Inspiration Board: French Inspired + how pinteresting

It's hard not to think of Paris when I see these lovely images. I just kind of want to live in it. Mini bottles of Moet? Yes, please.

This is my 2nd link up with the vintage apple. What have you been pinning lately?

That one time I remodeled a kitchen

all images were taken by us, on our camera. please give credit if you repost. 

Here's a little history for you: In 2008 we bought a historical home built in 1921. We got a really good deal on it so we decided to see past the ugly, horrendous disaster that was the previous owner's DIY job and instead try to focus on it's potential. We had money left over because we got the house pretty cheap which is good because this house needed help in a major way. So we gutted the kitchen and I drew up the design I wanted. We did the demo ourselves and when we were knocking out the floors and opening the entry to the kitchen (top left photo in both groups) we found the brick chimney for the original furnace. So, of course we had to expose the brick (bottom image; you can see the brick on the right) and chipped away at the wall to carefully remove the plaster. We removed the horrible terra cotta tile that had DOG FOOT PRINTS pressed into them and put in bamboo floors. The cabinets were custom built for the kitchen. Aren't they pretty? They were so big and spacious. Oh, how I miss the storage. We put in quartz counter tops and subway tile to replace the awful hand painted tile WITH GREEN GROUT and put in all stainless steel appliances. If you've ever remodeled or built a house then you know it's never finished when they say it will be and there is always at least one issue that pops up. But that kitchen was pretty much perfect. It was by far my favorite room in the house. Sadly, we moved 2 years later because that little old house was just too much upkeep (and who puts a basement in a home in oklahoma) for us and the bills were so high because the house was not efficient at all. Since it's on a national historic register there are some crazy restrictions we had to follow, like not replacing the old drafty windows in order to maintain the "original" home's aesthetic. The brand new house we live in now is a whole lot larger and our bills are half of what they were in the historic house. The only thing I miss about the old house is this kitchen. Our new kitchen is tiny in comparison and our dishwasher is builder-grade and loud. I never thought I would care about having a nice dishwasher. This is how I know I'm getting old. I really hope that the girl who bought our house hasn't made any changes to the kitchen…except the wall color. What do you think? I'm obviously still very proud of it. 

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

24 ounce jar medium salsa
Juice from one lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1.25 package taco seasoning
2 jalapeno peppers, finally chopped (optional)
6 boneless chicken breast halves, defrosted

Directions:
In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning, and jalapenos. Add the chicken and coat with salsa mixture. Allow the chicken to cook, covered, in the slow cooker on low setting for 6 hours. Serve chicken with salsa mixture spooned over top, or shred and use as a taco filling.


This is so good and so easy to make. Matt couldn't stop talking about it. I heated up some black beans with it as a side and we ate it alone, but these would be really good as tacos. Next time I make this, which will be soon, I will be heating up taco shells and black beans.

Happy Monday bloggy friends! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm still not feeling great so my weekend was on the boring side and I'm starting to feel very cooped up. Maybe I'll get some answers this week! If you follow along on Twitter then you know it's not my spleen rejecting my body. Instead my Dr. thinks it might be my stomach/digestive tract which would explain why I can't eat and I've lost 4 pounds in the last week. I'll take the weight loss though. Maybe this week I'll get some answers?

Have a fantastic week!

J.Crew Lusting

I felt the need to end the week cheerfully. I don't know about you, but I've had a rough week. If I'm being completely honest I've been having a rough past few months. Since October I've been unable to enjoy myself (well not entirely) because life keeps popping up and getting in the way. Anyway, back to this week. It's been a helluva rough one. But looking through J.Crew's spring collection was a sight for sore eyes. It's hard to not smile. They really know how to do color. I really want that sequin stripe cardigan! I just know when I can finally buy it, it'll be gone. Their spring collection is always their best collection. Next winter when I'm pining over all of the coats and cardigans I need to remind myself to wait for the spring stuff to come out. On the top of my list are the chambray blazer, stripe sequin cardigan (stripes, sequins, and a cardigan all in one?? heaven), colored capri pants, and the floral watercolor dress. What about you?

Happy Friday!

Color Me Happy

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight

What are your feelings about the colored denim trend? At first I wasn't too big on it, but I did like red denim. Now I'm pretty much fully on board. I think it's fun and cheery and it's a nice change from normal denim that I wear everyday. Because, let's face it, I wear jeans more than anything. I've decided that the best way to try this trend out is to start with a blue color of denim. I love the cobalt and pastel blue colors! Also, if I buy a more affordable pair and end up not liking them I won't feel quite so bad. I'm still trying to not buy a pair of designer skinnies in the hopes that the skinny jean thing will soon disappear, but I've been hoping for that for a very long time. I'm about ready to crumble and buy some black skinnies. 

What colors do you like best? Are you for or against this trend?

A Pretty Case

When I came across this iphone case on Switch Easy I immediately purchased it. Many times I've bought a phone case online and once I get it in the mail I'm pretty disappointed. Especially by the designer ones. So I honestly wasn't expecting much other than having a new pretty case. I was extremely surprised by how nice it was. It's a hard material that comes in two pieces and a protective film to put on the front of your phone. So it's super pretty and is actually protective. The website has so many different varieties to chose from, but the blossom design is the prettiest. Completely worth every penny. I'm going to order an iPad case asap. I can't wait! 

Sorry I Missed You

via


Sorry I've been MIA the last few days. I'm not feeling so great and
I'm going to be spending Monday trying to figure out what's causing it.


I will get back to blogging just as soon as I can.
Please send some "get well" wishes my way.