Good morning, and happy first Monday of August! It’s hard to believe school will be starting up in the next week or two. It was a really busy week around here, so today I’m sharing a bit of what we’ve been up to along with some pool house progress.
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Home Projects & Updates
I looked at Kurtis last night and asked “can you believe it was just Monday that we didn’t have windows in the pool house?!?” So much has already changed that it feels like we’re several weeks out already from Monday. Here’s a bit of what was completed this past week.
Before the windows started, the guys wrapped up a bit of framing that needed to be done once the concrete floors had cured. That included the little half wall where our indoor/outdoor bar counter will be. They were also able to frame out the angled wall for the fireplace.
Thursday morning, the doors were delivered bright and early, and install started shortly thereafter.
We love how the doors turned out. We were really trying to mimic garage doors without the having the track and complexity of install. These sliders and stationary panels were a great solution, and so much more affordable. Once all the vinyl on the interior and exterior glass gets removed after construction, I think we’re going to love them even more!
You can see here just how much that vinyl on the window is currently obstructing the views. So excited for us to remove it all in a month or two!
Here’s a peek at how the window looks in our old closet (which will be Kurtis’ closet once all is complete). The window is a gamechanger! My side basically mimics this with the window and door a mirror image on the right side of this room.
I had actually ordered two windows for my side of the closet in hopes they would both fit (but knowing one may not). The angle of the pool house roof made it so the second wouldn’t quite fit. So….we used it in our water closet in our bathroom! It was a last minute decision and we’re so happy it would work there! Looks like I forgot to take a picture of it, but here is a screenshot of the video I made in my Instagram Stories. It’s amazing how much extra light it brings into our very dark bathroom. It’s hard to tell in the image below, but the bottom of the window comes about neck high on me (I’m 5’8″) so there aren’t any privacy concerns with it either!
We had our electrical walkthrough early Thursday morning and made decisions on placement for everything from can lights to light switches to outlets and more. Most of the electrical was completed Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and should be fully wrapped up today. We believe siding will start this week so that they can then start to wrap up more of the interior work!
I ran to The Tile Shop last week to look at potential fireplace surround ideas for the space. We want to do something a bit more fun and less traditional than we’d use in our house. We’re considering that bottom right tile from Annie Selke. It has a really pretty texture like raw silk and I love the watercolor lines!
Kurtis sat down on Sunday afternoon and learned out to wire speakers. He knew he wanted some hardwired outside on the pool house, so he pulled up a YouTube video and had them working pretty quickly. Now we just need to run the wire in the walls before drywall starts so it can all be hidden. Here you can also see the new sliding door from the dining room to the pool house. It’s actually about the same sizes as our last one, but rather than a standard height door with a transom over it like we had before, we just went with a full-sized door to match the others in the pool house. It lets in so much more light!
My hydrangea tree out by the pool is blooming and it makes me so happy! It’s a type of panicle hydrangea (not sure which) and smells heavenly!
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 SELLERSÂ (each number is clickable):Â #5Â |Â #4Â |Â #3Â |Â #2Â |Â #1
In Case You Missed It
Here are last week’s blog posts, in case you missed any of them! Click any of the titles below to be taken to the full post:
Following are the most read blog posts of last week (excluding any of the new posts already mentioned above). Many times this includes old posts that are popular on Google or Pinterest! It’s fun to see what is trending each week!
- 2021 Studio McGee Fall Collection at Target
- The Best Warm Gray Paint Colors
- White House With Black Window Trim
- Pottery Barn York Sofa Review
- The Best Exterior White Paint Colors
Around Town & For Fun
We babysat our kitty niece, Lexi, for the week while Kurtis’ oldest sister and husband were out of town. They were the ones that moved into one of our rentals and they have made it look so cute! It was fun to check on her each day and also to see one of our properties already loved so much. Lexi is right at home and seems to really love the new place. Could her eyes be any prettier?! She’s such a sweetheart.
After the water that came in from the storm a few weeks ago, we had already started camping out in the guest room during the nights. But, Kurtis and I also had to shower most of the week in our Jack & Jill bathroom since our bathroom was out of commission most of the week with all the framing and window work. It was actually the first time I had showered in there since the renovation, and it felt like a little escape to a hotel or something! Turns out our guests get a much nicer bathroom than we currently have 😉
SHOWER/TUB ROOM SOURCES: Pinwheel Carrara Marble Floor Tile | Beveled Subway Tile | Moravian Star Light Fixture | Toilet | Bath Tub | Shower Curtain (white) | Shower Curtain Liner (clear) | Shower Curtain Rod & Rings
We had a full house most of the weekend. Not only were both guest bedrooms full, we even had to add an air mattress to the den! Our newlywed niece and her husband had already planned to stay at our house several months back, on the way to their honeymoon in Maui! Then, my younger niece and I were chatting one night and she mentioned the rest of the family (she along with her parents – Kurtis’ sister and her husband) may also come too. It was a really fun weekend!
Kurtis’ sister and our younger niece came in town a day early to celebrate her birthday and to get an extra day in at the pool. Here’s our niece, Kate, and Kurtis at sushi on Thursday night! People always tell us it’s super obvious she and I are related, and we always laugh since she’s actually on Kurtis’ side of the family. We sure do love spending time with her!
We spent most of the afternoon Saturday swimming and hanging out around the pool. Kurtis’ oldest sister and brother-in-law then joined us for dinner and hanging out for the night! We also had cake for the birthday girl, but I didn’t grab a photo because I had left my phone outside. But it was a fun impromptu gathering and a great way to spend the weekend!
Saturday night, our niece wanted a night swim so Kurtis jumped in with her and a few of us dipped our feet in and we carried on the conversations. It was such a great day!
The sky was super weird with all the smoke and haze we’re seeing from fires all over the country and Canada. Despite the obvious bad effects, it definitely doesn’t make for good air quality here either. But it sure does make a pretty sunset and glow at night.
Sunday morning, Kurtis ran the newlyweds to the airport for their honeymoon departure. Once he was back, the rest of us headed out for outdoor brunch at Jams.
Once all of our guests headed back home, Kurtis and I crashed and took a long nap. We had way too many late nights and early mornings over the past week, but it was worth every minute of it!
The cats also got to go out and explore the pool house for the first time this week. With all the new additions and electrical work, there had been way too many wood chips and dirt out there. But I swept it all mostly out of the way Saturday morning so we let them come out Sunday afternoon. We’re pretty sure they love it as much, if not more, than we do! They literally want to explore every square inch, and Hawkeye, especially, is probably a little too curious.
In other random news, the Hearth & Hand fall collection launched at Target yesterday. A few of the items don’t arrive until next Sunday, but here are a few of my favorites I saw from the collection. Lots of great cozy finds for fall with loads of texture and classic pieces!
SOURCES: Serving Board | Rattan Tray | Serving Bowl | Stone Canister | Barstool | Lumbar Pillow | Towel Set | Nightstand | Faux Leather Ottoman | Olive Tree | Metal Basket | Area Rug
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. You can shop their sales here.
- ANN TAYLOR is offering $50 off select full-priced dresses and shoes with code STYLE50. 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 20% off home accents, mirrors and wall art. You can shop their sale here.
- BANANA REPUBLIC is offering 30% off your purchase with code BRSECRET. You can shop their sale here.
- BLOOMIST is offering free shipping on all orders and $25 off $125+ with code CHEERS25. You can shop their site here.
- GAP is offering an extra 40% off sale styles with code DEAL and 10% off regular-priced styles at checkout with code YOURS. You can shop their sale here.
- J CREW has a bunch of markdowns on wear-now styles. You can shop their sales here.
- J CREW FACTORY is offering 40% off all things comfy. You can shop their sale here.
- KIRKLAND’S is offering 20% off your entire regular-priced item with code STYLE. They also have up to 50% off end of season markdowns. You can shop their sale here.
- LOFT is offering 60% off 1 or 2 sale styles and 70% off 3+ sale styles with code YAY. 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 up to 70% off select styles for their End of Summer sale, and free shipping on orders $99+ with code SHIPFREE! You can shop their site here.
- MARSHALL’s has a number of deals sitewide including new markdowns. You can shop their site here.
- NORDSTROM is hosting their Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! You can see all of my top picks here. You can shop their sale items here.
- OLD NAVY is offering up to 50% off kid’s clothes. Plus get 20% off your order under $100 or 30% off your $100+ with code ENJOY. You can shop their sale here.
- OVERSTOCK is hosting a 4-day Flash Sale with up to 70% off 1000s of items! You can shop their sale here.
- POTTERY BARN is offering free shipping on non-freight items with a purchase of $99+ with code FREESHIP. You can shop their sale here.
- SERENA & LILY is offering up to 25% off all lighting. 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.
- TUCKERNUCK has added some new sale pieces that are all darling per usual! You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA is also hosting their Midsummer Sale with up to 75% off tons of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- WILLIAMS SONOMA HOME is also hosting a clearance sale with up to 60% off 100s of items sitewide. You can shop their site here.
- WORLD MARKET is offering up to 40% off select outdoor furniture. You can shop their site here.
I hope you all have a great week!
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