Good morning! I hope you all had a nice weekend. The time change did a number on me this year for some reason, but man, I love how much lighter it is in the evenings now! I was about ready to pack it up and move out of Nebraska at one point in February, but with warmer weather approaching the move doesn’t seem quite as urgent now 😉 Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to these past few weeks!
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Home Projects & Updates
Our smaller guest bathroom still doesn’t have a shower door. It’s supposed to arrive late this week and installed shortly thereafter, so I’m hoping to have it photographed early next week. Hopefully there aren’t any further delays!
BATHROOM SOURCES: Shower Kit | Tile Floors | Toilet | Sconces | Vanity | Mirror | Faucet | Bathroom Hardware
We got the garage fully emptied! The only thing left are the handful of large items we’re just pushing out as needed. If you missed it, we’re having our garage insulated today, painted later this week, and then we’re partnering with Hello Garage to grind out our peeling/flaking epoxy floors. They’ll then be installing their polysaspartic flooring and bringing in some organizational cabinets and tools to whip this whole space into shape!
Here’s a view from the other direction. If you look towards the garage opening, you can see just how badly our floors are pulling up. Not only that, the combination of how slippery they get when wet, and the fact we realized our garage isn’t insulated….it was basically an ice skating rink in the winter. Particularly this winter when we had extreme temps and our cars weren’t running as much to help heat it up.
We had to rent a POD to get everything out and thankfully all our crap fit! And, in about two weeks time, everything will be fully done! Now that most of the heavy lifting is done on our part, we’re getting really excited for the final transformation! It’s hard to believe a few weeks ago it looked like this!
Speaking of garage and things needing fixed. When it rains it pours! It was one of those weeks last week where our house was on the struggle bus!
Early in the week, we had a big storm, and we found water leaking into the ceiling of our garage. Turns out it was caused by the window in the guest room that sits right above the little crawl space in the garage. We’ve known for some time (years, in fact) that several of our windows (if not all) need replaced. It’s one of those projects we kept sidelining, because buying windows isn’t exactly fun. I’ve mentioned before, but the gas seals in several of them (including our living room) are gone, and you can barely see out them. That’s fixable, but all the weather-stripping is gone, and on days with drastic temp changes, we’ll lay in bed and it sounds like gun shots going off. The windows pop so loudly, we’ve thought for sure at times they broke. They’ve even set our security system off several times. All that to say, it may be time to replace a handful of them. We have someone coming out later this week to help us prioritize which ones to tackle first. One of the downsides to having 30+ windows in your home :/
Thankfully the water damage can be dried out easily since that area wasn’t insulated yet and hadn’t been painted. So we’re just glad we caught it while it was all still open and didn’t have the fresh insulation blown in yet! Then later in the week, as we were moving more stuff out, we realized we had a rat living in our garage at some point. A freaking rat! So, we then had to call an exterminator. He searched our house and garage top to bottom and thankfully didn’t see any signs of life. He’s guessing it had moved on long ago. Thankfully!
Later in the week, our washing machine decided to just drain on our floor. It’s not that old and we’ve never really had issues with it. The floor is the original linoleum so thankfully it cleaned up pretty easily. But after all these issues, and others I’m not even going to bring up on the blog, we got to the point where we both said “What is going on?!?” I mean, I guess it’s better than spreading it all out with an “event” each week for a month, but it’s safe to say we were over it 😉
Kurtis did some caulking in the garage on Saturday so I wrapped up some caulking inside. You may remember a few months back I re-caulked the crown around our kitchen cabinets and range hood. Saturday I tackled the lines around our countertop and backsplash/window trim. With the crazy cold temps we had last month, it seemed to make it all crack more than usual. I used this caulk, and as you can see below, it made a night and day difference! I just run a thin bead down the area I’m working on, then dip my finger in water, and run my finger down the bead, wiping off excess caulk on a paper towel. Super quick, easy and cheap!
Top Sellers Of The Week
Since I skipped a weekend recap last week, following are the top sellers of the past two weeks across all of my channels. Links to each item are below the graphic.
BEST SELLERS (each number is clickable): #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1
Following are the top sellers from this past week.
BEST SELLERS (each number is clickable): #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1
You can see a few of them in action in the image below from our entryway!
SOURCES: Faux Tulips | Paint Dipped Vase | Raffia Console Table | Similar Mirror |Striped Ottoman Cubes | Seagrass Lamp | Wicker Chain | Similar Wood Bowl | Stone Pebbles
Around Town & For Fun
We had our first patio meal of the year (and really since fall-time) two weeks back at Dante. It was crazy windy but we didn’t even care because it was so warm and it felt so great to be outdoors again!
The cats had their annual doctor’s appointment last week and Bailey had to have her full-day glucose tests done again. The cats hate the drive more than anything in the world and howl the entire way there and back. Once they’re there, they’re totally chill (even though we still can’t go inside with them). Bailey failed her tests again (which we sort of knew was coming), so we’re upping her insulin dosage again and re-testing in another two weeks or so. Otherwise, they all got a clean bill of health, which is always great to hear! Especially since they’re all considered seniors now!
The new office sleeping arrangements most days. Kurtis has learned he has to leave a little blanket on the floor when he goes upstairs to work each morning. It’s Bailey’s new favorite spot to sleep.
OFFICE SOURCES: Chair | Desk | Drapes | Rug (slate/ivory)
Not sure why I put this in the “fun” category 😉 But Friday afternoon, we went and did a little carpet shopping. I guess the fun part was afterwards when we treated ourselves to street tacos and margaritas. The weather was nice and neither of us had been out for awhile. It was actually pretty quick because Kurtis and I both remembered how much we love the carpet in this Street of Dreams house when I photographed it several years back. The carpet is Shaw’s E9634 Natural Boucle 15 (on the board on the left, below). So we saw my friend Nancy’s guy, Kevin, at Carpetland and were in and out within about 20 minutes. Much less painful than we were expecting! They’re going to come measure today, since we have no idea what this will cost. I know pads and install start adding up, so a lot of this will be dependent on the cost. But we have got to ditch our existing carpet upstairs.
We’ve talked about doing hardwood in the upstairs hallway in lieu of carpet. I talk more about that in this post. Much like the windows, I’ve been stalling for years and years and years. We basically knew when we moved in 8 years ago the carpet needed replaced. And here we are eight years later. Here’s the random hardwood sample we brought home. I honestly hadn’t heard of the brand before (Kentwood Originals) so I still need to do a bunch of research! I’ll keep you posted.
Saturday night, our friend Nick cooked up our St. Patrick’s Day meal with corned beef and cabbage and potatoes. With a side of Guinness, of course. It was all so good! And like we say every year, why do we only eat this in March?! It should be a year-round staple!
We also got in lots of giggles and play time with our goddaughters!
Kurtis wanted to watch some of the March Madness games on Sunday, so I took the opportunity to spend a few hours reading. The cats are never sad when they couch time or cuddle time during reading! Not sure what Henley was pondering here 😉
I’m ready to start a fresh week! And I’m honestly a bit shocked it’s already April next week and that Easter is almost here! I’m so ready to get outside and do some yardwork and start planting in the next month or two!
Recent Buys & Sales
Following are the sales from the weekend that are still going strong. You can see my top picks here.
- AMAZON has a number of deals sitewide. You can shop their sales here.
- AMERICAN EAGLE is offering 25% off jeans and shorts. They also have 50% off clearance items plus an extra 10% off at checkout. You can shop their sale here.
- ANN TAYLOR is offering up to 40% off your full-priced purchase! You can shop their site here.
- ANTHROPOLOGIE is offering an extra 25% off sale items! No code required. You can shop their site here.
- BALLARD DESIGNS is offering up 20% off outdoor. You can shop their sale here.
- BANANA REPUBLIC is offering 40% off your purchase + an extra 10% off at checkout. No code required. You can shop their sale here.
- BLOOMIST is offering $25 off $125+ with code BHM25. You can shop their site here.
- BODEN is offering 15% off full-priced items and free shipping and returns on orders $49+. No code required – prices update at checkout. I think I’m going to try this colorblock swimsuit! You can shop their site here.
- GAP is offering 40% off everything with code FRIEND and an extra 10% off at checkout with code FAMILY. You can shop their sale here.
- J CREW is offering 30% off your purchased of select full-priced items, 40% of kids styles, and an extra 30-60% off women’s sale shirts and dresses all with code SOCUTE. Cardholders also get an extra 20% off their purchase all month long with code CARDLOVE. A handful of my top picks from this week’s Wednesday Watch List (shown below) are on sale today, as well! You can shop their sales here.
SOURCES: Surfside Swim Tee | La Riviera Citrons Tee | Chambray Shorts | Raffia Drop Earrings | Tory Burch Miller Leather Sandals | Floral Bikini Top | Floral Bikini Bottom | Cotton-Linen Tiered Maxi Dress | Cotton-Linen Button Front Midi Dress | Floral Hoop Earrings | Packable Straw Hat | Raffia Disc Earrings | Gucci Lip Balm | Tory Burch Mini Miller Jelly Sandals | Rattan Tote | Bow-Tie One Shoulder Bathing Suit | Denim Shorts
- J CREW FACTORY is offering 60% off tops and shirts as well as a number of other deals sitewide. Cardholders also get an extra 20% off their purchase all month long with code CARDPERKS. This Striped Ruffle-Trim Sweater might be the most “me” sweater I’ve ever seen in my entire life! I’m also loving this Striped Sweater Jacket. I have a few of the solid versions so this striped one is a fun change for spring! You can shop their sale here.
- KIRKLAND’S is offering 25% off one regular priced item with code PICKONE. You can shop their sale here.
- LINDSAY LETTERS is offering 15% off all art this weekend in honor of the launch of her Girls House Collection launch! Prices update at checkout (no code required). To the surprise of no one, I’m loving this cute lemon art! You can shop her site here.
- LOFT is offering 30% off spring tops, sweaters and dresses with code YESSS. You can shop their site here.
- LULULEMON has a number of new items in their sale section, including some new Align and Wunder leggings! You can shop their sale here.
- MARK & GRAHAM is offering an extra 25% off sale styles with code EXTRA25. You can shop their site here.
- MARSHALL’s has a number of deals sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- MICHAELS is offering 20% off all regular priced purchases with code 20MADEBYYOU, plus tons of deals sitewide! You can shop their site here.
- NORDSTROM is has thousands of new markdowns at up to 60% off and are also offering up to 70% off their designer sale. I think this Kendra Scott Layered Charm Necklace would make a great Mother’s Day or graduation gift! You can shop their sale items here.
- OLD NAVY has 50% off their site today – and cardholders can save an extra 10% on $125+ with code SAVEBIG. You can shop their sale here.
- OVERSTOCK is hosting their Semi-Annual Sale with up to 70% off 1000s of items and free shipping on everything! You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN has a number of items marked up to 50% off in their clearance section. I know many of you were waiting for a buy more save more sale, and I’ve now heard from multiple sources that PB likely won’t be doing any sales in the first quarter, if not longer. Apparently they’ve had a surge in demand and so many furniture orders and have such a backlog, they won’t being doing sales for some time. Just wanted to pass that along if you’ve been waiting! They have a great price on this gray nightstand and it ships super quickly! You can shop their sale here.
- REJUVENATION is offering up to 50% off during their living room sale! You can shop their sale here.
- SAKS FIFTH AVENUE is hosting their Friends & Family Sale with 25% off tons of items! You can shop their sale here.
- SERENA & LILY is hosting Sleep Week with free shipping and returns on all bedding. They also added a number of items to their sale section. You can shop their site here.
- TARGET is offering up to 25% off home items! You can shop their site here.
- TJ MAXX is has a number of deals sitewide! The price of these chic rope armchairs is pretty hard to beat (price is for the pair)! You can shop their site here.
- TORY BURCH has started their Spring Event with 25% off $200+ and 30% off $500+! You can shop their site here.
- TUCKERNUCK has added some new sale pieces that are all darling per usual! You can shop their site here.
- VANITY PLANET is offering 50% off sitewide with code VPA50. You can shop their sale here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is hosting their Winter Clearance Event with up to 75% off tons of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME is also hosting their Winter Clearance Event with up to 50% off 100s of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
I hope you all have a great week!
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Becky says
Love the carpet. What color are you thinking? Need to do the same thing in our house!
Sarah says
I’m leaning towards the lightest color (Beach). Kurtis likes Jute as well (the next darker color above it). Since our upper floor doesn’t get as much natural light I’m still leaning towards the lighter one!