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.

  • casual summer table setting
    Blog,  Decorating

    A Casual and Easy Outdoor Summer Table Setting with Hydrangeas

    The Summer was made for outdoor dining, which is why I’m so excited to share this casual outdoor summer table setting with you! Today I’m joining Pasha with Pasha is Home and sharing 11 outdoor Summer tablescape ideas with you. Did you see Kim’s easy outdoor table setting?! I absolutely LOVED it! As I do her! If you haven’t ever stopped by, you should definitely do it! So if you’re like me you’ve seen all the back-to-school stuff out and about. But even though that probably sends a rush of anxiety as you think about all the back-to-school stuff you need to get done, I want to remind you: There…

  • homemaking advice
    Blog,  Decorating,  Lifestyle

    Intentional Homemaking | How to Create a Beautiful Home

    Over the years I’ve learned that having a beautiful home is less about trendy aesthetics and more about consistent intentional homemaking. 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. Why home making is important? Before we dive into all the amazing tips that I’ve gathered for you on this topic, I wanted to share a bit of why intentional homemaking is so important. The things that happen within the walls of our homes have lasting ripple effects that will go beyond us. Earlier this week we had to say goodbye to…

  • mother daughter backyard boho picnic ideas
    Blog,  Decorating,  Lifestyle

    Summer Mother Daughter Picnic Ideas | Simple & Beautiful

    When life is hard I want to create and relax, which is why I’m so excited to share these simple mother daughter picnic ideas with you! If you haven’t heard yet, we have been home with our adopted daughter for 7 weeks. I shared a bit about the first few days it in my cottage container garden tips post a couple of weeks ago. But more time has passed, and while some of the challenges we faced early on are settling, we are finding new struggles. Currently, our biggest struggle is communication. She is so smiley, but when she wants to communicate with us and we don’t understand her it…

  • Summer garden ideas for the patio
    Blog,  Decorating,  DIY,  Garden

    Create A Beautiful Cottage Container Garden with a Bench & Herbs

    We decided to add charm to our new patio with a simple cottage container garden this year. You won’t believe how easy and life-giving it was! *This post is generously sponsored by The Home Depot. All opinions shared here are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your convenience. Thank you for supporting my blog and the brands I truly love! It’s been a while since I’ve shared here. Truly I’ve thought of sharing so many different things with you. But life has been very full since we brought our daughter home from Korea. In beautiful ways and in difficult ways. But I guess that’s the way…

  • DIY flower arrangement for Spring
    Blog,  Decorating,  DIY

    How to Make a Beautiful Spring Artificial Flower Arrangement

    Creating an artificial flower arrangement is one of the best and easiest ways to add beautiful Spring touches to your home. I’m so excited to be joining Pasha with Pasha is Home and 12 other ladies to share some Spring inspiration with you. If you’re here from Simply 2 Mom’s I’m so glad that you came! I loved all their ideas for decorating with faux greenery. It reminds me of the DIY faux tree I made a few weeks ago. How this artificial flower arrangement reminded me that loving people is much easier than we make it out to be As I type this, I’m walking among some of the…

  • Neutral Spring home decor with vintage crock, pot rack, and copper collection
    Blog,  Decorating

    7 Beautiful & Thrifty European Farmhouse Spring Home Accessories

    Adding Spring home accessories can be gorgeous and budget-friendly if you get creative and keep things simple, let me show you how! Before we dive into my budget-friendly Spring decor ideas I want to say thank you to Kelly with The Tattered Pew for inviting me to join this home tour! It’s always such an amazing week full of home decor inspiration from some of the most wonderful ladies. To see everyone’s post this week just scroll to the bottom of this post and you’ll find all the links to everyone Spring home decor inspiration. If you’re here from Jen’s light and airy Spring Home Tour I’m so glad you…

  • how to decorate kitchen shelves the easy way
    Blog,  Decorating,  DIY

    How to Decorate Kitchen Shelves Beautifully

    Open shelving can be very intimidating, which is why I want to share my easy process to decorate kitchen shelves that turn out stunning. FAQ about decorating kitchen shelves Before we get into the process I use to decorate shelves I want to address a few common questions concerning kitchen open shelves. Are open shelves still in style? They made a comeback in the early 2000’s and so it makes sense to ask if it’s a trend that is on it’s way out, or if it’s sticking around for a while. Open shelves have made a few transitions since they were first reintroduced. You used to mainly see farmhouse kitchen…

  • European cottage Easter Tablescape
    Blog,  Decorating

    Minimal & Beautiful Easter Tablescape with Blue and White

    Setting a table for everyday life can be hard, which is why I’m going to share how to style a beautiful Easter tablescape for everyday living. Before we get into this minimal and beautiful Easter tablescape, I wanted to say thank you to Pasha with Pasha is Home for inviting me to join this fun blog hop! Are you here from Kelly’s pretty Easter table? She is such an amazing and talented friend. If you haven’t seen her table make sure you head over and check it out! What makes a good “practical” tablescape? If you’ve been following along over here you know I LOVE a good tablescape. But you…

  • shaker peg rail with shelf in kitchen
    Blog,  Lifestyle

    Welcome Home Saturday – Spring Inspiration

    Today I’m so excited to be joining the lovely ladies who host the Welcome Home Saturday series! They are such a fun group of girls and I’m absolutely honored to call them friends. It’s March now so we all are experiencing a little bit of Spring fever and are so excited to share all kinds of ideas with you about Spring. This coming week I’ll be sharing a Spring tablescape and then I plan to share the rest of our house all dressed up for Spring. Decorating for Spring is one of my favorite times of year to decorate. That and Christmas. There is something so exciting and refreshing about…

  • lemon ricotta cookie with sourdough discard
    Blog,  Recipes

    The Best Lemon Ricotta Cookie Recipe with Sourdough Discard

    This winter I began my sourdough journey. It led me to a simple and easy sourdough lemon ricotta cookie recipe that is perfect for Spring. I’ve mentioned this past fall here that I struggle with cooking and baking. Not that I’m not good, although I can assure you I’m not an artisan chef. I’m probably just regular good. My kids tell me that I make the best food, but as sweet as that is we all know they eat meals prepared by me more than anyone else haha! Regardless, I’m always afraid of trying a new recipe and setting it before anyone other than my little family. I’m sure this…