Hidden Gem

Another beautiful weekend in the books, albeit a heavy one. All the emotions are flying high right now, but I am thankful that I was able to spend quality time with my husband while Lil' Miss enjoyed a gymnastics party at her gym (their monthly parents night out parties are GOLD!) and then on Saturday I spent quality time with my best girl and took her to the playground before having lunch at one of our favorite local spots. Lots of outdoor time and sunshine which is always good for the soul.

For date night we headed to the Tap Room at Dubsdread which is right on the golf course, and we even saw a wedding going on. We asked for a table outside with golf course views, and the weather was perfection.

Then we headed into downtown for a nightcap to check out The Wellborn which is the cutest hidden gem that is actually a part of a boutique hotel, and has a beautiful courtyard and kitchen and bar. My girlfriends and I have been talking about checking out their brunch, but had to postpone. So, fingers crossed our schedules will align soon because I can't wait to go back.

They have the prettiest cocktails, and even the bathrooms are super cute. I walked in, and not only did it not "smell like bathroom" but there was a bathtub filled with colorful ball pit balls. In my opinion it's a look don't touch situation because well it is a public bathroom. Ha!

The next morning, I decided to skip my workout after throwing some laundry in and take Lil' Miss to the playground and out for some lunch. She was living her best life running around, going down all the slides and climbing to her hearts content. She makes me SO nervous with how high she climbs, but she's a champ. Mini cheeseburgers with a side of fruit instead of fries was her lunch order which didn't stop her from stealing some of my fries of course!

We are ALMOST done on the DIY closet re-design. Just need to add the shelves above the bars in the back, organize a few more things and clear out all the tools. I couldn't be happier with how it came out, and am incredibly thankful that we didn't spend thousands of extra dollars for professional installation. It was daunting at first, but actually not that bad and SO worth it!

If you haven't been following along on Instagram Stories, this is the before shot:

This is something I've wanted to do for several years, but couldn't stomach the cost of professional installation. It's seriously SO expensive, like I'm talking we could gut our kitchen for the same amount. Craziness!

My husband mentioned a few months back that he could install it himself if we purchase closet systems from Home Depot or Lowes. I initially said absolutely not because I was afraid it couldn't be done, but I eventually warmed up to the idea and am SO glad I did. We ordered everything from Home Depot, and he's been working on it here and there on the weekends or at night.

As you can see above the "before" photo is a cluttered mess and horrible use of the space. We had a builders grade rack going around the whole perimeter and that was it. No fun shelves or drawers, no tiered racks, etc... I even still had a plastic dresser that I used in college to move back and forth from the dorms. It was bad...

I'll come back with final photos, and a breakdown of everything we ordered, what we needed and the roadblocks we ran into.

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Meet Me Outside

It has been absolutely beautiful outside, and I'm hoping that we have seen the last of the cold fronts moving through for the season. It's been warm, but not hot and low humidity. We celebrated a friend's son's birthday at the park, and then headed over to a local brewery for more outside time and catching up. Lil' Miss was living her best life running around outside with our friend's kiddos, and we enjoyed the weather and time with old friends.

We were treated to a second beautiful weekend day, and visited our favorite local Mexican restaurant for some fresh margaritas and dinner. I snapped a few outfit photos with the cutest ruffle one shoulder top before settling in on the patio with my favorite margarita. I can still hear my sigh of relief.

One Shoulder Top {available in 3 colors} | Boyfriend Jeans | Heels | Lipstick in Creme Cup | Sunglasses

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Brownies and Brunch

Are we already more than halfway through February? I'm still feeling major burnout, but had a few days off last week (to burn through unused PTO before losing it on my work anniversary) which definitely helped. I treated chronic pain with a much needed massage, continued work on our DIY closet re-design, baked Valentine's cookies with Lil' Miss and helped her get ready for her classroom party, rocked out like a proper millennial to the Super Bowl halftime show and met Emily for a Galentine's Day brunch on the water.

Top {Similar} | Peep Toe Booties | Camera Bag in Deep Marine | Sunnies | Lipstick in Twig | Necklace | Drusy Ring in Rose Gold

If you've been following along on Instagram, I've been documenting in Stories how we are currently tackling a DIY master closet re-design. This is something I've wanted to do for several years, but couldn't stomach the cost of professional installation. It's seriously SO expensive, like I'm talking we could gut our kitchen for the same amount. Craziness!

My husband mentioned a few months back that he could install it himself if we purchase closet systems from Home Depot or Lowes. I initially said absolutely not because I was afraid it couldn't be done, but I eventually warmed up to the idea and am SO glad I did. Because even though we're about 2/3's done I'm already LOVING the newly transformed space. We ordered everything from Home Depot, and the sections have been arriving, and he's been working on it here and there on the weekends or at night.

Fast forward to our current progress, and we're getting there. One side is completely done, the back wall just needs the rods hung up (they need to be cut to fit the space), the corner pieces are in, and we just need to finish the other wall. Once everything is complete, I'll come back and share the entire process including some of issues we've run into.

Here's a breakdown of the closet system pieces we purchased:

2 ClosetMaid White Wood Closet System kits - 1 for each side wall (currently 25% off)

2 Corner Closet Towers for each far corner - they made it easy to connect everything

1 Narrow Closet System for the back wall

We're pleasantly surprised by the quality of the materials and easy to follow directions and installation. After measuring, make sure you're ordering closet system kits that will fit your space appropriately and utilize the existing holes in the walls after removing what's currently there to locate the studs.

We're excited for the sweetest new addition in town - Stackd Brownies recently opened up a brand new store, and we took home some deliciousness to enjoy along with a dozen mini's for Lil' Miss to treat the teachers at her school. Each batch of gourmet brownies are perfectly baked daliy, and the best part - they work with local suppliers for the finest and most authentic ingredients. Yummy and REAL ingredients? YES please!

Emily and I met up at one of our favorite brunch spots to catch up over good food and bottomless mimosas. We both skipped the traditional orange juice mimosa, and she went with pineapple while I went with grapefruit before we took our last drink outside to enjoy by the water. Perfect Galentine's Day celebration of our 11 years and counting friendship!

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Necessary

It's been a while again since I showed up to this little space. Every time I think I'm going to be able to come up for air, the busy season continues. I am beyond burnt out, and my mouse pad in my office that says "I need a vacation" could not be more true right now. Between my full time job which I work way more than 40 hours a week, freelance gigs with local businesses, blog campaigns and being a mom, wife, sister, friend and daughter I have a lot on my plate. Social media never sleeps, so my brain is just always on.

I've fielded a lot of questions from family and friends about how I do it all, and the truth is I don't. Not even close. Wife and Mommy are by far the two most important titles I have, and it saddens me when I'm not fully there for them and they deserve the world. I'm making more of an effort to be there for friends, family and also myself. I need self-care and unplugging even if it's just going to get my eyebrows waxed or my hair done or a barre workout or cooking for my family. It's necessary.

Also necessary - date nights. It's SO important to have one-on-one time as a couple even if we're grabbing a quick dinner. Having an adult conversation without being interrupted every few seconds - priceless. Last weekend we dropped Lil' Miss off at gymnastics for their monthly "Parents Night Out" (watching parents peel out of the parking lot on a mission each time is my favorite part - you can almost hear them saying "GO GO GO!!!"), and we headed to a new to us local spot for dinner that is an old jailhouse converted into a restaurant. The food was delish, and we then ventured over to a hidden tiki bar for a night cap before heading back to get our sweet girl.

Twisted OTS Sweater {only $24} | Lace Bralette | Super Soft Skinny Jeans | Ankle Booties | Barrettes | Camera Bag | Lipstick in Twig

Also necessary - time with "framily". We hadn't gotten together in far too long. I had seen her for a birthday dinner in November, but didn't get to catch up much and hadn't seen her since. It had been so long that she was asking to see all my photos from Vegas, Venice, Panama, Brazil and Dubai (my work trips throughout the fall).

We went for a wine tasting at a new local spot, then came back to the house for grilling and hot tub time with our husbands and the kiddos. Oh and of course s'mores. Lil' Miss fully approved.

In other news - we had a global marketing summit at work, and I spoke on our social media strategy. Our local department was in the room, but it was streaming to our team members around the world which meant we started each day at 6:00 a.m. to respect the time zones in our Asia-Pacific region before they went to bed for the night. The exhaustion was real, but it was fun to make waffles together in the café before we got started for the day. And even though I spent far too long over analyzing my PPT, and let my nerves get the best of me I feel it went quite well. It's been amazing to see our counterparts around the world already adopting some of the tools and strategies I mentioned, and I'm excited to watch them grow.

Side note - I forgot how uncomfortable work clothes are. Sitting all day in work pants and heels was not for the faint of heart. I could not be more thankful for remote work for so many other reasons, but this is just another bonus.

I mostly cook our meals, and we don't eat out or order takeout much except on Saturdays when we try to head out and do something fun. So, I got a little teary eyed when opening up my recipe book recently and a card with my grandmother's handwriting fell out. Needless to say I tried her recipe that week, and it was nostalgia fresh from the oven. Man I miss her... and her sass!

And last, but certainly not least! I took Lil' Miss to dinner last night to celebrate one of our "framily" members birthday. About 20 of us surprised him, and it was SO good to just all be together. We try to get the girls together for brunches or dinners here and there (and the guys get together too), but it had been way too long since we all came together including our kiddos who were also excited to see each other. Perfect way to celebrate one of our best friends!

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There Must Be Some Toros in the Atmosphere

A cold front has moved in, and it's been time for sweaters and boots. It was 37 degrees when I took Lil' Miss to school yesterday morning, and it wasn't for the faint of heart especially when the wind gust came through. I always joke that I didn't move to Florida to be cold, and it's true that your blood thins out. I grew up in Connecticut where it got MUCH colder than this for way longer, and now I get can't get warm when it drops below 60.

Pullover {15% off} | Faux Leather Leggings | OTK Boots | Lipstick in Twig | Sunnies | Double Ring

I purchased this pullover for my work trip to Dubai in November as something that can be thrown over anything to cover my shoulders and respect their modesty standards. It was light and airy enough for the desert, but also great for the recent drop in temps back here at home.

I paired it with my favorite faux leather leggings which are ridiculously comfy and a pair of OTK boots that I scooped up at Nordstrom Rack a few seasons ago.