How to Create a Home You Love

Creating a home is such a process, and a personal one that involves a lot of patience and decisions! I learned so much from decorating my first apartment, and then my interior education only expanded when Jase and I basically started furnishing and decorating our new house from scratch!

A little bucket of tips and tricks:

-always measure & don't rush!

-create a budget and decide what pieces are worth a greater investment

-pin plenty of inspiration photos prior to purchasing furniture

-buy things that bring you joy and ultimately add to the overall goal of your home

 The vision words for our house was a place of peace, an oasis, a neutral, calm, and cozy environment with a Cali European casual feel. I don't know if you are anything like me, but I have the hardest time visualizing how something will look if it's not right in front of me. Our house before this had lower ceilings and lighter floors; it seems obvious, but what a difference that makes in how furniture looks when you move it into a space that has high ceilings and dark floors. We thought most of our previous furniture would work in our new house, but most of it didn't. Eeek! This big project accounted for the investment in a designer who we couldn't love more, Kirsten Grove, who has made choosing and buying the furniture a breeze.When choosing pieces for your home, it is so important to go with your gut. When I didn't love a choice suggested to me, we would go back to the drawing board. I realized it is okay to say no. I am also a person that loves to finish a project, so I get very tempted to rush into decisions, but I have really allowed myself to do the opposite. We are still waiting on all of our furniture (the delay is extended because of covid-19), but we are so at peace as we accept the process and live in gratefulness! I can't wait to give you all a virtual home tour when everything is in place, including what we did in the renovation.Stay safe everyone! xx

How to Naturally Handle Allergy Season

My allergies started a bit early this year, and by early, I mean November. Yikes! I tend to associate allergies with the Spring season, but I have realized different things bloom at different times of the year, and in California, the sneezing battle can be ongoing. I know most people experience these seasonal struggles, so I wanted to give a few tips to minimize them.It all started in my eyes. It actually got so bad that my eyes were closing by themselves. My eye doctor said they will do that instinctually to avoid the potential "danger." So fascinating! All of that to say, I was pretty desperate! After contacting my functional medicine doctor, going to the eye doctor, and shopping at the farmer's market, I came to a natural allergy relief cocktail that has been quite effective.

• I take a supplement twice a day with these ingredients: vitamin C, potassium, guduchi, nettle extract, quercetin, and bicarbonate salts. This has been game changing!
• At the farmer's market, I met the most amazing company called Bee Golden Honeys. They make such a powerful and local bee pollen (I love the one with ayurvedic herbs infused) + their honey blends are so nutritionally rich and delicious!
• Jase and I both take elderberry syrup daily, which offers daily allergy relief + is a must for an enhanced immune system.

What do you do to help with your allergies? And please note, I am not a doctor, but the above reliefs work really well for me, so I wanted to share :) xo 

Almond Cow: Make Your Own Almond Milk

I was not expecting to write this during a time filled with potential anxiety and so many unknowns, but I hope this suggestion brings extra hope and makes this quarantine time extra do-able. Jason and I braved going to the store yesterday because we were out of our almond milk because we were out of almonds! But our almonds are arriving via mail in the next few days, which will be a game changer.I am so excited to tell you about Almond Cow. This machine has been the best investment and has saved us money on our grocery bill because we make our own nut milk at home. Usually making almond milk requires so many tedious steps and a lot of time. It is quite intimidating! This machine allows you to make it in minutes, and it is so delicious. We are hooked! The website provides the best recipes for every type of dairy free milk + they offer recipes to make beverages, creamer, and even some where the pulp can be used.How are you all doing? What food and drinks (I.e. almond milk) are you depending on these next few weeks?

Our Newest Addition: Bennett Doodle Kennedy the Third

It has been about four years now that we have had our dog's name on stand by - Bennett. And we recently made it a little longer to Bennett Doodle Kennedy the Third lol. We don't know how that happened, but it just stuck. Jase and I are total animal lovers and have wanted to add a puppy to our family for a few years now, but the time just never seemed right. We love to travel, and we felt like we would be absent parents. When we moved into our recent house, we felt like it was the perfect time. Our schedule is more settled, and the travel spots we have come to love the most are just an hour to a few hours of a drive away, so Bennie can come with us!It is so crazy how much joy and love he has already added to our home. For those of you who have dogs, you know. He is just passed 13 weeks, and his little personality gets cuter by the day. We started working with a trainer on day two (fun fact: she trained all of the animals on Friends), and he is the fastest learner and gets extra cuddly by the day. The first day we had him, he only slept, and by day two, he already seemed like a different pup! He started exploring the house, and after a few days of that, he became so much calmer. Now he just likes to follow us around and stare at us. :) It is the most special little relationship + Jase and I feel like we have gotten even closer through it because we are seeing each other in such a different role. It has been extra sweet, and he is growing so fast!And real talk: training a puppy and having a puppy the first few weeks is A LOT of work, but it honestly has been work that we couldn't love more. Jase was the most concerned about interrupted sleep, and he has been the one getting up in the night, and he has loved every minute. I sleep like a rock, and I blame that on the CBD I started taking very day a month ago; it has been game changing!A few of his favorite things:

1. His leash, collar, and these biodegradable poop bags.
2. We got this harness for when he walks outside.
3. He absolutely loves his bowls + they look so pretty in the house.
4. We love having two sets of dog bowls to make sure they are always clean and fresh.
5. He plays with these toys every day along with these balls.

Do you have a dog? What do you love most about it?  

Tips For Hosting Guests Overnight

This last month has been my version of heaven. My best friend, twin sister, other dear friend, my mother in law, and then my parents have all come into town back to back. These people are my people and time with them makes my heart extra full. It also has been extra nice settling into our home and taking a break from getting on a plane. Not to mention, the sweetest little pup joined our family!As y'all may know, we are about a month away from our house being filled with furniture and styled. Right now, it is a work in progress AKA the time of waiting and anticipation. For a 9 on the enneagram (me!), the unfinished-ness of our home equates to the feeling of being unsettled, but it has also been really good because I feel like it puts me in the present. It has simultaneously made me realize that people love to live in the present with me; the importance is not on the visual, but rather the sweet time together. Such a learning lesson for life!All of this had me extra focused on what I could do to make our visitors feel extra cozy and at home. At our core, we all want to feel at home when we are not home.

A FEW TIPS:

• Put a cozy robe on the back of their bathroom door.
• Get a suitcase stand so they have a place to organize their things.
• Make sure there are hangers in their closet.
• Put shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion in their bathroom. (this saves the effort, space and time they have to take to pack them!)
• Prior to their arrival, ask what they eat and drink (coffee/tea/kombucha) on the daily and make sure you are fully stocked.
• Plan the days based on their preferred pace; spread out the activities and make them relaxing!
• Do things they love to do at home; watch the Bachelor, cook dinner, enjoy a glass of wine.
• Diffuse essential oils in their room.
• Put fresh flowers on their nightstand + a convenient phone charger.

What are your favorite things to do when you are hosting someone? And what do you love most when someone is hosting you?

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Organic Linens and Towels You'll Love

Moving can most definitely be stressful, but in the midst of the crazy, my favorite thing about leaving a house and settling into a new space is making positive changes. I almost view moving in the same way I do a new year; it's so nice to reflect on how I want to do some things the same while in the same breath, learning from the past and making new shifts. I believe so strongly that your home should be your oasis. It should be filled with the cleanest air possible, should be so extra peaceful right when you walk through the door, and it should be a space that gives your body a break from environmental toxins and stress.We can't control toxins when we are in public places, but we can control the indoor air quality of our home in so many ways. One big change I have been making over the last few years is changing all linens, towels, pillow fills, mattresses, duvet fills, and robes to organic and fair trade products. As y'all know, this can be very pricey, so you truly have to find your pace, but it is the most rewarding and beneficial investment you can make.

Boll & Branch

Meet Boll & Branch. You have probably heard me mention them many times because they are one of my all time favorite reliable companies for all things clean. Their mattress and all things bedding have made our bed a dream. They are a leading designer and retailer of luxury home goods, all of which are rooted in quality, ethically made and sustainably sourced. Because of this, their products help support thousands of factory workers, farmers, and their families. In fact, for each of Boll & Branch’s Fair Trade items sold, the workers earn a premium to invest back in their communities for social development projects and fighting poverty.

It's All About the Quality

One of the reasons why we love this company so much is their stand for quality. The bedding is designed to last a lifetime and gets even better with every wash. The company takes pride in their products and creates long-lasting sheets with maximum durability and softness. Not to mention, their styles are timeless, so you can mix and match then all year round. My favorite part of course: almost all of their products start with 100% organic cotton.

The Gift of Hosting

Hosting visitors in our home is one thing that brings me so much joy, and I love making their temporary home feel extra cozy, clean, and comforting! A fun little fact: I love taking mental notes whenever we are staying in a hotel on things that made me feel extra cozy and at home. I wanted to mimic those things in our guest rooms as well as our own room of course. One fun little extra is hanging an organic robe on the back of every bathroom door. This is a bit nostalgic for me because my mom has done this since I was little on the back of my door, and it is one of the things I look forward to most now when I visit them in Dallas. 

In addition to this, we always have a fresh stack of soft B&B organic towels in each bathroom, and their bedding is an absolute must. Jason and I have used Boll & Branch bedding for a few years now and the comfort, quality, and purity have completely won us over. Even our new puppy loves to get snuggly in it!

Boll & Branch is so sweet to give an exclusive code for 20% off your entire order. The code is: 20LAUREN. Happy shopping! DM me on Instagram if you have any questions. xoWhat is your favorite tip to help visitors feel extra cozy in your home when they visit? I would love to hear in the comments below!What is your favorite tip to help visitors feel extra cozy in your home when they visit? I would love to hear in the comments below!

Organizing Your Home: mDesign + HomeSort

For those of you that know me know that I live by organization especially in the interiors of the drawers. It brings so much peace of mind to know that everything has a place. We moved into our house after eight months of renovation, and I think my sweet mama friends that started their own brilliant company called Home Sort (that organizes all things) could feel that I was a bit in-over-my-head tackling getting our house together. They texted me and said they were planning a trip from Sacramento to come help me.First of all, Ryan and Brandie are two people that overflow with joy, and it makes such a difference to make a project that feels so big, FUN! We had the honor of partnering with mDesign to make all of our drawers pretty and efficient; from the Lazy Susan storage spinners to the bins and baskets, they made finding spaces for each product so rewarding and breezy. We tackled both of our closets, our bathroom, our laundry room, and our kitchen, and they had above and beyond what we needed. After a few months into living with everything in its place, we came to realize how much of a part this played into a house feeling like a home. It immediately made us feel extra settled and we are so grateful.Here are some of our favorite pieces that made the biggest difference + keep scrolling to see more photos!Bamboo bathroom drawer organizersLarge bamboo drawer organizersPlastic Kitchen Pantry Food Storage BinBamboo Adjustable Kitchen Drawer DividerBamboo Tea Bag HolderPlastic Pantry Lazy SusanWhat is your favorite way to make a house feel like a home?

Must-Have, Toxin- Free Face & Body Lotion

One of my favorite things is when you find a brand that you adore on every level + extra bonuses and musts: it is effective and you all know, I fall only for non-toxic products! I also love when a company is a small business or a passionate entrepreneur that created a company based off of pure passion and the desire to fulfill a need and educate while doing so.You all have to meet Essentiel. This lotion is an essential (pun intended) staple in our home. It is a head to toe body lotion, and Jase especially loves it for his face too! I met Adele, the founder of this beautiful company, last year and we immediately connected. My favorite part about her story is that she grew up on a (manic) organic commune in California, where she was introduced to natural skincare many years before it was a thing. If a product wasn’t biodynamic or freshly sourced from the fields of France, she could not use it. I was so fascinated by this! She told me she would show up to slumber parties with homemade goldenseal salve, and her mom was especially into essential oils decades ago. Also, her 93-year-old gorgeous grandmother, Adele Uddo (The Original), also taught her so much about beauty.

How Essentiel Began

Adele has been a hand, lip, and leg model for years for some of the biggest brands, so she is extra aware of aging in regards to the entire body. She first created this lotion in her kitchen. She wanted to create an ideal moisturizer made with exceptional ingredients that would nourish her skin and keep it healthy from head to toe. Her friends started asking her for some, so she worked with a top formulator to make it fully come to life.

The Ingredients

The scent (all from the earth) and consistency of the lotion is what won me over + it feels so luxurious to put on. It is filled with everything from hyaluronic acid, which hydrates and plumps the skin, to MSM, a sulfur compound that is the third most abundant mineral in the body, to coffee berry, which calms redness, and aids in preventing the skin from pre-mature aging. There are so many more powerful ingredients that are you can check out here.

Watch the video below to see Adele talk even more about what she has created!!

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IMi8nXdegmc

The Non-Toxic Mattress We Love

One of the biggest yet most important shifts to make in the nontoxic living journey is your mattress. Did you know we spend at least one-third of our lives in bed + your body is renewing the most at night? So, it is the most important time for it to be in a pure environment! In my opinion, it is one of the most valuable investments for your health.According to Wellness Mama, mattresses can be a major source of chemical exposure. Mattress companies are not required to disclose all of the chemicals they use and are required to withstand an open flame from a blowtorch for over a minute. To accomplish this, many companies (over 90% in a recent survey) douse mattresses in flame-retardant chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl ether, better known as PBDE. These chemicals are highly toxic and do not have to be disclosed! They can accumulate in the body through skin and inhalation exposure and are associated with hormone, brain, and reproductive damage.Mattresses can also contain harmful compounds like:

• Formaldehyde – Commonly used in mattresses, especially as an adhesive in mattresses made from polyurethane foam (a toxic petroleum-based material).
• VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) – Can cause lung and skin irritation and are often found in the glue in many mattresses.
• Decabromodiphenyl Oxide and other Brominated Flame Retardants – These are linked to hair and memory loss and are listed as possible carcinogens.

These facts above always break my heart and initially made me want to run to the store and immediately replace our mattresses. And to add on to this, mattresses off gas, which in turn puts chemicals into the air we are breathing in our home. Off gassing is a term that refers to releasing chemicals from the object they reside in (in this case, a mattress that is not free of toxins).I am so thrilled to tell you about a brand that I first came to love because of their bath mats. On my what felt like a lifelong hunt for comfortable and thick organic bath mats, my mom told me about Under the Canopy and I was immediately hooked. Then a few months ago, I saw they released mattresses and I was so excited. As we settle into our new home, my mission was to find the best mattress to replace in our guest room beds, and after reading through the quality and ensuring comfort, I knew these were the ones!The fun little bullet points that I geek out over: these mattresses contain zero GMOs, toxins, chemicals or flame retardants. The natural silica exterior and the Joma wool top layer actually acts as a natural flame retardant and provides structure at the same time.The Hybrid Organic Latex Mattress is designed to give the perfect amount of support and comfort for all sleeping positions. It is crafted with individually encased recycled steel coils with an organic latex layer and topped off with an incredibly soft pad made from organic cotton and Joma wool. This all makes a soft, sustainable, and durable mattress that provides both support and comfort.Other fun facts that gives even further peace of mind:

• 11” Organic Latex Hybrid Mattress
• .5” Joma Wool Pad
• .5” Organic Coconut Husk Pad
• 2” Organic Dunlop Latex
• 8” Coils made from 95% recycled steel
• Surrounded in eco-friendly silica sock for natural flame retardant
• No GMOs
• Made responsibly in the United States

The mattresses are made to order in small, American factories, which limits waste because they are just created only when there is a need. And who else loves to know the time it will take to get to your house as much as I do? You will receive your mattress within 14 days of ordering. Also, these are available at Bed, Bath and Beyond.Another important note: mattresses are expensive, and nontoxic ones can cause a bit of sticker shock. As I discuss in The Clean Sweep, it is so important to take this journey at your own pace. Also, I think it can be so fun to set goals and set aside money each month specifically to save for a nontoxic mattress as it is one of the most rewarding and health-benefitting purchases!