Weekend Wrap-Up

The theme for this past weekend: beautify the outdoors!

Since moving into our home almost a year ago, we have spent the majority of our time and funds on getting the indoors rooms completed.  Minus a few small items remaining on my wishlist (someone please tell me where I can find a gorgeous, unique, and affordable china cabinet or hutch?!), we're almost done.

As the weather continues to grow more and more lovely and warm each day, we've been inspired to amp up our outdoor living areas a little more.

Saturday started off with a trip to Lowe's, where we had quite a list of items to purchase. 

First up: replace the grandma-esque fan globes from our screened porch fan.


Before



It really is amazing how this simple switch-out can make such a difference. 

... (I'll pause here while you run around your house looking for outdated globes) ...

The previous globes on the fan were frosted with a scalloped edge, and they were fitted with huge bright light bulbs.

Down they came, and they were switched out for four of these clear glass beauties which were under $3.00/each at Lowes.  

We also switched out the large, opaque lightbulbs for smaller crystal clear bulbs.

After

For less than $12, I think it makes a heck of a difference, don't you?

We did a lot more work in the screened porch as well, and I'll be showing it off soon.  Just a few more finishing touches before it's brag-worthy!

Another easy switch-out was for our den lamp.  I wasn't crazy about this one we had before, but practicality ruled, and it stayed.  Being all metal and glass, we decided it would be a perfect addition to our screened porch.

We replaced the lamp with this one below, also from Lowe's.  I'm crazy about it!

After a long day of moving patio furniture around, assembling new purchases, repotting flowers, painting, laying down a rug and fighting to flatten it out -- we gladly packed up some items to take to our friends' home to grill out.

It was the perfect night.  Burgers on the grill, margaritas and wine, lots of chatting, and Taboo.

Sunday was another house-beautification day, but we took a break when my mother-in-law stopped by on the way from the beach to the mountains.  She came with her dogs in tow, and Drake loved the opportunity to hang with his doggie-cousins.

After the visit and a trip to a few stores for outdoor decor, I was whooped.  It was 6pm, and this girl deserved a cocktail, a little blog reading, and the sound of birds chirping.

I kept dinner simple and quick -- homemade barbeque chicken pizza.  Because there was still plenty of light outside (and let's face it, we wanted to fully enjoy the fruits of our weekend labor), we dined al fresco and enjoyed every minute of it.

And we even had a little impromptu photo session.



At night when we are just about to drift off to sleep, Ian and I always mention what the highlight of our day was.  Last night it was unanimous: we both couldn't imagine a more perfect way to send off the weekend than to enjoy a wonderful dinner together in the great outdoors.

Shopping at Tuesday Morning

Recently, the oh-so-talented Julia from Pawley's Island Posh did a guest post on Sadie + Stella on a favorite room in her home.  Julia's decor style is right up my alley ... classic with a punch of whimsy, clean with a touch of comfort.  And color -- the girl is not afraid of a little color.

My eye was drawn immediately to her great artwork which was featured in simple frames with large mats.  I left a comment on the guest post inquiring about the source, and sweet Julia hunted down my email address and got back to me.  The frames and mats, she explained, were found at Tuesday Morning -- she popped out the artwork that came in them and added her own watercolors.


Image: Julia Ryan, Pawley's Island Posh


I love Tuesday Morning, and I headed that way with her token piece of advice: "Just be sure to look past the fugly art thats probably lurking in pretty frames!  xoxox"

Love her.

This is easily one of my favorite stores to peruse.  There is one about 10 minutes away from my office that I love to visit every two weeks or so on my lunchbreak.

Here are some of my very favorite things to seek out at this discount store:

Cocktail Napkins
I need more of these like I need a hole in my head ... honestly.  My collection is bordering on Hoarder-worthy.  But I can't get enough of them!

At these prices, it's easy to stock up.

This one above would be perfect for when my Mom hosts Bunco.  She loves napkins with witty sayings.

Guest Towels

I have a pretty mother of pearl hand towel holder in our guest bath.  That way, when people come over they have a nice way of drying their hands, and they don't have to worry with that icky "am I drying my hands on someone's bath towel?" feeling.

You can get the very pricey Caspari hand towels, but Tuesday Morning always has a great assortment for around $2.99.

Beautiful Glassware
These candlesticks remind me of the coveted Juliska pattern.  I also have a similar bud vase from Anthropoligie.  At $14.99, though, these are a steal.

Barware and Servingware

This black and white lacquered tray has a gold edge on it.  Perfect to serve drinks on or have on top of an ottoman.

Small Furniture

I need, NEED this mirrored nightstand for our guestroom.  I'd replace the black knobs, but that's an easy switch.

Rugs

I purchased the 5x7 rugs for our home office and den from Tuesday Morning at a heck of a steal.  This cute rose rug is just too cute and would look great in a bathroom or little girl's room.

And this 5x7 rug had my heart.  If only I had a room for it!  Greens, ivory, and yellow.  The pattern is perfect and so is the pricepoint -- $149.99.

Outdoor Items

We're in the process of decorating our screened porch, and Tuesday Morning can be a good source for this.  During this past trip, I spotted a galvanized drink tin and an ottoman made with outdoor fabric that I think are must-haves for our makeover.

Do you have a Tuesday Morning close to home?

Celebrations.

It's a warm, sunny Friday Eve over here and I am just having a great day.  The weekend is on the horizon with beautiful weather, lots of yard work, and not a thing to do in the evenings.  I'll take it.


{via}


I have a little extra pep in my step because of something good that happened yesterday.  My manager, who normally works remotely from her home office, was in our office yesterday.  Both conference rooms were being used and she asked me to come back to the warehouse with her for a confidential talk.  My palms immediately went sweaty -- why do we always expect the worst?  Well, she actually let me know that I was getting a raise. 

Yes ma'am!

{via}

My father was in town last night and he stayed at our house.  During dinner, Ian and Dad toasted my good news.  It was so special.

And more cause for celebration -- this little blog has grown to 400 followers ... I couldn't be happier!  Thank you all for joining along with me.  To make it even better, the number clicked from 399 to 400 with the writer of one of my newest favorite blogs, Erin from The Swanky Southern Yankee. 

Happy Thursday, ya'll.

By the way:
You may have spotted a new addition to my sidebar on the right.  You may now receive my blog posts in your email inbox.  If this interests you, simply enter your email address in the "Follow By Email" box above the Followers box.

Worth A "Billion" Words

Congratulations to Instagram founders who just cashed in to Facebook for a bah-bah-bah-billion dollars.

What would we do without our beloved Instagram?  Here's hoping that it won't change too drastically.  If you don't follow me already, you can find me at alizadventures.

Some more fun glimpses of the beach trip during the weekend!

Oh ya know, just the most delicious bagel breakfast sandwich ever.

Nothing beats car rides.

Easy weekend wear - no makeup, a tee, holey jeans

Pure relaxation.  And a classic SBTB ep.

Afternoon vacay drinks are the greatest.

Girlfriends are the greatest, too.

Showing Matty the wonders of Instagram.

A dog's life is tough.

Chatting with friends on the deck.  Always connected.

Weekend Beach Trip Recap

Nothing tops a well-deserved long weekend, nothing!

This past weekend we loaded up the cars and headed to Folly Beach, SC, with some of our very best friends. 

We got in late Thursday evening -- at that point there were just four of us.  Some delivery pizza, a bottle of red wine, and we were off to bed.

Friday morning we had breakfast at a local coffeehouse (with the most amazing chai tea latte ever) and then took a walk to the lighthouse at the end of the beach.

Ian and I recreated the below picture from 2009, when we'd only been dating for about 3 months.  Now, we're coming up on three and a half years of being together ... and almost a year of marriage.

We returned to the house, and the four of us put our feet up and watched the following:  Bridezillas, Dateline, Saved By The Bell.  Nothing is as funny as getting the commentary from a mixed guys/gals group during the progression of those shows.  And for four people that don't really watch a lot of television, we all thought it was pretty awesome to take the time to just BE.

Also, we knew three other couples were headed down to join us momentarily, and things were about to get wild.

First to arrive was a car of three of the gals, and they stopped off for lunch at Folly Beach Shrimp Company.  I drove out to join them for a beer.

Ian and our friend Casey, who had been enjoying an afternoon beer at Taco Boy, hopped on the skateboards to come join us gals.

They propped their boards up and joined us for a beer.

Our group then grew to the full 10 people and we all ventured to Folly Beach Brewing Co. together.  I ordered my favorite -- a beer flight.  Small(ish) tastings of some of their best brews.

We returned to the house and got ready for an evening in.

A favorite way to spend the evening -- Taboo!  We love playing guys vs. girls.

The stakes were high ... nobody wanted to lose.

Because the losers, me oh my, had to run down the dock and hop into the chilly ocean water.  

And naturally, the girls won!  Have fun, boys.

We were lucky enough that evening to see the moon rise.  It was a full moon, and this picture just doesn't do it justice.  It looked huge in the night sky.

Saturday morning we all hit the beach for a while.  Later the guys played ladderball while the gals soaked up the sun on the back deck with strawberry daquiris.

And our mascot, Charlie, rested peacefully.

We got ready for dinner and headed out to downtown Folly once again.  

Late afternoon drinks at Snapper Jack's and dinner at Surf Bar -- we were one happy crew.



It was tough leaving yesterday, but a nice Easter brunch at Rita's was the perfect send-off!