MVP's of Staying At Home

Lake Pajamas// Chaise Chairs// Serena and Lily Throw

It's really odd being at home SO much, isn't it? I'm a homebody and work from home, so spending time at home isn't that out of the norm for me, but the weeks on end of this have taken a toll and we still have quite a while to go. At this time, it's so important for us to stay at home, so I have been trying to look for the silver lining in everything. We are blessed to have a wonderful home to spend our time in (and together!!) and I have realized that I am also lucky to have some really great things that make staying at home not-so-bad. 

I thought I would share a roundup of the things that have been my stay-at-home MVP's... these are the things that have gotten tons of use and are things I am thankful to have each day and now I am highly recommending them!

Chaise Chairs// We have two of these in our living room and love them so much. The quality for the price is incredible, especially because you can customize them in a multitude of fabrics! They are so roomy and comfortable. Another amazing perk? Free shipping. If you've ever ordered furniture, this is crazy because it's usually so pricey to have it delivered. 

Lake Pajamas// Are you even surprised? I'm embarrassed to admit I've had days where I have switched out of my pajamas into a new pair. They're so comfortable and so soft. You can read my full review, here. 

Coffee Maker// This is truly the best coffee maker. Whether you like iced coffee, hot coffee, espresso, etc. this machine can do it all. My fiancé and I mostly use it for black coffee and we think it brews a wonderful cup. I look forward to my coffee each morning. You can read my review, here. 

Candles// This is a broad category but I have been burning through candles like crazy lately. I think the glow they give off is very calming and the scents are often just as calming. My current favorite is this one. 

Amazon Echo// Every room in our house has an Echo of some sort. Our kitchen has the echo show, basement has a dot, my office has a dot, our bedroom has a regular echo, etc. etc. We love using them normally, but even more, now that we are home so much. It's fun to just play music randomly all over the house when we need a mood boost and I love the ability to 'drop-in' to another room, which is basically using them as an intercom! We also love paying Jeopardy when we are cooking dinner, ha! 

Bananagrams// This game has been SO fun to play after dinner each night. It's a bit like Scrabble so you definitely want to be good at spelling/vocabulary! Highly, highly recommend this game and you can play with 2+ people! 

Serena and Lily Throw// This is the throw that you see in the photo at the top of this post. It's a beautiful navy blue cashmere and it is the most luxurious blanket we own. I love snuggling up in it in the chaise chair and watching the latest episode of Little Fires Everywhere... it feels indulgent! 

Sweatshirt// I have been raving about this sweatshirt so much because it's insanely soft, high quality, and at one point it was just $24. I got both the gray and the blush pink and I have been living in this. I love the blush pink over my hydrangea Lake Pajamas... the two pastel colors together feel very spring/Easter and make me happy. 

Sally Hansen Nail Polish// I got this polish in a press kit a while ago. Truthfully, I rarely do my own nails, but since professional manicures are out of the question, for the time being, I have been doing my own! I love this Sally Hansen polish in the color 'Bare Kiss'. It was easy to apply, the color is beautiful, and it was nice and shiny! 

Dumbbells and Resistance Bands// I've been sticking to my at-home workouts and these are two things that have helped greatly! Even if you don't have access to dumbbells, resistance bands are incredible and take up absolutely no space. We used them a lot in Orange Theory so it helps that I was already familiar with how to use them. Dumbells are hard to find online right now, but Dick's has them! I have both 15lb and 5lb but mostly use the 15lb. If you don't have weights, you can use things around the house like a cast-iron skillet!  

Sunscreen// We have been outside a lot more lately. Henry has been living the dream with the number of walks he has been getting, ha! With all of the outdoor activity, though, I am making sure to apply sunscreen. It's not too warm here yet and I may be a little out of my daily routine, but I'm still making a big effort to always wear sunscreen for my skin's health. 

Glassware// One of my favorite things to do pre-coronavirus was going out to nice bars. I loved going to bars with a good martini and a live jazz band. I really miss that and so we have been creating that type of atmosphere at home. I love having nice glassware that makes it feel like we really are out on the town. We have these martini glasses and I feel like we are out at a bar every time we use them! 

Lately

Joggers// Striped Top

I hope you are all having a good week and enjoying your time at home as best you can. I can tell you it's been hard for me to enjoy at times, but I'm truly doing my best to stay positive and upbeat!!

My 30th birthday is in less than 2 weeks and I was so looking forward to celebrating a big birthday with family and friends. Obviously, that is not going to happen. Instead of grieving yet another canceled milestone, I've decided that I will look at this as a gift. Instead of turning 30 on April 14th, I will just skip right over my birthday and I'll get to be 29 for another year! It makes perfect sense, right?!

A good thing from this week is that I've never seen our house so clean or organized... we are out of drawers and closets to organize now, ha!

Wearing: I felt good last week because I made a real effort to do my hair, makeup, and put on a real outfit, but this week was a fail. I was mostly in comfy at-home clothes and honestly, I'm OK with that. My favorites are these Joggers and Striped Top. They make for a cute little lounge outfit. 

Drinking: We made martinis on Tuesday (because why not?!) and Henry decided he'd like to belly up to the bar and have one for himself, ha!! See our recipe, here. 

Watching: I haven't read the book, but I've started watching Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu and I love it so far. The storyline is great so far and I just love Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon! My fiancé and I started Ozark's newest season, too, which is awesome so far. 

Wanting: I've been considering ordering this gel nail kit and a gel light. I like to give my nails time to breathe, but after a while, I will start picking if my nails aren't done. I also just feel better and more put together when my nails are done. This doesn't really matter since no one is going to see them, but it's more about how I feel than anything else. Does anyone do their own at-home gel?

Pittsburgh-ing: We have decided our 'routine' is cooking at home Sunday-Thursday and we get takeout for dinners on Friday and Saturday night. It's been a good new routine and the takeout gives us something to look forward to on the weekends as well as supports our favorite local restaurants. We have eaten Iron Born, Cucina Bella, and Little Tokyo so far and have a running list for future weekends. Next up is Jade Grille!

Smelling: I have been burning through candles so quickly lately. I find the glow that they give off to be soothing and comforting, especially at nighttime. I just ordered this candle on sale as it is one of my very favorite scents. 

Quoting: 'If you get tired, learn to rest, not quit.' // See more of my favorites, here. 

Wedding Wednesday: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Dress// Earrings

Today's post is one that I have been meaning to share for a while. One of the 'traditions' that I am excited to take part in is the old saying 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'! The Knot has a cute little article on the meaning and background of the saying. 

Something New

This is an easy one and this is obviously my wedding dress as it is something new that will only ever be worn once! Nothing creative or fancy with this one.

Something Old, Borrowed, Blue

This is a fun one! My grammie has the most beautiful aquamarine ring... she has had it for a very long time (way before Meghan Markle made it 'chic') and I have always known I wanted to wear it on my wedding day. It's truly stunning and a show stopper. Normally, I like very simple, dainty pieces of jewelry, but I am fully making an exception for this stunner.

The story behind the ring is that my grandfather got this for my grammie as a Christmas gift one year. This was before they had tracking numbers in e-mails and cell phones. Christmas Day rolls around, and my Grandpa hadn't gotten the ring. All of a sudden, there is a knock on the door (on Christmas Day!!) and there is the ring being hand-delivered. Needless to say, my grammie was so surprised and it always makes for such a wonderful memory for her. 

My grandfather passed away in 2010 and this is a really special and meaningful way for me to keep him with me on my wedding day. My grammie is also my only living grandparent (she is almost 94) on both of our sides of family! I love that my fiancé and all of my friends call her grammie, too! I know my sister also plans to wear the ring on her wedding day and I love that!

I'll also be wearing her diamond studs that look like a flower! They are so beautiful and special. 

Something Blue

I have one more 'something blue' and that is a blue satin ribbon. It has my name and the date of my initiation into my sorority on it. When I was initiated back in 2008 (my freshman year of college), my big tied the ribbon around my waist under a white dress. You are only supposed to wear it once again: when you marry. I think that is how it goes. I am not sure if this was just a tradition for our chapter or Zeta Tau Alpha as a whole, or what, but I can't find any information on the internet about this one! I have kept my blue ribbon for the past 12 years and fully plan on wearing it around my waist under my wedding dress! 

What's In My Bag

 Navy Cashmere Sweater// White Jeans 

Monogrammed Clear Pouch// Goyard St. Louis GM tote

Packable Lilly Bag (similar)// Sunglasses// Hairbrush

So this is an old school blogging topic that used to be everywhere. I loved seeing what was in people's bags so I figured what better a time to share what's in mine... it gave me an opportunity to clean things out, too!

Day-to-day I carry my Goyard St. Louis GM tote. The bag is large with the ability to carry my computer, camera, and other daily necessities. Usually, at nights and on weekends, I use small crossbody bags like my Louis Vuitton Favorite MM with just a lip color, wallet, phone, hair tie/clip, and gum/mints. 

The Goyard St. Louis GM tote is usually what I carry for travel, too, or I slide it inside of the Yacht Tote if I need to bring more items on a flight.

So today I'm just sharing the random little things I carry inside... since I'm at home, my computer and camera and all of my bigger everyday necessities are out being used at home!

I'm very into bags within bags so everything can stay organized and be easily found since Goyard is just one big open bag. I use this great Monogrammed Clear Pouch and then another random clear pouch I got in a beauty gift probably over 5 years ago. 

I prefer clear pouches so I can see everything. I especially love the look of the Monogrammed Clear Pouch! I also have a Packable Lilly Bag, Sunglasses, and a Hairbrush. Those usually float around the inside of the bag on their own. The packable bag is for groceries if I forget a bag or if I am traveling and need a little extra storage or whatnot. It's not huge, but it's great to have in a pinch. 

Monogrammed Clear Pouch

Blistex// Dior Lip Glow// Gold Tube Lipsticks

Packable Lilly Bag (similar)// Sunglasses

Claw Clips// Coiled Hair ties

I carry around way too many lip colors. But I have space and they don't really add much weight, so I figure why not! I also always have hair ties/clips and a Crest white strip if I think I need a touch-up! 

Jewelry Cleaner Stick// Pill Boxes// Headband 

XL Claw Clip// Face Mist// Lighted Double Mirror

This is the random pouch that carries lesser-used items. I got these tiny little pillboxes which make it so easy to carry pills of any kind in small quantities. I used to carry an entire bottle of Advil but it just wasn't necessary, so these hold just a few pills! This Lighted Double Mirror is great for whenever I do my makeup on the go. One side is magnified and it lights up. You can also stand it up on a surface so you can go hands-free. My mom put it in my stocking for Christmas one year and it was such a good little gift. 

The hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes are quite timely given the state the world is in right now. However, I've always carried them with me in my bag as well as scattered them in my car, etc. I would not label myself a germaphobe but even pre-coronavirus, I've always been sure to take care of wiping things down whenever I'm out and about and sanitizing my hands when there isn't a sink. The hand sanitizer is a spray bottle from Trader Joes. I like the spray better than the squeeze bottle, but that's just a personal preference. 

One thing that didn't make the photos is a portable phone battery. Mine was charing and I'm always sure to have one on hand before stepping out of the house! This one is awesome because all of the cords/plugs are attached! 

And I always have sugar/candy on me! Just a bit, but I love candy and cannot be stopped! The blow pop minis are my absolute favorite! I'll also usually have a  bag of jerky or something like that, too, but we are out right now!