Currently Wearing

As this January has had some unseasonably warm weeks, I've been taking full advantage.

Sneaking in a Spring look a little early for this month's look.

Currently wearing:

Handmade

Luxury Leather Crossbody Bag by Little Brick House

I might be a tad biased since Kerry is my best friend, but her bags and clutches are my absolute favorite! The black leather in this bag is so soft and quality and paired with gold hardware, I get compliments on it wherever I go.

Gold Bar Necklace by Callie Jewelry

I love this little gold bar necklace and I wear it almost everyday. I actually won it

in a giveaway that Callie Jewelry had and got it initial with G&G on it for my two little boys.

I've had it over a year and it's held up really beautifully.

Deal of the Day

Celebrity NYC Side Slit Booties via Amazon

I could not believe it when I saw that these were $13 on Amazon! They looked so much like

real leather in the picture and I was a huge skeptic, but for $13 I decided to take a chance.

And I'm so glad I did. Perfectly neutral with a bit of flair, fit true to size and comfortable!

They're definitely not the quality of real leather, but I'll take a good knock off anyway!

Secondhand

Anthropologie Maeve Floral Top via ThredUp

I've told you guys about ThredUp before but I just really love everything they do.

Their customer service and free returns have been so awesome. Since moving to a small town, I've had to depend on online shopping a lot more and it's been nice to be able to find some well priced pieces online since I don't have the resources for clothing thrifting like I once did.

If you've never tried it, use my referral link to get money added to your account 

and buy something cute!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread - on the Healthier Side

I'm always looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth but not make feel super guilty when I eat it. So this moist, chocolatey bread packed with veggies and applesauce instead of a lot of oil is one I love to make!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

2. Use a towel or paper towels to slightly press down on the shredded zucchini to eliminate some of the moisture. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Stir in the zucchini, then fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Let the bread cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before serving. Don’t skip the cooling process – the bread will appear underdone if you slice and serve while it’s still warm.

This bread is excellent as dessert with a glass of milk or in the morning with your cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Kitchen Counters on a Budget - Concrete Counters

When we were looking at houses online, I skimmed right over our house at first because I was like 'woof, that kitchen.'

But eventually I started to dream and imagine it not yellow.

And then we set out to do the work. Which started with painting. We used the same pretty light gray that we chose for our living room and hallways. 

And that helped a ton. But then we were left with the retro boomerang counters.

Which were kinda fun and made us feel like we were really in a diner when when

would sit in the booth but they just weren't our style.

So, Josh and I went and priced out counters.

And promptly came home and started researching alternate routes. 

Because the cheapest option was gonna cost about $1500 just for our small space and we weren't even in love with it.

So when I saw Young House Love's concrete counters, I showed Josh the tutorial and asked

 him what he thought. It was by far our cheapest option at only about $150 all in with materials but

it would definitely require the most man-hours on his part.

But that has never scared him.

Since the kitchen would be unusable for several days, I took the boys and headed to NY to stay with my best friend so that Josh could get the work done without worrying about us in the way and the boys getting into stuff! 

He followed the YHL tutorial using the feathering concrete.

So if you're wanting to try your hand at this, I suggest following their detailed and step by step tutorial because that's what we did.

We did take the extra step and remove the appliances and sink while doing the work though.

The sanding was the messiest part of the project.

And the drying times in between coats of concrete and then coats of sealer took the longest.

And when we got home the sealer was still drying, so we erred on the side of caution 

and didn't set anything on them for several days.

But once they were dry, I was beyond thrilled with how they looked!

The sealer gave them a nice sheen that made them look even more like a stone.

I can't tell you how much more I like this kitchen without yellow walls and blue counters.

After several months of using them, they have held up really well.

I chalk that up to the good job Josh did on them.

We do have some discolored spots behind our sink where it gets wet a lot and

also where I sit our butter dish, it seems some of the oils have seeped through.

But because of the variated look of the concrete anyways, it blends really well and even adds to the character and charm. 

And we've gotten to enjoy so many good times and great food in our feels-like-new kitchen!

Overall, we are super happy with our decision, they way they look, 

and the money that's still in our pockets. :)

Next up, new kitchen flooring!