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This time of the year brings so many memories to my mind and I'm reminded of how much my childhood was spent during Christmas enjoying my family and the love that my mother held so dear for her children. She always made Christmas special for us and never let us feel like we were without, even though later I found out that money was always tight. With my own family, being in the military meant often being away from our families and so I tried to make the holidays as memorable as possible. Although my children are adults now, they still remind me of how much fun they had during Christmas and their memories of stockings and special gifts. I've forgotten that and I must admit that I thought they wouldn't notice, but clearly I was wrong. Sometimes, we forget that Christmas is about Jesus and He is all about love. To love each other means not just saying it, but showing it. I'm reminded daily about the love I have for my family. My husband, children and granddaughter mean the world to me and although I tell them I love them all the time, I could show it more. I thought I'd take a trip down my memory lane of Christmas past. My heart and soul are filled with so much love when I look back at these photos and the memories flood back like a peaceful river. I don't have many photos, but each one represents a time in my life that clearly mean the world to me. My mom was one of those moms. You know, very creative, can make something out of nothing kind of mom. I'm pretty sure that if it was possible to have a creativity gene, my mom definitely passed it down to me. During the holidays, my mom would create new pieces to add to her holiday decor. This particular year was her version of a gingerbread village. Now why she had it on the floor, I don't know. Later, she wised up and put it up on the table. One of the things my mom made sure of was that my sisters and I always walked down the stairs one by one so she could get a picture of us. I think I was around 4 or 5 in this picture and it was the thing back then in the 70s to hang the Christmas cards on the wall. Of course she had to be creative in a budget friendly way, so she made an aluminiun foil chain for the cards to hang on and she also made my (and my sisters) PJs! Christmas morning was so special to us and my mom always made sure of that. It may not have been a ton of stuff, but she always had a way of making each of us special by getting our gifts to match our personality. We had a routine- Get up, come downstairs to open up our presents and while we're having fun, my mom played Christmas music while fixing our traditional Christmas breakfast. That tradition has rolled over into our family. I always make sure that we have our traditional Christmas breakfast, similar to what my mother did. I can't really remember if we had real or fake tree. I kinda remember, but I mostly remember the fake ones. I never cared one way or another if the tree was fake or not, but I do remember all of the unique ornaments my mother used. We were of the make your own type of ornaments. She was proud of the ones we made at school and those for sure went on the tree and she very crafty herself and made several that I still have today. I've gotten away from putting those unique, personal ornaments on the tree but I still have them. I think that next year, 2 trees will go up, one with the special ornaments that I hold so dear from my children and from my mother. Today, my heart and soul are with these beatiful people. The memories and traditions that I have given to them hopefully will be passed on their own families and they will remember fondly the traditions of the Christmas breakfast, wearing of the holiday headbands and the annual photo. I hope that they see that what my mother gave to me, I'm giving to them. I hope that, however you spend the holidays, you spend it with people you love. Make those traditions. Have fun, and tell each other you love them as much as possible. My sweet Mommy is no longer with us and I miss her so. But, the memories of her Christmases with my sisters and I will always be a cherished time and I'll fondly look back on them with love and happiness. Until Next Time,

Every now and again, I get the urge to be creative. I mean, REALLY creative. I find inspiration in so many places, whether it be on social media, Pinterest or magazines. I try to made it my own and put my own special spin on things. I never know how they create it or what it took for them to create it. That's where my personal creativity comes in and I figure it out on my own. The Inspiration I had envisioned these for my home but I wanted an easy way to recreate them so I snapped some pics as inspiration ( See those prices???? That's why I wanted to make them myself! Lol!) So I thought long and hard and said to myself "How would Tracey make these??" This is what I came up with- I went to Home Depot and the fabric store to find some products that I could use that would mimic the look of these cool mushroom stools. Below is what I used- I found a concrete cement tube mold that I used as the base. It's pretty sturdy but not sturdy enough to sit on everyday so I added heavy duty tape to the bottom. I made one stool using a heavy duty twine to make it even stronger. I took a piece of plywood that I already had and cut out some circles. The other mushroom, I just double up fabric around the base. I got 6 round foam pieces that were the same size as the plywood rounds and then it was time to get started. Here is how I assembled each mushroom- I cut my tube to the desired height. I took my jigsaw and cut out a circle to the same size as my foam circles. I took my glue gun and glued the twine all around the tube. I stacked all 3 foam circles and glued them with a spray adhesive to avoid slipping. Then I used an electrical bread knife to shape the foam circles into a mushroom top. I used spray adhesive again to lay down a layer of batting and then applied my fabric over top. I stapled it all down and pushed the excess fabric in the top. Finally I took some screws to attach the top to the base. And there you have it! All in all, these were actually fairly easy to do and they are sturdier than I thought! I hope inspired you to make some for yourself. Let me know in the comments below what you think! Until Next Time,

September was definitely one for the books! As a content creator, you are sometimes privy to different types of events, conferences and different opportunities that can help further expand your brand. Working with BHG was a dream job and it brought back memories of my childhood with Better Homes and Gardens magazines lying around my house and watching my mother make a meal from the red and white cookbook. So when I got invited to their Stylemaker event, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be amongst fellow creators and designers and hobnob with the BHG executives and staff. So, my trip begins with a pre trip with my husband. We decided to get there a day early, see a few sites and go to a broadway show. I'm so glad my husband made the trip with me. We always have a great time and every trip feels like a mini honeymoon- The play we went to was AMAZING!!! We saw The Lion King ( my very first Broadway play!) and it definitely lived up to all it's expectations. The day finally arrives and I'm so excited because I finally get to meet some of my social media friends that I've never met in real life and some others that I have and of course some brand new ones that I was able to make new connections with. I think that's what Better Homes and Gardens is really about- connection. Connecting to the reader, connecting to other creators all while expressing love for all things home and garden. It truly showed this day from the moment we arrived. From the beautiful floral arrangements and amazing backdrops, they really made us feel special. The floral arrangements were stunning! The perfect backdrops for photos! The day consisted of various panels to inspire us and to help us be our best creative self. Listening to these different panels really helped me to better understand 1. How to dig deep and manifest our success 2. How to be trendy in how we entertain and to create wonderful spaces 3.Talking to the people behind the brand and requirements needed for being in BHG and finally 4. Photo Styling 101 which was so helpful to me and made me rethink how I style my photos. Now this day could not have happened without the wonderful Editor in Chief Stephen Orr. He is so kind, very charismatic and you can tell that everyone over at Dotdash greatly admires him. They also knocked it out the park by inviting my gal (and mentor!) Carmeon Hamilton to be the Emcee for the day. Our main guests for the day were a dream and I was absolutely thrilled to see them in real life. Tabitha Brown is a gem. She clearly understood the assignment and created her brand to the fullest by putting God first and trusting what He has in store for her. And finally Nate Berkus and his husband Jeremiah. I've been a fan of Nate for years and is was so good to hear him speak and talk about his journey in design. All in all, the day was AWESOME!! We ended the night with a cocktail party with a view of the city. The weather wouldn't let us be great to do a champagne toast at sunset, but we did managed to socialize outdoors anyways. The DeeJay was awesome, the finger food was to die for and the drinks were a plenty. We all took plenty of pictures and laughed and giggled throughout the night. At the end, they gave us an wonderful swag bag to take home as a token of our wonderful experience. So, what can I say about the Better Homes and Garden Stylemaker event?? First, I was truly humbled to be invited. BHG has been around for over 100 years, spanning decades of inspiration for your home, lifestyle and garden and I got to be a part of it. I love how diverse the group of people were, from the invitees to even the people that worked there. It makes me feel good that they make it a priority to be diverse and include every walk of life in their company. My heart was full and I'm already planning on attending next year (fingers crossed) Below are some of the sponsors and vendors that put the icing on the cake for our day. Like I said before, I'm looking forward to next year already and hopefully I'll make even more new friends! *All professional photos courtesy of Sean Sime Photography So Until Next Time,

I LOVE being outside. I mean, when there's no bugs or hot weather. Really, nature brings such a sense of calmness to my spirit and it's mostly because I love looking at pretty things. So creating a zen, tropical dining area was a must and trying to find a way to incorporate an easy DIY into the mix was a obvious solution. I thought about ways of using items I already had and making them into something awesome, so I had some wood pieces lying around and I created something unique for my outdoor table. Let me show you how I made this easy wood table runner. So this concept all started with these scrap pieces of wood. Not much to look at, I know. The plan is to take these pieces of wood and make a table runner down the center of the table that can also be used as a food placemat. I wanted to paint them as well so I went to Home Depot to pick up some exterior paint. Next came the colors. I wanted to minic the colors that I have in my backyard space and I just needed sample colors so I didn't waste paint. I gave each piece 2 coats and since this paint is an exterior paint, I didn't add a sealer but you can if you wish. Before I painted them, I first needed to see if I had enough and I clearly didn't!!! So make sure you map it out prior to painting and attaching them to your table. Once I had enough to extend the length of the table and finished painting (1 color per 2 pieces of wood), I mapped it out again to get how I wanted the grid to look like. I then used wood glue to attach them directly onto the table and let dry overnight. And there you have it!! This is the perfect addition to this table and honesly it was one of my easiest DIY to date! Really, the amount of projects you can use this similar method on in endless. Tables, backs of chairs, benches, really anything! What do you think?? Please leave your comments down below- I'd love to hear from you. Until Next Time,

Last year, I participated in my first DIY for a Cure. In all honesty, I'd never heard of it. But of course, the circle I follow on social media made it easy for me to find out about it and what it was all about. I'm a real big believer of supporting causes that benefit health- related issues. This cause is very special- This cause is all about raising awareness and support for pediatric cancer. Cancer is a disease that affects every single person on the planet. Pediatric cancer is so heartbreaking because it involves children. So anyway I can help raise money or bring awareness to, I'll totally down for. *This blog post shows gifted products from Mitzi Lighting. The Before This is my guest bathroom. It wasn't too hot to look at, just a basic bathroom. Diy for a Cure is for one week only and you can do just about anything. A small diy project, a project you worked on before that you want to highlight, or like me, refresh a space. I thought, "Oh sure Tracey, you can change up the look of this space in one week, no problem". Well, it wasn't a problem. It was just A LOT. First, I came up with a moodboard.. I wanted it to be BOLD so my first thought was paint and wallpaper. The combination of the two are perfect ways to instantly change up a space. So I went with my favorite Peel and Stick wallpaper from Spoonflower and wall paint from Behr. Next came new lights and my favorite company, Mitzi Lighting helped to add a whimsical feel to the space and of course some diy, and products from Amazon to help make it all come together. All sources will be tagged below. So here are all the before and afters. From cabinet and wall painting, to the faucet and lights, I was able to completely transform this space. The cool wallpaper from Spoonflower turned out even better than I hoped and I was able to add long curtains from Spoonflower as shower curtains to complete the look. Yes, it took me a week to do. Yes, I was exhausted. Yes, it turned out amazing and I'd do it all over again to raise awareness for a worthy cause. In fact, I AM doing it again in a couple of weeks. Maybe not as extensive as last years, but it will be a cool change nonetheless. If you want to learn more about DIY for a Cure, head over to DiY for a Cure for more details. Until next time, SOURCES Wallpaper ( Heron Large Green)- Spoonflower Paint in the color Rusty Gate- Behr Lighting (3 light wall sconce)- Mitzi Lighting/ Single light- Mitzi Lighting Curtains (Boucle texture Chartreuse Green) - Spoonflower Cabinet Knobs- Amazon Faucet- Amazon

One of the things I love about my house is the opportunity to change the look of it when I feel like it. I have two guest bedrooms in the back of my home and they're usually occupied by one of my adult children. This room was technically was my son's room. I've always had this room styled and when he would come home from college, I'd let him do his thing and when he leave, I'd clean it all up and change it around until the next time he came home. Well now he's gone for good (in his own apartment!) and I changed it again. This time, it was for my eldest daughter. I didn't want to go too overboard with the look, but I did want it to be stylish. This is where paint plays a factor in how to change up a space. Visual Statements Let's talk wall color. I have never used black as a paint color ever in my home. I'm a huge fan of color, but I never thought black on the walls would look good in my house. Boy, was I wrong! Of course, this is not your ordinary black color. This is from my favorite paint company Behr called Black Mocha. I also wanted to create the illusion that I had a headboard even when I don't. So I went through my husband's pile of scrap wood and found random sizes of wood and nailed them to the wall to create the illusion of a headboard. Next came the visual statement on the ceiling. This extra large wicker medallion that I thrifted has been in this room already for a number of years as a headboard, but I wanted to talk it up a notch and use it as a ceiling to draw you eyes up and make the room look like it has vaulted ceilings. The rest of this space is all the visuals and home accessories that complete the look of this space. I'll link everything I possibly can below (some things are discontinued) and I hope you love this space as much as I do! Until next time, Lighting- Mitzi Lighting ( out of stock but here's something similar) Mirror- Jungalow ( out of stock, but here's something similar) Bedspread- Jungalow x Opalhouse from Target ( out of stock, but here's something similar) Large Wicker Basket- Expedition Subsahara Curtains- Amazon

I love fashion!! It's makes me happy when I find a great piece of clothing to create a fabulous outfit. What's even better about is cool skirt below, is that it's THRIFTED!! That makes this all the more better. I like to think outside the box to create really cool outfit that can transition from day to night. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Would you wear this?? Until next time,

What a blessing to have been interviewed for The Washington Post! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that was even a thought, but God saw fit for me to be asked and I humbly accepted! A big shoutout to Amanda Long for writing such a beautiful piece and for Carlos Bernatem for the amazing photos! You can read the original article here... Until Next Time,

I swear, I can never keep things the same for a long period of time. Take my bathroom. I have changed this bathroom so many times over the years it's not even funny! And I've loved every transformation. This time, however, the transformation is pretty spectacular. Can you believe this is peel and stick?? Well, it is and let me show you how I did it. The Before Don't get me wrong, I love this space. The green in this bathroom are some of my favorites, but I wanted a bigger change. I had previously painted the tiles on the walls white (they were the the same color as the floor, YUCK!) and I just wanted it to look brighter. Ok, back to this space. In all honesty, we don't even use this bathtub. It's entirely too shallow and only a small child can bathe in here. So since it doesn't get used, I love to dress it up and take pretty pictures of it. So I found this green peel and stick tile that I saw online from Smart Tiles at the Home Depot , and I was like, PERFECT!!! So let's break it down. I am not great with figuring out how many this or that I need for a project. I usually try to eyeball it. I know that's not a good way to go about it, but it is what it is. Each pack comes with 4 peel and stick tile sheets, costing me at the time $26.72 each. I purchased 16 packs which came to $428.00. I still think that a lot cheaper than buying real tile. First off, I needed tools to make this project as easy as possible. You need a very sharp utility knife, scissors and a ruler. Also, you'll need something to cut on. I used my quilting mat that's made out of hard plastic that won't cut through. I made sure to paint the seams before I started. The reason I did this is because I have rounded edges. I didn't want to see any of the white peeking through, so I painted to match to the tile. When it comes to the paint colors on my wall, my go to is always Behr. The wall color is Everglade and the trim is Secret Meadow. The paint color I used to go in the areas where you might see the white wall and it was almost a perfect match to the tile is also from Behr called Vine Leaf. This was the hardest part of installing these tile. I will say that they are super easy to put up, realign and peel off. What I was struggling with was how to put the tile around the tub fixtures. I thought at first to cut around the fixtures, but that was an epic fail and I wasted a few tile sheets. Remember, there are ony 4 sheets in each pack and I wanted to use the least amount as possible and not have a lot of waste. I finally realized that you can unscrew the fixtures off the wall. Oh, it was smooth sailing after that! In the end, it all turned out amazing! I repurposed some of the accessories that were already in the space and thrifted a few new ones. This all turned out better than I imagined and I even have some left over. They haven't tried to come off nor have they peeled on the corners. If you're looking to try something new in your home, give these Smart Tiles a try. It was definitely worth it to me. Until Next Time,

If you know me, then you know I'm a real lover of plants. Sometimes, I can't help myself and I tend to do the most when it comes to plants, but I just can't help it. Plants bring so much joy to my life- they're great for the environment and I believe they are a mood lifter. So when the country went on lockdown, it was really sad to not be able to frequent my local nursery. So (like most people) resorted to buying plants online. Even some plant shops decided to open an online shop just to satisfy their steady customers. I got real familiar with several online plant shops and I decided to make a list of my favorites , to include plant accessory shops as well. So, in no particular order- 1. Land of Alice- They have the best selection of Hoyas I've ever seen and very affordable. 2. Planterina- I've been following Amanda on Youtube for so long. She is an amazing plant expert and she decided to open her own online sho and the quality is awesome! 3. Plant Proper- Great quality of plants and the prices are wonderful. 4. Plant Vine- Another plant shop that has a great assortment of plants. 5. Gabriella Plants- If you like small starter plants, this site is for you. Large assortment and they let you know when new plants will be ready 6. Tennessee Tropicals- If you're looking for exotic plants, this site is for you. They don't have a huge selection, but the quality is still nice. 7. Rainforest Flora- Are you an air plant lover? If so, then this is the site for you! A huge assortment if air plants at affordable prices. 8. We are Plant Lovers- Now I haven't personally bought from this site, but I've heard some great things about them . They also have a huge Instagram presence and they do giveaways and on the spot plant sales. 9. Steves Leaves- Probably the best assortment of online begonias I've ever seen. They also have houseplants, but the begonias are truly beautiful. Here's a list of plant accessories shops that everyone needs to go to to care for your plants. Happy Happy Houseplant- Everything you need from plant food to plant themed T-shirts. You can save 10% off using my code MOCHAGIRLPLACE at checkout Dade Plant Co.- A nice combination of plants and merchandise. Wally Plant Growers- Looking for eco- friendly planters? This shop is for you! Planting Pink- Handmade ceramics for your cute plant babies. Check out her Instagram page for her latest drops. Black Plant Lovers- A great combination of plants and cool plant merchandise. Soltech Solutions- These are hands down the best grow lamps out there! Use MOCHAGIRLPLACE15 for 15% off at checkout. That's it!! Be on the lookout for more as I'm constantly on the lookout to support small plant businesses. Until next time,