This week, I put together one more outfit idea for a summer country concert over at KLAW. Also, I'm bringing the below hairstyle back. It's perfect for the 'I'm growing my bangs out and its really hard to figure out what the heck to do with them at this length and if I don't do something crazy and different I might as well go ahead and cut them' stage.

That's all! Hope you guys are having a great week!

Decorating for royalty

According to one of my most trusted news sources, Princess Kate would like the help of designer Kelly Hoppen to decorate her and Will's home in Kensington Palace. Can you imagine- decorating for royals!? I'm pretty sure that's when you know you have 'made it'! I checked out Kelly's work, and I'm very surprised at how contemporary most of her portfolio is.

But she can also do "traditional" very well, which I'm kind of thinking might be how the Royals lean. I mean, it is a palace, after all!

I really hope the palace releases pictures of the 'after'- ha! What do you think? Do you like Kelly's aesthetic?

In 2 years time

2 years ago, I was featured on the Neo-Traditionalist as the "Neo-Trad of the Week". I had just started reading blogs and Katie's was (and still is) one of my favorites. I recently looked back at my then answers and it made me think of how much can change in 2 year's time... So I thought it would be fun to come up with my 'now' answers:

Name, Age, Location

Emily Swenson Davis, 26, St. Louis, MO

My cliff-note autobiography…

Recent transplant to St. Louis by way of Houston, but will always claim Oklahoma as my home. Been married to the love of my life for 3 years and feel so grateful for the life we are creating together. 

Things that make my heart flutter…

(these haven't changed much!) Love in it's many forms, looking forward to a truly fantastic event, family time, the color red, correspondence, a new purse, puppies (especially mine!). And fresh flowers- always.

My dream dinner party…

Who: I just want my nearest and dearest to be there. There is nothing better than being in a room filled with people you love.
Where: A very beautiful/intimate home (that hopefully belongs to me!) on the beach or in the mountains. I'm not picky.
When: As often as possible!
What: We would spend the evening laughing, telling stories, and giving thanks for how blessed we are. And of course, great food and drinks would be involved.

In ten years I will be…

If I've learned anything in my life, it would be "If you want hear God laugh- tell Him your plans!" Who knows where I will be in ten years but as of now, I'm just shooting for 'happy'!  And if I could be living near my friends/family, have a wildly successful career, 2 kids, a few dogs and a fabulous home, I wouldn't complain :)

I am neo-traditional because…

I believe that you create your own happiness- and that true happiness comes from the everyday, little things. I'm neo-traditional because while I do appreciate modernity, old will always beat new (in fashion, home decor, cars, literature and people!). I'm neo-traditional because I love vintage jewelry, champagne, board games, Fitzgerald, thrift store finds, polka dots, my library card, lipstick and dinner parties.  And I'm neo-traditional because this still rings true for me: it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.

So funny to see how things have changed for me- and how some things haven't! How much has changed in your life in 2 year's time?

Chinois nightstand DIY

I love these nightstands. The clean white coupled with the chinois-style legs and brass pulls..... just perfection.

Here.

But after some extensive internet searching... I came to the conclusion that they are probably antique - aka can't be found again and if you could find them they would be crazy expensive.

But- that doesn't mean this look can't be re-created! All you would need is an unfinished nightstand in a similar style, white spray paint, brass drawer pulls, a trip to the Home Depot and a little ingenuity.

At the Home Depot, get some trim to cut into the shape of the feet of the nightstand. Then attach the pieces to the legs of the nightstand with wood glue and add some filler so you can't see the seam where the two pieces meet. Then spray it white, attach the pulls and call it a day!

Kind of labor intensive, but really not too bad for custom nightstands! This is a DIY that I would love to try.... but I should probably finish my other projects first :)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Country Concert Outfits

Earlier this week on KLAW, I shared some outfit ideas for an outdoor country concert --> aka one of the only times I would wear cowboy boots to an event :)

I hope you will stop by and check it out!

Amped lamps

So, I gave the lamps in our master bedroom a face lift this past weekend. I got the lamps from Crate and Barrel right after we got married, and they have served their purpose well ever since. But I am in the midst of a master bedroom update, and I didn't want to leave them out.

This update was super easy. I had been thinking that I wanted to spray paint the base, but I really couldn't decide on a color and didn't think it would end up looking smooth because of the leaf etchings on the glass. Since I am bringing touches of gold into our room, I thought this would be a great place to add some as well. So, all I did was use gold paint pen to outline the etchings. Then, I added trim to the shade. Pretty easy- but I think those small touched made a big difference!

I know this project isn't something everyone can do (you have to have etched glass...) but really, I just wanted to post it to make the point that its easy to customize your belongings. Just look around and see what you have that can be 'amped' up. Chances are, there is a probably a pretty easy way to make it your own!

I'll share pics of the whole room when I feel like it's more of an 'after'... Hope you all are having a great week!

5 Things I Love: Hello Lovely

Today we have Sarah from Hello Lovely sharing her "5 Things I Love" with us. If you haven't visited Sarah's blog before, you must! Anytime I need a 'girly, glam' kick- Hello Lovely is definitely where I head. The spaces she features are always gorgeous, and I can tell just how SWEET Sarah is by reading her posts. I mean- anyone who says 'lovebug' and 'sweetiepie' regularly has to be one herself, right?! :)

Hello Lovebugs! This is Sarah from Hello Lovely. I was tres excited when sweetie pie Emily asked me to take part in her 5 things series! However, I didn't anticipate just how hard this would be!!! Only 5 things??? Yikes! OK, here goes...I have narrowed down my list and here are 5 of of my favourite things from my home.

The first thing I love is my reading nook in my living room. It's such a relaxing place to sit and have an afternoon tea (One thing you should know about me is my tea obsession...love tea!) and flip through a good decorating magazine, or a trashy tabloid (wink)

The second are my coffee table books. I'm still building my collection, but to me they are like art for your coffee table. I love me a good vignette!

The next thing I love are my vintage Vogue covers from the 30's. So glam!

The fourth thing I love are my Thai silk curtains. I wanted these puppies forever. They are so glam and so dramatic in the living room, just the way I had hoped they would be! I admire them every day!

And lastly, (we're done already!?!) I love my wedding pictures of me and my Hubby, Ryan. All together now...awwww! We're still newlyweds, our first anniversary is on July 2nd! I love having sweet memories all around the house to make me smile.

A HUGE thank you to Emily for having me here today! So fun! I hope you guys will come say hi at Hello Lovely!

Told you guys- super glam, right?!  Thanks so much, Sarah girl! Loved having you.

If you are a blogger who is interested in participating in this series, I would love to hear from you! Contact me at mainstreetchicblog@gmail.com.

Insta-Active

Do ya'll follow me on Instagram yet?

Let me tell you, sometimes I feel a little too insta-active... But I just really enjoy snapping those pics!! Here is a little bit of what's been going on around here lately.

Looking like Waldo. DIY Silhouette of me and the Hubs.

Quote for the gallery wall in the master. And my little remote hog.

Fav scarf and dream car.

#ootd on a random Monday. Car snuggling with my nugget.

The sweetest face you ever did see. Antique fair finds.

I ♥ red front doors. Anniv flowers.

Zen pool day and red toes.

PS- I promise not to do this Instagram posts all the time... I realize that you can see all of this simply by looking at my Instagram profile. Duly noted. But it is kinda fun to see all the pics together!

Find me @mainstreetchic. Have a great weekend, everyone! And if I do anything interesting this weekend, you know I'll Instagram it :)

Our next home

I love the Chouse. But after a year of living in it, its quirks are starting to wear on me. And while I am enjoying the uniqueness of our current home, it has gotten me thinking about the 'must haves' for our next home. We've lived in a bungalow in Tulsa, both an apartment and a townhouse in Houston and now a converted Church in St. Louis. And from the experience of all of these, I think we have a pretty good idea of what we might look for in a 'forever' home.

When we look for our next home, I will definitely lean toward traditional architecture.

Wouldn't this be a DREAM? Here.

Yes, with the white picket fence and everything :)

I would also accept this.

Here.

And of course it will need a red front door.

Here.

In our next house, I'm hoping to live there long enough to have 1-2 kiddos. Yes, I said it. Making plans, people! One thing I have always loved is the idea of kids sharing a room, so that means our next house wouldn't have to be super huge, just 3 bedrooms or so. I especially love the idea of
shared-munchkin spaces when I see examples such as these:

Here.

Here.

Here.

Read my lips. My next house will NOT have beige walls.... I. hate. beige. And our last 2 houses have been alllll beige. And it takes alot of energy to re-paint them. So , builders/remodelers everywhere, here is my plea- can we please give white walls a try? They just give you a really great jumping off point. Plz and thk u.

Here.

Here.

Here.

In our next home an abundance of natural light is just going to be a MUST. Living in a house with mostly stained glass is beautiful at first.... but then its just really, really dark.  Love this light-filled room.

Here.

And this one.

Here.

And this one.

Here.

The last thing I would love for our next house to have is a POOL/really great outdoor space. This is something that might need to happen down the road, but it def needs to happen. Doesn't have to be huge, I'm thinking something like this...

Here.

I've already dreamed REAL large and put together my dream home on La Dolce Vita... but I think the requirements I've listed here are more "main street" if you will :)

And of course, as you all know, I love a good DIY. So when the time comes to look for our next home, I will just look for a house that has potential... that way, I can make it into the home I want it to be!

Did I miss any 'must haves'?? What are yours?