Noteworthy

Noteworthy Room for TuesdayI feel like I hit the ground running in January and haven’t stopped since. It’s been a busy month already, but also an exciting and creative one. The image above is an outtake from a recent shoot, but it’s the only one my hair looked decent in (snowy utah weather, ha!!), so I’m rolling with it. Usually I live in beanies and hats. Anyway, here’s the usual… renovation updates, ramblings, and inspiration. Click through for more!

Emmett and I took a break last weekend to spend some much needed time with friends up in the mountains. We rented a lodge with 20-30 of our friends and it was a nice break from reality. It was so refreshing to venture into the wilderness with friends and simply enjoy nature and the beautiful landscape. There was no talk of blogging or design or deadlines. Of course there was skiing. Lots of skiing.

In regards to the reno… we’re still up to our eyeballs in trim. I feel like doing a happy dance every time one piece gets installed. It’s a ton of work, but it’s looking SO good. Emmett is perfecting his mitered edges. Our windows are officially installed and done! They look better than I ever could’ve imagined and I’m dying to show you guys. Every single window in our home has been replaced. Prior to their installation, Finn busted through the living room window trying to “greet” our mailman (yes, you read that correctly). That’s how thin and outdated the old ones were, or maybe we just have an insane dog. We had to nail is shut temporarily, and gladly welcomed the new ones after the “Finncident”. See what I did there? Ha. I know I’m not funny. Long story short, they look much better and they’ve made our home so much more efficient. Now for the fun part- window treatments! I just placed the first order and have a DIY up my sleeve. We’ve also started painting- woohooooo! Painting always feels like the icing on the cake to me. Emmett has also been working on installing the second custom closet in my office.

Speaking of window treatments, the window is our living room is ginormous. It’s 120″ long by 75″ tall. Insane, right? I’ve had the hardest time finding window treatments. It’s one of two windows Finn can look out of, so regular drapery panels were out of the question. He tends to stomp them and tangle himself in them, resulting in dirty and drab drapery. I ended up finding a roman shade and ordered samples from this place. You can’t beat the price and the fabric is actually really nice (I went with linen). Totally not sponsored, I just thought I’d share my bargain find because the cost of window treatments are hard to swallow.

My latest home purchase: these leather pulls. They’re going to live on the closed storage of our custom built-in (which is still ongoing).

We’re prepping for more houseguests this week, so we have to get the reno materials in order and projects wrapped up before Monday. It sort of looks like a tornado went through the house and there is a thin layer of drywall dust on everything. It’s as pleasant as you’d imagine.

My girlfriends and I took some time a couple weeks ago to do dinner and a movie. We watched La La Land in theaters and I’m officially obsessed (like the rest of America). It was such a gorgeous film and was so inspiring- very well done. I’d highly recommend! I also bought the soundtrack for my flight home from the Hewing. Who has watched or listened? What did you think?

After watching the film, I decided to do something creative for myself. I bought the supplies to start a painting. I haven’t painted in awhile and I’ve been itching to install a portrait. I haven’t really created a traditional work of art since college, but I’m thinking I’ll keep the style pretty classic and painterly with loose brush strokes. Part of me wants to redeem a self portrait that went wrong back in art school. Since I’m also working on self love, confidence, and all that rigamarole this could be a great exercise. We’ll see how it unfolds.

Back to the book club… after finishing the Badass Bookthis one was recommended to me. It sounds crazy (I know) and I actually haven’t started it yet. I’ll keep you guys posted. It could be a flop, or it could be great… we shall see. I also promised to report back on The Kept Woman. LOVED it. I will say, it’s hard to put down. Don’t start it unless you plan to be unproductive for a day or two.

I need your opinion on smart home technology. Does anyone have Google home or Amazon’s version, the Echo? I think her name is Alexa? Ha! My husband is anti Google, Apple, and Starbucks (shocking, I know)…. so he’s leaning toward the Amazon one. We also have the fire TV, so it might actually work best. Thoughts? Are these things worth it? Annoying? Must-have? Are we missing out? You guys always have the best advice.

I’ve been trying to do better about being active. I’ve been doing yoga and obviously lots of skiing, but I sort of want my spring exercise to be roller blading. I know that’s very 90’s of me, but it looks so fun. I don’t have skates and I haven’t done it since elementary school, but I’m seriously considering getting a pair. Does anyone else skate? I’m not in California or anything, so I’m not sure how practical that idea is. What are some fun exercises or activities you guys enjoy to stay in shape?

I went thrifting yesterday, which I’d like to consider exercise, but let’s get real- not even close. Haha! I did find two vintage Drexel nightstands and snatched those babies up quickly. I hadn’t gone thrifting since moving, so I was happy to find a couple local places that house diamonds in the rough at reasonable rates. I’m going to rehab and paint them for our master bedroom… stay tuned! I will say they’re going to be painted blue.

Last but not least, we’re starting renovations on my office and this desk chair (in grey) is calling my name. I might have to splurge.

Have an amazing weekend full of relaxation, sunshine (I hope), and lots of laughter!! Happy Friday friends. xox

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9 Comments

  1. Wenda Scott says:

    I live in Salt Lake and was wondering what Thrift Stores you found that you liked?
    thank you.
    Wenda S.

    1. Wenda, I recently discovered The Green Ant, The Old Flamingo, Tomorrows House, and Funky Junk. It’s usually hit or miss, but you can definitely find some hidden gems! Good luck! xo

      1. Wenda Scott says:

        Awesome, thank you.

  2. Cristy @ W. Collective Interiors says:

    The mental image of your “Finncident” made me laugh out loud-too funny! Have a great weekend!

    1. Ha! He is ridiculous. At first it was a little nerve-racking because I wasn’t sure what he wanted to do to the poor mailman, but now it’s a pretty funny story!

  3. Christiane Nick says:

    Elijah got the Amazon Echo (mini?) for Christmas from his dad. He loves it. It is really convenient to ask it questions. I especially like that you can tell Alexa to play any song and it does! I listened to a talk on NPR about AI; it was interesting to hear different people’s opinion and uses for Alexa and Siri, etc.

    1. Alright, sold! I’m thinking we’ll try the Amazon one. Thanks, Christiane! xo

  4. We have in ceiling speakers in a few rooms in the house so I didn’t think we had a need for Alexa. However it is very convenient for our daughters as they can just ask her to play something and she does without our help. The soundtrack from the movie Trolls is on repeat currently. I would give it a thumbs up. Have fun painting!

    1. Good to know! Ceiling speakers sound super nice. I suppose I’ll have to have movie night with Trolls. xoxox