INSTALLING FLOORS - FIRST FLOOR PROGRESS

I have to say, my husband has been impressing me again and again with his handyman skills. If I knew he was such a skilled worker, I would have convinced him to marry me sooner :-)

Once we decided on the flooring for the basement, we agreed we wanted to continue the same flooring upstairs on the first floor. The carpet had seen better days from everyday wear and tear and we like to entertain... which comes with it's fair share of spills. The bathroom and kitchen both had your average linoleum floors and the foyer/hallway's hardwood just wasn't our style.

After reading several online articles about placing laminate floors in the kitchen, we decided to continue the floors in that room as well. We have plans of adding a kitchen island to the room and moving our kitchen table to the conjoining family room which has a fireplace. (similar concept) We are hoping having the same flooring in both rooms will give it that open concept feel while also adding more counter and storage space. Something this house definitely needs!

 

We finally got the existing hardwood ripped up in our entry/halls which was glued and nailed so we are good to go for the weekend!

CRAVING A SPRING TABLESCAPE

I'm not one who usually wishes away a season - I really do enjoy winter, spring, summer and fall. Especially since Maryland is one of the states you are lucky to experience all four. BUT... lately I have been craving spring. Not just for the warmer weather (I have lots of hours to spend in the gym before then), but for the longer days and being able to spend my evenings outside in the garden or sipping a glass of wine on our deck.

I really enjoy hosting small groups at our house. So... to help my spring cravings I put together a small tablescape board to help you get in the mood too! Come on March 20th :-)

napkins | carafe | wine glass | flatware | dinner plates | appetizer plates | candles | votive set

BABY BUCKET LIST

I'm not going to lie. I have been bitten with the baby fever bug after seeing so many cute baby posts on Instagram and Facebook lately... but, there are no plans for a baby Lucas in 2014! Just wanted to put that out there in case you were wondering since I've been bringing it up lately.

I have been talking about making a baby bucket list for awhile and finally brought the idea up to Chris. I think it's a great idea to put on paper all of those things you would like to do before a baby comes around. Of course not all of these things have to be done before we decide to start a family, but it's fun putting on paper all of the things and places we'd like to do and see!

1. Take a friends vacation! Chris would love to go on a cruise with some of our friends and I would love to go to New Orleans. We have plans to go this September/October with friends.

2. Take a girls trip and guys trip! Chris has one planned for this March and I would love to go to Nashville or Maine with some girlfriends this year or next!

3. Visit San Fransisco and rent a car for a day and go to a vineyard in Napa. 

4. Go to a concert together. Perfect for the summer.

5. Spend a long weekend in Brooklyn around Christmas and visit NYC!

6. Conquer a healthy routine. This is really important to me - I'd like to get into a routine that is healthy before I get pregnant. Weekly gym time and eating the right things (at least during the week) so it will be easy for me to continue once I am pregnant. Healthy mommy = healthy baby.

7. Spread some random acts of kindness. I'd love to go out one day with Chris and do random acts of kindness. Pay for someone's coffee, go to someone's house and start washing their car, leave behind kind little notes in the grocery store. 

8. Take a cooking class together. I'm taking one with my dad later this month and would love to take one for Valentine's Day with Chris!

9. Make a list of all the restaurants we want to try and go to them!

10. Conquer the first floor bathroom, installing hardwood on the first floor and adding molding to the dining room.  House projects won't be as frequent once we have kids so time to get them out of the way!

2014 GOALS

Another year is here! Most times I make this list and tend to forget it throughout the year, but I'm thinking of writing each goal on a card to hang in the house and take it down once the goal is complete... just a little reminder for me throughout the year. I'm keeping with the tradition of creating goals for the home, for myself and my marriage. Let's get started!

HOME:

1. Slowly update all of the blinds in the house and hang the curtains in the guest bedrooms. I know this sounds simple, but I have had the curtains next to the windows on the floor for a year now!

2. Rip out the flooring on the first floor and install hardwood floor throughout.

3. Paint downstairs vanity and replace the mirror, lighting and toilet. Maybe add shelving and photos?

4. Get photos printed for living room frames (which have been up without photos for almost a year now) and hang frames in basement. Maybe a gallery wall down the stairs, a leaning photo ledge or a corner gallery wall? I am liking this, this and this.

5. Add wainscoting to the dining room. I would love to do this when we rip out the floors. I am loving this, this and this for inspiration.

PERSONAL:

1. Commit myself to going to two gym classes a week.

2. Continue to strive to be the best me possible. I'd like to send more hand written notes, bring family/friends coffee or flowers for no reason and find little ways to pay it forward. 

3. Visit my sister in Ohio! She is going into her 4th year of vet school at Ohio State and I am ashamed to say I've only visited her once. I plan on visiting her this spring for her white coat ceremony, but would love to do a sister weekend, too!

4. Host a family BBQ! 2014 will be the year that we actually do this. I also want to host Mother's Day at our house again because I had so much fun decorating and baking for it last year and I love the women in my life and am so thankful for them!

5. Start saving more. Now that we are settled in the house and we've made most of the big purchases I really want to get better about saving. I started a baby fund late last year, but I want to be able to start being more conscious about saving.

6. Focus on the important relationships in my life and spend less time focusing on the ones that don't bring the same things to the table. I want to remove the bad and bring in the good.

7. Practice, practice, practice my photography.

MARRIAGE:

1. Take a class together. I'd love to sign up for a cocktail making class, cooking class or painting class with Chris. Somewhere we can learn something new and laugh while doing it.

2. Create that darn baby bucket list!

3. Travel, travel, travel. This is the year I really want to get out there and travel with Chris and our friends. New Orleans, Nashville, San Francisco, Chicago. These are four places I would love to explore in the next two years.

4. Do one thing new a month. Whether it be trying out a new restaurant, going to an outdoor yoga class in the harbor, hiking... whatever it is, I'd love to do it with Chris.