How Fencing Can Improve Your Home

You recently moved into a new home. You are excited to begin your new life in your house, but there is a lot of work to do. The home was very cheap, but this is because it requires a lot of work. The home is older, and it hasn't been fully renovated. It may take time to make it the home of your dreams, but you and your husband are willing to put the effort into it. As soon as you moved in, you renovated the kitchen and main bathroom. The bedrooms will be next, and then you want to work on the yard. You are the most excited to fix up your yard, since you are fascinated by landscape design. You've thought about planting a beautiful garden, but you are also considering building a nice fence around the yard. Here are some ways that Riverside fencing can add to your home.

Keep Things In

A fence can improve your yard by keeping things safe. Practically, this applies mostly to children and pets. Without a fence, it can be difficult to have a pet, as you have to take it in and out of the house frequently. With a fence up, you can let your dog out into the backyard by itself without worrying about it running away! A fence also allows you to let your children play outside without fear of them wandering off.

Keep Things Out

Fencing is a good way to keep things in your yard, but it is also a good way to keep things out. A fence helps you maintain your privacy while also keeping your family safe. A burglar is less likely to want to break into a home if they have to climb a fence along the way. Fencing can also be used to keep people or pets out of specific areas, such as gardens or flowerbeds.

Aesthetic Value

Riverside fencing not only keeps your home safe, it also makes it look good. Many people dream of a home with a white picket fence. Fencing can be a great addition to a well-maintained yard, as it comes in a variety of styles and heights. From vinyl, to wrought-iron, to wood, a fence can make your yard look more complete!

This is a sponsored post in part by Bucks2Blog

Mohawk Rugs Review and Giveaway

We have been in our new house for six months now and have really been happy here. Hard to believe we doubled our living space and now that we are here, we realize just how wonderful that feels. One of the things that I have been doing since being here is working on making the house look and feel more like a home. That really has not been difficult though and I have been enjoying trying to figure out what pictures look the best where and planning out what I want my children's bedrooms to look like when they are fully re-decorated. There are some really great touches that you can add to your home without spending a fortune and I have found that if I simply add a few throw rugs here and there that the house looks very inviting and comfy.

Mohawk Home is a company that makes rugs for any room of your house! They carry bathroom rugs, kitchen rugs and entry way rugs and the styles and sizes all vary. I was recently in a friend's house and she had a huge, GORGEOUS Mohawk rug in her family room and it looked amazing. How stunning just one rug can make a room look! I was excited to learn about Mohawk Home and wanted to share a bit more about this company with you. From their website, here is some more information about this company...

Mohawk sells floor covering and textiles for every room in the home and for every commercial application. Hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, ceramic tile flooring, stone and marble flooring and, via an exclusive distribution agreement with Congoleum, vinyl sheet flooring are among the newest Mohawk product offerings. What’s more, the company now offers woven bedspreads, tapestries, pillows, throws and window blinds. Mohawk products are found in major retailers across the country and the world. From Home Depot to Bloomingdales, from Lowe’s to Macy’s, from Target and Wal-Mart to specialty boutiques in large cities and small towns. Mohawk is making the world a more beautiful place.

Also, check out this cool video about Mohawk...

I have seen Mohawk rugs in Walmart before and I *think* I have purchased them before but I don't always look at the brand name before I purchase a product...especially if I am in a hurry. I was really happy to learn that I was going to get an opportunity to review a Mohawk product and so today, that is what I am going to do!

So, for this review I was sent the Mink Mohawk Bartley Area Rug in the 1' 9" X 2' 10" size. I was thinking of a few areas in my home that I could use this rug and that made this size even more perfect!

Our house has a huge room which we currently use as a dining room and this room has large sliding glass doors leading to a patio. The children are constantly in and out of these doors so there is always a lot of traffic and there HAS to be a rug by the door. Above, you see a photo of the rug I had been using by the doors. It was small and plain and was working fine but I wanted something a bit more colorful.

So, this is where I put my gorgeous Mohawk rug...isn't it pretty? It goes so well with the ceramic tile flooring and doors and adds a nice bit of color to the entire room. This rug is also really soft underfoot. My daughter was walking across the floor and as soon as she stepped on this rug, she told me that is was soooo soft! She stood there for a few minutes before continuing to walk on her way. It was cute. :)

This particular rug from Mohawk, in this size retails for about $19.96. It also comes in larger sizes so you definitely have choices when it comes to that. When it came to choosing this rug I had GREAT difficulty deciding on a style because there were so many options. That, my friends, is a wonderful problem to have. :) I am thankful for the variety because it gives me the option of stylish, simple, elegant or rustic. Be sure to check out Mohawk's website for more beautiful floor covering offerings.

So, in my opinion...Mohawk Home has some gorgeous rugs! I am loving the rug I was sent and it looks great in my home! I plan on using it not only in front of my patio doors but also in front of my front door as well. It works anywhere! I would definitely recommend this company to anyone...you will be glad you checked them out! :)

Mohawk has offered to giveaway a rug of the winners choice, any Mohawk Home rug up to size 5x8 and under $100 valued on site. Here are your EASY entry options...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did receive free Mohawk Home products for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the Mohawk Home website and email. Prize is being provided and shipped by the sponsor. This blog is NOT responsible for lost, stolen or damaged prizes. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

Decorating Ideas

We bought a new house back in January and I am pretty sure I am driving hubby nuts with all of my suggestions for improvements. The first thing he told me was to make a list of what needs to be done and we will do projects as money allows. Oh dear...my list is very long at this point and we have only been here for 3 months!! Thankfully most of the projects are easy to do and low-cost so the bigger items will be pushed back until we get the smaller ones out of the way. You know, I am seriously thinking about having Atrium Wallcoverings put on my walls in the entry way of the house. They look so beautiful and having textured walls would be amazing.

For other decorating ideas, I have been wanting to do some painting as well. My nursery right now is a brownish/beige/salmon color and I am wanting to transform it into a classic Winnie the Pooh theme. My nursery at the old house was a Pooh theme and I loved it. I have already purchased my light blue paint and wall border so now all I have to do is find time to get the painting done. My daughter has always wanted a pink room so re-decorating her room would be next on our list. Finally, I want to repaint my son's bedroom. Maybe a green or blue color with a boy-themed wall border like trucks or something like that. He is SO excited about a new room!

Hmmmm...the other decorating I want to do would simply be to hang up a few more pictures around and get my family photos displayed again. They are still packed away and I am really wanting to get them out again. What about you...what decorating ideas or projects are you trying to get done this summer? Anything really expensive? I would love to hear what you have planned!

This is a sponsored post however, all thoughts and ideas are 100% mine.

HearthSong’s Heart Wall Stickers Review & Giveaway

Well, today I kept my promise to my daughter and we baked cut out cookies! I was horrified when I realized that I had absolutely NO heart-shaped cookie cutters!!! How is that even possible? So, we had to make due with some teddy bears, stars, butterflies and flowers. Oh well...I don't think Hannah minded at all. Since our move to the new house we have been loving all the extra room. Hannah, Jacob and Isaac all have their own rooms now and I am in the beginning stages of planning out how I want to paint and decorate their rooms. How fun it is to look at paint colors, wall borders and children's room themes! It has been awhile since I have done this and am really having fun. Between now and the time we re-paint Hannah's room, I wanted something for her walls. It seems so bare and empty in there and it is a large room. She really needed some color in there!

So, when I heard that HearthSong had Valentine's Day themed items, I was sooo happy! I immediately began to peruse the vast selection and was thrilled with what I found there. In case you have never heard of HearthSong, here is a bit more about this fun company...

Since its beginning in 1983, HearthSong has been committed to helping parents follow their instincts to provide their children with age-appropriate, wholesome, quality playthings. That's because at HearthSong, we believe childhood is a vital chapter in life-a special time when children can be occupied with the joy of being children. And, equally importantly, a time when children need to experience as much creative, imaginative play as possible because kids experience so many of life's first lessons through play. 

The first HearthSong catalog was printed in black and white, with pencil drawings of carefully selected toys and books and mailed from the home of founder Barbara Kane by her family. The name HearthSong was chosen to reflect core family values - the Hearth, a traditional symbol for the center of the home, and Song, a symbol of family spirit and of a special playfulness that parents and children enjoy together. 

Over the next 25 years, HearthSong evolved into a nationally known and respected source for quality children's toys, games and crafts. Parents who found unique toys for their children decades ago tell us they're now thrilled to be finding the same kinds of educational, entertaining toys to give to their children's children. 

Our selection of products has grown and expanded too. But we can still guarantee that each item is carefully selected for its quality, safety, and relevance to your child's development - and we are steadfast in our commitment to provide you with Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving®. 

Well, this is 2013 which means that HearthSong is celebrating 30 years as a company! Boy, does that make me feel old. Anyway, as I was saying, HearthSong has so many different Valentine's Day items it is really hard to make a selection.

So, for this review I was sent the Heart Wall Stickers. I was very excited about getting these because I knew Hannah would love them in her room and they would really help fill an empty wall.

When you open the can, you will find two large sheets of colored stars. Some of them are overlapping and others are just single. It is so cute to see all the bright colors and different sized hearts. There are 50 hearts total and they range in size from 1 1/2" to 12". Aren't they pretty?!?

My daughter was so excited to have these hearts for her bedroom. She just had to help put them up! They are sooo easy to use. All you do is peel them off the paper and then stick them on the wall! 

They are totally removable wall stickers so if you need to move them, just peel them and relocate them. They don't damage your walls, yet stick really nicely. 

 I was glad that they were removable because Hannah could only stick them where she could reach. That meant that she had tons in one area of the wall and they weren't spread out really well. So, I subtly rearranged them when she wasn't looking. ;) She had such a blast sticking them on her walls. Jacob was able to help too! He too stuck them at his level, which meant more rearranging for mom to do. :)

After we were done, I was pleasantly surprised at how great the room looked (can you tell which hearts Hannah stuck up there? LOL!). The hearts really brightened up Hannah's room and made it look fun and inviting. She LOVES it and could not wait for daddy to get home so she could show him. He was really impressed and she was so excited to show him. 

These Heart Wall Stickers retail for $49.98 and honestly...are worth every penny! They are removable and don't damage walls and best of all, they will match any room decor. Your child can decorate their own room too which is also nice. You won't be worrying about glue or adhesive getting on the carpets and your child will be able to say that they decorated all by themselves! I love it!

You can check out HearthSong's other Valentine's Day gift ideas (hey, you have the rest of the week...make it Valentine's WEEK!) and also, be sure to follow them on their social media sites! HearthSong is on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

HearthSong has offered to giveaway Heart Wall Stickers to one of my readers! Here are your entry options...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did receive free HearthSong products for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the HearthSong website and email. Prize is being provided and shipped by the sponsor. This blog is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged prizes. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

Holiday Gift Guide ~ Plow & Hearth Review and Giveaway

There is nothing like decorating your home for the holidays. I have always enjoyed doing this and am really looking forward to a more simpler decor' this year. Several years ago, we decided that we no longer wanted to get a Christmas tree. It was getting so expensive to buy a tree (and I would NEVER get an artificial tree...ever!) and because we have small children it would be difficult to keep them "out" of the tree. Looking back, that was one of the best decisions we have ever made. I don't miss having a tree at all. The holidays are so much simpler. I do put up garland and pretty lights though and this is enough for my children to get excited about Christmas. This year, I am going to decorate my house in pine boughs, white lights and candles. I have been on the look out for forest themed decorating items this fall and have been really getting excited about how festive my house is going to look.

Plow & Hearth is a company that I have worked with in the past and I was thrilled to find that they offer a huge selection of holiday home decor items. Plow & Hearth's Holiday Shop is always open and you can be sure you will find something for everyone (including your furry friends!). Before I continue though, here is a bit more about this fun, practical and always-unique company...

What began as a small retail store in Madison, Virginia, in 1980 has grown to include our flagship brand, Plow & Hearth®, plus two others that have joined our family during the past quarter century. Plow & Hearth offers unique, high-quality products for home, hearth, yard and garden. Problem Solvers® provides practical solutions for everyday living. Wind & Weather® offers a complete selection of indoor and outdoor weather-related instruments and gifts, plus elegant home and garden ornaments. The Plow & Hearth family of brands also has a growing list of retail stores.

As we have grown, we have remained dedicated to the same principles that have guided us from the beginning and to which we attribute our enduring success: honesty, integrity and most importantly, our commitment to customer service. We treat our customers like neighbors and friends. We offer only products we would use ourselves, at fair prices. 

Upon visiting Plow & Hearth's website, I was immediately taken in by all of their items that are showcased for the Holidays. Wow!! It was sooo hard to pick out just one product that I liked. I finally decided, and have the privilege of sharing my product with all of you today.

So, for this review in my Holiday Gift Guide, I chose to review the Metal Pine Cone Candle Holder. This was an item that I thought would fit perfectly with my decor this season...and I was right!

This candle holder is very different. It was wrapped up carefully in bubble wrap and cardboard to protect all the metal ends. Every inch of this holder is solid metal...and when I say solid, I mean SOLID. Some of the holders themselves were a bit off balance when I got it all unwrapped so I had to physically bend them so a candle would sit flat and not at an angle...this took a bit of muscle on my part! This wasn't a bad thing...it just reinforced to me the sturdiness of this product! 

I really love the detail. The look of this candle holder is very rustic and would fit perfectly on a mantle, bookshelf, table or dresser and it would really look great in a cabin! Each pine cone looks like it is dusted with snow and the pine needles are painted green. You can bend them as well to make them look how you prefer. Mine took just a little bit of "fluffing". 

I have a beautiful wooden shelf above my piano that I decorate for each season. This Metal Pine Cone Candle Holder looks sooo pretty on my shelf! What I also like about this product is that you can put whatever color candle you want on it. In the photo on the website, they used cream colored pillar candles. Well, I didn't have any cream colored candles on hand so I used red. I think it looks nice, don't you? 

This unique and gorgeous candle holder retails for $34.95 from Plow & Hearth's website. While you are there, check out their other wonderful Holiday gift ideas...they have so much to choose from! You will be sure to find something for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list (I have several of those).  Also, make sure you check out Plow & Hearth's social media sites including Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter! They would love to have you visit. :)

So, in my opinion...Plow & Hearth is a fantastic resource for your Holiday shopping this year. I love this Metal Pine Cone Candle Holder and think it would make a perfect gift. However, I am not giving it away...I am going to keep it. :) I would definitely recommend this and all other products from Plow & Hearth. Happy shopping!!

Plow & Hearth has offered to give away one of these Metal Pine Cone Candle Holders to one of you! Here are your entry options...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post.I did receive a free Metal Pine Cone Candle Holder for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the Plow & Hearth website and email. Prize is being provided by the sponsor.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

Plow & Hearth Review & Giveaway

Well, spring has sprung! Our trees are in full bloom, the birds are officially back (and making all sorts of noises at  the most early hours in the morning), lawn mowers are buzzing all over the neighborhood, the temperatures have been warmer, spring showers come and go and the flowers are gorgeous! I love spring...and would prefer it to summer any day. I cannot stand the heat and humidity and spring weather is just perfect for me. Another really great reason to love spring is the fact that I have an excuse to re-decorate! HA HA! I love to get out my spring decorations and spruce up the house. It always makes things look brighter and more cheerful after coming out of the drudges of winter. 

If you haven't heard of Plow & Hearth before today then you MUST check them out...especially now. They have a whole line of New For Spring products and no matter what you budget is, they have something for you! Before I continue, I want to tell you more about this fabulous company, which was founded back in 1980 in Virginia...

By offering products with practical, sustainable uses and eco-friendly attributes, we encourage our customers to be environmentally responsible. Our buyers strive to find unique, enduring products for the home, hearth, yard and garden that are quality built and responsibly produced. We give special consideration to those products made with environmentally friendly materials. We provide our customers with practical products that help them live a sustainable lifestyle. Some of the environmentally friendly products sold at the original Plow & Hearth store in 1980 are still popular and just as efficient today. Products that promote sustainability and environmental awareness include composting products, non-invasive pest control, energy-saving insulated curtains and wood burning accessories.

Plow & Hearth is the perfect company to find exactly what you are looking for when it comes to re-decorating and perking up your home for a new season.

For this review, I chose to review the All Natural Handcrafted Square Zinnia Wreath for my front door! I have used the same spring door decoration since hubby and I have been married and honestly, it was time for a serious change.

My wreath arrived today and I was immediately impressed with the careful packaging. It comes zip-tied to the bottom of the box and also has a cardboard post in the center of the box to keep the wreath in place should it come unfastened. Once I pulled the wreath out, I was really happy to see that very little of the flowers on the wreath had fallen off...which is always a concern when you are dealing with dried flowers.

This wreath is very well made and is sturdily mounted on a metal frame. The dried flowers seem to be glued and wired on securely and when I flipped the wreath on it's front to attach floral wire to hang it, not too many of the flowers fell off. I love the twigs on the back side!

Next, I hung the wreath on my door. If anything, I wish the wreath had come with a pre-attached hanger so I could hang it straight. I am not good at hanging things up straight and it would have been so much easier to have something already in place to help me with that.

Whoever designed the coloring on this wreath did a super great job. There are just enough bright flowers in just the right places. I love the yellow that pops out and the blue that blends so nicely with the other colors. Symmetry is so important when you do floral arrangements and the symmetrical appearance of this wreath is perfect! As you can see, my door looks SO great for spring! I love the way the wreath is square and looks really classy.

This All Natural Handcrafted Square Zinnia Wreath retails for $69.95 and is simply gorgeous!! You can purchase it directly from Plow & Hearth's website as well.

So, in my opinion, Plow & Hearth is a fabulous company! Packed full of great products, this online store will keep you glued to your computer for HOURS. I love the selections that they are offering for spring decor and had a very hard time figuring out which product I wanted to review. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone looking to add a little "spring" to their home. There is something for everyone!

Plow & Hearth has offered to giveaway a $50 gift certificate to one of my readers!! YAY! THANK YOU so much to them for this amazing giveaway! Here are your entry options...


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this post.I did receive a free All Natural Handcrafted Square Zinnia Wreath for review purposes. All quotes and stock photos are from the Plow & Hearth website and email. Prize is being provided by the sponsor.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.