Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend!
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Home Projects & Updates
I ended up being sick all week last week. Monday was actually the worst (it only went downhill after I wrote my post). I ended up going to the doctor and they confirmed that it was basically seasonal allergies. It sounds like it has been really bad for a lot of people this year. Thankfully after being super lethargic and tired Monday, I started to feel a lot more normal. But, the congestion, cough, etc. still hasn’t gone away. It’s been a killer! But at least I feel mostly human at this point.
I spent most of the week getting ready for Kurtis’ pool party. Mostly just picking up random rooms that usually are cluttered, etc. But, that always leads me to one of my favorite events each year. If you missed my Walking Home Tour on Instagram Stories, you may want to check it out! On the day of the party, I walk around our house each year and give you a virtual tour since it’s “mostly” picked up and all the rooms are fairly clean. It’s a fun way to see how our floorplan is laid out and how each room flows to the next.
Here’s how you find it. If you go to my Instagram Profile, just look for that circle towards the top that says Walking Tour.
I added some more of those $9.99 solar lights to our yard from Lowe’s. I love how it looks at night! And I feel like they look fairly legit for the price!
A few weeks ago, McGee and Co. hosted a big clearance sale and a lot of that included Christmas items. Although I still am not 100% sure how I’m decorating for fall, I already have my Christmas plans in mind. My packages all arrived Saturday and I’m so excited to dig into them! I was able to get a few wreaths and garland at a really great price!
Striped Rug | Lemon Tree | Chandelier | Cabinet
Okay, what I’m about to tell you is the creepiest thing ever. Below is a picture of Kurtis “hunting” bag worms.
If you haven’t seen them before, we really hadn’t noticed them until this year when Kurtis read an article about them in the newspaper. They are these worms that build these “bags” around themselves in evergreen trees. They essentially start eating/destroying all the needs on your pine tree (which don’t regenerate once gone). Once they’re inside these bags, you can’t poison them or anything! We found about 100 of them in our healthiest pine tree and they had already started doing a lot of damage. I’ve never actually seen a worm come out (thankfully), but below is what the “bag” looks like. You just have to pull them out of your trees (they’re usually hanging from the branches). The craziest part? Kurtis had thrown a ton of them away a week ago and a bunch got out of our garbage can and started crawling back to the tree. I cannot make this up!!! Is that not the creepiest thing ever? I mean, you have to give them credit for their persistency, but for now, we’re bagging the bags in another bag to keep them from crawling away! Make sure you’re doing the same if you find these in your evergreens because they will destroy them!
Around Town & For Fun
Kurtis was in Dallas for the first half of the week, and with my allergies and lethargy, that meant a lot of cuddle time with the cats. I think they might pray that I’m sick year round 😉 Henley actually joined us a few minutes after this picture.
Sectional | Rug | Coffee Table | Side Table | Lamp | Lighting System | Scallop Light Fixture | Palm Tree Art | Den Reveal Post
While Kurtis was out of town, I ordered DoorDash more than I’d care to admit. But Henley really wanted some of my Chinese food the night I ordered it. She basically just sat in this chair and stared at me until I shared 😉
Thursday was Kurtis’ big work party that I mentioned. Even as late as that morning, the forecast was calling for 80 degrees and clouds all day. Miraculously, it ended up being super sunny and about 87 so it was the perfect pool day! We had the 402 BBQ food truck for lunch and then we just provided drinks and some snacks. It was such a fun afternoon (and night)!
It was rainy and overcast nearly the entire weekend. So as much as we wanted to just have a veg session by the pool Saturday and Sunday, it didn’t really happen. But, it did give us a good opportunity to really clean up after the party. We basically had to take our entire back patio apart (we even moved the rug out) just to hose everything down!
Saturday afternoon, we went out with Jill & Nick to celebrate their anniversary weekend. We hopped around a few places and then had dinner on the patio at Jams. We had a really fun afternoon and evening with them! So much so, I didn’t even take a single picture!
Sunday poured rain most of the day, but it actually cleared up for a bit late afternoon. Kurtis decided to hop in the water and I sat on the back patio a bit to enjoy the sun. Since I still wasn’t feeling great, I didn’t want to push my luck by being outside for too long!
Cute little Bailey taking a rest with her water fountain 😉 The fountain has definitely helped with all of her non-stop begging at our sinks and bathtub, so it’s been a great little investment for her!
Recent Buys & Sales
The cut-out booties I shared in my last Weekend Watch List are currently 20% off with code SHOES20! They’re fully stocked in all colors too!
Following are some of the sales that have carried over from the weekend.
- ANTHROPOLOGIE is offering up to 40% off every dress! Prices as marked. You can shop the sale here.
- GAP is offering 40% off everything – no exclusions with code FRIEND. Plus, there an online bonus to add an extra 10% off with code SCORE! You can shop their sale here.
- J CREW is offering up to 50% off select fall favorites (includes the eyelet top I shared in my Weekend Sale Alerts post), plus 25% off full-price styles with code FALLFAVES. You can shop their sales here.
- J CREW FACTORY is 50% off everything – prices as marked. You can shop their sale here.
- NORDSTROM has tons of new markdowns. You can shop their sale items here.
- OLD NAVY is offering 40% off your entire purchase. Prices update at checkout – no code required. You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN is hosting their living room event, with sofas, decor and more marked up to 40% off! It includes 25% off all pillows and throws and up to 30% off all botanicals, as well (like my favorite faux fiddle leaf fig tree. Read my tips on making it look real here). The giant lamp we have in our den is 40% off! Plus, use code FREESHIP for free shipping on your order! You can shop their sale here.
- RUGS USA is offering up to 60% off many of their rugs! You can shop their sale here.
- SERENA & LILY has a bunch of items in their summer sale section. You can shop their sales here.
- TARGET is offering up to 25% off home, and 20% off shoes for the family with code SHOES20. You can shop their sale here.
- WAYFAIR is hosting a 48 hour clearance sale (it ends this morning) with up to 70% off tons of items! I’ve been eyeing this rug for some time and it’s included in the sale. You can shop their sale here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is offering 20% off your entire purchase and free shipping with code SUMMER. The scallop plates I bought and love are already marked down and you can get an extra 20% off of them with code EXTRA! You can shop their sale here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME is hosting their buy more/save more sale with 15-30% off your entire purchase with code SAVENOW. You can shop their sale here.
- WORLD MARKET is offering 30% off all regular-priced living room, dining room and office furniture plus free shipping on $75+ with code FURNDEAL30. It’s basically the best price you can get on our office desks! You can shop the sale here.
I hope you all have a great week!
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Happy you’re feeling better!!
Looks like the pool party was a blast!
Henley looks so cute with her little paws hanging over the arm of the chair!
Bag worms! Many, many years ago we lived in a rental that the front porch was flanked by pine trees… we returned home from a vacation to find the trees literally swaying with movement…….and full of bag worms!
It was an experience I’ll never forget!
Off to look at your waling tour on Instagram……have a good week!
Walking tour – sorry!
Those worms sound terrible! I hope you are feeling better soon. My son has has terrific allergy and asthma improvement using the Neil Med allergy rinse bottles. I feel like I’m always telling people about them! It’s nice that it’s natural and effective!
Sarah – take good care as we love you and your blog!! Agree with post above — Neilmed sinus rinse kits (or other brands) are the bomb! They really do clear things up quickly and when used regularly thru the season actually prevent sinus infections etc from starting (at least that has been my experience). Bugs —
When we lived in AR we were plagued with bag worms. You basically have to tear them out of the trees with rakes or whatever and then we were told to burn them so they didn’t reinfest the area. They may actually travel from the soil up the tree. Something that your nurserymen can tell you how they came about. But, they are some kinda nasty! Rest up and take car – and love me some Henley!
yuck on the bag worms. i did have someone come and spray and it did get rid of them. we havent had them since, but they are awful
Sarah, If the bagworms are actively eating you can kill them with a spray insecticide attached to your hose. Make sure it is labeled for bagworms and be sure to get into the interior of the trees as well. It recommended to do a second spray a week to 10 days later to catch any that hatched out after the first round. If you are picking them off live burn them or douse them in insecticide.
The females will seal their bags after they lay their eggs, and each bag has 500-1000 eggs ready to hatch next year. They ride the wind after they come out. Start earlier next year and look for the babies. They are easier to kill when young! You are likely to get them next year since you got them this year and you have plants the like.
Can you send me the link to the Lowe’s solar lights you bought? I have been looking for some of those for our back yard.
I’ll plan to post a picture of them in tomorrow’s post 🙂
I also highly recommend the Nelimed sinus rinse! I will ad a couple drops of grapefruit seed extract to get rid of or prevent sinus infections. Can you share the source for the landscape solar lights? They look amazing for the price and fact that they are solar!
EWWWW….worms! That sounds horrifying! Hope the worst of that is over. Lovely picture of Henley eyeing your food =).