Weekend Recap

Home Projects & Updates

The biggest home-related news of the week? After three months (almost to the day) of living in this house, we FINALLY got our built-in refrigerator. The panels and hardware likely won’t be installed for another month or so, but it already looks so much better. Previously we had our neighbor’s old, dented, too-small garage fridge in here so this is a major upgrade! The panels will essentially match the cabinet doors and drawers but will then have the matching appliance hardware installed.

It’s a bit of a long story but they ordered the newest Monogram built-in panel-ready fridge and it continued to be delayed. Every month (since probably July) they’ve told us it would be next month. Well, before we left for Omaha, their sales rep told them it was now going to be February and he wasn’t even that confident on that date. So, long story kind of short, they offered us last year’s model which could come right away. I told them as long as it was new and not damaged, I didn’t really care what year it was. It’s a fridge. Ha! Even though it’s counter depth, we already have so much more space and our kitchen already feels so much brighter even at night. We didn’t realize just how dark the stainless steel (and dark two foot hole in the opening at the top) were making our kitchen feel! It’s a bit tricky to get into without handles, but we’re just so happy it’s here!

KITCHEN SOURCES: Faux Soft Cedar Wreath | Blue Velvet Ribbon | Herringbone Runner Rug | Cabinet Knobs | Cabinet Bin Pulls

This week we also had our very first magnolia bloom on one of our trees! They’re so beautiful – I just wish they’d stay around a little longer!

We had a week of a lot of rain and very dark skies so I had to rain-delay some of my photos. But my Christmas home tour will officially be live tomorrow and I can’t wait to share more images of our home along with a few never-before-seen spaces!

Top Sellers Of The Week

Following are the top sellers from last 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

Following are the posts I shared over the past week, in case you missed some days!

• Weekend Recap
• Wednesday Watch List

Around Town & For Fun

Tuesday night we had a girls dinner at Amigos. Five of us went out because our husbands all had a date at Waffle House and then to see Napoleon so we made a night of it too! I always love seeing the Christmas tree setup outside of Amigos at 30Avenue.

We spent much of the week preparing for our first annual gingerbread house competition. It legit rained so much Friday and Saturday. Even with our back covered porch everything was so damp from the humidity that we had to move one of the tables inside. We had 18 people at the party so it was definitely a bit tight, but it ended up being so much fun! I definitely underestimated the scope of work involved to coordinate a regular party but to also have all the gingerbread items prepared. My entertaining skills are a bit rusty after two years off!

We had to move our living room chairs into Kurtis’ office, push the sofas to the fireplace and then set up two six-foot tables in the walkway leading outside.

SOURCES: Dining Chairs (these keep going in and out of stock, but you can find the larger version here) | Cordless Table Lamps | Prelit Trees | Table Coverings (which clearly needed to still be straigtened after this photo!) | Sofa | Coffee Table | Indoor/Outdoor Striped Rug | Mini Wreath: Old from Target | Blue Velvet Ribbon | Cableknit Throw Pillow Cover | Striped Pillow Cover | Lamps | Ceramic Houses

These cordless table lamps continue to come in handy time and time again! We had the white ones over on the food table.

We then had all the candy and food on tables in our dining room. We ended up having candy leftover, but thankfully one of my friends is hosting a gingerbread house party for her daughter’s birthday next week. I was happy to pack it all up and send it her way!

We’re missing one in this picture, but here’s the ladies during the building process.

And here’s a shot of the whole group! We had two categories for the contest, and then randomly drew teams (pairs of two). Funny enough, the two teams that won were the only all-men teams. They were pretty proud of that. I’ll share more of the party soon because I had a lot of questions on Instagram about the logistics of hosting something similar. I can also share all of the houses then too. It was such a fun night and I think everyone else really enjoyed it too!

LIVING ROOM SOURCES: Sofa (read my full review here) | Chairs | Coffee Table | Indoor/Outdoor Striped Rug | Rattan Box Set | Christmas Tree | Blue Velvet Ribbon | Light Blue Orb Ornaments | Orange Orb Ornaments | Faux Orange Stems | Cableknit Throw Pillow Cover | Striped Pillow Cover | Velvet Pillow Cover | Lamp | Ceramic Houses | Woven Roman Shades | Frame TV

I dug these two books out again this week. They’re great to gift during the holidays and also have some fun cocktail ideas included. I currently have them displayed in our kitchen on our cookbook stand because the covers are just so pretty and festive!

SOURCES: “Bubbly” | “Very Merry Cocktails” |  Faux Orange Stems | Mini Wreath: Old from Target

With all the rain we’ve been getting, the wildlife has been super active! I saw these two deer outside mid-last week. The grass is so green right now and the vibrancy almost looks fake! During the pouring rain on Saturday, we also saw an otter out playing in the water. They are hilarious to watch and always just seem so dang happy!

Speaking of wildlife 😉 The girls are just living their best fireplace life. Bailey will literally just sit over here when it’s not on and stare at the insert just hoping she can will it into igniting.

Hawkeye was also thriving with the furniture moved. More ways to try and get in trouble – and search for new ways to get in trouble 😉

Kurtis is traveling most of the week for work this week, but my blogging bestie, Kris from Driven by Decor is coming into town! She has a 50th birthday week for a friend, so she’s coming early to stay with me for a few days. Our other bestie Kelley was here earlier this year, but I haven’t seen Kris since her 50th two years ago! It will be a really fun week! And don’t forget to check back tomorrow to see our full Christmas home tour!

Lastly, a bit of housekeeping. I added a new feature on my site that allows for better search functions. When you click the search bar anywhere it will open a screen for the search, but also show you recent posts you’ve visited and offer recommendations. You can just click out of it if you decide not to search. There’s a sign-in button, but that’s purely only if you want to save articles to come back to later, but certainly not required just to use the search function. I just wanted to mention it so it didn’t confuse anyone! If anyone finds it annoying just let me know – but I think the search functionality is much more accurate than the previous one, so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for! It just takes a second to get used to. But I’m totally open to feedback on it!