HOLIDAY PHOTOSHOOT - OUTFITS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

I think we all sort of cringe a little when we think about dressing up our resistant kids (and husband!) in fancier clothes and convince them to smile like they love taking photos. Just me? But honestly, it's totally worth it in the end. I don't always appreciate this stage in my life. The messy, whiney, poopy, busy days that just fly by without noticing any of the details. I'm too tired or stressed or frustrated to really take it all in. Seeing these photos (captured by the BRILLIANT and talented Kate Davis) will always be a fierce reminder of the beauty of our little family in this moment. 

With each photo we saw, we ooooh-ed and aaaahhh-ed and laughed, and omg-ed! Kate knocked it out. of. the. park. She made us feel right at ease, especially the boys! Max nicknamed her Katesadilla. I'm obsessed with her fashion blogger photos and love that casual feel more than the stiff posed look. I also loved taking pics around town instead of in nature like we normally do. Gotta love a good white background! This was shot all behind and to the side of Draper James and at Las Paletas. Ending the photoshoot with popsicles was basically the only way we got the kids through it!

Aside from finding the best photographer in Nashville (duh: Kate Davis) the next step is figuring out what to wear! Coordinating NOT matching is my personal preference. My best tip is to go into one store and use their color palette for the season. I guarantee they have similar colors in different patterns and textures that will be perfect for the whole fam. Start with yourself first. Find what YOU look best and feel comfortable in, then you can plan around everyone else. Selfish? Maybe. But kids and dudes look good in pretty much anything right? 

I've linked everyone's outfits at the bottom of the post in case you want to go with our red, tan, and blue color palette!

 OUTFIT LINKS

Leah: poncho / dress (H&M in-store only) / boots or similar

Jeffrey: shirt (H&M in-store only) / jeans / shoes

Ari: shirt and sweater (H&M in-store only)  / jeans / shoes

Max: shirt and sweater (H&M in-store only) / jeans and suspenders / shoes

Goooood luck, Mamas!

-L

GRAND OPENING AT MAGNOLIA MARKET SILOS

Raise your hand if you're a Fixer Upper junkie!! We at Love & Lion are total fangirls. We marathon the HGTV show and make our husbands watch too! Actually, it only took one episode to get them addicted. Chip and Jo are just SO SO GOOD. And such great people too!

I (Leah) was fortunate enough to attend their grand opening of Magnolia Market at the Silos this past weekend! My best friend from college got us tickets to go as a girls trip! Sometimes you just need those weekends away from our 5 combined children to actually get a whole conversation in, ya know? We met in Dallas on our layover, got on the plane for Waco and... it was cancelled. Torrential rain and strong winds meant that everyone was stranded! There were no rental cars left, so we had to cab it to a neighboring airport, rent a car, and drive in rush hour traffic to make it on time... well actually we got there after the party had already started! We were laughing the whole time about what a hot mess we were in- thankful to go through that with my bestie! We were Thelma and Louise!

In probably the biggest news in our little Etsy shop, we were honored to have our tattoos at the Silobration event! One of our sweet customers, Brittany Baker, hooked it all up --thank you!!-- We would like to say that we didn't jump up and down and call each other freaking out.... but we did.

Here are a few photos of my quick 24 hour trip! Not too many pictures of me, because after traveling all day in the pouring rain, I literally looked like I melted. Scary.

The silos were situated next to the shop and in between the two was a large space of turf and plenty of picnic tables. There's a large barn-like space to the left and a small building to the right of the silos... the sign said "Something sweet coming in 2016", so my only guess is a bakery? If that's the case, I could probably just live in this combined space and never leave.

Right at the front door was a "welcome" sign perfect for all of us instagramers! You can see everyone's pics at #magnoliawelcome. DYING to do this to my own floor at home!!

The shop is STUNNING, people! Everywhere you look, there's a well curated table of goodies you suddenly must have for your home! Gorgeous, thoughtful displays and beautiful fixtures in every corner of the shop.

One of the most impressive things about the shop was the PEOPLE! Every person was just so friendly and happy to help! I could not get over it! And I live in the south. It was like some wonderfully happy cult that I wanted to join. Magnolia Market knows how to do it right. Joanna's mom actually checked me out at the register. Love that it was a family affair!

Here are our tattoos! Eek! They set up a tattoo bar and had employees help everyone get tatted up!

When we sent the tattoos, we also sent these face tats of Chip and Jo... hope they didn't get too creeped out LOL!

On to the party! 

Johnnyswim (whom we are both HUGE fans of) performed and blew everyone's minds. They're also suuuuper gorgeous. And talented. And nice! What a combo. Then Joanna gave a beautiful speech and said Chip had hurt his back so he wasn't able to come. Psych! He repelled down from the silo, naturally. Chip and Jo were so sweet, humble, grateful, and funny together on stage. They sang a song (hilariously off key) with Johnnyswim and even brought Jimmy Don and Clint Harp on stage thanking them for their work on the show! I could not wipe the smile off my face. It's incredible to see such successful people be so down-to-earth and thankful of where they are in life.

My bestie, Meredith, and me trying not to look like we traveled for 9 hours in the pouring rain.

The next morning before our drive back to Dallas, we woke up early and hit Common Grounds coffee. The owners were on the show and it was one of our favorite home transformations! Common Grounds is cute as can be. It was eclectic, cozy, and even had a huge outdoor space in the back for concerts and parties! The coffee was out-of-control good. I got the "no bull" which had their chocolatey secret sauce. Again, if there was a cult, I would join.

Obsessed with this sign attached to Common Grounds! Verdict: YES. 

Waco, you are positively charming! Can't wait to visit again and see the rest of the sites!

-L

TEN STAGING TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME

Happy Friday friends!! Gosh, I am so happy to have this week behind me. We put our house on the market about two weeks ago. Since then, we have been hustling around to accommodate showings and open houses. Truly one of the most exhausting things to do with kids. Live perfectly, and get your house to look like a magazine throughout the day so people will want to buy it???? yeah. umm. ok....

I am overjoyed to share that our house is SOLD! Now that things have slowed down for us (temporarily), I wanted to share my top 10 tips on staging your home to SELL. I stress the "sell" part because it is important to remember that you are not staging your home for yourself and your family. You have to think about those coming to see your home. It was very hard for me to get into that mindset.

So, here goes...

STAGING TIPS:

1. Depersonalize

Take down or change out all photos of you, your family or friends. I took quite a few frames off of the walls and off of tables/counters/dressers and went ahead and boxed them up. Don't be afraid of empty walls. That is a good thing for a buyer to see so that they can visualize their own photos instead. My larger frames that made up my gallery walls like the one above stayed in place. I just opened the frames, and inverted the existing photo. Then, I simply added free printables, wallpaper, etc. It will make going into your new home and rehanging everything a breeze.

2. Declutter

 Decluttering was the best thing that ever happened to our home. Ha! I am NOT a hoarder. In fact... a purger by nature. However, there is always something that needs to go. We followed the "rule of 3". No more than 3 items on each shelf or table. It really opens up your space!

3. Kids' toys

Have your kids pick their "favorite" toys. Keep it to just enough to fill a bin in their room or playroom. This made it easy for our daughter to throw her toys in their designated bin when we got a call for a showing appointment. It also keeps everything looking tidy. We had toys hidden in ottomans too! :)

4. Remove everything from closet floors

This will make your closets not look or feel cluttered. You can even move items on the floor to the top if you have room. Just make it look neat. You want the buyer to open the door and see space. Walk-in closets - line your clothes from light to dark. Lighter clothing pieces being closest to the entry. If you want to go the extra mile (we did not), get matching hangers. 

5. Define spaces

The way that your furniture is set up for your family may not create the best "flow" for potential buyers. Be sure and create defined spaces. For example... we have an open living floor plan. It was important for us to make it feel like there were three separate rooms in one large space. Dining room, kitchen and living room. We ended up moving our sectional sofa up to separate

the dining room and also to create a walk way from our front door to our kitchen. Walking into the room and not having to walk AROUND something to get to the other side of the room was key to making each space feel larger and more open. It is all about "shifting weight". Don't have too much on one side of the room. Even things out. Make sense?

^ These frames anchored the entry way, so I decided to keep them up. However, I switched out photos of my daughter with free printables that I found online.^

6.  Put valuables in a safe place/file away personal files

 You have people walking through your home! Strangers!! I had necklaces hanging on hooks in my closet. I removed those, and packed up most of my jewelry. I figured I could live with my every day dainty pieces for a couple of weeks. We also have a coin machine (we kept it in our coat closet) to just dump extra change in, then we save the rolls in a jar until it is worth going to cash them in. We took that out as well! Better to be safe. We had our calendar hanging on our fridge, and my desk was full of business mailings. I made sure to put all of that stuff away as well. Nobody needs to know where you will be on what day at what time, ya know? 

7. Remove signs of animals

We love our sweet dog, but not everyone is an animal lover. Nor do they want to see their dirty food bowls. We simply took dog food out to the garage.

8. Curb Appeal 

 Remove weeds, trim back hedges, maybe even add fresh mulch. Touch up paint (if you have the exterior color available) around doors.

9. Let the light in 

Open all of your blinds/curtains and turn on all of the lights. Let the natural light shine into your home. It creates an airy feeling, and of course makes each space feel larger.

10. Get a laundry basket

 At any given time, you WILL have random things out on the counter or on the floor when you get the call to show your home. With kids, I didn't always have the time to do a perfect cleaning sweep. Lots of things when into drawers, cabinets, under beds. However, when I would come home I would forget where I placed things. Simply keep a laundry basket handy and just throw everything into that, and throw the basket into your car so you can get out of there quickly. It seems crazy, but it is soooo much easier.

Just remember that you are still living in your home. People get that! I put a lot of pressure on myself to make my house look like a model home each time. It is IMPOSSIBLE! 

Our buyers left us a sweet note during one of their visits to our home, and my family and I couldn't be happier about the people coming into this home to love on it as much as we have. We have spent the majority of our married life here, brought both of our babies home to his house, and shared countless memories and holidays here. I sure am going to miss it. So, knowing that another family is ready to love on this place is heartwarming to me. 

Good luck selling your house!! 

-J