A Little of This & That..

Occasionally I’ll write a little post that includes a variety of things that are going on around here… These topics are usually too small to devote an entire blog post on but work perfectly in a little round-up like the one I have scheduled for today.

Last time I wrote one of these was in February… We had just added all the changes to the family room, I announced that I was mentoring at the Design Bloggers Conference, we organized my kitchen with The Container Store, and I provided a little update on my skincare. Click here to read that post..

This time around, I have a few topics that I would like to fill you in on… :)

Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial Day Weekend, we decided to stay home and enjoy a little relaxing time with our friends & family in our new outdoor space. Jeff cooked a wonderful dinner (of course ;), our friends brought a couple of yummy side dishes and wine – and we sat out back & talked until the candles ran out. It was a wonderful way to spend time over our beautiful long weekend.

Emma’s Health Update

Emma’s breakfast this morning!

The response to Emma’s blog post from Wednesday about her weight and health journey has been overwhelming! I can’t believe how many of you related to her story in so many ways.. the outreach has been nothing short of amazing. I shared Emma’s Instagram for those who might want to follow her day-to-day journey, and I also explained that she would occasionally post her progress here. Stay tuned for more on that this week because she will officially weigh-in on the blog! She’ll be talking about her week of progress, things that she has been doing differently, and will be talking about the # here. It’s been so fun watching her be happier and healthier!

 

Garden Updates

I’m loving the garden progress. It has been so much fun adding all the different layers.. We still have quite a bit to do (fountains and more furniture for the dining room side) but all the plantings are finally finished! Yay!! I added a couple of blog posts about all the different sources and links to everything in my garden: Plant Blog Post, Flower Blog Post.

This weekend we also added a few more things to the outdoor space. Entertaining is so important to us – and we love beautiful atmospheres.

 

 

One of the pieces that I’ve been looking for is an outdoor rug. I finally found the perfect color and style at Annie Selke on clearance. The star design is festive for summer and the soft blush tone brings an extension of my colors inside my home to the outside. This is an indoor/outdoor rug, so I’m not sure how much fading will be involved – so if you’re ordering you may want to keep this in mind. It’s 60% off – click here for the source.

If you watched my IG Stories this weekend, you already know that Jeff wanted to buy a new smoker for our summer BBQing. He was looking for an electric smoker that wasn’t too big, and he found the perfect one at Lowe’s for $239! If you’re a Home Depot fan, you can find it there as well but it’s a little more expensive. We cooked on it both Saturday and Sunday, both times the smoker made the best ribs. Jeff is thrilled with it. It’s great because it’s bluetooth enabled.. so he can change features from inside the house. Click here for the source.

Last garden update is regarding our lighting. We added a few more spot lights and path lights from Lamps Plus to the backyard. We’ll be including more next weekend to the front yard. When my friends were over for dinner they fell in love. It’s amazing what lighting can do for ambience and atmosphere. I’ll be writing a whole blog post soon about my garden at night including all of our selections and details. Click here for my outdoor café lights hanging on the fence.

LBD & Monday Night Giveaway

I’m so excited about this week’s giveaway with Poolside Bags. I’ve talked about them before and you know I always feature companies that I LOVE in my giveaways. I found out about them through Julia Engel of Gal Meets Glam – who has the same bag as me but it says “hello sunshine“.  I knew you all would love the chance to win a bag of your own. 2 winners will win 1 custom bag of their choice. You can enter to win through 5/29 on my Instagram post about the bags. Click here to see the bag I have.

Some other bags from Poolside that I love: 

I also picked up the cutest little black dress last week from one of my favorite stores, LOFT. I was shocked how much I loved it, because I usually don’t go for all the trends at once. I love the off the shoulder vibe with the button down.. and the little slit makes it beautiful but not too sexy. I got a size XS but I could probably get a size XSP if I wanted – it runs big. Click here to shop my new dress.

 

New Summer Makeup

Emma and I were so excited when we both received huge boxes from Jouer – one of our favorite makeup brands. They just came out with a summer makeup line called The Jet-Set Collection and we are so obsessed. I receive PR packages from different brands, and I don’t always share but this box was stunning. The florals mixed with the glam of the box made me SO happy. 

The collection includes new lip kits (liners, lip cremes, and lip toppers), highlight, bronzer duos, a matte eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, and makeup cases/bags. Jouer came out with blush duos that I LOVE so I was excited when they came out with the bronzer version. I even loved the new mini makeup bag I received that I ordered the full-size version! Click here to shop the entire collection (not sponsored or affiliate, just really love this brand.)

More Jouer Makeup I Love: 

xo,

Kristy

 

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