Gallery Wall Update (& Keepsake Review)

You may have seen some updates on my Instagram stories, but I've been working on slowly re-doing the gallery wall in our living room. I love gallery walls. I think I have four of them in different parts of our house. I liked the one in our living room, but after almost 5 years, I was ready for a change. Here's what it looked like before:

I wanted something a little lighter and more my style. I had been thinking about changing it for probably a year, but just wasn't sure how to do it, what to use, etc. I had an old window that I wanted to use as the centerpiece, but wasn't sure what else to incorporate.

When Keepsake reached out to me about reviewing their service, I knew it was the kick I needed to get started on changing up this gallery wall. Keepsake is an app that allows you to get your photos printed, framed, and delivered to your door. So, I downloaded the free app, chose a photo and frame, and submitted my order (shipping is always free--score!). So easy. It even tells you if the photo you selected doesn't have a high enough resolution for the frame size you want. Here's what my finished print and frame look like:

When I got my framed print in the mail, I knew I wanted to make it part of my new gallery wall. I got to work collecting things I already had, swapping things out of different frames, and laying things out on the floor to figure out how I wanted to hang them. After a lot of debating, I finally started hanging things on the wall. It's definitely not done, as I need to had a few more things and fill in a TON of nail holes, but I'm happy with how it's coming together.

Framed Photo: Keepsake

Free Printable: Found on Pinterest (don't have the exact link, sorry!)

Print: ShelbyKregel on Etsy

As I said, still not done, but it's getting there. I'm loving the way it's turning out and can't wait to find some new things to add to it!

Five on Friday

ONE. On Sunday, I completed the Gazelle Girl half marathon, making it my second half! My only goal for the race was to beat my time from the one I did in October, and I beat my time by 20 minutes, so I was really happy. My sister ran the 10k race and we had a good time celebrating afterwards :)

TWO. I saw this chair on the Target Does It Again Instagram, and I fell in love. I don't even know where I would put it, but I want it. 

THREE. This weekend I gave our furniture a quick face lift and it made a world of difference! I picked up some quilt batting from JoAnn's (it was 40% plus I had a 20% off my entire purchase coupon--score!) and got to work pulling out the old foam, wrapping it in quilt batting, and putting it back in. Such an easy way to give the couch, love seat, and chair new life. And they are soooo much more comfortable to sit on now too.

BEFORE

AFTER

FOUR. Grilling season is officially here and I am so happy about it. The other night we had a BYOK bar (Build Your Own Kabob) and it was delicious. We had sausage, mushrooms, three kinds of bell peppers, onions, and potatoes. Tip: boil your potatoes for about 10-15 BEFORE you grill them, otherwise they will take forever to be done.

FIVE. I'm looking forward to fairly low key weekend finishing up yard work (weather permitting) and celebrating my mom's birthday on Sunday. The craziness of summer is coming, so I'm trying to soak up my free weekends as much as I can!

Easter Weekend Recap

I know it's a few days late, but I wanted to share our Easter weekend. Saturday was spent doing things around the house and enjoying the beautiful 80 degree weather we had. I made some fun Easter cookies that turned out super cute. I used these cookies as my inspiration, but I totally cheated and did NOT make home made cookies or frosting. I added green food color to white frosting, so that counts for something, right? Either way, they looked cute, tasted great, and were super easy, so I'd definitely make them again.

Sunday morning we headed to Muskegon and went to brunch with Kevin's Dad's side, lunch with my family, and then stopped at my mother-in-law's on the way home.

It was a busy day, but we got to spend time with lots of family and eat lots of good food. And we brought home WAY too much candy.

I'll be spending this week preparing for the half-marathon that I am running in this weekend. Wish me luck!

Weekend Recap: Hello Spring!

After some snow on Thursday, I think Spring might have finally arrived in Michigan. The sun was out and the temps were up. And I loved it. My weekend started on Thursday night, when a couple of friends and I went to a Dan + Shay concert. It was a blast. I'd definitely go see them again.

Jackie Lee was the warm up artist...he was great too!

I took Friday off work, so I was able to sleep in a little and get some things done around the house before Kevin and I headed off to game night with some friends. It was a fun, low-key Friday night. I went for a run Saturday morning (only two more weeks until my half marathon) and then we had a pre-season get together with one of our softball teams. We spent Saturday night catching up on some shows on the DVR and just relaxing at home (it was pretty perfect).

Sunday was beautiful! 70 degrees and sunshine. I loved every second of it. I spent some time grocery shopping, doing laundry, and cleaning inside in the morning, before heading outside to clean up the yard a little and play in my flowers. I also spent some time reading on the deck and soaking up the sun.

It was such a great, low key weekend. I'm so happy that Spring has finally decided to show up in Michigan!

Spring & Easter Home Decor

Even though the weather man says it's supposed to snow later this week, I'm enjoying the Spring weather we've been having lately in Michigan. Warmer temps, sunshine, and longer days make me so happy! I get super motivated to start doing projects and re-decorating this time of year. Adding Spring and Easter decor to our home is one of my favorite ways to refresh our house after the long winter months. Here are some my favorite ways to do that (and one of the projects I want to do).

I think my favorite Spring decor is greenery. I love that it can transition easily in to summer, so I can keep it up even longer. 

Wine bottle vase from CAIRfully Crafted.

I don't have much Easter decor, but I love adding little things here and there. I got these cute little ceramic bunnies from my mom and they are perfect on our new kitchen shelves.

Basket and lid from Longaberger.

Wreaths are one of my favorite ways to add fun decor, and it's so easy to change them out for different holidays or seasons. I made this Spring wreath last year. It's not my favorite, but it'll do for now. I made the Easter Egg wreath four years ago and it's one of my favorite DIY projects to date. It's held up great over the past four years, and it's super easy to make. You can check out my tutorial HERE.

Fun kitchen towels are an easy way to add pops of color to a space. I love this cute Spring tea towel I picked up from the Target dollar spot last month. The Spring colors and the tulip pattern are just too cute!

Like I said, I get motivated to start doing home projects once the weather starts getting nice. I'd love to change up our kitchen faucet and the light fixture over the sink, so that I could enjoy this area of our kitchen a little more. It's just kind of plain right now. I've seen some super cute pendant lights on Arhaus that I think would be perfect in this space. (This one and this one are my favorites.) Looks like I know what I'll be adding to my birthday and Christmas wish list this year! If you're looking for some ideas to add to yours, take a second to check out Arhaus' Instagram. 

What are you favorite ways to "refresh" your home for Spring? Any favorite decor pieces you use? Or things you want to do to your home this Spring? 

Baby Shower for a Sweet Baby Girl

On Saturday, my sister-in-law (Lisa) and I, threw a baby shower for our cousin-in-law, Kait. When Kait and Drew (Kevin's cousin) announced they were expecting, Lisa and I knew we wanted to throw a baby shower. It was the first time either of us had thrown a baby shower and we were so excited! We spent months planning and everything came together perfectly. Lisa let us use her beautiful new house to host the shower, and we had so much fun crafting and decorating. I know I'm biased, but I think everything turned out great!

Lisa, Kait, Me

Lisa made the cupcakes and not only did they make the cutest cupcake giraffe ever, they tasted amazing too! You can check out her cupcakes HERE. 

We had little bowls of this mix with frosted animal crackers, pretzels, peanuts, and pink m&ms. It was a hit, especially the frosted animal crackers!

We played the "string game" where everyone cuts a piece of yarn/string as big as they think will fit around the pregnant mom's belly. Then, you have the mom actually cut one to the right length and she compares with everyone's to see who is the closest. Our winner was pretty much dead on! It was pretty funny to see some that were about the double the correct length :)

Winner!

 This little onsie and hat banner was my favorite. So dang cute (and easy)!

Only a few more weeks and that baby girl will be here! I'm so grateful to have Kait and Drew as part of my family, and am so excited for their growing family <3