:: Home Updates, Draper James, and Tuesday Thoughts ::

Some random tidbits for Tuesday!

:: HOME UPDATE ::

We moved into our house in September/October of last year (it was a slow and gradual move!) and have known that we needed to replace the back deck since we bought it. The current situation is old and rotting wood, but it worked for the time being.
Here is a photo from the previous owners in the property listing :

Our dream was to have a deck with a screened in porch. Living in Atlanta we can be outside year round, and we knew it would be such an amazing thing that we would use every day. Not in the dramatic sense, but it would be “life changing” for us after all of the years of cold and snow to just sit outside on the deck with a fireplace (we hoped!) and maybe a TV over it for me 🙂
We got bids from two separate contractors over the last few months, both of which were double what we had anticipated spending. So we figured it just wasn’t going to happen. We live in a 3 bedroom 1950’s ranch, and no matter how great our area is and how much the property value increases, we can’t just pour money into it that we would never get back. I am obsessed with our house and have no plans to leave for many years, but we can’t spend money like it’s a forever house when it definitely is not.

Luckily, a friend at book club heard me say something about the crazy high bids and gave me the name of her contractor that only does decks. (The first two people were home builders and contractors that did much more than decks!)
He came and met with us about 2 or 3 weeks ago and I am happy to say that he gave us something much more in our budget and we are able to go forward with the project. To say we are excited is a huge understatement! Kip has wanted this since the second we decided to move South and I am so excited that he is going to be able to have it. I know he will live out there! (He literally sat in the bed of his truck to read on Sunday afternoon because he said the bugs were too bad in the backyard but he wanted to sit outside….. I think he is just that obsessed with the damn truck, but still).

The plans are for construction to start early June and they said it would only take 2-3 weeks. We are doing a screened in porch for the majority of it, with a smaller portion unscreened, and right now we have plans for a fireplace + TV. I keep waiting for the bid to go higher than what we got or for there to be some mistake…. so we will see what actually happens….. but for right now I just can’t wait to be able to sit out there – bug free!
The bugs in the South are seriously the worst thing in the entire world.
Give me a huge rat in the alley ANY time.

:: SPLURGE VERSUS STEAL ::
This color combination is one of my absolute favorites. Ever.

// SPLURGE // SAVE //

:: FITNESS ::

Reading about Goop @ Nordstrom led me to “Foam Roller Extraordinaire Lauren Roxburgh”. I have been so bad about foam rolling lately. As in nonexistent. And I can tell. I am super sore and sensitive. I know I need to get back to it, and reading about how foam rolling can actually make you skinnier and look better (what!?) is just the thing I need to get back on that torture device of pain.
I mean…. if Goopy Paltrow says it works, it must be true, right?
The reviews on the book Taller, Slimmer, Younger are mixed – everyone says that without a visual it is too hard to understand. So I went found tons of videos instead!

Check out more of her foam rolling routines on her YouTube Channel.

:: REESE’S DRAPER JAMES @ NORSTROM ::

Speaking of Goop having a pop up at Nordstrom,
now Reese Witherspoon’s line Draper James is available at my favorite department store too!

Draper James is filled with seersucker, gingham, and pastels.

What more could a girl need!!!
My favorites are this dress, this shirt, these sunnies, and this cute little apron!

It is all just so feminine and perfect for Summer!

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR
here is a close up of the pink and blue so that you can see the gingham + seersucker!

// PINK GINGHAM // BLUE SEERSUCKER //

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR

// GINGHAM SHORTS //

Apparently Reese wore a lot of Draper James While filming Big Little Lies ;
she was always in the cutest outfits.

ps. I miss Big Little Lies. Did I admit to all of you that I read the book the day it came out, which was hopefully a long time ago, because I couldn’t remember for the life of me how it ended. So when I was watching the show it was just as exciting for me as when I read the book. What kind of moron doesn’t remember the ending of this kind of book?

But it made it so much better watching the show!
I also could just not have been more obsessed with her character. I wanted to be her BFF.

Do you think I worked enough gifs into the end of this post?
Me neither……