Design: Refresh your home

Hi MadeByGirl readers, Amanda here with a few ideas to refresh your home without jumping too soon to Spring. With all our holiday decorations put away, it's amazing how empty a house can feel! 

So as soon as mid-January hits, I like to freshen things up by adding in just a hint of color usually with a potted plant or a blush colored pillow and switching out the blacks for dark blues but the fur blankets and high pile rugs stay. Since it's still so cold out, I like to hang onto that winter cozy feeling.

Lonny Mag

Unique Fabrics

1. Photograph Print

2. Marble Cylinder 

3. Candle 

4. Delirium Coasters

5. LV:Architecture and Interiors 

6. Snake Tray

7. Les Touches Black Pillow

8. Rose Pillow

9. Green Mixed Succulent

10. Presidio Settee

11. Indigo Zebra Rug

12. Loden Jute Rug

13. Peace Studded Candle

14. White One Drawer Accent Table

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-post by amanda dietz

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Contributors Wanted

This Friday we are .....

I have to say, working with contributors has been a great experience. I've made some great friends in the process & hopefully the ladies got some great traffic out of it as well.  With that said, it's that time again to switch out the current contributors & bring in new FRESH FACES & posts! I'm always super busy managing my MBG Shop, painting for my Cocoa & Hearts gallery, marketing, answering e-mail & maintaining my personal life. It's STILL a lot of work, so I'm back searching for the next contributors!
 

I'd love to recruit 5-6 contributors to blog here on Made By Girl!  It's not going to be an easy task - but I'll choose bloggers for each category below. Categories are:
 

• Decor/Interior Design
• Fashion/Beauty
• DIY
• Food

Below I've outlined more details & what I'm looking for.
 

HOW OFTEN WILL YOU POST:1-2x per month for 6 months. 

EXPERIENCE: 
Yes - Must have an active/updated blog. I'm looking for bloggers who have some knowledge of programs like Photoshop & have a 'similar aesthetic' as Made By Girl. The posts you write for MBG cannot be posted on your own blog, but you can link to it from your blog.

WILL THERE BE COMPENSATION: 
Not at this time. But it's a great chance to gain more exposure and collaborate with MBG blog.

BIO PAGES:We'll be adding a page with photos & short bios of all the current contributors - here's an example. .

 
RESOURCES: 

It's very important to credit 'all' images properly.

PRETTY POST PLS: 
I love pretty & interesting posts. So pls put some LOVE into it! 

HOW DO YOU SUBMIT:

If you you want to give this a try, email me  & let me know 'which category' you're interested in. Write 'Contributors' in the email subject pls. ALSO, pls email me your blog so I can see your style! If you submitted last yr. don't be afraid to submit again!
 

WHEN WILL WE SELECT CONTRIBUTORS:

If you don't hear from someone at Made By Girl in about 2-3 weeks from this post, it means someone else was selected.  Unfortunately, we may not be able to respond to everyone. We will post the selected contributors in an upcoming post!

Thanks & looking forward to hearing from you! 

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Trending: Hunter Boots

In NYC, when it rains, it pours. So rain boots are quite an essential in the city. I've been looking around for a cute pair and came across all the colors that Hunter boots come in! It seems like everyone is wearing them from adults to toddlers! My favorite would have to be the Jimmy Choo X Hunter collaboration, too bad I missed that one! 

Own a pair of these Hunter boots? What color are yours?

 

1. Turquoise
2. Red
3. Black/Neon
4. Metallic Gold
5. Fuchsia
6. Wish I hadn't missed this Jimmy Choo x Hunter collaboration! 
7. Coral


-images from here, here & here.

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Cocoa & Hearts

So cool to see Fashion Blogger - Bradley Agather display four framed Cocoa & Hearts paintings in her stylish bedroom! You can see the rest of her home tour on The Glitter Guide. So gorgeous!!

-Photography: Kelsey Foster 

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Food: Winter Citrus Salad

With gray skies and snow on the ground, I start to find myself in a slump this time of year…anyone else? Lauren here, and today I’m excited to share a recipe to cure your winter blues. 

This salad is pretty much like sunshine on a plate: refreshingly bright and colorful, and packed with good-for-you citrus that's plentiful at the market right now. Serve it alongside grilled fish and veggies for dinner or as part of your next brunch spread—it really works any time of day! Keep reading for the super simple recipe…

For the salad:

1 ruby red grapefruit

1 blood orange

1 cara cara orange (or navel orange)

1 clementine

1 meyer lemon

Handful of unsalted, shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Handful of dried currants

A couple leaves of fresh mint, cut into very thin strips 

Lime zest

 

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon good maple syrup

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Juice from half a Meyer lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Cut off the ends, then remove the peels and as much membrane as possible from all the citrus. Cut each into thin rounds and layer on a plate. 

2. Sprinkle pistachios, currants, mint and lime zest on top. 

3. Combine maple syrup, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and Meyer lemon juice. Slowly whisk in olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a small amount of the dressing over the salad.

-Recipe and images by Lauren Craig

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Evolve + Manifesto

How cute is this t-shirt I'm wearing? it says Evolve. 

I'll tell you more about that in a bit, but first my super stylish friend Meg is off to her new venture; a line of t-shirts. Each month she will add a new word to the line, and for this month of January the word is 'Evolve'. She asked if I would be part of her new lookbook & to describe what this word meant to me. My favorite part of this comfy t-shirt is Meg's lovely handwriting in gold! 

I'm a great example of a person who has evolved. And I'm not speaking of APES TO MAN, but instead the evolution in my own life. With my work background being in modeling & random marketing jobs to owning 2 online businesses, this is a big deal for me. In fact it is a HUGE jump for me & certainly one I'm glad I made. My faith had so much to do with my evolving. So, this t-shirt was quite fitting, no pun intended. 

You can read more here about why & how I evolved. 

I'm no FASHION blogger - but the aviator glasses I'm wearing are by Stella McCartney & the faded skinny jeans are from Zara.  You can take a look at Meg's new Manifesto look book here.

-images by MadeByGirl

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Vogue Homes

Have you caught a glimpse at all the gorgeous homes being posted on the VOGUE site? Below are some of my recent favorites. A lot of the homes I chose have pink in their decor. But....don't worry husband - I'm not going to bring it to our home. Need inspiration??? You can see more here.

All images via vogue

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