3.28.2014

Five on Friday


Happy Friday to everyone! This Mama is ready for the weekend.
Linking up with the Five on Friday ladies again today...

{ONE}

I'm excited to share with you one of our favorite new purchases for the house.   It has to be the most functional piece in our home and I love the way it looks!   We had an area in the living space that could be a bit of dead space if we didn't furnish it right.  Our first floor is very wide open with the dining, kitchen, family room and wet bar all in the same space and so it was important that it all flows well.  

We chose a piece that works as a console (sofa) table, but really is soooo much more.  It has a leaf on each side of the table that can be taken up or down as needed.   So we utilize the table with one leaf up (shown below) and pull two extra dining room chairs we had up to it.  It works as a small "breakfast table" for us since we don't have that or we can let the leaf down and have the extra walking space if needed.   The best is that I like to sit the table to pay bills, browse the web, watch TV, etc.   When having a large dinner party, we also have the room to pull the table out completely from the sofa and sit another 6-8 people around the table!!  It's amazing.  

view into our family room

me using it as a work space

And here are some of the professional shots from our fab photographer to give you a better idea of the space...

sorry for the bad quality, I haven't got my disc of photos yet so I had to steal this off the website :-/

The table with wet bar behind

 Area behind that family room that could have potentially been "dead space"

Do you have a favorite piece of furniture in your house that you love the looks of but also love how functional it is??

{TWO}

I always love to walk into someone's house and look at their pictures.   In fact, I have recently been touring houses with my brother and sister-in-law who are on the hunt for a new home and I find myself staring at all the photos on the wall and around the house.  It makes me feel a bit nosey, but I love it.  I knew I wanted some type of "gallery wall" in the new house, but I was certain it would be a tedious process.  Thankfully, I am not OCD/Type A about this kind of thing and so I just started one frame at a time.  I read up on a few different ways to do it and they all seemed wayyyy too time consuming and tedious, so I chose to do it my own way.  I honestly think it has turned out great!  I purposely wanted it to be like a jigsaw puzzle and have all the frames different widths apart because I knew that is how they would end up anyway.   I have to start changing out pictures because most of these are all from about 5 years ago, but that's the easy part!  


What do you think??  I can keep adding to as I get more photos and picture frames.  All of these frames are from Potterybarn.  


{THREE}

I'm so excited to announce that I am hosting my very first giveaway on Monday!!  One of my best friends from childhood who is also a University of Florida alumni with me has the most adorable home and gift store you can possibly imagine.  Sadly, I find myself in there at least twice a month peeking at all her cute gifts, home decor and of course, the baby goods!!! 

 They have recently launched their website, Pizzaz Home, so be sure to check it out! 


Here's a photo of their store.  Obviously its from Christmas time, but it gives you an idea of exactly how big and beautiful the store is.  


{FOUR}

I came across this recipe and knew I had to add it to my list of "must cook" recipes.  I have a new found love for cauliflower.  I always thought it was gross, but the crunchiness of it turns me on and I adore it most when it's burnt under the broiler with just some oil, salt and pepper.  

Image via


{FIVE}

I'm so excited for these beautiful ladies to come visit me this weekend and meet their adopted nephew, Brody, for the first time!  I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends that fly from all over (NYC, Philly, and Charlotte) to come visit us for such a short weekend.  It makes my whole month!!! 
You can follow our shenanigans this weekend here on Instagram. 


Please, please come back and see me on Monday for an absolutely adorable giveaway!  I promise you will be happy you did :)

20 comments:

  1. Ummm, I love picture walls too. So much fun to look at!

    That fried rice looks delicious!! Stopping by from the linkup

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your kitchen/living room area is gorgeous - I think that piece is perfect and totally functional!! Hope you have a great time with your friends :) Happy Weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so sweet. I appreciate the compliment. We love the way it turned out.

      Delete
  3. your house is so pretty! i love picture walls too, currently working on some for my house! i made the cauliflower fried rice a week or so ago - YUM. even the hubby loved it, surprisingly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kristen! So glad to hear that it's good. I hope to make it this week and hope to fool my husband to think its really rice :)

      Delete
  4. Oh my goodness, your wet bar/kitchen area is BEAUTIFUL! Great job decorating! xo

    ReplyDelete
  5. That table is amazing!!! Have so much fun this weekend...can't wait to see the pics! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!! We had too much fun. I'm pooped :)

      Delete
  6. Love how open that giant space is! Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can understand why that is your favorite piece. GREAT GREAT idea turned to application!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. omg its BEAUTIFUL! i love your favorite pieces :) just stopping by from the 5 on Friday link up! Great blog and hope you stop by mine too !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your house is absolutely gorgeous! I need to update mine a little.. :) Stopping by from 5 on Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your home is STUNNING!! I love that piece - what a great idea to get something so versatile! I am in love with your kitchen :) Glad to come across your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  12. That table is perfect! I love that it looks great and is pratical at the same time. Love your gallery wall- I really need to do one of these in our house! I hope your weekend was fun!

    ReplyDelete