 6 more are coming soon. I love the concept behind it and the fact that it makes design affordable. Pretty cool, huh?

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Living Room Inspiration

I have been wanting to redecorate my parent's farmhouse (where I grew up) for a while now. As a kid, my sister and I helped repaint the kitchen, select new curtains for the dining room, and decor for the living room. We didn't do anything major, though we have always wanted to. Our living room is a big room. It has nice bay windows, French doors and an open floor plan. There are endless possibilities but right now, it's not really making use of such a great space. Now with a little niece (and granddaughter) soon to be crawling/walking/running around, it's the perfect time to update the place and make it a little more kid-friendly. With much convincing, my mom finally decided to let my sister and I takeover and redecorate the house.

My sister and I talked it over and we decided to go with an airy, bright, and traditional country style. My mom has a lot of antique furniture with wood finishes she wants to use, so luckily we won't need to source much furniture. We have some really great pieces to work with, so we are getting creative and doing a lot of rearranging.

The major issue we need to tackle in the living room is seating. The current couch and love seat are worn, not very comfortable, and not all that appealing. We have a large and growing family so we need all the seating we can get. In such a big room, a sectional works perfectly and divides up the space. Since we already have a couple recliners, TV stand, and a buffet, all we need is a sofa table, coffee table, an end table and accessories.

Audrey put together a floor plan that visually shows the arrangement of the room. We even have a piano in our dining room that will work great in the new living room. The second half of the living room will be a kid play area with a mini table and chairs, a bookshelf, and toy storage. More on that later!

I started putting together an inspiration board and this is what I came up with so far. We really want to keep things neutral and traditional, bringing in pops of color with fun accessories. What do you think?

My sister and I are not actually at my parent's house during this whole process, so we are doing a lot of online shopping and link sharing! Next, we have to create a to-do list before we can start bringing in the new furniture and accessories. Hope you are ready to get to work, Mom :)

We are also tackling the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway, and bedrooms! Stay tuned for more inspiration photos, style boards, and "after" photos!


Sectional, Rug, Curtains, Metal Side Table, Trunk Coffee Table, Light Pendant , Sofa Table, Coral Pillow, Metallic Pillow, Throw

The Animal Print Shop

I'd call myself a moderate animal lover. As a kid I spent hours playing with my kittens on the farm and I like my fair share of trips to the zoo. So when it comes to sweet, precious, animal photos, that is something I can get behind.

Sharon Montrose is not new. Her amazing photographs have been spotted all over the Internet and in homes for years. But after clicking around her website I found myself loving them ALL, so obviously I had to share them with you. I mean, who doesn't like photos of baby animals?

Sharon's amazing photos are commonly spotted in nurseries which might be the cutest thing ever. They would be perfect for my niece's safari themed nursery, who was actually due yesterday and we're still waiting to meet her!

All images are available for purchase at The Animal Print Shop