10 Best Cotton Beach Sarong

When it comes to swimsuit season, I love nothing more than a good cotton, block print beach sarong, also known as a pareo! And while there’s no beach days for us this year (covid and all that), I am enjoying front yard sprinkler time with the kids. And these cotton sarongs give me just the confidence and coverage I need! Over the years I’ve collected some gorgeous prints and am constantly asked where I’ve found them. The swimsuit above can be found here, and while my sarong above is currently sold out, I rounded up my favorite the web currently has to offer and today, I’m sharing the best cotton beach sarongs currently available on the internet!

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10 Best Cotton Beach Sarongs

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$15

$50

$15

$22

$15

Set of Five, $55

$50

$18

$18

$14

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And in addition to any good beach day (or in my case currently, the front yard)… a good tote! My go to as most of you know are French Market Totes. So as requested, here’s a round up of some of my favorite!

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Our 15 Favorite French Market Totes

2020 Edition, click images to shop

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$30

$56

$44

$88

$48

$98

$46

$60

$62

$55

$22

$28

$45

$79

15 Favorite French Market Totes

To Market To Market!  After sharing my new bike with you (in case you missed it, that post is here), I also wanted to share my new obsession!  Again, I'm currently editing things in my life and only looking to bring things into it that have purpose rather than intention, this can be a practical item or one that brings joy to my life.  So, when I come across something that's both beautiful and functional...I know I have to share it with you here!  And that brings us to my new love, French Market totes...backpacks too!!  These days I'm typically running around with P & K, walking to the grocery store, biking to the park and with kids comes stuff!  P & K are finally at the age where I don't have to schlep around a huge diaper bag and an additional purse, but as any mom knows, with kids comes stuff and typically not enough hands to juggle it all.  Currently, my attire runs the gamut of casual dresses to athletic ware and in wanting to refine my style a bit for fall, while trying to appear to have it all together (mom life), I needed an easy, beautiful, versatile bag.   I love how French Market Totes are super simple and super versatile.  Their neutral color goes with pretty much everything and their larger size works both as a normal purse and also perfect for errands, like groceries and my favorite...flower runs!

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Our 15 Favorite French Market Totes

2020 Edition, click images to shop

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$30

$56

$44

$88

$48

$98

$46

$60

$62

$55

$22

$28

$45

$79

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I first purchased this tote (shown above) for our recent two week road trip.  It was just the thing I needed for long days in the car to exploring new destinations!  Plus it went perfectly with all my vacation clothes.  It's a bit of an invest at $80, but I'm happy to say that the quality was pleasing and the leather handles are a nice touch.  Now that I'm home, it's my go to purse and bag I take to pilates.  Multi uses and it looks great sitting out!

Now that we're back home, P & K have really enjoyed helping at the grocery store.  They no longer will let me throw them in the stroller or a shopping cart, and having two 'super helpful' toddlers running around the grocery store can really hinder the purpose of the trip.  I have been looking high and low for a backpack that would allow me to be hands free while holding P & K's hands through stores and sidewalks, but I always ran into the same thing.  Either they were super sporty, and not quite the look.  Or they screamed "MOM BACKPACK!".  Or they were super stylish, and either too small to hold all the stuff I typically need to carry, or made of leather or fabrics that weren't quite made for messy grocery hauls (P & K are notorious for putting sticky wrappers, or half empty drinks into my bag)!  Again, with kiddos, my life right now is about efficiency, even if that's at the cost of orderly.  So, after finding the tote above, I knew I'd love the backpack version!  I've had it for a couple weeks now and it seriously is the perfect thing for the store.  And I can't wait to take it out to our farmers markets this fall!  And I know I just gave a trillion reasons why these make my mom life happy, but these seriously, are so cute for anyone.  Pretty, practical, simple!  So, I've rounded up my 15 favorites, with varying price points below!  Enjoy!

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There you have it!  My favorite fall purchase.  What's your favorite for fall?  Would love for you to comment at the very bottom of this post!

Lots of love your way today!  Michelle

Enjoying The Ride | My New Bike and My New Perspective

As many of you know, my mom was called home this past Spring.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her terribly.  In looking for ways to stay connected to her, I've really started to have a change of outlook and perspective on this life and the choices and things I bring into it.  My mom loved bike rides...LOVED!  She loved the freedom it gave her as a girl and I think also loved the simple joy it brought into her life as she got older.  Her and my dad had a pair of his and hes when they got married.  She later found a beautiful vintage red one that she loved.  And last fall she wanted to invest in a beautiful, timeless, well made bike.  Her and my brother did a ton of research and found this great Australia company called Papillionaire, they also have a shop in Brooklyn.  After some phone calls to the shop up north, she went with a beautiful creme colored mixte.  That thing is gorgeous and rides like a dream!!!  She loved it and her and my dad spent last fall enjoying rides together.  

I haven't owned a bike since I was a a girl and in wanting to give homage to my mom and the bikes my parents always had together, Brian and I purchased a set of his and hers in black!  We too went with Papillionaire and I also went with the mixte frame.  Mine just arrived a week ago and I've already loved the freedom it gives me and the joy it brings.  Somehow, mothers always know best!

We also invested in this bike trailer.  After weighing the pros and cons to individual kid seats vs a trailer, we opted for the trailer simply to allow myself to cart both P & K around town during the week.  So, far we've LOVED it!  P & K have enjoyed our daily rides and it easily attaches and removes from our bikes, making it a breeze for us to switch it out from one bike to another.  It also converts to a jogging stroller.  Which I have to say it super convenient and a nice additional feature, but I wouldn't suggest purchasing this unit for the jogging feature alone.  

While it works, I think for the price point you could find something much better suited for that task.  That being said, Brian does jog with it, and I have used it walking to our local shops and market.  But again, I love it for it's bike trailer feature!  And while it's perfect for toting the kids around, the seat also lays flat making it perfect for carrying goods.  On this day, I rode to Lowes to purchase flowers and greenery for our front steps,  And I have to say, there's something really enjoyable and relaxing about biking to the store, and loading up your carrier with a bunch of pretty flowers!

For the front I purchased this basket.  I love its large size, perfect for a purse or errand essentials!  Needless to say my new set of wheels brings joy and function into my life.  It's getting me outdoors more and giving me and the kids an excuse to cruise around town.  So, this week friends, I hope you enjoy the ride!  Call or visit with the ones you love, share a laugh and find joy in the ordinary!

Market Backpack

Love this natural tote!  Perfect for weekend picnics or farmer's markets, hands down my favorite for fall!

BUY NOW >>>

Spring Window Boxes

Winter here in Atlanta seems unusually warm.  Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and 70 degrees!  While another cold front's on the way, I couldn't help but go pick out some colorful flowers to place in our window boxes.

Last year Brian built me these out of cedar, which we painted the same color as our shutters.  By building them ourselves we were able to customize the size, plus they were slightly cheaper than other similar cedar planters.  If building window boxes isn't an option, I currently like the look of these and these.  If you're wanting cedar ones, check your local home improvement store for affordable options.  Ours were in need of a cleanup, simple dish detergent and water did the trick.  

When it comes to my window boxes, I prefer to only plant twice a year.  Early Spring, then again for Summer.  So when picking blooms, I want things that will last for a few months and give continuous color to my boxes.  I also prefer to start out with quite a bit in them, then that way, once they grow, my window boxes are bursting over with beautiful foliage.  To attain this I water most days and prune dead blooms to encourage more growth (this is my happy place during the Spring, spending about 10 minutes each morning watering, I have a feeling this year I'll have two enthusiastic helpers)  It should also be noted that I don't plant directly into the window boxes, but use large plastic containers from home improvement stores, this allows me to easily drop them into each window box and rearrange if needed.  For this Spring I used the following... 

Pink Primrose (in the back) and Highlander Rose Shades Saxifrage in the front, with...

Dusty Miller (one of my all time favorites) and Coral Reef Sedum on the sides to add texture.

Now I'm off to give these guys a good watering and taking the kids for a walk to the park.  Wishing this warm weather was here to stay!

Before & After | Patio Makeover

Like any new house it takes time to move in and get your bearings.  Still deciding on the feel for the interior, Brian and I decided to start by tackling the outside of our new (old) abode.  We miss not having a front porch, so we decided to create a side patio, a place where we could gather with neighbors, have al fresco dinners and when the weather cools, Bri and I can have outdoor date nights by a fire.  What we started with (photo above) was an overgrown mess, that meekly hid an ugly chain link fence. And what we ended with was this...

I'm in love with our string light patio!  The river rocks add texture to the space and I'm obsessed with our super budget friendly solution to concealing that chain link fence (yup, that's right...that faux fence you see is hiding our chain link!  And it cost less than $150 to make!) I've outlined the steps below, forgive the lack of progress photos, with two toddlers running around, Brian and I were more concerned about finishing the project rather than documenting. 

First things first, we needed to remove overgrown shrubs and weeds to open up the space.

Our other big objective was to conceal the chain link fence.  We weren't in a place, budget wise, to replace it entirely, so we were looking for a budget friendly way to hide it.  We threw around the idea of planters, which I still think would have worked, but ultimately, we wanted a privacy fence to separate the front and back yards.  So, when we came across raw cut cedar fence boards on sale at our local Lowes, we decided to try to build horizontal panels that we would attach to our current fence...think an accent wall for outside!  We started by cutting off the dog ears on our fence boards, then attached each board using brass screws to two furring strips (this holds each panel together on the backside).  We made three panels, each consisting of 15 individual cedar boards.  Once the panels were made we attached the panels to our chain link fence using galvanized pipe grips.  This is what it looked like then...

Also, one thing to note, the weekend before, we had removed all the weeds, hung string lights (industrial ones here) and prepped and poured our river rock "floor".  If you're doing the entire project I'd say this is a two weekend task.  In the photo above you can see the seams between our panels, I wanted a more finished look, so we used simple trim (cost $1.25 a piece) to hide the seams and to frame the entire cedar fence.

We used Minwax Golden Pecan to stain and recommend sealing it with a protective clear coat to prevent fading.  And there you have it, a side patio that's pretty, functional and budget friendly!

The table is one we already owned (similar one found here), and the directors chairs were purchased at a bargain at $25 a piece from World Market's end of summer sale (I did the happy dance when I found them!).  If you're in the market for some, these (set of two) have similar cross legs.

Now that cool weather is finally on it's way here in Atlanta, I think tonight calls for dinner outside!  Wishing you a wonderful weekend friends!

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Before & After | Backyard Makeover Part I

Just in time for fall, we're wrapping up our backyard makeover!  Earlier in the summer I shared our lackluster backyard [read that post here] and today I'm super excited to share what we did to the lower level!  What we started with was a long narrow section of the yard that we avoided.  What we got were three outdoor spaces that flow cohesively from one to the next...a pathway through a bed of hydrangeas, an outdoor dining area and a fire pit to lounge around during chilly evenings.  To see how did it read below...

For years we tried to grow grass on the lower section of our backyard but to no avail, the heavy shade wouldn't allow for it.  We considered putting gravel down, but were afraid it would look too much like a driveway if we did the entire space.  Inspired by the photos I shared in this post here, we decided on a gravel pathway.  Throughout the years we've found old bricks buried in our backyard, so we used those to pave the way of our gravel path.  To add some character we decided on a winding design.  

Once the general layout was established, we knew something needed to be added to the new garden bed in front of the boxwoods.  I LOVE hydrangeas and this was the perfect spot to put a plethora of my favorite blooms.

Now, this is the part where I get really excited!  We've got this brick paved pathway, the vision is starting to take shape, but at this point, we still hadn't decided on what the gravel will transition too.  We love the idea of grass, but again, grass won't grow.  And the thought of gravel all the way to the table area, seemed like a whole lot and would make the space feel a little more modern than we wanted.  We LOVED the idea of a brick patio, and with me loving old and wanting it to coordinate with the brick pavers on the path, we decided we'd buy reclaimed bricks to create a patio for the table area.  Now, those things aren't cheap!  We did a ton of research, looked on local craigslist and were in the midst of deciding what to cut to make the budget work, when our Fairy God-Mortar showed up.

To give context to who this lovely lady is, she's our real life Atlanta Fairy Godmother.  When Brian and I moved to Atlanta, we didn't know a soul.  She's one of Brian's co-workers and took us under her wing, so to speak.  In fact, she gave me my first paying job in Atlanta, encouraged my love of antiques (her home is to die for), she even gave Brian and I the extra nudge we needed to adopt our first dog, she herself fosters rescues!  She came to our wedding, spoils our kids and has been such a huge blessing to our life in Atlanta.  So, L if you're reading this (which I know Brian is making you), know you're amazing and wonderful and awesome and we don't tell you nearly enough!

Now, back to backyard.  In chatting with L at work, Brian mentioned we were working on our backyard makeover and we were going to buy old bricks for a patio.  Bricks you say?!  As a matter of fact, L just so happened to have a ton (and I mean a ton) of old bricks that she had in her backyard that she was looking to get rid of.

YES please!

One u-haul truck and a Saturday later we had the bricks in our possession and I got to work laying a herringbone patio.

Once the patio was laid, (truth be told, the border bricks still need to be cut) we got to work on the fire pit.  We decided grass would be great for the kids, and with the money we saved from L's bricks, we decided to sod that area.

River rock from our local garden center was the final choice for the pathway, and string lights were added over the brick patio.  I've got a whole lot more photos to share, but in the meantime wanted to show you how we made three outdoor spaces flow together on our lower section of our yard!

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