A great weekend has led to a great week. I have been dominating the to do lists and not hating it! But oh if I could go back to the weekend I would in a heart beat…
Saturday we spent the day at home catching up on things around the house and I spent most of the day at the sewing machine work on some fun lift gifts. That evening we had some friends over to watch the UFC fight. I always love to have people over and spend a fun night in.
Sunday was my sweet friend Beth’s little girl’s first birthday! Beth and her husband just moved back to the area from Cincinnati and I could not be happier they are close! Baby Hazel was an adorable birthday girl and made the greatest mess with her birthday cupcake.
After the party I ran a few errands before heading home and I finally checked out a Whole Foods! The one in Virginia Beach always seems so packed, so I was happy to run in to one that had just a few Sunday shoppers. I was pleasantly surprised with some of their prices and products, but still need to head to the regular grocery store for the everyday basics. But the fresh flowers and candy isle made it so worth it.
Sunday night as we were prepping for the week ahead, my in-laws stopped in to drop off two heaping piles of fresh strawberries. They had been visiting Brandon’s aunt who had a full garden this year and they knew they would be just what we needed for our morning smoothies (and without having to pick them, I call it a win!).
Now back to dominating this week and crossing all my fingers and toes that the weatherin the forecast blows over!
I started to read a book, and it’s a good book, and it got me thinking…. (my husband seems to think that isn’t always a good idea!)
The book is called 30 By 30. It’s about a 29 year old coming close to her 30th birthday as her life takes a bit of an unexpected turn! In straightening her new life out she rediscovers and old list she wrote in high school about the 30 things she wanted to accomplish by the time she turned thirty, and the story continues as she works to complete that list!
Half way through the book I set it down (which was tough, it’s a page turner) and decided that is just what I need now as I creep closer to my 30th birthday, a list!
So I got to work making my own! I made a few simple rules for my list, it shouldn’t be something I have done, it couldn’t be too expensive, it needed to be a measurable item with an ending (no ‘organize my life’ type ones), and I need to get it all in by my birthday, November 2. I talked ideas over with my family and friends and finalized the list over happy hour with my sister on my “half birthday”. Which gives me 6 months to get through it!
Now I’ve been told some of my items are lame and that there should be more exciting adventures on my list but that made me realize, I have had a pretty great life so far. I have been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, swam with dolphins, drank cocktails at a swim up bar in paradise and bought a house with my amazing husband. So maybe this list is more of a “things I have always talked about wanting to do so now I want a deadline” list, but it doesn’t quite have the same ring, so here’s my 30 By 30!!
30 by 30… with my thoughts!
Go skydiving – now ‘real’ skydiving is a bit pricey, but thankfully Virginia Beach has an indoor sky diving place that I can’t wait to try!
Lean a new language – I took Spanish in college (and I can ask ‘where is the bathroom’… and that’s about it) so now I want to try French. I will mark this as complete when I finish the learning CD’s my sister lent me!
Learn mom’s sauce recipe – my mom’s sauce is the best but when you ask for the recipe she says “just put in what you have till it tastes right“! I hope to get the actual ingredient list this time!
Host a fancy dinner party – I can put those hours I spent drooling over Southern Living to good use!
Take a cooking class – Found some great options at shops like Sur La Table and William and Sonoma
Take a dance class – An adult ballet class is what I have my eye on!
Take a golf lesson – So one day maybe I can play with the husband
Visit Chicago – It looks like such a great place and my cousin lives there now, time for a visit
Sew a dress to wear out – To put my sewing machine to good use
Dye my hair – I have never dyed my hair before and it’s time to hide the grays!
Name a star – A simple list item that is close to my heart
Go deep sea fishing – Just something fun to say I have done
Read a classic book – My little brother pointed out that I have a classic book or two at school, but this time it’s my choice (any recommendations?)
Have a fancy picnic – This is just something that has always looked fun! Bring on the champagne and bugs!
Learn to give a good massage – This was the husbands list request!
Make my handwriting a font – Something easy to do, but has always been on my list
Go para-sailing – One I plan to do with my sister in the outerbanks this summer
Do a 30-day capsule wardrobe – Love this idea, can’t wait to try
Start my own Etsy shop –I have had a blast making some great pieces for coworkers and friends so why not open up to more people!
Get a gun carrying license – A silly one, but it never hurts to have, right?
Knit a hat – Now that my little brother is a knitting pro (funny, I know) I thought he could show me how!
Take a pottery class – My uncle has so much fun with this, I would love to try it too!
Build a piece of furniture – I have the piece picked out and know I will feel so accomplished seeing it everyday on our home
Bake a carrot cake from scratch – It’s Brandon’s favorite, so what better way to get him excited about this list too!
Visit a financial advisor – Well, I’ll soon be 30… I should probably do this one!
Attend a paint-n-sip night – I went to an open paint studio, but I think the paint with direction thing sounds way more my style
Learn to use my camera in manual mode – It’s sad how long I have had this camera and I definitely need to use something more than auto focus
Have a signature drink – I mean, this will be perfect for the dinner party, right?
7 days without TV –Well if I plan to do this all by November, a days without tv will surely help!!
Start a family! – So the drinking items need to be done sooner rather than later…
So have you ever made a list like this? What would be on yours?! I have a few coworkers now making their own and I loved my parent’s idea of a 7 by 70 list (though they said with quite a few years till 70, and only a few things to complete, they are gonna be have to be good!)
I can’t wait to start!!
Thanks to the author for sending me this great book to read!
The rain finally cleared up here (after a week worth of showers) and it started the weekend off right!
The hubs had to work at the fire station this Sunday so we invited the in-laws for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday. We finally had a proper dinner at the house to break in the new kitchen chairs and I am always excited to play hostess!
I got to gift the DIY planter to my mother-in-law and she loved it and I loved the fact the plant didn’t die before we gave it to her! I gave my mom hers when I made them, I couldn’t be trusted with the lives of 2 plants! ha
Sunday was spent at my parent’s house with my sister and brothers. It is never a dull moment with all of us together and now my adorable niece gets to enjoy it all too! (she is so stinkin cute!!!)
Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too! Now back to the regularly scheduled work week….
Summer is almost here, and while a cup of coffee is a morning must to get my day started, a hot cup just doesn’t taste the same on a hot summer morning. So while I prep my wardrobe for summer by packing away the winter clothes and getting out the bikinis I figured it was time to prep my morning routine too.
I decided I needed something a little special would make that morning routine just a little bit better so I figured what is better than glitter. So a glitter coffee cup it is! I have made a glitter cup but this time I added a customized a vinyl decal.
Here is what I used –
vinyl c/o || cup (double walled that can be separated) || glitter || spray adhesive
(not pictured, the silhouette curio for vinyl cutting)
It took some searching, but I was able to find a double walled cup that could be separated so the glitter and decal could go in between the walls and last longer… through many cups of coffee! The vinyl from Angel Crafts was a perfect fit for this project, their vinyl was more forgiving when having to readjust the image inside the cup.
Now I am ready for some delicious iced coffee as the warm weather rolls around!!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and I have a simple weekend DIY gift that would be a perfect present to have your mom ready for spring.
For Brandon and I’s Christmas card 2 years ago we had included a potted plant with our house address since that year’s card doubled as our “we moved” announcements. My mom commented how she liked the planter with the address and it would be nice to have one on their porch since their house address is only listed on the mailbox. She is a tough one to shop for, so when she mentions something she would like, I take the hint. And since I seem to be incharge of all gift giving in our house, I thought my mother-in-law may want one too. For hers, I went with a simple “Welcome” since their house sits back in the woods, and the address is less important (and if you make it all the way up their drive-way, I would assume you know what the address is).
To start, I wrote the words myself and scanned them into the computer. I used photoshop to separate the lettering and saved it as a PNG file to be able to open in the silhouette software. I used my Silhouette Curio to cut the vinyl to create the lettering and simple transferred the white vinyl onto a simple black self-watering planted pot.
I wanted to add a fancy little pop to the planter so I grabbed a beach spike and multipurposed it to add a smaller planted flower to the pot. Again, I drew the design, scanned it in and created the silhouette file.
Then it was outside to plant the flowers! I added ferns and these pretty purple flowers to finish off the look.
Mother’s Day is May 8th so I am wrangling a little shopping list of great gifts for your mother (or the mother of your little ones)! Take a peek and follow the links below to knock this shopping trip off your to-do list!
Pretzel Pool Float | A pretzel in honor of my mom’s philly-roots but I know any float and a lazy day in the pool should do
Watch | A pretty and simple piece of practical jewelry
Happy National Picnic Day! The weather here has me dreaming of sunny days in the park and I can not wait to take my favorite fancy picnic cooler for a day out! Our basket isn’t too girly so the husband doesn’t mind carrying it around and is an easy go-to for road trips as well (a few hotel breakfasts have been eaten on those plates).
So grab this picnic basket and a few of the other picnic must-haves I have been lusting lately below. And a picnic would not be complete without a delicious food, so check out this caprese sandwich with pesto from Jessica in the Kitchen… yum!!
This weekend was a great one! The weather was perfect and the company was the best!
Friday we headed to Lake Anna for a lake house weekend rental with my girl friends from college and the husbands! Both Heather and Katey’s birthdays are this week so we had to celebrate properly. Nick picked the most perfect rental with a dock that had us all swooning. Not only did it have a beautiful view of the water but this boat dock had a bar complete with a TV, full size fridge, microwave, surround sound, speakers, heaters around the giant table, 2 electric boat lifts and plenty of space to soak up the sun!
Needless to say we spent 90% of our weekend out on the dock. But the house also had a fire pit, hot tub (which was fabulous) and a beautiful home with full view of the lake so we could watch the boaters as we prepped meals!
The tulips around the fire pit had us all heart eyes over how perfect they were. It must have been peek tulip season at the lake because these beauties were in their prime!
Packing up after a late breakfast on Sunday was a sad venture for sure. Not only did we have to leave our new favorite vacation spot but we had to say goodbye to our friends. Makes me miss our college days at Virginia Tech!
I am currently loving stripes! The clean, nautical look is perfect for the spring and summer. I rounded up some great spring striped pieces, all under $100!
theromperis so high on my wish list I am starting to just plan vacations around it!! I mean add a wide brim hat and white tennis shoes… heaven!
a simple maxi dress would be perfect for going from church to the beach for brunch on a Sunday Funday
this top already has a place in my closet and works great with khakis for a day in the office
high waist shorts are on my ‘trends to try’ list and I think they would look so cute with a button-up chambray top tied at the waist and paired with white tennis shoes!
a beach cover-up is a summer must and the long sleeves and a hood are what I needed for a windy day at the beach or sound.
an easy striped skirt would be great to throw in a carry on bag for a weekend get-a-way for a dressed up casual look.
I always love a good pinterest find with a little glimpse into someones everyday life so I thought I would share a little “What’s in my bag” of my quick, every-day, go to back essentials!
Make-Bag: this floral little piece is the perfect size to hold my beauty bring-a-longs like lotion, gum, breath mints, lipstick, etc.
Notebook: I snagged a couple of these striped notebooks on my last trip to ikea. They have a elastic strap which keeps everything contained.
Clutch: This piece has sewed in card pockets which makes it simple to grab out of my big bucket bag on a quick trip without the rest of my everyday fillers
Cable: My i-phone has become my planner, phonebook, camera, second right-arm… so a chargering cable is always a good idea 🙂
{thank you to pur cable for their item for review. all thoughts and opinions are my own}
