Thankful

Hey y'all! I'm just popping in today to say how thankful I am - God is good. Andi and I experienced a car accident last Friday that resulted in my car being totaled. I haven't had an accident since I was in high school and let me tell you that it is a total game changer when there is a child involved. We slid on the ice and lost control and the car swerved off the road into the woods. It was literally like moving in slow motion until a giant stump brought us to a halt. Luckily the car stopped 2 feet from a head on collision with a tree and the driver side took the most of the hits. All of the side airbags deployed and despite some soreness bruising and Andi biting her tongue, we were both ok. You've never seen a Mama get out of an airbag and seat belt and snatch her toddler as fast as I did.

Just remember to always drive safely in bad weather conditions, never underestimate slush and ice and be thankful for every blessing from above. We definitely had a guardian angel. (the picture of the guardian angel pin is something my Mama gave me and I've had it ever since my bad wreck in high school)

I'll report back next week with new home reno pics because we have FINISHED the laundry room, mudroom and office. We've ordered the tile for the kitchen backsplash and that should be in hopefully next week. We also picked up a gorgeous new piece for the dining room that I need to share and updated some things in the living room!

WHW: Kitchen Almost Finished!

Hey y'all and happy WHW! Remember to link up with Jenn or myself and share what's currently hap-'pinning' in your life! 

Today I'm sharing a little teaser of our kitchen and I'm so over the moon excited about the way it is all coming together. I say 'teaser' only because I still need to stage a few things, add a few things here and there and finish the back splash but for the most part it is complete! I went to Home Depot out of town over the weekend because they have the back splash we want and of course it was not in stock in the store. We're torn between waiting for it to ship or heading into another tile place later in the week to pick some up. Its a smaller, beveled subway tile and I just love it. You'll see in the below comparison picture that we only need to back splash the portions on either side of the stove so it won't take long at all compared to our last home!

Before & After - still need backsplash

via Home Depot here

Also, while Mama, Andi and I were at the bay house for the long weekend, Hubs kicked major you know what on the laundry room/office/mudroom. (he has to work unfortunately) We randomly decided to go super dark on the back cabinetry and leave the uppers white. We also switched out the counter-top to a lighter version that works perfectly between the two! I'm so in love! I'll take more pictures once its acclimated and placed in!

Before & After so far

And a few snaps from our bay weekend! Hope y'all have a great rest of the week!

WHW: Page Turners

Hey y'all and welcome to another WHW where you can link up with us and let us know what's on your mind this week. We've been doing this for quite some time now and I just want to say thanks to y'all again for always coming back for more! Today I want to share some of my current bedside table reads and also currently whats on deck. My MIL gifts us a new book each Christmas and its always tailored to our specific reading tastes which makes it so much fun. This year she went out of my usual murder/thriller/psycho/mystery genre (yea I know, I like scary or sad... Jenn knows this haha) and gave me the new one from the Bush sisters and I'm thrilled to start it once I finish The Husband's Secret!  

via Amazon

I think she was onto something too and must have sensed a change in taste because all of a sudden y'all...I'm knee deep obsessed with anything...ready for it? NICHOLAS SPARKS. Oh my goodness this is so weird for me but I went on a binge over Christmas break and watched all of the movies I hadn't seen by him. Well, after about the 4th one, I realized how much I loved them and wondered why I hadn't just read one of his books. I quickly researched which ones are not movies yet and made a list. I've ordered 3 and I'm so ready to power through them. I think they will be quick reads which makes them appealing and I've just been on such a romance kick. Plus, they usually draw a few tears so it covers my sadness craving. I watched The Choice, Nights in Rodanthe, The Lucky One, Safe Haven and The Best of Me over break and I am now the proud owner of The Choice! (and Safe Haven) Ha! So SO good y'all! (I'm also currently looking at real estate in every little NC waterfront town but that's neither here nor there)

Here's what I just ordered - let me know your favorites!

Friday 5

Hey y'all and happy Friday! Its been awhile since I've linked up with the Friday 5 gang and I'm excited to join in on the fun. We got snow last night (as did most of the South) and even though it was absolutely beautiful, it just wasn't enough. I'm all Lorelai Gilmore when it comes to snow - I could see it every day so bring it on! Anyway, y'all have a good weekend and I'll check back next week since our counter tops are being installed Monday. (woot woot!) I'm hoping to have the kitchen photo ready by Wednesday's post but we'll see how it goes!

Here are 5 things that have been on my radar:

1. I ordered this brass bamboo cocktail napkin holder from Emily McCarthy and it is absolutely b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! Once I pick a napkin, it'll be the prettiest little addition to our barcart!

2. This piece of furniture is SO close to coming home with me. I think we're going to go ahead and pick it up next week! Its the perfect petite size for our dining room but still offers storage and it matches the color of the barcart that will also be in the dining room.

3. Ok y'all, I am DYING to get my hands on a fiddle fig tree (and a mini potted one too) for our living room and/or entryway. I was set on an artificial one but the more I look at them, I think I want a real one. HELP! I have no idea where to get one, how hard they are to care for, etc. Help a sista out y'all!

4. I shared in wednesday's post about this dress but I have to share again just in case there are any left on sale! Tuckernuck is doing their end of the year sale and this dress was marked down to 60 bucks y'all! You can't beat that! Between that and the Lilly Pulitzer sale - I am officially broke!

via

5. Although I've been having MAJOR issues with my sectional purchase through Joss & Main, I think I'm going to have to make this blue and white umbrella holder my next purchase. (my other purchases from them have been wonderful but lord have mercy on this sectional) the reviews say its way bigger and it would look fab in our entryway!

WHW: Updates

HEY Y'ALL! Long time no see huh? Sometimes blogging breaks are needed but man do break fly by! I've had two full weeks off from work and now today we're back. Our Christmas was fantastic and I sure hope yours was as well. Christmas through my child's eyes was simply magical and I know it'll be even better next year. (and she's in a big girl bed now!) We spent so much time with both sets of families, had friends in town to celebrate the new year and we have everything done in our kitchen minus the countertops. The countertops are scheduled to be installed by next week I believe and I am SO pumped! I'll update via photos by next Monday!

Oh and guess what? The couch was delivered....and it was wrong...AGAIN! I maintained a decent Christian, Southern-Lady standard attitude but by God Almighty is was hard y'all. So, third time's a charm right? The next one is supposed to be delivered on or before February 3rd and so help me it better be the right sofa. I know I should probably find one and take it home on site but every one I've looked at has been too big and I just love the look of this one that we ordered. Ahhhh whyyyyy!?

This is WRONG! Should be two cushions then middle not 3 cushions then middle!
This is a monster! Nooooo!

Anyway before I leave y'all with a big ole photo dump, I also need to give y'all a PSA: The Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale starts TODAY and Tuckernuck has their big end of the year sale going on as well. I'm talking gorgeous black evening gown - scored it for $60! So, if you have a hankering for some shopping then you're welcome.

This Dress! $67! 

WHW: Christmas Card 2017

Hey y'all! Happy WHW Wednesday - you know, the last one before CHRISTMAS!? Ah! How are we here already? HOW?! Anyway, today I'm sharing our little family Christmas card and some of the outtakes too. This entire process took about 10.5 minutes because hubs didn't want to be dragged away from painting and tiling the kitchen so he changed, hid the paint stained hands and we went on the front stoop of our new home to snap a quick, card-worthy shot. (Thanks Cici for the photos!) I've used Photoaffections now for three years in a row and I simply love them. The options, super fast shipping and even the way they arrive in their cute little box make me so happy! (I'm also sure to snag a Groupon for them every year as well meaning I paid $34 total instead of $150 for 100 cards - amazing right?!)

So we're still WAY overdue for an actual photo family session (like..she was 7 months the last time we did one) but these turned out just fine for this year's card. I simply had to choose the one where she is practically jumping out of Seth's arms front and center! She is such a little ham and I absolutely love it! I hope y'all have a safe and merry Christmas and I'll see y'all back here for a recap next week.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

WHW: Lately

Hey y'all and welcome to another WHW! December is straight up flying by and of course I'm still not caught up on my shopping whatsoever. I feel like I need a TJ Maxx/Hobby Lobby run and I can usually knock it all out. (love those places) We've been so busy lately with church, kitchen reno, trying to maintain a clean and balanced home (sike) that I feel like I don't really have anything super blog-worthy today so I'll just catch y'all up on some fun things we've done in the last week. The Chamber of Commerce put on their annual holiday house tour in our town and I absolutely loved it. We used this event as our monthly ladies group outing and it was so much fun! It snowed the entire time (oh yea, we got our first snow and it was a lot!!!) and we all met in the morning with yummy (spiked) hot cocoa! It was just what I needed and we're thinking about maybe adding our home to the tour next year!

We also had our big Christmas Cantata and dinner at our church and guess who made an appearance? Santa! Andi was so excited and WAY more accepting of him than she was last year - however - still a no go on the lap sitting thing. Although she did make sure to yell from a safe distance that she wanted the Belle Musical Tea Party Cart for Christmas and that she had definitely been a good girl. It was absolutely precious!

Home wise - still waiting on replacement sectional sofa piece and custom pillows but we do have the tile down and ready for grout which also means we will FINALLY have appliances! Can someone say meal planning to the utmost extreme? I'm seriously over eating takeout and so ready to cook y'all!