Home Sweet Home

Happy Friday! I hope you guys have had a wonderful week. Mine was certainly better than last week and I’m looking forward to a long weekend filled with friends, fun, and maybe a little bit of wine (who am I kidding? A LOT of wine 😉 ). I’m taking Monday off as a “me” day and I’m really looking forward to it. I feel like sometimes it is absolutely imperative to take some time to unwind and not let yourself get burned out. Anyone else agree?

Today I’m finally sharing a house update that I’ve been thinking about for a long while. We have done a lot of work so far and I’m really excited to share it with you.

Let’s start with a little bit of the outside, although we really haven’t done much out there yet, but we have added a nice hanging plant, a patriotic sign, a fire hydrant from NYC, and Dan also trimmed the bushes as well.

My home office is more or less finished as well. We painted, added bunk beds from my childhood bedroom, and a desk.

We used Benjamin Moore’s “Normandy” blue for the accent wall and a cream color for the other three walls.

Our guest bedroom is now fully furnished with a queen sized bed, nightstand, dresser, and our armoire. Dan also installed a ceiling fan which adds a nice touch to the room. That room is one of the last which needs to be painted/decorated although I haven’t fully decided on a color yet.

Bella loves sleeping on that bed. (Comforter set: Macy’s)

“Mom, no more pictures please!”

As far as the living room goes, we finally hung pictures and added some decor throughout the room which gives it much homier of a feel. We have a few more pictures to hang but for the most part, the living room is done.

Most of the decor on the TV stand is from TJ Maxx and I think I spent less than $20 total on it!

These were Christmas presents from our friends Carlee and Justin & Kaitlin and Quentin 🙂

I am obsessed with gallery walls!

Well there you have it! We have definitely gotten a lot done but there’s quite a bit more to do, mainly with the kitchen and the yard. For the kitchen, Dan is in the process of priming and painting the cabinets and then we will start the floor and have the new counter top installed. The yard is not horrible right now but definitely needs to be cleaned up. I will share another update in the future, probably once the cabinets are done being painted.

I hope you guys have a great weekend! Stay cool, it’s going to be a hot one 🙂

Things I’m Loving Lately #5

What. A. Week. I’m not going to say much more than that this week has been pretty awful. God has thrown quite a few curve balls our way but luckily things are looking more positive as the week is finally ending. I’m looking forward to a fun weekend with some relaxation.

So much truth in this statement.

I haven’t done one of these in quite a while so I figured I would share some things that are making me happy lately.

Smoothies:

I’ve been trying my best to be as healthy as possible and I’ve found that a smoothie is the easiest way to start off my day on a healthy note.

My smoothies usually consist of:

• 1 cup of Silk Almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder (usually whatever kind Dan has in the house)
• 3-4 ice cubes (because I only like smoothies if they are ice cold!)

Sweet potatoes:

I will basically put anything in a sweet potato and I’m pretty sure we have them two or three times a week for dinner. We usually top them with plain greek yogurt, diced avocado, Rotel, and chicken. It makes for a super easy and delicious dinner!

Excuse the ugly plates, kitchen renovations are still ongoing 🙂

Daybreak Coffee Roasters:

I know I have raved about my love for Daybreak many times on here but there is something about that place which just feels like home to me. It might be the smell of the roasting coffee beans or the friendly greeting I get when I walk in, but I really enjoy going there. (PS. Their blueberry scones are out of this world. Go get one!)

Real Housewives of New York:

I will admit that this is a total guilty pleasure of mine but I am seriously loving this season. I stopped watching a few seasons ago when Bethenny Frankel left but started again when she came back. She is my favorite “real housewife” of all time and I find her honesty about her health issues and divorce to be so refreshing. I know that they are put in situations which will create drama but these are real life things that she is actually going through and I love that she doesn’t sugar coat anything.

Billi enjoys Real Housewives as well 😉

Girl’s Nights:

After an awful day on Tuesday, it was so nice to get out with some of the ladies to celebrate Daniela’s birthday at Sayulita. Sometimes all you need is a margarita, amazing food, and lots of laughter to turn things around. I had my first ever tamale and it was incredible.

Ahi tuna taco, beef & chorizo tamale, and black bean salad.. So good!

Love these ladies! Photo credit: Daniela

I hope you all have a fast-moving and happy Friday and an even better weekend. I promise that I will have a house update for you next week as I just want to take a few more pictures this weekend.

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday & 4th of July Weekend

Happy hump day! I am loving this short work week and am excited that the weekend seems like it is coming up quickly once again. This past weekend we celebrated my birthday as well as America’s birthday 🙂 I took a ton of pictures and figured it would be best to just share them, wordless style. Enjoy!

Lovely pie made by Miko for my birthday celebration

photo credit: Alexandra Swanson

photo credit: Alexandra Swanson

photo credit: Alexandra Swanson

photo credit: Alexandra Swanson

Diamond margarita… Love the festive straw!

Whole Harmony Goji Berry Raspberry Iced Tea at Boticello’s Farmer’s Market.. so good!

Mercado‘s Queso Frito… one of my absolute favorite food trucks ever!

Birthday breakfast at Dondero Orchards

My Red Robin birthday burger on July 4th is a tradition for us 🙂

Man that was a lot of pictures! Believe it or not, even with all of the fun we had, we were still able to get a LOT done on the house. I will be sharing those pictures hopefully later this week if not next week. I can’t wait for today to be over as we are having some friends over for dinner and I’m excited to relax with them 🙂 Have a happy Wednesday!