Happy Sunday!! We are about to jump into a big chapter in our home renovation with a full kitchen demo, and all the floors being replaced at the same time (the whole main floor has a very poorly installed wood-look tile that is breaking and falling apart all over the place). While I am super excited to see the finished results with white oak floors and a more functional kitchen that has a much better layout (right now the dishwasher door hits the oven every time you open it!), it will be a looooong month coming up. I’m trying to appreciate the few little nooks in the house that aren’t ripped apart or full of storage boxes from other areas of the house. Here’s what else is keeping me a little more upbeat this week:
1. I bought this little one-minute gratitude journal and I really like that I’ve been ending most days with writing down 3-5 things that I’m grateful for. To be perfectly honest, some days have been really hard lately and it’s a good exercise to daily call out the good things in life even if they are super small some days.
2. Working on picking out lighting options for our home remodel and I love this budget-friendly one for over our stair landing! I’ve been obsessed with shopping for lighting, so you can see more of my favorites here.
3. Bought this little digital print for my new shelves and this rectangular letter board (with these blush letters!). Digital prints and letter boards are some of my favorites for shelf decor since the prints are inexpensive—you can print new ones often and you can change the letter board phases whenever you want!
4. I’ve definitely been “influenced” by my friends/coworkers here at the blog to try this clean mascara and I’m so glad I did! Generally, I’m super picky about mascara as I have straight short lashes, so a formula really needs to wow me to use it again but it’s great! I’ve also never liked that kind of mascara wand before so I was really surprised when it did a great job of lengthening and separating my lashes. I guess there really is a reason it has a ton of good reviews.
5. Haven’t been buying much clothing lately, but I can’t resist a good Queen shirt, so I may break my stride! I bought this for my daughter in two sizes so she’ll have one to grow into, and we’ve finally gotten to the point where she sings along to the hits and requests them when it’s her turn to pick the song. Mission accomplished!
6. This puzzle is so cute and so fun and it’s two sided so you get two puzzles in one!! I think puzzles are my favorite thing to do with Lola right now, and she’s so good at them. I wanted to get her one with a lot more pieces so it would be a good challenge. She LOVES it!
7. I know that Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away and some people hate the holiday. But my middle name is actually Valentine and so is my daughter’s (it’s a family name), so it’s one of my favorite holidays. I love that Lola is already excited about it this year and while we will most likely be in the middle of a whole top floor renovation that day (we are having our very problematic floors replaced), I know we will still think of some fun surprises for her and I can’t wait!
8. Got this bamboo standing shelf to help organize my hall closet! It was really easy to put together and the wood tone looks really pretty too.
9. Got this sound machine/alarm clock combo for Todd and me as a Christmas present (since he’s been asking for one that wakes you up gently with a light instead of a loud beeping) and he loves it! I like it since it looks so much sleeker and nicer than our last one (it was 10 years old and really big and clunky!) and he likes to be awoken to the “dawn” setting where the alarm is soft tweets of little birds in nature, so it’s a win for everyone.
10. Looking through the ’70s decor on Etsy is so fun because you find gems like this and this!
For those of you who are also going through home renovations with kids around (wow, like SO different when you have kids, right?), I’m pouring you a virtual glass of wine—you deserve it! I can’t wait to share all the changes with you guys, so here’s hoping I’ve got some good results to share soon! xo. Laura
P.S. I’ll have a DIY for you on those built-in shelves above soon, so stay tuned for that!
I’ve been using the Ilia mascara for a couple of months now and I’m never going back!…a few months in and the tube has currently shown no signs of drying out or being done with…the Honest Company mascara is a great second, IMO…I’m a 50 year old and I wish I’d have appreciated my lashes more in my 20s and 30s!…they definitely thin out and change as we age…like the rest of our hair…except the ones on our chins…lol…those grow much more proliferant…#midlife
Good luck with the reno! We are also having most of our floors replaced soon, except the kitchen and bath. Are you planning to be home while the work happens? Or does all the furniture have to get moved out? Any tips on surviving with a toddler are appreciated!
Oh this mascara looks really nice. I don’t have that long lashes, so I never really find a good mascara. I think I should buy this one too 🙂
Oh, I love that narrow bamboo shelving unit. I think it would be perfect next to my desk in my basement office. I have been collecting a few too many pandemic plants and I think it would accommodate them perfectly!
I’m loving the Ilia brand! I’ve ordered three things in the last month – the Super Serum Skin Tint, the Liquid Light Serum, and the Color Haze cheek and lip cream. All fabulous, and their prices are very reasonable too. I’ll order the mascara next – thanks for the recommend!
Yes! I love their liquid light as well, they have lots of great products!
Laura 🙂
Will your diy include sources of those items on your shelves? Because I love all the stuff you have up there. ☺️ Also I love the light you linked!
It will! Some items are from a few years ago or vintage, but I’ll at least link similar things on those 🙂
Laura