Our Plans For the Outside

Ch-ch-ch-changes are coming!   Every time I come home, I'm faced with ugly, tan vinyl siding and a craftsman front door that makes no freakin sense. So we've started ripping off the terrible siding and found the original cedar siding and y'all, I can't even explain how much better it already looks, wood rot and all.  So while Ryan tends to the damaged siding, I've been looking at all the houses on pinterest! These are a few of my faves...I think you can see why. 

The cedar on this house almost makes me want to leave ours as is. 

Destination Eichler

Wildwood Modern

I think it's safe to say, I have a thing for dark houses with touches of cedar.  As long as it doesn't rain (again) we'll be tackling the outside this week and I'm just dying to get it done and share with you what we've decided to do!

Mid F'n Century

Surprise, I'm back! Can you believe it's been three years since my last post?! Since then a lot has obviously changed.  The biggest change is that we said goodbye to our new construction in Texas and hello to our gem of a midcentury in Oklahoma!  Now I know what you're thinking.  Why would you ever leave Dallas for Tulsa?  Aside from the fact that we're from here (hello, family!), we happened to fall in love with this house! 

The house is a post and beam style (it's bad ass) that was built in 1965.  The bones are fabulous and it has windows galore! Sadly, the house suffered an unfortunate update back in the late 80's.  Hello ugly tile and green carpet!  As you can imagine, it's in need of some serious update.  We have big plans, yuge plans for this house and we've hit the ground running! I can't wait to shar all our plans and progress but for now, I'll show you what it looked like the day we moved in.  Get excited! 

sorry for terrible pano shot! 

So there ya have it, our new house!  Have you ever renovated a house before?  Leave me your best advice!!

Ways To Transition Your Home Into Fall

Labor Day is over and as far as I'm concerned, it's officially fall.  Bring on the pumpkin everything. Having said that, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I've started adding that cozy touch of fall to our house. Personally, I'm not a fan of a lot of fall decorations.  Sometimes less is best.  I know, I know, I love pumpkins as much as you, but I don't need them all over my house and I certainly don't need scarecrows everywhere.  Because let's be real, I don't want to have to dust that nonsense.  So today, I'm sharing how I achieve that cozy, fall vibe without adding clutter.

1.  Texture, texture, texture.  Did you get that?  Texture is key.  I love adding chunky baskets, cozy blankets and warm patterns to the space.  It really warms a room up and gives it that cool weather, fall vibe that I just love.  

2.  Bring the outdoors in.  Because what says fall more than fresh flowers and dried twigs?  I picked up a bag of delicious potpourri at Hobby Lobby and added it with some glittery pumpkins (I love the glitzy touch) but it was still missing something.  So I added some branches from the tree in our front yard that didn't survive the Texas summer. I wasn't planning on adding any flowers, but I found the most gorgeous blooms on my walk at a local nature trail, I couldn't resist picking some and adding them to some amber glasses.  I'm swooning over how great they look!  

3.  Color is your friend.  I have a thing for orange.  You know this, though!  So the orange stools and killim pillows really help with my fall decor.  I added this gorgeous, burnt orange throw from Homegoods to the living room and it really sent the room over the top.  For an added bonus, I threw in an orange, pumpkin candle to help create warmth and make the house smell like a pumpkin spice latte.  #winning

4.  Metallics are your friend.  Adding touches of gold and bronze really adds that fall look we all love.  Do this and you're golden.  see what I did there?  

And there ya have it, a cozy, fall look that doesn't sacrifice style!  What are your fall must haves for a cozy home?

CLOSED JORD WOOD WATCH GIVEAWAY!

Happy Tuesday, Friends!  I'm shaking things up a bit here today and talking fashion.  I know what you're thinking, "Really? Fashion?  Does she own anything other than yoga pants?"  The answer is yes, I do!  So that basically makes me fashionista. right?  

One of my favorite things to do to spice up my mom style is add some fun accessories.  I've always had a love for unique watches, so when I came across JORD, I immediately fell in love!  The women's watches are what my dreams are made of!  I mean, what's not to love about a wood watch?! Plus they look great with a good pair of yoga pants!  #winning  




When my watch arrived, I couldn't get it out of the box fast enough.  The first thing that caught my eye was the packaging.  I'm a sucker for good packaging and JORD did not disappoint.

I chose the Zebrawood and Champagne Frankie and I love how simplistic and modern the it is.  Since it's wood, I was a bit worried it might feel bulky or heavy, but I was pleasantly surprised at how light and comfortable it is! 

Do you want a wood watch of your own?  I've had the amazing opportunity to team up with JORD Wood Watches and they are offering you the chance to win a $75 e-gift card that you can use for your very own wood watch!  Exciting right?! I have even more good news! Even if you don't win, you'll still receive a $20 coupon code!!   How amazing is that? 

Click here to enter! 

Winner will be chosen at random on 9/4.

Wood Watches by JORD

This post was sponsored by JORD Wood Watches, all opinions are my own. 
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Paleo Friendly Slow Roasted Pork Belly

Fun fact: Ryan and I eat mostly paleo.  By mostly paleo, I mean Ryan eats paleo and I eat whatever he cooks but with a few carbs occasionally thrown in.  I've talked before about how amazing paleo has been for me so I'll keep this post short and sweet! Because really, who wants to read a long back story when trying to read a recipe?  #notme 

INGREDIENTS:

• One Pork Belly (whatever size you want)
• sea salt and black pepper
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and roughly sliced
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, pealed and crushed
• 1 tsp cardamom pods, crushed
• 4 star anise 
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• olive oil
• apple juice

Score the pork belly in a diamond pattern and season with salt and pepper.
Mix the remaining dry ingredients and cover the pork on both top and bottom.  

Ryan cooked our pork belly in the Big Green Egg at 275 for about 4 hours.  He cooked it on indirect heat with a pan of apple juice under the grate to give it a sweet juiciness! 

Once fully cooked, remove the star anise and cardamom pods and let it rest for about 30 minutes.  

Cut into slices and enjoy!

If you're not eating paleo, I highly recommend putting a few slices on a hoagie bun with this mustard! So damn good! 

CLOSED Giveaway!! Baby Proofing with The Stair Barrier

See that?  This is what my life has become.  While one kid is trying to climb the stairs, the other one is coloring on the walls. It's non freaking stop!  You would think by now that I would be a pro at childproofing, but let's put it this way, it's nothing short of a miracle that we haven't had any trips to the E.R.  #youknowwhatimtalkingabout 

Having said that, I was beyond excited when my friends at The Stair Barrier sent me a gate!   Finally, something that can keep my little monsters angels safe.  Unlike most baby gates, The Stair Barrier is stylish, durable and modern. The fabric is thick, so little ninjas can't crawl through and when it's not in use, you can just roll it to the side. Out of sight, out of mind.  It's everything you could ever want in a baby gate!

Once The Stair Barrier arrived, I couldn't get it out of the box fast enough....naturally.  I decided I would install the gate myself because I'm all that is woman...or something like that.  Basically the instructions were fool proof and I thought, "eh, why not?"

Deciding where to drill the holes was the hardest part.

And there ya have it, I successfully installed The Stair Barrier in roughly 30 minutes!  I couldn't be happier with The Stair Barrier though Miles is less than thrilled. Sorry buddy. 
Safety at it's finest, folks.  .

Want one for your casa?  The nice folks at The Stair Barrier are generous enough to giveaway one to a lucky reader! All you have to do is enter below.  Get excited! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post was sponsored by The Stair Barrier, all opinions are my own.  

easy under-cabinet lighting

Now that our fauxdenza is finally complete, I've jumped right in and started styling it. I knew I wanted a light of some type on that wall because it's always so dark, but every lamp I tried just looked off.  You know what I'm talking about. I thought about a picture light over the t.v. but can you imagine the glare?  So after a lot of thought, I came up with the idea of under-cabinet lighting. Finally, an idea that just might work. I told Ryan about my idea and he was immediately on board.  At first I wasn't sure how we were going to make this happen, but Ryan quickly found l.e.d. light strips on Amazon and they were exactly what we wanted.#amazonsavestheday   The light strips are sticky, so no drilling or extra holes were needed. You just stick it on and cut the extra.  Boom.  Done. 

So there ya have it!  

You really don't get easier than that!