Dry February

Hello Everyone!

Today is my first Wednesday post related to Health and I will be talking about Dry February.  Some of you may have no idea what I am talking about, so I will explain.  Dry January is a "thing" many people participate in after the holidays as a way to stop drinking for a month and get back on track with healthy habits. I wanted to take this challenge in January, but life got the best of me and I gave in to all the social events and parties....  January was not a good month for me to try anything new, so I decided to do Dry February instead!  I must tell you not committing to anything in January has made it much easier to give it my all this month (and hopefully the rest of the year!).  As of February 1st, I have completely cut out alcohol in all forms AND been eating little to no carbs, focusing my meals around meats, fruits, and vegetables.  After the first week I did my first weigh in and was disappointed to see I had only lost 2 pounds!!!! I, like most everyone else, felt my week of dedication to healthy food and no liquor would miraculously make me shed at least 5 pounds... But it did not.  This is not a bad thing at all, in fact it means I am doing things correctly by not losing a ton of weight rapidly.  I just need to remind myself that slow and steady wins the race!  Patience is a much needed thought process when trying to improve any habit, so these past two weeks I have continued my healthy eating habits and no drinking and as of yesterday FINALLY started exercising again.  I know I have a long road ahead of me, but I am committed to being my best version of me no matter how long it may take. I am excited to document this journey and hope to inspire you all along the way!  Moving forward I will discuss recipes, workouts, updates, etc. each Wednesday to motivate this community to reach their personal goals! :)

Please let me know in the comments what you are currently doing or hoping to start doing to be the best version of you?  Also, let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to post about in the future.  

Stay positive! You can do this :)

- Courtney

Front Room Progress Update!

Hello Everyone!

It has been a minute since I have written on here, but I promise it was because I was planning a new way organize and create my content.  Moving forward I will be posting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Monday will be anything related to Home, Wednesday will be Health, and Friday will be Hodgepodge.  I hope you all enjoy this new format and please let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to post on.

Now onto the good stuff.  My now husband and I bought our very first home back on June, 24, 2015.  Since we got married just two months after moving in, we had to put some house updating on the back burner.  Now that all the chaos is over, I have been enjoying getting my house put together and finally make it the home of my (our) dreams!  The first room I wanted to share with you is our front room.  This room is really coming together and I look forward to adding the finishing touches on it soon, but until then here is how far it has come!

 

Before:

After:

Sofa is Piedmont brand and I found it for the lowest price at Walmart.com

Recently found this chair at a thrift store for $9.99...I REPEAT $9.99!!!

Tea cart was a gift from my mom for our Wedding Shower, thrifted lamp, thrifted photo stand, photograph or our first kiss as husband and wife, teapot wine cork holder from White Pine Winery in St. Joseph, MI

Norman Rockwell painting, thrifted gold wall ornaments, my grandmother's Holly Hobbie plate, antique chair from my Aunt, previous owners left the gorgeous secretary desk

Thrifted mirror

Thrifted clock, wedding photograph, Seven of Clubs from my first Valentine's Day gift to Jon (52 Reasons Why I Love You - Playing Card Set), thrifted footed flower planter

Thrift store lamp, photograph of my Great Grandmother on her wedding day, teapot from my mom for my 25th birthday, and a picture of our First Dance

Bench plates my Aunt gifted to me

I am so happy with the progress I have made and look forward to finding and adding the following pieces:

• Side table for other end of the sofa
• Coffee table
• Area rug
• Two chairs for on each side of the secretary desk
• I already have these, I just need to paint and reupholster
• Two large prints for each side of the window

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I look forward to sharing more of my home with you each week.

- Courtney

Sharing my New Favorite Jewels

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!  I wanted to share with you some new jewelry favorites of mine!  In the past few months I have gotten extremely into antique and vintage jewelry.  It all started when I was searching for my something blue for my wedding.  I knew I wanted a piece of jewelry, but because my accent color was red I didn't want a piece of jewelry that clashed with my bridal look.  I searched and searched and finally found a beautiful bracelet on Etsy through a shop called VintageVelvetBox. The bracelet is sterling silver and has the tiniest blue sapphire in the middle of a flower.  I thought this was such a simple yet unique piece for my big day!

After purchasing this bracelet, I was on a hunt to find some more antique bling.  I continued my search through Etsy, and found this stunning diamond ring from 1910 at JandHjewelry.  This was a bit of a splurge, but it was a wedding present to myself. (Jon purchased a new Xbox, so we are even!)  This ring is pure elegance :)

Since I do not have unlimited funds to splurge on antique jewelry, I searched my own collection and found this bracelet that I bought years ago at an antique shop.  I believe this was only $10.00, so total bargain!

Last month I went down and visited my Aunt and was fortunate enough to receive these gold opal earrings which are a family heirloom **swoon**.

I am so thankful to be able to own pieces that have such great history.  Although not all of the pieces used to belong to a family member or friend, they still were someones which makes my heart happy.  I love to think about how much joy the jewels brought the previous owner and I hope to keep that joy alive while I enjoy these pieces :)

Do you own any antique jewelry?  Did it belong to someone near and dear to you?  If so, let me know in the comments below!  I am a sucker for a good sentimental story ;)

- Courtney

Can I Have it?!

Hello Everyone!

With the holidays approaching and just being a shopaholic, I thought it would be fun to sprinkle in a few posts every few months to talk about some wishlist items.  This is by no means my "Christmas Wishlist" (OKAY Mom and Jon!!!!), but just a fun way to share some dreamy items that who wouldn't want to own, but definitely do not need.  I have seen a few other bloggers do posts like this, so I thought I would show you all some super amazing finds :)

Anthropologie

Cupcake Dishtowel
$18.00

 

Kate Spade

Holland Skinny Bracelet Watch
$195.00

2016 Yearly Planner
$30.00
 

Pottery Barn

Merry Christmas Doormat
$29.00
 

Urban Outfitters

Christmas Tree Tapestry
$39.00
 

Star Banner
$18.00
 

Magnolia Market

Love is Patient Sign
$155.00
 

Hope you all enjoyed my little wishlist post!  If only we all had unlimited funds to support our addictions ;)  Let me know in the comments below if you have any

- Courtney

Honeymooning in Antigua

Hello Everyone!

Today has me in a weird mood, so I thought I would cheer myself up by reliving my honeymoon!  Jon and I spent 6 days of pure bliss in Antigua at Galley Bay Resort and Spa.  Prior to booking our honeymoon we discussed what we wanted out of our honeymoon and we decided on the following:

• All-Inclusive
• Tropical/Warm
• Privacy
• Adults Only

We found all four of those in Galley Bay!  I am so happy we were able to find such a wonderful location to spend this amazing week together.  When we arrived at the resort we were greeted with Rum Punch and cold towels, then driven to our private cottage where we would relax all week!  I am very glad we chose the cottage over a beach front room as we had our own swimming pool and patio area.  During our week in Antigua we spent most of our time: swimming, napping, eating, drinking, and relaxing!  We did not want to do a bunch of excursions or trips, so I am glad we were able to do everything we wanted without having to leave the resort!  Below are some photographs for our trip, I hope you enjoy!

- Courtney

Reupholstering a Chair

Hello Everyone!

I thought I would share this quick DIY project today since I am about to tackle a few more this week (then share with you soon!).  My aunt gave me this antique chair and I absolutely love it, but the upholstery was all torn up.  I decided to take the remaining fabric from when I upholstered my ottoman and used it to reupholster this chair!  

This project took a scrap of fabric, a staple gun, and all of five minutes to complete.  I wanted to share with you all that DIY can be extremely simple and bring new life to amazing old pieces :)

I hope this inspires you create something new with things you already own!  This chair cost me absolutely nothing and I adore how it looks in my living room :)

Let me know in the comment below if you have transformed any peices you own, found, or bought?!

- Courtney

GUESS WHO'S BACK?! .....AND MARRIED!

Hello Everyone!

I am officially back for good!  Finally my life has calmed down and I can dedicate lots of time to this space in my life and I could not be more thrilled!! :)  So what has been going on in my life that has kept me away????  Funny you should ask because I am now, MRS. ALFARO!!! and I own a home with my HUSBAND!  Our wedding was an absolute dream and I cannot wait to share the professional pictures with you all once I receive them, but until then I will give you some snap shots from the big day!

Now that I am back please stay tuned for tons of home posts, wedding and honeymoon posts, and all the other fun stuff I get up to!

Thanks for being patient with me while life was being lived, but I am so happy to be back :)

- Courtney