One Easy Way to Update Your Living Room

Every so often, we feel like certain rooms in our house need a facelift. We may be ready for a small change but not ready to make any drastic updates and luckily, sometimes the smallest changes can make a big difference. If you’re not ready to replace furniture or get out the paintbrush then one idea for bringing a fresh new look to your space is by replacing your throw pillows. It might not seem like much, but new pillows can bring your living room back to life and allow you to play with different colors, textures and themes. We recently partnered up with Loloi Rugs to update both of our cozy living/family room areas. We are so excited to have found out about this brand because their quality of products and selection is both so beautiful and unique. 

Kaitlyn:
I have a permanent obsession with the color teal (or any version of this color including mint, seafoam, turquoise...you get the picture!) Whenever I'm shopping at any decor store, I gravitate to this color and try to find any reason to bring home that gorgeous distressed teal end table... But let's be honest, there are much more cost-effective ways to bring this color into a room. I usually update our throw pillows once or twice a year to keep things fresh (and my budgets in line) and I recently decided it was that time again and of course, my eyes went right to the teal color family. I am such a big fan of these two very different but complementary style pillows. The mix of different textures and sizes keeps things interesting and offers a cozy feel which is exactly what I want to maintain in our front room. The large square pillow has such a fun texture and catches your eye right away and as for the smaller one, the tassels bring a bit of playfulness to the room. Now, I just have to keep my dog from thinking it's one of his toys or the baby from putting them in his mouth! ;) Large square pillow Tassel pillow 

Lisa:
Welcome to my loft or as we like to call it the most cozy room in our home. We do everything from having our weekly "family movie nights" to our Sunday morning snuggles here. Let me back up a bit and tell you a bit about this couch. When we bought our new home last year, we picked this couch based solely on the comfort level of it and the fact that both sides recline (yes, you can literally sleep on this bad boy). When it was delivered, the couch was way too big for the room, so we took the center section out. This left it more compact and less pretty to look at. That said, it is so super cozy but it does need a little face lift. An easy way to do so? Add great throw pillows of course! 
I absolutely love these tassel pillows. By switching out my old teal pillows and adding these black, cream, and rust colored ones, the room instantly looks different. It's also the perfect color pallet for this time of year. The texture on these is so fun and gives the room more of a rustic feel..which I love. Our Sunday morning snuggles are going to be much more cozy this week and that's a fact! 
Tassel pillow

How do you make a room feel new again?

Thanks for stopping by!

Xo,

This post is in partnership with Loloi Rugs. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Thanks for supporting the brands that make Sisters Marie possible! 

Rocked it & Swapped it: J. Jill Cable Knit Sweater

Cable knit sweaters are a must this year of year and this J.Jill style is one of the coziest we have found yet. It's chenille material which makes it feel like you're wrapped in a teddy bear and it's pretty long in length with an a-line hem so it works for just about every kind of bottom (jeans, leggings, etc.) I tucked it in a bit in the front for a casual feel and paired it with my favorite everyday nude booties and distressed denim. I like that Lisa took a totally different route and dressed it up by adding four items that take any look from everyday to everyday chic: Jewelry, shoes, bag, and lip color. Versatility at its finest!

SHOP OUR CABLE KNIT PICKS:

Do you have any similar pieces in your closet? 

How would you style this sweater? 

Thanks for stopping by! Xo

Rocked it & Swapped it

One of my favorite brands that we had the honor of working with this past year was cabi Clothing. I first began working with them last Fall on my personal blog, but in Spring of this year Kaitlyn joined in all the fashion fun. This is a brand that I support for so many reasons, and one that we make no money off if you end up shopping. So why do we love cabi so much? They not only have amazing fashion, outstanding quality to their pieces, timeless and trend items that can be worn year after year, but from a company standpoint, they give back in such wonderful ways (both nationally and globally). Now that is something we are both proud to stand behind! 

This is the Pirouette Dress and an item that Kaitlyn picked up from the line this Fall. I love how she paired this outfit! She is wearing head to toe cabi Clothing and the "In the Band" jacket is just the right amount of structure to this girly floral dress. When I got this beauty in my swap bag, I couldn't wait to wear it to my second Thanksgiving party. I used the tie and belted the waist to shorten the dress a bit and added a shiny gold heel to dress it up. In the end, it was probably one of my favorite dresses to wear! Seriously. 

Have you shopped the cabi Clothing Fall line? What do you think of how we styled the dress? Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today, I hope you make it a great day! xo

Cozy in a Cable Knit

I have a growing collection of thick, white knits in my closet. Much like stripes, I feel like this is one thing you can never have enough of, especially living in the Midwest. Cable knit sweaters give me all of the, "sipping hot cocoa by a fire in the woods" feels. Though, let's be honest, my weekends no longer involve sipping...If I'm drinking anything, it's water (or iced coffee on occasion) and it's most likely being chugged so I can check off the next task on a very long list. Ah, the joys of Motherhood - Now I totally understand what Cat and Nat are always talking about ;) 
This sweater is so cozy and is pretty long in length with an a-line hem so I tucked it in a bit in the front for a casual feel but it would also be so cute untucked with leggings and snow boots. I'm also a huge fan of these color block touchscreen gloves - They're by Verloop Knits, a brand I discovered in one of our local stores a few years back and they make the cutest (and functional!) Winter accessories. I always enjoy a good pop of color against an otherwise neutral palette and their line(s) are always so bright. Merry and bright, that is...

Wearing: Sweater: c/o J. Jill Jacket: c/o J. Jill Jeans: Old Navy Booties: TOMS Necklace: c/o Evereve Hat: Old (similar)  Bag: Target Gloves: Verloop Knits

Rocked it & Swapped it: Floral Evereve Skirt

They say if you spend enough time with someone, you start to look/act alike. I feel that way with Lisa a lot lately! She and I did some shopping at Evereve on completely different days and never spoke after about what we had purchased. About a week later, we both published outfit posts featuring some of the pieces we brought home with us and it turns out, we not only picked out, but pieced together an almost identical outfit! It's funny to think we both selected these very items out of a whole store filled with amazing clothes but let's be honest, is there anything better than this mini skirt? Embroidery is so big this season and this is the perfect statement piece for any holiday party or event you attend. 
The floral detail on the front is just beautiful and because of all the colors, it pairs well with so many things. I love that we both chose a black top, the SAME crescent moon necklace (my current favorite!) and a colorful jacket. Lisa paired hers with a pink bomber style and I chose a teal suede version. Fun to see how different they are but both complement the outfit so well.

SHOP EMBROIDERED SKIRTS:

How do you feel about the embroidery trend this season?

How would you style this skirt?

Have a great Thursday! Xo

A Christmas Eve Look

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year. All the excitement and anticipation of the big day without any of the letdown that it's all over which is pretty much always how I feel when I go to sleep on December 25th. I know, that sounds a little crazy but it's the truth. I feel like Christmas Day is similar to your wedding day -- It's something you wait for for SO long and when it's finally here, you spend all day trying to soak every piece of it in and just hope that it doesn't by too fast, but it always does. 

Can you tell I'm a girl who just loves the holidays too much? I attribute a lot of those to my wonderful Parents who always made Christmas such a magical experience for my brother and I. From the earliest ones I can remember, it was everything a child hopes for -- Half-eaten chocolate cookies and a note from Santa on the morning of, a plentiful stack of presents under the tree, holiday music all month long and a long list of traditions that are special to our Family. I have so many memories of going to pick out a real tree as a Family, driving through the Grand Geneva lights (which we still do each year), eating chocolate croissants on Christmas Eve after Grandpa's house, sleeping in a fort on the floor in my brother's room, helping my Dad put the angel on our tree each year and so on. 

Sometimes I miss being little, living at home and experiencing the festivities the way we used to but I'm so lucky to live so close to my Family so we can still share in so much together and I look forward to passing many of these traditions onto Ro as he grows up. I'm also excited to start our own and participate in things like Elf on the Shelf (yes, I know - it's a lot of pressure!) and watching Christmas movies in sleeping bags by the fire...that's one I can't wait for! We always spend Christmas Eve at my Grandpa's house with a lot of Family and so many of my cousins have young kids or new babies as well so it's going to be loud and chaotic but so much fun. Santa will make an appearance and now that I have baby, I get to reclaim my spot on his famous couch in front of the tree :) #kidperks

SHOP MY HOLIDAY STYLE:

And speaking of Christmas Eve, I'm thinking this outfit will be perfect. I want to LIVE in this dress -It's so comfortable (and leaves plenty of room for cookie snacking), a great length, very flattering AND most importantly, it's fa la la festive! It shows just the right amount of skin when paired with these OTK boots, which by the way -- THESE ARE UNDER $40. AND...They don't slouch! I was super skeptical since they were such a steal price wise and I figured I would be returning them a day later but so far, they have not disappointed. I really can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on the real thing so I'm glad to have found a stand-in that works with everything from dresses to jeans. Think these will be go-to this season, until it snows that is...

What are your favorite Christmas traditions? 

Thanks for stopping by! Xo

Wearing:

Dress: c/o J. Jill

Scarf: c/o J. Jill (similar)

Boots: Target (under $40!)

Hat: Old Navy (identical version!)

Purse: c/o Sole Society (old)

Lip color: Crush - Glo Skin Beauty

A Baby-Proof Area Rug

How can such a small person take up SO much room in the house? I have asked myself this on a daily basis since we brought our little man home almost 4 months ago and his stuff just continues to close in on us. In addition his nursery and all of the toys that have flooded our Family Room, he has also staked his claim on our guest room. I'll admit, that one is our doing because we wanted a little station set up on our main floor where we could change diapers and let him nap if necessary so we didn't have to go upstairs every time there was an explosion (which let's be honest, is often). So, our cute little guest bedroom has essentially morphed into a second nursery.

I do my best to keep it looking fresh and modern instead of overly baby-ish. We do spend a lot of time in there though so I wanted to make it as homey as possible and to me, a nice area rug is always that finishing touch. I've mentioned my obsession before - I'm pretty sure if I buy any more for the house, my husband will ask for a divorce but I can't help it...Rugs are such an easy way to completely change the look of a room and add some warmth, don't you guys agree? 

For Ro's SECOND bedroom space  (😂 ), I partnered up with Lorena Canals, an amazing home decor brand that I stumbled upon via Instagram and I am so lucky I did. For the past 12 years, they have been specializing in children's rugs in order to offer elegant and cozy spaces that meet all the requirements a Mother needs for her kids. YES PLEASE!

The unique and beautiful design of this petroleum berber rug was the first thing that caught my eye (mostly because I'm OBSESSED with this teal color!), but the story behind her designs was what hooked me:

1. All of the rugs and cushions are machine-washable and fit into a standard washer and dryer. Is this not the most GENIUS idea ever? In 4+ years of owning our home, I have replaced multiple rugs due to stains and general wear and tear so I am beyond thrilled to have this ability. Literally a life saver, especially with a baby who spits up and drools all day long!
2. Their home collection is perfect for sophisticated kids rooms but also for adult spaces. I'm thinking about ordering another for our loft area - It's so nice when the design is ambiguous enough for two kinds of spaces so you can change it up later on if you want instead of being stuck with a rug adorned with matchbox cars that only fits one space.
3. The brand is shopped by top celebrities and was picked by Vogue as top baby product for celebrity nurseries. Stars...they're just like us ;)
4. All rugs are made in India and designed in Spain 
5. All products are handmade with natural dyes, eco and contain no VOCs like most carpeting and rugs -- Makes me feel better about Ro spending so much time on it.
6. The proceeds support the Sakula project and provide schooling for children in India. I love shopping brands with a generous philanthropic mission!

While I can get annoyed with his stuff being everywhere, it's also a nice change of space to switch up our scenery and hang out in different rooms so it can also be convenient. I often bring his activity mat in here and we just hang out with his woodland friends. He has started rolling now though so I can't just lay him there and walk away anymore...He is definitely keeping me on my toes these days!

We also spend a lot of time reading books and with all the natural light in the guest room, it's the perfect space for it. I think Ro is really going to like reading because he listens intently every time my husband or I tell a story and it's precious to watch his face light up with each flip of a page. Right now, Silly Tilly and Dragons Love Tacos are two of our favorites! I look forward to these moments during the day and right before bedtime.

P.S. I have always been a sucker for rugs with tassels...Though, I did hesitate with this because they look very similar to my dog's chew toys! Luckily, he rarely comes in this room so I figured it was safe ;)

This face, though! My handsome little man is getting so big...I could stare at this face and kiss these cheeks all day long (and by could, I mean I do)! I am very lucky to be his Mama.

Mom's, how do you keep your baby spaces looking nice & fresh? Raise your hand if your little one has taken over the whole house as well!
Thanks for stopping by! Xo
Featured:
Rug: c/o Lorena Canals Activity Mat: Skip Hop Pajamas: Nate Berkus

I received product compliments of Lorena Canals. All opinions and statements are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Sisters Marie possible.