We are so excited to welcome Baby Boy Haaf this February! And, of course, I can’t wait to decorate the sweetest little nursery for our little man! I’ve been dreaming about this for years and when I came across this Melissa and Doug giraffe at Pottery Barn Kids years ago, I knew I had to have it. This was the inspiration and foundation for our entire nursery.
Below is our inspiration board that we are using as we put together our baby’s first little room. Can’t wait to share the final product with you all!
We are so grateful for our sweet friends Luisa and Douglas with Luisa’s Secret. They are some of our best friends in Dallas and they flew all the way out to Vail to spend a weekend of pampering (highly recommend The Sonnenalp for a spa day!), skiing (for the boys only), delicious restaurants, and of course, lots of photos with us.
I cannot get over how amazing these photos came out. She perfectly captured our love and excitement for our little baby boy in the most romantic and snowy backdrop. It was the most freezing day ever (thank goodness my dress hid my Uggs -ha!) but it was so worth it! We will treasure these forever!
If y’all have been following us for a while you know how much I love decorating Christmas trees! Especially for so many of you, our sweet Clients! This is my favorite time of year and the amount of time I spend designing trees in my head and dreaming of new ideas is unreal! We love working with each of you to design the perfect holiday scape that brings your Christmas visions to life and coordinates your home decor with your holiday style. We get so many questions about colors, styles, whats on trend vs. what’s not, but the number one question we get is whether to use real or faux trees.
I know the real vs. faux tree is a much debated topic and I totally understand the appeal of a real tree:
The Christmas Aromas – The smells of a freshly cut tree just screams Christmas and fills the entire home. For so many of us it brings back so many childhood holiday memories.
Tradition – There is a lot of nostalgia and pride that goes with selecting your own tree from a tree farm or a nearby forest. Plus you get to create new memories with your family while picking out your new tree each year.
Environment – This one could go both ways, but many believe real trees are better for the environment.
I always grew up with real trees. Many years we would pick out our main tree from a local tree farm and then cut down our own miniature trees for our room from the mountains; however, as we’ve gotten deeper into the design industry and started our own Christmas decorating business, I completely understand why so many people love faux trees. In fact, they have now become my preferred type of tree. And here’s why!
Easier to Decorate – In general the branches and needles are stronger and easier to manipulate. You can bend the branches in different ways to create a fuller look and hold your ornaments and decor in place. This is the main reason I prefer faux trees. Plus, if you get a higher quality tree, they really do look real!
More Consistent in Size – You always know exactly how tall your tree is and whether it will fit in your space. Plus they are generally more proportional.
More Cost Effective – If you plan to use your faux tree year after year and store it in a cool and dry place, you will generally save money over the life of your tree.
Ease of Maintenance – You don’t have to worry about watering it everyday to make sure it lasts the entire season. You can set it up and take it down any time you want without worrying about it dying and potentially even catching fire.
Real vs. faux trees is such a personal decision and no matter what, either will look absolutely beautiful in your home this holiday season. But for all the faux tree fans like me, I’ve rounded up all my favorites for you this holiday season (just click on the specific tree below to be linked to the site). These all have top ratings and I have either seen or decorated most of these in person! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about any of them specifically! Happy decorating!
Hosting Thanksgiving this year and looking for those last minute essentials to bring your tablescape to the next level?! We’ve got you covered with some of our favorite table accessories this year!
Thank you to Harry and David for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
Y’all know I love a luxurious and gourmet dinner party. Nothing makes me more excited than dreaming up a beautiful tablescape, spending hours planning and cultivating the perfect menu and inviting our friends over for an incredible evening.
Sometimes, though, there just isn’t enough time in this busy life to do the shopping and planning needed for a WOW-worthy party – Especially true for Landon and me as we get acquainted with a new city AND with a baby on the way. BUT! This doesn’t need to stop us from hosting the jaw-dropping dinner parties we all love… We may just need to outsource a bit 🙂 ! And that’s where Harry and David comes in.
I recently discovered Harry and David Gourmet when I wanted to host a dinner party for some of our new friends in Denver; however, I honestly didn’t have the energy to put everything together (hello 1st trimester sleepiness). I’ve always been familiar with their annual pear and fruit deliveries but had no idea that Harry and David Gourmet had an inspired collection of thought-fully chosen appetizers, entrees, desserts and wines that are perfectly curated for the well-defined palette and for those who love to host dinner parties… Ummm, hello! I needed this in my life! I wanted to show our guests the full Everyday Hostess experience with a unique theme and ambience. With Harry and David’s ready-to-serve premium gourmet meals and paired sparkling wine, I was set!
Ever since we visited friends in Boston, I’ve been dying to bring that east coast, nautical charm to one of my dinner parties – and this was the perfect excuse! I set my table accordingly with a color palette of red, navy and white and incorporated the cutest lobster plates, starfish, boating rope, and of course this adorable lighthouse candle set as the centerpiece. I ordered two of Harry and David’s ready-to-serve gourmet meals and sparkling wine, and that’s literally all I did for this event. Harry and David did all the rest!
A gourmet charcuterie board is a classy way to open any dinner party, and Harry and David did a masterful job with theirs – pairing Artisan cheeses with salamis and crackers. After some mingling we enjoyed our main event, which was Harry and David’s Gourmet Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese meal. Y’all, I could rave about this meal for hours. The quality, the presentation, the ease was absolutely superb. And it meshed wonderfully with my theme to boot!
You wouldn’t believe what was included in the Gourmet Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese! This beautifully crafted meal included Citrus Herb Scallops with a mouthwatering Truffle Lobster Mac and Cheese and the sweetest fresh peach crisp made of ripe peaches and topped with a toffee crumble. Un.be.lieavable.
Harry and David could not have made this dinner party any easier on me. Not only was everything perfectly presented with the scallops displayed in individual sea shells and the Truffle Lobster Mac and Cheese in individual ramekins, everything was already prepared and just needed to be heated for a maximum of 25 minutes. So quick and easy, yet with the seafood coming from Maine, it tasted so fresh as if it had been caught and flown in on the same day. All I had to do was un-package the boxes and set the table, and voilà ! A spread made to impress! And did I mention the paired sparkling wine they included with the meal?! No detail was spared.
The party looked like I had been preparing for days and all I had to do was review all of H&D’s gourmet options, click to order, and it showed up on my doorstep fresh and ready to wow in just a matter of days!
It’s the perfect way to host a luxury event with friends and family without getting bogged down in all the details leading up to the evening. I also love the idea of sending these meals to friends and families as gifts or as part of a meal train for someone with an illness or to new parents (no casserole from you!).
Check out their full list of gourmet selections for your next dinner party. It’s sure to impress and you’ll have all your guests asking for your recipes and tricks!
We had so much fun this weekend hosting the cutest feminine chic tea party with Tea Forte! As you all know, I drink tea like it’s my job, specifically Tea Forte tea. 4-5 cups is a totally normal day for me, though I’m trying to slow it down quite a bit with this pregnancy.
We had 4 of our Denver besties over for an afternoon of tea, scones, macaroons, and of course lots of laughing and stories. I knew I wanted to serve Tea Forte’s classic black and green tea collections since they host most of my favorite tea flavors, but also the presentations boxes are so beautiful and perfect for this occasion.
I designed the full tablescape around these boxes and used a color palette of blush, sage and gold, complete with a blush gingham tablecloth and spray-painted pumpkins to bring the full look together. With a little help from some of Michael’s florals, faux pumpkins, and spray paint, this look was super easy to pull together and created the perfect feminine flare to our fall tablescape for the girls!
Each guest left with their own Presentation Box to enjoy over the season and share with their loved ones, which was the perfect party favor for our gals who love a little luxury mixed in with their everyday lives!
Check out all the photos below and be sure to check out Tea Forte’s full collection and use code HOSTESS25 for 25% off your order!
We have an exciting announcement! Haaf Party of 3 coming in February!
Landon and I are SO excited to be adding to our little family and can’t wait to welcome our first child in February…on February 29th to be exact! I know there’s only a 5% chance that the baby will be born on its due date, but how cool would a little Leap Year Baby be?!
This first trimester was a little bit of a whirlwind for us both. Landon had to pick up a lot of the household responsibilities (he is a saint!) as I was down for the count dealing with allll day long morning sickness for weeks. The second trimester has been treating us a lot better and we’ve finally learned the gender and have been able to start working on the nursery! If you’ve been following us for a while, you know I’ve made an excessive amount of inspo boards to help me envision the nursery and I can’t wait to share the with you!
As for the gender! We recently had a weekend filled with activities and 2 gender reveal announcements! We had a party with our friends in Dallas and used this baseball announcement and then flew to Denver the next day for an announcement party with all our family! We cannot wait to welcome a little baby BOY to our fam! Check out all the details from our Denver party!
Thank you all for your support! We are so excited about this next chapter!
Raise your hand if you’re like me and scrambling for the perfect Father’s Day gifts! My dad is impossible to shop for (and father-in-law for that matter) and, of course, I’ve left it to the last minute! To help all of us out I’ve put together the perfect gift guide filled with gifts all from Amazon Prime! Hello 2 day shipping! So technically we have until Thursday to order now!
Father’s Day is just a couple weeks away and we can’t wait to spoil our dad’s with some fun gifts and a day at the ballpark!
This is my first Father’s Day home in the past 10 years so I’m extra excited to plan some fun events for my dad so we can celebrate in style! And, of course, we need to the perfect gift to accompany it! We’ve put together a gift guide that is sure to have something for every dad. Whether he likes to spend time outdoors and at the grill, loves to travel or needs to revamp the wardrobe, we’ve got you covered! Happy shopping!
Chic, Sophisticated, Neutral, AND Texas. What more could this Fort Worth turned Denver girl want?! We created this curated look for a Client looking for a neutral and masculine bedroom with a very trendy and styled look. We gave him all the antelope print, because hello who can get enough, and all the repurposed wood with brass finished metal to give it a little industrial flare.
