Day 117: Brewfest!

The 2nd Annual Magic City Brewfest is on! I don't even like beer, but M loves tasting all kinds of different types and it makes me happy to see how excited he gets about these things.

They host brews from all over the country and world, have good eats and great music. Last year it was the prettiest day and we had a great time!

It's been up in the air as to whether they'd be having it again this year, but the website is up and it's official!

Check out the site here.

If anyone wants to meet up for the Saturday session, we're game :)

Day 116: Still lovin' the Polka Dots

Polka dots have been big for a while now and some may say the trend is dying out, but I think I'll always be a fan!


Bedding from West Elm (maybe technically honeycomb)




organization boxes from See Jane Work




bathmat from India Rose




pocket calendar from Hable Construction





Teapot from Rosanna Inc.




Wedge Sandals fromOverstock





Shower Curtain from The Company Store

Day 114: Happy Earth Day!

iseloom's photostream

I know these days you can't blink without seeing some sort of 'green' push.

It just wouldn't be right if I didn't join the crowd! I love that these issues are so talked about now. I just hope that people are making real life changes, not just riding the trend. In any case...here are some ways to incorporate some green into your everyday lives.

Real Simple has compiled a list of easy changes with their Green Living 101.

Wire & Twine's '50 Ways to Help the Planet' also has lots of green tips.

Mark and I have already made a few changes and plan to make more once we get in our house(t minus 4 days!)

what we've done so far:
switched to CFL lightbulbs
significantly cut back on using the heating/cooling system
use only cold water for washing clothes
recycle our plastic bags

what we'd like to do once we're in our house:
line dry most of our clothes
create a compost pile
shop locally for fruits and vegetables
recycle! We'll finally have room to sort!
switching to cloth grocery bags
insulate our home well to cut down on heating/cooling even more

Are you making any changes to be more green?

Day 114: Small Obsession

I've been drawn to vintage glass as of late....Not sure why, but I think these inspiration pictures may have something to do with it!


















milk carafes from Three Potato Four
























So I started my search to ebay and was overwhelmed with all that I found! These would all be beautiful in a windowsill, on a dresser, or for a quick flower arrangement.

If you search under vintage glass for 'milk bottle' 'apothecary jars' 'pressed glass' 'medicine bottles', etc..you can find some really cool stuff at REALLY great prices!

Fenton Milk glass. This stuff is beautiful. I almost bought the first piece tonight!
































Vintage Milk bottles. I love the colored ones.














Some colored glass pieces; I just noticed this weekend that my grandmother has that exact aqua Ball canning jar! It's awesome....I have no clue how I never noticed it until now!

Day 113: Trip Home

Mark and I went home this past weekend for my cousin's wedding. It was a good time. I'm sad to say that I have ZERO pictures. We really need to downsize our camera. It's so hard to lug that big thing around.

On Saturday my mom and I went shopping with Elizabeth, her mom, cousin, sister and junior bridesmaid for bridesmaid dresses! We had picked out some in advance, so it was quick and painless. Luckily, we all loved one of the two and oddly enough the sample size fit all of us, so we know our size :) It is soo comfortable and very forgiving. I think it has a good rewearability potential too.

Here's the dress with the leading color combination.

Our First Housewarming Gift!
Also while we were home, Mom pulled out a bag of goodies she's been collecting for me. A few tops for work, things from my old room, and a beautiful pitcher! I really thought it was my birthday present and would totally take it as that, but she said to just call it a house warming gift. She found it on sale and couldn't resist :) And I'm glad for it...b/c I'm practically in love.

I searched for a picture online forever and could only find this one from Poof You're a Frog's blog. It's the little guy by the purple arrow. I guess this particular piece has been discontinued, which makes me even more grateful for my mom's great eye.

It's made by Rosanna Inc. who has lots of other beautiful pieces. Here are a few of my other faves:

Day 109: A Man Can Dream too

We've ventured out to Lowe's and Home Depot over the past couple of days to take a look at some things for the house. While it's more fun for me to pick out paint colors, I have to admit I do have fun at these places.

Here's a couple of things on Mark's wishlist:

Troy-Bilt XP
6.75-Torque 21" Cut Electric Start Mower



Blue Ember Blue Ember Stainless Steel Grill
complete with ice cooler for beverages and beverage opener :)



aannddd....


Insulation.



Yes, this is a 'must have' on his list. Apparently, the insulation in our attic hasn't been replaced since it was built over 40 years ago, so it's something that really needs to be done. He assures me that it will save us hundreds in energy costs and you know, help save the planet and all too. Thank goodness I have a practical husband, because if it was left to me we'd be pretty bad off!

Day 109: Dreaming of a White Kitchen

I sort of have a white obsession these days as far as home decor goes. I'm just drawn to it. So of course, the first big house project in my mind is paint our kitchen cabinets white! I mentioned this to Mark who claims he loves the brown (since when does he have an opinion in decorating?)

I've been saving pictures with white cabinets for a while now so I could give him a visual. I was fully prepared to have a sit down discussion with him and really argue my case. Last night after showing him these pictures, he was convinced. Somehow, I found a very similar kitchen (layout, counter tops, etc) and he could really picture it!

Kitchen now....pretty, but a little too dark


With white cabinetry and a lighter wall color. Wouldn't it look so much brighter and cheery?



I hope this is a project we can do soon!

Day 108: Post Wedding Chop?

I've never been a fan of short hair. Did it once, hated it and vowed to never do it again. So when I heard of the 'post wedding chop' (girls chopping all their long hair they grew out for years for that perfect wedding 'do) I knew I wouldn't be participating. However, big stylists with pixie cuts in fancy salons seem to think the shorter, the better.

Here's the story...
The haircut didn't work out yesterday. They were crazy crowded and after waiting an hour, Kate and I decided to be good little employees and head back to work instead of spending the entire afternoon waiting on a cheap haircut.

Luckily, Richard Joseph was prepared for the crowd and offered us vouchers to come back in the next few weeks and get our charitable new 'do. I booked my appointment for today during lunch.

They assigned me a stylist, which was fine. I didn't have a preference. The shampoo/condition was unbelievable. Having major headaches everyday, this is one girl who could use a good head massage. It was so relaxing....

I get upstairs and give my usual spill about how I like a few layers b/c of the crazy curls and I just want it shaped up. She asked if I'd like just an inch off, but I told her let's go wild and do 2...I was sure to let her know that I didn't want to go too short because I have extremely curly hair and it will shrink another 2-3 inches when I wear it that way.

Well 30 minutes later as she rounded my shoulder and came to cut the front, I realized that 2 inches had somehow turned into 4.5 and I now had much shorter hair. Too late to speak up, I hoped for the best. With her styling and apparent lack of knowledge in how to straighten extremely curly hair..i left feeling pretty down.

[insert sad face here]



after getting home though..and playing with it...and hearing the praises of my sweet husband. I'm coming around.....


Let's just hope it grows out a bit before the dead heat of the Alabama summer rolls in because the curls can't hide in that kind of humidity.

Kate was going this afternoon. *fingers crossed* that she comes out looking fab!

But it goes to show that expensive is not always better. There's no way I'd pay $100 to go back to this salon!! (disclaimer: I'm sure not all experiences with Richard Joseph are bad and will vouch that is a very classy place. This is just my story!)

Day 107: Gettin my hair did

This is an announcement mainly for my fellow Birminghamians...

First of all, if you're not familiar with SalonFly, you need to be. They have great promotions going on with salons in the area all the time. I first used one of their specials last haircut. I visited Mop and got half off using one of their coupons!

I'm in need of another cut and found out about an awesome charity event going on at Richard Joseph. today. My friend Kate and I are venturing over there at lunch for their annual Grass Roots Cut-a-thon. All donations go to help the Cahaba River Society and Gulf Restoration Network. For a minimum donation of $35 you get a haircut + blowdry. Haircuts at this particular salon can run you well over $100. I am stoked to get a taste of this ritzy place for a fraction of the cost and know that my money is actually going to a cause.

The cut-a-thon will be going on all day today from 9am-6pm, so stop by if you're interested. No appointments necessary, first come, first serve. :)

Day 107: House Must Have

I've always loved the look of old school bicycles, but the ones I've seen have been crazy expensive! The other night I found this site, which had much more affordable options.

With our little 62' house almost ours, I think we definitely need some retro bicycles. How cute would we be cruising around the new neighborhood on these sweet rides?


One for me

And one for Mark :)

Day 106: Major Deal!

I am addicted to pretty things. I'm constantly scouring blogs and magazines in search of all kinds of eye candy. So I was ecstatic to find Amazon's amazing deal for April! Awesome titles for only $7. It don't get much better.

These would all be great for ideas for the new house. :)

MUST get these two!




Two others that I just love....

Day 103:Take Me Out....

to the ballgame. Or ANYwhere! We've been living 'lean' for a while now and haven't had many outings. So last Thursday we went out for the Birmingham Barons season opener. I knew dollar beverages and 20 cent wings were sure to win Mark over...and they did. :)

Every once in a while a girl just needs to get out...even if it is a baseball game.




We had fun and I'm sure we'll be back for more 'Thirsty Thursdays' :)

Day 100: How could I forget??

We went to Wings tonight for Mark's sister's boyfriend's going away party...We like to just call him Jeremy :)

He's moving out to Texas for business (we'll miss you jdawg!) and he wanted to get together for one last hoorah. They had some good jams going...one of which was Blink 182's 'What's my Age Again?' An old classic I'm sure we all remember.

I sat singing my little head off and when the lyrics 'nobody likes you when you're 23' came around a little light bulb went off. I remember when I was totally digging this song wayy back in the day, promising myself that when I turned 23, I would so sing that song. It would be my little anthem b/c I would be a cool 23.

Here it is..exactly 3 weeks from my 24th birthday and I just remembered!

15 y.o. Lauren, I'm sorry I let you down. Thank goodness I caught it before it was too late!

For your pleasure and in celebration of the last 3 weeks of my 23rd year....



p.s. happy 100 days to me and mark!

Day 96: Another wedding :)

Just wanted to give a shout out to my baby brother Josh and new FIANCE Elizabeth!



Here they are at our wedding in December (she totally caught the bouquet! we laughed at the time...but you can't deny the truth of the bouquet catch) This is right after she caught it...running up to Josh :) Notice the 'this is never going to happen look on Josh's face. haha



They're planning a September wedding and I can't wait.

I literally cried when I was little for sisters. I'm getting 4 in one year! :)


p.s. check out the right side for new fun music :)

Day 94: House tour pt. II

Here's the outside!


The view off the deck. Notice the pretty japanese maple :)



Oh and surprise surprise..there's a pool! yes, above ground and not the prettiest, but we'll take it! We plan on using it at least for this summer and may remove it later to 'pretty' up the backyard a bit more.



Our dogwood...



This was the biggest shock when we visited for the walk through. Spring had definitely sprung. This is a cherry blossom,right? It is beautiful!


From the backyard looking up towards the pool


The decks :)




We're so excited to have so many trees and flowers! Now we don't have to do it all! haha...

Day 94: The magic of IKEA

It's been almost two weeks since my magical experience with Ikea. While I had always heard good things, I have to say the trip was nothing short of life changing.

Not knowing my way around, I started in the showrooms. I looked around for about an hour...carefully looking at and touching each thing, in each room. I finally got to a point where my mind and heart were full of awesomeness and inspiration and I had to call someone who would understand. Mom.

I stayed on the phone with her for a long while describing everything I saw and how much it was (both were amazing).

While there was TONS of stuff I wanted there and I could easily drop a good 10k, I only came out with a few things.

This rug for those new hardwood floors! :)



12 place settings of these platese



And just because these were pretty...