Friday Favorites

Happy, happy Friday! I have many random favorites compiled over the last few weeks, so let's get to it.

I was downtown a few weeks ago and had some time to kill before my train, so I wandered around Old Navy for a bit. Fell totally in love with the pinstriped linen blazer and definitely need it (when there's a good promo code online!) for fall.

I have a pet peeve about cliche food-related clothing ("rose all day" "but first...coffee"), and clothes that mention brunch are on that list, but this sweatshirt was SO soft and comfortable, I almost bought it full price. Plus I'm a sucker for a mustard colored top. AND the forks look like oars! 

My girlfriend brought the most delicious chocolate chip cookies into work last week, so I asked her for the recipe and promptly went home and made them. Hers were better, but mine were still SO good. Recipe here if you're interested.

Most of the items we ordered delivered before our housewarming party which was awesome, including the second lamp in our bedroom. I love it and I love the foot pedal it came with as the light switch even more #lazy It's super simple, and the lightbulbs in each lamp give off slightly different colored light, but I'm over it at this point haha. I just wanted a balanced light source, people.

And we were able to hang the prints my girlfriend made for us. I'm insanely obsessed.

Family trip to Gene's & Jude's is ALWAYS a major favorite.

Sammy's days off have been falling during the week lately, so we've been having a lot of weeknight date nights. (GREAT PICTURE, I KNOW.) I had gotten used to having weeknights to myself, but it's definitely nice coming home to him after work too ;) That's the struggle with the police officer significant other life: the schedule is always changing. As soon as I get used to having my weeknights to myself, he's home, and then when I'm used to doing weekends alone, he's there. It's actually less of a struggle for someone like me because while I typically thrive on consistency and routine, it's nice to have a schedule that switches up here and there.

So we've been doing many movie nights lately. First with several Harry Potter movies, as it was the annoying wizard's birthday last week ;), and then we watched Like Father on Netflix this week (which I recommend!).

Last week Sammy broke out the fire pit and he and Tyler had some beers and hung out there. I snapped this when they weren't looking cause I'm a creep and cause I can't get over how much I love having people at our house haha. I especially love it when I get to stay inside and watch movies while they chat ;) plus it was a weeknight so I had to get bed pretty early anyway.

Another phenom picture, but I found this lanterns at IKEA for $10 and $15. I haven't been able to find any for under $30 a piece and this cheap ass wasn't gunna shell that out for lanterns. I can't wait to add more decor around them for the holidays!

We added my favorite quote of all time to the bathroom downstairs and I love it. Print by Jessica Garvin, of course. 

"And above all watch the world with glittering eyes because those who do not believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl

We picked up our mirror earlier this week and we love it as well. I think it fits the space nicely (although it looks kinda small in this photo) and ties together the room. Sammy was weary of the silver (because of the oak trim and gold hardware on the doors) but I think it blends the silver accents well (the lamps have silver hardware, our picture frames are silver, the bathroom cabinet hardware is silver, etc.). 

Normally it would drive me nuts that we have gold and silver hardware in the same room, but I've given up a little bit of pickiness for this house since it isn't our forever home (and I'm certainly not about to spend the time to swap out gold hinges on our bedroom and closet doors...) and am just kind of going with things. I think I'm going to care a lot about this stuff and then I think, I just can't care about this that much haha. It's not worth it. I'd rather enjoy my time in the house than stress over hardware.

The texture on it is pretty too!

Had to snap this at Kirklands while we were waiting for them to bring our mirror up to the front because I about lost my mind. I can't wait to buy all the holiday/festive things!

We've been spending time with Sammy's grandpa this week and his garden is always a favorite. My Italian grandpa was into gardening too so I like to think this would have been something they would have bonded over. Look at his zucchini! 

And his fruit trees. He's actually crossbred two fruits into one tree by fusing two branches together. He's got the greenest thumb, I swear to god.

Nightstand item favorites: diffuser, peppermint lotion, essential oils (I rub peppermint essential oil onto my temples almost ever night because it instantly relaxes me, it numbs the skin and forces me to slow down which is great before bedtime) earthy candle, photobooth photo of Sammy and I from high school.

I found this easy, breezy white button down from TJ Maxx the other day and am obsessed with it. It's the most perfect button down. Maybe I'm late to the game, but I had never heard of this brand before. Thrilled to find their website and that they're sold at Nordstrom Rack! I intend on picking up several more of these shirts whenever I catch them on sale.

I also picked up a set of two bralettes from TJ Maxx by Marilyn Monroe Intimates, which is another brand I didn't know existed. This one below is a super light pink and then the other in the pack is like a dusty rose shade. I can't say enough about this bralette like it's stupid to like a bralette as much as I like this one. I won't be wearing anything else ever. The lace detail in the back is so pretty, the cups are slightly padded for support, the band at the bottom doesn't roll up under your boobs when you sit down (oh, only me? OK), and I've already washed it and it didn't get jacked up in the wash. ALSO, it was $5.99 for two. RUN to your TJ Maxx to see if they have them.

  

I noticed on my walk to the train that it's not as light out as it used to be even a few weeks ago. While this is definitely not a favorite, it does mean fall is on its way which is definitely a favorite around here ;)

We had our company summer outing yesterday and spent the afternoon in a suite at the racetrack. It ended up being more fun than I expected! We had an open bar, catered lunch (that was delicious), and private betting machine.

My dad hung out last night and had the best night. We spur of the moment decided to trek over to Boone County to go to their county fair and really enjoyed it.

And the corn in a cup.

And the old schoolhouse vibes.

And the gorgeous skies after a storm.

And the best favorite for last: a puppy update! Henry turned one month old this week! but the breeder hasn't posted a four week picture on the website yet, so here's his three week picture :) We go pick him out the week after next and I'm thrilled beyond words to meet him in person.

I thought it might be a good idea to buy him a toy that we could bring with us when we meet him so he could smell it and play with it, and when we come back two weeks later to take him home, I'm hoping having something he might recognize may make him a little more comfortable. (If you couldn't tell, I'm worried about taking him away from his mother haha.)

I ordered him this dino (can you even stand it!?). It's alarming how serious I'm taking this task, I fully realize that just so everyone knows.

And in typical Alex fashion, I've started a Google Doc of puppy notes, and I've been loving Zak George's videos on YouTube for training advice. Highly recommend if you're in need.

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That's all for me! 

Hoping for a speedy day here at work so we can start the weekend! Lots of family plans and I can't wait :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! xo

Linking up with Christina and Andrea!

Housewarming Gift Ideas

I wanted to do a quick post about the gifts we received from our generous friends at our housewarming party. I thought these ideas were so cute and thoughtful, I wanted to share! 

They may not be earth shattering ideas, but I'm partial to them 'cause I love the people who gave them to us ;) 

side note: I'm officially never giving another gift unless it's from Kirklands. If you don't have a store near you, I implore you to visit their website. Cutest. Stuff. Ever. (although some stuff does venture a little farmhouse for my taste, it's still super cute.) It's going to be my first stop for holiday decor this year.

Anyway, on to the ideas! And please forgive the terrible lighting in these photos. I snapped them while we were opening gifts after everyone had left late that night.

One of my sweet coworkers gave us these awesome oven mitts (already used and they're phenom), the best smelling candle, and reusable ice cubes. I thought it was a cute selection of stuff that could easily be picked up for a great price somewhere like TJ Maxx.

Two of our favorite city couples gave us wine and an electric bottle opener.

Several of our friends brought us plants--this bamboo plant (in the cutest pot), some yellow blooms from Trader Joe's, the happiest pink daisies--and they're so nice to see spread all over the house.

My girlfriend gifted us a bottle of wine, bread mix, and a Williams Sonoma gift card which was so generous and lovely.

Chelsie and Dan gave us bowls and bowls ;) because I asked for them and have already used and love. So nice to have a set of designated mixing bowls. I've become the biggest dork about house stuff.

  

Another girlfriend of mine brought us this awesome cheese board! Which Sammy was totally taken with haha. I think he expects cheese boards a lot more often now.

And the most creative gift by far, because it was made by the most creative person I know, was this holiday themed gift by my best friend and coworker. She filled this gold framed house (which has a tiny candle at the bottom) with different holiday decor items because she knows how holiday obsessed I am (as is she). There was a festive fall sprig in the chimney, a ceramic pumpkin, the frosted acorn ornament, three dish towels for each fall/winter holiday, as well as a puppy paw ornament kit we'll use when Henry comes home next month (I had to take it out for the picture because I wanted to send this to my mom and our families don't know we're getting a dog--we're surprising them!)!

I just couldn't get over how thoughtful this was and have vowed to do the same thing for any holiday appreciative friend I have.

Our families have gifted us amazing things as well as "housewarming gifts" but truly go above and beyond what is considered a housewarming present. In addition to gifting us many big ticket furniture items, my mom has also given us an organic snack box subscription as a housewarming gift. And Sammy's grandma has brought us a lovely stone and glass candle holder from Kirklands. 

In addition to many bottles of wine, my girlfriend has also brought over a Trader Joe's care package she put together with some of my favorite things in it which I loved. Our moms both bought us groceries the first week we moved in, which was a lovely gift as well.

I feel like I have endless ideas for housewarming gifts now and am waiting for opportunities to give!

xo

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a good one, and I was definitely feeling the "Sunday scaries" yesterday. But recapping always helps!

But before I get into the recap, I have to mention something that I can't get out of my head. I've been following April's blog for years now, as I'm sure many of you have, and I can't get the devastating news she shared about her second child, Charlotte, on Friday out of my head. If you feel so inclined to help out their family in any way, Christina shared a great post listing the possible outlets. I just can't get over what their family must be going through, and I can't imagine dealing with this news while having two other children to parent (one being an infant no less). I've been thinking and praying for them every day. It certainly makes something like the "Sunday Scaries" seem extraordinarily insignificant.

FRIDAY

I was off on Friday and sleeping in was glorious. Well, it would have been glorious if I had actually done it ;) but laying in bed for hours because I didn't have anywhere to go was glorious. I finished an entire book before getting up for the day.

Sammy and I hung out before he had to go to work, I watched some Hallmark movies ;), and then headed over to TJ Maxx to try and find some decor items. I ended up snagging several faux plants (which I swore I would never get until I realized I can't keep indoor plants alive), a CRAZY comfortable navy throw for our couch, candles, some picture frames, the most perfect white beachy button down, lacy undies, and my new favorite bralette that is SO good I'll have to post about it on Friday for my "favorites" post.

Later that night, my sister met me at my house and we joined my family for Chinese food to celebrate my grandma's birthday.

I made a late-night grocery run (God bless Jewel being open 24/7) to get supplies for our housewarming party we threw the next day with our friends. And then Sammy asked 90 questions about what I purchased. And then we fell asleep.

SATURDAY

We got up relatively early on Saturday morning so we could freak out about what needed to be done in the house before the party ;) we actually keep the house really clean during the week, so we didn't need to do much, but we're both nuts so it seemed like a lot. 

We deep cleaned and organized every room, well Sammy did a lot of this while I started to cook. I chose dishes I could make ahead of time or early that morning and be kept at room temperature in an attempt to keep things easy. I made S'mores bars for dessert which was the most time consuming thing I had to make and even that wasn't bad (just messy!).

I loved making these cheese boards but damn are they expensive to make! Will never understand why cheese and nuts are so expensive. But I have a lot of these items left over, so I'll be snacking on them throughout the week.

We had a bunch of soda (and various hard alcohols for spiking), wine, and beer, and I made a big batch of Kentucky Lemonade (lemonade, ginger ale, bourbon, and mint leaves) which was a huge hit.

This guy in his prime finally getting to use his grill.

We served hamburgers and hotdogs (and meatless! and gluten-free! ;) ), caprese orzo salad that all my friends go nuts for, corn on the cob, and green bean salad. We did S'mores bars for dessert along with some fruit and a cookie cake our friends brought for us.

We have extremely thoughtful and generous friends, so much in fact that I'm going to do a post about the gifts we got because I thought they were such great ideas and I always love hearing gift ideas.

It really was the loveliest day. I wanted everything to be easy and seemingly effortless, so we did everything we could beforehand which allowed us optimal time to be with our friends. It was so nice to have everyone over in our home. I've said it before but hosting is my favorite thing in the world. One of my girlfriends paid me the nicest compliment of my entire life when she said how effortless I looked while doing everything. Obviously that's a lie, but it's literally something I have wanted someone to say to me for my entire life haha so I was clearly thrilled ;) I thought we were going to feel like our parents were going to come home at any minute, like our house wasn't really ours and someone was going to say "okay, enough playing house," but it couldn't have felt more natural to be in our space with our friends over. So grateful to everyone who came from far away suburbs and all the way downtown.

We plan on having a housewarming with our family sometime in September and then having our friends over again (we were missing some favorites) when Henry is here!

SUNDAY
We got pretty bad news about Sammy's grandpa's health on Friday (I even asked Sammy if he wanted to cancel our housewarming on Saturday), so we spent the morning with him on Sunday before Sammy's shift. He's going to be at their house all day today since he's off, and I'll be going after work. We're trying to soak up as much time with him as we can.

After we came home and Sammy went to work, I got to work using up the leftover beef we had from our party. I made a meatloaf in the crock pot and some gravy with meatballs for Sunday dinner.

While all that was slow cooking, I ate Chinese leftovers (among many other things...not a good eating day, I can tell ya that) and watching Hallmark Christmas movies. My favorite kind of afternoon.

Sammy and his coworker (and our now great friend) came home for dinner. I always love when Sammy brings his coworkers home with him. I spent over an hour on the phone with my parents before getting into bed at 8 p.m. to finish even more, if you can believe it, Hallmark movies. 

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It was a weekend filled with some devastating news, but also some really lovely moments. And isn't that so reflective of life as a whole?

Hoping everyone is having a great start to their week. xo

Linking up with Biana!