Gone Fishin'

Hello there! It's been a while. I don't know where the time has gone, but there are so many things I want to tell you and catch up on.  First of all, the weather has been BE-autiful here lately!  Last weekend we got to take full advantage and took the boat out on Sunday for a day of fishing and lounging on the water.   It was one of the most relaxing Sunday's ever!  My sister-in-law and her hubby joined us, and well, I don't know how else to say this other than just stating it bluntly...the girl's ruled when it came to the catches of the day!  haha We each caught a flounder, and well the boys, they didn't catch ANY keepers.  I might just like to also add that we also took a break to lay out and start reading the rest of the books in the Hunger Games trilogy (more on that in a moment) while the boys kept trying to catch something without any luck.  Just saying... 

This is the first flounder I've ever caught since I'm usually with my dad or Jeff when fishing for trout or redfish. 

I was thrilled if you can't tell.

On Tuesday night, we (well hubby I should say) made stuffed flounder (recipe was found by my SIL).  It was stuffed with panko bread crumbs, crab, shrimp, celery, onion and seasonings.  Delicious!! 

We paired it with a green salad and sauteed zuchinni and squash.  YUM! 

I just love Spring when everything is bright and colorful and it's still cool enough to enjoy a day outside.  I'm looking forward to many more boating days on the water and tons more fresh fish to eat!

P.S.  We did go see Hunger Games on Saturday!! I just read the book the week before and enjoyed it greatly. I thought it was an easy read and definitely a book I didn't want to put down until the end.  As for the movie, I thought they did a fantastic job; it was a great interpretation and followed the book really well.  Of course it's hard to go in depth on so many of the details, but overall I think it was very entertaining and even hubby enjoyed it although he might never actually read the book...although I'm not giving up on trying to convince him that he should.  :)

Tara

Living Room Makeover - Update 2

Last weekend we had some cold rainy weather, and well, it seemed like the perfect weekend to hang out at home and work on my living room makeover.  Remember this moodboard that Jessie at Mix and Chic created for me?

Well, now that I've added the rug and had already owned the ottoman, the next step was to put up some bookcases.  She suggested the Billy bookcases from Ikea.  I made my husband stop off at Ikea with me last week and load up four of the wide bookcases.  Then this weekend, I spent time doing this:

(Please pay no attention to the dog bed and toys.  Gus of course likes to help with any project around the house and be right under my feet the entire time.)

In the moodboard, Jessie had originally used patterned paper for the back of the bookcases, but since we have added a busy chevron printed rug, we decided to keep the backs of the bookcases a solid color.  I was eager to get this done, so I used the blue paint I had leftover from our master bedroom.  I also did not have a proper paint rolling pan, so of course I resorted to using an aluminum pan.  Worked just fine!

Here is the first bookcase that was put together!  I was so excited to see what it was going to look like.

And now we have two put together! Looking good.

And well this is where it all went downhill.  :(  The space on the other side of the fireplace doesn't quite have enough room.  Seriously!?!  I mean it couldn't be! But yes, no way were those babies were going to squeeze in there...sadly.  Ummm gotta love these types of mishaps.

No worries, I do have a plan.  So back to Ikea I went and purchased two more of the narrower bookcases.  :)  Hubby is really excited about all of this by the way. haha  I at least hooked back up the cable box last night so the tv is back in service.  Looking forward to finishing up this project and getting back to you all with the update soon.

Tara

Living Room Makeover - Update 1

The living room makeover is coming along very slowly, but I did make a big purchase that I'm excited to share with you all - the RUG!  Of course a rug has a HUGE impact on a room, so with this new addition, I already feel like the room has been transformed in a major way. 

Let's back up first though.  Back in the fall, I first re-painted my living room walls a neutral color.  It was the first step in making changes to our living room.  The prior paint was a faux-finish-sponge something...and it was not my style. (I talked about here.) Now the walls are clean, nuetral and fresh!  But with that said, we have nuetral walls, nuetral tile and a nuetral couch.  My living room was screaming for some pattern and color.  Now fast forward to me winning an e-design from the fabulous Jessie at Mix and Chic, which I posted about here and here.  Now we are all caught up. 

Below is one of the moodboards that Jessie did for me after learning my style, what I wanted from the room, and what colors would be great to include, etc...  I had told Jessie that I was open to color, but that it was hard for me to go with bold choices or push myself to commit although I love the bold styles in other homes when I see them.  Jessie really helped me get to a point that was out of my normal comfort zone, but that I would still be comfortable with.  If that makes sense! haha  So, I was all ready to purchase this rug below when Jessie e-mailed to tell me about the amazing sale that Rugs USA was having. I mean ubelievable prices!  However, the rug shown below was already sold out in the color and size we had originally decided on.  Back to the drawing board.  Jessie sent me a list of other rugs she recommended.......

....and here is what I decided on below!!!  Not the best pictures since I've been lazy and snapping pictures on my phone instead of getting out my new nice camera.  I have to work on that...but back on topic.  I'm loving the new rug in our living room! I like this color although I don't know what to call it because it's not a "light blue" as described when making the purchase although I was warned by the reviews that it was a darker blue. Regardless, I love it! We think it fits in the room well and it actually is a good quality considering the price. 

I have to also say that I'm kind of proud of myself for taking the plunge and going for a bold rug!  It really makes me happy whenever I walk into the room.  Now moving on to the other parts of the makeover...

Happy Friday! Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.

Tara

Printed Pants - are you on board?

I recently have been going through my closet to get rid of clothes that are way too old, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I had some printed capri pants still in there from my college years.  I of course quickly tossed those into the "to be donated" pile.  And then just this week I've noticed that it looks like printed pants are one of the hot trends for this spring.  Are you going to be on board? 

Alice + Olivia

J Crew

J Crew

Top Shop

I don't think I'll be rocking any of these looks any time soon!  And it's been decided my printed capris are still heading out the door.  I can't believe I wore those the first time around.  For those of you that do rock this trend this spring, I'm in awe of your bravery, and I'm sure you will look hot! I think I'll just sit this one out though.

Tara