High 5 for Friday

I haven't done one of these posts in a while! I decided I'd do a low 5 along with my high 5. I'll start with the lows and build up from there.

This week's lows:

1. I found 4 gray hairs this week - eek! Feeling really old. I may have to start dyeing my hair in the near future.
2. I cleaned the whole main level the other night - vacuumed, cleaned the powder room, straightened up. Thanks to the Coop man, not even 2 days later it looked like it needed a thorough cleaning again.
3. This has been a looong week at work. I am so ready for a vacation.
4. The rain. And the cold. I am just SICK of it! So ready for spring to come and STAY.
5. Since we were out of town last weekend and got home late Sunday night, the laundry and grocery shopping have yet to be caught up on... I am thinking it probably won't happen tonight either, even though it should.

How I Use Pinterest

a pin from my "decor" board

For some reason, Pinterest is something that I don't spend much time on. It seems to be an addiction for a lot of girls I know. I have friends who literally scroll through Pinterest on their phones throughout the day and talk about spending their evenings getting lost on it. But for some reason, I rarely ever get on to just browse. I'm not really sure why, because I love some of the inspiration I get when I'm browsing. However, I think a lot of time it makes me feel lazy. I look at pictures of food that I really want to make in my kitchen or house updates I want to tackle, and I feel lazy just sitting there on the computer instead of doing those things. So for the most part I don't spend a ton of time just browsing on Pinterest.

BUT this is not to say that I do not use it. I think I might just use it in a little bit different way than other people do. Whenever I go to Pinterest, it is with an intent purpose. Most of my pins are not re-pins, they are pinned from things that I'm looking at out on the web. I probably pin at least one article or recipe daily. Pinterest has become a handy tool in my kitchen, for design inspiration, and for life. I think it is an awesome central location for idea sharing and it's crazy to think that just a few years ago it didn't exist! Here are some ways I use it to keep my life organized.

Cooper

So if you follow me on Instagram, you saw that we recently adopted a puppy! Meet Cooper.

He is a shepherd chow mix (we think) but we also think there are some other breeds in there. I think we will find out more as he gets older and more features and behaviors become prevalent.

26

image source

Today is my birthday! As of 8:07 pm, I will be twenty-six years old. Twenty-six whole years of living in this crazy world. In some ways, every year feels older. In other ways, every year feels the same. One thing that's changed is I don't get super excited about my birthday anymore. Is that just me, or is that adulthood? This is not to say that I don't enjoy the festivities. I love going out to eat with Michael to celebrate (we're headed to The Cheesecake Factory tonight!) and I totally wouldn't mind if someone threw me an awesome party.

Snow!

A couple of weeks ago we got a snow day. We never get snow here in NC! It started in the evening - tiny flakes slowly fell from the sky and covered our neighborhood. I know I said before how I'm not a huge fan of snow, but when you don't have to go out in it, it actually feels pretty special. I love how cozy it makes everything seem. It creates a hush among the otherwise busy streets, and everything just looks so peaceful.

Dining room updates

The day I photographed the first floor, we actually made some changes in the dining room so it's been looking a little different from what I originally showed you. For Christmas my parents got me these Pottery Barn shelves, and I am in love with how they add some character to the room! I love being able to display my wine glasses instead of having them hidden in cabinets, and displaying them here also gives me more cabinet space in the kitchen. It's a win win all around. We also turned the table, which gives us some extra walking space from the living room to the back door. I think the room looks better without everything lined up down the middle. It's not so straightforward, and has a little bit more dynamic to it. What do you think?

Organization tip: Holiday cards

I am a forgetful person, but for those who know me, a lot of the time I probably seem like I have it all together. The reason is because I set myself up for things so that when I do forget (because I know I will) I have a backup plan. If I need to run an errand or call someone on my way home from work, I put a reminder in my phone for the time I know I'll be leaving. I write myself notes and lists and leave them in conspicuous areas so as not to forget important things. If I have to bring something with me when I'm leaving the house, I'll put it right next to my purse so I won't forget it when I walk out the door. I find when I don't have things prepped, I waste time and money, and I don't like that.

One thing I've started doing recently is having birthday, wedding, and baby cards at the ready.

First floor details: Before and After

I suppose I should have posted the "before" photos before posting the "after" photos. Oops. Here's what the foyer and living room looked like when we bought it, with some of the seller's furniture in it. From these photos, it's a little more obvious what kinds of changes we made, and I'll give a little more detail about what we did. There aren't any huge changes, since the house was fairly updated and kept up well, but I always like to see befores and afters, so here we go!

Foyer before:

And after: