Top Five Friday #41
What a week this has been! There have been some ups and downs in terms of our search for a house. Lots of hours driving around to look at houses, sign paperwork, work on offers. It's a tiring (and at times heartbreaking) process, but we're trying to enjoy it!
I'm more than ready for a weekend. I'm excited to see some of Dan's family and celebrate his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. I hope you all have a great weekend as well, and enjoy a peek into what I've been loving this week.
as well as Heather!
House planning
As you all probably know by now (at least if you read the paragraph above), Dan and I are in the process of house hunting. I'm one of those people who falls in love with every house that I see and is ready to sign on the dotted line that day, and Dan is NOT. Instead of getting frustrated with the process, I decided to spend my time pinning and looking at interior design blogs for inspiration. I'm also putting together some "vision boards" (how HGTV of me!) and this is one that I came up with for our living room!I love the idea of having a soft, calming color scheme, and Dan and I both love this shade of purple. The main color will be a soft grey, with purple being the "pop of color". I also love industrial elements mixed with soft, romantic fabrics.
Items included:
DIY/Home Decor Blogs
Speaking of blogs, I wanted to mention a few of my current favorites! I love to get inspired by renovations and DIY projects, so here are just a few that I've been checking out recently:
Vintage Revivals
(so many great, inspiring ideas! I love the graphic wall and floating shelves)
(so many great, inspiring ideas! I love the graphic wall and floating shelves)
favorite project: office reveal
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| source |
Year of Serendipity
(might be my favorite blog EVER- just check out her amazing flips)
(might be my favorite blog EVER- just check out her amazing flips)
favorite project: Millie Kitchen Reveal
Sunshine Sauce
This week I started to experiment with sauces, and I'm pretty obsessed now. It's amazing how preparing a single sauce can transform regular food into amazing dishes! The favorite one that I've made so far is this super easy sunshine sauce, which I use on everything from plain chicken to kale salad. I also use it as a dip for raw veggies!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 cup almond coconut milk
Mix together and enjoy!
A Month of Minimalism
I posted yesterday about wanting to de-clutter and live a more minimalist life, and this site has amazing ideas for how you can do this in one month. Each day, they gave a tip on Instagram and shared all of the minimalism tips on one page! I'm excited to get started with their ideas, and I especially love the quote:
P.S.- these guys also have a podcast which I've been checking out!If your destination is happiness, consumerism is not a through street.
RunKeeper App
I can't believe that it took me 15 years of running to try out this app! There are so many things I like about it- you can use it without turning on data, it shows you a map of where you're running, can sync up with Spotify, and more. I finally downloaded it because I'm testing out a new piece of running equipment that I can't wait to talk about, and I'm in love!
Have a great weekend!
What do you love this week?Have any more DIY blog inspiration?
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I like the calming and relaxing color scheme! I really need to declutter more. I have so much stuff I should get rid of. Hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherry! Hope you're having a great weekend.
DeleteGood luck with the house hunting process. I think you made a good decision to start looking at decor and not getting frustrating. Realizing that a house is the biggest thing you will ever purchase, it makes the decision a little nerve wracking.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! So much pressure to get it right!
DeleteHave a great wk! Goodluck house hunting! That is always an exciting time! That sauce sounds tasty. I'm such a dipper when it comes to sauces. I will have to try this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Hope you enjoy the sauce :)
DeleteI've used RunKeeper for years! It's my favorite :) One of my favorite design sites is called Houzz. Addicting! It's an app too.
ReplyDeleteOhh I love Houzz too!
Deletegirl, i have SITES for DIY and remodeling! Check out my pinterest :D Remodelista is great, and I think I still have tons bookmarked. I'll try to remember to send you a few, but if I forget, email me!
ReplyDeleteI will! Thanks for the suggestions :)
DeleteOoh, I need to check out the month of minimalism site. I don't necessarily want to be a minimalist but it's motivating to help me keep the clutter down. I'm due for a winter closet clean out but have zero motivation so maybe they can help!
ReplyDeleteGina || On the Daily Express
I definitely can't go full on minimalist either, but keeping clutter down is always good.
Deleteaw, I hope you find and fall in love with your dream house soon! Happy pinning - that's got to be fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, so do I!
DeleteI'm going to check out that house flippy bog! I need fresh ideas for around here.
ReplyDeletePlease share any projects you end up doing!
DeleteI've heard run keeper is an amazing app! And looking on Pinterest for home decor ideas and such is AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteRun Keeper is fantastic!
DeleteI have Runkeeper but don't use it much anymore. I had it before my Garmin, and now use my garmin for my intervals. The voice would always cut in the worst times, when I was right in the middle of a good song.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I actually turned off the voice prompts and it's so much better.
Deleteoh man, i feel you on the house hunting. it can be a miserable process for sure. i can fall in love with a lot of houses as well, but am easily put off by the silliest things, though i'm sure the next time it would be better (the first time is hard lol. too much hgtv influence). i'll have to check out that app! i can't download any new right now (long, boring story) but when i can, i will! have a good weekend :)
ReplyDeleteThat's how Dan is! One small thing will make him hate a house, whereas I never see any issues. Hope your weekend is going well!
DeleteHouse hunting can be *so* stressful! My husband and I just bought our first home (a fixer upper) this past summer, and we're still juggling between "Whoa- we have a house" and "...oh gosh.. so many projects". It's fun and it should really help that you already have a vision for it. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome!! I'll have to check out your blog to see what you're up to :)
Deletehappy house hunting. i LOVE hgtv :)
ReplyDeleteMe too!!
DeleteYou with house hunting is so me with everything! Mark and I were looking for a dog a couple years ago and I didn't care if it was an aggressive pitbull with rabies... I wanted every single dog! But I'm so thankful for his ability to talk reason and responsibility to me because I was so not ready for one then and I would've gotten one with medical problems that I couldn't afford! He jokes that I'll be the exact same when it comes to buying a house, but sorry we see the good in everything!
ReplyDeleteWe are seriously twins. So similar! That's how I see it too..I just see the good in the world :)
DeleteGood luck on your continued house hunt! I bought my house just 2.5 years ago, so the memories are fresh in my mind of what it was like to be on the hunt, as well as all the ups and downs of the offer process.
ReplyDeleteI did pretty much fall in love with the first house we saw in Austin -- we weren't even seriously house hunting! We were in it for the movie tickets. True story.
ReplyDeleteWe lived in that house for 15 years and I was sooooooo sad to leave it.
House hunting here definitely did not go as smoothly, we've lived in this house almost 7 years, and let's just say it's not my dream home. But it is much better.
Good luck!
I'm not expecting to get our dream house at first, but hopefully it'll be something nice that we can be happy with :)
DeleteThat de-clutter article is great! I just sent it to my husband! Such good reminders.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked it!
DeleteLOVE your vision board! I can't wait to see pictures of the eventual final product!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma! It's going to be quite a while till we get a final product, so don't hold your breath haha!
DeleteLooooovee your vision board! House hunting is very stressful. I was like you where I loved every house we saw, and my husband was the one with the logic (thank god.) But take your time because you'll be there a while (hopefully!) Plus, the really annoying part comes next when you have to do 28503 years worth of paperwork.. ugh.
ReplyDeleteYESS I can only imagine! Just to put in an offer we spent about 2 hours filling out paperwork. Thanks for the advice!
DeleteI get the frustrating part of house hunting! Ryan and I not quite ready to buy (still a few months left on our lease), and it seems like we're just torturing ourselves by looking at townhouses, falling in love with them, and then watching them get snatched up that week. The right house will come for you soon! And then you'll already have everything planned out on how to decorate to make that transition better.
ReplyDeleteIt takes quite a while to find the right place and close, so it might be smart to start looking now!
DeleteRunkeeper is a great app! I used it all the time when I first started running, then I got a Nike+ watch. My boyfriend and I are in the early stages of house hunting, working on finding a realtor now! I wish I was good at decorating and figuring out color schemes, I have no vision!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your house hunting! It's a fun process :)
DeleteSo glad you are liking RunKeeper! I used it for years before I bought a Garmin and I absolutely loved it. So many great features for a simple app!
ReplyDeleteI love it! My watch died during my long run last week so thank goodness I had runkeeper going too :)
DeleteI'm thinking of you during your house hunting! I love those colors- I love the neutral, clean color of the gray and the purple goes so well with it. Your vision boards are beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteok you've convinced me to try that sauce. adding stuff to the list to make soon!
ReplyDeleteYay! Hope you like it :)
DeleteI am loving this warm weather!! It is in the 60s here in ohio. CRAZY! Great running weather :)
ReplyDeleteYess I love it too!
DeleteSadly, I do not really love DIY projects. Call me lazy, but I'd rather buy it already made. Oops. Going to check out Year of Serendipity now!
ReplyDelete