Casual Friday 004

I've always been a busy-body, a planner and a bit of a workaholic, and then a couple years ago, Chris pulled me aside and said, "We never do anything spontaneous!" Guilty. I'm the person that doesn't like surprises or straying from the plan. But at that moment, I looked at the calendar and said, "How about we do something spontaneous every Wednesday!?" We stared at each other for a silent 3 seconds and then burst into laughter when I realized how ridiculous that sounded. I wish I could say I've gotten better--I'm still the same ol' scheduling queen. But this week, sandwiched between our water main breaking, our deck starting (heard it here first!), Chris leaving for back-to-back conferences, and finalizing the details of another huge project across the country (I'll spill next week, I promise), I decided we needed a BREAK, exclamation point! and I booked a little retreat for our whole family up in Jackson Hole this weekend. How's THAT for spontaneous, Chris Marcum!

Other fun things this week:

Our sectional arrived!! I posted the above photo on Instagram and got so many questions right off the bat so I'm working on a thorough, detailed post all about it in the coming weeks (and a massive giveaway with Interior Define). But to tide you over, this is their Ainsley sectional we customized to fit this space. You can read the post about that process here.

Turns out, you don't need 100K+ followers on Instagram to be taken seriously by serious brands. In fact, you might not even want that many; micro-influencers are crucial!

Young House Love came out with an interiors coloring book and I already have visions of comparing whose pg 19 has the best color scheme. Can we?! Pre-order yours here.

Emily's post had me nodding the whole time. Yes! That's exactly what goes into every blog post. And then I got irrationally annoyed for 2 days because she has an entire team to conceptualize, carry out, photograph, write, edit and share. Working on a day-in-the-life to share how I squeeze it all in with 2 kids!

If you only had two things in your make-up bag, what would they be? Mine would be my favorite brow pencil and this drug store concealer (I use as a highlighter). It's practically all I use anyway. Plus, chapstick.

Ikea starts rolling out solar panels in the UK this month! US next?

I'm trying to figure out curtains for the family room and I came across these (in navy and white) and I love them so much, but are they a little bad 90s, Full House? (I can take it.) These striped + pom pom ones might be the ones.

Note to self: Being tired isn't a badge of honor.

It seems you all are catching on to my sneaker style on Instagram! My friends and family know they can find me in athletic shoes at any time. I dress them up, I wear them to the gym, they go with everything in my book. Comfortable, supportive shoes are my secret ingredient to a successful day, so I've been rocking them day in and day out for over 4 years now. And since I get questions about my tennis shoes every single day on social media, here are my current favorites in a variety of price points (some I have, some are on my Mother's Day wish list!):

1. Nike Tanjun $65 | 2. Nike Pre Montreal Racer $49 | 3. Nike Air Pegasus 83 $120 | 4. New Balance 696 $80 | 5. Nike Kaishi Run $64

Lastly, remember that thing I told you a couple weeks ago that we're working on that's going to change everything? That announcement is coming MONDAY! Can't wait! Have a great weekend.