Sperry Top-Siders.

First, thanks for all of the birthday wishes!

I was on the hunt for comfy, non-tennis shoes to wear during our upcoming trip to Europe.  I love me some flats, but most pairs I own don't have a ton of support.  My goal was to find something supportive and still somewhat fashionable.

These fit the bill perfectly!  (And extra bonus -- I got double points during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale).  I want to wear them everyday, but oddly enough, they don't look good with a suit!  But seriously, I can't believe how comfortable they are.  My flip flops have been enjoying a well-deserved break since these new shoes have been in the rotation.  (If you order them, I would size down 1/2 a size.)        

(photo: nordstrom)

And, I'm all about sharing the love . . . so I made strongly encouraged Justin to get a pair as well.

(photo: nordstrom)

He loves his too. Most times when he puts them on, he sings the Lonely Planet I'm On A Boat song (warning: there's lots of bad language in the video; but Justin keeps his rendition clean).  Have you come across anything recently that was too good not to share?

Happy 1st Day of August.

August 1st also happens to be my birthday!  This will be my last year in my twenties (gulp).

(photo: here)

I had a wonderful weekend celebrating a little early with friends and my family.  And, because there can never be too much celebrating, Justin is going to take me out to dinner tonight. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Non-Slip Socks.

I was searching on amazon* the other evening for some non-slip socks for my workout class.  I was hoping to find some socks on the cheap since Define sells them for about $10 a pair, which I thought was a little on the steep side.  But after looking into it, $10 isn't as outrageous as what I originally thought.

But the point of this post is not about pricey socks.  It's about the amazing item Justin found when he was helping me look for the socks.  Non-slip socks for dogs! 

(photo: amazon)

Sadly, the item isn't available to purchase anymore -- they must have been hot sellers.  But doesn't that picture just crack you up?  Maybe Zoey and Riley want a pair for when they are running around like maniacs on our hard word floors.

* For the record, I'm not sure there isn't anything amazon doesn't have.  We love having amazon prime and definitely get our money's worth.  Our friend, Kev, feels the same way -- my favorite 2 things he's ever ordered from amazon are a salad spinner and a butter dish.  Awesome. 

Home Tour: Office Bathroom.

In the last installment of the home tour, we took a look at the entryway.  And I also mentioned that next up would be the office.  Well, when I went to upload the office pictures, I noticed that the camera wasn't on the right setting, so the colors are way off and all the photos are super grainy.  Oops.  Hopefully pictures of the office bathroom are a sufficient substitute. 

We hardly ever have guests, and if we do, they usually stay in our upstairs guestroom.  So this bathroom isn't fully "done up."  I hope to add a few more touches here and there, but it's cute and serves its purpose.

Both the shower curtain and the bath mat are from West Elm.  I actually ordered the gray striped shower curtain at first, but it wasn't right with the color of the walls.  I loved the striped look and decided I like the brightness of the citron color -- and it ties in well with the office too (how's that for a little teaser?).

The color is the same as our office -- Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray.  The door to the right is a linen closet and the door straight ahead is a decent-sized walk in closet.

I purchased the vintage peony print from Etsy a while back.  I think it's perfect for this space!

The bath accessories are the ones Justin and I registered for when we first got married.  I still like their simplicity and think they work well.  I just jazzed it up a bit with this tray from West Elm.

The office will be up next on the tour (assuming I can get the camera settings right this time around)! 

5 things . . .

5 things about my blogging break . . .

1.  Our hotel was terrible.  I usually stay in some very nice places when I travel for work, especially when a partner is around (much less 4).  However, there were slim pickins and we wanted to be within walking distance of the courthouse and our local counsel's office.

I could dedicate a whole post to "funny" stories about the hotel, but I will just mention two.  My hotel-provided hair dryer tripped the circuit breaker every time I used it.  On the third day, I went to the public ladies room (that did not have A/C) to blow dry my hair.  I learned that tip from a partner in our Chicago office who had to do the same thing.  It became comical to "meet up" with wet hair in the public restroom in the morning before we headed to court.  Good times.

This was the "closet" in my first room:

Literally, that was at the foot of my bed.  Awesome.

2.  I'm tired.  In addition to not resting well because of the uncomfortable hotel, last week alone I billed over half what I normally bill in one month.      

3.  The weather there was crazy.  This picture was taken about 30 minutes after a hail storm rolled through.  Look at that sky.  Crazy, huh?  I am pretty sure Reed Timmer should have been there.  If you look closely, you can see white patches on the ground -- that's the left over hail.

Our rental cars looked like someone took a hammer to them.  Our client's back windshield shattered completely into the car.  Oh, and the lights went out in the courtroom during the trial.  That was a first for me. 

4. I lost 5 pounds last week! I was so busy, some days I didn't have time for dinner (or breakfast).  But our local counsel's office did have haagen-dazs single serve cups a couple days for dessert after lunch.  They were one of the highlights of the trip. I'd never seen them before, but I am now slightly obsessed.

5.  It's good to be home.  I am still catching up on my sleep and spending time with Justin.  I hope to be around more now that this massive trial is over!  Thanks for bearing with me! 

Blogging break.

I'm afraid my blogging and following along with what's happening on your blogs will have to continue to be on the back burner. I am out of state for a week-long (maybe longer) trial. Dang work! At least it's someplace with cooler temps and lower humidity!

I will be back as soon as I can. I have an ever-growing list of posts I can't wait to share with you guys. Hope you all are doing well! Catch you later, friends!

Serenity Now + Guest Post.

I just have time to say hello and share this beautiful image. 

(photo: decorpad)

Things have been absolutely nuts at work and it's not slowing down any this week! I miss checking in on what's been going on with you guys, but will be back as quick as I can. In the meantime, I just keep reminding myself "serenity now."
________

And tomorrow (Wednesday), I'm over at Michaela's fabulous blog participating in her fun "She Love Me, She Loves Me Not" series.  If you don't already read Michaela's blog, you're missing out.  She is a super talented blogger -- her design boards and her outfits are always amazing and inspiring!          

Happy Fourth.

Happy Fourth of July!

(photo: pinterest)

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! 

Home Tour: Entryway.

First, thanks so much for all your great recommendations in response to my post about our big travel plans.  I could literally spend all of my waking hours researching hotels and things to do on the internet, but the folks at work probably wouldn't appreciate that.

On to the next part of the home tour . . .  Last week I showed you the updates to the landscaping.  So next up is the entryway.  Here's the view when you first walk in:  

(This picture reminds me that I need to hide the lamp cord, and that Zoey is a ham and loves helping me take pictures of the house!)

Here's a close up of what's going on on the entryway table. 

I always like knowing where people get things so . . . the little teal dish is this one from West Elm.  The lamp is from Z Gallerie.  The framed "art" is a napkin from World Market.  I just loved the colors and they coordinated well with the rug.  I got the brass shell on sale from a near by thrift store.  And how cute is that little brass figurine of a dog that looks very similar to Riley and Zoey?  I smile every time I see it.  (Thanks, Mom!)  The tray is from tillymaison -- it also makes me happy.  Gold, lucite, and chevron -- I mean, what's not to love?  And, it's painted hot pink on the underside.  Yep.  Pure awesomeness.  Oh, and the glass jar is filled with antique keys.

You may have noticed the chair canvas.  You can get it here at Pottery Barn (and bonus: it's now on sale).  It's the perfect size for that space over there in front of the stairs, and I love the various chairs on it.  If it looks familiar, Kirsten over at Sixth Street Design School recently blogged about it too.

And as you turn to head up the stairs:

(Yep, should probably find something to display on that table, which is this one from West Elm in case you were curious.)

So that's the entryway.  Next up on the home tour, the office!

And on a totally unrelated note, I started reading Bossy Pants by Tina Fey late last week and just finished it.  It is definitely laugh out loud funny.  I am sure Justin got sick of me reading various portions of it to him over the last several days.  If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. 

Exciting (Travel) News!

{I always feel like I have to clarify when I tell people that I have exciting news.  I guess being almost 30 and being married for 7 years causes people to jump to the conclusion that I'm pregnant.  Well, I'm not.  But I do have exciting travel-related news.}

We have planned a 2-week trip for later this year.  Can you guess where we are going based on these songs?

If you guessed France, Italy, and Greece, then you would be correct!  We could not be more excited.  Neither one of us have ever been to Europe before, so we are thrilled to see a part of the world we have wanted to see for a while now.  And one of the best parts of the trip is that for the second week, we are meeting up with my best friend, Lauren, and her husband (who live in California).  What could be better than hanging with your hubby on the beach in Greece? . . . Hanging with your husband AND you best friend and her awesome husband on the beach in Greece! 

We are still finalizing the details of the trip once we get there, but we know we are going to Paris, Rome, Cinque Terre, and two islands in Greece. If you've been and have any tips or recommendations on things we have to do while we're there, please let me know!!

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Kitchen Perfection.

I spied this kitchen today.  Um, yes please. 

The kitchen isn't overly large, but it's beauty more than makes up for it.

And my favorite shot . . .

(photos: decorpad)

What's not to love about the space?  I can't decide what I like more -- the chandelier, the pendant lighting, the tufted chairs, the nail head trim on the bar chairs, the bar chairs, the white carrara marble subway tiles, the glass hardware, or the simple (but chic) look of the gray and white.  It's all lovely. 

Landscaping.

I realized we've made a few improvements around the house that I haven't shared with you yet! We recently did some landscaping in our front yard, side yard, and back yard. Keep in mind that we live in a townhome, so I use the term "yard" loosely!

After having a couple of great landscapers come over and give us estimates, we ultimately decided we could do the planning ourselves and hire someone to do the labor on the cheap. I am glad we went that route.  One of the quotes was over $10,000 and, while the design would have been amazing, we just didn't feel like it was worth it.  This isn't our forever home, so we didn't want to make a lot of structural changes to the yard (and it's so darn hot here, we don't spend a huge amount of time outside anyway). 

Anywho, we saved a bunch of money going the route we did, but I will say I that planning it out was one of the more stressful projects we've decided to undertake. I don't really know why, other than I guess it could have something to do with neither of us having any experience whatsoever with landscape design or knowing anything at all about plants. Thankfully my mom and Buchanan's were extremely helpful. 

With that intro, here's the backyard now . . .  

My favorite part has got to be the meyer lemon tree!  After a massive hunt around the city, we finally found one!  I can't wait for those babies to ripen!  You may have also spied the pink hydrangeas -- they are looking a little droopy above, but they are looking better now.  One of my least favorite parts of our backyard that you probably noticed is the awful siding on the house behind us.  Hopefully, the lemon tree will grow nice and big and help hide the ugliness.   

After we were well into the project, I realized that I never took proper before pictures. I found this picture below that gives you an idea of the sad state of our backyard before the facelift.  It's embarrassing, but look how cute Zoey is sitting in our chairs enjoying being outside (despite the ugly surroundings)! 

And a close up of the after.  Much better, if I do say so myself! 

While we were sprucing things up back there, I picked up some new cushions from HomeGoods to freshen up some old chairs.  As you could see above, Zoey likes them!  

Now for the side "yard," we have a walkway along the side of our house to get to our front door. It is actually one of my least favorite parts of the house because of the gas meter. Really, could it be any more in the way and obnoxious?

But hopefully now our guests will be distracted by the pretty flowers and not notice the gas meter (ok, wishful thinking, I know!). 

Before the new set up, we had jasmine on trellises that lined the fence.  While it smelled beautiful and looked lush, it was too bulky for the already narrow walkway.  Taking them out really made the space feel a lot bigger.  Now we have pencil plants, pentas, and watermelon coleus (my fave) lining the walkway.

We also added a container up by the front door to add some color.  This particular planter came from Crate and Barrel.   

As I was uploading the pictures, I realized I never took pictures of the front yard!  Fail!  But the good news is, it's the area that looks the least different.  We tore out the sad looking azalea bushes and added in pink salvia and lime coleus. Nothing too crazy, just enough to make it look polished and like people who care about their home and yard live here!

If all goes as planned (which is a big "if" since we are going to trial in 2 weeks out of state in a huge class action lawsuit), I hope to continue the home tour next Tuesday and show you the updates to our entryway!

5 things . . .

5 things I'm currently digging . . .

1.  That Sarah 101 will air on HGTV in the US starting July 9th!

(photo: here)

2.  These J. Crew flats. 

3.  This song by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.

4.  This shirt from Nordstrom.  (If you order it, get one size smaller than what you usually wear.)

5. These Stabilo 88 pens.  They are life-changing.  

Weekend Recap.

This weekend has gone by so incredibly fast.  I can't believe it's already over!  We had our 11 year high school reunion this weekend.  No, 11 is not a typo -- we didn't have a 10 year reunion, so we had an 11 year instead.  Yep, I guess that's how we roll.  Anyway, since a bunch of friends were in town, we had a pre-reunion reunion party at our house on Friday night, which was a blast.  Then we went to the reunion on Saturday night, which was not as much of a blast but still fun.  I'll be back with pictures from the weekend (and some awesome pictures back from high school as well).      

And today is our 7 year wedding anniversary.  Given all of the festivities this weekend, we plan to officially celebrate next weekend.  We did have a tasty brunch this morning and have enjoyed taking it easy today.  I can't believe it has already been 7 years.  But even more surprising is how much more I love Justin each day.  When we got married, I would have never thought that would even be possible.  I truly have the best husband in the entire world, and there is not a doubt in my mind that we were meant for each other.   

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Happy Monday! 

House & Home Eye Candy.

I was browsing around Canadian House and Home's website and came across some pretty amazing rooms.  I have to say, I'm a little jealous of our neighbors to the north -- they get Canadian House and Home, Samantha Pynn, Sarah Richardson, Tommy Smythe, and Candice Olson.  Lucky!  (said in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice).    

This last picture is the living room of Tommy Smythe (Sarah Richardson's sidekick).  Uh-maz-ing.     

(all photos: canadian house and home)

And last but not least, my friend Courtney over at a Thoughtful Place has a fabulous series going on right now -- 5 days of 5 minute projects.  How genius is that idea?  Anyway, I was thrilled when she asked me to contribute.  Stop by and check out all of the wonderful ideas she's featured this week.  

I sure am glad it's almost Friday!