A couple of weeks ago, I shared the pictures from when we renovated our basement bathroom last year. So, to continue my Home Updates series, I thought I’d share our living room / formal dining room area.
To be clear, I made up the series because I like to look at other people’s homes and would like to have all our before/after pics in one place 😃…and I thought others may enjoy HGTV like updates as much as I do!
As I mentioned in my first Home Update post, I didn’t even want to look at our current home, but Travis dragged me there knowing I’d love the location, the schools, the yard….and the possibilities of what we could do with the house…to turn it into our home.
We moved in on a Friday, and Monday when I returned home from school, the room entrances had been widened. Only a couple weeks later, we had someone tackle the floors. They removed the carpet in the living/dining area to focus on the unfinished hardwood floors. (We had pulled back a piece of carpet one of the times we viewed the house, so we knew unfinished hardwood floors existed.) I will save the kitchen area for another post, but there was carpet in the entire kitchen/living space in that part of the house. There was only sub floor in the kitchen, so they laid unfinished hardwood floors in there, we chose a stain, slept in the basement for a week, and were pleased with such a big task being checked off our list after only living there a few weeks!
It’s funny to me how my style has changed. Our first home was decorated based on what we had. Our second house was a two story traditional, and I felt like I had to decorate in a more traditional sense with darker wood furniture and a darker color palette. With this house, I focused on lighter colors like cream and light gray and kind of went from there. I’d say my style now is “If Joanna Gaines stopped by, she’d be proud of me but I don’t want to live in the middle of Texas!” 😂
Nothing makes me realize how far we’ve come with our house (because I feel like it’s a never ending project) like before and after pics side by side. 🙂 I’m glad I saved the online listing pics!
Before:
As you enter the front door, this is the (formal) living room on the right. We turned it into our main living room.
During:
We couldn’t commit to knocking down the entire wall to the kitchen. It was such a big decision and it would have been more expensive, so we went with this cut out (knowing we could always take the full wall down later). We had shelves built under the cut out and that’s where the tv now sits. We like feeling connected to what’s going on in the kitchen while being in the living room.
The cut out and then we added shelves for the TV. These were the floors that were under the carpet!
The floors that were under the carpet! (Before we chose a stain)
The wood piled to the left is what we laid in the kitchen area.
After:
Note: my house looks bright, airy and most importantly, clean! But all I can see in the pic is that the rug is bunched up. 😬 Fun fact: Homer likes to run laps around the coffee table and mess up my rug!
Before:
“Formal” living room leading to dining roomView from dining room into the living room and front entry hallway
After:
After we did the major renovations with the walls and floors, we (Travis) painted the living room, dining room, hallway, kitchen, and sun room. We chose a light gray color for the living room, sun room, and above the chair rail of the dining room. Then, we did a darker gray below the chair rail in the dining room. We Travis painted the kitchen “Pavilion Beige” by Sherwin Williams which is a nice neutral color. We had used it in our previous home, so we went with what we knew!
Besides the built ins, we added plantation shutters (dream come true for me!) in the living and dining room.
Before:
This is the formal dining room off of the living room, and it also leads into the kitchen.
After:
So, when we first moved in, we did use this space as a formal dining room. We had a hand me down dining table from my parents that we used in our previous home.
We ate in the kitchen 99% of the time because we had room for a table in there as well. After a couple of years, we had a farm house table built for the kitchen and rearranged the layout in there. Once the farm house table, that seats 8, was built, we turned the formal dining room into an office area that we desperately needed. This is a perfect spot for Travis to do work, for me to work on the blog, and for us to keep an eye on the kids when they are using the computer.
Thanks for following along on another Transformation Tuesday 🙂 I hope you are having a great week!
Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Ours was pretty low key in comparison to recent weekends and what our spring weekends will be like! So, it was nice to have a little downtime.
As I mentioned in my What’s Up Wednesday post, something I’m looking forward to in March is making Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread. Growing up, we always had this meal for St. Patrick’s Day, so I started making it for family as well. I guess we could make it any time of the year, but I only make it on or around March 17th 🙂
Rather than share photos and the recipe after I make it this year, I thought I’d go ahead and share now in case you’d like to make the recipe too!
Corned Beef & Cabbage with potatoes and carrots
I always end up buying my corned beef at least a week in advance because I’m always afraid the grocery store will run out. haha Of course, they never do, but I like to be prepared.
Ingredients:
1 bottle of beer
1 lb (or more) of red potatoes, cut in halves or fourths
1 white onion, cut into fourths
Baby carrots
1 head of cabbage, cut into fourths
1 – 5 lb flat cut corned beef brisket
Directions:
Put corned beef in slow cooker and pour one beer and as much water as needed to cover the corned beef brisket
Put potatoes, onion wedges, baby carrots in the slow cooker as well.
Cook on low for 10 hours (Mine is usually cooked in 8-9 hours)
Take out cooked corned beef and wrap in aluminum foil
Put cabbage in the slow cooker and cook in the liquid on high for 1 hour.
Enjoy!
**I usually cook for 8 when I’m making this and having family over—so I actually use two slow cookers to make two corned beefs. I’ve learned to do this as the corned beef seems to shrink + if there are leftovers, that’s a bonus!
Also, we like Mr. Mustard on the corned beef…and every year, I forget to buy it and my brother gives me grief #itsatradition (He now knows to bring it because I will inevitably forget!)
Irish Soda Bread
Y’all, this is one of my favorite recipes…and definitely worth the effort.
Ingredients:
2 c. unsifted flour
2 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tblsp butter, softened
1/2 c. raisins
1 c. buttermilk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Cut butter in with pastry blender or fork until crumbly.
Add raisins.
Add buttermilk; mix with fork only until moist.
Turn out onto floured board. Knead 1 minute until smooth. Shape into a ball. Flatten into 7 inch(ish!) circle (about 1/2 inch thick)
Press floured knife 1/2 through the bottom; do again at right angle into quarters.
Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown & hollow sound when tapped.
Cool on wire rack, brush top with melted butter & dust with flour if desired.
Serve with butter. Enjoy!
**I know some of these steps may sound complicated, but I promise they aren’t. All the steps probably take ten minutes from start to the oven. I’m not a huge baker…and this is probably the most “complicated” thing I bake each year 😉 #evenIcantmessitup
Last year, Hadley had to share a recipe that showed a piece of her heritage…so I actually have a pic to share with you.
We have some Irish in us, and St. Pat’s Day has always been one we celebrate. The corned beef recipe is my dad’s and the Irish Soda Bread is a recipe I got from my mom, so all family is represented at the table!
An Irish Blessing: ☘️ “May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.” ☘️
Well, we made it to Friday!! I’m linking up with Andrea,Narci, and Erika for a Friday Favorites.
Since it’s almost the last day of the month, I should be posting about the books I read in February, but as I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, I’ve kind of been in a rut this month in the reading department. So, instead of reading, I thought I’d share some favorite movies that I (as well as the kids) have been watching lately…and they are all pretty family friendly depending on your kid’s age.
We got Disney + in December, and it’s allowed me to watch some of my favorite movies from my childhood….some of which the kids have enjoyed watching with me as well. Hulu and our Amazon Prime membership also provide avenues for us to watching great movies as well.
A few of our faves…
Disney +
Y’all, hands down, my favorite movie from my childhood is the original Parent Trap with Hayley Mills. I used to watch it on VHS so much that the tape must have worn thin because the part in the movie when Verbena realizes the girls made the switch, would always skip to the next scene! I don’t even acknowledge the Lindsay Lohan version as an option, but I do love Natasha Richardson, so I have seen that version a time or two.
Other movies we’ve watched on Disney + include:
Sister Act- Hayden watched this with me and I fast forwarded through a scene or two and danced my way around Sister Deloris’ lounge singing profession 😉
Turner and Hooch – Only I watched this one–and I’m thinking Hayden would like it if I could skip over when Hooch’s owner is killed—yikes!
Honey I Shrunk the Kids – We all love this one!
While You Were Sleeping -I can watch this one on repeat! Such a sweet movie.
Amazon Prime
My brother had told me that Cool Runnings was on Disney +, but when I went to check it out, it said the movie would be available in July due to “existing agreements.” I had already told the kids about it and promised we’d watch it, so we paid $4 on Amazon to stream it—and that’s how we spent our New Year’s Eve! #wildnight Everyone enjoyed the film!
DVD
Another favorite that I love is Swiss Family Robinson. This summer, after we visited Disney World/The Magic Kingdom and toured the SFR tree house, the kids (especially Hayden) wanted to see the movie. I ended up buying in on DVD from Amazon, so we’d always have access to it. I loved that movie so much as a kid and would watch it on repeat as well. Besides the DVD, we now can watch it on Disney +, but we didn’t have that option in the summer. Travis had never seen it, and we all enjoyed it!
Swiss Family Robinson house at the Magic Kingdom
Over Christmas break, we watched The Mighty Duckswith the kids because Hayden had received it on DVD as a Christmas gift. Again, it will be on Disney +, but has the same “existing agreement” issue that Cool Runningshad. When we watched The Mighty Ducks, I had forgotten how great a movie it was…and who doesn’t love a comeback story?!
Hulu
An Affair to Remember
This movie was on Hulu last month while I was sick with the flu, so watching it was a great way to pass time in between naps! While An Affair to Remember wasn’t released during my childhood, I remember watching it as a kid. I loved Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant together. Her beauty and his good looks are timeless…plus the plot is so romantic.
Father of the Bride
I love this movie and watch it any time it’s on cable (or now Hulu, for us!) I remember, at 11 years old, thinking how cool it would be to have Kimberly Williams as an older sister. Of course, Steve Martin is a hoot…and the superfluous buns scene is hilarious! I also love the part where Annie calls her parents from the airport. So sweet. I love all the characters in the movie from the little brother to Martin Short as Franck. The movie is just so heartfelt. I watched it just last week on Hulu and Hadley loved it too.
Erika also shared family movies this week…Make sure to check out her post….She referenced so many good movies as well!
What are some of your favorite family movies? Or movies from your childhood?
Hello! It’s the last Wednesday of the month which means I’m linking up with Sheaffer and Shay for this month’s What’s Up Wednesday.
WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK:
We were spoiled by the sunshine this weekend, and now we are back to overcast and rainy skies…so I thought soup sounded good. Also, I always try to make something on Sunday that we can have leftovers on Monday. Mondays just always seem so difficult getting in the swing of the week, so not having to think about dinner on Monday evening is always a bonus.
Sunday/Monday: Taco Soup
Tuesday: Trader Joe’s Fried Rice with Honey Walnut Shrimp and Mandarin Orange Chicken. I love Trader Joe’s. What I love most about Trader Joe’s is that I usually just wander the aisles to plan a meal or two. Whereas, when I go to Kroger (or place my online Kroger order), I always feel like I need a list! This was a quick and easy meal last night that we enjoyed overall…but I didn’t love the sauce that came with the shrimp. I wish I had left it off. The chicken (& sauce) was delish!
Wednesday: Baked chicken thighs, bagged salad, and Bob Evans mashed potatoes.
Thursday: We now have a basketball game tomorrow night #tourneytime , so we’ll probably have leftover baked chicken with Trader Joe’s Roasted Potatoes. We’ve never tried these before, so hopefully everyone likes them. Every time I go to TJ’s, I pick up one or two new things to try!
Friday/Saturday night: I’m sure we’ll eat out.
Did you see my Monday Meals post with two quick (and easy!) pasta recipes? Both are delish!
WHAT I AM REMINISCING ABOUT:
I can’t believe we’ve had Homer for almost 9 months. He was about 12 weeks old when we adopted him. So….Homer is almost one! Whew! Homer is a handful…and I tell him every day that he’s lucky he is cute! This week alone, I’ve found him licking my facial cleansing brush, he snatched a glazed donut out of the box on the counter, and he ran around the house with the kitchen towel in his mouth. Also, my hairbrush is missing. He swears he’s innocent and Hadley denies borrowing it…so I’m still on the lookout for it! I swear he’s like having ten toddlers!
June 8, 2019. Little Biscuit!February 2020. Sweet (and ornery!) Biscuit
WHAT I AM LOVING:
At the end of the summer, I started buying the single wick candles at Bath and Body Works. I love that the three wick ones are more aromatic but sometimes they were almost too strong of a scent…and the three wick ones take up more space. So, for fall, I bought three single wick fall fragrances and did the same for the holidays. This way, I can place the candles around the house easier since the single wick ones take up less space and provide just enough of a refreshing scent. Of course, I always use a coupon (or hit up a sale) when buying the candles whether it’s the single or three wick ones. (I feel like I just used the work wick more than I should have. Sorry!) These three scents are my newest purchase for spring.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:
It’s basketball tournament time, so that sports season is wrapping up. Hayden is prepping for baseball season while Hadley continues to dance two days a week. Both kids went to birthday parties last weekend which kept us busy on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, Hadley attended the Mardi Gras party at our church while Hayden had basketball practice. Next month, Hadley has Academic Team competition, so she’s been prepping for that as well.
WHAT I’M DREADING:
Honestly, I wasn’t dreading it but I was overwhelmed getting Hadley’s Girl Scout cookie orders out. She surpassed her goal of selling 350 cookies by selling 441 boxes of cookies! I just never want to mess up an order, and it’s a lot of money to collect and sort! I’m glad the bulk of the ordering is past us!
WHAT I’M WORKING ON:
I’m working on getting back on track with my eating and exercising. I was off to a good start in 2020 and then I got the flu. After that, my eating was ok but I wasn’t really working out. So, I’m back on my Lean intermittent fasting program combined with carb cycling, tracking my macros, and working out. This program works for me…when I do it! So, getting a handle on my eating window and exercise before spring break is a good goal for me right now.
WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:
I’m excited about spring break! It will be here before we know it. We decided to go to NYC…but all we’ve done so far is purchase plane tickets. We are waiting to tell the kids once we firm up our plans/itinerary. What are some “musts” for us while there?? Give me all the ideas, please! I’ve always wanted to visit NYC in the fall, but we didn’t have our act together at that point to plan a trip. I’m excited to take the kids as I think they will enjoy it and appreciate it…and are able to walk/keep up with whatever we do.
WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:
Y’all, I’m in a slump. Or a February Funk…I started two books this month and haven’t finished either. I like them…I just have been so tired at night, I go straight to bed. Plus, our weekends have been a bit busy, so I don’t know…I’m not off to a solid start with reading in 2020. The two books I’m reading are The Broken Girls (on my Kindle) and American Royals (hardback). Again, I’m really liking them and hope to finish them this week…and start fresh in March. Do you have any good book recommendations?
I’m excited for Good Girls Season 3. The show just started back, and I hope to get caught up on it this weekend. There aren’t many shows Travis and I watch together, but that’s one of them!
Also, I found a show Up and Vanished on the Oxygen Channel on Hulu and have watched a few episodes.
And…we watched about half of Jurassic Park earlier this week…It’s one of those I remember watching as a kid and thought Hayden and Hadley would like it…but when I looked over to see Hadley crying as the dinosaur tried to eat the kids, I started to think I must have been over ten-years-old when I saw it. 😂 Hayden wants to finish it, but Hadley will probably pass. We may not have time to finish it until the weekend anyway…maybe Hadley’s trauma will subside by then!
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
I still listen to a few podcasts when I can. I regularly listen to include Willie Geist’s Sunday Sitdown and then usually add other podcasts of interest based on who is being interviewed. I’m excited because Landyn has a podcast in the works. I’m excited to listen to it when it become available.
WHAT I’M WEARING:
I bought these slippers at Target right after Christmas, and I love them. I had thought about buying the Ugg version as I’ve heard great reviews, but didn’t feel like spending that kind of money on slippers. These have been the perfect thing to put on my feet when I get home! Nice and cozy. (One of my slippers has even survived almost being #homered!…so I guess you could say that they are good quality!) 😉
Also, I recently had to wear this pink gown…twice. Since I turned 40, it was time for me to have my first ever mammogram. While it wasn’t the best thing I’ve every experienced, it certainly wasn’t as painful as I expected it to be. As I left my appointment, the mammographer mentioned that it’s very common to get called back for an ultrasound especially to establish a baseline since it was my first mammogram.
A week later, I did receive a call to come in that week for an ultrasound. Thankfully, I was somewhat prepared for the call, so I didn’t panic. (Although, I am a worrier by nature!) As soon as the sonographer called me back to the room, she immediately told me she thought everything was fine, but they just wanted to confirm all was good. Her reassurance combined with the dimly lit room and the warm blanket she gave me, put me at ease. I had a couple of cysts as well as a fibroadenoma, which I learned is very common in women and benign.
I was actually relieved to have the mammogram scheduled. I’ve known women who have had breast cancer even in their early thirties. That being said, it was almost scary for me to be in the 35-39 years of age…where doctors say, “You are too young to worry about _____” when I know people who have had their lives changed in an instant at a younger age.
I’m thankful for a healthy report, and I’ll also be very grateful for that yearly appointment and peace of mind.
mammogram day & ultrasound day
WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:
Hadley has a tournament game on Saturday (and both could still be playing if they win), but other than that we don’t have too much planned. It may actually be a lowkey weekend which we haven’t had in awhile.
I think Travis is going to take Hayden to the UK basketball game on Saturday. I hope to read, get caught up on house stuff, groceries, etc.
WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
March means that the Homster is turning 1! We’ve always gotten our dogs a vanilla ice cream cup from Dairy Queen, so he has that to look forward to. Since we don’t know his actual birthday, in the future, we’ll probably celebrate him (w/ the ice cream) on June 8. His gotcha day!
Also, March means St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve got a little bit of Irish in me, and grew up having corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread to celebrate March 17th. I make those recipes now for my family, and we always look forward to the tradition.
That’s it for this month’s What’s Up Wednesday. Make sure to check out Sheaffer and Shay’s posts too!
Happy Monday! The weekend seemed to fly by! The sun was shining all weekend, and it felt like a taste of spring!
Last Monday, I made both of these pasta meals for my family. I had picked up the gnocchi a few weeks ago and needed to use it. Since I was uncertain if the kids would like it, I decided to make them bow tie pasta with Alfredo sauce because I knew they loved it. A couple of months ago, I bought jarred Alfredo on a whim and made this quick pasta (the second recipe) and they scarfed it down. Believe it or not, but I think it’s the first time they’d had Alfredo sauce! They thought I was the best mom ever. haha
That being said, I’m no short order cook; the kids eat what I make them for dinner…like it or not. But, I knew these were quick dishes, and they would provide leftovers for Tuesday night, so went ahead and made both.
Gnocchi and Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 package of gnocchi
Trader Joe’s Three Cheese Pasta Sauce (or any marinara sauce)
1 lb Italian sausage
Shaved Parm (or grated)
Instructions:
Bring pot of water to boil, add a heavy pinch of salt, and follow instructions for cooking the gnocchi. (Only a few minutes in the boiling water)
Brown the sausage in a skillet. (I browned it all and used 3/4 of it for the gnocchi recipe and the other 1/4 for the Alfredo recipe)
Once the sausage is browned, drain any grease.
Add in sauce and let simmer for a few minutes.
Add cooked gnocchi into the sauce and stir to incorporate ingredients.
Serve in a bowl and top with Parm.
Enjoy!
Chicken, Bacon, Sausage in Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients:
Farfalle (bow tie) pasta (or any shaped pasta)
Jar of Alfredo Sauce
4-5 slices bacon (Short cut: microwave bacon)
Chicken (Short cut: Perdue Carved Chicken Breast strips)
Cooked Italian Sausage (if desired)
Grated Parm (or shaved Parm—I just know my kids love grated parm)
Instructions:
Bring pot of water to boil, add heavy pinch of salt, and cook according to directions.
Cook the bacon in the microwave according to directions and then chop into small pieces.
Cut the chicken strips into desired bite size and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, heat up Alfredo Sauce.
Add in chicken and warm it for a couple of minutes.
Add in cooked pasta and bacon. (and sausage if you’d like–that wasn’t a part of my original plan–but since I had the leftover sausage from meal 1, I decided to use that 1/4 lb because I knew the kids would like it)
Stir to incorporate ingredients.
Serve in a bowl and top with Parm.
Enjoy!
Also, last time I made this, I added frozen peas to it when I incorporated the pasta into the sauce–my kids love peas!
I could have added chopped parsley to both for a finishing touch, but I’m not a professional! haha
Also, side note: The Perdue Chicken Breasts (or similar brand) are something I use often. I add the chicken to my bagged salads for lunch or dinner, I cut the chicken strips into bite size pieces to use for chicken quesadillas, and obviously I also use the chicken in pasta dishes as well.
As a busy working mom with two busy kids, I do still like to make dinner as often as possible…but I also like to make something my family will enjoy as quickly as possible!
Happy Friday! This short week actually did feel like a short week! My crew is excited it’s Friday and with some pretty gorgeous weather on tap this weekend, we are ready for a couple of days off. As always, I’m linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites.
FAVORITE KID QUOTE:
This memory popped up on Facebook this week. Seven-year-old Hadley sent me this text from the Ipad three years ago wishing me Happy Birthday! She knows I love birthdays…and wine. Her sense of humor is always a favorite of mine!
FAVORITE PIC:
Travis and Hadley went to the Dad/Daughter Dance last weekend. It’s Hadley’s favorite night of the year! She had so much fun with her friends and with Travis. I shared the details of the dance in this week’s Wednesday post. Then, I received an email yesterday with the professional pic that was taken at the dance…and it’s certainly a favorite.
FAVORITE MOMENT:
While Hadley and Travis were at the dance, I took Hayden to baseball for this season’s evaluations. Usually Travis would have taken him, and after seeing how proud he was of his performance, I’m so glad I was there. He works so hard, always tries his best, is a great teammate, & loves playing baseball; I was very proud of him. On Facebook I shared, “This kid is…quiet, introverted, a home body, anxious…BUT he’s also…confident, optimistic, resilient, a dreamer, and an achiever. I’m proud to be his mom!”
I don’t know how many more years I have of him waving at me from the pitcher’s mound or giving me a thumbs up from 1st base, but I’m here for it. Also, he doesn’t like to draw attention to himself which is why I think it’s so awesome he loves to pitch. I’m proud of him for pushing himself outside of his comfort zone for the sake of doing something he loves. I hope he knows we are his biggest fans…
FAVORITE MOM MEME:
Home Alone is one of my favorite movies. This meme made me chuckle.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES:
Cookie Class:
The last time Hadley and I went to a cookie class hosted by Maddie’s Cookie Co., Hayden said he wanted to come the next time there was a class. I wasn’t sure how I’d juggle two kids decorating cookies, so it was perfecting timing that my mom would be in town when there was a class. So, the four of us went to Maddie’s class a couple of weeks ago and had a great time decorating the cookies. Hadley’s almost an old pro, and Hayden and my mom did a great job for having limited experience outlining and flooding cookies. Also, Hayden didn’t mind he was the only boy at the class…haha. #hewasthereforthecookies
Ready to decorate!Practice makes perfect.Finished products!
Tubing at Perfect North
Another favorite activity and tradition is tubing at Perfect North with friends. We’ve been going with two other families for about five years. One family couldn’t make it this year which was a bummer, but we had a great time. The weather was in the upper 40’s, so we shed some layers throughout the afternoon. Some years we go and it’s freezing, and other years it’s been pretty warm. It’s always fun and we get 5-6 runs in each year. We link up in a variety of ways–boys/girls, kids/adults, family/family, all eight of us. It’s definitely a fun tradition that has certainly gotten easier now that the adults aren’t having to lug the kids and their tubes around like in the early years!
Twins times two!Family photo!We even bumped into one of Hadley’s best friends and her family!
Walks with Homer
Having no school on Monday was definitely a favorite part of our week. We took Homer for a walk…we’ll do anything to wear him out! As always, Homer is a favorite part of our family.
BONUS FAVE: FLASHBACK FRIDAY:
This Facebook memory cracks me up. I clearly remember taking this pic of Hadley a few years ago. It’s certainly a favorite memory. I can’t believe I didn’t buy her that Y’all hat! #momfail
That’s it for this week’s Friday Favorites. I hope you have had a great week!
See you back here on Monday for a Monday Meals post! (Pasta recipe x 2!)
Hadley’s favorite night of the year is the annual Dad/Daughter Dance. This is the fourth year for her to go with Travis (and a group of their friends) to the dance.
We are 4 for 4 with finding a reasonably priced dress in a matter of minutes at Target. I remember the first year we went out looking for a dress, she suggested going to TJ Maxx first. #raisingherright 😂Anyway, thanks to the Cat and Jack brand at Target, we have been lucky to find something each year.
This year, at the last minute, I took her to get shoes (Hayden needed new tennis shoes, so we tackled that too)…Y’all, she fell in love with a pair of fuchsia flats IN THE WOMEN’S section of the store. She’s officially outgrown kids’ shoe sizes! Anyway, they were half price, they fit, and she loved them (and can wear them in the future), so we got them.
Also, she always has a vision for how she wants her hair. Fun fact: I’m THE WORST at hair and makeup. Thankfully, all she needed me for was a little blush, mascara and a few curls after she put her hair in a top knot. I can’t believe how grown up she looks every year…I know I’m going to blink and we’ll be shopping for a prom dress.
Dinner is provided (pasta, bread sticks, drinks) at the dance as well as dessert….and dancing with her dad and friends…What more could a girl ask for?
2017 Dad Daughter Dance
2018 Dad Daughter Dance
2019 Dad Daughter Dance
2020 Dad Daughter Dance
We usually meet at someone’s house for pics and then the moms and little brothers hang out while the dads and daughters go to the dance. This year, Hayden was the only brother, and he had baseball anyway…so that’s how we spent our time during the dance…at the indoor baseball facility. After the dance (and baseball), we all hung out for a bit. The dance is a great excuse to get together with friends.
We took a few pics at home before leaving to meet up with friends.Homer wondered why he wasn’t invited to the dance! (& I kept holding my breath hoping he wouldn’t snag her tights! haha)I always joke that I hope this isn’t how they are dressed for prom in 2027Hayden made sure to show Hadley his best dance moves!
Love these two so much.
Travis buys Hadley corsage every year. One of the things I love the most about Travis is what an amazing dad he is to both Hayden and Hadley.
The awesome dads and their beautiful daughters.
These little ladies are just the best crew!
Silly pic!
The dance had a photo booth, and I kept receiving a link to cute pics all night long!
I hope the girls have a few more years left of the Dad and Daughter Dance. I know these are precious memories for both the daughters and their dads.
I hope you are having a great week. Thanks for reading!!
Happy Tuesday! I’m including a bonus blog post this week because the Facebook memory popped up on my feed from February 2019 when we finished our basement bathroom. I LOVE seeing the inside of homes and how people renovate, decorate, etc. And…I love a good before and after reveal of a space. I heart HGTV!
A little history on our house…When we were looking for a home five years ago, we had our eye on our current neighborhood. I loved the proximity to places, the schools were great, and an older home meant a bigger yard with mature trees. That being said, our neighborhood is filled with homes that new owners most likely renovate.
Truth: I didn’t even want to look at our current home. Travis dragged me here. We even casually looked at it three times before finally deciding to place an offer. As soon as we looked at the house the first time, Travis knew this was the home for us. I still needed convincing. Right around the time I felt ok saying this could be our home, our realtor called saying someone else was making an offer. I was shocked at the timing because the house had been for sale for a few months. You know what gets me motivated to make a decision? Competition! I wanted to outbid these people. haha. Really though, we couldn’t beat the bones of the home, the location, yard, schools, etc. Thankfully, it all worked out. We later heard that we bid less than the other couple, but we didn’t ask them to fix/update anything more than they already had and the other bidders wanted them to do so.
So, I’m lucky it all worked out since I was moving at a slow pace to make a decision. I have always joked that I wouldn’t have moved into this house if HGTV and Pinterest didn’t exist!
The basement had a small bathroom with a sink and a toilet. Old tile and dim lights didn’t make it an appealing space. We have a guest bed area in the basement as we do have visitors somewhat frequently, so it did make sense to finish this space, so our guests wouldn’t have to come upstairs to shower and get ready.
A leaky toilet is what made us finally decide to do the renovation of the bathroom. We realized the toilet had leaked which messed up the tile and even the laminate floors we had put down in the basement about a year after we moved in.
Travis was so excited to do the demo that I didn’t get the true “before” pics, but I can promise you that the space wasn’t much to look at. We are blessed to have a handy neighbor who has helped up lay floors in the sunroom, change our kitchen back splash, add shelves to the unfinished part of our basement, update the master bath and then this bath as well. Travis likes to work and help when he can on these projects…so, like I said, he did the demo on the bathroom. Travis and I made made the design decisions and our neighbor did so much of the work with some help from Travis. Overall, I think the project took about six weeks as our neighbor just worked on the space when he had the time.
Travis even helped jack hammer the floor!I love the tile we picked out and I appreciate that our neighbor thought to ask us if we wanted little details like a tiled insert in the shower.I was so excited to use subway tile in this space.We had a hard time picking out floor tile. I was concerned the bigger tiles would be too big in such a small space, but we loved the design and color of this tile. It turned out great. Also, the space heater was another touch we wouldn’t have thought of on our own.
The finished product:
Another reason I wish I started the blog sooner…I could have posted this is real time and actually shared links, etc as well…but we did get most everything at Lowe’s or Home Depot.
This space is so nice and welcoming for our guests. Our master bath is so small, that I use it and Travis uses this basement bathroom now.
Our house, even after five years of living here, feels like a forever work in progress. I actually do think it’s a blessing we didn’t buy the house and just gut it…It’s been nice to live in our space and make decisions as we’ve wanted to. We even have plans for an addition (to expand the master bedroom and also have a bigger master bath and closet) but the time, money, and amount of decisions we’d have to make continue to overwhelm me. I’m not sure when we will make that a priority…That being said, my kids share the world’s smallest bathroom and they usually fight every morning…I’m starting to find the motivation to make some decisions. 😉
I hope you enjoyed a little peek into this update. I always love seeing people’s homes…especially updates and renovations. I may include a few more posts in the future to show the kitchen/living room space as well as the changes we made in the basement and the master bathroom.
Happy Monday! There is seriously nothing better than a 3 day weekend (and no school on a Monday!) I’m combining two posts into one and sharing some funny memes and a few details from our Valentine’s Day.
Memes
Fact. I hate to clean. (I don’t mind to tidy up). Fact. I love a good glass of wine! 😉
This literally made me laugh out loud. I love my weighted blanket more than I probably should. I seriously miss it if I’m away from home and don’t have it.
FYI I have this 15 lb blanket in taupe from Blanquil. (When I bought mine, it was close to $120…I used a code to get the discount)
I feel like I need at least three of me to get everyone where they need to be as well as get all the chores and errands accomplished…and I even have a very helpful husband!
I saw this meme on Facebook. Rang true with me! haha
Valentine’s Day
Ok, for me not being a huge fan of Valetine’s Day, it may appear that I go all out for this Hallmark holiday. Travis and I have always been no gifts, give each other cards and try to go out to dinner…and that’s been our tradition for a long time. I guess once I had the kids, I stepped up my Valentine’s Day game, but I just pick them up a few things here and there in the couple weeks leading up to February 14th. That being said, I still usually follow the something they need, something to read, something they want + chocolate!
Each kid received a book, and some winter weather gear (gloves and ear muffs (Hadley))—because Target had everything on clearance…, a game (Hayden received a Mad Libs game that we played over the weekend–lots of fun (and great grammar practice!) and Hadley received a puzzle that we will do as a family). Lastly, Hadley needed new volleyball shorts and Hayden requested a video game. I ordered a Valentine’s Day plate/napkin set on Amazon and served them powdered donut holes for breakfast (w/ some strawberries), and they were excited.
I did break my “no gift” rule for Travis and bought him a new wallet…since his old one has been #homered. Found out yesterday that wallet #2 has already been #homered as well.
When the kids were little, I started taking their pic and ordering 10 cards on Shutterfly to send family. It’s an easy and cost effective way to spread the love…as well as one stop shopping.
I always look forward to the bubble letters Travis writes on my cards. #eighteenyearsandcounting #bubblelettersaremanly
In all honesty, we usually don’t do much for dinner on Valentine’s Day because someone usually has a practice or somewhere to be. Since Valentine’s Day fell on a Friday this year, leading up to a three day weekend….AND we had no plans!, I decided to decorate a bit for dinner. The paper hearts and straws also came from Amazon, but the other decorations I already had around the house. (I plan to save the extra plates, napkins, hearts, etc to use next year if needed!)
Travis did decide to pick up steaks on his way home…and we already had Bob Evans mashed potatoes (Hadley’s fave!) in the fridge and cheesy broccoli in the freezer…So steaks were a “fancy” element to our dinner (and Trav’s fave) and the potatoes and broccoli were easy element to heat in the microwave.
In 2008, Travis and I went to Napa Valley with some friends. One of our favorite vineyards was a small vineyard someone recommended while we were out there. So, it was an unplanned pit stop to Anomaly. We love their wine. We brought a few bottles home and saved them for special occasions. In December of 2009, after Hadley arrived home from the NICU, we opened one of the bottles. Then, we took a bottle with us to Charleston, SC when we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary in June 2010. The last bottle we actually took with us to Lake Tahoe in the fall of 2015 when we celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. Y’all know I love my wine, so the fact we hung on to those for so many years (and even when we moved houses) is a big deal 😉 That being said, the wine isn’t cheap, but it’s so worth it…& perfect for special occasions.
We loved the Anomaly experience and scenery so much that Travis took one of the pics I took while we were there and had a family friend paint the picture as a gift for me; it now hangs in our living room.
Some friends recently gifted us another bottle as a thank you, and I was going to open it for my 40th birthday, but as I’ve mentioned, I came down with the flu. We decided to share that bottle Friday night–and I joked we could celebrate my 40th, the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
After dinner we played the new Mad Lib game…we had a great time and everyone was in bed by 9:30!
Besides basketball games, Travis and Hadley went to the Dad/Daughter Dance on Saturday night and then yesterday we went tubing at Perfect North with friends. (I will probably post about both of those fun activities later this week 😀)
I hope you had a great weekend. The sun finally came out and it looks like the temps are on the rise again! It almost makes me wish it was spring…but I’d love at least one more pretty snow (and snow day!) before everything starts to bloom.
Happy Friday! and… Happy Valentine’s Day. I can’t believe February is halfway over! As always, it’s been busy around here, but we’ve also had time to squeeze in some favorite activities, spend time with one of our favorite visitors, and even enjoyed some of our favorite meals this week.
Like all Friday Favorites, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea.
Thanks to an unexpected four day weekend last week (due to low attendance in our district for the flu + it snowed last friday), we were able to have some extra fun. My mom (GG) was in town, we had snowman pancakes, the kids played in the snow, chose Taco Bell for lunch, and then we went to a local pottery painting place and the kids each chose a plate to paint. They’ve been wanting to go the the Mad Potter, so I figured a snow day was a great day to let them choose something to paint. They did most of the painting themselves, and both were proud of their finished products. We can pick the painted pieces up today, so I know it will be a favorite activity for the week to see their creations in person.
Boo bleeds blue!Sis loves rainbows
Some of Hadley’s favorite people cheered her on during her basketball game on Saturday.
Hayden, GG, cousins Wyatt & Layla
I swear, we have some activity almost every weeknight. I do enjoy cooking, but it’s so difficult with at least one of the kids having something almost every night. I rely heavily on my slow cooker and Instant Pot, but I thought I’d change things up a bit…and leading up to Valentine’s Day let both kids choose their favorite meal for dinner.
Monday–Hadley chose salmon as her favorite and added Trader Joe’s Shells and White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese as a side dish. Mac and cheese has always been a favorite of mine, so we combined our favorites. Travis cooked dinner while I took Hadley to her evening activities. Our Kroger has the baking bags for fish–where they put whatever fish you’d like in the oven bag and I always have them add butter, dill, and lemon. You bake in the oven, serve, and throw away the foil bag. Easy dinner clean up is especially appreciated on an busy Monday night.
Tuesday–Hayden requested pizza. We love the DiGiono’s thin crust pizzas, and Hayden loves the four meat one, so I baked that and we had strawberries and bagged Ceasar salad. Again, a late night of activities, so it was nice to keep things simple.
Wednesday–I decided to try this recipe from Andrea at Momfessionals. She shared the Creamy Rice Casserole recipe a few weeks ago, and I’d been wanting to make it. It seemed hearty, easy and delicious…and it was….so good!! I loved it so much that I was so excited about having some for lunch on Thursday.
Thursday — The kids had an event at their school with dinner provided…no cooking + family fun = Win. Win.
Friday— I’m still not sure what we will have for dinner tonight. We are certainly not going out, so we will either get carry out from somewhere, or I may make breakfast for dinner.
And…don’t worry—Travis had his favorite…steak… when he and I went out to dinner last Saturday night for an early Valentine’s Day dinner. The Blue Heron always has great food.
We enjoyed one of our favorite activity nights at school.
And, of course, a favorite school activity is the Valentine’s Day party / exchange. The kids aren’t having a big party at school with activities, but they are still exchanging Valentines and having a sweet treat in the afternoon. They were to bring a decorated box for the exchange. These decorated boxes couldn’t show the differences in Hayden and Hadley’s personalities more if they tried. Over the top vs simple. #thisismylife While Hadley decorated her box last week, Hayden said, “I’m just going to write my name on the box.” I figured he’d throw at least a heart or two on the box…but I guess he was serious about only putting his name. haha
Bonus fave: Flashback Friday – February 2015
This has always been a fave pic of mine. So little and so cute…and Hayden’s shirt always cracks me up (especially since I joke he will be living with me when he’s 30 😉 #mamasboy
Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts! I hope you have a great weekend!
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