Casual Friday 008

The deck got finished yesterday evening! Well, mostly finished. We found we were missing the bottom of the railings, but the deck part is d-o-n-e and we are beyond thrilled with the way it turned out. Our house sat on the market for a long time in part due to the small backyard and it feels really good to make some lemonade out of that lemon...all summer long! Chris and I were mapping out the deck last night, what should go where, and talking about how it would be cool to get an appraisal of our home now. Just to see. It's a lot of money just to see, especially when we have bathrooms we haven't even touched yet. But man, we're so curious how much the kitchen added. The deck. The downstairs. Maybe in a couple years, when the house is more done, we'll splurge?

Speaking of mapping out the deck, we scored the deal of the century on two outdoor sofas yesterday that we plan to face each other flanking either side of the future fireplace. This outdoor sofa was originally $399.99 marked down to $239.99 for Memorial Day--which is an amazing price. However, World Market always has crazy shipping charges that added on $150. But! They have a promo code through the weekend WORLD15 that gave me free shipping + an additional 15% off. Bringing the grand total for both sofas to $507.98! Not sure how long that pricing will last. It's hard to beat!

We also got this gorgeous loveseat from Crate & Barrel (that's also on super sale this weekend!) awhile ago for a campaign we're doing with them and I can't wait to pull it out of the box in the garage finally! The two probably won't live right next to each other. But the deck is large enough for a couple seating zones or maybe one will end up on the front patio. We're still trying to decide on a dining situation, but we're happy to just let things evolve. More photos next week of the finished deck. Or, who am I kidding. I'm sure I'll get impatient and post some on Instagram this weekend.

My new favorite flush-mount fixture. It's so modern and minimalist and it's only $59! Replace all the boob lights! (Also in black.)

I had to order all the final things for the Pittsburgh kitchen renovation this week. Making so many final decisions before ever physically being there has been challenging. This week, I had to place the order for all of the accessories with our $500 accessory budget. I gotta say, I am so proud of how far we were able to stretch that. Mixing a lot of good-looking, budget friendly items, like this $5 tea towel, with a couple spendier things, like this $50 marble fruit bowl--it's going to look great.

I jumped headfirst, completely willing and blissfully, into a Jenni Kayne rabbit hole when I was researching outdoor fireplaces this week. Her outdoor fireplace is the coolest I've ever seen. But then, so is her home. And her.

I've been thinking so much about home style this week, probably since that was what our podcast talked about. Our style has changed so much! But then I keep thinking about my other blogging friends and their previous homes and how different they are, too. Wouldn't it be so fun to see a whole bunch side by side?! I'm working on it. I'm too far into this idea now. Also, blogger homes at night! More of that.

It's been raining (pouring!) here for a week straight and I don't necessarily hate it. But if I had this clear bubble umbrella, I promise I'd love it more. ($18!)

The photo above (taken by my friend, Whitney) is from a surprise baby shower we threw last Saturday for one of my best friends, Corine. Chris made a five course lunch, and rallied her husband, Preston, and our nephew Jordan to help serve and totally take care of everything. It was, hands down, the best meal I've ever had. There were just 10 girls there (since that is how many I could fit around my table. We didn't play any games. We just ate and talked and talked and talked and Corine opened some gifts. (We got her this drool-inducing diaper bag.) I want to do it again this weekend!

Are you doing anything fun for the long weekend? I can't wait to do some work outside and that has never come out of my mouth before. Hope it's a good one!