I wish I was setting the table with gobs of food for my family and Joey's family all to enjoy together, but who am I kidding... We would need three of these tables from the Grantham house in order to feed all of us together in one room.  Ehhh... maybe one day.

(love Downton... will Anna and Mr. Bates ever find true happiness again..?)

My dining room is no where near this level of organization and order... Can you imagine preparing a table like that every night?  I would be fired.

Here are some recent pictures of our dining room.  I've added the resources below each picture.  (Excuse the Christmas/New Years centerpiece... I haven't gotten around to changing it.)


Joey's dad bought him the console record player in the far right corner at an auction for $2! (And it works!)  I love having it in the dining room.  Playing our records while we are in the kitchen is the best!  The Blue Willow dishes, my mom bought for me when I was 14!  


 white shelf: IKEA  /  wine racks: World Maket  /  chairs:  West Elm  /  rug:  IKEA  /  
cushions:  faux sheepskins from Marshalls  /  dinner bell:  Amazon


I love having a buffet table too.  Our dining room isn't big enough for a really large table and this give us a little extra room to put platters of food instead of the platters taking up needed space on the table.


Here's a little frame-hack that is super easy!  (These pictures are actually from our wedding.)  I wanted to use the pictures in our kitchen, but the day I got ready to hang them I didn't have any 5x7 frames, I only had these two 8x10 frames from IKEA.  I was about to create some type of matte for them when I thought... what about a floating frame?  This is really easy and simple and it won't cost you $20 for an actual floating frame.  

This frame started out like any other fame, with the cardboard on the back.  

Step 1:  I removed the cardboard.
Step 2:  I super glued the glass/plastic from the inside lip of the frame. 
Step 3:  Add a sawtooth picture hanger to the back if there isn't one.
Step 4:  I applied regular old clear scotch tape to the back of the picture just enough for it to overlap and meet the glass along the top and the bottom of the picture.  Lo and behold, it actually works!
Step 5:  You're done.  Go do something else. 

Speaking of Juliet, you know I can't write a post without mentioning her. Haha!  She has been pooped after her big weekend with family.  Joey's baby sister and her family came down this weekend from Ohio along with his dad from PA!  She was definitely loved on and cuddled, so she has spent most of her holiday sleeping after sleeping 13 hours last night.  We did go on a little stroll, but 5 minutes in and she was out again!  It's beautiful in Carolina today- 63* this afternoon.  


wabanub: Amazon  /  pillow:  Amazon

BTW- I love this pillow.  It's become a necessity when we use the carseat.  You can use it in their car seat or crib.  I use it in her swing too if she's taking a nap.  It's called an Elephant Ear pillow.  The print shown here is Fair Maiden. If you click on the link you'll see that it's flat in the middle for their head to lay on, but it keeps their head from falling over.  I works so well! 

Here's some pictures of our goofy girl using it in her rockaRoo swing!  
These were taken right after a nap and she was feeling great.  
Her silly little grins make me laugh all over!  She is happiness, personified.  


pajamas:  Petite Lem