home sweet home

I had an AMAZING time in SC last week! The weather was beautiful and I got to see almost all of my favorite people (that is a small feat when I'm only home for a short amount of time!) I really missed my sweet little nieces and new nephew, so I was so glad I got to see them twice! It was so amazing to get to sleep in my old bed in my pretty pink room for as late as I wanted! I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few of some cuties:

Cupcake time!

She loves her baby brother!

 Sweet baby O'neil!

 Lainey Kate was enjoying her cupcake!

Isabella showing off her fashion skills

Baby O'neil's gorgeous nursery! Isn't it so cute?? I painted the canvas above the crib for him!

 A cute little frame I made for O'neil!

Looking forward to my next trip home to see everyone!

Sweet Carolina

Today, I'm going from this

(yucky foggy NYC)

to

(the beautiful, sunny, and warm Greenville, SC)

I'm sitting in LaGuardia with a screwdriver in hand...hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere! :)

Can't wait to see all of my sweet family and friends!

Be back Sunday!

Lots of love to my sweet husband who is back at home studying for exams! Love you and miss you already! :(

Olioboard

Have you heard about the fabulousness that is Olioboard?? I just discovered it a few weeks ago, and I am a tad bit obsessed. If you haven't tried it out, you have to ASAP! You will become obsessed just like me, but I swear you will be thankful. On the site, you can make mood boards for home decor. I like to make a plan for a space before I begin decorating it, so this is a great way to visualize my ideas.

Since we are moving this summer, I have been obsessing over how I want to decorate our new apartment. I am SO excited to actually have more than one room, so I have had so much fun making mood boards for each one.

 Here are a couple of different boards I made for the HUGE entryway we will have. It is pretty much a whole separate room, so I would love to paint grey/white stripes on the wall and have really fun and colorful accessories since it is the first room you see as you walk in the door. It also needs to be really functional as well, so I would love to find a pretty umbrella stand and coat rack and maybe some baskets for shoes, etc.

This is a board I made for the living room. I've since changed my mind on a few things, but I still want the same feel for the room. I absolutely love this color palette and I think my two green chairs are going to look fabulous in the space. I have already purchases some amazing art for behind the couch, but I would love to paint an abstract piece like this one for somewhere else in the apartment.

And last but not least, my favorite. I have been dreaming of a bedroom like this for years, and I am SO thrilled that I actually get to have it soon! I love the soothing, cool aqua color and love how calming the room will look. We already have most of everything that will go in this room, but I am excited to DIY some drapes and throw pillows with my new sewing machine!

Make sure you check out Olioboard, and have fun!

You know you haven't worked out in forever when...

...you have to use two cans of collard greens as free weights! HA!

Don't worry, I will be taking a little trip to Target tonight for some REAL weights!

I started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred today and am so excited about it! Summer is coming up quickly and I need to get my butt in gear and am determined to look semi decent by our first anniversary in June!

Lots of things have been going on, and I have been such a terrible blogger...shame on me!

-Our birthdays were on March 20 (Joe) and March 23 (me) and we had so much fun celebrating together! On his actual birthday, we went to the Museum of Modern Art in the city, and out for sushi afterward! It was SO awesome to see a lot of the art I studied in college! I had to work almost 12 hours on my birthday, but I came home to a candle lit dinner complete with Red Velvet cupcakes...my favorite! What a sweet husband I have! My camera cord was M.I.A. so the only picture I have is this one of Joe and his Funfetti birthday cake he requested:

-The apartment I posted about last time actually fell through, but we found another amazing place and are crossing our fingers that it will be OURS this summer! Here is a little sneak peak:

 Hardwood floors, beautiful view, fireplace, windows galore...oh my!!!

-My little brother, Ben, (who at 6'7" really isn't so little) got accepted to go to Kenya, Africa for the summer on a mission trip with Adventures in Missions, and I couldn't be more proud of him! He has had a place in his heart for Africa for quite some time now, and I am SO glad he finally gets to help the people he loves so dearly! We sure will miss him, but I know he is going to have the time of his life! 

(p.s. isn't he such a cutie??)

- and last but not least, my sweet and drop dead gorgeous mama celebrated her 50th birthday this past weekend! She is so beautiful on the inside and out, and I am so thankful to have such an amazing best friend! Love you Ria!

We are traveling to Maryland this weekend for a First Communion and are so excited to see some family that we haven't seen since our wedding last summer! I'll be back soon with some decor ideas for the new place!

Happy Friday! xoxo!

NYC

What a magical place. So thankful for this amazing city.



NYC - Mindrelic Timelapse from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

New Chair and Some Good News!

I've been M.I.A. this week, but I have a really good reason! I've been having a steamy love affair...with my gorgeous new green ikat chair! I took a trip to my local Home Goods out of boredom one day, not knowing that I was about to hit the jackpot! I walked to the back to look at the clearance furniture, as I always do, and saw that beautiful chair sitting there looking all lonely! The price tag on it said $100 and I knew that had to be a mistake! I searched the chair over multiple times, and realized there was absolutely nothing wrong with it! I quickly found a worker to load up my new love and I was so thrilled that it was going to be mine!

So sorry for the blurry cell phone picture...My camera is dead and I'm too lazy to charge it! More pictures coming soon!

I am OBSESSED! The green is so perfect with our other green chair, and I absolutely love the pattern! It is a really big chair, and is so comfy! That pillow is just there until I can find something better. I love how the chair looks with the rest of the furniture in the living room. Here is a picture to refresh your memory (some pillows and accessories have changed since this picture was taken):

The chair is sitting to the right of the couch for now, and is taking up a LOT of room! 

You are probably wondering why in the world I have been buying all of this new furniture with absolutely nowhere to put it in our tiny little studio apartment. Well, we have actually found the perfect apartment...and we are MOVING IN 2 MONTHS!!!! Can you tell I am a little bit excited?? The apartment is absolutely gorgeous and I cannot wait to get my hands on it! It is in a Pre-War building, and has lots of really charming details! (hardwood floors, arched doorways, pretty molding, etc.) It is a one bedroom, so we will actually have WALLS! YAY! I'll try and show pictures soon and share our plans for the new place!

The In-Laws visit NY!

Two weekends ago, Joe's wonderful parents paid us a visit! We had been looking forward to their visit for a long time because we hadn't seen them since our trip to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. They really spoiled us with a beautiful hotel room and some absolutely delicious food! We had so much fun exploring the city, and I really enjoyed being everyone's tour guide! I'm finally getting the hang of everything! Here are some pictures from their trip!

Joe's parents in Grand Central. I could stand in here for hours just people watching and staring at the gorgous ceiling.

Beautiful clock in the lobby of our hotel. Joe's parents spoiled us and got as a room at the Waldorf=Astoria for the weekend! What a treat!

The lobby was stunning! I LOVED all of the Art Deco decor!

I want this bathroom in my own house!

My sweet husband and I before heading out to explore!

Our beautiful hotel!

St. Patrick's Church...so breathtaking!

Skating at Rockefeller Center

Joe and I at Rockefeller Center

My sweet in-laws!

Beautiful winter day in Central Park. It was FREEZING, but we had so much fun!

We stopped to look at the Balto statue in Central Park, and overheard this man telling his dog to look at Balto! Weirdo!

Love this picture of us!

Pretty bridge in Central Park

Our sweet pedicab tour guides! Poor things had to peddle us up some big hills!

Apparently that building is in Ghostbusters...I need to go back and watch it again.

The fountain from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.! I've been wanting to see this for forever!

HAD to visit Strawberry Fields...You could say I'm a little Beatles obsessed.

John Lennon <3

The Dakota Building...where John Lennon lived and was killed.

We saw Chicago and it was AMAZING! I had seen the movie and loved it, but it can't even compare to the Broadway version!

We had such a great time, and cannot wait for them to come and visit us again!

Who wants to come to NYC?? We are getting lonely and need some visitors ASAP! :)