5.30.2014

Where did this week go?

Do you ever have those days where you sit down and realize it's Friday and you have no idea where the week went?  I even had half of it off!  I have no idea how it's Friday already!

I've been busy working on lots of things for Maeve and just got lost in the mix I guess!  But I thought it might be a good day to just recap my 30 before Thirty list... which I feel like I've checked NOTHING off of...

Let's see...

1. Participate in a race
2. Travel somewhere we haven’t been
3. Go to a concert
4. Treat myself to a massage - 5.3.14
5. Weekend Getaway with Spouse
6. Have a Garage Sale or Take things to Consignment! Clean House!
7. Get a facial.
8. Go on a girls trip
9. Reorganize a space in the house completely
10. Start a Summer Tradition
11. Make a fitness goal and achieve it! Run 3x a week for 3 weeks
12. Get out of Debt
13. Visit a State Park
14. Visit a National Park
15. Host a Brunch
*Scheduled for June 19th
16. Try a new restaurant
17. Get at least 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep
18. Go to a professional sporting game
*Indians Game in June
19. Unplug for a weekend - Kind of for Memorial Day
20. Volunteer somewhere - 5.2.14
21. Learn how to take better pictures.
*Signed up for an online class so I just need to DO IT
22. Write in Journal once a week for a month.
23. Have a date night.
24. Go to a drive-in movie.
25. Go to the FW Zoo.
26. See a play
27. Have a picnic
*Sunday at Forest Park, my favorite park!
28. Go to Chicago
29. Get a Haircut & Style!
30. Finish Divergent Series
*I'm on page 70 of book 3!

Guess I've done more than I thought and planned for a few more too!  26 days to go - 23 items to go!!  I think I'll get VERY close!

Happy Friday!

5.22.2014

Joyfolie Summer Sale

Anyone else have a slight obsession with children's shoes?  No?  Crap, is it just me?  They are just so cute and fun and cute!

When Ells was little I stumbled upon this adorable shoe line called Joyfolie.  They are to this day one of my favorites even if I have only ever ordered 1 pair.  Now though, she's at an age that she can wear them (better) and they are having a sale!



30% off Site wide!
Code: SummerFun30
*Not valid on things marked NEW*

I love it!  So.... Here's what I have my eye on...
And hurry and check it out... because it ends TODAY!

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These last shoes are only like $39 + shipping!  
What a steal! 

Do you have a Summer Sale to share?!

*All photos from Joyfolie*

5.20.2014

Maeve Update

This past weekend we worked on our new business Maeve and I'm still trying to complete my checklist! 



A little while back I told you that we were starting a vintage rentals company in my hometown.  This has been a huge undertaking - both mentally and financially.  I'm doing it with my mom and sister who both live back home.  I live 2 hours south in Indianapolis so making sure we are all on the same page, taking care of necessary things, etc has been somewhat of a challenge. 





The business will most likely happen in phases. 
Phase 1 - Vintage Furniture and Prop Rentals
Phase 2 - Storefront & Local Goodies -- We'd love to have a storefront, but with that comes costs and without real business yet, that scares me a little.  We currently have a storage unit, but that will make it hard to show clients pieces.   
Phase 3 - Little Girl Proper (dress up) Tea Parties & Ladies Craft Nights
Phase 4 - Vintage Car Rentals (DREAM DREAM DREAM)


To date, we have increased our inventory so we all have a good chunk of change in the business.  Now we are focusing on marketing!  Which I did not go to school for so it's been a fun challenge.  I found Marketing suites on Etsy that are used for Photographers, but I'm going to use them for our needs.  Our logo could use some work, but we had to start somewhere!  So far we are looking at personally delivering our marketing suites to local boutiques, photographers, and other small businesses.  I figure the personal touch is always a good added bonus and makes you more legitimate.  Then we'll look to advertise in local papers, magazines, and at events.


We also need to find a photographer who is willing to trade services every once in a while because I can take plain pictures, but they do not really showcase details like I need them to.  Maybe I'll go to a photography class...


We've been looking at working with SCORE - anyone ever used them?  I'm also looking at using Legal Zoom or Rocket Lawyer for some misc forms and filings that we need.  Online lawyers make me a little nervous, but it seems like the way everything is moving...  


Does anyone know any good business blogs?  Like ones that I wouldn't mind reading?


5.19.2014

Kitchen Art

So my kitchen has been getting a large update lately.  I wish I had time for my cabinets, but I have not yet.  But that time is coming... I can see it in the future... the near future. 

But since I have to wait on those cabinets, I found the time this weekend to hang all the random picture frames that were lingering in the kitchen.  A quick run to Ikea on Thursday where I grabbed some pillows (small and not finished yet) helped kick the kitchen into gear. 

I recently posted about the kitchen.  Not much change besides new covers on the chair cushions. 
Pretty Plain.



I recently ordered some seat cushions from H&M which I was hoping would work and they actually do.
And at less than $10 each they were a perfect "now" solution... They might be upgraded down the line, but they might not.  Jury is still out on that one.

But lots of things have been collecting dust around my house and I wanted to display them. Some of those things were super old and some were new.  I think I already shared a couple of quick updates to my kitchen art.  However, it still felt blah... not to mention a couple frames kept falling off the wall - I had used the Velcro 3M pieces, and obviously not enough. 

So I just got to hanging...
I'm so bad at measuring and all...
I just go with it.
Some call it lazy, some might call it artsy, or others might just call it confident.  haha.

And here's what I came up with...


I love the color that it brings into the room...
Weird because there's some pink and pink should only be used in moderation, at least that's how I feel about it.  But you'll see... obviously, my one pink plate is my limit on how much you can use. 


This photo got tinted on my phone and I'm not sure how. 
But this is what the kitchen looks like in the evening. 




Here you can kind of see the cushions... yes, the plastic is still on until I'm sure on them. 
I am still trying to figure out a way to connect them that won't look super obvious or weird.


I just like it... I'm so excited.  Here's where almost everything came from. 
The white frames are all IKEA.
Plates are from Target when they had the Nordstrom line - Tracy Reese.
And they were super discounted so my mom grabbed them for me. 
Spoon and gold frames are from Goodwill & The Goodwill Outlet.
Got Milk is from Garden Ridge. 
I absolutely LOVE being able to display my Ells artwork. 
These turquoise canvas' were my favorite that she's done.
And the very faint sak is from a flea market last year that I've finally hung... YAY!
I wanted to use one that said Coffee Beans, but it was too big for that frame. 


5.06.2014

The 21-Day Sugar Detox


Sugar… It’s in everything. This is something I knew, but recently had to accept when I started the 21-Day Sugar Detox with Mr. K last weekend. I’m not sure what the push was that actually made us go through with it, but it happened. We went to Sam’s Club and loaded up on water, veggies, meat, and almonds. Oh, and coconut oil. And it was on.

No noodles and pasta. No bread. No fruit. No soda. No fun.

We started it not really knowing what we were doing. We hadn’t bought the book. We didn’t have more than a list of good foods and bad foods to go off of and a few recipes we had pulled from Pinterest. We were flying semi-blind.



We started on a Saturday so we could cook everything and really give it a full out “go” as far as following the game plan was concerned. We pretty much stuck to the following: eggs, bacon, spinach, almonds, mushrooms, onions, and water. That was for the first couple day. We were pretty strict. In the book there are different levels. I took the quiz and we were level 1 which is the strictest. It says you can have a few “extra” things like a Granny Smith Apple once a day, but no more than that.

Breakfasts consist of many scrambled eggs, onions, mushrooms, bacon, etc. We occasionally made more intricate dishes like bacon wrapped eggs with spinach and mushroom. Those were pretty good.

Snacks were usually salami and almonds.

Lunches we tried a few things like shredded chicken, avocado, and homemade Pico de Gallo. Delish.

Then we tried Chipotle Chicken Salad with homemade mayonnaise = eww. I was not a fan. Now they pretty much consist of spinach salads with hard boiled eggs, carrots, celery, onions, bacon, garbanzo beans, and oil & vinegar for dressing (from Marsh). This works well for me during the work week.

Afternoon Snacks – Lemon or Lime water & almonds. Occasionally some homemade Pico by the spoonful.

Dinner we’ve tried Cinnamon Chipotle Sliders with sautéed mushrooms and onions. They were ok. Then we tried a rump roast in the crock pot with chicken broth, mushroom and onions. It was ok. Then we had plain pork chops and chicken. One night we had steak. All were ok. The less involved the dish, the better it tended to be.

It does take a lot of preparation which we’ve noticed we are lacking going into week 2. Lots of chopping, cooking, baking, etc. And when you work or are busy that can be a lot to take on. So we tried our best. Now I’m sure we’ll find easier ways to do it. I swear if you can get through the first week of a new diet, lifestyle, etc… you can do it much longer than you think! Because you learn what works and what doesn’t. And know how to make it work better with your lifestyle!

So now that I feel I’ve eaten an entire pig and a good amount of chickens (eggs and thighs), we are kind of loving it. Day 3 I was craving chocolate and crunchy things but I held on. As of last Friday I had lost 10 lbs and Mr K had lost 12. He cheated a bit, but still lost and still kind of amazing. I’m proud of us that we made it to day 6. Haha. That sounds awful, but we had a weekend where cheating was inevitable so we picked it up today again.

But I like it. It’s very Paleo-esque and the detox is only 21 days. So today I’ll start it up again. It (I’ve now got the e-book) says once you cheat you should start back at day one, but I’m just going to see if I can do it for another 15 days which I think I can. I bet I could probably do it through next weekend. After the “detox” portion is over, I think we are going to try to follow a more paleo diet. Mr. K loves meat and eggs.

Hardest part for me – Crunchy things gone and celery doesn’t count!

Hardest part for Mr. K – No Coke.

Anyone else tried the 21-Day Sugar Detox? Or follow a Paleo diet? I’d love to hear what you think! Or tricks you’ve learned!

 xoxo,

5.05.2014

30 Before Thirty (In Less Than 60 Days)

Happy Monday Blog Hogs!  I hope you had a lovely weekend!  It was a bit chilly here, but still beautiful out and Mr. K and I were able to get some landscaping (very little) projects done and we went to a park both days and rode the carousel there both days which Ells loves... and I loved that we had time to do it!  Hockey is kind of on a break which has allowed for more "family" time which has been nice!

But last week I realized that I am turning 30 in a bit... like less than 60 days... and while nothing is wrong with that, I just felt like I needed to try to do some things - some fun thing, some boring thing, some "me" things - before the time comes! 

So I came up with this list...

30 Before Thirty --- For me.


1. Participate in a race
2. Travel somewhere we haven’t been
3. Go to a concert
4. Treat myself to a massage - 5.3.14
5. Weekend Getaway with Spouse
6. Have a Garage Sale or Take things to Consignment!  Clean House!
7. Get a facial.
8. Go on a girls trip
9. Reorganize a space in the house completely
10. Start a Summer Tradition
11. Make a fitness goal and achieve it!
12. Get out of Debt
13. Visit a State Park
14. Visit a National Park
15. Host a Brunch
16. Try a new restaurant
17. Get at least 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep
18. Go to a professional sporting game
19. Unplug for a weekend
20. Volunteer somewhere - 5.2.14
21. Learn how to take better pictures.
22. Write in Journal once a week for a month.
23. Have a date night.
24. Go to a drive-in movie.
25. Go to the FW Zoo.
26. See a play
27. Have a picnic
28. Go to Chicago
29. Get a Haircut & Style!
30. Finish Divergent Series… haha

Not sure how it will go, but I'll try to update each week!  So far, since May 1st, when I thought of the idea, I've done 2 things.  I had a massage, and I volunteered somewhere.  I feel like we did so many things this weekend, but really we ate and went to the park - hah.  So now, to go through the calendar and see if I can get all of these done before June 25th!

I think I can do this... we plan on Taking Ella to see Mary Poppins at Beef & Boards - a dinner theater here - and we will be going to the zoo soon in Fort Wayne because it's all we can talk about lately!  I'm a little more worried about things like sleep, Chicago, Drive-In (because I don't know of any around here), and a race because I'm just not sure if I'm (1) ready or (2) will be able to find one! 

We will see how it goes!  Maybe I can accomplish one today! 

Happy Monday!

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