So I never have to leave my house again...

So I've been wanting to tell you about this little gadget for a while now, but really wanted to see how it worked before doing so. I freaking LOVE it...so it's time. :) 

I discovered the Amazon Dash buttons last year on Prime Day. I had no idea what they were but they kept popping up as I shopped so I did some research. They were super cheap that day (I think a buck each?) so I put a few in my order and decided to try them out. 

Well...as I said, I LOVE THEM. I've found the older I get the less I like to leave our house. I mean, I'm no hermit...we're out nearly every evening for activities and love to go out with friends. BUT...when it comes to running out to the store to grab that one thing we need, we'd rather just stay home. Annnnd now we can. ;) 

We got a few of the buttons and there are a couple we use quite often. I'll show you how to use them here -- it's kind of amazing. We keep a couple in our laundry room cabinet:

(DIY floating shelves tutorial)

No, those cabinets still aren't painted. Someday. 

We keep our Downy and Gain buttons in here -- they come with a sticky back so you can hang or place them just about anywhere: 

When you notice you're running low on whatever the product is...you just push the button. It will flash with a white light (the Downy button on the left) and then when the order is completed, it will flash green (the right):

And then in a day or two your products arrives at your door. That's it! 

I mean. Come on! It truly felt like the Jetson's when we first tried it...I just think it's awesome. 

I love ordering online because I know I spend less. We've even started ordering groceries online occasionally because I can sit with my shopping/recipe list and I only order what we need. No impulse buys. 

Same goes for these items, that I would run into Target for and then just happen to stop in the dollar section "real quick" and then forget why I even went in and come out an hour later with a cart full of other stuff. I hear that's how it goes for some anyway...

My favorite button is the one for toilet paper that we keep in our master linen closet. Down to just a couple rolls? Hit the button and voila! TP to your door: 

A few things to consider: 

- When you get the button you need to set it up for the item/size you'll want to be shipped each time. It comes with instructions and it took just a few minutes for us to set up each one. After that you just push it and you're done. There's actually a Kindle book that tells you all you need to know for these buttons now! It has excellent reviews so there may be info in there I don't know about these little jobbies. 

- As far as I know, you can only set it up to order one thing with one button. So if you use Downy fabric softener and the pellets, you can only use your button for one item. I am pretty sure anyway, I could be wrong. 

- Because I kind of hate how Amazon uses so much packaging for small items, I try to coordinate our smaller purchases with other orders.

- You have to have Amazon Prime to use them. 

- I could have sworn the buttons used to be $3 but now they're $5. But I truly believe we save over time by not running out to grab a few items. Be sure to watch for promotions -- I'm sure they'll do something special for prime day again this year. 

We use the Downy button, Ziploc, Gain button and my favorite, the Cottonelle, but they don't seem to have that one right now. (They do have Charmin!). 

They have a TON of buttons -- it's kind of fun to look through the list. Everything from paper towels to dog food, diapers, trash bags and food products (for those of you with toddlers, Goldfish crackers have one!). They even have a Nerf button! 😂 (Just don't tell our son!) 

Have you tried these little gadgets? We love them in our house and are always considering more. I'm all about anything that lets me stay in my pajama pants a little longer every some days. 

Have a great weekend my friends! 

Affiliate links included for your convenience! 

Coming up for air!

OH my goodness people! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks! I'm finally coming up for air. :) I don't think I've had a busier two weeks in my life, and it's all been amazing stuff, so I'm not complaining.  I am thrilled to be home though!

I'm a homebody who loves to travel -- it's an odd combination. I love visiting new places and those we already love, but man, I ache to get back home at the same time. I mentioned that we took our annual trip to Disney World a couple weeks ago:

We like to go around Thanksgiving but this time we stayed a day later than usual -- and it kind of threw me off! I'm joining in on a blog Christmas tour later this week so I was trying to get the whole house decorated in just a few days but got sick while at it. 

So I didn't get much done last week because of sickness and then I was off for another amazing (but quick!) trip to Georgia. Last month Delta Faucets asked if I'd like to join in on their trip to tour the 2017 HGTV Dream Home, and of course I said yes! Even though it just happened to be the day before another trip I've had planned. 

I went down to St. Simons Island for less than 24 hours and had an amazing time. I cannot wait to show you more of this beautiful home!:

I'll share a ton of pics soon and I have a fun giveaway for you too. It was such an honor to get to be one of the first to walk through this gorgeous house (that will be on TV in January!). 

The backyard has a small dock on an inlet -- it was so incredibly peaceful back there: 

I didn't get to stay long but I loved that little island and the homes there were stunning. 

I flew home that night, got home at 11:30, got three hours of sleep and then woke up early to take a weekend trip to my favorite city that we've had planned for awhile:

Christmastime is my favorite time to visit NYC! 

Three friends and I took one kid each and I dragged them all around the city for a whirlwind tour: 

We checked out Rockefeller Center, saw a Rockettes show (always amazing!), did some shopping for both the kids and the moms, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Little Italy, Grand Central, saw Aladdin (it has turned into one of our favorite Broadway shows) and walked around Central Park. 

The kids (and moms) were total troupers and we made some wonderful memories.

We've talked about this trip for at least a year now and a few months ago finally made it happen. I'm so glad we did. I LOVE to share this city with friends and love watching them fall in love with it even more. 

We had seven ladies and one man -- my little guy. He loved being the tour guide too. :) 

The store windows in NYC this time of year are reason enough to visit. :) 

I thank God for these women every day -- they make life so fun. It's funny how people come into your life just when you need them. 😊

If you're a Friends fan you may recognize this one! It's the Cherry Hill fountain in Central Park -- but little known fact (that's kind of sad for Friends fans), this isn't the fountain they actually dance around. They built a replica for the opening credits of the show. ;) It's still cool a cool spot to visit though!

I totally wore everyone out -- we are all struggling a little bit today. I'm resting up (trying not to get sick again so I'm taking a ton of Vitamin C!) and then finishing up our Christmas decor -- I'm so inspired now! I'm also finishing up some small details on the basement fireplace -- we LOVE it! I'll share both that and our Christmas tour this week!

Hope your start to your holiday season has been wonderful. I always say I'm not going to make many commitments this time of year and that NEVER happens. ;) I'm so happy to be home now nesting for the holidays and have so many things I can't wait to show you this month!

Have you been busy already? Any fun trips scheduled during the holidays? Or do you love to stay home the whole season?

P.S.  If you are considering a trip to New York City, you can see all of my posts about the city here, and my tips on how to do NYC in two days here.

Haven Mentor -- Let's Meet in August!

Hello all! I'm joining in on a fun blog hop today -- if you're visiting from Katie's place, welcome! :) 

As some of you know, about six years ago I took a leap of faith with some blog friends and created the Haven Conference -- a conference dedicated to those of us in the "shelter" field of blogging. For those who love talking about and sharing home decor and DIY projects with all of you. 

We were nervous but knew a conference like this was needed. Thankfully it was a huge success, and has continued to be over the years. I am crazy proud of what we've accomplished! I decided to leave the planning team last year purely to have more time in my life for my family and my own blog. The dedication and time to create an event of that magnitude is no joke -- I felt like I was falling behind with the rest of life and I hate that feeling. 

It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but it was the right one. I'm thrilled to still be involved in the conference as one of the Mentors: 

The mentor group is new this year and I love the idea. Do you see all of that talent?? Those of us involved will have a group of attendees we will meet with numerous times during the conference. Think of me as your guide throughout the experience. :) 

If you're thinking of starting a blog, just started a blog or been at it for years -- this experience is extremely valuable! I will hit my eight year anniversary in a couple months and I always walk away having learned so much. 

Our mentor group is introducing ourselves to you this week through this blog hop, so be sure to click through to find some incredible blogs full of inspiration. Our assignment is to answer a few questions to share more about ourselves and our experiences with you this week, so here we go!

1. How many years have you been blogging? 

I answered this one already but I'll start my ninth year in May -- I can hardly believe it. I was in marketing for years (even went back to get my masters) but when I had my son my heart was not in it anymore. I then followed a dream of design work and was a decorator with a local firm for two years. It was during that time that I started TDC. It turned out I enjoyed working on my own home and sharing it with you all way more than doing it for others so I decided to take a chance and focus on blogging only. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made -- I know this is my calling. Although blogging has changed SO MUCH since the early days, there's always something to learn! 

2. What's the favorite DIY project you've completed? 

I'm all about adding character where there was none in our home. I add built ins wherever possible and lots of trim work throughout the house. 

One of my top three favorite projects I've ever tackled was definitely changing our dining room into a library: 

I worked on it for years and finally finished up the last details a few months ago. It is such a pretty space but extremely functional too -- I have SO MUCH storage in those cabinets!: 

I finished up our kitchen renovation late last year and it's my favorite project, hands down. I'm crazy proud of what I accomplished in there. One of my favorite aspects of the space is the new window seat:

The room is completely transformed! I still walk in there and smile, every day. This is another one that functions so much better for us now -- even though I removed a few upper cabinets to open things up a bit: 

Not every favorite project is a big one though! I recently painted my son's bathroom after eight years of bright yellow walls that were driving me crazy. The difference new paint and a few new accessories made was huge!:

You really have to see the before to understand why I'm so excited about that room. A can of paint can work wonders my friends!

3. What was something significant you learned from a conference? 

This one is tough because I've learned more than I can even begin to express here -- but the I believe the real value in conferences is the feeling of community and friendship. Anyone who works from home knows that it is wonderful, but you miss that connection with coworkers. Blogging is weird because your coworkers live all over the world. 

Beyond that -- these bloggers will become some of your closest and dearest friends. They are the ones who "get" what you do. Some of my closest friends are those I see once a year and that in itself is something most don't understand. 

You will walk away with connections to businesses -- but the real value in my eyes is the connections you make with people who do what you do. 

4. What is is one piece of advice you would offer a blogger -- new or otherwise -- who is attending Haven? 

Conferences can be overwhelming. So many people (most you don't know but feel like you know because you see their faces every day -- another weird thing), so many things to look at, so much information to retain. My advice to anyone attending Haven, but especially those who are new or thinking about blogging, is to remember you do not have to do everything the second you get home.

Take your best bits of information and incorporate them over time. Know while you are there that you will get more information than you know what to do with and that is OK. Focus on building relationships while you are there, not worrying about what you will do when you get home.

If you are interesting in attending Haven (I would love to meet you!!), go here to register. 

Here is the list of bloggers participating in the hop today:

Liz Marie Blog

My Repurposed Life

Just a Girl

Bower Power

And be sure to check out tomorrow's group starting with Beth at Unskinny Boppy!