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SOCIAL MEDIA

one// I spent this past weekend in Charlotte with my parents! My dad had a work conference, and I tagged along to hang out with my mom. We stayed at an awesome Sheraton downtown (or uptown I think they call it) hotel. My in-laws also live in Charlotte, so we had fun meeting up with them for dinner and shopping. I felt like such a kid all weekend! I can't tell you how many times I got carded. We joked it was because I was with my mommy and daddy and carried a backpack through the airport.


two// My sister and I randomly decided to go consignment shopping on Wednesday. We both found lots of great things, but I'm really excited about one purchase in particular! I have been searching for a classic Ralph Lauren Short-sleeved Oxford for months. I can't believe it but I found it at Sandy'sbrand new with tags for $15! I love consignment. 
three// Is anybody else watching America's Got Talent?! I haven't really watched a reality competition in years. I think the last one I watched was David Cook v David Archuleta in American Idol a few years ago. I started watching the AGT auditions and I have been blown away by some of these acts! I especially love all the young singers. Seriously raw talent. You have to tell me who you're rooting for!



four// Here is a little bathroom sneak peak I shared on Instagram. We are ALMOST done!! Our goal is to have it completely finished this weekend. After we put in our baseboards we can finally install the toilet. Once that's done all we will have left to do is a little touch up painting. I can't wait to share pictures from the whole project. It's been a long time coming!


five// Okay, I will leave you with a puppy update! My little guys are doing awesome this week. They've gotten so fat. Bailey is a good momma, but it's stressing me out how protective she is when Delly gets near by. I know it's completely normal, and she's got some raging hormones going on. I just feel bad for Dell. We didn't have many places to put the kiddie pool, so unfortunately it's right near the food bowls and our bedroom-both places Delly can't avoid. I know it will get better. 




HAPPY FRIDAY!!


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Friday Five

Friday, July 29, 2016

one// Guys it's going to be really puppy related around here in the near future! Bailey had 2 sweet baby boys on Tuesday and I feel like such a proud mom. It was an intense day, but since these little guys have been such a joy. I can't stop/won't stop taking pictures! 


two// Here are a few pictures from my beach day last week. My sister, nephew and I had a great day at Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville. It was a perfect beach day. The water was such a great temperature and it wasn't rough in the surf - which is ideal when you are trying to hold on to a 2 year old. I tried to let him dangle his feet in the waves, but he said "No, Tisten, my is scared." It's so hilarious that he won't say I.



three// This is seriously the worst quality picture I have EVER seen, but it's too hilarious not to share. I love pug snuggles! 


four// I'm headed to North Carolina this weekend! I feel really strange because it's just going to be me and my parents. My dad has a work conference, and my mom is usually really bored while he is in session-so she asked me to come along. Blake is staying behind to be with the pups, so it's going to be really weird without him. I feel like a little kid again! 

five// Ya'll, this was the most satisfying video ever. I LOVE organization, and this was amazing. I totally agree that if your home is organized, you function and thrive. I did kind of laugh out loud when she called it her 'junk' drawer. That Tea drawer though...



Happy Friday everybody!

Friday Five

Friday, July 22, 2016

Here's what I got in my July Ipsy Bag! I'm really happy with my bag this month. 

Really excited about this color! It's a light pink, but also has a purple undertone. I've really been diggin light pinks and more neutral shades lately, so this was very welcome in my glam bag! 

I'm SO eager to try this primer. I've heard nothing but good things about how lightweight it is and refreshing it feels. It's plumping and has the reputation of giving you the look of a full night's sleep. Sign me up!

My skin has been terrible the last few weeks due to many different stressors. I'm so happy my bag included a mask this time. I can't wait to sit in a bubble bath with this on. It does make your skin more sensitive to the sun, so I'm going to have to use this well before our vacation at the end of the month.

Bring on the brushes! A good brush makes all the difference for me. I feel like I have more control over my makeup when using one. This brush is very interesting. It feels like a concealer brush, but it is also tapered. Because it is so dense, it helps keep the pigment of your shade, which I think is great. 

I really like the Skyn Iceland brand. I've gotten several things in my glam bags from them, and I love how natural and refreshing it all has been. All of their products help with things that stress the skin. Who can't benefit from that?! This lotion is great. It's minty and calming. Ipsy recommends using it on your face, which feels so wrong, but I'm going to try it! A cooling lotion is ideal for our Floridian heat, and I will totally use this on our vacation. 

I decided to put my Ipsy subscription on hold for a few months. Our budget got a little tighter recently and I've actually found it refreshing to make some cut backs. I really enjoy getting this subscription, and I'm sure I will start the subscription back up again in the future. For now I'm revisiting some of my previous posts on saving money!

Leave me a comment: Have you tried any of the products here? What did you get in your bag?


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July Ipsy Bag

The puppies are here! Bailey and her two baby boys are doing wonderfully. Conversely, Blake and I are feeling raw and completely exhausted after yesterday. As cliche as it is, our emotions were truly on a roller coaster. 

We adopted Bailey about 3 weeks ago, and didn't know she was pregnant until we picked her up that day. She is a sweet girl and has been a lovely addition to our family. The puppies were just an unexpected bonus! I did so much reading and research because we had never intended to breed Delly and we ourselves don't plan on having any babies. 

Our vet was very helpful and answered all of our questions. It seemed like we could just set miss Bailey up with a little nest and she would do all of the work. Our vet said that sometimes you'll go to bed and wake up and there will be puppies! I was relieved at how little we needed to intervene. The X ray showed 6 or 7 puppies! 

Monday night we could tell it wasn't going to be much longer. Bailey had refused to eat and was really rooting around in her "nest". I slept on the couch with her and literally woke up every time she moved. About 3 or 4 in the morning I could tell something was happening. She started working on pushing out what is basically a water sac. That can take some time, but after it comes out the puppies will be on the way. Bailey really worked on that for a good 45 minutes. Then she kind of took a break and we both fell asleep. I was laying on the ground next to her at this point, just in case. When I woke up it was about 7 and I realized nothing had happened since. 

I got kind of nervous, being a newbie, and I called a 24 hour vet nearby for advice. They weren't helpful at all. I wanted to know if I need to help her, or if it was normal. They suggested I call my regular vet when they opened at 7:30. So, I jumped in the shower and got dressed. Blake was, as usual, very level headed and tried to assure me everything would be fine. I knew he was right, but I was just so nervous, and there are some horror stories on the internet about these things. 

When I called our vet, one of the techs assured me it sounded normal and even described exactly what I was seeing. She, then however wanted to just verify that with the doctor. The Vet decided she wanted us to come in because pugs do typically have trouble with birthing, since their little heads are so big. 

Blake and I were a little conflicted at that point. We wanted to be safe and have the Vet look at her, but we also didn't want to be pressured into having a C Section unessecarily. They are expensive and surgery isn't ideal for any patient. 

After examining her, the Vet could feel a little guy in there who was definitely stuck. She gave us the choice of having a C Section, or giving Bailey a dose of Oxytocin to help her deliver normally. We chose the Oxytocin, with a C Section being the next step if it didn't work. 

So, this is where it gets emotional for me. The first 2 puppies didn't make it. In fact, the Vet brought one out for us to see, and that brought me to tears. It was horrible! The little guy was so cute, and looked just like a little Delly. Both the 1st pup and the 2nd had gotten stuck in the birth canal for too long. I really struggled with this at the time. I thought that maybe if I had just taken her into the emergency clinic it wouldn't have happened. 

I feel like definitely caused a scene in that waiting room. The 2 front desk ladies were awesome and really talked me through it. Blake was sad too, but he held it together at lot better than I did. Not having any sleep the night before, and not eating breakfast didn't help my mental state, for sure. 

The 3rd puppy, however is alive and well! After realizing it probably wasn't a great idea to show me a dead puppy, the Vet came out with number 3 who was crying and thriving. The relief in that moment was intense. Happy tears replaced the sad ones. 

Number 4 was born alive, but he was very weak and didn't make it despite their efforts. That was also very sad, but I was a bit more stable after the previous dose of good news. Then came number 5, who was also a little fighter and doing great. Bailey started taking a break then, which is normal, and they let us back to see her. She was already such a good momma, but you could tell she was wiped out.


We were expecting up to 7, so we knew there could still be some more in there. They did an x ray just to see, and that was interesting. There was definately one more, but it also looked like there could be another puppy behind it. But, it/they were clearly up by her chest and hadn't started working its way down yet. 

Together, we decided to wait 2 hours before deciding to go forward with a C Section. That break was so welcomed. Blake and I went home and instead of napping like we planned, we started doing chores around the house. That helped me so much. Our house has kind of been a disaster during our remodel, and we had been out of town this weekend. It was completely therapeutic to get my mind on something else.

Since they had our consent, while we were gone, the Vet decided to go ahead with the surgery. The last puppy's face wasn't quite right so he didn't make it either. But, during the surgery they discovered why Bailey was having such a hard time. Her uterus was twisted up, and that explained why the first two got stuck and why the x ray looked like it did. 

To expect 7 and to go home with 2 was very sad and difficult. After reflection, we are just thrilled that Bailey ended up with us. Without a full belly, she is skin and bones. Her care before coming to us was tragic, and may have contributed to the complications. Who knows what her day would have been like yesterday if she wasn't with us. 

We are trying to leave Bailey and the boys alone, but it's so hard not to just sit there and stare at them! They are so cute and their cries are precious. I may or may not have checked on them a few several times last night to make sure they were okay! 

Blake and I are keeping one of them, and the other is going to live with family members who live right down the street. One of my fears in the beginning was having to give these little innocent puppies to strangers, not knowing how they would be treated. So it's quite a relief to keep them both close by and with people we know and love. 


Okay, that's enough for now! Writing this out was also very therapeutic for me. We are really excited overall, and you can expect a thousand pictures of these little ones in the future! 

Puppy Update!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

I've been helping out a family friend recently with a few projects around her house. It's actually an ideal job! I get to be a little creative and use my organizational skills. My house will probably never be 'perfect', but I don't get to do dramatic makeovers to it anymore. Well, that's not entirely true, we do have our big guest bathroom reveal coming soon

From organizing linen closets to helping her style her bookshelves, I've been having a lot of fun! One of my favorite projects we've done is recovering her old piano bench. The cushion was flat as a pancake, and covered in a very worn mustard crushed velvet fabric. We picked a new fabric that would match her current coastal chic living room. I chose several swatches for her to pick from, but she gave me the authority to choose. It was so difficult, but I finally ordered a yard of this Sea Horse Fabricin turquoise. 

Here I am playing the piano on the very same seat I recovered! I think I'm about 9 in this photo.


Here is the bench in 2016: 


The real challenge came when I tried to decide how to fluff up the cushion. I didn't want to take the old fabric off, so that was one obstacle. The biggest irritant, though, was how expensive foam cushions are! I thought I'd pick one up at Walmart, but a small roll was about $20. I really wanted to keep this as inexpensive and easy as possible, so that wasn't going to cut it.

Unrelatedly, we upgraded the mattress topperin our guest bedroom around the same time. We replaced one of those cheapy egg-crate ones. In a flash of brilliance, and perfect timing, I grabbed the old foam topper, and sliced it up to fit the bench. It added about 2 inches in cushion, which is exactly what I wanted. Plus it was free!!

The most important step is to iron the fabric so that no creases show up down the middle. After unscrewing the top of the bench, I laid it upside down on top of the upside down fabric and then carefully stretched the fabric around the sides and used a staple gun to secure it. It's really simple, and the corners are just folded like wrapping paper.

So here is the finished bench! The extra cushion really made all the difference. I love recovering stuff like this! It's such a quick refresh, and you can really change the whole look.




Leave me a comment: What do you think?! What's you favorite easy DIY? 

- More DIY

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Piano Bench DIY

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

As I type this out, I'm taking what I like to call a Mental Health Break. Today has been a little bit crazy, and I had a blood sugar dip around 11 and I still don't feel right after that. So, I thought I'd carve out a few seconds to get a little bit out of my head and into the bloggerverse. 

A little bit of our life lately: 

- I turned 26! Last Thursday. I think I was a bit dramatic about turning 25. At 26 I feel grounded and stable. I love everything about my life and how I feel about myself at this point. 

- We are a 2 dog household! Bailey has been a really fun addition to our family. She fits in really well. Delly finally acknowledged her existence and they seem to like each other. After a whole day of Bailey not eating anything, we finally figured out she likes wet food. Which is sooo gross, but the girl is growing some puppies in there and she's gotta eat. We get to see the puppies next week, so I will definitely update you about that. Crossing my fingers she isn't due when we are on vacation next month! 

- We are remodeling our bathroom!!! Sooooo many pictures to come! We are about 5 days into the project and hope to have it done by this weekend. I have been wanting to tackle this project since I first laid eyes on it's 1950's glory. It's amazing how many pieces and parts go into such a small space. 

So, having a construction zone and new dog haven't been the most ideal living conditions. Especially because my in-laws are here helping us with the project and we only have one working bathroom. It will be totally worth it in the end, but I have to say I'm going a bit stir crazy. I'm not used to being at home so much for one, and I'm also pretty useless with the technical construction stuff. I know I will be more helpful towards the end with the finishing touches and painting, though. It's also driving me nuts to have my house so messy. It's pointless to even try to tidy up at this point. Definitely not the way I'm used to living! 

Leave me a comment: What do you guys have going on right now? How do you cope when you have so much going on and zero control of it? 

A Little Life Update

Thursday, July 7, 2016


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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