Goodies for the Home

Sharing three things that have brightened up my home during self-isolation.

Nothing inspires the need for change like being stared down by all of the things around the house that need upgraded, refreshed and replaced, all day everyday. Social media is full of home improvement stories and posts; gardens being transformed, fresh coats of paint, and everything in between. It’s easy to get inspired these days, and we have nothing but time to pull it all off!

I’ve even been inspired to make a few updates of my own! Now, usually I am reluctant to spend much money on my home furnishings and decorations simply because we move so often – and it’s guaranteed that things will get damaged or “lost” when the military moves them. It just hasn’t made much sense to me to fill our home full of knickknacks and expensive furniture when, in addition to getting damaged, they probably won’t fit in the next house. I’ll admit though, there were some things that I had just let go for too long; things that had to be replaced and refreshed and I figured this was the perfect time to do it.

Luxurious Towels

The very first thing I bought were bath towels and hand towels as mine were almost all frayed, or worn out. I’ve mostly bought mine from Home Goods and Marshalls in the past because well, we usually end up using them as packing material in our yearly, or every-two-years cross country moves. This wasn’t and area where I saw value in spending lots of money for a high quality item. However, I am a sucker for pretty things and when I saw these gorgeous Sankaty stripe towels in sweet candy hues from Hill House Home, I was smitten! There’s currently a 10% off sale going on and in addition to pretty things, I’m also unable to resist a sale! Indecisive me got bath towels one of each color; cotton candy pink, oxford blue and celadon green. I can honestly say it was love at first touch – the enormous 30×60 bath towel is made of the fluffiest, most luxurious Turkish cotton and after a month of constant use and washing, they’re all just as fluffy and vibrantly colored as they day they arrived in the mail. I also loved the look of the piped edge towels but really craved a pop of color, so I went with these for my new hand towels. Again, generously sized at 20×30, the Mirella hand towel is fluffy, absorbent Turkish long-staple cotton with the most elegant piped border. I went with the cotton candy pink, oxford blue, and celadon green to coordinate with my towels. One thing I was concerned about was the piped edge fraying with constant use and frequent washing, but these towels are definitely not my old Home Goods towels – these are a worthy investment that are going to hold up for years to come!

Quality Drinkware

Perhaps more shameful than our linen closet full of worn out towels is our glass cupboard full of … three cups. LOL! I’m not sure how exactly we got to that point, but all of my Home Goods and Marshalls cups had somehow all disappeared over the last year since I bought a new budget-quality set, and I realized that if we had any guests over to visit – like we do when not under mandatory stay at home orders – we would be in a pickle. Assuming we would be moving this summer and everything would just get broken two months later, I didn’t want to bother with updating our sad drinkware situation. Since plans have changed, I took the plunge and got us a new set of drinkware and BOY am I glad I did! I went with this Duralex set (from Nordstrom but they’ve sold out) and absolutely love love love them! I am very excited about these cups – I don’t know why I’m THIS excited but I am. Perhaps because the glass doesn’t chip and scratch when we drop ice into it, or shatter when we accidentally touch something against it while loading the dishwasher. Whatever the reason, one month later I am still so excited about these gorgeous cups! They’re made in France, which I love, and specifically made to last longer than other glassware with a proprietary technique that makes them extremely durable. I love the look of them and am already eyeing some of the pastel drinkware to add to my Duralex collection!

Fabulous Furniture

Its been years since we last updated any of our furniture – again, solely because we know the military movers will just destroy it – and I’ve been scheming about what I would buy first once we arrived at our new house, which we now know isn’t going to be happening for at least a while yet. So, with a full wish list and an aching desire to update some of the old, broken furniture we’re currently living with, I decided to lighten my list by just one item. I’ve been wanting a cute, statement chair for my house for the longest time and finally treated my family to one – this one! My eyes lit up and my heart fluttered when I first saw this sweet scalloped barrel chair. It’s a sensible, and overdue addition to our home and I just adore its lovely curves, nod to 1930s art deco, and adaptability to be placed in multiple rooms. That last trait is important when buying furniture for future living spaces! Originally, I’d hoped to find it in pink but on every site I looked at it was either way too expensive, it didn’t look like a legitimate company, or it was completely sold out. I ended up finding my light beige chair here, and love how – opposed to a candy pink – the pearly beige is a little bit more mature and thus will allow me to use this chair in any room; not just the kids playroom, or one of their bedrooms. It’s perfectly plush, yet firm enough that it does make for a functional, comfortable accent chair.

xo, Mia