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Friday Favorites

    Happy Friday!

    My week was half productive, half completely not.

    Lunch with friends, super hard barre classes, meeting with my spiritual director, napping on the couch, baking, driving to the middle school (twice!) to drop off forgotten lunch and homework, watching that crazy National Championship game, finally packing away all of the Christmas decorations, making business idea breakthroughs (after a few days of hard conversations and lots of brainstorming), staying up way too late (why do we stay up so late?!) and starting a new book.

    As I mentioned on instagram (and so many agreed!), these no-sun winter days make me want to get back into bed in the middle of the day. That’s what I did earlier this week … while eating a freshly baked cinnamon roll for lunch.

    See? Half productive, half not. But, hey, maybe those balance each other out.

    Let’s talk about a few good things happening online this week:

    +  I love, love, loved this post about goal setting. Especially this line “Stop setting goals to be a person who really doesn’t matter to you and use that energy for what does. Or for a nap.” How often do we set a goal only to realize that we don’t actually care about it? We go down paths we think we ought to out of duty or comparison or social pressure. I’ve done this plenty of times. This post gives practical steps for setting goals around who you want to be rather than what you want to do. And it’s brilliant.

    +  Have you seen the new HGTV dream home? It is in Gig Harbor, Washington and guess what? That’s where I live! The house is just around the corner from us (well, about 10 minutes around the corner) and you can enter for a chance to win it here.

    +  My current pinkish/burgundy nail polish color.

    +  Just ordered this tank, this tank, this scalloped sports bra and these leggings. Because sometimes you just feel more motivated to work out when you have something cute to wear. Or is that just me?

    +  Thank you for all the nice comments about our dining room makeover. One commenter mentioned that the room felt ‘cold’ and truthfully, I agree. It is a massive improvement, for sure, but not quite the finished space we have in mind. This house is a phase by phase remodeling project and while phase one of each of the rooms make them much more modern and in line with our style, they still feel far from our big vision. And that’s okay. I’m learning to appreciate our house in this moment and not just wish for it to all be done perfectly.

    +  A big project we are hoping to complete in the near future (this year would be amazing, but we’ll see) is to replace all of the downstairs floors with a warm-toned neutral hardwood. Something like this. Or this.

    +  My favorite pin this week. See all my pins here.

    +  I love following artists on instagram and one of my favorites is @carrieshryock. She has an adorable series of blending into her canvas that make me smile every time.

    +  Sales are fun. Here are some of my favorite online sources running good promotions this weekend:

    Gap | 40% off with code GOFORIT (I have my eye on this cardigan)

    Loft | 40% off all full priced items with code FRESH (they still have a few more sizes in the jeans I told you about last week. Choose from light, medium or dark wash.)

    Anthropologie | 20% off house + home event (I think I need this dresser. I just put this blanket in my cart. Love all the texture on these pillows.)

    Mini Boden | up to 75% off clearance (I love buying clothes for Audrey from here. These dresses are always a hit with her.)

    My baby cousin is due TODAY with her first baby and I can’t wait to meet him! Have a great weekend, my friends!

    18 thoughts on “Friday Favorites”

    1. Hi Emily,
      The anthropology textured pillows mentioned above are wonderful. I recently used a textured bathmat (a pretty one without the no-slip grip) and sewed it into an oblong textured pillow. It turned out great and I thought the idea might get your creative DIY juices flowing. Target has some cute bathmats that would make darling pillows at a fraction of the price. Just an idea :)

    2. Thanks so much for sharing that these grey days
      made you want the get back to bed in the middle
      of the day….and you did. I thought there was something wrong with me when I was getting
      SO tired in the middle of the day that I could
      barely stay awake. I finally just let myself
      take a nap.

    3. i think your dining room looks amazing. not cold at all. love seeing your decorating ideas. you have inspired me many times! thanks. :)

    4. Emily,

      I am disappointed to see you using Rewards Style. I have been following you for years because I admire the craftsmanship of your work, artistic talent, and Heart for the Lord. I would be willing to pay for your craft, I have three prints in my home, however for you to settle for earning by merely passing on a link is disheartening. I hope to see more of your craft in the future. Perhaps my thoughts are unpopular, but I sincerely mean it only with a constructive intent. I miss your artistry!!

      1. Thanks for your feedback. I will continue to create as part of the business, but affiliate revenue is a portion of how this site earns an income. I am always sensitive about not wanting my readers to feel like you are being ‘sold’ to – whether it is with my own product offerings or others. It’s a fine balance, I think and one I am always aware of. I do appreciate your feedback and hope to continue to offer great inspiration, helpful tips, useful links, classes and products of value. Thank you for taking the time to share! I do appreciate the feedback.

    5. Love the post on goals. Thank you for the link! Also I love the dining room makeover. It’s absolutely gorgeous. We’re slowly redoing all our bathrooms in grey, black, white, and some variation of blue or green or blue-green on the walls. We didn’t realize we were picking the same basic palette over and over because we didn’t set out to do it, but we are loving the results and I’m happy to be getting away from the warm taupe base color we’ve had since we moved in. Your blog inspires me in many ways. Thank you!

    6. And Loft is introducing their plus line early February!!!!! Trust me when I say there is a whole demographic of women who greatly appreciate FINALLY being able to have stylish clothes made available which are somewhat affordable! Thank you for sharing the links…. in love with the art!!

    7. I adore Carrie Shryock’s work. Great (true) story: Carrie and I worked together in the late 90’s at Kanakuk Kamps, a Christian athletic camp in the Lake of the Ozarks. We met up at a few rival football games during our college years, but this was all pre-social media when summer camp colleagues were fondly remembered, but often lost. I “found” her on Instagram a number of years ago, we reconnected, and I’ve been able to follow her amazing talent. She’s done a few awesome cards that are available at Hallmark, too!

    8. Thanks for the Friday post! I thought of you when I heard the HGTV house was in Gig Harbor! Wondering if you have ever purchased the sock liners for Hunter boots? They seem kind of expensive but if they are nice, I would consider the purchase. Thank you :)

    9. That house in Gig Harbor reminds me of the house in Fear, the movie back in 1996 with Reese Witherspoon & Mark Wahlburg. It’s beautiful but I don’t think I could live there because I would be expecting a deranged Marky Mark to break in any minute! (Or maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing?!?!)

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