Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 52

Minimalism - in stuff and home decor

I think about this topic a lot, largely because we are living in a teeny tiny apartment right now! But it's been kind of freeing to have almost all of the stuff that we need and use every day in these few rooms. And when we move into our next home, I think I'd like to keep things on the minimal side because it overwhelms me to have too much! But that's easier said than done.

"Minimalism" can mean a lot of different things. For me it brings to mind Marie Kondo's The Li...

Why this first-time mom only needed ONE baby registry - my fave pieces! And Babylist Hello Baby Box!

Starting my baby registry was one of the more exciting parts of my early pregnancy. I felt really icky the first trimester so laying on the couch researching essential baby registry items was one of the only things I could do. I wanted to build ONE registry where I could track items I had researched and decided on--more for me than anyone else at that point since my shower was months away.

I had heard of Babylist as a universal registry where you could add products from anywhere. I checked it...

Bedroom makeover design with eBay Home

This post was sponsored by eBay.

Our bedroom in our temporary apartment has been really bumming me out. I've been planning on treating myself to some new pieces when we find our next house, but in the meantime I think I need to buy at least a few pieces to keep our room from being so bland-apartment-depressing.

I do a LOT of online shopping and mood board-ing before I buy anything so I can get a feel for how things will look together. On my mind right now are nightstands and a headboard or...

Design, Make & Live: Guest Bedrooms

I've said it before (and named a Pinterest board it): I love bedrooms. I have always loved bedding and now that I have more control over my spaces, I just love decorating bedrooms!! In all of our past houses the only bedroom we actually needed was the master (i.e. no kids' rooms yet) but we did have  a great guest room in our townhouse too.

Guest bedrooms have special design and function considerations, though. Digging deeper...


In this week's episode of the Your Home Story podcast,...

40 WEEK pregnancy update!!

Happy due date, baby!!
We are SO ready to meet you! And, well, because we've never done this before, we're actually ready to find out if we're ready. :P So much preparation and apprehension and worry can go into having a baby for the first time, we have been doing a mix of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best... and now we're really anxious to see how hard it actually will be.

And, as I have shared in all my pregnancy updates but now more than ever, I am so proud of m...

All about rugs!!! Rug size by room, prices, sources, and more!

Ohhh, I love rugs. I have spent hours, HOURS perusing sources for new and vintage ones and am still not bored of it. I love learning what rug sizes work in what rooms, where to position them with common furniture pieces, etc. so I know what I'm buying will work!

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Real simple IKEA hack - Hemnes dresser to changing table update for the nursery

It has been too long since I've done a DIY project or house update! We have our own apartment now so I have a little freedom and have been hanging art, etc. (see updates on Instagram) but we don't have a lot of room to work with and are trying not to buy new furniture until we have our next house.

The exception is baby stuff. We have a crib and I've done some nursery mood board-ing, but we don't have room for it yet so have this bassinet set up and most of the baby stuff is in...

Oregon hazelnut and frozen blackberry tart recipe - grain-free, gluten-free, Paleo, real food!

It has been a super long winter for many of us all over the US... berry-picking season seems a long way away, but we still have some frozen berries in the freezer from last year and the Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission is collecting recipes that use frozen berries and other Oregon-grown ingredients in delicious recipes.

What says Oregon more than berries and hazelnuts?! I've made a lot of nut-based crusts in my day but never used this many hazelnuts and man, is it special.

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Real [Estate] Talk: How to SELL a Home

How clever is that title? ;) Thankyou,thankyou,thankyou. Haha. Seriously though, real estate can be a scary topic... I'm not sure which is scarier, the though of buying or selling, but figured we'd start with selling since I'm fresh off of it with the Stanley 90's Reno.


We personally have almost sold houses (meaning we had an offer we moved forward with) four times!, only once with mutual success. Ashley has sold a house once, in a different market than the one we're in her...

My favorite sources for great affordable lighting fixtures! Plus 43 great pieces

I loooove shopping for lighting. The other day I got a question on Instagram I think about where I source lighting fixtures and I was like HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE!?! I could seriously talk about lighting forever and would love to help each and every new homeowner replace the dated or mismatched light fixtures in their homes with something more their style.

Next best thing? I thought I should share my top 4 sources for affordable, stylish lighting, plus some favorite pieces.

First, some lighting wi...