Every year, I love to revisit my favorite fall candles—I keep a lot in storage if we haven't burned through them yet. Bringing out those tried-and-true candles always evokes scent memories. Like a game night we had with some dear friends last year. Or the backdrop to an amazing fall dinner that Chris whipped up […]
Faux Oak Branch | Vase | Serving Bowl | Candle | Dining Table | Chairs (vintage) (similar) | Wallpaper | Gallery Wall | Edie Two-Tier Chandelier After the busyness of summer, fall feels like a chance to really return to my roots of being a homebody. And yet, that doesn't mean I'm home alone just with my family! I love to have people over as well! There are […]
Well fam, we made it. We're finally here! The mudroom is officially done. I looked back at the very first post about transforming this space, and it was one year ago, almost to the day. On the one hand, I feel a little deflated that it took us a year. And on the other hand, […]
I love ordering crab cakes out—they're such a treat. But if I want to make crab cakes at home, they need to cater to our food restrictions. That means they have to be delicious AND have no eggs, dairy, wheat, gluten or grains. Well these knock it out of the park, thanks to some secret […]
August is my unofficial start of autumn — I don't believe in separating seasons, or holidays, for that matter. I prefer to squeeze every ounce of joy I feel from the day, whether that is a sunny beach day (which is how we started the month!) or a cool early fall walk with Cricket and […]
I love fall faux stems. It's funny how it feels a lot more acceptable for stems to be faux in the fall! I guess in the summer you can grow your flowers and cut things from the yard or buy some at the market. In the fall — at least in North Carolina — we’re […]
Last year, Chris wanted to do a fall low-country boil outside, and he wanted to invite 15 people over. He said, "I’m just going to send out a text." I said, "Wait, let me make an invitation!" When someone receives an invitation, they get the feeling that this event means something to you. I think […]
Shop our Chris Loves Julia x Wallpops collection This day has been over a year in the making, and I'm SO excited that it's finally here. As many of you know, a few years ago we created a line of peel-and-stick vinyl tiles with FloorPops. Their team has been great to work with; we love […]
Throughout my house, I'm always changing out switch plates to either 1) blend them into the rest of the room or 2) elevate them to reflect other accents in the room. One way to do that is with paintable switch plates. For instance, if your switch plates are on a baseboard where you don’t want […]
This post is sponsored by Wayfair I'm in my fall feelings right now: Give me all the dark mahogany wood tones, the colored marble, the antiqued lighting...but with a modern vibe. I spotted a vanity at Wayfair a few days ago that I sent to all of my work girlies because it was THAT. GOOD. […]
I love a good dip, and it’s even better when they’re bubbling hot. It can be a challenge to find some really great dairy-free creamy dips, but this one delivers. And unlike many white bean dips, this one is not shy about big, bold flavors! So let's get down to the nitty-gritty of how I […]
The weird thing about being a homebody is you can be having a great time somewhere else, learning and growing and experiencing new beautiful things and places and people--but there's this hole in your gut that can only be filled with the familiar routine and sounds and smells of being home. And when you're gone for too long or for too often, you start feeling like a shell because that hole just keeps getting larger.
There is something quintessentially cozy about having a sectional. I remember shopping for furniture for Chris and my very first apartment together. We went to a local furniture store, and there was a U-shaped sectional right in the front. We’re both tall, and it was the kind that had a bench seat and then a […]
When Labor Day weekend hits, I'm always searching out deep discounts on big-ticket items for my house like furniture, appliances, lights, and more. I'm hoping I'll scout out the perfect couches for the living room. (Psst...you're first to hear that our rugs will be discounted at Wayfair, Amazon, and Rugs Direct this weekend too!) It's […]
There is a romanticism about a drippy tapered candlestick, but it doesn’t translate into real life. There’s nothing romantic about wax dripping all over your table, counter, or mantle. Lately, I've only been buying dripless tapered candlesticks. I want to be able to light candles for dinner on a weeknight and just enjoy them, not […]
There's been steady progress on updating Greta's room: we've painted the trim, installed the wallpaper, and added a new rug. At first, we painted the ceiling the same color as the trim, but it made the room feel too dark. So we pivoted and painted the ceiling back to a creamy white — it immediately […]
As soon as we started our exterior trim makeover, we knew the gutters had to go. It was not even a discussion really. (They were purple? I don't even know how!) The old gutters were pulled down during the trim painting, and we worked with our contractors Kennon Construction to order the new copper gutters. […]
Shop The Kitchen Fall is my favorite food season. I love the warm spices, apples, sweet potatoes, squash — there are so many wonderful flavors and textures to work with. To herald September, I put together this crisp Harvest Punch that looks like fall in a glass. It is the perfect beverage to serve at […]
It's not often I change out art in a room, but if I do, it's most likely the Frame TV art. It's just so easy and so inexpensive (once you have the Samsung Frame TV of course). But you can set a landscape-sized background on a lot of TV brands these days! I've rounded up […]
I've been following some really fun things happening in design lately, from colorful checkered floors (stay tuned for more on that topic *wink*), to veiny marble slabs, to flush mount lights over islands instead of pendants. Color-drenching is here to stay, and I love seeing the moody, traditional vibes in fall decor. View this post […]
Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations