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Guest Room
Preparing for a weekend this summer when we were going to have back to back guests in a single weekend, I realized that I was not prepared on the linen front! The guest room was ready to go, but the extra sheets I had for our air mattress were despicable. I grabbed some fresh sheets from Target, and fell in love with this pale green quilt while I was there. I still love the colorful Vera Bradley quilt set I originally bought for this room, but thought I'd use the green set as we go into fall and winter. 


Office
My office space is in our guest room, and I am up here just about every day fulfilling Etsy orders. This space has been one giant experiment since we moved in last summer. I finally feel like I've got it mostly right! It took some reorganizing and purging, but ultimately I got everything I need to run my shop in this corner and just a few shipping supplies in one of the closets. 

Function is so important to me, so feeling like everything is in a good spot has been really nice and inspirational! 

The decluttering and reorganizing was so fulfilling too! Blake and I both ended up with 3 large boxes full to take to Goodwill and the electronic recycling center between our two office spaces. 

Bedroom
Our bedroom is such a relaxing space. When we moved in, I attempted to get away without bedside tables. (Our former side tables are now upstairs in the guest room) Eventually, we both agreed we wanted some. So I found tables that matched the desk we are using in our room as a console table. I really like the tables themselves, but what I've really been enjoying is keeping them completely cleared off. I love the minimal feel of that. 

I keep daydreaming about doing some hanging pendant lighting, or some kind of wall mounted bedside lights, but for now we will keep the floor lamp. You know I'm a super legit blogger when I didn't even fluff the pillow for this photo. 

You know, I never did a full room tour of this space. Is that something you'd like to see?


Upstairs Landing
Super random, but I added this little water bowl for the pugs upstairs. Delly and Winston follow me (well Delly likes to be carried) upstairs for work, so I felt bad that their water was so far away downstairs. I really like this bowl and next time I go to Target I'm going to see if they having matching food dishes. *Fun fact, I always get the pugs cat bowls instead of bowls geared toward dogs. They have such short faces, I find that cat dishes are much better for them. 

This mat is really helpful with the drips from water bowls too!


Kitchen
Just a little note on the kitchen: I recently removed everything from the kitchen island, except for the essentials at the sink. I really love how this looks and feels. I have some décor up above the cabinets, and the other counters are full of small appliances and our knife block - so having this space cleaned off really helps make the kitchen feel cleaner. 

I also LOVE the soap dispensers I got in my last Grove Co. order! Such a pretty touch that I love to see out every day. 

You can see the full kitchen tour here! <however that was before we did the backsplash! You can see the backsplash in this post!


Another current kitchen favorite! My two favorite essential oil blends right now from Revive. Gosh could I go on about how much I love Pumpkin Pie! But, Root Beer is a new one to me. It smells exactly like a root beer dumdum lollypop and makes your house smell like a candy store. In the best way. Love it so much! 


Living Room
Ok, super random, but! We rotated the area rug in here and it changed everything! It's something that bothered me when we moved in, but I got used to it and ignored it - but I always felt like we should have put the rug the other way. I don't know how, but I convinced Blake to lift up furniture for me as I flipped it and I'm so glad we did. 

Not only did it balance the room better, but I think it helped relieve the rug from getting worn out in all the same places. 




P.S. The pugs are clearly still LOVING their new beds

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-Kristen

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Around the House

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Coming at you on a 90 degree day, with fall on the brain! We still have weeks and weeks of summer left here, but that hasn't stopped me from bringing out all the fall scents for my diffuser. Actually, coming up here really soon, Blake and I are going to be finally going on our Europe trip! And we will most likely get some real fall weather there.


As I declutter my closet and take inventory, I have formulated a tiny wish list for the next season.

J Crew Puffer Vest

I love a good vest. Especially in Florida, they really serve as a great layering piece when it's cold in the mornings and warm in the afternoons. I already have a vest, but I really really love the color of this new one from J Crew! I love that nutmeg shade, and it's definitely a weakness. 

J Crew Factory Girlfriend Long Sleeve Tees

These tees are my favorite! I have several of the girlfriend short sleeves, so I was thrilled to see they came out with a long sleeve version. I picked up 2 colors already, but I'm thinking I'd like to add a few more to my cart and replace some of my older long sleeve shirts. Our winter wardrobes don't really get a whole lot of use, so some of the items I have are very old. 

Need a J Crew or J Crew Factory Coupon? If you haven't signed up for their passport program, you can use my link and get $20!

LL Bean Sweats

Some of my most worn cold weather items are LL Bean! I'd really like to add in a lounge/sleep style pant to my closet. Love the color of these, and I have a top from LL Bean already that I think will work with them.

LOFT Striped Sweater

I got a similar color palette sweater last year, and I'm just obsessed. Love the colors and this style of shirt is great for our weather once it cools off. 

Barbour Headband

File this under major want and not need. I bought a Barbour coat this year!!! I could write whole post on that journey, but when I saw this headband...I just want it so bad - ha! The tartan matches the lining of my coat and I can just totally picture wearing it in England...
There is a matching umbrella too, but I digress. 

Mark and Graham Crossbody

I have my eye on this for our trip too. I have an amazing every day purse, but it's too vulnerable for pickpocketing - so I want to take something smaller that zips. And one of my carry on items is a backpack, so I think I crossbody about this size would work well. Plus it's the right color 😊

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Make sure to activate Rakuten when you are shopping online! If you don't have a Rakuten account you can use my link to sign up and get a free $30! 

-Kristen

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Fall 2022 Wishlist

Friday, August 26, 2022

Well it's been a hot minute since I've done a Grove haul! Although I still get orders most months, this one made me particularly happy, so I thought I'd share what we received. 

If you are new to Grove Collaborative, you can get a bunch of free stuff with your first order when you use my link to sign up. AND p.s. Rakuten has a really good cash back perk for Grove! If you don't have a Rakuten account, I also have a referral link for that which gets you $30 right off the bat. I'm always looking for free money! 



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Amber Soap Hand and Dish Soap Dispensers & Spiced Pumpkin Scented Hand and Dish Soap
I know it's still August, but I had a craving for some fall scents. The spiced pumpkin scent is so yummy and I was really excited to see you could get it as a set with amber soap dispensers. It was time to replace our kitchen soap dispensers, so perfect timing! 

These bags are in our order every month! With 3 pugs, we go through a lot of them. 

My free gift this month! Grove's bar soaps are great, and I have a whole stash of them. I obviously plan to use them up, but they are also nice to have on hand for gifts. This is my first time with the peppermint scent, and it's really nice! 

This scent!! I love it so much. As a Floridian, I need a stronger deodorant most of the year. But this more natural one is just fine as we go into fall and winter. This is my first time trying out the new more eco friendly packaging. 

I have tried a few different leather cleaners for our sofa, and this is by far my favorite. In fact it had been out of stock on Grove for a few weeks and I was getting desperate! I love how our furniture looks after we clean it with this, and with 3 pugs we are using it all the time. 

This was our first time ordering this cleaner. Did I mention we had to get a new washer a few weeks ago? Ugh, this is like our 3rd washer in as many years but I hopeful we will have this one forever! It's a front loader, and we all know how smelly they can get. Really enjoyed the scent of this and I think it's made a difference! 

A long time favorite! I used to buy this at Walmart, but I was so excited to see it now available with Grove. The scent is so good! This is a soap I like to keep in our guest bath, because it's a great body wash for adults, but I also love that it's a bubble bath as well. Perfect for when our niece or nephews sleep over. 

I don't really like to use bleach around my house, but still wanted to try to brighten my whites in the wash. So we are giving these a shot this month! 

I've gotten these laundry pods as a free sample, but this is my first time ordering the full size. The packaging is awesome, and I love the tin they come in! My very favorite laundry detergent comes from Buff City Soaps, but I wait until it's BOGO before I do my refill. So in the mean time this will do nicely. 

These are such a favorite! I've been using them basically nightly to remove makeup and clean my face when I don't feel like doing a full skincare routine. I love to keep a pack of these in my travel gear as well. 

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-Kristen

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August Grove Collaborative Haul

Thursday, August 18, 2022

One | Disney!
My mom, sister, and I took my nephews to Disney for a couple of days! It's been so long since I've done the parks, I felt super rusty! We live an extra hour away now, so it's not likely we will become passholders again. 

Things have changed so much, and I have to say, I was pretty nervous about navigating Lightening Lane and the other new planning features. It ended up being a really awesome trip and we 100% recommend going ahead and buying a Genie+ pass for the day. We bought it on a Tuesday, and got to do ride after ride after ride - which was perfect with the kids. 






 

I had to make us matching tank tops too for the occasion. 😊


Two | Blake's Parents Visit
This was my in laws first trip to visit us since we've moved! It was so nice to have them and we enjoyed giving them a mini tour of our city. We didn't have long with them here, but we squeezed in quite a few sites and spots! I wish it wasn't so hot, but then again it's July in Florida. 







Three | New Dog Bed
I'm going to have to buy 2 more of these beds, because our pugs are obsessed! It's so comfy, and it's obvious they love it so much. Funnily, they've always shared their beds with each other, but this one it's clear they are going to want to hog the whole thing individually! 




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-Kristen

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Just 3 Things

Tuesday, August 2, 2022


Hello!

Hi friends! I'm Kristen, and this is the Life and Style of an early 30's Floridian living the Best Life Ever, with her husband and three pugs. Runner | Avid Reader | Small Shop Owner

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