Hello!

Just popping in to say hello! I'll be taking this week off from blogging. J and I are technically homeless at the moment, ha! Our condo in Boston has sold and we'll be signing the papers on the new home soon.

So much to share soon but moving out of our third floor walkup was a beast. I'm covered in bruises and just exhausted. So while we bounce around between a few family members' homes and get things taken care of with purchasing our new home, the blog is going to have to be put on hold. I can't wait to share everything with you!

Wish us luck finishing this move!

Condo Floorplan

One of the things I find so helpful from other bloggers (specifically, home design blogs) is when they put together a floorplan. I just like understanding the flow of rooms and it's much easier to see that in a floorplan over photos of each room. Here's an example (much better than mine below).

While I've shared with you a tour of our condo already, I thought it would be fun to share the layout. For such a little space, I really appreciated the layout of our condo. J could stay up to watch sports and I could head to bed and read without being too disturbed. 

I used floorplanner.com for this because it's free and fairly easy to use. I had actually created this plan ages ago, but that was back before I started blogging so I guess it didn't really exist. :)  I attempted to update it to add room names which you can see worked on some rooms but not others. I don't know what my issue was. Obviously the room to the far left is the bedroom, middle room is the kitchen and dining area. 

This plan is not perfect but it's a fairly accurate depiction. Was it helpful? I hope so! 

I am soooo excited to get a floorplan together for our next place. Right now my mind is drowning in choices that need to be made, but hopefully once we get moved in I'll be able to get a floorplan together quickly. I think it will helpful in making certain design decisions. 

We have some major choices to make this week that I cannot wait to share soon. This whole move is starting to get very real. Exciting!

Have a great Monday!

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Fun Fact Friday 5.17.13

Oh, hi! Remember me? 

This week off from blogging was necessary. We're down to less than a week left living in the city! If I wasn't spending the night out with friends, I was home packing, or working late. So I've taken a much needed step back from social media this week. And I hate to admit it, I kinda liked it. Sometimes, it's just needed.

1. We rented ourselves a storage unit close to our future home and have been diligently moving boxes and furniture out. It's been a bit of a nightmare for me....hit my head on the bricks leading out of our basement first - nice tender spot, fell on the deck stairs while bringing the chaise lounge out - fairly large bruise on my rear, bruised knee, bruised hip (no idea why), sore biceps - they are going to be bulging by the end of this!

2. Tied Tucker up at said storage unit while we moved a few things on Mother's Day. Two junkyard pitbulls get through the fence and attack him. No lie, no exaggeration. Scariest moment of.my.life. hands down. Picture my mother-in-law and I screaming at the top of our lungs while an aggressive dog is lunging at Tucker, specifically his neck. Thankfully J was eventually able to grab Tuck and literally lift him into the air. He's completely fine and probably forgot about it within a few minutes but I am totally scarred. And it makes me so sad and frustrated that these dogs are the reason pitbulls get such a bad name.

I don't know what I'd do with out my BFF

Yep, I taught him "kisses." That was my contribution to his training. :)

3. Bank account is starting to feel the pain. We picked up chaise lounge chairs for the pool area and a patio dining set last weekend. And picked out a fridge this week! Now onto flooring, bathroom tiles, washer/dryer, paint, etc. Hey, at least we've got our priorities straight! :) POOL PARTAY!

4. Can somebody please just send me the Property Brothers? Pretty please...

5. Comcast or Verizon Fios? First time I have ever had an option OTHER than Comcast! Part of me wants to go for Fios just because I finally can. Anyone experienced it? Would you recommend it?

6. Wednesday night I came home from work and found a little package addressed to me. Weird, I hadn't ordered anything...and then I realized it was from Larabar! Completely shocked! And super excited. They've sent me 4 of their new alternative protein bars to test out. They still have minimal ingredients which I've always loved about them, but these include pea protein unlike the typical Larabars. I'm really excited to try these, especially because the added protein makes these Altbars more substantial. They should definitely hold me over much longer than an original Larabar.

7. Seriously pollen? You suck. (If you know me well, you know how awkward I feel about writing that last little sentence on my blog. I'm working on my toughness and saying exactly how I feel though. :) ) I've never had seasonal allergies before. And in all honesty I really can't complain compared to how some of you must feel but oh my god, my eyes! I broke down and bought eye drops.

And that's about all I have this week. Yikes, my mind is mush right now. I hope you've all had fantastic weeks.

Any weekend plans? 

More packing over here. But also getting to celebrate a close friend's engagement! And cheering on my mom and aunt as they complete the Avon walk. Go mom and Meg!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Linking up with H54F and That Friday Blog Hop

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Fun Fact Friday 5.10.13

I honestly feel like I blink and it's Friday again. Not a bad thing I suppose. But life could slow down a little bit. I wouldn't mind that.

So here we go, what's going on over here -

1. We have 2 weekends left living in the city. 2! That's kind of making me sad.

2. Wednesday night I met my mom for dinner and a night at the ballet. It was sooo nice! We met at Sip which my aunt had recommended and it was awesome! It's a wine bar where you can order glasses by 6 oz, half glass, or full glass in order to try a few varieties out. And their small plates and sushi were delicious. We both did two half glasses and let the waiter choose for us which was a very, very good decision. I can't wait to go back!

3. Sort of still 2, but we went to Next Generation by the Boston Ballet and I was so impressed. Basically, it's the next generation of ballet dancers - if I had to guess they ranged in age from seven/eight to eighteen and were SO talented.

4. Confession, I justify purchases all the time. All the time. Thought it might be funny to show you a perfect example from last Friday. I headed to Target because I wanted to pick up a simple black dress for Caitlin's bachelorette party. I had seen a few recent pictures of maxi dresses and skirts that I would have never guessed were from Target so I figured I'd browse those as well, just in case I saw something I liked. Well, of course I did. And I loved the way the striped maxi looked on me, even pictured myself hosting a party this summer at our new house and just "knew" I needed this dress for that specific occasion (and let's face it, 9 times out of 10 this is not the outfit I'll end up wearing). I then walked through the shoe department where I was somehow able to hold myself back. Oh while in shoes, I remembered I didn't pack any fun necklaces to wear to Cait's bach party! So I started my walk back towards jewelry. Walked by the sportswear and pajama section where I spot the cutest pair of pajamas. Need them! Seriously, they scream homeowner (what?!?) and I love them and I really need them to wake up in our new home in and brew coffee and sit on the front porch with. Totally legit reasoning right? (I am crazy) Lastly, I forgot my favorite lipstick at home and just couldn't go the weekend without fun lipstick (!) so on to the makeup section I went to pick up a new Maybelline Whisper.

 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

5. I've been thinking about adding blush into my daily routine and guess what showed up on my doorstep yesterday, blush in my newest Birchbox! They read my mind. Nothing better than trying it fo "free."

6. I am on a little bit of a bracelet binge lately....(don't tell J). Ebay, you are just too tempting. And I've had a credit at Stella & Dot forever now (like 5 months). Recent purchases...

 1 / 2&3

Any fun new purchases you've made? Do you justify purchases too? (Please tell me you do and that I'm not that crazy)

Have a great weekend! We'll be packing over here!

Linking up with H54F and That Friday Blog Hop

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!

Diamonds in Newport

What better way to spend a weekend than with 19 girlfriends! We had such a good weekend celebrating Caitlin's bachelorette party!

Friday

I ended up being the last one to get to Newport thanks to traffic and my phone/GPS dying. Thank goodness I'd done the drive a handful of times last summer for these ladies! Lifesavers. 

Started off the weekend right with one of these gems. Amazing.

While we were all sitting together at a bar, cheering Caitlin on for completing silly bride-to-be tasks, a woman approached with a napkin full of marriage advice. It was so sweet! To top it off, she came back over to say that her husband had passed away and Cait's excitement for marriage inspired her to share her advice. 19 girls in tears immediately. 

Notice the one random guy? Bottom left. That poor soul haha.

Caitlin and Luke will be getting married by one of Cait's family friends who is getting her one-day license. She is Caitlin's mom's best friends and their groups girls call themselves the Taking it Together Sisters (or, take the first letter of each word). Anyways, at the bridal shower she mentioned this to one of Caitlin's bridesmaids who then said, well that means that we are the tits in training. Maryanne loved that. So what did she do, she brought us each one of these rings! How awesome is that?! We wore them all weekend and I am planning to wear it to the wedding. As much as I love my husband, my life would not be complete without great girlfriends. 

Saturday

Wow, did we luck out with the weather! I was so afraid it would be chilly down on the water but it was seriously gorgeous. Our day started off with coffee and relaxing in the sun before heading to a wine tasting.

The bridesmaids did such a great job organizing a weekend for 19 girls. Other people at the winery were blown away by how many girls came to celebrate with Caitlin. I think we were the biggest party I saw all weekend, totally loved that.

Cheers to Caitlin!

Sisters! Kerri was so sweet and surprised Caitlin with a new wine cork with her soon-to-be monogram

I have to say it, we are one good looking group of ladies!

The Newport Vineyards had many sweet whites and light reds which aren't really my favorite. But their Landot Noir was delicious!

We were that loud group on the wine tour...oops. But you just can't miss photo ops like this!

Saturday Night

One last hurrah! Guests were asked to bring black to wear out Saturday night with Caitlin wearing white. I'll share details on what I wore next week. Big celebrations call for one thing, dirty martinis. Quite fitting if you ask me.

There happened to be a festival for police officers across the country this weekend. Lots of marching bands and bagpipes! They LOVED performing for Cait!

And the restaurant had the craziest fireworks candles ever!

 There were a few speeches made through the meal

 And then more marching band!

We ended the night at The Dockside where Cait was able to add something and simultaneously cross it off her bucket list: mechanical bull riding. Ha. Seriously though, Cait rocked it.

And lastly, what do you do when you run into a close to 7 ft man (I may be exaggerating here...)? Have him carry you! This was one of the tasks Cait had to do throughout the weekend. She was so good about it! 

Thank you to everyone involved with planning such a fun weekend away! Cheers to Caitlin!

3 weeks until the wedding!!

What's in Your Travel Bag?

Over the past few years, I've figured out exactly what I need to travel comfortably. Whenever I travel and get to check a bag, I consider the flight my time to unwind, catch up on indulgent magazines, maybe sleep, maybe read. I like to be prepared with a multitude of options - magazines, kindle, and iphone/ipod are my staples. All which fit nicely into this birthday gift. Nowadays, I love traveling JetBlue just to watch HGTV or Bravo and catch up on some shows. So headphones are a must too.

 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

When possible, I am a big fan of early morning flights out and late flights home in order to make the most of our time. Early morning flights mean there's no way I'm putting any makeup on yet and I usually grab a coffee once through security at the airport. So even if the rest of my toiletries might be in the cargo space of the plane, my toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss are for sure in my carry-on bag. And so isn't this Clinique mascara. A few swipes when I get off the flight and my eyes no longer look half asleep. Brush my teeth to get rid of the coffee breath, throw on some tinted lip gloss, and I'm good to go. Oh, and I totally forgot this in the pic above but deodorant is a must too!

Lastly, water is an absolute must. I will buy the biggest bottle sold in the airport before boarding a flight. Planes are just so dry. Between the flight, coffee in the morning, usually coffee when I land, and if it's a vacation....drinks to follow soon, I do my best to keep hydrated when I can. 

Our next trip is out to Chicago for a wedding and I know these items will make their way into my carry-on bag. They always do.

What's in your travel bag? 

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Home: Outdoor Space

Good morning! How was your weekend? Mine, well mine was absolutely fabulous. The cat's out of the bag now, Caitlin's surprise location bachelorette party was in Newport, RI and it could not have gone any better. Details to come on Wednesday! Think I'll add Weddings to my Wednesday fashion rotation.

So let's get to today's post. More home planning!

As I mentioned last Monday, one of our priorities in our new home will be to reface the deck. We are very thankful that the frame of our future deck is in great shape, but the deck itself has started splintering and rotting. We'll be refacing it as soon as we can once moved in.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet on the blog, but our next home has an in-ground pool off of the deck. I am SO excited for this! Don't worry, I've already hired a pool boy. Having worked for a pool company for a few years during high school, J's resume checked out. He's totally qualified for the job. :)

With that said, having an outdoor space to entertain is extremely important to us! As in, we'll be spending our money on outdoor furniture before addressing a guest room most likely. I am really hoping we'll be spending many weekends hosting friends and family to pool parties and cookouts because A) we'll be broke from the move and won't be heading to the bars and B) I want everyone to feel welcome at our pool any and every time they'd like to come by! All seriousness there.

So, here are some ideas for our deck, where we hope to be dining and lounging for the next 4+ months.

Outdoor Space

1. Dining Space - we'd love to buy a 7 piece set. Even though a table that seats 6 wouldn't fit our extended families, I think it would be a great size for us.

via Pinterest / original source Home Depot

2. Outdoor Couch - wouldn't this be perfect? We are searching high and low for an affordable outdoor lounge set. Ideally, I would love a couch/loveseat and two chairs but this post really makes me want a huge sectional... 

via Home Depot

via Pinterest / original source: Denise McGaha

3. Greenery - I honestly have no idea if I'm a gardener or not. I can't say that I've had all that much experience outside of helping my mom weed once and a while growing up. I am horrible at keeping house plants alive, but I'm hoping I have better luck outdoors. I am dreaming of the day where we have fresh herbs and tomatoes growing on our back deck, and possibly a small vegetable garden at some point down the road. How gorgeous is this terrace space?

via Fig and Plum

4. Shade from the sun - this one is a someday idea....but we would love to enclose part of the deck into a screened porch. We will be living in a fairly wooded area...meaning lots of mosquitos. Help me! But until that day, how about a DIY pergola to shield some of the deck space from the sun?

via Pinterest / original source Houzz

via Pinterest / original source The Handmade Home

5. Lights - I love those string globe lights. Hopefully we'll be able to incorporate a few strands into our outdoor space.

via Pinterest / original source Home Depot

via Pinterest / original source unknown

What about you? What would you include in your ideal outdoor space? 

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Fun Fact Friday

1. It's Caitlin's bachelorette party weekend! One last fling before the ring! Buy her a shot, she's tying the knot! Cait's last single weekend! There are so many funny sayings out there now. Innocent details to come next week.

2. So, I pulled what I'm calling a redneck mani. Maybe that's not the right term.....a quick nail tune up perhaps. I planned on re-painting my nails last night since A) the polish had started to chip and B) my nails were getting way too long for my liking. Well, I trimmed them while still polished and what'dya know, they look freshly painted again! So I'll be leaving them alone thank you very much. My newest nail color? Essie's Play Date. Love me some purple.

3. Last weekend we stayed overnight in the burbs. Tucker was awesome and hung out with all of us, laid out in the yard sunning himself, fetching a frisbee, eating sticks, and just loving all the freedom. Once we got back to the city, the dog seriously didn't move for hours. So tired. I'll be dropping him off at my parents home tomorrow for a second weekend in the burbs. This time, to play with his bff Bruno all weekend long. I'm not so sure he'll survive.....I guess this is good practice for the suburban life he'll have by the end of the month.

Sunday is this handsome fella's 3rd birthday. Where did the time go?!

4. This post is so so spot on. And I'm glad someone finally addressed it. It can be so overwhelming!

5. Speaking of Pinterest, I've been browsing it from time to time for inspiration for our new home. It's interesting though, there are so many bloggers out there moving and/or renovating that I tend to enjoy following blogs more and pinning what I want to Pinterest, rather than scanning through the already pinned ideas. Looking for some inspiration out in blogworld? Well, let's see: 

• YHL just bought a house (what the what?!), 
• House*Tweaking gutted one, 
• Design Dump is building a brand-new (and gorgeous!) home that I am learning so much from,
• Pure Style Home is renovating a home (so my style!), 
• Chris Loves Julia is starting a master bath reno, 
• Apartment Therapy and Houzz always have great ideas,
• And did you know that Home Depot has a blog?

I need to work less and read more blogs. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Wrapping today up at 5 facts for Friday. How is it possibly May already?!

Have a great weekend!

If you like this post please let me know by leaving a comment or liking my Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Let's stay in touch!