Hi! my name is Aliya and I'm so glad you stopped by today! Truly you have no idea how much it means to me. I live in Ohio with my husband and 3 little girls. I believe that once we start opening our doors, that hearts will start to open around us as well. You can head over to the About Aliya page to get my whole story.

  • Blog,  Lifestyle,  Recipes

    Original and Meaningful Family Tradition: Passing On A Legacy of Love

    Every year, in preparation for Thanksgiving Day, my family holds “Baking Day”. This began a few years ago and has become very important to our family. This is one of our most meaningful family traditions and is nearly prized as much as Thanksgiving Day itself. Thanksgiving Day has changed over the years. Especially now that we kids grew up and started families of our own. I remember Thanksgiving Days with over 40 people in my parents’ house. I remember Thanksgivings where I spent half the day with Mom and the other half with Dad. Now my husband and I alternate Thanksgiving between his family and my family every other year.…

  • Blog,  Decorating,  Lifestyle

    A Simple & Beautiful Thanksgiving Table to Inspire Conversation

    Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays around here. We gather with our friends & family and enjoy delicious food while we engage in fun conversation. So I created a Thanksgiving table that inspires more of this. We have been honored to host Thanksgiving at our house a couple times since we moved back home. We love every minute of having family over for the day. Although, I’m not sure my family enjoyed being at my house for Thanksgiving! Two years ago, I made them all drop their phone in a basket as they entered the house, and then I took the basket away and we literally spent the entire…

  • Blog,  Decorating,  Garden,  Lifestyle

    A World Where There are Octobers: An Ohio October Picnic

    Winter is quickly approaching, so I’ve been doing my best to prioritize outdoor time with the family. One of the easiest ways I can ensure we do that is by eating dinner outside. I put together a fun October Picnic with all the Fall necessities, hoping and praying that it’s not our last picnic before the snow! I can’t get enough outside activities in the Fall. This year we’ve been less busy with Fall festivities than usual, BUT to make up for it, we have been eating dinner outside quite a bit. Today I want to share a fun outdoor picnic I put together for the “A World Where There…

  • Decorating,  DIY

    How to Create A Dried Floral Wreath Reflecting Creation

    Lately, I’ve been enamored with creation. Fall is just so beautiful, cozy, and calm and I wanted to bring that into our home for our Fall decor. So I decided to DIY a dried floral wreath. The Inspiration In the recent Fall Home Tour, I shared a super simple wreath I made from a leaf garland. I like it, but it wasn’t created from leaves I found outside. You know me, I love bringing the outdoors in for my decor. I kept seeing all these beautiful and neutral grasses blowing in the wind EVERYWHERE I went. But every time I asked my husband if he thought the strangers who owned…

  • Blog,  Decorating,  Garden,  Lifestyle

    A Simple & Romantic Fall Picnic that Reflects the Season

    Having quality one-on-one time is something my husband and I have struggled with since having children. But recently, the girls had a slumber party at gramma and paps house. I knew I wanted to do something special for Justin to remind him amid the busy schedules and honey-do-lists, he is still my number one. Summer picnics are a ton of fun, but I prefer a picnic when its cooler. The truth is I prefer cooler days to HOT days all the time. When Summer begins to turn to Fall I throw parties! Fall is such a beautiful time to be sitting outside taking in all that nature has to offer.…

  • Decorating

    Brilliant Colors of Fall Home Tour: Simple Fall Touches

    One of the reasons I love Fall so much is all of the colors. I love how the leaves turn from green to yellow, orange, and red. Nature itself seems to turn calm and cozy with all the warm tones. It’s Septemeber and that means Fall is on at my house! It’s my favorite season and I am always excited to pull out the Fall decor and experience all the cozy Fall has to offer. I’m so excited to be apart of this Fall Home Tour! Special shout out to Kelly at The Tattered Pew and Mansa at This Is Simplicite for all their hard work organizing the Brilliant Colors…

  • Blog,  DIY,  Lifestyle

    Time Management: My 6 Favorite Tips and Tricks

    I wanted to share some time management tips that have been the biggest help to me managing my schedule instead of my schedule managing me. Time management is such a tricky thing, isn’t it? We want to fit all the things into each day, but we never have enough time. In an effort to offer some encouragement, I thought I’d share my favorite tips to reach goals yet keep your sanity. I’ve learned if I squeeze nothing but productivity out of my days I become drained and exhausted. But, if I let my schedule run wild I look back and realize I didn’t get anything done. Whether you battle with…

  • Blog,  Decorating,  Lifestyle

    The Four Elements That Make Our Home “Just Right”

    With all of the home improvement projects and decorating I’ve been doing over here, I’ve discovered a trap I don’t want to fall prey to. It’s this belief that by doing all the things and making my house look a certain way I’ll eventually “arrive”. The house will be perfect and all I’ll have to do is sit back and enjoy it. Well, the thing is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. After a precious, out-of-nowhere conversation with my oldest daughter, I learned the four essential elements that make our home “just right” right now, in all its apparent imperfections. To help visualize this I decided I would share…

  • Blog,  DIY

    How to Create A Simple Boho Picnic Table From Pallets

    Last Summer I decided to use 2 pallets to build a lightweight, budget-friendly boho picnic table we could leave in the garden. It’s been so much fun! Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below, but these are products I recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used. Garden Picnics: Boho Picnic Table Our garden picnics are a highlight of our Summers. The girls love everything about eating in the garden. They love sitting on the ground, eating beside the plants (specifically the basil), setting the table, and picking the flowers. It’s really much more than a simple dinner. It’s memories I hope the…