Good morning! I hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend! It’s hard to believe July is almost upon us. Here’s a little of what we were up to this past week!
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Home Projects & Updates
In exciting pool house news, framing started last week! We actually had such rainy/stormy weather last week, they weren’t even able to start until Friday. But, as soon as Friday rolled around, things started to move really quickly!
It’s so fun to walk around the two sets of walls that are up an envision how things will look in the end.
Kurtis and I made a point of watching them lift the 26’+ steel beam into place. There were only three guys and they made it look easy!
This little jog is where the small bathroom will be. It was fun to stand in the space and see what the new views would look like out of the two windows that have been framed out!
Here’s an aerial shot of how things looked as of Friday afternoon. The guys have already showed up this morning, so I’m hopefully that the wall framing will get wrapped up today. It’s starting to feel so much more real!
My goal was to share our summer home tour this week. And…then I remembered that we have a bunch of windows being replaced starting today. If you’re new around here, we have several windows in our home that need to be replaced. We actually had one leak this past winter and damage our garage ceiling. We’ve known our windows are garbage for some time. We literally can’t see out of half of them in the summer months (they fog over because the seals are broken), the weather-stripping has fallen out of most, and some pop so loudly at night, it sounds like a gunshot (and typically sets off our alarm system). Long story short, we got bids over the winter to replace them all. Once we picked ourselves off the floor from the quote, we decided that we’d only be able to replace them in sections over several years. When it came time to pick the windows, I decided I wanted them all consistent, and to have grids like the front of our house and our kitchen does. So, what does that long story have to do with my summer home tour? I thought it would be fun to have the new windows in the photos, even if it isn’t super noticeable. I’m going with horizontal grids only (to match our other windows) and I’m exited to see the change! Below you can kind of see how blurry the windows get (all the moisture is between the glass). This week they’ll be replacing our living room, dining room, and bedroom windows. All of the others (including the six windows and slider alone in our hallway) will be put on hold for a few more years.
With that, Kurtis and I had to remove all our window coverings on the windows that are being swapped out. Pella has warned us that, based upon how their windows work, the inside mount shades may no longer work. We might both actually cry if we can’t re-use our automated Serena shades don’t fit but we’re holding out hope!
While Kurtis was busy at the rental house over the weekend, I tackled a few random projects around our house. One of which was under my bathroom sink. It’s actually embarrassing to show just how bad it had gotten. It literally only took me about 30 minutes to organize, so I’m super annoyed I waited this long! The change is pretty dramatic! I’m also pretty sure I found a bunch of product that had moved over from our last house (8.5 years ago!) that was long expired or basically empty. I had bought these bins and these bins for another spot, but ended up using them here and love how much more organized it feels to have similar items corralled in the bins. It’s amazing how accomplished I felt after tackling this rather small task that had been hanging over me for at least a year!
Top Sellers Of The Week
Following are the top sellers of the past week across all of my channels. Links to each item are below the graphic.
BEST SELLERS (each number is clickable): #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1
In Case You Missed It
I’ve had a few requests for this new section in my Weekend Recap. I know I post pretty frequently and it’s sometimes easy for a post to get lost in the mix. So, going forward, I’ll now be adding quick links to each of my blog posts from the prior week. Here’s what I posted last week. Click any of the titles below to be taken to the full post:
I’m also going to include the most popular posts by traffic for the week. Many times this includes old posts that are popular on Google or Pinterest! It’s fun to see what is trending each week! Last week actually didn’t change from the week prior, so it looks like there are a lot of painting projects going on around the country 😉
- Our Current Home Tour
- Pottery Barn York Sofa Review
- The Best Green Paint Colors
- The Best Navy Blue Paint Colors
- Tutorial: How To Plant Flowers In A Pot
Around Town & For Fun
As I mentioned above, we had quite a few storms last week. That always seems to be the case during the College World Series week in Omaha 😉 I looked out one night last week and saw Kurtis with an umbrella waiting while he had to drain the pool a few inches. I don’t know why it made me laugh! Between the construction and the weather on the weekends, we have been in the pool for a few weeks. We’re hoping that can change with the upcoming holiday weekend!
So, this is exciting! My 67 year old mom, my sister-in-law, and my cousin, and finishes the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike last week! It’s about 24 hours and you go from top to bottom and back up again. Clearly they stole all the athletic genes in my body 😉 My mom sent me this beautiful photo once they were done. So gorgeous!
We didn’t have tons of items that fell into the “fun” category this past week because it was a bit chaotic and busy. Kurtis spent many hours over at the rental house working on various repairs while I worked around the house on various things. But, Saturday night, we had a lot of fun celebrating our brother-in-law’s birthday! Kurtis made ribs on the smoker (his first of the season). We also had various “salads” (which, in the Midwest are nothing like an actual salad 😉 ), fresh ice cream and cheesecake!
We also played a bunch of cards. The ladies continue to dominate 2021 and we’re totally okay with that! 😉
We’re very much looking forward to celebrating this upcoming holiday weekend!
Recent Buys & Sales
Following are the sales from the weekend that are still going strong.
- AMAZON has a number of deals sitewide in the Daily Deals section. These pillow insert pairs I’ve been using lately have an 8% coupon you can clip as of the time of this post going live! Remember to order 2″ larger inserts than your pillow covers for the best designer look! These Lantern Pendant Lights come in four finishes and are a steal when you apply the extra 10% off coupon. Such a great designer look for less! You can shop their sales here.
- AMERICAN EAGLE is offering 25% off select shorts, tees, and tanks! You can shop their sale here.
- ANN TAYLOR is offering an extra 40% off sale styles. You can shop their site here.
- ANTHROPOLOGIE is offering up to 40% off summer entertaining pieces and an extra 25% off sale items! No code required. You can shop their site here.
- BALLARD DESIGNS is offering up to 20% off their Finishing Touches sale. You can shop their sale here.
- BANANA REPUBLIC is offering up to 30% off sitewide, an extra 50% off sale styles, and an extra 10% off at checkout. No code required. You can shop their sale here.
- BLOOMIST is offering $25 off $125+ with code SUMMER25. You can shop their site here.
- BODEN is offering up to 50% off sale. You can shop their site here.
- GAP is offering 50% off sitewide, an extra 40% off sale styles with code PERK, and an extra 10% off at checkout with code FORYOU. You can shop their sale here.
- J CREW is offering an extra 50% off sale styles with code BESTSALE. You can shop their sales here.
- J CREW FACTORY is offering up to 50% off new arrivals for the entire family! You can shop their sale here.
- KIRKLAND’S is offering 20% off one regular priced purchase with code JUNE. You can shop their sale here.
- LOFT is offering an additional 50% off sale styles with code HBDUSA. 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 has new sale items, with prices marked up to 50% off! You can shop their site here.
- MARSHALL’s has a number of deals sitewide including new markdowns. You can shop their site here.
- MCGEE & CO. is offering 20% off select lighting with code LIGHTITUP! 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 has a number of new sale items added to their site. I have this V-Neck Jersey Maxi Dress in two colors and love how easy it is to not only pack, but to wear! You can shop their sale items here.
- OLD NAVY is offering up to 50% off sitewide. Plus get 25% off your order. You can shop their sale here.
- ONE KINGS LANE is offering 20% off Visual Comfort lighting. You can shop their site here.
- OVERSTOCK is hosting their 4th of July Sale with major discounts sitewide up to 70% off! You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN has free shipping on orders of $99+ with code FREESHIP. You can shop their sale here.
- SERENA & LILY is offering special pricing on all rugs. You can shop their site here.
- SUMMERSALT, one of my favorite swimsuit brands, is offering free ground shipping with code JULY4. This suit is probably the most flattering one you can find! You can shop their site here.
- TARGET is offering up to 25% off select home items You can shop their site here.
- TJ MAXX is has a number of deals sitewide! I love this Pair of Table Lamps! You can shop their site here.
- TORY BURCH is offering an extra 25% off sale items with code EXTRA! 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.
- WAYFAIR is hosting a 4th of July Sale with items marked up to 60% off! You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is also hosting their Warehouse Event with up to 50% off tons of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME is also hosting their Warehouse Event with up to 60% off 100s of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
I hope you all have a great week!
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kim says
Kirkland sale link goes to J Crew
Sarah says
Thanks for letting me know! Just fixed it 🙂
Jessica says
In regards to the picture of Kurtis by the pool, your landscaping is really filling in and looks fantastic! I love the variety of plants you use throughout your yard.
Sarah says
Thank you! We’re kind of shocked at how quickly everything as filled in!
Sharon P says
Once you finish the pool house you need to do a before and after of the entire backyard starting with before the pool, retaining walls, etc. i have been reading your blog since the before but for the “newbies”, they would be astonished. It is a gorgeous transformation.
Indigo says
Love the Grand Canyon picture. I’m from Arizona and hiking the canyon is a life altering experience. The first introduction to the Grand Canyon was a ten day river rafting trip down the Colorado River. Talk about life changing. Also, helicoptering over the canyon is another must do adventure! Your mother would love these experiences. BTW, I’m 76 years old and recently (before COVID), I spent 14 days on the Amazon with just me and a guide starting at the mouth of the river in Peru.
Andrea Conley says
Long time follower, first time posting a ? You mentioned possibly replacing your main house/level floors. Are you considering using the same Lifeproof Dusk Cherry as you have in your pool house plans? We are leaning towards that for our main level and I wondered what your thoughts were on the subject (no pool house for us haha!)