An argument Rich and I have sometimes is how much of a homebody I can be. He thinks that since we stay in a lot that we are missing out on things. I'll admit I can feel that way too, if we decide on a Friday night we're going to stay in and end up in bed at 10pm the next morning can feel a bit blah. Wondering if we should have just pulled the trigger and gone out for a drink.
But most of the time I really could care less. I love to be home and I love my home. I love to put on music, cook dinner, eat outside, have a fire and just talk. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I have that pull, wondering if we should be doing more before we start the next phase of our life (i.e.: children). Should we be more spontaneous more often, travel on a whim, etc.?! I can feel pressured to squeeze as much in during this time its just US. Then I think that these nights at home together are the things we are going to sacrifice when we expand our family, not just the lack of bar and restaurant time we log in a week.
We finally have some warm weather and I think Summer has arrived in CT! We had what felt like a month of nothing but rain or rain threatened in the forecast everyday, it was miserable! But this coming week looks gorgeous (70 degrees + everyday!) and is really getting me in the mood to start planning things to do over the next few months. Rich's work schedule is pretty much set through the end of August right now which makes things way easier on me with scheduling things to do here at home and also squeezing in a few trips. Here's a few things we have on the agenda so far:
1.) We are going to see The Naked and Famous in concert. I'm super excited for this since their song "Young Blood" plays in our wedding video, plus we love listening to their Pandora station when were cooking dinner or hanging outside having a fire.
2.) We have a trip planned to Greenville, South Carolina. Rich's sister and her family moved there from Atlanta about a year ago and they love it. Rich has been down twice and seems to think I will fall in love with it immediately. I'm pretty excited to check it out as I've only heard great things about how up and coming it is and who knows, maybe the Slade's will make the move down South if it's a good fit?!
3.) We're going to start our biggest project yet here at the house -- a major addition! I have more details about that in an upcoming post but we're SO excited to start this project. Rich is going to schedule enough time so that himself and his employees can do this project like an actual job for Made by Slade, so that means it will get done fast (he estimates about a month or so) and without interruptions of other work.
4.) Our FIVE YEAR wedding anniversary is in September....whattttttt! I can't believe it's been five years, I seriously can't wrap my head around it. It honestly feels like yesterday and I feel like I still remember every detail and feeling of those few days with all of our friends and family in San Diego. To celebrate the big 5 we're heading back to California, naturally. We're going to fly into SD then drive out to our fave place, Palm Springs for a few days. We got an Airbnb which will be our first experience with staying in one so I'm really looking forward to making ourselves at home in the desert. Then it's back to San Diego for a couple of days to stay at the Andaz (where we got married) and hit up some of our fave spots (La Jolla, Coronado, Pacific Beach).
5.) In between our bigger events/projects/trips there are little things we want to do. I want to get to the beach in our town more than we usual do, which is never so even if we go once that will be enough! I also want to entertain out in the backyard more. We bought a great new dining table from Joss and Main and I want to make sure we get lots of use out of it! Planning a few day trips and overnight trips (suggestions welcome!) is also something I want to do because as much as we love hanging out at home, it's always good for the soul to pack a bag and get out of town, even if it's just for 24 hours.
How about you? Anything exciting planned? Hope so!
If you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen I made a big change recently. I finally pulled the trigger and dyed my hair PINK!
I've wanted to do this ever since the rose gold hair trend came into play about a year/year and a half ago. I've never been anything but blonde in my 32 years and just wanted a change. The more I saw rose gold the more I was inclined to give it a try but every time I sat in my stylist Vanessa's chair, I pretty much chickened out and did the same old same old blonde balayage highlights, which are great, but I always left thinking to myself, "NEXT TIME!"
Well -- it's almost like this time it was meant to be as a little series of events lead to me FINALLY pulling the trigger. First I had a wedding in early April that I needed to get my hair done for, nothing crazy just wanted a quick cut and a few highlights to brighten up my blonde as I hadn't gotten my hair done since October (ya, I'm that lazy)...I texted Vanessa and she was booked solid until the end of April! Ugh..enter me going into full meltdown mode. Yes, yes I could have just found a different salon (albeit one closer as I drive 20 minutes to go see Vanessa) but I like what I like and I was hopeful she would get a cancellation. For the weeks leading up to the wedding I silently prayed everyday for her to reach out to me and tell me she had room in her schedule...but a week out - nothing - so I had to figure something out.
Luckily two of my best friends were going to get their hair done at another friends house who is a colorist, and there was room for me to come! So while I went there just to get a little brightened what ended up happening actually lead me to where we are now. The toner she used actually turned some of my lightest pieces of hair a very light shade of pink. While most people may have been a bit miffed by this - I loved it! It ended up washing out super fast but it gave me the confidence (along with this pic of Arielle Vandenberg - ugh, what a babe!) to finally pull the trigger with an even darker shade of pink when I had my appointment with V at the end of April.
So after many Instagram messages back and forth (me sending pics of pink hair, me changing my mind a week out, and then changing it back again - she probably hates me) I went to the salon last week did it!! The result: I LOVE IT. I would have never thought in my LIFE I would do this, but it's honestly a blast. It just feels very...me right now. The only downside is I do feel like I have to me a little more mindful of my outfits and makeup and even how I do my hair because it can have the effect of angsty emo girl if I'm not mindful...butttttt other than that I'll probably keep it up through the summer and then see where the hair winds blow me....let's be honest, probably back to blonde but who knows?!?!?!
Just a quick update on the almost seven month long project that is our basement.
We're steadily making progress, in fact the unfinished storage area is done....so there's that! No but seriously my laundry room/pantry area (which may be the part I'm most excited about) it about 95% complete. I'm just waiting on a cabinet/folding area Rich is custom building for me but guys, it's AMAZINGGGG. I'm going to wait on full pictures until the cabinet is in but I wanted to share my favorite part of the room. Our subway tile wall! So here's a little before....
And then the after.....
TA-DAH!
How cool is that?!? -- and it's not even grouted yet in that picture! I love love love it and it took barely anytime at all...I think Rich and I tiled the whole wall in 2.5 hours! When we did the grout the next night, we ended up using a dark grey anddddd, it looks awesome. I really can't wait for the cabinet to be done so I can show you the finished product because it's so good.
PS: You know you're old when you're this excited about the room you do laundry in....
Of all the Spring/Summer holidays, Easter is probably the one I feel the most blasé about. We're not religious, so there's no church services to attend, and we don't have any children running around hunting for eggs or baskets, so it just doesn't have that special feeling to anyone in my family anymore. In fact, the past few years we have been heading out to buffet brunches at local restaurants -ugh-, so this year Rich and I decided to grab Easter by the ears and make it fun again.
We planned a brunch and invited my immediate family and our friends, Mark and Angel to join us. If there's one thing Rich and I love to do it's entertain, so even though it's one of our least favorite holidays, we were determined to make it memorable. Rich made his famous eggs benedict and Mark brought over the mother of all make your own bloody mary bars...it was awesome....so awesome that I didn't get any pictures....
Anyway, if you know me you know that a good table setting is always on deck when you're coming here for a party. I think it makes such a difference and quite honestly it's my favorite thing to put together prior to company coming. I start gathering inspiration weeks in advance and going through all of our entertaining items to see what I can use for this particular event and what I will have to purchase. A few things I always pull out are my collection of mason jars, which are used for anything from drinking glasses, to vases, to just general decor. I also always have on theme paper straws available (I stock pile them), which even though my friends probably hate because lets be honest, they get soggy and gross -- I make them use them anyway and just tell them to drink faster! :)
Just look at me *SO PROUD* of my table ;-). I ordered most of the table decor for this year from Target (those bunnies?! SWOON!). I actually also ordered a table runner but it never came so while I was in meltdown mode about it at first (so much so that while driving to a wedding in Cape Cod the previous weekend, I had Rich stop at a Target on the way to see if they had it in stock there), looking through the pictures I don't really think it was necessary....so crisis averted. For the bar, I FINALLY got to use the Rifle Paper banner I purchased years ago. The forsythia are from our yard, literally thats all we had growing. Our neighbor actually has a huge hedge of them and I was going to sneak over one evening and snip myself some branches, but then the next day I noticed a two tiny branches growing in our yard so I didn't have to be the weirdo clipping my neighbors flowers! I think it worked out for all parties involved (mainly me).
All in all it was a great day, which extended into the evening with a fire in our chiminea and a few drop ins of friends to enjoy the evening. I think Easter was officially elevated this year, and it might be fast becoming one of my favorite holidays yet!
If I was asked to describe my own design aesthetic, it would be difficult for me to put into words. While most people can narrow themselves down into a specific genre easily (traditional, modern, coastal, boho, rustic), I tend to have a harder time putting myself and my home into a box. I get inspired by things really easily and I guess that can make me seem little all over the place when I'm decorating....but ultimately (and what I'm most proud of) is that when you walk through the front door, you know you're at my house (.....and Rich's too).
My taste in interiors has changed so much since I first had my own space to decorate which is about 10 years ago. Growing up I shared a room with my younger sister. We're seven years apart which when you're younger is quite an age difference, so I was never able to get my bedroom up to my standards with Spongebob Squarepants pillows on the twin trundle bed opposite mine. That all changed when I moved out at the age of 22 into a rental house. Over the next 3 years, I had 4 roommates, the last one being Rich. I look back at how I decorated that house and it's SO SO SOOOOO different than my house today. First of all, there was a lot of color (blue kitchen! green living room! orange dining room! red bathroom!) and a lot of furniture in dark and black finishes. There was even the standard EAT and DRINK signs in my kitchen for God's sake. Basically, I decorated it really traditionally, nothing too personal save for the gallery wall of drunken bar pictures up the stairs. I don't think I have a single piece of furniture or decor left from that house...but you know what? At the time I absolutely LOVED it. I was super proud of my home and loved showing it off.
When we moved into our home now, I quickly started to try and figure out how I wanted to decorate it. I knew I wanted it totally different from before, so I started to look to blogs and Pinterest for my inspiration and that lead to going through a few different phases. First, I went though a kind of rustic/industrial modern phase (see: my dining room pipe shelving/ light fixture/knock off Eames chairs) which then morphed into a mid-century/Jonathan Adler-esque phase (see: chevron rugs/obnoxious pillows/bar cart obsession), which then turned into me needing everything to be white/gold objects/light gray accents (see: me demanding Rich paint all walls white). This little 1000sqft house has been through a few changes and I don't think it will ever be over....which I'm totally okay with.
I'm still in a what I call a "white-out" phase with how I'm decorating my home, but with some more natural elements and colors thrown in to warm it up. I get a lot of my inspiration from designers out of California. They seem to have a more laid back, comfortable, and natural approach to design than what is more prevalent where I live in Connecticut.
If I look back and can say I have learned anything from decorating my own space it's this: it's hard to go really wrong with decorating your home. After all, it is yours. That's what my favorite thing about interiors is -- that I don't think there is really a wrong or right way to decorate. Yes - there are trends that grow old and new products that come out, but as long as your decor is true to you and how you live your life, then I believe the people coming into your home will sense that and appreciate it. As long as you're happy with the end results, that's all that matters.
A plus to not having the basement completed yet was that we finally were able to paint our front door...and because I'm not one to waste an opportunity we did the back door at the same time! Ever since we purchased the new front door over a year ago, I was going back and forth with the color choice for a while...I initially wanted black, but then thought maybe we should do a color (see here). Well as with most decisions I make (i.e.: my clothes/car/nail polish), I decided I wanted black. This was mainly based upon the fact that I knew I wanted the interior to be the same color as the exterior and I thought -no, I knew- I would tire of any other color we picked (really can you see me with a bright blue interior door? No? Me either).
So on a Friday night, Rich brought the spray gun home and we got to work.
We shimmed the doors so they would stay in place (you can see the sheetrock in the basement is up in these pics...yay for tiny victories!) Then a lot of TEDIOUS taping of the windows ensued...
After we were all taped up...Rich sprayed primer and then the paint. We chose Behr "Broadway" as our black.
The paint dries SUPERRRRRRR fast with the spray gun so we were actually able to hang the doors that same night, which I guess would have been kinda shitty if they didn't dry and we had to sleep without doors on the house...maybe next time we will start this type of project in the morning...note to self...
Below are the finished products which I'm thrilled with. I love the pop of black inside the house (especially against the shiplap in the mudroom). I'm trying to convince Rich paint all of the interior doors black...but he seems a little on the fence about that...
Been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately by a few curveballs that have been pitched this way.
Ya, it would be easier to just keep posting house projects, clothes, and recipes -- but sometimes it feels good to write/read that not everything is always as perfect as a blog can make ones life seem - that there are other people that are struggling with things, big and small.
I respect when bloggers share personal struggles. I think it can be a really brave thing to do, share something private with, for the most part, complete strangers. While I might not want to get into my personal details, it still feels good to even say/admit that there are things that are weighing on me. I think the most important thing is that I know I'll get through them, and I know that life isn't always going to be easy or perfect.
Besides, wouldn't it be boring if it was?
So here's to our struggles, our issues, and our emotions...may they open our eyes and we grow from them....everyday.
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