Menu Monday (a day late!)

Happy Tuesday! Obviously, I'm a day late to"Menu Monday." I'm trying to be really intentional about planning out our meals for the week. I am following my friend Jessica's series where she shares her inspiring Menu Monday posts on her blog. Be sure to check out her menu, and let me know what you are cooking this week in the comments!

Monday: Lasagna & Salad

Tuesday: Eat Out

Wednesday: Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

Thursday: Burgers and Roasted Potatoes

Friday: Grilled Chicken & Greek Salads

Saturday: Chicken, Broccoli, Rice Casserole

Sunday: Roasted Pork Loin & Potatoes; veggies

Blue Light Readers

Chances are you spend a lot of time looking at either a computer screen or your phone each day. I recently purchased a pair of blue light glasses to help protect my eyes from all the screen time I get each day, and I'm so glad I did. Blue light glasses help keep your eyes relaxed when looking at the screen. There are hundreds of different types of blue light glasses out there, but I wanted to share my all-time favorite pair today. They're currently on sale for about $20!

This post is not sponsored, and I bought these blue light readers with my own money. They were 100% worth every penny! The reason I love this specific pair is that the lenses are not heavily tinted yellow like the other blue light glasses that I tried. I also love that they're super cute, and don't look bulky or weird if I wear them to a meeting at work. I highly recommend getting a pair!

Narrow Hallway Makeover | Home Update

One of my goals in the past few months was to finish up our hallway makeover. I definitely had to look to Pinterest for inspiration. I found the majority of my inspiration from this hallway makeover, and I think it turned out pretty similarly! Our hallway is typical of an old brick ranch in that it's quite narrow. All of the bedrooms & bathrooms in our house are located down this hallway, so it's mostly broken up by a lot of doors. If you're sitting in our den (where we spend the majority of our time), you can see a portion of the hallway, and I knew I wanted that spot to be decorated in a way that's simple but eye-catching. I also knew I had to be careful as far as decor went because it would be really easy to overdo it in such a small space.

Unfortunately, I don't have any super great "before" photos, but I went back through the photos that were posted when they listed our house on the market, and you can definitely get an idea of what it looked like through the doorway in the photo from the previous owner below. It was basically wallpapered on the top half and painted a cream color on the bottom half. They had two large oval mirrors in the hallway, and that was about the only decor they had. Throw in a very outdated light fixture, and you have a small space in desperate need of an update.

First things first... the light fixture. It was U-G-L-Y. I opted for this $32 frosted schoolhouse light fixture from Amazon, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I wanted to bring some life back to the otherwise very neutral hallway with my runner rug. We have a lot of navy and other blue tones throughout our house, so this affordable navy patterned rug is perfect.

I wanted to display my husband's landscape photography somewhere in our house, and I decided that the end of our hallway was the perfect spot. I did this gallery wall by purchasing 6 black frames from the dollar tree for (you guessed it) just $1! I ordered matting off of Amazon, and I couldn't be happier with how this turned out! It looks a lot more expensive than it actually was!  I just framed various photographs that Kyle has taken of places we've been. It's a really special spot, and I'm glad it's in a place we pass by so often!

Northern Lights from our Alaskan Cruise, one of the bridges in Pittsburgh, and Ceasar's Head

I knew I wanted a large chalkboard in our hallway, so I picked this one up from Hobby Lobby and it does the trick! Speaking of Hobby Lobby, I also got this wood bead photo garland (only $10 right now!) from there as well. I added some photos that I already had printed out from our wedding.

Lastly, I picked up a chair at Goodwill for a few dollars and spray painted it this blue/grey color. I rotate out the pillows I keep on this chair, but this one from Goodwill is so cute in this corner.

There you have it - our first home update is way long overdue. I can't wait to share more, and I hope you'll let me know what you think!

Life Lately

I recently noticed how much I am prone to go through phases. I'm the type of person who loves something one day but can be on to something else the next. I fall for fads and trends all too easily.  Lately, I've been into all sorts of things, so I thought today I'd share a little bit about what I've been up to.

March was a pretty busy month for me. I didn't have a lot of free weekends, but it was also a really good month. We celebrated our third anniversary, I took a trip to Charleston to visit my parents which was great, and I spent time with my family here in GVL. My sister and I went to a Lauren Daigle concert & a Kelly Clarkson concert (hello, free tickets!), so that was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to spend some time with her!

Have you ever heard of the blog/YouTube channel called Farmhouse on Boone? If you haven't, I highly recommend checking it out. Lisa writes all about her natural and simple living and baking from scratch. I've already learned so many cool things from following along with her blog posts and YouTube. She's well-known for her sourdough baking, so a few weeks ago, I decided to try to start a sourdough starter! Lisa has several different recipes that use sourdough starter, and I found the process pretty fascinating. I'm currently letting some sourdough rise, so we'll see how take 2 of my whole wheat sourdough bread turns out (the first was a flop, and apparently sourdough baking can be a bit tricky). Update: It worked the second time! 

I haven't mentioned it much on this blog, but I've also been really into thrifting! Probably since a few months before we bought our home, I've been visiting the thrift store on an all too regular basis (really, the stock guy knows me by name). I've found some really great finds, and I've loved decorating my house and updating my wardrobe on a budget. I plan to share a post soon on all of my recent thrift finds.

We are heading to Kiawah Island this weekend for a mini vacay with Kyle's family, and I can't wait! I absolutely LOVE Kiawah, and I know it will be so much fun.

I hope you're having the best Monday, and I will talk to you again soon!

Read, Listened, Watched | February & March 2019

I missed February's "Read, Listened, Watched" post, so today I'm combining both February and March to share all the things I've been watching, reading, and listening to!  If you're on the market for a new podcast, show, or book, maybe give one of these a try, and let me know what you've been reading, watching, and listening to in the comments so I can give them a try!

Listened:

• Serial Season 3 
• I'm a huge fan of true crime podcasts. I was obsessed with Serial Season 1, thought Season 2 was just okay, and didn't even realize there was a Season 3 until earlier this year. It's definitely a different format than the others and I've only really listened to a few episodes, but it's worth a listen!
• If you count concerts, I went to a Lauren Daigle concert in March, and I absolutely loved it. She has the most beautiful voice and sings such meaningful songs. I love her music.

Watched 

• Crazy Rich Asians 
• I thought this movie was pretty cute. I love a good romantic comedy, and if you're the same, I'd give it a watch. 
• The Good Doctor 
• This is my favorite show right now. I get so excited when a new episode comes out. I love the combination of personal drama + medical cases. It's just a good show... Watch it.
• Scrubs
• We like doctor shows if you haven't gathered. We loved House, The Good Doctor, and Scrubs. Scrubs is like the Office of doctor shoes. If you need a light-hearted show to watch, I do enjoy this one. 

Read: 

• Gracelaced 
• This book is beautifully illustrated and while I haven't read nearly as much as I should have, I've heard great things about this devotional and want to keep reading! 
• Things We Know By Heart
• My sister-in-law let me borrow this almost 2 years ago... Yeah, I'm that bad at reading. For our anniversary, we spent some time at the spa so I gave it another go. It's a super easy read and really sweet. I can't wait to finish it!