8.22.2014

Five on Friday.

T.G.I.F  It's the weekend friends! Here are my five on Friday.

{one}
How darling are these Nagasaki Spoons. Perfect for condiments, tapas, jams, or any occasion! 

{two}
Brownie Brittle. One word - Beware. 

{three}
If you are looking for some new whimsical fonts, these are a great addition to your line-up!  

{four}
Tomorrow is our housewarming party and we have lots of yummy treats on the menu. One that I am super pumped about is the hotdog bar we have planned! We have a couple fun varieties on tap. 

{five}
How beautiful is this bouquet?  Pure happiness. 


Have a wonderful weekend!

8.20.2014

What's in Your Cart?


Today I thought it would be fun to share a glimpse into our shopping cart {on most weeks}. This is a typical two week grocery run for us, with some small trips in between and usually some meat or veggies we have stored in the deep freeze. Also, during this time of year we depend on a lot of fresh produce from the garden. {I only wish it was ours.}



Dairy
Fat Free Milk {already in the fridge}
Greek Yogurt - Light & Fit Individual packs
Large Plain Greek Yogurt
Light Provolone Sliced Cheese
Light Feta Cheese

Whole Grains
Multigrain Cheerios
Whole Grain Waffles
Whole Wheat Bread

Fruit
Bananas
Plums
Blueberries
Strawberries
OJ {already in the fridge}

Veggies
Spring Mix
Kale
Avocados
Cucumber
Onion
Green Pepper
Red Potatoes
Diced Tomatoes

Protein
Natural Peanut Butter
Cajun Turkey Breast, Sliced
Boneless Chicken Breasts
Pork Tenderloin
Fiber One Protein Bars

Other:
Pickles  {do those count as veggies?}
Birthday Cake Oreos ...who doesn't need a treat?
Lays Mango Salsa Chips, so random.
Wine  ...lots of wine, and usually beer too.

What's on your usual shopping list? Grab the button above and share your cart with us.

8.19.2014

House Remodeling: Open Coffee Cabinet

Out of all the renovations we have done to the new house, this one may have been my favorite! When we started the kitchen renovations, I knew I wanted something different... something to make it stand out, look new and most importantly - different than it was before. I think we achieved just that with opening one of the kitchen cabinets for our coffee service.

This is a peak at the old kitchen pre-painting, and with old appliances as well. 
Our first step was adding crown molding to the tops of the cabinets.
When our painter came, we asked him to leave the door off of the cabinet by the fridge.
Then it sat like this for the past 3 months, while we tried to decide if we wanted it open or not. 
We decided yes, and I'm so glad we did. With our housewarming party just days away, we decided to finally finish it up. Step one, spackle the extra shelf holes. 
I used some q-tips to keep the holes open and clean!
Next, we used Stix to get a nice base on the interior, since the cabinets are laminate.
We let the stix dry overnight and then used two coats of Valspar Superior in Fresh Cotton to finish it off. Bright and cheery!
We measured and ordered two pieces of glass from our local glass factory. It was a perfect fit!
I also replaced the plastic holders with some gold metal ones to dress it up a little.
The finished product. 
The cow is happy with his new home.
Now we are ready for coffee!  Countertops come on Today, so there will be more kitchen pictures to come soon. 
Have a great Tuesday y'all!





8.18.2014

Monday Musings


This weekend consisted of some good pairs.

Two fabulous dinners out on the town.

Two long days of house work. 

Two slightly tired Lyons'. 

...and two happy hearts. 

A weekend at home and some good ole fashioned house work was just what the doctor ordered.

I'm off today for all my "back to school" check-up's and maybe a lil shopping for our housewarming party this weekend. But first, here's a peak at our weekend. 

This was the craft room at 10 a.m. Saturday.
That's six boxes of wedding gifts and eight boxes of books that were unpacked and put away. 

This was the same room at 5 p.m. Sunday. 
We're getting there. Slowly, but surely. 

On an even better note, guess what tonight is...
It's almost Lilly sale time!! 16 hours and counting ladies... 

Here are some fun tips for tonight's sale. 

Hope everyone has a fabulous day. Lots more house updates to come this week, so stay tuned!



8.17.2014

Cheers to 40 Years!


Today, my wonderful parents celebrate 40 years of marriage! It's fun to think back to 1974 and imagine what life was like. Here are some fun facts to consider:

Gallon of Gas - .40 cents
Loaf of Bread - .16 cents
Steak - $1.39/lb
Average Car - $4,400.00
Toilet Tissue - .26 cents (2 rolls)
Refrigerator - $288.00

On this particular day in 1974, Mobile, Ala. was being hit by your typical summer thunderstorms and all of downtown was flooding - but all was cool, calm and collective as mom and the bridesmaids hair-dryed bridesmaid dresses from a flooded car. Dad fought with his shoelaces, trying to get the rice-bags untied from his laces, unsuccessfully (thanks to the bridesmaids). But somehow everyone made it to St. Pius X for a beautiful nuptial mass, followed by a reception at the church hall.

August 17, 1974

Thanks for always being there for us when we need you, always steering us in the right direction and giving us some much needed {maybe not always appreciated} advice along the way. You raised three amazing kids, and I'm so lucky that god chose me to be one of them. I thank him every day for giving me such awesome parents are you! We are all so lucky to have you in our lives, especially your 8 grandkids, who look up to you dearly! 

Bailey, Landon, Makenzie, Emilia, Jayden, Elijah, Lucas and Olivia.

Cheers to 40 years... and many more hand-in-hand with your toes in the sand!



8.15.2014

oh hey, Friday! Friday Finds and Fun


Linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, September Farm, for her oh, hey! Friday series. If you don't already follow her blog, she's one of my favorites! She will always make you laugh and cry and smile... and just feel good about life. Hop on over to her blog to read-along and link up today! Now here is my five... for Friday!

ONE

It's sidewalk sale time here in Lex, and man do they have some deals. We had a staff outing for coffee this morning and hit up a few stores while we were out and about. I snatched up 3 mens sport shirts for $45 each. We're talking Vinyard Vines, Southern Tide and Peter Millar... such a steal. If you're in Lex, be sure and get out early. The deals are going quick! 



TWO


I migrated to the adobe Cloud today... has anyone else? I think it's going to be nice to have all the updated software for Photoshop and InDeisgn, just worried about how much time it's going to take to learn a new system.

THREE

Who else is loving the new show on Bravo, Jersey Belle? For those of you that aren't from what we like to call "the deep south," don't let them fool you. Y'all these gals are for realz! I can hardly believe  it's all true when I'm watching it, but it really is. I feel like I'm back in Alabama surrounded by anyone or everyone I went to college with. It's funny, and it's sad, and it's hilarious how true it is... and it sorta makes me miss my good ole southern roots. Yes, I'm still in the south - but y'all, Alabama is very different from the valley of Virginia.

FOUR

Has anyone else taken the Lays challenge?  I'm a potato chip fan - sure, but they are not on my normal shopping list, and only on a special occasion do they actually come home to the Lyons den. Usually it's fourth of July, a beach trip or cookout, where I'm piling them in the buggy, but not on the usual run to the grocery. But gosh darn - they know how to get ya! Have a contest with a featured flavor, I'm sold! It really doesn't matter that this flavor is only a slight variation of the last, or the one that's on the shelf year-round, I' still buying it. So, mango salsa it is. Yes, I opened the bag on the way home from the store as well, no shame. Delish!

FIVE

We are HOME this weekend ...and I am so excited. Does anyone else feel like it's fall and we have game day to look forward to?  Maybe it's the 65 degree weather outside... or the sidewalk sale on tap... or the music in the park tonight. Or maybe I'm just SO looking forward to house-work and hanging with the hubs?  House-work, who looks forward to that? Well, we're getting close to our house warming party in just a week... so it's going to be a flurry of excitement all weekend with projects, painting, gardening, etc. Can't wait to show off the new digs next week!

Happy Friday friends!!


8.13.2014

House Remodeling: Guest Bath Decor

With house renovations well under-way, we are mostly settled in, but still have a "to-do" a mile long. I think after two straight months of painting, packing, moving, cleaning, unpacking, renovating, we got a little burnt out. We are just now venturing back to the projects list, in hopes of finishing for our house-warming party next weekend. One project still on the list - decorating the guest bathroom. The major projects are done.... new floor, new sink, fresh walls, new mirror, light, shower curtain, etc. Now for the decorating part. Today, I thought I would share a few of my inspirations for our new look. First, here is what we are working with.


We need to jazz it up a bit! Here are some ideas I'm loving. 








Rustic Bath Mat


I'm leaning towards the chabby-chic look, with a touch of the coast. What do you think?