Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday.  She is the most amazing woman I know.  She is the most hard working, caring person and would do anything for anyone.  She worked full-time, cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, and never missed one of mine or my sister's sporting events or school functions while we were growing up.  She was basically superwoman.  Now that I am an "adult" and have been out on my own for a while, I am starting to realize how hard that must have been to do all of that...and I don't even have kids yet!

Happy birthday to my mom!  The hardest working woman I know.  I can't wait to see you this weekend to celebrate!

photo by McKensie anne Photography

Weekend Recap: Bon Fire & Fried Ice Cream

We had a good weekend, with a lot of time spent outside enjoying some decent weather.

FRIDAY:  We didn't do much after work...took a long walk with the dog, then caught up on some shows on the DVR and hung out.

SATURDAY:  We took a trip to Lowe's and then spent some time working in the yard.  We moved some flowers that were basically in the middle of the yard to a new flower bed area that we created.  Saturday night we went to our first cook out/bon fire of the year!  There were some cute pups there to play with, yummy food to eat, and a bon fire to enjoy with good people.

SUNDAY:  We went and did some hitting practice with some people from our softball team and then went to lunch at Beltline Bar.  We enjoyed wet burritos and shared some fried ice cream.  I think it was our first time trying fried ice cream, and let me tell you, it was delicious!  We took a nice walk with the dog Sunday evening and then I caught up on laundry and watched some TV the rest of the night.

Hope you had a great weekend and happy Monday!

Intentional Life Project: Time Management

Linking up today with Bre and Ginny.

You can read part one of this month's Intentional Life Project HERE.

My goal for the Time Management challenge was to get up 20-30 minutes early each morning.  I'm much more motivated in the mornings than I am when I get home at night, so I wanted to get up a little earlier to get things done.  Put away laundry, load/unload the dishwasher, workout, etc.

I've been doing ok with this...I wish I was a little more consistent, but I'm getting there.  Yesterday was actually the first day I got up early enough to work out before work and it was great.  I felt so good knowing that I had already accomplished a decent workout before 7:00 am!

I hope to continue getting up early, especially to work out.  I'd like to be able to do a 20-30 minute strength/toning work out in the morning before work, and then go for a walk or a run after work.  Even if I just get up early enough to do something quick, like organize the mess on the kitchen counter, or unload the dishwasher, I feel like I've accomplished something.

I'm happy with what I've done with this month's Intentional Life Project and plan to continue implementing it in to my daily routine.  Be sure to check out visit Bre and Ginny and link up your Intentional Life Project post!

Easter Weekend Recap

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend!  Ours was spent with family and at the Tigers game.

FRIDAY:  After work, we packed up and headed to our parents' for the weekend.  Friday night we went to Kevin's dad's for dinner and to hang out for a little bit, then we headed to Kevin's mom for the rest of the night.  I made Slutty Brownies and brought some with us for the weekend.  They were amazing and super easy to make.  You can find the recipe HERE.  I ended up baking mine about 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe said.

SATURDAY:  We went to a soccer game and then out to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings with Kevin's brother, sister-in-law, and mom.  We went to my parents for dinner Saturday night and of course, my mom had Easter baskets for Kevin and I...and a bone for Admiral!  Saturday night we had game night and had a blast!

SUNDAY:  Kevin and I got up early to get on the road to Detroit.  It was a PERFECT day for baseball.  Sunny and 70 degrees.   Apparently I forgot how to apply sunscreen, because I got some weird sun burn lines on my arms, but they'll be gone soon enough. And the Tigers won 2-1 so that made it even better!  The Tigers played the Angels, so it was kind of fun to see Mike Trout and Albert Pujols play, since I've never seen them before. 

Overall it was a great Easter weekend and I didn't want it to end!  Now it's back to reality and back to work.  Happy Monday friends!

Five On Friday

Linking up with Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha and you should too!

ONE.  Totally random, but I'm really itching for a shopping spree.  I really haven't "gone shopping" for clothes in a LONG time.  We're talking probably 6-8 months.  At least.  I've picked up things here and there...some dress socks for work, and maybe a shirt or two from the Target clearance rack, but that's it.  Maybe I just need the weather to warm up so I can start wearing more Spring/Summer clothes and that would satisfy my itch.  I think I'm really just over these winter-ish clothes I've been wearing for far too long!



TWO.  Kevin grilled some delicious chicken and pepper kabobs for dinner the other night.  I love that it's finally warm enough to grill again!  Grilling out is one of my favorite things about Spring/Summer/Fall.

THREE.  I didn't make any Easter/Spring decorations this year (fail), but you can see how I used some of last year's creations in our decor in our home by clicking HERE.  My favorite is probably the Easter egg wreath.  I just love the pretty Spring colors it adds to our front door!

FOUR.  Kevin and I are going to the Detroit Tigers baseball game (our first one of the year) on Sunday and I'm super excited!  I'm hoping for some sunny weather and of course a win for the Tigers!

FIVE.  Since we won't be in town to celebrate Easter with our families, we are getting all of our time in with them Friday and Saturday.  I'm excited to be able to spend time with both of our families this weekend...I just wish my sister could be here too!

Enjoy your weekend!

Spring & Easter Home Decor

I didn't decorate as much as I would have liked to for Spring and Easter, but I wanted to share the few little touches I have added to our home.

I found these glitter eggs on a stick at the dollar store.  I put them in a vase with some green paper grass and have them on our kitchen table.

 Last year I made this mini Easter egg tree using glitter eggs from the dollar store.  You can find the tutorial HERE.

All I did to our entry table is add a little yellow flower candle wreath to a candle.  I meant to print a Spring printable for the frame but I never got around to it.  You can find the "What I Love Most About My Home" printable HERE.

I added a fun Longaberger Easter basket to one of our end tables in our living room.

I also added the Easter egg wreath to our front door.  You can find the tutorial HERE.

Like I said, not a ton of decorations, but just a little touch of Spring here and there.  Do you decorate your home for Spring or Easter?

Things I've Learned As A Newlywed

Today I'm guest posting over at Believe in the Sparks, sharing a few things I've learned as a newlywed.  Make sure you head over to Believe in the Sparks and check it out!

Weekend Recap: New Car, Trivia Champs, & Relaxing

This weekend recap is actually going to start last Wednesday, because I have a couple extra things I wanted to share that happened before the actual weekend started.

WEDNESDAY:  You might have already seen this on Instagram, but I traded in the first car I ever bought and got something new.  After driving it for 7.5 years, it was time.  So I said goodbye to my 2004 Pontiac Grand Am and hello to my 2011 Chevrolet Equinox.  And I'm in love with it!

THURSDAY:  Kevin and I went to play some trivia at a local bar/restaurant with some friends Thursday night, and guess what?  Our team won!  So next week we get to have this cool trophy sitting on our table while we play :)

FRIDAY:  We didn't do much after work...caught up on the DVR and hung out at home.

SATURDAY:  We had a productive morning of cleaning out the gutters, cleaning out the flower beds, and cleaning up all of the remaining leaves out of the yard.  It was rainy Saturday night, so we enjoyed a relaxing night in after our day of yard work.

SUNDAY:  Another good day.  I got up early and went grocery shopping and then we went to church.  After church we went and saw Captain America.  It was really good, I'd totally recommend seeing it.  Sunday night we sold our old patio set on Craigslist and put the finishing touches on the patio set we got for Christmas--it has a part that lights up, so we put the batteries in and tested it out...it's pretty cool!  The rest of the night was spent doing laundry and watching TV.

Hope your weekend was as good as ours and Happy Monday friends!

Intentional Life Project: Time Management

Linking up today with Bre and Ginny.

April's "theme" for the Intentional Life Project is Time Management (you can read all about the Intentional Life Project HERE).  Who couldn't use a little work on their time management skills?  I know I need it!  I decided that I wanted to wake up about 20-30 minutes earlier every morning to get some small tasks done.  I find that I'm more productive and motivated in the mornings before work, than I am when I get home from work.  I figured I could handle getting up a little earlier, and I would like coming home knowing I don't have things waiting for me to do.

So far I've been doing just "ok" with this, but I'm hoping to get better.  I love getting things done in the morning, such as emptying/re-loading the dishwasher, putting away laundry, cleaning off the papers that have piled up on the kitchen counter, and yesterday I even ran the vacuum through the house real quick!

When I get home from work, I'm usually ready to do a quick workout (sometimes), make dinner, and then relax for the night, so getting this little things done in the morning has really been nice for me.  As usual, I'm loving what the Intentional Life Project is doing for me.  It's making me be INTENTIONAL (see what I did there?) about little things in my life that can make a big impact.  If you haven't participated in this series, you should definitely check it out and link up...it's not too late!

Do you have any tips for improving time management?  Any great time saving ideas??

Kitchen Update: Grout & Backsplash

I've checked a few things off of the list I created in my original kitchen post HERE.  I wish I would have had more done by now, but life happens!  Finishing the grout and backsplash was so super easy, I wish I would have done it a lot sooner!

There were some spots that the previous owners had not finished grouting for some reason.  It was all of the edges, which just left it looking unfinished.  They had left behind some grout, so we decided to give it a try.  The grout was super easy to use and I would definitely buy this kind again.

This kind is from Menards, but I think any premixed grout would work the same.  It's perfect because you don't have to mix anything.  You just open the lid and start using it.  You just put some on your fingers and apply where needed.  Could not be any easier.  And then you can put the lid back on and it stays sealed so you can use it again later--perfect for little jobs this like!

There were a couple of spots in the kitchen were it looked like a piece of tile backsplash was missing on each side of the window.  The previous owners had left some of the extra tile behind, so I was able to have my Dad cut a couple of pieces to fit the empty spots.

With new backsplash piece.

These are small changes, but have made a huge impact for us.  They were little things that just needed to be taken care of.

After looking at these photos, I added a new item to my kitchen list: sand and re-paint the trim around the window.  It's full of chips, scratches, stains, etc. and really needs to be re-done.  Here's my updated list.  Someday it will be complete...it just might take me a year!

Kitchen List
Organize/clean all drawers and cupboards.

De-clutter counter tops.  This is always in progress, but it's getting there.

Create a mini command center near breezeway door.  Again, work in progress.

Clean all trim (repaint if necessary) and caulk.  I cleaned it, just need to repaint some spots, and caulk it.

Clean floors (including grout).
Purchase and install a new faucet.  Need to convince my husband that we should do this...
Paint walls grey.
Re-cover seats on dining chairs to add some color/pattern.

Finish grouting and trimming the back splash.  Grout is done, just need to figure out what to do for trim.
Sand and re-paint the trim around the window.