Jones Design Company

Jan

21

my favorite shoes for girls {with a discount!}

It has been a crazy winter weather week … more on that later. But since I now have power and I am up before the kids I wanted to share a great discount with you {as was promised for yesterday’s post}. Just a side note: I don’t really like when plans change {like a two day power outage} and I have no control and then I’m behind on schedule. Please forgive me … art prints, JDC|Monthly, emails … they will come. I promise. They will just be a few days later than I’d like.

Okay, so my favorite shoes for girls. I’ve shared this company before, but I just can’t get enough of Joyfolie‘s most beautiful products.

First a preview of a few of the styles in the upcoming spring collection:

So pretty! Those gray stripes will be making their way into our life soon.

Because a new collection is about to debut, Jessica {the creator of Joyfolie} is offering a generous discount to JDC readers on the current collection in her shop.

Like the shimmery red julie shoe:

Love the bright print of the sabrina

The saidi is the style Audrey receive for Christmas {she loves them and so do I}

Funny how I’m not really a shoe girl myself, but I can’t get enough of cute ones for my little one.

To receive 30% off any item on the shoe page that is currently in stock use the code

JONES30

at checkout. The discount code is good until next friday {1/27} so start shopping!

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Posted by emily | 17 comments

Jan

19

our mudroom

We bought our house 5 years ago based off a floor plan we found online. One of our favorite features was this mudroom. It connects the garage to the rest of the house and is such a great dumping ground for our busy family. The only negative about the space is that there is no window. Which means it is pretty dark. We painted it a dark chocolaty-green-gray color a few years ago and it became even darker {that’s what you get when you use a can of paint you have laying around}. Last summer Ryan added white bead board paneling and a row of hooks on all four walls and that made things a bit lighter and much more functional. But it still needed some freshening up. I finally finished putting the space together and I’m excited to share it with you today.

The walls are now Revere Pewter {Benjamin Moore} and it feels so much brighter!

I moved the woven pinboard in here to put some favorite family photos, art work and mementos – it sure adds a personal touch and some much needed color and cheerfulness to an otherwise boring room.

We bought these numbers at the hardware store to identify hooks for each backpack.

Above the hooks is a new print that I just adore.

This is the wall with the door that goes out to the garage. Its nice to have a little bench in here.

And the back wall …

I painted stripes on the ceiling just for fun. I like it. Ryan - not so much. We also switched out the light with this industrial one from the hardware store {$25!}.

One of my very favorite features of the mudroom is the automatic light Ryan so brilliantly installed. It has a movement sensor so it comes on when you walk in the room and turns off after a minute or two. We have a few of these throughout our house in places where its easy to forget to turn off the light {the pantry, under-stairs closet, master closet}.

Now let me share with you another genius tip I got from The Nester.

I buy one brand of socks – two lines for the older boys {is it weird that they share socks?} and one line for No. 3. Audrey gets her own girly socks but shares a basket with Mason. AND I don’t match and fold them. Just throw them in the basket. It saves on time when folding laundry, makes it easy for the boys to find their socks and best of all, there are no more mismatched socks in our house. Thanks Miss Nester.

Each kid also has their own bin of shoes.

Can you tell who already has a shoe-obsession? Naturally, she gets the bigger bin.

Speaking of shoes … these are her current favorites {and mine too}.

They are from my favorite shoe designer Joyfolie. Come back tomorrow for a generous discount for JDC readers.

A few details:

So that is our mudroom. I love how it turned out. Bright, cheerful, useful, organized and personal.

And it will never again look as nice as it does in the photos.

… SOURCES …

paint color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter

light: warehouse pendant from Home Depot

be filled with joy print: The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy

black numbers: Home Depot in the mailbox and house number section

galvanized wall organizer: PotteryBarn – no longer available

sock baskets & shoe bins: IKEA

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Posted by emily | 66 comments

Jan

18

what i wore {new year edition}

What I Wore … a fun idea I borrowed from the darling Lindsey. I’ve done lots of what I wore posts, but it has been a while, so I thought I’d go for it again.

The purpose of WiW is to keep us accountable for getting dressed each day. I know that sounds strange, but if you are a stay-home-mom or work-at-home lady, you understand the problem. Sometimes it is much easier to stay in pj’s all day {see day 4}. But then you end up feeling slumpy and somehow that translates into less productive days.

I am generally pretty good about getting dressed, so this is less for that purpose and more for the purpose of being creative with my outfits. I am a plain-jane dresser. Solids. Cotton. Jeans. That’s about it. But when I know I have to take photos, I try a little harder with accessories.

So here is what I wore this week:

1. green striped sweater {target}, brown blouse {target}, jeans {banana republic}, belt {target}, shoes {nordstrom rack}

2. sweater {nordstrom}, tshirt {target}, jeans {seven for all mankind flare}, flower headband {me}

3. shirt {target}, cardigan {martin + osa}, jeans {seven flare}

4. Oops. It was a jammie day for all. And I should probably clean the mirror. Not that you want sources, but the sweatshirt is my cheerleading sweatshirt from 1997 {oldie but goodie} and the sweats are from martin + osa – a store that is no longer in business and I’m really bummed about it. Audrey’s cute pjs are from Hanna Andersson.

5. A cold and snowy day in the Pacific Northwest. Jacket {old navy}, sweater {nordstrom}, scarf {nordstrom}, jeans {target}, boots {DSW}. I tried a new braided messy bun I learned on this video tutorial {cutest girl ever}.

A few notes:

Clearly I buy a lot of my clothes from Target. Its one of the few clothing stores in my town.

The only thing new enough to still be available in a store is the green striped sweater. They have a yellow one I want too.

I bought the puffy coat on Black Friday and love it. I don’t see any more of the blue ones, but there are a few more white {click here}.

I am linking with Lindsey.

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Posted by emily | 36 comments

Jan

16

on a cold winter’s day

The perfect antidote to a chilly, trying-to-snow, wintery day …

homemade chicken noodle soup.

It’s a favorite around here and so simple to make.

I use Ina Garten’s recipe {found here} but add in extra noodles and use a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of roasting my own.

And for dessert …

My favorite tea and not-too-sweet ginger cookies made by my mom {using another Ina recipe found here}.

Delish. The perfect thing to keep you cozy on a cold winter’s day.

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Posted by emily | 24 comments

Jan

13

flower mobile {again}

Before my little sweetness was born {nearly two years ago, I can hardly believe it}, I made this flower mobile to hang over her crib. It was one of the first tutorials seen on JDC and a pretty project that I was proud of. But somewhere along the line, the photos went missing from the post. And missing from my computer. And so the tutorial is now gone. Boo.

{photos by Jennifer Tai as featured on On To Baby}

Since posting the embroidered wallhanging, many of you asked for details about the mobile. I am here to deliver.

I do not have a full tutorial, but I will explain how it is made.

Here’s what you need:

:: a styrofoam wreath form – mine is 12 inches, but you could do smaller or larger

:: ribbon

:: lots of silk flowers {I spent about $35 at the craft store on full white blooms}

:: straight pins

STEP ONE: wrap the wreath form with ribbon, securing with straight pins

STEP TWO: cut blooms off their stems and pin into wreath form, filling in all the way around the wreath. You could use hot glue instead, but I found that pinning was easier.

STEP THREE: once the flowers are in place, cut two long pieces of ribbon for hanging. You will fold each piece in half and attach the ends to the wreath opposite from eachother {think north, south, east and west}. Make sure your ribbon is long enough that when folded your mobile will hang at the height you want. I sure hope that makes sense.

I screwed in an eye hook to the ceiling and looped each ribbon over it.

From below, this is what the baby sees:

So pretty!

I know this is not the best tutorial, but I hope it helps explain the project a bit better. Please let me know if you make one of your own … I’d love to see how it turns out!

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Posted by emily | 16 comments

Jan

11

embroidered wallhanging {tutorial}

For nearly two years I’ve had this tutorial in a file on my desktop just waiting to be posted. I have no idea what took me so long, but I thought it would be good to finally share it.

I selected a scripture for Audrey {you can read the story here} and wanted to hang it over her crib. Coming up with a solution for a lightweight, non-permanent solution was the challenge. I didn’t want something heavy that could fall on the baby and while vinyl or handpainted letters would have worked, it wasn’t exactly the look I was hoping for.

So I invented this very thrown together wall hanging.

Here’s what you need to make one of your own:

:: a piece of heavy fabric slightly larger than your desired finished size {I used a piece of IKEA lenda curtains – a nice cotton canvas}

:: embroidery or crochet thread

:: embroidery hoop & embroidery needle

:: scissors and pencil

STEP ONE: lightly write the verse, name or other wording on the fabric with a pencil. Be sure to center it.

STEP TWO: secure embroidery hoop where you would like to begin your stitches.

STEP THREE: thread the needle and make a knot in the end. Now make your first stitch from the back. We are using a back stitch {here is a good tutorial}

STEP FOUR: make a stitch in the desired length {approximately 1/8 – 1/4 inch} and push the needle back down through the fabric.

STEP FIVE: To continue the backstitch, push your needle back up 1/8 – 1/4 inch from where you finished the first stitch

STEP SIX: make a stitch pushing the needle back down just above the first stitch mark

STEP SEVEN: pull the thread tight and make another stitch in the same backstitch manner

Once you have finished each letter, you will have a beautifully {and painstakingly} embroidered piece of fabric.

This is where you can finish your piece as you wish … and where mine became a total hodgepodge of a project.

I had a piece of foam core that I cut to size and wrapped the fabric around it, securing with packing tape {remember I was going for light weight}.

Then I poked in upholstery tacks for a fun border. Because the tacks are not completely secure, once Audrey was old enough to stand in her crib, I removed the verse from over her crib and it is now on a different wall in her room where she can not reach it.

Want more embroidery inspiration? Here are a few great projects {click on image for source}:

And sources for embroidery help:

Posted by emily | 26 comments

Jan

09

highs & lows

high: we took a quick family vacation to a little mountain resort this weekend with some friends to celebrate a birthday.

low: it was too quick – I could have stayed way longer.

high: packing up the six of us with all of our snow gear, clothes, blankies, snacks, waterbottles and gadgets {laptop, ipad, ipod, phones, video camera and regular camera – geesh!} went smoothly and relatively quickly on saturday morning.

low: while this packing was taking place, Audrey found a pair of scissors and gave her hair a trim. Two chunks of her beautiful blonde hair right from the front – now gone. Boo.

high: on the way up the mountain we ran into longtime friends who just had a baby. I got to meet {and hold} sweet Memphis. She has the most amazing thick head of hair. I hope she never finds scissors.

low: we don’t get to see those friends often enough.

high: hotel-stays are super fun for kids. And parents. Walking into a clean hotel room with crisp sheets knowing you don’t have to do a thing to clean it is the best.

low: we made a real mess of the place within minutes with our snow gear, clothes, blankies, snacks, waterbottles and gadgets. P.S. we didn’t even use half of the gadgets.

high: I ordered a salad from room service because I was so hungry and wanted something other than a granola bar or fruit leather.

low: it cost a small fortune.

high: it was really good.

low: i missed out on iceskating with the group to put a cranky almost two year old to bed.

high: I really love hanging out with that almost two year old.

low: she never went to sleep

high: the boys came back from skating and we ended up hanging out in our friends’ room until 11:00 and the kids were champs. I also love hanging out with our friends.

low: ate too much pizza + birthday treats and went to bed feeling blah.

high: best husband ever got up with the kids, took them to the lobby to drink coffee and play chess while I slept in until TEN O’CLOCK! Amazing.

low: I missed out on coffee and chess in the lobby

high: went sledding

low: we’re having a crazy winter here and there was barely any snow. What we had was crusty and slippery, but it was snow.

high: very few things are funnier than watching grown men throw themselves down a slippery, crusty hill on a small bright blue plastic saucer.

low: our lunch took a long time to make it to our table and we were a hungry group.

high: I had grilled flatbread, fancy cheese and a whole head of roasted garlic and it was worth the wait. Yum.

low: the 11:00 bedtime caught up with my littlest ones and so we had to take a distraction walks to keep from major restaurant meltdowns

high: we finished off our weekend with a quick swim in the pool {with a few runs down the water slides and mostly chilling in the hot tub}

low: we had to leave this dreamy place.

Family getaways are great. We should really do it more often.